THE SOULS VOCATION OR EFFECTVAL Calling to CHRIST. By T. H. 2 PETER 1.3. Through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. LONDON, Printed by john Haviland, for Andrew Crook, and are to be sold at the Black Bear in S. Paul's Churchyard. 1638. A TABLE OF THE Contents out of JOHN. Doctrine I. THe soul humbled and enlightened, must learn the fullness of the mercy of God, that there is fullness of sufficiency of mercy with him. p. 37 Use 1 Look only to God's mercy, after that thou hast learned the lesson of contrition and humiliation. p. 43 Doctrine II. That the teaching of the heart effectually is the proper task and work of God. p. 49 Reason. Because the work is an almighty work. p. 50 Use 1 It is of admirable comfort to all weak, silly, feeble minded creatures. p. 51 Use II. If it be the work of God, then go to him. p. 52 Use III. Doth the Father teach? then acknowledge you have it as from God. p. 57 Doctrine III. That the word of the Gospel, and the work 〈◊〉 spirit go both together. p. 62 The manner how the Word and Spirit go together. p. 63 Reason I. Because the Lord would have all use the means. p. 65 Reason II. Because the Lord would not have men be cozened by their own fancies. p. 65 Reason III. Because the Lord would have all to be watchful and careful, in not losing their comfort. p. 60 Use 1 Instruction to teach us the worth of the Gospel, above all other things in the world, for it is accompanied with the Spirit, and it brings salvation with it. p. 65 Use II. For trial, hence a man may know, whether we have a spiritual heart or no. p. 67 Use III. Direction, hence we may observe the ground, why many of God's faithful people understand not, that they have the Spirit of God. p. 68 Use FOUR Terror, we may see the hopeless condition of those men that live under the Gospel, etc. p. 69 Use V. Exhortation, you are to submit to the Word of the lord p. 70 The means to submit are three. p. 71 Doctrine FOUR 〈…〉 Spi●●● of the Lord gives special notice of God's acceptance to the soul truly humbled. p. 72 The manner how the Spirit doth it, is in three passages. p. 74 Reason I. Because only the Spirit of the Lord knows the Lord's mind. p. 88 Reason II. Because the Spirit only can break thorough all those ●●●sts and clouds of ignorance and blindness, that are in the minds to oppose this work. p. 90 Those hindrances are of two sorts. p. 91 Use 1 Is of trial to examine yourselves, whether God's Spirit hath given you special notice of God's acceptance. p. 94 The special notice of the Spirit from all other, is to be tried and differenced by four particulars. p. 95 Use II. It is an use of direction to teach you what means you must use to get the notice and evidence of God's love to your own souls. p. 101 The means to get the witness of the Spirit are four. Ibid. 1. You must labour to be such a one to whom the Spirit doth belong. p. 102 2. You must not hearken to carnal reason of your own hearts. p. 103 3. You must labour to understand the language of the Spirit. p. 105 4. You must labour to keep the promise by you for ever. p. 107 The Motives to this are two. Ibid. Use III. Instruction to teach you, that the humbled sinner of meanest capacity, doth know more of grace and salvation, and Gods love in Christ, than the most wise and learned in the world, that are not humbled. p. 108 Use FOUR It is to show the certainty of the assurance of faith. p. 109 Now we come next in order to show, how that the Lord must teach all the affections to come unto the promise, and the first affection is the affection of hope. p. 110 Doctrine V The holy Spirit of the Father doth stir the heart of an humbled and enlightened sinner, to hope for the goodness of the Lord. Ibid. Reason I. Why the Lord doth in the next place proceed to stir up hope, is, because it is the fittest faculty of the soul to wait upon mercy. p. 112 The manner how God doth stir up the heart of an humble broken hearted sinner to hope, is in three passages. p. 113 1 The Lord doth sweetly persuade the heart, that a man's sins are pardonable. p. 113 2 The Lord doth sweetly persuade the soul, that all his sins shall be pardoned. p. 118 3 The Lord letteth in some relish into the soul of the sweetness of his love. ibid. Use I. Reproof of two sorts of persons; first of those that despair: secondly, of those that presume. p. 119 The heinousness of the sin of desperation, is set forth in two particulars. 1 As io is most injurious to God. p. 120 2 As it is most dangerous to the soul. p. 121 The sin of presumption of carnal Hypocrites is set forth. p. 123 The grounds of the unreasonable hopes of carnal Hypocrites, are five: 1 The ignorants hope, that the Lord that made him, will not damn him. p. 125 2 Another hopeth that God is his God, because of his prosperity in outward things. ibid. 3 Another hopes he shall be saved, because he hath had an hell of affliction in this life. ibid. 4 Another hopes for salvation, in regard they enjoy the means of salvation. p. 127 5 Another hopes he shall be saved, because there is mercy enough in God to save him. p. 129 Use II. An use of consolation to every poor broken hearted sinner: canst thou but look to God and hope, I say thy condition is good. p. 133 There are four signs to know the true grounded hope of the Saints, from all false and flashy hopes of Hypocrites: The first sign of true hope is, that true hope hath a peculiar certainty in it. p. 135 The second sign is this, that a true grounded hope is of great power and strength to hold the soul to the truth of the promise. p. 137 The third sign is this, that the excellency of this hope doth overshadow all the hopes in the world, that can be offered, propounded, desired. p. 139 The fourth sign is this, a true grounded hope always dareth supply and succour, when all the rest of a man's abilities do fail in his own sense and apprehension. p. 140 Use III. Of exhortation, to beseech every one to labour for this true and grounded hope. p. 143. The Motives to stir you up to seek this hope are these three: 1 Because there is nothing more useful than this grace of hope. p. 143 2 Because nothing is more needful to the soul, than this true hope. p. 144 3 Because by this true hope, the hearts of the Saints are kept both in love to God, and in obedience unto him. p. 145 The Means to attain this true grounded Hope are these three. 1 You must labour to cast out all carnal sensuality. p. 145 2 You must labour to be much acquainted with the precious promises of God. p. 146 3 You must maintain in the heart a deep and serious acknowledgement of that supreme authority of the Lord, to do what he will, and how he will, according unto his own good pleasure. p. 148 Doctrine VI The Spirit of the Lord quickeneth the desire of an humble and enlightened sinner to long for the riches of his mercy in Christ. p. 150 The reason why desire cometh next in order, and the manner how God the Father doth quicken up the desires of the soul to long for mercy, are. p. 152 Use 1 It is an use of strong consolation, to stay the hearts of poor sinners in the midst of their infirmities; canst thou but find thy smoking desire, thy condition is then good. p. 156. The signs of sound desires are these three: 1 Sign of a sound desire is this, that as the desire is, so the endeavour will be p. 157 2 Sign of a sound desire is this, he that truly desires mercy and grace, desireth Christ for himself. 158. 3 Sign of a sound desire is this, the soul that truly desires mercy, is ready to receive it with thankfulness, and will entertain the means and messenger that may bring home Christ and mercy to his soul. p. 159 Use II. It is of reproof to all them, that yet have not these true and sincere desires after grace and salvation wrought in them. p. 160 There are three sorts and ranks of professors and hypocrites, whose desires are unsound: the Lazy Hypocrite, Stage Hypocrite, Terrified Hypocrite. p. 161 There are four sorts of lazy professors, and lazy Hypocrites, that are void of these sound and sincere hopes: 1 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are such, who when they enjoy the means of salvation, yet they esteem not thy blessing, they prise not the means. p. 164 2 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are such, who when God hath taken away and deprived them of the ordinary means of grace and salvation, they are well contented to be without the same, they sit down very well satisfied. p. 166 3 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are such, who when they have the means of grace and salvation, are content to use them, and if they want the means will seek out for them, but yet are not careful to prevent those inconveniences, which hinder them by receiving benefit from the means. p. 168 4 Sort of lazy Hypocrites are those, who though they hear the duties commanded, yet they neglect all duties commands. p. 169 There are two sorts of stage Hypocrites, that are void of these sound and sincere desires. p. 172 The first sort of stage Hypocrites, are such as will take up so much of Christ and the Gospel, as may stand with their credit, and with their estate. p. 173 The second sort of stage Hypocrites are such, that will use all God's ordinances, but will part with nothing and will suffer nothing for the Lord jesus. p. 175 The third sort that are void of sound and sincere desires, are the terrified Hypocrites. p. 177 The signs of a terrified Hypocrite are two. 1 He will be linger and hankering after some corruption. p. 178 2 The terrified Hypocrite, he will slight and slubber over small sins, and small corruptions. p. 178 How fare this terrified Hypocrite will go, and what he may do; vid. p. 179 Use III. Is of Exhortation, wherein you are entreated in the bowels of the Lord jesus, to long and desire after the Lord jesus Christ. p. 191 Means I. The Means are four: the first is this, be acquainted thoroughly with thy own necessities and wants, with that nothingness and emptiness in thyself. p. 192 Means II. The second is, consider the necessity after grace and goodness, it is no matter of compliment and indifferency. p. 197 Means III. The third is, labour to spread forth the excellency of all the beauty and surpassing glory, that is in the promises of God. p. 198 Means IU. The fourth is, thou must know that it is not in thy power to bring thy heart to desire grace. p. 199 Doctrine VII. The Spirit of the Lord kindles in an humbled heart, and enlightened sinner, love and joy to entertain and rejoice in the riches of his mercy. p. 205 The opening of the Doctrine consists in 3. passages. Passage I. Is this, that this love and joy is no where else to be found, but in an heart humbled and enlightened. p. 205 Passage II. Is this, that the love and joy is enkindled by the Spirit of the Father. p. 206. Passage III. Is this, that the love and joy being kindled, they may entertain and rejoice in the riches of God's mercy. p. 207 Reason I. Of the point is this, because that love and joy do follow desire. p. 209 The Spirit of the Father, doth enkindle the love and joy in these three particulars. p. 217 Particular I. Is this, God the Father by the Spirit, doth let in some sweetness and relish of his love into the soul, that doth warm the heart. p. 221 Particular II. Is this, that the freeness of God's love, doth enkindle a love in the soul. p. 222 Particular III. Is this, that as the sweetness did warm it, the freeness kindles it; so the greatness of the sweetness of this love doth set the soul in a flame. p. 224 Use 1 It is an use of instruction to inform you that there is no sufficiency in a natural heart, to be carried to the Lord jesus Christ, or to the work of grace. p. 226 Use II. I● is an use of consolation to stay and refresh the hearts of those that have received the gracious work. p. 233 Use III. It is an use of trial to examine yourselves whether your love and joy be sound, true, and sincere, and how it doth differ from the feigned, wild, and hypocritical love in the world. p. 237 The soundness of true love from counterfeit Hypocritical love, appeareth in these five trials. Trial I Is this, observe the root and rise of thy love, ibid. Trial II. Is this, observe if thou entertainest thy Saviour, as a Saviour; that is, as a King. p. 242 Trial III. Is this, thou must observe if thou labourest to give contentment to Christ. p. 244 Trial IU. Observe whether thy heart doth rejoice to see the happiness of the thing you love, p. 251 Trial V Is this, it is the nature of true love, to covet nearer union with the thing beloved. p. 254 Use IU. It is of repose to all those upon whom this work of love and joy in Christ was never wrought. p. 261 Most men have not this love to God, but hatred against him. p. 263 The persons that do not love the Lord jesus Christ, they are referred to three ranks. p. 266 Sort I. Are such as are open enemeiss to Christ, and who these are, are largely described in p. 267 Sort II. Are those glozing Neuters that halt between two opinions. p. 273 Sort III. Are those fawning Hypocrites, that are fair in show, but false in heart. p. 279 Here are further to be discovered four sorts of Hypocrites. 1 There is a whining Hypocrite: p. 280 2 The wrangling Hypocrite: p. 280 3 The glorious Hypocrite: p. 280 4 The presumptuous Hypocrite. p. 280 We are now come to the work of the will. p. 283 Doctrine VIII. The will of a poor sinner humbled and enlightened, comes to be effectually persuaded by the Spirit of the Father to rest upon the freeness of God in Christ, that it may be interested therein. p. 284 The opening of this Doctrine consisteth in 4 particulars. Particular I. That this work must be in an heart humbled and enlightened. p. 285 Particular II. The will must be effectually persuaded, by the Spirit of the Father. p. 287 Particular III. By the power of this persuasion, it casteth itself upon the rich grace & free mercy of God in Christ. p. 295 Now this resting of the soul upon the rich grace of God in Christ, discovereth itself in a 5. fold Act. Act I. It doth imply a going out of the soul to Christ, that the soul runs and reacheth after a Christ. p. 296 Act II. Of resting is this, it layeth fast hold upon Christ. p. 298 Act III. Of resting is this, it flings the weight of all his occasions and troubles upon Christ. p. 302 Act IU. Of resting and reposing is this, it doth draw virtue, and derive power from the Lord jesus Christ for succour and supply. p. 305 Faith doth draw virtue from Christ by a threefold Act. p. 307 Act I. Is this, Faith doth appropriate and apply the promise to itself in particular. ibid. Act II. Faith doth jog the hand of God, and sets God's power on work. p. 309 Act III. Faith urgeth God with his own Word, and presseth God's promise, and challengeth God on his faithfulness and truth, not to be wanting unto him for the acceptation of his Person, and the pardon of his sins. p. 311 Act V Of resting is this, it doth leave the soul with the promise. p. 312 Particular IU Is the final cause why it doth rest, that it may be interested into all the good that is in the promise, and to have supply of all Spiritual wants from the promise. p. 315 The Spiritual wants of the soul which faith doth supply are of 3. sorts. p. 316 Sort I. Of Spiritual wants are these, that the soul is gone away from God, and is estranged to God; now faith bringeth the soul again to God. ibid. Want II. Is this, the soul being departed from God, hence the soul is deprived of all good, grace, and life; now faith doth not only bring a sinner to God, but it doth communicate from God to a sinner. p. 320 Want III. Is this, the heart is fearful lest it should lose that grace, now faith it is that doth keep a man grace. p. 322 Question. How doth the soul come to believe? Answer. There are three things in the promise where by the will of man is drawn to believe. p. 327 Motive I. Is the all-sufficiency of the freeness of God's love. p. 328 Motive II. Is this, that this mercy is intended for thee. p. 329 Motive III. Is this, that God doth earnestly desire thee to come and to take this mercy, p. 330 Use 1 Of information, that saving faith is no part of that holiness which Adam had, nor no part of that Image to which we are restored by Sanctification. p. 335 Use II. ●t is an use of terror to all that still remain in unbelief. p. 349 The fearfulness of this sin of unbelief is laid open in four Particulars. p. 352 Particular I. Because unbelief it doth keep off the riches of mercies from the soul that are in Christ, that it cannot enjoy them. p. 352 Particular II. Unbelief, it doth make all means to be unprofitable. p. 356 Particular III. Unbelief, all sin in the strength and power of it in the heart of a sinner. p. 361 Particular IU Unbelief maketh the soul of a sinner to be in a desperate case and condition. p. 366 The danger of unbelief doth appear in these three Particulars. p. 369 Particular I. Consider it seriously, that whatsoever thou dost so long as thou art an unbeliever, it is all unprofitable and to no purpose at all. p. 369 Particular II. All the good things an unbeliever doth enjoy, will prove uncomfortable. p. 370 Particular III. Unbelief is the breeder and maintainer of all the rest of the sins of an unbeliever. p. 371 Use III. It is a collection concerning the difficulty of the work of faith, that the work of faith is beyond the reach of all created power. p. 374 Use IU. It is to show the benefits that come by faith to the soul. p. 390 What these benefits are in particular, vid. p. 394. and p. 396 Use V. It is an use of consolation and great comfort to all the servants of God, that through his mercy have received this grace. p. 416 The knowledge of true saving faith from a false faith appeareth in these three trials. p. 423 Trial I Is this, observe the root and rise of thy faith, the cause by which thy faith was wrought, and from whence it came. p. 423 Trial II. Observe whether thy faith doth make choice wholly of Christ, and doth resolve to match with Christ only. p. 428 Trial III. Observe whether thy faith doth bear itself upon the promise in all its extremities, and is satisfied with it. p. 431 Use VI It is a word of reproof against all those that never ye● were made partakers of the blessed work of grace. p. 434 Most that live in the bosom of the Church, want saving faith. p. 437 The reasons of it, vid. p. 440 There be four sorts in particular that have no faith. p. 446 Sort I. The ignorant persons. p. 447 Sort II. The carnal Gospelers, that do live scandalously, and trade in their wickedness. p. 450 Sort III. The mere civilised or judicious professors, that bear up themselves much upon their own wisdom and judgement. p. 455 Sort IU. The counterfeit, that have a forged kind of false faith, they have their alchemy faith. p. 464 Of these counterfeit believers there are three sorts. p. 465 Sort I. The first sort of counterfeit believers are the temporary believers. p. 465 Sort II. The second sort of counterfeit believers are the sturdy hypocrites. p. 483. Sort III. The third sort of counterfeits are the shifting stately hypocrites. p. 500 Use VII. It is an use of exhortation to desire you to labour to get this grace of faith. p. 515 The hindrances of faith are of two sorts; some are real hindrances, that do hinder the soul from Christ, others do not hinder the soul's interest in Christ. p. 519 The real hindrances are four. p. 520 The hindrances that do not hinder the title to a Christ are three in particular. p. 538 Sort I. The first kind of seeming hindrances are those discouragements, which oppress the soul through carnal reasoning. p. 538 The second sort of hindrances are the resting upon duties, endeavours, and performances. p. 546 The third sort of hindrances is the want of sense and feeling. p. 549 The means or cures against these hindrances are especially three. Cure I. A distressed soul is not to look too long nor too much continually upon the sight and consideration of his own sins. p. 552 Cure II. Is this, make conscience either not to attend to, or not to judge thyself or thy estate by any carnal reason without a warrant. p. 560 Cure III. Is this, enter not into contention with Satan concerning those things which belong not unto you. p. 566 Cure IU. Is this, in thy proceed with thyself, and in the judgement of thyself, repair unto the word of the Lord, and pass no sentence, but according to the evidence of the word. p. 573 There are four rules of direction, to show the soul how to repair to the word. Rule I. Is this, thou art to look into the uprightness and sincerity of thine own soul. p. 577 Rule II. Is this, labour to have thy conscience settled in the truth of grace, which the word doth inform to be in thee. p. 580 Rule III. Is this, that we should strive mightily to have our hearts overpowred to entertain that we have that grace which the Word of truth doth manifest to be in us. Rule FOUR Is this, maintain in the last place the truth, which upon these grounds thou hast received. p. 592 The means to get faith are four. p. 598 Means I. Is this, we must labour to pluck away all props that the soul leans upon. p. 598 Means II. Is this, labour to have your hearts established of the fullness of content that is in the promise. p. 601 Means III. Is this, expect all the good which thou needst and canst desire from that sufficiency of the promise. p. 607 Means FOUR Is this, labour to yield to the equal condition of the promise. p. 608 The motives to stir up the heart to seek after faith, are three. Motive I. Is this, because if you once get this grace, you get all other graces with it. p. 610 Motive II. Is this, because by faith we are delivered, and made conquerors over all corruptions. p. 611 Motive III. Is this, because faith doth bring a blessing to all our blessings and graces. p. 614 Use. The second branch of the use of exhortation, it is to those that have faith, to live by their faith, and to improve it for their best good. p. 618 There are three particulars for to learn the heart how to live by faith. 622 Partic. I. We must provide matter for our faith. ibid. Partic. II. In providing matter of faith, three rules are to be observed. Rule I. All the good promises are to be stored up seasonably. p. 623 Rule II. All the promises of all kinds, and that abundantly, are to be laid in. p. 625 Rule III. All the promises are to be laid up in the heart, that we may have them at hand for our use. p. 628 Particular II. We must labour to fit faith for the work. p. 630 Rule 1 To maintain the evidence of this grace of faith. p. 630 Rule II. To labour to bring our hearts to a stillness or calmness, that faith may have its full scope. p. 634 Rule III. Not to look first unto the means, but to the promise for secure. p. 637 Particular III. We must order faith in the work. p. 640 Rule 1 To renounce all power and ability in ourselves. ibid. Rule II. To bring the promise home to our hearts. p. 642 Rule III. We must be carried by the promise unto God. p. 644 Passage II. How we may take and improve the good of the promise. p. 645 Several Treatises of this AUTHOR. 1 THE unbelievers preparing for Christ, out of Revelations 22.17. 1 Corinth. 2.14. Ezekiel 11.19. Luke 19.42. Matthew 20.3, 4, 5, 6. john 6.44. 2 The soul's preparation for Christ, or a Treatise of Contrition, on Acts 2.37. 3 The Souls humiliation, on Luke 15. verses 15, 16, 17, 18. 4 The Souls vocation, or effectual calling to Christ, on john 6.45. 5 The Souls union with Christ, 1 Corin. 6.17. 6 The Souls benefit from union with Christ, on 1 Cor. 1.30. 7 The Souls justification, eleven Sermons on 2 Corin. 5.21. 8 Sermons on judges 10.23. on Psalm 119.29. on Proverbs 1.28, 29. on 2 Tim. 3.5. THE SOULS EFFECTVALL CALLING TO CHRIST. By T. H. LONDON, Printed by J. H. for Andrew Crook, at the sign of the Bear in Paul's Churchyard. 1637. The Souls effectual calling to CHRIST. JOHN 6.45. Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. THE engrafting of the humble and broken hearted sinner into Christ, as we have heard, consists of two particular passages: The first was being put into the stock; Secondly, the engrafting into the some. As in engrafting naturally so of implanting spiritually of the soul into Christ. When the soul is brought unto this, than a sinner comes to be partaker of all the spiritual benefits, all shall be communicated to us. Now the point at this present to be handled, is called by the stream of Divines Vocation, and I term it the putting in of the soul, when the soul is brought out of the world of sin, to lie upon, and to close with the Lord Jesus Christ, and this hath two particular passages in it; partly the call on God's part, partly the answer on ours. The call on God's part is this, when the Lord by the call of his Gospel doth so clearly reveal the fullness of mercy, and certifies to the soul by the work of his sp●rit, that the soul humbled returns answer to Gods call. In the first observe two passages: First, the means whereby God will call the sinner unto him; the sinner is afraid to appear before God whom he hath offended, and may therefore proceed in justice against him for those sins which have been committed by him. Now besides the Law which discovers a man's sin unto him, he now prepares another means, the voice of his Gospel; he lets in many sweet inkling into the soul, of his love and kindness to allure him, to call him, and draw him to himself. Secondly, the Lord doth not only appoint the means, namely, the ministry of his Gospel, whereby the soul may be brought unto him, and receive communion with him; but by the work of his Spirit he doth bring all the riches of his grace into the soul truly humbled, so that the heart cannot but receive the same, and give answer thereto, and give an echo of the subjection of itself to be governed thereby: that we have finished already. There must be hearing before coming; not of the Law, to terrify a man; but of the Gospel, to persuade and allure a man to come unto the Lord, and receive mercy and kindness from him. The Gospel is the means ordained by God to call home the soul unto him. But this will not do the deed; there must be something else, or the sinner will be at a stand, and cannot come on cheerfully, and receive the grace offered him; therefore besides the means, we have the special cause expressed, which is the Lord. For when a man hath heard, that is one thing; but that is not all, for the principal cause is the Lord. God the Father alone can buckle the heart to receive the grace appointed, and the mercy offered to the soul: and without the principal cause, all other means, I mean the Ministers of the Gospel, although it be a savour of life unto life, yet it may be a savour of death unto death, unless the Spirit of the Lord goes with it. For when the Gospel is only revealed to the understanding, and that only conceives of the letter thereof, and it soaks not, and sinks not into the heart: this we call an outward calling, that is the phrase of Divines: when some light flash is imparted and communicated unto the soul, and is not set on sufficiently, that is an outward calling. But when God the Father doth accompany the dispensation of the Gospel with the powerful operation of the Spirit, and it puts its hand to the key of the Gospel, and unlocks a blind mind, and a hard heart, there the soul learns throughly and effectually the way of salvation. The Text saith, there must not only be hearing, but learning of the Father, else the soul will not, nor cannot come. Now before I can collect the several passages out of the words, there is some difficulty and obscurity in the phrase, therefore give me leave, as I am able, to discover the meaning and sense of the words, and then the collection will be clear. First, for the explication of the phrase, and I will discourse four questions unto you, which will be useful for the clear explication of the Text. 4. Questions. First, what the lesson is that a man must learn before he come. Secondly, why the Father is said to teach, and not the Son, nor the holy Ghost. Thirdly, what is the manner how the Father doth teach the soul, when he will call it home to himself. Fourthly, what is the frame and disposition of the soul, how doth the heart behave itself when it hath in truth learned the lesson. When the Lord will propound unto, and learn the souls of his that belong to him, you must not think the truth tedious, because they will give us light into all the truth that shall be hereafter discussed out of the word. Quest. 1 He that hath heard and learned of the Father, what is the lesson that he must learn before he can come? that after he hath learned this lesson he may be able to see the path of salvation as propounded to him, so also near at hand, that he might walk therein, and receive comfort thereby. Answ. For answer hereunto, the lesson that the soul must learn, is this, namely, the fullness of the mercy, and grace, and salvation that God the Father hath provided, and also offered to the poor humbled sinner, in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, which in deed is able to do that for a poor sinner, which all the means and things in the world could not do, and yet notwithstanding he needs. I have heretofore discussed the poor miserable plight which a sinner hath brought himself into by his manifold rebellions. There is no help, no hope of himself, in what he hath or doth to relieve and secure himself, and therefore he falls flat at the footstool of the Almighty, and is content to be at his disposing. Now the lesson that the soul must learn, is the fullness, greatness, and freeness of the perfect salvation which is brought unto us through the Lord Jesus Christ. And that we may not learn this lesson by halves, but fully and perfectly, and that your minds may conceive of the same, give me leave to lay it out fully, because it will be profitable for our ensuing discourse: and this lesson discovers itself in three things, as in three lines, as I may so term it. The first is this, that the soul may learn there is enough sufficiency in the mercy of God, to fill up all the empty chinks of the soul, and supply all the wants that a sinner hath, and relieve him in all those necessities that either do or can befall him: this is the condition of every son of man since the fall of Adam, that there is not only a great deal of weakness in the soul, but there is a great deal of wants and emptiness in the soul. Now this is the fullness of the mercy of God, that whatsoever our weaknesses, wants, or necessities be, there is full sufficiency enough in that mass to fill up all, and to give the soul full content in every particular. Hence the phrase of Scripture runs thus, when God propounds the fullness of mercy in Jesus Christ, he calls it a treasury, and all the treasures of wisdom and holiness are in Christ; not one treasure, but all treasures; not some treasures, but all treasures, Esay 61. When the Gospel was professed, there was a fullness of mercy, and there we shall see a kind of meeting and concurrency of all blessings together. So that where the Gospel comes, there is joy for the sorrowful, peace for the troubled, strength for the weak; be your miseries what they can be, here is relief seasonable and suitable to all your wants, miseries, and necessities. Nay, this is not only for the present necessity. Mercy is not only able to relieve your present necessity, but your future also. It is not with mercy as with the widow of Sarepta, who thought when the meal in the barrel, and the oil in the cruse was spent, she should then surely perish. No, it is not so in the fullness and sufficiency of this mercy; it hath not only enough to do you good for the present, and to secure you in all present wants; but what miseries soever shall befall thee, or what troubles shall betide thee for future times, the fullness of God's mercy lays in provision against such necessities, and times of miseries and vexations. For a poor sinner may be driven to a stand after this manner: It is true, saith the sinner, I have heretofore committed many sins, God hath sealed up the pardon of them unto me, and those sins which have heretofore pleased me, God hath given me a sight of them in some power and measure against them. But what if more sins, if more temptations, if more corruptions, if more guilt, if more horror seize upon my heart, how then shall I secure my self? But now this is the fullness and sufficiency of mercy, it doth not only case a man in regard of present necessity, but lays provision for all future wants and calamities that can befall the soul. Psal. 130.7. The text saith, Let Israel hope in the Lord, there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. The word in the original is, there is multiplying redemption, or redemption increasing: if misery, sorrow, and anguish be multiplied, there is multiplied redemption also. Then know it, if you know your own souls; you see it, if you see your own lives, that it is new sins, new corruptions prevailing with you. But here is the comfort of the soul, as sin increaseth, so mercy increaseth; as corruption multiplies, so redemption multiplies: therefore he is called the Father of mercy; as who should say, he begets mercy, even a generation of mercies, from day to day; and it is a large generation of new mercies framed and made to encourage poor souls: therefore it is said, with the Lord there is a fountain of life. Look as it is with a fountain, there is not only water in it for the present, but it feeds several cocks and conduits; and though it runs out daily, it enlargeth itself daily: So with the Lord there is a fountain of life. If there be a fountain of death in thy soul, in regard of thy sins to kill thee; so a fountain in God to quicken thee. Hence it comes to pass that the Lord speaking of his mercy, calls it the exceeding riches of his mercy, Ephes. 2.7. I say, the Lord hath not only fullness of mercy, but he is rich in all his fullness; nay, he exceeds in all the riches of the fullness of his mercy. So that be we never so poor and beggarly, these sins increase, and those miseries increase; why yet though thou be a bankrupt in grace, yet the Lord is full of goodness, full of mercy; yea he exceeds in his fullness, to secure thy heart in all necessities: nay, our miseries and wants be great, yet haply thy fear is greater than all the rest; thy soul is troubled many times more with the fear of what will be, than with the feeling of what is already befallen thee: But now, how ever thy miseries be great, and thy fear exceeds all misery that can betide; yet mercy will remove and prevent those fears, and Christ will do more for thee, than thou canst fear will fall upon thee: Nay, a man doth not fear what misery can befall upon him, but his heart may imagine more than he doth fear. But here is the fullness of mercy, mercy full to the brim, and running over; mercy is able to do more for thee, than thou canst fear or conceive shall come upon thee. Ephes. 3.20. then saith the Lord, exceeding excess, abundantly above that we can ask or think. So then the words run thus, then wind up the point, Thou seest, thou findest, thou feelest, many sorrows now assailing thee, thou expectest more trouble to befall thee, and thou dost conceive more than thou dost fear; thy sorrows outbid thy heart, thy fears outbid thy sorrows, and thy thoughts go beyond thy fears: and yet here is the comfort of a poor soul, in all his misery and wretchedness, the mercy of the Lord out-bids all these whatsoever may, can or shall befall thee. Gather then up briefly, and shut up this first passage. Many are the sorrows of the righteous, guilt of sin perplexing the sinner, and filthiness of sins tyrannising and domineering over the soul; nay, many fears and cares for future times: for a sinner saith, Sometimes my condition is marvellous poor, my estate marvellous miserable; what if small temptations, what if small corruptions, what if such a fall should betide me, what then shall become of my soul? Nay, a man's imagination exceeds all fears. The soul that thinks with itself, Should the Lord deal in justice, and should my sins get the victory over me, which I hope will never be, for what shall I then do for succour? yet this is the comfort of a poor soul, let it read this lesson, The Lord is able, and mercy can do excessive, exceeding abundantly above all, thy sorrows are abundant, thy fears are very abundant, thy imaginations are excessive, exceeding abundant, exceeding above all present sorrows, above all future fear, and above the course of all imaginations. This discourse shall serve for the first passage. We will now add the second. The soul is not yet fully satisfied, but replies, It is true, there is bread enough in my Father's house; that I yield, and that I confess; there is abundance of mercy in God, a world of mercy that pardoned Manasses, and saved Saul, but what is that to me, if there be bread enough in my Father's house, and I starve for hunger, and get no benefit by this mercy of God? But how shall a man starve in this mercy? if a way can be conceived, and a means can be propounded for another supply to the soul, to fill up the necessity of it, this will be seen in the next particular; I say herein appears more fullness of mercy. It is not only sufficient to relieve a man in all the miseries that can befall him, but this is another thing considered: mercy is able to make thee partake in the same mercy: God doth not leave thee to thyself, that thou shouldest buy it, and purchase it; and buy it, and procure it: but mercy is able to suffice thy soul, that thou mayst be refreshed thereby. This is the tenor of mercy: God requires of a man that he should believe: now mercy doth help to perform the duty commanded. The Lord, as he requires the condition of thee, so he worketh the condition in thee: he makes thee believe that thou shalt be saved, as there is fullness of grace in himself to do thee good, if thou dost receive the same: this is the difference between the two Covenants, the Covenant of works, and the Covenant of grace. The first covenant runs, Adam shall do and live: now it stood upon the use and abuse of his free will, either to do the will of God, and be blessed; or to break the law, and be cursed: it was in his power to receive the life: and thus either by breach or not doing the condition required, Adam must perform. But it is not so here: the Lord in deed requires a condition: no man can be saved but he must believe: but here is the privilege, that the Lord as he makes this condition with the soul, so also he keepeth us in performing the condition, for the Lord he requires that the soul should rest upon him, and he make him also to do it: he requires the soul to cleave unto him. Ezek. 36.26, 27. There is the tenor of this covenant, A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will take away your stony heart, and give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes: Or if they will walk in my ways, out of thine own power, than I will vouchsafe this mercy and favour. Now the Lord requires this condition, and works it also in his children; he requires this of them, and he works this in them, for their everlasting good; as Heb. 8.9. the Lord saith, This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel; I writ my laws in their hearts, and they shall not need to be taught. Men must know God, and believe in the Lord. Now as the Lord requires this, as the condition of the covenant; so the Lord will work this in them, as he requires this of them. john 1.12. the text saith, To them that believe, he gave them power to be the sons of God. Now if a man will believe, he shall be saved. Now than he makes a man believe that he may be a son. This is the second passage whereby the soul of a sinner comes to be cheered: or that there is not only abundance of sufficiency in the Lord Jesus Christ; but that mercy, as it is able to do him good, so it will make him partaker of the good. The third particular is this, That as mercy hath all good, and will make us partakers of what it hath; so also it will dispose of us, and of that it bestoweth upon us. Mercy will not only have a sinner, but it will rule and order that grace it hath bestowed upon the soul. For if mercy purchase a soul at so high a rate, as the blood of the Lord Jesus; it is right that the soul purchased by grace, and supplied with grace, that mercy should dispose it for the honour of God. You are not your own, saith the Apostle, but bought with a price; therefore you must glorify the Lord in body and soul. Nay, it is not only right that mercy should do it; but reason, and beneficial to the soul, that mercy should do thus. Nay, I say, unless that mercy should rule a man, he had not been able to give full content to the soul. If the Lord should leave any poor soul to the destiny of his own heart, and the malice of Satan, he would run to ruin presently: he is not able to supply his own wants and to dispose of his own spirit, and employ aright his own soul. For if Adam in his innocency, had a stock in his own hands, fell and perished: then if mercy should put a man into the same estate that Adam was, a man should bring himself into the same misery that Adam was brought into: but there is that fullness of that mercy, that is in Christ that it will bestow all good needful for me; so also, it will dispose of that good in me, so that Satan shall never prevail, the world shall never overcome, nor my corruptions bear sway in me; but the Lord shall rule me for ever: and this is the fullness of God's mercy. Gather up the point then, that we may see what we must learn. There is sufficiency in mercy to supply all wants: nay, there is ability in mercy to communicate that it hath, and we stand in need of. Nay, mercy will preserve us; and that it giveth to us, against all oppositions that can befall thee. This is the lesson that the soul must learn, that it may be able in some measure to see the way, and learn the path that leadeth to everlasting happiness. This is the first lesson that the soul must learn of God the Father. Vset. For the use of this. Is this the lesson the soul must learn? then look wisely upon it; and when this comes upon thee, and sorrow assails thee heavily, do not look into the black book of conscience, and think there to find supply; neither look into the book of the privileges and performances, and think to find power out of thy own sufficiency: Look not on thy sins to poor upon them, whereby thou shalt be discouraged; neither look into thy own sufficiency, thinking thereby to procure any thing to thyself. These are but lessons of the lower form. It is true, thou must see thy sins, and sorrow for them; but this is for the lower form, and thou must get this lesson beforehand: and when thou hast gotten this lesson of contrition and humiliation, look only to God's mercy, and the riches of his grace; and be sure as you take out this lesson, take it not out by halves, for than you wrong mercy, and yourselves too, if you think that bare works will serve, and that is all. No, no, mercy will rule you, therefore take all the lesson out, and then the heart will be cheered, and thy soul in some measure enabled to come on to the Lord, and will see some glimpses of consolation from the Spirit. Quest. 2 We see the lesson, what must be learned: now we must see the reason why the Lord must teach this lesson. Answ. I answer, It is not appropriated to the Father alone, for the Father teaches not alone; but the Son and the holy Ghost teach too. But why then doth the Text give it to the Father? Here I answer directly, because the Father was directly offended with the sin of man. 1 john 1.7. If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ, to plead for us with the Father. He doth not say, we take an advocate with an advocate, that doth not plead with himself: the reason is, God the Father was directly offended; though all the persons in the Trinity were offended, yet the Father more directly. Now he that is directly offended, favour and mercy must come from him, to the party that doth offend: and that is the reason why Christ especially cast this upon the Father. Take a creditor that hath money, or creditors that are bankrupts; now this is no means to help and secure these men: but it lieth upon the creditor that oweth the debt, for he only it is must come to forgive the debts: for it is here God the Father, being directly offended by the son of man, therefore from him in the first place, must proceed the pardon, and mercy to the son of man. Hence it comes to pass, that the text saith, the Father must teach this lesson. Quest. 3 The third question is this, After what manner doth the Lord teach the soul? Christ speaks now of the work of the Spirit: and that you may not be mistaken, know this, that the work of the Spirit doth always go with, and is communicated by the word; therefore if the question be, After what manner doth God teach the soul to spell out this lecture of mercy and pardon? Answ. I answer briefly, The Lord teacheth the soul by his Spirit. I told you that before, that not only the Father, but the Son and holy Ghost also teacheth: the Father from himself, the Son from the Father, and the holy Ghost from both: Therefore understand what I say, the Spirit of the Lord doth not only in the general, make known God's mercy; but doth in particular, with strength of evidence, present to the broken hearted sinner the right of the freeness of God's grace to the soul; nay, it holds those special considerations to the heart, and prefen●eth the heart with them: not only so, but in the second place, the Spirit doth forcibly soak in the re●●ish of that grace into the heart, and by the over-piercing work, doth leave some dint of supernatural and spiritual virtue on the heart. The Spirit doth not only with truth bring home the evidence to the heart, but it i● st●ll whispering, and calling, and making known the same, and forcibly soaketh in the relish of the freeness of God's grace, and leaveth a dint of supernatural virtue upon the soul. We will express the points, because it is somewhat difficult, and is the scope of that place, 2 Tim. 1.7. The Lord hath not given you the spirit of fear, but of a sound mind. The spirit of fear, is the spirit of bondage, in humiliation & contrition. When the Spirit showeth a man his sins, and showeth him that he is in bondage, and in fetters, let's him get out how he can: this is the spirit of fear and of bondage. In the second place, there is the spirit of power. But what is this spirit of power? You must imagine this spirit of power doth not intimate any particular grace, but as it were the sinews and strength of the work of the Spirit, conveying itself through the frame of the heart and this I term to be the effectual work of the Spirit of God. When the soul is humbled, the Lord sweetly communicates into the soul a supernatural and spiritual virtue. Lastly, as it is in nature, take a knife, if it be rubbed on a Loadstone, it will draw iron unto it; now it cannot do that, because it is a knife, but because it is rubbed on a stone, and receives virtue there from: So it is with a heart humbled, it is a fit subject for the grace of God to work upon: the love of God is like the loadstone, and if the heart he rubbed thereupon, and affected with the sweetness thereof, it will be able to close with that mercy, and come to that mercy, and go to God, from whence that mercy comes. Quest. 4 What is the behaviour of the soul, when it hath learned this lesson from the Lord? Answ. I answer, When these two things meet together in the soul, than it hath learned this lesson: The first is this, when the soul having heard of that plentiful redemption that is in Christ, as also having apprehended the revelation thereof; it cometh to close with the work of the Spirit, revealing, presenting, and offering grace to the heart: nay, it comes to give entertainment to he riches of that mercy revealed to the soul. There is in the mercy of God, and in the blessed truth of the promises, a great excellency. Now when this is so plentifully brought home to the heart, that it breaks through all oppositions, which may hinder the work of the Spirit upon the soul, when it is brought home by the spirit of God; and the heart gives way, and closes with it, so that there is nothing between that and the soul; this I take to be the first frame of the soul, that begins to learn this lesson, it begins to close to the truth, to give way to the sweetness that is in it, and bids adieu to all delight and sins, and whatsoever may be a hindrance unto it, from receiving of this grace into the soul. This is the first passage. The second, with which I will conclude is this, that as the soul closeth with that mercy, and welcommeth it, and the heart is content to take up mercy upon those terms: so in the second place, there is an impression and disposition left upon the soul, that it is framed and disposed; there is a kind of print which the soul hath with it; so that as the mercy of God is revealed to the soul, and communicated to the soul; so there is a kind of impression, frame, and print, which the heart retaineth, and hath wrought upon it by this grace and free favour of God made known: therefore that phrase, Rom. 6.17. is a marvellous pattern to our purpose; the Text saith, they were delivered to this form of doctrine. Look as it is with a seal, if the seal be set to the wax, and leave an impression, just so many letters upon the wax as in the seal, than it is wholly sealed: So the Spirit of God through Christ, in the promises, doth reveal all the freeness and grace of mercy in Christ. Now when the Spirit doth leave an impression on the soul, that man is delivered into the truth. I conclude all in Acts 26.18. when Saul was sent to preach to the Gentiles, the Text saith, he was but to bring them out of darkness into light: mark, when the Lord doth come to work effectually upon the soul, he brings men from under the power of darkness: whereas the understanding was dark and blinded, when the Spirit comes, it turns it from the darkness and power of sin, unto the power of light and grace. Lastly, the power of the heart doth these two things: for not only some of the heart must be brought to God, but the whole heart: therefore in the precious promises of grace and savation, there is fullness of all good, to draw all the faculties of the soul unto the Lord; and therefore the faithfulness and the truth of God is mainly revealed in the promises; now that fits the understanding, and makes it look to God for pardon, for power, and mercy. As the promise is a true word, so it is a good word; this answers all the will and affections; there is a possibility in mercy to save a man: hope expects it; but then the soul must look only to Christ for mercy, desire, long for it, for that there is a certainty that a man shall have mercy if he can desire it; love doth welcome and delight in it, nay, the soul doth say, The Lord hath said, thou must be saved: nay, thou must look to Christ for mercy, it is no where else to be had: nay, if thou dost desire it, thou shalt have it; and then the Lord determines the point, it is done, mercy is thine; and then the will adds full consent, and says, Amen, Lord, let it be as thou hast said. Gather them up briefly. When the Spirit of God doth so clearly present mercy to the soul, and doth leave by the overpowering work thereof a supernatural work upon the soul, that the spirit closeth therewith, and receives the print and impression thereof: now the lesson is fully learned: this may suffice for the opening of the several things; now therefore we will address ourselves to gather the doctrines out of the Text. And first for the general, in that the Father is said to teach. Doct. That the teaching of the heart effectually is the proper task and work of God. It is not you that can teach yourselves, neither can all the means and friends under heaven do it; no, it is the work only of the Father. All these means and ministers are useful, but God is the chief master, and all these are but underling ushers to convey the mind of God unto us; but the master is God himself: it is the powerful operation of the Spirit that must do the soul good; all other means are but like the cane that conveyeth the voice; but the voice is the Lord. john 14.26. I will send the Comforter, and he shall teach you all things. And who is that? that is the Spirit of God. We speak to your outward ears, but it is the Spirit of God that must give you minds to discern, and spirits to embrace; that is the only work of the Spirit. We shall observe Matth. 11. towards the latter end, I thank thee Father, etc. how comes it to pass that the wise are befooled, and fools instructed? I thank thee Father, saith he, that thou hast revealed these things to babes and sucklings, and hast hid them from the wise. How comes this about? It is thy good will, Father. It is a wonder to see a silly creature, of weak capacity, and almost a fool, and yet he knoweth more of sanctification and faith, than many great Scholars. Take a rush candle, and a lamp, the lamp is a great deal bigger than the rush candle; yet the rush candle giveth light, and the lamp none, because the rush candle is lighted, & the lamp is not. So it is here, a Christian out of a blind dotage, and a mere simplician in other things, yet he will talk well of the free mercy of God, and the work of grace in his heart; when as many great wise men are novices in these things. Reason. 1 The reason is, because God hath lighted his candle from heaven, because the work is an Almighty work; it is not an easy matter to go to heaven: you must not say, What, have I lived thus long, and are we children still? Ah, children you are, and children you will dye, unless the Lord from heaven teach you; though all men and Angels teach you, the work will not go forward. 1 Cor. 4.6. the Text saith, The same God that brought light out of darkness, shineth in your hearts. We know, at the beginning of the world, when darkness was upon the deep, the Lord said, Let there be light: now that Almighty God that brought light out of darkness, which none else could do, why the same God shineth in your hearts, saith the text: unless the Lord say, Let there be light, the mind can never be enlightened, the soul can never be cheered, nor the conscience pacified. This is a ground of admirable comfort to all weak, silly, feeble minded creatures. I doubt not but your hearts are grieved, when you consider the marvellous ignorance which is in you, and how little you know concerning life and salvation, when the Lord hath laid line upon line, precept upon precept, and the heart sometimes covets and desires to entertain the same, the soul cometh to the congregation, and saith, Good Lord, let ●he word work upon my soul, enlighten my mind, awaken my conscience; and when the word comes thus home to the heart, the soul hopes that it sh●ll retain and remember it: but when it is gone, all falls to the ground, and the heart in private reasons thus with itself: What shall I say? when my heart approves of the word, and my soul closed with it, even then so soon as I come out of the Church, I forgot all: what a blind mind and a hard heart have I? can there be any grace or mercy conveyed to such a soul as mine? surely I shall one day perish. An ignorant heart is a naughty heart, a base wicked heart; my sins are many, my conditions fearful. Would you have any comfort? why then mark what I say, The Lord will teach; and if the Lord be the teacher, 'tis no matter what the scholar be. Reason thus with yourselves, My memory is weak, my capacity is small, my understanding feeble, but yet the Lord is my teacher; and if the Lord will inform, who can let it, but I shall be informed? Prov. 1.23. mark what the Text saith, Return you simple ones, you scorners, and fools, and follow me, and I will learn you wisdom. This may move you to depend upon God, in the use of the means: the soul may say, I am simple, and I have been a scorner too, and that is a great misery, and therefore no marvel if God blind my mind, and harden my heart for I have been a scorner, and can any good come unto me? can such a soul receive grace and wisdom? Why? Ah, saith Wisdom, come unto me, and I will pour abundance of wisdom upon you. Sec ndly, if it be the work of God, then go to him, for it is a comfort to go to a father: when therefore the means are received, and God gives a heart to improve them, then come not to the congregation, but to God: and when the Minister reproves, say, Father, set home that reproof to my soul and conscience, dost thou reprove, father? and when the Minister exhorts, and informs thee daily, the argument from the Scripture plain; when the Minister is thus exhorting, and you cannot come off clearly, look up to heaven, exhort Father, teach Father: the Minister he speaks to thee, but Father inform us, but Father seal to us the assurance of thy love in Christ. All you that hear me this day, and come, and bringest thine with thee, and comest with thy family into the congregation, look up to thy God, and say, Lord, here is a vain rude servant, a silly wife, and a weak foolish child, and I am as base and blind as any of them, and all the Ministers under heaven, and all the Angels in heaven, cannot teach and inform us, but do thou teach us, and work upon our minds, and frame our hearts, that we may know the things belonging to our peace. But thou wilt say, Alas we have come, and looked up to God, but we thrive and prosper not for all this, we receive not that help and instruction from him, which he first promised, and we stand in need of. Why, I say, the fault is thine own, the Lord is not wanting to his own word, but thou art wanting to thy own comfort. But how then shall we so carry and order ourselves, that we may seek God so, as we may partake of that good we desire and stand in need of? I answer, These four means are very useful for this purpose. First, labour to lay thy own conceitedness and abilities down, and all thy carnal imaginations, that shut out the truth of God, and are professedly opposed to the obedience of Christ: if thou leanest on thy own wisdom, and bearest up thyself on thy own abilities, thou wilt never have direction from God, and thou shalt never be taught by him, if thou thyself can teach thyself: therefore down with those haughty imaginations, in regard of thy own parts and abilities, if thou hopest that God shall guide thee, and learn thee in the way of truth. Therefore let every one be a fool, that he may be wise: when thou art a fool in thyself, than God will inform thee, when thou canst lay down all thy own conceits, and captivate all thy carnal reasons, than thou art like to be taught of the Lord: But before, these hinder the Lord from informing thee in the way of truth. He that sets up his own wit above the wisdom of the Lord, he shall never be exalted by the Lord of heaven. This I take to be the reason why some men of deep reaches, and of great understandings, are marvellously besotted in a christian course, & in the way of life & salvation. The reason is, because they trust to their own wisdom, and rely upon the arm of flesh, and upon their own policy, and upon the depth of their own understandings; and that is the reason why the Lord leaves them to their foolish imaginations: and as the Text saith to the Romans, when they thought themselves wise, they became fools. james 5. at the beginning; If any man want wisdom, let him ask of the Lord. The word in the Original is, if any man be like a beggar, that beggeth up and down for bread when he is hungry: for if thou be'st empty of thyself, and a beggar in thine own apprehension; if thou dost lay down all they conceit of thy own wisdom, than the Lord will give thee wisdom abundantly. Reason. 2 Secondly, do what thou knowest, and then the Lord will inform thee much more, in what thou shouldest do; improve that little spark and knowledge thou hast, and then the Lord will increase that knowledge of thine. Gen. 18.19. when God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Why, saith he, shall I hide this thing from my servant Abraham? The end God teaches a man, is, to improve his knowledge; and when God hath taught him one lesson perfectly, than the Lord will teach him another presently. When thou hearest the word, do that duty which God commands, reform that sin, and amend that course which God forbids, and he will teach thee abundantly. job 7.12. he that doth God's will, the Lord will instruct that man. The master of a family will not give a man fire and candle, to sit up and do no work by it, it will not quit cost. Wisdom and knowledge is the candle of God; if thou wilt walk by this light, and walk by this candle, the Lord will increase thy knowledge, till thou art become a perfect Christian. Reason. 3 Thirdly, we must not only do what we know, but must be marvellous painful, and study and endeavour to the uttermost of our power to get knowledge: do not make it only a holy day task, but labour continually in the use of all means for to get knowledge. You come here to the congregation, and attend to the word, you do well; but very few that will make this your task and study at home, to furnish his heart with spiritual understanding. It is a shame that a man should always be fed with a spoon, and hold the spoon in his mouth, as children use to do; that is to go and come to the congregation, and get little or nothing. Hos. 2.3. When you labour more and more, pray more hearty, study more diligently, be thinking men, and meditating men, and chewing men, setting themselves upon the truth; till this, I never look that they should come to any saving or judicious knowledge of life and salvation. Reason. 4 Last means, take heed of bearing any secret grudge against any word and truth of God, be it never so cross to thy corruptions: if you do, the Lord in stead of directing you, will delude you; and in stead of informing you, will besot you, and give you over to blind minds, and hard hearts. This we know by experience, men of great knowledge, great parts, and abilities, are taken aside with dotage, and fall into those errors, which a man would wonder how a man of judgement should fall into. The reason is, they will not entertain the truth of the Lord, Rom. 1.28. as who should say, Oh, this strict way, and this teaching, preaching, and the thundering of judgements, we cannot bear them, we cannot undergo them, we have no delight to these: take heed lest the Lord say, Blindness take him, hardness take him, reprobate sense, let him never entertain the word of God to inform him, let him never know the wisdom of God to his comfort here, and everlasting happiness hereafter. Use 3 In the third place, doth the Father teach you? acknowledge you have it as from God, labour so to improve this wisdom, that God may get something by it: you are but stewards of it, and therefore you must improve it for his advantage: as the steward that receives money from his master, etc. so hath the Lord given thee a stock of wisdom, and hath cleared that eye, and that judgement of thine, use it to his glory. Therefore do not lift up thyself, in regard of thine own parts, and sufficiency; but if you find your hearts to swell, and rise within you, (for knowledge is a very airy metal, as the Apostle saith, it puffs up a man) therefore when thou findest thy heart thus bubbling with those cursed distempers, reason thus, Why should I be proud of a borrowed suit? my mind was as blind as any under heaven, therefore let baseness be mine, let wisdom be the Lords, Gal. 5. The apprentice that is taught by his master, must not presently trade for himself, but he works for his master, and gives him the commodity: so let us do; we are Gods scholars and apprentices; we are now come into his school. Hath the Lord taught thee any skill in prayer, any wisdom to conceive? do not work now for yourselves, do not set up presently, but labour to return all to him, and to make the Lord partaker of the good he hath bestowed upon thee. Thus much in general, that the Lord is the author of this teaching: but now we come to particulars, to see how the Spirit in special manner doth this. This I tell you, that the whole soul must come to God: For as the whole soul in this gracious call of God, both the mind that discovers that mercy, and hope, and desire, and love, and joy, have bad entertaining thereof; and the will, which is the great wheel of the soul, that falls on that mercy, and rests thereupon, and gives answer to the call of God therein. Give me leave to propound two things by way of preface, for the clearing of the following truths; they will be as a key to open the door to all the following discourse. Thing. 1 First, those faculties of the soul, which especially go out to God, and carry the soul thereunto, are especially to be considered, in this great work of going unto God, and believing in him. Now there are two things in the work, some evil, and some good: the evil to be refused, the good to be embraced. Now answerably to these 2. things, the Lord hath placed in the soul of a man two sorts of feet; some feet carry the soul from evil, some feet again carry the soul towards good. Now the affections of the soul, that do respect evil, are especially three, if any evil be coming; first, fear is a watchman, and the heart trembles, and shakes, and gives in. Hence comes paleness in the face, because fear goes down into the very castle of a man, which is the heart; and then sorrow grieves and mourns, and laments under the weight of that evil, we fear evil to come, but we sorrow for evil that is come. Thirdly hatred, that carries itself with a kind of indignation, and takes up arms against that evil, fear is preventing, sorrow feeling, hatred opposing any evil that comes. Now these three affections that go from evil, have been wrought upon in contrition, and humiliation, namely, when the Lord the eye of a poor sinner, discovers unto him that hell is gaping for him, and the God of justice preparing vengeance for him, the soul staggers and shrinks in the apprehension of it; then the Lord lets in the fire of indignation into the soul, and makes the soul feel that before he threatened, and then the soul grieves; and because his sins have been so tedious unto him, his heart is brought to a hatred and indignation against those evils. So that if any evil, or provocation, or temptation come to a soul broken, if the old lose companions, old corruptions, old swearing, old blaspheming, old dalliances come to call upon the soul, let us have our fill of love until the morning, let us take up our old delights; when these call the soul, and would pluck the soul home again unto them, than these four fence the soul against all those enchantments; in so much that when the drunkard seethe his company coming towards him, he thinks, that is my plague, that is the man, and his persuasions and counsels; he remembers his old corruptions, and his old horrors, and his old burdens and heavy loads that lay upon his heart; and the soul hates the drunkard, and will not yield to his persuasions, they so fence the way, that the voice of sin cannot be heard; it may call, and call, but the door is shut, they stop the currant, that no stream of distempers may prevail any more: this now is done before: so that now we come to the second work. So there are other affections that carry the soul unto good, if there be any good propounded, or offered, then there are four other affections that the will sends out to entertain that good: hope and desire look for the good that is absent: hope saith, I marvel it comes not: desire saith, I long after it: when the goodness is near, than love welcomes it, and delights in it, and joy rejoiceth, and all these, hope, desire, love, and joy, all bring, carry and convey all the good to the will, which is the great commander of the soul: Love and joy tell the will, We have found much goodness, and taken great delight, and much content in the goodness and mercy of the Lord. The truth is, we have taken delight in sin and base courses; but oh the comfort, but oh the consolation and goodness of mercy; you cannot have a better good than mercy. Then saith the will, We will have grace & mercy, we will rest here. Thus we see how the head and the foot of the affections do come on to embrace that good: now the understanding doth stand sentinel all the while, and discovers all the good, and musters up hope and desire, and love and joy, and these four are the main we must meddle with; all the other went from evil, and they have their proper work before: we do not hate and sorrow for mercy, we do not fear to receive mercy, but we fear and withdraw ourselves from sin and corruptions, that we may entertain the call of mercy. Thing. 2 There is the promise of grace and mercy in Christ, a fullness of mercy, which doth so powerfully and effectually draw the soul by this good, that it brings all these affections after it. Therefore in this fullness of mercy and goodness of God, there are these particulars; that like so many clasps, draw all these faculties to God, to follow and close with God for their good. The promise is a true one, and truth is that which marvellously pleaseth the understanding: as a man's palate tastes meat, so the understanding tastes words. There is nothing so pleasing to the understanding, as the truth of God. Now of all truth, there is none like the truth of a promise; therefore the evidence of it doth clear the judgement, and the certainty of it, doth establish the judgement of a poor sinner, Eph. 1.13. The promise of God is a good word, Heb. 6.5. therefore as the truth of the Gospel fills the understanding; so there is a goodness in the promise of grace and mercy, which will answer all, and satisfy all the faculties of the soul, as in the good word of the Lord: mercy is a proper object of hope, that it may be sustained; a proper object of desire, that it may be supported; there is a proper object for a man's love and delight, that they may be cheered: nay, there is a full satisfactory sufficiency of all good in the Gospel, that so the will of a man may take full repose and rest therein. Therefore the Lord saith, Come unto me, all that are weary and heavy laden: come hope, and desire, and love, and will, and heart; they answer, We come: all the mind saith, Let me know this mercy above all, and desire to know nothing but Christ and him crucified: let me expect this mercy, saith hope, that belongs to me, and will befall me: desire saith, Let me long after it; nay, saith love, let me embrace and welcome it: let me delight in it (saith joy) nay, saith the heart, let me lay hold on the handle of salvation, here we will live, and here we will dye at the footstool of God's mercy: thus all go; mind, hope, desire, love, joy, the will, and all lay hold upon the promise, and say, Let us make the promise a prey, let us pray upon mercy, as the wild beasts do upon their provision. Thus the faculties of the soul hunt and pursue this mercy, and lay hold thereupon, and satisfy themselves herein. Hence we will raise these two points. Doct. 1 That the word of the Gospel, and the word of the Spirit go both together; this is grounded in the Text, they must first hear, then learn, hear the Gospel, and learn by the Spirit. Doct. 2 That God's Spirit gives special notice of God's acceptance to an enlightened soul, and that is the first voice of the Spirit to the understanding. Now to the first doctrine. Doct. 1 The word of the Gospel and the work of the Spirit always go together; the point is grounded in the Text, after this manner: they must first hear, then learn; hear by the word, and learn by the Spirit. The hearing of the Gospel without the Spirit, is nothing else but a beating of the air, and a dead letter. It is true, the Lord can work above means: we know also God can appoint other means for to call the soul, but it is not our meaning, we must not look for revelations and dreams, as a company of fantastical brains do; but in common course God's Spirit goes with the Gospel, and that is the ordinary means whereby the soul comes to be called. God can make the air nourish a man, but he doth not. If a man should expect to be fed by miracle, he himself would be a miracle; Gal. 3.2. for there goes a spiritual power with it, it raiseth the dead in sin to life; it is a living word, and the word discovers also the secrets of men's thoughts. Now that word which raiseth the dead, and discovers the secrets of men's hearts, it must needs have a marvellous power with it, and accompanying of it. For the opening of it, observe two things: first, the manner; secondly, the reasons. Point. 1 After what manner doth the word and Spirit go together? and you must know, I do not mean that the Spirit is in the word, no otherwise than in all other things, but in a more special manner, and that conceive in three things. First, the Lord hath ordained and set apart the preaching of the word, he hath sanctified it, and set it apart to call the soul. Look as it is with the brazen Serpent, God appointed it to heal those that were stung now if 500 men should have made another Serpent, it could not have healed one man, though they had looked their eyes out of their heads: So it is with the Gospel, there is no other usual means to call the soul: Hence it is casted the word of the Gospel. Now if five hundred men make five hundred Gospels besides this, they could never convert, or comfort one soul. Or as it is with a mint, if a mint master coin money, it will go currant; but if twenty other coin money, though the stamp were as good, yet it is but counterfeit coin: so it is here. 1 Cor. 1.21. Let a man study all the arts and tongues that can be devised, he never shall, nay he never can, know one drop of God's mercy and goodness in Christ. Why but how then may a man know it? saith the Text, by the foolishness of preaching, that is, wicked men count it foolishness. The Lord doth appropriate the saving work of his Spirit to go with the ordinance; not that God is tied to any means, but he tieth himself to this means. Why doth not air nourish all, as well as meat? because only God hath set meat apart for this purpose. Hence this Gospel is called the power of God to salvation, because the power of God ordinarily, and in common course appears therein: the waters of life and salvation run only in the channel of the Gospel. There are golden mines of grace, but they are only to be found in the climates of the Gospel. Nay, observe this, when all arguments prevail not with corruption, to persuade the heart to go to God, one Text of Scripture will stand a man in stead, above all humane learning and inventions, because the Spirit goes forth in this, and none else. God doth undoubtedly, as he will, when he will, and how he will, give success to his ordinance. Isay 55.10, 11. The word of the Lord doth ever accomplish that for which it is sent. For, it is true, many a man is called after the word is delivered a long time. Why is that? it soaks into the soul, as the snow in December soaks into the earth, but the fruit of it is not seen until May. The word is a savour of life unto life, it is a living savour of death to death, it is a poison, a deadly savour; and though it hardens some, yet the work goes forward. Reason. 1 Because the Lord would not have any careless of his own glory, and our good: as he will humble the soul, that he may do good to it, so he will make him use the means. If a gentleman should go after a beggar with an alms, how proud would he be, and rather think himself a master than a beggar? So, if God should follow us with mercy, we would rather go from him: but he hath laid mercy in the mine of the Gospel, that we may dig for comfort in the cistern of the Gospel, that we may draw all our consolation from thence. Reason. 2 Because may not be cozened by our own fancies, the Lord to prevent all inconveniences and conceits of Eatonists and Familists, that think they have the power of the Spirit in themselves, whereas God's Spirit goes always with the word. 1 john 4.1. Every Minister preaches with a spirit; some out of the spirit of envy, some out of the spirit of sincerity: some hears out of the spirit of love, some with the spirit of malice, to carp at the Minister: try therefore the spirits, and if they hold not with the word, they are naught. Reason. 3 That we may be watchful and careful, lest we lose the comfort that we have: lightly come, lightly go, got with little pain, lost with less care; therefore the Lord will make us seek unto the means. Use. 1 Instruction: to teach us the worth of the Gospel above all other things in the world, for it is accompanied with the Spirit, and it brings salvation with it. What if a man had all the wealth, what if he had all the policy in the world, and wanted this? he were but a fool. What if one were able to dive deep into the secrets of nature, to know the motions of stars, and yet know nothing belongs to his peace, what avails it? what if a man could speak with the tongues of men and Angels, yet without this, he is a novice in knowledge. Why do we value a mine, but because of the gold in it? and the cabinet, but because of the pearl in it? oh this is that pearl we sell all for, 2 Cor. 2.1, 2. Use. 2 For trial: a man may know whether we have a spiritual heart or no: judg. 19 he that hath not the Spirit, is a fleshly sensual man. Wouldst thou know whether thou art carnal or spiritual? this doctrine tells thee. How came the Spirit? If thou hast it, it ever came with the Gospel: therefore see now how thy soul stands affected with the Gospel, and so it stands affected to the Spirit. If thou wilt none of the Gospel, thou wilt miss of the Spirit, than Christ will none of thee. Now reason with your own souls, Why, unless I take the Spirit, woe be to me, I may own myself, Christ will never own me. Is it so, that I will not suffer the word to prevail with me? remember the time will come that you must dye as well as your neighbours, and then you will say, Lord Jesus forgive my sins, Lord Jesus receive my soul: then Christ will say, Away, be gone, you are none of mine, I know you not. Any man, whether noble or honourable, let him be what he will be, and let his parts be what they will, if he hath not the Spirit, he is none of Christ's: his you are to whom you obey; but pride and covetousness you obey, and malice and spleen you obey, you are therefore none of Christ's. Pride will say, This heart is mine, Lord, I have domineered over it, and I will torment it: Corruptions will say, We have owned this soul, and we will damn it. You that heretofore have made a tush at the word, this wind shakes no corn, and these words break no bones: think what you have done; little do you think you have opposed the Spirit, Acts 7.5. what, resist the Spirit? Oh think of this. Why, what shall I say? by what spirit wilt thou be sanctified? by what spirit wilt thou be saved? Can thy own spirit save thee? no, the Spirit of God must save thee; and have you resisted that Spirit? me thinks it is enough to sink any soul under heaven. Hereafter therefore think this with thyself, were he but a man that speaks, yet I ought not to despise him: but that is not all, there goeth God's Spirit with the word, and shall I despise it? the Lord keep me from this: there is but one step between this and that unpardonable sin against the holy Ghost, only adding malice to thy rage; thou opposest thy Father, haply the Son mediates for thee; thou despisest the Son, haply the holy Ghost pleads for the: but if thou opposest the Spirit, none can secure thee, therefore look to it. Use. 3 Direction. Hence we may observe the ground why many of God's faithful people understand not that they have the Spirit of God, nor yet the increase of it; they look not to the promise by which it is conveyed, but to corruption by which it is hindered; you listen not to the verdict of the Gospel. Let every one ask this great question, How may I know when the Spirit is in me? That you know it not, the fault is your own; look into the word. It is with a poor soul, as with little children; the child in the night being hungry, seeks for the dug, but if he doth not lay hold of it, he gets no good b● it; so thou hast been a long time muzzling about a dry chip, and hast got no comfort. Be sure therefore to lay hold upon the promise, hold it, and thy spirit shall be filled with marrow and fatness. If there be marrow in a bone, thou must break it before thou canst get any out. So it is with the promises; they are full of sweetness, but you must chew them, break them, and bestow thy heart on them. An Alchemist that distils oil, doth draw out the spirit of metals, but it is by distillation: so it is with the promises, they are excellent metal, there is a great deal of comfort in them, but if you will have benefit by them, you must distil them by meditation. Obt. I, but some souls may say, We have done thus often, but yet return as empty as before. Answ. I answer, You should have stayed longer upon the promise, it must not be at your carving and disposing: in reason, a man must swallow his pills, and eat his cordials; but we should do the contrary, we should chew the promises, and that is done by meditating on them: but we swallow the precious promises of Christ that should comfort us, therefore chew them, if you desire comfort, over and over again; eat these daily, and you shall find much comfort and consolation therein, and benefit thereby. Use. 4 Terror: we may see the hopeless condition of those men that live under the Gospel, and their hearts are not wrought upon them. If the Spirit of God, and the Gospel of God, will not work upon thee: if thou hast the eye of a man about thee, thou mayst see thy woeful and lamentable condition. If a bungling servant cannot tell how to hue a piece of wood for a building, it is no marvel; but if it be such a piece, that the master Carpenter cannot make it fit for the building, than it is good for nothing but to be burned: So it is here with the soul, if the Spirit of God can do thee no good, who can? if we, a company of bunglers, cannot do it, no marvel; but if our master Christ, if he takes a stubborn sturdy heart in hand, and cannot do it, it is fit to be damned. Is not that man miserably ignorant, that wisdom itself cannot make wise? is not he sick of sin, whom the Gospel cannot cure? 1 Cor. 4.3. I desire those whose conscience to this day accuse them that yet they are blind, and those that brave it out, and say, Shall I fear the face of a man? no, no, I scorn it; I beseech you let me deal with you, do not brave it out so, for it is the greatest misery under the Sun, for thou dost as good as to say, thou wilt not have the word of God to work upon thee. james 1.21. The word of God is able to save thee, and to sanctify thee, and art thou yet polluted and defiled? Oh, take heed of it, go and be move thy soul to the Lord, and say, Good Lord, such a drunkard thou hast met with, such a proud heart thou hast humbled, and such a stubborn heart thou hast plucked upon his knees; and if drunkards be humbled, if the ignorant be instructed, than what a cursed heart have I, that was lose and vile, and base and profane before, and so I am now. I tell thee, what can you think of yourselves? if the Spirit go with the word, and thou mock at it, thy condition is lamentable. Use 5 Exhortation: Then you are to be entreated, in the bowels of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ever you hear the word of the Lord, and the Gospel of God, you must come trembling, and submit to that good word, Exod. 23. When ever the word of the Lord is revealed, the Spirit of God, blessed for ever, is there accompanying of it, therefore good reason the creature should submit to the Creator. We speak not a word for ourselves, we preach the good word of the Lord; and how ever ourselves have spoken this, if you oppose it, know it, that it is the Lords word: therefore when you hear the word, do what you will with us, only submit to the word of the Lord; do what you please with us (as jeremy saith) only embrace the word of the Lord. It is God's word, therefore take heed of opposing and gainsaying it, labour to awe your souls, to settle all distempers, wipe out all carping and cavilling at the word, as they press in upon thee. Obt. But how shall we bring our souls to do this? Answ. By considering these two or three means. Labour not only to have thy soul convicted, that the holy Ghost is there accompanying the word, as it doth, (or else how could it reveal thy sins?) but also persuade thy heart that it is so, apprehend the power of the Spirit of God; for as we apprehend the Spirit of the Lord to be in the word, so much the word will work upon thee; as it was with the Israelites, 1 Sam. 8.19. compared with 1 Sam. 12.18. What is the reason they do so at the one, and not at the other? why, did they fear the one more than the other? because they apprehended God to be in the one, and not in the other. Confess and know, that not one word of God shall fall to the ground: there thou hast heard, if a man did hear thunder, and knew it would fall upon him, it would awe him. The word of the Lord is as thunder from heaven, it is not the word of man, but of God; then consider, shall not the word fail? then the word that God hath spoken shall fall upon me. Consider, that when judgement hits, it is irrecoverable. If a man knew, that although judgement came, it would not hit him, if it did hit him, he might recover, this would comfort him a little; but if thou dost not stoop, it will hit, and that irrecoverably; therefore labour to tremble at God's word. We come now to see how the Lord works upon the soul. First, he lets a light into the mind, for what the eye never seethe, the heart never desireth, hope never expects, that joy never delights in, that the soul never embraceth; but the soul hangs a fare off, and dares not believe that Christ will have mercy upon him; God is a just God, and he a vile sinner, therefore God will never cast the eye of pity and compassion upon him, therefore the Spirit lets in a light into his heart, and discovers unto him, that God will deal graciously with him, and do good unto him. Doct. 1 Hence, That the Spirit of the Lord gives special notice of God's acceptance to the soul truly humbled. Mercy is generally propounded to the soul in the Gospel, but there is a special bringing home of mercy to the soul by the Spirit, that he strikes through the bargain. There is many a chapman passeth by the stall, and seethe the meat, and the commodity lie, that is tendered him, and follows him home to his house, if he purpose to sell: so it is not enough to tender mercy, and offer grace and salvation by the Gospel, for this we often do, and you will not once look at them, but cast them away, and no man buyeth them; but if the Spirit of God takes them in hand, he will strike the bargain through, he will follow thee home to thy house, to thy closet, to thy heart, he will woo thee, be thou never so coy, be thou never so stubborn, be thou never so wayward, the Lord will bring thee to give entertainment to the Lord Jesus, and to God's mercy, in and through him, 1 john 5.20. as if he had said, A man of himself hath no mind, no understanding to conceive of the Lord Jesus, and of the freeness of God's mercy in Christ, but Christ hath given us this mind, he hath given an eye to the soul of a sinner, so that he cannot but take notice of the council holden in the high Court of Parliament, concerning his salvation. It is with a sinner, as it is with a man that sits in darkness, haply he seethe a light in the street out of a window, but he sits still in darkness, and is in the dungeon all the while, and thinks, how good were it, if a man might enjoy that light: So many a poor humble-hearted broken sinner, seethe and hath an inkling of God's mercies, he heareth the Saints speak of God's love, and his goodness, and compassion; ah, thinks he, how happy are they, blessed are they, what an excellent condition are they in! but he is in darkness still, and never had a drop of mercy vouchsafed unto him: at last the Lord sets a light in his house, and puts the candle into his own hand, and makes him see by particular evidence, thou shalt be pardoned, and thou shalt be saved: this is particular notice. For the opening of the point, observe two things: 1. The manner how the Spirit doth it. 2. The reasons why the Spirit only can do it. For the first, the manner of the Spirits work, how the Lord doth give this notice, and how the candle comes to be lighted, and the glimpse of God's mercy comes in, as by so many crannies into the soul, it is discerned in three passages. Passage. 1 The Spirit of the Lord meeting with an humble, broken, lowly, selfe-denying sinner, for of him I speak: he that is a proud stout hearted wretch, God give him notice of his mercy? no, God will give him notice of something else, he shall have notice of judgements & hell fire: let him have that which belongs unto him, judgement to whom judgement belongeth: but I speak of an humbled sinner, through which he may be enabled, and by which he may be fitted to entertain the things of God. The natural man perceiveth not the things of God, neither can he; why? because they are spiritually discerned. So that there must be a spiritual light in him, before the soul can see spiritual things without, 1 Cor. 2.12. We have not received the spirit of the world, which is the spirit of ignorance and darkness, that possesseth all the world: the world lieth in darkness and in sin; there is the spirit of the Devil and terror in the minds of wicked men; but you have not received the spirit of the world to delude you and blind you, but you have received the Spirit of the Lord; as who should say, No man doth, no man can know the things of Gods free grace, rich mercy, boundless compassion in the Lord. No man can see these colours, unless he hath a spiritual eye, Revel. 3.18. No (saith God) ye are blind, etc. but I counsel thee to buy of me eyesalve, that thou mayst see: and now the humbled sinner gins to see, like the man in the Gospel, some light and glimmering about his understanding, that he can look into and discern the spiritual things of God. Passage. 2 Then the Lord lays before him all the riches of the treasures of his grace, the Spirit brings out of the store house, out of the bosom of God the Father, those tender mercies and compassions, which never yet saw the Sun, which neither men nor Angels ever dreamt of, and the Spirit doth communicate them to those that God hath let the spiritual light into: Ephes. 3.9. there they are called the unsearchable riches of God, and it is a very significant phrase, and the word implies such riches, as a man can never see a foot-step of them. God now doth as some Tradesmen do, he hath a deal of wares in his store-house, but the buyer and passenger seethe not those, but only them that are set out upon the stall: so it is with the Lord Jesus; he doth present unto the view of the understanding of the mind enlightened, all those conceivable incomprehensible treasures of his mercy in the Lord Jesus. If a man have no eye, he cannot see; if he have an eye, and have no object, nor colours before him, he cannot see; first therefore the Lord gives an eye to the humbled heart; and when he hath given him an eye, than he lays colours before him, that he may see and look, and fall in love with the treasures of mercy and compassion, 2 Cor. 3. the four last verses, the Text saith, The veil of blindness is taken from our minds, and then the faithful Soul beholds, as in a glass, all the grace and mercy, and compassion that God layeth before him in Christ; the humbled sinner hath now gotten an eye, and some spiritual eyesight, that the Lord hath brought within his view, all the riches and treasures of the Lord Jesus Christ: and the Soul saith, oh, that mercy, and grace, and pardon were mine: Oh, that my sins were done away. The Lord saith, I will refresh them that are heavy laden: Oh, that I had that refreshing, saith the Soul; You shall have rest, saith God: Oh, that I had rest too, saith the soul: Now the Soul beginneth to look after the mercy and compassion which is laid before it. Passage. 3 The Spirit of the Lord doth witness or certify, throughly and effectually to the Soul, that this mercy belongs to him: that is the upshot of the notice God gives to the Soul. The third stroke of the Spirit, strikes through the bargain, and makes the understanding close with that grace and mercy, set forth unto it; and without this the Soul of an humble broken hearted sinner hath no ground to go upon. Believing in Scripture is called coming. Now no man can go without some ground; now this is the ground, without which the Soul hath no bottom to bear it up, either to come to Christ, or persuade itself of mercy in Christ. What good doth it do any hungry stomach, to hear that there is a great deal of cheer, and dainties provided for such and such men; what is it to him, if he have them not? Take a beggar that hath a thousand pound told before him; he may apprehend the sum of so much gold, and so much silver; but what is that all to me, saith he, if in the mean time I die and starve? It falls out in this case with a broken hearted sinner, as with a prodigal child; the prodigal he hath spent his means, and abused his Father; the prodigal hath now much need, the famine is in the land, and poverty is befallen him, and he knows there was meat enough, and enough in his Father's house; but alas he can expect no kindness from his Father, but only his heavy displeasure: if any man should say, go to your Father, he will give you a portion of a hundred pounds again; do you think the prodigal would believe this? no, no, he would answer thus; haply my Father will imprison me, or send a Sergeant to arrest me, or an executioner to take away my life; it is my Father that I have offended, my portion I have spent, and his anger I have incensed; and what, will he receive me? no, I will never believe it. Indeed, had I been a good husband, I might have had his favour, and increased my estate, but I have lost his favour, my own estate, patrimony and all: but if a man should come and tell him now, that he heard his Father say so, and bring a certificate under his Father's hand that it was so, this would draw him into some hope, that his Father meant well towards him; so it is with the sinner, when he is apprehensive of all his rebellions, that he hath heaped up against God's mercy, and spirit and grace, by his declining from the truth: If a man should tell such a soul; go to God, he will give you a pension of a hundred thousand pounds a year, that is, he will give you abundance of mercy and compassion, the Soul cannot believe it, but thinks; what I mercy? no, no, blessed are they that walk humbly before God, and conform their lives answerable to God's word, let them take it, but the truth is, it is mercy I have opposed, it is grace that I have rejected, no mercy, no grace for me; you cannot woo the soul to be persuaded, for to think that there is mercy for him. But if God send a messenger from heaven, or if under the hand of his spirit, that he doth accept of him, and will do good to him, and pass by all former sins, and show favour to him; this makes the soul grow into some hope, this is the ground whereupon the soul goeth to the Lord. This the Lord performeth to the soul. That which David prays for, Psalm. 35.3. the Prophet was not contented that there was salvation in God's hand, he knew that God had a world of mercy, and salvation, and pardon lying by him; but David prays to God, Say unto my soul, thou art my salvation, testify it, speak it home, Lord, once more plainly, effectually and sensibly, there is salvation with thee. Paul was saved, and Abraham was saved; but what is that to me? say unto my soul, thy sins shall be pardoned, thine iniquities shall be forgiven, thy person accepted. Quest. But now the question grows on; But how shall a man discover this testification, and this witnessing of the spirit, to the heart of a humble broken hearted sinner, that these things are so? Answ. This third work of the spirit makes known itself in three particulars: Partic. 1 The spirit doth evidence to the soul, broken and humbled, That the soul hath an interest in this mercy, that it was appointed for it, and he hath to meddle with it; in reason, we may observe that a witness in a cause doth marvellously clear it, if he be wise and judicious; and the thing that before was doubtful, comes now to be apparent: as now in a point of Law, two men contend for land; now if an ancient wise man of some place, is called before the Judge at the Assizes, and he bears witness upon his knowledge, that such Lands have been in the possession of such a generation or family, for the space of many years; this is a special testification, that this man being of that generation, he hath interest to these lands: So it is with the witness of God's Spirit, there is a controversy between Satan and the soul, the soul saith, oh, that grace and compassion might be bestowed on me; why, (saith Satan) dost thou conceive of any mercy, or grace and Salvation? mark thy rebellions against thy Saviour, mark the wretched distempers of thy heart, and the filthy abominations of thy life: dost thou think of mercy? Here is the controversy, whether an humble sinner hath title to, or interest in the mercy of God? Now the Spirit of God coming in, that casts the cause and makes it evident, if such a poor heart have interest, and may meddle and make challenge to mercy and salvation, because it hath been prepared for them, from the beginning of the world to this very day. Now this gives a light into the business, & the evidence is sure, that this man hath title to all the riches and compassion of the Lord Jesus; Acts. 2.39. Every poor creature thinks, that God thinks so of him, as he thinks of himself; and he thinks God intends marvellous grievous things against him; and if there be any judgement denounced, or any plague revealed, the soul sits and sinks, and thinks with himself thus; I wretch, the Lord spoke to me and intended me; the Lord threatened me, and denounced judgement against me; and one day he will bring all these plagues upon me, all shall be made good upon this wretched heart of mine one day, whereas the Spirit of the Lord judgeth otherwise, and God means well towards him, and intends good to all you that have been broken for your sins, and there is witness of it in heaven, and it shall be made good to your own consciences, Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners, broken, abased, vile, wretched, carnal sinners: do not think he will keep any old reckonings in mind; Christ came into the world, only to secure sinful humbled wretches; he only came to call sinners, not your proud, haughty justiciaries, that trust in their own performances, no but miserable, vile, broken, abased sinners; therefore now here is some ground, and light come in, that we have to do with mercy. Psalm. 80.3. 'Cause thy face to shine upon me. If a man be in a deep dark dungeon, he cannot tell when it is light; he may ask, is it light? but else he cannot tell: But an humbled sinner is like a man standing full upon the Sun rising, this face of God's mercy shines full upon him, the Lord lets in the inclination of his kindness, and makes known the sureness of his favour in the Lord Jesus Christ; now the soul hath some apprehension that he hath to do with mercy. Partic. 2 The Spirit doth ratify that interest as the soul now hath, as intended towards him, and prepared for him; he makes it good to the heart, and establisheth it, and makes it sure to the soul: This is the nature of a witness, if it be sufficient as the Lord provides, That in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be established; so it is with the testimony, or testification of God's Spirit, for the Spirit doth not bear witness alone, but the Father from heaven, and the Son in heaven doth join witness with the Spirit; and the court is in heaven where this controversy must be scanned, and now the Spirit doth by witness promise, that all this mercy shall be made good and given, & the humbled heart shall be made possessor thereof; hence it is that the soul comes to be deeply settled herein, for God cannot deny himself, nor his promise; this is the main ground and tenor, whereupon we hold everlasting happiness: you know in men of great estate, if their lease had been naught, and their tenor false, this staggers them deeply; therefore every man labours to make his tenor as good as he can, think on it, the maintainer of all this good, that a Saint of God hath, all his hope of life and salvation, hangs upon the main hold, the free promise of the Lord, the certain faithful promise of the Lord, in & through Jesus Christ, by the testimony of the Spirit; you that are sanctified by Christ, know nothing, unless you know how to live by a promise in some measure: Now this promise is not only a bare word of God, and a bare intimation of some will and intendment of good, but it is a kind of engagement, when the Lord doth lay his truth to pawn, here is good surety for a poor humbled soul, it shall undoubtedly be bestowed upon him; he doth not only intent well unto him, he doth not only prepare mercy for him, but now he ties & binds himself, so that he cannot go back; you see now, this is the bottom to bear up the truth, when the Lord doth please to engage himself to a broken hearted sinner, that he shall be made to believe, and made to live by his believing: I beseech you take notice of it, this is the tenor and covenant of God with a broken sinner; he calls him graciously, and then promises to bestow mercy upon him, 2. Cor. 6.18. Come out from among them; what then? what, shall I forsake all my old companions? shall I renounce all commodities that I have coveted? all the honour in the world which I have affected? Yes, saith the Lord, come out from them all, abandon them, lose all riches, and be impoverished, lose all honour, and be abased; ah, but what shall we get by it? why then, I will be your God, that is, I will engage myself, and pass over the title of all my mercy, and goodness, and compassion, and all that I have you shall have, all is yours; and what then? You shall be my people; mark that, he is obliged to a poor humbled heart; as if he had said, I will be your God, and supply your wants, and work graciously for you: as it was with Abraham, the Father of the faithful, so it must be with the faithful servants of God, Gen. 12.3. Now what there is promised to Abraham, he promiseth to all his children, to all the faithful: it is thus with thee; that is thou must bid adieu to thy country and friends, and though thou livest with thy Father, yet thou hatest his base courses, and though thou livest with thy friends, yet thou hatest their wicked practices, and thou hast forsaken thy god pride, and thy god covetousness, and thy god drunkenness, and the like; thou knowest God will bless thee, he hath bound himself, and cannot go back, this is the ground of the speech: 1 john. 2.25. Eternal life is the thing there promised, but how can we entitle ourselves in this? the text saith, this is the promise he hath promised, that is, he did freely and frankly, and of himself, and out of his own good will, engage himself to give and bestow this promise upon us; here is the root and ground of all his promise. This is the difference between the first and second covenant; God did covenant with Adam, that he should live upon the ground, that he should do: Now because the covenant of eternal life depended upon doing, it was not certain to him and his posterity, but lost it; but our eternal life dependeth upon the promise of God, and therefore it is sure, because God cannot fail, cannot change, his promise cannot be altered: if we observe the conditions, eternal life is sure unto a broken hearted sinner; hence come all those phrases in this kind, We are called children of the promise, what is that? why, the very promise of God makes us children; we are begotten and made the Sons of God: he is called in Esay, The everlasting Father, he hath begotten us by the word, and the seed of the promise which is sown in our hearts, by the virtue of the seed and the Spirit of grace, accompanying that seed, we have power to receive Christ and the Spirit of Christ, and so to become the Sons of God. This is the reason of that phrase in Scripture, We are not children of the flesh, but of the promise; & also of this in Gal. 3. last verse, We are made heirs by the promise, it makes us heirs; that is, look whatever ground, or hope, or hold of eternal life, and glory, & blessedness, you hold it by the virtue of the promise, all is by a promise, grace and goodness is communicated to us by a promise, this is our life, and all our hold, therefore the Gospel is made to be the testament of Jesus Christ; as by one's last will and testament, a man leaves his goods and lands to his posterity, so the Lord Jesus Christ out of his free good will, leaveth one legacy of mercy, and grace, and pardon, and strength, to all humble broken hearted spirits, Galath. 3.15. though it be but a man's covenant, saith he, when it is confirmed, no man doth abrogate it, but if a man seal it, and confirm it with his blood, than it is fully established; no man will, no man can disannul it. So Christ leaves a Legacy of mercy to you, and of favour and compassion to all broken hearted sinners by promise: and therefore it is established, nay, it is the last promise, the last Legacy and Testament, therefore the promise no man can alter, joh. 1.14. He doth not leave peace then, as the world doth; they wish it, but cannot give it; they wish it, but cannot bestow it: but Christ leaves a legacy of mercy and peace behind him, nay, he hath ratified it by his blood, and he will make it good to the soul for ever. Partic. 3 The witness makes the soul yield unto what the spirit hath witnessed: As the witnesses in open court in a matter of law, they make the case clear and evident; the Jury they take it, the Judge observes it, you all know how the case goes, the witness sufficient, etc. So when the witness of God's Spirit comes, bringing the hand of God the Father, and the hand of the Son, touching God's acceptance, it casts the cause clearly. Now this judgement of the sinner yields, and cannot but close, and submit itself unto the truth; this is the meaning of that phrase before the text, they shall be taught of God, they shall not only learn, but they shall be taught, they shall have their lesson without book, they shall be made to learn; and therefore the tenor of the covenant is this: I will write my Law in their inward parts, and they shall all know me from the highest to the least: observe the 2 Pet. 1.3. it is a place of marvellous difficulty, (this I take to be the meaning) there is enough to satisfy any man, according to his divine power, he hath given unto us all things, that is, the Lord by his almighty divine power, hath given unto us all things, either appertaining to this present life here, or eternal life hereafter. But how comes this to pass that God doth this? the Text saith, It is through knowledge of him, that hath called us to glory and virtue; the word in the original is, through their acknowledgement of him that hath called us. The soul doth not only barely know, that this is grace and mercy in Christ; the eye of the understanding is not only opened, but he now comes to acknowledge the same, and subscribeth thereby thereunto: God saith, I will save thy soul, I will be thy God; the soul saith, It is true, Lord, I will deny it no more, I will gainsay it no longer. In a word then, gather up the point, if it be so, that the Spirit, by the witness thereof, doth discover the interest we have in grace, if it doth ratify the interest which it doth discover; nay, if it makes the judgement yield to what it hath ratified, it certifies effectually and undeniably the truths of grace and mercy thus prepared and ratified to the soul, and the soul saith, I confess it Lord, and closeth therewith. Quest. Why, may some say, if this be so, how then comes it to pass, that many of God's dear children, how comes it, that many humble hearted creatures never knew they were called, never had any special intimation of God's favour, they cannot say in truth, they are the Lords. Answ. I speak of him that hath had the work of preparation fully and substantially upon his soul, I speak this, that no scrambling hypocrite, nor sinful wretch, may come and scramble for comfort, and so go away and deceive himself in this kind, know therefore, for answer thereunto; There is a double knowledge, the first is this: A naked simple apprehension of a truth, a mere closure of a man's mind, with a naked plain truth revealed, so that the judgement saith it is so. Secondly, there is a reflecting act, when a man looks over his understanding, and labours to discern the work thereof, not only apprehending what was laid before him, but when he doth apprehend that he doth apprehend, when he knows that he doth know it, mark that place, for we will carry Scripture with us, 1 joh. 2.3. Hereby we know, that we know him, saith the Text, if we keep his Commandments. A man may know a thing, and yet not know that he doth know: so than it is clear, every Saint of God hath the first knowledge, that is, every man that is truly called in truth, doth apprehend, and undoubtedly close with the work of the Spirit, making known unto him the mercy of Christ; many may work, and most men do; the second work they do not know that they know; the Scripture saith, that the Devil himself rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience, that is, he casts in a seed of error and delusion, and corruption into the hearts of wicked men, and by his delusions they entertain those errors, embrace base courses. Now not one among a thousand can say that the Devil doth thus, this is done by virtue of Satan, and yet he doth not see it; nay, there is a veil of Satan upon the soul, there is a seed of Satan in the soul, and the soul closeth with it, and yet he apprehends it not; so every faithful soul is ruled by God's Spirit, and the seed of God's Spirit is fling into his mind, and closeth therewith, but he cannot discern the work of the Spirit working upon him, the one governed by Satan, the other enlightened by the Spirit, but neither can apprehend, nor know, what they do know in this kind. Reas. 1 Because only the Spirit of the Lord knows the Lord's mind, it is only privy to God's counsels, and it only understands the secrets of God's love, and therefore it only can reveal them and communicate them, Matth. 11.27. Now because the holy Spirit proceedeth from the Father and the Son, he can, nay he doth make known the Counsels of both, and so removes all objections, and clears all cavils; it is a point of consideration to you that are weak ones, satisfaction is by the means of Christ, the Son layeth down the price, and doth satisfy, the Spirit doth certify it unto the soul, that the Son hath satisfied for the neglect of what God ever required at our hands, and for the committing of what ever God hath forbidden; now the soul is fully satisfied: As for example; Take a creditor, to whom the debtor oweth money, haply the debtor is arrested for his not paying the debt; the surety he comes and lays down the debt: now the debtor is unacquainted with this, unless there be a messenger that brings a certificate under the hand of the creditor that he is paid, and the surety hath discharged the debt, and he is quitted; when he hears this, his heart is fully quieted: So here the Lord Jesus is the Surety, the Father is the Creditor, our souls are the debt; now the Spirit of God he is the Messenger, and he brings under the hand of God, of God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, an acquittance to our souls, that what ever sins we have committed, are pardoned through Christ; and this fully contents the soul. Mark, 1 Cor. 2.10. yea; the deep things of God; as who should say, how can you tell that God's mind is towards us, and that he will pardon? why, these are secrets; aye, but the Spirit of the Lord knows, and searcheth the deep things of God, that which eye never saw, that which the Angels in heaven cannot tell you, that which all the men in the world cannot reveal unto you, without God be with them, that your names are written in the Book of Life, you shall be accepted, these are deep things, but the Spirit reveals them: This is the first Reason, the Spirit only knows the mind; therefore, it only can give notice thereof unto the soul. Reas. 2 The Spirit only can break thorough all those mists, and clouds of ignorance and blindness, that are in our minds, which oppose this work; nay, it can bear down all those distempers and discouragements, which make us unfit, and unable to receive the evidence of God's love and goodness, in the Lord Jesus Christ; for these two things are in the heart of a sinner, that marvellously oppose the evidence of God's favour unto the soul. Hindr. 1 That every man hath a veil of ignorance over his heart, 2 Cor. 3.15. Now the veil of ignorance no hand can rend it, none can remove it, but only the Spirit of God; The god of the world blinds the eyes of the wicked; why then it must be the Spirit of God, the Spirit of another world, I mean the Spirit of Christ that must open the eyes, and take away the veils, and clouds, and mists, that the god of the world casts before the eye. Hindr. 2 Are desperate discouragements, when a poor sinner is plunged in the apprehension of all the evil which he hath committed, and in the aggravation of all those sins whereby God hath been dishonoured; when the soul observes this, he thinks and says, This proud heart will never be humbled, this unregenerate heart will never be sanctified, the Lord never intends good to my soul, it is impossible that so many corrections, so long continued, should ever be pardoned, here the soul sinks down in desperate discouragements; now there is none but the Spirit of God that can let a light into the soul, there is none but the hand of the Lord, that can rend, and pluck, and pull a poor fainting, despairing, dying, sinking heart, under the burden of his manifold abominations, none but the Almighty hand of an Almighty God can do this; when it is night, all the candles in the world cannot take away the darkness; so all the means of grace and salvation, all the candlelight of the Ministry, they are all good helps; but the darkness of the night will not be gone, before the Sun of Righteousness arise in our hearts. Hence it comes to pass, that it is a very difficult matter to give comfort to a poor distressed soul, Psal. 40.1. Mark what a co●le there is to give comfort, all the world cannot comfort them, and persuade them: I shall one day perish, say they, I shall one day go down to hell, let all the Ministers under heaven say what they will; Comfort ye, comfort ye, saith the Lord, as who should say, they will not be comforted, they will not think, nor be resolved of it. I mercy? and I comfort? it is a likely matter, it will never be, it never can be, I shall never see that day: will the Lord pardon me? I do not think it, I cannot believe it, God is a just God, and a righteous God, and I am a vile wicked wretch, it is mercy that I have despised and trampled under my feet, and I mercy? no certainly, there is no such matter; this makes the Lord have such a do, Comfort ye, comfort ye, the third time, and yet they will receive none. We Ministers of the Gospel observe by experience, that we meet with some souls that are gone to the bottom of hell, sometimes by their distempers, and we make known the promises, propound arguments, lay down reasons, but nothing takes place, nothing prevails, all is presently forgotten, and you had as good say nothing, all is forgotten; therefore none but God's Spirit can do it, he must come from heaven, and say, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people: let me therefore speak to you that are Ministers, you do well to labour to give comfort to a poor fainting soul, but always say, Comfort Lord, say unto this poor soul thou art his salvation; Lord speak comfort, and say to such a one, his sins shall be pardoned, mercy shall be bestowed upon him, his iniquities are forgiven; it is that we observe in the policy of Satan, Satan hath two Policies: Policy. 1 First, if he can, he will keep a man that he shall never see his sins; therefore he labours to do away all plagues and judgements from the apprehension of the soul; and therefore when the Minister comes home to the conscience, and saith, What, you have heaven? what, proud and profane, and oppose God and his ordinances, and you go to heaven? No, no such matter; mark what the Devil suggests, take thy pleasure, it is but half an hours work when you lie upon your deathbed, if you can but then cry to God for mercy, and for forgiveness, it is enough: this is the first Policy to keep a man from seeing his sins; and thus the soul is content to carry helgates on his back, and a thousand abominations, and is never troubled. Well, haply the Lord enlightens the soul of such a sinner, and sets his sins before him, and saith, here are thy sins, and for these thy sins thou shalt be sent packing to hell; now he cannot look off his sins, but the Word reveals them, and the Spirit settles them, thou mayst take thy pleasures, and live in thy sins, but the end will be bitter, for all these sins God will visit thee, God will execute judgement upon thee; then the soul trieth his heart, examines his paths, and gins to poor on his corruptions; when Satan sees this, he labours to draw him away, and sends drunken companions unto him, that they may take his mind off from his sins. Policy. 2 But if Satan cannot keep him from seeing his sins, than he shall see nothing but sin: before he was frolic, and braved it out, and kicked mercy into the kennel, and he would do what he list; Ministers tell me of grace? no, no, I will follow my course; now it is otherwise with him, he can see nothing but judgements, and plagues, and corruptions, and so sinks down in discouragements: as therefore there is nothing that can pursue a sinner, and make him see his sins, but God; so there is none but the Spirit that can let down a cord of mercy, and draw a poor sinner out from the bottom of hell; so the Spirit knows the secrets of God, if the Spirit once settles these things upon the soul, and takes away all hindrances that do oppose the evidence of God's favour, than the Spirit must only certify God's love, and mercy, and goodness, to the soul of an humble broken hearted sinner. Vset. Trial: will you put yourselves upon trial, will you oversee whether you ever had any notice of God's acceptance? observe then the author of it, whence and of whom you had it, this will discover the truth of it; when we mistrust good news from a fare Country, we use to say, it is good indeed, but is it certain? whence had you it? had you a letter from beyond sea, or heard you from some Noble man, that heard the letter read? then it is certain: So there be glad tidings of peace and mercy, there is good news from heaven, God hath pardoned vile sinners: God saves millions of men, good news, but if your hearts persuade you for certain, do you think so, or do others tell you so? is it nothing but idle ale-houses talk? hath God's Spirit sealed it? doth God say to thy soul, thou art his servant, he thy King, thou his son, he thy Father? if it be so, thou mayst pawn thy life on it, trust to it, the notice is good. If a malefactor were condemned, and a rogue that hath been burnt in the hand, who goes up and down with a pass, suppose the one to forge his pardon, the other to counterfeit his pass: A wise man he knows and understands the falseness of the party, and he shall never get any good by it, he will stop the rogue with the pass in his hand, and hang the traitor with his pardon about his neck. So it is here, we are all malefactors and poor rogues, running up and down the face of the earth, and we are walking and looking after another Country; now, what must be our pass? the evidence of the Spirit, thou that sayest thou doubtest not of God's mercy, and the pardon of thy sins; under whose seal hast thou this pardon? did it come from a right Office, and from a right Seal? then it is good, else the Lord will stop thee with thy pass in thy hand, and hang thee with thy pardon about thy neck. Quest. But than you will say, how may we discern the notice of the Spirit of the Lord, from another notice, and how may the Saints of God discern it. Trial. 1 Differs in these three particulars: First, in the speciality of it, it is an evidence that comes home particularly to the soul. Look as it is in the conveyance of lands and leases, by joint inheritance therein, haply the lease was made before the man had a child, now if afterwards he have half a dozen children, every one in particular hath a title to it, interest in that land, as though they were mentioned in particular. So the Gospel propounds grace and mercy to all humbled souls, broken hearted sinners are m●de joint heirs, and inheritors of everlasting mercy: you that will come out of your sinful courses, and will touch no unclean thing, thou hast particular interest in God's mercy, as if thou wert called by name Robert or Richard, etc. Now mark all the notice and evidence that any hypocrite under heaven hath of the freeness of God's mercy, is this, he hath only some common inkling and hearsay of salvation, they are within the hearing of the promises made to others, and they either not rightly apprehend, or else mis-applying the sense and meaning of the promise to themselves, they cozen their souls, and never have any particular evidence of the truth of it to their souls by the work of the Spirit; there is haply an expectation among the prisoners in Newgate, that there will be a pardon come cut at the end of the Parliament, and some man passeth by and saith, there is a pardon for Newgate: The prisoners that hear this, it makes them rejoice; but when the Parliament comes out, there is a pardon only for such persons, for such facts, of such a quality and nature, and so haply he that rejoiced so much in the consideration of a pardon, hath nothing to do with it; now the general hearsay will do no good, but the particular evidence: so it is between a cunning Hypocrite and a child of God, when an Hypocrite hath been driven to extreme horror for his sins, than he looks out for mercy, his heart is terrified, and his soul perplexed, and he hears there is abundance of mercy in Christ, and Christ came to save sinners; the Hypocrite is delighted with this in the general, this is only overly, and common, he over-heares a promise, and so quiets himself therein; but when it comes to the trial, God came to save sinners, but what sinners? humble broken hearted sinners: But the Hypocrite is not such an one, therefore it belongs not to him. Differ. 