A DISCOURSE OF THE Two Covenants: WHEREIN The Nature, Differences, and Effects OF THE COVENANT OF WORKS AND OF GRACE. Are distinctly, rationally, spiritually and practically discussed; together with a considerable quantity of Practical Cases dependent thereon. By WILLIAM STRONG. LONDON, Printed by J. M. for Francis Titan at the Three Daggers in Fleetstreet, and for Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns at the lower end of Cheapside near Mercer's Chapel, 1678. TO THE HONOURABLE, THE LADY ELIZABETH RICH. MADAM, ALbeit I am no friend to Epistles Dedicatory, because they too frequently prove, to use the Cynicks Phrase, but mellifluous snares; yet because common Justice obligeth me to return unto every man his own, I find myself under an essential Obligation to prefix Your Ladyship's Name to the ensuing Noble Discourse: and that not merely by reason of the Trust you were pleased to commit unto me for the Publication thereof, but rather, because Divine Providence has made Your Ladyship the Midwife to conduct this Noble Birth into Light, which otherwise must necessarily have lain buried in the womb of Darkness. And, Madam, give me leave to speak it, Your Honour is herein the greater, in that you undertook this service so laborious and difficult, which no other mortal, as I am assured, was in a capacity to perform; You being the only Person, who very opportunely were instructed in that Character wherein the Original Copy was writ. Madam, I am not of those who admire Titles of Honour, further than they are shadows of Virtue; but rather am of the opinion of the morose Philosopher, that Honours without Virtues are but the Masques of Vices; yet Your Ladyship will be assured, that the Honour You have acquired by this generous Vndertakement, is far more illustrious than that which Nature has conferred on You. Solomon gives us an excellent Character of an Honourable Lady, Prov. 11.16. Prov. 11.16. A gracious woman retaineth honour, and [or, a ד vertitur ut, Jun. as] strong men retain riches. With what force do persons, strong in wisdom and power, retain their acquired Riches? And doth not the Gracious woman with an equal force retain her Honour? And what greater Honour can be acquired and retained, than that which is acquired by the service of Christ and his Churches? What more Honourable than for a creature to be immediately employed in the service of his Creator? Doth it not speak a Mind descended from on High, and truly generous, to be inspired with a divine Ambition of being engaged in service for the King of Kings? Is man ever greater, than when greatly serviceable to his Lord? Was it not a great effate of the Moralist, That he who will be truly Free and Noble, must serve Philosophy? What Liberty then and Nobility do they acquire, who serve Theology! What is b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, definite. Platon. Nobility, according to the Platonic Definition, but a Virtue of generous Manners and Services? And who are invested with this Virtue, if not they who are employed for the improvement of Divine Knowledge, the most sublime and generous Science? Are not all Honours measured by approach unto the Fountain of Honour? And who approach nigher unto the Fountain of all Honour, than such as are most deeply engaged in the Service of the Supreme King? The common Title of Honour given to Courtiers among the Persians, as also the Jews, was, Men of Presence: And who are the Men of God's presence, but such as are engaged in the service of his Church? And do we not find Memoires in Scripture of many both Hebrew and Christian Women, very Honourable for their service in and for the Church? exod. 38.8. Is it not recorded, Exod. 38.8. as the great Honour of those devout Women, that they assembled by troops at the door of the Tabernacle, and consecrated their Looking-glasses for the making the Laver of Brass? What more valued by some than their Looking-glass? How much precious time is spent thereon? Yea, do not some spend more moments in poring on their Looking-glass, than on their Souls? Yet lo! these Virtuous Women part with their Looking-glasses, which had been of so great use to them, and now resolve to spend their time to a better account, at the door of the Tabernacle, in Fasting and Prayer, and other parts of Divine Service! And O! what a lustre of Divine Honour remains on them to this very day? Again, there is an Honourable mention made of other virtuous Women, who employed their time and labours in the service of the Church, Exod. 35.25, 26. And all the women that were , did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of Blue, and Purple, and Scarlet, and fine Linen, as an Offering to the work of the Tabernacle: Wh●● greater Honour could have been affixed to these Women? And how far Your Ladyship may claim an interest in this Title of Honour, the World, at least the Church, may judge: Have you not indeed spun with your hand, a fine thread, both of Blue and Purple, and Scarlet, and fine Linen, for the Tabernacle of the New Jerusalem? So likewise in the New Testament, what Honourable mention do we find of virtuous Women eminently useful in the Service of the Church? Is it not an illustrious Title of Honour, that Paul gives Ph●be, Rom. 16.2, 3. Rom. 16.2. That she was a succourer of many, and of himself also? The Grecanic c Non dixit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Adjutrix, sed magnifico planè titulo eam exornans, dixit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, i. e. Patronam. Grot. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Magnific title, and signifies not merely an Assistant, but a Patron, for so the Athenians termed the Defensors of Strangers; and Plutarch renders the Latin Patron, by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. What greater Honour may a poor Mortal expect, than to be a Succourer and Patron of the Churches or Ambassadors of Christ? The like Honour also he reflects on Priscilla, the wife of Aquila, v. 3. whom he styles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Helpers or Co-workers in Christ. To be any way Assistant in promoving the Doctrine of the Gospel, or in drawing men to the embracement thereof, what an high piece of Honour is it? These Instances, Madam, I have given Your Ladyship and the World the mention of, to let You see what an Honour it is to be in any way or measure assistant in and for the Church of Christ: and all that I shall subjoin is, That, as Your Ladyship's hand has been so happy an Instrument in transcribing so Noble a Work, so my Prayer for you is, that the divine Hand would so far favour you, as to transcribe those great Truths contained therein over and over in more visible Characters on your Soul, 2 Cor. 3.3. that so you may be more perfectly the Epistle of Christ, written with the Spirit of Christ; Which will give You a greater Capacity of Service for your Lord, and Me of being, as I ought, really, MADAM, Your Ladyships to honour and serve you in the Lord, Theophilus Gale. Newington, March 26. 1678. A Summary of the Two Covenants. THIS following Discourse of the two Covenants preached by that great Divine, Mr. William Strong, needs no Prologue to usher it into the World. The Author's Character. The Author was indeed, as it is said of Augustin, a Wonder of Nature for natural Parts, and a Miracle of Grace for deep insight into the more profound Mysteries of the Gospel: He had a Spirit capacious and prompt, sublime and penetrant, profound and clear; a singular Sagacity to pry into the more difficult Texts of Scripture, an incomparable Dexterity to discover the Secrets of corrupt Nature, a Divine Sapience to explicate the Mysteries of Grace, and an exact Prudence to distribute Evangelic Doctrines, according to the capacity of his Auditors. Are not the Ministers of Christ termed Stars in his right hand, Rev. 1.20? Rev. 1.20. And was not this our Author one of the first magnitude? O! what a glorious Star was he in the right hand of the Lord to reveal the resplendent light of the Gospel unto his Auditors? What lights and heats of Divine Grace did he communicate unto others? It's prophesied of our Lord, Hab. 3.4. Hab. 3.4. His brightness was as the light, he had horns [or rather beams] coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. This brightness of Christ's light must be understood of his Evangelic light, whereby he, as the Sun of Righteousness, irradiates Evangelic Churches: and by the Horns, or rather Beams, (for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here must signify) coming out of his hand, we must understand, according to our Lords own interpretation, Rev. 1.20. Evangelic discoveries by the Ministers of his Gospel, those Stars in his right hand, employed by him for the irradiation and illumination of this inferior world: and O! what an hidden power is conveyed together with this light? And may we not conclude this our Author one of those Stars, who diffused illustrious beams of Evangelic light from the right hand of Christ, where was the hiding of his power? And as he transcended the most of this Age in the Explication of Evangelic Verities, so in his Intelligence and Explication of the two Covenants he seems much to excel himself; this being the great study of his life, and that whereon his mind was mostly intent: And I can here truly apply that observation of the Queen of Sheba, 1 King. 10.7. touching the wisdom of Solomon, to this our intelligent Author. The Notices I received from his other Works gave me a great impression of his Divine Wisdom, but what mine eyes have seen, and my thoughts imbibed of his incomparable Intelligence from this his elaborate Discourse of the two Covenants assures me, that not the half was told me, by his Works formerly published. He was indeed a Person intimely and familiarly acquainted with the deepest points in Theology; but yet as to these that relate to the Covenant of Grace, his Spirit seems to have been most deeply baptised and immersed into them; which any judicious Reader may with facility perceive by a transient inspection into any part of the following Discourse. Of what incomparable excellent Use this Discourse may be for the diffusing Evangelic Light and Truth no one can be ignorant, The excellent use of this Discourse. who is acquainted with the mind and intendment either of the Law or Gospel; or sensible of those many dangerous errors, which have of late sprung up from the ignorance of both: How many have taken away the use of the Law, thereby to advance, as they conceit, the Grace of the Gospel? And have not too many on the other hand destroyed the Grace of the Gospel, whiles they have endeavoured to exalt the letter of the Law as a Covenant? Both these extremes our judicious Author has accurately obviated and avoided: He has approved himself a good Advocate for the Law, as it is a rule and instrument subservient to the Gospel; but yet he gives the Gospel the principal place and preeminence as it is saiths magna Charta: He has indeed exactly hit the difference between the two Covenants, which argues his deep insight into both: and surely they that rightly understand the Idea or Notion of the two Covenants, attain thereby a clue of thread to lead them into the most intricate Mysteries of Evangelic Doctrines: as on the contrary those who have not right sentiments of the two Covenants, what hesitation and suspension, if not error and misapprehension do they fall under in the most momentous points of Religion! Yea, doth not the rectitude not only of our Faith, but also of our Christian practice and conversation principally depend on the due notices of the two Covenants? Are not these as the centre, wherein all the lines of Divine Grace and humane Duty meet? Are we not then greatly obliged to this our Author for his elaborate endeavours in this work? He demonstrates, (1) That God never did nor will deal with mankind merely in a way of Dominion, but also in a way of Covenant. (2) That both Covenants are made with men not immediately, but in and by some public person. (3) That it is Union with either of these public persons that brings a man under their Covenant. (4) That it is impossible for any man to be under both Covenants; because the terms and conditions of the one destroy the terms of the other. These with some other weighty Truths relating to the two Covenants in general he doth distinctly and fully explicate and demonstrate. The Covenant of works and its curse. Our Author gins his Discourse with the Covenant of Works, and treats first of the Temporal Curse that attends the breach thereof; and then of the Spiritual; of which more fully in the Contents: we shall only give some short and particular Reflections on and Notions of this first Covenant. (1) The Covenant made with Adam was not particular with his person under a single capacity, but with his nature as a common person or representative Head, from whom all mankind were by natural generation to descend: and herein the Covenant made with Adam differs from that made with the Angels, which was particular and personal, they being all created at once, and existent when their Covenant was made. Hence, (2) In this first Covenant made with Adam all his posterity stand bound to God both naturally, by virtue of their being created in him, and voluntarily, by virtue of his stipulation. Whence, (3) Every son of Adam falls under both the duties and curses of his Covenant: for as the duties, so the curses of Adam's Covenant seized, not merely on Adam's single person, but on his nature, and so on all mankind, who are in him both legally and naturally. Thence, (4) No man can be freed from the curse of the Law, that is not freed from it as a Covenant. There is since adam's Fall an essential and inseparable connexion between the Curse and Covenant: the Curse naturally attends the Covenant; every son of Adam necessarily falls under the former as well as the latter. men's natural desire to be under the first Covenant. (5) All men naturally and ardently desire to be under Adam's Covenant. The natural blindness and pride of men's hearts strongly impels them to build a Spider's house of their own, on which they may lean, as Job 8.14, 15. Are not all men by nature children of the bondwoman, and so possessed with a spirit of bondage? Have they not a legal spirit answerable to the Covenant they are under? And doth not this legal spirit bring forth suitable fruits? Do not such as are informed and acted by it perform all services to God in the oldness of the letter, in a formal, servile, legal manner, without regard to Christ the Mediator? Yea is not this legal spirit, whereby those under Adam's Covenant are acted, full of enmity and opposition against Christ, his Righteousness, and all the terms of his new Covenant? Doth not such men's rejecting the terms and grace of the second Covenant argue their strong propensions, yea vehement impulses towards Adam's Covenant? Are not all their spiritual Gifts, common Graces, legal Righteousnesses, as well as all their sins employed to oppose the Grace and Righteousness of the second Covenant? And if their consciences be at any time awakened and their sins set in order before them in all their bloody aggravations, yet what a difficult thing is it to bring them off from the old Covenant? What hard, black, scandalous thoughts of Christ are they filled with? How do their hearts sink under unbelieving despondences, and base jealousies of Christ? And doth not all this argue men's vehement desires to be found under the first Covenant? (6) The more the glory of the second Covenant is revealed to such as are under the first, The rejection of the second Covenant. the greater efforts, and more vehement opposition they put forth against it. The more men's natural reason is elevated by supernatural common illumination, the more stouthearted they are against the terms of the new Covenant: all their moral righteousnesses serve only to set them farther off from the righteousness of faith: their good deeds as well as their bad fortify them against the embracement of the new Covenant, because it would spoil them of their own righteousnesses, which they have wrought so hard for all their days, and subject them to the righteousness of God. Do we not find all this greatly exemplified in the Pharisees and legal Jews, who having espoused to themselves the old Covenant rejected Christ and his Righteousness? (7) For men thus electively to put themselves under the first Covenant, and reject the grace of the second, is a sin of the first magnitude and deepest aggravations. Hath not the great God exalted the second Covenant above the first? Is it not then an high injury against him, to bring down that Covenant God has exalted, and to exalt that which he has made null, above it? Is not Christ the Mediator of the new Covenant, the greatest gift that ever God vouchsafed mankind? God justly leaves such to the Covenant they desire. Oh! then how injurious is it to God to reject so great a gift, and the grace offered by him? (8) It is therefore just with the righteous God to leave men to stand or fall by that Covenant under which they so strongly desire to be. Doth the holy and blessed God do the sons of Adam any wrong in leaving them under his Covevant, unto which they have such a strong impulse and desire? If he hereby gives them but the desire of their heart, what cause have they to complain against him? And will not his procedure at last day appear to be most just and rational in judging men according to the tenure of the first Covenant unto which they had so strong a desire? May not God justly lay to their charge every the least sin, and make them bear the burden of it, seeing they have put themselves under a Covenant that admits not any Mediator? Whom have they to represent their persons, to bear their sins, to pay their debts, to endure their curse, to perform their duties, seeing they reject the Mediator of the second Covenant? This leads to the second general Head, The misery of such as are under the first Covenant. The deplorable and miserable state of such as are under the first Covenant. (1) Is it not a deplorable case for men voluntarily to elect their own ruin? Was it ever known that men did contentedly, yea cheerfully sit down under a state of most miserable bondage, when full liberty was offered to them by a benign gracious Prince? Doth it not argue a spirit immersed in the basest servitude to take complacence in its chains and fetters? And yet is not this the very case of all such as desire to be under the first Covenant? (2) Is it not a miserable thing for a man to be on the very brink of ruin, and yet not sensible of it, yea under a fond presumption of a blessed state? For a man to go as an Ox to the slaughter adorned with a garland made up of the fading flowers of his own righteousnesses, what folly and madness is this! And yet is not this the very case of all Pharisaic spirits, who live and die under the first Covenant? Is not a good conceit of a bad state most dangerous and miserable? To be alive in carnal presumptions, self-flattery, and selfsufficiency, and yet spiritually dead in Divine estimation, is it not the worst of deaths? Are not such next degree to falling into Hell, who fond flatter themselves, that they can stand longer and surer than others by their own forces, 1 Cor. 10.12? And are not such as put themselves under the first Covenant guilty of all these pieces of folly? (3) Is it not a sad case for sinners to put themselves under a Covenant which neither gives or admits a Mediator? To have none to represent their persons, but to be left standing before the righteous holy God in their own names, bearing their own sins, expecting to be justified by their own works, to pay their own debts, or to endure their own punishment, what greater misery can there be? (4) To be under a Covenant that neither promises, nor gives, nor accepts of Repentance; but leaves men to live and die in their sins, without the least drop of the blood of Christ to wash them away, what a sad case is this? Must not such expect, that as soon as they peep out of the grave, and lift up their traitorous heads, their own consciences as also Divine Justice condemn and pursue them unto all eternity? (5) Is it not also a most wretched forlorn case for men to have their persons hated, yea loathed by the God of all love and mercy, and thence their best services rejected for the least failings in them? And is not this the case of all such as stand under the first Covenant? Doth this Covenant afford the least reward to any services that have the least imperfection adherent to them? And can sinners offer to God any such perfect services? Will it not thence hence necessarily follow, that such as stand under this first Covenant have all their services rejected, all their sins imputed to them, their persons hated, their blessings cursed, and all the curses of the Law bound fast on their consciences, by the sentence of the righteous God? What are all their seeming services but real sins? and what are all God's rewards to them but real curses, albeit seeming blessings? What can they expect for such unsanctified services but unsanctified rewards, which are indeed real curses? But to treat somewhat more distinctly of the misery which attends such as are under the first Covenant, we may consider it under these two Heads, that both the Law and Gospel, The Law to such as are under the first Covenant the means of death. which are means of Life and Salvation to such as are under the first Covenant, prove as to them means of Death and Condemnation. First as to the Law, it proves the means of death and condemnation to such as are under the first Covenant two ways: (1) In regard of its coactive Rigour. (2) As it irritates Sin. 1. The Law doth by its coactive Rigour work death and condemnation in such as are under the first Covenant. Doth not the Law exact of such perfect obedience, 1. By its compulsion. but gives them no strength to perform it? It's true, the Law requires obedience of those who are under the second Covenant also; but the promise gives what the Law requires: But of such as are under the first Covenant perfect obedience is required, but no intern principle is engrafted; duty is required, but no love or delight therein conferred: Yea do not such perform duty as godly men commit sin? May they not say of sin as Paul doth of duty, Rom. 7.15. What I would that I do not? And what Paul saith of Sin, may not such say the same of Duty, What I hate that do I? The Law discovers sin to those that are under the first Covenant; but did it ever cast out any one sin discovered by it? Sin is sometimes wounded by it; but did it ever kill any one sin? Are not the hearts of such like ezechiel's pot, in which the scum did arise, but than boiled in again? The Law drags such to the Tribunal of God as a righteous Judge, but can they ever come to God as a Father? Is not this the privilege of such only as are under the second Covenant? Lastly, the Law drives such as are under the first Covenant unto self-condemnation, but can any thing but the Gospel work Justification and Peace of Conscience? So deadly and mortiferous is the Law to such as are under its violent compulsion and coaction as it is a Covenant. And whence is it that the Law hath such a compulsive power over such as are under it as a Covenant? (1) Is it not from those Principles of self-love and legal fear implanted in the heart of man, whereby he is constrained to duty and restrained from sin by the threats and terrors of the Law, which move Conscience as extern weights move artificial Automata, or machine's? O! what a great power has Conscience over such when acted and inflamed by the terrors of the Law! Doth not Paul, Rom. 7.1. assure us, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that the Law doth Lord it over a man, so long as he continues under it as a Covenant? And how doth the Law as a Covenant Lord it over the man, but by ruling in the Authority and Sovereign Dominion of God, in and by which it will at last judge the man? And oh! with what rigour and compulsion doth it rule over his Conscience, and thereby restrain him from sin, and constrain him to duty! Again, (2) Doth not the Law receive much Authority and force from the Spirit of God setting it home on Conscience, and thereby terrifying and wounding the sinner? (3) Is there not also in all men under the first Covenant a sinful Weight or Bent of Lust, which makes the yoke of divine Precepts extreme irksome and burdensome to them? And doth not this add much to the rigour and severity of the Law? Doth not the Law of God lay the same rigorous restraint on the lusts of those who are under it as a Covenant, which the Providence of God lays on the lusts of Diabolick spirits? And oh! what a miserable case are such in, who lie under this tyrannic compulsion of the Law as a Covenant! If their lust's rage within, but dare not vent themselves, because the Law holds a rod over Conscience, how do they burn like fire in an Oven, and now and then flame forth in rebellious thoughts against God and his Law, wishing there were no Law! Or else, if lusts break forth into Act, how soon doth the Law bind over Conscience unto wrath and condemnation! and oh! what stings and torments follow hereon! And is it not also a miserable case for the sinner to be compelled and forced by the Law to do those good offices which he really hates? Would it not be a great torment to a Saint to be constrained to bow down and worship the Devil? and is it not as great misery to a person under the first Covenant to be compelled by the Law to worship God, whom he hates, as much as an holy man hates the Devil? And is not this the genuine cause of all that hypocrisy which is lodged and deeply radicated in those under the first Covenant, that all their omissions of sin and performances of Duties proceed merely from the violent tyrannic compulsion of the Law as a Covenant? And as the Law doth by its rigorous exaction more or less prevail on Conscience, so their hypocrisy is more or less radicated and refined. Oh! how partial and inconstant are such in their abstaining from sin and performing Duties! How disagreeable are those good works they do to their Natures and Principles! and thence how little pleasure and delight do they find in the doing of them! Yea the rigour and tyranny of the Law over such most eminently appears in this, that in constraining and forcing men to duties, it is so far from giving strength, that the more they perform duties, the less strength they have to perform them; the more they hear, meditate, or pray, the less strength they have to perform those duties as they ought: So also for the Laws restraining such from sin, the more they are restrained, the stronger their lusts grow, and break forth with greater violence in the issue: Whereas one under the second Covenant, the more the Law restrains his lusts the weaker they grow, and the more it constrains them to duty, the stronger they grow in the performance of them; because together with the restraints and constraints of the Law there is conveyed a force and strength by the Promise to abstain from the sin forbidden, and to perform the duty required. So much for the compulsion of the Law. 2. The Law works death by irritating sin. 2. To such as are under the first Covenant the Law works Death and Condemnation, by its Irritation of sin. The Law was in its first Institution, and still is to those that are under the second Covenant a sanctified Instrument for the restraining and keeping under of sin, but to those that are under the first Covenant, it proves accidentally by reason of the violence of Lust and Gods Curse an occasion of irritating and enraging sin. It's true the Law as a Crystal glass discovers the sovereign holy pleasure of God forbidding sin; but doth not the lustful bent of men's hearts affect sin even because forbidden? And the Law discovering unto such the pravity and vitiosity of sin, how do their hearts boil up with hatred against the Law, because it strikes at sin, wherein they place their chiefest good? Again, when the Law comes to put a bridle and curb on their Lusts, are they not hereby like an untamed Colt the more enraged and furious? And is not this the genuine reason, why such as live under the clearest and brightest promulgations of the Law, oft have their lusts boiled up to the highest pitch? Yea, is it not hence that the unpardonable sin takes its first rise, namely from the lusts of such, who living under bright notices and discoveries of both Law and Gospel, and receiving some tastes of good things to come, at last continuing still under the first Covenant have their lusts more irritated by the Law? Moreover the Law condemning such as are under the first Covenant for sin, and thereby injecting sparks of Hell-fire into their Consciences, the firebrands of dreadful terrors and despair, how are their lusts inflamed hereby! what revenge against God, what excess of riot are they hurried into hereby! Doth not also the righteous God by an invisible secret Curse suffer such as desire to be under the Law as a Covenant, to have their lusts irritated and exasperated thereby? Lastly, doth not the wise and holy God permit Satan so far to abuse the Law, as thereby to draw men into sin? And oh what a pleasure is it to Satan to make use of that which is most de●●●●o God, thereby to draw men into sin! And doth not this discover to us the miserable 〈◊〉 of such as are under the first Covenant, that the Law of God, which is so excellent in its own nature, and of such excellent use unto the Saints, should be so much abused for the irritation of Lust? It's true, the Law may sometimes irritate sin, even in such as are under the New Covenant, yet it is not from any dominion it has over such, neither doth this irritation so far prevail, as to bring forth fruit unto death, as it doth in those under the first Covenant, who are under the complete dominion of the Law, unto whom it hath no other use but to exasperate and improve their lusts. And as the Law, so also the Gospel, and all the means of Grace, To such as are under the first Covenant, the Gospel and all other Blessings prove Curses. yea all the Providences of God, and comforts of this life prove snares and curses to such as are under the first Covenant. (1) What greater Jewel is there to be found or desired among the Sons of men, than the Gospel of Grace? Is not the heart and bosom of God hereby laid open unto sinners? O! what sweet attractives and cords of love are there in the Gospel to draw the soul out of its miserable and sinful state unto eternal Beatitude! And yet, lo! how is this rich odor of life turned into a pestiferous odor of death, to such as are under the first Covenant! Is not that which is in itself the greatest blessing made by such the greatest curse? The same food that nourisheth Believers unto eternal life, of what use is it to those under the first Covenant, but to nourish their incurable disease of self-sufficience? Are not these men's lusts offended at the spirituality and simplicity of the Gospel? What false Glosses and Comments do they put thereon! How is the Grace of the Gospel by such turned into wantonness! what controversies to their lusts make about it! (2) So also for all Means of Grace, Providences and temporal blessings, which draw the hearts of Believers nearer to God, are not the hearts of those under the first Covenant driven from God thereby? Do not all their Duties, though never so Evangelic centre in Self? Is not this the great Idol unto which their hearts are chained? do not all the lines of their Devotion and Religion terminate in this centre? Oh! what an ample field of Contemplation is this to expatiate in, were not our Meditations confined to the limits of a Summary! The Second Part of the following Discourse regards The Covenant of Grace, The Covenant of Grace explicated in, in the Explication whereof, our Author is more copious, distinct, and potent even to Admiration: The Heads discoursed of by him, and the method he makes use of in discoursing of them, may with facility be apprehended by the Table of Contents: that which I design in this Summary, is some short Reflections on such Heads as are not directly or professedly discussed by our Author. And, 1. 1. Its differences from the first Covenant. We shall begin with the Differences between the first and second Covenant. (1) In the first Covenant, God dealt with man in a way of sovereign Empire and Dominion, mixed with infinite Wisdom, Justice, Benignity, and somewhat of Grace, though without the least dram of Mercy; there was indeed something of Grace in appointing the Reward, but nothing of Grace in the infallible conduct thereto: But now in the second Covenant, the principal motive and Fountain that gave origine thereto was free Grace, and Bowels of warm tender Mercies: what was the foundation of this Covenant but the absolute and sovereignly gracious pleasure of God? Were there any Objective Ideas of good, any reasons, grounds, or motives foreseen by God, which moved him to give grace to Jacob rather than to Esau? Did not Esau and Jacob stand on equal ground as to Divine Election? Was not Esau jacob's brother, saith the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob and hated Esau, Mal. 1.2, 3. It's true, the free Grace of God hath deep Reasons in itself, but yet no reasons or motives without itself to move or rule it in its egresses towards the creature. Yea, doth not the Grace of God find as much and as good reasons in Esau, as in Jacob, in Cain and Judas, as in Peter and Paul, in the worst as in the best of Men by Nature? Yea, what more agreeable to the Methods and Designs of Grace, than this, to show mercy to the vilest of sinners? How oft doth the free grace of God take hold of such as are most graceless? and whence do all the Issues of grace in this Covenant flow, but from God's tender bowels of mercy? Was it not by mere grace, that this Covenant of Grace fell from God? Yea, is not Christ himself as Mediator of this Covenant, an admirable instance and effect of God's free Election and Grace? It's true, Christ as God falls not under an act of the divine Will, because than he were not God, but yet as Mediator he doth: Was not his first Designation to office an act of sovereign grace? Did he not also become Incarnate by an act of free Grace? Is not the Hypostatic Union thence termed the Grace of Union? Do we not also find mention of the Grace of Unction, whereby the Father qualified him for his Mediatory Office? Is not the Oil of Gladness, wherewith he was anointed above his fellows, an Oil of Grace also, or an infinite effusion of the Spirit of Grace on his humane N●●●re? Were not likewise all the Merits of Christ the effect of free Grace? Whence h●●●●● his assistances for the doing and suffering his Father's will, but from his Father, as Is● 42.4? And when Christ had obeyed and suffered to the full, was not God the Father's Acceptance of all an act of free Grace? It's true, Christ paid a valuable price for all the mercies he purchased for sinners; but yet whence comes it that all this should be made over to us? what made way for the commutation of persons, that the Righteousness of Christ should become ours, and our sins by Imputation become his? was not this all from free Grace? Has not Augustin, in his incomparable Tractate, Of the Predestination of Saints, excellently well demonstrated this, that Christ the Mediator of the New Covenant fell under the free Election of God? Now if the Election of the Head and Prince of the Covenant, who is God Man, was an act of free Grace, then will it not necessarily follow, that all the Federates, Conditions, and Effects of this Covenant, can flow from no other fountain than the sovereign Grace of God? (2) Another Difference between the first and second Covenant may be taken from the generic Idea of both: what was the first Covenant, but a Covenant of Friendship between the Creator and the Creature, where neither part was at variance? but what is this second Covenant, but a Covenant of Reconciliation between a sin-revenging God and rebellious sinners? (3) Do not also these two Covenants greatly differ in their Terms and Conditions? What is there to be found in the first Covenant, but conditional Promises to Grace? but are there not in this second Covenant absolute Promises of Grace? Was not the Righteousness of the first Covenant to be in ourselves, without the least imputation from any other? but is not the Righteousness of this second Covenant to be found in Christ only, and so made ours by Imputation? Did not the first Covenant require perfect Obedience as a Condition antecedent to the acceptation of the person? But doth not this second Covenant accept an imperfect evangelic Sincerity as a consequent of the persons being accepted? In the Covenant made with Adam, was not the Acceptation of his person grounded on the Acceptation of his works? but in this second Covenant is not the person first accepted, and then the works for the persons sake? Is not this fully exemplified in the different acceptation of Cain and Abel, Gen. 4.4, etc. the former standing on the first Covenant, and the latter on the second? (4) To pass by other Differences, as to the object, foundation, and duration, are not these two Covenants greatly different as to their effects? The first Covenant discovers what we are to do, but the second enables us to do it: the first is a glass to discover our sin and misery, but the second is a glass that discovers the remedy, as also applies the same. Of what use is the first but to declare men guilty and cursed? but doth not the second pronounce pardon and blessing? Was not the first given and continued to discover sin? but is not the second given to cover it? Doth not the first wound and terrify? but doth not the second heal, exhilarate and cheer? Is not the first the Ministration of death, and a kill letter? but is not the second the Ministration of the Spirit, and that which makes alive, 2 Cor. 3.6, 7? Why was the first given, but to check, restrain and humble the old man? but is it not the principal Intendment of the second to conserve and quicken the New man? Doth not the first accuse and condemn? but doth not the second excuse and absolve? In the first, Man is bound to God, but in the second God is bound to man; the first generates bondage, but the second Liberty: And is there not a spirit of bondage suitable to that state in all such as are under the first Covenant? but O! what a spirit of Liberty belongs to all such as are under the second Covenant! and what different effects attend these different spirits! Doth not the first Covenant make a legal spirit, upon any great discovery of God, to fly from him as an enemy? but how doth the second Covenant cause an evangelic spirit, under all the great discoveries of God, to fly unto him! Yea doth not the legal servile spirit, who longs to be under the first Covenant, secretly wish there were no law to rebuke him, no hand of Justice to punish him? but doth not the Evangelic spirit, who hath by means of the second Covenant the Law writ in his heart, delight therein as a Rule, though he hates to be under it as a Covenant? How sour and disgustful are all divine services to a legal spirit? but how sweet and pleasant are they to an evangelic spirit? Legal spirits give God much service for Quantity, but how little for Quality, and Spirituality? But the Evangelic spirit gives peradventure not so much for Quantity, but yet much more for Quality and Perfection: Lastly, the legal spirit makes all his good Offices matter of vainglory and fuel for his pride; but the Evangelic spirit sees cause to be humbled and self-abased for his best services. Such are the different spirits, effects, and fruits that grow out of those two opposite roots the Old and the New Covenant, which greatly demonstrate the boundless differences between the two Covenants. 2. 2. The excellence of the second covenant. Hence we may take just measures both comparative and absolute of the incomparable excellences of the second Covenant. The first Covenant informs us what we are by Nature, but the second, what we are, or may be by Grace; The Law was given, that men might more studiously seek after Grace, Lex data est ut Gratia quaereretur, Gratia data est ut Lex impleretur. August. but Grace is given that men might be enabled to fulfil the Law. And what is the supreme ingredient of the Covenant of Grace, but the free Grace of God? Is not this Covenant than the Believers Great Charter, by which he has a Law-right to all the Privileges and Blessings of the Gospel? Doth not this Covenant give us assurance, not only of Gods gracious and merciful Nature, but also of his good will towards sinners? It's true, God's Nature gives us full assurance, that what he has promised shall be performed; but what gives us assurance of the Promise, but the Covenant of Grace? Yea, what are all the Promises but so many lines of the Covenant concentring in Christ the Prince and Mediator thereof? Do not all the Promises spring from that mother-root, the Covenant of Grace in Christ? Yea, what is the New-creature, but a conformity to this New Covenant? Is there any condition that a Believer can fall into, but he may find some Promise in this Covenant to relieve him therein? Yea, is there any excellence in God or his creature, which is not made over for your use in and by this Covenant? Are not all Gods good things yours, and all your afflictive things Gods by this Covenant? May you not then lay the stress of all your cares and burdens on this Covenant? Are you Bondslaves of the Law? will not this Covenant make you Freeholders, if you come unto it and embrace it? Is there any thing commanded in the Law, which this Covenant doth not enable to perform? The Law may fret and grind your spirits to powder, but what can melt them but this Covenant? The Law weighs Obedience by the Balance, and if there be the least grain wanting, doth it not reject all? But doth not this Covenant examine all by the Touchstone, and accept what is sincere, albeit imperfect? Art thou very unlike to God? and is this thy great burden? consider then, has not this Covenant a transformative spirit to make thee like him? What is the scope of this Covenant, but to make God thine, and thee Gods? And dost thou not hereby acquire an interest in all the blessings of God? Doth not this give thee the best assurance thou canst desire for any desired or enjoyed Mercy? Doth the first Covenant stop thy mouth before God? and doth not this second Covenant stop the mouth of the first? Are not the riches of free Grace laid up in Christ? and are not the riches of Christ laid up in the Covenant of Grace? Doth not the believing Soul by cleaving to this Covenant, grow out of it to the stature of a perfect man? Whence come all the hopes, comforts, and happiness of the Saints, but from this Covenant, as 2 Sam. 23.5? O! what glorious Relations between God and Man arise from this Covenant! what an interest doth man acquire in God, as well as God in man by this Covenant! yea, are not the smallest mercies by this Covenant made exceeding great, and sweet? O the infinite boundless Dimensions, the invisible Miracles, and wonders of free Grace lodged in the Covenant of Grace! Are there any banks or bottoms to this Ocean of free Grace? Can the sins of the vilest men sink them beyond the depths thereof, could they by faith swim thereon? What wonders are here for Faith's Contemplation, Admiration, and Adoration! Are not these ways and methods of free Grace comprehended in the Covenant of Grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, imperscrutable, such as all the wit and sagacity of Men and Angels cannot pry into; Rom. 11.33. as also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, impervestigable, such as leave no Vestigia or foot steps for carnal Reason to trace out, as Rom. 11.33? Ought we not then with Paul, that great Miracle of Grace, to stand on the banks of this Ocean of free Grace expressed in this New Covenant, and cry out, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, O the Depths of the Riches both of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God So great and excellent are the Benefits of this Covenant! 3. Let us a little inquire into the Mediator and Prince of this Covenant, 3. The Covenant of Grace made primarily with Christ. which also will give us a further Demonstration of its excellence. The Apostle instructs us, Gal. 3.16. that Christ is the Seed, to whom the Promises or Covenant was primarily made: by seed, some understand Christ Personal, others, Christ Mystical, but we may, with our Author, Gal. 3.16. very safely take in both senses, understanding it primarily and principally of Christ Personal, who is the prime Federate, and thence of Christ Mystic, Abraham and his believing seed, considered as members of Christ, with whom the Covenant was primarily made. Now this Covenant as made with Christ terminates on him under a twofold respect: (1) In relation to his own Mediatory Office: (2) In relation to his Body the Church, as he is Head thereof. (1) As it regards Christ's Mediatory Office, and his more complete discharge thereof, so God the Father by donation and stipulation constituted him Mediator and Surety of this Covenant, gave him a promise of Assistence, Deliverance, Acceptance, Justification, Exaltation, and success in the management of his Mediatory Kingdom: This part of the Covenant belongs solely to Christ, wherein his members have no share, albeit much benefit thereby. (2) There is another part of this Covenant made with Christ primarily, which regards him as Head of his body mystic: For look as the first Adam as a public person and representative head received both a Covenant and Image to communicate to his posterity, who were both legally and naturally in him; so also this our second Adam received both a Covenant and Image for his seed to be imparted to them. Are not all the promises made primarily to him, and in him to his members? And if there be any promise to be fulfilled, must not thy soul look up to Christ and his worthiness alone for its fulfilling? Is not the righteousness of the Covenant laid up in him, and by virtue of union with him made ours? Is there any dram of the holy oil of Grace imparted to us, but what was first poured out on the sacred head of this our High Priest? Do not also all the privileges of the Covenant primarily belong to him, and to us only as in him? Hast thou any duty to perform, and must thou not look up to Christ for strength to perform it? Doth it not belong to him only to ●ive supplies? Or hast thou any service to be accepted, and can it be accepted any other way than as perfumed with the Incense of his Merits? Are not all the sons of the first Adam by sin cut off from all communion with God the Fountain of all good? Can they then receive any good thing from him but by the hand of this Mediator? Doth God give the least good to any sinner immediately? Have sinners any thing to do with God in a way of mercy immediately in themselves? If we speak a good word of prayer to God, or he speak a good word of comfort to us, must it not be in and by the Angel of his presence? Are not all debts paid in him? all duties performed by him? all blessings conveyed through him? Have we then any thing to do with or receive from God in a covenant way, but by this Mediator and union with him? Did not God from all Eternity give his Son as the foundation of this Covenant to the Elect, as also give them to him as a seed? And is not this the true import of their being elected in him? Is it not also hence said, Tit. 1.2. That eternal life was promised to the elect before the world began? How could it be promised to them, but by this Covenant of Redemption with Christ their Head? Did not the Church, Christ's mystic body lie hid in him from Eternity, as Eve lay hid in Adam her head? Are not all Believers by the Covenant of Grace in Christ, as by nature we are all in the first Covenant? And is not Christ in every Believer as Adam in all his natural seed? How is the first Adam in us, but as the original cause of our nature and its moral vitiosity which causeth death? And is not Christ the second Adam in all Believers as the original cause of their restauration and life? What is there good in man but what is first in Christ as the original Head of the Covenant and public Receiver? Wouldst thou see God's love and grace streaming towards thy soul? Must thou not then first see it lodged in Christ as the Fountain of all? Dost thou desire to see all thy sins wiped off? Must thou not then see them first wiped off from Christ thy Representative? Wouldst thou by a prevision of faith see thyself in a glorified state? O then by faith look on Christ the Head of the Covenant as glorified for thee. Alas! if thou look on thyself in thyself, growing out of thine own natural root, what art thou, but as a branch cut off from the Olive-root? But O! how comfortable and sweet is it to see thyself crucified, acquitted, and glorified in Christ the Head of the Covenant! Yea, doth he not only become a surety for us to God, but also a surety for God to us? And O! how much doth this engage sinners to exalt this glorious Head and Mediator of the New Covenant! Was not this the grand design of God in making this Covenant, that his Son the Prince of it might be in every thing exalted? Why are all the promises of the Covenant dispensed first unto him, and all the duties of the Covenant required first of him, and of us in him, but that he may have the preeminence in all things, and a name above every name? That the Son of God and Lord of Glory should by his own consent, in the Covenant of Redemption between him and the Father, come under an act of Gods will, and undertake in the fullness of time to take upon him the form of a servant, to pay debts, who never owned any; that he that was Lord of the Law, should be made under the Law; that all the Elect should have their names transcribed out of the Father's book of Election, into the Lamb's book of life, Rev. 13.8. yea, have their names written in his heart from all Eternity, and thereby to have such a blessed Being in him, so long before they had the least Being in themselves; what an essential obligation are they hereby brought under to exalt this glorious Head and Prince of their Covenant! 4. But let us discourse a little of the Nature of this second Covenant, 4. The Nature of the Covenant as relating to Believers. as terminating more immediately on Believers. And here the Reader will excuse me, if I studiously avoid the controversies of these times, and touch only on that which is more essential to Faith and Godliness. The Covenant of Grace as made with Believers has a twofold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, habitude or regard; the one extern, the other intern. (1) As to its extern Dispensation which is The Covenant of Grace as to its extern Habitude and Dispensation admits some Variety, Generality, and Conditionality, which is not applicable to the intern spirit and mind thereof. [1] Various. It admits of some Variety. It has pleased the infinitely wise God, out of his rich mercy and condescendence to the condition of his people, in all Ages to suit the extern Dispensation of his second Covenant to their infirm capacity, albeit as to the spirit and substance thereof it hath been ever the same. Thus in the first promulgation of it to Adam after his Fall, God expressed it by the seed of the woman, and its bruising the serpent's head, etc. Gen. 3.15. which was a form most agreeable to their present state introduced by the Serpents. subtlety and craft. So in the second promulgation of this Covenant unto Noah, after the Flood, Gen. 9.17. God expressed it by the Ark and Rainbow, etc. as it's repeated, Esa. 54.9. which were symbolic Images very apposite and agreeable to their preservation newly obtained. The like Variety God manifested in the repetition of this Covenant unto Abraham, Gen. 17.2. to 16. where God promulgates his Covenant, as to its extern Habitude, under the symbolic forms of multiplying his natural seed, the sign of Circumcision, etc. which were ●ll lively figures, very much adapted to his present state, he having no children. So again, when God renewed this Covenant with the Israelites after their coming out of Egypt, what variety doth he use? Is not the very Prologue to it, touching their deliverance out of the house of bondage, an illustrious Symbol to mind them of their miserable state by the first Covenant? What were all the Sacrifices but federal Symbols representing to the life man's sin and misery under the first Covenant, and reconcilement to God by the second? So also for the moral Precepts, with which this Mosaic Covenant was ushered in, of what use and intendment were they, but to make way for the promulgation and advance of free Grace, as John Baptist made way for Christ? It's true, some of late from this variety have started a Notion of a threefold Covenant, one natural, another legal or Mosaic, and the third Evangelic: but this Notion was the figment of the old Origenistic Monks to establish their Antichristian merits, as Melancthon, Chron. lib. 4. assures us. The true Idea of the Mosaic Covenant seems this; it was indeed, as to its intern spirit, mind, form and essence Evangelic, albeit as to its extern form and dispensation, it was mixed and composed of moral Precepts and symbolic Types or shadows: and O! how agreeable was this to the infantile state of the Israelitic Church! Did not the wise God herein act like a curious Limner, who first gives an adumbration and dark shadow with a rude Pencil, and then adds lively colours to complete his Picture? What were all the Types but Evangelic shadows, whereby the Grace of the second Covenant became visible and sensible? [2] Indifferent and general. The Covenant of Grace as to its extern 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and dispensation, admits of some Generality and Universality; it being expressed in general and sometimes universal terms, as a mode or form most convenient and agreeable to humane Nature: For the wise God resolved in the distribution of Divine Grace to suit the extern exhibition thereof to the indigent condition of humane nature: Grace doth not destroy but perfect nature, and therefore it is expressed and dispensed in a form or mode most adapted to humane nature, namely in propositions and invitations, indifferent, general, and sometimes universal, thereby the more potently to allure elect Souls, and also, to cut off all pretext of excuse from Unbelievers; as Joh. 3.16. Esa. 55.1. These general invitations are termed, Hos. 11.4. The cords of a man, i. e. most agreeable to humane nature. Hence [3] Conditional. this Covenant of Grace is, as to its extern mode, expressed frequently in terms hypothetic or conditional, which is also most congruous to humane nature, as Rev. 22.17. and doth not speak the Covenant to be in itself conditional, as in what follows. (2) We descend now to the Covenant of Grace, 2. The Nature of the Covenant as to its intern form or essence. as considered according to its intern 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Habitude and Dispensation, wherein its essential form, mode, or essence consists. This intern form and dispensation of the Covenant we find described, Jer. 31.33, 34. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law into their inward parts, etc. In which verses we find all the essential parts and benefits of this new Covenant, as to its intern respect, namely Union with God in Christ, Justification, Sanctification, Adoption, etc. And so we aver, [1] It is but one. That the Covenant of Grace is but one and the same: for notwithstanding all that variety in the extern exhibition, both as to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Israel, and (we may add) David, yet the Covenant as to its intern spirit, mind, and essence admits not the least variety, it flowing from the same fountain of free Grace, by the same Mediator, unto the same elect objects, and on the same terms. This Identity of the Covenant, both as to Jews and Gentiles, our Author demonstrates from Rom. 11.16, 17. where by the Olive-tree, he understands the Church of God, and by the Root, Abraham as taken into Covenant, with whom the Covenant in some sense began, and upon which both Jews and Gentiles grow. Hence, [2] It is particular. This Covenant is also as to its intern mind and form Particular. For all the Indefinition, Generality, and Universality of this Covenant regards only its extern offer and dispensation, not the immanent Will of God, as if he had an universal love to or desire of all men's Salvation. It's true, God really intends and decrees the offer shall be universal, or general, to all where the Gospel comes, yet he doth not intent or decree, that all shall accept of this offer, or have real benefit by it. Whence, [3] Absolute. This Covenant is as to its intern form or essence, Absolute, not Conditional. This is evident, (1) From the very Notion given it, Matt. 26.28. and more particularly, Act. 3.25. Acts 3.25. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, where we have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, with its radix 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which notes, that it primarily imports a Testament, whereby men absolutely dispose of their goods. The same we find, Heb. 8.10. & 10.16. which the old Latin Version interprets to dispose by Testament, and so with the LXX. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 frequently occurs, as Gen. 21.27, 32. & 26.28. & 31.44. as elsewhere, and answers to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to cut or strike a Covenant. And thus among the ancient Grecians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is frequently used to signify a disposition of somewhat by Testament unto heirs, as Isocrates and others; and what more absolute than a Testament? Thence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereby the Covenant of Grace is expressed in the Old Testament, as Gen. 9.9. and elsewhere, is always rendered by the LXX. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as in the New Testament, and never 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which properly signifies a conditional Covenant, depending on the mutual stipulation of both parties. (2) If the Covenant of Grace be conditional, either these Conditions are included in the Covenant, or not: if included, than it is as to its intern dispensation and mind, absolute; if not included, then is this Covenant equally as hard, yea impossible to Sinners, as the Covenant of Works. (3) A condition in a Covenant strictly taken denotes a moral Efficience, and has a causal influence upon what is conditionally promised; which destroys the freedom of Grace. (4) The principal difference between the Covenant of Works and of Grace lies in this, that the former was conditional, given to Grace received, but this is absolute, giving Grace: The first Covenant supposed grace, but gave none; this second gives all grace, but supposeth none as precedent to its gift. (5) Yet we deny not but that there are Conditions, and conditional Promises appendent to this second Covenant; but they are such as belong principally to the extern form of it, as before: or, if they belong to the substance of the Covenant, they are only consequent, improper Conditions, absolutely undertaken for by the Head of the Covenant, and effectually wrought by the Grace of the Covenant; not antecedent proper Conditions, such as bespeak the Covenant conditional. [4] Certain and immutable. Hence it follows, that the second Covenant is most sure and immutable, as to all the Heirs of salvation: He that is once in Covenant, is ever so: There is no way of securing Promises and Covenants among men, but the God of all Grace hath assumed the same to assure us that his Covenant is most certain and inviolable. Doth a Promise confirmed by Sacrifices and Oaths make sure a Covenant? and has not God confirmed his Covenant by all these, Psal. 50.5. Leu. 2.13. Heb. 6.18? Is a Surety a Surety to make good Covenants? And has not God made this Covenant primarily with Christ our Surety, that so in him it might be firm to all his members? So much for the Nature of this Covenant. An account of the Revise of this Discourse. Having given this Summary of the two Covenants, we shall conclude this Proem with some account of the endeavours we have put forth to render the following Discourse more perfect and useful; which was penned as delivered in a popular way of Sermons, but I gave myself the liberty of casting it into this method of Books, Chapters, Sections and half-Sections, as that which to me seems most natural, proper, and adequate to its matter: For I have long thought it one of the most principal concerns in Method, to follow the conduct of Nature in suiting our Form to our Matter, and not our Matter to our Form, as the Schools are wont. The Additions I have made, which are not many, regard principally the Explication of some few Texts and Interpretation of Latin Sentences, for the use of vulgar Capacities. As for Diminutions, I have religiously avoided more than seemed necessary, to make the sense and Contexture clear. And whereas I gave the Subscribers a promise, to review the Copy, and take care that it be well done, what endeavours I have exerted, yea how many hours I have borrowed from my natural Refreshments to make good this my word, is not meet for me to mention; only the Reader may judge somewhat hereof, if he consider how many Imperfections must unavoidably attend such Posthumous Transcripts, and that out of Manuscripts written in Characters; and I am apt to persuade myself, the Subscribers, when they have considered the whole, will not think themselves deceived in this particular, specially if they compare this with other pieces of our Author, formerly published out of his own Notes. And I have herein endeavoured to fulfil that great Effate of our Lord, To do as I would be done unto, in the like case: I judge some guilty of much unkindness to their deceased Friends, as well as injustice to the World, in thrusting forth Posthumous Works, without due emendation and correction. Whatever service has been performed herein, is no more than what is required by and due to the Lord of the Harvest from an unprofitable Servant, Theophilus Gale. TABLE of CONTENTS. A Discourse of the two Covenants. BOOK I. Of the Covenant of Works, CHAP. I. The Curse of the first Covenant. Gen. 2.17. THE Covenant of friendship made with Adam. Pag. 1 Why God adds the threatening to Adam, with the use of threats and promises. Pag. 3 The temporal curse that follows Adam's fall. Pag. 4 1. All the creatures cursed thereby. Pag. 5 2. The curses upon man's body. Pag. 6 3. The curse upon man's name. Pag. 7 4. The curse on relations. (1) On Magistrates. Pag. 8 On the people towards Magistrates. Pag. 9 (2) On Ministers and people. Pag. 10 (3) On husband and wife. Pag. 11 (4) On parents and children. Pag. 12 The spiritual curse as privative of God. Pag. 13 1. Man's forsaking his chief good. Pag. 14 2. His loss of an interest in God. Pag. 15 3. His loss of God's image. Pag. 16 4. His loss of communion with God. ibid. 5. His hatred of God. Pag. 17 The spiritual curse as to the soul itself. ibid. 1. The souls desertion. ibid. 2. The guilt of the soul. Pag. 18 3. The dominion of sin. Pag. 19 4. The power of Satan. Pag. 20 5. The curse on ordinances. ibid. 6. Spiritual judgements. ibid. Eternal death. Pag. 21 CHAP. II. Gal. 4.21. men's desire to be under the Law. To be under the Law most desirable to corrupt nature. Pag. 22 1. All men desire to establish their own righteousness. Pag. 25 2. All men would be doing something for heaven. ib. So far as any man submits not to the righteousness of the second covenant, so far he manifests his desire to be still under the first covenant. Pag. 26 1. men's sins will not submit. ibid. 2. Their gifts and abilities will not submit. ibid. 3. Their own righteousness before or after conversion will not submit. Pag. 27 4. Awakened consciences think the second covenant too good news to be true. ibid. Two things in a man under the covenant of works. 1. An answerable spirit. ibid. 2. Suitable fruits. (1) Placing Religion in outward performances. Pag. 28 (2) Doing all their services without a Mediator. ib. (3) Doing all with a legal spirit. ibid. The causes why men desire to be under the Law. ibid. 1. A principle of ignorance. ibid. (1) Of the Law. Pag. 28, 29, 30 (2) Of the Righteousness of Christ. Pag. 30, 31 2. A principle of enmity against God. (1) His wisdom, (2) his justice, (3) his power, (4) his love, (5) his sovereignty. Pag. 31, 32 3. A principle of pride exemplified in seven particulars. Pag. 32 The Application. 1. God wrongs not the unregenerate in leaving them under the first covenant. Pag. 33, 34 2. A state of sin is miserable. Pag. 34 3. An exhortation to three duties. 1. Humiliation for this sin. Pag. 35 2. Watchfulness over the heart. ibid. 3. No satisfaction without the contrary grace. Pag. 36 CHAP. III. Rom. 7.8. How sin takes occasion, and is irritated by the Law. Pag. 37 Doct. Every man out of Christ is under a Covenant of Works, and under the irritating power of the Law. Pag. 39 Sin hath a threefold power from the Law. ibid. 1. Of condemnation. ibid. 2. Of conviction. ibid. 3. Of irritation. ibid. 1. In the unregenerate there is the seed of all sin. ib. 2. Lust's are acted and drawn forth by degrees. ib. 3. There is nothing to the unregenerate that is not a means to draw out and improve their lusts. (1) All creatures. (2) All opportunities. (3) All estates. Pag. 40 How sin takes occasion by the commandment. ibid. 1. The Law as a glass discovers sins. ibid. (1) It acts many sins, because they are forbidden. ib. (2) It is against light. ibid. (3) In that man hates the light. ibid. 2. The Law restrains sin, whence it breaks out more violently. ibid. (1) It spreads the more. ibid. (2) It is the more enraged. Pag. 41 (3) It improves it thereby. ibid. 3. There is a condemning power of the Law. And from this sin takes occasion. (1) By reason of terrors. (2) By driving to despair. (3) Whence follows a giving up to excess of riot. (4) And it rises to blasphemy and rage against God. ibid. Whence it is that the law exasperates and increases sin. ibid. The law is not the formal cause. ibid. But the accidental cause. Pag. 42 The proper causes of it are, 1. Lust (1) which is carried towards its object with earnestness, violence, and vehemency, (2) which is proud and swells the heart, (3) which is resolute, (4) a principle and root of enmity against God. Pag. 42, 43 2. The curse of God that is come upon all under the Fall, which is twofold: (1) emptiness and deceiving: (2) Corrupting and defiling. Pag. 43, 44, 45 Quest. Whether are true Believers wholly freed from the law in respect of its irritation? Pag. 45, 46, 47, 48 Quest. If Believers be under this irritation, where lies the difference between them and wicked men? Pag. 48 The Doctrine improved. Pag. 48, 49 CHAP. IV. Gal. 5.18. Wherein the coactive power of the Law consists. Pag. 90 Doct. Every man out of Christ is under the coaction and rigour of the Law, which 1. Requires perfect obedience. Pag. 51 2. Gives no strength to perform it. Pag. 52 3. Lays it upon him as a burden which he loves not. ib. 4. Nor takes delight in. ibid. 5. Which forbids sin, but heals it not. Pag. 53 6. Carries a man to God as a Judge. ibid. 7. Forces a man to see sin whether he will or no. Pag. 53, 54 8. It forces to a self-judgment and condemnation for sin. Pag. 54 Whence the Law hath this coactive power. Pag. 55 1. From the Sovereignty of God in the Law. ibid. 2. From natural conscience. ibid. 3. From the Spirit of God in conscience. ibid. 4. From a principle of self-love in men desiring good, and fearing evil. ibid. 5. From the unrenewedness of the heart, which is fully set to do evil. Pag. 56 Quest. Is a godly man wholly freed from this coaction? Pag. 56, 57 The Doctrine applied. Pag. 57, 58, 59, 60, 61 CHAP. V Col. 1.13. A scriptural account of this translation. Pag. 61 Doct. All in Christ are translated out of their former Covenant. Pag. 62 1. Such a translation proved from Scripture. Pag. 62, 63 2. The necessity of such a translation. 1. From the nature of the Covenant, as it is broken, (1) It promiseth no life but upon perfect obedience. (2) It is without a Mediator. (3) There is in it no promise of pardon. (4) No promise of any grace. (5) Every sin breaks it. (6) It cannot quiet the conscience. Pag. 63, 64 2. Without this translation no man can receive benefit by the second Covenant. Pag. 64 3. God still deals with man in a way of covenant and stipulation: (1) Because the first Covenant stands in force upon all out of Christ unto eternity. (2) Because all under this covenant must perish. (3) All mercies and deliverances that God hath given his people have been by covenant ever since the fall. Pag. 65, 66 4. No man for the state of his person can stand under both Covenants, because one makes void the other. (1) The righteousness of the first is in ourselves; but that of the second in another. (2) In the first works are first accepted, and then the person; in the second the person first, and works for the persons sake. (3) The first is without a Priest; but the second hath one. (4) In the first there is matter of glorying in a man's self; but in the second all is of grace. Pag. 66 Quest. May not a man so far as he is flesh, be under the covenant of works; and so far as regenerate under the covenant of grace? Pag. 67 Answ. (1) A double image may stand together, but two covenants necessarily destroy each other. ibid. (2) The change of a man's covenant is a legal act, and so is perfect, and may be at once; but the change of a man's image is perfected by degrees. Pag. 68 The Doctrine applied. Pag. 68, 69, 70, 71, 72 How a man may know whether his covenant be changed. Pag. 68 The sinfulness of an unregenerate state. Pag. 68, 69 The misery of not being translated into the second covenant. Pag. 69, 70, 71 The happiness of those in Christ. Pag. 71, 72 CHAP. VI A Man's Translation out of the first Covenant is by Union. Gal. 3.29. How our translation is by union, with the nature of this union. Pag. 73 1. God deals with all men in a way of stipulation. ibid. 2. The two Covenants were neither of them made with all men immediately, but with a representative head. ib. 3. A man's union with either of these heads brings him under either covenant. Pag. 74 Doct. A man's Translation out of the first Covenant consists in his Union with the second Adam. ibid. The nature of this union explained. (1) It is a natural union. Henc●, (2) Real not merely voluntary, but an union with his person. Pag. 75 Quest. Whether a man be in Christ before he believe? Pag. 76 The reasons why God hath appointed our translation to be in a way of union. (1) Because God will have Christ to be the second Adam. (2) Because our happiness lies in it. (3) Because God cannot enter into covenant immediately with sinners, without forfeiting the truth of his threatening. Pag. 76, 77, 78 A man's condition is much changed by this translation. (1) God looks upon him no more as the son of Adam. (2) He is no more under the rigour of the Law. (3) Nor under the curse of the Law. (4) He is become heir of the promise. (5) God is reconciled. (6) His sufferings and services are accepted. (7) All things work together for good. (8) Sin hath no condemning power. (9) He hath communion with God. (10) And is of the same body with the Saints. Pag. 78, 79 The way of obtaining this union is, (1) By a work of conviction. (2) Of humiliation. (3) By a glorious work of revelation. Pag. 79, 80 Hence the soul resolves to take 〈◊〉 other way of salvation Pag. 81. There is an instinct put into the soul after union with Christ. ibid. The soul accepts Christ upon his own terms. ibid. CHAP. VII. How the Law as a Covenant comes to be abolished. Gal. 2.14. Blotting out the Handwriting, etc. The words explained. Pag. 83 The manner how the Law as a covenant comes to be abolished. (1) Christ himself was made under the Law as a covenant of works. (2) He hath fully satisfied all this covenant required of us. (3) He hath brought in a covenant of grace and reconciliation. Pag. 84, 85 Hereby the infinite goodness and wisdom of God is discovered. Pag. 85, 86 CHAP. VIII. Gal. 3.17. To all in Christ the first covenant made subservient to the second. Pag. 86 The Law taken in Scripture two ways. (1) Largely for all the doctrine delivered upon Mount Sinai, with the promises and precepts thereof. And so it is a covenant of grace. (2) Strictly, as setting down an exact rule of righteousness, and promising life upon perfect obedience. And so it is a covenant of works. Pag. 88 Mount Sinai's covenant the same for substance with that made with Adam; but in many circumstances different. Pag. 88, 89 A threefold use of the Law as subservient to the Gospel. (1) It is a glass to discover sin, original, actual. Pag. 90, 91, 92. (2) It's a Judge to condemn it, and therein it advances the ends of the Gospel. Pag. 93, 94, 95, 96 (3) As a bridle to restrain sin. Pag. 96, 97, 98 How the Spirit makes use of the Law for the restraining of sin. Pag. 98, 99 How herein it is an handmaid to the Gospel. Pag. 99, 100, 101, 102 How the Law is subservient to the Gospel as it is a Rule, (1) Within; as an Instrument of Conversion in the hand of the Spirit. 102, 103, 104, 105. (2) Without, to guide and direct men in their way of duty. Pag. 105, 106 Objections against this Answered. Pag. 106, 107, 108 The great End of God in publishing the Law was for the Saints and their good only. Pag. 108, 109 Those that cry down the preaching of the Law guilty of folly. Pag. 109 Ministers must preach the Law as revealed and delivered in the hand of a Mediator. ib. That God hath made the Law a servant to the Gospel, is the greatest ground of Comfort, and the greatest gift of God next unto Christ and the second Covenant. Pag. 110, 111. BOOK II. Of the Covenant of Grace. CHAP. I. The Author and Fountain of this Covenant. Gen. 17.2. THis Covenant was made with four eminent public persons in Scripture; (1) Adam, darkly. (2) Noah. (3) Abraham. (4) David. p. 113, 114 All the three persons in the Trinity do enter into this Covenant, and bind themselves over to the Elect; but yet the person that hath the first and main hand therein is in Scripture said to be God the Father. Pag. 114, 115, 116 God after the fall deals with his People in a covenant-way. Pag. 116 Why God will so deal with them. Pag. 116, 117 The main part of this Covenant is transacted by God without us. Pag. 117, 118, 119 Free Grace the fountain of this Covenant, proved, (1) From the Person first in it; Elshaddai, God Alsufficient. (2) From fallen man under the curse of a Broken Covenant. (3) From its being given to some and not to others. (4) Because herein our Persons are taken into the same Covenant with the Son of God, which is the highest advancement: And our services have reference to a reward. Pag. 119, 120 Christ did not purchase this Covenant, or by entreaty obtain it. Pag. 120 God is willing to be reconciled to sinners. Pag. 123 CHAP II. This Covenant as made primarily with Christ the second Adam. Gal. 3.16. By the Promises in the Text made to Abraham and his seed is meant the whole Covenant of Grace. p. 125 Abraham in this Covenant stands as a public Person, common Root, or Parent unto all the faithful. ib. By Christ the seed is meant Christ personal primarily and principally, and then Christ Mystical. Pag. 126 There is a Covenant made with Christ Personal in respect of his Office as Mediator, which hath the promise of assistance; acceptance; deliverance; justification; success; of a seed; of glory; of victory; of a kingdom; and of Worship; confirmed by Oath to him. Pag. 127 The considering Christ as a Surety implies a Covenant. Pag. 128 God is said to be the God of Christ as he is the Mediator. ib. God will deal with Christ in a way of Covenant, (1) Because he will have Christ propounded to the World as the second Adam. (2) Because he will advance the free Grace of Father and Son. (3) Because he will deal with Christ in a Judicial Way. (4) That the Promise may be sure to all the seed. Pag. 129, 130 This Covenant passed between the Father and Son before the World began. Pag. 130, 131 The terms required in a Covenant applied to God and Christ. Pag. 132, 133, 134 The Difference between a Law and a Covenant. Pag. 131 The Grace of Election gins first in Christ our Head, and descends unto us in him. Pag. 134 The Plot of our Redemption by Christ was laid in a deep counsel between Father and Son from eternity. Pag. 135, 136 By virtue of this Covenant-engagement of Christ unto the Father all the sins of Old Testament Saints were pardoned. ibid. That the covenant of Grace made with the Saints is primarily and principally made with Christ as the Church's head; proved by several Arguments. Pag. 138, 139, 140 Perfect Obedience not required in the Covenant of Grace as the Righteousness thereof. Pag. 139 The Grounds why this covenant must be made with Christ first, and with Saints in him, (1) Because the covenant of Grace is a transcript of the eternal purpose of God in Election, and fully sets forth the way how the ends of Gods electing love should be effected. Pag. 140, 141, 142 (2) Because after the Fall no covenant could be made without a Mediator. Pag. 142, 143 (3) Because in him alone is the Righteousness of the covenant laid up. Pag. 143, 144 (4) Because it makes much to the honour of Christ. ib. (5) Because it exceedingly advances the Grace of the second covenant. ib. (6) Because of the great inconveniences that necessarily follow from the contrary Doctrine. ibid. The covenant is chief seen in the Promises of it. Pag. 147 Saints should observe Gods rich and free Grace in giving Christ as a covenant. Pag. 147, 148 They should admire, honour and exalt Christ thus given as a covenant. Pag. 148, 149, 150 Saints should know their place and station under this covenant, viz. that they come in at second hand, under the grace, favour and acceptance of another. Pag. 150, 151 Those who have an Interest in Christ's covenant must become one with him. Pag. 151, 152 The terms and conditions of this Union are, that you shall receive and accept Christ, and give up yourselves to him. Pag. 153 The will of man is desperately shut against this way. ib. When God brings a man into the bond of this covenant, he puts forth an almighty power upon the will to persuade it. Pag. 154 That it is Christ's covenant is an argument why we should lay hold on it. ib. The glory of this covenant is very great, (1) It gives us an interest in the Trinity. (2) It brings in a Righteousness beyond that of Angels. Pag. 154, 155 The consolations of this second covenant are very glorious. (1) It is a great honour that God hath put upon his people, that they should be conformed to the Image of his Son, and have in their place and degree, the same claim to mercy that Christ hath. (2) It is wonderful comfort to them to stand before God in the Righteousness of Christ; and, (3) To have a share in his Merits. (4) In the better Promises of this covenant. (5) In the Surety of it, who doth not only pay our debt, but perform the duty required of us. (6) This covenant can never fail. (7) Your Acceptation with God is founded hereon. (8) The Saint's glory is Christ's glory. Pag. 155-159 CHAP. III. The Covenant of Grace made with Believers opened and applied. Gen. 17.7. That the Covenant of Grace is made with Believers appears, (1) From the covenant made with the first Adam, (who was a type of the second) which was made with him and all his posterity. (2) We read of a covenant made with persons and people. (3) Men are said to make the covenant and break it. (4) The promises, though they are Yea and Amen in Christ, yet are they properly and formally made unto us. (5) The covenant of grace is a covenant in the hand of a Mediator, and confirmed by the death of the testator. (6) The Sacraments are seals of the covenant of grace. (7) There is a double oath to confirm this covenant, one made to Christ, the other to us. Pag. 160 It was necessary the covenant of grace should be made with the Faithful as well as Christ. (1) To answer the great ends why God will deal with man in a covenant way: as [1] That he may declare his glory in a way of faithfulness. [2] That he may honour his people. [3] That he may bind them to him the more firmly in a way of obedience, and that the obedience may be made more sweet. [4] That his people might exercise faith in their prayers, putting these bonds in suit that God hath made over to them. Pag. 162 (2) That they may see that they are as strictly bound to obedience in their own persons under the second covenant as they were under the first. Pag. 163 (3) That they may stand in awe of the threats of God under the second covenant. Pag. 164 The difference between the covenant made with Christ and with us lies in these things. (1) It was made with Christ primarily as a public person for the Elect, but it is made with every one of us in the second place as we are members of Christ. (2) It is made with Christ immediately and for his own sake; but with us mediately in him. (3) The promise made unto Christ was from everlasting, but the covenant is made with us when we believe. (4) All the promises of the second covenant belong unto Christ as his purchase, and unto us of promise. (5) Christ as to his covenant hath no surety, but we have a surety of ours. ibid. It is the duty of every one to enter into this covenant with the lord (1) If they come not under this covenant they have no interest in God. (2) It is only in this covenant that all the persons have undertaken peculiar offices for the good of men. (3) Otherwise God regards them not, nor any thing they do. (4) This is a matrimonial covenant, and it is a covenant of friendship. (5) God and the soul know not how to live asunder. (6) This covenant is the last that God ever intends to make with mankind. Pag. 165 That we enter into covenant with God it is required, (1) That we hear the words of the covenant, and know aright the terms of it. (2) That we deny ourselves. (3) Bear his yoke. (4) Not shrink at the cross, but take it up. Pag. 168 God requires of all those that enter into covenant with him, that they should make conscience to keep it. Pag. 171 Saints have many promises of the second covenant not accomplished to them in this life, because they walk not exactly according to the rules of this covenant. Pag. 172 A man once in covenant is ever in covenant, (1) Because the love of God that made the covenant is everlasting. (2) Because it is made with the persons of men (3) Because union with Christ puts them into this covenant, and that is indissoluble. (4) Because the righteousness of this covenant is everlasting. (5) Because Christ is the surety of it. (6) Because the everlasting principle of grace in the soul doth always lay hold of and cleave unto the covenant. Pag. 173 Saints are yet to be exhorted not to break the covenant. (1) Because of the falseness of their hearts. (2) Because of the slothfulness and heedlessness of their spirits in whatever is good, though bound by many bonds. (3) Because thereby they may be quickened to seek to God for grace to keep it. (4) Fear those sins which come nearest covenant-breaking. Pag. 174 That Saints may keep covenant, they must (1) Get a true heart. (2) A established and fixed heart. (3) Exercise faith upon the grace of God in this covenant. Pag. 175 Saints being entered into covenant ought to improve their interest in it in all their ways. (1) In reference to themselves. (2) In reference to God. Pag. 177 A fourfold relation is the necessary result of this covenant, hereby Christ becomes, (1) our Father, (2) our Husband, (3) our Friend, (4) our Lord. ibid. Saint's hearts should be always in such a frame as to receive the mercies of the covenant, which consist, (1) In a believing heart relying upon the grace of the covenant notwithstanding seeming impossibilities. (2) In a continual expectation of the promise. And yet (3) A resigning it unto the will of God, whether he will bestow it in this life or no. (4) In desiring mercy no further than it may make them holy. Pag. 179 Saints in this covenant engage themselves, that whatever God bestows in mercy they will return again in duty. Pag. 180 Saints having given up their names to God in this covenant, they ought often to renew it. (1) Because of the unbelief of their spirits. (2) To manifest the sincerity of their hearts. (3) Because of the falseness of their hearts. (4) Because thereby they lay the greater engagement upon them. (5) Because of the forgetfulness of their hearts. (6) Because of their ignorance and blindness. Pag. 184 He that renews covenant must (1) Be deeply sensible of breach of covenant. (2) Resolve to break all other covenants. (3) Consider the terms of the covenant anew. (4) Do it with a free and full consent. (5) Be willing to bind himself in the highest way to obedience thereto. (6) Do it with earnest desire to God for grace to keep it. Pag. 186 The times and seasons of renewing are, (1) After an eminent falling into great sin. (2) In time of public humiliation. (3) Of public reformation. (4) After special deliverance or mercy, as a testimony of thankfulness. (5) When the heart is bend to back-slide. (6) At the Lord's Supper. Pag. 188 The benefits of this renewing covenant are, (1) It is a testimony of the truth of repentance. (2) It's the foundation of consolation. (3) It's a means to establish the heart. (4) It brings mercies. (5) It improves graces. (6) It fortifies against temptations. (7) It strengthens union with Christ. (8) It is a door to communion with God. (9) It keeps from or recovers out of back-sliding. (10) It is the spring of duty and action. Pag. 190 CHAP. IV. The Covenant of Grace is referring to the Seed of the Faithful. Gen. 17.7. The Covenant that God made with Abraham is the same that all the Faithful stand in unto the world's end. Pag. 193 Though in the manner of its administration there is a great deal of difference; yet as to the substance of the covenant, the Confederates are the same, and taken in upon the same grounds. ibid. That the children of believing Parents are taken into the same covenant with them, is a point of great concernment, and ought earnestly to be contended for; because (1) It exceedingly advances the grace of God unto parents, and makes much for their consolation. (2) It is one of the great arguments the Scripture useth to draw men in to believe. (3) It is the only difference God hath put in his word between the children of believers and strangers. (4) It is the only ground believers can have for the salvation of their children that die in their infancy. Pag. 193 Ever since the Fall God hath taken children into the same covenant with their parents. Pag. 195 When parents are cast out of covenant, the children are also. Pag. 196 Children of believing parents are members of the visible Church. ibid. Thence there is a holiness comes upon those children. ibid. God hath made glorious promises to the posterity of the Saints. Pag. 197 That children are so taken in is Gospel, and to be believed as any other part of the covenant. ibid. God will take children into the same covenant with their parents: (1) To show the extent of the grace of the second covenant. (2) Because a great number of the Elect are the children of Saints. (3) To show his peculiar love to their seed. (4) This is the surest ground of a man's judgement in reference to persons. Pag. 200 The parents covenant takes in all their seed. Pag. ●04 The covenant of grace hath two parts, viz. spiritual privileges, and saving graces. Pag. 206 All mankind for the state of their persons are either under the covenant of works, or of grace. Pag. 207 It is a special privilege for parents and children that they are taken into their parent's covenant. Pag. 208 What the federal holiness of children is, shown negatively and positively. Pag. 214 Parents only can give their children a federal right. Pag. 219 Objections against it answered. Pag. 225 None can have a right to the seals of the covenant, but those that are members of the Church. Pag. 226 Right of membership conveyed unto children from immediate parents is a truth the whole Scriptures hold forth. ibid. The right of membership consists not barely in being baptised. Pag. 227 Whether it be converting grace or external profession that gives children this federal right. Pag. 230 The reasons why God will have the covenant run by way of entail as to its outward privileges, and not inward graces. Pag. 234 How far arguments drawn from circumcision can by way of rule determine any of the essentials of baptism. Pag. 236 How far the Jews by being Abraham's seed might pretend right to Evangelic Ordinances? Pag. 238 1. The covenant the same for substance both to Jews and Gentiles. ibid. 2. The covenant under different administrations as to its external ordinances. Pag. 239 3. The Jews and Gentiles on equal terms as to the new administration. ibid. How can children, who cannot restipulate, be taken into covenant with God? ibid. 1. Whether consent be essential to a covenant? ibid. 2. That infants may enter into covenant with God demonstrated. ibid. 3. The consent of the parents is in Gods account accepted for the children's being in a covenant. Pag. 240 Whether it were not better to leave children out of this federal consideration? ibid. 1. Gods command not to be disputed. ibid. 2, 3. To be taken into the parent's covenant a great privilege and dignity to children. ibid. 4, 5. The influences of baptism many and great. ibid. 6. It lays a great obligation on parents and children. ib. 7. Why Christ deferred his baptism so long. ibid. SECT. III. The Covenant-right of Children applied. Pag. (241) Use 1. For information. 1. To show the evils of Antipedobaptism. (1) Hereby is framed such a covenant as God never made. ibid. (2) By this means great injury is done to children. ib. 2. The cruelty of unbelieving parents. ibid. The Church of Rome no true Church. ibid. Use 2. For exhortation. 1. Unto parents to take hold of the covenant for their children. Pag. (241) 2. Unto children, that they would walk worthy of this covenant-relation. ibid. 3. Unto the Churches of Christ, to take care of their members children, that they be brought up in the fear of the Lord. ibid. Use 3. For consolation to the people of God. ibid. BOOK III. The Covenant of Grace, its Nature and Benefits. CHAP. I. THE difference between a Law, Testament, and Covenant. Pag. 241 Gods part of the covenant consists in promises: (1) Because in Scripture covenant and promises signify the same thing. (2) Because a people taken into covenant are thereby entitled to the promises. (3) Because when God performs a promise, he is then said to keep his covenant. (4) The end of the covenant is but to inherit the promises. Pag. 242 A promise is a declaration of God's eternal purpose concerning good things to come, which he engages his faithfulness freely through Christ to bestow upon his people. ibid. The reasons why Gods part of the covenant mainly consists in promises. (1) Because Saint's life here is a life of faith. (2) Promises are great grounds of their hope. (3) Great means of their souls purification. (4) They are the rule of their prayers. Pag. 244 Of God's promises, some are absolute, some conditional. ib. Absolute promises not formally made unto us, but unto Christ. Pag. 245 In them the creature is merely passive. ibid. The state of faith is double, of affiance, of assurance. ibid. The ways of assurance are, (1) By immediate testimony. (2) By man's own graces. ibid. The promises of the first covenant were all conditional, and supposed grace. In the second there are promises of giving grace where there is none. ibid. Absolute promises have their degrees of accomplishment as well as conditional. Pag. 246 Sa●●s should look on the promises as precious, and store their souls with them; stay their sinking souls upon them; and wait for their accomplishment. ibid. The way to attain promises is, (1) To be sensible of the want of them. (2) To get a strong faith. (3) To be much in prayer. (4) Patiently to wait for them. Pag. 247 Grounds to assure the soul of attaining the promise at last. (1) God's faithfulness. (2) The covenant made with Christ confirmed by an oath. (3) The Intercession of Christ. (4) The experience of the Saints. Pag. 249 Signs of the near accomplishment of the promise. (1) When extremity increases. (2) An earnest expectation in the soul, which makes him more earnest for it. (3) When notwithstanding the heart is brought to a holy indifferency to be content with God alone. Pag. 250 The great promises of the covenant on God's part are personal promises. ibid. That there are such promises in which the three Persons in the Godhead are made over to the soul. Pag. 251 These promises import a gracious propriety in the persons which God by covenant makes over to the creature. ibid. The reasons why the second covenant must have personal promises. (1) Because man in his Fall lost all his relation to God. (2) Without this he ca● never be happy. (3) These Promises are the grounds of our Union with all the Persons in the Trinity; Which (4) is the Foundation of all communion. Pag. 251 Adam had not such a personal interest in God as the Saints now have. Pag. 253 To deny any of the Persons in the Trinity is a devilish Doctrine. Pag. 255, etc. Saints should exercise faith upon all the Persons grounded upon these Promises; (1) As all have a special hand in the sinner's Salvation. (2) Gods main intendment in the Gospel, is to glorify the three Persons in the Trinity in believers hearts. Pag. 257 Saints should exercise Love towards all the three Persons. Pag. 258 CHAP. II. The Covenant of Grace makes God to be our God. Two things to be considered in God; His Essence, his Subsistence. Pag. 259 To be a God is a Term of Sufficiency, and Sovereignty. Pag. 260 It notes the manner of fulfilling Promises even as becomes a God. ibid. All mankind that are out of covenant have no interest in God. ibid. When men are in Covenant with God, they change their God. Pag. 261 Three things in the New Covenant give a man Propriety in God. (1) God's gracious and free making over of himself. (2) Union with Christ. (3) A free and voluntary giving up the Soul to him, and consent to perform all acts towards him as God. ibid. Those who are out of Covenant are very miserable. Pag. 261, 262 The baseness and unworthiness of a man's spirit is seen in nothing so much as in taking any thing for a God. ib. It is more to lose God, than all other blessings. ibid. He that hath not the Lord for his God, shall surely have him for his enemy. Pag. 263 Those who have God to be their God are a happy people; for he is a perfect, proper and eternal Good. ib. Interest in God is the ground of all the great things God hath done and will do for his people. ib. A man may know he hath Jehovah for his God, (1) If he hath chosen him for his God. (2) If he hath no other God. (3) If he exercise all those acts of Soul towards him, as becomes a God. Pag. 265 God hath made over all his Attributes unto the ●●ints. Pag. 266 That God should thus do is peculiar to the second covenant. Pag. 268 Under this covenant there is a fuller and more glorious discovery of all God's attributes than under the first. ib. The manner how God makes over all his attributes unto his people. Pag. 269 The end for which God hath in covenant made over all his Attributes unto his people. Pag. 271 The Attributes of God made over to his people, is a glorious Inheritance. 274 When God takes away the Creature from his people, they should retire to him as their portion. Pag. 278 Those that have an interest in the attributes of God should not give place to carnal fear. ibid. The wicked shall never prevail against the Saints, because all the attributes of God are engaged for them. Pag. 280 Saints should exercise Faith in every Attribute. Pag. 281 Such a Privilege should raise an holy greatness of mind in the Saints above all their fear and dangers. Pag. 282 Saints should get a resemblance of every attribute stamped upon their hearts. ib. CHAP. III. The Beatific Vision of God's Essence explicated and applied. All the happiness Saints shall have in glory is nothing else but that which is here made over to them in the Promises. Pag. 283 Saints have a threefold title to Heaven, (1) In its Purchase. (2) In the Promises. (3) In its first-fruits. Pag. 284 The Portion of the Saints lies in the very Essence of God. ibid. God becomes the Happiness of his people by way of Vision. Pag. 286 The Nature and Properties of this Vision. We see God, (1) In all his positive excellencies. (2) Immediately and intuitively. (3) As our own. (4) We see ourselves in God. (5) All things that concern ourselves in God. (6) This Vision shall be everlasting. ibid. Eternal Happiness consists in Vision of God, (1) Because this is the Only way agreeable to the rational Nature. (2) Because the essential part of Glory consists in Contemplation. (3) Because the Understanding is the leading faculty. Pag. 288 The Essence of God in Glory cannot be seen with bodily eyes, proved by Scripture and Reason. Pag. 290 There is an Intellectual Vision of God. ibid. Though Saints shall see God in his Essence, yet they shall not see the Essence of God unto perfection. Pag. 291 The Vision of God's Essence makes the Creature happy. (1) In that thereby there is a full and perfect accomplishment of all the Promises; And (2) of the whole purchase of Christ. (3) Then God shall be all in all. (4) Our Sanctification shall then be perfect. (5) Our Communion shall be perfect; and (6) There shall be fullness of Fruition. Pag. 291 The folly and misery of all who place their happiness in any thing else but God. Pag. 293 Our hearts and thoughts should rise unto this height to seek God for himself, and to be satisfied with nothing else. Pag. 299 CHAP. iv In the Covenant of Grace God makes over all the Persons in the Trinity. When God promises to be the God of his People, he makes over to them in Covenant all the Persons in the Divine Nature, as appears, (1) From their having all given themselves. (2) From the Union a Saint hath with them all. (3) From the distinct communion of the Saints with them all. (4) From the distinct Acts and Offices which they have undertaken for the good of the Saints. (5) When the Saints come to Glory, their communion with all shall be perfected. Pag. 301 The Reasons why all the Persons are so made over, (1) That our Happiness might appear to consist in the vision and fruition of them all. (2) That the Soul may honour them distinctly. (3) That in this life distinct Acts of faith may be exercised upon them all. (4) That we may honour them in our Prayers distinctly. (5) That we may have a distinct fellowship and communion with them all. (6) That we may draw Arguments unto Duty and against Sin from them all. Pag. 304 God the Father makes over himself in covenant unto the Saints as he is the Father; with which Relation they are greatly affected. Pag. 306 The Actions that the Father hath undertaken in this Covenant are some before time, and some after. Pag. 309 Those before time are, (1) A purpose to glorify himself in the Son. (2) To glorify the Son in the Saints, that he might make him the Head both of Angels and men. (3) To glorify the Elect which he chose to himself out of both. (4) The Father made motion to Christ. (5) He proposed it to him by way of a covevenant. In which (6) He appointed what glory Christ should have, and what the Saints. (7) He appointed the souls he should save. (8) And what degrees of grace and glory they should have here and hereafter. ibid. Those acts that take place in time are 1. Such as concern Christ, as (1) That in the fullness of time he should be sent into the world. (2) He commands him to undertake the actual administration of all things. (3) He prepared the nature Christ was to assume. (4) He filled it with all habitual grace. (5) Then he sent him into the world, and owned him to be his Son. (6) He appointed how long he should live in the world. (7) He becomes his Executioner. (8) Being satisfied by his Sacrifice he raises him from the dead. (9) He exalts him above Principalities and Powers. (10) Gives him the fullness of the Spirit. (11) Puts him into actual administration of his government as he is man. Pag. 311 2. They are such acts as more immediately respect the Saints. As (1) Vocation. (2) Reconciliation. (3) Justification. (4) Adoption. (5) Acceptation with God. (6) Communion with him. Pag. 315 The Father having made over himself in covenant to his people, they have an interest in all the relations of the Father to Christ. (1) He is their Father. (2) He loves them as children. (3) He acquaints them with his secrets. (4) He delights in them. (5) Holds communion with them. (6) Hears their prayers. (7) Gives them an inheritance. (8) When they die they go to the Father. Pag. 317 As the Father is Christ's King and Lord, so he is the Saints. (1) He gives them a Law. (2) Carries them through their service. (3) Destroys their enemies. (4) Receives their accounts. (5) Rewards them. Pag. 321 As the Father stands unto Christ in the relation of a friend or companion, so he doth to the Saints. Pag. 323 As Christ is the true Vine, so the Father is the Husbandman. Pag. 324 The visible Church is in Scripture compared to four trees. (1) To an Olive-tree. (2) To a Palmtree. (3) To a Cedar. (4) To a Vine. Pag. 325 The Church is compared to a Vine, (1) For its excellency. (2) Spreading nature. (3) Fruitfulness. (4) Want of continual husbandry. ibid. God the Father is said to be the husbandman, (1) Because he plants the Vine. (2) Fences it. (3) Hires labourers. (4) Waters it. (5) Prunes it. (6) Purges the fruitful branches, that they may bring forth more fruit. Pag. 326 As the Father is the fountain of the life of Christ, so in him he is the fountain of spiritual life unto his Saints. Pag. 328 Joh. 6.57. largely explained. ibid. Whoever hath an interest in one Person of the Trinity hath at the same time an interest in them all. Pag. 331 Yet there is a distinct interest in them all to be attained. Pag. 332 The high advancement of the creature lies in union with the Persons. Pag. 333 There is more in union with the Persons than in all other benefits whatever. ibid. It is our title unto the Person, that gives us a title unto all the benefits. ibid. If there is such an interest in the Persons, every man should examine himself whether he hath that interest. Pag. 334 The way of getting this interest is by closing with the Son. Pag. 335 If a man be entitled to the Persons, there will be the drawing out of his heart towards each Person. ibid. There will never be a fullness of assurance till the Persons that have given an interest in themselves, do also witness their interest. Pag. 336 We are to exercise faith upon all the Persons thus made over under the second covenant. ibid. The objects of saith that the soul is to take in in each of the Persons, are (1) The Persons themselves, we are to believe the record of them all. (2) The soul is to rest upon all the promises that in Scripture are made concerning these Persons. (3) Faith is to rest upon the love of them all. (4) Also upon the appropriated acts of each Person, and rely upon them for the performance of them. (5) Faith should expect all the Attributes of God to be distinctly exercised by all the Persons. (6) Also it should distinctly close with them all in their witnessing. ibid. The acts of faith that are distinctly to be put sort upon them all, are (1) A fiducial knowledge that the Persons are made over to us. (2) A casting of ourselves by distinct thought upon each of these Persons. (3) A drawing virtue from all the objects of faith. (4) A resignation of the soul to God. (5) An exercising distinct acts of communion with all the Persons. Pag. 339 That there is a distinct communion with all the Persons proved. Pag. 340 This communion doth consist, (1) In the love one of another. (2) In acting one for another. (3) In visitations. (4) In imparting of counsels. (5) In mutual delights in their interest one in another. (6) In calling upon one another for further fellowship and communion. ibid. Arguments to stir up hereunto. (1) This is the great end of the covenant of grace. (2) All Christ hath done and suffered was a preparation hereunto. (3) There is sweetness in fellowship. (4) All mercies are obtained by it. Pag. 342 CHAP. V God in the Covenant of Grace makes over himself in his Alsufficiency. That there is enough in the Alsufficiency of God to supply all a man's wants in this life and in the life to come, proved at large. Pag. 344 That the Alsufficiency of God is by covenant made over unto the Saints proved, (1) By promises. (2) By instances. Pag. 347 The grounds and reasons of it are, (1) His own love. (2) The insufficiency of all things else. (3) Because God would have the happiness of the creature to concentre in him alone. (4) Because he will have the creature perfect with him. (5) To make up the banks against the greatest temptation that ordinarily befalls men. (6) To make the soul fear to lose God above all things; because its alsufficiency is in him. (7) That the creatures may thereby be kept in their own place. (8) That the soul may hereby live on God immediately. Pag. 349 The Alsufficiency of God belongs unto none but his own covenant-people. Pag. 353 The reasons why God suffers his own people to be in as great wants as other men are: (1) That their alsufficiency may be in him alone, and that they may trust perfectly in him. (2) That they may be made partakers of the sufferings of Christ. (3) That God may be alsufficient to them in the loss of all things and want of all things. (4) Because it is very sweet to God when we follow him through a wilderness. (5) Gods great glory is to manifest his Attributes in their sufferings. (6) As our supplies come from God, so there is a special token of love and interest discovered in his sufficiency, that is sweeter than the mercy itself. Pag. 354 Though wicked men may have great sufficiency in outward things, yet (1) It is not from their interest in his alsufficiency. (2) It is their portion. (3) It is given as a snare to themselves and others. Pag. 356 Those are justly reprovable that claim an interest by covenant in God, and yet expect a sufficiency in the creature. (1) Hereby they dishonour God. (2) Themselves. (3) The creature to whom they fly for sufficiency can do neither good nor evil. (4) The creature cannot reach unto the best in man, his soul. (5) The creatures have no good in them but what is borrowed. (6) Retiring to creatures in straits causes God to leave them. Pag. 358 Those that place any sufficiency in themselves are also justly reprovable. Pag. 361 There is a twofold sufficiency the heart is apt to go out unto. (1) In respect of gifts and inward abilities either acquired or infused. (2) In respect of grace received. ibid. The evil of a selfsufficiency in respect of gifts. (1) They are another's, and not our own. (2) They are given to wicked men. (3) It is to serve Satan in the highest way that can be. (4) These gifts cannot be exercised without Divine aid. (5) Nor made successful. (6) It will provoke God to take them away. ibid. In respect of grace received. (1) It is quite contrary to the nature of grace. (2) No man can act his own grace. (3) Grace is but a creature. (4) It makes grace an Idol. Pag. 363 There is a great proneness in the best to place their sufficiency in grace received, both as to matter of strength and comfort. Pag. 364 The great policy of Satan therein. Pag. 365 To take Saints off from a dependence upon their own graces, they should consider, (1) That though grace be the best of all the creatures, yet it is but a creature, and therefore defectible and subject to decay. (2) It is contrary to the very nature of grace to be made the ground of a man's dependence; because grace in its own nature is properly to be dependent upon another. (3) No man is able to act the grace he hath received without a continual influence from Christ. (4) All the grace a man hath cannot free him from temptations, nor secure him from falling into great sins. (5) This will certainly provoke God against his grace, so as to let it decay. (6) The more immediate supplies of grace are, the sweeter they are. ibid. All that have chosen the Lord for their God should be content with him alone, though they have nothing else. Pag. 368 This contentment of soul consists, (1) In laying up all in God. (2) In not running out after other things in an anxious and solicitous way. (3) In only fearing the loss of God. (4) In not being much troubled with the loss of other things. (5) In not envying the prosperity of the wicked. (6) In rejoicing in God. (7) In making their boast of God. Pag. 368 Those are in a happy condition that have an interest in the Alsufficiency of God. (1) It is the highest way of honouring God that can be in this life. (2) This makes a man set light by the scorns and derisions of the world. (3) This gives the soul in all its straits and necessities a city of refuge. (4) This will guard the heart from going out unto any thing else whatsoever. Pag. 371 Their happiness by reason of their interest in God's alsufficiency consists, (1) In a supply of all their wants. (2) In enabling them for all their work. (3) In disburdening their souls of all their troublesome afflictions. (4) In fulfilling all their desires. Pag. 373 They that have an interest in the alsufficiency of God, (1) Have an interest in Christ. (2) They choose this for their portion to place their happiness in. (3) They honour and exalt that Attribute in their hearts. (4) They will be raised up in their souls to an holy selfsufficiency. Pag. 375 Those that have this interest in God's alsufficiency should walk before God, and be upright. Pag. 377 CHAP. VI The Sovereignty of God made over to the Saints in the new Covenant. The Sovereignty of God is, that absolute and universal Authority which he hath over all things, as being the works of his own hands. Pag. 378 This Sovereignty is, (1) Universal, (2) Supreme, (3) Absolute. Pag. 379 This Sovereignty of God is, during this world, committed into the hand of Christ as Mediator. And is (1) Spiritual, (2) Providential. Pag. 381 The government of all things in his Kingdom is exercised by him in the behalf of the Saints, and so they have a right to the Sovereignty of God, and it is made over to them. Pag. 385 The Sovereignty of God in reference to the spiritual Kingdom which is either in grace or glory, is made over to the Saints. Pag. 386 The subjects of this spiritual Kingdom are only those that live in the Church and belong unto it. Pag. 387 Christ hath a spiritual Kingdom in the souls of the Saints. Pag. 388 This spiritual Kingdom consists in a Throne that Christ sets up in the conscience, which doth order and command the whole man, and that in the Name and by the Authority of God. ibid. This rule and dominion Christ only hath in the hearts of the Saints. Pag. 389 Christ hath the rule and government over the spirits of those that are under the spiritual Kingdom by profession only. Pag. 391 This government Christ by his spirit doth exercise towards them and over them for the good of his Saints. (1) Their graces are ruled by Christ for the Saints. (2) Their gifts. (3) Their services. (4) Their sins. (5) Their judgements. Pag. 392 There belong unto this spiritual Kingdom reductively all the works and the dispensations of God amongst the creatures. (1) They tend to perfect the graces of the Saints. (2) They belong unto the privileges of the Saints. Pag. 395 Christ the Mediator in this spiritual Kingdom doth also rule and order the Angels that they have an influence, and do conduce to the advancement of this spiritual Kingdom. Pag. 398 Angels on earth, the Ministers and Messengers of God, conduce to its advancement. (1) By the gifts and abilities, which Christ gives them for the good of the Saints. (2) By suitable affections and dispositions of heart towards them. (3) By performing the work Christ appoints them. (4) Christ overrules and orders their ministry for the good of his people. (5) Gives efficacy and success to their labours. (6) Their sufferings are for the Church's sake and good. ibid. Christ also uses the Angels in Heaven for the advancement of this spiritual Kingdom. (1) They pray for us. (2) Join with us in our praises. (3) Instruct us ●n the things of God. (4) Watch over us to keep us from sin. (5) Comfort and cheer us in dejections. (6) At death carry our souls into Abraham's bosom. Pag. 401 The Saints have an interest in Christ's providential Kingdom. Pag. 402 There is a special Providence over them above all the rest of the creation. (1) In overruling all things for their good, that nothing shall do them hurt. (2) Every thing shall act for their preservation. ibid. The greatest things in the world are not above the Providence of God, nor the smallest below it. Pag. 403 The Providence of God hath two parts. (1) He upholds the creatures in their beings. (2) He order their actions. ibid. The Providence of God is either, (1) What he doth immediately by an extraordinary providence; or (2) In an ordinary way by second causes. ibid. The Providence of God is either seen, (1) In things which have a necessary dependence upon their causes; or (2) In things that fall out, so that we can give no reason of them. Pag. 404 Providence is either about good or evil. ibid. The Providence of God about the greatest things for the good of the Saints. (1) His government over the Angels. (2) Over men in all the changes of the world. ibid. The good Angels are for the good of the Saints. (1) They secretly suggest things to the hearts and wills of men. (2) They fight against their enemies. (3) Execute vengeance upon them. (4) Overrule the creatures for their good beyond their nature. (5) Guide them in their way, and succeed their undertake. 