2 The second difference of the Spirit is such, that it can hardly be razed out of the soul, the testimony of the Spirit, brought home to the soul, cannot be taken away, for when the Spirit witnesseth to the soul, it leaves the light upon the mind of an humbled sinner, that will never be plucked off, but he will turn his eye towards it while the world lasts. This evidence that is brought home, and cast in by the Spirit, it is so unexpected, and so pleasing, and so incomparably strong, and wonderful, and withal so unconceivable excellent, that an humbled sinner when once he sees the glimpse and inkling thereof, it will ever be prying and looking that way, nay, in the most desperate discouragements that can befall, and in the greatest desertions that can betide the soul; nay, notwithstanding all those subtleties of temptations that Satan hurries into the soul, to make a man at a loss, and to make him leave looking after the freeness of grace in Christ: yet the poor soul will ever be lingering after this Light; look as it is with a great torch, carry it out of one room into another by-room, and though the torch be gone, yet it will leave such a glimmering so that a man may follow the torch: so it is with the soul, truly humbled, it hath received the testimony of the Spirit, though the torch, the glory of the testimony of this witness goeth aside a little in temptation, yet the Lord leaves such a kind of glimmering or inkling of goodness, that the soul looks after the lamp & light in this kind, and followeth it for ever, jonah 2.4. jonah was there stubborn with the Lord, he was sent to Ninive, he goes to Tarshish: well, God sends a whirlwind after him, and tosseth him into the sea, and sent also a great Whale, an unruly ferryman, to carry him to land: Now being in the belly of the Whale, he gins to apprehend himself, and then is joyful, and there he made a question of God's everlasting love; but yet when he was in the belly of hell, and mountains of water went over him, yet mark how the holy man behaveth himself; I will still look towards thy holy presence: He had some illuminations of God's goodness in Christ, and howsoever the glory thereof was eclipsed, yet there was some glimmering left behind. But now the flashes of the Hypocrite, they are sudden, the lightning of God's love that is in his mind, but it passes thorough the soul suddenly; and leaves it in the same hazard & ignorance, and at a loss, as formerly; for howsoever an hypocrite may have a glimmering, and a kind of flash, and take notice of the powers of the world to come, yet it comes like lightning, suddenly come, suddenly gone, and it draweth the mind for the while, and the understanding for the present; but in conclusion, the soul is where it was before, when this flash is gone, and the lightning is over, it is just at the same loss and danger it was before. Differ. 3 From this authority of the Spirit, it is of great authority, and of marvellous powerful command, so that the whole frame of the soul comes to be ordered, and the heart comes to be framed suitable and agreeable thereon. Look as it is with a mighty stream, all the lesser streams run that way; so it is with the blessed stream of this evidence of truth: what the Spirit of God lets into the mind of the Saints, it carries all with it, and bears all before it, and makes the whole stream of the soul be answerable thereunto: Take notice between the vision Saint Paul had, and which Balaam had, God let in a light into Balaams' soul, What, wilt thou curse jacob? Oh, the glory that I will bestow upon them: This made his teeth water at the goodness of the Lord, and he saith, Let me die the death of the righteous, Numb. 24.2. the Text useth the phrase, The Spirit of God was upon Balaam; the meaning is, he intimated the happy condition of the Saints of the Lord, and in stead of cursing, he blessed them: though this cursed Witch Balaam had this common enlightening to know the excellency of the condition, yet his heart was never the better, was covetous and malicious still towards jacob. But look Acts 26.19. Saint Paul saith, he was not disobedient to the vision, as who should say, The blessed truth that was revealed to me, the voice that spoke to me from heaven, my mind was framed thereby, and answerably disposed thereunto, and I submitted and came in at the voice of the Lord. Hence the phrase in Scripture, They that know thee will trust in thee, as who should say, Grounded knowledge brings in confidence: So joh. 4.10. Christ saith, Hadst thou known me; it is not every knowledge that will do the deed, a man may talk of grace, but hadst thou understood better the evidence, thou shouldest have asked grace, and received it, this is the reason of jobs speech; when God takes a man in hand, he will command a man to return from iniquity: there is a commanding power in the obedience of truth: the Lord lets in a commanding power, and turns the heart from sin, and makes it yield to the obedience of God. Whereas the light of the hypocrite is like lightning in the evening, a flash and away, and leaves no heat behind it: The Sun doth not only give light, but it leaves a heat behind it; so it is with the Spirit of God, when the sunshine of the heavenly light comes into the heart, it leaves a heat of holy affections behind it, framing and disposing the heart of a man to be at the call and command of God. Observe when we lay forth arguments before men, and convince their consciences, that their course is nought, notwithstanding, whatsoever we can speak they return to their wicked speeches, and base practices, their lives are as wicked, their tongues as profane as ever; but when the Spirit of God will take those arguments we propound out of Scripture, and make known those troubles to the understanding, it communicates unto thee and them that power to the soul, that it comes to be disposed thereunto. Differ. 4 The testimony of the Spirit goes upon very good ground, it is a wise Spirit, and a Spirit of truth, and therefore goes wisely to work. Now Hypocrites they bear up their hearts with admirable evidence of God's love, but ask them what reasons they have for it, what arguments to maintain it, they have nothing at all to say; this is an undoubted argument of a besotted, befooled hypocrite. Come to your ancient people, and inquire of them in the time of their sickness, ask them if ever they were persuaded of God's favour, they say they thank God, they never doubted of it; they reply, they were worse than Reprobates if they should, but they have no ground at all to confirm this; this is an undoubted argument of a soul that never had any sound evidence of God's love, for where the Spirit comes, it goes upon good ground. Use 2 Direction and Exhortation; hence we learn what course we must take, what path we must tread in, what means we must use to get this notice, and gain this evidence of God's love to our souls, learn the ground, get the witness of God's Spirit, get but the Spirit to seal it, and all is thine. It was the speech of Samson, when he propounded a Riddle to the Philistines, they knew not how to answer it, because they understood it not before he had told his wife, and she them, than they related the Riddle to them, he confesseth their answer to be good, But, saith he, had you not ploughed with my Heifer, you could not have expounded my Riddle. I use the same comparison for our purpose; use Gods means, if you would know God's mind, take counsel of him that is privy Counsellor of Heaven: would you be persuaded of God's love and affection towards you? will you know how your case shall go at the last day? would you know if your name is written in the Book of life? if you would, why then, know the way to obtain it, seek it of the Spirit of the Lord, for he searcheth the chief things of God: consider what our Saviour tells you, Luke 11.12. Why then, must this Spirit only certify the pardon of sin? Why, look up to heaven then, and plead thus with him, Lord, I am a father, and give my child what he wants, and if I see him in need, I relieve him; why, I need thy Spirit, Lord, I beg it, thou hast promised it, Lord give that Spirit to the soul of thy servant, and let it testify to my conscience, that thou art reconciled to me. Object. But how shall we get the Spirit home to a man in this case? Answ. The means are two: Means. 1 Thou must labour to be such a one, to whom the Spirit belongs. Labour to be an humble hearted sinner, and then the Lord will send his Spirit, and give notice to thee of his acceptance, for the Lord doth not pass over his comfort, or mercy, or compassion to any soul in the world, but only to those that are broken hearted before God; there is no mercy for thee that art stubborn, no compassion for thee that art stout hearted; wouldst thou have the Spirit make a lie for thee, and come from Heaven to make a new Scripture, to bring a lose stubborn drunkard, or adulterer to heaven? it will not be so, it cannot be so, never think to bring the Spirit of the Lord, and make him speak mercy to thee, when it belongs not to thee, 1 King. 14.1, 2, etc. Do not think to complain it with the Lord Jesus, and put the finger in the eye & weep a few tears, and say, I confess my rebellions are sinful, I am sorry for my sins, and will repent me of my sins: the Spirit will say, Come out thou proud wretched hypocrite, dost thou feign thyself to be an humble broken hearted sinner? do not I know thy reservations? do not I know thy byways and backdoors? Come out thou proud wretch and sturdy hypocrite, I am sent to thee with heavy tidings, you may cousin man, but you cannot deceive God; therefore never think he will give grace and mercy unto thee, unless thou be fitted for it. Means. 2 Be sure you hearken not to your carnal cavils of reason, nor to the clamours of a corrupt heart, nor to the bawl of Satan, all which stop and hinder the testimony of the Spirit, and with their loud cries drown the voice of the Spirit, that it cannot be heard. It is a fashion amongst Lawyers, at Assizes or Sessions, when in their Courts there comes in a wise judicious witness, and the Lawyers plead a base cause, they fear him, and therefore, before he can speak out his tale, one speaks and another speaks, and so hinders this that he cannot be understood; then the man saith, he came for a witness, and not thus to be disturbed; then the Judge commands silence, and then he hath liberty to discover what he knows, and then the case is clear; so it is with the soul, and carnal reason, and the Devil. The trial is, whether a man hath any interest in Christ or no. Now the Spirit of the Lord working graciously upon the heart, would bring in a fair testimony of God's grace to the soul: but when the soul cometh to a faithful Minister to tell him how God hath wrought upon him, and met with him, and how he was burdened with his sins: Oh, saith Satan, you were burdened with your sins, but you returned to them again; then the soul saith he was humbled for his sins, yet the goodness of God was never sealed to him: aye, saith Satan, but you continue in your sins still: aye, saith the soul, I am weary of these sins; aye, and you are weary of labouring against them too, saith Satan. Thus the soul is tired by carnal reasons, temptations of Satan; now let the evidence of the Spirit be never so plain, he cannot perceive it; be watchful therefore in this case, if you hear what fear, or feeling, or suspicion saith; feeling saith, I find nothing; fear saith, it will never be; suspicion imagineth, I shall never see that day: but now command silence to every one, to fear suspicion, feeling, and unworthiness, and say, now speak blessed Spirit, than you will see the case cast presently: It is said of Abraham, he considered not Sarahs' barren womb; for imagine Abraham had thus reasoned, I never had child, for me to bear a child, it is against nature; shall a man that never begat, beget a child in his old age? I will never believe it: If he had done thus, for aught I know, though he had lived unto this time, he should never have had a child, but he never considered of any of these things, and therefore the Promise was accomplished. Therefore be sure not to hearken what failings, fear and doubt, and corruption saith, for they will be ever against thee; there is no mercy from corruption, no grace from fear and suspicion, but consider not your dead barren wretched hearts, but attend upon God's promise, and you shall find God's Spirit witness unto you the acceptance of your persons before God. Object. But you will say, may not a man consider of his sins, and attend to the corruptions of our own hearts. Answ. I answer, a man may, nay must, in a fit time, after a right manner, to a good end, for he that never seethe his sins, can never be humbled for them, but this consideration only fits us for mercy, and can never get assurance of any interest in mercy. The consideration of our sins, will give us notice of these three particulars: 1. It gives us notice of our own vileness and baseness, the laying these upon the soul, it is a main means to break the heart, and bruife a filthy stubborn soul. It gives us notice of the emptiness and infirmity of all outward parts, and gifts, and means, and helps to do us any good. It will make us see the absolute necessity of a Saviour, and of the great work of redemption, which Christ hath wrought for us; nay, it will drive us out of ourselves, and force us to fall at the footstool of God's mercy, that so we may gain God's favour to us: but it is impossible that the consideration of my sins, should certify me of my interest in God's mercy. Means. 3 Labour to be informed, and to understand aright the language of the Spirit. Look as it is with a poor man in the Court, a wise witness comes in and speaks plainly, but it will do the poor man no good to hear the witness, unless he understand it: so though we hear the Spirit, and do not understand the language of the Spirit, it is as if we never heard it. Now the language of the Spirit is nothing else but the tenor of those gracious promises, which God hath made to poor humbled sinners. Now if we be not able to cast the sense and meaning of the promise, it is like an uncertain sound, though the witness be good and plain, yet I cannot be comforted thereby. 2 Cor. 6.16, 17. This is the language of the Spirit: Now let a poor humble hearted soul come and lay his heart level to the promise, one saith, it is true, if it were so with me, than God would be my God; that promise is made to them that touch no unclean thing, but I am defiled with sins and abominations, and carried aside by them; therefore no share in this promise. Now the meaning of the testimony is mistaken, the witness is as good as can be, and will cast the cause on your side; but you understand not the meaning of the witness, therefore we will spell the words, what is it to touch no unclean thing, it is not to be lightly acquainted with it; therefore art thou content to sue out a bill of divorce to all thy sins, how ever heretofore thou wert married to them, yet now thou art resolved to bed with them no more: art thou contented God should make known what ever is amiss in thy soul, and subdue every distemper, that is the meaning of the promise, and if it be thus with thee, the promise belongs to thee. Means. 4 Labour to keep the promise by you for ever, and have a ready recourse thereunto, upon all occasions forget not the promise, be not a stranger to it, be not unacquainted, be not unaccustomed, to have daily trading with the promise, which is so profitable to us: Prov. 3.3. mark what counsel God gives by wisdom, Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: mercy and truth will forsake a man, Satan would pluck them away, but suffer them not, saith the Text, to departed from thy soul. job 22.21. so the original hath it; have a daily intercourse to the promise, meditate therein, and muse thereupon, see thou look a ready way, and have recourse to the Lord upon all occasions. Motive. 1 To persuade us to use these means, is this, because this most concerns our good, if a man had all the good things the world could afford, and his hearts desire, if he had friends to respect him, wealth to enrich him, and honour to promote him, yet if the Lord should send this heavy Message into his conscience, God will curse those blessings, and damn thy soul and person, that news from heaven of God's indignation would take away the sweetness of all the comforts of this life; but had a man good tidings from heaven, were the Lord pleased to give notice of his love and mercy in Jesus Christ it would support us in whatsoever miseries or troubles should befall us, nay, when our own hearts and consciences tell us hard tidings, these evils thou hast committed, and they will be thy plague, and for this thou shalt be damned, and fry in hell, this is ill news; but this will bear up a man's heart, if he can but look up to heaven, and take good tidings and notice of God's favour, this will joy and refresh a man's soul. Motive. 2 As this most concerns us, so Satan is most cunning to deprive us of the same, if he can stop any intelligence, and take away any evidence of God's love and mercy to the soul: this is that Satan labours for; for if the heart gets evidence this way, and have notice under the hand of the Spirit, what love, what joy, what power and virtue will be in the soul, what courage and undauntedness will be in the heart, to walk in the ways of godliness; then learn from the Devil himself, he labours to keep from you what will do you most good; therefore be you as careful to get this notice of God's love to your souls, from the Spirit in the promise, as Satan is to hinder you from the same. Use 3 Instruction: Hence I conclude, that the poorest humbled sinner, of the mean●st capacity, doth know more of spiritual truths, concerning grace and salvation, and Gods love in Christ, than the most wise and learned in the world that are not humbled. In a word, take the meanest Saint, that ever breathed on the earth, and the greatest scholar for outward parts, and learning, and reach and policy, the meanest ignorant soul, that is almost a natural fool, that soul knows and understands more of grace and mercy in Christ, than all the wisest and learnedst in the world, than all the greatest scholars, and most pompous Cardinals, these were never humbled. How do I conclude this? why thus; if God's spirit only give notice of this favour to the humble, than all other, be their parts what they will be, God doth not inform them: the humble are informed, they not instructed; therefore the other know not what they cannot conceive. As suppose one dull block, and a quick wit, are both set to one trade, yet if the dullard had an expert master, and did beat into him the skill of the trade, and the quick spirit was with a master that could not teach him his trade; we see that the dull block is more wise in his trade than the other: so it is here, they have the Lord for their master. Use 4 To show us the certainty of the assurance of faith, if the spirit of God gives notice, and certify a thing, it must needs be certain: and hence it is, that the assurance of faith must needs be infallible, and undeniable, in those that have it. I ground it thus; That which cometh from the notice of the spirit, is most undeniable; but the assurance thereof cometh from the notice of the spirit, that faith is most undeniable; hence cometh those triumphs: I know my Redeemer liveth, I am persuaded that neither height, nor depth, etc. shall be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ. The work of God upon the understanding, we have spoken of at large; now we come to the work of God upon the affections: as the understanding apprehendeth the truth of the promise; so the heart looketh at the goodness of the promise: Now therefore the Lord, he must teach all the affections to come unto the promise, and the first affection that cometh next in order, is the affection of hope. Doctrine. The Doctrine is this; The holy Spirit of the Father doth stir the heart of an humbled and enlightened sinner to hope for the goodness of the Lord: The Lord calleth all the affections; come joy, come desire, come love; but the first voice is to hope; only observe this passage, it must come from a heart humbled and enlightened, for nothing cometh to the heart to be affected, but only by the head and understanding; therefore before the soul can hope, the heart must be humbled, and enlightened: humbled, in regard of preparation, and enlightened in regard of the certification of God's goodness. Secondly, it must be stirred up to do it; the spirit must stir up the heart unto it: when a poor sinner is truly abased, and cut off from every thing in himself, and is content to be at God's dispose, yet the soul cannot dispose of itself, it cannot carry itself to the affecting embracing of any supernatural grace or good by the power of nature: look as it is with a windmill, it is fitted for to go, and if the wind blow, it will go; but now the sail will not stir the mill, unless the wind stir the sail: So here though the soul be humbled and content to be at God's dispose, yet I say an humble broken selfe-denying heart is not able to stir of itself. Thirdly, To hope groundedly, it is not a flashy hope, a vain hope, an idle hope; as the wicked men, they hope for grace, they hope for mercy, but they have no ground to bear them up, but the hope of such men will perish: but this hope is upon good ground; the Lord calleth the soul to wait upon him, to expect him; this is hope which will not make a man ashamed, Rom. 5.5. We have a hope as an anchor of the soul more sure and steadfast; Hebr. 6.19. this is the nature of hope to stand still and wait for mercy and salvation of God, and to look when the Lord will have mercy upon the soul, and this grounded hope the spirit of God must stir and work, or else there will never be any hope: the proof of the point, Lament. 3.24. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, that is all the good, and all the comfort I have in heaven and earth; he is my portion; life gone, and health gone, and friends gone, yet the Lord is my portion for ever and ever; therefore will I hope in him, therefore the soul expecteth that mercy, looketh after it, waiteth for it, Hos. 2.15. I will allure her in the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her, and give her the valley of Anchor for the door of hope: therefore the Lord will allure her in the work of humiliation, and did speak comfortably unto her in vocation; thou wantest mercy, mercy is prepared for thee; thou wantest grace, grace is provided for thee; that staggering soul of thine shall be strengthened, that troubled soul of thine shall be pacified; and then the soul cometh to hope, when the heart is throughly humbled and abased, then followeth hope. Now for the further discovery and explication of the point, we will show two things. First, the reason why after a soul humbled, and the mind enlightened, the Lord worketh upon this affection of hope. Secondly, the manner how the Lord stirreth up the heart to hope, what breedeth it, what feedeth it, and upon what it groweth, and what maintaineth it in the soul, and then the Doctrine will be very clear. First, the order, why the Lord doth proceed in the next place to stir up hope. I answer, the reason is this; because when the Spirit of God hath enlightened the understanding, and given evidence, that mercy is prepared for an humbled soul: why (brethren) the fittest faculty of the soul, that aught to be employed to lay hold upon this, it is the faculty of hope; it is the main office of this affection in the heart, to look and expect for a good to come; for hope is nothing else, but that extent of the soul, whereby it earnestly affecteth a good to come: it must be a known good and to come that hope expecteth: if the good be present, we love it, and joy in it; but if it be absent, the soul looketh out for it, and waiteth for the same; it is a fine passage of hope, 1 Phil. 20. according to my earnest expectation of hope: hope is a faculty of the soul to look out for mercy; it is a similitude taken from a man that looketh after another, and lifteth up itself as high as he may to see if any man be coming near him, looking wishly about him, so here the soul standeth as it were a tiptoe, expecting when the soul will come: as the man that is to meet another in such a place, they do set the time appointed, and then goeth up to a high hill, and looketh very earnestly round about him, wondereth he cometh not, and yet he hopeth he will come: so an humbled sinner, when the Lord saith, mercy is coming towards thee, mercy is provided for thee; now this affection is set out to meet mercy a fare off, namely hope; this is the stretching out of the soul. O when will it be, Lord? thou sayest mercy is prepared, thou sayest mercy is approaching, the soul standeth a tiptoe; O when will it come, Lord. As now something that hath a strong sent, a man that hath a good nose, can smell a good way off; though it findeth it not, though it feeleth it not, yet it may, and saith hope, this sinful soul of mine, it may through God's mercy be sanctified, this troubled perplexed soul of mine, it may through God's mercy be pacified, this evil and corruption which harbour in me, and hath taken possession of me, it may through God's mercy be removed. Now for the second thing, how doth God stir up the heart of an humbled broken hearted sinner to hope? this is worth a while a little to consider of the ground to get and maintain this hope may be referred to these three heads. First, the Lord doth sweetly stay the heart, and fully persuade the soul that a man's sins are pardonable, and that all his sins may be pardoned, and that all the good things he wanteth, they may be bestowed; this is a great sustainer of the soul: hope is always of a good to come; now when a poor sinner seethe his sins, the number of them, the nature of them, the vileness of them, the cursedness of his soul, that he can take no rest; he seethe no rest in the creature, nor in himself, though he pray all day, yet he cannot get the pardon of one sin: the soul is out of any expectation of pardon or power of mercy in any thing he hath or doth; though all means, all helps, though all men and angels should join together, yet they cannot pardon one sin of his, yet the Lord lifteth up his voice, and he saith from heaven, thy sins are pardonable; this is a voice a great way off, thy sins may be pardoned in the Lord Jesus Christ: Look as a traitor, that doth apprehend the anger of the King against him, and that he is sent for to be attached, he and cry is made after him, the Pursuivant pursueth him; the poor creature flieth from court to country, from country to city, and so to the sea coast, seeking for some shelter; the Pursuivant besetteth the sea coast for him, the poor soul is now almost in despair of mercy from the Prince, he seethe no hope of pardon from him; but when he overheareth a man that saith, in truth you had better open the door, and yield yourself to the King, there is hope, the poor soul is much sustained; What, is there yet hope that my offence may be pardoned, will the King receive me to mercy: So when the Lord humbleth the soul, discovereth his sins, maketh known his judgements, these are thy sins that thou hast committed, and for them thou shalt be plagued; the great judgement of the great God shall come upon thee, and the great God whom thou hast dishonoured will come against thee, and to hell thou must. Now the poor soul seethe no hope, no help, no means of supply; now the poor soul heareth a voice from heaven, there is no hope in thyself, nor in means, yet in the Lord Jesus Christ thy sins are pardonable, thy soul may be saved, thy heart may be quickened: that place in the Psalmist, Let Israel hope in the Lord, for with him is plenteous redemption: this upholdeth and sustaineth the heart of God's servant, yet there is plentiful redemption; and this may discover itself in three particulars. The infiniteness of God's power; though thy sins are many, though the guilt of sin is mighty and powerful to condemn the soul, yet when the soul apprehendeth an infiniteness in the power of the Lord, to overpower all his sins, all the guilt of corruption; this lifteth up the heart in some expectation, that the Lord will show favour unto a man: though it is a hard thing to hope when the soul is thus troubled, can this hard heart be broken, can these sins be pardoned, can this soul be saved? now cometh in the power of God; God can pardon them, never measure the power of God to that shallow conceit of thine, as Christ when he had told his Disciples, it is hard for a rich man to be saved; they said, how can any man be saved; the Lord Christ saith, all things are possible to God, though not to men; and it is said of Abraham, he hoped above hope, he looked to the Lord, that was able to do what he promised, to supply what he wanted; he considered not that he had a dead body, but he considered he had a living God; not Sarahs' barren womb, but the gracious goodness of God, able to make it fruitful; nay he believed in the God that can make things that are not: thy soul is not humbled, the Lord can humble it; thy sins are not pardoned, the Lord can pardon them; thy soul is not converted, the Lord can convert it; though I cannot see it, though man cannot imagine it, yet the Lord can do it. As the infiniteness of God's power, so the freeness of his grace and promise, that is a thing that marvellously taketh up the heart, and maketh it hope, for we are ready naturally to expect no kindness from God; the Lord is able to do it, that is true, but I am unworthy; the Lord will not be wanting to them that can desire it, but I am wanting: now here is comfort, the Lord will not sell his mercy, his mercy is not to be merited, it is not to be discovered, it is to be given, and to be bestowed: Malach. 7.18. Who is a god like unto our God; we say, Oh if I could please God, if I could walk with God: nay, but God saith mercy pleaseth him, and that place in Esay, I for my own Name sake will do this, not for thy works sake; I for my own sake, not for thy obedience sake: this is certain, as there is no work in any poor creature can discover any mercy from God, so there is no wickedness in the heart of a sinner, that can hinder the Lord, when he will bestow grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. Object. But the world will say, Then a man may live as he list, and do what he will, if grace be free. Answ. No, no; the Lord will pull down thy proud heart, and lay thee in the dust; the Lord will abase thee and humble thee, before thou shalt receive any mercy from him; he can as well sit thee for mercy, as bestow it upon thee. The abundance of the riches of God's goodness, that exceedeth all the baseness and vileness of man: though thou hast sinned against heaven, and the Lord in heaven, yet there is mercy above the heaven: be thy sins and rebellions for the nature of them, for the number of them, for the continuance of them, never so heinous, yet they may be pardoned. Here the soul saith, My sins are so many, so great, of such a nature, what, shall I beg mercy, and oppose it? shall I desire grace, and resist it? as that place clearly showeth, Rom. 5.20. Where sin abounded, grace superabounded; he is the Father of mercy, and the God of all consolation; jam. 2.13. there the holy Ghost saith, mercy triumph above justice: justice cannot be so severe to revenge thee, as mercy is gracious to do good unto thee; if thy sins be never so many, God's justice never so great, yet mercy is above all thy sins, above all thy rebellions; this may support the soul. So than you have the first ground to stir up hope, thy sins are pardonable, this is possible; what thy sins be, it skilleth not; what thy iniquities be, it mattereth not; there is more mercy in God, than sin in thee, to pardon; more power in God to show mercy to thee, than power in sin to destroy thee. The Lord doth sweetly persuade the soul that all his sins shall be pardoned: the Lord maketh this appear, and persuadeth the heart of his, that he intendeth mercy; that Christ hath procured pardon for the soul of a broken hearted sinner in special, and that it cannot but come unto it. So that hope cometh to be assured, and certainly persuaded to look out, knowing it shall be accomplished: the former only sustained the heart, and provoked it to look for mercy, but this comforteth the soul, that undoubtedly it shall have mercy. The Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost; he came for this purpose, it was the scope of his coming: now saith the broken and humble sinner? I am lost, did Christ come to save sinners? Christ must fail of his end, or I of my comfort. God saith, Come unto me all you that are weary and heavy laden; I am weary, unless the Lord intended good unto me, why should he invite me and bid me for to come? surely he meaneth to show mercy to me, nay he promiseth to relieve me, when I come therefore he will do good unto me. The Lord letteth in some relish and taste of the sweetness of his love, some sent and savour of it, so that the soul is deeply affected with it: mark this, there is yet a further dint, a settling, and an assured kind of fastening of the good unto the soul, so that the heart is deeply affected with it, and carried mightily unto it, that it cannot be severed. It is the letting in the riches of his love that turneth the expectation of the soul another way, it overshadoweth all outward good. Look as the covetous man is up early to contrive his riches, the ambitious man his honour: now Gods letting into the soul the sweetness of his grace, doth turn the whole stream of the soul thitherward. It is a reproof, and meeteth with two things in wicked carnal persons: First, those that will cast off all hope in point of desperation: Secondly, against those that will do nothing, but hope without ground; and that is presumption: both are here to be reproved and condemned. If the Lord stirreth up the heart of his to hope groundedly for his mercy; Oh then take heed of that fearful and unconceivable sin of despair: despair we must in ourselves, and that is good; but this despair which we now speak of is marvellous heinous in the eyes of God, and marvellous hurtful to thy own soul: therefore take heed of it, for ever I say this sin of despair, when a man casteth away all hope, casteth away all carnal confidence. This thou must do, and yet thou must hope; let Israel hope in the Lord, for in the Lord etc. O the Lord taketh this very ill at our hands, thou goest to the deep dungeon of thy corruption, and there thou sayest, these sins can never be pardoned; I am still proud and more stubborn: this distress God seethe not, God succoureth not, his hand cannot reach, his mercy cannot save; now mark what the Prophet Esay saith to such a perplexed soul, Esay 40.27. Why sayest thou thy way is hid from the Lord? The Lord saith, why sayest thou: so the young man shall faint and be weary, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength: is any thing too hard for the Lord? nay I say you wrong God exceedingly, you think it is a matter of humility, you count so vilely of yourselves: can God pardon sin to such unworthy creatures? mark that place of the Psalmist, they spoke against the Lord, Can the Lord prepare a table in the wilderness? They spoke not against themselves, but against God; so we speak against God, and charge God himself: it is true, saith the soul, Manasses was pardoned; it is true, Paul was converted: it is true, God's saints have been received to mercy, but can my sin be pardoned? can my soul be quickened? No, no, my sins are greater than can be forgiven, saith the despairing soul: then me thinketh Satan is stronger to overthrow thee, than God to save thee: than it seemeth sin is stronger to condemn thee, than God to do good unto thee; and thus you make God to be no God upon point, nay you make him to be weaker than sin, than hell, than the devil: And this is most injurious to God, to make the power of sin greater to condemn thee, than the power of God to save thee: to make the power of Satan stronger to ruinated thee, than the mercy of God to relieve and secure thee: and what can you say more? and what can you do more against the Lord? Is not this to make God an underling to Satan, and to sin? this is to say, the Almightiness of God is weaker than the weakness of sin: the Sufficiency of God is weaker than the malice of Satan. It is true, a poor humble sinner many times will make bitter complaints this way, and they think they speak against themselves: No, no, they speak against the Lord: they spoke against God, when they said, Can the Lord prepare a table in the wilderness: So you that speak in this desperate manner, why truth Lord, this proud heart will never be humbled: if any thing would have wrought, it would have been done before this day. How many sermons, how many mercies, how many judgements, how many prayers? and yet this proud heart, this stubborn heart, will not be reform: you think you speak against yourselves now; no, no, you speak against the Lord, and brethren think much of this; thou that thinkest so, that sayest so, that concludest so; this is one of the greatest sins thou committest, to say thy sins cannot be forgiven thee. Secondly, This sin of desperation, as it is most injurious to God; so in the second place, it is extraordinary dangerous to thy own soul: It is that which taketh up the bridge, and cutteth off all passages: and there can no spiritual comfort and consolation come into the poor soul of a poor sinner: Luk. 3.15. Luk. 3.15. Every ditch must be filled, and then all flesh shall see the salvation of the Lord: what are these ditches? why, nothing else but those deep gulfs and ditches of despair, and unless these be filled, no man can see the Lord Jesus Christ. In a word, my brethren, suffer me to open myself; the truth is, this despair of the soul is that which cutteth the sinews of all man's comfort, and taketh off the power and edge of all the means of grace: it daunteth all a man's endeavours, nay it plucketh up a man's endeavours as it were quite by the roots: for that which a man despaireth off, he will never labour after. It is here as with a man in pangs of death; unto such a man all means are unavailable for his good, his bed will not ease him, meat will not refresh him, chase will not revive; at the last, we say he is gone, he is a dead man: friends leave him, Physicians leave him, they may go and pray for him, and mourn for him, but they cannot recover him. So this despair of soul maketh a man cast off all hope, and lie down in a forlorn condition, expecting no good to come: alas, saith a man, what skilleth for a man to pray? what profiteth a man to read? what benefit in all the means of grace? the truth of it is, the stone is rolled upon me, and my condemnation sealed for ever: it is sure in heaven, and therefore I will never look after Christ, grace, and salvation any more, and press the means to him: let him come to hear the Word, mark how he casteth off all the benefit; it was marvellous seasonable and profitable, it was the good Word of the Lord, very comfortable unto such as have any share therein. Why may not you expect good? why may not you receive benefit there from? why, no, saith the soul, the time of grace is past, the day is gone, and thus the soul sinketh in itself; if Christians would pray for him, and Ministers would labour to do him good, why he biddeth them spare their labour, for hell is his portion, and his condemnation is sealed in heaven: see now and consider what desperate danger of despair bringeth to a poor heart, and maketh him to be beyond the reach of mercy, that no means can come at him. It is a pretty passage of David, Psal. 77.7. Will the Lord cast me off ever? and will he show no favour? I said this is my infirmity, saith the text, the word in the original, this is my sickness; as who should say, this would be my death, what, is mercy gone for ever? then my life is gone, then is all my comfort and all my hope gone, therefore take heed of this, it taketh off the edge of our endeavours, & God's ordinances that might do us good. Secondly, it reproveth and marvellously condemneth that great sin of presumption, a sin more frequent, and if possible may be, more dangerous; the presumption of carnal hypocrites that bolster up themselves with marvellous boldness in their course; I beseech you observe it, it is true here, as they said, Saul hath slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands: despair hath slain his thousands, but presumption his ten thousands: that men may swear, and lie, and cousin, and break all commands, and yet hope to be saved, yet they hope grace will save them; they resist grace, yet hope Jesus Christ will show mercy unto them, they oppose Christ, this is that which, I say, hath slain many thousand souls amongst us, and they are few that have not split at this rock; therefore, I say, this serveth to reprove the baseness, the vileness of such Hypocrites that boast themselves, and compare their hopes with the hopes of the Saints: it is true, say they, I cannot walk so freely, I cannot repeat a Sermon, I want those parts that they have, I walk not so curiously, yet I hope to be saved as well as they: this is that which hath slain many thousands of souls that now are roaring in hell, and they may thank presumption for it. Now this hope is not the hope of the Saints; the hope of the Saints is a grounded hope, but these hopes merely hang upon some idle pleas and foolish pretences, and some carnal reasons: but I tell you they will fall, and their hopes will sink, and they into the bottomless pit before they be ware: it is the command and counsel of Peter, That every man should be ready to give a reason of his faith and hope that is in him; therefore let us see the reasons that carry you, the arguments that persuade you to these groundless and foolish hopes; you hope to be saved, and you hope to go to heaven, and you hope to see the face of God with comfort: let us see the ground for these hopes of yours, good hope hath good reasons, grounded hope grounded reasons; you say, you hope to be saved, and have no reason for it; it is a foolish hope, an unreasonable hope, the grounds therefore of Hypocrites are mainly five: The ignorant poor silly man, he pleadeth he can think it, he cannot conceive it, that God hath created any man for to damn him; sure the Lord is more merciful than so, and therefore though we be sinful, and base, and untoward, yet the Lord will not damn us: I answer therefore, it is true indeed, God did never preserve men for this same end that he might damn them; though it is as true, he that made men, he will damn most of men in hell for their sins committed against him; Narrow is the gate, and straight is the way that leadeth unto life, few there be that find it: is this the argument of thy hope? mark the folly, and observe the weakness of it: if creation be a good argument, than all the damned should come out of hell and be delivered; nay by this reason the Devil himself should be saved; they are now in hell, they were created as well as you ignorant silly creatures: think of these things how your hope will shatter and break under you, and you with them will fall together into the bottomless pit, Esa. 57.11. See how the Lord bringeth this argument and confuteth it, it is a people that hath no understanding, therefore he that made them will not save them, he that created them will show them no mercy, the text saith, the Lord saith from heaven, though he made thee, he will not show thee mercy, if thou continue to be wicked and rebellious. Another groweth in hope, that God will show mercy unto him in regard of God's favourable dealing with him in things of this life, and he saith and pretendeth great thankfulness for God's goodness, and he praiseth the Lord he never wanted any thing, his lot is fallen into a good ground, and therefore he doubteth not, but that God, who hath been his God from his youth will save him, and show mercy unto his soul; this is the second ground, and it is a poor feeble ground to support the soul in such a case as this. I answer therefore, thou art deceived, thou takest that for an argument of God's love and mercy, which rather may be an argument of God's hatred and indignation: Psal. 92.12, The wicked flourish, saith the text, than a man may say, they will all to heaven, they will all be saved if they so prosper here, no, saith the text, they flourish that they may be destroyed, and perish for ever, the ox is fatted for the slaughter, so it is here, thou art fatted here, thou hast more than heart can desire, thy cups are full, and thy table well spread, thy breasts full of milk, and thy bones full of marrow, it is that thou mightest be destroyed, Psal. 1.5. Prosperity destroyeth the soul; it is like poison, like ratsbane; now would any man say thus, such a man is most like to live, because he eareth most poison? nay rather the contrary, so prosperity meeting with a sinful with a naughty heart, it is poison to him; the text telleth you, when Haman was invited, it was that he might be accused; the truth is, these men of the greatest hope in this life I mean for honour, and pomp, and respect, and preferment, many of them are men of the least hope for heaven. Others because they have felt the heavy hand of God, many sorrows, many weaknesses, many troubles in their course, many losses in their estate, these stayeth up their comforts, and upon these grounds they build their hopes; I have had my hell in this life, and I hope to have heaven in the world to come; I hope the worst is over, now I have been troubled in this world, I hope I shall be comforted in another world, and here is the ground of your hopes: I beseech you consider what I answer, I say this, all the grievances, trouble, sorrow, sicknesses, be they what they will be unless thy heart be humbled by them, unless thou be brought unto the Lord Jesus Christ by them, they are so fare from being an argument of grace and salvation unto thee, that they are harbingers of those everlasting torments, you shall endure in hell: Sodom and Gomorrah they burned in brimstone, and they shall burn in hell; a man would have said they had their hell here, and therefore they should not have it hereafter; why? the text saith they suffered vengeance of eternal fire; why, brethren, I beseech you observe it, will any man reason thus; such a man hath had the earnest of the bargain, and therefore he shall not have the bargain? will any man say thus, he that is attached, arraigned, condemned, shall not be hanged? nay rather he that hath the earnest shall have the bargain, he that now is accused, condemned shall now be hanged, so here. Others bear their hopes and sustain their hearts upon the privileges that God bestoweth upon them, and the means they have, and in regard of the duties they do discharge, and though they think they have fair hopes and great hopes of heaven, why, say they, God will pour down his wrath upon those that know not God, and that call not upon his name, but what do you make of us, are we heathen, are not we Christians, have not we been baptised, and the Lord hath enabled us to do something, we call upon his name, and seek him by fasting and prayer, and therefore he that hath done so much for us, and hath done so much to us, sure he will give us heaven: I answer, that this bottom is not sufficient to bear up this hope, all the privileges thou hast, all the means, ordinances thou enjoyest, unless thy heart be humbled, and thy soul brought to Christ, all these will fall under thee, and thou wilt go to hell, Rom. 2.28. He is not a Jew that is a Jew outwardly, the Jews they bragged of this, they were circumcised, and the Heathen were not circumcised; they were the seed of Abraham, but the Heathen were not; Paul vilifieth all this, he is not a Jew, that is a Jew outwardly; thy baptism, thy praying, and thy hearing, there is no profit by them, no comfort in them, if thou maintain a wicked life, and a naughty heart, therefore this will not serve the turn, you know it, and the Scripture speaketh it, judas an Apostle, judas called by Christ, he sat with our Saviour, and dipped his hand in the dish, he was a Devil then, and is with the Devils now; the foolish virgins had a trim profession, as well as the others; thou professest, and hearest, and prayest; thou wilt lie too, and cousin too, and swear too, thou art naught, and this bottom will never bear thee up. When they see all this will come to nothing, than they make a shift to plead mercy, and they hope that will stand then in stead, and do them good, when nothing else will, and therefore you shall hear carnal wicked men confess themselves naught, their sins many, and they vile, but there is mercy enough in God to relieve them, and they hope that will save them. Brethren, I confess mercy is able to save thee, and if thy hope can lay hold upon it, it will save thee, if thou be so within the reach of mercy, mercy is able to save thee, and will save many other beside; but thou art not capable of this mercy, thou art not within the room and compass of mercy, what availeth it to talk, and speak and hope for mercy, and to see a great deal of mercy in Christ, a great deal of merit in Christ, a great deal of virtue in Christ, able to save thee and a thousand more, and yet thou not in the compass of mercy, not capable of mercy, but sinkest in thy own sins, before thou gettest any mercy from God, Isa. 27.11. he that made them will have no mercy upon them, as who should say, it is true, here is abundance of mercy, mercy enough, mercy that saved a poor company of poor Jews, that crucified the Lord Jesus Christ; mercy that saved Paul a persecutor, Manasses an Idolater, but I will show no mercy unto thee, he that confesseth and forsaketh his sins, shall find mercy, mercy owneth those, mercy doth good unto those, but unto thee that lovest thy sins, that embracest thy sins, that hidest thy sins, the text saith it, thou shalt never find mercy, delude thyself thou mayst, but thou never shalt have mercy; Luke 14.24. there was a marriage made, and a rich marriage feast, enough to have fed many thousands, but those that were bidden did not come, they shall not so much as taste of them, they shall have none of them; so there are sweet comforts, strong consolations, admirable refresh, able to sustain a thousand souls, but you that would keep your sins, and have the pride of your hearts, but you that stand it out with the world, and will not yield to the authority of the truth, hear what the Lord saith from heaven, he that is the God of comfort, thou shalt never be comforted; he that is the Author of salvation saith it, thou shalt never be saved, thou shalt never have a crumb of these dainties, nor a drop of these sweet wines of spiritual consolation: what a world now of men are shut out by these trials, that are found guilty of these particulars, you poor ignorant creatures, do not many of you lift up your heads full high, and many a poor presumptuous hypocrite bear up themselves upon rotten hopes? Object. but I tell you, when you come to the day of judgement, all this will fail you; but you will say in the former use, you laboured us from despair, and encouraged us to hope, and yet now you take away all our hopes, why if neither creation may comfort us, nor the experience of God's kind dealing with us may encourage us, nor the afflictions that we have endured in this world, nor the privileges that we have enjoyed, nor the mercy of themselves may give us any hope to receive mercy, why then it seemeth you would have us despair, and cast away all hope of any good? Answer. The truth is, as I must not make the way broader than it is, so I must not make it narrower than I ought, therefore know these two things: As long as thou retainest and keepest a proud, stubborn, unconverted heart, there is no hope in heaven or earth, that God should ever show mercy unto thee, and save that hard, stony, impenitent, unbelieving heart of thine, unless thou thinkest, that God will bring all thy pride, all thy looseness, and sinful delights unto heaven; God cannot show thee mercy unless he will deny himself, and cross his holiness; follow peace and holiness, without which no man shall see God; God taketh a corporal oath of it, an unbelieving man that liveth under grace despising it and contemning it, God taketh an oath he shall never be saved, now the oath of God shall ever stand: there be two immutable things, namely, himself and his oath; himself cannot be changed his oath cannot be broken; now the Lord sweareth, such a man shall not enter into his rest, a man may be saved that cannot keep the law fully of himself, but a man cannot be saved that will not humble his soul before the Lord, and receive mercy from him; and hence Ephes. 2.12. Without God, without Christ, without hope; the Lord hath said, the Lord hath sworn it, that an unbelieving, an unrepenting sinner, shall never come unto heaven: he cannot save thy soul, until he hath humbled thy soul; he cannot save thy soul, as long as thou retainest an unbelieving soul. This is that which you must take notice of, that I may let in a little crevise of comfort to every natural man; that I may set open a peepe-hole of mercy; know therefore this, that though the Lord will not, nay the Lord according to his oath cannot save a continuing unbeliever; yet here is all the hope thou hast, and bless God for it, and be thankful that thou hast it; though whilst thou art an unbelieving creature, thou canst have no mercy from God, yet God can make thee a believer: he can break that heart, he can make thee good; therefore I say, bless God, that thou art yet in the land of the living, and say, good Lord, this is mercy, that I am on this side hell: if I had died, I had as certainly gone to hell as the coat upon my back: hath not the Lord said it, did not the Minister speak it, and the Word reveal it; that as long as I had a proud, naughty, stubborn, wretched heart, I should never find mercy, unless I should think that God would make new Scriptures, turn the course of his providence to save a company of base wretched creatures. Oh my brethren, you that are yet in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity; proud before, and proud still, that live and lie in your sins, I say, every morning, and every evening, that yet you live, think with yourselves, Hath God given me this hope, this liberty, and that my life is continued, why now bestir yourselves to get mercy. I beseech you think o● it, if you be not wrought upon by the Word, if Heaven and Earth should meet together to save thee, and an Angel from Heaven would speak comfort unto thee, all would fail: therefore you see by this time in what case these are; go aside and mourn for yourselves and neighbours; this say, if you will continue proud and wicked, there is no hope for you, all the hope is this, you are yet alive, the Lord may humble that heart, he may enlighten your eyes, he may work upon thy soul, else there is no mercy for thee. Use 2 It is an use of consolation, and I hope you will be content to hear that. I beseech you therefore to observe what I say, take notice here, that every poor broken hearted sinner may take some ground here to stay his soul, though much disquieted, though exceedingly perplexed: when the soul seemeth to be aloof off from the Lord, when the Lord doth not shine abroad the sweetness of his mercy upon the soul, when the Lord withdraweth himself and his grace in assisting and comforting his Saints, when thou hast no sense, no feeling, thou canst not be persuaded of it, or thy heart believe it; canst thou but look up to God, and hope, I say thy condition is good: thou art a good scholar in the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus, Esay. 40.18. The Lord waiteth upon his Saints to do them good; but mark what the Text saith, Blessed is every man that waiteth upon the Lord: he doth not say, blessed is the man that hath sense of God's favour, blessed is the man that hath assurance of God's mercy, but blessed is that man that waiteth upon the Lord: thou sayest thou canst not do this, and thou canst not do that; I say if thou canst but wait and hope for the mercy of the Lord, I say thou art a rich Christian: if a man hath many reversions, though he hath them not for the present, men that judge of his estate, will not judge him for his present estate, but for his reversions which he shall have: haply thou hast not for the present the sense and feeling of the assurance of God's love; away with that feeling, do not dote upon it, thou hast reversions of old leases, ancient mercies, old compassions, such as have been reserved from the beginning of the world, and know thou hast a fair inheritance: this is observable; Rom. 8 28. We are saved by hope: now hope that is seen, is no hope: for why should a man hope for that which a man hath? we are saved through hope: now if you would have hope to be seen, you have no hope in conclusion; though thou hast it not in thy eye, yet if thou dost hope, it is enough, that hope will save thy soul. It is the folly of our sinful proud hearts, that sometimes in the sense of our own sins and sight of our own unworthiness, we almost disdain to look upon what God hath done for us, and we consider not the kindness of the Lord. That place in the Psalmist, The eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, and wait for him; it is the wretched distemper of the soul: we can fall out with heaven and ourselves, because we cannot have what we would; nay we quarrel against the means of grace: what avail means and helps as long as I have such a stubborn naughty heart: Psal. 174. 1●1. The Lord taketh pleasure in those that fear him, and wait for his mercy: alas brethren, out of the pride of your own spirits, you fall out with God and yourselves, and so deprive yourselves of this comfort. Object. But you will say, were my hopes of the right stamp, and of the right coin, than a man might comfort himself therein: though he wanted the sense of God's love, and the assurance of his mercy: but there are many false hopes, flashy hopes, lean hopes, how shall a man know that his hope is sound and good, and will comfort him? Ans. You may know it by these four particulars. The first is this, a grounded hope, it hath a peculiar certainty in it, it doth bring home unto the soul in special manner the goodness of God, and the riches of his love in Jesus Christ: this same grounded hope doth not stand upon Ifs and Ands, but it saith, it must be undoubtedly, it must certainly be mine: and this you must know, it is the nature of hope, to make a thing to be certain. Hope maketh things infallible and undoubted, and withal there is a kind of speciality, a bringing home of God's goodness unto the soul, in a peculiar manner: hope always if sound, it hath something to say for itself always, it hath a ward to hang and hold upon: Psal. 130.5. I wait upon the Lord, and I hope in his Word: and so Rom. 15.4. All things are written for our instruction, that through the comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope: here is hope, not through your conceits, imaginations and dreams, but through the Scripture: we might have hope, a grounded hope is a Scripture hope, it is a word hope; and therefore those that cannot bring a word, and give a reason for their hope, I would not give a rush, nor a farthing token for a hundred cart load of such hopes: No, it is Law hope, it is Gospel's hope, Scripture hope, Word hope; so that the soul can say, the Word saith, the Lord came to save those that are lost, why I find myself to be lost, and therefore I hope the Lord will seek me, though I cannot seek him; I hope the Lord will find me, though I cannot find myself; I hope the Lord will save me, though I cannot save myself. But the hopes of the wicked hang like a cloud, they are not grounded upon the evidence of the Scripture, they crowd all in the general; I hope to far as well as others, and other had mercy, and why not I? And hence the hopes of the wicked are unsteadfast and wavering: but a man might here demand, are not the hopes of the Saints so too? Do they not waver and stagger many a time? Answer, It is true, but with this difference; the hopes of God's servants are like an anchor, which though sometimes it is shaken, yet it holdeth the faster: but the hopes of the hypocrites are like the waves of the seas, and they come to nothing: Prov. 8.28. The hope of the righteous shall be glad, but the expectation of the wicked shall perish; as who should say, though the waves be great, and the storms violent, yet the anchor shall be fast, and the ship shall come safe to haven; but it is otherwise with the wicked, their hopes do perish. What is become of your hopes now? you thought you should be saved, and that you should do as well as others; but when the day of judgement cometh, and the last great day of account shall be, what then shall become of all your hopes? You shall see, it is as if a man should plead for a man's inheritance, because he did dwell in the same town, and were of the same name. But now the Saints of God, when they come to lay claim to mercy, they bring a hold, a word, Isay 61.3. He appointeth them that mourn in Zion: will you have a legacy of joy, mercy, and pity? here it is, the Lord Christ left it you, I bequeath this and leave it to all you broken hearted sinners, to all you humble mourning sinners in Zion: this is your legacy, sue for it in the Court, and you shall have it for ever. Hence David ventureth all for this hope, he taketh this as a child's part, Psal. 33. the last verse; Let thy mercy come unto us, as our hope is in thee, not according to our sense and assurance, but according to our hope; thy desires may fail, and endeavours fail, and the means fail, yet let thy mercy come unto me according to my hope. The second is this, a grounded hope is ever of great power and strength, to hold the soul to the truth of the promise: the Spirit you know, we shown, stirreth the heart to hope: now he turneth hope so to God, that the eye of the soul goeth that way and cannot be taken from it, but it will go promise-ward, and God-ward. Hence take a poor sinner, when he is at the weakest under water; when all temptations, oppositions, corruptions, grow strong against them, the Lord letteth them lose against the soul, nay letteth the poor soul come to join side with Satan against himself, and the goodness of the Lord; and he saith, the truth of it is, I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul: this proud foolish filthy heart of mine, it will be my bane; it had better for me never to have been, I shall never get power, strength and grace against these sins; here is the lowest under of a poor soul. If a man should now reply, why then cast off all hope and confidence, reject the means, and turn to your sins; Mark how hope steppeth in and saith, it is true, what ever I am and do, what ever my condition is, I will use the means, I am sure all my help is in Christ, all my hope is in the Lord Jesus, and if I must perish, I will perish seeking him, and waiting upon him. Why, this is hope now, and I warrant that soul shall never go to hell. Psal. 119.81. My heart fainted, and my hope was in thy salvation: Isay 8.7. I will wait for the Lord, who hath hid himself from the house of jacob: the Lord hideth himself, he doth not show himself, he hath not manifested himself, yet I will hope in the Lord, that hideth his face: Psal. 69.3. But the hope of the wicked is not so: 2 King. 6. and the last verse, this evil cometh of the Lord, and why should I wait any longer? Prov. 14.32. The hope of the wicked is driven away; that though a man stood upon his bottom, and all the world could not persuade him to the contrary, but that he should be saved, and he should go to heaven, though proud still, though vain still, but his hope shall be driven away, but the righteous shall have hope in his death: friends fail, life fail, and wealth fail, but yet he hath hope in his death. Sign. 3 As the strength of this hope is great in regard of all opposition that cometh to the contrary, so also the excellency and surpassing worth of this hope, which overshadoweth all the hopes in the world, that can be offered, propounded, desired; all seem nothing to this hope, which the soul hath to God; that when the soul cometh to be drawn to God, and to hope in him, all other hopes hold no weight: hopeth not for honour, for profit, nor liberty, nor delight; it discovereth the baseness of these, so that the soul careth not for any thing else in comparison. It is in this case with the soul, as with the hound; the hound haply followeth the game until he be spent, and tired; yet if there come a fresh hare, yet the very sent of a fresh one will make him leave all: so it is here, though heretofore he hath had many games in the world; he hoped for honour and profit, and his soul run all amain upon them; but when the soul hath been brought to know the riches of God's mercy in Christ, it leaveth the old profits, the old contents, the old delights that he had; Heb. 11.13. All these died in the faith, when they had saluted the promises. And observe here a carnal hearted Hypocrite, his hopes be vain, idle and uncertain; the truth is, if the world giveth other hopes of honour, and profits, and delights, he leaveth his hope, and with Demas he embraceth the present world; but the Saints of God are not so, Heb. 11.25. Moses might have had great honour, but he forsook his honour, and had an eye to the recompense of reward. Sign. 4 The last is taken from the virtue of hope, and the special fruit and effect that it worketh in the soul; A grounded hope it always dareth supply and succour, when all the rest of a man's abilities fail, and are not able to sustain and support his soul; when desire faileth, and love faileth, I mean in his own sense and apprehension, I say, than hope supporteth the soul, Psal. 16.9. My flesh shall rest in hope, that is, hope will give a man rest in the most miserable forlorn condition that may be, that when the heart is ready to say, where is the means that I have had, and the good days that I have seen? this dead heart cannot be quickened, I am as dead as the room where I am, and the bed where I lie; why, hope will give a man rest in this condition, my flesh shall rest in hope. Look as in the sea when the storms arise, and the billows beat, and the tempests rage, than a little hope, yet the anchor holdeth; so though the mast, the sail, and all sink, yet the anchor holdeth; nay when all give themselves for lost, despair of all help, yet the anchor holdeth; and here is the excellency of an anchor in this particular, that when a man hath nothing to sustain him, yet cometh in this grace of hope, yet it may be better, and it will be otherwise, this upholdeth when nothing else can; it is not, but yet hope saith, it will be, therefore cheer up that fainting soul of thine, that love God will enlarge, that desire God will quicken, that fearful heart God will establish, that dead heart God will quicken; thus the anchor holdeth still from day to day, hence hope is said to be the nurse of the soul, it nourisheth faith, and it feedeth faith, hope fetcheth the promise from fare, Lord thou hast said it, and therefore it cannot but be: I beseech you observe, look as it is with a man that cannot see a thing a fare off, yet with a prospective glass he may see it, so here, how ever eye cannot see it, the heart cannot feel it, yet hope waiteth still, expecteth still, as a man in a sounding fit, he cannot see and hear, yet there is some life in the heart, and that bringeth him again, so when a man's heart would fail, and he is overwhelmed with sorrow and despair, than yet the pulse of hope beateth still, there is this life of hope left still in the heart of a Christian; but it is not so with the wicked, their hopes are not like the hopes of God's servants. It is a fine place, job 11. last verse, The hope of the wicked is like the giving up of the ghost, that though a man can lift up his head full high, and think he shall be saved and go to heaven, though he carrieth a base wreathed heart about with him: No, no, when the Lord shall come to lay thee upon thy deathbed, let us then see your hope, if your hope can now keep life and soul together, if it can cheer, comfort, and refresh you, let it, nay if all the Ministers under heaven, and all the Angels in heaven, should come and reveal the promises; why, a man will then tell you, Alas! I am a wretch, I never did any thing, never had any thing, but that which cursed carnal Hypocrites have had: I have prayed, and judas prayed, and he is in hell, and so may I be too, for aught I know: why, but the Minister replieth, comfort up your own heart, cheer up your own soul in expectation of some favour from God, why? alas! saith the soul, there is no comfort for me: why? but saith a man, there is mercy in Christ, it is true there is mercy, but alas I have resisted mercy, I have despised the offer of grace, therefore there is no hope, he was graceless here, and he shall be damned for ever, he was stubborn here, and he shall be for ever miserable hereafter: Look as a tree that is falling, there are some strong sprigs in the root, and that beareth it up, and it bringeth sometimes a great deal of fruit, so it is here, though desire, endeavour be dead unto the word and ordinances, yet there is a sprig of hope, and that supporteth the soul, and the soul saith unto the Lord, thou hast said, the broken hearted sinner shall have mercy, I am so, I am weary and heavy laden, therefore refresh me, I have a dead heart, Lord, but weary of it, Lord, a profane heart, but weary of it, Lord. Use 3 The last use, it is an use of exhortation, since you see the worth of it, and the way thereunto, Exhortat. let every one labour for this hope, Heb. 11.6. there saith the Apostle, I would desire you to give the same diligence to the full assurance of hope; I desire you, I entreat you, I will not say I command you, though this may be enjoined: if you have any hope in heaven, if you have any treasure in Christ, labour to quicken this affection above all: here I am to show the motives and the means. Motive 1 The first motive is this, in truth we have no more use of any thing than of hope, it is a thing that is most useful for us in all estates, in all conditions, what ever we do, brethren, there is nothing more useful than this grace of hope, hope is an universal grace: I tell you hoping and breathing are all one, as breath continueth life and soul together, so doth his hope: the truth is, we have as much use of hoping for God and waiting for his goodness, as the body of breathing and preserving of life, 1 Corin. 9.10. That he that ploweth may blow in hope, brethren, all our actions must have hope go along with them, the man must pray in hope, preach in hope, and hear in hope; what ever thou hast, hope still, that God may bless it; what ever thou dost, hope that God will assist thee in it: when a man preacheth, he must preach in hope, though he doth not do good now this day, nor next day, yet hope what the Lord may do, yet hope what the Lord will do, so in the time of our pilgrimage here we cannot live without this hope, so in coming to the word of God, thou comest one day, and yet the word of profiteth not, thou comest the second day, and yet the word prevaileth not, thou comest the third time, yet the word humbleth not; come still, hope still, the Lord may be pleased at last to set home some word, that may humble thy heart, and quicken thy soul, and subdue thy corruptions. Motive 2 The second motive is this, we have most need of it, as nothing is more useful, so nothing is more needful for the benefit of the soul: you know in war, those places of the body that are most ready to be assaulted, they look to fence that especially, as now the head of every soldier, therefore every one getteth a head-piece, and will be sure to get a helmet about him: now what a head-piece is to the soldier in warring, that hope is to the Christian in living, 1 Thessal. 5.8. I beseech you observe it, the Devil fighteth at the head continually, which is the hope of salvation, the assurance of God's love, this is the head-piece of a Christian, if once this be gone, the soul is gone, and a man's heart sinketh within him, Satan intendeth most harm this way, and therefore we should be most careful to bestow the more pains for our help in this particular: take a poor sinner, cut off his hope, and you cut off his head, if a man's arms were gone, he might live, if a man want a leg, he might still continue, but if his head-piece be gone, all is gone; a Christian may want many inlargements, many comforts, many abilities, but if his head-piece be gone, if his hope be cut off, alas! he hath nothing to support and sustain himself in the time of trouble. Motive 3 This hope is that whereby our hearts are kept both in the love of God, and provoked unto obedience unto God, jude 21. Keep yourselves in the love of God, expecting the mercy of God; now this is nothing but the work of hope, and brethren, this is a rule, unless we expect some mercy from God, we will never look after him, we will never obey him, never walk with him, but when we expect some good thing coming unto us, than we love him and follow after him: but some might here say, it is true, we doubt not of the comfort and benefit that cometh by it, but what means are there that might help a man to hope in the goodness of God, how shall a man uphold his soul in some measure in expecting mercy from the Lord? Answ. The means are three. Means 1 Labour above all to cast out all carnal sensuality, that commonly creepeth upon us, and would prevail over us; I mean this that we would fain live by sense, our carnal hearts be sensual creatures, we would fain live by our sense, what we see with our eyes, and feel with our fingers, and have in our hands, that we can be sure of, but we can have nothing in hope: now when the soul is taken up with, and bestoweth itself upon the present things, than you put hope out of office: Rom. 8.24. You are saved through hope, and hope that is seen is no hope; a man doth not hope for a thing that he hath, but hope always expects a good that is to come; this is the marvellous sottish distemper of our wretched hearts, that we will trust God no further than we see him: Acts 1.9. wilt thou now restore the kingdom to Israel, just now; so here, saith the soul, may I now have grace, may I now have assurance, may I now have the evidence of God's love? but I would have it now, where now is hope all this while? you take away the work of hope, when you would have things present: we know the child must wait for his portion before he hath it, so you must stay your time, and be contented with the dealing of the Lord toward you in this kind. Means 2 You must daily attend and labour to be much acquainted with the precious promises of God, to have them at hand, and upon all occasions, for those are thy consorts, those are they that support thy soul, that look as the body is without comfort, unfit for any thing, nature groweth feeble and weak, a pale face, a faint heart, a feeble hand, and the like; so it is here, unless a man hath that provision of God's promises, and have them at hand daily, and have them dished out and fitted for him, his heart will fail: Rom. 15.4. What ever was written was for our comfort, that through the Scripture we might hope. Verse 13. That we might abound in hope through the Gospel; as who should say, it is not in your power to support your hope, it is not in any power here below, but through the Scripture; ye might have hope, and through the power of the holy Ghost: brethren, I beseech you observe it, while we look upon our own infirmities on one side, and the feebleness of the means on the other side, this is the next way to damp our hope, to dead our hearts, and to take away all our comfort and assurance; this is not the way to abound in hope through the power of the holy Ghost; I beseech you observe it, all these things here below cannot give any comfort, a man may as soon wring oil or water out of a flint, as wring comfort out of these means. In all these outward things there is no sound comfort or hope, there be these three things, either we shall not find comfort or contentment in them, or else not sufficient content, or else no constant, no continual content. It is with the hope of a poor Christian, as with Noah's dove, she found no rest upon the earth for the sole of her foot; so it is with our wretched hearts, we send out our hope to our abilities, to the means we do enjoy, to our prayers and performances we do discharge, and thus all our hopes break and fail us, for in all these things there is no foothold for hope; we must anchor our foothold in Christ, what I want Christ can supply, what I need Christ can give, what is good for me Christ can bestow, what I have done amiss Christ can pardon; though I barren, he is full, though I dull, he hath enough grace and enlargement for me; it is said of Naamans' leprosy, Let him come, and he shall know there is a God in Israel; though the King cannot heal, yet a God can; though the means cannot, yet the Lord can; so it is here, the hope that a man hath in these things here below, and the hope in the Gospel: A man sendeth out his hope, having a wounded conscience, he now goeth to his gifts, that they should pacify him, he sendeth out his hope to his prayers, that they should ease him; mark what they say, are we God, we cannot help; but hear what the promise saith, though prayers cannot, though parts cannot, though outward help cannot, yet there is a God in Israel, there is a promise that is able, here is mercy enough, here is power and comfort enough. Means 3 Maintain in thy heart a deep and serious acknowledgement of that supreme authority of the Lord, to do what he will, and how he will according to his own pleasure; brethren, I beseech you to observe it, this I take to be the ground, why the heart of a poor sinner is marvellous taken up with passion and distemper, and a kind of teachy shortness; we think to bring God to our bow, we have hoped thus long, and God not answered, we have stood so long, and no comfort, and shall we wait still? wait? I wait, and bless God that you may wait: if you may lie at God's feet, and put your mouth in the dust, and at the end of your days have one crumb of mercy, it is enough, therefore check those distempers, what if God will? when a wretched sinner wrangleth with God for his dealing with him, Paul cutteth him short, what if God will? so when thou thinkest the time long, when Lord, and how long Lord, what if God will? he oweth thee nothing, thou deservest nothing, what if God will damn thee, and will send thee to hell? it is a most admirable strange thing, that a poor worm worthy of hell should take up state, and stand upon terms with God, and he will not wait upon God, who must wait then? must God wait, or man wait? must the Creator wait, or the creature wait? Acts 1.9. wilt thou now restore the kingdom to Israel, it is not for you to know the times and the seasons; as who should say, hands off, meddle with that you have to do withal, it is for you to wait, it is for you to expect mercy, it is not for you to know: so I would have you to do, when you begin to wrangle and to say, how long Lord, when Lord, and why not now Lord, and why not I Lord? why? check thy own heart and say, it is not for me to know, it is for me to be humble, and to be abased, and to wait for mercy, but it is not for me to know the time. Thus much concerning Hope: Now followeth next Desire. headpiece JOHN 6.45. Every one that hath heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me, etc. IN this great work of vocation, there are two things considerable: First, the call on God's part by the preaching of the Gospel; Secondly, the gracious answer to Gods call. Now as all the soul departed from God, so it must be all brought back again to God. Therefore, first the understanding is enlightened, and that gives notice to the soul that mercy is intended towards it; then hope expects that mercy, and then desire wanders about from ordinance to ordinance, and longs for that mercy. Doctrine. The Doctrine then which ariseth hence is this, that. The Spirit of the Lord quickens the desire of an humble and enlightened sinner, to long for the riches of his mercy in Christ. For the right conceiving of this Doctrine, three passages are to be understood: First, that this desire is in the heart humbled and enlightened: if either of these two be wanting, this desire cannot grow there. Secondly, this desire is quickened by the Spirit; for though the soul be humbled and made nothing, and be content to be at God's disposal; yet it is not able through any principle of life which it hath of itself to be carried to any such supernatural work as this desire is: therefore the Spirit must quicken and move the heart thus humbled and enlightened to long for the riches of God's mercy, and this desire is called the lifting up of the heart after the good it wants. As the Infant cannot go without the hand of the Father, so a poor sinner (in himself considered) is as an Infant, and not able to lift up himself to this desire any further than the Lord inables him by his grace and spirit. The bowl is fit to run, yet it can run no longer than the strength of the hand sticks upon it: So the humble in lightened soul is fit to come to Christ, yet it will not, nay it cannot stir further than the hand of the Spirit moves it. Note. Let every poor broken hearted sinner take notice of it, for this will inform you of a strange kind of truth, remember this, you must not think to bring desire with you to the promise, but receive desire from the promise: It is a vain thing to think that if the oars be in the boat, the boat must needs go; indeed the oar will move the boat, but the hand of the Ferryman must first move the oar: The soul is like the oar, and unless the hand of the Spirit moves our desire, it cannot move towards the Lord. Lastly, the Doctrine saith the spirit quickens up the heart to long for the riches of God's mercy; the desires of the wicked are flashy, lazy and feeble, and come to nothing. But even as the longing desire of a woman with child will not leave her till her life doth leave her, so the desires which the promise works will never leave the soul till it be possessed of the thing it desires. Our Saviour saith, Matth. 12.20. A bruised reed shall he not break, and that smoking flax shall he not quench. Now we all know that flax will not smoke, unless the sparkles come to it; but when the sparkles have taken the flax, than it doth smoke, and will not leave till it come to a flame. The soul is like the flax, and it will never smoke in desire towards the Lord, till the Lord by his Spirit in the promise doth strike fire upon it: the Lord must first strike fire by the promise upon the soul, before it can ever flame in a desire towards the Lord; and when it doth once smoke in a holy desire, the Lord will not let it fail before he brings it to a perfect flame, and before it be possessed of Christ and mercy which it longs for. Reason. The reason of this order of God's work, why desire comes next after hope is this; because desire is that other affection which serves the great commandress of the soul, the will, for these affections are as handmaids to serve the will. The will saith, I will have this or that good, and therefore hope wait you for it, and desire, long you after it: Hope is the furthest and greatest reach of the soul; for when the soul is doubting and quarrelling, and saith, will the Lord do good to such an unworthy wretch as I am: yes saith the mind enlightened, mercy is intended towards thee, than hope goeth out to wait and look for this mercy. Now when the soul hath waited a long time, and yet this mercy comes not, and he marvels at it and saith, the Lord hath said the weary soul shall be refreshed: Oh where are all those precious promises? then the will sends out desire to meet with that good which will not yet come, and so desire goeth wand'ring from one ordinance to another, till it bring Christ home to the soul. As a gentleman doth when he expects some noble personage, he sends out a man to wait in such a place, and bring him word whether he seethe him or no: afterwards when he returns and saith he seethe him not, the gentleman sends out another messenger to meet him afar off, and so likewise to bring him and give him entertainment: So it is with the soul of a poor sinner in this case. Quest. Now how doth the Lord by that promise quicken up this desire? Ans. I answer, the cordials that God lets in, and the motives that make the soul wander towards God are three, or thus: There are three special considerations of good in the promise that do effectually work upon the heart to bring desires after. Motive 1 First, there is a peculiar good in the promise that is suitable to all the wants of the soul; there is a salve for every sore, Esay 61.1.2. Art thou a dead soul? go to the promise, there is quickening for thee. Art thou a weak soul? go to the promise, there is grace to make thee strong. Art thou a damned lost soul? go to the promise, there is salvation to save thee. Art thou a polluted soul? go to the promise, there is grace to purge thee. Do you see your sins, and feel the burden of them? Oh away to the promise, there is abundance of comfort in the Lord Jesus Christ: therefore let desire be going and seeking up and down, and never return till it bring the Lord Jesus to me to the soul. Motive 2 Secondly, as there is a fitness in that promise so suitable to all a man's wants, and this fitness in that promise marvellously stirs up desire after it: So the beauty and excellency of that fitness gives full satisfaction to the desire; as it is with a man that hath an old cankered wound, which puts him to daily trouble and vexation; if this man should hear of some special salve that would forthwith take away his pain, and ease him; and withal would take out the dead flesh, and heal him perfectly, how would this man desire that salve? nay nothing would content him but that. So it is with the freeness of God's grace, Prayer, the Word, Conference are very good, and thou hast had an old cankered soul, and a wayward peevish spirit, and these sinful lusts stick upon thee, and are still vexing of thee, and these are not quite purged out: Oh, saith the soul, these old recourses of base corruptions are ever dogging of me. Now if any bid this poor soul pray, and hear, and use the means; yes, saith he, these are useful and good; but I may pray, and hear, and receive the Sacraments, and yet go down to hell for all these: But oh that free grace of God in Christ, that would bless all these means, and make all effectual to me for my good. Oh that I had this grace above all the rest, Cant. 5.8, 9, 10, 11. joh. 6.34. Motive 3 The last motive in the promise is this, the consideration of that fitness and excellency in the promise, makes the humbled soul more sensible of his wants, and makes the necessity of a broken heart more unsufferable; so that he can endure delay no longer. I confess that when the eye is opened and the soul humbled in contrition, he seethe his sins, and is burdened with his many wants; but the sight of this fitness of the good in the promise, and the intimation of the excellency of it, and the hope thereof makes him more impatient of delay; and therefore more violent in desire. When the soul gins to consider the glory and preciousness of God's free grace now revealed and made known in some measure, and when the sparks and beauty of it are kindled in his heart, now he gins to reason in this manner; What, is this the only excellency of the promise that can give content to my soul? Oh happy I (and blessed be God) that I may yet see the goodness which many never come to know; millions of men never heard the sound of this glorious grace and mercy; Oh happy I that know it; but miserable I, if I come to see this and never have a share in it: Many are my wants, and the greater are they, because I see the good they have deprived me off; and it had been better for me never to have known the excellency of the good in the promises, than not to partake thereof; and the very consideration of this, that he hath had some hope of receiving the good in the promise, makes him say, why not I? why not my sins pardoned? and why not my corruptions subdued? What, shall all my expectations be void? What a fine pluck had I once for heaven? Shall I see heaven, and never come there? this makes him marvellous sensible of his misery, and marvellous watchful in the use of the means to recover himself again. Use 1 The first use is a ground of strong consolation, to stay the hearts of many poor sinners, in the midst of many infirmities that beset the soul: be thy weaknesses never so many, and thy temptations never so great, yet if thou canst but find this smoking desire, thy condition is good, thy consolation certain: O but, saith the soul, the sluggard desireth meat and hath it not; I am afraid all is naught: Why, leave thou thy desire with God, and the time also, and be not weary of desiring, and then thou shalt enjoy the benefit of it if thou faint not; do thou what thou shouldest, and let the Lord do what he will. Object. Oh, but saith the poor soul, how can this be? my sins are more than my miseries; a little desire and a little grace will not serve my turn. Ans. To this I answer, see what the Lord saith, Esay 44 3. I will pour clean wa●er upon the thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: thou hast many and great wants, and much misery lieth upon thee; therefore God will not only drop a little comfort into thy heart, but he will pour it in; and if a little mercy will not serve thy turn, than he will pour floods of mercy upon thee. Object. Oh, but saith the poor soul, this is all the difficulty, if my desire were sound and sincere, than I might have some comfort: how shall I therefore know that my desires are sincere? Ans. I answer, the signs of sound desire are these. Sign 1 First, as the desire is, so the endeavour will be; if thou desirest earnestly, thou wilt work accordingly. Now the labour that makes known the soundness of desire, discovers itself in four particulars. First, he that labours from a longing desire, is content to use all means which are revealed and made known to him, because he knows not which will speed. Secondly, he is careful of improving all opportunities in the use of the means. Thirdly, he will hold out in the use of those means, his wants and desires are constant, and therefore his endeavours must needs be so too: as Lament. 3.49. These three former will discover many hypocrites, Trial of sound desires. though most do not come thus fare: but a terrified hypocrite, and a heart that hath been awed, may do all these, and yet be naught too. But there is another trial of sound desires which will justle any Hypocrite under Heaven to the wall, and that is this: Though the poor sinner uses all means, and takes all opportunities in the use of those means, and is constant in the use of them, etc. yet the soul that is truly desirous of grace and mercy rests not in those labours; Alas, saith he, I labour and use the means, but what is that to me if I have no Christ and no grace, which I pray and hear for; the soul must have Christ, and mercy, and grace, which it desires, or else it will not be satisfied: a man hung up in chains, cries only for bread: so it is with a poor famished soul, he desires nothing but Christ, and nothing else will satisfy him: this last sign none but a true sincere soul can have. Sign 2 Secondly, he that truly desires mercy and grace, desires Christ for himself, and now when a man desires Christ for himself, than his desire is sound; as a maid that desires a man in wedlock, she doth not desire the portion, but the person of the man, if I beg and die with him, saith she, if I never see good day with him, yet let me have him, and I care not; so the soul that desires Christ, not for profits, or by-aymes and ends, but for himself, it saith, let me have a Saviour, though I go into prison and banishment with him, this is a heart worth gold, now when a man desires Christ for himself, it will appear in two particulars: First, he that desires Christ for himself, will part with all he hath in the world rather than he will be without Christ. If he cannot have a Saviour with that he hath, he will part with all, and this an hypocrite will hardly be brought unto: an usurer will part with all old gold, and his lands, and all for a great lordship, not for the lordship itself, but because he shall gain more gold by parting with his gold. So an hypocrite may be content to hazard riches and honour, and all for his profession, because he thinks to gain more credit by that hazard, but it is not for Christ himself. But a gracious good heart will part with all for Christ, How to know whether we desire Christ for himself or not. and he will not part with Christ for all the good in the world, only he that desires Christ for himself, is content to take him upon the hardest conditions in the world: if Christ comes, let what will be come beside, he is not like those jews, Mark 15.32. that would have had Christ and his cross severed, there is no such Christ to be had in the world. Secondly, the soul that desires Christ for himself is careful to avoid all those inconveniences that may hinder him from Christ, as Zacheus did, Luke 9 this is the second thing. Sign 3 Lastly, the soul that truly desires grace and mercy, is ready to receive it with thankfulness, and will entertain whatsoever means may reveal, and whatsoever messenger may bring home Christ and mercy to his soul: an hypocrite may go a great way here, but this is the right stroke: a gracious holy soul, the more spiritual the means are, and the more he hath of Christ, and the more clear evidence of the Spirit there is, the more they are welcome to that person, that truly longs for Christ; the soul is willing and unwearie to receive that mercy which God offers; you never see a hungry man nice and squeamish when meat is set before him, but he falls to and fits at it. Use 2 We come now in the second place to a word of reproof, which falls heavy: if this be so, that the Lord breeds a thorough and sound desire in the hearts of those he intends good unto (not a flashy desire, but) like the desire of a longing woman that must have her longing, or else she dies, so an humble soul must have a Saviour or else he dies, for what she said in regard of children, the humbled soul that hath a true desire after Christ saith the same, Give me a Saviour or else I die. This then is a bill of indictment against a world of men that lift their hands full high, and think their penny good silver, and are termed professors; if a man be baptised and comes to Church, this is that which upholds him in the time of trouble and time of extremity, he desires to be holy, and he desires to please God. If the Minister reproves him, and tells him his life is naught, and his conversation wicked; You grace? no, no, you cannot have grace here, nor salvation hereafter upon these terms, your speeches are unsavoury, your life is unprofitable and unfruitful, never think to have any grace if you thus continue: He than confesseth he hath many weaknesses, and he cannot talk as he would, and words will come sometimes from him before he is ware, but his desire is to please the Lord, and his desire is to be holy, and this is the business that brings most men into a quiet kind of calm, and so they go hoodwinked down to hell. But what if I now prove that you never had a desire, I mean a true sound serious desire; what then? will you then give up the buckler, and yield the day, and say, If this be so, then (good Lord) I am in a miserable condition? let your hearts be persuaded and yield to the point, are you come to the conclusion? if it shall appear by the word and sound arguments, that you have no true desire, than you will yield you are resolved of it, that this true desire never as yet came into your hearts. Now these men that never had any sound desires, I will refer to three ranks: Unsound desires discovered. the lazy hypocrite, the stage hypocrite, and the terrified hypocrite: All these it shall appear there was never any true desire in their souls. First than it shall appear that your lazy kind of professor never came to attain this saving work of God, to have a desire sound set on in his soul, he will be content to give you the hearing, say what you will, and enjoin him what you please, be the duty never so exact, the course never so strict, nay if you will reprove him sharply, and deal roughly with him, he is made of even mettle, his resolution is this, he will thank you for your counsel, and bless God for the means, and hopes he shall amend; he confesseth the evils you discover should be reform, and the duties you command should be discharged, and he desires he may, and he hopes he shall, and when you have him here, you have the best of him, when he hath brought you hither he can go no further, but stands still where he was, he will fill your ears full of talk, but he will not endeavour as he should; the former doctrine casts him out as one that was never partaker of this sound desire, for he that endeavours nor desires not, his desires are flashy, and his labour is answerable, it was so in Balaam, it was hammered in Balaams' forge; Oh, saith he, that I may dye the death of the righteous: but wish and woulding keep no house (as we use to say) this was just Balaams' fashion, Oh that I might dye the death of the righteous! but yet he would not set one foot forward to walk with care and conscience before God: these desires are bred in the brain and understanding of a man out of some terrifying of conscience, because knowledge saith, a man should do so, therefore he thinks he doth so, but this is not desiring, it is lying and dissembling; I beseech you be your own Judges, you that are masters of servants, will you say that servant desires the furtherance of your estate, when he will not set his hand to do your work; will you say, that messenger desires to do your message faithfully, that will not stir one step forward? you are so wise you will not be cozened after this fashion, you will not be thus deluded: the master saith, if you desire my furtherance, why do you not labour then? and if you desire to do my message faithfully, why do you not go about it then? O suffer not yourselves to be deluded and cozened in those things which concern your everlasting comfort, it is no true desire when a man will not labour in the use of the means God hath appointed, it is a delusion that will cousin you, not a desire that will help you at the great day of accounts; would any have a harvest and yet neither plough nor sow? this is the practice of many in this point of desire, they think they desire Christ, and grace, and mercy, and yet never endeavour after it: It is observable, Prov. 13.14. the sluggard desireth and hath nothing, he desires meat, and yet he starves; he desires clothes, and yet is not covered; he desires riches, and yet dies a beggar; his desire never accomplisheth any thing, he could be content to have this and that, but he will do nothing for it, therefore he hath nothing, this is the picture of a lazy professor, he desires mercy, and he desires that God would pardon his sins, and he desires that God would give him grace against his corruptions, but alas! the desire of the slothful is all in talking, and because he doth nothing, therefore he hath nothing at the time of his death, and day of his departure, he hath neither mercy, nor favour, nor grace, nor assurance, but perisheth everlastingly: hence it is that the Lord dealeth with the sluggard answerable to his desire: The desire of the sluggard killeth him, Prov. 21.25. saith the text, because he cannot get his hands to labour: some Interpreters, holy, and judicious, do marvellous fitly express a sluggard by this place of Scripture; it is not said, because he cannot get his heart to labour, but because he cannot get his hands to labour; as if he should say, it is good for a man to labour, it is good to hear and pray, but I cannot get my hands to it: the sluggard saith, prayer in his family is good and commendable, and the Lord requires it, but thy tongue will not speak, his knees will not buckle, the fault is not in thy tongue and knees, but in thy heart, therefore the text saith, his desire will kill him, and that will be his bane, for when the sluggard shall think he hath desired grace, and mercy, and pardon, and salvation, and shall miss of that he thought he truly desired, when he lies on his deathbed, and seethe that his desire vanisheth and comes to nothing, this will slay him, because his labour was not answerable, his desire was not profitable, his labour was nothing, therefore his desire brought him nothing. These lazy professors you would think there were but few of them in the world, but these lazy drones swarm every where, and are the very plague-sores of our families and towns, they could be content to be as they ought, and do as they should, but they never labour to do that which God requires, therefore let me enter into some particulars, and I will rank these lazy hypocrites into four forms, that every one may see of which sort he is. 4 Sorts of lazy Hypocrites. The first sort are those, who when they enjoy the means of salvation marvellous profitable and plentiful, when wisdom hath killed her fat things, and refined her wines, and furnished her tables, every one may come and eat of my meat, and drink of my wine, now these lazy professors esteem not, receive not any benefit by these blessings which God offers, and wisdom tenders to them, but complain of too much bread, and too much wine, and too much manna, they will not take that mercy which is offered; a Minister cannot force a power of grace upon their souls, or any of God's precious promises upon their hearts, these are lazy drones indeed. Doth that man desire a commodity that will beat the Carrier that brings it to him, and cast it away from him? No, all the world will say he prized it not, he desired it not, otherwise he would have received it gladly, and given much money for it too. If a soul were hungerstarved, would he not receive bread if it were offered him, or would he not call the man to him that sold bread, and buy it of him to supply his wants with the soon, and say, let me be served first: So had these professors any longing desire after the precious means of grace and salvation, when mercy and salvation hath been set upon the stall, and the Lord crieth, Ho, every one that will, let him take of the well of the water of life, and live for ever freely; and, Ho, every one that thirsts, let him come and buy wine and milk without money: nay, many a poor Minister would fain leave his commodity behind him, and saith, You must have it, and shall have it, and I will give you the buying of it; we are fain to force God's favours upon the soul, we beseech you to believe, and we entreat you for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake to receive mercy, and humble your souls, we would force God's favours upon your hearts: But will any man take these favours now? No, beloved, these lazy hypocrites will not prise this grace, they will not receive this mercy; many sweet promises, and many admirable precious things of grace and salvation are revealed, but they neither pass nor care to receive any benefit thereby; this argueth that such men have no true desire after Christ Jesus, For a poor hungry sinner that is apprehensive of his own weakness and feebleness, he longs; when will the feast day be? and when will the Lords day come? And when he comes into the congregation to hear the word, how carefully will he listen? and how diligently will he attend? and if the word comes home to his conscience, or if he receive not comfort, he cries out, Oh when will the dish come to the end of the table; I am full of doubts, good Lord resolve me; I am in trouble, good Lord comfort me; I have a proud stout stubborn heart, good Lord humble me: thus the hungry soul longs after these means of salvation, and is willing to receive benefit by them, and a longing heart is at best ease when the word works most: Note. But a lazy Hypocrite is at best ease when the word works least upon him. And therefore when he thinks the Minister will come to his soul, he will not be at home that day, he will be sure to be out of town, he knows the Word would have awakened him and affrighted him, and he cannot bear the blow; therefore he keeps away, and shuns the hearing of God's Word which would awaken and humble him. Sort of lazy Hypocrites. 2 Secondly, of this crew are those, who when God hath taken away and deprived them of the ordinary means of grace and salvation, whereby he doth good unto the soul, they are well content to be without the same, they sit down very well satisfied; if they have a Minister, they do not greatly care, and if they want one, they are not greatly troubled, but they fit and are blind, and never saw any need of a Saviour. All they can say is this (in a good mood) they marvellously extol the goodness of God to such a place, and say; Oh the Gospel is a precious Jewel, but they will not go out a mile or two to receive that mercy they do so commend and want. I beseech you observe it: the child that is almost famished, goes first to his father because he hopes he will provide for him; but if the father be careless and will not provide for him, he will either beg, or buy, or borrow; starve he will not. So it is with the poor people of God, when they are famished for the bread of life, they repair to their own Minister, (and they ought to do so,) and they should comfort and encourage them in the way of well doing in the preaching of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. It is said, Amos 8.11. God will send a famine not of bread, but a famine of the word, and they shall go from one sea to another, from one coast to another, and seek bread, but shall find none, how fare will men go to seek out bread in times of famine, rather than they will starve; then they will find their hands and legs, and go though it be never so far for comfort: So it will be with thy soul, if thou hast a sound desire after the Word of God, were it so as it is sometimes in time of drought, that a company of cattles for want of water were like to be spoiled, will not a man drive them a mile or two to water, that they may be refreshed? Go thou then down into thine own conscience, and condemn thy own soul: hadst thou as much care for the good of thy soul, as thou hast for the good of thy cattles, thou wouldst go as fare to hear the Word preached, that thy soul might receive comfort and refreshment thereby. When the famine was sore in the Land of Canaan, jacob did not say to his sons, let us fit still here till the Egyptians send us food, but, get you up thither, and buy some, that we may live and not die. That which was in jacob would be in thy soul, if thou hadst a sincere desire after the riches of God's mercy in Jesus Christ. Sort of lazy Hypocrites. 3 Thirdly, those who when they have the means of grace and salvation, are content to use them, and if they want the means will seek out for them, but yet are not careful and watchful to prevent those inconveniences, and to remove those hindrances which prejudice and hinder them from receiving that benefit by the means which they want and desire; these never had any true and sound desire after Christ, and therefore never shall receive sound grace so continuing. Of this sort are your tippling Gospelers, for there are such a generation in the world: a man may have the name of a professor, and yet be a secret drunkard. First, he seethe his evil and confesseth it to God, and prayeth against it in the morning; yet he will venture into that company, and seek after those occasions, whereby he may be brought to commit the same sin again: And he saith, alas, it is my fault, and it is my infirmity; my desire is to abandon it, but all flesh is frail, and alas, what would you have me do? I pray against it, it is not I but sin; and therefore if I be overtaken and drawn aside with it, pity is to be tendered, and you must pardon me; thus he heals himself. No, no, let such men take notice of this: It was not a true desire as wrought in thee, it was only a deceit. Is that man desirous to keep his money, that will go into such company as he is sure will cozen him of it, or go in that way where he is sure to meet with thiefs that will rob him? No, experience teacheth us how tender men are to go in such company, or to travel that way where they may be assaulted. So I say of these, had the Lord ever wrought effectually upon thy soul, and had thy heart been enlarged with desire after the mercy which God offers, when thou hadst good exhortations, admonitions, and many sweet promises made known unto thee, thou wouldst not go amongst thiefs and robbers that should deprive thee of the comfort which thy soul hath received from the Word. Sort of lazy Hypocrites. 4 The fourth sort are those, who though some duty be prescribed, and some particular service revealed to them, and exacted from them by the Minister, yet they will not set upon any duty, but carelessly cast it off and not attend thereunto: these never attained any sound desire in their souls. I do not say he that omits a duty upon occasion, either out of temptation surprising him, or occasion prevailing: But when a man is informed and convinced in his conscience that he ought to do what the Word requires, and yet will not set upon it, but carelessly neglect the same; this argueth his soul was never quickened with any sound desire after the thing, because he would not labour for the thing he desired. He that is desirous to speak with a man, is not content to go to one place only and ask for him, but he will seek from place to place, from man to man, and never rest till he finds him. So it is with a heart that is sound desirous after grace: it will not only take up some duty which God requires, but if there be any service which the Word reveals, or any duty the Lord commands, he will take it up, and as he is able set upon the duty. Sometimes a man may neglect a duty he knows not of, but if he be informed and convinced thereof, he cannot but set about it, if he desires to gain good thereby. Therefore if any man hath wronged any by false dealing, thieving, or pilfering; the servant, the master; the child, the father, the chapman, the buyer, etc. let that soul know it is his duty, and God requires it if ever he will have peace of conscience, and the evidence of God's love made known to him in the pardon of his sins, that he must make restitution. We see Zacheus when God had opened his eyes, and given him a thorough desire to come home and receive Christ, made an open proclamation; If I have wronged any man, Luke 19.8. let him come, and I will restore him fourfold. If there be any that I have cozened by my false weights, and fair pretences: If I have wronged any man, not of four pounds, but of forty, a hundred pounds; not some man, but any man, I will restore, etc. Beloved, this is a duty which God requires of every soul; and this is a way whereby thou mayest get some comfort to thyself, if thou art content to renounce thy sins, and receive mercy in the pardon of them. If therefore any here present shall go away and hide his stolen waters, and be loath to restore that which he hath gotten by his cheating and false dealing, but saith his estate will be impoverished, and he shall be cast behind hand; and what will the world say, I shall quite be shamed for ever: Why, if thou be'st afraid of shame, deliver thy money into the hand of some honest and faithful Minister, and let him make up the matter privately. But what, dost thou tell me of poverty? thou hadst better be cast behind hand, than be cast into hell. Dost thou desire grace and mercy? Harken what the Lord saith, this duty must be performed, if ever thou receive mercy, set upon that duty then, or else thou shalt never get pardon of thy sins. So now we may see by these particulars, that the world even swarms with lazy Hypocrites, and that there is but little sound desire after grace. How many have the means and will not use them? How many want the means, and will not seek out for them? How many seek out for the means, but yet are not careful to avoid those hindrances which may hinder them from receiving benefit by God's Ordinances? How many are informed and convinced of many duties, that aught to be done, and yet will not set upon the performance of them? What can any one say against this truth? Prov. 14.27. Solomon saith, in all labour there is abundance, but the talking of the lips tendeth to penury: So say I, in all sound labour and sincere endeavour there is profit; If thou endevourest truly after Christ, and if thou dost labour after grace in the use of all means constantly and unweariedly, there is a great deal of benefit to be gained thereby; but all thy talking and wishing tends to penury, it will be thy bane in the end. This is the first sort of those that have not a sound desire, which I term lazy Hypocrites. The second sort are such as I call stage Hypocrites, that act the part of profession curiously, as Ahab acted the part of fasting; for he humbled himself and put on sackcloth, etc. Now there is the same difference betwixt a Stage Hypocrite, and a true sincere professor, as is between a chapman that buys for gain, and a chapman that buys for necessity: He that buys for gain, will have his pennyworth, or else he will none of the commodity; he will have it worth his money, or else leave it: But a poor famished soul and hungerbitten creature, that buys for mere necessity, must have it and will have it what ever he wants beside: he stands not upon Ifs, and Ands, but give me grace and take all; he cares for nothing else. Now of these Stage Hypocrites, I will set down two sorts, because I desire to lay them naked. Sort of stage hypocrites. 1 And first those that will take up so much of Christ and the Gospel as may stand with their credit and with their estate, they will embrace all those truths that are not troublesome but profitable, that are of honour and credit, and will go off roundly, these they are forward to take up: But to have all Christ, and nothing but Christ, by no means they will yield to. Now the Lord be merciful to us, this is the religion of many; look into every man's family, consider every man's course, so much of the Gospel as will serve our turn, so much we will welcome and trade in. But to come to the congregation only for Christ, that is a shame, and to be strict in ordering one's family, we know not what it means. So a shopkeeper will have so much religion as shall enable him to pray in his family, and confer as occasion serves, and to toll in a customer, and put off a cracked commodity, thus fare he likes religion: but when he comes to this, to have so much religion as shall make him fear to do any wrong, so that if a poor child or silly woman should lay him down a groat or a tester more than his commodity is worth, he dares not take it, but give it back again: Oh this will do him no good, he can gain nothing this way: do these men desire religion think you? Many a maid would fain marry a man because he hath a good estate, and can make her a good jointure, but that the man should rule her, and she be obedient to him, this she will none of, all her desire is to have a rich jointure in his estate. So many profess the Gospel, because it is a matter of credit, and great men cannot countenance the Gospel so much as the Gospel's credits them: but if thou wilt not be content to be ruled by the same, thou art an adulterous professor, thou never didst desire Christ for himself, but for thy own aims and ends, only to make a booty of Christ; but now a good heart, a gracious soul, that hath this desire, set on by the Spirit powerfully and effectually, will be content to have all Christ, and nothing but him in every thing he enjoys. A covetous man desires wealth, and would he have but a little? no, he cries, more, more, and hath never enough: the ambitious man desires honour, and is never satisfied. So he that longs for the Lord Jesus, will have all Christ, and every thing in Christ, and Christ in every thing; he will have a Saviour what ever he wants beside. A child that longs for the meat on the table, when his father gives him a piece, he eats it; his father cuts him another, he eats that too; then his father bids him go down; no, but more of that, father, he still begs more of that, and is never content. So it is with a soul that desires grace for grace sake, and Christ for Christ's sake, he cries still, more of that grace, and more of that Christ. If Christ comes to reprove him, he takes that; if Christ comes to condemn him, welcome; if Christ come to reform his sins, he rejoices, and would have more of that still; Oh more mercy, and oh more grace, and more holiness, he can never be contented, he can never be glutted with that. Sort of stage Hypocrites. 2 The second sort of these stage hypocrites are those that go further than these, they will use all God's ordinances, but when it comes to part with any thing for Christ, and to suffer any thing for the Lord Jesus, than they shake hands; this was Peter's folly, but it was in a temptation, when the damsel said, Thou also wert with Jesus of Galilee; he answered, I know not the man; he knew not that Christ that was now in trouble. So when the Gospel comes to require suffering, and contempt, and disgrace, we know not the Gospel, we have another Christ, and another Gospel then. Carnal men deal with Christ, as Achish King of Gath did with David, when he had remained some years with him. Achish was to go to battle, and David was desirous to go with him, but the Princes were against it, and Achish said, thou art upright, I have seen no evil in thee, but only the Princes do not favour thee, and therefore David must not go. This is the guise of this base, rotten, and sinful age of the world, they say this and that holy course is commendable, and honourable, but they fear ill times, and they are out of date, and so leave it where they found it; therefore urge your great men with strictness, and they reply presently, what will the world say then, and what will the world think then? here is their religion: It is no matter what the world saith, I will tell thee what God and the Word saith, thou that art a stage professor, a mere outside Christian, the Lord never yet wrought any sound desire after grace in thy heart to this day; of this sort were those we read of, that believed in our Saviour, john 12 47. but durst not profess him by no means, they wished things were better, but because things are as they are, they will do as the times do: the text saith, They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God: so it is with these men, they wear such and such fashions, because Gentlemen wear the same. I tell you, you love the guise and applause of the world more than the mercy and promises of God in Christ. It is that which is also observable in the young man, he held out till Christ came to this, to sell all. So also in the other, Matth. 18. that professeth to our Saviour, I will go with thee whither so ever thou goest; Wilt thou, saith Christ? but thou must know upon what terms then, Matth. 18. The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head; if thou follow me, saith Christ, thou must have poverty, and shame, and disgrace, therefore thou hadst best look before thou leap: away went he when he heard this, we never heard of him more. So these men say, the profession of the Gospel is good and commendable, but when we come once to selling all, than they are gone, they will not meddle with it. Now had a man a longing desire indeed, he would not delay and demur the time, nor pass what men say or think, but he saith, let me have what I need, and let men say what they will; I pass not what the world esteems of me, let me have that mercy I need, and that grace I want, let me have Christ, and let men speak their pleasure. We have done now with the two first sort of hypocrites, which discover, they never had this true longing desire wrought in their hearts. I come now to the last. Sort of hypocrites. 3 There is another sort that have gone very fare, and yet fall short of the truth and soundness of this desire, and they are terrified hypocrites, such as God hath revealed the vileness of their sins unto, and shown them the baseness of their abominations, even all those privy haunts of their lusts and sinful distempers, the Lord hath made this clear to their judgements, and hath also let a vein of vengeance into their hearts, and kindled the flashes of hell fire upon their consciences, he hath showed them their sins committed, and hell fire gaping to receive them: I beseech you mark, it is strange how this person will bestir himself, his desires are very vehement, his endeavours extraordinarily abundant, in every way that concerns his good, so that a man would wonder that any man should do what he doth in this time of extremity; and the ground is this, the horror of conscience and guilt of sin is upon him. You can go away with your pride and stubbornness now, and make nothing of it; what, you afraid of a Minister, and of the judgements of God denounced? no, if hell were set open before you, you would not be affrighted thereat: well, the Lord will tear that heart of thine one day, and rend the gall of that soul of thine one day; and observe it, when the Lord doth this, as the horror of conscience, and guilt of sin is unsupportable, so it is admirable to observe what a man will do to be rid of it: and the passages of a terrified hypocrite discover themselves in two particulars: Signs of a terrified Hypocrite. First, he will be lingering and hankering after some corruption, he will be playing with edged tools with the fly about the candle, and will venture fare upon those occasions that may draw him into sin; as a drunkard will be content to be called into an alehouse, that he may have occasion to tipple; but a gracious heart though he loathes all sin, yet he loathes that most which he hath most loved; as an adulterer flies from all lose thoughts, as from a Devil, as from hell, and from all occasions that may give way thereunto. Secondly, in this hypocrite you shall find commonly this note, he will slight and slubber over some smaller sins, as he thinks, and some lesser corruptions, and though he be taken aside with some distempers, yet this and that service he can do, this and that prayer he can make, such duties he can perform, that will make all whole again. But thou hypocrite, doth the Lord Jesus Christ give thee power against one sin, and not against every sin? dost thou find one sin vile, and not another? thou willingly deceivest thine own soul: for that soul that hath been truly wounded with the ugliness of sin, dares not meddle with it, but if reproof comes, it yields, if any thing be amiss, he will reform it, he will rather be miserable than sinful. Nay, in the third place a terrified hypocrite it is marvellous what he will do in pretence of religion for Christ, he will part with any thing, he cares not for shame, when men point at him, what, you turned professor now? I have known the time you have hated and railed at such, he cares not for this, let them say what they will, nay, even persecution he will suffer contentedly, and never seek Christ all this while; what is the reason of this? why, he finds now by experience that hell fire is worse than wildfire; tell not me of reproach, saith the poor soul in horror of heart, tell me not that men will scoff at me; I had rather have wildfire about mine ears, than hell fire upon my conscience, any thing that will cure me and heal me shall be welcome; it is hell where I have been, and it is horror that hath seized upon my soul, and I had rather do or suffer any thing than thus continue; and all this is for ease now: for horror of conscience is greater than all the plagues in the world, and therefore he will be content to bear that one, so he may be rid of the other; he had rather be shamed than plagued; rather be banished than terrified; rather imprisoned than tormented: yet only seeks his own ease, not a Christ all this while: And therefore experience hath taught us this, that many after a great deal of terror and horror of heart, when the pang is over, have returned, and been as vile, and as base, and as sinful, nay, haply worse than ever they were before: the reason is, they have gotten their desire now, and they care for no more, they have gotten their ease and quiet now, and as for Christ, and grace, and holiness, they care no more for them, because they have no more use of them: Nay, to go further (observe it) this poor creature may in his own sense and feeling apprehend and think, that he doth renounce all sin truly, and that he puts the highest esteem and greatest account upon the Lord Jesus Christ above all things in the world; if he look into his own apprehension, he may think he doth thus, and yet the union and league between sin and his soul was never broken, all this may be in sense and feeling, and an honest Minister, if he be not very wise in charity, will judge so, as shall appear by this instance: Take water seething hot, though in nature it is the coldest of all elements, yet while it continueth on the fire, it grows so hot, that a man shall feel no cold at all in it, but yet there is a principle of cold remaining in it (as the Philosopher conceives) for pluck the fire from the water, or the water from the fire, and it will return to coldness again, and freeze the sooner, because when it is taken from the fire, it beats out the heat with the more violence: Now the reason why the cold was there, and yet not perceived, was, because the fierceness of the heat did overmaster it, and made it retire, and not express itself in outward appearance. So it is with this terrified hypocrite in these pangs of extremity, and horrors of conscience, when the soul is possessed with the fierce indignation of the Almighty, when the flashes of everlasting vengeance seize upon the heart of a sinner; this takes off the pleasure, delight and content, which the heart had in sin: though the soul love it, and the heart embrace it, and the spirit close with it, yet he can find and feel in his own apprehension no pleasure at all in sin, nor no sweetness in his lusts, by reason of the domineering vengeance of the Lord, which takes off all the pleasantness that was in it before. And therefore the adulterer that hath his dalliances every morning, if God let the flames of his vengeance once into his soul, as he hath flamed in lust, all his sweetness and delight in sin will vanish away in his own apprehension, but yet his soul cleaves to his base lusts still, and his heart is knit to them, and the league and combination between sin and his soul was never broken and parted. So that by this we may see, why a sinner in his own apprehension may think he hath no delight in sin, and yet there is a league between sin and the soul still, and this Hypocrite may thus continue all the while the sound of the stroke is upon him. If haply his affections be stirring after some sin, then saith conscience, You remember what was done before, you remember what you did such and such a time; would you fain be in hell again? I will arrest you for this one day (saith conscience) and so his soul flieth off from his cursed distempers, not that the union between sin and his soul is broken, but only his corruptions for the present are abated for acting. By this time you see the reason why I entered upon this point, which was this, to undermine the bottom that bears up the souls of many carnal men in the world, and to cut off all pleas, and to raze the foundation of all carnal confidence under heaven: therefore I beseech you mark it, you will say this is marvellous hard, these truths are marvellous terrible. Quest. But some may say, What, do you think that all those which will not come under the power of the Gospel that enjoy it; Do you think that all that will not seek out for the Gospel, that want it; Do you think that all those who are not careful to prevent those inconveniences, which may hinder them from the benefit of the Gospel; Do you think that every man that is informed and convinced of a duty, and will not take it up, hath no desire after godliness? Do you think if a man will not part with all, and be content to be vile and base for Christ, that he hath no desire after Christ? Do you think a man may take up all duties for his own ease, and seek Christ in them? Ans. Beloved, I speak not my own thoughts, but it is clear out of the Word of God, that none of all these sorts of persons ever yet attained a true longing desire after the Lord Jesus Christ. You told me in the beginning if I could prove this, you would yield the day; therefore take these truth's home to your souls, and reason and parley sound and thoroughly with your own hearts after this manner: Why, how fare am I from heaven? If the Lord hath not yet opened mine eyes, and humbled my heart, and enlarged my soul; If I never yet had a longing after a Saviour, what not desire heaven; how then can I dream or think that God will show mercy to my soul in the pardon of my sins? If no desire, no Christ; no desire, no Heaven; but I have no desire, therefore no Heaven, no Christ, no happiness. The Lord settle these things upon your souls, that you may never give quiet to your hearts, nor rest to your souls, till you find this sound desire wrought in you. Beloved, what will you do for heaven, if you cannot so much as desire to come to Heaven and Happiness? Quest. But here some will say, this is a very strict course, this is a very narrow passage indeed; let us see how we may not be cozened in our condition, nor deceived by resting in our performances, etc. Ans. I refer my answer to these three conclusions. Conclusion 1 First, thou must know that the remainders of those distempers, (that a man should rest upon the merit of duties performed) are such remainders of sin, as will stick to us and remain with us so long as we live on the face of the earth: But when once the Spirit of the Lord takes possession of the soul, it counterworkes and digs deeper than these distempers: for the good Spirit of the Lord that seizeth upon the heart truly humbled, goeth between sin and home; it goeth between sin and the soul continually, and makes a greater evil appear in the soul, than is the evil of punishment, and makes known a greater good to the heart than ease, and the removal of the outward plague and horror: The Spirit of God undermines these distempers and corruptions: the corruption of the soul would fain have ease, but the Spirit saith there is a better good than ease, that saith horror is terrible, but the Spirit saith sin is more miserable. Look as it is with a good Cordial, it will work out a distemper, though it lie long in the heart of a man, yet it will drive it away at length. So it is with the almighty work of God's Spirit, which possesseth the heart of the soul truly humbled. (I would fain express myself more fully) You must know that these shifts of spirit, and privy pranks of heart whereby the Devil winds himself in upon a terrified conscience, they are the last cast, the main hold of Satan, he is now driven into his tren●hes, and therefore he will play fast and lose a long time, and discover desperate subtleties. Original corruption is like a fountain; now a fountain hath many Conduits, some nearer, some further: but if there be any water in the Fountain, the nearest Conduit will have it soon. So if there be any original corruption (as there is in all) it will be sure to be seen in this Conduit of selfe-ease and selfe-confidence in horror to be avoided, and duty to be performed. The Naturalist observes, the heart is the last that dies; therefore though the eyes be dim, and the tongue falters, and the hands be feeble, yet the pulse of the heart will go still, so long as there is any life there. So it is here, the pulse of original corruption will be seen in these base distempers of spirit, which cleave unto us whilst we live in this world; but they are still undermined and opposed by the Spirit of God. Conclusion 2 Secondly, judge not thyself in time of extremity and horror of Spirit, by the not stirring and not moving of thy affections to sin. Do not think thy estate good because thou findest not this, neither judge thy condition ill because thou findest some corruption stirring at such times, for that is the false ground of an Hypocrite; he judgeth the water to be merely hot, because he can feel no cold; he thinks he hath no love to sin, because he cannot feel that he hath any affection to it in the time of horror: but he is deceived, for the act of sin may be overpowred, when the union between sin and the soul still remains. As for example, a poor Saint of God may have God's Spirit and yet never perceive it, because the Spirit may sometimes either suspend his action, or else the action may be overclouded by the distemper. So it is here, Satan may rule in the hearts of the children of disobedience, and cast in the seeds of base corruptions, and build holds of distempers, and the poor soul not understand the same. Quest. But how shall a man judge himself in such times? Ans. I answer, In such times labour to see how thy mind is enlightened to see the beauty of holiness, and how thy understanding comes to prise the excellency of goodness for itself, how thy heart stands bend to entertain all the truth and goodness of God made known unto thee. And (mark what now I say) if thou desirest holiness for itself, and the bent of thy heart is after holiness, so that thou canst not be content to be eased by holiness, unless thou be'st possessed, overpowred by holiness and the virtue thereof: If it be thus with thee, judge thyself by this means. Suffer me to express myself after this manner, that every one may understand: Conceive two women, the one sick, the other in love, both desire the Physician; the sick desires the Physician, to be healed by him, the other desires him not so much to be healed, but she is desirous to be married to him. So it is with the soul that is carried in a kind of love and affection to godliness, he would not have Christ only to heal him, but he would be married to Christ, that he may enjoy the God of all pardoning, that he may enjoy the God of all purging and purifying. Take notice of it, sometimes men in times of sickness use that for physic, which in the time of health they used for common diet: So a gracious and holy heart in the time of terror and vexation of conscience will embrace holiness, not for physic sake only to be healed by it, but for diet sake to live by holiness, that he might take possession of holiness, and that holiness might take possession of him: this is the best judgement the soul hath in time of extremity, for mark some passages of this nature. It is possible out of self-love for the preservation of a man's self, to desire ease and quietness; but he cares not by whom, if God, or Christ, or Holiness, or Prayer, will ease him, let them do it, and all this may be for mere self-love, not for any love of Christ or holiness at all. But to have the soul carried with desire to a supernatural good, to holiness in the beauty thereof, that it may enjoy it, and be possessed of it; corrupt nature cannot, corrupt nature will not come to this, it is the Spirit of the Lord only that can enable a man to do it. Suffer me to express a passage or two this way: the extremity of God's indignation is a fare greater evil than all the good things in the world can be comfortable; it is a fare greater evil than any thing here below, better to be in beggary, better to be in prison, better to be persecuted, than to be tormented, than to be set upon a continual wrack by the horror of conscience: Now as the indignation of the Lord is a far greater punishment than these; so the ease from this is a greater good than can proceed from the things here below, the ease is answerably good, as the indignation is evil. A wicked man would have ease for his sins; therefore his sins are a greater good than his ease. But a gracious heart desires holiness beyond ease and sin, and all, though he were in the greatest extremity. I express it thus: A gracious heart if he had all the ease in the world, if he had not holiness, he could not be satisfied; and if he had holiness, though he had not ease, he would be contented: I say, had a gracious heart ease and quiet, and yet had a vile and polluted soul, if his old distempers were still remaining, and his old corruptions still continuing, he would complain and say, I have ease and quiet now, but my heart is as bad as ever. If he had ease and not holiness, he could not be satisfied if he were of a right stamp, and if he had holiness and more power against sin, and the presence of Christ prevailing with him, and purging him from corruptions, he would bless God's Name: that is the second. Conclusion 3 The third conclusion is this, do not content yourselves in this, that you see a need of a Saviour, because your minds are enlightened therein, and your reason persuaded thereof, when in the mean time you place a kind of confidence upon the duty performed, and service discharged, and think to bring Christ thereby to be at your beck, and you in the mean while do what you please, this is a wonderful cunning craft of Satan. This I say then, A man may see a need of a Saviour, but do not quiet thy soul because thou knowest it must be so, and because thou findest by experience thou canst not help thyself; the guilt of sin still sticks upon thee, and therefore a Saviour now must help thee. How Satan deludeth the soul. I say, content not thyself with the mere notion of it, to say I see it must be so, and so it should be so, and rest thyself contented in the performance of services, and think to bring a Saviour to be at thy beck, to do what thou wilt for thy soul; How Satan deludeth the soul. this is a slight or secret that Satan hath pinned to thy soul. Many think to have a sovereign authority over Christ when they have performed holy duties. So that an Hypocrite doth not use the means to be led to Christ, that Christ may dispose of him; but he takes up his duties to be commanders of Christ, that he may dispose of Christ to serve his own turn: so that he makes Christ an abettor of him in his wickedness, not a subduer of his corruptions. This is a marvellous deceit, when men rest in their own abilities, and so abuse Christ, not entertain him. An Hypocrite prayeth not for mercy, that mercy may rule him, but that hereby he might command Christ, and dispose of him, to take away the sting of sin, that so he may dally with sin. And this will appear in two passages. Rule 1 Observe in the first place before the commission of sin, how thy heart is in the performance of duty; doth thy prayer, and hearing, and performance of services, make the venturous and fool hardy to meddle with corruptions? then it is a certain ground, thou placest carnal confidence in thy own performances. As for example; If a professor should say, what if I do now and then sin? and what if I do now and then pilfer and use false weights and measures? I will pray but so much the more, and fast so much the oftener; will not conscience then be satisfied? It shall be satisfied, I will command it, I will put in bail for my sin, and pray against it: Now (I beseech you observe it) this praying and performing of duties, is merely to command a Saviour to give allowance to sin, that so he might commit sin freely. As who should say, I have authority over my Saviour, and he shall pardon my sins, and give me allowance to commit sin. Oh the wretched villainy that is in a man's heart. Fearful is thy estate (whosoever thou art) that makest thy performances an abettor of thy distempers, so that thou dost thy duty not to enjoy Christ, that he may help thee to prevent sin, but that Christ might take off the venom and indignation of sin, that so thou mightest commit wickedness without suspicion or distraction. Rule 2 Observe in the second place, how thy soul behaves itself after the commission of sin. Is it so, that a man can find after the naked discharge of the duty, all quiet and calm, notwithstanding he lives in a daily course and practice of sin, so that he prays, and lies, he fasts, and cousins, and yet this makes all whole? I tell you it is an undoubted argument, that that soul did place a carnal confidence in his own performances, and never attained to a Lord Jesus Christ in the duty; for he that seeks a Saviour in his duties, and rests not upon his selfe-performances, he brings a Saviour, a Christ into his soul: and mark what followeth, Christ brings pardoning virtue, and purging virtue with him, and gives him more power against his corruptions, and more suspicion over his soul than ever he had before. So that the soul gins to quarrel with itself, and lies down with shame, & saith, What shall I think of my praying and hearing? Where is the virtue and power of it? did ever Christ hear my prayers, or come into my soul by his ordinances? where is the purging virtue then to clear me of my sins? where is the purifing virtue to cleanse me from my corruptions? This is a ground of a gracious heart that placeth not any confidence in holy duties, but only in the Lord Jesus Christ, it will sink in regard of the failings in his best duties, and never be quiet before it gain virtue and holiness from Christ Use. 3 The third use of the point now remains, which is a use of exhortation; and I beseech you, be exhorted and entreated in the bowls of the Lord Jesus Christ; since you see the way that God hath chalked out before you, since you see the mark and white at which you must level and aim; what then remains, but that we should have our hearts carried, and our affections rightly disposed to aim at this mark? You see what the Saints will do, and what God doth do, their hearts are quickened to long for Christ; labour thou to be such as they are, strive, that what others have, thou mayest likewise attain unto, and be possessed of; provoke one another, stir up one another, and say. Are our desires quickened? do we long for a Lord Jesus Christ? this is that we must come to, if we look for happiness, either here or hereafter. Quest. But you will say this is worth the while indeed, and the duty is worth the performing, but what are the means whereby a man may procure this at the hands of the Lord? Answ. The means are soul (I beseech you think seriously of them) how the heart may be wrought upon, and the soul find this blessed desire; get this, and you get heaven, it is worth the while, Oh that we had hearts to labour for it. Means. 1 The first means is this, be acquainted thoroughly with thine own necessities & wants, with that nothingness and emptiness that is in thyself: the thing is propounded easily, but the skill is to work it upon our hearts, which will be most hard and difficult. We have many wants all of us, but we work not our hearts to see these, and to be sensible of them. Therefore work thy soul not only to be sensible of all other wants, but also of this want of desire, (I speak now to those that want this desire, not to those that have attained it already at the hands of the Lord) as therefore thou findest many wants in thy services, and many weaknesses in thy performances: So take notice and consider of the want of a sound and sincere desire after the Lord Jesus Christ, and work thy heart thereunto the more by these two practices. Practice. 1 First, labour to cut off all those carnal pleas and pretences, which would persuade thy heart, and that falsely, that thou dost desire the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an old rule, the soul is never cozened, nor never commits a sin, but it hath a pretence for it. Therefore abandon all those carnal pleas and foolish imaginations, which delude thy soul, and persuade thy heart that thou hast desired, when indeed thou hast not: for this I say, a false presumption that a man hath a thing, doth hinder him as much from desiring of it, as if he possessed it already. We find it in nature, Simile. the stomach is pinched with hunger, because meat is wanting; now from this hunger there follows a great endeavour to get succour and supply, but if there come a cold wind, that overpowers the stomach, and takes away the hunger, and the wind in a man's stomach deprives him of his appetite, though he hath no meat: So it is with the soul, there is a great want of mercy and comfort, and assurance of God's love, the soul stands in need of holiness to purge it, and mercy to pardon it; Yet when a man hath a fond fancy that all is well, and all his desires are good, he fills his heart with a vain foolish desire, and that takes away all his endeavours, and the presumption that he doth desire, doth make him as well contented, as if he desired indeed. So that I beseech you, be not careless, do not groundlessly cast away the word that would inform thee, and convince thee. When you heard the word of the Lord, your lazy hypocrite, stage hypocrite, and terrified hypocrite applaud themselves, and clap themselves on the back, and they know what they know, contenting themselves, and persuading themselves as they did before, they care not for the Word, nor Minister, etc. which comes to pass by cherishing these false pretences, that they do desire Christ, miserably deluding their own souls, and utterly taking away the edge of their desire after grace and goodness. The Laodicaean Church was rich, and wanted nothing; She wanted nothing, Revel 3.18. opened. why? because she said, She was rich, and yet she was poor, and blind, and miserable, and naked. She presumed she was rich in grace, and therefore wanted nothing; she presumed she had clothing, and therefore needed not to desire white raiment, etc. So that a presumption that a man hath a thing, makes him careless to get the same. Therefore now yield the day, and give up the bucklers; I would have every one that hath heard the word, to yield and give up himself to the authority of the same: And say, the truth is, I never desired aright; say one to another, and inform one another, and question one another, and confess, the truth is, my desires were deceits and fancies, no sound desires; and it is Gods great mercy, that I and my flashy desire were not flaming in hell long before this day. No, no, the truth is, I am a lazy hypocrite, I am one of that nature, that will turn with the door on the hinges; I say, I hate my base distempers, and yet continue in them; I pray against sin, and yet live in sin; thus call upon thy heart and conscience, and say, I am the lazy hypocrite, God hath informed and convinced me of many duties, telling me what I should do, but yet my heart could never be brought unto it, to pray in private, and make satisfaction to those I have wronged: God saith, I must restore these ill gotten goods, and yet the truth is, I would never part with them hitherto, but retain them still, therefore I never had a true desire. Yet agine (I beseech you help one another) go home and reason with yourselves, the truth is, I am the stage hypocrite, I only make a booty of Christ; even so much religion as will serve my honour, and my ease and credit, I will take up, but when it comes to suffering once, that my life, or liberty, or prosperity lie at the stake, then farewell Christ and grace: by this it appears, that I never had any true and sound desire after Christ. And if there be any terrified hypocrite here, I think there are but few come so fare, but the time will come you shall have enough to do that way, that conscience of yours, whose mouth you have stopped, will be awakened one day, and rend the kall of your hearts, if not here, yet hereafter; But if there be any terrified hypocrite here present, go home, and reason with yourselves, I am this terrified hypocrite, the Minister spoke, as if he had been in my bosom: In horror of heart I can call upon God, and seek to him, and pray in my family, and humble my soul; but when the blow is off, I return with the dog to his former vomit, and I think to heal all by my services; I am the man, I am the woman, I beseech you, pluck one another on, and say, I lazy, and you lazy, I terrified, and you terrified, I deluded, and you deluded; therefore now labour to get out of this condition, if ever you mean to get mercy to your souls, but if you will lose your souls, who can help it? go to the proof, make the word good to your consciences; do I desire Christ for himself? No, there is no such matter, therefore yield it before heaven and earth, I did never yet attain to this sound desire; this is something yet, now you see your wants. Practice. 2 Secondly then observe the difficulty of getting this desire, you must not think that this desire is an easy matter to attain, the soul should often reason with itself, how dangerous is it to want this desire? without it I am undone for ever; as also how hard a matter is it to get this, it is beyond all the power that God hath bestowed upon me, the thing is wonderful hard and difficult, persuade one another of the thing, and say, you and I, neighbour, thought it was an easy matter to get this desire, we thought it was nothing to say so, and profess so, and resolve so, but this is not a desire, to talk, and wish, and promise, it is a deceit. Desire is another-gesse matter than we imagine, it is no easy matter to desire aright; who will not say, he doth desire? every man can do that, yet no man hath good desire almost; a man may have ability to know, and understand wisely, and dispute judiciously of Christ and grace, and yet never get a desire after Christ and grace. It is a great matter to know what we should do, it is harder to do what we know, and hardest of all to get a desire to do what we ought. Therefore consider of it; is the work so heavy, and the duty so weighty, and we so unable; then how had we need to bestir ourselves, and frame our hearts to seek for, and attain to this blessed desire after Christ? Means. 2 The second means is this, consider the necessity of this desire after grace and goodness, it is not a matter of compliment and indifferency; No, no, I may call it the very wheels of faith, upon which faith is carried, for all this while faith is a sowing into the soul: Look as it is with a waggon, knock off the wheels, and all lies in the dust; so take away this desire, and faith is in the dust: the tenor of all the promises run upon this, the thirsty they are invited, the hungry they shall be satisfied; nay not only so, but observe further the necessity of this, when desire comes, all good works go forward, and our hearts are not only set upon the duty, but the duty is crowned and credited by this desire. It is like the mill dam, the fuller the dam is, the faster the mill goes; so get but desire, and all will go forward; the more desire, the more pains in seeking after grace, this gives a crown and a credit to all our actions; thou prayest, haply half an hour, it is not thy tongue that the Lord accepts, but thy desire; thou performest many duties outwardly, God cares not for that, he looks only at thy desire to approve thyself to God in those duties, this is the thing that gives credit to all our actions. Means. 3 The third means is this, labour to spread forth the excellency of all the beauty, and surpassing glory that is in the promises of God. Look wisely, daily, and judiciously, upon them as occasion serves, and when thou seest that admirable, and incomparable virtue and beauty, that is in Christ, and in the precious promises, and canst but view them in their proper colours; Oh they will even ravish thee, and quicken up thy desire. If a man carry a pack of never so rich commodities, and never opens them, no man will have a desire to buy; Or if a man have a cabinet full of never so precious jewels, if he do not unlock it, no man will be stirred with a desire after them. Even so it is with the promises, all those unsearchable riches that are in the Lord Jesus, and all the comforts, both of this life, and that which is to come, they are all shut up in the promises: Now set open the Gospel, and unlock the cabinet of the promises, and then the soul will earnestly desire the same. I tell you God is a God of comfort, and all the promises are yea and Amen in the Lord Jesus Christ, read them daily, and examine the excellency and beauty therein, that so thy heart may be brought to prise them, and the comfort arising thence. Thy soul is discouraged, there is mercy to comfort; thou wantest grace, there is grace to quicken thee. See the worth thereof more fully: Luke 24. When Christ came and walked with the two disciples that were travelling towards Emaus, Luke 24.32. opened. Did not our hearts burn within us, say they, while he opened the Scriptures; the Latin word signifieth to burn with desire; But how came this? they did not talk a word, and away, but the Lord Jesus Christ opened the Scriptures to them: the riches of grace and salvation were unlocked, and by Christ opened, and then their hearts burned again with desire; Oh that Christ, and that mercy, and that pardon, etc. So view thou the promises of Christ, and grace, and salvation, you do not see the value and riches that are therein, but if you will but talk and confer about them, your hearts will burn with desire, do not cast an eye and be gone, do not look over a promise and away; no wonder though your hearts are not affected, because the excellent things therein contained are not opened and propounded to you. Means. 4 In the fourth and last place, after all this, thou must know that it is not in thy power to bring thy heart to desire grace, thou canst not hammer out a desire upon thine own anvil, dig thy own pit, and hue thy own rock as long as thou wilt, that is a work out of thy ability and strength. Nay let all the Angels in heaven, and all the Ministers on earth provoke thee, yet if the hand of the Lord be wanting, thou shalt not lift up thy heart, nor step one step towards heaven; therefore I beseech you mark and acknowledge this, and go to him who is only able to work this desire in thy soul. It is the complaint of Christians, and they mourn under it, and it is a great misery. Oh they are troubled, because they cannot fetch a good desire from their own souls, and one falls, another sinks, and a third shakes, and they are overwhelmed with discouragement: And their complaint is this; What a wretched heart have I? Object. Grace? No, no; the world I can desire, the life of my child I long for that, nay every trifling profit and pleasure my soul covets it; and I say with Rachel, Let me have honour, or else I die. But I cannot buckle my heart, nor work this vile nature of mine to be carried after, and long for, the unconceivable unsearchable riches of the Lord Jesus Christ. And will the Lord show mercy to me? Shall I attain any favour either here or hereafter? Answ. Mark the deceit in this case; desires grow not in your garden, they spring not from the root of your abilities, you cannot frame your souls, nor order your spirits to desire Christ; no, struggle while thy eyes sink in thy head, and thy tongue falters when thou prayest, and yet thou shalt not procure any longing desire after Christ whiles the world stands, desire comes from the quickening virtue of the spirit: Therefore seek to God, and confess, In truth Lord I cannot, it is not in my power, I have not any sufficiency to frame my heart to this desire, I expect it not from myself, it is not this vile and sinful soul, it is not this wicked base wayward heart of mine that can lift up itself, it is earthly and heavy; but it is thou, O Lord, from whom come all our desires, it is thou that must work it, it is thou that hast promised it: good Lord quicken thou this soul, and enlarge this heart of mine, thou only art the God of this desire; none of thy Saints that ever panted after, and longed for thy mercy (David himself) had it not in his own power and sufficiency, it must come from thy power, and thy promise, and thy grace, and blessing. Now, good Lord, work this in the heart of thy poor servant, I would fain have a desire Lord from heaven; thus hale down a desire from the Lord, and from the promise, for there only you must have it, this is the course whereby you may partake of this desire from the hand of the Lord. When the Church was lazy and sluggish, and would not rise, Cant. 5.4. the hands of her beloved dropped myrrh upon the handle of the door, and this raised and pulled up the heart of the spouse, and she lingered after him, and followed him, and pursued him, and her heart was quickened and enlarged to seek after him, whom her soul loved and prized, and from whom she expected that good she needed. It ought to be so with our desires, they must proceed only from the spark of the spirit; The smoking flax God will not quench, Matth. 12.20. all flax of itself will not smoke, but a spark must come into it, and that will make it catch fire and smoke: thus lay your hearts before the Lord, and say, Good Lord, here is only flax, here is only a stubborn heart, but strike thou by thy promise one spark from heaven, that I may have a smoking desire after Christ, and a longing desire after grace, that I may walk with more care and more conscience with thee hereafter, using the means thou hast appointed for my good, that they may at the last work unto my good; this take notice of above all the rest, for he that thinks to get a desire from himself, will not labour to obtain from the hands of the Lord. Therefore labour to use all means, and labour to see a weakness in all means, and expect this desire only from the hands of the Lord. Thus we see the means how we may get this desire. Thus we see how the Lord learns every faculty his lecture, the mind hath been enlightened, we have done with that, hope hath been stirred, and desire quickened, these we have likewise finished. We come now in the fourth place to treat of two other faculties of the soul, Love and joy; which because they are so nearly combined together both in nature and form, as we shall hear hereafter: therefore with your patience handle them together, and read one Lecture to them both. But before I proceed to meddle with the particulars, let me premise something in the general, that we take all rubs out of the way, and that none may stumble at that which shall be delivered. Therefore let no man think it strange, that I come here to meddle with Love and Joy, as though I would make sanctification to go before justification; for wheresoever we find love and joy, they seem rather the effects that follow faith, than to be the seeds and spawn to bring in faith: Methinks these doubts should not trouble any, if they did but consider what we have spoken already in the work of preparation. But a little to take away these rubs, take notice of three ensuing passages, which will clear the way to that which afterward shall be spoken. Passage. 1 Know in the first place, it is not mine intendment to persuade any to think that sanctification is before justification: for the truth is, I conceive the thing is not agreeable to truth, taking sanctification in a narrow strict sense, as it must be so conceived in this place; neither can the Doctrines which I have delivered, if they be understood aright, according to the explication thereof, show so much, this is the first. Passage. 2 Secondly, look by what right and reason many judicious Divines of late years, having by experience observed in their own spirits, and judiciously scanned and delivered it, that there is a saving desire, by which God brings in and breeds faith in the soul, (It is the speech of judicious Perkins) Nay the Spirit seems to me to intimate as much when it saith, Ho every one that thirsteth, john 7.37. come and drink: there must be first thirsting, then coming and believing, which thirsting is nothing else but a saving desire. Therefore as there is a saving desire by which God causeth both grace to breed, and faith to spring in the soul; by the same reason there may be a kind of Love and Joy, by which as spawns, and seeds of faith, faith may be communicated and stamped upon the soul, for the same ground that is for the one, is also for the other: and it is a thing to me incredible, that the soul of a man should fall and rest upon the promise, and yet never desire it, nor hope for it, being absent, and embrace it, love, and delight in it with joy when it is coming. For look with what authority and right there is thirsting before coming, and a desire before faith (for faith is all this while a hatching and breeding) by the same right and authority there is a saving kind of love and joy before faith, whatsoever we speak of the one, we must necessarily speak of the other. Passage. 3 The third thing is this, we must understand that all these saving works of the affections are no sanctifying, (I call them saving, that is, such works as do accompany salvation) for there is a difference between a saving work, and a sanctifying, taken in the proper narrow sense of it. Know therefore that desires and loves are of a double nature, some in vocation are observed, some in sanctification are considered, as there was a sorrow in preparation, & a sorrow in sanctification, so there is one desire and love and joy in vocation stirred, another in sanctification expressed, both join one with another, but they are not the same. The frame of the heart, and the work upon the soul in vocation, is not the same which is in sanctification. Briefly, in vocation in this call which I speak of, the Lord worketh this work upon me, I have no power of myself, but only receive it from the Lord. At the first conveying in of the power of hope, and desire, and love, and joy, God communicates them unto me, but in sanctification I work from a principle which I have received from the power of grace, which Christ hath communicated to me being called, and sanctified, and having received the Spirit of Adoption: So that the graces I now speak of, usher in and lead the way for the coming in of faith; when faith comes into the soul, it is there as the King in his privy chamber, it rules and commands all his servants. Now the way being clear, if you meet with hope and faith, love and faith put for one another, understand that they are not literally to be conceived, but in a figurative sense. So then to proceed to the Doctrine I mean to stand upon, which is this: Doctrine. The Spirit of the Lord kindles in an humbled heart, and enlightened sinner, love and joy, to entertain and rejoice in the riches of his mercy: there are three passages to be considered, that so we may see the compass of the point in hand. Passage. 1 First, this love and joy is no where to be found but in a heart humbled and enlightened, for unless the soul be humbled before God, it seethe no need of grace or mercy, and therefore despiseth it, and disclaims it, and is carried with a hatred against that grace that would master his corruptions and purge them: Nay the soul is carried with a kind of wearisomeness, and is pestered with the power of grace that would frame his heart anew, his corrupt heart is rather troubled with it, than any way delighted in it; and if humbled and not enlightened, be could not be enlarged to bestow his heart thereupon, nor carry himself with that pleasure and delight which otherwise he would: this is the first passage. I know there is a wild kind of love and joy in the world, counterfeit coin; but this is not the love and joy we mean, we will have garden love and joy, of the Lords own setting and planting; those carnal hypocritical joys we will not meddle withal. Passage. 2 The second passage is this, this love and joy is kindled by the Spirit of the Father, he it is from whence come all the sparks that must kindle grace in us. So that all other love and joy which is not spiritual and from him, cannot be acceptable to his Majesty. It is that in general which the Apostle Paul infers, Rom. 8.8. They which are in the flesh cannot please God. So all the joy and love (as well as any other action) that proceeds out of nature and flesh cannot please God: But it must be heavenly love and joy, proceeding from the Spirit: Suffer me to express myself after this manner Look as it is with a gentleman in the country, he will be content to leave his habitation for a while, and give up his house to the King for a while, because he is but a mean man, and not able to entertain so great a retinue; therefore the King sends his own provision before hand; (observe it.) So it is with a poor humble broken hearted sinner; the poor soul is marvellous well content, the Lord should come to him, and dwell in him, and dispose of him; but he is such a poor beggarly wretch, Simile. he is not able to make God a fire, he cannot love God, he hath not that holy heat of love and joy to entertain and welcome the Lord as becometh his Majesty: therefore the Lord sends provision before hand, and kindleth love and joy in the soul, that by that love and joy he may be welcomed to the heart of an humble sinner; or thus (to express myself more clearly;) Take a burning glass that will receive the beams of the Sun, and heat and burn other things, the glass of itself hath no such heat in it, but when it hath received the beams of the Sun, it heats and burns other things, as flax, and such combustible matter; but it is by the heat of the beams of the Sun received, otherwise it could do nothing. So it is with an humble sinner, he lieth fit to receive the beams of God's mercy, and waits when the Sun of righteousness will shine from heaven comfortably upon his heart; and being warmed with the beams of God's love and favour effectually, he is able to reflect the heat of love and joy back again: this is the second thing. Passage. 3 Thirdly, the Doctrine saith, that love and joy are kindled, that they may entertain and rejoice in the riches of God's mercy. This last clause is added to discover the difference, and to make known the distinct nature of this love and joy here, from all the feigned and false love and joy, which hypocrites pretend to have, and seem to express to the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore I say this love and joy is kindled not only to entertain him, and rejoice in him; for there is a kind of entertaining and rejoicing in Hypocrites. judas had a hail Master, and the common people spread their garments, and welcomed Christ, crying Hosanna, blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the most High; and the young man pretended a dear affection to Christ, Master, I will follow thee whither soever thou goest; And the stony ground received the word with joy, Matth. 13. and with love too, for they go both together, for he that joys in a thing, cannot but love that he rejoiceth in: So that we see all these had a kind of joy, but it is not that kind of joy that comes from the Father, neither will it carry itself beseeming the riches of God's mercy; for he that saluted his Master All hail, in conclusion betrayed him: is this your joy and love you entertain Christ withal? So that young man that would follow him whithersoever he went, presently forsook him: And they that even now cried Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed be he that cometh in the Name of the Highest, anon cry as fast, crucify him, crucify him; and they that received the Word with joy, when temptation and persecution came, rejected it: This joy is a foolish imagination hammered out of their Anvil, for base ends and by aims; but they carry not themselves beseeming the riches of God's mercy revealed to them. For, He that loveth father or mother, or brother or sister, more than me, is not worthy of me, saith our Saviour: that is, he that prizeth any thing more, and delights in any thing more than Christ, is not worthy of him. Therefore whosoever he be that bestows his love and joy more upon any thing in this world, than upon Christ; it is not a love and joy beseeming him, nor brought from heaven, but proceeds from a base rotten heart, and will fail us, and bring no profit nor comfort in the end. This then sufficeth for the sense, and proof of the point; we come now to open it a little; wherein for explication, and confirmation thereof, we will handle these two things: First we will show you the reason of the order, why after hope and desire, there comes this love and joy. Secondly, we will discover the motives and grounds what it is in the promise that will kindle and strike fire, and inflame these two affections, and bring them to the Lord. First, Reasons. you will say how comes love and joy next after hope and desire? I answer, you must know there is no more but two affections in the soul, God infinitely wise having so framed it, and these two are hope and desire. The understanding saith such a thing is profitable and comfortable, if I had it, than hope is sent out to wait for that goodness, and if it comes not, then desire the second affection is sent out to meet the good; hope stands and waits for it, but desire wanders up and down, seeking and enquiring after a Lord Jesus, and goeth from coast to coast, from East to West; Oh that I could, and oh that I might, and when shall I, and how may I come to the speech of a Lord Jesus Christ. As it was with the Spouse in the Canticles, when her beloved was gone, she wandered up and down, seeking of him, and enquiring of the watchmen if they did not see him: so desire wanders from this thing to that thing, from this place to that place, and never ceaseth, to see if it can gain notice of Christ: It goeth to prayer to see if that will entreat a Christ: It goeth to the Word to see if that will reveal him: It goeth to conference to see if he can hear of a Christ there: than it cometh to the congregation, and to the Sacrament, to see if it can hear any news of a Lord Jesus Christ, and of mercy; and the soul thus continues wand'ring and seeking, till at last the Lord Jesus Christ comes into the soul, when the soul hath hungered and longed for him. At length the Lord is pleased to show himself in view: behold thy King cometh; so the Lord saith, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away thy sins: Oh thou poor broken hearted sinner, here is thy Saviour, he is come down from heaven to speak peace to thy soul in the pardon of thy sins; thou that hungrest for a Christ, here he is to satisfy thee; thou that thirstest for a Christ, he is now come to refresh thee; thou that hast long sought him, he saith, here I am, and all my merits are thine. Now when the Lord Jesus is pleased to present himself to the soul; now desire hath met with the Lord: there are two other affections sent out by the Spirit to entertain Christ, and they are love and joy. Suffer me (I beseech you) to express myself after this manner, that I may discover the frame and guise of God's Spirit in this gracious work. It is in this case with a sinner, as it is with a malefactor or traitor (observe what I say) who is pursued with a Pursuivant, and is fled to the sea coasts, and hath taken a hold, and he is there besieged. And now he seethe there is no hope of favour, nor no hope of escape; therefore he is even content to submit to the King's pleasure, Simile. and yields his neck to the block, that he may receive punishment for his offence. Now coming to execution, he hears an inkling from the messengers, there is yet hope that this man may be pardoned; with that the poor malefactor in the tower, his heart is stirred up to hope: Nay then he hears another messenger from the King himself say, if he will come unto the Court and seek unto his Majesty, and importune his Grace for mercy and favour, it is like he shall be pardoned: this is the second voice: one saith thou mayest be pardoned, the other saith, nay if thou wilt submit thyself, thou shalt be pardoned. Then he makes haste, and desire carries him to the Court, to sue for favour from the King: So that he will be continually there, listening and enquiring of every one, saying, did you hear the King speak nothing of me, how stands the King's mind towards me, I pray how goes my case? then some tells him, the truth is, the King hears you are humbled, and you sorry for it, you are like to hear more news hereafter. At last the King looks out of the window, and seethe the malefactor and saith, is this the traitor? they say yes, this is the man that is humbled and entreats for mercy, and desires nothing so much as favour. The King tells him the truth is his pardon is drawing, and coming towards him: with that his heart leaps in his belly, and his heart is enlarged to his Majesty; and he saith, God bless your Majesty, never was there such a favourable Prince to a poor traitor. His heart leaps with joy because his pardon is coming towards him; haply it is not sealed yet: Now when it is sealed and all, the King calls him in and delivers it, and that is the last stroke of faith. So it is with a poor sinner, he is this malefactor: you that have committed high treason, you think not of it, but take heed, God will pursue you one day; haply the Lord lets you alone for the present, but he will surprise you on the sudden, and conscience will pluck thee by the throat, and carry thee down to Hell. And now the Lord pursueth him with heavy and terrible indignation, and let's fly at his face, and sets conscience a work as Pursuivant, and that saith, these are thy sins, and to hell thou must go, God hath set me to execute thy soul. Now the poor soul seethe he can by no means escape from the Lord, and to purchase any favour he sees it is impossible; therefore he is resolved to lie down at God's feet, and saith, I confess Lord, there is but one way, let me be damned, so thou mayst be glorified. If the Lord will show favour, so it is; but he cannot desire it almost, because he hath so sinned against him. Now comes the great voice, he hears a noise afar off by the ministry of the Gospel, thy sins are pardonable: with this the soul looks up, and hope stirs the heart, and saith, than it may be a damned creature may be saved, than it may be a dead dog may live, and a traitor may be pardoned: Then the soul hears another voice, if thou canst see the excellency of mercy and long for it, and seek after it, thou shalt be pardoned. Why, go then, saith Desire, and he fills heaven and earth with his cries, and his closet with his prayers, and the congregation with his tears, and will inquire of the Minister of God, and other good Christians; Sirs, you are of the bedchamber, you are acquainted with God, I pray how goes my case? will the Lord, think you, pardon me? did you hear the Lord say nothing of me? how stands it with me? Now the Ministers of God that understand the frame of the heart aright, will say, The Lord hears you are an humble sinner, and that you long for mercy, and lie at the court gate, and will not away without mercy; we hear, God intends well towards you, you shall hear more hereafter: thus fare now desire goeth. At last, Christ presents himself to the sinner, and speaks to his soul by the ministry of the Word, he looks down from heaven, and gives him a sweet look of mercy, and that makes his heart leap again, and that is done in this manner, (for still understand that God doth it by the ministry of the Word, do not now look for any strange dreams or miraculous imaginations) the Lord speaks by his Word, and saith, thou hast a broken heart, thou hast longed for my salvation, go thy ways, I have heard those prayers of thine, and observed those endeavours of thine, and thy pardon is granted, be it to thee as thou hast desired, and thy pardon shall afterward be sealed and delivered. Now when the Lord tells the soul, It is done, it wants only sealing and delivering, the heart of a poor sinner, when it finds some comfort and refreshment from the Lord in the word, he saith, The Minister said I was the sinner, and God intends good to me, and that my sins are pardoned: as the Prince saith, Fiat, let it be done; so the Lord saith, Mercy is coming towards thee, and mercy is granted to thee: Now the heart leaps with joy, and blesseth the Lord, let my soul bless him for ever: How ought I to bless that God that hath done so great things for my poor soul? What, I pardoned? and what, my sins forgiven? what, is the pardon granted, and now sealing, only it wants delivering? why than if I never see more of it, but go down to hell, yet this is my comfort, that I have seen a smile from God, this makes my heart leap within me, though I burn in hell for ever; this is the next voice. Now that brings in love and joy: See a passage this way, Esay 40.2. opened. Esay 40.2. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord, speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, and her iniquity is pardoned, tell jerusalem she is accepted; tell her so, saith the Lord. So the Lord speaks to poor hungry broken sinners, after he hath seen their desires to be sound and thorough; the Lord saith to his Ministers, Speak to the heart of a poor sinner, tell him from me, tell him from heaven, tell him from the Lord Jesus Christ, tell, from under the hand of the Spirit, his person is accepted, and his sins are done away, and he shall be looked upon in mercy. So Esay 66. Esay 66.2. opened. the text saith, The Lord looks to him that is of an humble and contrite heart, and that trembles at his word. The poor creature cannot but observe every word, and tremble at every truth: Here is salvation (indeed, saith he) but it is not mine; here is mercy, but that is not mine: and so he shakes at the apprehension of it, that he should hear of it, and not enjoy it. The text saith, The Lord looks at such a trembling soul; that is, he casts sweet intimations of his goodness and kindness upon him; and saith, Thou poor trembling sinner, to thee be it spoken, I have an eye towards thee in the Lord Jesus Christ; this, as I take it, is the meaning of the place. Ephraim is the picture of a soul truly humbled; we may see his behaviour towards God, and Gods dealing towards him; the text saith, Surely I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himself, (here is the heart broken, and thirsting, and what more) thou hast chastised me, jer. 31.18, 19, 20. and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke; turn thou me, and I shall be turned; thou art the Lord my God, surely after that I was turned, I repent, and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh, I was ashamed, yea even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Here we see Ephraim lamenting himself, as if the sinner should say, I am the wretch that have seen all the means of grace in abundant measure and beauty, and yet never profited under the same; the Lord hath corrected me, but I would not be tamed; the Lord he hath instructed me, but I would not learn; Lord turn me, thou art my God, I have nothing in myself. Nay now I see the evils which before I never perceived, and I observe the baseness of my course now, which before I never considered; and I am ashamed of my former abuse of God's grace revealed; I am even confounded in regard of the abominations which my soul hath harboured; this is the mourning of a poor sinner: Now mark Gods answer, Ephraim is my dear son, he is a pleasant child, for since I spoke against him, I do earnestly remember him still, therefore my bowels are troubled for him, I will surely have mercy upon him. The Lord kindled the fire of his indignation in his heart, and spoke bitter things against his conscience, yet he remembered him all the while; as who should say, I observed all those desires, and considered all those tears, and heard all those prayers, and took notice of all those complaints; and my bowels earn towards a poor sinner that desires my mercy in Christ, and the truth is, I will show mercy to him: thus we see the behaviour of God to the soul, as also the behaviour of the soul to God: and thus you see the order of the affections; when God is absent, hope waits for it, and desire longs after it; when the good is in view, love entertains it, and joy delights, and sports, and playeth with it: love is like the Host that welcomes the guest, and joy is like the chamberlain that attends upon him, and is very ready and pleasing to entertain the promise, and the Lord Jesus Christ: this is the very guise of the heart, as I conceive. The second thing observable, is the motives whereby the promise comes to inflame these two affections, and to work this frame in the heart, namely, by the Spirit of the Father, which kindles in an humble and enlightened soul, love and joy, to entertain and rejoice in the riches of his mercy, as beseems the worth thereof. Quest. But how doth the Spirit kindle this love and joy? Answ. I answer, thus it is, when the Spirit of the Lord in the promise lets in some intimation of God's love into the soul, the weight lieth upon these two words; let's in some inkling, conveyeth some relish of the love of God into the soul. I beseech you, mark it, when the Lord doth express his favour and goodness in that same powerful manner unto a heart humbled, longing for his favour, that it doth force the soul to be affected with it, and doth prevail with the soul, and by a holy kind of might prevaileth, and makes the soul to be affected with the relish of his favour; this is the ground: A possible good stirs up hope, a necessary excellency in that good settleth desire, and a relish in that good settled, kindles love: So that in the promise there is a fullness to take up the whole frame of the heart. The phrase is admirable in the Psalms; The Lord shall command his loving kindness in the morning; Psal. 42.18. (a strange passage) it is a phrase taken from Kings, and Princes, and great Commanders, whose word is a law. So that the Lord shall send forth his loving kindness with a command; as if he should say, Go love and everlasting kindness, take thy commission, and I charge thee, go to the poor humble sinner, go to the poor, hungry, and thirsty sinner, go and prosper and prevail, and settle my love upon his heart, whether he will or no, and let my kindness be settled upon his soul that hath longed for it. Experience tells us this, the Lord doth by an Almightiness give a charge, and put a commission into loving kindness hands, that he shall do good to a poor soul, even then when he sinks under the burden of his sins, and under the apprehension of his weakness. What, shall I have mercy? No, no. Will the Lord Jesus Christ accept me? No surely. Can I pray so, and had I those parts, and could I perform duties after this and this manner, than there were some hope; but, alas! there is no mercy for me. But harken, I beseech you, what the word discovers your estate to be; is it thus and thus with you? yes; then I speak from the Lord, mercy is yours, and heaven is yours; No, no, saith the soul, I cannot believe it, such a wretch as I go to heaven? No, heaven shall rather fall than I come there. Thus the discouraged sinner knocks off mercy, and shuts the door against it. Now when all carnal reasonings, and high imaginations (as Paul calls them) have raised up strong holds against mercy and comfort, when the word cannot do it for the present, God is fain at last to command loving kindness, and send him with a commission from heaven, saying, I charge you, break open the door of the heart of such a sinner, rend that veil of ignorance, and tear that cursed veil of carnal reasoning; And I command thee, go to that soul, and cheer it, and comfort it; go to that soul, and refresh it, and fill it; tell him his sins are pardoned, his person accepted, and his soul shall be saved; tell him his sighs and groans are heard, and his prayers observed in heaven; make this good to his soul, I charge you, before you come back again; this is the admirable goodness of the Lord; the soul many times hath so many tricks, and shifts, and windings, and yielding to carnal reason, that no comfort will come in; So that the Lord is fain to send loving kindness to cheer the soul: As it is with some unruly fellows, who will not give a man possession of his right, till the high Sheriff comes, and gives him possession by force whether they will or no: So loving kindness is Gods high Sheriff; now when a company of base fellows, as carnal reasonings, and the like, would keep out mercy and favour that is due to a sinner, the Lord commands loving kindness to break open the door, and speak comfort to him: and now take notice of what I say, as a good to come was the ground of hope, and if there be any necessary excellency, desire longs for it: So when the good is not only present, but expresseth his presence, and leaves some kind of remembrance, as it were, and discovers itself in some manner effectually to the soul; that stirs up love continually, and that must be done before any love can be kindled. (I open it thus:) Look as it is with touching, which is a faculty of nature, if the thing lies upon a man, leaves a strong impression upon him, than a man's touch will feel it; but if it be marvellous light, than it may lie upon a man, and be present with him, and yet not be perceived: as a feather, lay it upon a man's finger on the sudden, or a mote in a man's face, because it leaves no impression, he feels it not; but if there be any weight laid upon his hand, than he feels: so if it be water that moistens him, or fire that scorcheth him, he is sensible of it; so love in the soul is like touching in the body: now when loving kindness is not set on upon the heart, though it be present with the soul, yet because it leaves no impression upon the soul, hence it comes that the heart cannot be stirred with any love towards it, nor be touched and affected with it, nor return that joy and delight as becomes the favour of God. So that there must be the love of God, letting some sweet intimations into the heart, and expressing itself to the soul, and affecting the heart therewith; and then our love comes to be kindled towards God again; Gods love settling upon the soul, draws and pulls our love to God again. This is the ground of that the Apostle speaks, We love him, 1 john 4.19. because he loved us first. It must be the beams of God's love that must fall upon the soul, before the soul can return love to God again. Hosea 11.4. So in Hosea, I drew them, saith the text, with the cords of love, and with the bands of a man: as who should say, God lets in the cords of his love into our souls, and that draws our loves to him again. But most excellent is that place of the Canticles, (mark the manner of the guise of the Spirit of God, expressing himself to the soul) He brought me to the Banqueting house, Cant. 2.4. and his Banner over me was Love: and what followeth? Stay me with flagons, and comfort me with apples, for I am sick of Love. When the Banner of Christ's love is displayed over the soul, the soul comes to be sick of love to Christ again. In war when the Captain displayeth the banner, three things are done by it: First, it argueth the presence of the General: Secondly, it commands all the Soldiers to come to it: Thirdly, all come under it. Now observe the excellency of the sweetness of the sense of the Spirit of God; when God displayeth the banner of his love, in the perfect colours and beauty of it to the soul; then all the hearts of poor fainting sinners come in as Soldiers, and they are sick of love to him; now this love of God begets love in us again, in three particulars. Particular. 1 First, there is a sweetness and relish which Gods love let's into the soul, and that warms the heart. When a man is fainting, aqua vitae comforts him: Thy loving kindness is better than life (saith the Prophet David) there is aqua vitae indeed; the Lord lets in but one glimpse of his love, and that warms the souls. This is that observable in the Canticles, Cant. 2.3. opened. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine; because of the savour of thy good ointment, thy Name is an ointment poured forth, therefore do the Virgins love thee. Every poor sinful creature, thou that drinkest water, if thou hast Christ's love, thou thinkest it better than the best wine under heaven: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his lips, that is, with the comforts of his Word and Spirit: so that mark what the soul saith; Let the Lord Jesus Christ refresh my soul with the sweet comforts and consolations of his Word, and it will be better than wine. But first he must kiss him with the kisses of his lips, before his love can be better than wine, that is, the Lord by the power of his Spirit in the ministry of the Word, must express his love to the soul, and that draws the love of the soul to God: and mark what followeth, because of the savour of thy good ointments, therefore the Virgins love thee: by Christ's ointments, are Christ's graces signified. Now when the Lord Jesus Christ doth communicate the sweet savour of his grace into the soul, than the Virgins which are loosened from sin, love the Lord Jesus; but first the savour of the ointment must be spread abroad before they can love him. Particular. 2 Secondly, as the sweetness of God's love warms the heart, so the freeness of the same doth even begin to kindle a love in the soul: Herein saith the Apostle, God commends his love towards us, Rom. 5.8. in that while we were yet enemies unto him, Christ died for us. The Lord sends from heaven to a poor miserable creature; commend my love, commend my mercy to such a poor soul, and tell him though he hath been an enemy to me, yet I am a friend to him; tell him though he hath been a traitor to me, I have been a good King to him: he hath been a rebel to me, but tell him I have been a good God to him; commend my love to him, and let him know that all his sins are done away, for the Lord Jesus died for sinners, when they were sinners. This is the argument of Saint john, If God so loved us, as that he gave his only begotten Son for us, how ought we to love one another? I collect from hence; But how then ought we to love God himself? It was this that kindled the frozen heart of Saul, he had a heart almost as cold as ice, and yet this did work upon him. Mark what the text saith: When David had taken Saul on the hip, 1 Sam. 24.19. and had him at advantage, and might have taken away his life, and yet would not: when he saw that David was so kind and would do him no hurt; David knew Saul persecuted him, and desired to kill him, he was the most professed enemy he had, and was the only man that stood between him and the kingdom: Now when David had him in his hands, and spared him, this kindness of David wrought even upon the heart of a Saul, and kindled a kind of love in him, as the text saith; Thou art more righteous than I, for thou hast rewarded me good, and I have rewarded thee evil, and thou hast showed this day, that thou hast dealt well with me; forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hands, thou killed'st me not; for if a man find an enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good, for that thou hast done unto me this day. So that we see a Saul is warned, and his love is kindled towards David for his kindness. So when the soul considers, what, is the Lord thus gracious to me? who ever found an enemy and slew him not? Had it not been just with the Lord to take advantage against me? Had it not been just, that I which lived in sin, should have perished for my sin? Had it not been just, that I which loved my corruption, should have perished for my corruptions? But that the Lord should find an enemy and not slay him, nay that the Lord should find an enemy, and send his Son to save him, is wonderful. Let my soul for ever love that God, and rejoice in that mercy; this would work almost upon a Devil. If the soul had but the sap and sweetness of this, it could not but warm the heart of an humbled sinner, and kindle in him an abundant love to God, who hath been so loving to him. Particular. 3 Lastly, the greatness of the sweetness of the mercy of God, this inflames the soul; the sweetness warms it, the freeness kindles it, and when the greatness meets with these, it sets the soul all in a burning flame. This is the ground the Apostle presseth to the Ephesians, he desireth that they may be rooted in love, that is, established with mighty strong love, how shall that be? Why the text saith, comprehending with all Saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ which passeth knowledge: as who should say, can you but once comprehend the unmeasurable dimensions of God's love and goodness; this will kindle and inflame your hearts with admirable love to the Lord Jesus. When the sinner thinks thus with himself, I that have done all that I could against so good a God, that my heart even bleeds to think of it; there was no name under Heaven I tore in pieces, but God's Name: his wounds, and heart, and life, I have torn all: nay there was no command in the world that my soul so much despised, as the command of the Lord Jesus. There was no spirit that ever spoke to me, which I so much resisted, as the Spirit of the Lord. Oh how many sweet motions hath the Lord let into my soul, that he might pluck me from my base courses and sinful practices: but I have flown in the face of his blessed Spirit. If I had lain in a dungeon, and had been plagued with torments all my life time; yea though I had another world of misery to live in, it is infinite mercy, so the Lord would pass by these base dealings, and pardon these rebellions of mine. But that God should send his Son to love me, so incomparably, so unconceivably, that I could not hate him so much as he loved me; I could not so exceed in unkindness towards him, as he hath exceeded in kindness towards me. Oh the height of this mercy beyond my desire! Oh the breadth of this mercy without all bounds! Oh the length of this mercy beyond all times! Oh the depth of this mercy beneath all miseries! Were my eyes made of love, I could nothing but weep love; were my tongue made of love, I could nothing but talk love; were my hands made of love, I could nothing but work love; and all too little for that God that hath loved me so admirably, so unmeasurably. What shall I love if I love not the Lord? I love all things, but I love God above all things. Psal. 18.1. I love thee dearly, O Lord my strength, saith David: this is the last particular, whereby the soul comes to be all on a flame, and hath a burning affection towards the Lord Almighty. Use. 1 We come now to the application of the point, that so we may reap some good to our souls thereby. First than it is a ground of instruction, which I desire to press unto you, because it is both seasonable and profitable. From the former Doctrine therefore we collect and conclude undeniably; that there is no sufficiency in a natural heart, to be carried to the Lord Jesus Christ, or to the work of grace: we have not this, before God doth give it unto us: nay we cannot move towards God, or be carried in the least kind to love or delight in him further than the Lord will carry us himself, and bear up our hearts by the hand of his Spirit. It is true (and we find it by woeful experience) it is in our power to love the world, it is in our power to delight in our lusts: Nay being but natural men, it cannot be but that we should love ourselves, and love our honour, and our ease, and profit, and applause in the world. There is enough of this foolish wildfire, there is enough of this carnal self-love in every man's heart. But to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and to have a heart enlarged with joy to him, this is a work of grace, which groweth not in our gardens: there is not one spark of this holy fire and spiritual delight in our hearts. Nay we cannot buy it, nor borrow it, nor receive it from any creature under Heaven, further than the Father sends down some beams of his love to kindle this in us, further than the blessed Spirit of God is pleased to blow these sparks when they are kindled, further than the Lord jesus Christ is pleased by the power of his merits, to feed these sparks of love thus blown in our souls. It is almost impossible, that any man in his natural estate should be so deluded, as to think he can love the Lord or delight in him. 1 Tim. 1.13, 14. opened. The Apostle Paul tells us plainly, he was a persecutor, and a blasphemer, and injurious: Paul could do this, and thou haply canst do this; thou canst be a blasphemer against Jesus Christ, and thou canst be a persecutor of Jesus Christ; but Paul cannot believe in Christ, nor love the Lord jesus; how comes he to this? Why, the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ jesus: (mark that) As if he should say, it was Gods abundant grace that over-powerd my unfaithful heart, and made it faithful: It was Gods abundant grace that over-powerd my stubborn injurious heart, and made it a loving heart. But how comes this, that the grace of the Lord was abundant in faith and love? Why, it is in Christ, saith the text; from Christ this faith was rooted, from Christ this love was kindled: As if he had said, I could persecute, and blaspheme, and despise, and cast off God and his grace, I was a wretch, a villain, that I could do: But that I should love the Lord being injurious, and that I should believe the Lord being unfaithful, this was from Christ alone. In experience we find it, the ball must first fall upon the ground, before it can bound up again, and return from the ground: So the Lord Jesus must dart in, and fling in this love of his into the soul, before the soul can rebound in love and joy back to him again. We must receive the Spirit of love from God, 2 Tim. 1.7. before the Lord can receive any spiritual and holy love from us. In a word, what the Lord spoke in some case to the Jews, is true of every man naturally; I know that you have not the love of God in you: john 5.42. As if he should say, you know not yourselves, you think you have hearts enlarged to God, and you pretend great kindness to God: but you are deceived in your souls, and cozened in your corrupt natures: for I know full well that the love of God is not in you. I pursue the point the rather for these two ends. First, it discovers and confutes the carnal conceits of a company of carnal Gospelers, that pretend they do not delight to set out themselves in show so much, and they do not hear and pray and fast so much as these and these do. But, say they, as for the soundness of our love to the Lord Jesus, we defy any man in the world that speaks against us; they find no difficulty in the matter to love the Lord, they are certainly persuaded they do that. Therefore if the Minister shall press upon them, and challenge them of want of love to God and his grace, they fly in a man's face presently; What, not love the Lord Jesus Christ? why than it is pity a man should live upon the face of the earth: they do love him, and they will love him, all the world shall not persuade them from the loving of Christ. Oh poor silly creature, it is a great argument that thou never hadst this love to God, because thou sawest no hardness to get it. It is an argument thou never didst express any delight in Christ, because thou thinkest it an easy matter to delight in him. Most men think it a matter of nothing; what, not love the Lord Jesus Christ? why, who cannot love Christ? Who cannot? I say, neither thou, nor I, nor any man under heaven can love Christ by any power in himself: Nay let me speak peremptorily, thou art as able to save thy own soul, nay thou art as able to redeem thy soul without Christ, as thou art able (unless the Lord by the Almighty help of his Spirit-inable thee) to love the Lord Jesus Christ. Nay mark what I say, you that love Christ, and yet do nothing for him, but pretend great kindness inwardly, how ever you express not yourselves in outward appearance; I tell thee, if a man might have happiness by it, if he might have heaven laid down upon the nail (as we say) if he could love Christ, I say, upon these conditions, if thou hast but nature in thee, thou wouldst never go to heaven, thou wouldst never be happy. No, no, it will cost thee more than that comes to, it will cost thee much pains, it will cost thee many prayers, and many tears, before that day come. It is not an easy matter to love the Lord Jesus; the Father from heaven must learn you that; you must go to another manner of school, than ever you have been at yet, if ever you learn this lecture: thou mayst pray till thy eyes sink in thy head, and till thy heart fails; and yet thou canst not love Christ, unless the Spirit enable thee thereunto. Think of this, you that think it is nothing to love the Lord Jesus Christ: If it were nothing but to talk of love, and to compliment with the Lord Jesus, to make a curtsy to Christ, and to make a leg to the Lord, and yet hate him inwardly, than it were an easy matter indeed; it is nothing to buckle to him in this fashion, and in the mean time oppose him, and the power of his grace: but to entertain and welcome a Saviour, suitable and agreeable to the worth of him, this nature will not, cannot do, it is the work of the Lord. Observe it (I beseech you) I say, as nature cannot do this, so nature will not do it: first nature cannot do it, 1 john 1.5. God is light, and in him is no darkness, Ephes. 5.8. saith the text, at all: and, Ye were darkness, but now are light in the Lord: A man naturally is nothing but darkness, and God is nothing but light; a man by nature is nothing but unholy, and God is nothing but holy. Now darkness will resist light, and not give way to it; and wickedness will oppose holiness, and not give way to the same: this is thy condition, thou hast an ignorant carnal blind heart, and God is light, pure, and holy, and thou canst resist a Saviour, but not entertain him, do what thou canst. Nay further, as a man cannot naturally do this, so in the second place, I say, he will not do it. The Apostle affirms of the Thessalonians, That they would not receive the love of the truth, 2 Thess. 2.10. opened. that they might be saved; he doth not say, They would not receive the truth, but they would not receive the love of the truth. It is a phrase taken from a man, which makes love to a party, so the truth of God makes love to many a man, it makes love to thy naughty and corrupt heart, and would pluck thee away from these things here below, and would draw thee from thy base haunts, and filthy lusts, and sinful courses; and it would woo and win thy soul to take place in it, that it may show comfort to it: the truth of God makes love to the world, and the world will none of the truth: Christ came to the world, and the world received him not, they were so fare from seeking a Saviour, and coming to him, that they would not receive a Saviour, when he came unto them. Therefore know, thou hast a heart that can hate the Lord Jesus Christ, but thou hast not a heart to love him, thou hast not a heart that can delight in his good Spirit, thou hast not a heart that can take content in his rich grace. The second reason why I press this point, is this, I would discover the disorderly dealing of many poor Saints of God w●th their own souls: Many a poor child of God labours extremely, and takes great pains to work his soul, and bring his heart to love Christ: he falls out with himself, because he cannot love God, and he is ready to curse himself, he cannot get his heart up to heaven, where is more riches than is in the best riches of the world; where is more honour than in the greatest honour upon earth; where is more pleasure than in the greatest delight here below: they labour, and can find no good success; they take pains, but their work doth not succeed prosperously: the reason is this, they do not begin at the right end, they work the wrong way: go to the sea of love, and go to the sun of righteousness, and to the beams of God's mercy, which only can work thy heart to love God, and delight in him: do not go to thy cold earthly frozen heart, and think to fetch love from thence, think not to bring love to the promise, but look to receive love from the promise, but it is the love of God towards thee, that must draw love from thee to God again. It was the speech of Christ, when he was to send the Comforter to his Disciples, john 16.14. He shall receive of mine (saith the text) and give it unto you: mark the phrase, all graces and all spiritual abilities are Christ's; go thy ways therefore, and press the Lord Jesus with this promise of his, and say, The truth is, Lord, the heart to love thee and delight in thee is thine; and thou hast said, thy Spirit shall take of thine, and give to us; therefore give to us of thine, Lord, that thou mayst receive of thine from us: Our hearts cannot love nor delight in thy Majesty, but it must come from thee; give it to us therefore Lord, that we may give thee of thine own. Use. 2 The second thing I gather from this doctrine, is this, namely, strong comfort and consolation to stay and refresh the hearts of those that have received this gracious work. What ever thy weakness be, it skils not: Is thy love in truth? Is thy joy sound? it is enough, thy soul may be comforted, in that the Lord hath bestowed this gracious work upon thee in any measure; if thy love be in truth, it will carry thee through all occasions in this pilgrimage of thine, and bring thee to everlasting happiness; it is a ground of admirable refreshing to the soul, that finds in his heart this love and delight in God. The text telleth us, a man by nature cannot do this; Therefore if thou hast this, go thy way, clear thy soul, and bless God for it, and make much of it, and say, Thou hast more than all carnal men, than all cunning hypocrites under heaven can have; pretend what they will, and profess what they please, thou that hast the love of God in any measure, though in much weakness, thou hast more than they all. This may refresh the hearts of many of you poor ones, though haply many other things go ill with you, yet this appears in the younglings of Christ, though they cannot do any thing for their Father, yet they can love him; it is a loving child, we say, it can love the Father, though it can do nothing for him: so you poor weak Christians, that have small means, little abilities, haply thy understanding is not so deep to fathom the mysteries of life and salvation, thy tongue is not so glib to talk so freely, and confer so comfortably of heavenly things, thou canst not be enlarged in holy duties, thy understanding is marvellous blind, thy memory marvellous weak, thy parts exceeding feeble, so that thou art even ashamed of thyself, and of what thou hast and dost. But I ask thee this question, Canst thou love Christ, and rejoice in the Lord Jesus? me thinks many a poor soul replies, Yes, I bless the Lord, that is all I have to uphold my heart withal; I think all the profits, and pleasures, and friends in the world, cannot draw my love from Christ, it is my delight to love him, and rejoice in him: Go thy ways then, and the God of heaven go with thee; this spark is a spark of that immortal Spirit of the Father which will never dye, it is a work of grace, which will never leave thee, it is a badge, it is the cognizance, and the proper livery which the Lord Jesus Christ gives only to his Saints: there was never a hypocrite under heaven that ever wore this, God intended it not for them; but those, and only those, which the Lord hath effectually called, and will glorify with himself hereafter, wear this: and therefore thou that wantest all, & yet hast this, comfort thyself with this in the want of all, and say, I love the Lord, and the Lord knows it, and my soul knows that I love the Lord Jesus; I can say but little for Christ, my understanding is weak, I conceive not, my memory is weak, I retain not, but yet the Lord knows I love him, and delight in him. Yea, and know thou it too, and comfort thyself therein; the Apostle provokes us to love one another, john 4.7. because love comes from God; now if the love to the brethren comes from God, because we see God's image in them, than the love of God hath a much more express work in it: therefore reason thus with yourselves; The time was, that this wretched, vile, carnal, worldly heart of mine, could find no relish in the promise; I could not bring this naughty soul of mine to entertain the Gospel of grace, nor the Spirit of grace, but they were tedious and irksome to my soul, but the Lord (blessed be his name) hath been pleased to help me, so that I can do that which I never could do. I find the Lords promise and goodness much more comfortable to me, than all the corn and wine in the world, and my heart is cheered with the consideration of the same. The Apostle saith, Rom. 8.28. All things shall work together for the best to them that love God; namely, to those that are called according to his purpose, that is, to those that so love God, that their love came by calling, according to God's everlasting counsel. He called them in his good time from darkness to light, and he called them from the love of the world, to the love of God; therefore all things shall work together for the best to them: let nothing therefore discourage thee in this case, but say, All things shall work for my good, because God hath given me a heart to love him: nay be cheered herein, I charge you, and let not your hearts droop, and quarrel not with the Lord for a greater portion, but bless God for that you have received, your lot is fallen into a fair ground, and the Lord hath dealt lovingly with you, you need no more for a child's part. David desired no more, Look upon me, O Lord, (saith he) and do good unto me: how? as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name. As if he had said, I desire no more for my life and everlasting happiness, and the comfort of my soul; deal with me no otherwise, but just so, as thou dost with those that love thy name: I know thou wilt love them that love thee, I know thou wilt save them that love thee; I know thou wilt comfort them that love thee; I know thou wilt glorify them that love thee: thus Lord do good to thy servant, I desire no more, I crave no other, but as thou dost, as thou usest to do good to those that love thy name: if I have that, I have enough: David a King, a glorious Saint, desired no more, expected no more: if thou hast so much, know that thou art beholding to the Lord, and be contented therewith. Haply you have not that vain of talking and conference which others have, this is commendable, but there is a great deal of pride and vanity in it now adays; thou canst not crank up thyself in performances, but thy heart closeth with God, and thy affections are set upon him, and thy soul burns with love towards the Lord; why? that is enough to bring thee to heaven, if there be ever a Saint in heaven, thou art one now, & shalt be in heaven forever hereafter. But now here is the difficulty, if a man had that love which comes from God according to his purpose, this would stand us in stead: but there is much feigned, wild, hypocritical love, in the world: Quest. How shall I (therefore) know my love, whether it be true, of the right nature, or no? Answ. Here is the skill, therefore we will skan the matter a little; if it be true love, and right joy, God will accept it, therefore put this love and joy upon the trial, and we will say no more than what we have ground for out of the doctrine of the text. Examine thy love and joy by this, whether thou welcomest, and entertainest the Lord Jesus Christ, as beseems him; whether thou entertainest grace, answerable to the worth of grace; for that is the nature of this love and joy which God kindles and works. Now this appears in five particulars: The first is this, if thou wilt know the truth and soundness of thy love and joy (for what I say of the one, I say of the other, if love be good, joy will be sound, for they grow both upon one root, only the one hath more sweetness of God's favour shed into the heart, which makes the soul sport with it, etc.) I say therefore, to discover the soundness of this love of thine, observe these trials: Trial. 1 First, observe the root and rise, from whence thy love came, and wisely consider this, for it is a point of great weight, and hard to discover, yet it is that which will never fail, it is the narrowest search in the world; if thy love come from the right mint, it is currant and warrantable, it is such as our Saviour approves of: It is Christ's royal prerogative to mint love, and coin such love, as he will take for payment, and accept of; therefore doth thy love come from the Spirit of the Father? then it is made fit to close with the Father, and to close with the Lord jesus, and with his good Spirit; and consequently the Father allows this, and will give acceptance to it. You know great men must be entertained answerable to their worth; for a man to have mean fare and scant provision, this may content a poor man; but the choicest and best, dear bought, and fare fetched, beseems men of great rank and place. So there is a kind of lean love, this earthly and natural love, that grows only out of thy own strength and natural parts, it is scant provision, it beseems not, it suits not with God the Father, it is not answerable to the place and state of the Lord jesus Christ. It is good enough for these base things here below, earthly love for earthly things, carnal love for carnal things; it is good enough for these things. But will you entertain the Father of heaven? Will you entertain the Lord jesus Christ? I tell you then you must have dainties, you must have spiritual love to welcome a spiritual Father, otherwise it will not be suitable to his worth. Look as it is with flowers, those flowers which are sown and planted, and by the skilful hand of the gardener inocculated, are choice once both for sent and sight, are your province roses and the like, are of great account; but your common hedge roses, no man cares for them: So it is with the work of God's Spirit, and all other common graces, there is province love, and province joy, which is planted and wrought in the heart by the skilful hand of God and his blessed Spirit, these make a sweet smelling savour in the nostrils of God: Ay that love, saith the Father, Ay that love, saith the Lord Jesus, we cannot better please them, than by entertaining them after this matter; but these hedge roses, this carnal love and carnal joy, that grows upon the hedge of our own natural hearts, the Lord cares not for this love and joy, it beseems him not in any measure, therefore observe this, canst thou say, I love God because he loved me; this is a love of the right coin, it came from the right mint; and know it for ever, that that God which cannot but love himself, he cannot but like that love of thine, which is of his own nature, which came from his own self, who is the God of all love. I would fain have you understand what I speak, is thy heart therefore affected and enlarged with love to the Lord, because thou hast found, and felt, and received, the sweetness of the relish of the riches of his grace into thy soul, doth love and joy grow upon this root, namely, upon a grounded application (as I may so say in special manner) of God's favour to thy soul, settled, and sealed, and made known in this kind, if thy love do grow upon this ground, upon the particular application of God's mercy to thy soul; so that thy soul can say, the Lord hath looked down from heaven; he hath said in his word, that he will look at them that tremble at his name; I looked for mercy, and I sought for grace, and blessed bee God, I have found that mercy and grace I looked and sought for, the Minister spoke it, and his Spirit spoke it, that my name was registered in heaven, and that my prayers were heard, & my desires satisfied, and therefore how shall I love the Lord that hath done all this for me? my sins I have bewailed, my complaints I have poured forth, and the Lord hath looked from heaven, and given me a gracious answer; therefore I will love the Lord for it, even for ever; I love thee dearly, O Lord, my strength, thou art my support that hast strengthened me; thou art my Saviour that hast saved me; therefore my soul shall for ever love thee, for that mercy of thine; this is a love now that comes from a right mint, it is currant, and good pay. Difference betwixt the love and joy of an hypocrite, and of God's child. But if a man love God from himself, this love will bring a man to himself, and there leave him: as if a man have a love to his parts, or to his hearing, or reading, or praying, or preaching, or conferences, if a man have a love to his understanding, wisdom, and policy, he loves his wisdom and policy well, therefore he would fain be beholding to Christ, to help him to glorify this wisdom and policy, and these parts of his, that he might receive honour to them: now the love of his parts brought all to his parts, and Christ's honour in the mean time lay in the dust, and so I might instance in a thousand examples of the like nature: Whereas now (mark what I say) that love which is wrought from God, always draws the soul unto God's love again, the Lord lets down the cords of his love into the soul, and thereby breeds love, and kindles love in the soul, to that goodness and kindness of his; and this is the excellency of a Christian, and this love is of a right coin, and of a right stamp: but love of my parts, that Christ may glorify my parts; and love of profit, that Christ might promote my profit: I love my parts and profit only now, and not Christ in this case: and this is the greatest difference between the love and delight, which the cunningest hypocrite under heaven can have, and the Saints of God: I express it thus; Meat that a man takes down inwardly, Simile. and digests, breeds good blood, and good complexion; but that which a man takes, and digests not, but vomits out again presently, breeds neither good blood, nor good complexion: So it is with the love of the heart that is rightly wrought upon, to entertain and love a Saviour, and delight in him, and welcome him, as beseems his worth: a heart that is fondly wrought upon by the Spirit, feeds hearty upon the promise, and that feeding and taking down of the promise, and that closing with the promise, breeds good blood and good complexion; true love that breeds good blood, and true joy that breeds good complexion, because the promise is fed upon: it is the work of God's Spirit which seize upon, and work effectually upon the heart, that bred this sound love and true joy. But a carnal hypocrite, that only hath a taste of the promise, and a flattering apprehension of the promise in general, Christ came to save sinners, etc. these are pretty things to tickle their conceits, but they never go down, they digest not the promise of Christ, and therefore that love which comes from hence, is but a feigned love, and that joy which ariseth from hence, is but a false joy, it breeds no good blood, it breeds no good complexion, but mere vanities and overtures in a Christians course; here is the difference between the love and joy of an hypocrite, and of a Saint of God: this is the first trial. Trial. 2 Secondly, if thou entertain thy Saviour, as beseems a Saviour, thou must entertain him as a King (for he is a King) that is, give up all to him, and entertain none but those that attend upon him, and appertain to him; in a word, love all in Christ, love all for Christ, but express thy affection and joy to him above all; he is the King, all the rest are but retainers, and therefore entertain him in the first place; he that loves any thing equal with Christ, he never loved Christ truly; he that sets up any thing, cheek by jowl with his Saviour, he despiseth, he renounceth his Saviour. It is all one (in plain terms) as if a man should put a slave into the chamber where the King is, and say, he hath entertained the King, this base behaviour of his, will drive the King away, as well as if he did openly and profesly bid him be gone. So if thou settest up any thing with thy Saviour, thou dost drive him away, as well by thy base behaviour, as by open profession: a man cannot receive friendship with Christ and the world upon the same terms: james 4.4. a wife that loves her husband, loves him only as a husband, he only hath her heart, and she loves none but him in that manner; she loves others as friends and neighbours, and gives them respect so fare as they keep themselves there, but if they come to claim the love of a husband, she abhors them: so a loving heart loves Jesus Christ only as a bridegroom, and all things else only as friends and neighbours: the soul that loves Christ, loves him only as a Christ, and all the rest as friends: the soul will love riches that may credit it, and parts that may advance it (as friends to speak for a man, and to give occasion to a man, to come to a Saviour) as the wife loves her husband firstly, and the rest as friends and neighbours, that must further the match: so the soul loves the Lord jesus Christ in the first place, and all things else, as profit, and riches, and parts, as friends and neighbours that may make up the match with a Saviour, and bring it into acquaintance with a Saviour: the soul loves prayer, and hearing, and Gods ordinances, as friends to speak a good word to Christ for it; but if any thing come to steal away the heart, and challenge the affection of a spouse, it abhors it, it hates honour, and riches, and all things in the world that will challenge any spouse-like love, Christ only shall have that. Luke 14.16. opened. Our Saviour saith, He that hates not father and mother for my sake, is not worthy of me: that is, if father and mother stand between thee and Christ, if they would be married to thy soul, hate and abhor them, love them so fare as they lead to a Saviour, but when they step into the place of a Saviour, abominate and hate them. Difference between a sound and false heart in the entertainment of Christ. This I take to be the difference between a sound and false heart, in the entertainment of the Lord Jesus; a sound heart entertains a Saviour, as a favourite entertains a Prince, he comes into his house, and disposes, and orders every thing as he sees fit, what he will is done, and no more: but now an in keeper, he entertains him that comes next, he will take any man's money, and give welcome to any man, for he loves the gain of all, but loves the person of none: so a gracious soul entertains Christ as a Prince, all give attendance to the Lord, and all the courtiers are welcome, because they are serviceable to his Majesty; but if a man be an enemy to his Majesty, he will rather imprison him, than entertain him; he will rather punish him, than welcome him: but now an hypocrite entertains the Lord Jesus, as a stranger into an inn, if honour, or profits, or riches come first, they are first served, all are welcome, they and Christ, and Christ and they, but loves not Christ, but he loves himself in all. Trial. 3 Thirdly, he that truly loves Christ, labours to give contentment to Christ, for love always gives contentment to the thing beloved; so it must be with every Christian heart that is truly humbled, and hath this affection kindled, beseeming our Saviour; the soul that thus entertains him, is studiously careful, and marvellous watchful, lest it do any thing that may grieve the Lord Jesus, and discontent his Spirit, and send the good Spirit of the Lord sad; or in any dislike to Heaven; it is careful, lest the Lord jesus should be displeased with him, and offended at him, or go away in anger and displeasure; the heart fears, lest he should do any thing that may cause this, and it would be almost death to him, if he should do this. Mark the guise and behaviour of the Spouse, she never left seeking of her beloved, till she had found him, Cant. 3.7. and when she had found him, she lays hold of him, and when she hath done so, she brings him home, and when he was there, she gives charge to all the house, I charge you, O ye daughters of jerusalem, by the Roes and the Hinds of the field, that you stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. Look as it is when men of great place come into a man's house, there is a great charge & warning given; see there be no noise about such a place, lest such a man be raised before his time. What baseness is this that we should have our hearts enlarged to any thing but Christ? A good heart will do as the spouse did here; when the soul hath received the Spirit of a Saviour, & found the mercy of a Saviour, it keeps watch & ward within itself, and gives peremptory charge to all in the family; I charge you profits, and pleasure, and riches, and honour, and all the things of this life, love and joy, and all the faculties of the soul, (it gives them warning) I charge you that you stir not, I charge you that you grieve not, I charge you that you disquiet not the Spirit of the Lord, let there be no motion but entertain it, no command but obey it; no advice but receive it; thus the soul gives peremptory charge, not to grieve the Spirit of the Lord, or to do any thing that may distaste it. See this in Lot, who when he had received the two Angels into his house, the cursed Sodomites came to the door, and thought to abuse his strangers. Now (mark it I beseech you) Lot could be content that rather any hurt or distaste should befall himself then them: therefore observe how he pleads with those base people. Lot went out unto them, and shut the doors after him, and said; Gen. 19.8. I pray you brethren do not so wickedly; Behold now I have two daughters which have not known man, let me bring them out unto you, and do to them as is good in your eyes, only to these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. This was kind honourable entertainment. As Lot deal with the Angels, so a loving heart will deal with the Lord jesus: let my soul be wounded (saith the loving heart) but let not God's Spirit be grieved; let my honour be laid in the dust, but let not God be dishonoured; let temptations, oppositions, persecutions, and disgrace befall me, but let God's glory be advanced. The soul is willing and content to bear any thing, but it will do nothing against Christ, it will do nothing against the Gospel of the Lord jesus. The soul saith, you may do what you will with me, my life, and honour, and wealth is in your hands, but to the Lord do no harm; blaspheme not his Name, resist not his Spirit, do no dishonour to his Gospel, do not contemn his grace what ever betides me: This is the frame of the soul that truly loves Christ. They that entertain Persons which they highly respect, are inquisitive of those that appertain unto them to know what their mind is, what likes your master, and what takes he most contentment in? this they do, that they may prevent him with a kindness, though he ask not for it; what ever will best content him, they seek for it, and what ever will distaste him they labour to avoid it: So a gracious loving soul never satisfieth itself, but labours to give content to the Lord jesus, that he may have his will only. Therefore such a soul will come to a faithful Minister and ask him, how must I order my family? What shall I do in regard of myself and children? How may I please the Lord better? And how may I entertain the Lords Spirit better? What duty is to be performed? What service is to be discharged? What course is to be taken, that I may please Christ? You are acquainted with Christ, you know what will content him; I pray you tell me how I may pray so; and perform duties so that nothing may distaste him, or be offensive unto him. This I take to be the difference between an honest sincere heart which entertains Christ as beseems him, and a naughty hypocritical spirit that would fawn upon Christ jesus: this is the difference between faithful true love and joy, and dissembling love and joy. There is the same odds between them, which is between a man that entertains a servant, and another that entertains a noble friend, or a King into his family. A man entertains a servant, that he may please him, Simile. and not that he may please his servant: he seethe he is wise to order his occasions, and diligent to dispatch his business, and therefore he receives him, that he may get contentment from the servant, not that he may give contentment to the servant: but if he finds any inconveniency in his estate, or receives not that satisfaction from him which he desires and expects, he turns him out of doors. But now he which entertains a Noble man after a noble manner, and he which entertains a King after a kingly manner, labours to give him all content, he will not please himself, nor fulfil his own mind, but studies how he may give content to the Noble man, or to the King. Nay it is admirable to see what men of great place will do in this case: When they entertain a King, they themselves will be servants while the King is there; haply he is a man of great estate, and hath many to attend upon him, yet he gives charge to his servants, I care not what becomes of me, but be sure let his Majesty be pleased; and if any comes to speak with him, he tells him he cannot possibly speak with him now, he must attend upon his Majesty. So it is between a sound faithful loving soul that entertains Christ, and an Hypocrite; the one receives Christ into his soul as a servant into his family, and all the while God's Gospel or Grace may promote his honour, or ease, or credit, so fare as these may serve his turn, so fare as profit, and honour, and riches come in by this means, welcome Gospel, and welcome Christ: But if he sees danger will come, or inconvenience befall, or misery betide; then he turns Gospel, and Christ, and profession, and all out of doors, because he entertained the Gospel only as a servant to content himself. But he that entertains Christ and the Gospel, as a King into his soul, labours to give him all content, he will not please himself, or his lusts, or his pride or vain glory, or any thing in the world: Nay when Christ comes once to be received into the soul, he which before had his retinue, and all to attend upon him; they must all serve Christ now, nay he will not give Christ distaste in the least thing, he cares for no honour now, but to honour him, he cares for no advancement now, but to advance him, he esteems of no riches now, but so fare as they may credit the Gospel: Nay to go further, they that were his nearest and dearest friends, if they come and desire his company, he tells them no, he cannot, the Lord jesus must be pleased, and the Spirit must be contented: Nay his old lusts, and his old acquaintance, his old base haunts of heart, and his old sinful courses, that have been at inward league with his soul, though they come and plead for acceptance, the poor sinner regards none of all these, he respects Christ only: Nay he will displease a fashion, rather than he will displease Christ; he will displease all the great men under Heaven, rather than he will displease Christ. Nay all that same glory and pride of his which hath been so much beloved of him, the soul that hath been truly humbled, and brought to an apprehension of God's goodness, will rather displease that than displease the Lord jesus Christ. This is an entertainment that beseems the Lord, and this is the guise that beseems him which gives contentment to a Saviour: You must now and then receive the Gospel when it pleaseth you, and anon fling out the Lord jesus, and currishly behave yourselves towards him; but you must give all content unto him, and bestow all attendance upon him. It is admirable to see what love will do, how men will square their minds and hearts to the minds of those that are tendered by them; they will be where they please, do what they will, Psal. 40.8. and talk of what they will: I delight to do thy good will, O my God, (saith David) the original carries it thus, It is my good will to do thy good pleasure: So it is the good will of the soul that loves God to please him above all things, we should so speak, and work, and walk, as beseems the Lord, as will give sweet contentment to the Lord, that he may delight to love us, and walk with us, and be a good GOD unto us for ever. Trial. 4 The fourth trial is this, He that loves a thing, it is his happiness and good to see the happiness and good of the thing he loves; (observe it) this is an undoubted argument of sound affection, that a man should be willing that that which is affected by him, should have all good, though he in the mean time miss of it, if there be any prosperity befalls the party he loves, he thinks himself blessed; if any honour comes to him, he thinks himself honoured; nay he had rather he should be honoured and advanced than himself, this is true love indeed. But see a pattern of love, and a blessed mirror of a heart enlarged with affection: When David was anointed to the crown, and Saul pursued him heavily, and thought to defeat him of the Kingdom, and dealt wretchedly and cruelly with him; 1 Sam. 23.17. Now jonathan meets him after an heavy affliction, and labours to cheer up the heart of David, and saith, Fear not, for the hand of Saul shall not find thee, thou shalt be King over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee: A man would think, why should not jonathan rather labour for the crown himself, he was next heir apparent thereunto; he might have said, Saul is my father, and why should not I succeed him in the crown? why should David start in before me? No, this comforted his heart, and rejoiced and cheered his soul, David shall be King, and I shall be next unto him; he loved David dearly, and therefore this refreshed him, thou shalt be King in Israel, and it is the comfort of my heart, that I shall be next unto thee. As who should say, it contents me more that thou shalt be honoured, than if I myself were honoured. So it is with a good heart that loves jesus Christ, and his Grace, and his Gospel: Oh, the happiness of the Gospel, and the promotion thereof, is the greatest good and comfort that can befall him. The Christian saith, let God be honoured, though I be disparaged, it skils not: Is the Lord advanced, and doth his Gospel thrive? Is his Glory promoted? Doth the work of grace go forward? It is enough, what becomes of my honour, or parts, or liberty, or case, it is no matter. Let it go well with the Gospel, and let honour be given to the Lord jesus in the use of the means, and ordinances which he hath bestowed upon us; let God's cause find that acceptance amongst his servants which it ought, it is sufficient, it rejoiceth my heart. See this in john the Baptist, when Christ began to set forth the Gospel, and to baptise, and many came unto him; the Disciples of john grudged at it, and said unto john, john 3.29. Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond jordan, of whom thou barest witness, behold the same baptizeth and all come to him: (Now mark how john speaks) His Disciples were stirred because they thought the honour and credit went away from them. As if they had said, Master, there is one now that carries all before him, every man's eye is towards him, and every man's heart is after him. Now john loved Christ, and mark how he replies, He that hath the Bride, is the Bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth, rejoiceth greatly, because of the bridegroom's voice, this my joy therefore is fulfilled. As who should say, Christ is the Bridegroom, I am but the friend of the Bridegroom, who labour only to prepare hearts for Christ. Is the Lord honoured? Is the Lords work prospered? if this be so my joy is full, I have enough; let the Lord increase, though I decrease; let the Lord have the praise that is due unto him, and what ever befalls me, I care not. This also was that of Mephibosheth, when he was dealt falsely with, and some false reports had been suggested to David against him, he was content to put up all the wrong; and when David returned in peace, and he saw the King's face, and that he had gained the day, and got the field: David began to comfort and refresh him, 2 Sam. 19.30. and bade him divide the land which he had taken from him, between Ziba and him: now mark how he replieth, Let him take all, for as much as the King is come again in peace to his own house: as who should say, as for the land it skils not; as for myself, and the field, and my life, I pass not; for as much as you my King are come home in peace, it is enough, it is sufficient that I have seen your Majesty in peace; this was better to him, than the field, or any thing else, whatsoever could befall him. Beloved, many a man is all a mort, because his honour falls to the ground, and because his credit lies in the dust; but if he may have his own honour and credit, he is not troubled, though Christ and his Gospel, and God's honour and glory lie in the dust; this man loves not the Lord: for he that loves the Lord, makes him his portion and his glory; it is enough Christ is mine; it is sufficient that his glory and Gospel prospers; what ever befalls me, I care not; let the world take my ease, and liberty, and life, and all, let the Gospel be advanced, I care not. Brethren, such are the base dispositions of too too many amongst us, they can tread upon Christ's shoulders, and lift up him, that they may appear above him; they can labour to lift up God's Gospel, that they may lift up themselves thereby: this is a base disposition, that harbours in the heart of most men: but (I beseech you) lie down in the dust, and be content that the Lord may be advanced, though thou be disgraced; be content that the Lords name may be praised, though thou be dishonoured: what though every man's mouth be against thee? and every man's hand opposite unto thee? yet if God be honoured, let that comfort thee: nay if any of God's people advance God more than thyself, rejoice in it: and let this be the aim of all our endeavours for ever. Trial. 5 The fifth trial is this, it is the nature of sound love to covet nearer union with the thing beloved, and to have a kind of earnest impatience and restlessness, till it attain a greater measure thereof. Observe it, this is a thing which flows from the nature of love; especially from this love I now speak of, which beseems the Lord, who is the best of all other things, which the soul can desire, or the heart possess. 2 Branches. There are two branches of the point; I will handle the one largely, and only touch the other. Love, I say therefore, is first of a linking, and a gluing nature, and it will always carry the soul with a stream and earnestness, to enjoy the possession of, and union with the thing beloved; it cannot have enough of it, it is never satisfied with it; it covets nothing so much, riches now seem loathsome, and profits and pleasures are tedious vanities to him; the soul is out of taste with all worldly delights, and desires nothing so much as to enjoy Christ; this is that he would have. Let the wicked have what they will, and possess what they please, but let me enjoy that only, and I care not. When David had been doting on the things here below, at last he came to see better things in God: and see how he stayeth his heart: Psal. 73.25. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none in earth that I desire in comparison of thee: he bids adieu to all other things, and mark what follows; It is good for me to draw near to God. As if he had said, let the rich man have his wealth, and let the ambitious man have his honour, let the drunkard have his cup, and the adulterer his sweet dalliances: let them drink, and swill, and whore, and go down to hell, much good do it them with their sops, let them have what their hearts can desire; but it is good for me to draw nigh unto God: Oh the pleasures that are at God's right hand! Oh the mercy and holiness which he hath prepared, and will bestow upon those that are upright! When Marie had been seeking and weeping for a Saviour, Christ said unto her, Woman why weepest thou? john 20.16. Whom seekest thou? Mark now what Marie did, being moved with love to the Lord; she conceived Christ to be the Gardener, and she spoke thus, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away: She would be content to have the body of a Saviour rather than want a Saviour, she would have a dead Saviour rather than none: but when our Saviour revealed himself to her, when she saw that he lived, and was risen again, she flew upon him and with marvellous violence embraced our Saviour, (for so the words must of necessity be understood) for Christ saith, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended: the meaning is this, Marie was very eager of her Saviour: Have I again seen my Saviour? And do I again possess him? I will never part with him more: Christ saith unto her, Marry, and so discovers himself: she saith unto him, Rabboni, that is to say, Master; and there she holds, as if she would never leave him more: now Christ checks her, because she depended so much upon his outward presence: He saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended; as if he had said, I shall live many days upon the earth, and thou shalt be satisfied with my presence, therefore do not cling so fast unto me; for the word touch signifies as much; and the same word is used in the Corinthians, 1 Cor. 7.1. opened. It is good for a man not to touch a woman, that is, to cleave and to cling unto her; and it is taken from those pieces of buildings, which are let one into another: her affection was such, that she would not part with her Saviour, when she had met him. This is a lively picture of that love which many a poor soul possesseth, when the Lord lets in the glimpse of his love into the heart; when the soul hath waited long for mercy and comfort, and the Lord is pleased at last to refresh it, and cheer it therewith, and to let in some sweet inkling, and intimations thereof; many of God's Saints begin to be light headed, because they are so ravished therewith, they are always cleaving thereunto, insomuch that many times they are almost besides themselves. Look as it is with parties that live in the same family, Simile. and their affections are drawing on one towards another in marriage; they will cast their occasions so, that if it be possible, they will be together, and have one another's company, and they will talk together, and work together, and the time goeth on marvellous suddenly, all the while their affections are drawing on: so it is with the soul that loves Jesus Christ, and hath this holy affection kindled, it thinks every place happy, where it hath heard of Christ, and thinks that hour sweet, wherein it put up its prayers to the Lord, and enjoyed love-chat with him; he thinks the Sabbath marvellous sweet, wherein God is revealed in the power of his ordinances: any glimpse of God's goodness, and notice of his mercy in Christ, is marvellous comfortable to the soul. And it is the desire of the soul to fit by it: as the drunkard doth in another kind, so the loving soul would fit by this mercy and love of God, that he may be more acquainted with it, and more quickened and cheered by it; the soul is ravished therewith, and overcome as it were with the apprehension thereof: Psal. 84. David envied the porter that kept the door of God's temple, where God's presence was, and the very birds that built their nests there: as if he had said, You have liberty to see the sacrifices offered, and you may hear the voices of God's people, and you may build your nests in the temple of my God, and my Lord; and Lord am not I as good as birds? therefore his heart was inflamed with the want of these ordinances of God. Nay old Simeon when he had seen our Saviour incarnate, his heart was so enlarged therewith, that he would have been content to have left his body, that he might have had his full of his Saviour; Lord now lettest thou thy servant departed in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation: as if he had said, stand by body, let me come to my Saviour, let me be for ever with him, I have been long enough in this sinful world already. A spouse that is contracted, thinks every day a year, and every year twenty, till that day comes; she blesseth the very place where the bridegroom is, and she thinks the parties happy that talk with him, and she takes every token that comes from him marvellous kindly, but yet she thinks, if that day would once come wherein she might possess him, and be possessed of him, that she, and she alone might enjoy her husband; Oh this would be a happy day, her heart would be cheered, and exceedingly refreshed therewith: so a loving soul that hath been truly humbled and enlightened in the apprehension of God's love and mercy, and is contracted, as I may so say, unto Christ, hath many thoughts; when will it once be, that I may be married to Christ, and possess him, and be possessed of him? to be with Christ is best for me: such a one thinks every token marvellous welcome, and every promise, and every word, that reveals any intimation of God's kindness; but yet, oh when will the day come, that I shall be forever with the Lord Jesus; this is the highest pitch, that Saint Paul speaks of, 1 Thess. 