6) Compass the earth for their sakes. Pag. 405 The Providence of God governs evil Angels for the good of the Saints. (1) They shall not tempt them more than is for their good. (2) Nor further than shall be for subduing corruption. (3) Their temptations serve to improve their graces. (4) And giving the Saints experience of the power of Christ. (5) And the benefit of his Intercession. (6) And of the power of their own prayers. (7) Their temptations shall quicken them to wisdom and watchfulness. (8) And tend to the greater increase of their glory. Pag. 406 The Providence of God as it respects men, is for the good of the Saints. Pag. 409 Providence orders all things in reference to their own spiritual good: (1) For conversion. (2) Instruction. (3) Deliverance out of danger. (4) Preservance when there is no visible support. (5) Consolation. (6) When lusts are high, and temptations impetuous. Pag. 410 There is a special Providence over godly men for the good of others that are good in present and after-generations. (1) In improving their parts. (2) In drawing out their graces. (3) In their sufferings. (4) Labours. (5) Examples. (6) Prayers. (7) Faith. Pag. 411 The Providence of God overrules all things for the good of the Saints in reference to evil men. (1) They have a being in the world and a standing in the Church for the Saints good. (2) God stirs up the spirits of wicked Magistrates for the good of the Saints. (3) He stirs up the spirits of wicked men to stand for a good cause, and to assist the Saints. (4) He doth them good by their persecutions. (5) By their sins. (6) Their desertions. (7) Their restraints. Pag. 414 The Providence of God is also concerned in the smallest things for the good of the Saints. Pag. 417 Whatever the Lord doth by means, he can work immediately by his own hand without means. Pag. 420 In the means he uses there is an immediate concurrence of his own Power to the producing the effect. Pag. 421 God doth sometimes delight to work without means, by his own immediate hand. ibid. This immediate acting of Providence is wholly for the good of his people. Pag. 422 Gods immediate promise or ordering things in the use of means, is for the good of his people. (1) He appoints the means. (2) He blesses the means. (3) He raises up means unexpectedly. (4) Most unlikely. Pag. 425 The Providence of God order all things that work from a necessity of nature for the good of his people. (1) The Sun. (2) The Stars. (3) Rain. (4) The Earth. (5) The Seas. (6) The Winds. Pag. 427 All casual providences are for the good of the Saints, as dreams, lots, ordering the wills and affections of men, the fall of a house, etc. Pag. 428 The Providence of God doth order all good things for the spiritual good of his people. (1) Their calling. (2) Their habitation. (3) Opportunities to exercise grace. (4) Society. (5) Preservation in service, dismission from it. (6) Posterity. Pag. 429 The Providence of God order all evil things, either of sin or punishment, for the good of his people. Pag. 432 The Providence of God order the sins of the Saints themselves for their good: and that (1) In respect of the being of sin. (2) Rising of sin. (3) Actings of sin. (4) Raging of sin. ibid. In respect of the being of sin in them, that thereby, (1) He may exalt the grace of Justification to them. (2) That there may be a continual conflict in them. (3) That they may be kept humble. (4) Be exercised in prayer and repentance daily. (5) That the patient and forbearance of God may be more exalted. (6) To show how great a grace the gift of perseverance is. (7) To keep them in a continual longing for glory. Pag. 433 In respect of the rising of sin in them. (1) That all lusts break not forth continually. (2) When lust doth not rise when the object is present. (3) To show them, such a sin is in their nature, which they either never considered, or repent not of. (4) To make them hate sin more. (5) To awaken them. (6) To be matter of continual repentance. Pag. 435 In respect of the actings of sin. (1) That they may see the power and tendency of sin. (2) That if they be deserted of God they shall be drawn into all kinds and degrees of sin. (3) That they may see how weak all means are against it. (4) That they may fear to be delivered up unto the power of Satan. (5) That they may exercise repentance of all kinds. (6) That they may be willing to die. Pag. 437 In respect of the rising of sin. This tends (1) To a new conversion in them. (2) To discover the strength of sin, the power of temptation, and of Christ's Intercession. (3) To bring them to confession. (4) To make them diffident of their own strength. (5) To make them walk, in fear ever after. (6) To fit them for service. (7) To be matter of humiliation to them all their days. (8) To put them upon the greater mortification of sin. (9) To make them more tender towards others. (10) To be an argument for their consolation. Pag. 439 The Providence of God order the sins of other men also for the good of his people. In general (1) Hereby they may read what they were. (2) What they are delivered from. (3) Hereby they are admonished what they are in their own nature, if God leave them to themselves. (4) And be minded of the ends sin brings men to, to fear them. (5) And put them upon many duties towards them which will turn to their account. Pag. 442 In particular the Saints are gainers by the plots of wicked men; by their counsels, by their attempts against them, and by their executions. Pag. 443 TABLE Of SCRIPTURES more distinctly explicated. Genesis. Ch. Verse. Pag. 2. 17 14 3. 15 195 3. 20 198 3. 22 23 4. 1 199 4. 7 18 4. 14 205, 208 4. 25 199 5. 24 378 6. 5 434 8. 21 ibid. 9 9 198 9 27 199, 208, 210 11. 17 4 12. 2 194 17. 1 343, 377, 378 17. 2. 113 17. 7, 8 160, 260 21. 12 205 45. 5, 6, 7 432 50. 20 ibid. Exodus. 19 5 217 24. 7, 10 283 38. 8 epist. p. 2 Numbers. 7. 7, 8, 9 169 14. 24 378 Deuteronomy. 4. 23 185 4. 27 176 4. 51 194 5. 2, 3 184 5. 5 87 6. 7 185 29. 14, 15 202 29. 19 57 Joshua. 24. 22, 23 376 Judges. 2. 1 398 5. 20 427 2 Samuel. 23. 5 156 2 Chronicles. 13. 5 182 30. 8 161 Job. 1. 6 407 29. 4 17 38. 31 427 Psalms. 12. 6 163 25. 14 186 44. 17, 18 192 50. 5. 190 63. 8 192 74. 20 183 76. 10 393 83. 3 402 84. 11 347 87. 4, 5 235 91. 3 407 110. 3 388 110. 7 172 144. 15 253 Proverbs. 6. 14 443 8. 22, 23 135, 310 11. 16 epist. p. 1. 17. 16 430 18. 10 373 21. 16 7 Ecclesiastes. 1. 15 444 5. 6 398 Canticles. 6. 3 188 6. 8 392 Esaias. 4. 5 422 9 6 235 10. 6, 7 432 10. 24 404 17.. 1 343 28. 15 187 35. 6 424 38. 14 188 42. 6 424 49. 1, 2 128 50. 5 188 57 6 297 60. 20 347 Jeremy. 9 25 207 11. 16 210 14. 22 372 17. 1 18 18. 18 443 31. 14 346 33. 20 418 35. 6, 7 178 Ezekiel. 1. 12, 20 383 48. 35 218 Daniel. 4. 17 380 7. 2, 3 210 9 24 329 9 26 348 9 27 165, 239 Hosea. 1. 7 212 2, 14 356 2. 21, 22 425 6. 7 176 8. 14 59 10. 12 175 11. 14 237 13. 8 97 14. 4 348 14. 5, 6, 7 347 Joel. 2. 7 379 2. 23 355 2. 25 417 Micah. 5. 2 135 5. 7 422 7. 20 125 Habakkuk. 2. 4 329 3. 2 330 3. 9 420 Zephany. 2. 4 322 Zachary. 1. 17 188 2. 5 369 3. 1, 2 408 4. 2, 3 353, 422 4. 7 424 5. 6, 8 39 6. 8 136 11. 10 163 13. 7 323 Malachy. 2. 3 182 2. 13, 15, 16 11 3. 3 316 Matthew. 3. 16 128 6. 22, 23 350 7. 14, 15 192 8. 11 234, 241 10. 29, 30 417 11. 29 169 13. 24, 25 415 13. 29 ibid. 13. 52 399 16. 19 202, 222 22. 1 321 22. 14 234 22. 32 358 26. 74 188 28. 18 383 Mark. 10. 13 201 11. 13 279 14. 71 539 Luke. 13. 32 431, 446 15. 21 378 16. 13 192 16. 22 234 17. 20, 21 388 18. 16 201 19 9 198 21. 9 212 21. 18 417 22. 31 188, 192 22. 32 439 John. 1. 1 410 1. 2 134 5. 22 382 5. 23 418 5. 26 330 6. 27 136 6. 44 314 15. 1 324 17. 2 385 20. 17 375 Acts. 2. 38 194 13. 10 438 Romans. 3. 1 206 5. 3 396 5. 13 93 6. 14 37, 38, 45 7. 7 91 7. 9 93, 329 7. 24 62 8. 28 395 9 2, 3 196 9 4 217, 234 9 31 25 10. 3 ibid. 11. 16 196, 234, 238 11. 17 210, 325 11. 24 62 14. 17 388 15. 8, 9 162 1 Corinthians. 4. 8 358 5. 12, 13 205 6. 17 192 7. 14 196, 213, 214, 220, 224 11. 3 321 12. 4, 5, 6 218 13. 12 290 15. 24 398 15. 28 323 15. 56 39 2 Corinthians. 2. 14 333 6. 10. 373 Galatians. 3. 16 124, 126 3. 17, 18, 19 86, 108 4. 21 22, 121 5. 18 50 Ephesians. 1. 4, 5 134 4. 14, 15 400 5. 15 378 5. 31 192 Philippians. 1. 8 399 1. 19 366 2. 20 399 3. 9 26, 240 4. 7 373 Colossians. 1. 13 61, 381 2. 8 257 2. 14 83 2. 19 327 1 Timothy. 1. 9 52 2 Timothy. 2. 26 406 Hebrews. 2. 1, 2 185 2. 5 235 2. 7, 8 387 6. 7 213 8. 6 158 10. 22 362 10. 38 329 10. 39 371 12. 22 340 James. 1. 15 435 1. 22 334 1. 24 53, 54, 90 3. 15 445 1 Peter. 1. 7 375 2. 9 377 3. 21 190 2 Peter. 1. 4 246 1. 5 332 1. 20 425 1 John. 5. 6, 7 338 5. 11 328 5. 19 406 Revelations. 2. 1 389 2. 17 424 3. 21 330 4. 5 391 7. 3, 4 210 12. 11 186 13. 8 164 13. 17 217 14. 1 323 16. 1 413 19 14 322 20. 1 255 21. 3 218 21. 6 255 21. 12, 16 373 22. 15 233 ERRATA. PAg. 33. lin. 11. after made known read have no cause to complain, because they are left under that Covenant they desire to be, p. 41. l. 23. ior mercy r. death, p. 49. l. 10. deal the last sin, p. 52. l. 41. r. 1 Tim. 1. ●. p. 54. l. 47, 48. deal the property of an unregenerate man is to justify God, p. 55. l. 23. deal the first and, p. 56. l. 25. for there r. that. Item l. 41. r. lime, that which doth quench other fires sometimes kindles this, p. 59 marg. r. Use 4. p. 61. l. 59 r. 1 Cor. 15.56. p. 61, etc. Title r. scriptural, p. 62. l. 57 r. is passed, p. 65. l. 29. r. Dominion only, p. 78. l. 10. from the bottom r. for public politic. Ib. l. 9 from the bottom deal the second hereditary, p. 97. l. 8, 9 deal Hos. 13.8. I will meet them as a bear bereft of her whelps, etc. Item v. 10. deal etc. p. 100 l. 5. r. Diabolus, p. 101. l. 36. for unchangeable r. unblamable, p. 118. l. 55. r. nolentibus, p. 149. l. 22. for Son r. Sun. Item l. 40. for work r. make, p. 165. l. 4. r. enter into Covenant, p. 168. l. 10. r. last way to salv. p. 170. l. 34. for utterly r. entirely, p. 174. l. 13. r. as he paid the debt, p. 176. l. 34. for ways r. days, p. 177. l. 31. r. I am not at. Item l. 56. for curse r. Covenant, p. 184. l. 24. r. that curse is the, etc. p. 242. l. 5. deal three, p. 247. l. 58. r. Smalcaldian war, p. 302. l. 53. for right r. light, p. 303. l. 57 deal §. 2. p. 317. Sect. 3. Title r. to Christ, p. 329. l. 57 r. than any creature, p. 331. l. 14. r. live himself, p. 332. l. 11. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 338. l. 57 r. is in the recumbency, p. 339. l. 60. for 5. r. §. 4. p. 340. l. 20. deal §. 4. p. 346. l. 51. r. as she said, p. 349. l. 25. r. they and their fathers, p. 350. l. 20. r. incommutabili ad commutabile, p. 365. l. 39 r. specious Idol, p. 385. l. 29. deal 1. Item l. 58. r. is put, p. 388. l. 14. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, p. 389. l. 23. r. Divine Law, p. 412. l. 5. r. Papista, p. 417. l. 19 for three r. four, p. 418. l. 54. r. the people of God see God. A DISCOURSE OF THE Two Covenants, etc. BOOK I. Of the Covenant of Works. CHAP. I. The Curse of the first Covenant. Gen. II. 17. For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, etc. SECT. I. The Explication of the Text. §. 1. IN the Covenant God made with Adam there was a Life promised, of which the Tree of Life was a Seal; and there was a Death threatened, which was sealed by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the threatening, Thou shalt die, the Promise is implied, This do and thou shalt live; and therefore the one is called the Sacrament of Life, and the other the Sacrament of Death. And this was a Covenant not made with Adam as a particular person, but as a Representative, from whom all Mankind were to descend by Natural Generation; and therefore God did make a Covenant with Man in his Head. But the Covenant God made with the Angels was Personal, because they were created all at once; and they were not to have their Being by descent one after another. Hence it is that in Adam all sin, and in Adam all die; Rom. 5.12. 1 Cor. 15.12. Act. 17.26. because God did intent to make of one blood all Nations: Now the Covenant being made with Adam in the behalf of his Posterity; and he breaking it, brings himself and all his Posterity under the guilt of Sin, and under the power of Death, which is the curse of the Covenant. So that the Covenant of Works did not cease by the fall; Ephes. 2.1. but it stands still in force unto all those that are as yet in the first Adam. 1. This will clearly appear if we consider, that God dealt with man in a Covenant-way in his Creation. Man stands bound to God by a double bond of Creation and stipulation; the one is natural and necessary, and the other voluntary. Thus God binds the Creature to himself by all imaginable engagements, to prevent future Apostasy. By the one we are bound to God, and by the other God is bound to us. God as a Creator has absolute Sovereignty, but yet that man might not think much to yield obedience, God is pleased to engage himself to a recompense. The Covenant God made is double according to the twofold state of Man. (1) In his state of Integrity. And this was faedus amicitiae, a Covenant of friendship between persons never at variance: (2) In his state of Corruption. When man by sin had broken the first, and brought himself under the Curse thereof, then God brought in the Covenant of reconciliation, and that was faedus misericordiae, that is, a Covenant of mercy. And these Covenants were made with two representative heads, the first and the second Adam, for in them the Lord looks upon all mankind; and it is a man's being in either of these that brings him under either Covenant: for God will deal with men both in a way of Sin and Righteousness, by way of imputation; and the ground of all imputation is union. In the first Adam all sin, and all die; because by their union they stand under his Covenant; so in the second. Adam we are made the Righteousness of God in him. We are in him, therefore we are righteous in him; we live in the Lord, and die in the Lord; and hence it is that to all those who are in the first Adam, the first Covenant stands in force to this day; for Adam was a public person, a head that represented all Mankind. The Commandment belonged to the Nature; the Tree of Life was not a personal Sacrament, but given to the Nature; and the curse of the Covenant doth not seize upon Adam's person, but the nature of man in him, Gal. 3.10. And the duty of the Covenant must be as large as the curse of the Covenant, and so large must the Covenant itself be. Now the curse comes upon all Mankind, therefore to them the duty did belong, and they are federates in this Covenant; all that are the Sons of the first Adam are all under Adam's Covenant. And this will appear from the conveyance of Adam's sin in the guilt of it, Rom. 5.12, for upon whom the curse is inflicted, unto them the sin is imputed; death came in by sin. But how is it that they die who never sinned? Though they never sinned in their own persons, yet in their head they sinned. Men are in Adam two ways, Legally and Naturally; now seeing his sin is imputed to us, because we stood under the same Covenant, than so long as a man stands guilty of Adam's sin (which he does till he be engrafted into Christ) so long he is under Adam's Covenant. 2. Every man that is under the curse, is under that Covenant that inflicts the curse: but all Mankind by nature are under the curse; therefore the curse is the curse of the first Covenant; Joh. 3. ult. and the Gospel does not make men miserable but leaves them so. He that believes not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him; that is, only by accident, as the mercy of it is contemned; so indeed it heightens the sin, and aggravates the condemnation: but the curse is properly the curse of the first Covenant, the Gospel in itself speaks nothing but blessing. As a Physician that is sent to cure a man, if through the malignity of the Disease, and the frowardness of the Patient he cast away the Potion, the Balm that would cure him, he dies of the Disease, not of the Physic. Christ came voluntarily under a Covenant of Works, Gal. 4.4. and submitted to all the obedience of it; and he was made a curse for us; that is, in our stead, to redeem us that were under the Law. It cannot be meant of the Ceremonial Law, for that the Galatians were never under; and it cannot be meant of the Law as a rule for direction, and as a bridle for restraint: therefore it must be meant with respect to the Law in some way as a Covenant; not as a Covenant of Grace, therefore as a Covenant of Works. 3. To be freed from the Law as a Covenant is a special fruit that the Saints have by Christ and by his Death, Gal. 3.13, He delivers us from the curse of the Law: now a man can never be freed from it as a curse, that is not freed from it as a Covenant; we are not under the Law condemning, but under Grace pardoning, justifying and accepting; or else (as Beza and others have it) under the Law irritating, (as the dam makes the waters swell the higher) but under Grace, not only pardoning and justifying, but healing and sanctifying. And this follows upon the Law as a Covenant broken; and if this be a special privilege, that men have by being in Christ, than they that are out of Christ are under the Law as a Covenant still; for Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness. The righteousness that the Law requires is to be found in Christ alone; therefore Moses Law was to be laid up in the Ark: Christ came not to abolish the Law, but by his obedience to fulfil it, and establish it. 4. From the dealing of God with all men answerable to the Covenant under which they stand; and his different dealing with them shows their different Covenants: (1) He exacts perfect and personal obedience in their own persons. There is indeed in the Gospel commutatio personae, a commutation of the person; but non Justitiae, not of the righteousness: but no unregenerate man can attain to this; his Covenant admits no Mediator. So that Christ's obedience goes not to perfect his, Ephes. 2.12, Without Christ, etc. (2) He rejects their best works for the least failing, Isa. 1.11, 12. but under the Covenant of Grace, if there be but a willing mind it's accepted, 2 Cor. 8.12. 2 Chron. 30.18, 19 (3) He hates the persons for the works sake, Gen. 4.7. Gal. 3.10. but under the New Covenant he loves the service for the persons sake. He had respect to Abel and his offering; the weakness of the service did not cause the person to be rejected: He never hates their persons when he is angry with their works, but he deals with unregenerate men under another Covenant. (4) All things are turned into a curse; for this Covenant being broken, speaks nothing but curse, as we shall see when we come to speak to the Sanction, or the appendix, that which is added unto the Covenant to enforce obedience, which is but accidental in case of disobedience, and that is, in the day thou eatest thereof dying thou shalt die. §. 2. But before we speak to this particular, let us note these things by the way: (1.) Why doth God add this threatening unto Adam? surely it was that he might by it be deterred from sin, and kept in obedience to the Covenant. All the threaten in the Word since the Fall, are but conditional; which argues, that it is to no other end but that they might be avoided and prevented. He tells us the danger before that we may escape. God under the first Covenant willed that Adam should have continued in his obedience, and avoided the curse of it: and the Lord to manifest he neglected no means to this end, created in him a holy nature, gave him a righteous and an easy Law, made a glorious promise to his obedience, added a fearful threatening upon his disobedience; therefore God did not will the death of a sinner. And we may say with the Scripture, He doth not afflict willingly the children of men; Lam. 3.33. but as Tertullian says of the earnest prayers of God's people, so I may say of importunity in sinning, Coelum tundimus, We assault Heaven; he says, Misericordiam, I put it vindictam extorquemus; We extort vengeance. (2) But God had decreed the fall of Adam, and that this curse should come, and it could not have been against his will: how can it be said then that God willed his obedience and continuance therein? There is good ground for a double will of God, which the Scripture speaks of, a will of complacence, and a will of efficacy: approbationis & effectionis, a will of approbation and of effection: the one is a general and a conditional will, manifested to the Creature, whereby the Lord approves and rewards obedience and perseverance therein in all persons whomsoever. And this is his revealed will, without determining any thing of particular persons in whom he will work this obedience. But the other is a secret will toward that particular person in whom he will work this obedience, and to whom he will give grace to continue in it. God did in his revealed will manifest to Adam, what he did require of him, what he delighted in, and what he would reward him for; but he did not tell him that he would give him grace and a supernatural assistance to cause him to continue in obedience; but he left him to the mutability of his own will, and in the hand of his own Counsel. God wills, that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Tim. 2 4. God wills that all men should believe, but he will not work faith in all men; He wills that all men should be saved, but he will not bring all men to Salvation; he wills the one voluntate approbante, by a will of approbation; but the other decernente, by a decreeing will: So Davenant his answer to God's love to Mankind, pag. 220. (3) Threaten and Promises are of great necessity and use, even to a creature in the state of Innocency: with whomsoever God will deal in a Covenant-way, even the purest Creatures may and aught to make use of them, and to fear to offend God, because of his wrath; for even, our God is a consuming fire. Now of what use could this have been to Adam in innocency, having no sense or fear of sin or suffering? but more of this afterwards. (4) Even the Creature in the state of innocency has nothing in it to satisfy the Holiness of God; he gives a command and adds a promise; but as if the Lord were jealous of him he adds a threatening to keep him in obedience: and so he did with the Angels, he put no trust in them, he charges even them with folly, Job 4.18. though not with actual, yet with possible folly. The best Creatures as Creatures are changeable; therefore the Holiness of God can never take full contentment and satisfaction in any thing but in Christ, who is by the personal union impeccable. (5) How comes it to pass that this Tree proved so hurtful to man? That totum genus humanum per infinitam successionem perdiderit; It destroyed all mankind throughout such an infinite succession. Luther proposes the question, and says, the cause was not in the fruit, for fructus protulit nobilissimos, it produced most excellent fruit; but the ground was in the Word of God, and his prohibition: Arbour vitae vivificat virtute verbi promittentis, arbour scientiae occidit virtute verbi prohibentis; the tree of life vivifies by virtue of the word promising, and the tree of knowledge kills by virtue of the word prohibiting. It's the Word of God that is the cause of life and death to the Creature; God exalts his. Word above the best of the Creatures, and it is dearer to him than Adam was in Innocency, or the Angels; he has exalted it above all his Name: Heaven and Earth shall pass away rather than a tittle of it, and therefore he will not now spare us for the breach of it. But why did God give Adam this Commandment? having given him so freely all the other Trees of the Garden, Preceptum exploratorium. Paraeus. Arhor diviri cultus fuit. why should he forbid him this one? it was a precept for trial, a tree of divine worship. They were not one tree, says Luther, though here so called collectively, but Nemus, quasi sacellum quoddam, a wood, as it were a Chapel. God loves to try the obedience of the best of his Creatures, to give them matter and occasion to exercise the Graces that he has given them. As every word of God is a tried word, and has been in the furnace often, and God's people have found it true; so every grace wrought by that word is a tried grace, and the trial of it is to the Saints now (and so it should have been to Adam) precious, as the Apostle Peter says, The trial of your faith is more precious than gold. (6) But what need had Adam of such a Tree, being he had a Law written in his heart of obedience to all God's requirings? (as the Sun has a law of motion) He was freely and fully carried after it by a command within, he was a living Scripture, a walking Bible; but yet the best of the Creatures had need, as of daily assistance and direction, so also of daily admonition, and a public Monitor. The Angels themselves as they have new service daily to do for God; so they have a new supply from the spirit of Christ to quicken them daily. We read in Ezek. 1.13. there is a spirit of fire that goes up and down amongst the living creatures, which denotes the active daily and vigorous supply of the Spirit of Christ, and the constant working of it. Surely men may see, yea those that are learned in the School of Christ, what need there is of a Ministry. Some say, what need is there to have the same things taught, that we know as well as they do, and may be better: Yet though you do know them, there is need we should stir you up by way of remembrance. (7) But why should it be so great an offence to eat of this Tree, seeing God made it pleasant to the eye and good for food, and a Tree in itself very lovely and desirable? It was only the will of God that made it so to be, because the Lord had forbidden it; and it's the will of God that is the only rule of the obedience of the Creature: therefore things are good because God wills them, and therefore evil because he forbids them; for 'tis the will of God that is the rule of goodness. There is a vanity in the creature to dispute the commands of God; we take it ill and as an entrenching upon authority to have our commands disputed, much more may the Lord. It was Abraham's honour he did not reason pro and con, Rom. 4.19. I find this rule delivered by Glass. Gram. pag. 349 Verb●●●●●tum addit●r infinito ad maj●●m certitudinem, c●●eritatem. perfectionem & confirmationem exprimendam. but obeyed God without disputing. The threatening is called sometimes, the curse of the law, Deut. 29.21. and sometimes the the curse of the Covenant. It is expressed in our Text, Gen. 2.17. thus, Dying thou shalt die. This denotes, (1) Certainty, Gen. 37.33. Without doubt, Exod. 19.12, 13. surely. (2) Extremity and the perfection of a thing, Exod. 21.19. It's said, He shall cause him to be thoroughly healed; that is, Medicando medicabitur, plenam denotat cuationem. (3) Suddenness, Zach. 8.21. They shall say let us go speedily to pray before the Lord. (4) Continuance and perseverance, Gen. 8.7, And he sent forth a Raven; & exibat exeundo, that is, continenter; he did continue to go from the Ark and returned no more. And so in the expression here there seems to be these four things, Dying thou shalt die, i. e. Thou shalt surely, perfectly, suddenly and eternally die. Whence the Doctrine is, That the punishment of the breach of the first Covenant, and the curse of it was a certain, sudden, utter, and eternal death. SECT. II. The Temporal Curse. §. 1. WHatever is excellent or desirable in Scripture is comprehended under the name of life; and by death is comprehended whatever is evil, and whatever may make the creature miserable. The thing threatened being death in general, not this or that particular death or evil, therefore we must understand it of all kind of death; and this I shall branch under these heads: First, Temporal death; and that consists in these particulars. 1. All the Creatures are cursed to him; and that in these regards: (1) He lost his right to all the Creatures that were given him for his use. God gave Adam an inheritance, and put all in subjection under his feet; but by sin he forfeited them all, that he has not a right to the bread that he eats, nor to the air he breathes in. There is indeed a right of providence and a right of promise that man has to the Creatures: but neither of these a man has from the first, but both from the second Covenant; the one as the Providential Kingdom, and the other as the Spiritual Kingdom is in the hand of Christ. It is as Christ employs them in the world, and so gives them these things as a reward of their service, and their portion in this life: or else they have them by patience only, as a condemned man has many comforts till his execution, but cannot claim them by any right; and so it's with them: for he that had forfeited both foul and body, must needs have forfeited all things else. Therefore all the Creatures are given him by a new Covenant-title: they are all Christ's, Psal. 8.6, 7. Heb 2. Isa. 49.8. and by him dispensed to some as Sons, and to others as Servants, as he is pleased to employ them. For it's by his Covenant that the Earth is established, that it doth not perish, and all the Creatures in it by virtue of that Curse, Cursed be the ground for thy sake. Now if a curse upon man would bring him to destruction, than a curse upon the Creatures (had not a second Covenant come in) would have wrought their annihilation. Act. 1.26. Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. Judas had no place of his own but Hell; and Christ himself standing in a cursed condition, though he were Lord of all, yet he was in the world as one that had right to nothing. He became poor, had not a house to lay his head in, nor an Ass to ride on, but lived upon the benevolence of his servants: He had not a Chamber to eat the Passover in. And when he died, whereas all men have their Graves, he had none but another man's. But how was it that Christ the heir of all things, should be so in want, but as he stood under our Covenant, and came under our curse, and did represent our persons; and therefore it's said, Dan. 9.26, That the Messiah shall be cut off not for himself. So we read it. Dan. 9.26. But others read it, Et nihil erit ei, He shall have nothing, he shall have no inheritance in his life, and shall die as if there were no hope in his death. (2) All the Creatures deny their service to him: When thou tillest the ground it shall not give its strength; that's a fruit of the curse upon the Creatures for man's sin; the Sun shall refuse to give its light, and the Clouds their rain, and the Heavens their influence: and that we have any of these, it's by virtue of the second Covenant; it's by Christ that the Sun shines, and the rain falls upon the just and the unjust. Hos. 2.19, I will betrothe thee unto me; and then the Heavens shall hear the Earth, and the Earth shall hear the Corn and the Wine: then all the Creatures shall give their fruit and influence. Rom. 8.19, 20, there's a bondage of corruption, from which the Creature desires to be delivered; by which I think is not meant dissolution, for surely no creature but desires its own preservation; therefore I judge it's meant of service and subjection, in being subordinate to the lusts of wicked men. And although the Creatures themselves be made for service, and of their own natures rejoice and triumph in it, as the Sun does rejoice as a Giant to run its course: yet since sin came into the world there is such a sympathy in the Creature of the wrong done to God thereby, that the Creatures would withdraw themselves, the Sun would itself with sackcloth, and the Moon be turn into blood; the Stars would withdraw their shining, and all the rest would do so also, but that the Lord has subjected them in hope of a restauration and a glorious condition that they shall have, even a new Heaven and a new Earth, etc. And God makes the Sun to rise upon the evil as well as on the good; but upon the evil for the sake of the good. And were God's people taken all out of the wilderness of this world, the Creatures should be delivered and serve the lusts of wicked men no more. And therefore the Sun was withdrawn at the death of Christ, not that it could not behold such a horrible sight, (as some do express it); but it was in wrath, to show that he was under the displeasure of God, to whom he cries out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? and all his Disciples forsook him and fled, and not an Angel looked out of Heaven to comfort him. (3) The Creatures that men have in their possession are cursed; there is a curse upon them which blasts them, that they are subject unto vanity, and are become vanity of vanities, Eccles. 1.2. There is an universal decay by reason of Gods curse come on all things that are for man's use; but many times there is also a particular curse that does ha●●en their decay sooner than else it would have been, as it is in Estates, Hos. 5.12, á moth and rottenness, and a lion enters into families. And we read of a flying Roll, Zach. 5.2, 3, 4. that's the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth,— and it enters into the house of the thief and the swearer, and consumes the stones, and makes holes in the bottom of the Bag; Job 20.28. the substance of his house shall departed, his honour and memory shall be gone; and so their names are written in the earth, the name of the wicked shall rot. God does many times rot men's names presently that they perish, they are consumed as in a moment. (4) Whatever they have by the Creatures shall be with much toil, labour and weariness: In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat thy bread. We see how much toil and labour the Husbandman has to put some life into the dead earth; all things are full of labour, Eccles. 1.8. man cannot utter it; and how much weariness there is in every calling and condition of life, nay even in our very Recreations, how much pains there is to extract a poor small contentment, that even the pleasure of it does nothing recompense the labour to get it, God having made the Creatures even like to Paracelsian Physic, a little spirit mixed with a great deal of unprofitable matter; a great deal of dross with a little gold, and much chaff with a little corn, and a great deal of labour before a man can beat it out. Every condition of life is full of labour. (5) Even those Creatures that a man is acquiring for his good, become instruments of vengeance for his destruction; for all the Creatures are armed against a man: The Stars in their courses fight against him; Exod. 23.25. the Heaven that sends down destroying influences, the Sun that scorches the Earth, and destroys all the labours of man, and the Rain that drowns the World, and the Earth that opens its mouth to swallow him up; and the meanest of the Creatures, flies and lice destroy him; and a man's meat and drink become his bane: God curses his bread and water, and it shall bring diseases on him. The Angels they keep you out of Paradise with terror, Gen. 3. destroy whole Armies, meet men with a drawn sword as they did Balaam. Sometimes a man is eaten with worms as Herod was; and sometimes God fights against us as he did against Cambyses; and the Devil doth possess our bodies and destroy our goods, as he did Job; and he waits but for a commission to hurry us to Hell, and to be the instrument to convey us thither upon all occasions, as being Satan our adversary. §. 2. The curses upon a man's body are various and great. As, (1) Continual weariness and wasting, and sickness, and a disorder and jarring between the humours of a man's body, Deut. 28.21. and old age which is a continual disease; though indeed it's true, as Solomon says, Grey hairs are a crown if found in the way of righteousness. And it's an honour with Mnason to be an old Disciple, but yet it is in itself a fruit of the curse, that bringeth with it the decays of nature; for man if he had not fined should never have waxed old, nor had any deformity: for he was created at first a very glorious Creature, and had no blemish from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot: but now there is not the fairest face but it has some blemish; and there is a strange ugliness and deformity come upon men, though upon some more than others. The botch of Egypt, the Itch, the Scab that shall not be healed, etc. We read in Eccles. 12.2, 3. a description of those evil days, wherein all the comforts of a man's life are taken away; a man cannot say he has any pleasure in them, in which he is much disabled for service to God and man, by reason of his weakness and infirmities. All things that are comfortable in this life do decay, and it is with a man as in Winter-weather, when a shower or two does not cleanse the sky, but the end of one misery and disease is the beginning of another. And there is a more particular description of the miseries ●hat attend man in his age in the third verse of that Chapter, The keepers of the house, the 〈◊〉 and hands are weak, the defence that God has given this house of clay, they through ●●●●ness and palsy do tremble, and the legs and thighs, the poor pillars and supports of 〈◊〉 house do buckle through weakness and bow: the grinders cease because they are few: and the eyes that look out at the windows are weakened, and the doors shut in the streets, and the mouth closed. And he desires not company because he is unfit for it; he keeps home and sits alone, and his sleep does easily departed from him; at every noise he rises up, at the voice of a bird, etc. and desire fails to any of the pleasures of this life. We see a Comment upon much of it in the 2 Sam. 19.35. and then death comes, and there is a dissolution of this house of clay, and after death the dust returns to the earth as it was, and this glorious body of man so curiously fed, and so sumptuously clothed, must become food to the worms, and rot in its own filthiness and putrefaction; and in all these respects the body is become a vile body, corruptible, mortal, a body of death, and it lies down in dishonour in the grave. (2) And there is this great curse also upon the body of man; it is become an instrument of sin to the soul, and so an instrument for the devil to use. Sin indeed is not properly and formally in the body but in the soul, Mich. 6.7. and therefore it is properly called the sin of the soul, for it's the soul that is the arch-rebel; sin is formaliter in cord & redundanter in corpore; formally in the soul, but by redundance in the body. But yet there is this curse come upon the body and the members of it, that it's employed as a servant to the soul in sinning; and as it is the misery of the Creatures to serve the lusts of men, so it's the curse upon the body to be an instrument to serve the lusts of the soul: there is a fitness in it for the service of sin, Rom. 6.13. They are weapons of unrighteousness. As grace in the soul does fit the members that a man is prepared to every good work, so does sin also prepare to every evil work. The beam in the eye is but a part of the grown wood that is in the heart. Davids' grace made his tongue as the pen of a ready writer, and Doeg's sin made his tongue cut as a sharp razor. There is a fitness in the members to evil, there is a readiness and proneness in the members to sin, as there is a backwardness in them to whatever is good. Luk. 24.25, Slow of heart to believe,— and dull of hearing; a heavy ear and a blindness. So they are prone to evil, the poison of asps is under their tongue, they have it in a readiness; and their feet are swift to shed blood, very ready to be sent on such a message, and employed in such a business, etc. Moreover there is a greediness even in the members to sin, 2 Pet. 2.14, They have eyes full of adultery, that cannot cease to sin; it was as a spring tide that over flowed all, Act. 13.10. A facility to evil, and they ran greedily after the error of Balaam, Judas v. 11. They were as a swift dromedary, etc. All these expressing the readiness and greediness even of the body to be an instrument to the sin of the soul. (3) There is an universal frustrating of all a man's labours, Eccles. 9.11, I saw under the Sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. There is nothing that a man does shall prosper, he shall reap no fruit of all his labour; for he has but laboured for the wind. Jer. 22.30, Writ this man childless; a man that shall not prosper in his days: It's the happiness of a godly man, as in Joseph, whatever he doth the Lord makes it to prosper. But it's the misery of a man under the curse, that nothing he does shall prosper, Psal. 1. ult. God turns their way upside down; they hatch a Cockatrice egg, and they wove a spider's web, which never becomes a garment. §. 3. There is also a curse of God upon a man in reference to his name and reputation amongst men; and that also in many Particulars. (1) A man shall be famous for wickedness, and for that get to himself a name, which is a great curse upon a man, Gen. 6.4. From those unlawful Marriages between the sons of God and the daughters of men, there were born Giants, which were in those days men of renown; In sua truculentia celebres. Par. it being an expression taken in the worse part, for men notoriously wicked. It's an observation of Mr. Medes, that from these Hell had its first and ancient name, Prov. 21.16, The man that wanders out of the way of understanding shall remain, in C●tu Gigantum, in the congregation of Giants. And Prov. 11.18, Her house inclines unto death, and her paths, ad Gigante, to the Giants. And so it had its name from these men, that were the first eminent and famous inhabitants of it; and yet in their life-time these were men of renown. The same thing is too common in all ages, men are famous as they do some eminent evil; as Augustin says, Pudet non esse impudentem; it is a shame not to be impudent. (2) When a man shall not have a name answerable to his desert, Eccles. 9.11, There shall not be favour to men of skill, but folly is set in great dignity. As Chap. 10.5. i e. Men of weak abilities and low parts are advanced to great honour and rule in the Commonwealth, and men of great ability, and fit for public Employment sit in a low place, in a mean and obscure condition: men of no note in the world, those that no man look after, servants are on horseback, men of servile parts, and spirits that a man would look upon them as men, ad mancipium nati, born to vassalage, and yet they are brought to great honour; and Princes, 〈◊〉 Princely spirits do lackey it on foot by them. We read, Eccles. 9.14, There was a little 〈◊〉 and few men in it, and there came a great King with an Army against it, and besieged it, but a poor wise man delivered it: but he was rewarded with disgrace, disrespect, and forgetfulness; no man regarded him. Yea even the Saints of God, of whom the world is not worthy, yet they are counted the scum of all things, and men do cast out their names as evil. It was part of the sufferings of Christ, the reproaches that he was loaden withal, a part of the curse that he did undergo for us, Psal. 22.6, I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men, and despised of the people; all they that see me laugh me to scorn, they shoot out the lip and shake the head, etc. They say, He is a Traitor, a Drunkard, a Conjurer, and one that did cast out Devils by the power of Satan,— a Blasphemer, etc. All this is indeed to the godly turned into a blessing, and adds to their glory; but yet it is in itself a ●urse, as all other afflictions are, and a part of this death which is the curse of the Covenant. (3) When a man has gotten to himself a name, and honour, and repute, it proves his snare, and he is lifted up by it; Pulchrum est digito monstrari,— and it shall be said, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Demosthenes,— and then the man is so exalted in himself that the earth cannot bear him. Nebuchadnezar was come to be one of the greatest Monarches of the Earth, Isa. 14.13, Thou hast said in thy heart I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my Throne above the Stars of God, etc. and Ezech. 28.2, His heart was lifted up, and he said, I am a God, and I sit in the seat of God, yet thou art man and not God, though thou set thy heart as the heart of God. And Herod, when the people exalted him in that blasphemous speech, It's the voice of God, his heart was lifted up, and the Angel smote him. So I have read of a Doctor that read excellent Lectures concerning the two Natures of Christ, and was much admired by his Auditors, and then the blasphemy of his heart broke forth, Quantum mihi debes, Jesus! etc. How much dost thou owe unto me, Jesus, etc. There is many a man whose head is very giddy by the wind of honour, and he is as a Boat that is sunk by his own sail. (4) When men have gotten great honour, then shall they by some means or other blemish it, and God will give them over to dishonourable lusts, Eccles. 10.1, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. As a dead fly causes the ointment to stink, so doth a little folly a man of understanding. A man reputed for wisdom and honour, a small oversight, a little indiscretion in his carriage shall cast him down, and make his name as distasteful as ever it was before acceptable; a little folly is sufficient to slain and blemish all his repute. Sometimes it is by a foolish speech, Eccles. 10.12. Zach. 11.16. The lips of a fool swallow up himself, etc. i. e. Bring him into danger and disgrace. His right arm shall whither, and his right eye shall be put out: his wisdom and prudence shall decay, and his authority and ruling power amongst the people shall by degrees come to nothing; he shall lose all his honour,— and after death his name shall rot, Prov. 10.7. and men shall speak of him as he is; (though sometimes, whiles alive, either fear or favour, and dependencies do blind men, and make them speak well of them, and admire them) as we see it in Ahab: there was none like Ahab, that sold himself to work wickedness.— And Jeroboam the son of Nebat that made Israel to sin; and Judas that was the Traitor, etc. And men shall lie down in the grave in their shame, and be covered with their own confusion as with a mantle; and every man shall delight to cry him down: as we see it in Nebuchadnezar that so terrified the Nations, that none opened his mouth, or peeped against him; yet see how they scoff at him, Isa. 14.9, 10, How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, etc. And this shall specially be at the day of Judgement, when men shall be ashamed before men and Angels, Dan. 12. Some shall rise to shame and everlasting contempt. (5) They shall have a vile esteem in the hearts of all good men, in whose eyes a vile person is contemned, Psal. 15.4. And Judas, though he was amongst the Apostles, yet Christ counts him a Devil. And David calls Saul, Cush, Psal. 7.1. And Abigail saith of her Husband, Nabal is his name, and folly is with him, etc. §. 4. The last Branch that I will mention in this Temporal curse, is in a man's Relations, all those respects wherein men stand one to another: these are many, and we cannot speak to all, but shall make choice only of some, and leave it unto you in your own private Meditations to make up the rest. We will mention (1) that of Magistrates and Subjects. (2) That between Ministers and People. (3) That between Husband and Wife. (4) That between Parents and Children. And by these you may judge of all other Relations whatsoever. (1) The relation between Magistrates and People is under a curse. And that 1. as to Magistrates: though Civil Government in itself be a blessing in this state of sin, and Commonwealths have a great dependence upon such Governors, as the names that are given them in Scripture do show; viz. the Bars, the Nails, the Corner-stones, the Shields of the Earth, Fathers, Saviour's, Nurses, the breath of our nostrils, and the stay of our tribes, etc. Yet all Magistracy is occasioned by sin, and comes in by the second Covenant. God gave man in his ●●cation Dominion over the works of his hand; and they were pastors pecorum magis quam ●eges hominum; Pastors of , rather than Kings of men. A Natural subjection there should have been but not a Civil. The name of Magistrate came in by sin, not by nature; but the Government being in the hand of Christ, he has erected a double office for Government; Ezech. 1.26. (1) That of Angels; (2) That of Magistrates. And as it came in by sin, so they shall last no longer then till sin shall be done away, 1 Cor. 15.24. Calvin here takes in also the dominion of the Angels: all these shall cease with Christ's giving up the Kingdom to the Father, that so God may be all in all. But though it be in itself a blessing, yet coming in by sin, it hath blasted it, and the curse cleaves to Magistracy in many particulars. (1) They shall affect Dominion, and make great stirs and disturbances in the World, and bring great miseries upon the People that their lusts may be satisfied, and they shall rule according to their will, Gen. 10.8, 9, Nimrod began to be a mighty hunter in the earth. And Jer. 16.16, I will send for many fishers, and many hunters, that should be all for the prey, and take all the people, and bring them into subjection to them. This is spoken of the Chaldeans; and what did they hunt for but to enlarge their Dominions? such was this Nimrod before the Lord; i. e. openly; having cast off all the fear of God, and respect to men; and he was the first, not that founded, but began to exercise Monarchy. And the first Proverb that ever we read of grew from this fruit of the curse upon great men, As it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. Dan. 7.2, 3, The four winds of the heaven strove upon the great Sea, and four great beasts came up from the Sea, divers one from another. By Winds are meant the wars and tumults, and the uproars of the people, Jer. 57.1. And out of this Sea thus disquieted by Winds arose the four Beasts; these made the wars, stirred up the winds to enlarge their Dominion. Hab. 2.5. See it in the first Beast Nebuchadnezar, the head of Gold; He is a proud man, keepeth not at home, is not content with his own dominions, but enlarges his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathers to him all Nations, and heapeth unto himself all people. Isa. 7.2, 8, There is a confederacy between Syria and Ephraim to go up against Judah to vex it: and what was the end but to set up a King in the middle of it? but God said, The head of Syria is Damascus, that is, the Metropolis; and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, it shall not come to pass, etc. And when this itch and affectation of rule takes place men will never be satisfied, what misery soever they bring upon their Subjects. We see Nebuchadnezar's service against Tyrus, Ezech. 29.18. and though God had an over ruling hand in it, yet his highest end was the enlargement of his Dominion. (2) Having attained to Dominion they shall rule over the people with rigour, by will and not by law; but all must be arbitrary, the ancient hedge of Law they will pluck up, and the ancient bounds of Government they will remove. Hos. 5.10. Dan. 7.26, There are ten horns on the head of the fourth Beast; and they are ten Kings, and another shall arise after them that shall subdue three Kings, and he shall think to change times and laws. And we read also, Zach. 11.5, The people are the flock of the slaughter; for their possessors slay them. I will deliver every man into the hand of his neighbour, and the hand of his King, and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will deliver them. (3) They shall use their authority against Religion, and against the Saints, to subvert the one and destroy the other. Nebuchadnezar has no sooner an Empire, but he must have a Golden Image, and the people must upon pain of death be all of the King's Religion. Let Jeroboam attain the Crown and the people must go no more up to Jerusalem to worship; they shall have at Dan and Bethel a worship every way as specious, and to human wisdom as rational, as that at Jerusalem; and all this is for the people's ease, and they willingly walk after the Commandment. King Ahaz must have his new-fashioned Altar, and Ahab the worship of Baal: the ten Kings give their Kingdoms to the Beast, they must use their power to have some human addition, and some politic contrivement in matters of Religion and the things of God. They shall speak great words against the most High, and shall endeavour to wear out the Saints, Dan. 7.25. (4) And they are also instruments to ruin themselves by their wickedness, and the Kingdoms in which they rule. As Saul had almost destroyed the Kingdom. The land is weak and all the inhabitants are dissolved, I bear up the pillars of it, etc. Psal. 75.3. and Dan. 7.26, He shall do this till the judgement shall sit, and dominion shall be taken from him, and it shall be consumed and destroyed to the end. Magistrates may so far provoke God in the abuse of their power not only to take away dominion from them, but even to destroy the Nation, and Government itself for their sakes. As Kingdoms were cast off in Rome for the abominations of their King. There was a great Star that fell from Heaven, and his name was called wormwood, and the third part of the waters were become bitter, and many perished in his downfall. It were not harsh to say, that most of the Magistrates that ever have been raised up in the world, have been given to a people in wrath, as Saul was; and even their persons being such as they are, have been fruits of the Curse, have been given in judgement, and proved very great scourges to the Nations where they lived. 2. There is a Curse also upon the people in reference to Magistrates. (1) The people shall flatter the Magistrate, which is a great judgement, Hos. 5.11. and by this means he shall lift up himself to his own destruction, and they willingly walk after his Commandment. It's a judgement to a people to have a Magistrate command what is evil willingly; so it is to a Magistrate to have the people willing to obey any thing, be it never so evil: to be as a lump that receives any leaven. This was the rise of Antichrist, and the great judgement, that the Kings gave their Kingdoms to the Beast, and all the world wondered after the Beast, Rev. 13.3. To worship Kings as amongst the Persians, to set them up as Gods is base flattery. (2) A spirit of jealousy and murmuring of the people against them. God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, Judg. 9.23. that they were full of nothing else but jealousy and distrust one of another; full of murmuring and complaining. If any evil befall them, by and by stone Moses; if he deliver them it is that he may make himself altogether a King over them, and put out their eyes that they may see nothing. Don't we see how things are carried all for your own advancement? as Corah and his Company said. And when he had wrought the greatest deliverance for them, yet they cry out, That he did bring them out of Egypt out of envy, because there were no graves there; it was but to bury them in the Wilderness: as a sick Patient says to a Physician, surely you mean to kill me, when all his endeavour tends to cure him. (3) Sometimes they rebel against the Magistrates, and disobey their Commandment; endeavouring by force to cast off their Government: As Absalom's Conspiracy with the people against David his own Father, besides all the people of Israel were with Absalon. And in Rehoboams time, To your Tents, O Israel, let David take care for his own house, what portion have we in David, and inheritance in the son of Jess, etc. If Sheba the son of Bichri the most obscure man do but blow the Trumpet, and say we have no part in David, all Israel will be ready to desert and fall off from their loyalty and allegiance. As the meanest man shall have power enough to make a party against Government. And men will forsake them when they are in danger and stand in most need of them: as when the Philistines came against Saul and made war against him, all the people were scattered from him. And so others if danger come the people leave them to themselves, after all their care and pains with the greatest faithfulness bestowed upon them. (4) God many times leaves Magistrates for the people's sins, 2 Sam. 24.1, The Lord was angry with Israel, and he moved David against them, to say, Go number Israel and Judah. David is left to this sin, but it was the Lord's anger against Israel that did provoke him thereunto, that by this sin he might bring upon them the judgement, Ob peccata populi labitur princeps; and therefore Peter Martyr's observation is, That the people may much help and assist their Magistrates in Government; Orando & recte vivendo, by prayer and wel-living; and therefore when the people neglect these, Saepe a Deo deseruntur, the Magistrates are oft left by God, etc. 2. The Relation between Ministry and People is cursed. 1 There is a Curse upon the Ministers in reference to the People. Jer. 23. (1) They shall prove unprofitable and of none effect; they shall not profit this people at all. Though they rise early and go forth in all their might, yet men make excuses when they come to invite them; and they go their way, one to his Farm, and another to his Merchandise, etc. And we can but return the same account that Melancthon did, when he first went forth to preach, Old Adam is too strong for young Melancthon. It was a part of the Curse that was upon Christ for us, in the days of his flesh, Isa. 49.5, I have laboured in vain, and I have spent my strength in vain. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signify, my radical moisture; and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies, utterly to waste, and perfectly to consume. And yet Christ has done all this (in respect of success) in vain, for Israel is not gathered. (2) The people build hay and stubble upon the foundation that their Ministers lay; and that not only ungodly men, 1 Cor. 3. but even godly men, whose work may be consumed and they suffer loss, and yet their souls be saved in the day of the Lord, 1 Cor. 3. Satan can sometimes get into Peter, and carry him away to a dissimulation, as Barnabas also. They may not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, rightly proceed, nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, rightly divide; and so by doctrine and example they may hurt souls, Ezech. 13.18, 20. and their trading may be as that of Rome, for the souls of men. The Apostle says, there is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a craftiness to deceive and draw disciples after them. And the Father says, There is a bait of heresy, something that the flesh of man is taken with. (3) They may stir up great divisions and contentions in Churches and States. There was a contention begun amongst the Disciples which of them should be the greatest. And by Diotrephes from love of Pre-eminence, He prates against us with malicious words; and he neither receives the brethren, 3 Joh. v. 10. and forbids them that would, casting them out of the Church. And in the Revelations they go forth together with the Kings of the Earth to the great battle of Armageddon. Therefore Nazianzen bitterly bewails the contentions between the Ministers in his time: If I (saith he) be the cause of this division, if I be the Ionas, then cast me out. And he makes that as his last request to Theodosius the Emperor, That he would compose those divisions; telling him, This should be as the ornament and glory of all his former Victories and Trophies. (4) They may be a means to ripen the sins and to hasten the Judgement of God upon a people, Isa. 6.10. Heb. 6.8. and increase their condemnation. Go make the heart of this people fat, etc. And the ground that drinks in the rain and bears briers and thorns is near to cursing. If I had not come and spoken to you you had had no sin, but now there is no cloak for your sin, etc. 2. There is a Curse that comes upon the Ministers by the people's sin. (1) For the people's sins God does many times hid his face, and his truth from their Ministers. Psal. 74.9. Ezech. 26. There is not a Prophet, there is none can tell us how long. I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, and thou shalt be dumb and not be a reprover to this people. The Sun shall go down upon your Prophets, and the day shall be dark over them, etc. For they do receive Truths as stewards to dispense them; and when God will punish the family than he does straighten the stewards and hides his face from them. (2) For the people's sins God does many times give the Ministers up to errors and delusions; that as the people are, such also shall the Priest be: They love lies, and say prophesy and declare to us smooth things; prophesy deceit, therefore if any man will prophesy of wine and strong drink he shall be a Prophet for this people. Ahab's sin did provoke God to send the Devil to be a lying spirit in the mouth of all the Prophets. And 2 Thes. 2.10, 11. the people not receiving the truth in the love of it, the Ministers were given over to that efficacy of deceit, and the people were ensnared by it, that all they might be damned that had pleasure in unrighteousness, and had not pleasure in the truth. (3) The people are many times a continual grief to their Ministers. I was amongst you as a nurse: and therefore did bear with much frowardness and perverseness in the people to the grief of his soul: if you will not hear my soul shall weep in secret for your pride, saith Jeremy. And how much bitterness of spirit the Ministers of God have felt by the perverseness of the people is known to God and their own souls. (4) They many times make them to prophesy in sackcloth and ashes, in a poor, low, afflicted and contemptible condition; look upon them as the scum of the world, and the offscouring of all things. It has in all ages been the portion of the Witnesses that God has stirred up, to be looked upon as enemies to men, because they tell them the truth; and therefore there are snares laid for them to reprove in the gate. And though the Lord says, they should be counted worthy of double honour that labour in the word and doctrine; yet amongst the generality of men, they that labour most shall be honoured least. And though the Lord says, Let him that is taught in the word, make him that teaches partaker in his good things; yet men are willing to make them partakers in nothing; and yet if they sow to you spiritual things is it a great matter that they reap carnal things from you? Yes, men think it great, and look not upon it as a duty, but give it with the same repining that nigards give an alms at their door, etc. 3ly, The Curse is also come upon the relation of Husband and Wife. (1) When a Wife shall become a snare to a man's soul, and be to him but one of the Devils darts, a Serpent in his bosom. 'Tis said in 1 King. 21.20. There was none like Ahab, who sold himself to work wickedness, whom Jezabel his wife stirred up. To have a Wife instrumental to further the lust of her Husband in what kind soever, what a snare is that? for her to entice him to the worst of evils, Idolatry, etc. as Deut. 13. (2) When a Wife shall be false to her Husband in the Marriage bed. Thy wife shall be a harlot in the middle of the city, is threatened as the Husband's Curse, Amos 7.17. And Job 31.10, Let my wife grind to another man, etc. And for a man to mistrust his Wife; Keep the door of thy lips from her that lies in thy bosom. (3) When a Wife shall be an enemy to Religion, and a scoffer, as Michal; How glorious was the King of Israel to day, when he was uncovered before the maids? And for Job's Wife to join with his friends, yea with Satan against; Dost thou still retain thy integrity? curse God and die. It's questioned why the Devil should spare Job's Wife when he took away his Goods and Children? there is surely more comfort in a Wife than in all things in this world. The reason given is, because he did intent to make her an instrument to persuade her Husband to curse God, hoping to conquer him by her. And how this evil in a Wife imbitters the spirit of a Husband, and what animosity it raises in him against her, and what suspicious thoughts, and what estrangement this does usually work in their minds one from another, we many times by experience find. And the Husband also becomes a Curse to the Wife: (1) By a spirit of jealousy over her, which though sometimes it may be upon just ground and cause given in the Wife; yet sometimes it may be causeless, as appears, Numb. 5.12, 13. We see what great care the Lord did take of Marriage-Chastity, it being his own Ordinance, he did appoint an Offering and a water of Jealousy; the one to be offered to the Lord, and the other to be drank by the Woman accused. And if she were guilty her belly should swell, and her thigh rot; and if guiltless she should conceive seed and become fruitful: so that it was sometimes causeless, and yet a spirit of Jealousy might come upon a man. A Wife made a Cross is the greatest cross; and made a snare is the greatest snare, and the most dangerous. And when a man grows vile in the eyes of a Wife for any weakness in him, either inward or outward, as Nabal did, His name is Nabal, and folly is with him. And Job said, My breath is strange to my wife, though I entreated for the children's sake of my own body, Job 19.17. Jealousy is the rage of a man, it makes him bitter to her, takes every thing in the worst sense, not bearing with ordinary and common failings, incident to persons in that state. Bitterness in words, sharp and piercing speechees and actions, savouring of tartness and want of that tenderness and love that should be in a man towards his own flesh. Gen. 3.16, Thy desire shall be subject to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. The woman was created to be a help to the man, and the woman created for the man, and not the man for the woman; and therefore a subordination and a kind of subjection there was before the fall, but not such as now after the fall. Indeed the Civilians say, that Marriage is, Perpetua quaedam servitus, a constant servitude: only before the fall (as Austin says) it was servitus dilectionis, a servitude of love: but since the fall it is servitus conditionis, a servitude of condition. Before the fall it was with much sweetness and love, their wills never clashing; they both joined in the same good, and willed the same thing: but now there is much opposition and much contrariety of will. And yet it is the bondage that God has laid upon the Wife; she must be subject to her Husband, and have no will of her own; but even her desire must be subject to him: not only submit her actions but even her will also, which is of all other the greatest subjection. It's said of Jacob, though he was a holy man, that God saw that Leah was hated by him, which at best cannot be interpreted but of a less degree of love, and that there was more sharpness in his carriage towards Leah than there was towards Rachel. (2) When the Husband deserts and forsakes his Wife, being ravished with a strange woman, and embracing the bosom of a stranger, Prov. 5.20. And we read in Mal. 2.15, 16. the great misery those poor women were subjected to, for the Husband making use of that command of Moses, which is not a toleration but a limitation: not that putting away was lawful, (for the Lord hates putting away), but for the hardness of their hearts, seeing they did put them away; for the woman's discharge he was to give her a writing of Divorce. But by this means their wives, v. 13. covered the altar of God with tears: so that when they came to offer Sacrifice, that sin came up into remembrance before God, that their Sacrifice could not ascend; and the Altar was not covered with that, but with the tears of their wives, which they had in a cruel and wicked manner, by their deserting them, caused them to shed, dealing treacherously with the wife of their youth: she that is thy companion and the wife of thy Covenant. They had great complaints against their wives, and were able to find out many pretences to put them away, when they had sinfully found out others, that their lust carried them to: and so they did cover violence with a garment. But the Prophet bids them take heed to their spirits, and look upon the falseness of their own hearts in it, that they deal not treacherously and falsely, and so break their Covenant with their wives, even the Covenant of their God. (3) By putting them upon occasions of sin; and so they are made instruments to satisfy the lust of their Husbands. What an occasion of sinning did Abraham put upon his beloved Sarah twice? once before Pharaoh King of Egypt, and another time before Abimelech King of Gerar, by desiring her to say, that she was his sister. How was she drawn at his request to consent to a lie, and to endanger her chastity amongst the Heathen? In re illicita etiam consensus vitiosus est; in an unlawful matter the very consent is unlawful. The Apostle says, 1 Cor. 7.34, The married woman takes care of the things of the world, and how she may please her husband. The Apostle does not only set this down as a duty, what married persons should do in that condition, to take care of the things of the family, and how to please their Husband; but as an ordinary temptation and corruption also, that follows that state; though as Calvin observes, Hoc non est proprium conjugii malum; sed ex hominum vitio provenire. It is the common temptation and corruption that accompanies that state, not only a moderate and a lawful but even an inordinate care also of the things of the world, and how to please her Husband even with the neglect of the things of God, and how to please him. Ahab desires Naboths Vineyard, and is sick for it; and lays him down upon the bed, and will eat no meat. Jezabel his Wife comes to him and says, Dost thou now govern Israel? is this becoming the greatness of thy state to bear such a denial, and affront? Is not all the Kings? and do not his people enjoy what they have by his leave and favour as a boon from him? and shall any subject dare deny his King what he requests of him? This is not to reign over them, bu● to be under them: Imperatoris est leges dare, non accipere, etc. And thus she reproves him, and becomes a very fit instrument for the Devil, Pet. Martyr. I will give thee the Vineyard of Naboth, 1 King. 21.7. 4. Between Parents and Children: 1. Children are curses to Parents. Thou shalt be cursed in the fruit of thy body, as well as in the fruit of thy land. (1) By disesteem, making them vile in a man's eyes, Deut. 27.16. Cursed be he that sets light by father or mother; and this proceeds further even to mocking and deriding, Prov. 30.17, The eye that mocks at his father or mother, the ravens of the valleys shall pick it out. (2) By forsaking them, 2 Tim. 3.3. without natural affections: the word in the Greek is a similitude taken from a Stork, which takes special care to provide for and maintain the Parent when it's old. But Mar. 7 11. they taught Children a way to cheat their Parents by dedicating their Estates to the Temple, or the public service; and then when the Parent should stand in need of any part of it, the child says it is Corban, a thing dedicated, and therefore he must not meddle with it, and so do nothing for him. (3) There is a seeking their Father's life, as Absalon did David's, Use the young man well for my sake, says the father; but when Hushai said, We will smite the King only; the saying pleased Absalon well. And the son shall betray the father to death; Sennacherib was slain by his two Sons. (4) The parting with Children at death and not knowing in what condition a man shall leave them, is a great part of a man's vexation. In this life it's a great part of the Curse, His Sons come to honour and he knows it not, they are brought low and he considers it not, etc. That was Luther's comfort in his Will, Lord, thou hast given me Wife and Children, and I give them to thee again; Qui pater es pupillorum & judex viduarum, which art the Father of Orphans, and Judge of the Widows. But the contrary is a very great affliction unto the hearts of Parents, and a great part of a man's misery, that Children must suffer for the Parent's sins, and God may visit the iniquity of Parents upon Children to the third and fourth Generation. 2. Parents also are a Curse to their Children: (1) The sins of Parents are transmitted to the Children. We see Adam did bring a Curse upon himself and all his posterity, and the infants of Sodom were involved in the punishment of the sins that they were not in themselves guilty of; Ezech. 4.25. God reserved the punishment of the Fathers for their Children for three hundred and ninety years together. Cham's sins and Canaan's is punished nine hundred twenty-five years after; and Gehazi his Leprosy cleaves to him and his posterity; and the Jews in Crucifying Christ, say, his blood be upon us and our children; and so wrath is come upon them to the uttermost for many Generations. [1] This is a punishment upon the Parent, and a testimony of great wrath, that not only Judgement comes upon himself, but upon his posterity. [2] It's only in Temporal things, for an Eternal Curse never comes upon Children, but for their own sins; but for Temporal Curses they are dispensed in a way of prerogative, and the Lord will lay those Curses upon Children which the Parents did deserve, and they are gone down to Hell to receive. (2) Parents prove snares and plagues to their Children by betraying their liberties, losing of their privileges, Rom. 3.2, Unto them were committed the Oracles of God. Now when they shall forfeit them and part with their privileges by little and little. What a curse is this? The Ordinances and the Truths of the Gospel are the greatest trust committed to Parents, but when they provoke the Lord to call them Loammi, and to cast them off, than they are forfeited. As Rom. 11. the natural branches are broken off, and their posterity are cast out as an abominable branch: only the Lord will in time graft them in again. So many a Father does lose glorious privileges and opportunities for his Children. Saul did divest himself of the Kingdom and all his posterity, Now would I have established the Kingdom to thee, etc. (3) By an evil example, 1 Pet. 1.18. corrupting them by their vain conversation received by tradition from their Fathers, Jer. 44.17, We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven as we have done, we and our fathers, our Kings and our Princes in the cities of Judah, etc. (4) The Father may forsake his Son, yea, he may forget, When my father and mother forsake me, says the Psalmist, the Lord takes me up. And the Father may betray the Son to death, as we see Saul did Jonathan; if he will not comply with his lusts he shall not live; he throws a Javelin at him to kill him, etc. SECT. III. Spiritual Death. §. 1. WE have thus far considered the first Branch of the Covenant's Curse, and that consists in Temporal death: Now let us come to consider the second Branch of it, which is Death Spiritual, and that is All the spiritual evil that can befall the soul of man in this life, whether of sin or sorrow. And it's as possible for a man to weigh the fire, and to measure the wind, and number the stars, or count the sand upon the seashore, as to reckon the particulars wherein this Death consists. Godly men that study the evils of their own hearts all their days, yet cry out, The heart is deceitful above all things, who can know it? Jer. 17.10. The word signifies an incurable disease; it's only the Lord that can cure and search it, and know the malignity of it. And as it is said of Virtue and the beauty of Holiness, if it could be seen with bodily eyes, Mirabilem excitaret amorem sui, it would stir up a wonderful love of itself: so could the death of the soul and the evils of it be seen, it would stir up hatred and amazement above all things in the world. A godly man that sees but a little of it, when God opens his eyes, he abhors himself and loathes his own soul, Job 42.6. And Luther blessed God, that he did not show him sin all at once, but by degrees; it would have sunk him with the apprehension of it. This will be the study of men in Hell to all eternity to rake into this filthiness of the soul and the death thereof: for Hell is the grave of the soul, and the rottenness of it shall be studied there for ever. And this shall be the work of that neverdying worm, the souls reflection upon itself and its own loathsomeness, and to loathe itself for ever. Consider (1) the soul is the darling, and therefore the beauty of a man; and the worth of the man lies in the hidden man of the heart, which is in the sight of God of great price, 1 Pet. 3.3. and therefore the deformity of the soul is the greatest. The worth of the man is from the worth of the soul, Prov. 10.20, The heart of the wicked is little worth: His Lands and his Honour, and his may be worth much in the esteem of the world, but his soul is worth nothing. Therefore the value of a man is in his spirit, though there be other things that we commonly prise men by, yet those that judge aright count the Saints upon this account the excellent ones, Psal. 16.3. and all others to be vile men how great and rich soever, Dan. 4.17. Psal. 15. And a man does prosper truly as his soul prospers, 3 Joh. 2. and not as his body prospers, or as his estate prospers. Therefore a man is filthy if his soul is filthy, and vile as his soul is vile; and he decays as his soul does from day to day. (2) The great difference between men and men lies in their spirits. Caleb had another spirit, Numb. 14.24. Our distinctions for the present are but for a time, and death will make all equal; that as we were all made of one body, so we shall all be dissolved into the same dust; they are all but for the time of this life; the Prince's robes and the beggar's rags lie down together, but the difference in their spirits is eternal, and therefore the blessing or the curse upon the soul is much more than that on the body or the estate: many of these being but for the time of this life. (3) Sin is chief an act of the soul. The sin of the soul? membra sunt arma, the members are but weapons; it's the soul that's the hand, and the chief cause of enmity lies therein; and therefore the chief vengeance lights upon that. God will punish sin not only here, but eternally: Therefore as the greatest blessing is upon the soul, so the greatest curse also. And as the Schoolmen say of Glory, so we may say of Wrath, it is Radicaliter in cord, redundanter in corpore, radically in the heart, but redundantly in the body; the main object of wrath and curse is the soul. 2 Pet. Mat. 16. (4) The great evil that sin does a man, it fights against his soul; and the great loss that it occasions is the loss of the soul, men do often complain of losses, but they may be all made up in this life, as Job's were; or if not, yet the afflictions of this present life are not worthy of the glory that shall be revealed; they work for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory: and, Quaedam amittere ut majora lucreris non amissio est sed mercatura; to lose some things that thou mayst gain better is not loss, but a thriving trade. But the loss of the soul is the great loss that can never be made up, and therefore the curse of the soul is the great curse. (5) The curse of the soul being taken off all other curses are taken off also; as the curse remaining on the soul all blessings are turned into curses: they may be blessings in the thing, but they are curses to the man. So on the other side all curse are turned into blessings: they may be curses in the thing, but they shall prove blessings to the man. To the unclean all things are unclean, for their minds and consciences are defiled, Tit. 1. When once Grace comes into the soul malediction goes out; all things shall work for your good, and the curse is taken off from all the Creatures for your use. Life is yours, and death is yours; so that as the precept of the Law is made a servant to the promise of the Gospel; (for it was added by way of subordination and subserviency thereunto;) so the curse of the Law is made a servant to the Grace of the Gospel also: and a Saint has a sanctified use of that as a blessing, which is in itself a curse. (6) The chief satisfaction that was given for sin has reference to the soul. In the sacrifice there was offered the life and the blood; but it was the blood that made an atonement for the soul, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. And when Christ came to stand in our stead as a surety, the main of the sufferings he endured were in his soul, Isa. 53.10. God made his soul an offering for sin. Christ did as our surety, and therefore he put his name to our bond, and was made under the Law. Now being our surety he was to pay our debt; and that was mainly in the soul. The Sacrifice that was to be accepted of God was to be a whole burnt-offering: now if Christ had but suffered in his body it had been but a half burnt-offering. He offered himself, Heb. 9.10. therefore it must be his whole manhood: and before his bodily suffering came, while he was in the Garden, he says, My soul is heavy unto death, Mar. 14.33. amazed or astonished: the word is rendered, a failing of spirit: his spirit died even within him, his thoughts were wholly abstracted from all things else, and the wrath of God that lay upon him did wholly fill up his soul, etc. Now in all these respects the curse upon the soul which is spiritual death, is the greatest part of the Curse far greater than that upon the body, upon Creatures or Relations. §. 2. And now let us come to consider wherein this Curse upon the Soul lies. 1. It lies in this, That a man has forsaken God as his chief Good, and as his utmost End. Man in his Creation was carried towards God, as that chiefest Good, wherein his happiness consisisted; and acted towards God as him to whom all his actions were referred, and wherein his blessedness lay: and therefore Augustin speaking from a spirit renewed and having the same principle begun in him, says, Omnis copia quae non est Deus inanis egestas est; All plenty that is not God is poverty. And Bernard says, Animam Dei capacem quicquid est Deo minus non implebit; nothing less than God will fill the soul capable of God. Man having all in God must needs do all for him, and refer all to him: for he that is the chief Good must needs be also the utmost End. Now the death of the soul lies mainly in this first, it's taken off from God as the chief Good; for that's the first thing sin does, Jam. 1.14. it draws a man away from God, who was the Centre where the soul rested, Psal. 116.7, Return to thy rest, O my soul. They have forsaken their resting place, they have wandered upon every mountain. And therefore Judas v. 18. all the lustings and inclinations of the soul they are called ungodly lusts, because they have nothing else in them, that being the main bend in them all, to take off the soul from God and carry it away from him, Jer. 2.13, It's forsaking the fountain of living water. And Heb. 3.12, It's departing from the living God. And hence it is that repenting is called returning, because we have departed from him; and conversion is nothing else but returning to God as a man's chief Good. And man being thus departed from him, God is not in all their thoughts: for they look for no good from him, their good lies not in him, and therefore they live without God in the world; they know him not, they love him not, they expect nothing from him; it's to them as if there were no God to judge, nor reward; and hence it is that men can live without the favour of God all their life-long, and never be troubled, because they have not made it their happiness. But take a man that has set up this as his happiness, a frown is to him as the messenger of death, and not to see the King's face puts him into the shadow of death; for he can breathe in no other air: as Absalon said, He could not live unless he saw the King's face. And so David, God had hid his face, which made him like to them that go down into the pit. Man in his Creation as he was wholly of God, so he was wholly for him; and so it is when the Image of God is renewed: None of us lives to himself, Rom. 14.9. 1 Cor. 10. ult. nor dies to himself; Whether we live we live to the Lord, and whether we die, we die to the Lord, etc. But nature never aims at God in any thing, makes him neither the end of his being, nor of his working: if he labour in his Calling and get an Estate, he is laying up treasures for himself; and is not rich towards God: and in his Religious duties, if he pray, he howls for Corn and Wine.— If he fast, Have you fasted to me, says the Lord? and when you did eat and drink, did you not eat to yourselves? And when they preach it's to themselves: some preach Christ out of envy, and to draw disciples after them. Some self-end or other is the great wheel in all they do that acts them, and carries them on: and if they do reform with Jehu, it's upon a politic principle, and not a pious; not for God but for themselves: and so dum obtemperant, non obsequuntur, whiles they obey they obey not; and in all the duties of Religion Self is at the bottom, Hos. 10.11, They are as a heifer that loves to tread out the corn. And if like the Pharisee they fast, or give alms, it is to be seen of men; God is not in all their thoughts, nor his glory in all their aim; and they are said to serve other things as Mammon, and serve divers lusts and pleasures. Now what is service but to do another's work, and to do it to their ends, to be wholly theirs: therefore Christ is said to be God the Father's servant, because he did the work that God gave him to do, and he aimed at God's ends also; he did not seek his own glory, but the glory of him that sent him: and Grace is in this respect in a special manner called self-denial, Mat. 16.24, Let a man deny himself; and Self in ends is hardest denied of any other. This is great Babel that I have built for the honour of my Majesty. And thus the soul is taken off from God, it has no happiness in him as the chief Good, they live not to him, they act not for him as their utmost end; he is neither the end of their being, nor of their working. 2. The Soul has lost his interest in God. There were glorious relations between God and man by Covenant, so that as God had an interest in man, so had man also an interest in God, Luk. 3. ult. Adam was the son of God, and had that interest in God that became that relation, as a child has an interest in a father, and he could truly call him his God: and this is the glory of the second Covenant, that our interest in God is restored and increased; I will be their God and they shall be my people, Jer. 31.33. And he that has an interest in another may claim him according to his relation, as truly as if all were in his own power; as the Wife has an interest in the Husband, and she may expect that love, care, and protection and provision that that relation does entitle her to, as truly as if it were in her own power; and the Husband may expect from his Wife that love, service and help that the relation calls for. And it's true of all other relations whatsoever, when persons have a relation and an interest one in another; and though the persons be of the highest rank, as between a King and a Subject, a Master and a Servant, a Father and a Son, yet the relation gives them a mutual interest one in another: and so man had in God at the first, he was his God; and the Saints now call him in Christ, the God of my mercy, and the God of my life; and so man had an interest in the Wisdom of God, and in the Holiness of God, and the Sovereignty of God over all the Creatures, so far as might be for man's good, as truly as for his own glory; for that's the nature of propriety, Eph. 6.10, Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. I have no power, may such a soul say, but I am strong in the strength of God, and wise by the wisdom of God; all that is in God I have a claim to, I have nothing of my own, but all the Creatures of God are as mine; and therefore as having nothing, and yet possessing all things; having nothing in myself and yet possessing all things in God: as Rev. 21.6, He that overcomes shall inherit all things; I will be his God. And therefore after all Job's great losses the Fathers bring him in looking upon them all, and saying, I have lost nothing. So long as the soul has an interest in God he can lose nothing, he can want nothing: But sin has broken all relations between you and God, but barely that of a Creature, thou art no more a Son; and therefore the Jews, Joh. 8. boasting that God was their father, Christ tells them, that there was no such relation between God and them, but they descended from another stock, of their father the Devil. And for servants, they serve not God but themselves, their own bellies; and therefore all this interest must be restored unto them in Christ; I ascend to my father and your father, my God and your God: He is no way a God to us but as he is Christ's God, else we have no interest in him; and if we sin we can lay no claim to his Mercy to pardon, or to his Wisdom to direct us, or his Power to protect us, or his Bounty to provide for us; nay, all the Attributes of God that work for the good of his people, they all work against such a soul; his Holiness is a terror, for he is of purer eyes than to behold evil; his Wisdom is a terror, for he knows how to reserve the wicked to the day of judgement to be punished; his Omniscience is against us, for he will bring every work to judgement with every secret thing: He does number our steps, and does watch over our sins, and the mercy of God thou hast no interest in, thou shalt have judgement without mercy, etc. a man can claim nothing that is in God to be for him. And though while men are at ease, and enjoy the Creatures, they find no want of this, yet when they come to die and to be in a straight, Act. 27. as Paul was when he said, the Angel of the Lord stood by me whose I am and whom I serve; and at the last day to look up to God, and say, I am thine, save me Lord, it will be more than for a man to have an interest and a title to all the Kingdoms of the Earth: and other men that have slighted it they shall know what it is to lose their interest in God. 3. The Soul has wholly lost the Image of God in which the glory of the soul did at first lie, but it's utterly defaced, and a new Image is now stamped upon us. We are all by nature the children of the Devil, and there is an image that's earthly which we do now bear, 1 Cor. 15.49. therefore we must be renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created us; for all knowledge and inward abilities of mind either to know God or the Creature is lost, and the soul is darkness itself, Ephes. 4.18. dark in its principles, and dark in its reasonings, his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is darkness: and though Divines do commonly say, that there are some common notions as fragments of the former image, I conceive we are beholding to the Covenant of Grace for them, and that they are preserved in us by Christ, as our lives are; and the support of the Creatures for our use, and whatever does tend to our comfortable being, whatever is on this side Hell, we have not as a part of the first Image, and from the first Covenant, but as an overflowing of the Grace of the second Covenant, by which I say the world stands: for surely man fell in lutum lapidosum, into a stony mire, as Bernard: the one blotted out the image of Holiness, and the other broke in pieces all his natural abilities. It's laid for a ground, that Original sin is alike in all; now how comes it to pass that it has not the same punishment and power upon all? Take a natural fool, and the veriest idiot, and every one of us was as guilty of Adam's sin as he; now why are those common notions blotted out in him, and preserved in us? surely it is from the different dispensations of the Mediator, into whose hand the government and administration of all things are committed; and it's said, Joh. 1.9. That he enlightens every man: there is not only a supernatural light from Christ to all the Elect, but there is some kind of light that even all mankind has from Christ by virtue of the second Covenant; that it's not destroyed it is from him: and that glorious freedom of Will is wholly lost, that though man acts as a free-willer because he does it answerable to the dictates of Reason; yet it is libertas adulterina, an adulterine liberty; and that which has a show of liberty, but is only bondage: for surely that libertas contrarietatis, velle bonum vel malum, is not liberty; for that's a perfection, and so is not the other, neither can there be liberty in Heaven then: but now the soul is wholly servile, because it can will nothing else but evil,— Phil. 2.13. he must work the will, etc. Facit ut velimus praebendo vires efficacissimas voluntati. Aug. 4. The Soul has lost all fellowship and communion with God. Adam could walk with God, and enjoy fellowship as a friend with God; and so do the Saints that have this image renewed; but it's grace only fits a man for fellowship, Being made partakers of the divine nature, 2 Pet. 1.4. And so for glory also, Col. 1.12. Ephes. 4.18. Estranged from the life of God. So called, either because it's wrought by God, (as the righteousness of Christ is called the righteousness of God,) its God that lives in the soul by his spirit; and it's the life of God by way of eminency and excellency; for things excellent are called the things of God: and it's the life of God, because it does fit a man to walk with God, and to live to God. Now from this life men are strangers, Isa. 44.20. they live a natural life, and they feed upon the carnal comforts that are below, that nature desires and seeks after; and they live a civil life, they converse with men in civil affairs; but for a godly life, a life to God, to walk with God, converse with him in all their ways, this they are strangers to, this is only the life of Saints. But men live the life of satan; he lives in them being the spirit of this world, and he acts them, and with him they converse, and his lusts they do. As Augustin says of himself, speaking of the lusts of his youthful time, Hi sunt amici quibus acquievi, consuls quibus credidi, aves quibus cohabitavi. But for God they have no acquaintance with him in all their ways. 5. The Soul is at enmity with God, Col. 1.21, Enemies in our minds: and this enmity is twofold, either direct or collateral enmity, as when men's lusts run out to the Creatures, and the using of them, loco mariti, in the stead of an husband; it's an enmity unto God, though we intent it not, but Jam 4.4. only pleasure in the Creature carries us on, and we prove adulterers therewith, when men's spirits are carried unto several lusts for pleasure sake, and profits sake, etc. and so it's enmity against God but indirectly, and men say they never meant God any evil, I never intended it; as they in Ezech. 8.3, They set up the image of jealousy to provoke me to go far from my sanctuary: that was finis operis, the end of the work, though not operantis, of the worker. But there is a kind of direct enmity which carries a man on unto that which is simply evil, and that for no cause but because it does displease and dishonour God, as in swearing, a sin wherein is neither pleasure nor profit; there is no ground for it but barely because God is dishonoured by it. We read Heb. 10.29. there is a despighting of the spirit of Grace; there is an enmity to do evil for no other end but to despite the spirit of Grace, which is the great transgression, Psal. 19.13. There is an inclination in our nature to this great offence, unto which not only presumptuous sins, but even secret sins are steps and degrees. Men reject the Sovereignty of God, and scorn his Laws, and despise his power and judgements, deny his being and exalt themselves above him, saying there is no God. 6. The Souls death lies in this mainly, that it hates, and is an enemy to all those ways that might bring him back unto God again, resists whatever may reconcile God and his soul; let but a good thought of God come into their head, and they hate it. Rom. 1.28. We naturally like not to retain God in our knowledge; let any thing be offered unto us that exalts God, and we reject it, we are enemies to all righteousness. Take but the offers of Christ, and the grace of the Gospel, there is nothing that the heart rises so much against and opposes, because it's the way that brings us to God; they will find out another of their own, they desire to be under the Law, go about to establish their own righteousness, and not submit to the righteousness of Christ. This will be the great condemnation of the World. Nay, even in a godly man, let but a little of God be set upon his soul, presently flesh lusts against it, (Gal. 5.17.) and would extinguish that spark that the grace of God has kindled in his soul, but that an Almighty power upholds it; so that men could be content to live in this world and never know God, Job 21.15. §. 3. The curses upon the Soul in reference to God we have seen; now there are others in reference unto the soul itself, and some of these we shall also name: As first, God doth forsake the soul; for the Creature departing from God, he does also departed from it. There are three words used to this purpose, one is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Jer. 23.33, I will even forsake you; it signifies to cast off the care of them, etc. And another word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which is properly to forsake or departed from a person, or withdraw his presence, 2 Chron. 15.2. If you forsake him he will also forsake you: but the word in 2 Chron. 28.29. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which signifies to cast a man off, and to forsake him as an abomination. Now of the Desertions of God there are several kinds, answerable to the several blessings wherein a man is deserted: (1) There is a desertion in the matter of actions, and then a man can do nothing, for even a godly man is not sufficient of himself to think a good thought: God works the will and the deed of his good pleasure. (2) There is a desertion in matter of Grace, and then all corruptions prevail and overflow. (3) There is a desertion in direction, and then a man's way is hid, and he cannot tell which way to take, but he gropes for the way as a blindman. (4) There is desertion in matter of strength, and then a man can bear no affliction, nor resist any temptation, but his heart is weak as water. (5) There's a desertion in part of joy and comfort, and then his heart is full of heaviness, he walks in darkness and has no light; when God does but hid his face his soul is troubled even to death. (6) There is a desertion in respect of any outward calamity. When God leaves a man in the hand of an enemy, as he did Job in the hand of Satan, and withdrew himself, took away the hedge that was about him; and when a man is left in the hands of wicked men whose tender mercies are cruelty, Job says, Chap. 29.4. The secret of God was upon my tabernacle: there is a secret of counsel, Psal. 25.14. and so some expound it here for direction, God making known his Counsels to him; but there is also a secret of Providence, God's presence being with him as if he were peculiarly the God of his family, and had a special eye to the preservation of his Tabernacles beyond all others. As amongst the Heathens they had their Household-gods, so did the Lord seem to be unto Job, and the secret of his Providence was there, as the Lord has still a secret of his peculiar Providence over his own, which is called the secret of the Lord. Now if the Lord desert a man, even his own people, any of these ways, in what a miserable condition do they by and by apprehend themselves to be? There is a presence of God required to the subsistence and being of the Creature, and therefore one has well compared it to a glass without a foot, etc. There is a Divine hand that holds it, and if the Lord do hold it, it will abide safe, but if God withdraw his hand it falls, he need not ta●e it and dash it against the wall, it will break of itself; so if God do but withdraw his hand the Creature does perish, if he do but forsake it in its natural being, it comes to nothing; so also if the Lord forsakes the soul in its spiritual being, all misery must needs break in upon it.