4. We that are alive, and remain, saith he, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, and meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we be ever with the Lord: thus the soul thinks, when will that day come, that I may never be with sin more, never with the world more, never with corruptions more, never with base company more? but with that mercy, and that Spirit, and that grace, and with that Christ, for ever and ever; this is the guise of the soul, and the frame of the heart, that is kindled in sound love to the Lord Jesus; nay such is the strong and gluing nature of true love, that it will make a man be with the thing beloved, though he be in never so great misery. When jacobs' sons came, and told him that joseph was slain, jacob was grievously distressed, because he loved him dearly; now mark what the text saith, All his sons and daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted; and said, I will go down into the grave to my son joseph; he would rather be in the grave, than not to be with joseph; and he will go down into the grave, that he may be with him: so the wife that loves her husband, when he is in prison, she will be there with him, she is sorry that it should be so with her husband, but she will rather be in the prison with him, than want his company: so an humble soul that hath his heart kindled in earnest and sound affection to Christ, is content even to go into the grave with the Lord Jesus, yea into prison with the Lord Jesus; let me be with Christ, saith he, though I be in persecution; let me be with the Lord Jesus, though I be in dishonour: it is a grief to the soul if Christ be so; but a greater grief, if he may not be with him where he is: Cant. 2.6. when the spouse had wanted her bridegroom a great while, and at last the Lord was pleased to reveal himself unto her, she fastens upon him, and rests contented with him and desires no more; my beloved is mine, and I am his; as who should say, thou art mine, and I am thine, let the world think what it will, I am thy wife, and thou art my husband: so saith the soul, Christ is mine, and I am his, and if I may have more of that grace and holiness which is in Christ, I have enough, I desire no more, but without that I cannot be contented, I cannot be satisfied. Secondly, there is a holy restlessness and impatience in the soul till it can attain this, it will take no nay at the hand of the Lord, but sues for the match though Christ seem to forbid the banes; and it were worth the while to observe how restless the soul is, and how it be stirs itself to attain nearer union with the Lord Jesus, even when he seems to absent his presence from the soul; but we cannot prosecute that, so that by this time than it doth appear what it is to love the Lord trul●, and we have laid down the trial whereby we may know whether we have this love or no. Use. 3 The third use is a word of reproof, you have heard the ground of consolation already, therefore when the pill is sugared, I hope it will down the better: Here than we have a just ground of reprehension, and it comes marvellous heavy as a witness to accuse many, nay as a Judge to condemn many in the world; this is sufficient to shake their hearts, and to make their souls that live in the bosom of the Church almost to sink in the consideration and sight of their own miserable and fearful condition, upon whom this work was never stamped, in whose souls this grace of God was never yet kindled; certain it is such never loved the Lord, nor ever rejoiced in Christ. Woe to their souls therefore, and (beloved) this is the condition of the greatest part of those that live in the Church, and are counted professors among us; they love not Christ, they rejoice not in him, yet they will not be persuaded of it; therefore give a little attendance I beseech you to what I shall say. This is the cunning that Satan hath to deceive poor souls withal, because these holy affections are inward and retired, as hope, and desire, and love, and joy; because I say they are secret things in the soul, and do not discover themselves outwardly to the view of the world, further than the fruits thereof manifest the same: Therefore men not knowing these affections themselves, and not conceiving of the nature of them, that is the cause that many lean upon the expectation of what they have in frame of heart, though they want in the course of their lives: this is that which every man almost doth challenge to himself, as that whereby he will bear up his heart in time of trouble, and cheer up his soul in the day of distress. Wicked men when every one cannot but see and behold their base courses, and loath their sinful practices, nay when they themselves cannot but confess their filthy behaviours, etc. Why they confess they fall foully, and they fall daily and scandalously; but that which heals all & helps all is this, they say it is true it is so with their lives, but yet they love the Lord Jesus with all their hearts; every vile varlet will say thus when he hath sworn by a Saviour, and torn his flesh in pieces, his blessed body, his blood, his wounds and all; yet when he hath done this, he loves a sweet Saviour still. Oh poor deluded miserable sinful wretch: that I may apply myself particularly to such a one; I beseech you give me leave to do two things. First, I will make it good that most men have not this love of God: Secondly, I will plead the Indictment, and then when I have laid out the Indictment and pleaded it, and shown who they are that have not this love of God, the point will be clear. First it is sure and most certain, 1 Most in the world have no love to God, but hatred against him. that most in the world that live in the bosom of the Church have not their hearts carried in any love of God, but in a hatred and desperate opposition against the Lord Jesus Christ, In him was life, and this life was the light of the world, and the light shined in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not: the meaning is this, the Lord Jesus Christ was the life of the promise, in him was life, the promise of life was in Christ, and that promise of life was a light to teach men the way to life and salvation; but when this light of the promise of grace shined to the world, the dark world comprehended it not, they knew it not, Christ came unto his own, john 1.11. and his own received him not. There the Lord speaks of the Jews that were his chosen people, and his own by covenant: His own by reason of the privileges and benefits, and ordinances which he bestowed upon them: His own by profession, they took the Name of Christ upon them: Christ came not to heathens and pagans, but to his own, and they received him not. How many are there amongst us who profess the Name of the Lord jesus, and take up the Gospel of Christ, and yet being Christians in profession, will not entertain the love of the Lord jesus Christ which should make us Christians in d●ed. Christ comes to many a man's door, and knocks, and calls, and entreats entrance, but few will entertain him when he comes; nay let me say more, my heart trembles to speak it, nay my heart, were it as it should be, would grieve to think it: Wicked men are so fare from prising Christ and loving the Lord jesus, that they hate him more than sin; nay I had almost said, yet I am loath to speak it, my heart shakes to think it, but that I hope you are willing to hear the worst; why then I will speak it, and they are the words of the Scripture, wicked men hate Christ more than the devil himself; the Lord be merciful to such poor sinful creatures, good Lord that ever men should be created by the Lord, and enjoy mercy and means from the Lord, and yet love sin and the devil himself more than God. Object. But you will say, are there any such, is it possible that ever any man that breathed and received mercy from the Lord jesus, should deal so sinfully and unkindly with him; why, the devil would not do it. Answer. I say to you as the Prophet said to Hazael in another case▪ I know, saith he, the evil thou wilt do to the children of Israel, their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, 2 King. 8.12.13. and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child▪ but Hazael said, what, am I a dog that I should do this? the Prophet told him, the Lord hath showed it unto me: I know, saith the Prophet, the cruelty and venom of thy spirit though thou knowest it not: So when I speak of these things, men will be ready to say, what, are there any such dogs to deal thus with the Lord Jesus: I tell you the Lord knows this, and the Word seethe all thy venom and spite and hatred against Christ, the Lord seethe and knoweth it. Most men in their hearts do hate Christ, though they see it not: beloved, your hearts are more vile than you can conceive, and more base than you can imagine, the Word will make it clear. The greatest evil of all we know is sin, the Devil is not to be loathed but for his sin; and the reason why he is so loathsome, is because he is so sinful. Now mark what the text saith, this is the condemnation, john 3.19. that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness more than the light: the Lord revealed light (that is, Christ) to the world, but the world loved sin and the temptations of Satan, and the corruptions of their own hearts more than Christ, and more than mercy that was tendered to them in the Lord Jesus; it is clear therefore it was so, it will be so, and it is so to this day; Men love their base lusts and sinful corruptions more than the Lord Jesus Christ, and the power of his grace which he expresseth to their souls, and consequently they love the delusions and suggestions of Satan, more than the motions of God's Spirit, and the comfort thereof. Thus now we have laid down the Indictment, let us also plead it a little; we see there be many in the Church that do not lo●e the Lord Jesus Christ, but who are they? of that we will now speak, for when we lay the charge, we must name the man; the Indictment in general is nothing, we will therefore refer these men that love not Christ to three ranks. The first are open enemies to Christ: The second are the glozing newters of the world: The third are the fawning Hypocrites that are fair in show, but false in heart; all these are guilty of this Indictment, we will therefore plead it against them, desiring the Lord to convince their consciences thereof. Ranke. 1 First for the former, and they are open enemies to the Lord Jesus; we will not spend much time here, but stand longest there where is most need. First therefore there are open enemies to Christ, and they are many, such as Isaiah speaks of, ye stiff necked and hardhearted, ye have resisted the Spirit of the Lord: Those which set their mouths against Heaven, and stand in open defiance against the Lord jesus, and against the power of his Grace, and the work of his Spirit in the hearts of his, and in the ministry of the Word, and these we refer to two heads. Sort. 1 First, such as are professed opposers of the evidence of the truth, those whereof Christ spoke, the Housholder let out his Vineyard to Husbandmen, Matth. 21.33. and when the time of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the Husbandmen that he might receive the fruits of it, and the Husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and sto●●● another; at last he sent his son, and said, surely they will reverence my son; nay when he came they all combined and conspired together, and said, this is the Heir, come let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours; this was an intimation of the Scribes and Pharisees, the Church was the Vineyard, and it was let out to them, and God sent his Prophets among them, they persecuted them; then he sent his Disciples, they stoned them, and when his Son came, they conspired against the Lord jesus, with one open mouth, with one joint endeavour; Come, said they, this is the Heir, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours: And do you think that the Scribes and Pharisees are dead, and have left none of their cursed brood and generation behind them? I tell you beloved, there are many persecutors of Christ and his Gospel to this day, which are the leaders of the camp, which stand in open defiance of the God of Heaven; but if you ask me what entertainment their lusts have among these men, they find all welcome: possible temptations whisper not, occasions come not, corruptions stir not so soon, be the company never so base, the course never so vile, the practice never so wicked, but these miserable sinful creatures give audience and attendance, and acceptance, and entertainment to these base courses, nay they invite them and provide for them, nay they bestow a great deal of cost for the entertainment of their lusts, they seek out occasions to commit their sins; the adulterer goeth in the twilight to meet his queans, and the drunkard goes to the Alehouse to meet with his base companions; thus they invite their lusts, and provide for their lusts; this is that the Apostle dissuades us from; Rom. 13.14. make no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof: yet these men make provision for their base lusts, their minds are plotting, and their endeavours labouring, to provide all courses that may give entertainment to their lusts; therefore no marvel they find such long continuance in their sins, because they make such provision for them: but now if you will observe how these men entertain Christ, you may discover it by these two passages. Passage. 1 First, observe how they entertain the power of Christ's Spirit in the ministry of the word; and secondly, how they entertain the presence of our Saviour in the graces of his children: First, concerning the ministry of the word, if it be so that the ministry of the word comes powerfully home to the conscience, and would open the eyes, and awaken the heart of ungodly men, and would pluck them from their sins: Oh what an uproar there is! and how do men take up arms against the truth, and beat off the power of the word, that it may not prevail with the heart, and awaken them, and that it may not rule in their lives? Christ notes such as these for opposers of goodness; Luke. 19.27. Bring hither mine enemies, that would not that I should reign over them, and slay them before my face: the word would pluck the cup from the drunkard's mouth, and the adulterer from enjoying his dalliances with his mate; but their hearts swell, and they groan to be under that truth, and under the rule thereof, and to be swayed thereby; nay they do not only withdraw themselves from yielding obedience to the holiness of the word, but they will not so much ●s acknowledge the truth of the word, which the Devil himself did: when Paul was preaching the grace of life and salvation, the text saith, Acts 16.17. The damsel that had the spirit of divination met him, and the Devil said, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation: the Devil acknowledged that this was the word, and the very truth; the Devil acknowledged these were the services which God commands, and these were the duties which ought to be discharged: but wicked men will not be persuaded of this, they will not believe that they must be holy, as he is holy; neither will they believe, that they must be pure, as he is pure; these men do not give God so much honour, as the Devil did: but die out, and say, I will never be of that opinion, all the world shall not persuade me to it, five hundred Ministers shall not make me think so: Be●oved, this is professed opposition, and desperate hatred against the Lord, not only to withdraw ●he heart from obedience, but the understanding from the acknowledgement of the truth, which ●he Devil himself confesseth: Lord, what hearts ●ave these men, and what distempers are in their spirit's? who will not do that, which the Devil himself will do. Passage. 2 Nay in the second place, look how they behave themselves, when they come into Christ's presence, doth not that man hate a man, that cannot endure to be in his sight, and enjoy communion with him? if Christ come amongst these, and press into the society of them in the presence of his children, their hearts are transported with infinite indignation against the appearance of grace in the lives, and against the appearance of holiness, in the courses of those which are the servants of the Lord, (observe this) they that h●●e poor Christians for the holiness and grace which they have received from Christ, they ha●e Christ more, and holiness more: fearful is the case of such, and their condition lamentable; O● that they would at last go home, and parley with their own souls, and reason with their hearts after this manner, and not suffer themselves any longer to be deluded; say thus to thy soul, I have been heretofore deluded, and I have deceived myself, I pretended I hated such men, because they were dissemblers and hypocrites: no no, I hate the picture of grace; much more grace a self in them: if a man cannot endure the picture of a man, much less can he endure the person of that man; so is it with the soul: I beseech you, be at last convinced of it, and say, I hate the show and form of godliness in God's children, but I hate the virtue and power of godliness mu●● more; if I hate the beams of the sun, I ha● the sun much more; if I hate the son for the father's sake, I hate the father much more; if I hate a Christian, because Christ hath humbled and brought him home, than I hate Christ infinitely, than I hate his Spirit infinitely, than I hate his grace infinitely much more; if I hate the lantern for the lights sake, than I hate the light much more: a thief cannot endure a lantern, if it be a light lantern, (if it be a dark one, haply he can away with it) but if it be a light lantern, he loathes the lantern, and he loathes the man that brings it, but he hates the light much more than the lantern: so is it with every sinful opposer of the practice and profession of God's grace: a Saint of God hath a rush candle light of God's grace, and purity, and uprightness, and he carries this among a company of blasphemers and opposers of God and his grace, now when they see this light of holiness, they hate the man that bears it, much more holiness itself, which is in him, for which he is so opposed an● resisted. To this rank also belongs your poor, ignorant, carnal creatures, and civilised carnal Gos●elers, however they will not do, what these ●en do, yet they will approve of what they do; poor silly things that know nothing of God and grace, and can do nothing against the truth of God of themselves; though they are not brought to this height of wickedness, to be profe●● opposers against that which is holy, yet they will join sides with the wicked, and what they do they commend, and appl●●d, and approve of: ●f a poor Christian be banded from one place to another, to the loss of his liberty, and grief of his heart; nay, say these poor deluded creatures, and carnal gospelers, it is no matter, they must be more holy than others, and they must be more precise than others, it is no matter now, see what they get by it; these men now approve of what a company of persecutors do, and their heart is the same, though they do not do the same they are guilty of it, because of their approvement of it; as the Scribes and Pharisees conspired against our Saviour; the soldiers they took our Saviour, Pilate he condemned our Saviour, now the poor crowd, they cried below, Crucify him, crucify him, they did not condemn him, nor take him, but they were guilty of crucifying Christ, because they gave their consent and approvement thereunto, as S. Peter saith, Ye have crucified the Lord of life, so there are a company of poor creatures, Acts 2. you know you old poor husband, and your old poor father, though poor fools, they can do nothing against the Gospel, yet it doth their hearts good, when it is opposed, and they say, it is well, it is pity but it should be so: I tell thee thou a● guilty of opposing Christ, as well as he that persecutes Christ; mark what Christ saith to the Scribes and Pharisees, Your Fathers slew the Prophets, and you build their sepulchres; that is, th●● approved the practices of their fathers, so th●● look as it is with a camp, there are some lead●● and commanders, and there are some soldiers and there are others which are followers of th● camp, and carry the baggage; now though 〈◊〉 be not leaders, and captains, and soldiers, yet all are of the same camp; so there is a great long train in the Devil's camp, there are some leaders, and professed opposers of Christ, which the sun is weary to behold, and the earth is weary to bear, these are the soldiers, and captains, and commanders, and poor ignorant creatures, and carnal gospelers that follow the baggage, they are of the black guard too, though they are the tail of the army, yet they are of the army of the Devil, and they are all young Satan's, though their talents be not so long, and their claws so sharp, as others are; they have not learned the skill to make a prey of a poor man, as others have, but yet they will approve of that which others do: consider this then all ye that stand in open defiance against Christ, all you that join sides with, and give a kind of allowance to such ungodly courses, you are guilty and found tardy in this case, though the sin be not yours by action, yet you make it by approvement: thus the open enemy to Christ is gone, as also the poor ignorant creature, and carnal gospeler, and civilised person, who though the will not do a thing, yet it is roast meat to him to see it done. Ranke. 2 The second sort that comes here to be reproved, are glozing neuters, these also love their sins more than Jesus Christ, and love not him in truth; these are those that halt between two opinions, your linfie-woolsie men, (as we speak in the proverb) these tame fools that will do no body no harm, provided that no man hurts them; the highest pitch of these neuters is this that they may procure safety among all men, and gain some respect amongst the best; they wish all should do well, but their resolution is this, they will not trouble themselves, nor be troublesome to others, they say, hurt comes by meddling, and he that meddles lest is best at ease; they dwell like civil good neighbours by Christ and the Gospel, and now and then they will do Christ a good turn, provided they may not hazard themselves, and that they may serve their own turn; they will welcome all persons of all ranks, if a blasphemer or riotous person comes in, they will suit with them, and welcome them, if they be never so vile and base, they will say nothing; little said is soon amended; they will not reprove them, because they should not censure them again: nay if they will take up sinful courses (though they will not do the same with them yet) they will stand by and look on, and secretly give allowance thereunto: nay further (I beseech you, observe it) as they will welcome such persons, so they will often invite a Minister to their houses, and entreat him to preach on the sunday, and they: will strain marvellously: ●o● some holy talk, because they know the heart of a poor Minister cannot brook idle conference, but this neuter likes those Ministers best, that will not meddle with any personal fault in his family; but if a Minister will speak only in the general, he hath what he would, and he commends highly the judgement of the man, he thanks him extraordinarily for his pains, and desires much more of his company, and commends him for a very discreet man, and one that knows how to carry himself; (I and he knows how not to meddle with him, you must understand that too) if the Minister will preach doctrinal things only, and take up points, and lay them down, and have half a score points in his sermon, than he extols him for a judicious and learned man in the Scripture, and he gathers the very cream of the Scripture, but if he come home to the conscience, and apply personally, and discover particularly the baseness of his heart, and the baseness of his life, he than takes his Bible and falls to reading, he cannot hear with that ear, but wisheth that men would follow their text, (and I could wish every one did so) Now this neuter intrencheth upon articles of agreement between him and the Gospel, for he made this covenant with the Gospel, that he will not trouble the Gospel, not persecute it, neither will not have that to meddle with him, but if the Gospel come home to him, and would drive him out of his pace, he wisheth the Minister would keep his text: this man counts zeal in a good course, like a fever in a man's body, and he thinks it dangerous to be sick, and therefore he will keep a cold temper in his body for constitution, and a cold luke warm temper in his profession, and then he is admirable healthful; and ●he will be talking much of the customs of men in the world that are in great place, and if there be any thing which is naught authorized by great men: he takes much upon him those two words, Church and state, and holds them up as ensigns, and he thinks it a strange thing, and thinks it to be high treason, and false Latin, that any man should question on what he speaks in this case, the English of it is this, he is resolved to see the strongest side, and he will be with that side, whether it be with the Lord Christ, or the power of his grace, he cares not, but he will be sure to sleep in a whole skin; so that these base sinful men care not for the power of religion, they love themselves, and love not Christ: these men deal with profession, as the neuterall towns in the Low country's deal with the armies and soldiers of the Emperor and the King of Denmark, they will lean to both, that they may be subject to neither, they will not take sides with the Emperor, nor yet with the King of Denmark, but they will be content for to live at ease, and they will do any thing that they may not be troubled, but if any of both sides begin to set upon them, they turn head presently, they will do no harm to them, if they will not hurt them; but if they seek to bring them under authority, they are not able to bear it, but resist them: so it is with these neuteralists in a Christian course, they will fashion themselves to the world, that the world may not despite them, and they will fashion themselves in profession to the better side, that they may not distaste them; a man will pray in his family in the morning, and leave Christ there, and payeth tribute that way, only Christ must give him leave to cozen in his shop at noon; ●et him have what he would, and he will pay tribute to the Gospel, and Christ, and all; he will pay tribute of all hands that he may not be troubled. This is observable of men in great place, a great man will have one or two good servants in his family, to credit himself that way, and he will ●ave a knave and a drunkard too, that they may ●lose with those of that rank, and so get credit ●n both sides: but if the Gospel besiege this man, ●nd the power of the Word flies in the very face ●f him, and he must lay down his own aims ●nd ends, and he must lay down his applause of ●he world, and his own credit, and his civilising ●ourses; then they turn head presently, and are ●ot able to bear the authority of the truth, to ●oope thereunto, and be framed thereby (for the ●ords sake think of it) these men entertain Christ in this case, as sometimes men do their neighbour's, they entertain them lovingly if they ●ill keep within their bounds, and look to ●heir own ground, that he may suffer no harm ●y them, but now to entertain him as a Land●ord, and as a Conqueror, that he should take all ●om them, and they depend upon him, this they cannot bear. Now the Saints do this, they can ●ntertaine the Lord jesus as a Landlord, and as a Commander; but these newters entertain the Gospel and Christ as good neighbours; all the ●hile the Gospel troubles them not, and puts no ●azard upon them, they will welcome it; but if the power of the truth will by force press in upon them, and make them either better or worse, they cannot bear it with patience, but are in a devilish fume with the power of the Gospel that is revealed with evidence unto them: Let these men know that they which are not with Christ, are against Christ in his account, though a man stand still and do nothing, and therefore thinks all shall be well with him, and all shall be quiet with him; let him know that all the wrong which is done to Christ and to his Gospel, which he sees and assents unto, and is not an helper against, the Lord will require it at his hands, and they are guilty of it before the Lord: C●rs● ye Merosh, curse him with a bitter curse, because he went not out to help the Lord against the mighty; It is nothing for a man to say I did not such a thing, and I was loath to put my finger in the fire before I was called, I tell thee thou wert called to it; such a man, such a Minister, that saw the Gospel lie at the stake, and had not a heart to grieve for it, and a hand to secure it, he is guilty thereof: the Lord will spew such new●ets out of hi● mouth, Revel. 3.16. I would thou wert either hot or cold, because thou art neither, therefore I will spew thee out of my mouth; that is, either openly profane, or sound sincere, be something, appear in your colours either a Saint that may be saved, or else a Devil that may be damned; otherwise the Lord will vomit you out of his mouth: cold water is best digested, and a man's stomach by hot water is least offended, but luke warm water is most loathsome; so the Lord hates and abhors a lukewarm Laodicean fool that is of no side, because ●he is not sincere hearted of any side. Ranke. 3 The third and last sort is your fawning Hypocrite, who pretends extraordinary zeal for Christ, and expresseth outwardly much love to goodness, and will speak for a good cause, and hazard himself therein; and yet when he hath done all, and shown himself a friend to Christ in profession, he proves in conclusion a most bitter enemy: Saul was just such a fawning Hypocrite, God commanded him to go against the Amalekites, 1 Sam. 15.3. and destroy all: Now Saul pretends great matters what he would do, and what he had done for the Lord; and when Samuel came to meet him, Saul said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed the Commandment of the Lord: as if he had said, I am glad you are here, that I may give up my account, I have done what the Lord enjoined me to do, and am glad that I may approve my heart unto thee herein; but Samuel presently convinced him and said, What means then this bleating of sheep in mine ears, and this lowing of Oxen which I hear? As who should say, hast thou done the commandment of the Lord? No, though I were silent, yet the lowing of Oxen, and the bleating of Sheep can testify that Saul is an hypocrite and a dissembler, and hath not discharged nor performed the duty God commanded him; he bade kill all, but thou hast saved some. But leaving these, I come a little to discover diverse other sorts of Hypocrites amongst us, and they may be ranked into four sorts. First, there is a whining Hypocrite: Secondly, the wrangling Hypocrite: Thirdly, the glorious Hypocrite: and fourthly, the presumptuous Hypocrite. I shall hardly peruse any of these at this time, I will only touch the second a little, which I think to be seasonable, and that is the wrangling hypocrite: There are a company of wretched men in the world that fawn and flatter, and pretend to do great kindnesses, and they profess they are at your command to serve you, to do what you will, and perform what you please; but try them and prove them, and you shall find it otherwise, they will not openly profess that they will not do the thing, but when all comes to all, they pretend these and these inconveniences will follow if they should do it: they will not professely say they will not do the kindness, but they will make a plea that they ought not, that they should not do it, and it is against reason that you should require it: so these Hypocrites they resolve to live no longer, they resolve that they would not enjoy any thing in this world, they would not be any thing, or do any thing, but only so fare as the Lord jesus may be honoured, and his Gospel promoted: If they think they should promote the Gospel of Christ more another way than this, they would not undertake it: but when it comes to this pass that a man must leave his honour, and live, and profits, which so nearly concern him, for Christ, than (his trick is this) he doth not profess ●y say, I will have pleasure or profit and not Christ, but he will wrangle with Christ, and stand upon terms with God, and say, he ought not to do this, it is not fit he should do it, there is no command for the thing. Beloved, it is admirable to observe the spirit of these men when the word comes clear to them, when the duty is revealed and required at their hands; Oh how they will search fare and near to invent arguments, to make it no duty, and turn over all books, and (as he spoke wittily) rake the Devil's skull, that so they may have some shift not to do that which they ought. It is a pretty trick to be observed amongst great men that follow the fashion. First, they resolve to conform themselves to the Word of God revealed, but when the fashion comes up, they will plead for that too: and now the question is not what they must do, but what they will do; for all fashions must be lawful, because they are resolved to use them. I will propound one truth only to these men (observe it in thine own soul) do not think to wrangle out the truth, and to quarrel with the Gospel, or to make any pretence against that way which God hath chalked out before thee, and against any duty God commands thee: But art thou in good earnest, content that that should be true which God will have to be true? Art thou willing those things should be naught, which the Word of God saith are naught? Men may talk what they will, but they have their reservations still, and there is a league between them and their base courses which they will not be convinced of: There is a secret way of sinning which they will not leave, but plead for it, that their Conscience may not fly in their faces, and that they may not go professely against the evidence of the truth. Beloved, these men give no contentment to Christ, but to their own corrupt hearts. One gives content to the fashion and wears that, another giveth content to his liberty, he will not be hazarded: Therefore he will do any thing rather than he will be undone: now this man loves freedom, and not the truth of Jesus Christ, he will not suffer imprisonment for it. This gracious work of the Spirit was never wrought in these men's hearts. JOHN 6.45. Every man that hath heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me. WE are now come to the work of the will, which is the great wheel as it were, the great commander of the soul; we are now come to the chamber of presence: the former affections I told you, they were but as handmaids to usher in Christ and the promises. The mind saith, I have seen Christ; hope saith, I have waited; desire, I have longed; love and joy say, that is here which we have received, and entertained, here is that which will supply all wants, that will overcome all corruptions, that mercy that will pardon all our sins: then saith the will, content, it shall be so, and this makes up the match; for now the match cometh to be made, when the will saith Amen to the business: and this is that great work of the will, the spawn and the seeds of faith went before, now faith is come to some perfection, now the soul reposeth itself upon the Lord; and Divines say, that here cometh in faith; what the mind hath known, and hope expected, and desire longed for, and love embraced, then cometh in the great wheel, the great commander, the will, which saith, I will have it: Go no further, it is the best match we can make; you saw the seeds of faith before in the affections, but now you shall see the root of faith, and the full growth of faith in the will. So from hence the point of Doctrine is this. Doctrine. The will of a poor sinner humbled and enlightened, comes to be effectually persuaded by the Spirit of the Father, to rest upon the free grace of God in Christ, that it may be interested therein, and have supply of all Spiritual wants from thence. For the better clearing of this Doctrine, consider these four particulars. First, the work must be in an heart humbled, and enlightened: Secondly, the will must be effectually persuaded by the Spirit of the Father. Thirdly, by the power of this persuasion it casts itself upon the rich grace and free mercy of God in Christ. Fourthly, the end of it, that it may be interested into all the good that is in the promise. For by faith we come to have a title to all that ever Christ purchased, and God hath prepared for his people; and as by infidelity we went from God, so now by faith we come again to God. Particul. in the doctr. 1 For the first passage, this grace of faith, the root whereof is seated in the will, it is in an heart humbled and enlightened, if either of these two be wanting, it is not possible, that ever sound saving faith should be in the soul: I do not now dispute of the measure of these, how fare a man must be humbled, and how much enlightened, these I have handled before, I abate a man of the measure, and leave that to the good pleasure of God, but the heart must be truly humbled, and sound enlightened. First, The heart must be humbled, that is, loosed from sin and from self; if the soul be not thus truly humbled, there is no room for faith, for the work of humiliation clears the coast, ●nd cleanseth the room; for if the soul of a poor sinner be not loosened from sin, and made wea●y of it, but takes fast hold of it, as jeremy saith, jerem. 8.5. They hold fast to deceit, and would not return; so when a man will hold his pride and his corruptions, that man is careless of Christ, and not only so, but also opposite from going to Christ, he will not go to Christ, that he may receive power for ●he subduing of his corruptions, because he is resolved to keep his sin still, and therefore know, ●hat it is not possible to receive Christ, and to ●leave to sin too. Secondly, suppose the soul be truly burdened, ●nd the heart be surcharged with sin, and the ●eart seethe an absolute necessity of a change, and ●e saith, if this be certain, than I am a miserable ●an, and either I must reform my way, or else perish in my way; now when the soul is come to this, if the heart will yet shift for itself, and think to recover itself, seeing it must need● change, it will change itself, it will hinder faith; for whatsoever it is that keeps a man in himself, that always hinders the work of faith, for faith ever goes out to another for grace and power to ease him of corruption, and for strength to subdue his sins; if the soul say, either I need not change, or if I must change, I will change myself, and save myself, what need have I of a Saviour: these hinder faith, therefore if ever faith be there, the heart must have thi● wrought, he must see himself in a lost condition, that is, that by all the means under heaven he● cannot secure himself, this is the meaning of that phrase; Luke 19.10. The Lord jesus came 〈◊〉 seek and to save that which was lost; a lost man, indeed every man is lost under the power of sin and dominion of Satan, but he must see himself lost; how the guilt of sin is condemning him, and therefore lost in regard of pardon to save him, and also how he is polluted, and therefore lost in regard of power to subdue corruptions, and when he seethe this indeed, that nothing can help him but a Christ, than the soul makes out for a Christ, this is the meaning of that place; john 1.12. To as many as received him, he gave, etc. so that we must receive a Christ, when we are gone o●● of ourselves by humiliation, then are we fit to go to God by vocation. Quest. But may not a man believe, and is it not l●●full to believe, unless a man be thus humbled? Answ. It is lawful at any time (if thou canst) but I say, it is impossible for thee to believe, until thou be thus humbled: as john 4.44. the Lord Christ comes to the Pharisees, and saith, I know you will not come to me, that you may believe: nay in the next place he saith, How can ye believe that receive honour one of another? how canst thou believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to subdue thy lusts, and yet wouldst be unclean still, and live in thy lusts still? how canst thou believe in Christ to master thy rebellious heart, and yet wouldst be rebellious still? it is impossible; heaven and earth cannot meet together, no more can these two stand together; therefore set your hearts at rest; a man must be truly humbled and broken hearted, ●f ever he believe. Secondly, the soul must be enlightened; I ●oyne these two together in this clause, for though faith be above reason, yet it is with reason; it is not that colliers faith of the Papists, ●hat put out his own eyes to see by another man's: this is a delusion and an implicit faith; ●herefore, I say, a man must be enlightened to see ●he grace, and mercy, and freeness of God's love ●n Christ: as Psal. 119.10. They that know thy name ●hall put their trust in thee; it is against common sense, that the soul of a man, that is reasonable, ●hould fall upon any thing, and rest itself there, ●nd yet never seethe whether it be a sufficient help or no: this is by the way of preparation. Particul. in the doctr. 2 It is effectually persuaded by the Spirit of the Father, to rest itself, etc. this I add in the second place upon the same ground, because a man hath no legs of himself to be carried to the Lord Jesus Christ, to believe in him, further than God doth convey this, and communicate to the soul, a man naturally is as well able to keep the law, which is do and live, as he is of himself, (in himself so considered) to believe in the Gospel, and to keep the second covenant of grace, which is believe and live: but the difference is here, the Gospel requires ability, and gives it; the Lord calls us to come, and inables us to come; whereas the law reveals a man's corruptions, but never gives him power against them; but as the Lord called Lazarus, so the Lord gave Lazarus power to rise; so when the Lord calls a poor sinner, he gives strength and spiritual ability to come, according to the call which the Lord reveals, that he may come by that saving and precious faith, (as S. Peter calls it) therefore it is of necessity required, that as the soul believes, the Lord must give strength that it may believe, and therefore it is effectually persuaded. Now that I might meet with that erroneous opinion of Pelagians, consider what I say, they say it is of necessity required, that a poor sinner have his mind enlightened, but the will of man is unaltered, and left free to refuse or choose grace if it please; so that they put a kind of ability in the will, to take or refuse Christ and grace when it is offered; but here is a deep mistake, because the will of man is as fare averse from God, as the mind is blind, nay it is more averse from God than the mind is blind, and it is more hard to be framed: therefore there must be this effectual persuading, as the understanding must have the truth cleared to see a Christ, so the will must be persuaded, that it may receive power from him: as it is with the sea and the thames, there is ebbing and flowing; now the natural Philosophers observe, that the ebbing and flowing comes not from any inward proper principle of itself, but the light and heat of the moon leaves its beams upon the water, and draws the water after it; this makes it to flow, and when the moon is gone, the water returns back again, and this is ebbing: just so it is with the soul of a man humbled and enlightened, there is no power in the soul to go any further than itself, to flow unto a Christ, and to go towards the promises, further than the Lord lets in, by the power of his Spirit, the beams of his mercy, upon the soul, and sheds in the freeness of his grace into the heart, and that makes the soul flow again, so that as it ebbed and went away from God by sin, so it now flows and comes to God again; but it is by the power and Spirit of God. Quest. Now if you ask me what it is to have the heart thus persuaded of God's goodness in Christ: Answ. It is nothing else but this: first, as it is undeniably enlightened, to see this mercy of God, so there comes in a stream of the freeness and riches of God's grace, and doth affect the heart with the sweetness and relish of God's grace, that it finds a marvellous sweetness in it. Quest. Secondly, what is it to be effectually persuaded? Ans. It is thus much, not a touch and away, and a little sip and begun, nor a hourly kind of tasting: but take notice of these two things in it; First, when the prevailing sweetness in the promise, and that goodness in the promise is let in by the Spirit of the Lord, that it sinks into the heart roots, and it comes to take possession of the soul of an humble sinner, and is next the soul, there is nothing next the soul but that: the world and pleasure, etc. are without the heart; but the goodness of the promise, and the freeness of God's grace hath its privy chamber in the heart of a man: this I take to be the meaning of that phrase of rooting the promise in the heart; and this was the fault of the stony ground-hearers; Matth. 13.21. The seed grew up suddenly, and perished suddenly: why? because it had not depth of earth; the seed of the promise had not the depth of his heart: but there was a stone in the heart, and the world lay next the heart; and a stone of lust and pride was between the word of the Lord and the heart, so that the promise had not root: and hence it was slightly affected with the truth, but never thus powerfully, to have it go down to the roots of the heart: the good word of the Lord in this case comes to the heart, not as an owner, but as a traveller; this is the meaning of that place: Hosea 2.14. I will allure her, and draw her into the wilderness, that is, by preparation, and then I will speak comfortably to her; that is, I will speak to her heart; so it is in the original: there is a kind of prevailing sweetness of the grace of God in Christ, that will be at the roots of the heart, that it may give allowance unto it: now mark what follows from hence, and this is the first part of the effectual persuading of the heart, when the heart saith, away with profit, and the world, and all, let me have the Lord and his grace; Oh that goes to the bottom of the heart! hence it is that the soul thus prevailingly is sweetened with the goodness of the promise, can taste nothing in the world without this; it is now out of love with all other things, it had loved and doted on before most immoderately, the sweetness of the promise hath stolen away the heart of a poor sinner, and gotten the good will of the soul to be only for Christ, and to have his heart to close with Christ, and to be nothing in the world without him; this effectual persuading, it is the meaning of that place: Act. 3.19. Amend your lives, repent and turn, that your sins may be done away; repent and be converted, that is, be truly prepared in the work of humiliation; and be converted, that is, have a through heat of the heart for grace in vocation, that your sins may be done away in justification: so then when the soul is first humbled in preparation, and the heart now all for the Lord Jesus Christ, and can taste nothing but Christ, and nothing in regard of him, and God hath gotten his good will, then follows justification, that your sins may be blotted out: this was the practice of the repenting Church, when the Lord had hedged her way, and built a wall that she could not find her old lovers, Hos. 2.7. at last the Church saith, I will return to my first husband, for than it was better with me than now; as if the Church had said, Oh the mercies of God, and the consolation of Christ, are better than all my delights in sin! the soul comes now to see a bettering in Christ; Oh to have my heart purged, and my sins remitted, it were better than to wallow in my lusts still! now the heart is going out of the world to the Lord Jesus Christ, when there is an overpowering virtue of the sweetness of the promise, that prevails with the soul above all, and affects the heart with the good thereof, more than all the rest, this is then to be effectually persuaded. Now the will and the heart is gone that way, let all the temptation and the darling delights of sin come in never so fast: yet the prevailing power of the promise out bids, and goes beyond all these, and affects the heart more than all these: I would have you retain those things, that ye may try whose hearts are sound: many pretend to have a linger desire after Christ, and to seem to be for Christ, and yet the work was never sound, they were never persuaded, powerfully, as I now speak: and as there is a strong and effectual persuading so there is a kind of hourly and feeble persuading, and a slight motion of it: the heart may seem to make out toward Christ, & yet never get ●ut, because it was never effectually persuaded; ●hese slight motions and hourly persuasions are ●ike the untimely birth of a woman, that vanisheth away, and comes to nothing in the end. Many a man hath had his eyes opened and the sweetness of the promise revealed, and the soul ●ad begun to purpose, and to be at a hay, now ●ay, and then he will go to Christ, and yet sinks ●owne again and falls back and perisheth ever●stingly. As it is with a waggon that passeth by a dangerous pit, being well loaden, which if it pass ●ot by, he is undone, he is at a set: well, they will use their skill, they pull with might & main, ●nd now it is going, and then it is coming; it 〈◊〉 ever at a hay, now hay: at last the traces break ●nd it falls down irrecoverably. So it is with a ●arnall false hearted Hypocrite, that hath had ma●y of these feeble persuasions to pluck a base ●ile heart from his corruptions: the Lord hath ●id some hand upon him by the terrors of the ●aw, and let in some intimation of mercy, and ●t him see what good he might have if he would ●art from his sins, and he hath many good re●lutions; the drunkard will be drunk no more, ●e adulterer will be unclean no more, and the ●roud person will never be proud any more; it is ●et at a hay, now hay: but because he is not ●fectually persuaded, he falls off from his half ●odging with God, and is wholly overcome with ●nne never to be recovered more: this was the practice of Agrippa, Act. 26.27. where Paul showing his conversation, and what God had done for him; when Agrippa heard this, he was even at a dead lift and said, Thou hast almost persuaded me to become a Christian, almost holy, & almost humble, and almost to forsake my sins. I will never be more malicious against God, and as the original word saith, Thou hast almost persuaded me in a few things, but he never came to any good at all. This is the guise of many that come to some outward reformation, and get some knowledge, and some parts, and some duties performed, so that a man would think they were making forward toward Christ, and yet they recoil and fall back again to their old base courses most fearfully. Of this generation was this spoke, Heb. 6.4. that had a taste of the Heavenly gift, that is, saving faith; they liked the promise, but it was never at the heart roots. Oh, said they, comfort, ease and salvation is good to be had; but they did not take down the promise and digest it, and make it good blood, they wanted this sound persuasion, somewhat was nearer to the heart than the promise, and therefore it came to nothing. An Hypocrite that is tickled and hath some flashy desires as the stony ground was, is a little affected with the Word of God. This man may entertain i● some kind of hourly persuasion, somewhat of the promise for some respect: the promise is this, that God will pardon the iniquity of his poor children, and ease them of all their miseries, and glorify them for ever. The Hypocrite hears this that there is salvation to be had, and grace is now offered: (Oh it is pretty, saith the soul) than I hope it is possible for something to come to my share; in conclusion he entertains the promise to pardon him; but the promise and the prevailing power of it go not deep enough to lose him from his corruptions, and to purge him; he would sip of the promises, but make a meal of his lusts: But a good heart doth the contrary; the promise is the standing dish, and the Lord ●esus Christ to be loved and embraced, that is his meal: only he may sip now and then at his lusts ●nd corruptions. The Hypocrite will have his ●ase haunts and his corruptions still, but in the mean time he could be content to think on Christ to pardon him, and that these evils might ●ot befall him. Part. 2 Now you see what it is to be effectually persuaded, nothing but God can do this, and in his lies the excellency of faith, to rest itself upon the freeness of God's grace, that it may have ●n interest in the good thereof; that is the end ●f faith, there lies the marrow of faith, that is the virtue and spiritual efficacy of faith; that as hope ●aited for mercy, and desire longed for it, and ●●ve and joy welcomed it; and they all bring the promise's home to the soul: so than the will ●ith, Amen, Lord, let it be so, I will go no further. It is in this case as it was with the woman ●f Samaria, john 4.29. When Christ had opened ●er eyes and shown her the vileness of her heart, ●nd also told her that she had seven Husbands, saying thou art an adulterous woman; now when she had heard this, away she goes to the City, and said, Behold, a man that hath told me all that ever I did, is not he the Christ? Just so all the affections come to the will the great commander, and plead in this case, and thus begin to strive with the heart. Oh, saith hope, I have waited for this goodness of the Lord, and my eyes have failed with looking for it: And desire saith, I have longed for this goodness, and saith love, I have received it; and joy saith, I have felt the sweetness of it: is not this mercy worth the receiving? Then the will saith, is it so indeed? hast thou waited for it, hope? and hast thou longed for it, desire? and hast thou felt the sweetness of it, joy? then we will all go to that mercy and seek no further. Let base corruptions and lusts do what they will, we will go to that mercy, Four things or Acts. and repose ourselves therein. Now this resting of itself discovers a fourfold act. Act 1 First, it implies a going out of the soul to Christ, that the soul runs and reacheth after a Christ; for a man can never rest on a thing before he come to lay hold on it, and to deliver all his strength, and lay all his weight upon it. This is implied necessarily, and it is one main proper act of faith, when the soul seethe this, that the Lord Jesus is his aid, and must ease him and pardon his sins: then let us go to that Christ, saith he, see what our Saviour saith, john 6.35. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst: the phrase of coming and believing they are both one: jer. 3.22. there the Prophet makes the answer of the humble sinner, the Lord calls upon by his Spirit, and sets on his mercy effectually, and saith, Come to me ye rebellious sinners, and I will heal your rebellions. Though a poor Minister speak the word, yet the Lord from heaven saith, come to me ye lose hearted, etc. Now this voice coming home to the heart, and the prevailing sweetness of the call overpowering the heart, the soul answers, Behold we come, for thou art the Lord our God. The soul goes out and falls and flings itself upon the riches of God's grace thus settled and revealed: Come to me all ye that are weary (saith Christ:) when the Lord saith come, I have mercy, though thou hast none; and I have comfort, though thou hast none; nay, I not only have it, but am ready to bestow it: and come to me thou poor burdened sinner, I have undertaken for thee, and I will ease and help thee. Now as for you that were never humbled nor brought low, God will pull down your proud hearts, and make you stoop: but you that have been burdened, and have seen your sins, and mourned under the loathsome burden of them, to all such the Lord saith, Come to me thou poor broken hearted sinner, I will heal thee, and I have undertaken for thee: we go then (saith the will) to that Christ, and that promise, and that mercy, and that grace that will pardon all, and subdue all whatsoever is amiss. It is with a sinner, as it is with a Seafaring man that is tossed with the winds, and driven to a hard set with the tempest, he labours to betake himself to a shelter, and to land at some Haven. This is the nature of believing in the Hebrew phrase, as Esa. 25.4. Thou hast been a strength to the poor and needy in trouble, a refuge against the tempest, & a shadow against the heat, etc. Now when a poor sinner is weatherbeaten, and can see no comfort, and find no evidence for the pardon of his sins; the Lord is pleased to make known the goodness of Christ through the promise: then the soul shrowds itself under that shadow and that goodness thus offered and revealed: Psal. 118.11. David's soul had gotten away from God, and he began to quarrel with God's providence, saying, I said in my haste, all men are liars; see what an hasty spirit is, he hoist up sail upon the main Ocean, and he had imaginations and conclusions of fear and despair: At last he got the Haven again, and said, where art thou, Oh my soul? thou hast gone from God, and from his promise; Return to thy rest, O my soul, let us go to the promise, and keep us there to see land, and make haste to it, and labour to hold the heart close to the Lord Jesus Christ: now the soul is come to Christ. The next Act of resting is this, it lays fast hold upon Christ, and when the Lord saith, Come my Love, my Dove, and come away; behold, I come (saith she) and when she is come, she fasteneth upon Christ and saith, my Beloved is mine, and I am his: When she is come to Christ, she will not away again. In the Hebrew phrase, to believe is nothing else but Amen; the Heathen say that the answer of a man is this, let it be done, which thou hast promised, that's faith. So after the soul hath walked a great while in horror and vexation, and the soul sinks in the apprehension of it; the Lord lets in the comfort of his promise, and saith, thou poor burdened heart, thy person is accepted; thou art unworthy, but Christ is worthy; thou art sinful, but he is merciful. Now when the soul hears this voice, it saith, even Amen Lord, let it be so Lord. This is the hold of the heart, hope and desire, love and joy have discerned a world of mercy; and the will saith, so be it, let us stay and hold here, and go no further. Esay 64.7. There is none that calleth on thy Name, neither that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee. Faith lays hold on the Lord, and will not let mercy go, but cleaves unto it; it is sweet to see faith in conflict with the Lord. When a man hath it, as in job, see how faith holds its own, God makes him even the Butt of his wrath (as it were) but job saith, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Me thinks I see how the Lord makes his hand all gore blood, and yet faith holds his own; it is able to fasten itself upon the promise of God in Christ. 1 King. 20.32, 33. when Ahab was deeply provoked with a drunken Benhadad, who said, take him alive, etc. they entered the combat: now when the day went against Benhadad (for he had dealt basely with Ahab) and he could not with any face look for any favour from him; yet when he was driven to a stand, his servants (being worse than their master) came to him and said, We have heard that the Kings of Israel are merciful Kings, we pray thee let us put ropes about our necks, and sackcloth on our loins, etc. Because the poor servants were like to come into danger as well as their master, they went to Ahab and said, thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee let me live: and Ahab said, is he yet alive, he is my brother; and the servants catched at that word, and said, he is yet alive, and they went away rejoicing. This is a lively picture of a broken hearted sinner, after he hath taken up arms against the Almighty, saying; shall he be at God's command? he will never do it whilst the world stands; but he will have his lusts, his profit and ease, etc. and the Lord and he are at open wars; and now the Lord lets in justice, and he seethe the anger of God bend against him, and even frowning upon him, and the wrath of the Lord dogging him from day to day, saying thou art an enemy to me (saith the Lord) and I will be an enemy to thee. Now the soul seethe that he cannot avoid justice, neither can he bear it, and therefore the soul reasons thus: I have heard that though I am a rebellious sinner, yet none but sinners are pardoned; he is a gracious God, and therefore the soul falls down at the footstool of the Lord, and saith, Oh what shall I do! What shall I do unto thee, Oh thou preserver of men! and the broken hearted and terrified sinner craves that he may yet live in the sight of the Lord. And at last when the soul hath been sufficiently humbled, the Lord lets in his sweet voice of mercy, and saith, Thou art my son, and thy sins are pardoned: with that the soul catcheth at that mercy, and saith mercy Lord, and a son Lord, pardon Lord, and love Lord, the soul is marvellous willing to hear of that consideration: But it will not away from the Lord again: as they catched at the words of Ahab, and said, thy brother liveth; so the soul saith beleevingly, and ●eccho-like, pardoned Lord, accepted Lord, love and mercy in Christ Lord: the heart holds itself there. It is the fashion of a drowning man, when he seethe himself going and sinking, if any man come to help him, when he hath taken hold, he will rather die, than leave him, he holds for his life: Just so it is with a drowning sinner, that is tossed up and down with the floods of God's indignation. He that formerly made nothing of all, and a mock of Christ, and thought he might go to heaven with all his lusts, now the Lord opens his eyes, and sets upon him, and tosses him up and down, that the heart smites with it; and he seethe himself lost, and going down to the pit, ●nd he expects nothing but damnation; and at ●ast the Lord lets in a record of mercy, and the promise of grace and salvation; when the soul ●eares hereof, he catcheth it greedily, and knows if that fail, his soul must needs fail, ●nd therefore he will never let it go. Act 3 The third act of resting is this, it flings the weight of all its occasions and troubles upon Christ, as the porter that is weary of his weight, and hath no way to help himself, but to be eased of his burden: so when the soul hath fastened upon Christ, it lays all the weight of all its guilt and power of corruptions upon the Lord Jesus Christ: Christ hath promised to give ease and power to pardon; and the soul now lays all upon him, as Psal. 35.7. Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him; commit thy way, that is, the weight of all thy occasions: roll thy way upon the Lord, as it is with a barrel that is tumbled up and down; the earth bears the weight of the barrel, but some body moves it: so the soul casts the weight of all its disgrace, dishonour, temptation, and all upon Christ: Esay 50, 10. He that walks in darkness and hath no light, let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon hi● God; that is, if any man be in extremes, hopeless, in misery, and seethe no help for himself, neither in himself, nor the creature, and walks in desperate discouragement, and hath no light of comfort; let him trust upon the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God: as when a man cannot go of himself, he lays the weight of all his body on another; so the soul goes to a Christ, and lays all the weight of itself upon Christ, and saith, I have no comfort, all my discomforts I lay upon Christ, and I rely upon the Lord for comfort and consolation: and when the soul hath thus leaned upon Christ, it leaves itself there, and sucks and draws all the good that it needs from Christ. Cant. 8.5. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? the party coming is the Church; the wilderness is the troubles and vexations the Church meets withal; and the beloved is the Lord Jesus Christ: now the Church comes out of trouble, and out of herself, and leans herself all upon her husband the Lord Jesus Christ: she only walked with him, but he bore all the burden for her: and as the Jews after their Passeover had their feet shod with sandals, and staves in their hands; the promise to the soul is like that staff, which did testify the promise: when we are going to the land of Canaan, the promise of grace and mercy is the staff which we lean upon; and it is not a broken staff that will fail us, but a strong staff which a man may trust to, and lay all the weight of life and happiness upon it, and the subduing of his sins also; 1 Pet. ●. 7. Cast all your care on him, for he careth for you: the original is, hurl your care upon the Lord; as ●f a man should say, suffer not your care to rebound back again, but hurl it upon the Lord, as a man doth with a ball, when it rebounds he beats it back again: the Lord will not thank you for carrying your cares and troubles about you, but he requires you should hurl it upon the Lord, for he careth for you. All that faith would have the soul do, is this: First, that the soul should labour to find out the means of grace; Secondly, that it should practise what it knows; Thirdly, that it improve all means when it hath gotten them: now that it may be able to do this, faith lays all the weight of the work and burden of the day upon the Lord Jesus Christ, so that I shall know what I should do, or the Lord will pardon what I do not know; and either I shall be able to do what I know, or else God will accept of my poor endeavours; and either I shall find success in that I do, or else God will make me contented; so that all the burden is gone: therefore what if thou dost not know what thou shouldst do, seeing God will pardon thy ignorance? and what if thou dost not that which thou knowest, if God will pardon thee in it? and what if thou hast not that success thou desirest, if God will accept of thee without it? and therefore David chides his own heart, and rocks his own soul asleep, where it was golling; Psal. 42. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? etc. I am banished from my house, and from my friends, and especially from the house of my God; and have not I cause to be disquieted? no he had not; but how shall I amend myself in all these troubles? still trust in God, for he is yet the help of my countenance, and my God, and I will yet give him praise: as if he had said, thou shalt not need to be distracted, discouraged, nor vexed inordinately; still trust in God, and cast all thy care upon him: the faithful soul views all his sins that he hath committed, and all the miseries that are intended and inflicted; and when it hath done all, it conclude thus with itself, and saith, It is not in my power, nay it is not my duty to determine of all these troubles; I lay all the weight of my sins upon Christ to pardon them, and all the weight of my corruptions to subdue them, and then I know he will care for me, that hath undertaken mercifully for me; all my care is to lean upon my Saviour, and this is my comfort, he will look to me, though I cannot do it for myself. Act 4 The fourth act of reposing the Spirit (which makes it up) is this, (and this indeed is the nature of faith) it draws virtue, and derives power from the Lord Jesus Christ, for succour and supply; here is the especial life of faith, and it is the very words of Scripture, or else I durst not speak so much of it, but that the Scripture says it open in this manner: faith finds all in the promise, and fetcheth all from the promise that it needs: as when a man hath provision of meat and money in his house; if any man say to him, where shall we have such and such things? Oh, saith he, I will go fetch them: so it is with the nature of faith, it goes for mercy, and grace, and comfort in Christ, it knows 'tis to be had from him, and therefore fetcheth all from him; it draws and sucks the sweetness of the promise: as it was with the woman that had the bloody issue; Mat. 9.21, 22. Oh, saith she, could I but touch the hem of his garment, I should be whole; and so she did, and virtue came from him, and she was healed of all her grievances that lay upon her: so it is with a faithful soul that toucheth the Lord Jesus Christ, it lays hold but a little on the promise, and there is sap and virtue communicated to the believing heart, whereby it comes to be helped and comforted in the way of God: Esay 12.3. it is said, With joy ye shall draw water out of the wells of salvation; the fountain of salvation, and all the waters of life, and grace, and mercy, are in Christ: now it is not enough to let down the bucket into the well, but it must be drawn out also: the waters of life are in Christ, now it is not enough to come to, and to look to Christ, but we must draw the water of grace from Christ to our soul; as Esay 66.11. They shall suck and be satisfied with the breasts of the consolation, that they may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory; the Church is compared to a child, and the breasts are the promises of the Gospel; now the elect must suck out and be satisfied with it, and milk it out: the word in the original is, exact upon the promise, and oppress the promise, as the oppressors' grinds the face of a poor man, and will have his goods what ever become of his wife and children: so a man must wrest the promise for grace and power from the Lord Jesus Christ. Ah beloved, this is our misery, we suffer abundance of milk to be in the promise, and we are like wainly children, that lie at the breast, and will neither suck nor be quiet; so we suffer this to be in the promise, and yet employ not ourselves to get it out, and to suck it out: therefore brethren, suffer not your faith to come to the promise, and to lie at it; but hale mercy from thence, and with a● holy kind of oppression exact upon it, and get what good you may from it, the Lord allows it. Quest. But here it may be asked, how this is done, how doth faith draw virtue from Christ? Answ. I answer, It is an heavenly skill, and yet marvellous hard and difficult: Threefold Act. faith draws virtue by a threefold act; or faith improves the promise three ways: First, faith doth appropriate the promise to itself, and applies all that good and grace that is revealed & offered in the Lord Jesus Christ home to itself; the voices of faith in the Scripture are these, my Lord and my God: so Paul saith, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief, he would be sure to have a share in the mercy; as if a man should say, I will cut something before the dish go away: Psal. 48.14. when the Lord had so much care of his Church, and how terrible he was to the enemies, and how merciful to his people, etc. in the end the Church saith, This God is our God, and he will be our God even till death; she doth appropriate God to herself, and engrosseth God, and saith, our God is not as the Heathens god; and there David would have God all his own, and saith, whatsoever God hath done for any of his people, how terrible for them, and how merciful to them, the same God he is to my soul, and he will be my God for ever: and hence the Scripture saith, Esay 55.1. Come buy, and eat, etc. all these places are nothing else, but the act of faith; to come, is to repair to the promise; and to buy, is to take possession of it; and to eat, is nothing else, but to embrace it for our good and comfort: it is not enough for me to go to the market, and stand looking on the commodity there, but I must lay down my money, buy it, and take possession of it, and bear it home; so the Lord saith, Come to the waters, buy wine and milk, etc. the Lord sets open the shop of grace and salvation every day where the Gospel is preached; and therefore not only cheapen, but come to the agreement and buy; offer like chapmen, and stand not hagling, but say, I will lay down all my lusts, and part with all for Christ; and when ye have done thus, take mercy and comfort, it is yours, you have bought it: so that now the faithful soul enters upon the promise as his own; as a man that comes to take possession of house and land as his own: so the faithful soul reads of all that mercy in pardoning of sin, and all that God effects to save, and all that mercy offered to the poor man, out of whom the Lord cast seven Devils; & then the soul saith, all that mercy is mine: Manasses was an idolater and a monster, yet the Lord humbled & saved him; and all that mercy is mine: Paul a persecutor and an oppressor, and yet the Lord opened his eyes, pardoned his sin, and he is now a glorified Saint in heaven, etc. all that mercy is mine: hence I take that phrase to be, john 3.33. where faith is said to set its seal to the promise; He that believeth, hath set to his seal, that God is true: now observe that, as it is amongst men in their agreements, it is not enough that the articles are drawn and made, but they must be sealed; if they are only made, we use to say, they want nothing but sealing; now when they are sealed, every than takes his own, and the bargain is thorough: Just so it is between the Lord and the soul; the Articles of agreement, whereby God passeth over his promise to a poor sinner, are these: If we will part from ourselves and our sins, the Lord Jesus saith all this grace and mercy is yours: you that are thus burdened, Christ will ease you; and you that are thus lost, Christ will find you. But now if a man will not set to his seal, and if the soul do not take all this to itself, and enter possession of it in this kind, and seal and deliver (as we use to say) it will never prove authentical; but when it is sealed and delivered, than it is authentical: So when the soul makes an application of the promises to itself, than it is authentical, and the soul feeds upon it, and refresheth itself therewith for ever. Secondly, faith jogs the hand of God, and sets God's power on work, and makes way for the stream of God's promise and providence, that it may take place: I say it makes ay for the work of the promise, that so whatsoever is good, may flow in amain upon the heart, and be communicated to it, as it is in other courses of providence. When God sets up a course of providence in the ●se of means, then in the use of those means as ●●e ordinarily works. Now God will nourish a man if he will eat his meat, and use the means appointed for his nourishment, and he that will take up the course that God hath appointed, may expect a blessing; so faith is the condition that God requires, and the means that he hath appointed, whereby he will convey all good to the soul, and as all grace and mercy is conveyed from God through the promise; so if we will believe and lay our hearts to the promise, we are under the power of the promise, to convey all grace and mercy to us: As it is with a Pump or Well; there is water enough in the Well, but yet a man must draw and pump it up before he can have any; and when he draws, than the water doth come: So the Fountain of all grace and goodness in Christ, and the promise is the pump; now faith must jog the promise before any grace can come: this I take to be the reason of all those passages in Scripture, where the Lord is said to give away himself to believing souls, as Matth. 15.28. Oh woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee as thou wilt: Christ gives her leave to go to the treasure of mercy and grace, and to take what she would: he doth not say, be it unto thee, as I will, but as thou wilt: look what health thou wilt have for thy daughter, and what comfort for thy conscience, go and take it, the Lord denies her nothing. This is the meaning of that place, Math. 9.29. Be it unto you according to your faith; not according to your wit, or pride, or strength, or sturdy spirits; as if a man would go to Heaven, and be proud and stout hearted too: no, no, there is no such matter, not according to your parts and gifts, but according to your faith; Gen. 17.7. God makes a deed of gift to Abraham, saying, I will be a God to thee, and thy seed after thee; take all Abraham: so that believing sets Gods grace a going, and puts God's power and providence forth for the good of the soul. Now imagine the Lord did yet deny that soul that mercy which it seeks and begs, and doth not answer the desire of the heart, and let in that good and sweetness the believing soul expects from him; what will faith do then? This is the third Act of faith in drawing virtue from Christ, faith urgeth God with his own word, and presseth God's promise, and challengeth God on his faithfulness and truth, not to be wanting unto him, for the acceptation of his person, and the pardon of his sins. Faith enters into suit with God, Psal. 143.1. Hear my prayer Lord, and in thy faithfulness answer me: as if he had said, I confess I am base, vile, and sinful, and deserve ●o mercy; therefore not in my worthiness, but in thy faithfulness answer me. I cannot be but ●ile, and thou canst not be but faithful; and if thou canst cease to be faithful, I am content to be miserable; and so you may, for he can as well cease to be faithful, as cease to be God. It is a ●aw-case between God and jacob, Gen. 22.10.11. see how he presseth God in a point: Oh, saith he, I know my brother's maliciousness and dogged spirit, and I expect hard measure from him. O Lord therefore remember thy servant, for I fear my brother Esau, and thou hast said thou wilt do good to thy servant, etc. As a man that hath a good cause at the Assizes or Sessions, though he hath a great enemy, one that overpowers him, yet being confident that his cause is good, will bring it about again, and will not rest till he hath an equal hearing. So faith when the Lord frowns upon him, yet the heart puts him in suit, as it were, and doth expostulate the cause with the Lord, saying, Hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious, and will he be no more entreated? This expostulation of the soul that the heart presseth in upon God withal, when it is upon a good ground, it argues the pursuit of God, that he will not leave till the Lord give that he hath engaged himself to bestow. Thus to gather up all, faith goes out to the Lord Jesus Christ, and lays hold upon him, lays all the weight upon him, draws virtue from him, as in all the former particulars. The fifth and last thing wherein the great work of resting consists is this; faith leaves the soul with the promise, and after all desires (haply) and all denials, and all the discouragements of God; and yet the soul seethe not the way of God; but that God frowns upon him; and though God comes not, yet faith leaves the heart with God. This is marvellous needful, and it must needs be the work of faith; for it is the main tenor of the work of the covenant of grace, and the covenant of works, in the covenant of works made with Adam, when he said, do and live: If Adam had done that, he should have received constant assistance, and God would never have denied to help him: but now in the covenant of grace, because it must be, and is free, and that a soul may and must know that it is only the goodness of God to us; therefore the Lord reserves this prerogative royal to himself, that howsoever God will bestow what he hath promised, yet he reserves the time to himself, and what time he will do it, and after what manner, and by what means, that is only of Gods free will: and hereupon the soul acknowledgeth that it is of God's free grace; as if the Lord should say, it is mercy that I give, and therefore it is according to my own mind, and I will take my own time. Now in this dead lift the power of faith is this; it leaves the soul with the promise, it takes up its standing there, and saith, I will go to none other, and I will seek no further, Esay 28.16. He that believes, makes not haste, he makes haste to use the means, but he is content to stay till the Lord please, because he knows the Lord only must do it: and if the heart be given to murmur and repine, saying, I pray, and the Lord doth not answer; I have grappled with my sin, and the Lord subdues it not: now faith saith, we must go to God for mercy, that he may order all our occasions; and we must not order God's grace according to our humours: but the Lord seems to frown upon the soul, and to reject the prayers of a poor sinner, and to beat him away from the door, as the Lord Christ did, when he called the woman a dog; yet faith will bring on the heart still, and it will be sure to lie at the gate, and it keeps the soul with the promise, what ever befalls it, as Psal. 119. Mine eyes failed for looking up for thy word, Oh when wilt thou comfort me! his heart and all failed him, and yet he would look towards heaven. Oh, saith he, when will this sinful soul be humbled, and this distressed conscience pacified? he would look towards heaven till he had no heart; and therefore excellent is that passage, Genes. 32.36. when the Lord and jacob were wrestling, and the Lord would have been gone, jacob said, I will not let thee go, until thou hast blessed me: so the faithful soul lays hold upon the Lord for mercy, pardon, power, and grace, and though the Lord seem to give him up to the torment of sin and corruption; yet the soul saith, though my soul go down to hell, yet I will hold here for mercy, till the Lord comfort and pardon, and subdue graciously these cursed corruptions, which I am not able to master myself. As it is with a sun-dial, the nature of the direction is this, the needle is ever moving, and a man may jog it another way, yet it will never stand still, till it come to the north-point: so when the Lord leaves off a believing heart with frowns, and with the expression of displeasure, yet the soul turns to the Lord Christ, and will never leave, till it go God-ward, and Christ-ward, and grace-ward; and saith, let the Lord do what he please, I will go no further, till he be pleased to show mercy: then the issue is this, faith goes out to Christ, it lays hold upon Christ, and lays the weight of all upon Christ, and draws virtue from Christ, and it leaves the soul with the promise, and this is in every faithful soul under heaven, howsoever the sense is taken away: if the soul once come to Christ, it will never away, but ever cleaves to the promise, and is towards God and Christ, whatsoever befall it. Part of the doctr. 4 The fourth and last part of the doctrine is this; First, as the soul must be humbled and enlightened. Secondly, as it is effectually persuaded by the Spirit of the Father. And thirdly, as by the power of this persuasion it casts itself upon the freeness of God's grace; so in the last place the soul comes to be furnished with all spiritual wants, and the supply thereof, and this contains the final cause, and that discovers the good and benefit which comes from faith. First, to open it in general, and then to come to some particulars: In the general observe thus much; a poor sinner having fallen from God, and departed from him, he goes away from God and all goodness at that one stroke, he that goes away from God, the God of all strength, must needs be weak; and he that goes from the God of wisdom, folly must needs possess him, because God is the God of all wisdom, and all wisdom must be from him; and he that goes from God, goes from life and happiness, therefore death and cursedness must needs seize upon ●im: now he that hath gone from God, hath gone from all these, and therefore he is full of nothing, but wants, miseries, and troubles, and vexa●ions, that are come in upon him, and overwhelm him. Now faith is appointed as that only means whereby the soul may be succoured, and the heart furnished anew: and it is faith that doth all these, and this is the excellency of faith, and the good of it, and the benefit that belongeth to faith in a peculiar manner, above all other graces in the world: now that ye may see how faith suits a man with all graces, take notice, that there are three ways, whereby the heart went away from God; and the spiritual wants, which by this means befell the soul, 3. Sorts of spir. wants. are three, all which faith supplies to the soul answerably. The first and great want of the soul is this, it is gone away from God, and the Lord is a stranger to it: it was made for God, and to have communication with God; but now it is gone from God, and God from it: there are now many controversies between the Lord and the soul: this is the great want, and this brings in all the rest: now faith supplies succour and answers to these necessities: faith bringeth the soul again to God, and the soul to have a nearer union, and more inward fellowship with God, than ever it had: thus the soul being an enemy to God, and God an enemy to it: and God being a stranger to the soul, and the soul being a stranger to the Lord: now faith doth this; it pitcheth the soul, and makes the soul of a poor sinner to fall upon the very Deity, and essence of God; firstly, and upon all the three whole persons, as some Divines (that are now with the Lord, leaving a remembrance behind them) have interpreted it; which phrase the Septuagints never used, as they are observed: for it is one thing to believe, that there is a God, and another thing to believe into God: faith fastens upon the Godhead, firstly, as 2 Corin. 6.11. where the Apostle saith, He that joineth himself to an harlot, is one body, but he that joineth himself to the Lord is one spirit: the Spirit of God sets a frame of soul upon the poor sinner, that it flings itself upon God: that which firstly must be the object of faith, that faith must firstly rest upon, as that which is able to give that succour which it wants; now because God only is infinite, he alone is able to secure a man according to his wants: therefore faith must first go to him: we need pardon, and therefore faith goes to God, who only is able to pardon; and we need power, and faith goes to God, who is able to secure us; thus it is an infinite God only, that must create this power in us, and therefore nothing but God must firstly be believed in; we believe in the promise, because God is there, and because ●n the promise only we find a fullness of sufficiency, to supply what ever we want or need: therefore why should faith go to any thing else? now nothing can save a man, but God infinite, and therefore faith goes to none but him, and makes an end of all controversies between God and the ●oule, it takes away all divisions, and brings the soul into favour again, and makes it acceptable ●o God through the merits of Christ, so that now ●he anger of God is appeased; Act. 26.17. when God sent Paul among the heathen, he gave him this commission, saying, Go preach the Gospel, and open the eyes of the blind, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God: every man by nature is gone from God, and you go all sin-ward and hellward, and away you go from God; now that you may be for God again, faith goes to God; joh. 1.12. To as many as received him, and believed in his name, to them he gave this privilege, that they should be the sons of God; God will not only be a friend to them, but a careful, loving, and tender Father: thou by nature art a child of perdition and destruction but dost thou believe and repent? now then 〈◊〉 the controversies between God and thee are ●●ded, and of a fiend of hell, thou art made the so●● of God; and the Lord is a tender hearted Father to that poor soul of thine; joh. 3. He that bel●veth, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, t●● wrath of God abides upon him; so that an unbelieving soul hath God up in arms against him: Oh that God would persuade your hearts of th●● this is a great misery, when thou liest down, t●● wrath of God hangs over thine head, and thy ey● may close up, and the Lord may send thy so●● down into the pit: and when thou goest fr●● home, the wrath of God abides upon thee, th●● mayst never return home again: go what thou wilt, and do what thou canst, while th●● abidest in thy sins, the wrath of God abides 〈◊〉 thy soul, body, and what appertains to thee, 〈◊〉 thou art an unbeliever; but if thou art a bel●●ver, the wrath of God is gone, and thou art p●●●●● from death unto life: Ah, what a happy condition is this? that a man may say, Lord, I was a child of wrath, I wonder that God cut me not off, and I admire at it, that God sent me not down to hell every night that I went to bed! but now the Lord hath made me to believe, and hath accepted me; I was under the curse of God, and now God hath delivered me, and now I have believed in the promise, and now I have a right to the promise, and all the mercy and goodness in it; thus the soul hath a supply of this first want, and is brought into favour with God again. Want 2 The second want of the soul is this; the soul being now departed from God, the God of all wisdom, good, and life; hence it is that the soul is deprived of all good, and grace, and life; for whatsoever life and grace it had, it was from God, and therefore the soul being departed from God, the Lord strips the soul of all that righteousness and holiness it had in Adam; the Lord gave him wisdom and righteousness in Adam, and in him to all his posterity; but now being gone from God, God hath justly taken all from him: so that now the poor sinner is dead, and though he lives, because he hath a natural life in him; yet he lives not spiritually, because he hath no spiritual life in him, and therefore can do no spiritual good; he can neither do well, nor live well, that thereby he might please God for his comfort. Now faith steps in like a friend at a dead lift, and lends help this way; it not only brings a sinner to God, but it is as a hand to communicate from God to a sinner, whatsoever spiritual good it needs, and this only faith can do. Mark it, I beseech you, a man that is dead in sin, and should be brought to some spiritual good and life, he must either live by himself or by another, but by himself he cannot, because a dead man cannot live by himself: but every man is spiritually dead by nature, and of himself he cannot live, and therefore he must go to another, which is God; he must give life, and therefore he must believe in another, and receive the spiritual grace and power from that living gracious God, to walk more clearly in a good course; this i● the intent of all these phrases in Scripture, Gal. 2.20. the text saith, I live, but how? it is by faith in Christ, Christ lives in him, and he in Christ: faith is not so much the soul of a Christian, but faith inables a man to live by Christ, whom it apprehends: therefore Saint Paul to the Hebrews saith, Heb. 11.6. Without faith it is impossible to please God: it is said of Enoch that he walked with God, and did thereby please God; but how came he to do it? by faith he did it. Now no man can yield obedience to God's commandment, and thereby please God, except he go to God by faith, and receive power from God, thereby to please God: I take this to be a truth, that in proprieties of language and speech, faith (as we now speak of it) is not any part of the spiritual life and soul of a Christian, but a spiritual instrument and engine, whereby the soul goes to God to fetch a soul, whereby he may live: thus it is punctually, the soul in vocation goes to God, and being come, it receives the spirit of adoption, brings in the image of sanctification, which Adam had lost: and now the sinner is enabled to live in obedience unto God; so that in vocation we go to God, and in adoption we receive the spirit, the image of sanctification from God, and by sanctification the spirit brings new spiritual powers from God to the soul: and so the soul is enabled to love God above all, and his neighbour as himself: now whether Adam had this faith or no, I will not stand to dispute in this popular congregation, but only speak so much as shall be seasonable and profitable. Therefore for the thing in hand, this I take to be the excellency of faith, to go out to God to fetch a spiritual new principle of life and grace: faith saith, thou art dead, and must have life, and thy life is to be had only from God; and therefore go out, that thou mayst receive spiritual life from God: so then, when no other can bring itself life, faith brings all other graces; now faith doth all these, not so much because it goes to him that hath all life in him: faith is the field, and the pearl is in it, and the hid treasure is in Christ; and faith goes to God from whom it received all things, from the consolation thereof; this is the meaning of that place, 2 Cor. 3.18. and to this it is to be referred, But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even by the spirit of the Lord; this discovers how faith brings in a new soul, and a spiritual life into the soul: by the glory of the Lord is meant the glorious attributes of the Lord, as his holiness, justice, righteousness, patience, etc. by the glass is meant the Lord Jesus Christ, as a m●●● face is seen in a glass, so all the attributes of the Lord are clearly seen (as in a glass) in the Lord Jesus Christ: now how do we behold them 〈◊〉 him? the heart being made to believe by faith, it looks upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and in hi● seethe all these graces; and what follows thereby? we are changed, that is, we are transformed from one degree of glorious grace to another; Jesus Christ, God and man, hath all graces in himself; now by faith the soul eyes the Lord Jesus Christ, and then answerably it receives grace for grace; eyeing his patience, by the selfsame spirit it is made patiented; and eyeing the holiness of God, by the selfsame spirit it is made holy; and eyeing the meekness of Christ, by the selfsame spirit it is made so: thus the soul looking upon the glorious grace of Christ, it receives gra●● for grace: if thou wouldst be patiented, see that by faith in Christ, and by that spirit of patience i● Christ, that it imprint the like grace upon th● soul, and it will do it. Want 3 In the supply of this third want appears the excellency of this work of faith; the heart of 〈◊〉 poor sinner being friends with God, and having received grace from God, it is marvellous fearful, lest it should lose that grace that it hath and not be able to maintain that stock which God hath put into his hands: this is a great want, and it was in Adam; he had a fair state, and lost all, and undid himself, and his posterity too: now the soul fears this, but faith steps in, and lends secure herein, as thus faith maintains a continual influence of God's grace and power into the soul upon all occasions; so that howsoever many wants and weaknesses may be in the soul, faith goes to heaven, and brings new succour upon all occasions to relieve it: this is the main difference between the first and second covenant: Adam had the stock in his own hands, and the fountain and roots of it was in himself: yet howsoever it is true, a man's grace is weak, and would come to nothing, and may easily be overcome; and yet the fountain of grace and goodness that is in Christ, will never be drawn dry; and faith goes to that daily, and so draws supply and secure: and from hence it is, that faith is called the protector of all graces; Ephes. 6.16. there faith is called a shield: now the nature of a shield is this; It not only covers the body, but all the armour of the body; so faith not only covers the soul, but all the graces of the soul, and succours them all; and it is not only the protector of all graces, but it is also a victorious conqueror in the behalf of graces; so 1 joh. 5.4. This is your victory, even faith: so that faith makes a Christian soul a conqueror, and keeps him safe and sure: now it is true indeed, that man's corruption is too strong for his own grace in himself, and his temptations are too strong for all his spiritual abilities in himself: yet faith goes for n●● power and might from Christ, and with this might and power from Christ, makes him strong as Ephes. 6.10. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might: 2 Tim. 2.1. My son be strong in the grace that is in jesus Christ; he doth not say, be strong in the grace that is in thyself, but in the Lord Christ, as for instance thou hast many provocations to kindle thy patience and choler, and many occasions to injurious dealings, and th●● hast an impatient and peevish heart of thi●e own too: now these corruptions are too strong for this patience, yet faith saith, I will be strong by that might and power of that patience which is in Christ, and that subdues all impatience, and bears all injuries, and faith brings that patience in Christ, and makes the soul strong with that patience; hence we are said to be preserved through faith unto salvation; faith keeps the soul to God, and God keeps faith, and soul, and all: so that it is the power of God by the means of faith, clasping the soul to God: you that are weak Christian consider this, you complain that you are so proud and peevish, that you cannot subdue these corruptions; now set faith on work, and that will make you strong in Christ, and make you able to stand against all temptations and occasions; as it is in the natural frame of a man: the Philosophers and Physicians observe these two passages in it; there is not only a soul and a body in a man, but there is an heavenly heat and a natural spirit, either animal or vital, that lies and knits the soul and the body together, ●nd look how strong this is, so strong is the bo●y; but if this band be once broken, the body ●omes to nothing: just so it is with the soul, God himself is the soul of this soul, I mean God's free grace in Christ, the heavenly heat and spiritual spirit, and the blood that binds God ●nd the soul together, is faith, and whiles this ●aith holds, a man's good condition holds even for ●ver: I conclude with that of the Apostle, ● Corin. 1.24. where he saith, by faith you stand, it is faith that gives foothold to all graces; we have weak patience, but faith gives patience strength and foothold; for it goes our to the Lord Jesus, and receives sap and life from him, whereby every grace comes to flourish in the soul; 1 Pet. 1.9. Receive the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls: as if he had said, faith will be with you upon all occasions, in temptations, and distempers of heart, and do you service, ●nd go to Christ for strength and power, and uphold you, till it hath brought you into heaven, ●nd shut the gates upon you, and if you cannot ●hift for yourselves there, then perish: this faith puts a man into possession of everlasting happiness, and never leaves him till then; this faith furnisheth the soul with a supply in spiritual wants. Now to sum up the point, 4. Causes of faith. take notice of the length and breadth of this blessed grace of faith, that you may see how it is made up of the causes; which are four: First, the next principle and the efficient cause of faith is the Spirit of God, undeniably, reporting this favour of God unto the soul; this is that which works faith, and the hand from whence it comes. Secondly, the matter of which faith is minted, is this, it is effectually persuaded of, and affected with this goodness of the Lord thus reported: this is the firm earth (as I may say) on which faith stands; and whereby it is able to rest itself upon the promise. Thirdly, the nature and form of faith is this, the reposing of the soul upon the Lord, and his special favour so reported, for the ground, why any man goes to God, is, because he was effectually persuaded of, and also affected with the goodness of God; as it is with some outlawed traitor, he dares not go to the court, unless he will go to his ruin, because he knows there is nothing expected but cruel execution; but if once he come to see his pardon sealed under the broad seal, and that there is some hope of mercy, than he willingly goes to the court: what was the ground of his going home? even this, because he was effectually persuaded, that the King had a favour to him: so it is with an humbled sinner, humbled in the fight of his sin, and broken, because of his Lord's displeasure against him: and when the soul hath this certification from t●e hand of the Spirit, that the Lord intends good to him, than the soul goeth and saith, Lord I durst not have been here, but that I have heard thou art a merciful God. And lastly, the final cause of faith is this; the soul comes to be fitted with all good, according to is necessity. Object. But some may say, I hear nothing of the believer all this while, it seems he doth nothing; if the Spirit be the efficient cause, and if the Spirit works it, and makes the soul able to work upon God's free grace, and if the Spirit be the final cause of all, than the believer doth nothing, etc. Answ. This work of believing is a work of the Spirit upon the soul, rather than any work wrought by the soul, or issuing from any principle which the soul hath in itself; as it is with an echo, when God saith, thy sins are pardoned, thy person accepted; faith sounds again, my sins pardoned? my person accepted? good Lord let it be so: then this persuades the heart, and that marvellously, to rest itself there for all good: but it is done upon the soul rather, than by the soul; as Phil. 3.12. we are said, To be comprehended of God, and not to comprehend God; so we know God, because we are known of him: now give me leave in a word to describe the cause of it; what it is in the promise, that thus effectually persuades the heart, that it may believe, and herein I will go no further than the promise, and therein show the motives in the promise, and how the heart comes to believe, and these will discover the reason of the point. There are three things in a promise, 3. Things in a promise. whereby the will of man is drawn to believe. First, the all-sufficiency of the freeness of God's favour, that is an admirable cause to persuade the heart to come on cheerfully, it is the special prerogative of the promise to answer the soul wholly in all the desires of it; nothing under heaven doth or can do this, but the promise: haply a man desires wealth, and when he hath it, this cannot make him honourable; and the ambitious man desires honours, and when he hath them, they cannot make him rich; so each thing of itself hath but a particular help: but the promise hath all-sufficiency to answer all the heart would have: the will of a man naturally desires good, and so consequently all good; now the promise hath all good in it; as in that place, open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it: there is a fullness in the promise to answer all the pant and desires of the soul: thou sayest thou art a poor dead sluggish creature; and the promise calls upon thee, as the Angel did, and saith, come hither, and here is life that will quicken thee; and thou art a weak creature, come hither (saith the promise) and I have grace to make thee strong; and thou art a damned creature, come hither; then saith the promise, here is mercy to pardon all sins of all kinds: the consideration of the rich provision in his father's house, carried the prodigal home: so there is mercy, grace, pardon, & comfort enough in the promise: you poor hungerbitten sinner, away, away, away for shame, to that enough of the promise, and there refresh yourselves for ever: it is that which Elisha said to Naaman, 2 King. 5.8. Let him come hither, and he shall know, that there is a God in Israel; and that there is a healing God, though not a helping King: so the promise saith to every fainting, languishing, and leprous soul, if thou art a truly humbled heart, and art sick of thy sins, and even drawing on to despair, and all thy prayers and days cannot prevail, nor do thee good; but still thy sins, thy sorrows, thy corruptions prevail, and thy condemnation sleeps not, but is drawing on apace upon thy soul: now see what the promise saith, let him come hither, and he shall know that there is a God in Israel, that is able to cure all, and to lose him from all his corruptions. Object. Oh but, saith one, I confess there is enough in the promise to be had, but what is that to me, if the Lord intent it not to my good? Ans. 2 Thou being humbled and broken hearted, God doth seriously intent it for thy good; and on God's part there is nothing to hinder thee from it, it is not more clear, that the promise is all sufficient, than it is certain the Lord intends it for thee, if thou be'st humbled, God sent his Son to save thee; Esa. 61.1. Christ came to bind up the broken hearted, and to comfort all that mourn: john 12.47. God sent not his Son to condemn the world, etc. Nay, Christ being sent of his Father, freely came to this end: 1 Tim. 1.15. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; that is, humbled, and broken, and meek hearted sinners; and not some of them neither, but all that are broken hearted, and all that are lost sinners; but never a proud, stouthearted, and sturddy sinner under heaven; he came not to call the righteous, that is, those that trust to their own righteousness, but sinners to repentance. Nay God doth earnestly desire thee to come and take this mercy; ho, every one that will, let him come to the waters of life, etc. and behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any will open, etc. and the Lord intreateth you to be reconciled, 2 Cor. 5.20. All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me; and be that cometh, I will in no wise cast away, joh. 6.37. the original saith, cast away: no, no, thou poor distressed soul, though thou art never so mean in parts or gifts, or never so much distressed in the world, though thou wear a leathern pelt, and though haply great men may despise thy society, yet the Lord Jesus Christ will not cast thee away; thou mayst cast away thine own comfort if thou wilt, through thy pride and peevishness; but the Lord Christ will not cast thee away, if thou come to him, he will never do it. Object. 4 Let me add a fourth motive; I confess, saith the soul, there is no want of willingness on God's part, but I have a heart which cannot believe, what is that to me to see provision of mercy, and have no heart, to receive it? Oh this unwilling and distrustful heart, it cannot believe! Answ. If I find a cure in the promise for this, than I hope you will yield; therefore know that the Lord hath provided in the promise a means whereby thou mayst be made to believe, and thou shalt be able to believe; first that sufficiency which is in the promise, and which God intends for thee. Now the Lord strikes up the match, 2. Things. and that the Lord doth this, it shall appear if you consider the manner of God's work in two things. First, God the Father in the promise gives an humble broken hearted sinner into the hands of ●esus Christ that he may make him able to believe. Secondly, he gives Jesus Christ into the hands of a poor sinner, that he may take him, and receive mercy from him. Now though thou canst not believe, yet if Jesus Christ take that heart of thine in hand, he can and will make thee believe. This was the end of his office and coming; john 6.44. No man cometh unto me except the Father draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day: I will make him believe, and in the grave I will love his poor body, and not lose so much as his ashes, but will preserve them there, and raise him up from thence, and at last I will bring both body and soul to honour, and make both happy in Heaven for ever: for Christ his sake think on this earnestly, that every broken hearted sinner is given to Christ, as if God the Father had said, Oh my Son, look well to such a man, he lives in a base world, and hath many corruptions in his heart, but look thou to him: john 10.16. Other she●pe I have which are not of this fold, and these I must bring home saith Christ: there are many of God's people called and converted, but there are many yet which are in the gall of bitterness; and I know such a drunkard, and though he be a wolf now, yet he is one of my sheep, and him I must bring home: It doth my heart good to think that there is many an enemy of Jesus Christ, and many that hates grace and goodness, many a wretched drunkard, many a covetous and unclean wretch that shall be brought home: One goes up and down this way, and another that way, as a company of poor sheep that wander up and down, one falls into this ditch, another into that, and another in such a grove: so there is many a poor sheep that goes away from God and all goodness; the Lord give us hearts to pity them: howsoever God hath opened your eyes, and brought your hearts, and my heart home to himself; yet there are many other sheep that as yet go from God. Oh, what a blessed mercy is this? If Christ hath once undertaken for you, he will seek you out wheresoever you are. The Lord seeks you out many times in the congregation, you might come home then if you would: well the Lord will make the fire of hell to flash upon the conscience of a man, and drag him home, but it is no matter which way the Lord brings him home, so he come to heaven at last. john 17. Thou gavest them to me, and I have given them eternal life. There is no more difference than this, the Father gives the sheep to Christ, and saith look to him; and Christ saith, you are given to me; take you everlasting life between you, and take eternal glory; I give it to you as freely as ever God the Father gave your souls to me. Secondly, God the Father gives Jesus Christ to the poor soul, and saith, I give thee him freely with his blood and all his merits, his grace and goodness: Oh (saith the poor sinner) blessed be God, that Jesus Christ hath undertaken for me, and that God the Father hath given me Christ; but alas, I cannot pay the price, I am notable to purchase the pearl: as in a marriage, when the parties are both agreed, if there be a quarrel about the feffment, all breaks off: so it is in this case, the soul is now enabled to rest upon Christ, but what will the Lord require? for I am base and poor; well, saith God the Father, I will not sell my Son, but I give him to thee, and thou must not think to purchase him; joh. 19.26, 27. when Christ would commend Marie to the care of john, he saith, Woman behold thy son; and to john he saith, Behold thy mother: so God the Father saith to Jesus Christ, My blessed Son, behold that poor, broken, humbled, sighing sinner, behold thy son, take him for thy own; and thou poor sinner, behold thy Saviour, take him to thyself: and the soul receives that gift at the hand of God the Father; joh. 10. So God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, etc. that is, God so set his heart upon those whom he would save, that he gave Jesus Christ to be received from him, and to do all good for them, according to all their necessities: thus I hope the heart hath no starting holes, the promise is sufficient, saith the soul, if I had it, and God sadly intended it, therefore I may take him, and God hath given Christ the care of me, to make me to believe: now the will is fully persuaded, and saith to hope and desire, and all the other affections, here is good enough: and come hope, expect it for ever; and come desire, here is mercy enough that thou hast desired: and come love and joy, here is that mercy whereof you have felt the sweetness: nay, saith the will, let us rest here, and settle ourselves upon the freeness and favour of the mercy of God in Jesus Christ; as our Saviour said to the Disciples, joh. 6.27.28. Will you also go away? oh, saith Peter, whither shall we go, thou hast then words of eternal life: the world calls, and our lusts call, and pleasures call, and the more they call for our hearts, the more we cry after thee out Christ; whither shall we go, if not to thee? for there is none so gracious, none so merciful to sinners, none so ready to do all good for us: and as there is sufficient in the promise, and as here is sufficient in thee, and enough for sinners: so upon thy mercy we will hang, upon thee our Saviour we will live and dye; and upon the promises will we put ourselves, to receive all the comfort and good they will afford, and upon this will we feed for ever. Thus much for the opening of the point. Use 1 The first use is for information to rectify our judgements for the right understanding of the nature of faith, and the frame of this blessed grace in the soul; and that which we collect is this; saving faith is no part of that holiness which Adam had, nor no part of that image to which we are restored by sanctification: in a word, faith is a work of effectual vocation, and no part of sanctification, neither of the image in which Adam was created, or to which we are renewed, and this follows from the Doctrine thus: If it be so that faith is the main especial instrument, whereby the soul goes to God to fetch a principle of grace, and the Image of grace whereby we may live, than it is not the image which formerly we had in Adam, nor to which we are renewed again in sanctification. But the first is true, namely, that it is faith that goes to fetch that spiritual power from God, which we ●ost in Adam, therefore it is not that spiritual power, this is the point of information: Beloved ●n our Saviour Christ, I am not ignorant that many learned godly judicious Divines, whose parts I reverence, are of another opinion, yet I remember their different opinions, and therefore I hope ●o man will be offended with me, though I differ from some, for I must needs differ from some; ●nd it hath ever been my care not to trouble a popular congregation with any matter of dis●ute, and I hold that it rather should be the care of Ministers to win men to faith, than to trouble them with matters of this kind, and I hold it the greatest part of zeal to get them to holy hearts, and to exact lives and conversations: Therefore I am marvellous hardly drawn on to the least dispute in this kind, and yet at the earnest request of some, and also because this is the proper place where this question falls, and to clear some doubts according to my promise, and because haply some good m●n may stumble at some things, therefore let me deliver those thoughts which I have many times heretofore intended to impart, and I should be very willing to hear of better arguments, if any shall be suggested, these are spiritual passages, and hard and difficult, therefore this I would tell you. First, what the controversy is, and wherein it lies. Secondly, the reasons of it. Thirdly, show the order of God's proceed in this work of grace in the soul, and when these are done, the point will be very plain. First for the first, namely, wherein this controversy lies; It is confessed of all hands that Adam in his innocency did not believe in a Saviour, he needed it not, only here lies the main point of controversy, that though Adam did not believe in a Saviour, and God did not require it, yet men conceive, and some judicious Divines too, that Adam had ability, that if Christ had been revealed he could have believed; for they say thus, a man is able having a clear eye to see but one world, because there is no more, but if there were five worlds, the same eye that seethe one, the same eye would see them all if they were visibly made. So Adam did not believe a Saviour, because the Lord Christ was not revealed, and administered to him; but Adam had that spiritual power of faith, if the Lord Jesus Christ had been revealed, he was able to believe in him and so to rest upon him, as men do now in the time of the Gospel; this is the controversy which we flatly deny. Secondly, the reasons to confirm this point that Adam had not this, grace of faith: The reason is this, this believing in the Lord Jesus Christ ●is that which doth directly cross the estate of Adam in his innocency; and the innocency of Adam wherein he was created, and therefore cannot by no means agree to him, and that appears thus: for a man to have a principle of life in himself which Adam had, and to fetch a principle of life from another, which we do by faith, these are contrary the one to the other, he lives well, and to be saved by living well, and to be saved by another, and to live well by the power of another, these are contraries one to the other, to have all in himself as Adam had, and to have all from another, and not in himself; these are contradictions the one to the other, and therefore cannot stand together, and therefore observe it, the manner and phrase of Scripture is this, and it is very strange, Phil. 3.9. That I may be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, as if he should say, Adam in his estate of innocency was in himself, and had his own righteousness, he had a power to please God, and to save himself by it: but now in the time of the Lord Christ, the case is clear, we are not, nor cannot ●he found in our own righteousness, or in the works of the Law, but in the righteousness of God by faith imputed to us, and of his grace bestowed on us, so that these two cannot stand together. So then I reason thus, that which is cross to the innocence of Adam, and contradicts the estate of Adam in his innocency, that can never agree to the estate of Adam, but for a man to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to have all from him if it had been revealed, this had been cross to the nature of Adam, and therefore it is not possible that he should have this faith in him; now I come to answer some objections. Object. .1 First, if Adam had not this faith, and if the Lord did not require it at his hands, than it seems that not believing in Christ is not a sin against the Law of God, for God commanded it not i● the Law. Answ. 1 To this I answer, that not believing in the Lord Christ, is not a sin against the moral law, but it is a sin against the Law of the Gospel, 1 john 3.23. This is his Commandment, that we should believe in the Name of the Lord jesus Christ: the want of this faith is a sin not so much against the ten Commandments, as against the Gospel properly, as Rom. 3.28. By what Laws boasting excluded? by the Law of faith; so that there is a Law even of faith, not only a law moral, but a law of faith. Object. 2 Again they object, did not Adam then trust in God, and put his confidence in God: Answ. 2 I answer, there is a kind of confidence which Adam had, but it is not that which is of faith, and which we now speak of in vocation, and Divines do truly say that we are bound to trust in God by the first Commandment, but that trust is not this faith, but it is of a marvellous fare different nature: Know therefore that to trust and believe in Christ savingly is thus much, when the soul is wholly plucked off from itself, and goes wholly to another for that which it hath not of itself: this Adam had not, for Adam could not seek to another for a principle of life, for he had it in himself, neither was ●t sin in him, for the Angels themselves do not believe in Christ, neither is it required of them. Again, Adam had a kind of trust and confidence in God, but not this trust, nor this faith; but it was this, so fare as the creature being a second cause, should stay and move itself according to the first cause, and to concur with the first cause unto any work: This Adam had, ●nd the Angels have it in Heaven, which believe not in Christ. The blessed Angels have a power spiritual in themselves, and they say that all power is firstly in God, and that he doth govern them and all the Heavens too, and stay themselves upon God firstly, and so co-worke with God: but this is fare different from saying thus; the Angels stay themselves first upon God, as being the first cause of all created substances, and to go to God, to fetch a principle of life from God, these are contraries. Object. 