— When the Lord says, I will be with thee, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. O! how comfortable is it to hear such a promise? let a man but sit down and imagine with himself what good he can desire, and as it is all in God eminently, so is the supply of it to a soul eminently in the presence of God: all happiness is comprehended in this, I will be with thee; so do but imagine to the utmost whatever evil you can fear, and it's all comprehended in this one word, I'll forsake you; and then all misery must needs follow it. Deut. 31.17. God says, I will forsake thee, and hid my face from thee, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them, and they shall say, these evils are come upon us because God is not amongst us. If the Lord forsake his beloved Son the Lord Christ in point of his presence and joy, he looks upon it as the greatest of his sufferings, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? though it was but substractio visionis, non unionis, a substraction of vision, not of union. And this is the dreadful sentence at the last day passed in the most terrible words, Depart from me ye cursed; and therefore cursed because you must departed: and 2 Thes. 1.9, Punished with eternal destruction from the presence of God, and the glory of his power. And if a soul be left by God, O! whither will it go? and though men be not now sensible of it, because they enjoy the Creatures; yet when all the Creatures and the comfort of them shall have an end, and God shall be all in all, and this God hath forsaken thee, and thou hast no interest in him, than thou wilt know what it is for God to leave the soul. 2. There is guilt upon the Soul that follows as a part of the Curse, and is a necessary consequent and concomitant of every sin, Rom. 3.19, All the world is become guilty before God; and Jam. 2.20, He that breaks one Commandment is guilty of all. This guilt in its nature is the obligation of the Soul to bear the whole Curse, and all the punishment that is legally due thereunto. There are indeed two things in guilt; (1) There is ordination unto wrath, and that is ex parte Dei, on God's part; which the Schoolmen call reatus personae, the guilt of the person, the actual binding over of such a man to punishment because of sin; and this is from God, (for the Law is good) and may be separated from sin, as in all the regenerate that are justified by the righteousness of Christ it is. (2) There is a demerit in sin, which is the desert of punishment and wrath, and this is called reatus peccati, the guilt of sin; and this is inseparable from sin wheresoever it is; even in God's people, there is a meriting of wrath in their sins, as well as others: But unto all men that are under the first Covenant, both these by virtue of the curse of it do concur; there is a demerit in the sin, and there is an actual obligation to punishment upon the person. There are two things in sin, there is the act and the guilt; the act with the pleasure of it is fading, the pleasures of sin that are but for a season; but there is an abiding guilt upon the spirit that is after a sort infinite, being an offence against an infinite God, a violation of an infinite Holiness, and a contempt of infinite Majesty and Authority; and it is also eternal and will remain upon the Creature for ever, and nothing in the world but the Blood of Christ can take it away from the soul, Gen. 4.7. being sprinkled upon the Conscience; and this is the meaning of that Proverbial speech, Gen. 4.7, Sin lies at the door; it's a speech taken from a dog or a fierce beast that lies at the door to watch; and it teaches us three things: [1] That though the act be past, yet the guilt remains, binding over the soul to punishment, the sin lies there. [2] That there is a time when sin in the guilt and punishment of it may lie still and be quiet, and a man may ruffle it in the house within and never be troubled at that which lies at the door. [3] Sin lying at the door will surely be awakened, and it will be easily awakened; Luther in loc. ad fores somno minime aptus est locus; ibi quiescit peccatum ubi diu quiescere non potest, etc. Sin lies asleep there where it can lie long asleep; the door will surely open, and the sin that seems sleepy now will awake, and therefore it is a fearful thing, talem habere janitorem, to have such a porter. Jer. 2.22, Though thou wash thyself with niter and fullers soap, yet thy iniquity is marked before me; it's spoken of all the false glosses and pretences that men have to excuse themselves and to extenuate their sins. There is a guilt upon the man before God, Jer. 17.1. The iniquity of Judah is writ with a pen of iron, etc. It is to be referred both ad reatum & culpam, and it notes the indelible characters of it upon the soul; that as the people of God have the Law of God writ upon their hearts, so have ungodly men the guilt of sin and the law of sin; their sin will find them out. There are two things that men are terrified with, Numb. 32.23. and they look upon as enemies, the word of God and the guilt of their own sins, and therefore men do endeavour to fly from the one, and to hid themselves from the other; now the word follows them, and will surely overtake them at last, Zach. 1.6. and the guilt of sin that seeks the man; and albeit he has many a hiding place, yet sin both in the guilt and in the punishment of it also will at last find him out. (3) Hence follows an evil Conscience, Heb. 10.22. There are two things that make the Conscience evil, it's pollution by reason of the filth of sin, and its accusation and condemnation by reason of the guilt of sin; and though this indeed be mainly reserved to the last day, Rom. 2.15, 16. when the book of Conscience shall be opened, and that faculty enlarged, because than it is to give up its Viatory office, and an account of the whole man that God has betrusted it with; yet it doth in many men begin here, according as the Lord is pleased to act it, and doth bring into the soul an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Heb. 10.27. a receiving of judgement beforehand, binding a man over unto wrath, that the Creature is continually in expectation of it, Heb. 2.15. Mat. 8. ●9. Art thou come to torment us before the time? therefore an evil Conscience they have that tells them that there is a torment in a greater measure provided for them, and that there is a time appointed when the extremity of this torment shall begin, though as yet they knew the time was not come. Hence comes that fear which does torment the soul, 1 Joh. 4.18. that wrath will seize upon a man wheresoever he is, as it was with Cain, Gen. 4.14. Every one that meets me will slay me: he looked upon himself, as Luther saith, Tanquam excommunicatus spiritualiter & corporaliter, regnum amiserat & ecclesiam, as one who was excommunicated both spiritually and corporally, etc. And therefore he that was put out of the protection of God could look for no safety amongst the Creatures; hence a man walks in the horror of the shadow of death; Felix trembles, and Herod feared it was John Baptist that he had slain that was risen again. There is fear on every side: if he walks by the way he looks vengeance should come upon him, and he shall never again visit his habitation, and if he abide in his house there is a curse entered into the stones and the timber of it; when he lies down at night, he says, it may be this night God will take away my soul, and he is scared with dreams, and terrified with visions, that he is not able to stand under the imaginations and thoughts of his own heart: if he attend upon the Word there is a savour of death unto death; he sees the grave open, and this is to him a testimony of a further death, 2 Cor. 2.16. And hence is that shame and confusion of face that is in men: looking upon themselves they abhor their own image, and are not able to endure their own stink, seeing how their souls do breed worms, as Herod's body did; they see that they are the loathsomest Creatures alive, and hence there is a loathing of themselves; and it comes at last to a revenge, as we see in Judas. And the reflections and reproaches of a man's own spirit he cannot bear: and he has these dreadful desperate thoughts, I shall never find mercy, my glass is run, my hope is past, surely there is no mercy for me; if there were as many windows in Heaven as there be Stars, as many doors as there be souls, yet there would be no entrance for me. And the soul sinks down under his own burden for ever, and says, My iniquity is heavier than I can bear. And this is properly the death of the soul, it is eternal desperation, it's hell itself. I had time and means, and offers, and entreaties and works, and motions of the Spirit of God; but the Lord has now forsaken me, and the night is come upon me, there is as much hope of the Devils as of me. And this is much strengthened by the threatening and the Curse of the Law, giving a man his portion; Hos. 6.5. and so Ministers are said to judge men, Ezech. 20. ●. and to torment them. Rev. 11.10. and to kill them; which is all barely by the words suggesting to an evil Conscience, and the Conscience assisting thereunto: and there is answerable to the Curse of the first Covenant a work of the Spirit of God upon a man's soul, which is called a spirit of bondage, and a spirit of fear, Rom. 8.15. 2 Tim. 1.7. whereas men would turn away their eyes from their sins, the Spirit of God does hold them upon it, and set them in order before them: and whereas men would have slight apprehensions of sin and wrath, the Spirit of God does give a man great apprehensions and dreadful thoughts of them: and as in Heaven the spirit of Adoption shall be in perfection, so in Hell the spirit of bondage shall be in perfection also. 4. God gives a man up unto the power of sin and the dominion of it; that a man is not his own, but yields up himself and his members instruments to unrighteousness, Rom. 6.18. He gives over himself to obey sin and the lusts thereof; man sells himself to sin sinfully, and God sells him judicially, etc. That as a godly man is not his own, so neither is a wicked man: For his servant a man is to whom he obeys, whether it be of sin unto death, Rom. 6.16. or of obedience unto righteousness; and therefore they are the servants of sin. Now sin has a double power, (1) of a Lord, as it reigns over men, which unto godly men is taken away. (2) As a Hu●band, Rom. 6.14. that's a power of love that it can command, and a man has an inward affection to obey it, as it is said of Ahab, he did sell himself to work wickedness; Rom. 7.3. and than God sells a man to wickedness, and the man is become wholly the servant and the creature of such a lust. Every man by nature indeed does sin freely; but some men are left to a judiciary freedom in sinning, that as they cannot restrain themselves, so God will not restrain them from sinning; but they shall pour out themselves to all iniquity with greediness, Judas v. 11. they shall be as wicked as they will, that so they may fill up their measure of sinning; as Christ said of the Pharisees, Fill up the measures of your fathers: it's spoken by way of wrath and vengeance; the Lord did give them up to the power of sin to the uttermost, Rev. 22.11, He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still. This permission is the highest and forest affliction. And there the Church leaves them that are obstinately ignorant, and resist instruction, 1 Cor. 14.38, He that is ignorant let him be ignorant. Now for a man to be thus given up by God and his Church, is a most desperate condition. As it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God; so it's a fearful thing to be given up to his own hearts lust. To be given up to sin is a just punishment of sin; for the ways of sin, as well as the wages of sin, is death. It's a dreadful thing for the Lord to say of a people appointed to wrath, Jer. 15.2. Let them go forth, such as are for the sword to the sword, and such as are for the famine to the famine: but it is more dreadful for God judicially to say, let them go forth, such as are for drunkenness unto drunkenness, and such as are for uncleanness unto uncleanness; as much as sin is a greater evil than affliction, and as much as it is better to suffer than to sin. 5. God gives a man up to the power of Satan and his own will, 2 Tim. 2.26. The Devil is compared to a hunter, and men are by him taken alive as we do beasts in a snare, and then carried whither the hunter will: though God be not the author of sin, yet he is the orderer of it as well as of suffering: and as he sets bounds unto Satan in our affliction, as Job 1.12. All that he has is in thy hand, only upon himself lay not thy hand; so he does in our temptations also, He will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able, 1 Cor. 10.13. Satan would indeed tempt you above what you are able, but God will not suffer you so to be tempted. It's a fearful thing for God to give a man either in his body or estate over to the will of the Devil, as we see in Job, how sad was it with him in that regard; but much more for God to give over a man's spirit to Satan to carry a man unto what sins he will: then I am sure he will be boundless in his sinning, as well as in his suffering. It's an observation of Damascene, that it's only by sin that Satan has access to the spirits of men, and therefore he did tempt Adam and Christ himself by outward objects only presented to the senses, which is a great argument that he could not have access to their spirits. Joh. 14.30. The Prince of this world, says Christ, comes and has nothing in me. The more Satan has in a man the more immediate access he has to him, and the greater power over him; therefore the less of Satan there is in a man surely the less power he has over him. But besides the possession and dominion that sin has given him, there is a delivering a man unto Satan, a kind of spiritual excommunication by God himself; as Christ by a sop gave Satan full possession of Judas: Joh. 13.27. and though before the sop he had it may be some reluctancy to that damned business, yet after it Satan had full power over him, and he goes on with a resolution, and an impudent boldness, and says, Whom I kiss he it is; for he was delivered over to the will of Satan to carry him unto what sin he would. And so we may observe of the false Prophets in Ahab's time, and them also that are mentioned in 2 Thes. 2.12. and such men, as Tertullian observes, he raises to a higher degree of wickedness; the Devil vouchsafed them greater and fuller power: he speaks it of Martion, Valentinus, and other Heretics, Satan brings them to those sins against God that he himself cannot commit. 6. All Providences and Ordinances, and Operations of the Spirit become a curse to them, and a snare to their souls; Prosperity makes them full and deny the Lord, and poverty makes them steal and take the name of God in vain. Prov. 30.8. If a man be raised from a low estate as Saul and Hazael, it is in wrath; and if he be preserved in a common judgement it is in wrath: as God raised up Pharaoh, That he might show his power on him, and send all his Plagues upon his heart; and if there be a Prophet sent to Jeroboam, a judgement lights on him in his way back, because he was disobedient to the word of the Lord: 1 King. 13.33. yet thereupon Jeroboam turns not from his abomination. Every act of Providence is to them for evil, and a snare to their souls; and all the Ordinances that they do enjoy do but ripen their sins, Amos 8.7. there is a fullness of curse as well as of blessing in the Gospel; and it's a favour of death as well as of life, and all the works of illumination, humiliation, seeming conversion and reformation do make them but the stronger enemies to God; when they fall from them all they do but prepare a habitation for seven worse spirits; for the dog to return to his vomit again: as we read such a story of one Eustathius, who was first an Arian, and then afterwards was converted and subscribed the Articles of the Council of Nice, and was a man employed by the Church, and endured a great Persecution with Basil, and divers other godly men; and yet afterward he turned again into the former Doctrine of Arianism, and never returned. And so we read of Alexander in Act. 19.33. and afterwards of his Apostasy; and these works do qualify men for the sin against the Holy Ghost, and make them more conformable to the Devil than otherwise they would be. 7. There is a giving a man up to Spiritual judgements which are of all plagues the greatest, Exod. 9.14. As spiritual sins are the greatest sins, so are spiritual judgements the greatest plagues, and there is no plague like that of the heart, 1 King. 8.38. and we have so much the more cause to observe them, because God did formerly under the Old Testament punish with outward and temporal punishments; but those that live under the Gospel are specially punished with Spiritual judgements; as the mercies of the Gospel are more spiritual, so are the punishments also: and they are (1) a hard heart; which implys three things, [1] Insensibleness of sin and judgement: [2] Taking no impression either from the Word or Spirit, and the touches of both. [3] Inflexible as an Adamant, that you cannot bow nor break it, and that heart that is a flint to God is wax to Satan; no command, nor judgement of God will break it, for it's possessed with an iron sinew; bray a fool in a mortar, yet his folly will not departed. (2) There is a spirit of slumber that a man is sensible of nothing, no danger can wake him; for sleep is the binding up of all the spiritual senses. Their eyes are closed and they cannot see; their ears are uncircumcised and they cannot hearken; let them be smitten and they cannot feel it; and nothing does awaken them, neither the loudest cry of the Word, nor the judgements of God; a deep sleep is upon them, and they fear no evil. (3) A seared Conscience, 1 Tim. 4.2. the word signifies, to sear with a hot iron, and to make insensible, to have no feeling, or else to cut off by searing; so that men walk as if they had no Consciences left. (4) An injudicious mind; God gives them over to a reprobate mind: Rom. 1.28. an injudicious mind is taken with envy, error, with every vanity, and is able to judge aright of nothing. (5) Vile affections, the basest and most dishonourable lusts, even sins that are below a man, as brute beasts therein to corrupt themselves, and that makes them hateful and abominable to all the world. (6) A final impenitency, a heart that cannot repent; Heb. 6.4. and it's impossible for them to be renewed again by repentance. §. 4. Having spoken of Temporal death and Spiritual death, we should now come to consider Eternal death; which, as it is said of the Glory of the Saints, Neither eye has seen, nor ear has heard, neither can it enter into the heart of man to conceive, etc. it is as true of this Eternal death, no ear has heard what it is; it is called perdition and destruction, the second death. And as Heaven is set out by some resemblances of the glory of the things in this life, so is Hell in respect of the miseries of this life; but all these are but shadows of the one and of the other. Psal. 90.11, Who knows the power of thy wrath? as is thy fear, so is thy wrath: that is, the wrath of God in the dreadful effects of it is such that it passes knowledge, and it passes fear. The heart of man is able to conceive vast fears, as it has vast desires; but whatever we can fear there is something in the wrath of God answerable to all. But having spoke of this more largely elsewhere, I shall but touch upon it at present. In this death there is something essential which befalls all that suffer these torments, and is inseparable from it, as they do fall upon such a subject; the essential part of this death the Scripture makes to be of two parts, there is punishment of Loss, and punishment of Sense. There is a loss and a separation of a man from all good things whatsoever; there is no man but has some good thing in possession, and he has something of which hope gives him a reversion: but in this death he shall be separated from them both, and this is the privative part. This poena damni, punishment of loss, is double, (as Durandus has observed, pag. 210.) either, in amissione boni habiti, vel nondum habiti, in the amission of some good possessed or hoped for: Now by this death men shall be shut out from both: First, they shall be shut out of the presence, vision and fruition of God for ever; there shall pass upon him an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as Divines did anciently call it, an eternal excommunication, or a non-communion: as their spiritual death did consist in an estrangement from God in holiness, so their eternal death shall consist in an eternal separation from God in happiness; They shall be punished with eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord, 2 Thes. 1.9. and this was the great torment that Christ does complain of, Mat. 27.46. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? and yet it was only substractio visionis, a substraction of vision. And this is the great affliction of his people here on earth: if the Lord hid his face, David says, Hid not thy face from me, lest I be like to them that go down into the pit: and yet this is but a hiding of his face, as an Eclipse of the Sun for a day; he will but hid his face for a little moment, but he will have mercy on thee with everlasting loving kindness: how much more when God shall cast a man off in wrath for ever, and never have an eye upon him more! and therefore the Fathers do generally say, that the greatest torment of Hell is this of Loss; Absentia Dei quoad visionem omnia alia tormenta superat. Augustine and Chrysostom in Mat. 7. Mille Gehennae paenas: and there is nothing so dreadful as to be separated from God, and to be hated by him. CHAP. II. How and why men naturally desire to be under the Law? Galat. 4. 21, Tell me you that desire to be under the Law, do you not hear the Law? SECT. I. How men naturally desire to be under the Law. §. 1. THis Text tells us how men are naturally affected with the Covenant under which they stand; They still desire to be under it: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here signifies (1) ye that covet earnestly, or vehemently desire; so the word is used, Mat. 12.38. & 16.24. Mar. 10.35. & 12.38. (2) Ye that demand or make it your petition, so Mat. 15.28. & 20.21. (3) Ye that study, contrive, labour with all your might, so Mat. 16, 25. Mar. 8.10, 43, 44. Luk. 23.20. (4) Ye that consent to this as best, determine, as Mat. 13.28. Joh. 9.54. Mat. 17.4. (5) Ye that delight or take pleasure, Mat. 9.13. & 12.7. Heb. 10.5, 8. It follows to be under the Law. The Apostle Paul speaks of being under the Law in divers senses: (1) There is a being under the Law for justification and life, Gal. 4.4, 5. that is, under the Law as a Covenant: Christ was made under the Law to redeem us that were under the Law. (2) There is a being under the Law for condemnation, Gal. 3.10. Rom. 6.14. As many as are under the works of the Law are under the curse. (3) There is a being under the Law for irritation, that is, stirring up a man's corruption; Sin taking occasion by the Commandment became exceeding sinful. Gal. 5.8. (4) There is a being under the Law by compulsion, If you are led by the spirit you are not under the Law: that is, the Law as only enforcing and compelling; as an unregenerate man is, as a slave, and having the spirit of a servant, not of a son, who does all he does from an inward principle and disposition suitable to the Law, in whatever it does command. But it will appear that being under the Law in all these senses are grounded on being under it as a Covenant, as we shall see hereafter; and that he that is freed from it as a Covenant, is not under the Law in any of these respects; but by virtue of the second Covenant is delivered from it. Only here I think Pareus and others say, that to be under the law and desire so to be, is the same with Gal. 3.10. They that are of the works of the Law: that is, that seek righteousness and life by the works of the Law; and this is properly to be under the Law as a Covenant of Works, which was the natural sin of the Jews, and with which error and heresy they endeavoured to overspread all the Gentile Churches, going about to establish their own righteousness; and therefore typified by Hagar, which the Apostle makes Jerusalem that now is, and is in bondage with her children: but Jerusalem above, the Christian Church, is Sarah that did receive the Doctrine of the Gospel without any mixture of their own righteousness, but did trust perfectly in the Grace that was revealed to them by Jesus Christ. 1 Tim. 10.3. So here to be under the Law is to seek to be justified by the works of the Moral or Ceremonial Law, as being works of righteousness that we have done. For though the whole Ceremonial Law were Gospel under a veil, yet they not being able to look to the end of it, as the Apostle says, they did perform it as works of righteousness, 2 Cor. 3. in which they did expect justification, and life for their obedience to them, and performance of them, without looking into the things shadowed in those types. Now the Apostle says not only, that men were thus under the Law, but so they did desire to be. Therefore looking upon these as being a pattern of all mankind, and in whom the dispositions of all men may be read, I do hence observe: Doct. That to be under the Law as a Covenant of works is unto every natural man a very desirable condition. He is not only born under the first Covenant, but under that Covenant he does desire to continue. In the handling of it I shall first prove it, and give the grounds of it, and answer some Objections that may arise in the hearts of men against it, and then make the application of it. There is in the fall of man, a double misery come upon him. (1) His being under Adam's Covenant. (2) His bearing Adam's image. And in this state all men by nature desire to live and die. And that men do still desire to bear the image of the Earthly Adam is plain, because they resist the image of God in Christ, that blessed image, that by the holy Spirit is offered to them in the Gospel. And we find how much they do hug the image of old Adam in themselves. Now though their desire to be under his Covenant be the foundation of all their misery, yet men apprehend it not so much. The offer of the second Covenant they hate, and reject the Covenant of Christ as much as they despise his Image, yet they perceive it not: Therefore to prove it we must take the most convincing course we can. First, this was the evil that God saw Adam's nature to be prone to, and therefore he not only cast him out of Paradise, as a just reward of his apostasy, but also in a particular manner forbade him the use of the tree of life, Gen. 3.22. Gen. 3.22. God having made for our first Parents coats of skins, now he saith, Behold the man is become like one of us: it is an Ironical exclamation, wherein God derides the falsehood of Satan, and the folly of man: This is the Godship that Satan promised, en Divinitatem promissam! Behold the promised Divinity! And the knowledge of good and evil was nothing but a miserable and shameful nakedness, which before man knew not. And now here follows exilii decretum, & ratio decreti; the decree is, Gods will to cast man out of Paradise; and the ground of it is, lest he put forth his hand and take of the tree of Life. But why must not man after the fall taste of the tree of Life, seeing before the fall it was not forbidden? It is answered, Non in esse, sed in intention futurum erat peccatum, not in the action but in the intention, it was to be reputed sin. And Interpreters give this as a reason, that thereby God might take away occasion of sinning from him; and God doth not only aim at keeping us from sin by his Word. but by his Rod also. And they observe that there was by the fall a double corrupt disposition in Adam's heart, which the eating of this tree would have drawn forth: (1) Looking upon it as a Creature which he might conceive to have a virtue in it to preserve life; he might put forth his hand, which notes a voluntary act, and so he might conceive, though God hath threatened death, yet here is a tree that can preserve life, and of this I will eat and live. And so he might have sinned wilfully, and out of contempt of the threatening of God, by deifying a Creature, and setting it in his place, and giving it God's power; and so the life that was denied him by God, he might think to make up in the Creature as men commonly do. (2) Looking upon it Sacramentally as it was a Creature and a seal of the Covenant which he had broken, and in flying unto the seal of this Covenant, he might still seek righteousness and life thereby; if not in a natural way as a Creature, yet in a spiritual way as a Sacrament. And he might think the same Covenant remained, of which he did still enjoy the seal; therefore to show that there was no way to attain life by that Covenant broken, God shuts him out from the seal of it; also because he had appointed a way to life for man by Christ, a far more glorious tree of life, who is therefore said to be in the middle of the Paradise of God. And this is a more glorious way for God, because in it his justice shall be seen, and satisfaction given, and a safer way for man also; wherefore seeing that to the first tree of life he had still access, and the Lord perceiving in man this disposition to depend on it, he not only forbids it, but placeth an Angel with a sword drawn to keep him from it, that he might have no hopes of life in this way, either by it as a Creature, or by it as a Sacrament. Afterwards Cain was a son begotten in the image of his father; he offered Sacrifices, but it was not in faith, or with an expectation to be accepted in the promised seed, Heb. 11.4. and yet he expected to be accepted; and when he saw he was not, his pride was turned into rage, and great discontent, Gen. 4.5. and his countenance fell. But upon what ground did Cain expect acceptance? it was for the work done only, and therefore all unregenerate men that come to God in a legal way, Luther calls, Cainistas Deo offerentes non personam, sed opus personae, Cainists offering to God not the person, but the work of the person. Which shown plainly, that he expected to have been accepted and rewarded for his work done alone, according to the tenure of the first Covenant, without a Mediator; and therefore God speaks to him according to the rules of his own Covenant, (as Divines commonly observe) If thou dost well thou shalt be accepted. This being the great difference between the two Covenants, in the first Covenant the person is accepted for the works, but in the second the works are accepted for the persons sake. And when the Lord took the people of Israel unto himself as a peculiar people of all the Nations of the Earth, and entered into a Covenant with them; though God did not intent to set up this Law alone as a rule by which any man since the fall should attain righteousness and life, but as a Covenant of Grace with Evangelical offers of Grace to bring them to Christ, and therefore gave it in the hand of a Mediator; yet the Lord kept it in the form of a Covenant of Works, that it might be the more effectual to drive men to Christ, and so serve God's ends. But they stuck to the Law as a Covenant of Works, even the generality of that people, and did seek righteousness and life by the obedience of it; and it grew even the common sense of the Nation, as we see it in the young man, Mat. 19.16. What shall I do to inherit Eternal life? Eternal life he thought must be got in a way of doing; and it was the error which prevailed amongst the Pharisees, the most learned amongst the Jews. Phil. 3.6, 7. Paul counted his former legal righteousness gain to him, pro merito, that which should bring him in a great revenue of glory at last. And it is recorded by the Apostle as the great sin of their Nation, Rom. 10.4. to go about to establish their own righteousness, and not submit to the righteousness of God; not to look upon Christ as the end of the Law for righteousness unto every one that believes. And when the partition-wall was broken down, and God had lifted up Christ as an Ensign to the Nations, the Law went forth of Zion, and the waters issued out of the Sanctuary, these were the first tares which the envious man did sow, to put men upon setting up the Law as a Covenant, and to seek life upon impossible conditions, as by their perfect fulfilling of it; and therefore they must do as the Pharisees did, when they could not come up to the Law, they must by their own interpretations as well as their traditions, bring the Law down to them, and enervate the Law. And therefore the Apostle takes much pains to confute it, and to persuade us against seeking righteousness and life by the works of the Law; Rom. 3.4. Gal. 2.3, 4. and Satan being beaten out of this, than his next design is to seek to join both Covenants together, and persuade men, to seek righteousness and life by fulfilling the Law and believing in Christ also. And so partly by our own obedience we shall be justified and accepted, and wherein we come short, Christ's righteousness comes in to make it up. We read in Act. 15.5. that there were some of the sect of the Pharisees that did believe, and had received Christ as Mediator, and acknowledged him, that yet said, It was needful and they ought in duty to be circumcised, and to keep the Law of Moses. Which Doctrine afterward the Apostles and the Church of Jerusalem disavow, as a thing they had no warrant for to preach. So in Act. 21.20. there were many thousands that believed, and yet were leavened with this error; they were all jealous of the Law, which made the Apostle speak so exclusively as he does, Rom. 3.28. Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith, without the works of the Law. And since the Primitive times, we see what Doctrine has been found out by the Papists, that good works do justify a man in the sight of God, and Christ has merited this; that opera renatorum, good works after conversion, shall be the matter of their righteousness, and Christ will supply what is wanting. And hence it's taught, That they may fulfil the Law, nay, do more than the Law requires in works of Supererogation, etc. And others turn Faith into a work, and say, That its faith that's accepted of God as the matter of our righteousness, instead of the righteousness of the Moral law, and not the righteousness of Christ made ours by imputation. And he that shall observe what confidence men do place in their works, how they labour for life, and rest in the duty done, and expect acceptance for it; and how they boast themselves of their own performances, and how far most men are after a duty from a humble looking up to Christ for acceptance of it, as if they had done nothing, (for a man should indeed work as if he expected to be accepted for his works, and yet rest as perfectly in Christ for acceptation as if he had done nothing) he shall see that it is a disposition that is deeply rooted in men to expect justification by their works. §. 2. But here it may be men will wonder that time should be spent amongst us in beating men out of this being under the first Covenant, and getting life upon impossible terms, to undertake perfectly to keep the Law, and to seek justification by works, seeing we are neither Jews nor Papists: We know we cannot fulfil the Law, but that there is iniquity in our holy things, and we are so far from resting in our duties, that we acknowledge our righteousness is as filthy rags; that if God should look upon them as they are, he must needs abhor them and us for them: and therefore surely there are none amongst us that do so; all this labour might be spared, for we are so far from desiring it, that we disclaim it and abhor it. But I answer to this, Answer. that a man ought to read in other men's practices his own inclination; this was a desire in Adam, 1 Cor. 15.49. and in his Posterity, who do all bear the image of the earthly; for as face answers to face in the water, so sin is alike in all men: and that man perfectly likes an example of sinning in others that does not reflect upon himself, and see that there are seeds of it in him, that doth not read his own nature in another man's life. 2. If there be the seeds of it in thy own heart, then though it never should break forth into act, yet there is just cause that God should loathe thee for it, as we do Toads though they hurt us not. And indeed the main part of our enmity against God, and Gods against us, lies in the contrariety of our nature to him; Col. 1.21. we are naturally enemies to God in our minds; and this is the top of all a godly man's humiliation, this is but a part of all that evil treasure that is within, Psal. 51.7. and there is more in the Warehouse than in the Shop. And that Christian is never kindly humbled for any sin if his humiliation ends in the sin itself, and ascend not to the fountain that is within him, that raging sea that always is casting out mire, etc. We know that in the Saints there is no lust perfectly mortified in this life, Rom. 6.6. for sin dies a crucified death, and therefore though in a Saint it be still upon the Cross, and dying daily, yet it shall never be perfectly destroyed till this corruptible shall put on incorruption. The Saints have the seeds of this sin, of trusting in themselves, in them also, and this lust will not lie idle in them, the flesh will lust against the spirit; Gal. 5.17. and it shows how prone the nature of man is to it, and the actings of it, because it has showed itself so in all ages. And therefore one being asked why Pelagianism did spring up in all ages? answered, Because there were Pelagianae fibrae in the hearts of all men: So if this be asked you, Why this lust of carnal confidence always breaks forth into sinful acts? etc. you may also answer, There are fibrae of it in the heart of all men. Therefore if God have kept this lust from acting in thee so much as it has done in others, O be thankful for so great a mercy; but be careful that thou say not, that it is not in thee, because God has restrained the lust from acting, for than it may be just with God to give a man over to the power of it, and he shall see by experience that it's a mercy to have it restrained, seeing he cannot be wholly freed from it in this life. It's a great evil when God preserves men from sin, for them to think there is no such danger in it. Take heed lest God let out such a lust upon thee, that will make thee a mourner all thy days: and remember how presumptuous Peter was against his denial of Christ, yet how soon he was guilty of it. And how apt are Christians, for not prising a preservation from gross sins, to walk fearlessly, and then God often leaves them to the power of lust, and shows them the mercy of his former restraint. Indeed all lusts in the heart of man do not act alike; some lusts do work directly, and press men to sin, as that of Whoredom and Drunkenness, a man has distinct thoughts about them; but there are some that do work indirectly and in a secret way, to guide men in their practice, and yet never come into distinct thoughts, but work as principles that lie low, and a man acts in the power of them, and yet observe them not; as in a Watch, every one may observe the wheels that move, but every one does not observe the spring from whence their motion proceeds; as a Scholar that speaks and writes Latin, he does not think of the rules of Grammar every sentence he speaks, and yet those rules have an influence into every word, and his whole discourse is framed after those rules; so there are some sins, as Atheism, etc. a man it may be never says in actual thoughts that there is no God, and yet this principle sways with a man, and is at the bottom of every sin. And so it is with this sin, it may not come into actual thoughts that there is Eternal life to be had by our works, and we will exclude the righteousness of Christ; and yet it may have a very great influence upon the man in his whole course, as being a fundamental and mother-sin. (1) So far as any man does desire to establish his own righteousness, so far he desires to be under a Covenant of Works for justification and life; but this is the disposition of every man by nature, therefore every man by nature desires to be under the first Covenant still: this was the great fruit of it amongst the Jews, Rom. 10.3. and the words are very significant, Going about to establish their own righteousness: i. e. seeking or studying for it, as students use to do. It signifies to labour for a thing with a man's utmost endeavour, even with all his might, as Mat. 6.32. After these things do the Gentiles seek: and it answers to the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Rom. 9.31. Rom. 9.31. They followed after the law of righteousness, but they attained it not. The law of righteousness is the righteousness of the Law, that is, justification by it; for the righteousness of the Law to be fulfilled in them by their own personal obedience, not by faith, but by works, this they followed after with all their might. And the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Imbecillitatem propriae justitiae denotat, denotes the imbecility of their own righteousness, that it could not stand alone, but they must set it up and support it, and make it stand by their own opinion and presumptions. Now you see this all along, how men expect acceptation with God for their services, Isa. 58.1, Wherefore have we fasted, and thou regardest not? Men do think to be heard for their much speaking, and stand upon their justification, I fast twice in the week, and pay tithe of all that I possess, says the Pharisee. The Apostle, Rom. 9.31. says, They followed after the righteousness of the Law, by their own performance of the works of the Law. And to this end, because they could not rise up to the spirituality of the Law, they did therefore bring down the Law, by their interpretation, unto their own obedience, and all was to make their own righteousness available for justification. Therefore Paul saith, Concerning the righteousness of the Law blameless, Phil. 3. The young man says, All these have I kept from my youth. Therefore the Papists teach, That men may perfectly fulfil the Law, Bellar. de Justific. l. 2. c. 2, & 3. and do also some works of Supererogation over and above the Law: that the formal cause of Justification is inherent righteousness, though Christ's righteousness is the meritorious cause, Christ having merited that our righteousness may justify, etc. And though not works by nature, yet by Grace; even Faith itself, as a work, is that which God accepts, being performed by us instead of all the righteousness required in the Moral Law. These and many more are the ways by which men seek to establish their own righteousness in matter of Justification. (2) As for Salvation also: All men would be working and doing something for Heaven Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? What shall we do to work the works of God? Joh. 6. They were all upon a way of doing; they did expect a reward for all. They had a high esteem of their own services, and therefore they did boast themselves, and glory in them; it's the law of saith only excludes boasting. Rom. 3.27. The Creature being sinful is lifted up by works, proud of a little, God knows. And therefore Jehu says, Come see my zeal for the Lord of hosts: and there is nothing in the world that the pride of man will appear more in, than in righteousness; for pride is an overweening apprehension of a man's own excellency; and the higher the excellency, the greater the pride, Rom. 7.9. I was alive (says Paul) without the Law: alive in performances, and alive in presumptions; he thought he had done much for God, and therefore his zeal did rise to a madness in persecuting of the Church. It's a hard matter for a man to be a painful Preacher, a zealous professor, a faithful Statesman, or a man that has laid out himself for the public any way, but his heart will swell with privy pride therein; yea, even though he do profess to despise, and to disesteem the praise of men. §. 3. But now more particularly; so far as any man does not submit unto the righteousness and the grace of the second Covenant, so far he manifests his desire to be still under the first Covenant, but all men by nature refuse to submit to the righteousness and the offers of the second Covenant: and therefore they desire to continue under the first. The Scripture speaks of men's actions and dispositions many times interpretatively; not as they are in the intention of the sinner, but as they are in truth, and in the interpretation of God. Prov. 8. ult. Men are said to love death; all those that hate wisdom and despise Christ, and live without him, love death. Now men will all say that they do hate death; but yet in God's interpretation, they hating the only way and means to life, they do all of them love death. So we read in Ezech. 8.5. They did these abominations that I might go far from my sanctuary. It was not their intention in so doing actually and formaliter, but interpretative it was, because they had set up an image of jealousy in the Sanctuary, which would provoke God to remove; and yet if they had been asked they would all have said, they would by no means have the glory of the Lord to remove. So men do not actually desire to be under the first Covenant; but yet so long as they reject the offers and the grace of the second, so long in, God's interpretation they do desire to be under the Law still; and their rejection of the better Covenant offered, argues they like and love that under which they are; and reject the righteousness of God, which is the same which is called the righteousness of Christ, and the righteousness of faith, as the Apostle says, Phil. 3.9. Not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but the righteousness which is of God by faith. And it's called the righteousness of God, partly because it is found out by God, and by God only imputed, and therefore is only an act of free grace, whereby God will make a sinner righteous before him, Rom. 1.17. and partly because Christ offered himself by the eternal spirit without spot to God, which is his own Divine nature; and so unto all the actions and the sufferings of his Humanity, the Godhead gave an efficacy and an excellency even from his person, they being all the actions and sufferings of him that was both God and Man. And unto this righteousness, men through the pride and unbelief of their spirits, and contrariety to the Gospel, will not submit, They have not subjected themselves unto the righteousness of God. 1. All a man's sins do stand out, and will not submit to the righteousness of God; for whoever embraces the offer of the second Covenant, and the grace thereof, must take Christ for Sanctification, 1 Cor. 1. as well as for Justification; for he is made both, and he came with water and blood to answer those ways of legal purification, and so he must come into every soul; but above all sins, a man's darling, his right hand and his right eye, must be parted with; and therefore Christ says, Joh. 5.44. How can you believe, that seek honour one of another? The power of any lust in the soul, will keep it from believing and accepting of the grace and mercy that's offered in the second Covenant. And so through the power and dominion of sin, men cannot submit to the righteousness of God. And how miserably is many a man held in captivity this way! we all see they are by the snares of darkness led captive by Satan at his will. 2. All the gifts and abilities that are in a man, are against it; for faith is the highest self-denial, 2 Cor. 8.2. and gifts do puff up, and therefore not many wise are called. The wisdom of this world is enmity against God: and all their parts and learning, their wisdom, whether it be natural or acquired, doth make them but the stronger enemies, and set them the farther off from Christ; Hab. 2.4. now this stands in the most direct opposition to faith: for that soul that is lifted up, his heart is not upright in him. In troublesome times to have a man's heart born up by a fleshly prop, Rom. 4. is directly opposed to the work of faith; and therefore we find Abraham denied his reason, and shut his eyes against it, when he came to believe: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. he did not judge of it this way and that way, he did not dispute it, but rested in his word alone. And therefore the Apostle asks, 1 Cor. 1.20. where is the wise man, the scribe, and the disputer of this world? The more wisdom men have, and the greater improvement of reason, the greater disputants men are, the farther off usually from faith, and the greater enemies thereunto. 3. All a man's own righteousness, either what a man has done before his conversion, as Paul, or what he can do after his conversion, may be so abused and relied upon as to derogate from the righteousness of God; for when men are convinced of their sins, and see that there is something wanting to their Salvation, than they think they will do something more; as the young man in the Gospel, What shall I do to inherit eternal life? he had a confidence in what he had done, and fearing lest that might fall short there was something more that he was willing for to do. When men are once convinced of their sins they cannot look upon any thing that they have done that will satisfy; and their good deeds will not weigh down their bad: but then they say, Mic. 6.6. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God? will he be pleased with thousands of Rams? etc. As if their after-obedience should make amends for their former sins. And so under Popery at this day many do fast and macerate their bodies, watch and pray, and chastise themselves by scourging, and going Pilgrimage; give away all their Goods to the poor, and betake themselves unto a voluntary Poverty, shut themselves up in a Monastery and Hermitage, and seclude themselves from all the comforts of this life; yea, even Princes and Emperors lay down their Kingdoms, and cast away their Crowns, and betake themselves unto a private life; and all upon this ground, that these shall be opera satisfactoria, satisfactory works, Luth. in Gal. 5. and so expiatory for their former sins. And hence it is, that men convinced of their sins labour as for life to satisfy God, and to quiet their Consciences. And when men have wrought hard all their days with such expectations as these, they are hardly brought off to come to Christ as stripped naked of all, and to acknowledge that all their righteousness is an abomination. And these are the mountains that are to be cast down, the high imaginations and presumptuous thoughts of themselves, before they can come to Christ; and the casting down of these is a preparing the way for the Lord. 4. When men's Consciences are awakened and sin revived by an almighty work of the Law, and the second Covenant offered to them, than they say the news is too good to be true, there is no mercy for them whatever God intends to others; surely he can never think thoughts of peace to them; he will never take such toads and serpents as they are into his bosom to have communion with him; and they say there is no hope. While men are in peace, and sin lies sleeping at the door, so long a man's self-love and self-flattery makes it easy to presume; and he says, It's a small matter to believe, for God is merciful, and Christ died for sinners. And if there be but a few men that shall be saved, yet he doubts not but he shall be one of that number. But when once God discovers his sin and awakens his Conscience, than the man says, Though the greatest part of mankind should be saved, and if there were but one man in the world that should be condemned, surely he should be the man. If a man had come to Judas after his Conscience was awakened on the sight of his sin, before he hanged himself, and told him, be not discouraged though thou hast committed a great sin, Christ is the Saviour of the world, and it is but believing in him and this sin shall be pardoned, and thy soul saved: He would have answered you as Spira did, when they did exhort him to believe, That they were as good bid him to fulfil the whole Law, and bid him lay hold upon a star in the firmament. For a man to see sin to be an infinite evil, and God to be a provoked God ready to take vengeance, and Hell open, and himself ready to drop into everlasting destruction, and yet now for him to cast himself into the arms of everlasting mercy, and rely for his eternal happiness on the favour of an almighty and a sin-revenging God, and say, If I perish I perish, I will rest upon him, and trust to his mercy, whether he save me or damn me: For a man by an exclusive act to shut out all other hopes and ways, and confine his thoughts to free Grace alone, and to leave himself at the mercy of God, Psal. 10.14. and at his footstool to be willing to be at his dispose, it's that which the unbelief and despair of a man's heart upon the apprehension of the guilt of sin, will never be brought unto, without an act of Almighty power, Ephes. 1.19. Therefore we read in Luk. 3.5. to make way for Christ there be valleys to be filled as well as mountains to be leveled and laid low. Before men are humbled they are mountains, too high to submit to this righteousness; and being humbled, they become valleys, and are too low to rise up and to embrace the Grace that is offered by the Prince of the second Covenant. Now so far as a man does not submit to the righteousness of God, so far he desires to stand under the first Covenant still. §. 4. In a man under the Covenant of Works there are two things: (1) An answerable spirit: (2) Suitable fruits. And if a man desire both these, than we may conclude he desires to be under this Covenant. 1. They that under the Covenant of Works have an answerable spirit, a spirit that does always accompany this Covenant, Rom. 8.15. We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, etc. Now this was the natural fruit of this Covenant; Gal. 4.24. for it has only gendered to bondage since the fall: unto Adam in innocency it was a Covenant not of bondage, but of freedom: but being broken all that come under it are children of the bondwoman, and the spirit that does accompany it is a spirit of bondage. For there is a twofold spirit that is answerable unto the twofold Covenant, and with the change of a man's Covenant, there follows a change of a man's spirit, and never till then; now this spirit is a spirit of fear to witness guilt, a fear of God's presence and a fear of God's judgements; Amos 1.10. Heb. 2.15. Isa. 33.5. Fearfulness has surprised the hypocrite; and as Cain says, Gen. 4.14. Every one that meets me will kill me. Now when men are acted by this spirit from day to day they are full of guilt and fear; and all this does not awaken them to seek out for a remedy, and to cry out unto Christ from day to day for a spirit of adoption, the spirit of a child; in God's account they are well pleased with it, and they desire it. As a man that walks in the ways of sin, and is acted by the spirit of the world, and groans not under it, but is willingly led captive by Satan at his will, he desires to be acted by that spirit; so a man that walks under bondage from day to day, and sees not his misery, desires to be led by the spirit of bondage, which is the spirit of the first Covenant. 2. This spirit has suitable fruits. As the spirit of Adoption is a spirit of love and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; so it's with men also that are acted by a spirit of bondage, that spirit has its fruits also, and they are commonly such as these three. (1) They that are under this Covenant do place their Religion in outward performances. There was a righteousness that the Pharisees had, under which they rested, and that was making clean the outside of the cup and platter, as a whited wall, as a painted sepulchre; and their Consciences are satisfied with it, as it was in Paul, before the commandment came and sin revived, he was as concerning the righteousness of the Law blameless. (2) They do all their services without a Mediator, they do not bring their sacrifice to the Priest the Lord Christ; and they do not bring their Incense to be mixed with his odours, but they come in their own names, and offer services unto God immediately without a Priest: and though they may talk of Christ, yet they come not to him for acceptance, and to have the iniquity of their holy things taken away; but if the duty be done they expect it shall be accepted. (3) They do all with a legal spirit, performing it as a task, and are glad it is over. It is by the second Covenant that the yoke of Christ is easy; it is otherwise such a yoke that man cannot bear, Rom. 7.6. Men serve not in the newness of the spirit, but in the oldness of the letter: To serve in the newness of the spirit, is to serve spiritu novo & spontaneo, with a new free spirit; and therefore in the oldness of the letter, that is in a slavish and a servile manner; when a man only looks at the duty commanded without, as a task, as an act of obedience, but not as an act of faith, Heb. 8. It is the second Covenant that writes the Law in the heart, and makes the duties sweet and pleasant unto a man, by putting into a man an inward principle of love answerable unto the things that are required; putting into a man an inward disposition answerable to the Law, that a man delights in the Law according to the inward man; and men living in the strength of a legal spirit, contenting and pleasing themselves therein, this is a plain argument, that they are acted by the spirit of the first Covenant, and bring forth the fruits thereof, and their contentedness under it, shows that they desire and love so to be. SECT. II. The Causes why men desire to be under the Law. §. 1. BUt how can this be, that men knowing themselves sinners, and under the curse of the Law; and that unto justification by the Law, a perfect obedience is required, which it is no more possible for them to yield than it is to stay the Sun in its course, or remove the Earth out of its place; and therefore the life promised therein is unto man fallen, upon an impossible condition, because all the imaginations of his heart are evil, and only evil continually, and in his life there dwells no good thing, and therefore it is said to gender to bondage, and all that are under it are bondmen. The case standing thus, How comes it to pass that there should be in the heart of man a continual desire to be under this Covenant still? The grounds of it are taken from a threefold principle that is in the heart of man: A principle (1) of Ignorance: (2) Of Enmity: (3) Of Pride. 1. From a principle of Ignorance; and that (1) of the Law, and the nature of the first Covenant, and men's condition under it. (2) Of the Righteousness of Christ, and the Glory of the second Covenant. 1. Ignorance of the Law, and men's state under that Covenant. (1) Men are naturally ignorant of God's intent in giving the Law, and therefore look upon it as a Covenant by which they should attain righteousness and life, Mat. 19.20. Christ answers the young man according to his own principles, Good Master, (saith he) what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Christ replies, Keep the Commandments. For he looked upon it as a way of obedience in which he should attain Salvation. And so all men would work for life, and that is given as the reason why the Galatians were so greatly bewitched by false teachers, and drawn away from the truth of the Gospel to join something of the Law with Christ in the matter of Justification, because they did not know, wherefore the Law was given, Gal. 3.19, 20. They seeing a Covenant made with Abraham, and a promise of free grace and of righteousness, and life without works, an inheritance by promise; and 430 years after a Law given requiring works, and promising life upon perfect obedience thereof, they did not know how to conceive, but that either God did repent of and revoke his former Covenant, or else they must be both joined together in the matter of Justification and life: now to answer this the Apostle acquaints them with the end why God did give the Law, it was not to set it up as a Covenant alone, that any man should attain righteousness and life thereby; for unto man a sinner it is impossible and inexorable, it can neither be obeyed nor endured: but he saith, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it was not given as a Covenant, by which men should attain life, as it was to Adam in the state of innocency: as if God did intent any man should be saved thereby, neither was it published to make void the Covenant of Grace, but it was added, not by way of opposition but subordination, that it might be as Hagar to Sarah; a handmaid to further the ends of the Gospel, and to advance the grace of it, that it might be as the avenger of blood to the City of refuge, and make men look for the Law in the Ark Christ, (Who is the end of the law for justification,) and that it might be the perfect rule of the obedience of the Gospel. This men being ignorant of they look upon the Law as a Covenant of works, and all that they do in obedience thereunto is to gain righteousness and life. (2) Men are naturally ignorant of the spiritual meaning of the Law, Rom. 7.9. I was alive without the law once. Here the Apostle speaks of a double state in which he was: [1] In times passed in the state of unregeneracy, without the Law; not in the letter, for he was bred up at the feet of Gamaliel, and one that knew the Scripture from a child; but without the Law in the spiritual sense of it, in its glory, power, latitude, spirituality, and holiness; which are the wonders of the Law that men by nature have not eyes to see, which David prays for, Psal. 119.18. and which unto men by nature are accounted strange things. [2] But there is another state, and that is when the Lord was merciful to Paul in his Conversion; The commandment came, i. e. in a lively, vigorous and spiritual manner, having a spirit of life accompanying it; whereas before it was but a dead letter, and it brought in such a light as did discover the secret thoughts and intents of his heart, and laid the whole inward man open, even the inward parts of the soul. And whereas before he was alive in performances, able (as he conceived) to perform all the righteousness of the Law without blemish, and therefore full of self-justification, and conceits of his own righteousness, and high expectations of Salvation. Now sin revived, that is, in the guilt of it in his Conscience; and he gins to see his own misery and sinfulness, and lost condition, which before he thought was very good. Now he saw all his own righteousness which before he so highly esteemed, and so much set by, to be nothing but dross and dung. And natural Conscience looks upon obedience to the Law as consisting only in the outward act, and if that be performed, Conscience is satisfied; if men pray and hear, they are not solicitous for the acceptance of their persons before their services can be accepted; nor for the light manner of performance, and the curing of their inward man towards God therein; which doth plainly show, that though they understand the Law in the letter, and stick to it therein, yet they are not acquainted with the spirituality of the Law. 3. Men are ignorant of their miserable condition under the Law, Gal. 3.10. as many as are under the Law are under the curse, Gal. 4.21, You that desire to be under the law do you not hear the law? that is, hear it you do, but you understand it not, Si Deo obtulisset putamen nucis in fide, opus bonum etiamsi adeó parvum, adeò vile ut culmum tollere; si verò desit fiducia opus bonum non est, etiamsi omnes mortuos suscitet & homo sese comburendum permittat. Luth. neither consider that being sons of the bondwoman you are bondmen: for your Covenant being broken genders unto bondage; and there is a spirit of bondage that will follow upon this state of bondage, and as bondmen you shall not abide in the house; for you have no part or share in the inheritance; because the inheritance is not by the law but of promise. Men under this Covenant stand before God in their own names, they bear their own sins, and must be justified by their own righteousness; for this Covenant admits no Mediator, there is none to represent their persons, or bear their sins, or pay their debt, or endure their curse, but all must needs be done in their own persons; if they do any duty, they expect it should be accepted of God, for the goodness of it, and it is rejected of God for the failings of it, because whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and in their Covenant God requires perfect obedience, and will accept none other; and yet there is not the meanest service of the Saints under the second Covenant performed in faith, but it is accepted, if they offer but a cup of cold water. Now men perform duties because they are commanded, and they think that they have done good service, and look that they shall be accepted and rewarded, but never consider that if their persons be not accepted their services cannot be; but that their best services are sins in God's account, and rejected; and that all the promises of pardon and grace, repentance and acceptance upon repentance, all these belong not unto them; for their Covenant admits no such thing. Some may see the defilement of their nature and their misery, because of the image which they bear, but very few are apprehensive of their misery by reason of the Covenant of bondage under which they stand. (4) Men know not how to distinguish between the doing of duties, and the right manner and method of doing them; for all men are ready to look upon them as duties required by God, and if so he will accept them because he has required them. And therefore when Luther did bid men not only take heed of their sins, but of their duties, for these might destroy them as well as the other; and called them base and beggarly elements, and dung and dross, presently they said he spoke against good works. Now here men distinguish not of the doing, and of the method in doing; for the duties of the Law must be performed by the graces of the Gospel, and in the way of the Gospel; and therefore we say that believing must go before any other of the great works of God a soul can be accepted: Luther de bonis operibus primi precepti. and therefore Luther gives this rule, Whatsoever a man's conscience and faith toward God is, such are his works, which flow from the same principle; but where there is nothing of faith the edge is wanting to good works, and the whole life erroneous, and all goodness as nothing. I say that good works are accepted, if faith, which gives a man an interest in Christ, and a change of a man's Covenant, goes before. We should bring naked Christ and a naked soul stripped of all things else together: we would have you take Christ for your husband, and duties for the servants of Christ. While faith is to deal with Christ in the business of Justification, and acceptative works should be shut out, and there sponsus cum sponsa, faith and Christ alone; but if faith walk abroad in the world works must stand at the door and follow as the handmaid, and the necessary consequents of faith. Now men hearing that duties are commanded by God, they are apt to conceive that they must be done, and being done shall be accepted though it be not according to the method of the Gospel; and that when we speak against resting in them as duties of the first Covenant, we speak against good works, whereas we would have them performed but by a man whose person is accepted, his Covenant changed, and that by the principles of the Gospel, the faith of Christ in his heart, and also unto the ends of the Gospel. 2. They are ignorant of the righteousness of Christ: as the Apostle says, Rom. 10.3. They were ignorant of the righteousness of God, therefore they went about to establish their own righteousness. By the righteousness of God, is here meant the righteousness of Christ as Mediator which he has wrought for us, and to be imputed unto us; a righteousness which God has prepared, a righteousness which God imputeth, and a righteousness unto which the Godhead did give efficacy and excellency, though it be not the essential and infinite righteousness of God; for if a Creature should be righteous thereby, than it must be God. (1) They see not the excellency of this righteousness; that it perfectly answers the Law, and that by reason of the Union with the Godhead, and by this means it far exceeds the righteousness of the Angels, and is far more glorious than ever we could have had if Adam had stood: that we should be made the righteousness of God in him, and that the matter of our righteousness should be the great things performed by him, suffered by him, imputed unto us, and we thereupon reputed by an act of sovereignty, righteous before God; this men do not see, and therefore they admire the righteousness of a Creature so much, as Paul did his own righteousness by the Law; but when he had but a glimpse discovered to him of the righteousness of Christ, he does abhor his own righteousness for ever, Phil. 3.9, 10. That I may be found in him not having mine own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God by faith. There is the glory of the Lord to be seen in the glass of the Gospel, 2 Cor. 3.18. which is by a spirit of revelation in the knowledge of him, Ephes. 1.17. which till a man does see, his heart will never be inflamed with admiration of the righteousness of Christ, and with an instinct after union with him; when God did let but a glimpse of this into Luther, and he did but consider, Rom. 1.17. That the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, Oh how he admired it, and was ravished with it! having never understood that Scripture before. The Prophet Isaiah did wonder that all men did not believe in him and that so few were converted, when he saw his Glory, but the reason was they saw it not. (2) Men are ignorant of the necessity of Christ's righteousness: for they come unto God in their own name, and as Priests they offer up their own sacrifice; they make a difference between themselves and others, Luk. 18.11. I thank thee I am not as other men are. But Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; all are sick, all are sinners, but yet they are not so in their own apprehension, and therefore they see no such necessity of Christ; wherefore men come to God, and never consider this, Can two walk together except they are agreed? what fellowship can light have with darkness, righteousness with unrighteousness? and what fellowship can sin have with holiness? Nay stubble and thorns with devouring fire, and everlasting burn? My person wants a Mediator, it is burdened with infinite guilt; my Nature wants a Mediator, it is overspread with universal defilement; my Sins want a Mediator, for they are without number, and without measure sinful; my services want a Mediator, for they are full of iniquity, even my holy things; and therefore men can be content to live without the righteousness of Christ. 3. Men are ignorant of the glorious state and condition of that soul that stands before God in the righteousness of God, and who at the last day shall not be found in his own righteousness. When the Apostle Paul saw it, he counted all things dross and dung for it: and I doubt not but if the glorious Angels in Heaven had it revealed unto them, that it was the mind of God after they had stood so many thousand years, that they should abandon all their own righteousness, and now lay hold upon a higher and more glorious righteousness in his Son, they would speedily do it, and cast away all the services that ever they have done, as preferring this righteousness far above their own, and their condition therein above what it can be by their own righteousness. For the righteousness of an Angel, is but the righteousness of a Creature; but the righteousness of Christ, though it be only the righteousness wrought in his humane nature in obedience to the Law, yet it is that unto which the Godhead gave efficacy. The righteousness of the Angels hath in it a possibility of being lost: they are not by nature impeccable, though they are by grace; God does charge them not with actual folly indeed, Job 4.18. yet with possible folly: but Christ as Mediator is impeccable; (unless we can suppose God to sin) the union between the natures being personal, & actus est suppositorum, acts are of persons: and therefore unless a possibility of sinning should befall the Godhead, the person cannot sin: and so it is righteousness in an unchangeable head, which could never be in the Angels, neither was it in Adam in the state of innocency. And therefore blessed is the man whose unrighteousness is forgiven. Now by the imputation of this righteousness without works, he is put into a far more glorious condition than ever he should have been by the first Covenant, if he had never sinned. Believers having now a more glorious name, not only the servants of God, and the sons of God, as the Angels are called; but the brethren of Christ, and the members of his flesh and bone: a higher sonship, not only sons by creation, but by a mystical union, having a part in the sonship of Christ, he gives them the privilege to be called sons of God; a higher inheritance, made coheirs with Christ, for it is said, Enter into your Master's joy. §. 2. The second cause why men desire to be under the Law, is a principle of enmity, Rom. 1.21. They will not glorify him as God. All the lusts of men's hearts are ungodly lusts, Judas v. 18. opposition to God and to his glory, and any thing that exalts God, and makes for his glory; it is ground enough why the heart of man should be set in opposition thereunto. In the second Covenant God is glorified in a far higher way than in the first; for there are higher manifestations of God in the second Covenant. Now glory is but the reflection of an excellency, and therefore the more glorious the manifestation, the more glorious must the reflection be. God did manifest himself indeed in the first Covenant gloriously, and yet God has set forth a larger systeme of himself in the second, and put the Angels to study that, by beholding the marvellous glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; therefore the Saints now glorify God in a higher way than under the first Covenant. (1) He had before manifested his wisdom in giving the Creatures a being, and had raised out of nothing a glorious fabric, every thing in its order, and made Man after his own Image; but when Man had lost himself, and blotted out that Image, he brought himself under the curse; now there is great wisdom in repairing: for if man shall be saved, than God must be satisfied; now to take away sin, and let the sinner live; to send the sin to Hell, and the sinner to Heaven; to find out such a surety of infinite merit answerable unto sins demerit, and to work many miracles at once by a personal union of the second person with a created nature; that the Incomprehensibe should be comprehended, Eternity brought within the bounds of time; he that bears up all things should himself be born; and the ancient of days become a child, and that ever the tongue of man should say such a word as God manifested in the flesh, it is such an act of wisdom as was never manifested before. (2) Justice. He had showed justice in the first Covenant by threatening a curse upon the breach of it; and he had executed justice upon the Angels that fell, by casting them to Hell immediately without hope of mercy; but when the Son shall take sin upon him, but by imputation, as his servant, and by his own appointment, now he will not spare a Son, though he put up strong cries; but being made sin he must be made a curse; and that he that in all our afflictions is afflicted, that God should delight to bruise him, it is such a manifestation of justice, as was never heard of under the first Covenant. (3) Power. In making a World he had declared power, but this was but power over the Creature; but now here is power over himself to answer the pleas and the just demands of his own Attributes, Let the power of my Lord be great, pardon them, etc. Numb. 14.17. (4) Love. To give our first Parents a being, and so glorious a Covenant, and all the Creatures for their use, to have dominion over them all, was great love from God; but here is a higher act of love, to give sinners a Son: so God loved the world, that he did not spare his only begotten Son. (5) Sovereignty. To have authority and absolute power over the Creatures, that God had manifested in the Creation, etc. but here is an authority over the Son of God, who thought it no robbery to be equal with God, Isa. 42 1. yet he becomes the father's servant, and was commanded by him in all things. In the second Covenant Justification is the highest act of Sovereignty, to count things that are not, as if they were; to account Christ a sinner, and make him sin; and to count the sinner righteous by the righteousness of another, etc. And hence we may safely conclude, that under the second Covenant we honour God more by a way of believing, than ever we could have done under the first Covenant by a way of doing, because the glory that we give him therein, is a reflection of a higher manifestative glory than ever was showed forth under the first Covenant. And yet there is a principle of enmity in man against all these Divine Attributes of God, which makes men desire to be under the Law. §. 3. There is also in man a principle of pride. Man will not submit to the righteousness of God, Rom. 10.3. which is the highest exaltation of the Creature. There is so much pride in the heart of man, that it will not stoop to it, looks upon it as a submission below him. We read how full men are of self-justification: Luk. 10.29. & 16.15. they have a spider's house, Job. 8.15. and upon that they lean; made up of outward duties, and common graces. So they in Matthew plead at the last day, Lord, we have prophesied in thy name, etc. but whosoever builds his hopes of Heaven upon any thing in himself, any thing besides Christ, builds upon the sand. And this they do, because it is their own, and the best thing they have, the highest excellency in the man. It is not so hard to deny a man's self in riches and honours, and learning, and any inward abilities that commend a man but to men; no man thinks that for his learning he shall be the more accepted of God; but we think righteousness commends us unto God, and therefore men have a higher esteem thereof, and greater hope grounded upon it, than upon any excellency that is in them besides. And therefore surely for a man to come to Christ and deny himself in that, and give up all to him, and to be willing to suffer the loss of all things, that be may win Christ, Phil. 3.8. To sell all to buy the pearl, and to do it with joy; as Nazianzen did set no higher a price upon his Athenian Learning than this, That he had something of worth to part with for Christ, and esteemed it nothing in comparison of Christ; herein is the highest act of self-denial: and that's the reason that of all men, civil men, and those that have but a form of godliness, are with the greatest difficulty converted, and Publicans and Harlots go into the Kingdom of God before them, because they have something of worth to lay down, which their hearts are hardly brought unto. And to see how corrupt nature through the policy of the Devil, holds up the pride of it in this particular, that if it were possible it might make the blood of Christ of none effect, and therefore they will not trust perfectly in the Grace revealed by Jesus Christ; whence we see the several opinions of their own righteousness in this particular, and how they have minced it; but yet still so as they hold something of self; and the great exception that men have to keep them off from Christ, is the same that the Roman Senate had when Tiberius did propound Christ to be head of the Capitol amongst their Gods, and that with an offer of his own suffrage, they all were against it, upon this ground, because he will be God alone: See it in all those Popish Tenants, which (as Mr. Perkins has well observed) is a Religion directly founded upon corrupt nature. And (1) they say, that some sins are not mortal, nor deserve damnation in the strictness of Divine Justice. (2) That the inclination of the heart to sin, and all motions to sin without consent, are no sins. (3) If they do sin, they can of themselves satisfy God; Original sin is done away in Baptism, lesser sins by prayers, and so many Pater-nosters. Greater sins by Alms and Pilgrimages, Indulgences, etc. (4) That men can do something to prepare themselves to conversion, because they are not wholly dead, but have a freewill in nature to that which is good. (5) Being prepared, they do merit grace at God's hand. (6) Before conversion they do that which pleases God. (7) Our inherent righteousness is the matter of Justificacation, etc. SECT. III. The APPLICATION. Use 1 §. 1. BUt if all men cleave to the first Covenant, and be content to be under it, and seek righteousness and life thereby; if they do follow the Law for righteousness, and submit not to the righteousness of God, and this be interpretatively and in God's account a desire to continue under the first Covenant still, though it be not formally and directly so, than this clears the justice of God in two things, by way of Use and Application. 1. That the Lord doth unregenerate men no wrong if he leave them still under the first Covenant, for he does but give them the desire of their own hearts. All the Heathens therefore that sit still in darkness and in the shadow of death, that never heard of another righteousness in which they might appear before God but their own, to whom the righteousness of God under the Gospel, even the righteousness of the new Covenant, the righteousness of God by faith, was never made known. The giving of the knowledge of this righteousness and this new Covenant unto some, and hiding it from others was grounded on no precedent differences and dispositions in the man either to whom it was revealed, or to whom it was denied; it was only the Mystery hid in God, in his own Will and in his own Counsel. And the same goodwill that was the cause of the revealing it to the one was the cause also of the hiding it from the other, Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Ephes. 3.9. Mat. 11.25. and revealed them unto babes. For the Lord leaves them under that Covenant under which they did desire to be, and under that righteousness by which they did desire to establish themselves, and to be justified; and did not reveal unto them the second Covenant, which they had an inward disposition to despise, and the righteousness thereof, unto which by nature they could not submit. Therefore it is riches of compassion that he has revealed it unto any, but it is exceeding just that he has hid it from any. And for those that live under the Gospel, and have the tenure of the second Covenant made known to them, and the glory of the righteousness thereof discovered, and yet accept it not, submit not thereunto, it will be enough to clear the justice of God at the last day, that they are left under the first Covenant, under which they did desire to be: and therefore as it is justice with God to leave a man under Adam's image, and under the power and dominion of their own lusts, to give them unto the power of their own hearts lusts, and suffer them to walk in their own counsels, and to say, Ephraim is joined to Idols let him alone, and he that is filthy let him be filthy still; so it is just with God also to leave men under Adam's Covenant, and to seek righteousness and life thereby; and so not attaining to the law of righteousness they perish under the curse thereof for ever. 2. He shall do no man wrong if in the general Judgement he do proceed against men according to the rules of the Covenant of Works, for he will surely deal with men according to the tenure of the Covenant under which they stand; and every man is under that Covenant which he desires to be. (1) If they have all their sins laid upon their own score, and give account for every vain thought in the heart, and every vain word in the mouth, every sinful purpose of the heart, (for he will bring every work to judgement with every secret thing,) and not a drop of the blood of Christ shall go to wash away the least of their sins and transgressions therein; they must bear their own sins and their own shame, and it is just with God, for their Covenant admits of no Mediator. (2) When God shall reject thy best services for the failings that are in them, and look upon thy righteousness as a filthy rag, abhor thy prayers for the noisome savours that be in them, and they be turned into sin, because thy person is not accepted, thy Covenant is not changed, the Lord will tell thee thy Covenant requires perfect obedience, and if thou dost well thou shalt be accepted, if thou dost evil sin lies at thy door, and all thy services are but as if a man did bless an Idol and offer swine's flesh, and as if a man did cut off a dog's neck; for thou art not in a state of acceptation, thou art not found in his beloved Son in whom alone he is well pleased. (3) When thou shalt have none to intercede for thee, Joh. 17.9. and to plead thy cause before the Lord, he prays for no such; I pray not for the world: as soon as thou shalt peep out of the Earth in the day of the Resurrection, and lift up thy traitorous head out of the grave, thy Conscience shall condemn thee, thy heart shall fail thee, and he also that is greater than thy Conscience: Then shall the King say, I was hungry and you gave me no meat, etc. and then thou shalt look for Christ to plead thy cause, but thy Covenant admits no Advocate, thou must plead for thyself, which because a man cannot do, having nothing to say, he shall be speechless for ever. (4) Then thou wilt repent and say, I have perverted righteousness and it has not profited me, for there shall be sorrow enough, perfect sorrow in Hell, even weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; but God can accept no repentance, thy Covenant as it gives no repentance, Revel. 2.21. so it promises no repentance, no acceptance, and the time of repentance is past, there is but a time of it. (5) Thou wilt expect Christ as a screen to stand between thee and the father's wrath, Gal. 3.13. for under the second Covenant he was made a curse for us; but thy Covenant admits no surety, the soul that sins shall die, there is no ransom paid for thee: for being under this Covenant, either the Law must be obeyed, but that it is not, for thou art a sinner; or else it must be abrogated, but that it is not, for not an jota of the Law shall pass; or it must be mitigated, but that it is not, for it is inflexible; the Law is holy and just, and good, and remains the same that is was to Adam in the state of Innocency, the curse must be executed, the penalty inflicted, even indignation and wrath upon every soul that does evil, etc. (6) When you shall look to have your services rewarded (as men's Religious duties are the great actions of their lives) and therefore men have the greatest hopes grounded upon them, Phil. 3.7. it was in Paul's account gain to him, and he did expect a reward answerable: now when the Lord shall reject them, and say that the inheritance is not by the Law, since the Law became weak through the flesh, but the inheritance is by promise, and all comes by the second Covenant; this can be no wrong to any unregenerate man when God leaves him under that Covenant, and deals with him according to the terms of that Covenant under which he desires to be. In a word, if God hate their persons and impute their sins, reject their services, despise their image, curse their blessings, give them neither grace restraining nor renewing, if he leave them to wrestle under temptations by their own might, and to resist sin in their own strength, and be defiled; and as they offer to God unsanctified services, so God gives them unsanctified rewards, and as their services are seemingly services but really sins, so God's blessings be seeming blessings but really curses: When they shall come and plead with God at the last day, they shall be made speechless in this, for God shall let them see that in all his deal with them he has proceeded with them in all things according to the terms of the Covenant under which they stand. Use 2 §. 2. We may by this see what a miserable state a state of sin is, and wherein the great danger and misery of it lies; it makes a man perfectly miserable in all things, but it makes him also insensible of this misery, and makes it a desirable condition unto him, which he is still willing and content to be in: And here observe these three things. 1. See here the complete reign and dominion of sin, which it has over men who are yet in their sins, in a state of sin, which consists in two things. (1) In power and authority to command. (2) In a ready and willing subjection thereunto, Rom. 6.19. when men do yield themselves servants to sin: as it is in respect of acts of sin, men please themselves in them, and they cannot forsake them, they are the joy of their lives, their sweet morsels which they hid under their tongues, and they keep them and will not forsake them; so also in respect of a state of sin, which they are in under their Covenant, as the servant that would not go free. Exod. 21.5. Now when it is so that men are content with the bondage of the first Covenant, and the second Adam is offered to them, and they will not be delivered; this shows that they are perfectly under the bondage of sin, that not only they are with pleasure held under the acts of sin, and cast firebrands, and say am I not in sport; but they are held under a state of sin also, and will not accept deliverance, will not go free: 2. See here also the folly of sin and the sinner, even the highest rank of men, civil men and formal professors, temporary believers, that have oil in their lamps and go forth to meet the Bridegroom, and yet the Holy Ghost says they are foolish Virgins, because men do not judge of the danger of their estates by reason of their Covenant, but go on as the Ox to the slaughter; yea they cleave unto this Covenant, and see not the misery that they are in under it: and though the great work of the Spirit of God is to convince a man of his estate of sin in this, that he is under the first Covenant and out of Christ, Joh. 16.8. yet men go on and will not see it, and yet walk with a great deal of confidence in hope of an everlasting reward. 3. See here how Satan blinds the eyes of them that believe not, and how the Lord gives them up to blindness in judgement that live under the Gospel: they have the offers of the second Covenant made known to them, they are under the Law, and they do hear the Law, that they are by nature bondmen, and can from this mother expect no inheritance, but as bondmen to be cast out of the house for ever, and yet they cleave unto this; and the more the glory of the second Covenant is offered unto them, the more violently they do oppose it, because it would spoil them of their own righteousness, and subject them unto the righteousness of God. Thus we see it in the whole people of the Jews, but eminently in the Pharisees; this Covenant they had chosen unto themselves, and they did desire to be under the Law, and they thought themselves very much enriched with the righteousness of the Law; so that Christ preaching the second Covenant unto them, and the grace thereof, their desire to establish their own righteousness did raise up the malice and rage of their spirits unto such a height, that they broke forth into the unpardonable sin, even the great transgression: and there is the same devilish principle in us all, if the Lord restrain us not, that in opposition to the grace of the Gospel we should oppose it even to the unpardonable sin. Use 3 §. 3. It is an Exhortation to several Duties, but specially three. 1. Labour for a work of humiliation for this sin, and to be rightly convinced of it; for surely the nature of man is deeply leavened with it. There is a double conviction of sin: (1) Rational, when a man's reason is overcome by the Word, that a man cannot deny nor dispute against the truth of it, and yet his heart is not affected with it. Joh. 16.8. (2) There is a spiritual Conviction when the Lord comes in with an irresistible light, and discovers the sin, and causeth the heart to own it and stoop to it, and be affected with it with shame and sorrow; and this is that conviction of the soul that does lead unto conversion, whereas the other many times doth and may lead unto condemnation. And this sin will be set upon the soul with these Considerations. (1) It is a sin against the Gospel, and the foundation of all the grace thereof: now this is an aggravation: If the word spoken by Angels were steadfast, etc. Heb. 2.2, 3. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? If it be so dangerous to break the first Covenant, what is it to despise the grace and offers of a second! (2) It doth reject the grace of God the Father, who had the first hand in the second Covenant; for he might have dealt with us as he dealt with the lost Angels, he did not catch after them when falling. Heb. 2.16. Now for the Lord to give you a second offer of grace when he let the Angels go, and you to despise this grace, and whereas God had multitude of thoughts concerning this Covenant, and the grace thereof, for you to make all these thoughts of God of none effect, by desiring to establish the first, and by rejecting the Grace of the second Covenant, is a great transgression. (3) Hereby a man is very injurious to the Lord Jesus Christ, Joh. 4.10. who is the greatest gift of God; and the main of the excellency of this gift lies in this, that he is given as a second Adam, as a Mediator of the Covenant, the surety of the Covenant, Heb. 7.22. Isa. 42.6. Heb. 8.6: the Angel of the Covenant, Mal. 3.6. by whose blood the Covenant is sealed and confirmed, and therefore called the blood of the Covenant; now to despise all this is to trample under foot the greatest and the highest honour of the Son of God: for a man to bear old Adam's image still, shows that he prefers the Image of the first before that of the second Adam; so for a man to stand under Adam's Covenant still, shows that he despises the Grace of the second Covenant in comparison of the Glory of the first. (4) It is a sin against the Covenant itself, and all the Promises thereof; this Covenant God has highly honoured with a more glorious head, and the righteousness of it is a more glorious righteousness, the promises of it better promises, and the stability of it far beyond that of the first Covenant; for it is an ordered and an everlasting Covenant, a Covenant confirmed by an Oath: now for a man to bring down that Covenant that God has exalted, and in a man's heart and practice, and ways, for him to exalt the first Covenant above it, is the greatest injury thereunto that can be. (5) It is a sin against all the happiness and hopes of the godly; for all their comfort comes in from this Covenant, as they look upon all their curses to proceed from the first Covenant, 2 Sam. 23.5. Though my house be not so with God, says David, yet God has made with me an everlasting Covenant, ordered in all things and sure, and this is all my hope. Now it is a great evil that men should not be affected with that sin which is against the generation of God's children, against the hope of Israel. A man should be deeply humbled and bewail this contrariety of spirit that is in him to the way of the Gospel, and to the grace of the Gospel. And apply the righteousness of Christ for the pardon of this sin also; for as his blood was shed for them that shed it, so there is grace in the second Covenant for them that have despised it, and have to their utmost exalted the first Covenant above it; and there is in the grace of God pardon to be found for them that reject or endeavour to frustrate the grace of it; For if righteousness be by the Law, Christ is dead in vain, Gal. 2. ult. 2. Wherever the Covenant of Grace is preached, be jealous and watch over thy own heart, because there is in thee a principle of contrariety unto it, and the grace offered therein: this hath been the manner of God's people when they have been apprehensive of evils in them, it has made them the more watchful against them. Job will not trust his eyes without a Covenant, nor David his tongue without a bridle, because they knew how suddenly corruption would break forth; and therefore the exhortation is, Keep thy heart above all keep, etc. God has offered the righteousness of his Son, that thou mightest be made the righteousness of God in him, and he has given his Son as a Covenant to the Nations; that as by one man sin and death reigned, so righteousness and life should reign by one Christ Jesus: but thou hast a principle of pride in thee, and thou dost desire to establish thy own righteousness, and thou wouldst not submit to the righteousness of God; he is offered, but thou wilt none of him. Whensoever the second Covenant is preached take heed of this root of bitterness, that it do not rise up and cause thee to reject Grace and forsake thy own mercy: truly whosoever does read how quiet this lust was in the Pharisees, and they went on as a river runs smoothly without a dam, and they wrought for life, and by their own obedience they did as with rattles still their Consciences; but as soon as Christ came and preached the righteousness and grace of the second Covenant to them, how did this lust rise in them, even to the rejecting the Counsel and Grace of God against themselves, and even rising up unto the unpardonable sin? and so the Papists before Luther found out the righteousness of Faith by an imputed righteousness, they were all quiet; but afterward this one man, odium & impetum totius orbis sustinuit. And this is the Doctrine preached by the Angel that did fly in the middle of Heaven with the Everlasting Gospel, Rev. 19.7, 8. and declare then great Babylon gins to fall. 3. Be never satisfied till thou find in thy soul the contrary grace, and that is a desire of being translated, that thou mayst be under the first Covenant no more; consider there will come a day shortly, wherein God will judge the world in righteousness, and he will judge every man according to the terms under which he stands. Now if thou be found under the first Covenant thou art found in thy own righteousness; the Law genders to bondage, it works nothing but wrath, it speaks nothing but curse, and in this Court thou wilt surely be cast; only under the second Covenant there is a Chancery, a Court of mercy and grace, and there is yet a City of refuge to be found before thou be'st dragged to the Lords Tribunal; go therefore and fly unto the Lord's sanctuary, go now and acknowledge thou hast stood out long against that grace that must save thee if ever thou be'st saved, and that thou hast despised that Covenant under which if thou stand not thou art everlastingly undone; and tell the Lord, thou canst as well cast off Adam's image as translate thyself out of Adam's Covenant; tell the Lord who only has made the new Covenant, so he only can plant souls into it; for the father is the Husbandman, and he has undertaken to transplant souls out of the old stock and bring them into the bond of the Covenant. Ezek. 20.27. Therefore I beseech you, Brethren, by the mercies of God, by the blood of the Covenant, by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him, that you seek a Translation, and content not yourselves to stand under the first Covenant, and do this whilst it is called to day, while the offers of the Covenant of Grace last, before the Portcullis be let down, the black Flag hung out, the talon of lead laid, the irrevocable decree of God gone forth to seal up the measure of your iniquity, and shut thee up under the Law and the curse of it for ever. God will not have the Grace of the Covenant, nor his Son the Prince of the Covenant, nor the Blood of the Covenant, always despised and rejected by obdurate sinners; it shall not always stand at the door as if the Lord needed entrance and admittance; and if once God take away this offer of the Grace of the second Covenant, and dismiss thee unto the bar of the Law, thou art certainly condemned and cursed for ever: for not believing in Christ, does not only bring thee under wrath, but leave thee under it, thou rejecting the remedy which is the Grace of the Gospel, and thou art then eternally undone; for then from the condemnation of the Law and the sentence of it there is no appeal or redemption. CHAP. III. How and whence it is that sin is irritated by the Law. Rom. 7.8, But sin taking occasion by the commandment wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. SECT. I. How sin takes occasion and is irritated by the Law. §. 1. WE have seen that to be under the first Covenant, though broken, is unto every man in a state of nature a desirable thing; though formally indeed men desire it not, for they will all disclaim it, but interpretatively and by consequence they do desire it, as Prov. 8. ult. it was finis operis, though not operantis; it was the end of the work, Ezek. 8.3. though not of the worker: and so men going about to establish their own righteousness, and not submitting unto the righteousness of God, and being contented to be acted by a spirit of bondage, which is the spirit of the first Covenant, which doth produce in them fruits answerable to the Covenant under which they stand; this is in God's account and in the censure of the Scripture, an argument of an inward desire and contentment to be under this Covenant still. Now because men do look upon it as a desirable condition, let us examine what this condition is, of a man fallen to be under the first Covenant as broken. Divines do commonly say, that a man that is in Christ is freed from the Law, he being dead to the Law, and the Law being dead unto him, in some respects as was mentioned at first. (1) For Irritation, the Law hath not this power in men to irritate and exasperate, and enrage their lusts by the restraint and the prohibitions of them, and so they apply that place, Rom. 6.14. Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the Law. That is, saith Beza, He exhorts them to Sanctification, Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies, and he does promise them sin shall not reign. under the Law only forbidding sinning, and thereby provoking and increasing lust, but you are under Grace strengthening against sin, and healing it; and hence it is concluded from several other Scriptures that a man in Christ and under Grace, is freed from the Law, and irritation of it. (2) For Co-action, to keep them from sin by force, for fear simply of the curse of the Law, and to compel them to duty as a taskmaster against their wills when the Law they hate, and the duty that is required of them that they hate; and wish there were no Law, and look upon it as a yoke and a burden insupportable: for as a godly man says of sin, so a wicked man says of duty, that which I hate that do I. And it requires of him perfect obedience; as a taskmaster he must work brick, but gives no straw; requires the full tale of duty, but gives no strength nor assistance. The Apostle says, Gal. 5.8. if you be led by the spirit you are not under the Law: the spirit that is in you is the spirit of the second Covenant, a spirit of Adoption, a spirit of liberty, a free and a Princely spirit, which enables you to perform duties out of an inward principle of love to them, and delight in them; unto them the yoke is easy, and the burden is light; for it's their happiness and honour, and meat and drink, to do the will of their Heavenly father. And so that place I conceive is to be understood, 1 Tim. 1.9. The Law was not made for a righteous man: that is, neither in the restraining act of it, or keeping from sin only for fear of the curse; because he has an inward principle that lusts against it, and as a fountain casts out the mud, an inward antipathy, a spirit lusting and rising against it; that though there were no curse, yet he would hate it, and endeavour to avoid it; nor in the constraining power of it to force to duty only, as that which his soul hates, and he comes hardly off too in any measure to do that which is required, but he has a spirit within, the Law written in his heart, an inward principle suitable to what the Law requires of him; as it is said of Christ in respect of that great Commandment was laid on him, Joh. 10.18, This Commandment have I received of my father; for of that I think he speaks, lo I come to do thy will, thy law is in the middle of my bowels; I have power to lay it down, and to take it up again. He had an inward principle that made him ready and willing, and cheerful in it, and in this respect the Law was never made for them as the only principle upon which they should act. (3) For condemnation so as to be able to lay upon a man the guilt of his own sin, and condemn him for it; for the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the Law: there is a destroying power in sin, and this it has from the condemning power of the Law; do but take away the condemning power of the Law, and the sting of death, that is, that power that it has to destroy the soul, is gone; because the guilt is taken off the sinner. Now Gal. 3.13, He has delivered us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us. And so Gal. 5.23, Against such there is no Law. It is not spoken against such works, but against such persons; there is no Law, partly because the Law is against none but those that transgress it, and partly because those being the fruits of the spirit, do argue and clear to a man, that his Covenant is changed, because he is acted by the spirit of the second Covenant, and therefore he may thereby receive an evidence to himself that the condemning power of the Law is not against him any more. Rom. 4.6. (4) For Justification. For blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes righteousness without works. That no man is justified by the Law is evident, Gal. 2. ult. If righteousness be by the law, than Christ is dead in vain. And from hence I argue, that if they that are in Christ and under the second Covenant, are freed from the Law in all these respects, than all those that are out of Christ, are under the Law still in all those respects; and therefore every unregenerate man is under the Law as a Covenant of works, and under this Covenant he desires to be: now the Covenant being broken, he is under it for Justification, Irritation, Coaction and Condemnation; Daven. de lu●ut. actuali. p. 397. which when we have looked over, it will appear that this is no such happy condition that a man should desire it. In being freed thus from the Law the main part of a Christians liberty consists; yet there is this difference, the two last refer unto a person and state, and in those his liberty is perfect, and he is wholly freed from the Law in point of Justification and Condemnation; but in the two former as to Irritation and Coaction it is but liberty begun, because sin in us is not perfectly destroyed; therefore so far as there are remainders of sin in the Saints, See Pareus in Rom. 7.5. they are liable to an Irritation, and a Coaction; but yet in a far different manner from that which is in unregenerate men, as will be showed afterwards. §. 2. The Apostle having in the former Chapter spoken how sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and how righteousness and life entered by the Lord Jesus Christ, that as sin reigned unto death, so grace should reign through righteousness unto life eternal; and showing the fruits of this righteousness killing sin in us, Therefore we are dead to sin, and the old man is crucified, and the body of sin is destroyed, that we should not henceforth serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin: for sin is a Lord, and so long as the servant lives he is in subjection to his master, but the servant being once dead is free from his master: it's a speech taken from all civil subjection, which began with sin, and ends with death. Now sin is compared to a Master or a Lord, to which a man is bound while he lives; but being dead he is freed from the power and dominion of sin, Rom. 6.11, 12. Rom. 6.11, 12, Therefore count yourselves dead unto sin, and let not sin reign in your mortal bodies any more. Ver. 14, For sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under the Law but under Grace. Not under the Law as a Covenant, and so irritating sin and exasperating it, but under Grace, that is subduing sin and hell. Some refer these words to the dominion of sin, and a man's freedom from that, and some to the dominion of the Law, and a man's deliverance from it as a Covenant; but the main current of Interpreters make the Law the husband and the strength of sin to be by the Law unto condemnation and unto irritation; as the Law does occasionally inflame the heart to evil, and lust is enraged thereby: and they say the Law is dead unto us as a Covenant; it is a bond canceled and taken out of the way, Col. 2.14. and so we are dead to the Law by the body of Christ; that is, Christ as our surety, having paid our debt, satisfied the Law, and received the discharge, we are dead to the Law, it has no more power to charge sin upon us, See Ambros. to Jerom. also, & Estius. Calvin. Par. etc. nor to stir up sin within us: they make the Law to be the husband, the Soul the wife, and the children to be the fruits of Sin; which through the irritating power of the Law, it does bring forth in us, even all manner of concupiscence. But other Interpreters, as Beza, Gomar, and some others, conceive that the husband is Sin, the wife is every natural man that is in the flesh, and the fruits are all sinful words, and actions that do proceed from sin, which are fruits unto death; as the other husband is Christ, the wife a Believing soul, and the fruits all the fruits of Righteousness and Holiness, which are called fruits unto God: and therefore some have put them both together; and so Reinolds in one place he calls Sin the husband, Psal. 130. & the use of the Law, p. 368. and in another place the Law the husband: and the difference is not much, whether we understand it of sin, which takes occasion by the Law, or of the Law as it does inflame and irritate sin; for both of them may be truly said to be dead unto the Saints, and they dead unto them; though it seems by the ensuing Objections most probable that the Law is the husband. Now the Apostle comes to answer a double Objection, which ariseth hence; For if sin take occasion by the Commandment, and if it have a pollutive power by the Law; and as he saith Verse the fifth, The motions of sin, which were by the Law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit to death: than it seems there is a double evil that flows from the Law, sin and death; for by the Law the motions of sin work, and by the Law men bring forth fruit unto death. The words are an answer unto the first objection, which lies thus: That which doth increase sin, and sin works by it, that is in itself sinful; but the Law doth increase sin, and sin works by the Law, etc. The Apostle answers it two ways: (1) By Negation; it doth not follow, though the Law doth increase sin, and sin works by the Law, etc. that the Law is therefore sinful. Absit, God forbidden; it is an abominable inference; for the Law is holy, and just, and good, and a beam of that infinite Holiness that is in God, and by which Gods Holiness does shine forth upon us, therefore the Law is not sinful: for that which only does discover sin is not sin, but it is the Law only that doth discover and forbid sin; therefore, etc. (2) By a Translation of the guilt, laying the blame upon corrupt nature, and the sinfulness thereof, which the Law doth forbid and discover; (for the Law entered that sin might abound) and therefore of itself gives not occasion to sin. Yet sin took occasion when none was given, and did draw evil from that which is good in itself, and sucked poison from that which is holy. For the Law is holy as well when it does by accident enrage sin, as when by itself it discovers it. Doct. Every man out of Christ is under a Covenant of works, and under the irritating power of the Law. The Law forbidding sin and discovering sin in him, has no other fruits but to enrage it, and increase it: as chrysostom says, the flame of lust is increased thereby: for without the law sin is dead; that is, ratione cognitionis, it lies dead, man knows it not to be sin; and comparatiuè, ratione irritationis, in point of irritation. But the more clearly the law is discovered, the more bitterly and violently does corruption work against it. Whiles the law doth not come in a clear and convincing manner, sin is quiet, and a man does not sin with so much rage and violence against the law, as he does after the discoveries thereof. Sin was dead: that is, it did not put forth its utmost power to draw forth all manner of effects, till the law came, and by this means sin is made exceeding sinful; (as it is rendered by Erasmus) sin is not only discovered, but improved, and so it is made exceeding sinful. So that the fruits of the law to a man under the first Covenant is this, Sin taketh occasion by the Commandment, it does ripen his sins, and improve them, and it draws forth in him all manner of uncleanness, 1 Cor. 15.56, The strength of sin is the law. There is a threefold power sin has from the law: (1) Of condemnation; and so the law, saith Luther, that is weak through the flesh for justification, is through the flesh powerful to condemnation. The law does strengthen sin by its condemning power. (2) Of Conviction; for the discovery of sin is by the law, and it's through the law only that sin does trouble the Conscience and convince the sinner. Paul saith, I was alive without the law once: i. e. in his unregenerate estate; but his sins were before alive only, they lay hid as colours in the dark. Now when the Commandment came sin did appear to be sin, it being discovered thereby: so that the strength of sin as to Conviction is by the law. (3) As to Irritation. By the law lust is drawn forth and improved, and provoked, and so sin receives a power from the law also: and therefore they that have the clearest discoveries of the law, their sins are improved and made stronger than other men's; as it appears by the people of Israel, Zech. 5.6, 8. there was an Ephah, Zech. 5.6, 8. which is the greatest dry measure amongst the Jews, and it is wickedness that is in it, that sets forth the fullness of their sins; and we see what it was that did fill it up; sin taking occasion from the Commandment, Jer. 1.11. as a rod of an Almond-tree their sins did ripen in the greatest colds; that which a man would have thought should have been a means to have kept sin under, that was a means to improve and increase it. As a basket of Summer-fruits, which is sooner ripe than other fruits: Jer. 24.2. Amos 8.1. they were divided into two sorts, the good figs very good, but the bad very bad, such as could not be eaten: the rain does ripen the briers and thorns as well as the corn; Heb. 6.7, 8. therefore the law of God does improve men's sins and ripen them, and hasten judgement for them. 1. In every unregenerate man there is the seed of all sin; Rom. 1.26. Act. 13.10. they are filled with the fruits of all unrighteousness; full of all subtlety, and all mischief; a fountain of sin, a treasury, a bundle of folly. Let Satan come when he will, and he will find something that is in us. Though all sins break not forth actually in every man, yet virtually and seminally all sins are in every man. 2. Lust's are acted and drawn forth by degrees, as water out of a fountain, it casts not forth all at once; your experience teaches, that the more it is drawn, the quicker the spring is; no man is suddenly very bad, sin ripens as a child in the womb; first lust is conceived, Jam. 1.14. Ezek. 7.10. Isa. 59.4. and then it brings forth sin, and sin finished brings forth death: It first brings forth the bud, and then the blossom, and afterward the fruit; as Serpents do first the egg, and afterwards the Cockatrice, etc. 3. Unto men in an unregenerate state there is nothing that is not a means to draw out and improve their lusts, and this is the curse upon every thing unto them, and therefore Tit. 1.15. To the unclean all things are unclean. Rom. 8.28. To a gracious heart all things work together for his good; because they are all means to subdue his corruption, and improve his graces; so to another man all things improve his corruption: (1) All Creatures, 1 Joh. 2.16. whatsoever is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life. There is no Creature but draws out some lust or other; and therefore the lust is put for the thing itself, for every Creature shall improve his corruption; there is nothing that he sees with his eyes, but sin takes occasion by it, to make the man more exceeding sinful. If he look upon the Sun in its brightness, his heart is enticed, etc. He cannot look upon a woman but to lust after her: they have eyes full of adultery. 