3 The main objection of all is this; If (say they) Adam never had power to believe, and so believing in Christ was not in the state of his innocency; then why doth God condemn 〈◊〉 for not believing, seeing they have not this power, and Adam had it not? It is all the difficulty that lies upon the point: The answer is plain, open, and naked, and therefore I answer it by distinction thus: Answ. 3 Infidelity and not believing doth imply two things thus: the first is the mere want of the power of faith, and the absence of ability to rest upon another; and to fetch the principle of grace from another, neither the Law nor the Gospel, nor God himself doth condemn thee for this: nay the Gospel doth not require this, that a man should have power of himself to believe, not God doth not require it, but the promise breeds faith, and feeds faith, it begets faith, and continues faith in the souls of all those that have it; and this is all that God would have, that the soul of a poor sinner should be contented to taked from him, and be under the Spirit, that would enable him to believe, and to go to him for the which may make him believe that he might be made strong in the power of the might of Jesus Christ, as in that place of the Ephesians, the Gospel saith, thou art a poor miserable sinner, her is mercy, only be contented that I should work upon thee for thy good, and convey mercy to thee; so that the bare want is not the cause why God doth condemn a man; the Angels in heaven this day have not this saving faith, and yet there is no sin in them: again, besides 〈◊〉 are want of this confidence, there is an averseness ●f heart, and a crossness of soul, to the means of grace, and the Gospel, and against the Spirit ●f grace, that would work faith, and draw my ●●ule out of my sin, and pluck my soul to my ●aviour 〈◊〉 sinful soul is fastened to his folly, and ●ettled upon his base corruptions, and he rests here with a kind of resolution, not to go off ●om his distempers, and he will hold his corrup●ons, and maintain his lusts, so that when mer●e is offered, he saith, I will not have mercy, but ●y sin; and the Spirit of God shall not pluck ●y corruptions from me, but I will have my ●nne rather than a Christ, thought I perish for it; ●is resisting against the means of grace, the pro●ise, and mercy, and the most blessed Spirit of ●●ace, this flows from original corruption, and herefore Adam never had this, and coming ●om sin, and being a fruit of sin, a man shall ●nd must justly be condemned for it: though ●dam had not faith, yet he would not have opposed the Spirit of grace, it would have wrought ●pon him: this is the infidelity which the Scripture so often makes mention of, because the ●eart is proud and sturdy, and settled upon his ●es, and saith, What, shall Jesus Christ come to ●fer me grace, and to pluck away my sins and eruptions, and to give me grace? I will none 〈◊〉 this Christ, not I; if thou dost want grace, bemuse thou hast resisted grace, thou art justly to ●e condemned as a sinner: this is the whole ●urse of Scripture, joh. 3.19. This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness better than light, because their ways are evil; that is, they love their sin, lusts, and corruptions, and choose them, and fasten to them, and will have them, and will not have a Christ; this is the ruin of a sinner, and this is the infidelity which the Lord speaks of, and this is nothing else but the resisting the grace and mercy, which would work grace in him, and this is properly unbelief; to see how unbelief banks the way to heaven, a man that is a covetous wretch, close hearted, the word reveals this, and condemns this, and saith he, I will not forsake the world; and the adulterer saith, I will not forsake my lusts, and the drunkard faith, I will not forsake my companions, he is staked down to his corruptions, so that all the Angels in heaven, and all the promises of the Gospel cannot persuade him to forsake his corruptions, but he is staked down to his corruptions, and hugs them, and saith, I will hug my sin in despire of all the world, and God himself; this is a cursed fruit of original corruption, this is sinful and fearful, and a man is justly condemned for it; so than no man is condemned for want of power to believe, but because he resists grace and mercy, and will not receive power to believe. Thirdly, now I come to show how the Lord works upon the heart, this is easy for all of you to apprehend, and you may the better see the order of God's work, if ye observe these four rules; the main weight lies upon the third, and the fourth; therefore we will only propound the two former to make way for the rest. First, when God comes to work upon a poor sinner, he finds him dead in sin, and he hath no good at all in him, no saving supernatural good, and he is not able to work any good in himself by all the means in the world, and he is not able to receive any spiritual good in the use of those means; so the Apostle saith, I know that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing; and our Saviour, john 3.6. Whatsoever is borne of the flesh, is flesh; whatsoever comes from man, from corrupted flesh, is unclean; so Rom. 8.7. The carnal or the fleshly wisdom is not subject to the law of God; so that a man not only hath no good in himself, but he is not able to receive any good, but rather oppose it. Secondly, hence it is clear, that all saving works are the proper gifts of God, and the peculiar operations of his good Spirit in the hearts of those that have it, for if every man by nature is dead in sin, and hath no good of himself, and can receive no good, but rather oppose it, then if he have any saving work wrought in him, it is Gods free gift: therefore first the Lord meets with a poor sinner, and reveals himself to him before he be ware of it, as many a man haply drops into the congregation, or falls into a house where there is conference, and mercy, and grace, shines upon him, before he is ware of it, and doth effectually draw the soul home from sin to God; as joh. 6.44. No man comes to me, except the Father which hath sent me, draw him; the Lord binds the strong man in preparation and humiliation, for the Devil will not go out by entreaty; no, the Lord Jesus must bind him, and then the Lord Jesus is pleased to separate the soul from sin to himself, and he takes possession of him, and in vocation he persuades the soul effectually, and brings it home, and when he is brought home, he gives him his good Spirit to sanctify him. Thirdly, (and this I would have you mark) though all grace come from the Lord Jesus Christ, and the power of his Spirit, yet the Lord works the work of his grace and Spirit, after a diverse manner: and the manner especially, which is remarkable, is this; no man hath grace by nature, nor any good, and all that he hath is the proper work of God, and this God works, though differently; some works God works upon us, to bring us to himself, and some works God works in us, to bring us into a nearer communion; and 2 Tim. 1.14. That excellent thing which was committed to thee, keep fast, how? by the Spirit that dwells in us; this excellent thing was the doctrine of the Gospel; now Saint Paul persuades us, to keep it by the Spirit that dwells in us, this is a matter which blinds many a poor ignorant man, that otherwise would bestow himself upon the free grace of God; we truly say, that all grace comes from Christ, hereupon many a man thinks that he must first be in Christ, before he can have any grace; we receive Christ by faith, and therefore we must have faith, before we can have him, and we come to Christ by faith, and therefore we must have faith before we can come to him: now the Lord Jesus is the Author of all grace in the hearts of his own; the Lord works some grace upon us to bring us himself, as the work of preparation and vocation, this is a saving work of Christ, but yet it is the work of the Lord to bring us home to himself, but now when we are come by faith, than God conveys another work to us, he doth justify a sinner, and adopt him, and sanctify him: as in this similitude, the first Adam by way of a natural generation, must beget a child, before he can imprint his image of corruption upon him, and he must be the son of Adam, before he can receive corruption from Adam, so that generation is the way to corruption, else it is no corruption, as in that place, Adam begat a son in his own image, that is, as blind, as stubborn, as proud as Adam, so that generation is the way by which we receive corruption from the first Adam: so it is in the second Adam, he doth by spiritual regeneration, and after a special manner work upon the hearts of his, to bring them home to him, before he will imprint his image upon them, which is the image of sanctification; the Lord Jesus will by the work of vocation and preparation, as by a spiritual union, bring the soul to himself, before he will imprint his image upon him sanctification; now preparation and vocation go before sanctification, and yet they are not sanctification in the strict sense; as generation went before the imprinting of the father's image, so vocation to Christ, is before the image of Christ can be imprinted: I use to express myself by this similitude, look as it is with a clock that hath the wheels turned the rung way, what must a man do to make these wheels go right? First he stops the wheels, and the wheels do not stop themselves, and then he turns the wheel, and the wheel doth not turn itself, and when he hath done so, than he gives it a poise or pl●●●, and by virtue thereof the wheels run right, and the clock strickes right, all these are several worke● upon the wheel, the stopping is not the turning, and the turning is not the striking: so it is with the soul of a poor sinner, the heart of man i● like this wheel, it was made for God to please him, and to serve him, and was altogether heaven-ward, but now it is hellward, and sin-ward, and worldward, and it is quite unjointed: now how must God work upon this heart, to bring it into the right frame again? First, the Lord stop● the poor sinner, and that is by preparation, he shows him his sin, and the punishment of it, and when he is posting on to hell, the Lord writes bitter things against him, and saith, friend this is not the way to happiness, friend if you go that way, there is the pit of destruction before you, and so with a mighty strong commanding hand he stops the sinner by godly fear, and sorrow, and hatred, and turns it from wickedness. Secondly, the Lord turns the heart to himself in vocation, and the Lord saith, come hither thou poor sinner, do not go to thy lusts, they will kill thee; but go to the Lord Christ, and he will save thee; go not to the world, it will delude thee; but go to the Lord Christ, and he will enrich thee; thou art filthy, but go to Christ, and he will purge thee; thou art miserable, but come to Christ, here is happiness, and that will save thee: by thi● time the wheel is stopped, and also turned the right way, and every wheel is where it should be: and then the Lord justifies a poor sinner, and is well pleased with him, and is reconciled to him, and he giveth his Spirit in adoption, and that is as the poise, that so he shall no more be ruled by the world, nor by his lusts, but by the good Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the hand of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ doth assist that poor soul for ever. Thirdly, the soul having received the Spirit by faith, as Gal. 4.5. receives hereby the adoption of sons. Fourthly, now the whole frame of the heart runs right, and is towards God, and for God, and loves God, and hath the spiritual power, and a new principle of itself, and this is the main work of sanctification: if you will take sanctification in the strictest sense, all the rest are saving works, but this is the main work of all. Fiftly, as the clock when it is thus framed, strikes right, and when it is two, it strikes two, and when it is three; it strikes three: so the soul is thus led by the Spirit of God, as Rom. 8.14. and then it obeys God, and doth every good duty, and loves God above all, and his neighbours as himself, in truth, and in uprightness, so that the soul is stopped in humiliation, and is turned in vocation, it receives the poise in adoption, and renovation in sanctification, and it obeys God in all things: then the conclusion is this, all these are saving works, and such as do undoubtedly accompany salvation, but all this while, one is not another, for two of these are wrought upon us, that is, preparation and vocation, and these are by a passive work: the wheel works because it is moved, and in the other three the Lord conveys his Spirit to us, and mercifully works the power of sanctification in us, and makes us able to serve him and obey him; Acts 26.18. Paul was sent to the Gentiles to open their eyes, to turn them from the power of darkness to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance amongst them that are called and sanctified: mark all the passages of it, from darkness and Satan, that is, in preparation; to God and to light, that is, in vocation: and as Saint Peter saith, Acts 3.19. Repent, and be converted, that ye ma● receive the forgiveness of sins; repent, there is preparation; and be converted, there is vocation; turned from Satan, and the power of the Devil, that they may be under the power of the Lord Jesus, and lie at his footstool: as a soldier is turned from such a captain, when he is content to be under another; so the soul is turned from sin, and is content to take press money, and to become a soldier of jesus Christ. Thirdly, that he may receive forgiveness of sins, that is in justification and an inheritance among them that are sanctified, that's in sanctification, & all these are done by faith: the scope of the holy Ghost there, is to discover the frame of grace in the heart; and therefore it is not to be understood of the nature of Sanctification, but of the work of it; that a man should receive his sanctification by faith, and yet is but sanctified in part, these are contraries. The fourth is only the work of sanctification, and lastly from the question thus resolved; from hence that question falls to the ground, and from hence, first a man may see it clearly that sanctification comes after justification: and secondly, whether repentance is before faith, or whether repentance is before justification, or justification before faith and repentance: and thirdly, whether there be any other instrument to believe in Christ, but faith; No, there is no other, for they all concur by faith: Thus much for the first use; a word of confutation, and information. Use 2 Secondly, if it be so that faith is a resting upon God, and a receiving of mercy from God, than this is a word of terror to all that still remain in unbelief: they are to see their sin and misery by sin, their sin is most heinous, and their plagues are intolerable; if it be faith that brings a man to Christ, and suits a man with all comforts from Christ: then all you unbelieving sinners, let your souls shake in the apprehension of all these plagues, of which you are guilty. It is the misery that befalls poor creatures, they are loath to be known to be drunkards, or thiefs, or robbers, because shame will come to them; but not to believe the promise, and to despise the Lord Jesus Christ: you make nothing of this, you draw the harrows lightly after you, you confess this sin, and the other sin, and you do welcome it: but in the mean time no man looks to his unbelieving heart, and yet this is the greatest sin of all other, and brings the greatest misery; as Heb. 3.12. Take heed, why? what's the matter? For the Lord Jesus Christ his sake, take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, to departed from the living God: this unbelief makes you departed from the Lord God, you will take heed of whoring and drunkenness, and you will say you are not so and so, but I say thou hast an evil and unfaithful heart, and thou art a dead man, and a miserable man, and thou art gone from the Lord God, the God of all happiness, and therefore thou art but a damned man: This is the root and the worst of all, take heed of an unbelieving heart, it departs away from the living God; this is the nature and misery of this sin. What is the estate of the damned in Hell? and this shall be the sentence that is passed against the wicked in that day, when the Heavens shall melt, and the Goats shall stand on the left hand, and the Sheep on the right hand, and when ye shall see all the Heavens on a flame, and you shall hear that fearful voice, saying; arise you damned unbelieving wretches, stand forth and hear your doom; what will be your greatest misery in that day? even this, Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting flames: this is the upshot of vengeance, and the sharpest sentence; would you not think this terrible, if you did hear it? Now therefore away thou varlet, be gone to Hell; I doubt not but the very proudest wretch in hell would then be content to hang upon mercy before he went to Hell, and he would beg that he might yet breathe to call after mercy: If thou wouldst take heed of this sentence, then take heed of an unbelieving heart; for by unbelief, thou passest the sentence against thyself, thou needest none other to condemn thee. Oh therefore get you home and humble yourselves in secret, and say thus; The Lord hath given me a heart to see the evil of my heart: I bless the Lord, thou hast kept my hand, my eye, my life, but good Lord I never saw the horrible nature of sin, which will be my bane; to this day I was never burdened with it: Oh that I might now take heed of it, what shall I say to mine own heart? departed thou wretch to Hell, the Lord forbidden. Oh strive mightily with God, and with your own souls, and rest not till you get some strength from Heaven, and say if that voice should come again, Oh, woe to me for ever, well my unbelieving heart doth this, and hath past the sentence upon mine own soul; you hear these, and if you would but take home these truths, they would make you stagger: See what our Saviour saith, john 5.40. You will not come to me that ye may have life: but I know you that ye have not the love of God in you: coming is believing, is this sin so heavy, the Lord fasten it upon your hearts: what, shall any man go away and say, I will not believe there is such a generation, whither will you go? If the world calls, ye run; if the devil calls, ye go presently; but will you not come to the Lord Jesus when he calls you? then Hell is to good for you, bear witness of it; many a soul here this day is still resolved to go on in his sins, and says, I am resolved to have my own courses, and I will be as proud as ever, and swear, and drink, as much as ever, and I will not go to Jesus Christ, whither will ye go then? Will ye go to destruction? I call the Angels and all the Saints to record, you will not come, than you must to destruction, there is no other way to come to Jesus Christ, but by believing in him. Now further to discover the fearfulness of this sin, and the misery of them that continue in it, let me lay it open by four particulars, whereby it shall appear, that howsoever unbelievers make no great matter of it, yet if they have the hearts of men about them, they shall see the misery of their own souls, and that in th●se four particulars. First it keeps off the riches of mercies that are in Christ, from the soul, that it cannot enjoy them; there is no happiness but only by communion with God; and now infidelity keeps off God from us, and keeps out that goodness which God is willing to bestow upon us, if we had hearts fitted to receive it. Infidelity shuts up a poor sinner that he cannot look out, nor look up towards Heaven, and that's the reason why when the Lord chains ups poor sinner under the power of his chief displeasure, he gives them up to hardness of heart, and unbelief, Rom. 11.32. He hath shut up all in unbelief: it is a comparison thus to be conceived, as it is with a heinous malefactor that hath conspired against the King, and when he is taken they put him into little ease, or some such close dark dungeon, and clap cold irons upon him, and if any friend come to bring him any thing, he cannot speak with him, nor he cannot receive it because he is close prisoner: So the Lord doth in his heavy displeasure, he locks up the soul in unbeleef, and holds the heart in the chains of unbeleef; that howsoever judgements pass up and down the world, yet all these judgements cannot awaken him, nor all mercies; why? because the unbeliever is sure enough he cannot so much as look to that mercy prepared, and offered in jesus Christ; and that's the reason why when the Lord comes by in all his glory, and mercy, as he did Exod. 33.6.7. saying, the Lord, the Lord, strong, merciful and glorious. When all these pass by, the unbeliever fits in his seat, but his heart is locked up, that he cannot look up, and that's the reason why the Apostle saith, Rom. 11.8. He hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear to this very day; that though he hath all the calls of mercy, yet he hath eyes and sees not, and all is still, and nothing stirring in the soul, nay, it is not only shut up and cannot come to God, but unbelief bars the doors, that Jesus Christ cannot come to it: therefore, john 1.11. He came to his own, and his own received him not; but in the 12. verse, to as many as received him, to them he gave power to be the Sons of God: this unbelief bars the doors, and raiseth Forts against him, and closeth every crevice of the heart, that not a beam of mercy, not a glimpse of pity, can be let into the soul, so long as it is in this condition. I beseech you observe it, unbelief is a fin, not so much of one faculty of the soul, but it is that as carries the whole man with it: as when a man sets himself in any unruly will, and will be ruled thereby, so that it stops every passage, and there is no entrance for mercy; for look as it is with faith, the root of it is in the will, but the rule of it is over all the whole man, and therefore faith carries all the whole soul to God; love, and hope, and joy, and all goes towards God, and the very same nature unbelief hath, to carry the soul from God; the root of it is in the will, but the rule of it is in the whole man, and keeps the soul under the power and authority of it, as by faith we go home to the Lord Jesus Christ, and are content that he should do what he will with us; so unbelief keeps the soul under command, and will dispose of all at his own pleasure, this is the poison and venom of this corruption, it stops all the passages of the soul, that Christ cannot come at it, nor it at Christ, so that if eternal life and happiness were laid down upon the nail, yet unbelief will not suffer the soul to stretch out a little finger to it; and saith love and joy, I charge you, delight not in that mercy, and desire, look not out after it; nay, if the wrath of God be revealed from Heaven against the soul, yet it stops the soul that the wrath of God moves it not, because unbelief rules; and saith fear, tremble not at God's judgements; and sorrow, mourn not you for sin; come all this way and sorrow for the loss of profits and pleasures, and because my will is crossed, but I will not have you so much as look after God. This is the cursed nature of unbelief, that there is nothing of God, of grace and happiness, can come near the soul, unless the iron gate of infidelity be plucked off the hinges, and the bars be broken asunder: this is that which the holy Prophet speaks of Isay 7.9. when the Lord would express the power of himself in an extraordinary manner, he bids Ahaz that he should look for a miracle; and yet he saith, If you believe not, you cannot be established: so that though God expressed never such miraculous power of mercy and goodness, yet so long as the heart is locked up in unbelief, there is no mercy can come at him; nay, which is worse if worse can be, unbelief not only shuts the door against Christ, and will not receive him when he entreats for entrance, but it sets open the door to all base lusts, to sin and Satan, than which there can be no greater indignity offered to the God of heaven and earth, as jer. 2.12.13. Oh ye heavens be astonished at this; why, what is the matter? my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and digged to themselves broken pits that will hold no water: This is not only unreasonable, but unnatural, and the heavens they shake at it; it is against the course of nature, that a man should departed from the Almighty that would strengthen him, and to rest upon his own folly, and go from the wisdom of God, that would direct him in every good way; nay it chooseth a man's own base corruptions and lusts: and in the mean time departs away from the Lord, and his grace, and his mercy; and it prefers sin and the Devil before the Lord, and all that sufficiency of good that is in him; and therefore the Prophet wisheth the Heavens to be astonished at this: weak things naturally incline to that which may strengthen them, and heavy things will not rest, until they come to the earth, because that will sustain them. Oh what a baseness is this, the Heavens are weary of a base wretch, that will trust to his own corrupt heart, and renounce grace and Christ, and happiness and all: this is the first passage. Secondly, unbelief it makes all means to be unprofitable; that is, when a man is settled upon his folly, and is resolved to rest upon his rebellious will, and to be ruled by that, he will not look out nor attend, nor give entertainment to whatsoever is revealed to the contrary. This makes all means unprofitable, be the means never so precious and powerful, and though they have done never so much good in quickening the hearts of others, yet they never do these men good, this unbelief makes all means to be spilt upon the ground, and they never do good to an unbelieving heart; as Heb. 4.12. let us fear therefore, lest at any time by forsaking the promise of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to be deprived of the grace and mercy of God; for the word was preached first to us, as also unto them, but it did not profit them that heard it, because it was not mixed with faith, there is the cause; be the reproofs and threatenings never so fierce, that it would almost affright the heart of a Devil, and the comforts never so sweet, and the heart of a poor Minister never so enlarged, to work upon the hardhearted, yet infidelity is as the buckler that bears off all, and he saith, I will never believe it, all his words fall to the ground, and enter not unto the heart; no reproof terrifies, no exhortation prevails; the heart is unbelieving, it beats back, and shuts out all; this is the reason why the Devil labours to make up this fortress above all the rest, because he knows, if any man have an unbelieving heart, it will make all means unprofitable; the Devil is content that men have parts and gifts, and these will carry a man to hell that hath an unbelieving heart: and therefore many wicked men that are the Devils factours and schoolmasters, the first lecture they read to a poor soul that is coming on, because they fear that he will be wrought upon by the word, and the light of the word is come into his mind, and his eyes are enlightened, and he saith, If this be true that the word saith, than he saith, I am a miserable man, the Lord be merciful to me: now see what the carnal wretch that is the Devils familiar, saith to him, I hope you have more wit, than to be persuaded of whatsoever he saith, he speaks out of passion, and he must say something, and threatened men live long, etc. thus nothing works upon him, and the Minister had as good speak to the pillars, for all comes to nothing, and we find it in nature thus, that the not believing of any thing, keeps the heart from being affected with it, as for example thus; let there be never so many threatenings, as that the Spaniard hath an invincible navy of so many ships set out, the merchant that understands any thing, knows that the Spaniard cannot make such a navy, and therefore they believe it not; but in eighty eight every man's heart gins to shake, and every man gins to bestir himself: nay, let the promise be never so fair and sweet, yet if we are not persuaded of it, we never care for his kindness, and we look not after it, and say, these are good words, and fair words make fools fain, but we believe it not: just thus it is with an unbeliever, when he comes to receive all the means of grace from the Lords hands, and when all judgements are denounced from heaven, and the wrath of God against sin; and the word saith, Be not deceived, God is not mocked; if you so● to the flesh, and walk after it, you shall reap everlasting perdition: and again, No adulterer nor drunkard shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; they hear these, and consider of them, and make a small matter of it, and will not believe it, and therefore they tremble not at it, and are not affected with that cursed condition, in which they are; Deut. 29.18, 19 when the Lord had denounced all the judgements that could be expressed, all the mercies that could be revealed; in the end he saith, Take heed lest there be in any of you, any root of bitterness; so then, when ye hear the words of this curse, ye bless yourselves in this estate, and say, I shall have peace, though I walk in mine own ways; as if he had said, if any man come to this, that he can hear all the flashes that come from hell, and see hell gaping for him, and here the thundering of God's judgements, and believes nothing, but blesseth himself, and saith, the Prophets and Ministers must say something, and they must have leave to speak, but yet I shall be blessed for all this, this wipes of all the authority of the truth of God: look as it is in nature, that physic which the stomach is not able to retain (though it be never so good) it will never purge; and the meat though never so comfortable, yet if the stomach cannot take it down and digest it, it will never nourish a man: so be the word never so physical and cordial, yet if a man have 〈◊〉 unbelieving h●●●t, that he will not take down the truth, it is marvellous certain, that that word cannot profit an unbelieving heart; and thate the cause of that curse which jeremiah speaks of, chap. 17.5. Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and he that maketh flesh his arm, and withdraweth his heart from the Lord, for he shall be like the barren heath in the wilderness, that it shall not see when good cometh; as it is with a barren heath, though the seed be never so good, and the seasons never so comfortable, and though the sun shine never so fairly upon it, and though the dews come from heaven never so sweetly, yet there will not be a grain of good corn, because it is a barren heath; so it is with that unbelieving heart of thine, thy heart shall be like a barren heath, and thou shalt never see when good cometh, much good will come to thy family, it may be, there will one child be humbled, and it will come to the same chamber; one servant is hardened, and another saved; the wife converted, and the husband is hardened; and the husband is converted, and the wife is wayward and froward still: now though the dews of heaven be never so comfortable, so that one poor soul is strengthened, and another poor heart cheered, yet thy unfaithful heart is like a barren heath, no good shall come to thee in it, there is no mercy nor consolation for that soul, in all the means that God continues and vouchsafes, this is the main cause of all the inconveniences that come upon us, that after all the means continued and multiplied, there is almost no good at all done, every family is 〈◊〉 a barren heath, there is no good comes to such a child, nor to such a servant, they are all infidels, I do not mean Pagans, but unbelievers, and they receive not that mercy which Christ offers; nay it is just that it should be so, that thou shouldst never get good, though all the Angels from heaven should come and reveal God's mind, and though all the Devils should come from hell to terrify thee, because unbelief draws away thy heart, and plucks away the soul, and makes the power of the truth not to prevail with it, so that when the Lord would come in upon the heart, unbelief pulls away the heart from the truth of God; Rom. 11.20. The jews were broken off, because of unbelief; they were cut off from b●ing God's people, and from enjoying the means of grace; that when the Lord would lay hold upon a poor soul, unbelief plucks the soul from the word, that it may turn from it. Quest. But some will say, if unbelief makes all means unprofitable, than an unbeliever should use no means at all. Answ. I answer, Yes, use all the means as may be, because the word may take away thy unbelief, and as thou usest all means, so labour to have thy heart subdued and overmastered; the word tampers thy tongue and thy fingers, but look thou up to the Lord, and say, Good Lord let thy word be powerful to come in upon my heart, and to take away my unbelief. Thirdly, it is unbelief that maintains all sin in the heart of a sinner, in the strength and power of it, so much as may be in this case: unbelief is the mother of all corruptions, and breeds many, it nurseth and nourisheth them, so that they are fat and well liking, and they come up marvellous well; that's the meaning of the Apostles phrase, 2 Thess. 3.2. That we may be delivered from the hands of unreasonable and absurd men; how came they to be so? because all men have not faith; that is, he that wants faith, will never want him; and he that wants faith, will ever be unreasonable and absurd: drunkenness stairs men in the face, and outfaces the officers, and contempt of God, and profanation of the Lords day, and the world carries all before them, as if they were the only commanders of the world; what's the reason of it? all men have not faith, they do not believe the word of God that condemneth those sins, and which would direct them to cast away those sins, and therefore they go on with marvellous violence; let the word of God come in public or private, they make nothing of all these, but they will have their own ways: I use to call unbelief the protector of the estate of corruption; as it is with some lower states and princes, as in the Low-countries, and in Germany, they are not able to subsist of themselves, and therefore they are in league with some other, that they may be protected by them, and receive succour from them, and if they defend them, they hope to make their parts good with any: so this unbelief maintains any sin, good in its rank and state; indeed restraining grace, may curb corruption, and keep in the distempers of the heart; but there is nothing that can kill corruption, but only the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of his grace; Rom. 8.2. The law of the Spirit of life, which is in Christ jesus hath freed me from the law of sin, and of death; sin sets up a law, and rules in the heart, as you shall find it in your own hearts; pride saith, you shall be proud, there is a sovereign rule, and a tyrannical authority, which pride expresseth in the heart; now the Spirit of the Lord jesus, sets up another law, and there is more commanding power in that, than in the corruption of the soul; and the law of the Spirit taketh away the power of sin, that would prevail against a poor sinner; the law of meekness in Christ, takes away the law of anger in the heart; and the law of patience in Christ, takes away the law of impatience; and the law of courage, takes away the law of cowardice; and the law of chastity, takes a way the power of uncleanness: so that there is no sin can be subdued, but by the power of Christ, and the work of his Spirit: now unbelief keeps the heart wholly from Christ, therefore it can receive no good from Christ, and from hence it is that all sin is maintained in the soul in the full vigour of it, there is no unbeliever in all the world, but he hath all sin strongly in him, and not one sin that ever was slain; it is strange to see, when unbelief previles but a little in the heart of a poor Saint, how all other sins put out their heads, and show themselves a main; as Luke 22.32. Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to sift thee, as wheat, but I have prayed, that thy faith fail thee not; Satan laboured to shake the hold of Peter's faith, and thereupon many corruptions were expressed in his life, because Peter did fail, and did not believe that which Christ had said to him; so soon as unbelief prevails, than false-heartedness expressed itself, and he presently denied his master; and then base cowardliness says, I know not the man; and his want of reverence to the name of God discovers itself, for he falls to swear that he knew him not, and there was self-love in all these: thus you see, when a man will not believe, every corruption breaks forth, and that amain, and this unbelief will fat all corruptions in the soul, and all cursed distempers, and makes them fat and well-liking; as it is of faith in the spiritual man, so it is of flesh in the corrupt man; 1 Pet. 2.11. The flesh lusteth against the soul; there is a kind of armour of the flesh and of corruption, as well as the armour of the Spirit, which procures comfort to the soul; sin hath its armour as well as grace; now look as it is in the spiritual armour of a Christian, faith is a shield, a shield defends not only the body, but all the armour of the body; so faith, it defends not only the body, but the soul, and all the graces of the soul: so it is also with this infidelity, in regard of a man's corrupt nature, corruption it is maintained by infidelity, as by a shield, it is the shield of a man's corruptions, as faith is the shield of the spiritual man; I confess that reformation, and the means thereof out of the ordinances of God, and the powerful work thereof, may marvellously snub and wound sin; but infidelity will heal it again, and will restore life to it again. I compare reformation to the retreat of an army, when one side is weak, and the other side is too strong, and they are not able to make their parts good, than they make a retreat, and go home again to their trenches, and he that wisely retreats himself, though he may lose the day, yet he loseth not a man, and the Commander saith, such a man was wounded, and such a man was hurt a little, but we came all well home; they retreat into the trenches, and get more strength, and then they levy our their forces again. So it is with outward reformation, haply a man lives under a powerful Minister, under a good master, and in a good family, and all these make sin retreat; and he dares not swear, and he cannot walk in his wicked ways, his master curbs him, all this while his sins make a retreat; but there is none of them gone, the life of never a one of them is gone, so long as he hath an unbelieving heart: let the unbeliever enjoy never such means, and live in never so good a family, yet he hath not one sin killed, they are only retreated, and so unbelief nurseth them, and makes them grow out with greater violence. This I take to be the reason why many a man that hath professed the Gospel, and hath had much horror of heart, and many good resolutions, and much care expressed outwardly after many years, his corruptions break out again and get ground, and they are armed afresh, and they run violently, and for any thing a man knows, they go down to hell: how many professors have turned to be unclean persons, and to be drunkards, because their old sins were but only snubbed by good company and the word, etc. But they never had their hearts throughly broken; the root that nursed all, was still the same, and therefore they break out notoriously, to the dishonour of God, the scandal of the Gospel, and the confusion of their own souls, if God be not merciful. Fourthly, as unbelief keeps God from the soul, and makes all means unprofitable, and maintains all sin in the strength and life of it: So lastly, it makes the soul of a poor sinner to be in a desperate estate, and a man continuing in this condition, is past hope, help, & recovery; believing is the last covenant that ever God hath expressed; a man may be saved and not do the law, but a man cannot be saved if he do not believe: that's the last covenant and condition of all, and if he stick here, he is past all recovery without a wonderful work from Heaven, Heb. 3.18. There the Lord takes a solemn oath, that they that would not believe, should never enter into his rest: to whom did he swear thus? to them that believed not; God never takes an oath that he that keeps not the law, shall not be saved; or that he that cannot perform to keep all the Commandments, shall not be saved, and never see happiness: no, but he takes an oath, that they that believe not, shall never see happiness, and when God once swears, the thing is unchangeable. God never swore that if Adam did not do, he should not live; but if he had not believed in that Christ that was promised, he had never been saved; but though we cannot live by exact doing, yet we may live by believing, and we may go to another to do what God requires of us; and this is the reason of that peremptory curse which God seals down upon the hearts of unbelievers, john 3.18. He that believeth is not condemned, but he that believeth not, is condemned already; he hath one foot in hell, but why is it so? I answer; look as it is with a man that hath a case to be tried, if it be tried in all the courts of England, and he cast in them all, there is no more trouble to be made, nor no more hope of recovery: So it is in this, he that believeth not, is cast in all Courts in Heaven and earth: Law and Gospel both condemn him; justice will not save him, for it must be satisfied; and mercy will not save him, for he is an unbeliever; so that there is no trial to be looked for, the sentence is passed upon him in heaven and earth, only there wants a Jailor to bring him to the gibbit, that is death and the devil, who is the hangman to turn him off into hell for ever, there to plague him: nay, unbelief binds God's hand, and hinders the power of God, as may be said with reverence; he may justify a sinner, but he will not justify an unbeliever in his estate of unbelief: Mark 6.5. He could do no miracle there, because of their unbelief: the text doth not say, he did not great works there: So S. Matthew hath it, but he could do no great works there; so the Lord, he can do mighty works, he can justify a sinner, and comfort the discomforted, and cleanse the polluted, and save the polluted, but he will not save the unbeliever, he cannot work this mighty work upon him; and therefore do not trouble thyself so much for mercy towards thee; if thou be an unbeliever, never dream of comfort, for God cannot save thee: will God go against his own words? then he should not be truth; he hath sworn that an unbeliever shall not enter into his rest, this word and oath shall stand for ever. Therefore go to God, that he may give thee a believing heart, and then mercy will come, and pardon and glory will come to the soul; but remaining in unbelief, he cannot save thee, he will not deny his Word, nor his oath, for never an unbelieving wretch under Heaven. Now if you do conceive the nature of your sin, and your misery thereby; then for the Lords sake, you that hear the Word this day, all you unbelievers that never had this work of faith in your souls, hie you out of this miserable condition, go your ways, and give no quiet to your souls, nor no comfort to your consciences, before the Lord show mercy to you in removing this corruption from your souls, and show mercy to you: Now whether you have true faith or no, I shall show afterwards when I shall come to try every man's evidence: and that ye may come out of this unbelieving condition, labour to see the danger of it in three particulars, and establish thy heart with these considerations, that thou mayst never be in quiet, till thou have some power against them, and grace to come out of them. First, know and consider seriously that whatsoever thou dost so long as thou art an unbeliever, it is all unprofitable, and to no purpose at all: couldst thou hear with attention, and remember sufficiently whatsoever is revealed, and pray with ability and understanding, beseeming a Christian man in that case: didst thou reform whatsoever is amiss outwardly, thou seest the evil, and labourest to reform it, and whatsoever service is required to God or man, thou dost it as thou art able, and walkest unblamably: all this is to no profit if thou remainest in unbelief. The God of Heaven never receives the prayers of an unbeliever, be his prayers never so glorious, and his attendance on the means never so diligent, yet the God of heaven regards not the performances▪ and therefore say of thy unbelieving soul, as Haman did of Mordecay, Ester 5.13. when the King had granted him all that his heart could desire, and his requests were ever made good, and his malice ever satisfied, and the posts dispatched it to root out the Jews, and was invited to the Queen's feast; yet one thing took away all the contentment of the other, when he saw Mordecay sit in the King's gate and reverenced him not; this overthrew all: as he did sinfully and foolishly, so do thou wisely and with great judgement, and reason thus, and say, good Lord what avails it me to hear, and pray, and live unblamably, so long as I see this unbelief perking itself in this corrupt heart of mine. So long as this remains, all my prayers will do me no good, these will bring the wrath of God upon me; nay, the wrath of God is upon me, and I am condemned already, in my fasting, prayer, and all my holy duties. Secondly, confider that all the good things thou hast, will prove uncomfortable to thee, whiles this unbelief continues in thy soul; it is very observable, you know the heart of a man is sometimes cheered, and the soul is contented, partly with the good things of the world which it receives, partly with other things, not only temporal, but also spiritual, which God gives; now I would have an unbelieving heart take off the contentment of these with the fear of this danger, and this will dash all thy delights, and spoil all thy pleasures, and mar all thy mirth; let that always come for a back reckoning: we should think of this, it might be as gall to our corrupt hearts. Thou liftest up thy parts, and sayest, my parts are greats my abilities many, I am able to confer, to perform duties: be it so, that thou hast all these; and another saith, thou seest thy barns full, and store-house full, thou hast honours to advance thee, and riches and all delights to give thee content; and I grant this, and yet thou hast an unbelieving heart to departed from the living God, and when thou hast these, Oh, woe to that miserable soul of thine. Good brethren think of these things, it is good to hear of this now, and better it is to know them now, than to know them when it is too late: now you have your houses, and beds, and pleasures, to comfort you, but you have an unfaithful heart, go thy ways poor wretch, thou hast enough, thou hast that about thee that will sink thy heart for ever. Oh, let this be written upon the palms of your hands; and graven upon the testures of thy bed, and say this is a goodly house, and I have goodly riches, but I have an unfaithful heart too: labour to be affected with this for the Lords sake; you know what Esau said profanely, when he was like to die, What's my birthright to me, if I die for hunger? Gen. 25.32. I tell you it will be as gall and wormwood to you; when the drunkard is in his cups, and the adulterer in his dalliances, you may say I have this and that, but what avails these when I have an unbelieving wretched heart about me, I carry my bane, and that which will be my breake-necke. Lastly, when you begin to see some sin, base, and vile, and odious, in the account of the world, and sometimes in your own account, then think thus with yourselves, and say, do I see a baseness in this and that sin? what then shall I think of my unbelief, which is the breeder of all these? could I see mine own base heart, it is the mother and breeder of all these sins: thou art loath to be seen drunk in the street, because the boys would hoot at thee, and thou art afeard of murder or theft, because thou wouldst not be taken for a jayle-bird, thou art ashamed of these: wert thou but a witch, or a traitor, or a man condemned, wouldst thou not be ashamed? hadst thou but reason in thee, thy soul would shake at it, and say, Oh wretch that I am, that I should live to bring such discredit upon myself, and all good men: Oh go thy way, and look into thy heart, and say, I may thank an unbelieving heart for all these, if I had not had an unbelieving heart, I had not been overtaken with any of all these sins, nor dishonoured God by this sin, as I have done: unbelief is the author of all, and therefore to be hated more than all: I would fain have people look inward; thou hast stolen such a thing from such a man, and thou art ashamed of it; now infidelity can rob God of his honour, and by this sin thou hast refused the Lord Jesus Christ; and thus dog thy own heart ever and anon, and when thou hast done so, be earnest with the Lord, to take these cursed corruptions from thee, sigh especially under this sin, and labour above all to be freed from this sin, and then all the rest will dye and decay in thee. I would have a poor unbeliever do as the prisoners do in Newgate; what lamentable cries will they utter, saying, good your worship, remember the miseries of poor prisoners; good Gentleman spare a farthing to the wants of poor prisoners: so thou art shut up in unbelief, therefore look out from the gates of hell, and from under the bars of infidelity, and cry, that God would look on thee in mercy, and spare Lord, a poor unbelieving wretch, locked up under the bars of unbelief, good Lord succour and deliver in thy good time; and as the Prophet David saith, Psal. 79.11. Let the sighing of the prisoners come up before thee; though that was meant of the bodily imprisonment, yet the argument prevails much more, in regard of the spiritual thraldom; good Lord let the sighing of the prisoners come before thee, so go thou thy way home, and humble thyself in thy secret closet, and cry out of the prison of unbelief, and say, Let the sighing of poor distrustful souls come up before thy Majesty, send help from heaven, and deliver the soul of thy servant from these wretched distempers of heart: deal in this case, as men that are engaged for prisoners, so do thou with the Lord Jesus, Esa. 49.8, 9 it is the office of Christ, and for this end he came into the world; and the Lord saith, In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee, that thou mayst say to the prisoners, go forth; and to them that are in darkness, show yourselves; the Lord Jesus came into the world in an acceptable time, and he had this covenant made with him, that he should draw poor souls out of darkness, and say to the prisoners, come forth: God the Father hath sent him for this end, and hath promised to hear him when he calls for mercy in the behalf of poor sinners: you poor creatures remember this; for I doubt not but here are some that have faith, though no question, there are many of you in this place that are yet unbelievers, and mark this, if you were never yet sensible of your unbelief, in some measure, I say, you never took one step towards grace nor Christ; we cannot help ourselves, we cannot go to Christ, and Christ cannot come to us, so long as this iron bar is between us, therefore entreat him, for his covenants sake, to accomplish that he hath said: and tell him, that thou art a poor prisoner, and that Christ came for this very end; plead hard with him, and say, Blessed Redeemer, it is but one word of thy mouth, say to a poor prisoner, and an unbelieving heart, rest thyself upon the promise, plead thus with the Lord, and this is the only way to obtain this mercy of the Lord, it is a sin that undermines all our comforts, and makes all means unprofitable, whatsoever we have, and yet we never look after it, nor care for it; Oh hate all sins, but hate this infidelity above all other sins. Use 3 In the next place, is it so, that the Spirit of the Father must persuade the heart, before it can rest upon the free riches of God's mercy in Christ? then here we collect the difficulty of the work of faith, the conclusion not only follows apparently, but undeniably, that the work of faith is of marvellous difficulty, and beyond the reach of all created power, and beyond all the power of man, to have power of himself, to believe the promises of God: the point follows thus; if we cannot come to God further than God carrie● as, and if we have not legs to go to the Lord Jesus Christ, no further than the Lord gives us legs, I mean spiritual power, then let us all know it, and conclude it, that it is not only hard and difficult, but also impossible for man, from any power of his own, to rest upon God's promises by the work of faith; it is true indeed, we can do thus much, we can settle ourselves upon our own bottoms, and rest ourselves upon our own sufficiency, and if a man have parts and gifts, we can, we do naturally stay ourselves upon these broken props, and our souls go that way naturally, as heavy things naturally go downward, this we can do out of the power of corrupt nature, thus we are ourselves, and we rest upon ourselves; in a word, when a man finds parts, and gifts, and means, and then to rest upon God, and to cast away all carnal confidence, and to cast ourselves upon the free grace of God, it will cost us much work to do it, nay it is beyond all our power, it is the work of God to do it: I speak this the rather for these two ends; First, to crush that vain conceit of a company of poor ignorant creatures, that make it a matter of nothing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and think it is all one to believe, as to say they believe, Oh they believe in their sweet Saviour, and man nor Devils shall not persuade them to the contrary: hence is that speech of a poor creature, standing by a man ready to dye, when a Minister of God, who was there, did exhort him to rest upon the promise, and urging him to many things that way, and the poor creature complaining much that he could not believe, here upon his carnal friend standing by, said, Believe thou fool, canst thou not believe? A man would not imagine it almost, but that experience hath made it good, and others have informed us of it, that many wise judicious men are not ashamed to speak it, that if people knew the current of the Scriptures, and were able to understand the texts of Scripture, it were not so hard a matter to believe as men would make it; but men are not able to dive into the nature of Scriptures, and to conceive of the mysteries thereof, which if they did, it were an easy matter to believe; this is the conceit of a company of poor deluded creatures, though otherwise learned and judicious; follow these men home, and you shall find this true, that either they are careless in their families, or else they have some tang of some strong corruption: now to overthrow these two, let me do it upon these two grounds; First, see the difficulty of the work of faith, in regard of the feebleness of all that a man hath or doth to make him believe: Secondly, in regard of the extraordinary greatness of the work, that may hinder a man from doing what he may; for the first, that which may dis-inable all those things that a man expects comfort from; there are but four things that a man can put any confidence in; first, the excellency of his parts; or, secondly, the height of his privileges; or, thirdly, the performance of his duties; or, fourthly, the powerfulness of those means that he hath: to sum up these briefly, and to overthrow them; first, hadst thou that strength of judgement, sharpness of wit, and quickness of memory, and all natural abilities, none of all these can make thee able to work faith in thyself; Matth. 11.25, 26, 27. when Christ had considered the hardness and difficulty of the work of faith, and had upbraided the Pharisees because they believed not, at last he saith, I thank thee heavenly Father, Lord, because thou hast hid these things from the great and wise of the world, and hast revealed them unto the babes; it is so, Oh Father, because it seemed good in thy sight; if wisdom, and prudence, and skill in arts and sciences, would have carried men to Jesus Christ, the Scribes and Pharisees would then have gone to him; but God hath hid these things from the wise and prudent; so it will be in every man, be his parts and abilities never so great, for the work of faith, it is not in thy parts and gifts, but in the Lords revealing, it is not thyself, but the Lord that must work it; babes themselves shall have these things revealed, and shall be made able to believe, when thou with all thy parts, and gifts, and wisdom, shalt be cashiered, and thrown down to hell; and then he shows the reason of it, All things are delivered to me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father, and he to whom the Son will reveal him; so then, it is not what we have or do, but what the Lord Christ can and will do for us; all the wit in thy head, and all thy skill and parts, will never make thee able to know the Father, unless the Lord Christ will make thee able to know him; if Christ make thee know him, then be must choose thee; and this we know, that he chooseth the weak and mean things of the world; nay all these excellencies are so fare from interesting a man in the Lord Jesus Christ, that it is a great suspicion, I do not say, in always certain, but I say, it is a great suspicion, that the Lord Jesus Christ will never reveal himself to thee, because be reveals himself to the poor and weak, therefore thy parts cannot make thee believe, if thou hadst all that ever any scholar under heaven had, because it is the work of grace: Secondly, all thy privileges are weak, and cannot reach the work; as Saint Paul by experience proves it, Philip. 3.7.4. verses, The things that I accounted gain, they were loss unto me; If any man might be confident in the flesh, much more I; what soul could say any thing for any outward excellency, but Paul could say much more? were they circumcised? so he was; were they Hebrews? so was he; were they zealous? so was he; did they live unblamably? so did he; now were not all these able to carry him to heaven? no, saith he, I thought myself to be upon a good bottom, but I found them all to be loss; that is, they were all causes and hindrances, why he did come unto Christ; so fare were they from being an encouragement to come to Christ, that they were bars to keep him from resting upon a Saviour: if this could not profit Paul, no more will they profit thee, thou mayst hear, and fast, and pray, and read, and come to the supper of the Lord, which are appointed as a means to nourish the soul, and yet have an unfaithful soul, and go down to hell. Thirdly, all thy duties, though they were never so glorious in the eye of another, and never so great in thine own apprehension, yet they are all too weak to work this grace of faith in thy soul: Luk. 13.24. Strive to enter in at the straight ga●e, for many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able: There are four or five passages or aggravations, to help on this point; he doth not say that idle and lazy people shall not enter in, but those that seek and take pains, and think they are at great cost too, and not a few of them neither: but many shall seek, and he doth not say they shall not be able to run on in the ways of godliness, but they shall not be able to enter into that gate, it is beyond all their power and ability to make them enter in: So that were a man able to attend with never so much care, and hear with never so much reverence, and judgement, to reform with never such conversation, and were a man able to do much in the profession of the truth, yet he might go to hell, and never get faith, nor Christ: It is possible to go thus fare, and to do all these services gloriously in man's fight, and yet never come at Christ, and so perish ever: If ever man might have thought it to have done it of himself, than Paul might have done it, as Acts 23.2. I am verily a man, which am a jew, borne in Tarsus a famous City in Gilicia, but brought up in this City, at the feet of Gamaliel, and instructed according to the perfect manner of the Law of our fathers; and Gal. 1.14. He profited in the jewish religion exceedingly, and yet all this while he confesseth that he was an unbeliever, 1 Tim. 1.13. Lastly, the power of means are not able to frame the soul to this blessed gift of believing: a man would think that if a man's pains were great, and the means powerful, that this would undoubtedly work faith, but yet this will not do it neither: for then jerusalem that had all the Prophets to foretell a Christ, and all the proclamations of john Baptist, and Christ himself preaching, that spoke as never man did, and besides all these, she had miracles expressing the power of God, to confirm that doctrine, yet she falls short of the work; as, john 12.37. Though they saw many miracles, yet they believed not in Christ: they had all the Prophets and Apostles, and all the sacrifices and services, and thither the Tribes went up, and all the help that ever any had, and yet they believed not: and therefore it is that Christ upbraids them heavily for their fearful scandalous hardness of heart, Matthew 11.16. He compareth them to little children sitting in the market place, and calling unto their fellows, saying, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented: that is, no means in the world would work upon them: john Baptist came in the way of humiliation, and Christ came in the way of comfort, but all would not prevail with their hearts, no Law, nor Gospel. Quest. But you will say, if this be so, that neither a man's endeavours, nor the means will make a man able to believe, then what will it avail a man to do any duties, or to use any means? Answ. I answer, it is very profitable and useful, as the Apostle saith, because though we cannot work faith in the use of the means, yet God by the use of the means can do what he will: the beggar must come to the door, though the man in his love and bounty provides to give the dole, yet the beggar must come to the door to wait till it be given him. Acts 18.27. The Apostle confirmed those which had believed through grace: So that the Word of God, & the mean of grace, and all the duties that we do, these are but as Conduit pipes to convey what God is pleased to bestow; he may stay the Conduit when he will, he may work with means and without means, but let us wait upon God in the use of them. The Lord in them may and haply will work upon thee: So that if the best means, and the chiefest privileges, and the best duties cannot work faith, than I presume it is not only difficult, but in regard of parts, and privileges, and all duties and means of themselves, it is impossible ever to have this faith wrought, and therefore it is not easy to get this faith into the soul. Secondly, as the weakness of the means that should do this work, shows that it is difficult, so also the greatness of the work hinders us, that we are not able to compass it by all the means we do enjoy: Now the greatness of the work of faith will discover itself in three particulars: First, because there must be several hindrances removed, before there can be any room for faith; and these hinder the power of Satan, that takes possession of the soul naturally, and the supreme sovereignty of sin, it carries the whole man according to the lusts thereof, and the soul must be brought from under both these, before it can be brought to Jesus Christ: the soul must be brought from under the jurisdiction of sin, and the dominion of Satan, before it can be translated unto the kingdom of God, Acts 26.18. the Apostle was sent to the Gentiles to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. Every man by nature is in darkness, and under the power of sin, now the Apostle must turn them from the power of sin, before he can bring them to God, and all this must be done before a man can receive remission of sins, and justification by the blood of Christ. Now darkness, and sin, and Satan, express their dominion over the soul, and we cannot have sin and Satan to be our Lord, and have Christ our Lord too: This must be wrought in preparation: Matth. 12.29. The strong man must be bound, and cast out before another strong man can come to take possession: Satan is the strong man, who by the power of sin takes possession of the soul: now the power of sin and Satan must be east out by the power of preparation and humiliation. Now for a man to pluck a poor soul from the power of sin and Satan, and to wrest the keys from the hand of the devil; and to rescue a poor soul from the malice of the devil, a●● to break that le●g●● and combination between sin and the soul, and to withdraw the heart from these corruptions, and from that power which sin and Satan and God's justice would express in the soul, no man can do it, but only he that hath a greater power than both these, which none but the Lord Jesus Christ hath, Revel. 1.18. which hath the keys of hell and of death: now the key is a sign of command: now the Lord Jesus Christ only hath the key of hell & death: 'tis he that hath led captivity captive: 'tis he that triumphed over all his enemies: therefore he only can pull the soul from the government of sin and Satan, and so prepare a way for faith, and thereby bring the soul to God. Secondly, consider the glorious nature and the excellencies of this grace of faith, look upon the surpassing excellency of the work of faith above all other graces; for we have made it good by argument heretofore, that faith is a work above man in his corrupt estate: so that a man may truly say, that this work of faith is more than natural: now for nature to work above nature, 'tis above common sense: that a tree should see and walk, and a beast to reason, these things nature abhors. Now because faith is above corrupted nature, therefore it is impossible for man to work it in himself: this I take to be the reason why this gracious work of God finds more contradiction in the heart, than any grace I know. A man finds a greater do with his own heart, and a greater hardness and crossness in the heart to come in and believe, than to do any thing else; a man will hear, and read, and pray, and do any thing, and mourn, but to believe it is that which a man scarce considers of; and this is the reason of it, because not only corruption opposes the work of faith, but even a man's gifts, and self, and sufficiency which God gives him, that now and then seems to be the hindrance of faith, it's through our corruptions indeed: in other things it is not so; we would fain get sorrow, and therefore we labour for it; and we would have love, and therefore we labour for it; But all this is out of our own power or abilities; we would keep us in ourselves, but faith would have us go out to Christ: and our parts would work this in us; but faith says we must go to the Lord Jesus Christ, or else we are not able to do that which he commands. So now you see that a man's parts and abilities are sometimes great hindrances and bars to keep a man from believing; and this is the reason why, if God opens a man's eyes, and discovers a man's corruptions, by nature we fall to doing, to repenting formally, and all this while never see a need of a Christ, but rest in ourselves and our own abilities, and will never go to Christ: Thousands go to hell this way; the most that profess the Gospel, and perish, they perish upon this point. So then the work is more than natural. Thirdly, if we consider the manner of Gods working upon the soul in believing, the Lord doth not concur in an ordinary common kind of providence; as meeting with some power and ability in the soul to help forward the work, as God moves, and we move, and we are co-workers with God in several passages; and so it is in all the works of sanctification which comes after faith. There is still something that concurs with God in the work, but now it is a true miracle, he finds nothing in the soul, but mere fears and oppositions at first; and therefore Divines do truly say, that it is more to make the soul believe, than to create a world, for in the creating of the world, the Lord had no oppositions, he only spoke the word, and all was made; but now sin and Satan, and the world and all, set against the poor soul. If a man gets a knock by the Ministry of the Gospel, and gins to be humbled, then carnal friends begin to persuade, and every man hath a blow to hinder him from receiving the powerful impression of the Word of God; so that the Lord in this work finds more fierce oppositions, than in any work; and moreover, when these oppositions are opposed and removed, and the Lord comes into the soul, the soul is very empty, and cannot receive nor close with any grace. As it is with a dead man, he hath no power to quicken himself, as. Ephes. 19.20. What is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward, who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead: the same Almighty power which raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, the same power the Lord puts forth in bringing a dead soul to believe: So that as the dead body hath no living virtue in itself to quicken itself, so the soul hath no ability to believe of its own self: but see how the Apostle cannot content himself to speak of this work of God, you shall see five degrees in it, what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us that believe. First, the power of God: Secondly, the greatness of it: Thirdly, the excessiveness of this greatness: Fourthly, the excessiveness of that mightiness: Fifthly, the working of all together: so that there is the exceeding greatness, and the excessive greatness, and the mightiness of that excessiveness, and then the work of all: as if he had said, view you the heavens, search all the stories, and behold all the miracles that ever God wrought, and there is none equal to his, to be compared with this work of believing. I say of faith as jacob did of Reuben, Gen. 49.3. Reuben thou art my first borne, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignities, etc. So I say of faith, it is the first borne of all other graces, it is the might of God, and the beginning, and the excellency of the might and power of God: for as the first borne hath a double portion appointed by God, so this is the first borne, and hath a double portion of that Almighty Spirit of his. So than if it be so, that all the parts that ever a man had, and all the highest privileges, and means, and duties, cannot reach this work, and are not able to work faith, but are too feeble to work faith: and if it be so, that this work is extraordinary great, and so are the hindrances to be removed, and none but Christ can do it; and if faith be supernatural, the opposition against this work of God be so fierce, let then every man that hears the word of God this day, yield that it is unconceivable how it is done, and therefore much more out of our power to work it in our own souls: therefore you that have heard, and understand the mind of God, that out of ignorance have been deceived, to you I now speak, you are to be entreated in the name of the Lord, to go home, and say, and take shame to yourselves, and confess your own folly; thou that hast made it a easy work to believe, saying, if people were but judicious to understand the Scriptures, it were easy to believe; now take shame to yourselves, and say thus, Lord, the truth is, I condemned such and such a poor soul, I heard such a man a mourning, and saying, he could not believe; in the mean time I thought it was easy, or else they wanted wit; but I thought that by my parts and abilities, and because I was able to see the depth of Scriptures, that therefore I could believe, and that it was an easy matter to do it: but poor deluded creature that I was, I see now that I am no more able to believe out of my own power, than to pull the sun from the heavens: consider it sadly, and know, that he that believes, must believe through grace, therefore parley with the promise, and say, Lord, I must believe through grace: it is not parts nor privileges, means nor duties, I must believe through grace: if I could meditate till my eyes sunk into my head, yet Lord it is through that grace that I must believe, through that grace of thine; enable thy servant, and strengthen him in hearing, prayer, and all means, that I may receive the good and benefit of faith to my comfort: and brethren, whensoever ye appear before the Lord in the use of the means, do not stick upon the means, and say, now I shall believe, but look to him, that by all these can do more than thou canst do; and say, Good Lord, thou hast appointed the ordinances to work faith, and the messengers have knocked at the door of my heart, and would fain have had me come home to the Lord Jesus; but alas! this heart would not yield, I will not believe, nor rest upon the promises, nor go to Jesus Christ, nor deny all carnal confidence in parts, and gifts, and the like; therefore good Lord, thou that hast the keys of hell and death, do not only stand and knock, but Lord shake off these iron gates of unbelief from the hinges, it is thy own work, do it Lord, for the good and comfort of thy servant; this we must do, or else it will never be done, it is the Lord that must do it: you know, a little before my text, the Scribes and Pharisees said, How did he come down from heaven? Let no man, saith Christ, be offended with this, for no man can come to me, except the Father draw him; and in the 28, 29. verses, they said, How shall we work the work of God? This is the work of God, saith Christ, that ye believe in the Son of God; this is the Master piece, and the firstborn of God, and the exceeding greatness of his mighty power: and in the text, He that hath heard and learned of the Father, cometh to me; and Christ saith, I have called you out of world; the Disciples were settled upon the world, and Christ calls them; now if all the Angels in heaven had called, they would not have heard; but Christ saith, I have called you from the world, and from that evil, and sin, in which ye were, etc. when you hear of there works, treasure them up in your heart, and plead thus with the Lord, and say, Lord thou hast bidden us come unto thee, and it is our duty; but no man can come unto thee, though he have never so many parts and gifts, except thou draw him; Lord draw this heart of mine to believing: no man can know the way to thee, except thou teach him; Oh therefore teach thou this blind mind of mine, it is not our work can make us believe, it is not in our power to frame our hearts to this blessed work; Lord do thou it, and let that excessive greatness of thy mighty power be manifested, in making me believe, and draw home this soul by the greatness of thy power; Lord here are great hindrances, and great sins, and mighty great baseness and looseness of heart, Lord thou hast that exceeding great power to do it, Lord work mightily upon my heart, and overpower this greatness of sin, with the greatness of thy power; and overpower this mightiness of corruption, by that mightiness of thy power: you must go to God for this power, or else it will never be, for though you had all the means and helps, that ever any had, yet this carnal confidence will never out, before the almighty power of God come down from heaven, seek for that power, and never be in quiet till you have it, that you may have this work of faith to your comcomforts for ever. Use 4 Hence in the next place, we collect the exceeding great benefit that will come by believing to the soul; the difficulty in getting of it cannot be so great, but the benefit of it, when it is gotten, will be as great every way: and that is thus, faith makes the life of every man that hath it most easy, and brings full content to the soul of him that hath it; these are the two heads to which I will refer the benefit of faith: First, it makes the life of a Christian most easy. Secondly, it gives full content to the heart of a poor Christian; these follow from the former truth in this manner; if this be the nature of faith, to cause the soul to rest upon the free grace of God in Christ, and to furnish the soul with a supply of spiritual wants from hence, than this must needs make the life of a Christian most easy; if faith makes the life of a Christian so easy, than the soul must needs be contented: but the nature of faith is this, to cause the soul to rest upon God and his promise, and therefore it makes the life easy. Secondly, it furnisheth the soul with all necessaries, and therefore it gives the soul full content. First of the former, the life of the believer, is the life that hath most ease with it, and brings most delight with it; there is no life under heaven more free from tediousness, and hath more ease and liberty than a Christian course; let a man's condition be what it will be, faith makes a man's life most easy: I use to compare the conditions of them that want faith, to the cart that is from his wheels; they draw heavily, and they are in great extremity, and they tug and toil, but it will not be drawn with any ease or good success: so unfaithful souls sink in their sorrows upon every occasion, and their lives are tedious and wearisome; but faith sets the cart upon the wheels, and carries all away easily and comfortably: you must know thus much, it is the hardest matter in the world to get faith, when we want it; but it is the most easiest life in all the world, and hath the most delight in all the world, if we have but skill to use it wisely when we have it, and it gives most ease and quiet to a man in all his conversation: and this faith doth two ways; First, because faith hath a skill, and a kind of slight, to put over all cares to another, that whereas the unfaithful heart bears all the cares in himself, and so he sinks under them; this is the cunning of faith, to put over all to another: we take up the cross, but faith hurls all the care on Christ, as Matth. 11.29. Take my yoke upon you, and you shall find rest to your souls; faith makes a man rest, and go on easily in a Christian course, and all his troubles are removed, and therefore he may go on easily in a Christian course; all his troubles are removed, therefore he may go on with ease; whereas the unfaithful heart is as Saint james speaks, Chap. 1. 15. Like a wave of the sea, tossed to and fro: and Esa. 57.20. There is no peace to the wicked, but they are as a raging sea, which cannot rest; faith sets us to the work, but it lays all the weight of the work upon another; it is an easy matter to lie under the burden, when another bears all the weight of it: this is the difference between a faithful soul, and a man that lives by his wits and shifts; look as it is with two ferry men, the one of them hals his boat about the shore, and cannot get off, but tugs and pulls, and never puts her forth to the tide; but the other puts his boat upon the stream, and sets up his sail, and then he may sit still in his boat, the wind will carry him whither he is to go: Just thus it is with a faithful soul, and an unbeliever; all the care of the faithful soul is to put himself upon the stream of God's providence, and to set up the sail of faith, and to take the gale of God's mercy and providence, and so he goes on cheerfully, because it is not he that carries him, but the Lord Jesus Christ; whereas every unfaithful soul tugs and pulls at the business, like the ferryman with his boat upon the shore, and can find neither ease, nor cheer, nor success, because he thinks by his own wits and power to do what he would; but faith will keep a man upon the stream of God's providence, and labours for the blessing of God to carry him along, and so he rests himself upon the free grace of God: this makes the life of faith marvellous easy and free from trouble, and makes the soul go on wonderful cheerfully: though the child were naked, yet if the father would buy cloth, and see the garment fitted for him, he only to take it and put it on; were not this easy? and though the child were even hungerstarved, yet if the father would provide meat and drink, and set it before him, he only to eat it; were not this easy? when the Lord had made a marriage for his Son, Luke 14. the text saith, He hath killed his fatlings, and drawn out his wines, all things are ready, come therefore to the marriage; this is all that God looks for at our hands, all the dainties of life and salvation, peace, pardon, power against corruption, whatsoever we can want, they are all prepared, only come unto the marriage: take this mercy, and feed upon these precious comforts that the Lord Jesus Christ offereth unto us: if you want grace, and if you want wisdom, and power, and holiness, and patience, you may go to Jesus Christ, and take it, it is bought and paid for already, only take it and put it on; is not this an easy life? what would you have, brethren? nay, yet more, if more may be added, all that the Lord requires in this case, is, in a manner, to stand still, and see what the Lord will do for him; as in the 2 Chron. 20.15. to the 20. when jehoshaphat was in a great strait, and knew not what to do, the Lord saith to him, The battle is not yours, but Gods, stand ye still, and see the salvation of God; it is easy conquering, when a man may stand still, and overcome by looking on the adversaries; then in the 19 verse, the Levites the Sons of the Kohathites, fell to singing and to praising of God, when as yet they had not struck one stroke in the battle; but the truth is, they had the victory by faith, they believed the Prophets of God, the Prophets had spoken it, and therefore the King did believe it, that it should be done; and it was not only so in that extraordinary case of his, wherein the power and life of faith was expressed, but it is that which appertains to all the Saints of God in their spiritual combats, and what God did for the King in that case, the same he doth for all the Saints; therefore Rom. 8.38. The believers are more than conquerors; and why so? there is no man can conquer before he come into the field, and contend with his enemies; but we overcome before we fight, how? through him that loved us: if we look upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and keep our hearts by a holy bend to the promises of life and salvation, we shall overcome our enemies; this is the first ground. Secondly, faith makes the life easy this way, because it sweetens all our afflictions, even those that are most hard and full of tediousness, and withal faith apprehends all troubles and afflictions, and faith apprehends the faithfulness of God, ordering all for his good: and that's the reason why all troubles are digested comfortably, without any harshness at all: look at H●●●● and Mordecai, Haman had the King's favour, and all his desires granted him, and the posts were dispatched, and yet he was more troubled in plotting this evil against the Jews, than Mordecai was in bearing it, because faith made the life of Mordecai easy and comfortable, and therefore ●e saith, Salvation will come, I see not the way, ●or I know not the means how it should be, but salvation will come; therefore David in the 119. psalm, 75. verse, saith, I know that all thy judgements are just, and that thou of very faithfulness hast afflicted me; he drunk nothing but mercy in ●hat bitter cup which God had tempered for ●im: when the patiented takes bitter pills, if they ●ee well sugared, they go down the easier, and ●he bitterness never troubles him: so it is with ●aith, it takes away the harshness of all inconveniences, which are bitter pills in themselves, but ●hey are sweetened and sugared over by the faithfulness of God, for the good of the soul, ●nd therefore it goes on cheerfully: so the issue of the point is this, if the burden of the work ●e laid upon another, and if all cares be put over ●o another, and if all the harshness of all troubles ●e taken away by faith, than faith must needs make the life of a Christian easy and comfortable. The second thing wherein the excellency and benefit of faith appears, is this, it fills the soul of a believer with full contentment, and in truth contentment cometh through believing: for ●ee that doth partake of the mercy of God in Christ, he cannot but partake of all the good that 〈◊〉 therein, and so he cannot but be contented therewith: Oh, saith one, I would fain have contentment in the world, than the life of faith brings full content to the heart of a believer, so that he shall say, I can desire no more; 1 Corin. 3.22, 23. when the Apostle would still the divisions that were risen amongst the Corinth's, (for every man was not content with what he had, but would have even what he list) he saith, All is yours, whether Paul, or Apollo's, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all is yours; and will not all content you? would you have the world? it is yours; would you have things present? take them; would you have things to come? expect them; they are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is Gods; Christ hath what God hath, and the believer hath what Christ hath; nay, sin, and hell, and death, they are but your servants, and he that hath Christ, and all good in a Christ, he hath all working for his good; therefore he that hath a Saviour, and all good in him, he cannot be discontented. Now faith works a man's full content three ways: First, faith supplies all wants. Secondly, it cures all fears. Thirdly, it inables a man to all duties; and more than these cannot be added nor desired. For the first, faith supplies all wants, faith plucks the soul, and hales the heart of a poor Christian away from all those secret bosom distempers, as pride, and such like, which breed any discontentment within a man, as all curiosity, and all pride and unquietness, for these rack the soul with a restless discontent, all the inordinate desires and the like: these lusts and corruptions ought not to be quieted, nay it cannot be; for spiritual things will not satisfy a corrupt heart; and worldly things cannot quiet it: Now faith divorceth the soul, and withdraws the heart from under the power of those boisterous distempers, and makes the soul resign up itself to the good will of God, and when faith hath done these, then in the second place faith makes the soul say, the good will of the Lord is better than any thing that he shall deny, or than all the good things that an inordinate sinful heart can crave: faith makes the soul apprehend that whatsoever God doth, and whatsoever Gods pleasure is, is better to him, than whatsoever he can desire, though God deny what he desires: if God will have a man poor, faith says, it is better than if he had given him riches; and if it be the will of God to lay shame and disgrace upon a man, faith says, it is better that God lay shame upon me than honours, because it is his good will and pleasure so to have it, and so the heart is quieted and fully contented, and the want is supplied, because the will of God is better than to have what we desire. The Patient that trusts to the skill and faithfulness of the Physician, is better content to take pills from him, than all the best Cordials that can be desired. Thirdly, faith either obtains what we need and desire, or else procures a fare better thing than what we desire; art thou in trouble and misery? faith will either fetch from God what thou needest, or else bring that which is better from the hands of God; by this means the Lord Christ cures all the discontentment that might creep in upon the hearts of his Disciples: Matth. 19.29. There is no man which shall lose father, or mother, or wife, or children, or friends, for my Names sake, but he shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit eternal life: whatsoever we lose for a Christ, we shall have a hundred fold recompense for it; as if a man for the cause of Christ suffer persecution, or imprisonment, and loseth peace here, thou thou shalt have peace with God, and thy soul shall prosper in grace; and if friends haply forsake thee, and the father is against the son, and the husband is set against the wife, thou shalt have the favour of the Lord God of heaven, which is better than the love of all earthly husbands or friends; for all these things here below are but as it were the shell, but this is the pith and kernel, the love of God in Christ: and if a man lose liberty for Christ, he shall have a thousand times more liberty in the peace of a good conscience, and a free heart to serve God: and in the 63. Psalm in the beginning of the Psalm, David was in the wilderness of judah, when Saul had banished him from his house, and deprived him of friends and means, and all, yet see how David supplies all in the 3. verse, because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee; and in the 5. verse he saith, My soul shall be filled as with ●●●row and fatness: now marrow and fatness is the chief of all you know; as if he had said, Saul hath taken away my means, but thy loving kindness is better than all the world, it is that which fully satisfieth me: Saul hath taken away my liberty, but thy loving kindness is better than life itself, and therefore my soul shall be fully quieted therein: Thus faith brings a supply of all good to the soul. In the 73. Psalm 25. and the last verse, compare them both together, and see how David makes the conclusion: David was almost disquieted, and his heart disquieted with the prosperity of the wicked; therefore he said, if this be so, then have I cleansed my hands in innocence, and washed my hands in vain: yet mark how he recovers himself again, saying, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none in earth that I desire in comparison of thee; therefore it is good for me to draw near to God. Let the wicked take the world, and their profits, and their pleasures, yet there is nothing in the world that I desire in comparison of the Lord Jesus Christ, and his grace and goodness: Consider it sadly, the wicked have much wealth, and friends, and means: Oh thou beloved faithful soul, thou hast the rich treasury of grace and mercy to enrich thee, all this whole world is nothing to that rich treasury of mercy which faith brings in: as Solomon saith, in Ecclesiastes, Money answers all; if a man have money, he may buy meat to feed him, and cloth to apparel him, and cover him: If money will do so much, what will mercy do then? thou hast not wealth, nor friends, nor means, but thou hast mercy from God in Christ, and this will answer all: it is better than friends, and means, and all: therefore if thou hast this, let thy heart be contented, and know that thou hast a child's part, and thy lot is fallen into a marvellous fair ground. Secondly, as faith takes off all miseries, and supplies the want of them; so in the second place faith takes away all fears for the time to come: alas, saith the soul, friends, and means, and wealth are good, but they continue not ever. What if sickness come? and if poverty come, what shall I do then? and so the heart shakes at the fear of evil: Now pray mark how faith cures all fears, and takes off the edge of all those inconveniences that may be brought upon a man, as in the 112. Psalm 7. He shall not be afraid of any evil tidings, why? for his heart is fixed, and he believeth in the Lord: for although heaven and earth may shake, yet God, and Christ, and the promise will never fail, and he casting his heart there by faith, he must needs hold. What is it that a man may fear? we fear the power, and policy, and malice of the devil and his wicked instruments; now faith outbids these, and faith rests upon the precious promises of God in Jesus Christ, and faith persuades the heart that they have no power but from God, and they cannot use that power further than God gives leave, and they cannot have success further than God goes with them, they can go no further than God gives a Commission. Now, says faith, that God which order the power of all these, he is my God, he is the God of Hosts; and none of all the armies can either command peace, neither can they hinder peace; therefore I add a little more, faith levies new forces from heaven, against all the sources of earth; are the wicked politic? then says faith, the Lord is much more wise, and is able to dash all their enterprises: and are the wicked fierce, and violent? then faith looks to God, where there is more power to defend him, than they can have to hurt him: do we see the wicked maliciously bend, and full of spleen to wrong the people of God? faith sees mercy and goodness in the Lord, that is more able to relieve us, than all the wicked can be to hurt us: faith says, if hell gates were open, and all the devils were about thy ears, they can do nothing further than God gives them power, and gives a Commission to them; therefore I may be quieted, because God is more able to keep me, than they are to hurt me. Thirdly, faith it is that inables a man to all duties; for imagine a man had all the power in his own hands, and had no wants present, nor feared no wants nor troubles to come; if yet he were not able to do what God required, this would disquiet his heart: therefore by faith the Lord inables a man to do every duty that the Lord commends to him, or expects from him: It is the ground that Paul contents his heart withal, Phil. 4.13. I can do all things through the power of Christ which strengtheneth me: I can be poor and bear it, and I can be rich, and yet not surfeit of the world; I can do all, but how? through the power of Christ enabling me: therefore famous is that of Abraham, Rom. 4.18. God had promised Abraham a child, and yet his body was dead, and his wife barren, and it was even against nature for him to beget a child, or for her to bear any: Now how doth God provide for this? Abraham under hope, believed above hope; and in the 21. verse because he was fully persuaded, that he that had promised it, was able to make it good: there was no hope in nature, that Abraham should beget a child, his body being dead, and no hope that she should bear any; therefore faith goes to God that was able to quicken them: hast thou a barren & a dead heart as theirs was, and therefore thy soul complains, and thou sayest, I shall never be able to go through the work required? I know it is the complaint of many poor souls; Oh send faith up to Heaven, and believe in him that is able to secure you, and to quicken you, to whatsoever he requires; content thy heart in this manner, and say when thou findest thy heart dead, I am ignorant, but the Lord is able to enlighten my blind mind, and I have a dead barren heart, but the Lord who is the God of power, he is able to quicken me, and to relieve a poor dead blockish sinner. He believed in him (saith the Text) which calleth things that are not as if they were; Abraham is not lively, and Sarah is not fruitful, but the Lord can make them so; and therefore faith goes to God; so thou shalt be wise, and have thy heart quickened to whatsoever duty concerns God's praise and thy own comfort; so than he that hath what he will, or can desire, or stand in need of; and he that hath all his fears removed, and is enabled to do all duties commanded: nothing more can be added to this man, therefore why should not he be contented? what would you have, you poor believers? Quest. Then the question here grows, namely, if it be so that faith makes a man's life easy, and gives him full contentment in every condition, then why is it thus, as Gedeon said; so if faith thus contents the soul, then how comes it to pass that those poor silly creatures are so troubled with discouragements and discontentments, and none so cast down with their own baseness and vileness as they; they hang down their heads, and go drooping all the day long; either (saith one) I have not faith, or else if I have faith, then why is it thus with me? Ans. I answer; the fault is not in faith, that it doth not or cannot lend supply and secure to thee; but the fault is in thyself, either in thy carelessness, and ignorance, that knowest not when thou hast faith; or else in thy unskilfulness, that thou dost not imply that faith which thou hast faithfully for thine own good; I speak only of the believer, I go not about to prove that he which hath not faith, can be contented; no, he hath a worm in his bosom, a conscience which will plague him and torment him for ever. Quest. But to speak of one that hath faith, if it be so that it bringeth such contentment, how may a man that hath faith improve it to have this contentment from it? Ans. For answer hereunto the rules are four, which a man must use to have this contentment, whereby he may be carried on in his course, and go on singing to Heaven; remember still that I speak of a man that hath faith. Rule 1 First, labour to gain some evidence to thy own soul, that thou hast a title to the promise, make thy title good. It is not enough for a malefactor in prison to have a pardon granted him, but he must know that the pardon is granted before he can be contented therewith: haply the King hath granted it, and the Prince hath begged it, but the malefactor is not contented until he know it. It is not enough that a poor beggar hath a friend or a rich uncle that will do much for him, or that he hath settled a great estate upon him, and his heirs after him; but he must know it before he can be contented with it: it may be he is not near by a hundred miles, and he is troubled with misery and poverty, because he knows not of it; just so it is with a faithful soul; there is never a poor believer, but he is rich in faith, though he live in a smoky cottage, and lives meanly, and goes barely, yet all these revenues of faith are his; Heaven and Earth, and all is thine thou poor believer. But what is all this to the matter, if thou hast no evidence that all this i● thine? this is the fault why poor Christians go drooping, and are overburthened with their sins and their miseries, because they see not their title to mercy, nor their evidence of God's love; in 2 King. 6.16, 17. when Elisha was beset with an army of his enemies, the servant of the Prophet said, good Master, what shall we do, they are many, and we are few, they are armed, and we are naked? then said the Prophet, Lord open his eyes, that he may see, and God did it, and then he saw those hills full of fiery charets, and then he saw that there were more with them, than were against them, and then he was quiet: now the armies and the chariots were there before, but he saw them not, and therefore he could not be quieted: so it is with every faithful soul, the Lord hath caused his Angels to pitch their tents about the elect, we have God on our side, and Christ, and the Angels, but we see not our privileges, and the interest that we have in the mercy and goodness of the Lord; we cry out as he did, good Master, what shall we do? so many sins, and so many corruptions, how shall we be succoured? the Lord open our eyes, that we may see the free riches of his grace, and the fullness of his mercy: this is all ours, that we may see his love to us, and his Angels waiting upon us, and his blessing going with us; this would quiet our hearts: I will not now add, how you may do this, and how you may make your evidence clear, that you have a title to mercy; this were to multiply a division upon a division: only judge your estate by the word, and take one evidence from the word, as good as ten thousand; this is the fault of people: it may be some evidence fits them marvellous well, but because they have not all, they will have none at all, in truth, but throw away all: and therefore, I say, judge your estates by the word, and not by carnal reason, and if you have but one promise for you, you have all in truth, though all be not so fully and clearly perceived; this is the first rule. Rule 2 Secondly, labour to set a high prize, and a wonderful great account of the precious promises of the Lord, thus estated upon thee for thy good, and make account of the least promise of grace above a thousand worlds; look what account you make of the sufficiency of a thing, so much content you have in that thing, whose sufficiency you see, and do esteem of: now because the promises of God, and the riches of God's love in Christ, are most worthy of our love, and most sufficient for us, let us therefore be contented with them above all, and then we shall be contented though we want all; Luke 12.32. when the Disciples were in great trouble, and expected more and further misery after the death of Christ, the Lord Christ saith to them, Fear not little flock, it is your father's pleasure, to give you a kingdom; if you find hand measures, and fear troubles, and expect persecutions on every side, yet fear ye not, you shall have a kingdom, and that will carry you through all occasions; are you imprisoned, and persecuted, and disquieted? fear not, you shall have a kingdom, and then you shall be comforted and quieted for ever: you little ones that are poor and mean in the world, and you lie as stepping stones for every base wretch to tread on, you are persecuted, and despised, and scorned, but fear not, you shall have a kingdom; the want of this is the cause of all that discontentment, that is in the hearts of Gods own people, which are beloved of him, and respected by him. Take a poor man in misery, his children cry for meat, and the mother saith, go to bed poor babes, you shall have meat, when the Lord sends it; brethren, this is hard I confess, but now if a friend should come and give him two hundred pounds a year for ever, this would make him go away contented, because this would provide for him and his: now I propound a promise to this man, the Lord hath said, he will never fail thee, nor forsake thee; what is this worth of your money? one man offers him two hundred pounds a year, and I offer him a promise, now couldst thou, thou poor miserable creature, be content to take this two hundred pounds a year, and leave the promise, and be content that the Lord should not pardon, nor comfort, nor save thee; I presume thou wouldst not do thus: now will a thousand pounds content thee, and will not the promise? the reason is, thou prisest the money because it is temporal, and thou seest it, and thou prisest not the promise, because it is spiritual, and thou seest it not: take a man in contempt, and disgrace, and scorn, and no man looks after him; if this man were regarded and honoured of men, all were well, and the man were healed, and fully contented: now the Lord accepts of thee thou faithful soul, he hath honoured thee so fare as to make thee his son, and to give thee a kingdom, why should honours comfort thee, when the honour of God's love and favour in Christ will not do it? the reason is, because we are carnal, and see not these; if a man could but see his privileges, and say, the world shames me, but God accepts me, this would quiet his heart for ever; therefore take special heed of those earthly and carnal affections, that take off the price of the promise, an earthly heart would have more than it ought: I say, take heed of these affections, and know that thou hast a title to the promise, and know that one promise, and the sweetness of God's mercy in Christ, is better than all the honours in the world to advance thee, better than all the riches in the world, or than all the parts that ever any scholar had; prise these at this rate, and then thou canst not but be contented with it. Rule 3 Thirdly, labour to keep the promises ever at hand, that you may have a ready recourse to the promise at a trice, and at a turn, and that you may not have the promises to seek when need is; what is it to me, though I have a thing in house, if I have it not at my need? if a man should say, I have as good cordial water as any is in the world, but I know not where it is; what folly were this, to set his bottle he knows not where? haply the man is ready to swoon and dye, and he saith, I have as good cordial water as any is in the world, but I know not where it is; he may swoon and dye, because he knows not where his waters are: so thou hast a title to the promises of grace, and thou settest not a high price upon the promise, but out of thy carelessness, leavest one promise here, and another there, and thou hast taken up thy heart with the world, and when misery comes, and thy heart is surcharged, thou sayest, Oh some comfort to bear up a poor, fainting, drooping soul, my troubles are many, and I cannot bear them; Christ and a promise would have done it; but you throw them in a corner, it is your own carelessness, and that breeds all your misery; keep the promises at hand, and let them be within your reach; he that is ready to faint often, will be sure to carry his bottle in his pocket, and will set it at his bed's head every night, that whensoever he should faint, he may find it presently: now for the Lords sake, let me entreat you to be wise for your poor souls, there is many a fainting and aguish fit and qualm comes over the heart of many a poor Christian, persecutions without, and sorrows and corruptions within, therefore keep your cordial about you, and be sure that you have it within your reach, and have it not to seek when you have need to use it: I would have a poor Christian acquainted with the promise in the dark, that so at midnight, when God frowns, and the Devil threatens, and corruptions boil within you, you may have it ready at hand, set the promise ever at your bed's head, take one, and bring another, and be refreshed by another, and go singing to your graves, and to heaven for ever; in the 63. Psalm 5, 6. verses, mark the connexion of those two verses, My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; but when shall this be? look the 6. verse, When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate upon thee in the night watches; he was now in the wilderness, but when he left his house, he took the promises with him, he would not leave his cordial behind him; my soul shall be satisfied; enough Lord, enough, I am satisfied as with marrow; but when is all this? when I remember thee upon my bed; he remembered well where he had set the promise, when I remember the mercy of the Lord; that though all my friends be gone, yet I remember thy mercy; that doth all, and thy faithfulness and goodness that satisfieth all fully: I'll warrant you that the promise will fetch you again, though you were fainting and going away. Rule 4 Well I have now a title to the promise, and though I have not wealth, nor honours, nor friends, yet I have a Christ; and though I cannot do this and that, yet I hope to go to heaven, in spite of all the Devils in hell. Now lastly, be sure to drink a hearty draught of the promise, if a man drink a little, and spit it out again, it will never do him good; therefore stand by the promise, feed and drink hearty of the promise; and as Eliphaz said, job 22.21. Acquaint thyself with God; bestow thyself upon the promise every hour, whensoever thou dost find the fit coming, this is the only way to find comfort, it is the counsel that the Lord Christ gives to his spouse, Cant. 5.1. the Lord hath fitted all things to refresh his poor children, and mark what the manner of feasting is, ●nd what every man that comes to this feast must do, Eat, Oh friends, and drink, yea, drink abundantly, Oh well beloved; the word in the original ●s, in drinking drink, ye cannot be drunken with ●he Spirit, as ye may with wine, therefore drink abundantly; look as it is in nature, were the greatest dainties in the world prepared, and the tables furnished, send a hungar-starved man to the place, if he only take a bit and away, he must needs go away an hungered; the fault was not in the meat, for there was enough for him, but the fault was here, he did not feed hearty, he did not drink it down; think of it sadly, you faithful Saints of God; they come now and then, and take a snatch of the promise, and then comes fear, and temptation, and persecution, and all is gone, there is enough in the promise for thee and all thy posterity; but to take a snatch and begun, and to think of the promise, and fly off again presently, this is the cause why you come thirsty, and go away thirsty; you come discomforted, and so you go away; it is your own fault, brethren: experience tells us thus much, take a poor distressed soul, much burdened and pinched, and he wants the sense of God's love, and is not worthy the ground he goes upon, bring this man to the word of God, and to holy conference, and the like, and he will say, I bless God, my heart is very well quieted now; and h●s trouble is over, and his temptation is gone, yet he is no sooner gone from the congregation, or from the place of conference, but he is the same man that he was before, still doubting of God's love, and quarrelling with himself and his own comfort; and the fault was here, he only took a snatch and away: but remember this, the same promise that you heard in the public, keep it, and be ever sipping of it; I confess, saith he, my heart was cheered, and when I heard such a Minister preach, and such a Christian pray, I was exceedingly comforted, and had sweet assurance of God's love, but now all is gone; the fault is your own: for if you would cleave to the promise, it would do you as much good in the private, as in the public; it would comfort you at one time as well as at another: many times it thus befalls us Ministers, when we preach of consolation, and when we pray and confer, we think that we are beyond all trouble, but by and by we are full of fears, and troubles, and sorrows, because we take not full contentment in the promise, we drink not a deep draught of it: therefore take heed of these two things, whereby poor Christians are marvellously cozened; First, take heed of attending to the parleys of temptations, and of making a pursuit of every temptation of the Devil; if you will listen to his chat, he will make you forget all your comfort, for the Devil casts in a bone of dissension, and we snarl at it, and parley with him about it, and so lose the comfort of the promise: therefore talk not with Satan at all, but hold your hearts to the truth of the promise, that is revealed to be yours. Secondly, be not always quarrelling and cavilling with carnal reason, but when you have any evidence, keep it, and let it not be taken out of your hands; for it is certain that there are many poor Christians, that cannot but confess that they have faith, and are wonderfully comforted; but when they are gone from the Minister, their old carnal reason comes again, and they attend not to the promise, but to their carnal reason, and from hence the devil gets marvellous ground against a poor soul: therefore when you have the promise cleared from the Word, hear nothing from Satan against that, but from the Scripture, but throw away all cursed carnal suggestions, hold you close to the truth; and if the devil can say any thing against the truth so 'tis, if not, then hold to it. Now is it so, that faith makes the life and soul of a believer full of comfort and contentment? then you faithful souls take heed of ever repining and murmuring against the Lord, and when you find these distempers rising in your hearts, still them, and suffer not your hearts to murmur against God, nor to be discontented with his good providence. Oh, saith one, I have no sense nor feeling of his love, nor I cannot do this nor that, and would you have a man contented in this condition? how now soul? why, did God never give thee any grace, nor stir up thy heart to believe? yes 'tis true, I have a little faith, if it were not for that, what should I do? it is all I have, I have nothing but that: Oh for shame hold your peace, nothing but that? is it all come to nothing? is Christ, and Grace, and Heaven, and mercy, and all come to but a so much? hath God given thee faith, and wilt thou not be content with it? seem the consolations of God small unto thee? is it nothing to thee that Christ and Heaven is thine? is it nothing that God hath given you his Son, and that Christ hath shed his heartblood for you, and made you able to rest upon him? is all this nothing? It is as much as if a poor man had a thousand pounds given him, and he were angry with his friend for his kindness: Oh, g●e your ways cheered and comforted, and murmur no more, but say as good jacob did, I have not this nor that, but I have a joseph in Egypt, my son i● alive, I will go and see him ere I die: He is better to me than friends, and means, and all: so go your way, and take heed how you offend the riches of Gods free grace: nothing but a heart to believe? Oh, for shame bite thy tongue when it saith so, and say, Lord I have not friends, nor means, nor this nor that, but I have a heart to believe, and to rest upon thee; Lord, cause me to rest upon thee more and more; it is enough that I have a believing heart, though I never see a good day beside. It is enough that I have seen Christ my Saviour and my Redeemer, etc. It is a marvellous folly, and shame, and trouble, we dishonour God, and Christ, and all, and make the wicked people say, that swearers and drunkards go on merrily laughing and rejoicing; and these Christians they go drooping. If this be grace, saith one, God bless me from it; there is a struggling & a striving to get a little grace, & assurance, and power against corruption, and yet for aught I see, they have no more comfort than I have. Oh, walk humbly, yet cheerfully and comfortably; hast thou any wants? faith will supply them; hast thou any fear of trouble for the time to come? faith will cure all fears; art thou weak and unable to do this or that duty faith will enable thee to every duty required; do but believe, and rest upon Christ, and grace and strength will come, and thou shalt be able to do all things through Christ that strengthens thee. Oh, saith one, this is a lesson for a Paul, and for the great standers, the Cedars in grace: I answer, Paul doth not say he did it of himself, but by the power and grace of Christ strengthening him; and Christ hath as much strength and grace for thee, as he had for Paul, if thou believe in him, and rest in him: therefore go thou thy way, and let us all be comforted; thou and I, and every poor Saint of God may do well through the grace of Christ that strengthens us. Thus much of the fourth use. Use 5 Hence in the next place we conclude, that as the difficulty is great in getting faith, so the benefit of it when it is gotten, is every way as great; therefore it is a ground of admirable comfort to all the servants of God, that through his mercy have received this grace at his Majesty's hand; they ought to be wonderfully comforted because they have it, and so to be thankful to him that hath wrought it; you see the difficulty of faith, and the benefit of it: Now hath the Lord wrought this in thy soul? then go thy way comforted for what thou hast, and be thankful to him who hath given it thee. The Lord gives one man riches, and another man advancements, and another hath great parts, and another large revenues; thou seest all these, and thy teeth begin to water at them, and thy heart gins to bubble and repine at this, and thou sayest the Lord hath given riches to this man, and honours to that man; well, but hath he not given thee a heart to believe and to rest upon the riches of Gods free grace in Christ? then go thy way for ever cheered, and know that thou hast a marvellous great child's part: therefore be thankful unto him, and droop no more, nor be dismayed no more: thou sayest thou hast not riches, nor honours, nor parts, and thou hast not what others have, nor thou canst not do what others can do: but hast thou a heart to believe? be cheered then, and snarl no more, murmur no more, thou hast a good part, and wilt do pretty well; every day thou risest, and every night thou goest to bed, bless God, and down upon thy knees, and praise him for ever that hath given thee a grain of this precious faith, be for ever thankful and rejoice, as David saith, Psalm 92.1. It becomes upright men to be thankful: Let the wicked those that have no share in these g●●ces, let them be discouraged, but the Saints of God cannot go away dismayed, it becomes the righteous to be thankful. If the soul be inwardly settled and established by faith in the promise, there cannot but come some savour of comfort to it: 1 Pet. 1.9. In whom though ye see him not, yet have ye believed, and rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorious: therefore observe it, believing rejoiceth and saith, Good Lord, is Christ mine, that have abased him; and is Heaven and the Spirit mine, that have so abused it; and the heart leaps at the remembrance of it, and wonders at it, and can scarcely believe it to be true: but yet he is wonderfully thankful. It is a duty to rejoice for mercy and grace received, as well as to be humbled for sin committed: all those phrases of Scripture run thus, and those joys that may make us rejoice, they all belong to that man that is brought home to believe. Men rejoice as those that divide the spoil, you know this gives much joy to the soldiers that overcome: so when the rich merchant gets a prize, what rejoicing is there? So there was never any poor soul that believes in Christ, and comes home to Christ by the promise, but he is a great conqueror, and hath gotten a rich spoil: one promise is better than all the Rubies and Diamonds of the Indies. When the Prodigal had been pinched with famine and poverty, when he was returned from his misery to his father, mark what a deal of mirth there was; the friends were feasted, and the father rejoiced: but if they were so comforted, what was the Prodigal then? surely his joy was incomprehensible, and unconceivable: if they which were only the beholders of the Prodigals good did so rejoice, than what was he that was the gainer of all that good, to come from such a deal of misery to such a father; nay to come from such a base course, not only to be entertained to the family, but to the affections of the father, he must needs be full of joy for the same: Oh then, how great is that joy and that consolation which is spiritual, and which every faithful soul which hath been a Prodigal, now receives, when he is come home to God, and is come home to him whom he hath formerly dishonoured? This Prodigal is nothing else but the picture of a poor sinner that runs riot from God, and from his truth: as 1 Pet. 2.25. We were as sheep going astray: we are the Prodigals naturally, and we follow our own ways, and the corruption of our own hearts, and we have spent all our patrimony, and are gone away from God, and grace, and life, and all; but the broken hearted sinner now comes home to God the Father by faith: Now if the Prodigal, when he found his home, was so cheered, and if his father rejoiced, and the friends feasted, much more than when a poor sinner comes home to God the Father: there is joy in Heaven for one sinner that repenteth; therefore thou mayst justly rejoice in earth: God the Father rejoiceth to see thee coming home; and God the Son rejoiceth to receive thee poor and meek, and the Spirit of God rejoiceth to welcome a poor sinner, that art brought home by true repentance, and faith, to the Lord: The Saints of God rejoice to see thee, and the Angels of Heaven glory in it, and it is the greatest comfort that they have; the Angels sing Hallelujahs when any poor Saint is humbled, and brought home to the Lord, and they make it holiday in Heaven. It is a good day to those glorious Spirits, nay all those that were friends and favourers of thy poor soul, they all rejoice: wert thou a wife or a child that went away from God, and art thou now brought home to rest upon the Lords free grace in Christ? thy tender hearted Father that hath often prayed for thee with many tears, he rejoiceth; and thy mother that hath sighed many a groan for thee, nay all the people of God with one joint consent, many of whose hearts thou hast sadded by thy ungodly practices, they have sought for thee, and said, Lord break the heart of that poor creature, Lord humble that wife or that child: when they hear that God hath answered their prayers, and humbled thy heart, their souls leap within them to hear this, and they say, there was such a Prodigal, such a wife, such a child, such a vild wretch, but now he hath forsaken his vild wicked courses, and he is now come home to the Father, and they all rejoice at it. Now do all the Saints, and all the Angels in Heaven rejoice, and all thy Friends think it a happy day, t●at they live to see this day; that thou art humbled, and broken, and brought home to the Lord Jesus Christ; then go thy ways for shame, and bless God that ever thou hast lived to be possessed of all this goodness and mercy from God: If the standers by do so rejoice, how ought thy heart to be enlarged in thankfulness to that good God, who hath been so gracious to thee? Let me persuade every faithful soul who hath found this, to humble himself before the Lord, and to tell the Lord in this manner, saying, Lord, I was vild, and ignorant, and rebellious, and went away from thee, but now I am come from the world, and from my lusts and all, to a Saviour, to a Father, to a Spirit of comfort, and blessed be this day that ever I came home to thee, that I may receive this mercy at thy hands. You know in Exodus 15.1. when as Pharaoh had pursued the children of Israel to the red sea, and they drowned themselves in the red sea, and that the Israelites were come safely upon the shore, than the text saith, they believed the Lord, and feared him, and hi● servant Moses: then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; so Revel. 15.3. there the same song is recorded again, saying, great and marvellous are thy works; and in the 107. Psalm 8. when the Prophet had showed the great works that God had done for his people Israel, he saith, Oh that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare his wonderful works before the sons of men. This was also a type of our spiritual coming home to Christ; we are all slaves to the Devil, and in spiritual bondage, under sin, hell, and death; but faith sets a man upon the shore, and brings him home unto Christ; as john 5.24. He that doth believe, is passed from death to life; Lord, saith the poor soul, I confess, I was in the mouth of hell, but now I am passed from death to life: faith sets a man beyond sin, and death, and all, therefore the soul should be thankful, and sing a song of praise unto the Lord his God. Now there are two bottoms from the former Doctrine, which give foothold to your comfort: First, by believing, all the goodness and mercy of God is thine, and he cannot, nay, he will not deny thee; therefore thou mayst with boldness challenge the good of all that mercy and goodness of his. When God hath engaged himself to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee, he cannot take away his mercy from a faithful soul, because he cannot deny himself, he will not deny his truth and his promise; therefore the Saints of God cannot but be partakers of all this mercy and goodness; the Apostle saith, Ephes. 3.17. Christ dwells in our hearts by faith; so Coloss. 2.3. In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; now gather up all, and the sum is thus much, and there you may see how the comfort comes by faith; I lay hold upon a Saviour, in whom dwell all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and so I lay hold upon these: what would you have? and what is it that may comfort you? thou art beggarly in wisdom, and in consolation, and in all the graces of God's Spirit, but if thou hast faith, thou hast a Christ, and in him are all the treasures of wisdom and mercy: take your treasure, and be enriched for evermore; you may do it, it is your own. Secondly, all the sins that thou standest guilty of, and all the temptations of Satan, cannot hinder thee from enjoying that light, and receiving that good which thou hast need of, there is no sin that hath been committed, can stand between thee and eternal life; be thy corruptions never so many for number, never so vile and strong for nature, never so long for continuance in them, and all those old bruises, and old lusts of youth, which make thee say, can the Lord pardon me, and is it possible for such a wretch as I am to have mercy, that have all these corruptions? I answer, it skils not what thy sins be, see thy faith and repentance be sound, it matters not what thou hast been, a rebel even against God, if now thou canst believe and rest upon God, and repent thee of thy sins. Quest. But now the point grows on, the soul is in some reasonable manner satisfied, that if it had faith, than it could be satisfied; but many seem to have faith, and have it not; if my faith were true, I could gain some sound comfort to myself, that all would go well with me, but how shall I know that? Answ. I answer, I confess that the faith of the most men in the world is but a mere delusion, as I shall discover in the next use of reproof: but that thou mayst be undoubtedly persuaded of the truth of this grace, that though thy faith be never so little, yet it is saving justifying faith, I will therefore lay down some trials: I will not now entrench upon any of the particulars that come afterward, but only lay open such particulars for trial, as are in the doctrine: I know faith purifies the heart, and works by love, etc. and faith makes a new creature; but these come too fare off; I will only gather somewhat from the point in hand. Trial. 