2 Pet. 2.14. (2) All opportunities draw out his corruption: as Gehazi said, As the Lord liveth I will go after him, and get something of him. And the Harlot, Prov. 7. The good man is gone from home, etc. (3) All estates do draw out his corruption: if in prosperity he does wax fat and kick, and as the pasture so is his filling, his heart is lifted up, and he forgets the Lord; and if afflicted with Ahaz, he sins yet more: so that sin takes occasion by all the ways and dispensations of God towards the man; and as sin is improved, and takes all occasion by all other things, so it does by the law of God also, and so as a godly man grows from grace to grace, from faith to faith, so does a wicked man from sin to sin, from one degree of wickedness to another. §. 3. But the main thing in opening of the point is this: How sin takes occasion by the Commandment, and what improvement the law that forbids sin, and discovers sin, can give unto it. There are several acts of the law by which sin is improved. Rom. 7. 1. The law as a glass doth discover sins: I had not known lust but by the law, says the Apostle Paul. Now in this sin takes occasion by the Commandment three ways: (1) It does act many sins because they are forbidden; that there is nothing in the sin that should else carry the heart to it, but only we affect things forbidden. In sins where there is neither pleasure nor profit, yet how do the hearts of men run out to them, even to new oaths, and new-invented blasphemies? as if they were the flowers of speech, for which no man can give a reason but this, because it is forbidden. As Hyperius gives advice unto Divines, not to revive ancient Heresies in their reproofs, lest thereby they do teach men those errors they went about to refute. For the very hearing of a blasphemy is enough to take the heart; as we see by experience daily, and the very speaking of some things as sins, is enough to draw out the lusts of men towards them. Thus sin takes occasion by the Commandment. (2) The discovery of the Law makes sin the more exceeding sinful, because it is against light, which shows it unto his Conscience, and yet the man does it, and so sin takes occasion by the Commandment to become the more out of measure sinful. [1] When the Commandment forbids, and discovers a thing to be evil, and sin takes occasion thereby to mince it, and in a politic manner to conceal itself. Sin would do the thing, and yet elude the force and the spirituality of the Law, as the Pharisees; the Law said, Thou shalt not swear; but they said, to swear by Heaven is lawful; and, it is lawful to swear by the Temple, but not by the Gold of the Temple. The Law saith, Men should nourish their Parents; but they said, it is Corban, a gift, etc. And so the discovery of the Law makes a man to seek out curious ways of sinning against it to avoid the power of the law: as we see in Gaming, etc. sin takes occasion by the Commandment, that it may sin more artificially; and such men are hardly convinced. [2] The Law discovers sin, and men will not see it, and so sin takes occasion by the Commandment, and vents itself by refusing knowledge: And they stop their ears that they may not be charmed by the voice of the charmer, Joh. 3.20. etc. (3) Sin takes occasion from hence, in that men hate the light of the law, and they wish that there were no such law in the world. He that does evil hates the light, neither cometh he to the light lest his deeds should be made manifest and reproved. As the law discovers that to be evil in which the soul placeth its greatest good, so this discovery draws out a hatred in the soul against that law, which does as a glass discover the spots which the sinner would have hidden. 2. The law does restrain sin, and puts a stop, to it, and shuts up the sinner, as we may read, Gal. 3.23. Whence sin breaks forth more violently; men being prone to sin, and cannot live without it, (for the comfort of their life comes in by it.) The Law may restrain and keep in lust for a while, Mat. 12.43. but it breaks forth as fire; when you suppress it outwardly, it burns the hotter within, and spreads the more by a restraint. (1) It spreads the more in the man by the restraint of the Law: a man that hath forborn a sin long, there comes seven worse spirits at the last and makes him more the child of the Devil than he was before: the former restraint that was upon him, makes his inward man the more exceeding sinful: As it was with Judas, a Devil though a Disciple. The restraint of sin by the Commandment causes it to defile his inward man the more. (2) The more sin is enraged; as Psal. 2. They say, let us break their bonds and cast their cords from us. Chains put not a fierceness into a beast, but yet it does outwardly draw forth that fury that was in its nature. As a potion in some diseases given for the cure, irritates the peccant humour, and kills the man the sooner; not that it puts a new sickness in, but only the humours being stirred are the more enraged. (3) So in this case it does not only enrage sin, and so make it more fierce, but it improves it by this enraging: as the presence of an injury doth heighten a man's anger, as we see Goliath did David s; his brags drew forth David's courage, and it risen to the greater height: and so any difficulty would Alexander's, so that it was an exploit fit for Alexander, if none else would undertake it: and so a dam in the water, it does cause it to swell and foam the more, and the coldness of the circumstant air in the winter does not put more heat into the fire, and yet by an Antiperistasis it excites it, so that it is felt the more. And therefore men living under the clearest discoveries of the Law, their sins do rise to the greatest height: men by the light of nature cannot sin against the Holy Ghost, the great and the unpardonable transgression; but this sin is by Gospel-light, and this draws forth to direct enmity a man's spirit against the light, so that he sins wilfully after that he hath received the knowledge of the truth, and with despite; for it is this being under the irritating power of the Law, that is the great occasion of the sin against the Holy Ghost. 3. There is a condemning power of the Law, it passes a sentence upon a man and upon his estate, and let's into his soul by the spirit of bondage fear of death, and dreadful apprehensions of wrath, fearful expectations of judgement, and of violent fire to devour him. And from this also sin takes occasion, (1) By reason of terrors, that a man should destroy himself, and become the instrument of his own mercy, and be his own executioner, as Judas, and Achitophel, and many others have done. And (2) hence sin takes occasion to drive them to despair, and draws it forth, fastening their eyes upon the vengeance of God, and never showing them the remedy and the pardon; and then with Cain men say, mine iniquity is greater than can be forgiven. (3) Hence follows a giving up themselves unto all excess of riot; there is no hope, and therefore I will enjoy the good things that are present, and not have a Hell here and hereafter too. And therefore they refrain not from any evil way, but resolve to take their fill of sin while they are here; for they are sure they can be but damned: as many a wicked wretch when he is condemned to die, he cares not what he does then, for he knows he can be but hanged: Let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall die. (4) The rage of their spirits does rise from hence, even to blasphemy and revenge against God. He saith, O that I were above God for I know that he will not have mercy upon me. And so the Damned in Hell do blaspheme God by way of revenge, because they are shut up under wrath, and know that there is no mercy for them. And this is the ground also of the great rage and revenge against God, that is acted by the Devil ever since the fall. Thus men seeing themselves condemned by the Law, and being in a continual expectation of this wrath, the revenge and rage of their spirits against God is by this means drawn forth, and in all these respects sin does take occasion by the Commandment, and becomes the more exceeding sinful. SECT. II. Whence it is that the Law exasperates and increases Sin. §. 1. LET us now come (having proved the Point) to look into the grounds of it, How it should come to pass that that which discovers sin, and forbids it, should exasperate and increase it; and that that which is a means to lead the people of God into ways of holiness, and to sanctify them, converting the soul, making wise the simple, should occasion sin and death to others. We must lay this as a ground, That the cause is not in the Law: the Apostles care is to remove any blemish that may be cast on the Law of God, as if God had given a Law to this end, to add unto the sin of man; whereas indeed before the Law sin was in the world, and it was out of measure sinful; but it did not appear so without the Law. There is a twofold cause that the Apostle does here point us unto. (1) There is causa per se, a formal cause; which does of itself and of its own nature properly produce the effect from some inward and power and efficiency, and so the Law is not the cause of sin in a man, neither is there any thing in the Law that should produce any such effect, but rather the contrary; for it doth forbid sin upon the highest penalties, it has upon it an impress of the Holiness of God, and is contrary to sin in all things, being holy and just, and good, and in its proper causality, does work holiness in the hearts of men, and a conformity unto the will of God as the rule of Goodness, as it appears in the Saints; all the grace that they have is nothing else but the Law written in their hearts, which is the grand promise of the new Covenant. (2) There is causa per accidens, an accidental cause; when the effect flows not from the nature of the cause, but from something else that does by accident cleave to it; so the Apostle says, knowledge puffs up: all true knowledge is humbling, and there is nothing that a man can know either of God or himself, but it does afford him great ground of abasement and self-denial; but yet through the lusts of men sin takes occasion by the knowledge that should humble him to lift him up: so fountains are hottest in the Winter, and the fire by reason of the cold of the circumstant air; not that the Winter does add heat to either by its own nature, but by accident and occasionally enclose the one and draw forth the other: so the Gospel meeting with the lusts of men, who either reject the Gospel, or else do turn the grace of God into wantonness, thence it becomes the savour of death unto death; not of itself, nor in its own nature, for it is the word of life and salvation: so does the Law draw forth sin, not of its own nature, for it forbids it, and curseth it; but yet sin takes occasion by the Law, and through many things that do adhere and cleave to the man by the Law, it does become the more exceeding sinful. Let us therefore come unto the proper causes how it comes to pass, that sin by the Law, which is good, should take such an occasion of evil. The causes are many. 1. One cause of it is lust. There are in lust many things from whence it flows, but especially these. (1) Lust is carried towards its object with earnestness, violence, and vehemency; there is a lifting up of the soul to vanity, and the hearts going after covetousness; and therefore some render that of Laban when Jacob departed, and he saw that the hope of his gain was gone, Gen. 31.20. Deut. 29.19. Amos 2.7. Eph. 4.19. Judas 11. that he stole away the heart of Laban. And as a godly man's desires are for God and Grace, so a wicked man's desires are after sin, and he thirsts and pants after it; and it is therefore expressed by greediness, as we may see it in Shechem, Amnon, and Ahab after Naboth's Vineyard. All these set forth the violence of lust, how fully the soul of man is carried after sinful objects; and the ground is, because sin looks upon sinful objects as the husband of the soul, as the chief good, and therefore is carried after them, modo infinito, in an infinite manner, as a God; therefore they are said, to serve mammon; and their God is their belly; and they are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, Rom. 7. and therefore desire them infinitely: the sinner is never satisfied, but like the barren womb cries, give, give; his desire is as Hell and the Grave, it never has enough. Now whatever comes in the way as a bar unto that which his soul does so infinitely desire, it is no wonder if his heart rise against it with an answerable violence. If Naboth come in the way of Ahab's Covetousness, his life is little enough to make satisfaction; and if any man stand in the way of Haman's honour, his life and the life of a whole Nation is but a fit sacrifice to expiate so great an offence. Now the Law of God putting a stop upon such vast desires, therefore the hearts of men do rise up against the Law, in opposition answerable to the desire that sin hath unto the object from which it is stopped by the prohibition of the Law. (2) Lusts are proud, and do swell the heart, and cause it to be lifted up, Psal. 10.4, The wicked through the pride of his countenance doth not seek after God. Obed. 3, The pride of thy heart has deceived thee. And this fills the heart with a great deal of obstinacy and stoutness of spirit against God, and contempt and scorn of whatever comes in his way to resist it; as we see in Pharaoh, even against the Lord himself, Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice? And answerable unto a man's pride and exaltation of spirit, such is the rising of his heart against any thing that makes against him; and the more full of lust any man is, the more the pride of his heart is drawn forth; for he is thereby made the more conformable to the Devil, who saith, I am a God, and so do all men's lusts say; and therefore the heart is lifted up as a God, answerable to the pride of a man, such is his impatience. (3) Lust is resolute; this proceeds from the two former, it will go on whatever come of it, Ephes. 2.3. Hos. 9 in despite of all opposition. There are wills of the flesh, as great resolutions as if there were many wills in one, as a wild ass alone by itself, i. e. that has neither rider to command it, nor bridle to restrain it, will venture anywhere, Jer. 8.7, They go on in their own ways as the horse rushes into the battle. Christ warns Judas, The son of man goeth indeed, as it is written, but woe to him by whom the son of man is betrayed; it had been good for that man that he had never been born: And yet Judas went forth, and from that time he sought an opportunity to betray him. If the Lord make hedges about a soul, yet he will labour to tread down all with the greatest resolution, and with the highest contempt, as we may see it in Pharaoh after all his plagues, yet his heart was hardened, that is, his will remained obstinate, and he resolved not to yield unto God come what will come; yea though death to himself, and destruction upon his Kingdom did ensue. And therefore they say, What thou speakest to us in the name of the Lord we will not do, Jer. 44.16. but we will do whatever proceeds out of our own mouths. And if any thing come in the way to cross them in this resolution, men resolve to oppose it; see it in Saul, 1 Sam. 22.17, Go and kill the Priests of Jehovah, which some have made to be the sin against the Holy Ghost; and Job 15.26, They do prepare themselves thick-bossed bucklers, they resolve to make resistance, they harden their hearts, and stiffen their necks; though the law of God set the sin and the evil before them, yet men despise it and fear not the danger; let it be of temporal judgement, they say, The word of the Prophet is but wind, and the word of the Lord is not in them, it will come upon themselves, so let it be done unto themselves; let it be eternal judgement that is threatened, and men do scoff and say, 2 Pet. 3.3. Where is the promise of his coming. And the heart of man does from its pride infinitely scorn all those things, and goes on with the greater resolution in any evil. (4) There is in every lust a principle and root of enmity against God; for men naturally are haters of God, and enemies to God, and there is nothing but lust makes them so: Rom. 1.31. Col. 1.31. Now as in every man there is all sin virtually and seminally, so there is all sin in every sin, and there is in every sin a principle of sin that will produce all manner of iniquity, as we may see in the first transgression; it was but one sin and one act of sin, yet there was in it all manner of defilement that has filled the nature of man with all manner of pollution. The sin of the Devils was but one, and that a spiritual sin also, and it has filled the Devils with all that Devilish malignity, that has manifested itself in them ever since. Now as there is in every sin a principle of enmity against God, so radically and seminally there is in every sin the sin against the Holy Ghost even the great transgression; Psal. 19.13. even secret sins they do make way for this sin against the Spirit of God, Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which is direct enmity against God, with despite and revenge; and it is opposition that above all things in the world draws it forth; and the more clear a man's light is, the more spiritual the opposition that is made against him is, the sooner the man comes into the great transgression. And these are the great grounds in lusts, which take occasion from the Commandment; the violence of lust the more it is opposed the more it desires, and desires by resistance are kindled and increased, and from the pride of the heart it raiseth opposition with the greater impatience and resolution, come what will come; and all this coming from a principle not only of collateral, but of direct enmity against God, it is with despite and revenge. In these sin takes occasion by the Commandment, and the opposition thereof improves it and draws it forth. As it is in grace, affliction improves it, and opposition draws it forth, temptations and desertions confirm it, as there were many acts of grace in Job that had not been drawn forth but by affliction; so it is with many of the Saints, many men had never been so gracious but by opposition, as we see it in Luther and in many of the Martyrs, that their Grace's rose by their opposition and persecution. So many men had never been so wicked, as we see it in the Pharisees, had they not lived under such glorious means of Grace, and so clear Convictions which set bounds to their lusts, which made them break out with the greater rage: for Christ says to them, If I had not come and spoken to you, you had had no sin, but now there is no cloak for your sin: for by the opposition that their lust met with it was drawn forth more impetuously. §. 2. There is yet a further ground of this irritating power of the Law, and that is from the curse of God that is come upon all men under the fall, which came not only upon man but upon all things else for man's use; and so though it be the curse of the Law, yet it comes even upon the Law itself, (so far as it concerns man) as well as upon all the Creatures; yea the Lord Christ himself is so far a curse unto men in their sins, that as he is a sanctuary to his people, so a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, a gin and a snare unto others, for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel, Luk. 2.34. For judgement, says he, Isa. 8.14. Joh. 9.39. I am come into this world; and yet he says in Joh. 12.47. I came not to judge and condemn the world but to save the world. This indeed was his intent primarily and per se, but the other falls out through the sinfulness of men, occasionally and by accident; and that which is good in itself does become evil unto the man, and that which is a blessing in itself doth to him become a curse: so it is with the Gospel, and with all the ordinances thereof, 'tis the savour of life to some, but of death unto others; the same meat is wholesome nourishment unto some, to others, it feeds the disease in an unsound body; and the same light which is pleasant unto a good and a sound eye, is a pain and a trouble to a weak eye which is sore or bloodshot, etc. And therefore it puts no malignant nor sinful quality into the Law or Gospel, or the Ordinances, but only these meeting with a man of an unsound spirit do occasionally stir up these corruptions and sinful dispositions, which were in the men before, and thereby do increase them; and by this means it becomes a curse to the man, though it be a blessing to the people of God. There is a double curse that is come upon all things by the fall: (1) They are all of them empty and deceiving. (2) They are all of them corrupting and defiling, this is the curse that is come upon all the Creatures. (1) They do a man no good, for they are vanity; though a man looks for profit by them, yet they profit not; Eccles. 1.14. and that is one part of the curse that comes on the Law in respect of men, that a man shall receive no good by it; it shall be but an empty word, and it does fall upon a man as rain upon the Wilderness, it has laboured in vain, as even Christ himself says, My work is with the Lord; but in vain to the people, for they received no good by it, but they have sown the wind: it is spoken of all their religious services, Hos. 7.7. they were empty and unprofitable, and would do them no good at the last day, bring them in no more harvest than a man might expect that did sow but the wind. And in Jeremy 'tis said, They shall not profit this people at all; for there is a vanity in Ordinances as well as in Creatures, and the staff of the bread of life may be taken away, even then when our bread itself may continue, etc. (2) They are polluting, for though all the Creatures can do a man no good, yet they can do him much hurt, and add to the defilement of his spirit, and draw out his sins, and ripen them, and fill up his measure, they can ripen the briers and thorns; Heb. 6. and this was all the fruit that many of the Jews had by the Ministry of Christ: If he had not spoken to them they had had no sin, but now they had no cloak for their sin. To the unclean all things are unclean. Tit. 1.15. And all those things that are means of cleansing to the Saints they are unto unregenerate men means of polluting. Mercies, Afflictions, Ordinances, that which is the refiners fire and the Lords furnace to the one, it proves not so to the other; but the bellows are burnt and the wicked are not taken away, yet the people are not purged, etc. and so by their means of cleansing they become so much the more exceedingly unclean; and above all things in the world herein does the curse lie, that it defiles the soul, and prepares it for eternal wrath: The word that goes out of my mouth shall not return unto me void or in vain. Though it may and commonly doth return in vain in respect of any profit unto them that hear it, but it shall not return in vain in respect of the corruptions and pollutions it leaves upon the soul; it may not profit them, but it shall pollute them. There are in the Law of God several Properties, and sin takes occasion from them all. 1. There is a spiritual depth in it, that reason and all the natural abilities of a man cannot understand, as we see 1 Cor. 2.14, The natural man perceiveth not the things of God. The word in the Greek signifies a man with all the abilities and possibilities of nature, however raised and improved; yet there is something in the Law of God that it cannot attain unto: there is a literal rational part of the Law that men may know; but there is a spiritual part of it that they cannot know, and therefore Mat. 13.13, Seeing they see not: there is something in the Law that they do see, and something that they do not see; they cannot see that that is above the search and the discovery of reason at the highest and best, and therefore the wisest men in the world have been blind therein, so that we may say, where is the wise man, the scribe and the disputer of this world? 1 Cor. 1. Here is only place for Faith, the Law cannot be known but by a spirit of revelation, as David prays, Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wonders out of thy Law. Now from hence sin takes occasion by the Commandment, and it will not believe what it cannot comprehend. The Athenian Philosophers laughed at the Resurrection, and the Corinthian Doctors counted the preaching of the Cross foolishness, that ever any man should believe Salvation by a Crucified Saviour; and the Jews derided it in Christ, that he should be the Saviour of others who could not save himself, etc. And truly this has been the great reason of all the Heresies that have been in the world, because there is a wisdom of the flesh, Rom. 8. that is not subject unto the law of God, neither can it be; that will undertake to try the deep mysteries of the Word, and to weigh them by her balance, and so because it cannot understand them it rejects them. This was the ground of all Heresy from the beginning: and Luther says, Superbia mater omnium haereticorum, pride is the mother of all heresies: and so Augustin, Page 20. and Polycarp in his Epistle ad Philip. when he would describe the Heretics of those first times, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to methodize the Oracles of God according to men's pleasure is the firstborn of Satan. And this has been the occasion taken by men to deny the Trinity of Persons, and the Personal Union of Christ, the Godhead of the Holy Ghost, and of all the errors of the Socinians and the Arminians. And this has made Popery and all those things take so with men, because they are both agreeable to reason and to lust; and Popery being a Doctrine so exactly fitted to corrupt reason, it did so easily overspread the whole face of the world: but sin takes occasion from a profoundness and depth of things revealed in the Law, to deny them, and deride them as foolishness. 2. They are not only above reason, and so rejected because they are above it, but there is a plainness and simplicity in the Gospel, and a great deal of seeming meanness and folly; and there is much in reason to be said against it, and here men are offended, and they stumble at it. For a man to forsake Father and Mother, and to hate them, yea, and his own life also, to lay down all when the Lord shall call for it, rather than to offend him, or dishonour him in the least; for a man to go sell all that he has, that he may have treasure in Heaven, there is much that reason has to say against this; a man looks at it as folly, and such Doctrines he is offended at. And this is the true reason of all the human ornaments and blandishments that men desire in the dispensation of the Word, that there may be something to take the fancy, while the Conscience does evade the blow. 3. The Law is hard to be understood, and therefore men put variety of interpretations upon it; and are said to wrest the word; they put false glosses upon it, 2 Pet. 3.16. and in this the corruptions of men are drawn forth, and take occasion to stand for them, being put to it, as the Pharisees were, who did unlord the Law, and take away the ruling power of it, by putting a sense upon it, that the Spirit of God never intended; and so by subtle distinctions and evasions take away the spiritual part of the Law. 4. The Law hath a difficulty and impossibility unto man fallen, and at this men are offended, and say who can be saved; and they reject it as impossible, for the law is weak through the flesh, 1 Cor. 10.25. Rom. 8.3. and by the works of it can no man be justified in the sight of God. Men object, God does require that of the Creature which it cannot perform, and how can this stand with the justice of God? The Law was not originally impossible, for man had an ability perfectly to obey it, but it is now become accidentally impossible; it is through the flesh weak, and so Legally impossible, but Evangelically possible. 5. From Satan's working with the Law, and God giving a man over unto his power, and the efficacy of his deceit; to a blind mind and a hard heart, and a desperate resolution in a way of sinning. There is a double design that the Devil has upon man; (1) He would conform him to himself and stamp upon him his own image; and therefore in all bodily lusts and acts of collateral enmity, his aim is to draw men unto direct enmity: thence he can be content to go out of men in many outward and gross lusts, that he may draw them into spiritual wickedness the more; and the more any man comes unto that, the more perfectly he is a Devil: Satan's aim is even in all his temptations, of the Saints as well as wicked men, to touch them, Jon. 6.7. Job 5.19. and to leave in them an impression and stamp of his own devilishness; and therefore the more men sin against knowledge and with despite, and disaffection unto God, the more he is pleased with it: for as God loves holiness in the spirituality of it, and the nearer a man comes unto conformity to God the more God delights in him; so Satan loves sin in the spirituality of it, and the nearer a man comes in conformity unto Satan, the more spiritual his wickedness grows; and Satan delights to act that man of all other. (2) The dearer any thing is unto God the more Satan delights to abuse it unto this end, and the more God hath set up any thing against sin, the more Satan does endeavour to make that a means to draw men unto sin: sometimes he seeks to abuse the Creatures of God, and stir up lust by them, as when a man looks upon the Sun when it shines, and his heart is enticed thereby; sometimes he looks upon a Woman and lusts after her; sometimes he looks upon the Wine when its colour looks red in the glass; and thus the Creatures of God are abused by Satan to draw out the lusts of men; and whatever is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, 1 Joh. 2.15, 16. Sometimes he abuseth the servants of God, he will enter into Peter and he shall become a tempter unto Christ, that he saith, Get thee behind me Satan: and the woman that God gave man to be a help, she shall by Satan be made a dart; and sometimes the Law and the Gospel, which specially God has set up as a remedy against sin, shall act it and improve it, and draw it forth. Now God leaving a man under the power and dominion of Satan the God of this world, who works effectually in the children of disobedience, he is as a conqueror over them, and triumphs in this, that he has made use of the Law of God, and the Gospel of God, that is made against sin, to increase and ripen it; yea, even the motions and common works of the Spirit of God, the heart of man rising and making head against them, are the great means by which Satan draws men to the great transgression, even to sin against God with despite and revenge. §. 3. But here is a question, Question. Are believers who are engrafted into Christ, and come under him as a father, as the second Adam, that is, have their Covenant changed as well as their image, are these wholly freed from the law in respect of the irritation of it? Rom. 6.14. it is said, Sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are not under the law but under grace. Which, as has been declared, is not to be referred unto a man's justification, as being freed from the Law for righteousness and life, and from the curse of the law for death and condemnation; but it is spoken of a man's Sanctification: a man is not under the Law as irritating sin and increasing it, but under grace, not only pardoning but sanctifying and subduing it; and in this respect the dominion and the ruling power of sin is taken away in the godly, though the being of it remain. The Apostle speaks wholly in this place in reference to a man's state of unregeneracy, Vers. 5, When we were in the flesh, the motions of sin that were by the law, etc. And he speaks this in reference to his own estate before conversion, I was alive without the law once: and I had not known sin but by the law, nor lust to be a sin, and the danger of it, but that the Law of God discovered it unto me; and so in my former state, Sin took occasion by the Commandment, and wrought in me, etc. The word in the Greek signifies to work a thing throughly and effectually, and to work it out, Phil. 2.20, Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. And Rom. 7.18, To will is present with me, but to perform or go through with the work, I find not a power to do it. And so sin by the Commandment wrought in him effectually, or wrought in him (which we heard before) all manner of Concupiscence, all lust was thereby drawn out. Hath the law of God no such work upon a regenerate man, one that is a believer? does not sin in a regenerate man take occasion by the Commandment? Is a Believer as perfectly freed from the Law for irritation, as he is for condemnation? Answer. Christ says, If the Son make you free you are free indeed: and the special part of our liberty, with which Christ has made us free, is in being freed from the Law as a Covenant. Some, as Paraeus and others, do distinguish thus: Liberty from the Law is twofold; (1) Perfect, in respect of justification and condemnation, that their perfect obedience to the Law is no way required for the one, neither shall any of the transgressions of the Law be imputed for the other. (2) Inchoate, which is but begun in the Saints, and shall be perfected; and so they are delivered from the Law only for irritation and coaction, but so long as sin remains in them, so long they shall never be perfectly delivered from the Law in either of these. But to make this plain, and bring it down in the particular branches of it unto the meanest understanding. There are many things to be considered, which I shall now proceed to lay down to make out this general and received Doctrine, that is so commonly delivered by our Divines. 1. There are remainders of corruption in the best of the Saints; Grace destroys the reigning of sin, but not the being of it. You read, how that Abraham the father of the faithful, had his unbelief, and Moses the meekest man in his generation, had his passion and provocation, and spoke unadvisedly with his lips; David a man after Gods own heart, yet he complains of his secret sins; and Paul that great Apostle had the law of his members rebelling against the law of his mind. 2 Cor. 7.1. There is a filthiness of flesh and spirit that is to be purged out: as there is something wanting in their Graces, and therefore they have a daily growth in Sanctification; so there is something remaining of their corruption, which requires a daily growth in their mortification, therefore they are compared to the Moon, Cant. 6.10. which has some spots in it, because not wholly enlightened by the Sun; they do defile themselves, and therefore had need daily to wash their feet. Joh. 17.10. 2. These remainders of sin in them, as they are promoted by Satan, so they give Satan an access unto their spirits, and are as the seed for him to work upon; they are to him a seminary, and so much as Satan has in a man, so much power he has over him: says Christ, Joh. 14.30, The Prince of this world comes and has nothing in me. Joh. 14.30. He came in his instrument Judas, and the Pharisees, and the high Priest, and the Soldiers, Satan stirred them up. And he has nothing in me; that is as some render it, nothing of his own; when he speaks a lie he speaks of his own. Let your conversation be yea and nay, for what is more is of the evil one. And he hath nothing; that is, no power and authority over me: by reason of sin all mankind is subject unto death, and therefore are under the power of him that has the power of death, that is, the Devil, Heb. 2.15. But where there is no sin, Satan has no power, and therefore they are called the rulers of the darkness of this world. Ephes. 6.12. He is a Prince of darkness, and his power lies in darkness: indeed Interpreters by darkness do understand ungodly and unregenerate men, who are called sometimes darkness itself, in the abstract, Ephes. 5.8, You were sometimes darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; and so Satan is a ruler over the wicked of the world, i. e. the darkness of the world: but it is sin that is this darkness, and gives them this denomination; and therefore so much sin as there is in any man, so much power the Devil has over him, because so much a party of his own he has within him. 3. This corruption is in the will of a regenerate man as well as in any other part; so that even in the very remainders of sin in the Saints there is an inclination to sin wilfully against knowledge even a tendency to the great transgression, the sin against the Holy Ghost; and therefore David prays against presumptuous sins, in reference unto the great transgression, So shall I be innocent. Psal 19.13. There was, looking on his own corruption, a tendency to presumptuous sins, and these in their own nature make way for the unpardonable sin. I confess a godly man cannot sin unto death, 1 Joh. 5.18, Whosoever is born of God keeps himself that the evil one does not touch him. He can never touch him with this sin because he is born of God, and the seed of God remains in him. But though a regenerate man cannot commit this sin against the Holy Ghost, nor the seeds and remainders of lust within him be ever so fat improved and blown up by Satan; yet there is a tendency in them thereunto, as Divines say in the matter of conversion. God works the will, that is, ex nolentibus, volentes facit, of unwilling makes men willing: Tollit Deus resistentiam vincentem. Doth God at the same time take away all the unwillingness in a man? is not there then a principle that gain says and denies? they say there is, and something that does resist, yet so as it shall never overcome, but the Spirit of God and the Almighty Power of God in conversion gets the victory, and as it is in perseverance a regenerate man cannot fall away; Grace is an immortal seed, though not in its own nature so properly, for it is a Creature, and therefore subject to change; and the grace that was in Adam and the Angels, though perfect, was subject to change, much more imperfect grace cannot preserve itself: and therefore they say, Auferi actum deficiendi, sed potentia ad actum non aufertur, God takes away the act of failing, albeit the power to the act is not taken away. There is in the nature of Grace a possibility of decay, that shall never be reduced into act, but shall be preserved by the power of God and the Spirit of Christ, and the unchangeableness of the Covenant of Grace; so though a godly man by grace shall be preserved from the sin against the Holy Ghost, that he shall never actually fall into it, yet the remainders of corruption that are within him, have a tendency thereunto, and in themselves considered there is a possibility even for a godly man to sin the sin unto death, if they were left unto the violence of their lusts, and not supported by a supply of the Spirit of Christ. 4. Regenerate men may be given up unto spiritual judgements. They are left very far unto, and under the power of Satan; the Saints may be hardened from God's fear, Isa. 63.17. Satan may harden them by temptation, and God may give them up in judgement thereunto, 1 Cor. 5.5, Deliver such a man unto Satan: a godly man may be rightly excommunicated; and if so, that which is bound on earth God will bind in Heaven, his sins may be bound upon his Conscience as unpardoned, till he does repent, and he be as it were under a sequestration for a time of all the benefits, comforts and emoluments of the state of Grace, and being without, left under the power of Satan, who would carry him to sin, whereby God would afterward awaken his Conscience, etc. for there are two ways that Satan does ordinarily work upon godly men, when they are given over unto him, and left in a measure by God in his power, either wasting a man's Conscience, and bringing a man unto such a hardness of heart, and a spirit of slumber, that a man lives in a wretched security and neglect of his duty towards God, or peace with God, and gives himself over to the pleasures of sin and the comforts of the Creatures, with a kind of greediness, and that for many days and years together; as we see it in Solomon, who under a spiritual judgement did not with hold his heart from any Creature-comforts, or delight whatsoever; or else Satan works upon the weakness of a man's spirit, and his apprehensions of wrath, God writing bitter things against a man, and Satan drawing conclusions out of them to draw the man to despair of mercy, and to seek his own destruction; and so a man may go despairing and disconsolate all his days, so that God may give him up to spiritual judgements. 5. There being this principle within him, and thus left in judgement unto the power of Satan, he does strangely raise and improve and draw out this corruption and blow these sparks, into a flame. As Job 3.1, Then Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. Before under all his afflictions his mouth was full of blessing. The Lord gave, and the Lord takes, blessed be the name of the Lord: and shall we receive good things at the hand of God and not evil? There is a seed of corruption in those that are most holy, which if Satan improve he will draw forth in them very foul acts of enmity to God, and contrariety unto themselves: as we see in Peter, at first his mouth was full of nothing but promises and engagements of adhering to Christ, and though all men forsake thee yet will not I; but being left into the winnowings of Satan, at Satan's desire, he is first possessed with fear, and that grows to a denial of Christ, and that denial increaseth to an oath, and that swearing multiplies to curse and to imprecations upon himself in the highest kind, as the word is in the original; as if he had wished, Mat. 26: 74. I would I might never find mercy at the hands of God, or come where God hath to do, that I might be separated from God eternally, and damned body and soul, if that I know the man. And Isa. 57.17, says God, For the iniquity of his covetousness I smote him and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart, etc. Theodosius was an Emperor of a very meek, sweet and gracious temper; yet a Temptation so far got the head of him, that upon an occasion of a Tumult in Thessalonia, a servant of his that he had in a special manner respect for, being slain, he commanded an universal Massacre throughout the City, that in a very short space 3000 men were slain by his command, and that by a wile, being invited to behold a Play; for which cause the Emperor himself was by Ambrose kept from the Sacrament. It were strange to consider unto what a height even the sins of godly men, from the remainders of corruption that is in them may be improved. 6. For the improvement of sins in godly men, Satan may and commonly does make advantage of the Law of God, and the commands and restraints thereof, whereby sin will take occasion. See it in King Asa, the Prophet did prophesy and he put him into Prison, because he shown him his sin, and instead of repenting for it he increased it, for he was in a rage, temptation had got hand over him, and by the reproof Satan did stir up his lust. And even the Gospel is by Satan turned into wantonness, and all the Grace of it; yea, and all the glorious works of Grace upon a man's heart: sin will take occasion from Gods drawing nigh, and wax wanton under his love; there is not any part of the Law of God, or the Works of God, or the Providence of God, that Satan will not make use of, and sin take occasion by, to stir up and to improve corruption in a man, even those remainders of sin that are in a Saint. Quest. §. 4. If a godly man be under the irritation of the Law, as well as a wicked man, where then lies the difference that a man in Christ is said not to be under the Law in this respect? The difference lies in these three things mainly: Answ. 1. An unregenerate man has no other use of the Law but this, all the fruit that he has by it is to improve, draw out, and increase his sins; but a godly man being under another Covenant, as he has the Law written in his heart in his regeneration, so he has by the Law Grace increased in the continued work of his Sanctification: Joh. 17.17. there is in respect of his regenerate part a power of Sanctification, and the whole Law of God tends to that end in him; and this the Law works in him per se, as he is regenerate, though it works the other per accidens, as far as he is unregenerate: Grace receives strength by the Commandment, according to the law of the mind, as sin does according to the law of the flesh; in the one sin is restrained and subdued, in the other sin may be restrained but it is increased, and as a dam set upon the waters which ●●●es them swell the higher. 2. Through sin may ●●●e occasion by the Law in the regenerate, yet this does not constitute sin in dominion, it do●● never rise up so high in a regenerate man as to amount unto a complete reign and dominion, as Rom. 6.14, Sin shall not have dominion over you, so that a man should obey it in the lusts thereof; for in the highest improvement of sin by the Law in the regenerate, there is another law in the mind, a spirit that lusts against the flesh, that a man cannot be given up unto all iniquity; it does never work in him all manner of concupiscence, as it does in the unregenerate, so as to make a man always go on in a presumptuous way of sinning; but Grace and the spirit of Grace gives a check to it, because a man loves the law of God and its precepts according to his inward man. 3. Lastly, it does never so far prevail in the regenerate as to bring forth fruit unto death, as it does in the unregenerate. Rom. 7.5, The motions of sin that were by the law wrought in me to bring forth fruits unto death. But as the law is made a servant unto the Gospel, so both the precept and the curse of the law is made subservient and subordinate this way: for as the remainders of sin in the godly are sprinkled with the blood of Christ, so are all the temptations of Satan, and the improvements of sin by the law, (which is unto all unregenerate men a part of the curse of their Covenant) sanctified unto the regenerate, and are a means to show them their own vileness, and to humble them deeply before the Lord: as we see it in Peter and David, and to make them hate sin the more, and to make them the more watchful over their own hearts, and lay the faster hold upon Christ, and the Grace offered in the Gospel by faith, and to ply the Throne of Grace by constant and daily prayers, and the more to long for their adoption and redemption; and so this improvement of sin by the law does tend in the end to the further subduing of sin, and at last to the utter abolishing of it, that so the remainders of sin being wholly done away, Satan may stir up sin, and sin may take occasion by the Commandment no more. And so, as other fruits of the curse of the law are blessed and sanctified unto them as their afflictions, their temptations, and death itself; so shall these fruits of the curse be also sanctified unto them, and tend to their sanctification, and end in the perfection of their holiness at the last. So that as death is swallowed up in victory in a man's resurrection, so is sin also in a man's perfect sanctification, unto which (through the Grace of the Gospel) sin itself was overruled to be a means: for as there are two ways of a man's pollution, so there are also two means of a man's sanctification; there are proper and natural means, as Satan and a man's own lusts, etc. and there are occasional means, as the law of God; so there are of a man's sanctification, the Word and the Spirit, and the Ordinances; and there are occasions which in their own nature do work no such thing, but Grace takes occasion from the one, as corruption does from the other; the temptations of Satan and the improvement of sin by the law being sprinkled by the blood of Christ shall be as effectual to a man's sanctification, as the other being not sprinkled with the blood of Christ shall be effectual to a man's pollution. Use 1 §. 5. See here the malignity and the vile nature of sin, and what a deadly disease it is, when that which God did give of purpose to destroy it will increase it. We say that is a very deadly disease that you can apply no physic but it does stir up the disease, and it's increased by it, and all that you can take feeds the disease; so here, sin must needs be a deadly thing that the law should increase it, which in its own nature should abate it. There are two truths that should be always in a man's eye, God to be the chiefest Good, and Sin to be the greatest Evil. There is no one thing that does set forth the evil of sin more than this, that the Commandment of God which doth forbid it, curse it, condemn it, should improve it. It's no wonder then if mercies make men more wicked, and if crosses add to men's sins, for the very Law of God and his threaten and restraints thereof will do it; if any thing make sin appear to a man to be out of measure sinful, and a disease incurable in itself, this will. 2. See hereby the vanity of that Doctrine that says, Moral persuasion is sufficient unto conversion. God enlightening of a man's mind, and showing him what is his duty, and what is required of him, and persuading of his will, it is, according to these, able to embrace it, and so turn unto God and duty; and herein is the drawing of God the Father: when as we see that when God does set a man's duty before him in the Law with all the threaten of it, and all the promises of it, this is so far from converting the man, that it improves his sin sin, and makes it the more to rage against God, and become out of measure sinful: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. therefore there is an inward work of God, an Almighty Power put forth in changing the heart and converting of the will. Moral persuasions may make a man more wicked, but they will never convert him, or make him the more holy, without this inward work put forth by God in changing the heart. 