1 First, observe the root and rise of thy faith, the cause by which thy faith was wrought, and from whence it came, and this will be an undoubted evidence, whether thy faith be good or not therefore when thou dost begin to brag, and say, I do believe, then ask thy heart this question, and say, how came I by it? prove it: have I faith? make it good then: it is not enough to say so, but let me see that it is so; didst thou bring it into the world with thee? did thy wits contrive it? did thy parts and abilities work it? and because thou hast more wit and learning than others, and thou thinkest it as easy a matter to believe, as to understand a hard writing, if it be thus, thy faith is a delusion, and no faith at all: it is true here of faith, which job speaks of wisdom; nature saith, it is not in me; and eloquence saith, it is not in me, I know not the way to it; all these say, I have heard the news of faith, but I am not acquainted with it, God only knows the way thereof, and is the worker of it: the text saith, Every man than hath heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me; the Father must first teach this lesson, or else no man can understand it; except the Father give thee a heart to know Jesus Christ, there is no power in thee, that is able to give this grace to the soul: hast thou thy faith from heaven? then it is like to be of the right kind, but it must be from thence, it ariseth not from the earth, it comes not from parts, and gifts, and learning, it must come from heaven, or else it is not of the right kind: all the coin that is currant, is minted in the tower by authority of the King, if not, it is not currant; in 1 Pet. 1.7. the Apostle calls it precious faith, it must be stamped by the Lord Jesus Christ, by the hand of the Spirit, it must come from the tower of Zion, or else it is copper faith, and not saving justifying faith, nor that which will stand in steed in the day of trial here, or in the day of judgement hereafter: as we say in nature, the Alchemists are grown to that skill, that they will make Alchemy appear to be perfect silver and gold, and much of it will bear the touchstone, insomuch that a man can hardly discover some of it, it is so cunningly made but when the fire and the hammer comes, it will bear neither of them: but the true gold comes from the gold oar, and will endure the fire and hammer; the alchemy gold comes not from the right place where the gold is, it comes not from the minerals, from the golden mines: so there is a great deal of this alchemy faith, for the world is come to this pass, that they have a faith of their own feigning, and it is ready to cousin the touch, I mean of able judicious Christians; but now this faith never came from the right place, for if it were right, it must come from the mine of mercy, and from God, and the work of his Spirit; from thence thou hast it, if thy faith be sound; Rom. 10.17. Faith comes by hearing the word; faith is not in us, it comes to us, it is not wrought or purchased by our own worthiness or power, the word is the conduit to convey it, but the Spirit of the Lord Jesus is as the fountain that sends it into the soul; so that you must not think to have faith here first; but hast thou found faith here first, than it is not of the right, but if the good Spirit of the Lord hath wrought upon thee, if it be so, than thy faith is right: but some will say, we hear the word diligently, and we do attend upon God in his ordinances, and have we not faith? I answer, hearing is the means to convey it, but it is the Spirit of the Father that conveys it by the means; and that Spirit thou must receive by the means, if ever thou have it, there is the pitch of the point. Object. But how shall we know when the Spirit of God is pleased to work this in our souls, and to put it into our souls by hearing? Ans. There is all the difficulty, and it is worth the while to consider sadly of it, for I know the work of God's Spirit by the word in the soul, by these particulars: First, the Spirit showeth to the soul of a poor sinner, that he hath no faith, nor no abilities 〈◊〉 work it of himself, this the word works first, but we are not yet at the bottom. Secondly, when the Spirit hath showed thee that thou art an unfaithful soul, and that thou hast to power to work it of thyself, than the Spirit of the Lord by the word breathes upon the soul of a poor sinner, and by the sweetness thereof overmasters, and breaks down all those secret cursed distempers of heart, that brought under the soul, and kept him in himself: every man is brought in bed with his corruptions, as job speaks, namely thus, The Spirit of God in the word drives the soul to a restless disquiet, and makes him see that h●e must not stay here, but he must seek out, and go from hence, and seek for another condition, or else he must perish for ever: rest not here, saith the Spirit, you must be gone; and the soul saith, If I rest here, I am an undone man; therefore he will out and seek for another condition. Thirdly, as the Spirit of God doth overpower those distempers, and drives the soul to a restless condition, till it look out for a better condition, so lastly the Spirit of God shows that poor soul an impossibility of finding mercy, but from God, and therefore turns the face, and sets the frame of the heart that way, to look God-ward, and to be for God, and this is the meaning of that place, john 16.9. when the Spirit of God comes to bring faith and peace to the conscience, the text saith, He shall convince the world of sin, because they believed not on him; this place implies two things: First, the Spirit of God sets down all sinful carnal pleas and pretences that the heart can make, and persuades the heart, that he is in a sinful and most lamentable estate and condition, and must change. Secondly, it convinceth the heart, that there is good to be found in another, and with that the heart is turned that way, to look towards a Saviour, and to wait for him, till mercy come from thence; and than if thou canst say this to thy soul, The truth is, Lord, I was an unbeliever, and an unfaithful creature, and the Lord made me see it, and left me not there, but by the power of his Spirit, and the ministry of the word, he drew me from thence, and laid fast hold on me, and left some remembrance of his indignation upon my soul, and made me restless in myself, and opened mine eyes to see a better way, and said, thou must go on in another way, and in a better way, and so opened to me a glimpse of his mercy and goodness; so that the foul is now coming on to God; where this is, it will never end; but the Spirit of God will work faith, and faith is now coming home to the soul, and the soul will come home to the flood o● conversion is nothing else, but a setting of the soul for God, as it is plain in all the phrases of the Scripture; this is the first trial. Trial. 2 Secondly, if thou wilt judge thy faith, whether it is true or Noah, do thus; faith makes choice wholly of Christ, and resolves to match with Christ only; the meaning is this, it chooseth Christ wholly, for now the match is made up, when once the soul comes to believe; the preparation to the match, was before in desire, etc. but now the match is made up, and now the soul makes choice of Christ, as he on whom he will bestow himself: he chooseth Christ wholly, and that you shall perceive thus; when he is thus called home by faith, whatsoever it is that Christ brings, the soul chooseth all of that; whatsoever belongs to a Christ, and is of Christ, and in Christ, he chooseth all Christ: Christ is not only the Saviour of all his, but he is the God of all grace, and hath grace to bestow upon the souls of all those that believe in him: now faith chooseth the holiness of a Christ, and whatsoever grace is in Christ, the soul chooseth that as much, if not more, than p●●don of sin, and removing the guilt of sins: there is the authority and rule of Christ, and faith chooseth that, and had rather to be under the government of Christ, than under any other Sc●p● in the world; and faith chooseth the life of Christ, whatsoever life Christ lives, that life faith will choose: the woman is now content to conform herself to the estate and condition of her husband, she must not think to live as she list, and to be in this place, and that place, and that fashion: therefore think of it, that thou didst never as ye● believe in a Christ, except thou didst choose the patience, and holiness, and meekness of a Christ, and the rule and life of Christ: many Lords have ruled over us, saith the text, when thy cursed corruptions come, and would rule thee, if then thou art content to be ruled by a Christ, and to live, and converse as he did, this is an undoubted argument, that thou choosest Christ aright: nay thou must choose the shame, and disgraces, and the cross of Christ, and the crown of thorns too, that is, that whatsoever it is that comes with a Christ, thou must make choice of it, and say, I will have Christ, and all that comes with Christ; as it is with a woman that marries a man for better for worse, with all wants, and faults, and miseries; so the Lord Jesus Chiist doth with us, he chooseth us with all our miseries and disgraces, a poor mean Christian, a man of no parts nor place; yea howsoever you be, Christ chooseth you with all these, and he loves you never the worse for these: and if thou choose Christ aright, thou wilt not say as the Jews, Come down from the cross, and we will believe in thee: thou must not think to have a Christ, and no troubles nor disgraces with him, no thou shalt never have a Christ upon these terms, but thou must choose Christ wholly, and all that comes with him; this cuts the throats of many that do not choose Christ aright, but their honours and ease; this is no believing, but a mere delusion: in Heb. 11.25.26. when Moses was there to make his choice whether he would be the son of Pharaohs daughter, and have honours, and delights in the Court, or be a persecuted Saint of God; the text saith, He chose rather to suffer adversity with the people of God, than to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter, he chose them out of judgement, and accounted the reproaches of Christ greater honours, than to be so and so: He did not choose an honoured and an advanced Christ; and an enriched Christ; but he chose afflictions, and the like; nay he accounted them greater honours, than all the honours of Egypt: so wilt thou do, if thy faith be sound and right. Secondly, as thou wilt choose all Christ, and whatsoever comes with Christ; so there must be nothing on thy part that must hinder the match, but thou must forsake it, and cast it away, and let it rather be taken from thee, than thou to be takes from thy Saviour: As a man will not choose his lusts if he were an adulterer before, because they will hinder him from receiving the chastity of a Saviour: Therefore he that will bestow himself upon a Saviour, he cannot but refuse that adulterous course which would hinder him from matching with a Christ: and the ambitious man will not now choose his honours, but he will cast away his pride and ambition, and advancement, because these will hinder him from receiving the humility of a Saviour. As a woman will be content to take her husband for better for worse, so also she must be content to cast away whatsoever may hinder her from him, and she will forsake friends or honours, or any thing that may hinder her from her best beloved; so if thou wilt choose Christ wholly, as thou must take a Christ, and all that comes with him, so thou must cast away whatsoever may hinder thee from receiving him; as Ruth said to Naomy, Ruth 1.16. Entreat me nor to leave thee, or to return from following thee; for where thou goest, I will go; where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall be my God; so saith the soul: If lust and pleasure, or the world, or any darling delight come and persuade thee to set up thyself in stead of Christ; the soul saith, I have chosen a Christ, and therefore entreat me not to forsake the humility, and chastity, and meekness of Christ: for I will live and die with him, he shall be my Saviour and Lord for ever. The Saints of God first gave away themselves to God, and then to the Apostles; so faith chooseth all a Christ, and bestows itself upon a Christ, to be ruled by him, and to enjoy whatsoever he hath, and to embrace whatsoever comes with him, and to remove whatsoever may hinder the soul from him. Trial. 3 Thirdly, justifying faith bears itself upon the promise in all its extremities, and is satisfied with it, for you know it is called resting; as if he had said, here will I rest for ever. Oh, this grace and mercy, I will go no further, it is good to be here, to be so holy, and so glorious, and so sanctified, and justified: and so I confess that pride and unbelief will have his ranges, and shark up and down for some comfort and contentment in the world, and haply by base means: but wheresoever saving faith is, when it feels these, it opposeth them, and breaks through them to come to the promise, and saith, now I see what you do; rest is not in the world, nor in profits, nor in honours, nor parts, nor abilities, nor any outward thing, but in the promise, and the promise is the portion of the soul, and that by which it lives, and the stock of commodity which the soul trade's withal; as a man's trades and his lands are his live; though haply a friend may give him something else sometimes, yet he lives by his own means. So the faithful soul will take what God gives, but it lives by the promise, and by the loving kindness of the Lord, that is the main life and maintenance of the soul: as it is with a woman now married to a man; you would account it a strange thing if she should go away to another woman's husband to ask for her relief, this is an adulterous wretch, but the wife goes to her husband, and if there be any provision to be made, she goes to her husband to provide it; and if any debts be to be paid, her husband must pay them, and he must pay all, and do all, she relies herself upon her husband: So when the heart pretends great matters that it loves Christ, and yet will have his backdoores, and he must live by his wits and his shifts, this is an adulterous heart: It is rather of a harlot to his lusts, than of a holy chaste man, that is espoused to Christ: so it is with a faithful soul; if he hath any wants, Christ shall hear of him; and if any trouble or distress, faith sends to her husband, the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, and lays all the weight upon him; if any succour comes in by the way, the soul takes it thankfully from God; and in the mean time he lives by the promise: as in the 1 Sam. 30.6. when Zicklag was burnt, the wives and children taken captives, the people much grieved, and David much distressed, yet the text saith, that David comforted his heart in God, there was faith indeed: so the wife, haply her father or her mother dies, yet she comforts herself in her husband; so the soul saith, the Lord is better than all outward comforts, and all honours, and all friends and means under heaven: in a word, these two passages will be of great use. First, if in the want of all these, thy soul can be satisfied with a Saviour, and with the promise in him: And secondly, if in the presence of all thy soul stands only to, and rests itself upon a Saviour, it is an undoubted argument that thy faith is right. I do not deny but that there are pranks and fetches of flesh, and flesh will have his bouts, yet take away all from a Christian, and his heart is satisfied with Christ; and he goes to, and rests upon, and is satisfied in a Christ; but if thou bear up thy heart with other businesses, resting upon thy gifts, and parts, and pomp, and place, than thy faith is naught, it rests not upon God's free grace, but upon itself, and upon some broken reed which will fail thee. When a man hath the world, and honours, and pleasures to stand by him, he goes on cheerfully and comfortably, but when these are gone, all his comfort is gone, than thy faith is naught; for if thou hadst rested upon the free grace of Christ, thou wouldst have been contented and comfortable, though all honours, and the like had been taken from thee; but alas, this is our misery, we sit down Rahell● like, and will not be comforted, because honours, and friends, and means are not; well, go thy way, thy faith is naught, it never as yet rested upon a Christ: who would have continued any comfort to thee? The conclusion is this, the soul must be persuaded by the spirit of the Father: therefore nothing is the author of faith, but the Lord. Faith must come from Heaven, and from the Spirit of God, in the Word, if ever thou have that faith which will do thee good. Secondly, the soul was effectually persuaded, and therefore chooseth a Christ wholly. Thirdly, it rests upon his free grace, and therefore is fully contented with it. Use 6 In the next place, it is a word of just reproof, and the former Doctrine is a bill of Indictment against multitudes of men, that were never yet partakers of this blessed work of Grace; they are not far off, but in the very bosom of the Church of God, they are to this very day unfaithful. It is a foolish delusion of many, who think that onkly Sithians, and Parthians, and Turks, and Pagans, want faith; this is an idle dream, and a doting conceit, and prevails too much even with those that think themselves some body, and are in high place: Oh, let not this delusion prevail with your judgements, for the former Doctrine comes as a swift witness against such as look high, and profess gloriously, and think their penny good silver; yet the former truth I say, is that which testifies to their faces, and to their consciences, that there was never one dram of saving faith wrought in them: Woe therefore to their souls for it, and to all such, whose conditions shall be found to be so; yet this is not the greatest of their misery, for althouhh they are in this condition, yet they will not see it, nor be persuaded of it, when their own lives can testify to their faces, and also proclaim to all the world, that there is no faith in their hearts, and God's people mourn for them, and cry to God for them, and sink under the burden of their misery; yet it is strange to see how people will bear up themselves with a blind boldness, and a wretched carnal confidence; and conceits that they have faith: It is true say they, our lives are not so holy as they ought, and our works are not so good as they should be; therefore we trust not to our works, but to Jesus Christ; he came to save sinners, and we trust in him: and all the worid, nay all the devils in hell shall not persuade us to the contrary, but we will believe in our Saviour. If we should go from man to man, and from house to house, and call at every man's door and say, are there any believers here, they are at daggers drawing presently, and say, are not we all believers? and we hope to go to heaven, as soon as the proudest professor of them all: many souls perish this way, and go down to hell hoodwinked, and never know where they are, until they come in the bottomless pit, past hope, past help. I hope you will confess this, that to believe is more than to say so, or to think so, or conceive it in a man's mind: nay it will cost you much labour before that day come, that those proud hearts of yours be humbled, and those distempered souls of yours that are fastened to your lusts and corruptions, be brought to believe, and to be effectually persuaded by the Spirit of the Father, and that those doubting and staggering souls of yours be brought to rest upon free grace in Jesus Christ. Oh, how few find this work, I can scarcely tell whether to make it a matter of lamentation, or of reproof of those that think they have faith, and have it not: I am afraid that too many of you will find the want of it, when it is too late: If ever Doctrine were needful to be pressed, then now especially in these times; that so if it were possible me might shake the carnal confidence of most men: Suffer me therefore to go on plainly in this use of reproof, and let me do it in two particulars. First, I will show and prove that many that live in the bosom of the Church, have not faith. Secondly, I will show who they be in particular that have no faith; which things being opened, than I hope every man, but especially such as God shall bless this truth unto, shall be apprehensive of their condition, if they will deal plainly with their own hearts. First, let me lay the indictment, and show that many that live in the bosom of the Church want this saving faith, Scripture and reasons are pregnant here: for the first, that many, not only pagans and heathens, but you which live in the bosom of the Church of England, have not faith; as Esay 53.1. Lord who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? this believing spoken of, is saving faith, and it was so hard to be found, that though Esay were a man of admirable parts, and one that spoke in a most admirable manner, yet faithful men were so few, that he could see none; therefore he goes up and down, as it were, to inquire for believers; is there any one in this family that believes? therefore he saith, To whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed? that is, the power of God in the Gospel, that's the thing you must take notice of: you that are wise, ask this question, did God ever reveal himself to thee, to pull down thy proud heart, and the heart of your wife, or your husband? etc. Christ found hard measure here, john 1.11. He came to his own, and his own received him not; the Jews were called his own people, he did not come to strangers, to pagans, and infidels, but to his own, upon whom he had bestowed many means, and whom he had carried upon eagle's wings, and to whom he had communicated many rich tokens of his love; yet how did they use him? even they received him not, not only some few of them did not receive him, but the whole body of the Jews, the whole nation and people of the Jews did not receive him; indeed some few did receive him, but the whole mass of the Jews did refuse him, nay they confess it themselves, as john 7.48. when the rulers had sent to take Christ, and in stead of bringing him, they return wondering at him, and said, never man spoke as this man doth, but said they, do any of the rulers, and of the Scribes, and the Pharisees believe in him; it was then the fashion not to believe in Christ, it was the common road, and the common case; nay the sin and curse that lies upon the Jews, proclaims it at this day, they that were his own, and are his own by election, Rom. 11.20. even they have rejected him, the rout, and crowd, and the whole frame of the nation refused him, reserving only some few: now did they refuse Christ, and do you think, that we are privileged from this sin? are we exempted from it? no surely, the Jews for the main body of them were unbelievers, and are we better than they? we have the same corrupt natures, and they had the same means that we enjoy; nay of them came the law and the promises, and of them Christ came, yet they believed not in a Christ, therefore they are broken off, and so are gone from Christ, and so from eternal life; it is very true, Christ hath his time, wherein he will reveal himself to these again, but as yet they are fallen off from Christ, though they had the truth; therefore what may we think of ourselves, and if any man think that we are better than the Jews, consider then what the Apostle prophesied of these times, 2 Tim. 3.1, 2, 3, 4, 5. verses, In the last days shall come perilous times, for men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, etc. disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, having a show of godliness, but denying the power of it; this is our times right, having toys, and trifles, and deny the power of godliness, it is made good in our ears, and in our eyes this day; and so it was in all the earth, as Luke 8.15. there were four sorts of hearers, leaving out the stragglers, that would never come to the hearing of the word, for these were constant hearers, and yet but one sort good, and yet there were three times so many more of all these three sorts, as there were of the good hearers; and therefore there is scarce one to ten in that proportion, nay in this last age of the world, when men shall be full of the knowledge of God, Ezech. 47.4. and when the waters of the Sanctuary shall run from the ankles to the chin, and men shall abound in knowledge, and when God shall bring home the people of the Jews and Gentiles both together; yet even then mark what our Saviour saith, Luke 18.8. When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? speaking of the power of prayer, and the virtue of it, when it comes from faith, he saith, shall he find faith on the earth? a man would think, that that there should have been many faithful people, and many praying hearts, but if there had been any, Christ would have found it; but the text saith, shall Christ find faith on the earth when he comes; so Matth. 24.38. as it was in the days of Noah before the flood, men did eat and drink, marry, and give in marriage, and knew nothing till the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be; how? namely thus; this text opens the former, there will be such a common kind of lukewarmness, and formality amongst people, that all shall have the name of profession, and a show of godliness, and yet all almost want the pith and kernel; for as in the days of Noah, they would not be persuaded that the flood would come, though he preached and gave warning 120. years together, they knew nothing, that is, they believed nothing; so also shall it be in the coming of the Son of man, they shall not believe the truth of his coming, nor that which might fit them for his coming; therefore as jeremy saith, chap. 5.1. Run to and fro by the streets of jerusalem, and know and inquire in the open places thereof, if there be any that executeth judgement, and seeketh the truth; so may I say, is there any that believes? I know God hath his number every where where the Gospel is, but there are many places where a man shall scarcely find any one that hath true and saving faith or grace: the reasons which especially make the case clear, are three, in which it is plain, that this great work is hard to be found, even amongst those that enjoy the means; the first reason is this: Reason. 1 First, because it is a wonderful difficult matter to convince a natural man, and to persuade him of it, to confess, that he wants faith, and therefore he is fare enough from it: this sin of unbelief is bred, and hath his abode in the bottom of the heart, and doth not so much express itself in the next work, but in some base works, and yet the root of unbelief is hid, the fruit, and leaves, and branches of a tree are seen, but the root and sap of it is hid in the earth; so it is here, other corruptions break forth amain, as the drunkard staggers in the streets, the angry man rails and rageth against God's people, and the blasphemer echoes and breaths out his oaths, that a man can scarcely have any wholesome breathing by him; and the covetous man oppresseth, and the poor complains of it, these are all outside sins, and because every man can see these, therefore he is the more easily convinced of these, and saith, I confess, it is so and so, but yet no man is without sin; etc. but unbelief is like a canker in the heart, it is bred in the bowels, and therefore a man is hardly convinced of it, and hardly made to set down himself this way, and to confess, that he wants faith: and as this sin is most secret, so it is a kind of spiritual wickedness, and it hath a kind of refined villainy, and hath secret passages of its own, as a man knows not the way of a ship in the sea, or discerns the sliding of a serpent upon a stone: so also there is a kind of spiritual sliding away from God, and from the promise which is not seen to others, nay, scarcely can it be known to a man's self, all other corruptions are very troublesome, and disquiet a man most wonderfully, as envy eats out the heart, and the adulterer burns and boiles in his lusts, and the covetous man cannot sleep, and so forth; these are boisterous in a man's soul, therefore a man cannot but see them plainly, and so it carries the heart to outward things; but this unbelief slides off secretly from God, and from the promise, and from the truths which are spiritual, so that a man cannot see his sin; this is the cause of that speech, john 16.9. it is the cause why our Saviour Christ doth challenge that sin, where he saith, I will send the Comforter to the earth, and when he is come, he shall convince the world of sin, because they believed not on him; a Minister may haply convince a man of his drunkenness, and the Magistrate may convince him of his swearing, but the Lord from heaven, by that almighty power of his, must set down the heart, and convince it of this sin, or else a man cannot see that he believes not: nay, let a man go from pole to pole, and ask all the drunkards, and all the vile rakeshames, and tell them thus, You are a drunkard, a swearer, and the like, they say, I confess, it is true, it is my infirmity, and I confess it; but tell them of unbelief, and they will not acknowledge that, but this fine spun wickedness, and this spiritual wickedness of the soul, is a mere turning off from God, and so from Christ, and the truth, and the promise, and therefore not easily discerned. Reason. 2 Secondly, as it is hard to see the want of this grace of faith, so it is marvellous difficult to see the use, and need, and benefit, and help, that will come from this grace; nay, we are more ready to be persuaded of the need and benefit of any grace naturally, than of this grace of faith; as an ignorant man, and a weak man, when he is asked a question, and a point of dispute, he saith, Oh that I had learning, and were able to dispute; the reason is, because he is sensible of his want of knowledge in that kind; and when a poor Christian comes to join in prayer, and in conference with others, it may be his abilities are small, and when he hears such a man pray so holily, and able to give such wholesome counsel, he saith, Oh that I had that gift in prayer, and those parts and abilities, what a happy man should I be, he is sensible that he wants the power of prayer, and abilities to confer, and all this while he saith not a word of his unbelief, he complains not of that; the reason is, because all those abilities that carry a man to his duty towards men, we are more sensible of the want of them, because that our credit and respect lies upon them; because a man thinks, if he want these, it is a discredit, and he shall want that respect that he might have, therefore because these carry a man to his duty towards man, and make for our credit, we are sensible of the need and use of them: but faith in the next work of it, is to close with God, and to fasten upon him, and to rely upon the precious promises, all these are beyond the reach of the world, ●nd unbelief is the withdrawing of itself from God and Christ; now because unbelief doth not so much hinder us in our duties towards man, and because faith, I mean, in the next work of it, (for faith doth fit us for duties, and the like) but because faith in the next work of it, doth not so much furnish us with abilities to carry us outwardly towards man, and also because unbelief hinders us not in the same, therefore we are not sensible of the need and use of faith, nor of the hurt and the danger of the other. Reason. 3 Thirdly, hence it follows undeniably, that as a poor sinner is hardly brought to see the want of faith, and sees less need of faith, than of any other grace, because he hath less need of it outwardly in the next work of it; therefore a Christian bestows least care and time about faith, and hath small and feeble desires after it, and little care to get it: but it is plainly proved before, that a Christian is hardly convinced, that he wants faith, and seethe less need of faith naturally, than of any other grace, and therefore he hath less care to get it; for that which a man seethe but little need and use of, that he hath least care to get; this I desire to make use of, and so I desire my fellow brethren and Ministers; this is the common course of the world, take a sinner whose eyes God hath opened, and revealed his sins and corruptions to him, and let him see his wrath from heaven against him, and drives a man to a stand, so that he saith, if this be so, than I am a damned man, and so he is even staggering; now in this extremity, mark the behaviour of this poor soul, he will do any thing but believe, and seek for any thing, but for faith; he will confess and cry out of his sin, and resolve amendment, and the drunkard loath● his old company, and the adulterer will not go after his lusts any more, and the covetous m●● in the horror of conscience, will rid his hands of all his il● gotten goods, and send for one man, and call for another, and make restitution, and all this while not one word of faith, nor of going our of himself to a Christ for mercy and secure for him; ●ay, those that have been desperate persecutors of God, and of his much and grace, upon their deathbeds they will turn to God, and love his people, and now those will pray, which formerly have scorned prayer, and they will do this and that, and yet all this while not one word of this precious faith: the reason issues from the too former things, because they are not convinced that they want faith, and do not see the ●eed and use of faith, and therefore do not desire nor look after it: so gather up all, and the sum is this, if all men by nature are marvellous hardly convinced that they want faith, and see the ●●rtle, and if all men bestow least care how to get his faith, than the case is clear, and it is no mar●ell though the most men want faith: now we have laid the indictment, and it is marvellous ●aire, you see and you cannot but confess it, for 〈◊〉 is against reason to deny it, as some stu●dy hypocrites do, that will believe nothing, but what ●hey list and yet they will be believers too. Now let us come to plead the inditment; ●ow me thinks every man's heart should tremble within him, and ●●e thinks your very countenances do suggest what your hearts do desire; let every man cast his head up and down, and pa●ly wi●● himself in this manner, and sa● Good Lord, is it so, that many families in the kingdom are unbelievers, and many people in the bosom of the Church want faith, then why not my family too? if most parents want faith, th●● why not my parents too? and if many children want faith, then why not my children too? and if many souls want faith, then why not my soul too? nay, it is ten to one, that many that hear the word of God this day, and many that live●● the bosom of the Church, want faith: me thinks I hear some say, and am not I an unfaithful man yet, and do not I, and my wife, and my family want faith yet? Oh that I could know who they are in particular that want faith, th●● we might know what to hold ourselves to no● I will refer them to these four sorts: The first is the ignorant person. The second is the carnal gospeler. The third is the mere civilised, or the judicious professor, and a man that hath a great reach for judgement and parts, and haply able to put a Minister to a set, and yet hath nothing in th● world in him touching the power of faith. Fourthly, the counterfeit, that hath made a vizard of faith, and hath his alchemy faith; as I tol● you, the Alchemists have that skill, to make alc●●mie, silver, and so cunningly, that it will be●● touch, but yet it is not true, because it will 〈◊〉 hear the fire and the hammer; so there is a great deal of copper faith in England, not that I speak against the Doctrine of faith of the Church of England, for we are to bless God, that hath given the King a heart to maintain it, but I speak of that copper and counterfeit faith, which many have framed to themselves, which is not good, for if trouble, and days of persecution should come, they would forsake God, and Christ, and the Gospel, and all. Sort. 1 Now for the ignorant person, the ignorant man is an unfaithful man; I do not mean a weak and a feeble Christian, and one that hath smaller and meaner parts than others have, for we all know but in part, even the best of God's people, and the choicest of God's Ministers, they know but in part, but I mean such as are grossly, and carelessly, and wilfully ignorant, as we are pestered with them, and I doubt not but my fellow-brethrens find much to do with them in other places, they are content to go up and down as the horse in the mill, and yet know nothing, ask them what is God's name, and what it is to hollow it, and what is to be understood by the coming of God's kingdom, they know nothing at all, and they are wilfully ignorant, and do not labour to get knowledge, neither do they mourn for the want of it, this gross ignorance is thus much, they will not suffer other men to help them, nor they are not able nor willing to help themselves: many come to our Sermons, it is little they understand, but it is less they remember: and if a Minister come home to their families, and catechin them, Oh, say they, we are past children, we are not schoolboys ever, you cannot help yourselves nor you will not suffer us to help you, you are thus ignorant, and this ignorance & faith cannot stand together; be not it is that the promises of God, and Christ, and grace, as these substantial truths of salvation, and the truths of the Gospel, they are as a sealed letter to them; take away the name of Christ, and the name of sin, and the name of faith, and the truths that are under these names, and the most ignorant creature understands them not, it is almost impossible to think that men should be so desperately ignorant; you that are masters of families, when you come home, catechise your families, and see whether they are thus or no; this may be where faith is not, yet faith cannot be, where saving knowledge is not in some measure, I mean where the knowledge of spiritual truths is not, which may reveal to the soul the way of grace, and the means how to get it. I take it, that these three things must bee● some measure apprehended of every man that hath any faith: First, he must have a through knowledge of 〈◊〉 sin, and of the want of faith, and of Christ, and all. Secondly, he must have the knowledge of the excellency and goodness of a Christ, which he wants, and he must know the Lord Jesus Christ, and the good things in the Lord Jesus Christ, which the soul now informed of sin, and feeling himself lost, he finds a supply there. Again, he must be thoroughly informed in the way, how he may come to Christ. All these three must be, and are learned of every faithful soul that ever did or ever shall believe; for that which a man sees not, nor knows not of, he can never believe, and when a man knows not the excellency and goodness of Christ, he will not rely his whole life and salvation upon him, specially if he be wise and judicious, and faith is a judicious grace: They that know thy Name, will trust in thee, saith David; and therefore those that know not God's Name, cannot trust in him, and therefore see what Christ saith ●o the woman of Samaria, john 4.10. A silly woman she was, and therefore see what our Saviour saith to her; thou poor silly creature, that ignorance of thine is the cause of thy pride; for hadst thou known the gift of God, and who it is, that saith unto thee, give me drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee water of life: had she known this, she would have asked it; it is such a knowledge as will bring in faith. You that are ignorant, be humbled for this great sin of yours which doth bar out faith: you that know not Christ, though you meet him. Look as it is with men in darkness, Exodus 10.23. When the Lord sent that plague of darkness upon the land of Egypt, the Egyptians saw not one another, neither did any man remove from his place for three days, there was no passage all that while: so it is with an ignorant man that sits in Egyptian darkness, he se●s not the way, nor he cannot find it, nor he hath no power to go on in it; he sits still, and yonder is Christ and grace, but he cannot stir one foot, for he is fastened to his sin, and riveted to his corruptions, by reason of his blindness: See what the Apostle saith, Ephes. 4.18. They were ignorant of the life of God: from all that goodness and holiness that is in God, for that is God's life, his mercy, goodness, wisdom, holiness, etc. but how came they so? through the ignorance that is in them: you that know how ignorant your husbands are at home, and how ignorant your children are, go home and mourn for yourselves and them, and say, we are strangers from God; there is a great deal of mercy and grace in Christ, but we are all strangers to it; why? because we are carnally ignorant, we are a thousand miles off from him, and we shall never have any part in him, continuing thus: you that are thus, be humbled and ashamed of it, & give no rest to your souls, before the Lord awaken you, and let you see the want of this blessed grace, and make you labour to get it: an ignorant heart is a wicked heart, and if you be ignorant, it is certain you have no faith; for except you will deny the Word of God, you cannot but confess it. Sort. 2 The second sort to be reproved, are the carnal Gospelers, which live scandalously, and live and trade in their wickedness, they come and hear sometimes, and they think that God is much beholden to them for it, one man will swear, and another will be tipsee in a corner, and bear some good will to the truth, but fall off grossly; another cheats, and cousins, and keeps false balances, and yet professeth the Gospel, and thinks it a high dishonour, if he be not respected; now though these will come to the means of grace, yet if the word of God do but reveal these men's sins, and sharpen a reproof against them, and come somewhat keenly upon their conscience, they are all up in arms, and make defiance for their sins, and their great Diana of Ephesus is like to fall, and they will rather part with Christ, and Gospel, and all, than with their lusts; these men think they have mercy in a string, and Christ at command, and power to believe, and you cannot persuade them that they do not believe: What? a swearing faith? and a cheating faith? and a drunken faith? the Lord keep me and all God's people from it: you cannot persuade them, but that they believe in a Saviour, and Christ must save them: this Doctrine will dash all their vain hopes, they that believe, will submit to the Spirit of grace; they that believe, are effectually persuaded by the Spirit of the Father, in the promise, and they are plucked away from their lusts and corruptions; but these take up arms, and are in open defiance for their sins; they that believe are humbled, for faith will not grow, but in a heart that is humbled and contented to part with sin, and self, and all; but these keep both sin, and self, and all: they that have faith, rest upon the freeness of God's grace, and departed from their corruptions, and only cleave unto, and rest upon Christ; but these rest upon their corruptions, and go from God, and Christ, and grace: few of these people come into the congregation; but if there be such a fellow here this day, Oh that God would meet with him, and let him see that he hath no faith; What, thou faith? faith comes by hearing and not by resisting; faith comes by yielding and submitting to the Spirit in the word, and not by opposing it: therefore know, that faith never came in that wretched heart of thine; 1 john 3.6. Whosoever sinneth, hath not known him, nor seen him; and in the 8. verse, He that committeth sin, is of the Devil; that is, he that makes a daily trade of sin, and whose occupation is nothing else but rebellion, he that committeth drunkenness, and adultery, and makes a trade of them, shall never see God, nay, he is the child of the Devil; but he that believes, is not the child of the Devil, all the world knows that; now if thou trade thus in sin, thou art the child of the Devil, and therefore never hadst faith; and continuing thus, thou shalt never have it; john 5.44. How can you believe, saith our Saviour, which seek honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh of God? so say thou to thy own soul, how can I believe, and yet harbour my lusts, and attend to them, and do not yield to the truth of God revealed, and made known to me? me thinks these owls should not abide the light of the sun: brethren, all that we intent towards you; it is, that you may see sin, and what mercy we desire for our own souls, the same we desire for you; but you must see your want of faith, before you can know the way to get faith: therefore suffer us to trade freely with you. Oh, get you home and howl you drunkards, and swearers, and enemies of God, and of his grace; get you apart as the leper did, and cry, I am unclean, I am unclean: Oh that the Lord would work upon thy conscience, and make this truth good to thy soul this day; get you now into your corners, and there cry and say, I have an unbelieving husband; you wives join with your husbands, and cry with your children, and say, we are all unbelievers, and he that believeth not, is condemned already. Now if any cavil be cast in upon thee, and if the devil would make thee presume, and if some carnal friends come to thee, and say, if you believe the Minister, he will make you go out of your wits, and no man must have faith, but they that are of his sect: therefore say, as it is spoken of Esau, Hebr. 12.16. He sold his birthright for a few pottage; and so judas, he sold Christ for thirty pieces of silver: so when the devil would cast in some temptations, and make you to presume, reason thus with thy own heart, and say, Esau sold Christ, and Heaven, and Grace, and all for a few pottage, and judas was a wretch, and is now in Hell this day, and as his heart was full of covetousness here, so it is full of horror in hell; but I have sold Christ for a base lust, and for my pride and envy, and abominable lusts, and drunkenness, which I get nothing by: What, I faith? nay the devils have as much faith as I have. When Pilate said to the Jews, whether will you that 〈◊〉 let lose to you, Barrabas or jesus which is called Christ; they said, not Christ, but Barrabas: did they believe in Christ, which would have a wretch and a murderer before Christ? let your consciences speak● plainly, nay they loathed, and crucified Christ, and did not believe in him: thou sayest true, thou that dost refuse the Lord Christ, and choosest thy murder, and pride, and spleen, and envy, and all, dost thou embrace a Christ and rest upon him? the Lord persuade your hearts, and make you know that you are these carnal Gospelers, and such as have no faith: You that have been brethren in iniquity, and you that have been drunk together, and adulterous together, if any of you have hearts to pray, go and pray together, and if you cannot pray, then cry together, and say, we are these carnal Gospelers, and these ignorant persons that have no faith: If any of you have more gifts than others, go and pray for poor drunkards, and say, Good Lord, we have been led by our lusts, and have made a trade of sin, and to this day we have no faith. Oh go home, and as you have been sinful together, so howl together; who knows but the Lord may be gracious to you? If the Lord would but give you one dram of faith, it would save you from all that drunkenness and adultery of yours, is it not worthy the having? Oh, stir, stir, for the Lords sake; and as you have provoked one another to sin and wickedness, so now provoke one another to goodness, and go seek God one for another, and every morning and evening pray for those sinful souls of yours, that have been polluted by others, and never rest till you get this blessed grace of faith, that you may be happy by it for ever. Sort. 3 The third sort which we will meddle withal and discover that have no part in this saving faith, are the mere civilised and seemingly judicious professors, such as bear up themselves marvellous comfortably upon their own wisdom and judgement; howsoever these have a name, yet it is but a name and no more: and for this man, that we may discover him, and that he may know himself, we will do it in three things: First, I will show him in his fashion. Secondly, wherein his falseness doth appear, and wherein he falls short. Thirdly, wherein he discovers himself to fall short. First, he is a man that will deal very honestly and fairly between man and man; he is not scandalous in his practices, he is a man of good parts, and deep understanding, and deep reach, if you will believe him, and he exceeds the most, nay even the best in his private pains; he is very studious and reads much, and can remember well, and can express himself marvellous well, and so will carry all before him; nay this man is so lifted up in his imagination, that he could almost undertake to teach Ministers how to preach, if any man out of weakness would condescend to him: but if you follow him home to his family, there he prays but once a week, and if misery, and sorrow, and affliction come, than haply he can pray twice, unless some carnal base friend come into his family, which haply would scorn him and his profession, than he prays once, and scarcely that, because he would not offend his friend: and hence it is that poor people make this man an oracle, and this man's words, and judgement, and determinations, they are of great weight: and if a poor soul which can dive deeply into his own heart, comes and questions his faith, and to make some doubt of his graces, all is in an uproar presently; what, say they, such a man have no faith? the Lord be merciful to us then: if a man of such judgement and parts hath no faith, then what shall become of us? this man's words cast the balance any way, and his words are of great weight amongst the vulgar sort of people: and hence it is that the poor ignorant creatures bear up themselves upon this man's judgement, and say they, for a man to pray twice a day, it is not required, and it is more than is needful; and if a man have a mind to stay at home, may he not read the Word in his own house, and get as much good by it, as by going to Church? wiser than we think so; and if it were not so, do you think such a man would profess it, a man of parts and good judgement; and many times Gods own servants, out of the sight of their own weakness, and the discouragements of their own heart; and when they see themselves so fare outbidden by their parts, than they have such a one in a high account, and prefer him above themselves by many degrees: now see the guise of this man; hence it is that this man falls in love with himself, and is lifted up into a fool's paradise, and he gins to admire at himself, and for any matter of faith, he doth not question it, what a man of such wisdom, and such understanding, what not he faith? he makes no question, he cannot miss of faith, and so he goes away comfortably and contentedly: thus you see the faith of this man. Secondly, we come to view and to see where he falls short, now you see him: Oh, that the Lord would make him see himself, and brethren observe thus much; few of these men are ever brought home by the powerful preaching of the Gospel; and the reason is, because their own wisdom is beyond the ministry of the Word, and they say, such a Minister is a good Scholar; but had he that wisdom, and those parts, and the like: thus they rear up bulwarks against the Word of truth, that it sinks not into their hearts; therefore to make this man known to himself, observe thus much in the general, the baseness of this man's faith, (for it is no better, but that he is deluded that he cannot see it) it discovers itself thus: it is bred in his books, and in his judgement, and goes no further, and it is far from saving faith: therefore that the indictment may lie clear, and that we may outbid him in his book learning and all, know thus much, the main ground of this man's mistake may be discovered thus: there are two things in the nature of faith: First, illumination: Secondly, application, as we term it; illumination not only is, when a man hath the common rumours, and intimations of the truths of God, in the Gospel, and knows the reason of the texts, and the meaning of the scriptures, this the reprobate may have, and this he hath; but there is also an operation of the Spirit upon the affections, and then there comes an application, wherein the soul goes out to the promise, and takes that for his good, which is thereunto appointed: now observe this judicious man, he hath a general apprehension of the truths of the Gospel; but as for that special working upon the will, and to enter in upon the promises of God, and to have the sap and sweet of these, and to go out to Christ, and to take all from Christ, he is a stranger to this, and it goes beyond all his book learning; and hence it is that when the Minister comes to handle these points, he saith the Minister was something confused to day; and the reason why he faith so, it is because he did not understand them; these men are ignorant in the spiritual turnings of the heart, john 3.8, 9 when Christ came to teach Nicodemus, he was at a loss, and thought that Christ spoke without book: therefore Christ reads the lecture again and saith, I speak of the spiritual work, that which is borne of the flesh is flesh, and that which is borne of the Spirit is Spirit: Oh, saith he, how can these things be? he could not gainsay Christ, and yet because he could not understand it, therefore he would not yield: so it is with this man, it befalls this man as it is with some wise Lawyer, he reads over a man's writings and the leases, and he rehearseth the tenor upon which the lands are holden, and what right the man hath to them, he lays open all the questions of the law, and he reads his name in the will, and yet he never reads his own name there, nor any right that he hath to them: Just so it is with this judicious professor, he is able to dispute of the main points of the Gospel, and shows that others have right to them, and he reads the writings, but never comes to partake of them himself; as it was with the wise men that came to inquire for Christ, Matth. 2.1, 2. verses, the Scribes and Pharisees could tell you where Christ was to be borne, and bid the wise men go to Bethlem, but they would not go themselves: so these men have wisdom enough to say, here is the way to Heaven; but their own hearts are not humbled nor framed to walk in that way, and to go home to Christ, nor to receive mercy from him. Know therefore you that are weak, that believing carries two things with it in the phrase of Scripture: First, the assent of a man's judgement to the truth, when a man is so fare convinced that he sits down, and acknowledgeth that whatsoever the Word hath revealed, his judgement saith it is all true, and yields fully with the whole stream of his mind, this is that which the Scripture sometimes calls believing, and it is nothing but the bare assent to the truth, saying it is so. Secondly, when the will embraceth that good in the promise formerly revealed, when the will of a man claims God's Statutes, and casts his heart and hope upon the goodness of the promise. Now the judicious professor hath faith in the first sense, he assents to all the truths of the Scriptures, and acknowledgeth that they are true; the devils in hell have this faith too, and all that have no more than this faith, shall go to the devil too, as james 2.19. in the 14. verse, the Apostle saith, if a man say he hath faith, and hath not works, will that profit him: and in the 19 verse; thou believest there is one God, thou dost well, the devils also believe and tremble; that is, they assent to all the truths of Scripture that God reveals, and this is the believing of this great man which we have discovered in his fashion, when a man can dive deep into the Scriptures, and understand all the texts, and untie every knot, and dispute all questions, and is able to judge of the reasons of them, is this thy faith? the devil himself will outbid this faith: If cunning, and judgement, and knowledge be thy faith, the devils have this faith, they know the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of the most high God, they know that the mercy of the Lord Christ is great, and that they shall never taste of it; they know that the Lord Jesus shall be the Judge of all the world, and that he shall condemn them, they assent to it, and tremble at it. Mark 5.8. when our Saviour came amongst the devils, they said, We know thee who thou art, even the holy one of God; and Acts 16.17. there was a Devil in a woman, which was a Diviner and a Witch, and she said, These men are the servants of the living God, which show unto us the way of salvation; it was the Devil in the woman, therefore the Apostle bade him go out of her, because he hindered their work: I wish that the Devils in hell might not rise up in judgement against many of our unbelievers, which will not yield to the truth of God; this is the bottom which bears up that kind of boldness, which many carnal creatures have upon their deathbeds, which never had the power of grace in their souls. Come to a carnal man that knows nothing savingly and sanctifyingly, and he will say, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart, I have admired at it, and sought to know the bottom of it, and it is this, they think this is believing, to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is come into the world, and that they are not infidels, they assent unto the truth, and yield unto it; in their judgements they think this is faith, and that it is sufficient too: Oh you poor creatures that have your friends, or parents, or husbands, that thus lay hold upon Christ, and are persuaded that this is faith; understand what the meaning is, they only assent to the truth, but never make application to their own souls. What's that to thee that thou knowest the way to life and salvation, and never walkest in it? and what's that to thee, to hear that the Lord Christ came to save sinners, and to know that there is mercy enough in him, and yet never partake of it? Thirdly, I come to the evidences, which make it clear to us, that he hath no more than this, and those evidences are two: First, you shall find this man past fear, and almost careless, but he is without doubt of the difficulty, either of getting or maintaining his faith; he never comes to question whether he hath faith or no, and he accounts them silly Christians, that are so daily troubled and disquieted for their estates, whereas he carries the matter very confidently, and scarcely looks after it, but bears it out with marvellous boldness and confidence, which in truth is an undoubted argument, that this man never knew what this faith was, our Saviour saith, Strive to enter in at the strait gate, for the gate is narrow that leadeth to life, and few there are that find it; and so the Apostle, 2 Pet. 1.5. Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure; yet this man makes it a matter of nothing; nay, when many seek and labour, and take much pains, and never attain it, by reason of their former strength of it, as Prov. 1.28. They shall call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me; yet this man thinks to have it with a wet finger: that faith which is wrought by the Spirit of God in the soul, and is thereby kept, it hath daily opposition in the soul, so that every godly man that hath faith, he must fight against the Devil, and all enemies and oppositions, yet this man never comes to blows, the Lord Christ found it thus by experience, and thus the Apostles and the Saints of God found it, yet this man hath found out a shorter cut, and an easier way to heaven, and he is not ashamed to confess it, and say, If a man were exercised in the word, and if men had but his skill, and were but trained up in his school, it were not such a hard matter to get faith, and so it is true, for they may easily get that faith which thou hast. Secondly, follow this man home, and close with him in his private chamber and attend upon him in his other occasions, and there he hath no power of godliness in his life, he hath practice without any pith, and a course without any kernel, and he performs superficial duties without any strength; all his duties are as dry as a chip, only he carries all out with this, he is wise, and learned, and judicious, and this answers all; if he do omit or neglect duties, and do them carelessly, this comforts him, that he is a judicious man: it is certain this man wants that grace, which he seems to have, he that hath so much faith without wavering, must needs have his conversation answerable, he that hath so much faith in his heart, must needs have a gracious and a godly life; if a man have much sap within, and no sign of it without, it is certain it is no true faith, as it is with a tree, the tree that hath much sap in the root, will have much fruit in the branches, and the more sap it hath, the more fruit it will have: look as it is with the floodgates, the wider the sloud-gate is, the greater is the stream which comes thorough it; so were thy faith the faith of Gods elect, than the more faith a man had to lay hold upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the more sap and grace he would receive from Christ, and the greater would be the stream of grace that would run out in all holy obedience, to the Lord Jesus Christ; but when a man brags that he hath much faith within, yet if his conversation be without pith and savour, it is nothing but a conceit, and an apprehension; as for the power of Christ, and the life of Christ, this man never knew it, nor never had it. The fourth and last sort is the counterfeit, that hath a forged kind of faith, in such a manner, that they will sometimes be ready to cozen a holy judicious man, and themselves too; they exceed all the former, and there is no disputing of the difference between those two that are past, and this man that follows; I told you that he was a Chynicall, and an Alchemy man, and one that hath something to say for himself; he hath the picture of faith drawn marvellous curiously, and he hath the appearance of some plea for himself, and he hath the resemblance of this blessed work, and that pretty lively too: of these there are three sorts; one exceeds the other in degrees, and yet all falls short of this blessed work of faith: First, the temporary believer, we take him as the lowest form; a man is called a temporary bleever, that believeth for a time, and is hot at first hand, and admirable fierce in the pursuit of the truth, for the present push, but he slides off, and goes away, and you shall see him no more; now that we may deal home in the business, for he that will search in a narrow case, cannot do it suddenly: therefore suffer me to lay this man open in three particulars: First, we will give him audience, and hear what he can say for himself; he shall come as it were into the open court, and plead his own cause. Secondly, I will show where he fails. Thirdly, give you the reasons why he falls short. For the first, he shall discover it himself. And for the second, the word shall lay it open. And for the third, I will show you, how, and what he is. For the first of these, let the temporary speak in his own language, and put his plea in his own behalf, and give him but a fair hearing, and you shall have thus much of him; he professeth clearly, that he hath not only, as the judicious man had, an apprehension of the truth only, and an assent that the Scriptures are clear and true; but he saith thus much, that his affections are carried on in a kind of longing after it, and they are taken aside, and stirred by the Word of the Lord, and both his heart and affections have a relish of the goodness of God's word; this is his profession, and he will make it good to you too; this comes something near faith, and there is some colour for him to plead, that he hath some confidence in God; there are three things in Scripture that he saith for himself, as Luke 8.13. the stony ground there is the temporary, and the text saith two things of him, That he receives the word with joy, and believeth for a time; these two things are there averred, and are in the heart of this man; the receiving of the word with joy, is the tickling of the affections, with the apprehension of the sweetness of the truth; and his believing, is not only a bare assent to the truth, but a work of the will in a kind of hourlinesse in application; these fall short of the spiritual work, namely thus, when the treasures of wisdom and holiness are laid open before the soul of a poor sinner, and when the unsearchable riches of God's love in Christ are let in, and come home to the heart of a stony ground hearer, the will is tickled therewith, and his inward man is stirred, and bedewed hourly with the sweetness thereof, this is the believing for a time; john 15.35. our Saviour saith, john was a burning and a shining light, and you were willing for a season to have rejoiced in his light; one man that is at a loss, and out of his way, or another that is benumbed and set with cold, the one seethe the fire, and is content to come to it to warm himself, but when it burns him, away goes he; so they delighted in the ministry of john, and it was pretty good while it was new, but when it begun to scorch, than they would hear him no more: thus it was with those temporaries that flew off from Christ, john 6.34. when Christ told them, that Moses gave them not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven, for the true bread is he which came down from heaven; and giveth life to the world, and they said, Lord evermore give us this bread; but they that would ever have of this bread, they soon after vomited him up again, and said, This is an hard saying, who can bear it? the second instance of Scripture is this, Heb. 6.4, 5. It is impossible for those that were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the holy Ghost, and have tasted of the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, etc. this is such a kind of taste, as may be and is in such a man, as shall never have share in life and salvation; as the Apostle afterwards makes it clear, the heavenly gift is the grace of faith, and the good word of the Lord, is the goodness of the word; I will open myself thus, observe that this taste cannot be the taste of the understanding properly, for if he were once enlightened, and hath tasted, saith the text, to say, enlightened, and enlightened is without sense, and makes a kind of unreasonableness in the dispute of the Apostle, and therefore it is something more than the work of judging and assenting. Secondly, it is not the digesting of the heavenly gift, for this man hath only the taste of the heavenly gift, now a man may taste of a precious liquor, and a man may sip of a cordial, that hath no power to make perfect use of it. Again, thirdly, it is a work and stroke of the will and affections: here you may see the carnal hypocrite even almost at heaven, and yet he falls short, and when he is in hell, he shall say, I had thought I was in heaven, and yet because I have no faith, I am now cast down to hell; it is thus much, when the Lord lets in a glimpse of the excellency of the grace of faith, and the glory of heaven, and the sweetness of the pardon of all the sins of the faithful, and the Lord lets in a glimpse of all these, which goes home to the top of the affections, and will that the Lord by a spiritual kind of flash, suddenly passeth by the will, so that he leaves some kind of dew, and some remembrance of those glorious things, which are thus let in upon the mind of a poor sinner, insomuch that his heart is marvellously tickled and ravished with it: I express it thus; as it is with the water in a standing pool, and the water that runneth through a pipe; the standing water soaks and goes downward, and settles inwardly in the earth, but the water that passeth by suddenly, leaves only a little dew behind it, but soaks not at all; so it is with this temporary believer, the stream of the heavenly truths of the Doctrine of Christ passeth by suddenly, as namely, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and that Christ came to take away the iniquity of his servant, this doth pass by suddenly, and leaves a little dew behind it; so that he saith, Oh this is good, this is sweet! I may be saved too, may I not? Oh I never heard a man speak so comfortably: this word bedews the heart a little, but it soaks not down, it goes not to the root of the soul, & therefore observe it: this is a work which the hypocrite may have, only observe thus much; he sips of grace and salvation, and makes a meal of his corruptions; but the gracious man only sips of his corruptions, and makes a meal of grace, of holiness, & mercy in Christ, Look as it is with seed that is cast into the womb of a woman, the seed is enough to beget some fruit; but if the womb be a miscarrying womb, it comes to nothing: so it is between the stirring of the Word in the heart of a poor Saint, and in the heart of an Hypocrite; the Spirit of the Lord works in the heart of a Hypocrite by the Word, and is able to moisten him; but the heart miscarries in the work, and resists, and gainsays, and never comes to any good, he never comes to be a faithful man rightly proportioned, whereas the same Spirit of God, working rightly upon the heart of a believer, it makes him a very proportionable Christian, the other remaining but a confused lump. Now see what this man may do when he comes to this, let him be thus bedewed with this taste of the excellency of faith, and never have faith strengthened and rooted in him, yet he will be very eager in the pursuit of the Word, and marvellous constant in attending upon the Word, because it is his delight, and he will be marvellous painful to get the Word; for a man will do any thing to get his delight, and he may be angry with such as would hinder him in the pursuit of the Gospel, which is his delight; this a man may do, and yet all come to nothing, and so may perish everlastingly; for look what joy and delight will do for a push, the same a carnal temporary may do. But that this man will do all this it is plain; of this kind was Balaam that wretched man, of whom you may see diverse passages in the 23. 24. chapters of Numbers: he was a witch, as Divines hold, and he was going to curse the people of God; but the Lord stopped him, and how did he it? why, he let him see the excellency of the condition of the Saints of God, and said, Oh thou wretched man, lo there and behold the happy condition of my people, and see all the good that I have given them, and wilt thou curse those that I love so dearly? Now see how he was taken up with it; Oh that I might die the death of the righteous! this was a glimpse of the glory that was let in upon him, to stop him and to awe his heart, yet he returned to his old bias again: the third Scripture is in Matthew 25.8. I know Interpreters vary in it, but I will be bold to suggest what I think; the five foolish virgins said, give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out: they had lamps but no oil, how could they kindle their lamps except they had oil? they had a little oil in their lamps, but none in their vessels; their lamps was their excellent and glorious profession, and the oil which they had was nothing but the taste of the heavenly gift, they had so much stirring of the will and affections as might carry them on to profess the truth, but they had not oil in their vessels which might sink down into their hearts, to subdue their corruptions, and to quicken up their grace, they had not this power to frame their hearts strongly towards the Lord, and to feed their profession with constancy and perseverance to the end: so that you see what he can say for himself; and me thinks he speaks marvellous probably: The Lord be merciful to us, if a man go thus fare, and come to nothing, it is wonderful, he is fare beyond the judicious professor: Oh, saith he, I had a relish of the sweetness of the good Word of God, and a taste of the heavenly gift, and my heart was ravished with the sight of the glory of it, and I could even have gone to Heaven; now you see the best of him. But now secondly, what is the falseness of this man, and wherein is his failing, and why: where he falls short of faith, and what it is that would make him an honest man: Now the second thing is this, that notwithstanding the sudden push of this man, he will whither and will turn his back upon the truth, and commonly he is an enemy to that truth to which his love was carried, and which was his chief delight; and this he doth upon these two grounds commonly. First, when he se●th the bitterness, and misery, and affliction, and vexation that accompanies the Word, he is weary of the Word rather than he will bear those afflictions that do accompany the Word; he will follow our Saviour no longer than prosperity follow him: for he will rather forsake Christ, than to forgo these: he was made a professor all upon a sudden, and he receives the Word suddenly with joy, when he hears of the glorious grace and mercy of God, he faith, Oh, that Jesus Christ should come from Heaven to save sinners, and to wait upon poor drunkards, and adulterers, and vild wretches: Oh sweet and admirable mercy, saith he, and so all upon a sudden he turns Christian and Professor; but if afflictions and trouble come for the truth, than he turns off all, Christ, and truth, and his profession and all: Oh saith he, I have heard of much comfort and peace, and that the Lord would be good to his, and would save and deliver those that trust in him: you told me so, did you not? Had you told me of shame and disgrace, and miseries which I now find, I could have told how to answer you, and how to order all my occasions; when the Sun riseth hot upon him, and troubles and afflictions befall him, than he leaves Christ Jesus and all, rather than he will part with his comforts and ease, and the like: thus it is in Matthew 8.19. A certain Scribe seeing Christ like to prove a great man, and thinking to have a good booty out of him, he said, I will follow thee whither soever thou goest: he thought Christ would be preferred, and if I can but get under his wings, I shall be a made man for ever. Take heed what thou dost, saith our Saviour, if thou wilt follow me, thou must take all miseries that come: I have not a bed for myself, and therefore if thou want one, thou must be content: The Foxes have holes, and the Fowls of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not whereon to lay his head: so he was gone, and we hear no more of him. The second ground upon which he commonly departs is this; when the good Word of the Lord comes home close to his heart, and reads the black side as well as the white side; when the Word of God pursues him home to his conscience, and shows his sins, and discovers his base practices, and tells him thus; it is true there is mercy and salvation enough to be had in Christ, but there is none for such as will not part with all for Christ, nor for those that will not lose all to find and entertain Christ. Now when the Minister comes to shake this man's hold, and to tell him, you follow after Christ for the loaves, your profession is fair, but your heart is naught; there is no sound work nor saving grace wrought, all that you have done is lost and come to nothing; then he is profesly at daggers drawing with the truth of Christ, and saith, what is it all come to this? This man doth not preach as he was wont to do; what mercy was he wont to discover, and what consolations would he reveal to all the poor servants of God? he preacheth now as if he would vex men, and not comfort them: as john 6.34. The Disciples were very desirous to have their meat dressed for them; and Christ saith to them, I will do it for you; the bread of God is he which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world; Oh, said they, Lord evermore give us of this bread; well, saith Christ, you shall have enough of it, I am that bread of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me, shall never thirst; he that eateth my flesh shall never hunger: the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak, they are Spirit and they are Life; this must be done by faith spiritually: now mark these men in the 60. verse, they fall to open quarrelling and opposing; this is an hard saying, who can bear it? as if he had said, you desired evermore to have of this bread, but you must be humble and feed upon me by faith, and lay down all confidence in parts and gifts: Oh, than they loathed this bread, and care not for it, it will not down; this is bread that no man can digest; what, thus holy and thus heavenly minded, to man can endure it: So from that day forward they went away. So Gal. 4.15, 16. the Galathians there did entertain the Word of the Lord marvellous contentedly, and their hearts were ravished therewith, insomuch that they could have been even content to pluck out their eyes to do the Apostle good, and yet presently after, they would have plucked the soul from his body, and all this was because he would not dally with them, nor nourish them in their sins, but spoke the truth which would have plucked away their corruptions from them. When the Prophet came to the widow's house, and bade her take meal out of the barrel, and draw oil out of the cruse, all the while that this lasted he was welcome; but when the child died, she saith, Oh, thou man of God, art thou come to call my sins to remembrance by slaying my son? when she conceived that he had seen her sins, she falls out with him: so it is with this temporary believer; all the while the meal and the oil continue, and while a Minister will tell them of ease, and liberty, and prosperity, and preach smooth things, and fawn upon them in their base distempers, and daub them up, all this while the Ministers are welcome; but if a man come to shake their hypocrisy, and when they begin to say, what, a dissembler and a cheater, and yet a professor; then they say, Oh thou man of God, art thou come to shake the hold of all the hope we have; we are not able to endure it: it is known by experience that commonly such persons turn the most bitter enemies against that truth which formerly they have professed, and seemed to love. Thirdly, how comes it to pass that he falls short, and what wanted he? you see he had something like unto faith; the Saints of God were affected, so was he; the Saints of God had some taste of the sweetness of the Word, so had he; where is the fault then? I answer, the failing was in three particulars, and they are very fair and open. First, this was the wound of the temporary in his course, he received the Word suddenly and with joy, and so he came not to the promise aright, but came to just nothing: for in God's ordinary course of proceeding this is the course, whereas he did receive the Word suddenly with joy, he should have received it leisurely and with sorrow, as jer. 50.4. at that time saith, the Lord, The Chilren of Israel shall come, they and the children of judah together, going and weeping shall they go and seek the Lord their God, and they shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward: If ever you would seek the Lord, and have your faces towards him, you must go weeping and mourning; and this was the way that God led them, and that wisely too: as jer. 31.9. They shall come weeping and mourning, and with mercy will I bring them: Again, I will lead them by the rivers of waters, etc. There are even rivers of supplications in their mouths, they poured out their hearts there, and what came afterwards? their hearts were filled with comfort and consolation, it is that which you shall observe; the Lord appoints this, and it is the portion which God the great Housholder of heaven and earth prepares for his; he prepares it for them, and therefore all you proud and stubborn wretches, and unbroken hearts, meddle not you with comfort: first he discomforted before ever you can be comforted; as for this temporary believer, his eyes were never opened convictingly to see his sins, and his heart was never burdened with them, nor loosened from them, that so the Lord Christ and his comforts might be settled upon: therefore in Hosea 2.14. I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and speak friendly to her; and I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Anchor for the door of hope; first in the wilderness, and then in Canaan; first in sorrow, then in comfort; the valley of Anchor is the valley of consternation, and then the door of hope, this is the way toward Zion, but this temporary hath invented a new way to Zion, he doth as Ruffians do, they will go in the ●oad way so fare as they find good way, but when they come into bad way, they break over hedges, and find a new way, whether lawful or unlawful, they care not; so doth this man, he takes his comfort as soon as ever it comes, he snatches at all the comforts of the Gospel, and thinks they are all his own, and all on the sudden he is a forward professor at three or four days warning, and his heart snatcheth at every Sermon of mercy, and he is as good a Christian by and by, as many a poor soul which hath tugged hard for it many a year, but his conscience was never awakened, he never felt the burden of his sins, nor the wrath of God against him for his sins: this temporary promises to himself nothing but ease, and peace, and prosperity, therefore when sorrows, and troubles, and miseries come, he goes away with as much speed as he came, like jonahs' gourd, that came up suddenly, and withered as suddenly: so in the beginning of the year he is a hot professor, and before the fall of the leaf he is gone again; the wound of this man was this, he wanted the work of the law, not only that through-worke of the law, which none shall have, but such as have faith, but also that legal work of the law, which should break and hammer his heart, this is the stony ground-hearer, he wanted depth of earth; what that was, we shall dispute anon when occasion serves; the meaning is thus much in the general; the plough which should have given earth and mould enough, it was the sharp law, which should have torn up his proud sturdy rebellious heart all in pieces, but this man never had this work, and therefore his proud heart beat back the work of the promise, that it never had room in his heart; comfort and consolation will never stick nor abide upon a proud heart, nor upon a stubborn and unbroken heart, which was yet never broken for sin; plasters may be made, but they shall never find ease and comfort by them as they desire; you may go away comforted, and say, God is merciful, and Christ is gracious, and he came to save sinners; and though our works will not justify us, yet the Lord Jesus Christ will save us; your plaster will not stick; thus he fails in the entrance to the promise. Secondly, he fails in his application of the promise, for the ground upon which he goes, or the cause and reason which carries him to roam after the promise, it is only the general notice of mercy, and of the salvation that God offers, the glimpse and the shine whereof being let in upon the heart, and passing by, jogs the soul, and so the heart snatcheth at it, he comes to hear the abundance of mercy, and the rich redemption, and plentiful goodness of Christ to pardon all sins, (the sin against the holy Ghost only excepted) and the freeness of mercy to all sorts of sinners, be they never so many for number, never so vile for nature; yea, he heareth that there is a fountain set open for all to wash in; when he hears this, he saith, that's well, than I may come to heaven too, and there is some hope that I may receive mercy, never considereth the conditions upon which God promiseth, and bestoweth mercy, whereas the man that is a true believer, hath not only a common kind of apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ; but he hath a particular application of it; I will open it thus, that every man may take something; the temporary hath a common hear-say of mercy, and the common hear-say of mercy in the bare letter of them, as that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, it is in the bruit of it only, but the humbled soul hath it under the hand of the Spirit, and the Spirit seals it, and makes it good to him, the promise of life slides and passeth by the temporary believer, but now the Spirit of God settles it, and it takes a deep and a through impression in the heart of a believer by application, the Spirit of God only, as it were, jogs the heart of a temporary believer, but he sets it on deeply upon the heart that is humbled and fitted for it, as the Angel said unto Gideon, The Lord is with thee, thou valiant man; so the Lord faith to every humbled soul; not only that the Lord is gracious and merciful, for thus he saith to the temporary believer, but he is gracious and merciful to thee, and he will speak peace and comfort to thee, which hast spoken trouble and terror to thine own heart; as in the 1 Cor. 2.12. We have not received the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are given to us of God; God not only gives us good things, but he hath given his Spirit, that we may know, that it is he which hath given us these good things. Thirdly, and lastly, this temporary believer fails and falls shot upon this ground also; I told you the soul is effectually persuaded to rest upon the free grace of God, and to fall into the arms of his mercy; now the temporary fails also in the work of relying; that which feeds his hope, and stays his heart, is nothing else but the taste and present sweetness which he had in the promise; he relies upon the taste and sense which he had by the sip of the promise; and hence it is, that when the taste is gone, the sweetness of the present push is gone, that then there comes trouble and sorrow more heavy, and more able to vex him, than all the other was to comfort him; then he gins to repent him of his match, and thinks that all his profession will not quit cost; now when that taste and that comfort which he had, fails him, and sorrow and afflictions come and overpowers his sweetness and comfort, than he falls away: but a man that hath true saving faith, rests himself not upon the taste and sense of this good, but upon the goodness of God in the promise, and upon the all-sufficiency of God in the promise; he seethe more good in the promise, than in all the contents of the world, and he seethe more certainty in the good of the promise, than in all the good things here below; and therefore he will rather lose all than the promise, and will rather trust to the goodness of God in the promise, than to any thing else beside; though riches be never so great, and honours never so glorious, yet the faithful soul knows that the world promiseth much, and performs little, and it cousins us; but the Lord is true in all his promises, and what he hath promised, the soul believes: therefore saith he, though my sense, and taste, and all fail, and if many sorrows and miseries come, yet I will rest upon the promise; for there is a greater good in the promise, than in all the world beside: to this I may add the other, which I call the discouraged hypocrite, as there are too many of them in these days, such as heretofore have carried a fair sail in the ways of godliness; but when his honour and credit dies, he goes away: some have died for grief, they are all to be referred to this ground; so long as the wind lasted he stayed it out, but now he is not able to hold up his head, unless he be lifted up by the chin, and by the comfort of his profession: but he that is a gracious man, though all the frame of Heaven and Earth stagger, yet he is supported and bears up himself upon the promise, if it be a saving work: I know he may stagger, yet he recovers himself, and at last lifts up himself upon the promise. A skilful swimmer useth his bladders, but yet if they fail, he recovers himself upon the stream, and bears up himself upon that: so the gracious heart is content to use comforts, and contentments, and whatsoever he hath to bear him up with more ease; yet if all these bladders break, and if all friends, and means, and honours go, and if heaven and earth meet together, yet he is able to cast himself upon the stream of the promise, and so to go on cheerily, as Psalm 73. the Prophet saith, I am thus and thus, the bread of affliction is my meat, and tears are my drink, and I am buffeted every morning; if the wicked rout and revel it, and have more than their hearts can desire, then have I washed mine hands in vain, it is better for me to be as they are, than to be as I am; he began to staggar, and he was at a stand, yet he saith, God is good to Israel, though persecuted and afflicted, yet God is good to Israel: nay, in the 26. verse he saith, My heart had failed, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever; as if he had said, the heavens and the earth may haply shake and shrink, yet so long as God is strong, my heart is strong, and so long as he remains, my comfort will continue even for ever: though a man, especially if he be ingenuous, may shrink under disgrace, yet he bears up himself upon the promise, and though he lose his life, yet he shall not lose a Saviour, therefore he stays himself upon him: thus you see where this temporary sails, there is no great matter in him, but that it is strange to see what a man will do for a push; we leave him, and only entreat the Lord to be merciful to him, and let him see himself; if there be any of this kind here this day, do not go away, and say, to heaven I must, all on the sudden, because I have a little taste of the word: no, no, that's not the way, it will cost you dearer than so, rather go and see thy sins, and break thy heart for them, and then there may be comfort and consolation for thee: God hath the garment of gladness, but you must be in heaviness first; you may go on as you are, but than you shall never come to happiness. Sort. 2 The second sort of counterfeits, is the sturdy hypocrite; let us show you first what we conceive of him, and how we term him, I call the former a faint-hearted hypocrite, he must have his Aqua vitae, and his cordials of comfort ever with him, and God must provide a dish of comfort for him, or else he shall never have his custom: but this is a sturdy hypocrite, and one that will not out of the pit for a small matter, but he will stand his ground, as a man doth in war, and will undergo much trouble, and stand stoutly in the profession of religion, and yet though he be somewhat stout in his way, yet his heart is naught too; and that you may know him, and that he may know himself, let us do three things: First, let us see what he can say for himself. Secondly, wherein his falseness appears, and the evidences of it. Thirdly, the difference between him and a believer indeed. First, what this man is, and how fare he goes, I cannot better plead for him, than he can plead for himself, and what he saith, you may believe him, he professeth 'tis true indeed, the temporary did merely cousin himself, because he was cheered, before he was humbled and abased: but for his part he knows how he came by his faith, it cost him hot water before he had it, he had his evidence with much labour, and therefore this is his comfort, he hopes it is good, and of the right kind, for, saith he, the Lord hath opened mine eyes to see myself, and to discover my sin unto myself, and made known the vileness of my sin, and my misery by reason of the same, the word of the Lord was as a hammer to this stubborn heart of mine, I had almost the heart of a Devil, but the Lord met with me, and broke me in sunder: nay, it was a fire to let in the flames of hell into my conscience, thus I came by my faith: so that seeing my sin and my vileness, I see a need of a Christ, and I see such a worth in a Christ, in so much that he hopes and professeth, that all the shame and disgrace that can befall him in a good course, shall never daunt him from that good way which he sees chalked out before him: nay, and that which is the pinch of him, he hopeth he shall rather dye, than renounce that fruit of the Gospel which he hath received, and which hath comforted his soul: thus now he hath been humbled, and hath seen a need of Christ, and he may dye in the defence of the religion he professeth, and yet never savingly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, nor partake of the mercy and goodness in him: 1 Cor. 13.3. there the Apostle saith, though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing: it is a rule in Logic, those disjunct propositions both parts whereof are true, the whole must needs be true; if either part be false, than the proposition must needs be false; if the position be true, than both parts are true; as in this position, I am not a rich man, and yet I am a poor man, both parts are true; so it is in this position, I may give my body to be burned, and yet I may want love, both parts are true; than it is plain that a man may dye in the profession of religion, and yet be damned when he hath done: thus much for the proof of it by Scripture, the reasons that do confirm it besides many other: the main argument is this, there are many things in the heart of a wretched man, which will make him die rather than forgo his profession. A man sturdily proud may give way to be burnt, and to dye for faction, etc. he dies only to content his own proud heart, not because God requires it, and that God may be honoured, but only in sturdiness of heart, and because he will dye in that profession wherein he hath been brought up. Secondly, his falseness doth appear in this, howsoever afflictions and persecutions cannot pull him from the truth, yet case, and profit, and pleasure, and lust will suck out the heart; these troubled him not, because he had them not; but when he hath had them and felt the sweetness of them, he is thereby overcome, and so forsakes religion and all: Thus the devil hits him in the right nick, the devil could not damp him with troubles and with persecutions and disgraces, but the devil provides dainties for him, and there he eats and surfeits, and kills himself; these take off the soul from Christ, when all the persecution in the world cannot daunt him. Take a man that is ingenuous and hath a stout heart of his own, haply he is called to battle, and he scorns to be outbraved by any man; but when you cannot prevail this way, yet by fawning and flattering, you shall turn him which way you will; the only way is to flatter him. This is the reason why many a man that hath gone fare in the profession of religion, and hath stood strongly for it, yet when some have come and given him a bait, he lies down upon his belly and will do any thing: as it is in fishing, a man doth not catch the fish, by beating the water with his rod, but by baiting his hook; so it is with this man, the bait catcheth him, when the hook could not. We have an old parable of a traveller; the wind though it blue and blustered, yet it could not pull away his cloak, but he held it so much the faster; but when the Sun shined hot upon him, he threw off his cloak and coat and all: when a man hath no honours, than persecution makes him hold the closer to the truth, but when the fine gleams of honour and profit come, and a man is lifted up into fool's paradise, he puts off all religion and honesty: the sturdy hypocrite may die for the truth, and yet all out of a sturdy spirit, because he scorns to be subject. It is said of the thorny ground, that the thorns did choke it, the Sun did not parch it, he could have gone to a prison, or to a stake, but when prosperity, and honour, and pleasure came, they choke all that he had, that so he hath not a word to say; thus it was with Demas; I doubt not but he had many a storm with Paul, and shared with Paul in all his troubles; but when he had gotten good means, he left Paul; & because he could not attend those, and go with Paul too, therefore he left Paul, for he thought with himself that Paul would not let him go on so, and therefore he leaves him and the Gospel and all. Now before I go any further, give me leave to answer two questions. Quest. 1 First, why will prosperity take off this man from the profession of the truth, when you told us before that he would lose his life in the defence of the truth? if he had died he had lost all his pleasure, and ease, and all, why then doth prosperity take of his hair, when trouble and persecution would not do it? Ans. 1 To this I answer, the cause why these prevailed not before, it was because they were not present with him, he knew not the sweetness of these, and haply he had no hope to attain them; but now he enjoys them, and now he is taken aside by them; haply his heart was the same before, that it is now, but he had not the occasions that now he hath. Look as it is with an inferior subject, haply his heart is not disquieted for the crown of the kingdom, for he hath no hope nor likelihood of it, he looks not to attain it; but now if he were the heir apparent of the crown, and had by conspiracy gotten fair way to the crown and kingdom, he would lose life and all rather than go without it: and as it is with an adulterous woman, when she comes first into the family, she loves her husband and the house and all; but when her companions come in and entice her to cursed dalliance, than she leaves the house and her husband and all; she was bad before, but she had not the occasions before: this is the falseness in this wretch, having no hope to get wealth, he is not troubled with it, and having no hope to get honours, he is not troubled with it; but though his heart was as bad before, yet the falseness of it did not so discover itself before, because he had not these occasions offered; and this is the reason why many a man that hath been very forward in profession, and hath suffered much for the truth, yet one man is plucked off from the profession of the truth by the world, and he proves a muck-worme, and the world eats out the power of that grace which he seemed to have: And another man is taken by his base lusts of adultery, or the like, their hearts were as bad before, but they never had these temptations before; and therefore they abide troubles, because these temptations came not: and therefore when these come, they decline and fall away, and this is the cause of the base declining and falling away of all such wretches, which the world is pestered withal: and you that are Ministers, and Christians, should do well to abandon the society of all such as make a profession of the truth, but deny the power of it in their conversations. Quest. 2 Now the second question is, why doth prosperity, and ease, and honour, take off the love of the truth, when troubles and persecutions could not do it? Answ. I answer, the reasons are two; and there you shall see the ground of his falseness. First, because prosperity hath a great power to cousin and delude a man's judgement, it comes cunningly and slides into the soul, and so cousins him: as the wise man saith, bribe's blind the eyes of the wise, all his heart is upon the bribe; and though the cause be never so bad, yet it seems good when so many pieces come to colour it over: even so here prosperity bribe's the souls of poor creatures; the heart takes the bribe, and the understanding plays the lawyer, and pleads for it in this manner, and saith, now he is better informed, and he knows more than he did, and he is better advised The: English is thus much, he hath put on the spectacles of prosperity, and he hath seen a good living, or a good wife, and these bribe him, he saw not these before; and therefore these did not trouble him, but now he hath seen them, certainly that must needs be good, that hath all these profits and pleasures to plead for it: As the holy Ghost saith, Man in honour understands not; as if he had said, honour and prosperity blind the understanding and bribe the mind of a man. They that are now and then overtaken with drink, may easily be cheated, and it is no wonder though they be, for they are not themselves: so a man may be drunk with the world, and with honours, and if he be now and then cozened, you can look for no other. This is the reason of all those fair kind of colours which men put over their courses, they confess their judgements were so indeed before-times, but now they have had learned counsel, that is, from their parts, and ease, and honours, etc. And shall I do such a thing? and shall I walk in such a way? and they tell him there is great liberty, and it is good law: thus a man is transported and taken aside most fearfully; nay here prosperity puts a pretence of a great deal of good that a man may do in the Church; and a great deal of honour, he may bring to God; and hence they say, a man of such parts, and such judgement and holiness, if he were a man of place, what a world of service might he do to God, and to the Church, the world could not miss him; nay it is ten thousand pities that a man of such parts and gifts should not be in high place; the Church misseth much good by the shift, and God loseth much honour. The meaning is, he loseth much honour, this cousins a man's judgement, when that which is the argument within a man is profit, or ease, or the like, whereas persecution doth no such matter; for in the time of persecution, than a good cause appears more plainly, and a naughty cause appears more vild. A man in persecution is not drunk, he is himself, and therefore he is able to pass sentence as they do deserve: persecution comes like an open enemy, and a man is ware of it, and therefore prepares for it; but prosperity comes like a traitor, and suddenly stabs us before we are ware of it. It is to be observed in nature, if the fishers go and show the bare hook only, the fish will fly from it, but when it is baited, than the fish will run to it: so the bait of prosperity deludes a man, and he is deceived therewith, and is taken aside from the power and profession of the truth: judges 4.17. Baracke pursued Sisera, but he overcame him not; and the reason was this, he was not at peace with Baracke, but he was at peace with jael, and therefore she cunningly slew him: so here prosperity is a good blessing, and ease, and honour, and peace, these are all our friends, and we are at peace with them: therefore these wound our hearts, and break our necks in conclusion. Secondly, as our judgements come most of all to he cozened thereby, so it is that which deads' our affections, and kills our diligences, and takes off the edge of our endeavours, and makes us dead and sluggish in a Christian course, and hence it is that we are desperately overthrown thereby: persecution and trouble makes a man seek more diligently, and cry and pray more earnestly, and labour more exactly than before, and consequently seeking to God for succour, he receiveth more succour from the Lord, against all these troubles and trials: David was never tempted to that base lust in the wilderness, when he was pursued by Saul, because than he sought daily to the Lord, and had aid and secure from him; but when he was at ease in his house, than he grew dead hearted and careless, and was overcome in prosperity: men trust to themselves, and therefore they are foiled, but now persecutions and troubles make a man see himself helpless in regard of himself; and therefore he goes to the Lord, and so is supported and succoured by the Almighty, Esay 26.16. Lord in trouble have they visited thee, they poured forth a prayer when thy chastening was upon them; God cannot be visited in the time of prosperity, when we are full and aforehand, but in the time of adversity and persecution, than they will pour forth their prayer, not drop out an idle lazy prayer, but pray with fervency, and importunity, and so find favour; so the Prophet jeremy complains, I have spoken to thee in thy youth, but thou hast denied to hear me; in our adversity, than God's mercy and truth may take some place in our hearts, but in the time of prosperity, than we turn the deaf care upon him, and we think we have enough of ourselves, as it is with the trees, the wind shaketh them, and so the sap comes more to the root, and it settles more firmly into the earth; but now if there comes a great drought, or an exceeding heat, that doth take away both sap and root, and all: so when the soul is shaken and tottered with the wind of persecution and temptation, the soul is settled more deeply upon the promise, for the guiding of himself in a good way; but ease, and peace, and prosperity, dry up a man's endeavours, and all the sap of grace and good which formerly a man seemed to have; then if it be so that prosperity bribe's the judgement and cousins us, and if by prosperity our care and diligence is deadened, no wonder then though honour and case prevail so much against us, to hinder us more than persecutions can do: thus you see this man's falseness. Now the evidences whereby he discovers his falseness, they are two: and it is pretty to observe, how his baseness within will discover itself without; the first is this: First, you shall find him to maintain his corruption and his profession too, the world carries him, he must have that, and yet his profession must not be cast away, he will have Christ and ease, Christ and honour, he holds both in hand, and he divides his forces, he will be a professor, and yet be base in the world, and in his profits too, and you cannot take away either, he keeps a stall in both markets, Luke 8.14. it is said there, that the thorny ground brought forth no fruit to perfection, it brought forth fruit, but the thorns did choke it, and so it brought forth nothing to any perfection; as it is in the thorny ground, the come haply hath a full ear with all the grain of it, and is as green as a leek, but it continues not green still, and comes not to ripeness and perfection, because the thorns choke it; so this man hath his full ear, and is as green as a leek: you will fast and pray, so will he; you will profess, so will he; you will confer holily, so will he in the outward appearance, but he never comes to good, because he bestows the strength of his affections upon the world, or upon some base lusts; you cannot beat this man to lay down his profession, and to make him say, I confess I am dead, and my heart is vild, and my profession is nothing but hypocrisy, no, he will have his profession and his corruption too: thus observe the chapman, when a Christian comes into his shop, he will tell him a fine religious discourse, and so in the end cozen him; and if a vild wretch comes in, he hath another tale for him, he joins with him, only that he may put a cracked commodity into his hand, and he joins with the good man, that he may cozen him too: so the Innkeeper, when a Christian comes to his house, he tells him a fine religious tale; and if a drunkard comes it, he gives him his full measure; thus his thorns grow, and his corn too, he holds his profession, and his corruptions too. The second evidence of this man's falseness is this, he is weather-wise, that is, he observes how the state of things stand, and he gives a shrewd guests which way the wind and tide will go, and he will be sure to go that way, and to be on that side, he sees the wind begin to rise, and the storms to bluster, therefore he will provide and shift for one, and do any thing, provided that his honour and ease may not be lost, he will be of that side, that the thorns of profit and pleasure may not be ploughed up, and therefore it is observable, that those things which may hazard his liberty, he will not by his good will question them, but he carries out the matter bravely before him: so long as a man may have the substance, saith he, that is, Christ and religion, he would not have men to trouble themselves about lesser matters; but the Lord Christ saith, he that is unfaithful in the least, is unfaithful in much, and he that makes not conscience of the smaller circumstances, will not make conscience of the substance, and if he be compelled to inquire, and to make question of his course, he will be satisfied by those shows, and that argument shall content him, which may content his honour, and maintain his ease, and honour, and liberty, and he goes away well paid and fully quieted, and when this man is put to it, and the dent of the truth dasheth all those probable truths of his, than his last hold is this, he doth not believe it, and he cannot think it, but if you cannot believe and entertain that which you cannot answer, than it is a sign that thy heart is naught; and if a man follow him further, and say, if a man set himself, and lift up himself, and his conceits against the truth of God, that man's heart is naught, then saith he, all the Ministers under heaven shall not make me believe it, but when he can say nothing against the truth, he will keep his hold still, and he will not believe it; thus you see this man at his full breadth and height: as it is with a plough, that goes to blow up a thorny tree, they tug, and pull, and make the traces fly, and break the plough, but the tree stands still, it will not yield; so it is with this wretched hypocrite, all the reasons in the world, and all the truths cannot prevail with him, he is resolved to stand to it, and not to believe it: wilt thou not now believe it? well, thou shalt believe it when thou art in hell, past hope, past help, thou wilt believe it then, thus the thorns choke the word, that is, strangle the truth, and stop the breath of the truth, so he saith, I pass not, I believe it not, this stifles all reasons, and the power of all Scriptures, that all prevails not with him, nor takes no place in him, to make him know what it is to be a grower in the truth: by this time I presume you may easily guess at him what his fashion is, and what he can say for himself, and wherein his falseness lies, and wheresoever you find these, that both the corn and the thorns grow together, and that he doth thus as in the former two, than this man is one of the sturdy hypocrites. Now I come to the third thing, namely, to show wherein this man falls short of saving faith, that a man that seethe it, may amend when he comes after him, and that he may not fail as the former have done: the failing of this man appears in two particulars: First, he fails in the point of humiliation, he was not rightly humbled, as in that place of the parable, he had horror of heart enough for the measure of it, but not enough for the uprightness and sincerity of it, he ploughed deep enough, but he left some thorns standing, and he had some lusts that his heart was more affected with, he would not be thus, but there were some base, inordinate, earthly affections, which were closely fastened to his heart, and his heart glued to them, he would not blow them up, and this was ill husbandry, if he had done right, he would have ploughed up every thorn as well as some: all the passages of Scripture run this way, as Luke 3.5. Every valley shall be filled, and every hill and mountain shall be brought low, and every crooked thing shall be made straight; he doth not say, this or that mountain, but every mountain; not one sin, but every sin; not the heart to be loosened from one particular sin, but from every sin whatsoever; if ever you be humbled, and that you make work of it, you must blow up all, as Matth. 13.44. the wise merchant man went and sold all to buy the field; not sold some, but all; so this sturdy hypocrite should have sold all his lusts and corruptions, and every cursed haunt of heart, and every sinful withdrawing of soul: you know the privy pranks of your hearts, if there be but one sinful lust maintained and continued in, it will condemn you as well as an hundred thousand: there is no bargain to be made with Christ, if you dally with him and stand dodging, he will not yield to you, no, no, you must sell all, this man had his heart humbled in the consideration of some sin, and it was either for the fear of the punishment of his sin in general, or else for fear of plague, and of hell, and of God's wrath, or else because of the shame and disgrace that would come thereby, but if he had been truly troubled for sin, because it is the breach of God's commandments, than every sin would have struck upon his heart, and troubled him; thus it is with the heart rightly torn up by the law, but if it have only here a balk and there a balk, than it is base dealing, and you will never have harvest nor hope of mercy upon this ground, but if a man play the good husband, he must blow up all, from one corner of his conscience to the other, and from the beginning of his heart to the ending, there must be no corruption settled, but hate sin as sin, and therefore every sin, this is the temper of the soul that the Lord will do good unto, and here is the failing of most unsound hearts, many religious men and professors too, what they be the Lord knows, they will dally with this sin and that sin, but a true broken heart shakes at the least sin more than at all punishments, and had rather endure the torments of hell, than that the least sin should be committed by him; this is a good heart which makes good work of it, and herein this hypocrite fails, so that though he had legal terror enough, for the measure of it, yet it was not right for the manner of it, for it could not be any saving work of grace, therefore it must needs be a terror for sin, and yet the heart never truly humbled, nor never ploughed in pieces by the law, and by the work of God's grace, thereby fitting the heart for himself. Secondly and lastly, he fails in making choice of Christ, he did not choose whole Christ, it is one part of faith, and that which is included in resting, the soul that truly embraceth Christ, he takes the good of Christ, and the death, and persecution, and the death of Christ, and whatsoever comes with him; now here in the sturdy hypocrite fails, and this is the main wound of him: the soul that makes choice of Christ aright, is resolved to match with Christ, and that nothing should hinder him from it; now this hypocrite would not match with Christ, but only trade with him, so much as may mediate for him, and be a means that he may enjoy his beloved honours, and so much profession, and so much of Christ he would have, whereas the faithful soul matcheth with Christ, and trades with the world; if honours will advance Christ, and if riches will make for Christ, and if his liberty will work in him a free heart to serve God, than the faithful soul will trade with them, but this wretch will only trade with Christ, and Christ must stand at the door, this is the cause why, when he professeth the truth of the Lord Jesus, if a better match comes in the way, he takes it, and leaves Christ: only thus much briefly; this thorny wretch takes Christ to dispos● of Christ, but a faithful soul takes Christ, that Christ may dispose of him, and of all that he hath, for his own glory: it is the fashion of some ma●● part, sa●●ie, domin●●ting women, that they will marry men, not to make them their husbands, but their servants, and they could be content to have comfort and service from them, but not to be under the rule and authority of them as their husbands: so this sturdy hypocrite, and this malapert heart, would have Christ to be at his beck, that Christ may provide honours, and ease, and pleasures for him, but that Christ may order him, and his, and all that he hath, to dwell at his command, to be where he will, and be at his beck, that he will not do by no means. Thus much of the sturdy hypocrite. The last sort of counterfeits, which is the chief and the upshot of all, is him, whom I call the shifting stately hypocrite, he is a man that doth carry a marvellous high strain, and goes with a great sail in the profession of the truth, as the master cutpurse in his outside seems to be a man of no small account nor mean place, in regard of his attendants, apparel, and he will ruffle it out in his silks and velvets, as if he were some great Gentleman of the country, and yet he is a base vild wretch; so it is with this base shifting hypocrite: there are two passages in his life, and I use to call him by these two names, Shifting, and stately, he had all that the sturdy hypocrite had, and he also goes beyond him in the several passages of his course and practice, he is a fine spun hypocrite, and hath not only an ordinary colour of profession, but he lays on a sevenfold gilt upon his course and profession, so that as it is with some counterfeit gold, if a man be not a good Goldsmith indeed, he will say, it is good gold: so if he be not a marvellous judicious wise man, and able to find him out, he will say, that this man is a sound Christian indeed: Now that we may know this man, I will as in the handling of the other, do three things. First, I will show wherein he exceeds the former Hypocrites. Secondly, wherein his falseness doth appear. Thirdly, wherein he falls short of saving faith. For the first, wherein this man doth exceed the former, that you may see the full proportion of him, he doth profesly stand in comparison with the former, and exceeds them too; and therefore he will try the business with him, and view with him; and what the other could say, he saith the same and more too: the sturdy Hypocrite had his conscience awakened, so he had his heart awakened with a witness, and the Lord not only called and rapt, but knocked hard at the door: and for Christ, he hath seen so much beauty and excellency in Christ, that he will lay down his blood for him, thus fare the sturdy Hypocrite went: but now this stately Hypocrite outgoes the former in three particular steps or degrees, First, he hath not only so much strength that he is able to bear persecutions, and not to be daunted, as the former had; but he hath that wisdom and strength of understanding, that he is able to pass by, and to cashier the honours, and riches, and preferments of the world, and all the renown of all the high places in the world, so that prosperity, I mean all the honours and preferments of the world, are not able to prevail with him. Oh, saith he, the sturdy Hypocrite was a fool, and was caught with the bait; but I see the bait in all these profits and commodities, and I am able to judge of the baseness of all worldly things, and therefore I am not overtaken with them: I know better than is in all these, if you go no further than liberty, profit, ease, and worldly preferment; this Hypocrite hath something better than all these, as namely the excellency and beauty of the common graces which God hath wrought in him, and whereby God hath made him able to do some duties, in these he puts a greater excellency and confidence, than in Christ: this is marvellous easy and apparent, even amongst the Heathens themselves. Many of the Heathens themselves have been so fare taken up with the admiration at, and affecting of moral virtues, one man with patience, and another with temperance, they have been so taken up in meditation, and in the admiration of these, that they have trampled upon crowns, and have harsely esteemed of all the honours of the world: many speeches of the Heathen we have to this purpose, as that, when one said, honours, riches, &c. cannot properly be said to be good, for than they would make him good which hath them: as we see wisdom makes a man wise that hath it; but they that have riches and honours, for the most part are most wicked and vild wretches; therefore only the wise man is the happy man, and an ignorant man is a miserable man; therefore he seeing the excellency of, and putting a high price upon these moral virtues, this hath made them put a high price on the one, and trample on the other. Now if Heathen men may be so fare taken up with these moral virtues, which have only the light of nature to guide them, and never had the knowledge of Christ to drive them beyond themselves, that yet they will do all this; then a Hypocrite may come to see a greater beauty than is in all these, when they come from the Spirit of grace; for the Heathens had but the very shell and outside of these, but the Hypocrite knows the virtue and benefit of these, and the eternal good that will come by these, this he is able to discern, and therefore he is able to put a high price upon these, and it is no wonder; when the people came to make Saul King, he hide himself amongst the stuff, 1 Sam. 10.22. as if he were unworthy of the kingdom: so that a man may for by-ends cast off preferment, and ease, and honour. Secondly, whereas the sturdy hypocrite took up a fine cold temper, and an ordinary path in a Christian course, this hypocrite scorns that, and he is a professed enemy to lukewarmness, and to a lazy carnal discretion in a Christian course. This is the zeal and forwardness of this man; but mistake me not, for I do not speak this to dishearten a good cause, or the zeal and forwardness of any good man, no, God forbidden; nay, let that tongue falter, and cursed be the head that contrives, or the mouth that speaks any thing against the zeal and forwardness of any man in any good cause: the way is warrantable and lawful, and must be done; for though mere moral virtues will not save a Christian, yet without them no man shall ever come to Heaven: but I speak all this to show that all this may be done, and yet all be stark naught. I do not speak this to discourage any man, for you see I commend of this man, he is not swept down from the firmament of his profession, as the sturdy hypocrite was, by the tail of the Dragon; but he maintains his profession with credit, and is zealous in it, he goes for a marvellous broken hearted Christian, he scorns to be a linsey-woolsey-man, half one and half of another, he stands in the open defence of the truth, and dares side with the Lord Jesus Christ; and saith as jehu, who is on my side, who? 2 Kings 10.16. Come see my zeal which I have for the Lord of Hosts; thus it was with Paul; Gal. 1. 14. He profited above many of his brethren in the jewish religion, being more exceeding zealous of the traditions of the Fathers: and Phil. 3.6, 7. he was a Pharisee, and concerning zeal, he persecuted the Church; touching the righteousness of the Law, he was blameless; and these he counted gain: This was all the gain that Paul had, namely, that he had such parts, and gifts, and abilities to do duties; this was all his gain: and because he had all these, he thought he must needs go to Heaven: nay, nay, it is harder to go to Heaven than you think, for it is another manner of work than so: the greatest hindrance that ever Paul had in his conversion, was the carnal confidence which he had in himself, there he stuck. Now wherein doth the falseness of this man appear? I answer, Amongst many others it discovers itself most grossly and notoriously in these particulars: First, you shall find that as for lesser sins, the reformation of which might spoil him in the venting of his commodities, and marring his market, that he cannot set himself, his parts and commodities at sale; he will slight those sins, and make no account of them, and swallow them down without any chewing; because such as these be, would hinder him in his trading, that he could not vent and show himself; and he makes no great matter of them: this is for his outward practice. But if a man's exactness in a Christian course be sincere, than he will be exact in all things; but if his exactness may give way to some sin, than it is but hypocrisy, it is but a cloak and no soundness at all: why dost thou hear, and pray, and take up duties, though these must be done, if thy duties be sincere, and if thou lovest duties abroad, thou wilt love them at home too: 1 john 2.3. Hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his Commandments; if a man keep all the Commandments of God, than he shall savingly know God; and hereby he shall know that he knows God: this is a sign that saving faith is there, because it makes a man keep all the Commandments of God; but cursed be that prayer which seems to set itself against sin, and yet gives allowance unto sin. That prayer and performance which maintains sin, is accursed, and God will never accept of it: this is for his out side. Secondly, though this hypocrite be very exact, and express much power of religion in the world, yet follow this wretch home, and dog him to his own heart and closet, and there you shall find him not only living in, but maintaining some sin, either in his practice, or else in others: as when he was abroad, he would swallow down such smaller sins as would hinder him in the venting of himself: so at home he maintains some distemper either in his family, or in himself. A man out of the strength of parts, and the excellency of his judgement, and the ability that God hath bestowed upon him, may do this, that wheresoever he comes, he will comfort and quicken, and exhort and pray with others: these are good duties, I do not discommend them: but he returns home, and is churlish, and dogged, and cruel to his servants, and takes up a pang of passion, and will be upon the house top for every trifle, and this is constant too, this is the bane of religion and profession. Of this strain are those that for their parts and gifts are marvellous large, and they will go from this house to that house to pray, and yet never pray in their own families, nor never humble themselves before God; as if the performance of a service publicly, could abate all the rest in secret: It was not for his state to pray privately in his closet, but only amongst others; some of these we have heard of, and we make no question but there are more of this feather; if you know any such, either make them revoke these things, or else cashier them; the servant haply is religious, and therefore he is resolved, he will not dwell but where he may have liberty to hear, and he will indent with his master and mistress, that he will have the fellowship and communion of such and such; this is all very good, and I love such a heart: but mark now when they return home they are idle, and unfaithful, and sturdy, and they are masters and mistresses, and will not be governed, and their plea is this; My master is a carnal man, my mistress is a carnal woman; but if they are carnal, the Commandment is spiritual, and the duties enjoined are holy: and therefore those prayers of thine which maintain thy sin, will one day be an accusation against thee, but will never comfort thy conscience: this is not true religion; all your setting yourselves to sale, and all your outside shows and reformations, it is not all worth a rush, unless there be the discharge of all those duties that God requires: If there were saving faith, and if ever thy soul rested upon Jesus Christ, he would enable thee to all duties, as well as one, and cause thee to make conscience in all, as well as in one; faith would make thee show forth the power of godliness, guiding thee, faith would make thee pray in private as well as in public; For as faith doth crucify the flesh, Gal. 5.24. so also it makes a man a new creature: 2 Cor. 5.17. It makes a new husband, a new wife, as well as a new Christian: therefore let them profess what they will, follow them home to their houses and closerts, and you shall find them to be errand thiefs and robbers, and rob God of his glory, the Lord of Heaven will find out such, and condemn them continuing so. Thirdly, this is that which cuts the finewes, and sinks the heart of this hypocrite, this will put him to the trial, more than ever any thing did; this is that which will go to the quick, and make him appear what he is, and either find him sound, or else fly off altogether. If there come another Christian of the same rank and place, that exceeds him in parts and abilities, so that this man is not esteemed, and his commodity is not regarded, this touches his freehold; if it were in the matter of honours or riches, he would not care: but now when he sees his light to grow dim and dark, and no man hath an eye to him, and his commodity grows naught, than this man's heart is quashed, he is weary of the name and presence of that man, and loath to be in his company, and loath to do any thing while he is there, and he wisheth secretly that such a man had never come to the town: what's the reason of it? because before this man came, his commodity went off easily, and he was respected for his parts and gifts: And mark what follows, either God will humble him, and bring him upon his knees, or else he will fall off from his profession, and all, and will rather be content to be a base varlet, than to have no credit: If the Lord break his heart and humble him, blessed be his Name for it; but if God do not humble him, but that he falls off, than he commonly proves an enemy to Religion, and God, and Gospel, and all goodness. Lastly, this hypocrite falls short of saving faith, as in all the former things before mentioned of the sturdy hypocrite, as namely, that he was never truly humbled, he was never effectually persuaded by the Spirit of the Father to rest upon his free grace in Christ, and he did not make a right choice of Christ: for if he had seen an absolute need of Christ, than he would have prized Christ more than all parts and gifts, because he had gotten Christ which was better than all his abilities; but he hath made a match with his services and abilities, and hath only traded with Christ; he failed in all these, but the main wound of this hypocrite lies here, he rests not upon the Lord Jesus Christ, but upon his own bottoms, and his own abilities and performances, which God inables him to discharge, and so he falls short of a Saviour. All this will not do the deed, brethren, it is not rowing but landing which will do the deed; it was the guise of those wretched Hypocrites in Esay 56.3. they plead with God, and begin to wrangle, because he heard them not, and said, Why have we fasted, and thou regardest it not? as if they had said, Thou must needs do it, what shall I weep so much, and knock my breast so hard, and cry out, and turn to the Lord, and will not all this do the deed? no, for if thou couldst howl till thy mouth failed, and go mourning all thy days, and go howling down to the grave, if thou hast not Christ in all these, it will never do thee any good: what avails it a man to sail up and down in the ship, and can never get to land? he must certainly perish if he have no comfort: so do not delude your own hearts, you may row up and down in holy duties, and go from sin to duty, and from duty to sin, and never come to Christ, faith rests upon Christ, and not upon duties; we must not neglect duties, but we must not rest in them. Thus you see where this man falls short of saving faith: now to set it home a little, you see there are but few that have saving faith, if the ignorant man went out at one door, and the carnal gospeler at the other, and the mere civil man at the other, and all the hypocrites were put into a corner, where would there be any faith found upon the face of the earth? how few have faith? and how difficult is it to get faith? the Lord convince your judgements of it; you see how fare men go, and yet never have one grain of saving faith: what remains then? there are two things evident from hence: First, you that are gracious, and are the Saints of God, and see the baseness of the hearts of wicked men, go your ways home and fall to praying; Oh that we could leave preaching and hearing a little, and all of us fall to praying, and to examination; brethren, let us leave preaching and hearing, and all of us fall to mourning, that there are so few believers: you masters, go your ways home and mourn, that so many live in your families, and yet so few have gotten good by the ordinances of God; you that travel up and down, mourn in secret, and say, Here is every man busy in the world, one makes haste this way, another that way; so many chapmen and clothiers going up and down every week, and yet how few go home to Christ by faith, and receive mercy from him? in truth I condemn my own soul, because I have not a heart to mourn for them; we reprove their sins, and condemn them for their sin, and we must do so; but where are the heart blood petitions that we put up for them? and where are the tears that we make for the slain of our people? if they will needs go to hell, let us bury them with bitter lamentations, and not only should we do this, but also you tender hearted mothers, and you that live one with another; you tender hearted wives, you have husbands, and you prise them, and love them, and some good you have from them, consider this when you see your husbands take lewd courses, let your hearts break over them, and say, Oh woe is me for that poor husband of mine, john 3.18. He that believeth not, is condemned already; he is cast in heaven and in earth, both by law and Gospel, there is no relief for him: can you sit by a condemned husband, and eat and drink, and lie by a condemned husband, and never mourn for him? haply you follow him from one taphouse to another, and still a condemned man: do you love your husbands? if they were poor, you would mourn for them, if they were dead, you would mourn for them, and say, alas, I am left a poor widow! but he is a condemned husband, and hath not a dram of faith, and yet you cannot mourn for him: me thinks the sight of this should make you sink again, but alas our hearts are flinty, and we cannot mourn: and the like I may say of you mothers, there are many of you, whom God hath given children, beautiful, obedient, and wise, Oh mourn for them that so many come into the world, and so few come home to Christ by faith, the Lord be merciful to us in this last age of the world, we merely scramble for our own comfort, and regard not our salvation, therefore get you home and mourn for them, and say, Oh these poor children which I have brought up, and had much comfort from, they are poor condemned children! this were enough to sink us. Secondly, it should be a ground to make us search into ourselves, and think that the staff stands at our door, imagine the hand-writing comes upon every man, then let every man take his portion, and say, No faith, no Christ, and so consequently no salvation by Christ; look to thy own soul, and say, Have I found faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? if there be not, than I can tell my own doom, the sentence is passed already, shall we think of these, and yet live quietly? lay this under your pillow, and say, How can I sleep? a condemned man and sleep? what if God should take away my life ere morning? hell is prepared, and I fall into it: let every man take account of his own heart, and say, Have I any faith? husband, wife, child, hast thou any faith? It may be, saith one, I have it as well as another, but how do you prove it? and how will you do if you have it not? no ignorant person, no carnal gospeler, none of all these hath faith; what so many men that have so much knowledge, and yet fall short of faith and salvation? Lord, what shall become of me? is there any faith here? make it good then, or else yield the day, and confess, that there is no faith, and then there is some hope, say, I am a thousand miles off from faith, I never knew what it was to be thus enlightened, and to be wounded for sin, I can commit sin, and play with sin, but I never knew what it was to be wounded for sin, I never knew what it was to be zealous in a good course, there are many strict truths that I have not a heart to receive, I confess, I have no faith; now if you yield this, than there is some hope that you may get out; therefore take this advice, go to some faithful, humble, experienced Christian, and to some faithful Minister, and entreat them to advise you how to get faith, but do not go to a faithless heart, that hath no savour of grace, nor goodness in him, how can he tell that which he never had experience of? make privy search, whether ever you had grace or no, and if not, then labour to know the way how to come to it; if a man's state did lie at hazard, he would have every man's opinion, and he would inquire of this man and that man, whether his evidences were sound, and his title good, and he would spare for no pains not cost; much more should we do it for the title of eternal life: there is much counterfeit faith in the world, and thousands perish upon this ground, like motes in the sun, and never know where they are, till they are in hell; therefore go to the Lord by prayer, ask the counsel of some faithful Minister, and never rest till thy heart is persuaded of it. Use last. It is of exhortation: you that see the way, walk in it, you that know the way, I should set an edge on your desires and endeavours, labour, I say, hard for this blessed grace; as for you that have been labourers, you are to be encouraged, continue your prayers, and quicken those endeavours every day more and more: you that never did yet, you are to be provoked to the performance of the duty, and give no sleep unto your eyes, nor rest unto yourself, until you have this: and here are two things to be done: First, you must labour to get it. Secondly, you must labour to use it when you have it. First, you must labour to get faith, we ought to make it our daily task and study, the aim of a man's desire, the main white and mark that we should shoot at in all our labours: I would not have men account this as a matter of course, a duty reserved for a rainy day, as sometime I have observed here in the country, they will delay their base services, their lesser necessities for a rainy day, when they can do nothing else but O let us count it the most necessary duty, and not to reserve faith for a sick bed, an old age, a crazy body, only to get faith to go unto Christ, when wear going out of the world; no, this is unseasonable, this is unreasonable, and therefore take this home to you, and make it the main business of thy life, to get faith: I would have a Christian count all the endeavours that he did, besides his duties and performances, to count them all loss, wherein he hath not made some step in this glorious grace: why? alas! your hearing, your sacrifices, will never profit you, unless you have a heart to believe; nay, thy prosperity, thy blessings are cursed, unless thou hast this grace of faith: faith will make thee honourable in thy honour; faith will make thee blessed in prosperity: john 6.28. O how shall we work the works of faith? mark how he answereth, Why? this is the work of God, that you believe; why, would you do that which God might take contentment in? O this pleaseth the Lord admirably, and contenteth him wonderfully, when he seethe the soul leaves honour, and leaves prosperity, and leaves the world, and cometh to Christ, and lieth at his footstool, and will never leave him nor forsake him, this pleaseth the Lord admirably: it is true, all duties are good with this grace, but none of them will please God without this; thou mayst pray until thy eyes are weary, until thy heart sinketh, and thy Spirit fainteth, yet without faith the Lord careth not for thy best performances: if a poor Christian, whose parts are not so strong, whose prayers are not so powerful, can but sob and sigh out a prayer in faith, this is more pleasing to the Lord: Eccles. 7. a man will do any thing, that he may live; all a man's labour, it is that he might live; what wilt thou labour for clothes to cover thee, and meat to nourish thee, and wares for thy shop, and not for Christ and faith to save thy soul? therefore when your carnal friends would withdraw your endeavours, and say, what needeth all these prayers? and what needeth all these endeavours? answer, what, would you not have me live? observe the scope of all motions, and the end of all labour is rest; the poor seafaring man, his eye is upon the shore, when his hand is tugging at the oar; the traveller his body is in the way, and his heart is at home; the soldier fighteth, that he might have a peaceable victory; the people in the wilderness were travelling, and at last they had rest; Heb. 4.3. we are thus wildering, we are thus travellers, and we are thus poor seafaring men, that are tossed up and down the waters of the world, and in seas of sorrow, and the truth is, we are so in wrath, and vengeance, 〈…〉 horror of conscience, and would not you have rest? Heb. 4.4. He that doth believe, doth enter into that rest, he hath entered into that rest: Brethren, the truth is we are tossed, we are thus troubled; miseries without, horror within. Would you not now be at rest? there is no more horror to trouble you, no more vengeance to plague thee, no more wrath to haunt thee; let thy eye be upon the shore; pray to believe, and hear to believe, and labour to believe, labour for that rest. For the further clearing of the point, I will here discover three particulars: 1 I will show you the hindrances of faith. 2 I will show you the means to get faith. 3 I will show you the motives to persuade you to labour for it. 1 What these be that hinder a man from getting faith, and here in the general know thus much; they are very many, and very dangerous: it is therefore a point of wisdom to be careful to foresee these hindrances, and to be watchful to prevent these: Satan above all doth labour to hinder a poor soul this way, he would not have a man chaste, he would not have a man regenerate, he would not have a man meek and humble, but above all, he would not have him believe, for than he knows he is gone: If he be so violent to cast hindrances in our way, we should be as watchful and careful to avoid these hindrances. It is that we shall observe concerning Peter; Satan, saith our Saviour, desires to winnow thee: Now that Christ aimed at, was that he would winnow his faith, and Christ laboured to fortify that, for saith he, I have prayed that thy faith fail not; as if he had said, if faith holds, all holds: the Devil sights neither against small nor great, but only against faith; he deals with faith, as one enemy doth with another in the field in fight one against another; if the enemy perceive that there is some castle, or some trench, to which the contrary side have resort upon all occasions, all their aiming is to cut off their passage & the bridge, that they may not come to the shelter, and then they can conquer them, and prevail against them as they list. This is an ordinary care that one enemy hath against another: So Satan deals with the soul, he easily perceives that the Lord Jesus Christ, and his promises, are the castle of a distressed soul; they are the trenches wherein the soul may refresh itself, and find succour upon all occasions. Now Satan labours to cut off the passage of confidence, and take away the bridge of belief, when he hinders a man from resting and believing in Christ, he cuts him from coming to his shelter and castle, therefore he can prevail against him as he please. Therefore let the soul be so much the more wary to prevent these hindrances, because Satan is so careful and watchful to lay hindrances in the way, and to fortify all sides that we may not believe in Christ; this is the greatest labour of Satan, to hinder us, let it be our greatest endeavour to attain it. Now to deal more plainly, the hindrances that Satan casts in our way to keep us from believing, are of two sorts. The first are those hindrances that do disinable a man from coming to Christ, as having no title to him, no interest in his mercy: some hindrances do really withhold a man, that he cannot rely upon, and repair unto the Lord Jesus Christ: Other there be again, that do not take away our interest in the promises; they do not hinder our title we have to Christ, but we hinder ourselves from coming to Christ, because we are not wise to prevent these hindrances as we should, and avoid them as we ought. First, we will begin with the former, and the question is, what are those real hindrances that keep the soul that it cannot believe in the Lord jesus, that it never shall believe in the Lord jesus, upon these terms in that estate and condition, those hindrances are especially four: The first is this: A blinded careless and senseless security and presumption, which commonly takes possession of the hearts of men, whereby they content themselves with their condition, because they know not the misery of their condition: Mark what I say, this same sluggish senseless, this same careless presumption of a man's welfare, when there is no such matter, he is only blinded and deluded. When men cry peace, peace, to their souls, when they conclude their estates are good, they desire to be no better, because they see no other, because they see not the misery of it. These cannot see the excellency of faith, therefore cannot make a step to go to Christ by faith; such a soul is riveted and screwed to his base wretched condition: therefore there is no trading with him in matters of faith, till his conscience be a wakened, and his sins discovered. The text saith, The whole need not the Physician, and therefore will not seek him; nay, he will not receive him when he comes, he cares not for him; while we think ourselves whole, and safe, and sound, and seared, and speak peace to our souls in our natural condition; we look not after Christ, neither will we receive Christ, if he come to our doors. It is a fine passage of Saint Paul, and it is the ground he makes of the unbelief of the jews: Rom. 11.25. the text saith, Hardness is come upon the jews, till the fullness of the Gentiles is come in: the word in the original is pretty. There is a kind of sleepy, sluggish, stupid, benumbed senselessness in the Jew, till the Gentiles came in; the one are hindered from coming to Christ, and believing in him, because they are rocked asleep: therefore the word in the original signifies a stillness: for when a man hath got a stupid benumbed heart, he is all stilled, all quiet and at rest; he seethe nothing, he looks after nothing, he cares for nothing, but rests in the condition he is in: and in this the Jews shall dwell, till the Lord awakes him out of this security. This is the cause men complain, they cannot endure sharp preaching, and to have their sins discovered, and their consciences awakened. I wonder Ministers should make this ado, cannot men go to Heaven without such a stir? they see no need therefore they desire no trouble: this is that the Lord observes of the Church of Laodicea: Revel. 3. which was an argument of the base estate she was in. Thou sayest thou art rich and needest nothing, and knowest not that thou art poor, and blind, and miserable, and naked, because she knew not her misery, she never laboured to go to Christ, to be freed from her misery; and it is observed Zephany 3.12. when the Lord would discover a people that should believe, he saith, I will leave an afflicted and a poor people, a poo●e soul that trembles at God's Word, and seethe his misery; he is like to look out for secure from the Lord jesus: nay famous is that place, john 12.39. mark a passage or two, they are very observable and useful for the point in hand. There our Saviour speaking of the Jews, saith, they could not believe; he adds the reason, for I say saith, The heart of this people is waxed fat, he hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, and believe with their hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them: There are two passages observable, one by the by, that believing and converting are all one in Scripture, he saith, they could not believe, that they might not he converted; but here was the ground why they could not believe: Their eyes were blinded, and their hearts were hardened. They were in a senseless benumbed secure cursed course, they hope to be saved, and all is well, and they never see what condition they are in, till they are in Hell; therefore they never seek out for mercy: Therefore Christ saith to the Jews, Ye will not come to me to be saved, for how can ye believe, when ye seek the honour one of another, and seek not the honour that comes from God. It is impossible for a man to be in Hell and in Heaven both at once, for light and darkness to be together in one place, for a man to rest upon sin, and upon the fee grace of Christ, as long as thou art settled, as long as thou restest in thy base course, as long as thou livest in a natural sleepy condition. Tell it to your children, you that are Parents; tell it to your husbands, you that are wives; husband, how can you believe? child, how can you believe? when thou seekest not the honour of God, but settlest thyself upon thy base rebellions, and restest upon thy corruptions: Thus we see the hindrance, it is a sleepy secure carelessness of condition. Now the cure of it is this, namely, labour to enforce thyself, touching thine own estate, and pinch thine own heart, awaken and stir up thy soul, and pinch thine own heart in the apprehension of that misery, and woefulness of that condition thou art in, and you shall help one another. A man that is asleep cannot awaken himself, but another man that is but new awake, that scarce hath his senses about him, can stir another better than himself: be you so wise: Every poor sinner is asleep and secure in sin, when will his eyes be open? he will never see, he can never awaken himself; and jog him, and pinch him, awaken him you must, believe the word, you are in a fearful condition, in a miserable estate. A natural man, is an accursed man; thus deal one with another, and resolve of this in two or three passages. Let every man say the Word is true, and reason undeniable, unless I be altered in my condition, I shall be confounded in my condition; unless I be another man, I am an accursed man; unless I be borne again by the Word, it had been better for me I had never been borne into the world. I must not think that Christ will carry my soul and my sins to Heaven together: I must not persuade my heart that flesh and blood can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: no heart, it will not be, you are sleepy and sluggish, and you think Christ will save you; no, no, 'tis true Christ came to save sinners, and 'tis as true Christ came to humble sinners, and to sanctify sinners, and to convert sinners: Christ came to save his servants from sin, as well as from Hell: Tell thou thy own heart thus, and never be quiet till thou affect thy soul with the apprehension of Christ; I am a miserable man, and shall be so for ever, if I continue in this condition. Secondly, again, imagine that the heart is now awakened a little, that the sinner begins to see that he must change; he looks about, and conceives God is angry, and his sins are heinous, and hell is gaping for him; and the Lord tells him, there is your portion, thither you will go one day, either you must be another man, or else an accursed man: When the soul gins to think of this, that he must be altered and changed; the other hindrance of faith is this, that a sinner thinks he can change himself: this is another main hindrance, and it is one of the greatest hindrances under Heaven. First, the soul thinks it needs no change, what saith the soul? do you tell me of Hell, and stagger my conscience, I think myself well enough, but that Ministers will not let me alone. But now he seethe he must change, and thinks with himself, either I must have my soul humbled, and my life reform, or else go down to Hell; and then he shuffles for himself, and sharks for his own comfort, and hopes to change himself, and help himself out of misery, he conceives it is in his power, to procure his safety, and to satisfy all the wrong done to God, he now becomes a Saviour of himself. Where is Christ now? he keeps the staff in his own hand now, and he will still have it in his own power to procure his own happiness: This is that every man is naturally given to, since he must alter, he will have it in his own power to alter himself, and save himself. This seems to me to be the meaning of the young man's speech, Matthew 19 when he came to trade for life and happiness: What shall I do, saith he, to gain eternal life? Christ saith, go thy way, and keep the Commandments: Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, etc. I have kept all these from my youth, saith he, what want I yet? as who should say, if thou have not enough, thou shalt have enough before I go; I will pay thee upon the nail, I will be aforehand with thee, I will not owe thee a farthing token: What want I yet? as though he would not be only even hand, but afore hand with God; as who should say, he could not miss Heaven, if he could do as he thought he was able to do. To have all a man's good in another, to receive all spiritual good from another, this is that nature is hardly brought unto, and yet this must be done, if ever we believe. To make the matter plain otu of Scripture, this was the main hindrance that kept the Jews from embracing Jesus Christ: men think they are the bravest Christians in the world, because they have this, and can do that, because they enjoy these abilities, nay perform these services; not that a man should now not do these, but the resting here, and to think to help a man's self by this means, and the taking up a man's rest in these means, and the opinion of merit, this is the bane of religion, Rom. 〈◊〉 2. For I bear them record, saith the text, that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge: the jews had a zeal for God, they loved religion, and they were Christians, and circumcised, and do not these attain to life and salvation? no, for saith the text, they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God in Christ: what is the reason of this? because they went about to establish their own righteousness. Three things there be in the third verse for our purpose: First, that a man cannot be saved by his own righteousness, but by the righteousness of God, in and through Christ. Secondly, that it is a point of submission and subjection, (Oh mark this) and it is a great point, it is a point of humility and submission to take and receive righteousness from another. It is a great point of submission, to have all from Christ, and nothing in ourselves to have grace from Christ, and comfort from Christ, this is admirable. Now what hinders this submission? why? thirdly, the text saith, They went about to establish their own righteousness of their own works, as if that could do the deed, or nothing: thou must count them dung in respect of the righteousness of Christ; that is the first, the whole nation of the Jews fell short of Christ in this point: the second place, is Rom. 9.31, 32. mark how he reason's the● What shall we say then? as who should say, you will think we speak strange things, and it is a strange thing, but it is a true thing, that the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, have attained unto righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; but Israel which followed the law of righteousness, have not attained the law of righteousness; why? because they sought it not by faith, but by the works of the law. Three things again here in the text consider: First, what shall we say? is it possible? what, a Gentile saved, and a Jew condemned? what, a Gentile that knew not God, attain mercy, and the Jews and people of God, cast off from mercy? what shall we say then? why? mark the text, a Gentile that never trusted to his own righteousness, that is, a miserable sinful creature he seethe himself nothing, haply a cursed drunkard, or an adulterer, the Lord opens his eyes, discovers his sins, and makes him see he is a lost man, and makes him see, that a Christ must save him from the sins of his prayers, and a Christ must save him from the sins of his performances, or else he is an undone man for ever: Another man now, the Jew he sought after the law, that is, they were strict in the performance of the law, they had their circumcision, their washing, and all services, upon all occasions curiously; how comes this to pass now, that the one is saved, and the other damned? because the one will be beholding to Christ, the other will not, therefore the one hath mercy, the other hath not. Now we will explain the point, and the practice of it: will you see how men procure their own ruin in this kind? take a poor sinner that is fallen into a base course, what is the course he takes to save himself? he is informed what to do, and his conscience is awakened, therefore he goeth aside, and forceth himself, and labours to force his heart to a melting for, and hatred against his corruptions, whereby God hath been displeased, now haply God breaks his heart, and tears flow abundantly, and the man riseth off his knees, and here takes up his stand, and thinks all is well, and in conclusion thus he lives, and is as bad as ever he was before; and the next temptation that is offered to him, he is taken aside with the same sin again, the reason is, he went away, and thought, my heart hath been enlarged, I have confessed my sins, and God hath humbled my soul, and therefore I shall be saved, and rests upon his humiliation, and not upon Christ; upon his confession, and not upon Christ; so that his humiliation and confession is his Saviour, he hath made provision at home, therefore will not go to the Lord Jesus Christ: another man, God opens his eyes, and makes him see his ignorance, (the Minister tells him, he must humble his soul, and pray in his family) now he finds himself marvellous blind, and unable to do it, now he bewails his ignorance and carelessness, and waits upon God in his ordinances, and gets ability to perform those duties, so that now he performs holy duties after an excellent manner, and there he stayeth, and in conclusion returns to his old fashion again: what is the reason? he establisheth his own righteousness, (he settled upon duty alone, and there was an end) he fell short of Christ, and rested upon doing of duties, and so went no further at all: well then, we have the hindrances. Then for the cure remember two passages: First, be fearful and jealous of thyself, when through God's assistance and help thou art able to get some power in the performance of service, to get some measure of sufficiency, when thou hast abilities about thee, be most fearful and jealous, because than thy estate lieth in most hazard: do in this case as seafaring men do, they hoist up sail, and go amain, where there is no hazard, and where there is sea room enough, but if they go in a strait or in a sand, where many have suffered shipwreck, and there is a remembrance of it, such a man perished here, and such a man suffered shipwreck here: how careful are they then to stern aright, and observe all curiously and exactly, lest they fall where others fell before them, and suffer shipwreck where others were overthrown: or look as it is with men that travel, if they come to some suspicious or thievish places, though they were careless before, yet when they come there, lest they be surprised on the sudden, and to fortify themselves, one rides with his sword drawn, and another with his hand upon his sword, and they make what speed they can, because they suspect an assault: so it is here, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands: I tell you, carnal security hath killed many, but carnal confidence hath sunk down ten hundred thousands into hell: when you come then to this stand, when God hath enlightened your minds, and given you some parts, and bestowed some abilities upon you, and now you clap and applaud yourselves, and say, this is somewhat, this it is to be a Christian, poor novices must come and live upon my crumbs, and desire my information, the Lord hath enlightened my eyes, and wrought upon my heart, thou art now upon a sand, for the Lord Jesus sake, take heed to thyself; here Saint Paul had like to have suffered shipwreck, and here those hypocrites in Isay 28. suffered shipwreck; here is the skull of one man, and the hand of another man, and the soul of another man; I mean, thousands have suffered shipwreck here: now look to heaven, and suspect thine own soul, and think, if the Lord keep me now, I shall escape the worst, but here is the most hazard, therefore I must be most careful hereof: it is pretty to observe in experience, poor Christians that are lowly and humble, how tenderly do they walk, how fearful are they of their hearts, of their pride, and peevishness, and idleness, and carelessness; when you shall see a bold brazen faced, presumptuous, carnal wretch, because he can pray, and read, and hear, he will follow riotous fashions, and continue in base courses, and carry all away with his abilities. The second thing I would have you consider, is this, grow every day up in the observance of thine own baseness, and in the acquaintance of thine own weakness in the best of thy duties; this is a sweet pitch of a Christian, the more God bestows, and the more grace God vouchsafes; he goeth away, and hangs down his head, and wonders at God's goodness, that ever the Lord should help a poor creature, so to call upon his Name, and says, Lord it is thy grace, it came from the assistance of thy Spirit; but that ever a wretch should say to his services and duties, ye are my gods; abhor this in thy soul, and keep a marvellous dislike of thyself, and a low esteem of thy duties, and be wondering at God's grace, and admiring at God's mercy, and return to God, that he hath given thee power to perform any service, and lie thou in the dust, and trample upon thine own performances; do therefore as Paul did, Phil. 3.7. he saith, Now these things I counted gain, I count loss for Christ: Oh, my zeal for the Law, and the exact strictness of the Pharisees; I thought that would have carried me to Heaven, but they are dung, I will tread them underfeets; nay doubtless, I count all things, not only the services I did before, and the prayers before God called me, but even since the best prayers and performances I ever did, dung in the comparison of Christ. What avails it for a man to fail fai●e on the Sea, and suffer shipwreck in the haven? he had been as good have perished at Sea: thou sailest fair in the world, in thy duties, and thou sufferest shipwreck in the haven, and restest in thy duties, and goest down to hell, thou, and thy duties, and all: therefore labour to see a need of a Christ, even to heal and to pardon thy best performances, that ever thou madest, and never leave thy soul and thy service, till thou grow to 〈◊〉 apprehension of the baseness therein, and so 〈◊〉 to Christ. The third hindrance is this, the sinner by this time is driven from these two holds, and driven two stairs higher to Christ; the sinner seethe he must change, and that he cannot help himself, his prayers and performances are good things, good means, but the Physician is in another place, a man's legs may carry him to the Physician, but they cannot cure him; so a man's services are good things, but he cannot help himself, he must go to another for help. Another hindrance is this, when the sinner sees he cannot help himself, yet he thinks he is able to go to another for help; it is a thing incident to our nature, and it is usual, that we think, that it is in our power to believe, and that the matter of resting upon Christ, is not a matter of that difficulty, and that hardness, as some Ministers pretend, and the Word seems to express unto us, and this is that keeps a man utterly from going out; I beseech you observe it, though a man cannot help himself in nature, yet a man will say, he can call to another for help, though a man cannot secure himself in his want and necessity, yet to take supply from another, that is an easy matter: so when we cannot do what duties we should, when we cannot satisfy God's justice as he requires, and answer the law, we think though we ourselves cannot help ourselves, yet we can go to Christ, and entreat him, and beseech him to help us, and we can receive succour and help from him, this is not so hard a matter, this is our nature, take notice of it in experience, look into the course of men's carriages and lives, we shall observe, that every man will acknowledge his infirmities in other things, but now his inabilities in this, there is not one man confesseth: one complains, his abilities are poor, he cannot pray as he should; another, his parts are mean, he cannot confer as he ought; another, his passions are unruly and heady, and he cannot master them as God requires and commands: thus every one will confess his infirmities in other things, but go to every man's door, and ask, do you not believe? why? all the swearers, and drunkards, and sots in the town, they can believe, they can do this, though they can do nothing else; they cannot pray, they cannot understand, they cannot remember, they cannot subdue their corruptions, but they shall be taken away with company, and fall into that sin, but they can believe in Christ with all their hearts: thus we see that every man thinks it in his power, and within the compass of his ability naturally to rest upon Christ. Now mark what followeth, why should a man desire that he hath? why should he seek for that he hath attained? why should he labour to be possessed of that which is in his own power, and he is possessed of already? if I can believe naturally, if it be in my power to go to Christ when I list, why shall I use all means, and receive ability to do that which I can do by my own power? and this I take to be one main ground, why the endeavours of men are taken off from attending, and why the labours of Christians are taken off from seeking often this blessed precious grace of faith: there are many grounds why men are driven to this kind of conceit, there are many reasons that make way for this conceit: As first, to believe, is a spiritual thing between God and thy own soul, to pray and reform, belongs to the outward practice, but to believe, is a closure of the heart, with an entertaining of the Lord and his truth, and the giving way of our souls thereunto: now because men cannot see their faith, therefore no man will yield, but he doth believe. Secondly, men conceive, that it is an easy matter to take of mercy from Christ, and say they, is there any man that will not have mercy? is it such a hard matter to receive favour offered, or to take a gift when it is tendered unto us? Thirdly, these do apprehend, that the assenting to the Gospel of Christ, wherein is revealed the riches of God's mercy, is all that is required in faith, when the Lord saith, He hath sent his Son into the world, that he hath prepared salvation in him, and wrougt redemption through him: they acknowledge and assent to the truth, and conceive, this is whole to believe; upon this ground, poor creatures think it is in their power to believe, and take grace and help from Christ, though they cannot help themselves; therefore they labour not to get grace from God to do this work, because they think they can perform this work by their own ability and power. The cure of this hindrance is this, and it lieth specially in these three meditations: First, see thyself, and convince thy own heart, how thou art cozened, and thy conscience how thou art deceived in common sense, when such thoughts creep into thy mind, and reason thus; were it in my power alone to believe, or in any man's power else, would any man go to hell for want of believing? if it were in my power, or any man's power else to get faith, would any man perish for want of faith? Take a little experience from those that lie on their death beds: A riotous wretch that hath run headlong against the Lord and his truth, a man that hath lived stubbornly and stoutly under the means of grace, and hath taken up arms against God and his grace, he lieth gasping, and then he looks to Heaven, and considers what shall become of him: The Minister saith he must renounce himself, and apply Christ and his promises to his soul: Oh, saith he, I cannot believe the Lord will save me, and pardon me, and comfort me, I cannot rest upon the promises of God: What, I such a sinner, and saved? what, I such a sinner and comforted? I cannot believe it, if all the Angels in Heaven tell it me; is it in this man's power to believe now when he sees Hell open before him, and the devils ready to receive him? do you think he would rush into Hell, if he could believe and escape it? Secondly, look into the depth of thine own heart, and weigh seriously thine own weakness by the balance of the Sanctuary, and thine own infirmities by the blessed Word of the Lord, and see that thou must not only have a gift from God to take it; God must not only give a man a gift, but power to receive it: joh. 3.27. No man can receive any thing, unless it be given him from above; therefore judge your own abilities, not according to your own conceits, and overweening imaginations, but judge by the Word, and judge righteous judgement, that a man can receive no good thing, unless God give him power. The gift must come from above, and the power must come from above, whereby he must receive it. Thirdly, consider and settle thine own heart in this same determination and resolution, that there must be a supernatural power put forth to make thee believe, or else all the power under Heaven cannot furnish thee with sufficiency thereunto; a man is able to do the condition of the first covenant, as to observe the condition of the second covenant: he is as well able to keep the Law, as to believe the Gospel, unless there be a power to enable him: james 1.18. Her hath begotten us according to his own will, by the Word of truth; a child cannot beget himself: So it is here spiritually, as there naturally, the Lord doth beget us according to his own will, it is not in our own will to beget ourselves, as the Pelagians dreamt, it is not in our will to dispose of our hearts, to take Christ when we will, to let him stand at door so long as we see fit, and take him in when we see fit: but it is the Will of the Lord that must beget us, and not our will, that can beget ourselves: Therefore that faith that groweth upon the ground of thy own natural ability, it is a fancy, it is no sound faith. God must come down from heaven to thy soul, before thou canst go up to heaven again; faith must be first wrought in thy soul, before thou canst be carried to God by faith; there must be a power in all means, above all means; there must be a spirit in all endeavours above all endeavours, to help us to believe, or else we shall never believe while the world standeth: therefore avoid those proud imaginations of heart, when men think they may refuse grace, & take grace when they list, shut Christ out of doors over night, and take him in the morning, it is against sense, and there is nothing more cross and contrary to the power of grace: No, go secretly between God and thine own soul, and confute it; what, I Lord, and my parts Lord; what, in my will Lord to believe, and in my power, and so forth: no, if all men and Angels should conspire together, and all the Ministers under Heaven join together to work faith in my soul, it will never be, the power of Angel, Men or Word, will never work it, but it must be the power of the Lord that must work it; as we may see, Ephes. 1.18. The same power that brought Christ out of the grave, must bring the soul to Christ, or else it will never come while the world stands: be persuaded of these things, they are true, choose whether you will believe them; but the Lord make you believe them, that you may receive comfort to your souls. We come now in the second place, to those second kind of hindrances which do not deprive a man of the title to Christ, but through our own folly and weakness they stop us from coming so readily to Christ; we have interest in a promise, but through our own ignorance, and Satan's subtlety, we go not so readily to a promise we have title to. The ground of all these hindrances is one, and that is this; namely when men out of carnal reason contrive another way to come to Christ than ever God ordained, than ever the Word revealed; when we set up a standard by God's standard, when out of the heady haughty imaginations of our minds, we make other terms and conditions of believing, than ever God made, then ever Christ required; we lay bars in the way, and lay bolts upon our feet, and manacles upon our hands, and then we complain we cannot go; the fault is your own, and the impediments are many, because carnal reason is fruitful to devise, and Satan follows, and fires, these imaginations. I will only mention three hindrances which are mainly observable, by which many a gracious heart is wonderfully damped from coming to, and receiving benefit from the Lord Jesus Christ. Hindrance 1 The first hindrance, is a desperate kind of despair and discouragement which sometimes oppresseth the soul of a distressed sinner; the distressed soul looks upon his own corruption, and worthiness, and sinfulness, and then he dares not come to Christ: he views the number of his sins so many, the nature of his abominations so heinous, the continuance of them so long, the soul of a distressed man sends his thoughts affarre off, and views all, both the abominations of his life, and the distempers of his soul, and seethe his iniquities mustering up themselves, and Satan helps him forward; for this is his policy; First, he will keep a sinner if he can, that he shall not see sin, and then all will be whole; and the sinner thinks there is mercy enough in a Saviour, and why should I trouble myself? but when he sees the sinner will poor upon his sins, than he shall see nothing else but sin, so that he dares not go to God for mercy: this is that I desire to trade in, and follow Satan as far as I can. Now the sinner that is in this case, tell him that mercy is in Christ, and redemption offered in a Saviour, he dares not hear of it, he dares not think of it: what saith he, shall I once imagine or think that there is any mercy for me? that I have any title to, or interest in Christ? that were strange, and the soul is here foiled and fastened upon his own misery, and never goeth to the Physician; he stairs in the wound and never goes to a Saviour; for a man is as well kept from going to Christ, by poring continually upon his distempers by despair, as by resting upon his own sufficiency by presumption; he that seethe not his sins, he thinks he hath sufficiency, and therefore will not go to Christ, and when a sinner seethe and feeleth the burden of his iniquities, he dares not go to a Saviour; this is the course of Satan, and here in he is marvellous cunning: but this should not be any discouragement to our hearts from coming to the Lord jesus Christ: for I beseech you observe it, for whom did Christ come into the world? for whom did Christ die? when he came, it was not for the righteous, that needed him not; but for the sinners, that had condemned themselves; and he came to save those that could not save themselves: 1 Tim. 1.15. It is a faihfull saying, Christ came to save sinners, whereof I am the chief: Zachary 13.1. There is a Fountain set open for all people to wash in, all sorts of sins, and all sorts of sinners; there is a fountain set open for them, be they what they will be, be they what they can be; their sins never so great, the time never so long, and the heinousness never so vild, come they that will come, come and welcome. There was a fiery Serpent in the wilderness, and there was a brazen Serpent to cure them that were stung; so if thou be'st stung with the fiery Serpent of sin, Christ is the brazen Serpent that will heal thee. Esay 43.24. When the jews had tired God with their wickedness, and wearied him with their distempers, yet the Lord for his own Name sake pardoned all their iniquities, and remembered their sins no more: I say this, though our sins be never so heinous, never so vile and abominable in themselves: if the soul can see these, and be burdened with these, they do not hinder the work of faith, and the work of mercy. I would fain have you think of that which I now say; it is not our sinfulness properly, I mean our unworthiness, but our haughtiness that hinders us from coming to a Saviour; it is not a man's baseness and sin that hinders him, but his own haughtiness that lets him from coming to a Saviour; we would have somewhat in ourselves, and not all from Christ; therefore when we have nothing in ourselves, we are loath to go to Christ: were your sins lesser, and your holiness greater, than you would go; then mark what followeth; thou goest to Christ, not because of the freeness of his grace, but because thou hast something in thyself to encourage thee to go to Christ; thou wilt have something before thou wilt go to Christ, and therefore wilt not have all from Christ: therefore it is not thy baseness, and thy sins that hinder thee from Christ, but it is thy haughtiness and pride. Object. But Satan suggests and the soul replies: I dare not come to Christ, not only because of my sins, but because it is the freeness of the offer of grace that I have rejected. Answ. Why this will not hinder thee neither, provided thou canst be humbled for this; though thou hast cast off the kindness of the Lord, he will not reject thee and cast off thee, if thou wilt come unto him: Esay 57.18. the text saith, for his wickedness I have smitten him, and was angry with him, yet he turned after the way of his own heart; by this means judah should never be recalled: but mark what the Lord adds, I will heal him, and restore comfort unto him: as if he had said, poor soul, I have striven with him, but he scorned me; I offered him grace, he received it not, but went after the stubbornness of his own heart; he seethe not his misery, but I see it, and I will pardon it: jerem. 3.2. Yet return to me, saith the Lord: there is no time to late, if a man have a heart to return: Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; that is, thou hast followed many sins, and addicted thyself to many distempers, yet return unto me. If a man put away his wife for fornication, will he receive her again? no, he will not do it: yet you have had many base haunts and backdoores, yet return unto me, after all that stubbornness whereby you have opposed my grace, and slighted my mercy: yet return unto me, and receive grace offered. There is no limit of the pardon and free grace of God offered to a poor sinner, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; the Lord stands, and waits, and knocks, if any man will open; though he call till he be hoarse, and knock till he be weary, yet if any man will open, be the drunkard never so base, the adulterer never so vile, if he will open, the Lord will come, and will bring his comforts with him, and will s●p with him, and restore consolation to him. Object. But you will say, Ay, that's true, if I had but a heart to mourn for them: see my sins I do, and I cannot but acknowledge my corruptions: but I am not sensible of the load that lies upon me, I cannot be burdened with the evils that oppress me, I have a heart not only that doth not, but that cannot mourn. Answ. I answer, this hinders not neither, provided thou be'st troubled, because thou canst not be troubled; provided thy heart be weary of itself, because it cannot be weary of its sins; if this be thy temper and frame, this hinders thee not from the mercy of God which is offered and thou needest: for that Christ that freely pardons sin, can, and will, and that easily, break thy heart, and fit it for pardon: Micah 7.18. The Lord pardons sins, and subdues iniquities; not because thou pleasest him, but because mercy pleaseth him: wherefore did the Lord show most mercy to Saul when he shown most hatred against him; Saul is posting to Damascus, and breathing out threatenings against Christ; the Lord is opposed by Saul, and the Lord in the mean time pities and shows mercy to Saul; Saul persecutes him, and he makes his moan to Saul; Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? the bloody jailor that opposed the means of grace, the Lord overcame him by the means of grace; he that resisted the means of grace, was brought home by the power of the means to the Lord Jesus Christ. Object. But the soul saith, this is that which overthrows me, you are now come to the quick, this very word is like a millstone about my neck, that will sink my soul into discouragement for ever; for this is my misery, the means doth not better me, though Saul and the jailor were bad enough, yet they were bettered by the means, but this is the hopeless condition of my heart, prayer will not work, the means of grace will not prevail; sometimes I think, Lord, this Lord's day will do, and this sermon will work it, but to this very day the word of the Lord profits not, nor works upon me for my good, and is there such a heart in hell? is there any hope that I shall ever have grace, when the means which should work grace will do me no good? this is the last plea of the soul, and indeed of Satan, whereby he holds many a distressed foul in hand, that God intends no good towards him. Answ. I answer, yet this hinders not, but at least thou mayst have a hope of mercy to support thy heart in the expectation of good, and that I may speak clearly, observe three passages: First, the word and means do work; if it do make thee more sensible, and more apprehensive of thy own hardness and deadness, though indeed it works not that good, and after that manner thou wouldst, and desirest, and expectest, yet if it make thee see thy own baseness, and observe thy own wretchedness, in regard of that body of death that hangs upon thee, it works marvellous well, after the best manner, because it is after God's manner, though not after that manner which thou desirest, and seest best in thy own apprehension; observe it, that physic works most kindly, that makes the patiented sick; that salve that draws before it heals, cures most safely: so it is with the word, it works kindly, when it makes thee sick of these distempers, when it shows thee the stubbornness and deadness of thy own heart, and makes thee apprehend, that a broken spirit is the gift of God, and not of man and means; therefore the Lord will make thee look to him to work it and continue it; therefore know that this is a work of God; for to see deadness is life, and to feel hardness is softness; only beware, that there be not a haunt of heart and distemper, that thy soul cleaves to, and pants after, and thou art loath to part withal; for then the word will harden thee, because thou hardenest thyself, but if thou art content that the word should lay open the bowels of thy heart, and discover what ever is amiss, and reveal what ever is cross to God's command, and pluck away every corruption and distemper; then if the word reveals any hardness in thee, know that the word works comfortably, that reveals hardness and baseness, and doth drive thee out of thyself to God for succour. Secondly, thou art the cause why thy heart is not softened, thou art the fault why the word prevails not, because the distemper of thy heart hinders the work of the word, and the dispensation of God's providence, and the tenor of the covenant of grace; when a man will stint the Lord, and limit the holy One of Israel, just this sermon, and this quarter, and this season, this hinders the nature of the covenant, and crosses the work of the covenant of grace; the Lord doth not stand bend to thy bow, the Lord is not at thy call, he will not give thee grace when thou wilt, but when he pleases; no, it is not for us to know the times and the seasons that God hath appointed; what if thou goest upon thy hands and knees begging of mercy to the last gasp, and if then the Lord be pleased to shine in a drop of goodness and mercy, it is more than the Lord owes; therefore hear to day, and attend to morrow, thou knowest not whether God will bless this sermon, or that means, or the other ordinance; and do not complain upon the means, but attend God's leisure, and remember the Lord hath waited long for thee in the time of your rebellion, in the day of your ignorance, before you looked towards the Lord; and therefore if the Lord now make you wait for mercy and assurance of his love, know that the Lord deals equally, and kindly, and lovingly with you, and so as all shall be best for you; and know that this distemper of heart opposeth the tenor of the covenant of grace, for the Lord gives what he will, when he will, and after what manner he will; therefore stint not God in his giving, but wait when and what he will bestow upon thee. Thirdly, know that thou restest upon thy own duties and endeavours, and goest not out to God that blesseth both the means and thy endeavours for thy good; and that is the reason why thy heart is not enlarged, and grace communicated; the fault is thy own, because thou restest in thy performances, and in the means, and goest not to God that would have done more than all, and wrought more than all these. If I think and am persuaded I have power to go out of myself, in conceiving I have power, and staying there, I stay in myself, when I think to go out of myself; it is a supernatural work, and the same hand must bring us out of ourselves, that must bring us to Christ, the same hand must pluck us out of ourselves and sins, that must bring us to the Lord Jesus Christ; therefore if I think, and through Satan's delusion conceive, that I have ability to go out of myself, I repose upon my own ability, when I profesly renounce my own ability, I maintain a repose upon my own ability, when I renounce it, I say, I can do nothing, and yet rest upon that I can do; it is a point very profitable, therefore mark what I say, this is self denial in truth, when the soul knows it hath nothing, and therefore is overpowered by the almighty work of God's Spirit, and is stopped, as it were, in so much that the soul of a sinner doth not look to expect any power, or any principle from itself; or any creature, or any duty, the soul of an humble sinner knows he is a dead man in sin; he cannot direct his own ways; therefore when he is brought to deny himself, it is by the almighty work of God's Spirit, when the Lord draws the soul, that it looks not inward, it looks not downward, it looks not to the creature, it expects no principle from within, no power from the means to perform any duty, when then I think with myself, I have power and ability to go out of my self, than I say, I have a power within me to do something pleasing to God, namely, I can deny myself, which is contrary; for to deny a man's self, is to look for no power, or expect any power or sufficiency from himself, or from the creature to perform that God requires: therefore we must listen and look only to the voice of Christ, he that calls us from darkness, must call us to the glorious light of himself: we must as well listen to the voice that must pluck us out of ourselves, and expect power from Christ to pluck us out of ourselves, as we must expect power from Christ to go unto him: the conclusion therefore is this; I would have a sinner say, and think with himself, I expect no power, Lord, from myself, I intent to wait upon the Lord, that hides himself from the house of Israel, and I will look up, I will use all means, and improve all helps I can, but I will not look to hearing, from that to receive any thing; I will not look to the Minister, from him to receive any thing; but in these means of hearing, and prayer, and in the use of all ordinances, I will look up unto God that hides his face from his servant for the while, and will look up to that wisdom to be informed, that is wiser than the wisdom of the means, and I will look up to that power to be strengthened, that is stronger than the power of the means: Habak. 3.17. when he saw all began to fail, though the figtree blossom not, and the vine flourish not, yet will I rejoice in the Lord, and stay myself upon the God of my salvation; mark this, when all means under heaven fail, when the fig tree blossoms not, when the vine flourisheth not; when all means fail, yet there is mercy with the Lord, there is power and strength and sufficiency in the Lord, to do my soul good; and say thou, though my sins be great, and exceeding great, though my heart be hard and comes not under the power of God's ordinances, and the means of grace work not upon my soul, yet I will look up to the Lord, and my eyes shall be towards him; my eyes shall not be inward to look upon any thing in myself, but my eyes shall look upon to the Lord, and expect all from him: and thus much shall suffice for the second hindrance. Object. Hindrance 3 The third hindrance, which hinders a poor sinner from coming to Christ, is the want of sense and feeling, and therefore the distressed sinner complains, I never knew what it was to have the assurance of God's love, I never received any sound sensible comfort unto my soul, and shall I think that I have grace? shall I think that my heart is fitted to receive that mercy which God hath promised to his Saints? the Scripture reveals it not, the Saints have found it, that they which believe rejoice in the Lord, but I am a stranger to that joy, and that is a stranger to me, how can I think then, that I have any interest to the promise? or any faith whereby I may depend upon the promise? Ans. I answer, this hinders not that thou mayst not come unto God by believing, and receive good from him: therefore remember these 3. particulars: First, thou must not think to have joy and refreshment, before thou goest to the promise: but think to expect it when thou dost believe, when thou dost chew and feed upon the promise, and continuest so doing: know, that joy and sweet refreshment, it is a fruit that comes from faith: first believe, and then have joy; do not think to have joy, and then believe; the heart is filled with peace and joy not before believing, but by believing, and after believing, then rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorious; when faith is rooted in the heart, and hath had many sunshines of God's favour upon it, then expect those admirable ravishments, and sweet consolations, which the word speaks of, and thou mayst obtain. Secondly, these joys, and sense, and feeling, are things which may be separated from faith, a man may have a good faith, and a strong faith, and yet not have that comfort and sweet refreshment a sinner looks for and desires; a man may want sparks, and yet want neither life nor heat; a tree may want leaves, and yet not want sap; so it is with those consolations: faith may be strong, when a man's feeling may be nothing; Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, saith David he was justified and sanctified, and had faith, and yet had not this joy; nay job had faith, and yet he had no sense and feeling of God's favour: Thou makest me a b●●● to shoot as, faith he, and thine arrows have drunk up my spirits; and yet he saith, Though he kill me, yet will I trust in him; his faith was strong, though his feeling were nothing, trust to the goodness of the Lord, and not to those shadows, and brittle bottoms, that will break under you. Thirdly, the Saints of God are deprived of comfort, not because God will withhold it, but because they will not take it; Gods own servants want the assurance of the freeness of God's love, not because God will take it away from them, but they will not take it when he would give it them; it is not, because they may not have it, but because they will not receive it; Psal. 77. My soul refused comfort, like a little child that will not eat his meat, because it is not in a golden dish; he doth not say, God did not offer me consolation, but I refused consolation out of a discontented spirit: because you cannot have comfort upon your own terms, and please your own palates; because you cannot have a dish for your tooth, you will have none at all; you want comfort, not because God will not give it, but because you will not take it upon God's terms: these and many more are the hindrances. One saith, God hath followed me with crosses in my life and estate; another, the wrath of the Lord lies heavy upon me, I am still doubting and perplexed, and I cannot believe. The upshot of all these is upon one and the same ground, these are hindrances, which we out of our own folly, and the subtlety of Satan, make to hinder us from coming so freely to Christ, and believing in him, as otherwise we might; and yet in truth these are no hindrances, we only make them so. Therefore we will now come to the cure of all these, and show how we may take off these hindrances if it be possible, as in truth it is possible; and not only to remove these hindrances, but all other of this kind, quality and condition, if you will attend to the means that shall be propounded, it is possible to cure them; and the cures are these, whereby the soul may be fortified against these, or pass by, and leap over all these hindrances; and notwithstanding all, go to Christ in the promise. Cure. 1 The first cure and help that I desire to propound is this, namely we must not look too long; the soul distressed and troubled should not stick too long, and look too much, and dwell unwarrantably and continually upon the sight and consideration of his own sins, upon his weaknesses and distempers, so fare as to be skared, and altogether discouraged from coming to, and depending upon the riches of Gods free grace. The devil keeps us in our sins by poring continually upon our sins, when we think to have our hearts carried against our corruptions, we are more entangled in our corruptions, by dwelling continually upon them. This was the course that Abraham took, that was the Father of all the faithful: Rom. 4.19. when God had promised him a son, and not only a natural son, but a son that should be a Type of Christ, whereby he and all the faithful should be saved: Now this promise was made unto him when he had a dead body, and Sarah a barren womb; he unable to get, and Sarah unable to bear; now what course took he to heal this? why the text saith, He being not weak in faith, considered not his own body which was now dead, nor Sarahs' womb which was now barren; he knew his deadness, and Sarahs' barrenness, but he considered it not, that is, he did not daily poor thereupon, and quarrel with himself and say, how can Sarah bear a child, her womb is barren and unable to bear, my body is dead, and unable to beget, there is no ground here to bear up his confidence; if he considers Sarahs' barrenness, there is no child to be looked for; if he look upon his own deadness, there is no child to be expected: now therefore what doth he do? he looks to the promise only, and there rests and stays himself; though he had a dead body, the promise was living, and though Sarahs' womb was barren, the promise was fruitful; and though he were weak, the Lord was strong, and able to perform whatsoever he had promised: so we must see our sins, and know our infirmities, and consider our weaknesses; but we must never settle ourselves, and sit down in the consideration of our own distempers, and thereby be hindered from coming to the Lord, and from receiving that mercy the Lord offers unto us in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we may freely take; for when a man is continually poring upon his sins, and daily meditating upon his corruptions, two things follow. First, we stop the stream and current of the promise, that it cannot run into the soul, we turn the frame of the soul downward, and the frame of the heart inward, & shut down the sluice, whereas by believing we open the floodgates of the promise, that the streams of mercy may flow a main in upon our souls, when we return inward, and do settle our hearts upon our own distempers, we shut down the sluice of the promise; and secondly set open the flood and stream of corruptions, that they may run violently upon us to the overwhelming of us in conclusion; and our distempers will take advantages against us, by reason of our daily consideration and attendance thereupon. Meditation in this case I compare to distillation; when a woman distils a kind of herb or flower, and when the Alchemist distils some kind of metal, there is an admirable water drawn out by distillation, and an excellent oil by Alchemy, and this water and oil were in the creatures before, but they were not seen to be there before, but they are of wonderful force and strength when they are distilled: so it is with the daily poring, settling and attending upon a man's distempers; a man thereby distils a distemper and a discouragement, and an infirmity, and draws out the very life and sap, and spirit of it, and draws out the very quintessence of a corruption, and makes it dangerous, nay he makes it deadly many times; so that after a man's daily poring upon, and attending wholly to his sins, he multiplies inconveniencies more than else would be: so that the soul which before was troubled comes now to be overwhelmed with the daily poring, and looking, and attending to his own wickedness. Therefore the wisdom of the woman of Canaan is to be observed, and her humiliation is to be regarded by us: observe the humiliation of her heart, and the wisdom of her mind: Matthew 15.27. she came to him to beseech him to heal her daughter, that was possessed with a devil: at the first, he would not listen unto her, but she would not be put off so, but cried after him; then he answered, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, not to you that are Gentiles: yet for all this she would not leave him, but came and fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me: then at last he compares her to a dog, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it unto dogs; as who should say, you Gentiles are dogs, and the glad tidings of the Gospel are bread, and therefore belong not unto you: Now had she pored and settled herself upon the words of our Saviour, she had never been made partaker of that mercy which Christ bestowed, and she stood in need of: now mark what she saith, Truth Lord, but the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Master's table. Here observe a heart truly humbled, and also truly wise to apprehend its own weakness; she confessed all that Christ spoke. Thou sayest I am carnal, I yield it; thou sayest I am a dog, I confess it; my sins are more for number, they are more heinous for nature, than either my tongue can utter, or my heart can conceive: but though I am a dog, Lord, yet I will not go out of doors, but lie under the table; she yielded she was as bad as might be, and confessed all that Christ spoke, yet she will not from under the table: so we ought to do, when our corruptions are apprehended by us, and our baseness presented to the view of us, when we see ourselves damned creatures, and dogs, and lost in ourselves, then let us say, Truth Lord, we are worse than can be spoken of us, we are worse than can be conceived of us, yet let us not fly out of doors, but lie under the table, and at the foot of our Saviour, and take a crumb of mercy at the hands of our Saviour. But you will say: Object. Is it not a thing which is not only allowed, but required, that we should meditate of our sins; nay, is not this the way that God hath chalked out to sinners? is not this the course that God hath commanded, that men should see their sins, that they might be brought out of their sins, and be brought to Christ? I considered my ways, saith David, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. Answ. I answer, this is true; and all I said before was as true: it is not only, I say, lawful for us, but there is, I say, a necessity lying upon us; we must see our sins, and consider our corruptions, but stay not too long, poor not too much upon thy sins, expect no comfort nor consolation from thine infirmities, and the meditation of them; see thy sins thou must, and oughtest to do, but see them so, as thou mayst be forced to fly to Christ for help and secure; do not so see them, as to be settled in thy infirmities, and to have thy soul so discouraged, as thereby to be driven from Christ; therefore see thy sins thou shouldest, that thou mayst apprehend them loathsome, and find them burdensome to thy soul; see thy sins also thou must, till thou see an utter insufficiency in all things under heaven, to help thee out of thy sins; see thy sins thou must also, till thou see an absolute necessity of a Saviour, and of the mercy that is in the Lord Jesus Christ, to recover thee out of thy sins: and when the soul hath done these three particular passages; When it hath seen sin loathsome, odious, and ugly: When it hath seen the helplessness of all natural means, and all things under heaven, to recover it: And when it hath seen the necessity of mercy, to help it out of sin: Away then for thy life to the throne of grace, there is pardon enough to remove the guilt that sin hath brought upon thee, there is grace enough to take away all those corruptions that have defiled thy poor soul. What madness and extreme folly is it for a poor sick man, that is overtaken with some grievous disease, or some sore wound, not to go to the Physician before he be whole, because he is ashamed the Physician should see him so distempered or wounded? In reason we should rather go first to the Physician, that he may heal us, than be first healed, and then go to the Physician and show ourselves: so it is the desperate folly of many poor sinners, we would have our sins removed from us, and our hearts quickened in the way of well doing, and when we are healed, than we will go to Christ, and when we have things about us, than we will lay hold on the promise, and then we will purchase salvation, or at the least be joint purchasers with Christ in the great work of redemption: no, let this be thy course; see thy sins, and take notice of thy corruptions, and then away to the Physician to be healed; go first to the Physician to be healed; but be not first healed, and then go to the Physician; 1 Sam. 12.10. this was the advice of the holy man Samuel, when the people of Israel had dealt basely with the Lord, by casting off his yoke, (for when they cast off Samuel, they rejected the Lord) at last the Lord opens their eyes, and affects their hearts with those their sins; now, saith Samuel in the tenth verse, Stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes, is it not now when harvest? I will call upon the Lord, and he shall send great thunder and rain, that you may perceive that your wickedness is great, that you have done in the sight of the Lord; now the Lord accordingly as Samuel had said, thundered terribly from heaven; now when they heard this, and saw God's anger therein, they were driven to a kind of a maze, and were almost at their wit's end, and said, Pray ye unto the Lord for us, that we die not, for we have sinned greatly, and to all other sins we have added this, that we have asked for us a King; now mark what a direction Samuel orders unto them; Samuel well saw that this is the nature of all men, by reason of their sinful distempers, that when we think we are in a good case, we never look after mercy; and when we are apprehensive of our own baseness and wretchedness, we dare not look towards mercy: before they saw their sins and God's anger for them, they never cared for mercy, but now they heard the thunder, and apprehended God's displeasure therein, they durst not go to God for mercy: now mark how Samuel chalks out a middle way between them both, in the twentieth verse, Fear not, saith he, you have done all this wickedness, yet depart not from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your hearts, neither turn your backs after vain things that can profit you nothing; as who should say, I will not lessen your sins, you have sinned grievously, you have sinned fearfully, and heinously, I intent not to excuse or extenuate your wickedness: but depart not from the Lord; as who should say, you will be gone from God now; you will look for no mercy; you will expect no favour; the Lord you have cast off, and therefore you think he will cast off you, take heed of that, depart not from the Lord, for that is to follow lying vanities, and that is to forsake your own mercies: so the soul of a poor sinner should reason thus; 'tis true, my sins are many, my wants are exceedingly multiplied, I have sinned against God, and am discouraged, and shall I be more discouraged, and sin more against God? I am miserable by departing from God, and shall I departed more from God, and be more miserable? thou darest not go to Christ for mercy, why? because thou hast sinned, and wilt thou departed from God still, and be more sinful? that is against all reason. Cure. 2 The second cure is this; all this while I speak to broken hearted sinners; those that are obstinate, wicked, and ungodly men, stand you by, you must give me leave to deal the children's bread to them, you had your portion formerly, let the children have their bread also, and take their share too: the second cure therefore is this; make conscience, either not to attend to, or not judge thyself or thy estate by any carnal reason without a warrant: I will repeat it again, because I would not have you forget it; make conscience, I say, either to attend to, or judge thyself or thy estate by any carnal reason, or carnal plea without reason or warrant: as thus, it is the fashion of poor distressed spirits to pass heavy doom, and to set down heavy sentences upon themselves, upon false, or weak, or groundless arguments, as, I never found God's mercy, I never felt it, I never was persuaded of it, I fear it will not be so; thus we have these carnal pleas, which our minds invent, and Satan suggests, and we judge ourselves by these, as the witnesses that should warrant our estates, as the Judge that should determine of our estates; now make conscience of judging thy estate in this manner: you that are broken hearted, (for to you I speak) this kind of course is naught, and this sin is more heinous than you imagine: for when thou concludest certainly thy estate is naught, and God hath given you no grace, upon these grounds, mark against how many Commandments thou sinnest; first, thou dost wrong thine own honour that God hath put upon thee in giving thee grace; thou sinnest also against the third Commandment, in wanting that reverence which is due to God's name, and the work of grace he hath wrought in thy soul, thou dampest thy own heart, and art a spiritual murderer, and so sinnest against the sixth Commandment: thou robbest thyself of that comfort of heart, and refreshment of mind that God hath prepared for thee, and offered unto thee, and so sinnest against the eighth commandment; nay, you do bear false witness infinitely, you speak against yourselves, to the overthrowing of your souls, and you bear false witness against Christ, and his Spirit, and the work of his grace, whereby you are sealed up to the day of redemption, and you join sides with the Devil in this case. But you will say: Object. Truly, I speak as I think, and affirm as I am persuaded. Answ. I answer, this hinders not but thou bearest false witness; if thou affirmest a thing thou hast no ground for, thou bearest false witness though it be true: this is a rule which Divines hold, if a man should affirm peremptorily, such a man is a drunkard, and yet he knows it not, though he be so, yet he beareth false witness, because a man's witness must be upon ground and knowledge, so thou peremptorily affirmest; what, I grace? no, will God vouchsafe any good to me? I will never believe it; now thou certainly affirmest of thyself, that thou hast no true grace, when there is no ground for it, but suspicion, and fear, and the like, and therefore thou bearest false witness against thy soul: observe this the rather, because of the sinful distempers that creep into the hearts of many Christians broken and humbled, and it is usual and common; this is their guise out of a self will of carnal reasonings, and out of a base haunt of heart, they swell against themselves and their own souls, their hearts come to be persuaded, that they are not in a right course, that they walk not in a right way, unless they be quarrelling and opposing the work of God's grace in their souls, and out of a self conceit of theirs, that they are moulded into by custom, they think they have liberty to do so, and that they do well in so doing: now think of it you that are humble, know that you sinne fearfully all this while, and it is very remarkable to take notice of the soul in this kind: in a case of conscience, when a poor broken hearted sinner hath his judgement informed, when reasons are plain, and when the comforts are clearly evidenced, when Scriptures are undeniable, these poor creatures now do not so much attend what you speak, and what the Minister saith, and the Word delivers, but all their care is, how they may answer a man's reason, and put off the force of an argument, and they count it a matter of weakness, if they cannot answer any thing that is propounded to them for their comfort; it is admirable to consider, and but that daily experience teacheth us, we would not speak it, nor could we believe it; therefore take notice of it, and know, that howsoever you give leave to your own souls to do this, and have invented reasons and arguments to gainsay the power of the truth, and to defeat the power of the Word; go aside and wonder, that the Lord hath not taken away from thee all the work of his grace, and all the comfort of his Spirit, admire at this, that when thou hast cast off all grounds of comfort, yet God doth vouchsafe it to thy soul: the Prophet David prayeth, that the Lord would turn away his eyes from beholding of vanity; now if a man must turn away his eyes from beholding of vanity, he must turn away his thoughts from attending to vanity much more; hath God ever given me a mind to consent to Satan? hath God ever given me a tongue to parley with Satan? I have something else to do, I must attend to the counsels of God, I must attend and listen to the voice of God, I must not listen to the suggestions of Satan, that I have nothing to do withal, I sinne deeply in so doing, no man in reason will deal with a cheater, if he know him to be a cheater, unless he mean to be cozened: so it ought to be our wisdom, carnal reason is a cheater, and an old deceiver; let us not therefore attend thereunto, nor be ruled thereby, unless we resolve to be cheated: but if the sin cannot scare you, yet let the misery that will follow thereupon force you, and drive your hearts from it: in Esa. 50.2. last verses, the text saith, Who is among you that feareth the Lord, let him hear the voice of his servant, he that walks in darkness, and hath no light, let him trust in the Lord, and stay upon his God; there is a comparison made between the Saints of God, that will listen to the voice of the Lord, and the direction of his servants, and those that will follow their own humours, and carnal reasonings, and stay thereupon: he that walketh in darkness, and hath no light, let him trust in the name of the Lord; that is, though a sinner be never so perplexed with sorrow of heart, though there be nothing but misery without, and horror of heart within, yet if he will hear the voice of God's servants; you broken hearts, that have not stopped your ears to the comfort that God hath revealed, let them trust in the Lord: but now mark what is said in the last verse, Behold all that kindle a fire, and are compassed about with sparks, walk you in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that you have kindled: this shall you have at my hands, you shall lie down in sorrow; I will first open the place, and then apply it; what is meant by fire and sparks here, in a word, in the old law there was always fire kept in the sanctuary, heavenly fire that came down from heaven, and this did show the wisdom and direction of God in his word; but now there was strange fire which Nadab and Abihu offered, that is, they did not take of the fire of sanctuary which God sent from heaven, but they took fire of their own, that is, their own devices, and imaginations, and disputes; the sparkles and pleas of your own thoughts, they are your own fire; every poor creature carries his tinder box about him, and is anvilling and forging his own conceits: I think it not, I conceive it not, I am not persuaded of it; this is your own fire, that is the first thing: then mark what followeth, walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that you have kindled, you shall lie down in sorrow: walk in the light of your fire. He doth not allow this, but he takes it as a thing forlorn, as who should say, You will follow your own conceits and imaginations; you have hammered out sparks, and you will strike fire out of your own carnal reasonings, and you will be taken aside by them; there is no reproving of you, there is no removing of you from it: so that two things are clear: First, the heart will coin carnal reasons, and forge sinful conceits, and then it will persist in them; and mark what followeth, this is that which you shall have at my hands, you shall lie down in sorrow; this will bring sorrow to thy soul, when the fire of the sanctuary burns clear, when comforts are plain, and Scriptures are pregnant, and reasons undeniable, you will kindle your own fire, and compass yourselves about with your own sparks, and you will attend to them, and be ruled by them; well, do so: but this I tell you, there is no hand shall secure you, and bring comfort unto you, you shall have this at the hand of the Lord; you shall lie down in sorrow, and then you shall repent you happily, and fling away your tinder box, and your carnal reasonings and imaginations: this is the second cure. Cure. 3 The third cure is this, be marvellous wary and exceeding watchful that you enter not into contention with Satan upon these terms, whereupon you cannot determine a controversy: I cannot tell how to express myself better. Enter not, I say, into the lists of dispute with Satan, concerning those things which belong not unto you: as for example, If I be elected, than I shall be saved; but I am not elected, I have enjoyed God's ordinances, and lived under the precious means of grace and salvation, and they have not wrought upon my heart; I perceive that God intends to do no good unto my soul, therefore all my labour is in vain, when I have done what I can, I shall perish. Sometimes again the soul saith, the day is past, and the time is gone: Oh, the times of grace, and days of mercy that I have seen, the Lord came kindly to my soul, and was pleased graciously to reveal my sins to my soul: but then hard hearted I, and stubborn wretch I, I shut the door against the Lord Jesus Christ, and now mercy is gone, the day is over, the time is past, and the sun is set, there is now no hope of mercy. If the devil catch a man upon these lists, there is no determination of the point, for upon this ground a man shall never gain answer to himself, he shall never gain ease to his conscience; for if I know not the things of this nature, and if no man else knows them, how shall any man administer comfort, or how shall I be able to receive comfort? therefore take heed of it. It is in this case with a sinner, as it is with a traveller; thiefs overtake him, and pretend to lead him a fair way, at last they carry him into a wilderness, and lead him into a desert where no man comes by, where no man's voice can be heard, and there they do what they list, because there is no help to be expected, no passenger comes near: So it is with the soul, when Satan gets him into these straits, and wilders him in the deserts of Gods secret counsels of election and the like, there is no passenger comes by this way, no man can apprehend these secret things of God's counsel, and therefore no man can administer succour or comfort: therefore for your caution and direction in this case, I will suggest these three rules. Rule. 1 The first rule is this, let thy soul in this perplexity stay itself, and its own staggering upon the power of God: Ephes. 3.20. the text saith, that God is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all that we can ask or think: Gen. 17.1. I am God All-sufficient: attend to God's sufficiency, and rest upon the Almightiness of his power, and support thy heart thereby. Object. But the soul may say, what is this to me: I know the Lord is able enough, and all-sufficient, but how do I know that God will show mercy, and do good to my soul? Answ. I answer, and mark what I say, if thou be'st throughly persuaded indeed of God's all-sufficiency, it will help thee this way, for if God can do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, than God can will, for aught thou knowest, above all that we can think or ask: thou canst not know or conceive of God's power, thou canst not desire so much as God is able to do, nor conceive so much as he is able to perform: therefore God may be willing to do thee good, though thou conceivest it not, for this I take to be a truth, that generally the soul doth never sadly doubt of God's Will, but in some measure it doubts of God's Power; for if God be able to do more than I can apprehend, and more than I am able to desire, than God hath as well power to will to do me good, as he is able to do me good, he hath power to will to do me good, above all that I can think or desire, and he that doubts of the one, doubts of the other. Rule. 2 The second rule is this, check thy own soul for prying into God's secrets; blame thyself and that deeply for thy curiosity, in that thou lookest beyond thy last, as it is in the proverb, and soarest too high, and meddlest with those things thou hast nothing to do withal: you meddle with God's Election, and with God's Will and secret Counsel; I charge you meddle with your own business, meddle with that you have to do withal, meddle with your own duties and occasions, and keep your own station: check your own hearts therefore, and when Satan would lead you out into a wilderness, and suggest these things unto you, How do you know God hath elected you? do you pray? and what if you do pray? do you hear? and what if you do hear? When it is thus with thee, check thine own heart for prying into God's secrets, and meddle with that thou hast to do withal: Deut. 29.29. Secret things belong to God, revealed things belong to us, and our children: What have you to do with God's secrets? what hath that proud heart and curious mind of yours with God's secrets? Election belongs to God, it is his prerogative: 1 Corin. 2.16. Who hath known the mind of the Lord? You that will be aloft in the sky, and mounting up to heaven, who ever knew the mind of the Lord? Satan and your thoughts tell you so, that you were never elected; why, Satan is a liar, he knows it not, nor thou knowest it not neither: who ever knew the mind of the Lord? mind you your own matters, do you what God commands, perform those duties God enjoins you, keep your own station; all the Angels in Heaven, and all the men upon Earth, never knew the mind of the Lord: therefore never pry into God's secrets. jonah 3.9. When God had threatened Niniveh to destroy it, and had sent jonah to speak fire and powder: Oh, all you drunkards of Niniveh, and all you blasphemers of Niniveh, and all you profane wretches of Niniveh, vengeance shall come upon you, and fire from Heaven shall destroy you; they were now at a maze, and driven to a stand: now mark what the King saith, He caused a fast to be proclaimed both for man and beast, and commanded all to cry mightily unto the Lord, and to turn from their evil ways; for who can tell, saith he, whether the Lord will turn away his fierce wrath from us that we perish not? who can tell but that the Lord may yet show mercy and favour in the pardoning of us? so say thou when Satan tempts thee, and temptation suggests unto thee; You seek to God for pardon in the use of the means that God hath appointed, and you enjoy the precious means of grace and salvation: But it is not in him that willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in God that showeth mercy: but God will never show any favour to you, God will never vouchsafe any mercy to you, God will never bestow any grace upon you, if you pray till your tongue falters, and your eyes sink in your heads, and your heart fails, it will do you no good, God will never give you grace: why, how can Satan tell this? all the devils in hell know not this, all the Angels in Heaven know it not; therefore walk thou in thy own ways, follow thine own talk, do that thou oughtest to do, and perform what God requires, and let God do what he please, and say, let me do what I should, who can tell what God may do? who knows but God may break my hard heart? who knows but God may pardon my sins? who knows but God may give me power over my corruptions? nay, who knows but God will too? Satan himself cannot tell: that is the second rule. Rule. 3 The third rule is this; measure not the riches of God, nor the freeness of his mercy, according to the scantling of your own imaginations, and according to the fathom of your own conceits; do not think because you cannot do it, therefore God cannot do it; because you cannot conceive it, therefore God cannot work it; stint not, limit not the Holy one of Israel so as he must stand at your tribunal in this matter, and be within your lists and compass: It is a sweet passage, Esay 55.7. Mark there the exhortation of the Prophet, Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his own thoughts, and return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon: As if he had said, all you unrighteous, you that have cozened and detained, and dealt falsely and unjustly; you that have lived wickedly and profanely, let them all forsake their wicked ways, and turn from their vain imaginations, and return unto the Lord, and return not to themselves, and their own conceits, but let them come unto the Lord, and he will abundantly pardon; but the soul replies; Object. Will the Lord pardon all these sins? Answ. Why I, he is abundantly able to pardon. Object. But can he pardon the abundance of my pride? will the Lord forgive the abundance of my base distempers of my heart? will the Lord remit all my stubbornness and rebellion against the Gospel? I cannot think it, I cannot conceive it. Answ. You cannot conceive it, you cannot think it, but mark what the Prophet adds; My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord: as if he had said, a poor sinner thinks his sin unpardonable, and conceives that it is impossible to get his sins subdued, and his soul comforted: indeed it is true, you are sinful men, you have foolish thoughts; But as the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts: therefore I can give you mercy, though you cannot conceive it; I can do you good, though you cannot think it; but the poor soul will still be ready to object and say, Object. There was never any in that case that I am in received to mercy, and therefore why should I expect it? Answ. Why, Matthew 9.33. when Christ had there done a miracle, the text saith, the like was never seen in Israel; all the people stood gazing, and were taken up in admiration, at the power of the Lord, and said, Never was any such thing done in Israel: therefore God can do things that were never done before. Imagine the Lord did pardon never any as bad as thee, which is false; yet God can do that which was never yet done; nay, the place is incomparable, job 9.10. He doth great things past finding out, yea marvellous things without number; the Lord doth great things which are unsearchable, and works wonders without number: though you could never find out such things, yet God can do them; though the thing be never so great, he can do it; though the thing be never so hard, he can accomplish it; nay though thou canst not number and account them, God can do great things without number, and work wonders beyond measure; and therefore judge not God, by what thou conceivest and imaginest; judge not his infiniteness according to the weak scantling of thy imaginations. Cure. 4 The fourth cure is this, and it is specially to be observed above all the rest, in thy proceeding with thyself, and in thy judgement of thyself, repair unto the word of the Lord, and pass not sentence upon thy own soul, but according to the evidence and verdict thereof, you will certainly forget it, I have had so much experience thereof; but I beseech you think of it, in all determinations of thy estate, when thou consultest, whether thou art in a good estate, or in a bad estate, let thy sentence and judgement upon thyself be passed by the word; if thou art to be approved, let the Word of God approve thee; if thou art to be condemned, let the word of God condemn thee; if thou art to be examined, let the Word of God examine thee: pass not, care not what the world faith, and what temptations suggest; but hear what Christ saith, and listen only what the Word of God saith, and what verdict that passeth, and if the Word of God speaks for thee, no matter though men and Angels speak against thee; and if the Word speak against thee, no matter though all the friends in the world speak for thee; but be sure always to appeal to the Word: if a man have a suit in law, and some petty lawyers would handle it, if he be wise, he will not let them, he will stay till the Judge comes to the assizes, than he will determine it: so deal with thy soul, do not put thy estate to be tried, and thy condition to be scanned with a company of wrangling lawyers; as imaginations of heart, and vanities of mind, and carnal reasonings, but stay till the Judge comes, and yield to the verdict of the truth; Ephes. 5.13. the text saith, All things when they are reproved of the light, shall be made manifest, for it is light that makes all things manifest; the light is the light of the word, and the evidence of the truth: now observe it, all sense, and feelings, and carnal reasonings, are like clouds and mists, that a man cannot see his way; but bring all to the light, and then the case will be discovered and thy estate made manifest what it is; Matth. 11.29. apply the counsel which Christ there gives, and we should follow, Learn of me, saith he, for I am humble and meek, and you shall finderest unto your souls; as the Psalmist observes it, I will hear what the Lord saith to my soul; so take God's counsel, and say, I will hear what the Lord Jesus Christ will say, and to him I will attend, not what carnal reason, or doubts, or fears, or suspicions will say, but what the Lord will say; this is the cause we want rest, the cause why men have restless conditions, and daily doubtings and quarrelings, and can find no so●ring for their souls to rest upon, no bottom to bear, no foundation to hold them up; the ca●●e is, because they will not learn of their Father, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, hence it is that distressed souls cast off comfort; what, I grace? and what I ever receive good, and I title to the promise? that were strange, no, it belongs to humble and broken hearted ones, were I so humbled as such, and so enlarged as such Christians, than there were some hope, but I that am so full of weaknesses, and of frailties, and now and then overcome by distempers; what, I faith? no, I can never think it, I suspect I never had it, I doubt I never shall have it; nay, I conclude all is naught for the while; who told you so? where learned you that, where learned you all these kinds of resolutions and conclusions? why? I fear it, I suspect it, and imagine it, and the like; why? then fear told you so, and not the Lord Jesus Christ; this is the case, and I exhort you, that are servants of the Lord, observe and take notice of this, I say, learn of the Lord, and take notice of the truth of the Lord, and then you shall find rest to your souls; you complain you have not quiet and comfort, and you shall never be assured of God's love, but you shall go with grief and sorrow to your graves: why? it is your own fault, learn of your father, and then you shall have rest; you put your estates to be determined by carnal reason, and your doubts and infirmities tell you so, you shall never come to rest while the world stands; why? here is no rest to be had, no ease to be expected, learn of the Lord Jesus, his word is sure, himself faithful, and his promise true, and when you repair thither, you shall find rest; if you rest upon a right bottom, you shall have comfort and consolation vouchsafed unto you. But you will say; Object. May not a man be deceived, and what if I should? may not I as well as another, and what if I should? Ans. Observe what now I say, and I am fully persuaded, that many poor souls are staggering and working with themselves about their own estate: I answer, that it is possible for a man to be cozened in regard of himself; but I ask this question, who shall teach thee, and direct thee, and establish thee upon a right bottom? turn whither thou wilt, and do what thou canst, thou must come to the word of God; the word of God can only settle thy soul, and establish thy conscience in the assurance of God's love, and therefore thou must come to this, and before thou dost come to this, thou canst never have established persuasions of God's love, and all those abilities thou dreamest of: thou sayest such a man is humbled, and wert thou so gracious, and so carried on in a good course, it were somewhat; why, how dost thou know whether he be cozened or no? how dost thou know his humiliation is sound, and his consolation good? but know that the word of God is the Judge, I mean the law whereby thou shalt be judged, when all thy hopes, and all thy sense, and feelings, and persuasions of others shall never be heard, but cast off; the word of God must only judge thee; therefore now judge thyself by that which shall judge thee, when this life shall not be. Now for our direction herein four things are observable; how to order ourselves aright, to learn this skill to repair to the word, and to gain evidence and clear apprehension of our own estates, by attending to the truth: these rules are especially observable; and here lies the main cure of carnal reason, that doth press in upon the mind, and damps the heart thereof, that we may so use the word, that we may be established thereby: Rule. 1 The first rule is this; as in all the conditions that concern thy soul, thou must first repair to the word, and attend thereunto daily, so look into the uprightness and sincerity of thine own soul, which may in some measure answer the word; hear what the word will say, and see what work of grace is in thy heart, that will answer the word, and join sides in the testimony of the happiness of thy estate and condition; be sure to take thy soul at the best, do not always consider what is the worst in thee, and go no farther, do not only see thy failings and infirmities on one side that accuse thee, but see if there be any soundness and uprightness, any goodness and truth of heart, that may speak for thee: hear both sides; it is injustice to hear one side, and determine a cause thereby; as the Lord deals with his servants, so thou shouldst deal with thyself; now the Lord doth not lie at a catch with his children, to spy out their faults, and so proceed against them accordingly, but he takes them at the best hand; Rom. 4.22. it is a thing very remarkable concerning Abraham; Abraham believed, and it was counted to him for righteousness; when did God speak concerning abraham's faith; the time was when Abraham believed not; his faith is discovered, Genes. 15. in the beginning we shall see he believed not, but was doubting and staggering concerning Gods giving him a Son, now God looks not at his infirmities, but God takes him at the best, Abraham believed, etc. a little before Abraham doubted, thou hast promised a Son, but I perceive it not, than God led him into the fields, and discovered his power and goodness, and then Abraham believed; and this is still recorded and registered of Abraham to all posterity: so 1 Pet. 3.6. where Sarah is spoken of, as a pattern to all holy women, not for her broidered hair; but the text saith, She was clad with a meek spirit, and called her husband Lord, Genes. 18. there we shall read, that she called him Lord, and it was her duty, and she did well in so doing: but there we shall read in the same place, that she denied the tidings of the Angel, now the Lord buries her failings, and doth not record and register that, but he took her at the best, and recorded that; so we must deal with ourselves, we must not lie at the catch with our hearts, and say, this is naught, and this is vile, but observe what so ever is upright and sincere, and bless God for that, and rejoice in that, and weigh that as well as the other; nay, that rather than the other: if a man should have a case handled after this fashion, and if the Judge should observe only what is foul on one man's side, and go no further, the most upright man might be cast in the best case, therefore the course of the court is, he will hear the reasons and witnesses on both sides, if there be any bonds or evidences brought in, or any argument to be made, he will hear all read, there must be an equal proceeding: should a man have a suit with another about the forfeiture of a bond or indenture, if the Judge hear one and not the other, he might carry the cause against the most upright man; therefore the other cries out, and saith, good my Lord, hear all, and let all be read; one saith, you may see the falseness of this man; aye, saith the other, but hear all my Lord; and then the Judge is sufficiently satisfied before witnesses; whereas if the Judge had but heard the first part, and not the second, the case would have gone against the man, though never so good: so many Saints deal with their souls, what a wretched heart, what pride and stubbornness have I? my heart will not leave the world, it is unfit for service, and dead in service; but hear all, read all; is not thy soul burdened with these, and is not thy heart troubled with those, is it not a grief to thy soul, and doth it not lie heavy upon thy heart, that thou canst not walk exactly before God? Oh, saith the soul, it is the greatest evil that ever befell me, and I would be content almost not to be, that I might not be so sinful; why? then thou art an upright hearted man, now take thy soul on this side, and hear the best of it: look as it is with a man's hand, the back of his hand cannot take hold of a staff, but his palm can; if a man complain that he cannot hold a staff, and turn the back of his hand; no wonder, turn the right side of your hand, and then you will grasp it, and hold it easily; so turn the right side of your soul to the promise, the promises of God are the staff that upholds our souls, and our souls should rest thereupon, and trust thereunto: now we turn the backside of our hearts to the promise, stubbornness great, and doubtings many, and corruptions fierce, the wrong side of the heart is to the promise, and this will hinder thee from coming to, and receiving good from the word; but thy soul seethe these, and is willing to be freed from these; thy soul hates these, and thyself for these; this is the right side of the heart that lies level to the promise: therefore attend the word, and repair daily thereto, and attend the better side, do not attend to weakness and feebleness, but to soundness and sincerity; that is the first rule. Rule. 2 The second rule is this, labour to have thy conscience settled, and convictingly established of that truth, of that grace, which reason now informed doth entertain, and the Word doth witness to be in thee; labour to get thy conscience settled and established powerfully, touching the truth, that out of the word and the evidence thereof thou hast seen; mark, I say, if there be any want of the assurance of God's love, and settling thereof to thy soul, so that the evidence of the work of grace doth not come powerfully in upon thy heart, but there is some guilt of sin still remaining, and conscience still gins to accuse thee, and condemn thee: the truth is, though reason be informed, yet haply conscience will breed new broils at every turn, and put in new pleas, and so nip, disquiet and torment our hearts in staggering our hearts: therefore as we must have our judgements informed out of the Word, that there is some good and soundness in our souls; so we must get conscience persuaded of it, that conscience may be on our side and speak for us. A man must deal in this case as a debtor, if he be engaged to many creditors, the only way to get safety is to agree not with some, but with all; for if he agree with all but one, that one may imprison him and undo him, as well as ten thousand: therefore take order with all creditors, that is the wisest way: so it is with the soul that lies at the mercy of the Lord, that is in so deep arrearages, that it cannot help itself; the only way is to take order with all occasions, not only answer judgement, that it may not object against us, but labour to still conscience that it may not accuse us, but be on our side, and then all will be on our side. The want of this is the cause why new suits are made and new bills put up against the soul, the want of satisfying conscience, as experience teacheth us in cases of conscience: take a poor sinner that hath all objections and cavils answered fully; ask a poor distressed soul, are these all the doubts you have, and objections that you have? yes: and are they all answered? aye; have you any thing to object against the answers? no, therefore now doth conscience say it is a sin to deny you have any grace: here he stounds, and staggers, and demurs upon the matter, and shakes his head, and saith, Alas, I dare not say so; nay, I rather say the contrary, mark how reasons were answered, the books drawn, the accounts made up, and yet conscience is not satisfied, but puts in a new plea; therefore call a court and trace the business again; hath not God wrought this in you, that though you are now and then captived by sin, yet you say you are willing to be deterred from it, willing that God should take possession of you, and rule you, is not this in your heart? the soul saith, I should deny the work of God's grace to say the contrary; why then this is the work of grace, than it is against conscience to deny this, therefore conscience give up your bill, and cancel all this, for I say, hath not this man grace? yea I affirm he hath, let conscience be fully satisfied in this case; and when conscience is brought on our side and speaks for us, all the cavils that Satan casts and the heart makes, conscience will clear the heart, and stands by a man, and cleareth all these cavils: 1 john 3.12. For if our conscience condemn us not, then have we boldness before God; the meaning is, if our conscience acquit us, and speak for us, than we are bold before God. I know the man, he is yet alive, that in the extremity of horror of heart and desperate fear, said that he had sinned against the holy Ghost, and therefore would make away himself; now that which kept him from that wicked attempt was this, his conscience told him before, that at such a time his heart was sincere before the Lord, and that restrained him from that attempt, and sustained him against the fiery push of temptation, and God afterward blessed him with the assurance of his love and favour. Rule. 3 The third rule is this, we should strive mightily to have our hearts overpowred by the evidence of the truth, which reason and conscience make good to us, that it may quietly entertain it, and humbly and calmly welcome it, that what reason saith, and conscience concludes, the heart may say Amen, and set his seal to that, and yield and subject itself to it. This is the third thing, and here we stick, for these three things are in the soul of a man, that doth as it were maintain opposition against the evidence of the Word, and the verdict of God therein. First, reason objects, secondly, conscience accuseth, and the heart (that is the will) gainesaith, the will of a man will not come under submission, but it is still on the thwarting hand, and we find it by experience in the course of temptation, when a man hath attended all that can be, when a man hath stilled conscience, and that is brought on our side, yet notwithstanding the heart out of a stubbornness not being fully mastered, and out of a stoutness not fully conquered, it gaine-sayes it, and raiseth up new, and keeps the old quarrels, those old quarrels that have been answered long ago, that a man would have thought they had been dead long ago, a man's stout heart will bring those in afresh again: it is in this case with a poor sinner, as it is with a man that hath a contentious adversary that delights in wrangling, the case haply hath been tried in all the courts in England, at last it comes into the Chancery, and there it is concluded against him, and the decree passed, so that now all the business is established; the Lawyers have pleaded it, the Judge determined it, and the man is overthrown, and therefore now in reason he should sit down, and yield, but the wrangling party persuades him that he will not yield, but he will go to law again, and sell all he hath before he will let let it go thus: therefore he gins the suit again, and puts in the old plea, till at last the Judge knowing the man, casts off his plea, and flings off his cause, and puts him in prison: How dare you against the court and the sentence set down, put in the old plea, and trouble the court, and the law in this nature? so it is with the soul, the heart of a gracious man humbled in some mea●ure and in truth, could be content now and then to yield to the evidence of reason, and verdict of conscience, and the soul comes to be cheered; Blessed be God, my estate is better than I thought; but there is an old breed-bate, and proud stout heart, a sturdy self-willed heart, and that gins to bring in the old plea, and will maintain the old quarrel, though reason confuted them, and conscience condemned the weakness thereof, and they have been answered from day to day, yet against knowledge, and conscience, and truth, and reason and all, the sinner you shall find out of his distemper of spirit, will keep his old objections, and maintain his old cavils; and if they were answered over night, he will have them again in the morning, whereas a man would have thought they would never have durst appeared before the evidence of the truth any more, because the case was so fully answered, and so fully satisfied; therefore the wound is here, labour therefore to cure it, namely get thy heart so far awed, get thy soul so far overpowerd with the sovereign command, royal authority of the truth, that it may submit itself, and yield to what ever word the Lord reveals, to what ever truth the Lord discovers to the soul, and beware especially that thou dost not out of a self-willed waywardness reject and refuse the evidence of the truth and the verdict that the Word passeth upon thy soul for thy everlasting good; that because thou hast not comfort as thou wilt, therefore thou wilt have none at all; & it is not so much, because thou canst not receive the promise, but because out of a waywardness of heart thou wilt not entertain the promise, that causeth all this debate, here lies the root of this bitterness, and the ground of this wretched estate: we will express ourselves by practice: hence it is 〈◊〉 when the Word hath been clearly discovered to the soul, all objections are blown away, and reason is satisfied, and conscience convinced: yet ask the soul, are you persuaded that God hath accepted of you in Christ, and intended good unto you? no, all the world cannot make me believe it, I cannot be persuaded of it, Ministers are merciful, and Christians are compassionate, and they speak charitably, and will not discourage me; but did they see that which I see, did they but know those weaknesses, and take notice of those distempers that are in my heart, they would never think it: what, I grace? it is a thing I could never persuade my heart of, nay I doubt I shall never be persuaded of it, I cannot think it, all the world cannot make me believe it; reason is answered, and the conscience is satisfied, but the heart will not yield: it is out of stubbornness of soul, that you will not take that mercy that God offers, and that grace God propounds for your good, and it is horrible, it is hellish, it is devilish pride: If there be any such spirit in the congregation, let them know it, and take this home with them, it is infinite pride. But you will say, Object. How can that be? I cannot think that, they are broken hearted Christians, and are overwhelmed with sorrow; they are ever mourning, and sink down in sorrow in this nature, and therefore it cannot be pride in this case what ever it be. Answ. I say, it is devilish pride against the Majesty of Heaven, and that I will show in two particulars. For a man to follow his own conceit and self wildness of spirit, against the light of the truth, against the force of reason, against the testimony of conscience, against the judgement of all faithful Ministers out of the Word, to be above the Word, and reason, and conscience, and to be above the judgement of all Gods faithful servants, is not this infinite pride? this is your condition just, the Word hath cast you, and reason and conscience have cast you, and yet you will maintain your own conceits of that proud heart of yours: I say again, this pride appears in this. That because we have not what we would, and because we have it not in that measure we desire, because we find not that sweetness in grace that others have and we covet, therefore we cast away all: this is infinite pride, to fling God's favour in his face, you have not this and that, and God hath done nothing for you, and never vouchsafed any good unto you; it is wonderful mercy, that God hath not cast off that soul of thine; because God will not follow your conceits, and go your way, you will have no grace at all: As it is with a Client that hath a suit in law, he hath the cause determined, and the conveyance made, and his estate settled by the verdict of the Judge; but because his evidences, and conveyances, are not written in great Roman letters, as he would have them, he flings all away, and saith, they will not stand in law, will not all the world count him a miserable fool? this is your case, you have no grace, because you have not so much grace; you have no zeal, because you have not so hor zeal: you have no humiliation, because not so great humiliation: this is nothing but pride, and a world of pride: therefore mark what I shall say; labour to bring thy soul to this pass, and to this humble submission and subjection to the truth of God, take it as well a duty to receive comfort when God gives it, as to entertain duty of love when God requires it: Answerably know, it is a sin to refuse mercy when God offers it, and thou hast title thereunto: It is as well a sin, though not so much a sin; persuade thy heart of this, and bring thy soul to yield to this. And therefore learn this lesson, you poor Saints of God, that have been pestered marvellously in this kind, and have been enemies to your own comfort, labour to eye your own souls, when they begin to slide away from the authority of the truth, when reasons are sound, arguments clear, and conscience satisfied, and yet the heart slides off from the Lord, and from under the covert of God's wings. Reason thus, This is the proud, surly, dogged, wayward disposition of my heart; what would I have? what can I desire? is not the Word clear? are not reasons sound? and is not conscience satisfied? and shall I deny this, and so wrong the glory of God, and the work of his blessed Spirit in my heart? the Lord forbidden: but the heart pleads; Must I eat my own words, and never cavil more, and never complain more, and must I confess I have grace, when I never thought I had grace? Answ. Must you say so? aye, and bless God you may say so, and be thankful for ever, that thou mayest upon good grounds say thus, and bring under these distempers of your soul, and make them yield, and submit to the blessed truth of God; you had better a great deal cross your own humours, than cross the good Spirit of the Lord, and grieve it; Esay 7.13. when the Lord offered a great offer to Ahaz, to ask a sign in heaven or in earth, the text saith, he cast off God's kindness, God bids him ask a sign, he saith, I will not tempt God; he refused God's kindness with marvellous stubbornness; now mark what God answers, Is it a small thing for thee, not only to grieve man, but the good Spirit of the Lord; so think you with yourselves, when the Lord bids you take comfort, comfort ye, comfort ye, saith my God, You that have been wearied, come and be refreshed; you that have been lost, shall be found, the soul faith, I dare not take it, I will not entertain it: do you think it a small thing, not only to grieve man, and the heart of a poor Minister, but to grieve the Lord and his Spirit? job 15.11. Seems the consolation of the Lord a small thing unto you? that God stoops to your meanness, and condescends to your weakness, and supports your hearts, and restores comfort to your souls, that you trample his kindness under your feet, and make nothing of it? take heed of it, lest that stubborn soul of thine, that now refuseth consolation when God offers it, thou shalt creep upon thy hands and knees, and eat thy flesh, and beg one offer of grace, which thou hast denied often: john 13.8. see how Christ doth school the humble pride of Peter, for so I term it, our Saviour Christ rose from supper, and bound himself with a towel, and went to wash his Disciples feet, but when he came to Peter, he was very squamish, he was loath Christ should stoop so low; what, wash my feet? thou shalt never wash my feet: a man would think this was great humility; Peter was a very lowly man, he would not let Christ yield to him, but he would stoop to him rather; this was nothing but a kind of refractariness, and therefore see how Christ took him up, and this is the only way to cure it, If I wash not thy feet, thou hast no part in me; if you will go on in your own humour, get you down to hell, and enjoy your own will; if I wash you not, you shall never see my face with comfort; and then his stomach came down, and he said, Not only my feet, but my body also Lord, when Christ had subdued his pride, and brought down his haughty heart. That is humility of heart, to take what God gives, and receive what God offers, and do what God commands; do so with thy humble pride, when men are complaining, and think it a great skill to answer arguments, and put by the reasons that Ministers propound, and then they think that they are humble, and bewailing their estates, and haply they may be so; but here is the wound, you have proud hearts, therefore labour to dismay that proud heart of thine, with the authority and command of God, and with the threatenings of the Lord, and severe judgements of God, and tell thy proud heart, lay aside your gainsaying humour, and take the mercy God offers, and bless God that you may take mercy, and that you may take grace upon these terms, upon good grounds, and reasons, and evidences out of the word; bless God, I say, and take it, lest God take away his Spirit from you, and his comforts from you, and strip you naked of all that favour he now vouchsafeth, and make you run down in anguish of soul to your grave, though he save your souls, he may make you live in hell here, though he bring you to heaven afterwards: I would have every one touch his soul to the quick, and deal as job did, Once have I spoken, but I will say no more, yea twice, but I will proceed no farther; so all you broken hearted Christians, that have mourned under the burden of your sins, and cried mightily for mercy, and yet receive no comfort to your souls, the fault is your own; now see the ground of it, and say, I am vile, when the word revealed, and the Minister discovered comfort, I would not receive it, I have gainsayed it, I will gainsay it no more, once have I spoken, and now I speak it to my shame and sorrow, I might have had much comfort, and bound up my heart in the assurance of God's mercy, had I had an humble heart, to receive that which God offered, I thought it humility of heart to refuse it, but it was pride and doggedness of spirit; for why did I not rather receive reasons that could not be answered, than more questions that have been removed, and assoiled from day to day; I have been enlarged in this, because it is the main ground whereupon many humble sinners have been hindered from a great deal of comfort God would have given, and they might have received at his hands. Rule. 4 The fourth rule is this: maintain in the last place the truth which upon these good grounds thou hast received, and thy judgement, and conscience, and heart have submitted to. Look as it is with a man in law concerning his land, or living, or patrimony, if he have his adversary upon a good ground upon the hip, as we use to say, he will be sure to keep him there, he will be sure to keep him upon that ground still, and hold him to that; if a man will follow every wrangling lawyer at every digression, and bring in this and that; no, keep to the point, saith the Judge, let there be no wavering and extravagant courses: hold there where your case is good, and the law is on your side: so deal with Satan, it is the cunning of the enemy to lead you out, and he will have his vagary, and this turning, and the other wavering; but keep to the point, be sure to hold to that truth that hath established you, by the evidence of reason; and testimony of conscience, and the evidence of your souls: let me teach you a little that are weak: How the soul being tempted, may answer Satan's accusations. Satan, when a man hath got a little advantage, he will begin to play the lawyer: Satan. What, dost thou not yet see what wants thou hast, and how many failings, how unfit for service, and how weak in service? Poor soul. Answer. It is true, but it is written, Prov. 28.13. He that confesseth, and forsaketh his sins, shall find mercy; though I be weak, and feeble, and unfit, yet I confess and forsake my sins, therefore I shall find mercy. Satan. Ay, saith Satan, that you do indeed, dost thou not apprehend, and doth not thy conscience witness, that thy heart is averse, and untoward to duty, unwilling to come thereunto, weary therein, and desirous to be free therefrom? Keep still to the point, and answer; Poor soul I have may sins and many failings, it is true, but yet it is as true, he that confesseth, and etc. but I confess, and forsake, therefore I shall find mercy. Satan. Ay, but saith Satan, are you tampering with Gods privy counsel? do you know to whom mercy belongs? secret things belong to God, he must give his mercy to whom he please, and his goodness to whom he sees fit. Keep still to the point, and say, Poor soul. I know not what Gods secret will is, but I know what the word saith, and what the Lord saith, and what conscience saith: I know, I confess, and forsake, therefore I, etc. But Satan replies; Satan. Many cozen themselves, mercy is a rare gift, few have it, and many dream of it, that shall never share therein, nor partake thereof, and why may not you be one of those? Keep still to the point, and answer; Poor soul. It is true, I may cozen myself, and my heart may be deceived; but the Lord will not cozen me, and the Word cannot deceive me, and the Lord and the Word say, He that confesseth, etc. but I confess, etc. Satan. How do you know that you do apply the Word aright? may you not be deceived in that? the Word is true and certain: but how do you know that you do fitly apply this Word? Answer. Poor soul. I know it not but by the Word, and I repair thither, that I may know it, and the Lord knows all, and the Word informs me, that whosoever confesses and forsaketh his sins, shall have mercy; and my conscience knows, that I do confess and forsake, therefore I, etc. and Satan, if you will show me any other text contrary to this, I will yield but otherwise I will never yield while the world stands. Thus you see, how you may hold Satan to the Word, and keep him there; but if he lead you into wildernesses, and by-paths, and take you to fears and suspicions, you are gone; Psal. 119.98. By thy commandments thou hast made me wiser that mine enemies; but what is the reason of it? they are ever with me; so Satan is wise, and carnal reason, and the world, and temptations are subtle; but blessed be our God, that makes every poor ignorant creature, that believes in him, and rests upon him, wiser than all his enemies, wiser than the cunning serpent, wiser than the subtle pleas of carnal reason, wiser than the cunning of all temptations: let the Word be continually with you, from day to day, and that will make you discover all the sleights and stratagems, and all the cunning tricks of Satan, and not only show you what is amiss, but thereby you shall get ground to your souls, to answer all Satan's pleas: Satan deals with the soul of a proud sinner in this case, as enemies in the war; as josuah 8. you know when josuah went to defeat the men of Ai, he towled them out of the City, his army fled before them as formerly, and they all fallied out of the City upon them, and when he had them out of the City, the men in ambush circumvented them, and then they that fled, turned back upon them before, and the rest burned the City; had the men of Ai kept within the City, it is true, God could have overthrown it, but yet they might have put it to the venture, they might have tried it out; but when they had left the City, there was no hope: so Satan deals with the soul, our castle or trenches are the promises of God, God's Word and ordinances, especially the promises, are the trenches, whereby the souls of God's servants are fortified; now if Satan can but get you out of your trenches, and toll you out of your castle, he hath what he would have; if you will listen to every carnal reason, and to every temptation, and talk and parley with it, than Satan hath you in ambush, and will surprise you; if he can make you lose ground in the promise, he damps your spirits, and will entangle you in temptations, and hinder the comfort of your souls; the advice I give you in this case, is that of john, 1 john 2.28. Little children, if ye abide in God's commandments, ye abide in God; if we abide in God's counsels, and ordinances, and promises, we abide in him: he speaks to the weak, as if he had said, you are weak and feeble, I know the blindness of your minds, how unable you are to foresee temptations, and weak and unable to bear temptations, and I know, that Satan goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; and you are little lambs, weak, and feeble, and unable to withstand him: but little children abide in God, keep home, keep home, and then you are sure to be safe. Whensoever dangers are abroad, or any danger in the streets, we keep the door shut, to keep little ones within, that they may catch no harm abroad; and if they get out, and get a knock, and come crying, we say, why did you not keep within then, who bade you go out then? so you that are little ones in the Lord Jesus Christ, when Satan and all the armies of hell are combining against you, keep within your trenches, dwell in God, and abide in him; you will go out now and then, and tamper with carnal reasons, and Satan's cavil, and come home with a broken heart, and troubled spirit, and comfort is gone, and assurance is gone, and all is gone; keep home then I charge you, what have you to do abroad? therefore entrench yourselves in the promises of God, and keep yourselves within the Castle of God's Ordinances and Commandments, and then be safe and sure. The issue than is this, judge thy soul by the Word, and look upon the sincere part, and do not take thy soul on the worst hand, and what thou so judgest to be in, labour to convince thy conscience thereof, and to have conscience speak for thee: what reason is informed, and conscience convinced of, labour to make thy heart subject, and submit and yield thereunto without any gainsaying; what reason allows, and conscience witnesseth, let thy soul entertain, and not a word more; and what thy heart submits unto, hold to that and maintain it for ever, and never let it go: this is the means whereby a soul distressed may repair to God in the use of God's ordinances, and may receive joy and established comfort to thy dying day, and may go singing to thy grave; let Satan tempt, let the world allure, let corruption stir, and the heart quarrel, keep within doors, keep within your trenches, and remain safe from danger. Look as it is with a man that hath his house well prepared, and his foundations firmly built, when the winds blow, and the storms beat upon his house, he sleeps most quietly, because he is in a house where he is safe, and free from danger; the winds blow not in him, the water pierces not through; you that have title to Christ and grace, and to the promises, they are they that will keep you, and defend you against wind and weather; though the winds roar from East to West, though the storms beat, though Satan be never so subtle, and corruptions never so violent; nay though hell gates were open, and all the devils in hell roared upon thy soul, and all the fierceness of temptations assault you from day to day, lie close and bring your hearts to fasten to the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ, keep within doors, keep within your castles: sit still and repose your souls upon the promises of God, and upon the riches of Gods free grace, and you shall see that the storm will over, and Satan will be defeated: and you shall have comfort, and you may go singing to your graves, though you have many weaknesses and failings, and distempers: yet stay here, and nothing can do you harm. Now we come to the means, that here may usefully be considered for the bringing on of the heart to believe: but you will say, what be the means that a man may use through God's blessing and grace, to attain this grace of faith, and the use thereof; for this is certain we must use the means, but there is no means under Heaven, alone will do it; yet you must wait upon God in the use of the means: for it is not the means alone, that will work faith, but the Spirit of God in the use of the means; and therefore the text saith, to you it is given to believe; for faith is the free gift of God, it is God that must do it, and yet he will not do it without us, because we are reasonable men and women, the Lord affords us means, and therefore we are to wait upon him in the use of those means, let the Lord do what he will, and let us do what we should, use the means which God hath appointed: and those are these four. Means. 1 First, we must as much as in us lies, labour to pluck away all those props that the soul leans upon, and all those outward succours, and whatsoever outward contentment it is which a poor sinner doth repair and betake himself to for relief and help, that when all these are taken from us, we may be forced to go for secure there where it is to be had. Mark 5.26.27. when the poor woman in the Gospel had spent all her goods upon the Physicians, and if she had had but a little means left, yea, but one farthing token, for any thing I know, she would never have gone to Christ; but when all these failed, than she was forced to seek to Christ, that was ready and willing to do any thing for her distressed nature: so our souls must have something to support themselves upon, for they cannot live without some support. Now therefore when all our carnal hopes are taken away, we must needs stay upon the promise, because we have nothing else; yet I say, it is not requisite that a man should cast away those outward comforts that God affords him, but take them when God gives them, but only this, that though you have all, yet labour to get your hearts to see the vanity, and acknowledge the emptiness of all these, and let not the heart seek too much content in them, for these are all but lying vanities, and broken staves which will not only cousin a man, but pierce him too. Now when the soul seethe these things cannot secure him but lay him in the dust, than he will be content to have his heart severed from them. It is with the soul as it was with Noah's Dove; When the Ark began to rest upon the mountain Arraret, Noah sent out the Dove, but the Dove found no rest for the sole of her foot: no question there were many dead darkasses, but the Dove found no rest till she came to the Ark again: So when a man finds no rest in any thing the creature affords, and can get no footing for the soul to to stay itself upon them, than it betakes itself to Christ, and goes home to the promise, and rests there, and expects from thence what is needful: as in the Art of swimming, he that will swim, must pluck his feet from the bottom, and commit himself to the stream to bear him up, so we must pluck our hearts from these things here below, and them from us; and though we have honour and preferments, yet we must not put any confidence in them, but learn by our believing to commit ourselves wholly to the power of the promise, and receive comfort from thence only: as Rabshakeh said sinfully; Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad, etc. Rely not upon them, for the gods cannot help you: so should we reason, when we find our hearts hankering after honour, riches, pleasure, etc. why say, let not the gods of this world, honour, and profit, and pleasure deceive thee; did the pride of Pharaohs heart deliver him? did the riches of Dives save him? did Herod's applause that he had deliver him? did these gods secure them? nay, have they not left them in the lurch? therefore let us take our hearts off from these things, and have a base esteem of them, and see a vanity, and emptiness, and insufficiency in them, that we may be forced to seek to Christ, and say as David said, Help Lord, for vain is the help of man, vain is the help of all other things. Means. 2 Now when this is done, there is a little way made that the promise may come to the soul: and therefore labour in the second place to have your hearts possessed throughly, and persuaded effectually of the fullness of that good which is in the promise, and of that satisfactory mercy and freeness of the grace of God in Christ, that so the soul may be established with that full content which is to be had in the riches of the promise: but mark what I say, persuade your hearts of it, and content not yourselves; that you are able to speak of it, and talk and dispute somewhat fully of the excellency of the promise, and of the riches of Gods free grace: what is this to the purpose that the heart knows this, and yet is sore-stalled that it comes not to the promise; therefore leave not thy heart till it come to make that account of the promise, as the word saith it is worth; I say, leave not thy heart till thou see the promise of grace most beautiful in thy eye, and that thy heart may gain some earnest touching of the goodness of God, and the riches of his grace towards thee; and bring thy heart to know and see that the promise is better than all the riches and honours that thou canst have, or the world can bestow. David saith Psalm 9.10. They that know thee will trust in thee, for thou Lord, hast never failed them that seek thee: this kind of knowledge ever breeds confidence and resolution, and persuades the heart. We dare trust a friend whose faithfulness we have tried; and rest upon that which we know by experience; the promises are of a tried truth, seek from one end of the Heavens to the other, turn all the Bible over, and see if ever any man leaned on the promise, and the Lord did not perform that which he had promised for the good of his soul: Psal. 119.92. Except the Lord had been my delight, I should have perished in my troubles: Psalm 73.26. David saith, my flesh faileth me, and my heart also; but thou art the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever: again, I had perished in my affliction, but that thy Word upheld me; the promises are worth trusting to, & leaning upon: though David in the midst of his affliction was ready to sink, yet then the promise upheld him: Esay 26.4. Trust in God, for in jehovah is everlasting strength: now there is not strength in these things below, or not everlasting strength, but in Christ: in the promises is everlasting strength, here lies a great weight, and it is a work of marvellous difficulty, and great necessity; and therefore that thy heart may sit down satisfied in the sufficiency of the promise, I will propound three rules how you may improve the promise for your uttermost benefit. Rule. 1 First, labour daily to present to thy soul a greater good in the promise, than thou canst see any where else; it is a man's skill, and it should be his endeavour daily to watch his heart, and to look what it is that the heart desires most, and present a greater good to thy soul therein, than in all things thou canst have elsewhere: do honours or riches, or the applause of men, or any earthly pleasures offer thee content and satisfaction, then persuade thy heart there is a greater worth and excellency in the promise, than can be had in all the world; outbid the world, and tell thy heart and say, heart wouldst thou have honour and glory? why here is an exceeding weight of glory: he that hath the promise shall be made a king, and shall have glory that will never vanish: doth thy heart hanker after earthly joy and mirth? thou shalt find a greater mirth in the promise, than in the crackling of these thorns. In the promise there i● joy unspeakable and indurable; my joy I give unto you, and none shall take it away: here are rivers of pleasures (and so I may say of any thing else) doth thy heart hanker after riches? tell thy heart that there be unsearchable riches in Christ, and through him we have title to all the promises of this life and a better; we know he that offers most for the bargain carries it away; therefore we should observe the doings out of our hearts, and what offers itself to give us most content, and present our souls with a greater good in God, in Christ, in the promise, than in all things else: look as it is in marrying, if parts give content, than the wisest prevail; if they would have riches, than the wealthy obtain: why now woo thy soul, and look what will please it best, and make it appear to thy soul, there is a greater good in the promise: honours and riches have spokes-masters, and seek commendations: had I but such honour, oh, it were admirable; had I but so much wealth, oh, it were excellent; all this while the promise is shut out, and it cannot come to the speech of the soul; labour therefore to have access to the promise with thy soul, and speak a good word for it, and say, stand by world, stand by riches, profits, and pleasures, and preferments, room for the Lord Jesus Christ, and put a wonderful price upon the promise, whatsoever the soul doth account as best, that it will choose, and leave all others for it: do as Dalilah did, she besieged the heart of Samson, and would not leave him, till he poured out his heart to her; so let the promise have ingress and regress, let the promises besiege thy heart, that thy heart may give up itself to it, Hosea 2.7. I will return to my first husband, for than it was better with me than now: so when the heart comes to see and know that there is better riches, ease, pleasures, profits, preferments in Christ in the promise, than in all the world, than it will return thither: I would have the soul outbid the world, and labour to out-shoot the Devil in his own bow, and those things which the Devil casts in thy way, for hindering thy soul from coming to the promise, let those things be as means to usher in the promise, as thus, when thou seest thy heart look after friends, let those friends usher the way to think on the infinite love and favour of God in Christ; and when thy heart would fain hunt after wealth, let this usher a way to the promise, and say, if the heart find such content in riches, what would it find in the riches of God's grace in Christ; thus present a greater good in the promise, than in any thing else. Rule. 2 The second rule is: labour to convince thy heart of this, that all the things in the world without the promise are not good; and hadst thou all that the earth can afford without a promise, they were rather a curse to thee than a blessing; Heb. 11.1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for; it gives a kind of being and substance to all; there is no substance in honour and riches, if they be not in faith, they are clogs and snares to a man, except faith give a blessing therewith, all our prayers have no substance in them, but are poor and empty words without faith in the promise, to have what we pray for: the most broken and mean prayer, if it be mingled with faith, it is a very powerful prayer; and the substance of all your hearing and my preaching, lies chief in faith, otherwise they are but lost labour; for faith is it that gives a kind of being, to whatsoever we speak or do. Rule. 3 The third rule in this second means is this, labour to acquaint thy heart with the goodness of the promise, before carnal reason comes and possesses thy heart, how that the promise is most sure, and will come when it is most seasonable, and is best for thee, and when God sees it most fit, we shall certainly have it; David saith, Thy Word is sure in heaven: and Heb. 4.16. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may receive comfort and mercy in time of need; not when I see it sit, but when God sees it fit; this is it which carries away many poor sinful hearts from resting upon the promise of God, sometimes the heart is a little affected with the excellency of the riches of God's grace, and seethe what great things the Lord hath done for his soul; and saith, Oh that I were such a one, and let me dye the death of the righteous, but when it comes to pass, that he hath not present ease and comfort, than he casts away the good promise of the Lord, and the Devil prevails wonderfully with those poor creatures, therefore saith the Prophet, Heb. 3.17. When the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall the fruit be on the vines, when the labour of the olive shall fail, and yield no fruit, then will I rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of my salvation: let the promise so surprise thy heart, that it may be possessed with the all-sufficiency of it: and therefore persuade thy heart, the good of the promise will come, when it is most seasonable; let riches satisfy when death comes, then call for your cordial: I tell you, the promise will help when all fail. Means. 3 In the third place see that thou expectest all the good which thou needest and canst desire from that sufficiency of the promise: go to the promise for all good, there are all the cords of mercy that must draw thee, and there is the all-sufficiency that can supply all thy wants, look for all from thence, and expect power from the promise to enable thee, to do whatsoever thou wouldst: in the promise is authority to rule thee, expect power from the promise to make thee able to believe the promise. Object. It is a weak plea for a man to say, I dare not look to the promise, I cannot believe; if I could believe, than I might expect some good. Answ. Thou shalt never believe upon these terms, thou must not first have faith, and then go to the promise, but thou must first go to the promise, and from thence receive power to make thee able to believe the promise: Psal. 119.49. O Lord, remember thy word to thy servant, wherein thou hast caused me to trust: when men are enlarged in love to a man, and make fair promises, this persuades the heart to trust to them, and to rely upon them for good; therefore a man doth use to say, I durst not have thought it, nor expected, if you had not promised it: so the promise of God made to the soul, makes the soul to rest upon it: to expect faith without a promise is all one, as if a man should expect a crop without seed, for the promise is the immortal seed of God's word, whereby the Spirit breeds this faith in the hearts of all that are his: john 5.25. The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear it shall live; it is spoken of raising of a dead man from the grave of sin: First, there is the voice of Christ to the soul, before there can be an echo again of the soul to Christ; so the power of the promise must come to the soul, and we must hear the voice of God in the promise, before we can return an echo again to the Lord: the Lord saith, Come to me; and the soul saith, I come Lord: when thou seest much deadness and unfitness of heart, do not thou go away, and look off from the promise, and say, Thus I am, and so it is with me; but rather go to the promise, and say, Whatsoever frailties I find in myself, yet I will look to the Lord, and to his promise; for if I want faith, the promise must settle me more and more therein; I must not bring faith to the promise, but receive faith from thence, and therefore I will wait till the Lord please to work it. Means. 4 Lastly, labour to yield to the equal condition of the promise, and make no more conditions than God makes; now the promise requires no more of a man, but that he should come and lay hold on mercy, therefore do thou require no more, than God in the promise requires; there is enough in the promise to do thee good, therefore expect all good from it, and be content to go to the promise, and take of God whatsoever he hath therein offered: Esay 55.1, 2. B●y without money, this is the condition, that God offers mercy upon; Buy wine and milk, that is, grace and salvation, without money, that is, without sufficiency of your own; for we must not look for sanctification, till we come to the Lord in vocation: for this is all the Lord requires of thee, to see thy sins, and be weary of them, and be content that the Lord Jesus shall reveal what is amiss, and take it away, and that the Lord should give thee grace, than the Lord will bring thee to himself, and thou shalt receive mercy from him, and then all thy corruptions shall fall to the ground. To sum up the point briefly thus: First, when we have plucked away all carnal props, there is way made for the promise to come to us. Secondly, when our hearts are possessed thoroughly of the sufficiency of God's promise and grace, than the promise draws near to the soul. Thirdly, when we expect all from the promise, even power to come to the promise, than the promise lays hold upon us. Fourthly, when we are content to yield to the equal conditions of the promise, than the promise carries us quite away. Thus we have seen the hindrances removed, and the means propounded, and now that we may be moved and persuaded importunately to seek after this blessed grace of God: I'll propound three motives: Motive. 1 The first motive is this: because if you once get this grace, you get all other graces with it; in this you have all the rest attending, and you have all the rest overplus: it is a ground of comfort to set a man a-work, when in the doing of one, he may do many things; so it is in the work of faith: men that are wise to provide for themselves, and to lay out their money for their best advantage; for a purchase, if they see it is well wooded, and all the stock goes into the bargain; especially if there be some golden mines, all their minds will be upon that purchase; because if they have that, they have all in that: so it is here, get this grace, and get all; strengthen this, and strengthen all; nourish this, and nourish all; want this, and want all: once get this, and then you need not seek for wisdom, for faith will make you wise, it will bring holiness with it to purge you: Ah the golden mines of mercy and salvation, do all attend upon the purchase of faith: it is in this case with faith, as it is in a man's body, a man hath an especial care of his stomach and liver, because the stomach digests his meat, and the liver makes blood, and blood is in all; and now if all be maintained, all is for health: so, what ever a man looks to, ●et him look to this; for by faith we lay hold on Christ, and from Christ we receive all good, whereby our hearts may be cheered and refreshed; faith brings all grace, and works with all grace; get faith, and get all: 2 Corin. 3.18. We all with open face behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, and are changed into the same image from glory to glory; I have opened the place before, to have the glorious grace of God, his meekness and patience, that the soul may be transformed, and of an impatient man, be made meek and patiented, and to have the glorious grace of God imprinted upon the soul: how will all this come? we all by faith look upon the riches of God's grace in Jesus Christ; Christ is the glass, and the glorious grace of God; Christ is compared to the glory of the Lord; therefore first we must behold grace, before we can receive it; first see humility in Christ, and then fetch it; and there see courage, to put mettle into the heart that is cowardly. Secondly, as all grace comes by faith, for it is faith that closeth with Christ, and from Christ receiveth grace for grace; as the seal leaves the same impression upon the wax, that is upon itself, so secondly by faith we are delivered from all, and made conquerors over all: either enemies that can assault us, or miseries that can trouble us: we have many enemies, the Devil and the world, but especially a vile, base, and corrupt heart, if you know and feel these miseries; here is one special privilege of faith, it will rid all these, and make you conquerors over all these enemies; this only faith can do: every man labours for mastery and victory; this is the white that every man shoots at, as it is in a pitched field, though it be but for one victory, how every s●de draws on the forces, and use all the means and skill that can be, to get the day: but if there were an engine or instrument that would overcome all enemies, and break all forts and trenches, if there were any such engines, no man would stick at any price, or spare any means and endeavours to get the engine, because if they have this, they have the victory; and although there never was, nor never can be any such engine for temporal deliverances as this is; yet certain it is, this saving faith is a spiritual engine and instrument, a● I may so say, that gives victory and conquest over all spiritual enemies: 1 john 5.4. They that are borne of God overcome the world, and sin, and this is the victory that overcommeth the world, even your faith; mark the phrase, and it is not for the conquest of some one corruption, but for the overthrowing of a world of wickedness, it quencheth all the fiery darts of the Devil, be the corruptions never so strong, yet faith gives the conquest to a poor sinner, it is not hope alone, nor love, nor zeal, they are all good soldiers, and they may strive much, and lend much helps to a poor sinner, but they will grow weak, and feeble, and dead, except saving faith come in to rescue an● bring a supply; how often do we find, that wh●● our hope fails, and our love grows cold, and ou● zeal dead, then at last, faith goes to heaven, 〈◊〉 fetches new grace, even grace for grace and th●● hope is stirred, and desire quickened, and zeal inflamed: Psal. 27.13. I had fainted, unless I had beloved to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the ●●ving; it was saith that did save him at a dead lift: it is with the soul, as it is with the body, take a man that is swooning, there is one friend that weeps over him, another that comforts him, but he that will cure him, must go to the Apothecary's shop, and bring some Aqua vitae, and that will fetch him again: so it is with a poor sinner, being under the pressure of horror of heart, (you wicked ones are not acquainted with this, but you may be in time, I have known the stoutest heart to stoop) the poor sinner in his extremity faints, and profits, and pleasures, and friends weep over him, saying, Oh that we could have quieted and refreshed you, but the poor man is go●e, till at last, faith goes to heaven, and brings a pardon to save him, and mercy to comfort him, and hath supply there, and faith brings the water of life, even the freeness of this grace, and that cheers, comforts, and revives the heart thus sinking, so that the poor sinner by this time gins to look up, and to come to himself again, as David saith, Psal. 73.1. Yet God is good to Israel, he w●● even sinking, but faith over came the temptation: Oh, saith he, the world is naught, and men are marvellous wicked, and malicious to oppose, and ●●y own heart is malicious and bad, but God is good, and he will be good to me, and cure this vile h●●rt of mine: 1 Pet. 1.5. We are kept by the power 〈◊〉 God through faith unto salvation; that which gets the victory is faith, and next under God in Christ; we own our everlasting salvation unto faith, even 〈◊〉 that blessed grace; you that are acquainted with troubles, and anguish of conscience, and with many corruptions, would it not do you good at the heart, to see all your deadly enemies laid down at your feet? would it not do you good, to have all your strong lusts and masterly corruptions of pride and malice, those mighty and Goliath sins, that you have a deadly envy against, and that you have stood so long against? would you not see them all mastered and overcome? I doubt not, but you that feel these and undergo the burden of these, you would account it the best day that ever you did see: if the conquest be worth the striving, then get faith, and then the day is yours, and you shall see your lusts bleed, your lusts break; and though your pride and other lusts now get ground against you, yet than they shall be led captive, as the text saith, than Christ shall lead captivity captive; faith brings Christ into the field, and so the victory is gotten. Motive. 3 As faith makes us glorious in all graces, and gives the conquest over all enemies, so in the last place it is faith that brings a blessing to all our blessings, and it graces all our abilities, and it blesseth us in all our occasions that concern us; the profit of all means, and the success of all our labours, it is in faith: nay, there is a good, which faith works upon some, and therefore it is wort● the striving: it is that which blesseth all our blessings, and all that doth concern us: means m●● bend the work and operation, but all the prof●● is in faith: as Heb. 4.2. The Gospel was preached unto them, as unto us, but it did not profit them, because it was not mixed with faith in those that heard it: hadst thou the greatest parts and abilities under heaven, if thou hadst not faith with them, they would not profit thee; men think to go beyond all with their power, wit, and policy, but I say, All will not profit them without faith; if thou canst receive the Sacraments with faith, it will strengthen thee; if thou canst hear the Word with faith, the terrors of the law will humble thee, and the commands thereof will direct thee, and awe thee, but otherwise all is nothing, though an Angel should come from heaven, and preach to you: as it is with the means of the body, if a man eat never so much meat, and cannot digest it, if the stomach be clogged with it, there is nothing but sickness and diseases come from it, but if a man take but a little meat, and digest it well, it will nourish him, and do him much good: so it is here, that which is the stomach and liver of the soul, is faith, and that turns the Word, and Sacraments, and ordinances into good blood; it is a lowly believing heart, that gets good by this. Secondly, all our performances find acceptance through faith; the Scripture saith, Without faith, it is impossible to please God; and I say, That without faith it is impossible that thou shouldst please God, though thy judgement is weak, and thy parts humble, and thy ability poor and feeble; but yet if thou canst but sigh up to heaven by faith, that sigh is accepted in heaven with faith, all thy weaknesses are pardoned, and all services are accepted, whereas without the grace of faith, hadst thou the greatest abilities under Heaven; and though thou canst please thy great Patron, thine own proud heart, yet thou wilt never please the great God: he that heareth holy faith, and walketh by faith, though he can please none else, yet he shall be sure to please his God. This is that which turneth all our sins and curses into good to us: (Oh mark that) not that it makes them good in themselves, but it brings good out of them. The cunning Apothecary, and wise Physician can make the most deadly poison, the most sovereign cordial, because he corrects the one, that is so many degrees could, and puts a stronger spirit of heat into four of five degrees of it, and so fits it to be marvellous cordial; so faith makes a sweet extract out of pride, and the venom of sin and corruption, without this is, the overpowering work of faith, at Phil. 1.14. For this I know that by the supply of the Spirit of Christ, this shall turn to my good and salvation through your prayers. To wind up the point, let us consider all these motives, and consider whether we can move our hearts to labour for this grace; would you not be glorious in all the graces of God, as humility, meekness and patience, and have conquest over all your enemies, and the baseness of your own hearts, and would you not have a blessing upon what you enjoy, and would you not have all work for your good, if these be worth the having, then get this grace of faith, that having this you may have all. He that hath faith, let him go on in it; and he that hath not faith, let him know that he never had any thing. To this purpose it will be very seasonable, to call upon our hearts upon all occasions, when you find your hearts hunting to settle upon these things here below, and when you begin to view all the contentments of this life, and to say, this is great Babel, and I have gotten friends and means, etc. then put the question to thy soul and say, hast thou faith too? thou hast friends to stand for thee, and means to enrich thee, but hast thou faith to save thy soul? if thou hast not faith, thou art a beggar whatsoever thou hast, nay often startle your secure and careless hearts, and put this plea to your hearts; and parley with them, in this manner and say, do not many and most men want faith, and why may not I want it? and do not many seek faith and do not attain it, and what if I should miss it? the Lord forbidden it, for than thou art an undone man for ever thou hast lost all thy labour. john 2.8. Look to yourselves saith the Apostle, that you ●●se not the things that you have wrought, thy hearing, and thy praying, and all thy Sacraments, and all means, and whatsoever thou hast or dost, thou hast lost all, and thou art gone down the stream, nay miss of faith, and all the means under heaven cannot relieve thee; I tell thee if thou missest of faith, thou missest of heaven and salvation; nay, I may speak it with reverence, mercy itself cannot say thee; Christ will not, nay Christ cannot save thee without faith, for he hath sworn he shall never enter into his rest, continuing without faith: therefore call home your hearts, and stir up your souls, and look up to the Lord Jesus, and reason in this manner, and say, as Paul to the Philippians saith, To you it is given to believe, Lord it is given to thy poor servants to believe, thou gavest Manasses, Paul, and the jailer power to believe, I am a vile stubborn profane wretch, Lord give me power also to believe; whether thou wilt give me honour; wealth, riches, or no, I leave that to thyself; but Lord deny not thy servant an humble broken and believing heart, lest I perish, and be undone for ever. As Rachel said, Give me children, or else I die, so say thou, Lord give me faith, or else I perish: Lord I know all my labour cannot work faith, and all means under Heaven cannot give it, but it is thou, Lord, that must do it, and as the text saith, Many believed through grace: Lord therefore through that grace of thine, draw this heart to thee, and keep it with thee, and make thy poor servant blessed for ever. Thus much for the use of exhortation, namely, that we should get faith. Now I come to the second part of exhortation, and here we are to endeavour if God be pleased to go out with us, to persuade the heart of those that be faithful to live by faith: the Lord brought thy unfaithful heart to believe; now then labour to husband this grace well, and to improve it for thy best good, and live by it. It is a marvellous great shame to see those that are borne to fair means, I mean the poor Saints of God, that have a right and title to grace and Christ, and yet to live at such an under rate: I would have you to live above the world, though thou hast not a coat to cover thee, nor a house to put thy head in, yet if thou hast faith, thou art a rich man: therefore husband thy estate well, it is a shame, I say, to see them, that they cannot husband that happy estate which they have, they live as if they had it not, so full of want, so full of care and pride, so weak, and unable to master their sins, whereas the fault is not in the power of faith, nor the promise, nor in the Lord, for the Lord doth not grudge his people of comfort, but would have them live cheerfully, and have strong consolations, and mighty assurance of God's love. And therefore the text saith, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice, and make your calling and election sure: Heb. 6.18. God hath sworn that by two immutable things, wherein it is impossible that God should lie, we might have strong consolations; nay, the Lord rejoiceth in the prosperity of his servants, and therefore he hath provided mercifully and richly for you, that you may rejoice; therefore we do the Lord and his promises a great deal of wrong, and bring an ill report upon that grace and mercy of his, when we open the mouths of the wicked, and make them say, Oh, these precise people talk of quiet, and contentment, and joy in the holy Ghost, there is great talking of these things, but we could never see it yet: Oh brethren it is a great shame; are the riches and revenues of faith so great, that a christian may live like a man all his days? Let all the drunkards and malicious wretches against God, laugh and be merry, yet they cannot see one of those days that a poor Saint can● though he should lie in prison all his days: Matthew 17.20. If a man had but faith as a grain of mustardseed, and should say to this mountain go hence, it should be done; whether this is spoken of justifying faith or no, I will not now dispute, but this I am sure of, if you will resist the Devil, he will flee from you, and you may trample under all your lusts and corruptions, this is the life of faith, and this life may we live, and this life we ought to live. If a tradesman have a good estate put into his hand, and have a fair stock and quick returns, if he goes down the wind, and begin to decline and decay, every man will say, he w●● left marvellous well, but either he knew nor how to use it, because he wanted skill, or else he arcaded not unto it, and was careless, another man would have lived bravely upon half of that means which he had. So there is never a poor Christian, Note this. which trade's in a Christian course, but he hath a fair estate, and may live like a man. One promise is enough to make a man live comfortably all his days, though he were in never so much want; but if he be cast behind hand, and goes down the wind with comfort and joy, and sinks because of his pride, and distempers, and vexation, the fault is not in the estate, for the Lord left him very well, he had a child's portion, he had an heart to fear God, and love God, as David saith, O be merciful unto me as thou usest to 〈◊〉 to those that love and fear thy Name: the fault was not in the promises that they could not, nor in his faith that it would not help him, but he let the promises lie by, they came into the table, but he never cast them up, neither did he husband then aright: he had a world of comforts and consolations that would have given a man liberty in prison, and honour in shame and disgrace, and comfort in the time of distress, but he did not husband them. Therefore be advised to do as the tradesman doth, he will not spend of his stock, but live of his trading. So I would have every Christian to make a living of his faith, whatever strength thou needst, fetch it from grace in Christ, and what ever comfort thou wantest, fetch it from Christ, but live by faith, and make a good living of it too, and then thou dost improve the promise aright: bring but an empty believing heart with thee, and the oil will never fail, and the meal in the barrel will never decay, but continually supply thee as it did that poor widow: So go with an humble heart to the promises, and husband it well, and thou mayst draw life and grace from the promises till doom's day. And thus in general. Quest. But how shall a man be trained up that he may get this skill of living by faith? Answ. Every man hath his own shifts and tricks, and lives by his own devices, and the devil hath enough of them in the world that lives this life, but the best life of all is little looked after. Note. Now for the answer know thus much, that there are three particulars necessary for the training up of the heart to learn this skill of living by faith. How to live by faith. First, we must labour to get matter for our faith to work upon. Secondly, we must labour to fit faith for the work. Thirdly, we must labour to order our faith aright in the work. Particul. 1 First, we must provide matter for our faith to work upon; for this we see ordinarily, if a workman want matter to work upon, (either a Carpenter or the like) he must needs cease his work, and he can go no further, and if a man's work fails, how can he provide for his family? This is the complaint of poor people now adays, that they have no work. So it is in a Christian course, many poor Christians that are newly set up, and are not aforehand in the world, they want even matter for their faith: I mean some are ignorant and cannot read, and some have not means and a preaching Minister, and others have but small parts and cannot hear, and little do they retain of what they do hear: Now because they want the promises of God understood and remembered, and rightly applied, therefore they live marvellously poor, though they might live marvellously comfortable in the world: and now they have a word of comfort, and sometimes the advice of a friend, and they have faith, but they want matter for their faith to work upon, and therefore they are scarcely able to uphold their souls in trouble. Now the matter of our faith is in the whole Word of God, Where the matter of faith is. as it is with the Bee in gathering honey, as the spider gathers poison out of every flower, so the Bee gathers honey out of the same flower, and out of the sweetest flower there she sucks most honey: and the Word of God; the sharpest course, and the fearfullest plagues denounced, a gracious heart will gather some good by it, and a man hath need of these; but above all, the sweet of the promises of the Gospel, and the sap and sweet therein, and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that is communicated thereby; Oh the faithful soul sucks most there. Now that we may provide matter for our faith, three rules are to be observed, which are commonly observed in all provisions: Rule. 1 First, they provide and lay in in season, timely, as soon as they can: When to provide matter for our faith. this is the practice of him that would husband his estate wisely, his care is to buy at the best hand. So I would have a good Christian to store up all the good promises of God, Remember this first. in all the good Word of God seasonably; I mean when all thy parts and abilities are strong, and nature is able to fight it out, & while the Fair day of God's favour lasteth, and while the Word and Sacraments are dispensed: this is the best time to lay in the promises of God, that we may not want them, when we have use of them: it is a marvellous weak, nay, a preposterous course, when a man is weak, his eyes dim, and his heart and strength faileth, and he is ready to give up the ghost, then to lay in grace and provision of mercy, and then for him that hath hated a Minister, and loathed the means of grace, and abused the patience and long suffering of God; Oh then to have a Minister come to him, and have a promise in the day of persecution, then for a man to bethink himself of the comforts and promises of the Gospel, and when a man should spend on the promises, then to get it; this is but ill husbandry: the better way is this, now to be buying at every turn; and this is the reason why our Saviour saith, Oh if thou hadst known in this thy day the things that belong unto thy peace; while the Word, and thy life, and the Sabbaths, and the ordinances last, this is thy day; we know not how soon God may take all from us. Oh the estate of the poor Palatinates, (if it be true that we hear of them) they have lost all the means of grace, and they have idolatry now amongst them, and there the enemies force them to go to mass against their consciences, and they cannot see a good Minister, nor a good Christian, but they weep to consider the times that once they had: therefore let us labour to be wise in the Lord, now while the Fair is, and consider how God deals with his children; Psal. 48.9. We have thought of thy name, O Lord, in the midst of the table, It is spoken there of the goodness of God towards Zion: a cup of poison, and a stone of stumbling: when he had spoken of all the bulwarks that God had made, and all the goodness and mercy that he had showed to his people, and the malice and wrath of his enemies, he saith, This God is our God, even for ever; as if he had said, The Lord did provide for his people in Egypt, and overthrew proud Pharaoh, that set himself up against God; and this God is our God: when thou art in the wilderness, this God is thy God; when thou art in persecution, this God is thy God, and the God of all: thus he stores up while the season lasts. And as thou must observe what God doth to others, Note this. so labour to treasure up thine own experiences: 2 Tim. 4.18. He hath delivered us, and he doth, and will deliver us, saith the Apostle: and the Prophet David saith, I remember thy judgements of old; O well far a good old store: I remember, saith he, how thou didst rebuke Abimelech, and overthrow Nimrod, and Nebuchadnezar, and Achitophel; Oh it is admirable to consider these things: I received comfort, saith he, God will overthrow every enemy; and this is store for thy faith, to work upon: Psal. 89.49. Where are thy former mercies? David is afore hand with God now; he is not come to buy food just at the time of famine, but it is laid up before hand. Rule. 2 We must lay it in abundantly, lay in promises of all kinds; you had better leave than lack: How to lay in matter for our faith. and it is the wisdom of a man to have somewhat to spare, and to have an overplus aforehand, that a man may not live feebly and poorly, and be at his wits end at every turn, and knows not which way to shift for himself, and have no bread in his house, I mean no provision of promises by him: Isay 42.23. Whose is wise, let him hear for after times; as if he had said, You must not only lay in promises just for the present, but store them for afterwards: as the chapman saith, I shall want this at such a time: and so the husbandman saith, I shall have occasion for this or that at such a time, and therefore they get aforehand: O that God would give us these hearts, it is good (as we may so say) to keep promises in pickle, that we may spend them at leisure: 1 Kings 17.6, 7, 8, 9 jezebel had threatened to kill Eliah, but she missed of her work, for she was slain herself, and he went to heaven, and never died at all: the text saith, He went and hid himself by the brook Kerith, and when all victuals failed, the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and when all that failed too, the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee to Sareptha, I have commanded a widow there to sustain thee: 1 King. 18.4. Obadiah hide a hundred of the Prophets of the Lord, by fifties in a cave, and fed them with bread and water: and in another place the text saith, In the days of famine thou shalt have enough: these precious promises will be good meat in Lent, when haply thou shall sit under an hollow tree, and creep among the bushes, than three or four of these promises will give a man a good meal of comfort, therefore store them up, for they will do you no harm; and when you are driven from house, and friends, and all, and God takes away the Gospel from us, (which God of his mercy prevent, Amen. and give us hearts to speak to him, that he may prevent it) only your wisdom will be this, to get all promises for this and a better life; for the getting of grace, and the preserving in grace, and not only to pray by a promise, but to live by a promise, and trade by it, and to enjoy all that you have by a promise, if you will have comfort in it, therefore be sure that you sort the promises aright; every promise is not for every purpose, but each promise suits for each occasion, and therefore suit them all: imagine a man wants comfort and strength against sin, why, then that promise will not fit them, wherein the Lord saith, He will be with them in six troubles, and deliver them in seven; that for a temporal deliverance, he doth not want that, but power against his corruptions. Again, if a man fear that he shall not hold out in perseverance; now that promise doth not sit, wherein the Lord saith, He will pardon all his sins, and cast them all as a millstone into the bottom of the sea; this is not for perseverance in grace, if thou seekest for secure there, thy hand is in the wrong box; but that promise is for this purpose, wherein God saith, I will knit them to me with an everlasting love; and I will write my laws in their inward parts, that they shall never departed from me any more. So there are promises for deliverances in trouble, and for comfort in affliction, and in a word, Gods infinite free grace is scattered in so many promises, according to so many necessities and several occasions, that is, all healing and saving virtue is in God, so he dispenseth it to so many drops and several promises; therefore we must do with the promises, as the Apothecary doth with his drugs, he puts Bezoar stone into one, and Studdine, that if the body be weak and low, than your Bezoar stone is good for him, and so for the rest; so that as the Apothecary hath all drugs, so he hath sorted them all: so deal you with the promise and word, have the command of God to own thee, and the promise of God to comfort thee; and that thou mayst sit thine own soul, let it be a suitable promise: suppose thou findest thy heart proud and stubborn, than thou mayst not look upon mercy and pardon, but look upon the justice of God; and how he looks upon the proud afar off, he gives grace to the humble, but resisteth the proud; here is study for thee, to pull down thy proud heart; and when thou findest thy heart full of venom and malice against the Ministers of God, now that Bezoar's stone doth not fit thee, therefore apply this, He that hates his brother in his heart, is a , and no shall enter into the kingdom of God: and he that hates his brother is a child of the Devil: these are vomits that fit thee. Rule. 3 Lastly, we must lay them up, that we may have them at hand, To lay up the promises. bring your provision home, and leave it not in the market; it is a folly for a man to say, I have as good provision as can be, but I have it not here: Colos. 3.16. Let the Word of God dwell in you plenteously, and richly in all wisdom; First, observe the plenty of our provision, it must not be scanty, but richly and wisely, and it must dwell in you, that you may but step aside, and have it. Now you have the matter for your faith to work upon. Secondly, we are to fit faith for the service that it may succeed with more comfort and better speed, for though a man be a believer, yet there is a great deal of dulness and bluntness comes upon this grace, though he have it; Luke 24.25. see how our Saviour chides his Disciples, saying, O fools, slow and dull of heart to believe, etc. so we ought to whet our faith, that it may line and square the promises (as it is in the Hebrew) that it may pierce through the vale of all the riches of the freeness of God's grace, and so bring comfort to us. It is with the hand of faith, as it is with the hand of the body; sometimes though the thing be near one, that he may reach it, and the hand hath life, yet if it be numbed, and stiff, and frozen, a man must warm it and rub it, before he can lay hold upon, and take the thing, and do the work in hand: so it is with the hand of faith, for faith is the hand of the soul, it takes hold of that mercy and comfort, which God hath prepared for us in Christ Jesus; now that faith is numbed and stiff through carelessness and looseness: therefore it is not enough for a man to have faith, but he must supple and oil the finewes of faith, that he may catch more speedily at the promise of life, and receive comfort from thence. Particul. 2 Now for the setting of our faith, to be limber and quick, there are three rules to be observed: Rule. 1 First, we must maintain the evidence of this grace of faith once gotten without question, How to make faith limber. undeniable, without controlment: I say, a faith once gotten, (mark it, I speak not now of those that have not faith, it is in vain to bid a man live by faith who hath no faith, but it is for those, in whose hearts God hath been pleased to work this blessed grace of faith) this must be the care of every man that hath gotten faith, he must know the nature of faith in general, and of his faith in particular, whither his faith be of the right stamp, and will stand him in stead in the day of account, and whither it be of that faith, which Peter speaks of, (for there is a great deal of copper faith in the world) as, that jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and the like: now when thou hast gained evidence, that thou hast faith, then fill it up, and keep it by thee, and labour to have the demonstration of this work so plain in thy soul, that it may be past denial: What a marvellous folly is it, for a man to question, when he should use it? the work must needs be marvellously hindered, though he have never so much faith, when he gins to cavil with it, and to question whither it be good or no; it is a proverbial speech, he that doubts of his way, ●●sisseth of his way, for while he is doubting; he goes no way in conclusion: so he that doth question, whether he hath faith or no, and therefore gets little good by it: tell a poor sinner of living by faith, and he saith, it is good news, if I had it: it is poor comfort to bid a man to go warm him, when he hath no fire to warm him by; and so it is a poor comfort, to bid a man live by faith, when he never had any faith: the quarrelling and doubting, when a man hath it, it wholly hinders the use and benefit of faith, that would come to us: as it is with a man that hath a fair estate, and hath land worth so many hundreds a year, all the while his lands are in question and controversy, he lives exceeding poor, and scarce makes so many scores a year; whereas if his lands were settled to him, he might so many hundreds: so it is here, every poor faithful soul is borne to a fair estate, and hath rich promises, and while he is yet in the law, and makes question of his faith, the truth is, the promises lie by, and he dares not meddle with them, and he suspects, whether he may venture upon them or no, and the reason is, he is quarrelling with, and doubting of his faith, when he should live by it: Matth. 24.29, 30, 31. when the Disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they thought it was a Spirit, but Jesus said unto them, Be of good comfort, it is I; now when Peter knew it was our Saviour, ●e being somewhat too venturous, he said, If it be thou Lord, bid me come unto thee on the water; and Christ said, Come; and Peter going, the waters be●●● to be something boisterous, his heart began to s●ck, etc. and Christ said unto him, O thou of ●it the faith, why dost thou doubt? as if he had said, ●●t is now no time of doubting, but a time of believing, the Lord bade him to come, and he had ground enough to come, and strength of faith to come, but when he saw the waves great & trouble some, he began to doubt, whereas he should have improved the promise, and not have doubted of it: so we doubt, and sit afraid, & quarrel with the promise, & improve not the grace that God bestows: it is with the soul in this case, as it is with a gun or piece, that is rusty and not well scoured, or not well stocked; he that goes to use the gun, in stead of hitting the mark, it recoils and hurts him, because that either it was not well stocked, or else it was rusty; so it is with a poor faithful soul, though the heart doth believe, and his heart is of a right stamp, and is able to lay hold on the promise, if that faith grow rusty with our doubting, and is unstable or unsettled, it recoils again upon us, and we sit down dismayed, whereas we might have gone to Christ, and received mercy from him: and therefore our Saviour saith of the wise Virgins, Matth. 25.7. They trimmed their lamps, and when the Bridegroom came, they entered with him into the chamber; so it should be with our souls: it is not enough for a gracious heart to have true faith and true oil, but if there grows any snuff of doubting that dims the light of our links, throw it away, and quarrel not, and then we shall be fitted to see the way, and to enter into eternal happiness by the power thereof: and I beseech you to observe this, the very questioning and quarrelling against the work of faith, it many times as much dis-inables a man, to put forth the power of his faith, as if he had no faith at all: as some that are melancholy, they think they cannot speak nor go; this hath made men not to speak for many years together, though they can and do speak to this day: therefore for the conclusion of this first rule, go then to God, and to his Word, and to thine own heart, and to the Ministers of his Word, and advise wisely and judiciously of thine estate, and labour to see sound evidences of the work of grace in thy soul, and see them every day, and read them every morning, noon, and evening, and get them by thee, and learn them by faith, that when thou comest to improve thy faith, thou mayst not question whether thou hast it or not; and if thou wilt not be persuaded, yet look to the promise; but if thy doubting comes still upon thee, and controversy still oppresseth thee, and is set on foot against thee, than reason thus with thine own soul, If I have not faith nor grace, I am sure I shall never get it by looking upon mine own corruptions and distempers: where must I have it, if I want it? the promise only must do it, therefore look you to that: It is with a doubting man, as with a man that is melancholy, if he would but set upon the work, he should see his own folly; and by going, he would be able to go; and by speaking, he would be able to speak: so this vain dismaiednesse of heart, and these discouragements of a doubting soul, doth more hinder the work of faith, than any distemper else; therefore when thy fears and discouragements come in upon thee, go thou to the promise, and in going thou wilt be able to go. Now faith is whetted, the shield of faith scoured, and it is fitted, that a man may improve it in some measure to his good. Rule. 2 Secondly, when thou hast thus maintained the clearness of the work of grace before gained, How to carry our hearts for the keeping of faith. then labour to bring thy heart to a marvellous stillness and calmness from time to time, that you may give way to faith, and that faith may have its full scope to frame thy heart; it is a point of great experience that we have had, as the chase away of doubting, scours the work of faith; so a staidness and stillness of soul, frames the heart to hold the shield steedily: a man must not only scour and furbuse the shield, but hold it so as he may defend himself: so than first the maintenance of the evidence of faith, and the calmness and staidness of heart, makes a man hold the shield steadyly, and bear the blow comfortably, when it comes: those boisterous affections, those crowds and troops of troublesome imaginations, as fear, and jealousy, and superstition, these do unranke the frame of the soul, that the soul is not at the command of faith: as it is in an army, when it is unranked, though the commander be never so wise and skilful, yet no man can march on: so though we had never such so victorious a faith, yet if the soul were hurried up and down with those boisterous distempers, the soul could not command faith: Luke 24.41. when it was told the Disciples that Christ was risen from the dead, and had manifested himself to them, the text saith, They believed not, and wondered; they would not believe for the while, and it was through the violence of their joy, which made them, that they had no leisure to believe: as it is true of immoderate affection, so it is true of strange fear, and care, and distemper, because these hurry the soul so violently, and transport the soul of a man, that he cannot believe: as it is in a crowd or tumult, the traveller is fitted to go on his journed, but the crowd is so strong, that they cross him, and oppose him in the way, and overturn him, and over power him, and so make him go another way; the fault was not, because he would not, or was not able to go, but because they did oppose him, and hinder him: just so it is with a soul thus troubled with tumultuous thoughts, especially melancholy, and those enemies of vain imaginations of fears, and sorrow, and distempered thoughts and cares, that though the heart is willing and able to believe, yet those stir of boisterous affections, they cross faith in the way, and bear down faith, that it cannot go on in the way of the promise towards God, nor receive help from him: Psal. 43.5. there David chides his own heart, and rocks it asleep, and would bring it quiet, saying, Why art thou so disquieted, Oh my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? this signifies, to lay a man flat upon his back; again, why art thou so tumultuously troubled? this is taken from a wave in the sea, that is carried up and down: there are three things in this text fitting for our purpose: First, that a tumultuous distemper of heart, makes a man lie flat upon his back, and sink into a swound. Secondly, it hinders the work of faith; mark what follows, Still trust in God; as if he had said, leave those distempers of heart, and rest upon the freeness of God's grace. Thirdly, David chides his own heart, and brings it into a calmness and stillness, he rocks his heart, and quiets it; as if he said, still look up to God, and wait upon him for mercy, for he is yet my God. The virtue of this rule we find in experience, especially in melancholy persons, when they have swarms of thoughts buzzing in their minds, sometimes restless fears that do chase their hearts, as the hound doth the Dear in the forest, and after this comes another affection, and after that another, and so at last they come altogether: sometimes the horror of a man's conscience makes hue and cry after him, and makes him say, Oh how my heart smites me! me thought, I saw hell gaping for me, and the Devils even standing at my elbow, ready to hurry me down to everlasting destruction, this makes his soul to have such an amazement, and gasternes of spirit, that he cannot reach the promise of God, because of those distempers: therefore labour for that which the Lord himself adviseth by his Prophet, Fear you not but stand still, and behold the salvation of the Lord; that is, lay aside those restless imaginations, and those crowds of foolish conceits, and those needle's fears; stand still and be quiet, that is, with the eye of faith behold the salvation of God, and look upon his promises. Rule. 3 That your faith may be fitted for the work take notice of this, How faith may be fitted for the work. in the want of any means do not first seek for them, and in the presence of any means God affords; look not first to them for succour and supply, but first go to the promise, that the promise may supply what you need, and that the promise may bless what means you have. It is an uncomfortable and disorderly course for a man barely and firstly to look at those things which are within the compass of sense, and so range up and down for comfort in the use of the means, and the promise, and Christ, are the last things thought of in our hearts; we only look to bring in this, or that for our comfort and relief; as for instance that every man may take his portion in the time of poverty, how doth the soul behave itself, and unfit itself for the promise? When a man sees that his estate is low, and he is like to come to misery, he saith, I have some good friends that will not see me want, and I have so much means yet left, and I have my health and strength, and I hope I shall get a poor living, and there is not one word of the promise all this while; but haply death takes away all friends, and sickness takes away thy health and strength, and the fire or thiefs takes away all thy goods: whither wilt thou go now? then at a dead lift he is fain to go to that mercy which endureth for ever; he might have gone thither first: Therefore now reason thus, I am like to be poor, and my friends may die, and the thiefs may rob me of all my goods, but the mercy of the Lord endureth for ever. Again, the Minister that is faithful desires to preach fruitfully, and to benefit the congregation, and then we catch at the helps that are near at hand, and go to our books and studies, our wit and pains, and think that these will do the deed; we do well in thus doing, but the fault is in the order of them: haply God knocks off man's wheels, and a man is not able to come to the bottom of the point, and if he be able to compass the truth in some measure, yet God blasts all that he doth, and there is no good comes to the souls of his people; at last he is fain to go to the promise, and then the poor Minister saith, Lord, thou hast said thou wilt be with thy faithful Ministers to the end of the world, little strength is in us, but be thou with us Lord; now the work goes on again, the tradesman is honest, and painful, and he hopes to compass a good estate by his calling, his stock is good and great, and his skill is sufficient, and his penny worth shall be as reasonable as any others, and his acquaintance are many; then God blasteth all these, and at last, he comes home to the promise, and saith, as it is in Psal. 1.3. Whatsoever the righteous doth, it shall prosper: hold here and say, I expect all from the promise, go first to the promise and expect mercy and secure from the promise. This was the course that jacob took, Gen. 32.9. First he wrestled with God, and overcame him, and then he wrestled with his brother Esau, and saith, O God of my Father Abraham, and God of my Father Isacke; Lord which saidst unto me, return unto thy Country, and I will do thee good, I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies, Lord deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I fear him: Thus he wrestled with the Lord, and by virtue of a promise overcame him, and then overcame Esau, Heb. 13.45. Marriage is honourable among all men, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers, and adulterers, God will judge; let your conversation be without covetousness, & be content with those things you have. But how will you have help against this covetousness? a man would have said thus: you have gotten a good portion, and but little charge, and many friends; but this course God takes, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee: He doth not say thou hast much means, and many friends, but I say, I will not leave thee, nor forsake thee. Now faith is fitted for the work, when I have chased away doubting, than faith is ready, and the shield is scoured. Secondly, when my heart is calm and quiet then faith may go on, there is a free passage. Particular. 3 Thirdly, when the soul looks out first to the promise, and then to the means, this is the right way that faith should go: now you may set on your journey, faith is cleared, and that is the right and best way to everlasting happiness. Now I come to show how we must come to order faith in the work, How to order faith in the work. and here two things are to be attended unto. First, how the soul should get to the promises? Secondly, how the soul should take, receive, and improve this sufficiency and excellency of God, that is in the promise? For the first, how to get the soul to the promise, you see all is ready, and the way open, and faith is fitted. Now there are three rules to be observed, to show how the soul may get to the promise; or there are acts of the soul wherein this truth may be discovered, that the soul which doth believe, may have the ready way to go to the promise. Rule. 1 Renounce all power and ability in thyself, for to believe and go unto God, it is a point of marvellous use, though a man would not imagine it; thou mayst not expect faith in thyself, or of thyself, or from thyself, any ability to go to the promise, though thou hast faith as it is: Gal. 2.20. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. It is not I that lives by any power of myself, but Christ liveth in me. It was Christ quickening, and reviving, and enabling him, though he had faith, jer. 10.23. O Lord I know that the way of man is not in himself, neither is it in a man to direct his own steps: so do thou say if ever thou wouldst have thy heart fitted to go to the promise, it is not here Lord, it is not in this vain mind, it is not in the power of this dead heart, or any passage that ever I received, whereby I am able to believe in thee; I mean the principal of life is not here, the root of faith is in the promise, and from thence it comes into the soul. As it is with a mariner when the ship is upon the ground in the ebb and low water, he doth not expect to tug his ship to the shore by any power of himself; it is not in my wisdom that can direct me, and it is not in my weapon that can defend me; it is not this humility that can bring my soul down, it is not here, it is not I Lord, that can rest, or go to a promise; even all our abilities are at an ebb, all that we have or can do is to empty ourselves, and fit ourselves, and to get up the main mast, that is, let the soul be ready for the promise by virtue of that to be carried heaven ward, and Christ ward; take notice of this in your own souls, that the heart would begin at home; if a temptation come, the heart of itself would overcome it; and if a duty to be done, the heart of itself would perform it; and if opposition come, the heart of itself would resist it: O remember that it is I a man offers an injury against, reason, sense, and religion, and all. Now thy faith gins to wrestle with him, and his dealings and conscience checks and thou wilt tear thine own heart out of thine own bosom; brethren, this will not do it. When a ship of a hundred tuns is upon ground, the mariners may pull and tug their hearts out before they can get it go: O go then and say, it is not I that can be patiented, and put up a wrong, be quiet and expect it not from hence; let the heart lie still till the wind and tide, and promise come and that will carry thee. Rule. 2 Bring the promise home to thy heart, that the promise may bring thy heart to it: I mean thus; I told you before, that the heart renounceth all abilities of itself, as the first principle, and saith, it is in an impatient heart, it is not here, Lord; down, be quiet and still, go thou to the promise, and bring that first to thy soul, and when the promise comes, it will bring thy heart home to it: I will tell you how, you must go to the promise, and say thus, It is not in mine own power to quicken myself, yet Lord, this I know, that there is sufficiency in the promise to supply all my wants, and there is authority in the promise to rule and order me in all my courses: therefore take the promise, and reason thus, I conclude that the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of his Spirit, is in the promise undeniably, and undoubtedly, and unspeakably, accompanying in his manner as he shall see fit. This I say, that the almighty Spirit of Christ doth really and continually accompany the promise, for the good of his, hence it is called the spirit of promise, for there is an Almighty creating work goes along with the promise, and I reason thus: that word that discerns the thoughts of the hearts of men, that word must needs have the Almighty work of God's Spirit accompanying of it, so far as God hath promised it, not haply when thou seest fit, but when God sees fit. He doth it as a voluntary workman, therefore thou considerest that there is an Almighty power, and a fullness in the promise: then lay that promise upon thine heart and know it, and conclude it, and look for virtue from thence, to draw thy soul to it again. I have several passages to express myself by it, you may understand it: jacob would not believe that joseph was alive, or if he were alive, he had but little means, & was poor, Gen. 45.26, 27, 28, 29. but when he saw the Chariots that joseph had sent him, than he believed, and said I have enough, joseph my son liveth; the Chariots sent from joseph to jacob, brought jacob to joseph: so every believing soul, is poor and feeble, and dis-nabled to go to God, and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; therefore look thou unto the Chariots of Israel first, and that will convey thee to the promise. As it is with the miller, first he pares the mill fitly, and orders all the occasions thereof; and when the stones are fit and laid to go, yet it will not go, till the sluice be pulled up, and the water runs that drives the mill: so the soul is humbled, and lies level with the Lord and his truth, and is content to yield to his conditions, but the soul of itself in itself cannot go, It hath not the principle of going; but let down the sluice of the promise, and let that come to thy heart, and it will bring thy soul home to the Lord. The promise must come to thee, and make thee come to it: It is not here Lord, but in the promise, bring that promise, and set open the sluice, and let the wind, blow, and it will convey thee comfortably; as Luke 19.9. This day salvation is come to thy house, not to the walls of thy house, but to the men that are in the house: they did not come to salvation, but salvation came to them: the Lord sent salvation to salute the house of Zacheus, and that brought him to salvation: this is the foiling of many poor believers; O, say they, if I could believe, than the promise did belong unto me, but I dare not venture upon it: but I say unto thee, whomsoever thou art, thou shalt never live by faith upon these terms, thou must first let the promise come to thee, and then it will carry thee unto it. Rule. 3 When the promise is thus come home, and thou seest the sufficiency and authority of it: then all thou hast to do is this, in the stream of that promise be carried, and in the virtue thereof be conveyed home to the Father; Luke 15.4. The Prodigal is said to be like a lost sheep; mark this, for it concerneth you poor creatures. The poor sheep is wildered up and down, now in the mouth of the Lion, and then in the briers, and sometimes in the pit. The text saith, He leaveth the ninety nine to seek that; that is in comparison of what care he expresseth to the lost sheep; he leaveth a man regenerate, not carelessly, but he will not express so great love, as to a poor lost man: and though thou canst not find the way to Heaven, yet he will find thee; lie thou upon the shoulders of Christ, as in the 5. verse of this Chapter, when thou findest thy heart feeble and weak, and thyself unable to believe, than the Lord Jesus Christ brings the spirit of grace, and that comes to seek, and Jesus Christ will lay that soul of thine upon his shoulders, that is, upon the riches of the freeness of his grace: therefore let thy heart be transported by the power of that grace, and by the virtue of that mercy, that God hath made known unto thee for thy everlasting good; when the chariots are come, get thee up into them, the Lord Jesus Christ is gone up to heaven, and he hath sent his chariots for thee; therefore get thee up, and say, Lord take me up with thee, let the Lord convey thee by the power of his grace: when the mariner hath sea room enough, he cares for no more, if he can but observe the channel, he looks not so much at his oar, or any thing, so he can observe the channel, this channel is the full tide of the promise: therefore lay thyself upon the promise, and say, Lord in the virtue of that grace, and in the power of that Spirit carry me, and in the riches of that mercy of thine; Lord, convey the heart of this poor sinner, and make me happy with thyself for ever. Passage. 2 It is presumed, that thy faith now is come to the promise: now the skill is, how he may take and improve the good of the promise, and receive all the incomes thereof. There are two things especially observable. First, labour to husband the promises, and to manage them wisely when we have them for our best advantage. Secondly, labour to live by the sweetness of the promises so managed: as it is with a man that hath a fair estate, and is left marvellous well, if he would have the benefit of his estate, first he must manage it, secondly, he must maintain him and his out of the gain of it so managed. Particular. 1 First, the Lord hath left you well, and you have wherewithal to live like men, and like Christian men too, yea, an happy life, that you may go singing to your graves, and go rejoicing up to heaven, and you have faith too, only you want some skill to use it, for it is not conceived that you are well stocked and stored, but it is required that you should husband the promises well, and enjoy them as your own, and live by the comfort of the promises, the promises are ours, and we have them in hand, if we can but bring our hearts to approve them aright. Now that we must manage the promises aright, two things are mainly observable; though there are many others ready at hand, yet I will insist upon those that are most useful for the benefit of the work. Rule. 1 Take possession of the promises, and value that good in the promise as thine, nay, further make it present and substantial to thy soul, as the Apostle saith, Heb. 11.1. not only that good which the promise will yield for the present, but eternal and everlasting good, which every promise will make thy soul assured of, if thou hast a heart to improve it aright, and care to bestow thyself thereupon. The only way for a man to thrive in his estate, is this, he must dwell upon his own means, and have it all in his own occupying: for as we use to say, If a man lease it out, why may not he get something by keeping of it, as another by hiring of it? If he would do thus (say we) he must needs get more than he doth now: so it ought to be in our spiritual estate, and so faith will enable us that we may do, not only to take the present benefit that the promise will afford in this life, but the promise is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen: all that glory and happiness in heaven, not yet seen, and not yet in fruition, faith will make all that happiness within view, and puts us into possession of them, and makes them have a being to our souls: faith it is that brings Christ, and makes Christ present, and in Christ all presented, all glory is in Christ, who is the Author of it; and faith makes all that glory present, all happiness in Christ, who is the worker of it; and faith makes all that happiness to be present; so that by faith laying hold on thy Saviour, not only to take comfort, but to make all that happiness and good, that is eternally to be present; as Luke 12.32. Fear not little flock; but might they not say, How shall we choose but fear, seeing there is nothing but sins within that deserve punishment, and enemies without that breath forth threatenings? O but a Saviour saith, Fear not little flock; why? it is your Father's pleasure to give you a kingdom; you are not in the kingdom as yet, yet you are in the way to it; and though you are now in the wilderness leading to Canaan, yet you shall come to Canaan, and so you shall have a kingdom; remember that, and so you shall be comforted and refreshed, live upon this: when you look only to the present benefit of the promise (it is true) this is more than we can conceive, yet we let the better part of our stock and estate lie by us, for there are two parts of the promise, the present good and peace, and the eternal and everlasting good and comfort of it; now when we look only to the present good of it, this is ill husbandry, for we let the better part of the stock lie dead by us, and do not trade with it, as it is in the world for temporal means, so it is for our spiritual estates: for spiritual succour and supply, though a man have little for the present, yet if he have some old reversions to come, this bears up his heart in the time of poverty and misery; and he saith, if he can but make a scrambling shift for so long time, than he hopes to live as well as any man in the Country. So that there is not some of the promise that we have in possession, but there is the reversion of old rents, as old rents of farms, that were let long ago, when the leases come out, they are worth triple the rent they were let at the first: So there are the old rents of comfort and mercy, as, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you: then no more tears, no more trouble, no more sorrow, no more sin, get those into your hands, and have them in use, and say, The day will come, when we shall have happiness, bliss and joy, beyond all that the tongue of man can express, or the heart of man conceive, though we are buffeted with many temptations, and wearied with a world of corruptions, yet we shall be saved, saith faith. Thus a man may make a pretty good shift to live upon these terms, though we have nothing else to live upon in the world: therefore remember what now I speak, Labour to fasten this truth upon thy heart, that there is not only present good in thyself, but in another, and reserved by another for thy comfort; and be thou content that it should be so, not only to look what thou hast, but consider, that the greatest part of thy glory, is in the glory of a Christ, and the greatest part of thy wisdom, is in the wisdom of a Christ; and thy liberty, in the liberty of a Christ; and thy riches, in the riches of a Christ; and know, that whatsoever is in Christ, thou hast it all as thine: john 3.12. Behold what love the Father hath showed to us, that we are now the Sons of God; I tell you brethren, this is a marvellous privilege, and if you had no more but this, you had a child's portion: but it appears not what we shall have, we have but a glimpse now, what will the harvest be? and now we have only some sips of it, what shall then the full cup be, when we shall see Christ as he is? thus Moses did improve his estate, Heb. 11.26. he bore all afflictions comfortably, yea, he esteemed the rebukes of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; why? because he had an eye to the recompense of the reward; we account of a man's estate, for what he hath for present possession; but what is like to befall him, and what he is borne unto, what Moses did, do thou, that thou mayst account the misery and disgrace of a Christ, greater riches than all the pleasures of the world: have all thy estate in thy own hand, if thou wilt be a good husband: as it is with a husbandman, though he have no money in his house, and little provision, yet if his ground be well stocked, and he hath a good crop, this supports the heart of a poor husbandman, there is that upon the ground that will pay all his debt, and he shall have wherewithal to live like a man too: so it ought to be with these provisions, promises of life, and salvation: though thou findest many wants and corruptions, and many disgraces cast upon thee, and thou art cast behind hand for comfort; yet remember this, that though there is little strength, and little grace here, yet there is enough in the promise and in heaven, which the promise will bring to thee, and that will pay for all; though thou art now in dishonour, yet there is honour enough in heaven to take away all thy dishonour; though now in persecution and misery, yet there is comfort enough, and liberty in Christ: let thy soul therefore be careful to make all these present with thee for thy good: this is our folly, we live merely by sense, and lay out the least part of the promises, whereas if we could live comfortably, we should improve all. Rule. 2 Expect nothing from the promise, but that which is suitable and agreeable to the nature of the promise; lay out all, and lay it out to thy best advantage, and have thy whole stock a going, and so expect nothing from the promise, but that which is suitable to it: say not with thyself then, had I that power, and that honour, and those abilities to do duties, and those means outward for my comfort, which others have in superfluity; and if God would but give such a place, what honour might I bring to God, and what comfort might I have to my soul too; this is more than the promise will give thee, and this is to wrong the promise, and to say, as it were in effect, were God so wise as I, than things would go with fare better success: nay, but know that the Lord will not give thy heart content in the promise, but what he seethe fit, and what may be best for thy good and his glory, and to look for that in the promise, which is not there to be had, is all one to throw the promise down the stream, thou dost abuse the promise, and pervert it; for that which is in the promise, is this; That which God seethe most fit and necessary for thee, that God will give, and that thou mayst expect, and nothing else: it is in this condition spiritual, as it is in a man's estate temporal; he that will husband a piece of land well and wisely, that is fall'n to him by free gift, or by an inheritance, his course is this, he will observe what best befits every soil, and what each piece of ground will bear, one piece of ground for meadow, another for grazing, another for ploughing; if a man should go and blow up his meadows, and mow his fallows, we would think this man very ignorant in managing his business: so it is with the precious promises of God, thou must not think to have what thou wouldst in the promise, but think what will best grow there, and what is the intent and aim of God, in making of the promise and what comfort it will yield; so improve it, and expect good thereby; the want of this wisdom is that which brings a great deal of misery, and casteth men behind hand, and makes them live poor, and scantly in a good course: O, saith one, had I a title and an interest in the promise, it could not be so with me as it is; it were not possible, that an ignorant heart should still possess me, and that these distempers should still crowd in, and hinder me; you think you are good husbands all this while; but the truth is, you lose the promises, and make a spoil of them; and it is no wonder that you live poorly and beggarly, and undo yourselves; for I know not any one promise, from the beginning of Genesis, to the end of the Revelation, that ever showeth any such thing as this, That the man which hath grace, should never find the plague of a naughty heart, and never be pestered with corruptions within, and sorrows without; there is not one place which promiseth thus much, you improve not the promise the right way: I confess that this is true, that all they that are in Christ, there is no condemnation to them, and they live not after the flesh, and they are not at the command of their corruptions, and sin shall not be King and Ruler over them; this the word doth promise, but that he may not be sometimes overcome of, and captived by his corruptions, I know no such promise; the Apostle Paul found it otherwise, Rom. 7.23. I find a law in my members, warring against the law of my mind; It is a desperate part of ill husbandry, for a man to lay out his money so, that he shall not only not see his own, but lose all that he lays out; it is the only way to undo him utterly: so you do not only lose the good of the promise, and not see your own, but you spill the promise, because you have a conceit to reap that by the promise, which God never intends, neither will he ever bestow. Quest. Some may say, how may a man expect that from the promise which God intends, and will undeniably bestow? Answ. For answer hereunto, I will show what thou mayst expect, and what God will undoubtedly bestow; if thou dost believe, heaven and salvation is certainly thine, and perseverance unto the end, and that manner and measure of assistance, that may make thee fit for perseverance: these three things grow here, and the promise will hear; but for temporal blessings, which we desire, and the measure of spiritual blessings, which we must have, so much grace, and so much assurance and assistance, and so much abilities to do duties, God doth not engage himself to bestow these: but that which God engageth himself to bestow, both for temporal and spiritual blessings, it may be discovered in three particulars; so much grace and assurance of God's love; and so much comfort in grace, as he seethe fit after his own order, and in his own time; I will open them all, because many do here bungle wonderfully. Rule. 1 First, he will bestow these in his own order, not in thy order; first, he will make thee fit, and make thee good, that thou mayst be able to digest them, and then he will bestow them on thee; haply a poor man is driven to a desperate hazard, and is brought miserably under, and therefore the heart cries earnestly for some more supply, and he calls, and God answers not, and he labours to look up to the promise, where God saith, nothing shall be wanting to his, and yet it cometh not, God will give these in his own order; first, he will make thee fit for this estate, and then give it; I never knew a good man desperately poor, but his heart was desperately proud; therefore the Lord will make him good, and make his proud heart yield, and then bestow these things; look for that first, and not for the other: again, another Christian labours much for the assurance of God's love, and cannot attain it; and seeks to God in the use of the promises, and yet he cannot find it settled; God will give thee comfort and consolation, but in his own order; and know this, that commonly the Lord never debars the soul of comfort, but he sees that the heart is not fit for it; thy heart would be proud and careless, and God should hear no more of thee, and thy sail would overturn the boat: therefore when God hath abased thy heart, and made thee content to want what he shall deny, than he will give thee assurance, but it must be in his order; and this is the reason, why the most smoke out their days in discontent, the reason is, there is a proud heart, and a sturdy disposition of spirit, that will not come unto God's terms: as it is with a Physician, he will not give a cordial to his patiented when he will, for if he were in a burning fever, it were the next way to send him going; first he purgeth and makes him fit, and then gives him a cordial: so it is in these things which thou cravest, the Lord will then give thee them, when thou shalt not surfeit of comfort, and assurance, and prosperity; & when thy heart is emptied and purged, and able to digest these things, than the Lord will give them. Rule. 2 Secondly, the Lord will give temporal blessings, and that measure of spiritual in his own due time: not when thou and I would, but when he sees most fit: As john 2.3, 4. The mother of jesus comes to our Saviour, they have no wine, saith she; she thought she had Christ at command, but he answers her, Woman what have I to do with thee? my hour is not yet come: So it is with our souls, we want comfort and strength against corruptions, and assurance and assistance: What have I to do with that proud heart of thine, saith our Saviour? My time is not yet come; you would have it now as they said, Wilt thou now restore the Kingdom to Israel? God will do it in his own time, and we must wait his leisure. This is one thing that doth necessarily accompany the covenant of grace (as I have showed before) that the Lord should dispense of his Kingdom when he pleaseth, and not when we will, when the Lord seethe these blessings of spiritual mercies and temporal favours are ripe, and most seasonable to thy necessities, than thou shalt have them, but the time is in God's hand. Rule. 3 The Lord doth not promise in such a manner and measure, and such a peculiar thing, to give that temporal blessing, and that spiritual assistance that we desire; but the Lord will do that which he knoweth is most fit. And the text saith, Feed me with food convenient for me, there was faith; he refers himself too God. When a man comes to the tailors to have a garment made, he doth not cut out the garment himself, but refers it to the judgement of the workman; so we must do, refer ourselves to God, and know God promiseth nothing, but as he seethe it fit for thy good: It may be thou shalt not have this blessing, or that grace: As it is with a Potter, he is minded to make so many vessels of honour, but it is reserved in the mind of the Potter, how big he will make every vessel of honour: so if the Lord make thee a vessel of honour, go away contented, whether thou hast so much prosperity, and so much good and grace or no, it skils not, it is enough that thou art elected to eternal happiness: Now you see how to manage and improve the promise aright for your best advantage, and to expect from the promise that which it will yield. The second particular in this third rule of living by faith is this; how to take, and how to enjoy the sap and sweet of the promise, and to live by it: when the Husbandman hath sown his ground, and his fruit is ripe, and he hath reaped it, than he must gather in his come, that he may live upon it: So let us gather in the promises, when we see the best advantage, now let us take the gain, and live by it, and that comfortably too in the proof of God's goodness therein. For this end, let me suggest these five rules or directions. Direction 1 First, thou seest what God is in the promise, and thou expectest no more, than God is there then; eye that particular good in the promise, which thou standest in most need of, eye that good in Christ, and in the promise, and then set God's power and faithfulness a-work to bring that good, and his wisdom to contrive it. As for instance, I am in persecution, and either I would have deliverance and safety that I might not be imprisoned, or else comfort and refreshment, if the Lord carry me thither; therefore I would see all this in the promise, still reserving the conditions before mentioned: If thou art in prison, eye liberty, and preservation in Christ, he that is the great deliverer of his people, and carrieth his people in his hands, and then set God's power and faithfulness a-work that can do it, and his wisdom that can contrive it for thy good, that which thou seest and needest in the promise, that the power & wisdom of God may communicate to thy soul: this is the meaning of that place, Psalm 37.5. Commit thy ways unto the Lord, trust in him, and he shall bring it to pass; root thyself, and lay all thy weight of all thy occasions upon the Lord. Therefore the Apostle saith, 1 Pet. 5.7. Hurl your care upon the Lord, for he careth for you. It is Gods proper office and work, He careth for thy soul, therefore lay it all upon him, and put over all thy care into his hands, and set his power and faithfulness a work; only this is here a little to be scanned. I speak not this, that we should take no care at all; but I say, hang all thy weight and burden of thy care upon the Lord. The Brewer he tumbles the barrel of beer and rolls it, but the earth that bears it; so whatsoever trouble is in thy ear, roll it upon the Lord: That is thus, the weight of a man's occasions, lies especially in three things, which a man must hurl off himself, and lay upon the Lord: either a man shall not be able to know what he shall do, or what he is commanded, or else secondly, he shall not be able to do what God commands, and he knows; or else thirdly, he shall not find success in what he doth. It is not a trouble to do what we can, or to employ ourselves as we are able, but this is the trouble, when the heart saith, I shall not know what Gods mind is, or I shall not do what I know, or it will not succeed, or no it is not in my power. Now we leave all these with God, and meddle not with them, but put them over to the Lord, and meddle with thy own duty and work, and let God alone with his; and say thou unto the Lord, In truth Lord it is not in my power, it is not in my parts or work either to compass that wisdom that is able to direct myself, or to have any power to do all that is commanded, much less to give good success; Lord, I will not meddle with that, but leave it to thy Majesty; if thou in thy power canst not, nor in thy faithfulness and goodness carest not for thy poor helpless creature, than I am content, and if thou wilt not be faithful, than I am content to be miserable, and so thou mayst suppose a man that hath promised to undertake some business for a friend, and then in the end it proves somewhat troublesome, and therefore he wisheth his friend to take it again into his own hands, for it is very troublesome: but a man will leave it unto him and say, he hath engaged himself to do it, and he will not look after it, I will not meddle with it any more: so what end it is that is in God's royal prerogative, leave it with God, and do not meddle with it; let God look to it, leave it to God's faithfulness and power to accomplish it. So did Abraham, Rom. 14.18, 19, 20, & 21. verses, Abraham above hope, believed under hope, that he should be the Father of many Nations; Sarahs' womb was barren, and his body dead, and yet he must have a son; and therefore he sets God's power on work, and saith in the 21. verse; Lord this body is dead, and Sarah is barren, there is no help here, but thou art able, and thou hast engaged thyself to do it: he sets God's power to work, and puts over all the right and burden of the care upon the Lord. Hester 4.14. Therefore Mordecay saith, If thou hold thy peace at this time, comfort and deliverance shall come from some other place; he was resolved that God had deliverance for his Church, and would not deny his own truth, salvation will come, saith the text, he knows not the place, or by what means, but he knows that salvation will come. So set thou God's power and faithfulness to work, and not thy own care, commit it to the Lord, and hurl thy care upon him so far as concerns the burden of it. Direction 2 Secondly, by faith go to the promise again for help and power to wait upon God in that way, and to look towards God in the use of those means that he hath appointed for the attaining of that good which his power will work for thee: God will work it, and so thou must meet God in the course of his providence, in the improvement of the means he hath appointed for thy good. Observe thou his providence, and do thou what God requires, for otherwise we live not by faith, but tempt God, and throw away the promise and all, and deprive ourselves of that good which God would bestow, unless we walk in that way which he hath appointed, Luke 24.49. When our Saviour was to go to Heaven, he said, Behold I send the promise of my Father amongst you, but tarry you in the city of jerusalem, until you be endued with power from above: Christ would endue them with the Spirit, but they must tarry at Jerusalem and wait for it. So I say, wouldst thou have grace and the spirit from above, and the wealth of the world? then walk in that way which God hath appointed, stay at Jerusalem, and be in the way, and meet God in his providence, and then receive from his power and faithfulness what thou needest. Thou wouldst have God bless thee in thy estate, and yet thou wouldst be idle and careless: but this will not do the deed; God would give thee a blessing, but thou art not there to take it; this is the excellency of the promises of God, as they require conditions before they bestow mercies, so they make us able to be partakers of the conditions, and give the conditions as for example, Ezech. 36. The Lord in the former part of the Chapter promiseth to give many things to them, but how? It must be by prayer, and humbling themselves before him, he will give a blessing in thy family by prayer in it, and a blessing in private, by praying in private, and strength against sin, and power against corruption; but I will be sought unto for all these, saith the Lord, and the text saith, Blessed is the man that walketh in his integrity, and his children after him; therefore walk thou in the integrity, that is the condition of a Christian in general, or as a husband, or as a wife, or as a servant in the particular, this the promise requires: but mark this now, the same promise that requires the condition, will help us to perform the conditions, and the same Lord that saith, I will be entreated and sought to, for all these, the same Lord saith, Psal. 10.17. He prepareth their hearts to pray; go thou therefore to God, to help thee to pray, that he may bestow his blessing upon thee, which he hath promised: Ezech. 26.27. He will first give them a new heart, and then teach them to walk in his ways; so if thou wilt walk in God's ways, thou shalt have his blessings: therefore go thou by the power of faith to the promise of God for strength and grace, and that thou must use the means appointed, and then expect a blessing from it in the course of his providence: now is God's power and faithfulness set a work. Direct. 3 Thirdly, we must set it down and conclude it, that God will do, and we shall receive in the ways of his providence, whatsoever he hath promised to give: that's the work of faith, and that is to draw sap and virtue from the promise, john 3.33. There by leaning, is called sealing to the promise: this is the nature of sealing, when a man hath drawn the articles of agreement, and when they have sealed, all is done: so faith must make the promise authentical, and put a seal to it, that is true, and saith, it is done in heaven, and I am fully resolved, and setledly persuaded thereof, that I shall have whatsoever I have believed, and thou hast promised, and I have used means, for in the way of thy providence, famous is that of Abraham, Gen. 22.5. the Lord had bidden him sacrifice his son, and yet he said, that he should live: and therefore when he came to the place, he said to his servants, Abide you herewith the asses, for I and the child will go yonder and sacrifice, and will come again to you; he thought to sacrifice him, and yet by faith he believed, that he should bring Isaac again. So I would have a poor Saint of God to conclude, when thou findest thy comforts like isaack's, in the ashes, and thy estate hopeless and helpless; yet even then set God's power on work, and wait upon him in the use of the means, that he hath appointed, and then conclude it, and bring patience, power, and deliverance, and so in every kind, according to all thy necessities: yet remember this, expect no more from the promise, than God will give in the promise, but say, my sins shall be mastered one day, and these temptations shall be one day overthrown, that have so long annoyed the soul of thy poor servant, I have begged succour against these corruptions within, and these temptations without, and yet it is not; but I know it is done in heaven, it wants nothing but the taking out, thou wilt bestow upon thy servant what thou seest fit: 1 Sam. 1.18. Hannah wept sore, and prayed to the Lord, and went away, and was no more sorrowful, and she said, Lord, I believe that I shall either have a child, or that which is as good, or better; now the business was done, but imagine the Lord delays, and doth not suddenly accomplish what he intends, and thou hast used means to receive, he gives not, and grants not, and sends not secure according to thy desire, and the tenure of the covenant, as thou conceivest. Direct. 4 Then faith must take up his stand, and stay till it come, as thou resolvest that it will be so, stay till it be, and stay it out, here is much work to do, we prevent God's kindness, when we go away before he be willing to bestow his kindness on us: but faith will not do so, he that believeth, doth not make haste; he makes haste to obey, but he stays and resolves that it will be: the vision is for an appointed time, therefore wait for it: thou art pestered with thy sins, and hast laboured by faith to subdue them, and thy estate is low, and thou hast laboured by faith for deliverance, and yet it comes not, and freedom from temptations comes not; therefore stay till God sees fit, and it will come: Psal. 123.2. As the eyes of a servant look to the hands of his master, and the eyes of a maiden to her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us; not till I will, and till I see fit, and according to my mind, but until the Lord have mercy: we suddenly slide away from the covenant which the Lord makes with us, because we have it not when we will, therefore we go away: 1 Sam. 13.13. when Samuel carried long, and the people began to murmur, Saul went and offered a burnt-offering unto the Lord, and therefore Samuel said unto him, Thou hast done foolishly, and hast not kept the commandment of thy God, which he commanded thee, for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever; If Saul had stayed the Lords time, he would have established the kingdom upon Israel for ever; but he prevented the Lords kindness, and offered sacrifice unseasonably and sinfully: so it is many times with a proud, pettish, rash, and distempered heart, if we have not what we would, and just when we would, than we are all amort, and murmur, and say, Why should we wait any longer? thou hast done foolishly, hast thou prayed and looked to the promise thus long, and wilt thou now give over? the Lord would have comforted thee, hadst thou gone on; but the Lord hath withdrawn himself from thee, because thou hast withdrawn thy heart from the promise: when the carriage is heavy, and the way is dead, there are many sore pulls, and the waggon is at a stand, and if a man should then go away, than all his work were lost; therefore stay thou till the Lord show mercy; thus long thou hast called, and sought, and looked to the promise, and waited upon the Lord, and attended upon the freeness of his grace, once more would have done it, thy heart was almost humbled, and thy sin was almost conquered; O thou silly fool, why didst not thou hold it out? it will come at last, my life for thine: now take heed of this, if the time seem tedious, and thy heart gins to sink, and thy spirit is weary, take heed of flying off, take heed of shifting for thy own comfort, and looking to base end and aims: no, hold thy mind to, and keep thy eye of faith upon the promise, and stay it out, till God see the time fit, and know it is the best time for thee to receive it: Acts 27 31. Paul saith, Except these abide in the ship, you cannot be safe; every man was shipping over board to save himself, but Paul stayed them; a man would have thought otherwise, but the Apostle knew it was not so, for the Lord had revealed it unto him: so I say, be thy temptations never so strong, and thy sins never so many, and thou beginnest to complain, and sayest, I have cried, Lord, and sought earnestly, and yet my condition is worse, and my soul more sinful, and I am less able to help myself, there is no more succour to be expected: now take heed of going out of the ship, and from the use of the means, keep in the ship, for in the ship you shall be safe; keep in the promise, and still your hearts there, you shall have a happy arrival at heaven; though it be upon a broken board, it's no matter, stay God's time. Direct. 5 Yet haply the Lord seems sometimes not only to delay his poor servants, and to withhold his favour; but he seems to frown, and say, he will not hear; and he seems to be angry with the prayers of his servants, and with their importunity, and he seems, as if he would not secure and supply: thus he dealt with jacob, Gen. 32.26. there the Lord saith, Let me go; I care not what becomes of thee, I leave thee to thyself; but jacob lays hold upon him, and would not let him go: so the last work of faith is this; In an holy humility to labour to contend with God, and by strong hand to overcome the Lord, for the Lord loves to be overcome thus: be not fancy with the Lord, but in the sense of thy own baseness, as it were: catch the Lord Jesus, and strive with him, leave not till thou hast those comforts which he hath promised, and thou hast begged: this is the glory and victory of the ●●iumph of faith, that gives the day to, and lays down the weapons, and yields himself as conquered: as it was jacob, when God saw he could not prevail, he said in the 28. verse, Thy name shall be no more called jacob, but Israel, because thou hast prevailed with God; God is ready to give what he hath promised, but he will have us try mastery with him; God overcomes himself, and we by faith in God overcome God; as jam. 2.13. Mercy triumphs over justice: Lord, saith my soul, why should I not have that mercy, supply, and secure? saith justice; thou art a sinful wretch, and thou hast wronged me; saith anger, thou hast deserved to be plagued, and thou shalt rather be corrected by me. Now faith lays hold upon the riches of the freeness of God's mercy in Christ, and in him justice is satisfied, and anger appeased for all, and now mercy is purchased, and mercy triumpheth over justice, and faith lays hold upon, and overcomes God himself (as I may say) with an holy, humble baseness of heart. You know what the Lord did to the woman of Canaan, when she had striven with him a great while, and would take no denial, at last he saith, O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt, take what thou wilt, if thou wilt have life for thy child, & peace for thine own conscience, and joy in the holy Ghost, take it, for it is all thine: he (as it were) turns her lose to all her treasury; if she had gone away at the first or second denial, she had found no help; but because she held out, she had all her hearts desire: God would have us wrestle with his Majesty, that he may be overcome in mercy and goodness. I might here have taken some of the most desperate cases that could be, that you might have seen what faith would have done in the midst of the want of all means, and in the greatest extremity that could have befallen a poor sinner, but I will not stand about it now at this time: now therefore consider what hath been said, lay these things up, and have them ever by you, and practise them, and by often writing learn to write, and by often living learn to live: many people live poorly, and make a poor shift to go to heaven; but I would not have a Christian to live so, but be the master of his art; know and see your way, and use the means, and labour to get good thereby, that you may have sap and sweet of the promises, and go singing, and rejoicing, & triumphing up to heaven. Now that which I conclude withal, is this; you see how far the Lord hath brought us, how the soul hath been prepared, and cut off from sin and himself, if fitted for the Lord Jesus by contrition and humiliation, and that the soul comes to see, that there is no hope in the creatures, nor any succour in heaven, but the Lord Jesus Christ, and so at last the sinner comes, and lies at the footstool of the Lord Jesus Christ, and knows that either he must be another man, or a damned man: now when he sees that prayer, and all other means will not profit, and the power of the means yet prevail not, and the power of his corruptions is not yet mastered, than he looks up to Christ, and is contented, that he should do what he will with him: now when the Lord Jesus Christ sees him lie wearied then with his corruptions, than the Lord gives special notion to his soul, that it is his purpose to do him good, and there is mercy for that broken heart of him, with that hope is stirred, and saith, is it possible? is it credible? shall all this wretchedness of mine he pardoned? desire is kindled, and longs for that d●●●, O that I might once see the funeral of all my sa●● and then love & joy are cheered to entertain this mercy, and saith, O how is the soul bound to the God that offers free & undeserved grace to a 〈◊〉 borne rebellious hearted sinner; at last the wil● saith Amen to the promise, and saith, O that mercy I will have, thus the soul is come home to 〈◊〉 by vocation; now the prodigal is come home to his father, and the father's heart leaps within h●● breast, when he sees him lie at the door: and as the father rejoiceth, so the Angels in heaven rei●●●● and all the faithful should rejoice, and say, O my husband, O my father, or my child is come ho●● again; and my wife that was a sinful woman, 〈◊〉 come home again to her first and best husband, you that have found it thus in yourselves, be comforted; you that know it in others, rejoice; the 〈◊〉 have heard, how the soul is engrafted into the s●●● Christ. Now afterward if the Lord lend life and liberty, we shall come to show what the soul ●●ceives from the stock: consider what I have sai● and the Lord give you understanding. FINIS.