3. See here what is the proper rise and ground of that unpardonable sin, the sin against the Holy Ghost. It is by a curse of the first Covenant, coming upon to the word of God, that it is an occasional means, lust opposing it, to make sin rise the higher: and first it brings forth in a man sins against knowledge, and afterwards sins with malice and despite. If the Law had never been revealed again, but man had been left as many of the Heathens are, who have but that small glimmering of light, which some do call the remainders of the Law within them, which the Apostle speaks of, Rom. 2. They show the works of the law written in their hearts, this sin had never been heard of in the world; it is a sin proper unto the Church of God, and cannot be committed out of the Church, where men are enlightened in the truth, and sin takes occasion from the Law to break forth into despite against it. 4. See what a vain thing it is for a man to glory in any Church-priviledge. The Jews did stand much upon it, and doubtless it was a great mercy that unto them did belong the giving of the Law and the Promises, and unto them were committed the Oracles of God, and therefore they rested in, and made their boast of the Law, etc. Rom. 2.18, 19 And what fruit had most of them by the Law? it did aggravate their sins in the guilt of them, and drew forth their sins in the power of them, unto the greater height, and in many of them even to the sin against the Holy Ghost. And so it does many men that live under the Gospel at this day, they have no other fruit by their ordinances, and of the word of God amongst them, but to make them more exceedingly wicked. 5. See what a misery it is to be in a state of unregeneracy; he that is so is wicked by nature, and every thing w●● make him worse. See also what a mercy restraining grace is to a man that is unregenerate: when we read of Judas, and how Christ's reproof did heighten his malice, and of the Pharisees how by Christ's Sermon their rage was drawn forth, and they gnashed their teeth upon him, etc. What a mercy is it, should every soul say, that all the Sermons that ever I have heard of Christ, etc. should not have wrought the same effects in me long ago. Luther saith, that reading that place, Rom. 1.17, The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, and understanding it only de justitia activa scilicet punientè, of Gods punishing justice; Non amabam, imo odiebam, justum & punientem Deum, tacitaque si non blasphemia, certe ingenti murmuratione, etc. odi istud vocabulum poenitentiae; I did not love but hate the just and punishing God, and by a silent great murmur, if not blasphemy, I did hate that word Repentance. Now that it has not been so to every one of us, and we sinned against the Holy Ghost, and in the highest acts of direct enmity, that there had been no hope of mercy, seeing that we cannot say that we have done it ignorantly; Oh what a mercy is restraining Grace! 6. Lastly, how should it engage the people of God to thankfulness, that God has freed them from this great misery, that now the Law should subdue their lusts and not enrage them; and if it does at any time, yet it's not to bring forth fruit unto death; not to have a full dominion over them: how should it make them fear when they read or hear the Law, lest it should add to the disease: Oh! how ought people to pray, and Ministers pray, that they may not be a curse, and that the word which they hear and preach, may not ripen their sins, and draw out and improve their corruptions, but their graces, and make them holy. CHAP. IU. The Rigour and Coactive power of the Law. Gal. 5.18, But if you be led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. SECT. I. Wherein the Coactive power of the Law consists. §. 1. THere is a double sense of these words given by Interpreters, and both may very well be put together. The Apostle having said before, That in a godly man there are two contrary principles, flesh and spirit, and they lust and act one against another, so that they cannot do the things they would, but when they would do good evil is present with them; he adds here a consolation to bear up their hearts in this, which is the greatest conflict upon earth, between flesh and spirit in the same heart, and that which made them to look upon themselves as miserable men all their days, Rom. 7.24, but if you are led by the spirit you are not under the law: that is, though there be a principle of flesh in you, and this principle is sinful, contrary to the Law, and condemned by the Law; yet it shall never prevail to condemn you, though it will many times to defile you, for you are not under the Law for condemnation: they may be and will be matter of your trouble and affliction here, but never the matter of your condemnation hereafter. And so the meaning is, that the godly that have received the spirit of Grace, and submit themselves willingly to be acted and guided thereby, though they have the remainders of sin in them that deserve death, yet they shall never infer death; because they are not for the condition of their persons under the Laws condemning power, Rom. 8.1. Though there be in the Saint's matter of condemnation, yet there is in them no actual condemnation. There is a second interpretation given of it, and that is, That though there be remainders of sin, contrary lustings within you, so that you cannot do the things you would do, but all your performances 〈◊〉 blemished and defiled; as a Collier and Fuller dwelling in the same house, what the one whites, the other pollutes: Yet this shall not make your services hateful before God, shall not hinder their acceptation; for you are not under the rigour and conviction of the Law, requiring perfect obedience, or else it cannot be accepted, as it is with all unregenerate men: but you are not so under the Law, neither shall this contrary principle be wholly able to hinder you in duties; for you are not under the Law constraining you, and forcibly compelling unto duty, without giving you strength to perform it; but you have a spirit within you, as well as a rule without you, the one directing, and the other assisting and enabling. Both these will make one complete sense, and are for consolation to the condition of those that are in Christ; that though corruptions may remain in them, yet they shall never prevail against them to their condemnation, neither shall they hinder their acceptation with the Lord in the midst of all their failings. We must consider that the dispensations of God to every man are according to the Covenant under which he stands, and the administrations of both Covenants are ever since the fall in the hand of Christ as Mediator; he dispenseth the Curse of the first Covenant as well as the Grace of the second; and at the day of Judgement it is the Man Christ Jesus that shall say to the wicked, Go you cursed, as well as to the Saints, Come you blessed, etc. Now for the administration of all things according to this great trust, Jesus Christ as Mediator has received the spirit as a spirit of union, and a spirit of unction: and this spirit is the viceroy, or prorex, that works all the works and all the administrations of Christ in this great Kingdom: only he dispenses this spirit to some as a Lord, and to others as a head, unto some only as a spirit of qualification for service, unto others as a spirit of sanctification for their Salvation. So that all that Christ does, he does by the spirit; and answerable unto the condition of the person, so is the spirit that works in him: all is wrought suitably unto the Covenant under which he stands; if the man be under the first Covenant he is a bondman, for his Covenant genders unto bondage, and all the works of the spirit of God in that man are only the works of bondage, and this spirit is a spirit of fear. There is a double spirit by which wicked men are acted: there is a spirit of the world, that works effectually in the children of disobedience; the strong man armed keeps the house, and they are taken by him, as beasts taken alive and led captive at his will: 2 Tim. 2.26. and this spirit does act them wholly in most of the acts of their lives; but God has reserved unto himself a Judicature in the man, and that is Conscience, but this commonly works not: there is a fearedness, a spirit of slumber and senslesness, a being past feeling, that sin has brought upon it; but sometimes the spirit of God comes into the Court of Conscience, and awakens it, and then it speaks in God's name unto the man, and therefore it is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a Conscience, and it is always a co-witness, Rom. 9.1. A renewed Conscience can never work of itself, nor witness of itself; neither does a natural Conscience, but as it is acted by the spirit of God. Now if the man be in the condition of a servant, the spirit does witness unto him, and speaks in his Conscience nothing but fear and bondage; and therefore it is called, answerable to the condition of the man, a spirit of bondage. But if the man be under the second Covenant, and in the condition of a son, than the spirit does speak peace, favour and acceptance unto him, and liberty, and is a spirit of Sonship. Not that in a godly man there is never any thing else spoken; but from Rom. 8.15, where the Apostle says, You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, father, I conclude, The Spirit of God never speaks bondage to a godly man; that he is in a state of bondage and death, and binding a man over to wrath again; though sometimes God leaving a man unto the spirit of Satan, he may speak so in his heart, and tell him he is unregenerate, and then the darkness of a man's own spirit may be apt to gather such conclusions: but the Spirit of God does never speak any thing unto a Saint concerning his eternal state but liberty, after his translation out of the first Covenant. Every regenerate man having received the Spirit of Christ, and his Covenant being changed, this spirit has undertaken to be dux viae, his guide, Joh. 16. to lead him on in his way, till he comes to glory. Now a man that is in Christ, and has received the Spirit of Christ, and is led by that Spirit, Rom. 8.14. that man is not under the Law neither for condemnation, nor for coaction; therefore every man that is out of Christ, and not led by this Spirit, but has received a spirit of bondage, he is under the Law both these ways. §. 2. Hence we observe, Doct. Tom. 4. p. 87. That every man that is out of Christ is under the coaction and rigour of the Law. Austin upon this place in the Galatians makes a fourfold state of man. (1) Ante legem, before the Law; when a man did sin without the knowledge of sin, and committed it without restraint or control; and so it is with many men that lay the reins upon their lust's necks. (2) Sub lege, under the law, etc. when a man does strive against sin, his Conscience being convinced that it is sin, but yet he is overcome though he does strive. (3) Sub gratia, under Grace; though many times in the flesh they serve the law of sin, consuetudine paenali, by a penal custom, yet they do strive against it, and they are not wholly overcome; sin doth not reign in their mortal bodies. (4) In pace, in peace, when the conflict is perfectly ended, the victory is won, and sin is perfectly overcome; as it is in Heaven, when they shall enter into rest and peace, etc. Every man out of Christ is in the first, or the second rank; either he is without the Law, as Paul was, and does go on in sin without control, because without the Law sin is dead; or else he is under the Law in the condemnation of it, and in the rigour and coaction of it. They that are in Christ here are under grace; and the souls of just men made perfect, that are translated into Glory, they are entered into peace, each walking in his uprightness while they were here below. The best way to open this rigour and coaction of the Law, will be to show wherein it does consist, and how a man out of Christ is under it, and how in Christ he is delivered from it. The Law exacts of a man perfect obedience, or else there is no acceptation either of his person or his works. God had no respect to Cain and to his offering, Gen. 4.4. because of the failing that was in it, had he done well he should have been accepted: and therefore see the glorious service of Jehu, to which God gave so great a testimony, 2 King. 10.31. that he had done what was right in God's eyes, and according to all that was in his heart; and yet Jehu had a by-end, which blasts all his service, and turns it into murder in God's account; for Hos. 1.4, he says, He will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu. Bona opera non renatorum mortalia. So in all the services of unregenerate men their good works are mortal sins; God rejects them all for the least failing, and there is nothing counted a prayer, or an alms, or hearing, or any duty: and this is a rigour and a great strait that every unregenerate man is in, he must pray; and yet because he cannot pray without sin, therefore his prayer is an abomination to the Lord, and there is nothing that he can do is accepted with the Lord. Now from this rigour a man in Christ is freed; there is an imperfection in the best services of the Saints, which they desire God not to enter into judgement with them for: and Nehemiah can pray to be pardoned, and yet to be remembered and rewarded for the same actions; for there is flesh and spirit in the same man, Terret me vita mea, etc. Anselm. and they act and lust one against the other in whatsoever the man does; which have made some of the Saints look upon their life with horror: and yet if the man be in Christ the duty is accepted, and the other rejected that is out of Christ, Apparet mihi aut peccatum, aut sterilitas, tota vita mea. Phil. 4.18. 2 Cor. 8.12. because their persons and services are not accepted in the beloved; and if found in him the meanest service is accepted, if it be but giving an alms it is an offering of a sweet smelling savour, and is wellpleasing unto God; a willing mind is accepted according to what a man has: but a man out of Christ is under the rigour of the Law for the acceptation of his services; they must be perfect, or else they shall be rejected of God for their least failings. 2. The Law exacts duties of every unregenerate man, but it gives a man no strength to perform them; for Lex respicit hominem conditum, the Law regards man created, as having received strength from God to perform it, and requiring strength gives it not; Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might; not only with all the strength thou hast, but with all that I gave thee in thy creation. But the Gospel does respect man fallen, and therefore requires not duty by a man's own strength. The Law forbids sin, and lays the burden of duties upon a man, but gives no strength to bear it, which because a man through sin has lost, therefore he sinks under it for ever. So that the Law to a natural man is like the Egyptian taskmasters, it calls for the whole tale of bricks, but yet there must no straw be given. The Law gives a man no strength, and yet it calls upon every unregenerate man for perfect obedience, though he be dead in trespasses and sins, and cannot so much as think a good thought. But to a man in Christ it is far otherwise, the Law calls for duty, and the Gospel gives the ability to perform it; for there is a promise goes with the command, if the Lord command you to cleanse yourselves, he saith, I will pour out clean water, and you shall be clean from your filthiness; if he requires, that you should be fruitful in every good word and work, he does promise, that you shall grow up as willows by the watercourses, and as calves of the stall, etc. The desert shall blossom as a rose, they shall bring forth fruits in their old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; their beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and their smell as Lebanon. He says, Make you a new heart, etc. a new heart also will I give you. Again, saith he, Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; and he promiseth, I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall never departed from me. He saith, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart; and he promises, I will circumcise your hearts to love, etc. It is in Gospel, as it is in the body, there are veins and arteries, the blood is conveyed in the one, and the spirits in the other; if there were blood without spirits there would be nothing but weakness, but the Gospel takes both together, the spirits with the blood; so that a man in Christ is free from the rigour of the Law, also in this respect, that it requires duty but gives no strength to perform what it requires. 3. To an unregenerate man though it command duty, yet it lays it upon him as a burden which he hates; it commands duty but it gives him no inward love to it, or delight in it, and yet he must do it though he hates it: a duty without is required, but a principle of love within is not engrafted, so that a wicked man doth duties as a godly man does commit sins, Rom. 7, That which I hate that do I. 1 Tim. 1.9, The law is not made for a righteous man. Some place the emphasis in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is not laid upon him as a burden, which he hates and desires to be freed from, but he has a law of love within him, an inward principle that answers the law without, Heb. 8.10. a law written in his heart, an inward and secret Bible, that he always carries with him, that though he were not forced to it by a law without, yet there is in his heart an inward principle, a law within. And therefore chrysostom doth distinguish men into two sorts that make use of the law, men that live under the law, and men that live above the law; that is, that have not only a law without commanding, but within a law restraining; so that a man out of Christ is under the law as a yoke, and as a burden that no man is able to bear, which he hates but cannot love. 4. To an unregenerate man though the law command duty, yet as he cannot love it, so he can take no delight in it: it does indeed exact it of him, but so as he groans under it, and does snuff at it, and says, what a weariness is it; and his heart loathes it, and he can take no pleasure in it, from day to day, he looks upon it as his only misery, chains and fetters of iron, etc. Joh. 5.3. But to a godly man the Commandments of God are not grievous; it is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, meiosis, that is, they are very pleasing and delightsome; they are dearer than thousands of gold and silver, they are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Mat. 11. ult. My yoke is easy, and my burden is light, is taken from the agility of Hearts to escape; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, you may delight yourself in it: It is so far from taking away the comfort of your lives, that it will exceedingly add thereto; it is a regenerate man's meat and drink to do the will of his Heavenly Father, and his soul is satisfied in it as with marrow and fatness; he binds the law of God as frontlets upon his eyes, and as a chain about his neck; they are the great ornaments that he delights to wear; the ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths peace. And this I conceive to be the meaning of the Apostle, Rom. 7.6, To serve in the newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter: the oldness of the letter is only the letter requiring duty without, and the newness of the spirit is the heart delighted with duty within, Spiritu novo & spontaneo. to serve God with a free and a Princely spirit. 5. The law forbids sin, but it heals it not; it does revive it, but it does not cast it out, Rom. 7.9, When the commandment came sin revived and I died; it does show men sin, and trouble their consciences for it: but it is but as Ezekiel's pot, the scum rises and boils in again. Had Paul gone no further than the Law, sin might have revived by that, and the man have died again, but sin would never have died, that he might live: for though a man do abstain from it for fear and out of a slavish spirit, yet he loves it still, and desires it still; because the law may keep a man from acting sin, but it will never stir up a man to the hatred of sin, and then a man is said to be under the law indeed. Luther has a story of one that did use to relate of himself, how it was with him before he was brought home to Christ; I more than a thousand times promised to God in duties more than I could perform; and so he came at last to be out of hope ever to perform them, which he says was to him pia & sancta desperatio, an holy despair; and this brought him home to Christ. When a man has looked upon the law long, that saith, Thou shalt not commit adultery, and thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, and yet the heart of the man is carried after the sin; though he may abstain from the outward act, yet his spirit boiles after it; he may pray against it, and vow against it, and yet still the grace that must subdue it must come from the Gospel. But now a man in Christ he has his nature changed, and so his pleasures and delights are changed, and he says, I am not I, as Augustine said. Others wonder how you can live without these things, that you were so much delighted with heretofore; alas! the new nature wonders as much at the old. A new nature brings new delights, and now suave est istis suavitatibus career, it is sweet to want those sweets. 6. The Law carries a man to God as a Judg. God does give the Law a Sovereignty, and so doth judge all men according to this Law, without respect of persons, according to their works; which fills a man's Conscience full of doubtful inquiries, Rom. 10.5, And the righteousness of the law says, who shall ascend up to heaven or fetch Christ down, etc. And a man's heart is full of jealousy of God, and he does apprehend that he has offended God; he does wish there were not God. So the soul looks upon God as one that will strictly observe what has been done amiss, and he stands afar off from God, and cares not for coming near the Lord. But a man in Christ, the Gospel carries him unto God as unto a Father; My Father, says Christ, and your Father, my God, and your God. Mal. 3.16, He will spare them as a father does his son that serves him. He accepts of his endeavours, when there is a willing mind; he takes any thing well because it is from a child. And there is an inward principle of affection and eternal love that carries God towards the man. And so in the man's approaches to God in duties there is a great deal of sweetness and confidence, when in an other man's duties there is a great deal of terror and amazement; because in the one he comes to God as a Judge, through the exacting of the Law, and there he is full of fear, for he expects a doleful sentence; and the other man comes to God as a Father, and he fears not accusation nor a rejection. 7. It does force a man to see sin whether he will or no, and sets it, yea holds it before the man's eyes, when his desire is to cast it behind his back. There is no unregenerate man in the world, that is either willing to see his duty, or his iniquity and obliquity; not his duty, and therefore he casts the Law of God behind his back as a thing that he is not willing to see, and is most willing to put away from him, Neh. 9.26, And cast the law behind their backs, Psal. 50.17: 2 Pet. 3.5. and slew the Prophets which testified against them; and therefore they are said, to hid their eyes, and to be willingly ignorant; neither would they see, and therefore they desire not to look into that glass which discovers their sins; but Isa. 29.21, They hate them that reprove in the gate: they have many pleas to justify themselves in an evil way, and to extenuate their sins; and they do call light darkness, and darkness light, evil good, and good evil; and they love to have Prophets that should call them so also. Now comes the Law as a glass, and that discovers duty and makes men to see their sins, and the duties that they hate, and the evil of the sin which they love and delight in. The Law is in Scripture resembled unto a glass, and a glass it is two ways, as it discovers duty: and so it is of use in four things; Jam. 1.24. (1) As a glass it shows to a man that holiness ●●●●ure and life that God did give unto him, and require of him in his state of innocency, which condition man has lost now; and if a man look into the nature and lives of the best men, he can find only some vestigia and poor beginnings of it, which are not indicia veteris hominis, but rudimenta novi, not indices of the old man, but rudiments of the new. (2) Christ was our surety made under the Law, and answered the precept and the curse; and the Lord rather required (if we may compare it) that the precept should be fulfilled, than the curse be born; because the principal intention of the Lords giving the Law was obedience to the precept, and not the suffering of the curse: now all that holiness that was required of Christ and performed by him, either in nature or life, we may behold in the Law: thus the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us, there is in our justification a commutation of the person, but not of the righteousness. (3) The Law is unto the Saints a glass that shows them the obedience that the Lord doth require of them: the Gospel indeed gives grace to obey, but the Gospel requires no other obedience but that which the Law does discover as a rule, a man must look into the perfect law of liberty and continue therein. Psal. 119.6, I shall not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments, etc. (4) It is the glass of perfection in the life to come, Joh. 3.2, When he shall appear we shall be like him. There shall be a perfect conformity in nature, and life in us unto the Law in all things, and we shall be every one of us living Scripture, and walking Bibles, for the word of the Lord is written in the heart, and turned into grace enduring for ever, etc. Here indeed we have little conformity to the Law of God, but hereafter our holiness shall be perfected. 2. By the Law is the knowledge of sin; when the commandment came sin revived, and I died. As a glass set before a man discovers his spots, and as the light coming into a dark place shows our filthiness that before was hid. An unregenerate man would never see his sin, nor search himself, nor turn into his own heart and try his ways, if the Law did not make these discoveries. All reflex thoughts he hates; and if at any time he be forced into them, and hath a glimpse of himself, that does affright him, that he does begin to see his own ugliness and deformity, and smell the savour of his own filthiness, even the sepulchre that is within him; he doth immediately turn from it as an unpleasing sight, which he is no ways willing to behold and fix his eyes upon: Jam. 1. Beholding his natural face in a glass he forgets what manner of man he was. Though he may remember the notions of a Sermon that are speculative to adorn his understanding, yet the discoveries of his own sin and self in a Sermon, he doth quickly forget, and therein the main forgetfulness of a hearer of the Law lies. Now the Law has a constraining power, and sets a man's sins in order before him, and makes a man see his own vileness, and holds it to his eyes that he cannot look off it; but he cries out, Psal. 50. my iniquity is always before me; as it was with Judas, his sin in betraying innocent blood was still so present with him, that he chose strangling rather than any income of comfort from any creature; he quickly returned the thirty pieces of silver again. So let all unregenerate men go from one creature to another, and build Cities like Cain, and add to their recreation and pleasures of sin; yet still the sight of sin is by the light in this glass set before them, and haeret lateri lethalis arundo, the mortal dart sticks in his side. 8. It forces men to a self-judgment and condemnation for sin, and an expectation of the judgement of God for it. Every natural man is willing to acquit himself, and to put off the thoughts of judgement; to put far from them the evil day, and to say, I shall sit as a lady for ever, and shall see no sorrow: or, cry peace, peace, when sudden destruction comes upon him. For there doth two evils go with a way of sinning, Isa. 2.1. (1) a hard heart; (2) a spirit of deep sleep, that a man is willing to sleep and not to wake to see his danger; as one that lies down in the middle of the sea, Prov. 23.34. or as one that sleeps on the top of a mast: but a gracious heart troubles himself for sin, and lays the judgement of God to the sin, and labours to bring his heart to a trembling frame under the sense of it; Joh. 11. as we see in Josiah and in Christ himself: and so do all the godly, if any affliction befall a child of God, if he be judged of God, he does clear God in it, Psal. 51.4. Rom. 3. and willingly takes the blame upon himself, that he may justify God; but the property of a 〈◊〉 regenerate man is to justify God; but the property of an unregenerate man is to justify himself and to condemn God. Job 40.8. Says the Apostle Paul, is God unrighteous? I speak as a man. Says Job, Wilt thou disannul my judgement? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayst be righteous? It is the disposition that is in the heart of men by nature, to condemn God, that they may justify themselves. Now the Law of God comes in with the coaction of it, and that forces this man to judge himself, and to fill him with fear and expectation of wrath, Rom. 3.20, That all flesh may become guilty; that they may appear and acknowledge themselves guilty before God, Rom. 7, Sin revived and I died; that is, seeing self in a state of death; and this is called the spirit of fear, Rom. 8.15. and a receiving of judgement, Heb. 10. This we may see in the Devils, they know there is a time of torment coming, wrath unto which they are reserved, and they believe it and tremble; and that neverdying worm that shall be in Hell is nothing else but from this coaction of the Law, and the spirit of God setting a man's sins in order before him, whereon there follows self-accusation, and self-condemnation, together with perfect fear, perfect sorrow and despair for ever. SECT. II. Whence the Law hath this Coactive power. WHence is it that the Law hath this Coactive power? It does arise from these ground: §. 1. 1. From the Sovereignty of God in the Law, it is the Royal Law, as being the rule of man's duty, and the whole will of God concerning him; that rule according to which man should walk, in which he should be accept, Eccles. 12. ult. Rom. 2.12. and by which he shall be judged at the last and great day; for they that have sinned under the law shall be judged by the law. And Christ that shall be the Judge saith, I will not judge you, but there is one that judges you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. And though man has sinned and broken the Law, and endeavoured to cast it off, yet he is held still under the authority and sovereignty of the same Law, Rom. 7.1, 2, A man is subject to the law as long as he lives: and so long as a man lives in a natural state, so long he is under this Law as a Covenant, and the Law does 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Lord it over him in full dominion; for the Law rules in the authority and sovereignty of God; it is the great Expansum that God has spread over the rational world of mankind while they ●re in their natural state, by which they are to be ruled, and by which they shall be judged; ●nd this is the main ground of all the rigour and coaction of the Law. 2. There is in unregenerate men a natural conscience. I call it natural (as our Divines use 〈…〉 say) because it acts only by natural principles, and is in every man naturally, in opposi●on to a renewed conscience; which I conceive to be an ability in the understanding of a ●han to judge of actions and states according unto the rule that is prescribed by God: Gal. 6.16. Rom. 2. (1) Conscience must have a rule, and that rule is the Law of God, which is regula regulans; where●s conscience is only regula regulata, as a rule ruled by the Divine Law (2) The things subtracted unto the judgement of conscience are a man's actions and his state, and that not only ●hat he has done, but what he is to do, and conscience does pass a sentence of Good and ●●d Evil upon both, what is to be embraced and followed, and what is to be avoided: and ●●ough custom in sinning wear out the power of conscience exceedingly; and in some men 〈…〉 is less than in others, for they have their Conscience seared, 1 Tim. 9.2. as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sig●fies, and so to harden the place, or else to cut off with searing; some men have very brawny ●●d insensible Consciences, and do seem to walk without any Conscience at all, as to live without God in the world, and so walk without Conscience in the world, and are less un●●r the power of it than other men are: yet there is no man but his Conscience has a power ●er him to constrain him to duty, and restrain him from sin in some measure, and that by 〈◊〉 authority of the Law of God. And if God awaken Conscience by some great affliction, ●●our of death or judgement, the power of it will quickly appear over them; we may see 〈◊〉 Judas, who was a Devil, a man exceedingly given up to spiritual wickedness, and one 〈◊〉 had a very seared Conscience; for Christ had told him it had been good for him never to have been born: we see all the other Disciples did abhor and fear the very hearing of the ●ct, yet Judas afterwards with a brazen face asks Christ, Master is it I; but yet when ●od did awaken Judas' Conscience we see the power that the ●aw had upon him, etc. 3. The Spirit of God comes into the Consciences of men; for Conscience is a relative ●culty, and does not work by itself, but does accuse and excuse by the concurrence of ●●e spirit; and the spirit that is given a man, is answerable unto his Covenant. The second ●ovenant makes men sons, and the privilege of it is the adoption of sons, therefore the ●irit that accompanies this Covenant is a spirit of adoption, and makes them all freemen; 〈◊〉 the Covenant is a free Covenant, it is Gal. 4. resembled by Sarah the free woman; but ●●e first Covenant unto man fallen, is a Covenant that genders to bondage, and there are ●ne under it but bondmen, and therefore it is resembled by Hagar the bondwoman. Now ●●e spirit of this Covenant is a spirit of bondage, and all that it works in a man, is fear and ●rrour, binding a man over to wrath upon neglect of duty, and threatening vengeance, and ●lling the soul with horror and amazement, telling a man of wrath and judgement to come; ●●d the constraint that is upon his soul in reference to these is very great. 4. There is in a man a principle of self-love desiring good, and fearing of evil; for no natural man can act from a higher principle than self, in whatever he does, and therefore it is ●race that gives self-denial; So much self-denial so much grace; so much selfseeking so much corruption, there is in every man. Hence it is when a man's Conscience does tell a man of the ●od of obedience, and the happy end thereof, as Balaam did see it, and therefore desired ●at his death might be like unto the Saints; and a Herod may reform and do many things, ●●d so many do good rationally, that never did it obedientially; do it to do good to themselves, but never to bring glory unto God, as we see it in Jehu; and yet many men having tasted of the powers of the world to come, and having had some great apprehensions of the good of the ways of God, they may go very far and be constrained to do much for God, as we see it in Alexander, that afterwards proved an Apostate and a Persecutor, and yet did much for God for a season, and afterwards fell away. And when Conscience doth tell a man of the danger of sin, and presents to a man Hell and wrath as the consequence of it, though it be a way that seems good to a man, yet it leads down to the chambers of death, and carries a man to the end of his journey, and tells him that the fiery lake is but a little before, and comes with the threatening of God as the Angel did to Balaam, with a drawn sword in his hand: a man may say I will turn back again if my way be perverse before thee, and he may turn away from the sins that he loves most dearly, he may cast up his vomit with the dog, and leave the mire with the swine; but it is only in fear of some evil, and not from a principle wrought in a man, that is the ground thereof. There is a double principle that moves all things, either a principle of life within, or else a principle from without; either weights or springs, as it is in Clocks or Watches, which makes the motion; so many men may move to duty, and abstain from sin not from an inward principle of life in the one or the other, but from a weight without. 5. There is in every unregenerate man a sinful and unrenewed heart, deceitful above all things, Jer. 17.10. and desperately evil, a heart fully set in him to do evil; and because this is natural, therefore his heart is fully bend to go this way; so that let him be constrained to do duty, yet he will hate the duty that he does, and count it a weariness, and look upon it as a burden, Mallet non facere si posset impune. and say, When will the Sabbath be gone? And let him be kept from sin, yet he will love it still: if you chain up a Beast from the prey, yet his inclination will be after it; and keep the stone from the Centre and force it up into the air as often as you will, it will still return; and when it comes down to the earth, and can descend no further, yet it will have a tendency thereunto. So Conscience th●● is merely natural, counts it its misery and affliction to be kept from sin, for restrain it from sin never so much, it will at last break these bounds, and will be carried on with the greater fury, greediness and violence; because of the former restraint that was put upon it, and the Devil will enter with seven worse spirits; the dog will return to his vomit, and the latter end will be worse than the beginning, it had been better that man had never known the way of righteousness; for he will be more wicked than if he had never known it. Thus let the man have a heart set upon lust, and let the power of the Law come into his Conscience acted by the Spirit, it's no wonder if it so far over-awe the man as to restrain him from sin, and constrain him to duty. §. 2. But is a godly man that is under the Covenant of Grace wholly freed from the Coaction of the Law? Answ. This distinction was laid down in the beginning, that though the main part of our Christian Liberty consists in being freed from the Law, yet this liberty is in this life either inchoata, or perfecta, in respect of justification and condemnation. A godly man is perfectly freed from the Law as a Covenant, but in respect of Irritation and Coaction he is freed from these effects of it only in part. We have seen how far the Irritation of the Law remains even in the regenerate, and it is like lime which does quench those fires sometimes kindles 〈◊〉 Sin while it does remain and is acted by Satan, may take occasion by the Commandment, and produce woeful effects even in the Saints; so for the Coaction of the Law they are not wholly freed from it so far as they are unregenerate, and the law of the flesh remains in their members; the Law is of use to them, and a handmaid to the Gospel, and they do and aught to make use of legal motives to constrain to duty, and to restrain from sin; and the Law is to be preached to the regenerate to this purpose. Heb. 11.25. 1. To constrain to duty many times. The Saints are to make use of the Law and the good things thereof; so did Moses, he had respect to the recompense of reward: and the Apostle saith, 2 Cor. 5.9. We labour, whether present or absent, that we may be accepted of him, for we must all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ: and knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men. Again, Heb. 12. ult. Let us have grace to serve him acceptably; for our God is a consuming fire. These be the helps that the Lord has given us, and it were our sin not to make use of them: there is no man but he finds so much deadness and backwardness in his flesh, that he shall be forced to call in this help many times. Mark 9.44. 2. And to restrain a man from sin also. Christ's exhortation is, Cut off your right hand, and pull out your right eye, for it's better to go to heaven maimed, than having two eyes to be cast into hell where the worm dies not, etc. And if Adam in the state of Innocency had need of the threatening of the Law to deter him from sin, much more a godly man that is holy but in part. Yet there is a great deal of difference (1) in a godly man, this is not the only principle that acts him, as it is in the unregenerate: for an unregenerate man would never do duty while he lives, were it not from this Coaction of the Law, out of a principle of self-love, and natural conscience; for he does duties as a godly man commits sins, and he must say, that which I hate do I: but in a godly man there is another principle also, there is a law of his mind, an inward disposition, the law written in his heart, a new and divine nature, and his obedience to God is natural to him as it is for a tree to bring forth fruit in its kind, and a fountain to cast out mud, and to work out any thing that is contrary to it. (2) As this is not the only, so it is not the main principle that works in them, but there is the Spirit of Christ that dwells in them, and leads them; and there is a law of love that does mainly act them in all they do, 1 Joh. 5.3. they abstain from Sin as from Hell, and that which they see all evil in, and as that which is dishonourable to God, and defiles their own beauty: for Sin is the souls deformity, as Grace is the ornament of the soul: and he does duty from an ingenuous and free spirit. And therefore Christ says, Take my yoke upon you, for it is easy. Whence so far as a man is regenerate he is a law unto himself, and he would be kept from sin, and carried on to duty, if neither of these were, but only from a principle within. 3. The more a regenerate man is acted by legal principles, and the less love he has to spiritual duties, the less spiritual he is; and therefore his desire is always to be led by the Spirit of God, and he always prays to God for his free Princely Spirit. SECT. III. The APPLICATION. §. 1. WE may hence learn what a miserable estate a man is in being under the first Covenant: every thing is a burden to him, because it is a constraint upon his spirit; the thing he does he hates; he has a contrary principle within him, which he would indulge and gratify. Now there being in a man the same nature, and the command of God lying upon a man, this may and this does commonly put a force upon him to perform duties of the law, but that is never pleasant, but always burdensome, and the man desires to be set at liberty; for he can never look upon the law as the perfect law of liberty, until his nature answers the law, and it is written in his heart. 1. If we look upon the restraint that the law does lay upon a man that is unregenerate, his condition is most miserable; because (1) he does abstain from sin, but it is forced, and therefore burdensome, because still his lust is active, and carries the man after it with inward burning, and the man is tormented the more; it is adding drunkenness to thirst. Deut. 29.19. The satisfaction of lust is compared unto drunkenness, and the lust is compared unto thirst, and as the drunkenness does increase the thirst, and the more a man drinks the more thirsty he shall be, and therefore none calls for drink more than those that have had too much already: so it is here, the more a man does to satisfy his lust, the more he does increase it: We know what a painful thing thirst is unless it be satisfied. He that believes shall never thirst, but shall have a well of water springing up in him, Joh. 7.38, 39 There is a double restraint, (1) upon men's acts: Abimelech's lust was stirred up, but the Lord withheld the act, Gen. 20: and so it was with the Pharisees, they had often as bloody desires long before, and sought to take Christ and put him to death, but they could not, there was a restraint put in for want of opportunity, or fear of the people, etc. (2) There is a restraint upon men's lusts: for though the heart of man be full of lust, yet there is a Providence of God in permitting them to come forth, some at one time, and some at another; so that the seeds of those sins that were in men before, do now show forth themselves, as we see in Judas and Herod, and Gehazi, and in many men, who carry it fair a while, till there be an opportunity to draw them forth; they have Neronis quinquennium, for five years Nero carried it fair, and yet afterwards he proved desperately wicked. Now this restraint upon men's acts, though unto the Elect of God it is a mercy, and any thing that may hinder them in a way of sinning, Hos. 2.6, 7, I will hedge their way with thorns, and I will make a wall against them: God can keep men from sin whether they will or no; and if lesser afflictions will not do it, God will raise greater: But yet for all this the lusts of natural men will go after their former lovers, though they cannot overtake them. And this is a great misery unto such men; first, look upon the Saints also and they have desires after good, but they find opposition, so that they cannot do the thing that they would; but there is still a law in their members rebelling against the law of their mind, and this makes them to look upon themselves as miserable men, because they have desires unsatisfied, and they do still groan after a satisfaction; and this makes them weary of their lives, and they are willing to die that they may enjoy their desire to the uttermost: and yet even in a regenerate man these desires are but of half the man; and therefore in an unregenerate man when he is carried to sin with his whole man, such a ones desires are more vehement, Hos. 7.4, Their hearts are hot as an oven; they go out after it with greediness, and they look upon it as the greatest misery to be restrained from it, and their hearts rise against any opposition so much the more; as you know Amnon and Ahab they were sick, because they were restrained from that which they would have. The soul of a wicked man is like a wild Bull in a net furiously bend upon sin, they will perish rather than be hindered in a way of sinning. This the Devil looks on as his great misery, that though God lay not restraint upon his lust, yet he restrains his acts, so that he cannot hurt mankind as he would do; though he smite Job with sores, and embitter his life to him, yet he shall not be able to take away his life: and the lusts of the Devil are as violent and as impetuous as ever; he desires to winnow Peter; and there is bounds set him that he cannot do what he would, and his great torment is his restraint, and the chains of darkness with which he is held: and he could not enter into Judas that was his own, till by the Sop the Lord gave him leave; and he could not enter into the herd of Swine without licence: this is looked upon as a great misery by that violent and proud spirit. Look what restraint either the power of God, or the providence of God, lays upon the lusts of the Devil, the same does the Law of God lay upon the lusts of unregenerate men; and this they look upon as their misery, that they cannot enjoy their full desires: there is an inward boiling of spirit, and their hearts are hot as an oven; they desire but they cannot attain, and so their desire is their torment, and they can have no rest. 2. Even in those pleasures of sin that a man does enjoy, this restraint of the law will embitter them to a man exceedingly, that a man does not enjoy them with that sweetness and delight, that otherwise he should do, because the sentence of the law, and the judgements of God follow him with threats, so that still they do add water to his wine, and mix it with greater discontent than he should otherwise have; for a man comes to it with a guilty galled and self-condemning conscience, and so he can take no pleasure, or but half the pleasure that else he should take; and therefore the endeavour of the man is to put out the eye of Conscience, and to make it grow senseless, and to cast off this yoke, and restraint of the law daily more and more; and the more a man casts it off, the more pleasure he does take in sinning. As a godly man that has tasted of the sweetness of Communion with God, he cannot take that pleasure in sin that other men do; because still at the remembrance of his former communion the sweetness of it does arise in his heart, and therefore he says it was better with me than it is now; so also an unregenerate man, that has tasted the bitterness of sin in the Law, and the terrors thereof, and has had the restraint of it laid upon his Conscience, he cannot taste the like pleasure that other men do in sinning; only the one is from a principle of conviction only, and the other of conversion. This is the misery of an unregenerate man under the restraints of the Law of God, either his lusts do rage within, and he cannot act them, and therefore he wishes that there were no law; or else if he do commit them, it is but with half the man, because the law binds him over unto wrath, and tells him that sin lies at the door. 3. If we look upon the constraint, the misery is as great also; as not to do the thing we would, so to be forced to do the thing we would not, is no small misery: and therefore, Mal. 1.13, They say, what a weariness is it; which some render a weakness, defatigatio, and some molestia, a trouble, and all is because there is a force without, contrary to a principle within. Haman was by the command of the King forced to lead Mordecai's Horse, and to proclaim before him, This shall be done unto the man whom the King delights to honour: how may we conceive this went against his spirit, and it was as bitter to him even as death itself; and the reason was because he had in him an inward principle of enmity and contrariety against Mordecai; and so it is with every unregenerate man towards God, and therefore though the law does force them to an outward observance, yet they do hate that very outward obedience that they do perform, and the law that enjoins it. When the Saints of God have been commanded to do outward honour and observance to the dunghill gods of the Heathen, (for so they are called) they have chosen death rather, from an inward principle, because they hated obedience to false Gods. Now as a godly man would count it a misery, and the greatest burden of his life to be forced to bow himself before an Idol, so there is a principle of enmity in a wicked man unto the true God; for they are all enemies to God, and so they do hate to do observance also, and any outward obedience unto the true God: and as a godly man hates his sins because he is tempted to them by the law of his flesh, so does a wicked man hate duties, because he is led captive to them by the law of the Lord; and therefore whatever they do in outward appearance, they do it not before the Lord, because they hate it when they do it. §. 2. We may hence learn the ground of all that hypocrisy and flattery that is expressed by unregenerate men towards God and Christ, whom they hate with a perfect hatred; it is all of it from the constraint of the law: and as the coaction of the law has a further place in men, so is a man's hypocrisy the deeper, and becomes either gross hypocrisy, or formal hypocrisy, as Divines do commonly distinguish it; the one is hid from others, and the other from a man's self, and yet all this while the man does but act a part as a Stage-player, for so the name Hypocrite signifies. And therefore we see unregenerate men abstain from those lusts which they dearly love, and are brought to outward conformity in duties which they do truly hate, and have no inward principle to perform. We see the humiliation of Ahab, etc. and the observation and reformation of Herod, the dissembled obedience, and forced flattery of the wicked Jews; and in the offers of other ungodly men at Religion, Psal. 78 34, ●5 36 and their hot beginning upon the ways of God. But all this proceeds only from the Coaction of the Law, and the power that it has even upon the hearts and consciences of the worst of men. Hos. 8.14, Hos. 8.14. it is said, For Israel has forgotten his maker and buildeth Temples, etc. A man would think, that they that did build Temples had God much in their mind, and did honour him highly, building a Temple to his honour; but yet all this was done in Hypocrisy, and Will-worship. They that repaired and beautified the Sepulchers of the Saints departed, that were put to death, surely it did argue they did highly esteem them, and they did it in honour both of their persons and graces, as Joseph did to the person of Christ, and the Pharisees, Mat. 23.29. who did build the Sepulchers of the Prophets; yet Christ said, it was all in hypocrisy, for while they pretended to honour the Saints, they did seek to destroy him that was the King of Saints. Thus we see men's taking up an outward conformity unto the Law of God, and some inward suitableness, as being enlightened by the Holy Ghost, tasting of the heavenly gifts, etc. which is the highest kind of hypocrisy; such as is in a temporary believer, who has the greatest shows of love to Christ and to duty: and all this proceeds from this coactive power of the Law, that God has upon the conscience of unregenerate men; and this may come to a great deal of seeming delight, and a man may seem to take great satisfaction in it. The Lord says of Israel, They delight to know my ways, with their mouth they show much love, Isa. 58.2. but their hearts go after their covetousness, Ezek. 33.31. And many seem to have a great deal of seeming zeal for God and duty: and Christ says, Joh. 16.2. The time will come when they that kill you shall think they do God good service. And Luther says of himself, Tantus eram sanctus, ut paratissimus fuerim omnes si potuissem occidere, etc. I was so great a Saint (in mine own esteem) that I was ready to slay all if I could, etc. And this he did not for worldly ends, and for advantage sake, but out of a blind zeal for Religion. Therefore they that take away the restraining of the Magistrate in the things of Religion upon this ground, because it will but make men Hypocrites; may upon this ground take away the restraining power of the Law of God also. In some respects, as to prevent the outward dishonouring God before men, and corrupting of others, it were to be wished that all unregenerate men were come so far as to be Hypocrites; and it was not wished amiss of the Father, who said, I could wish that all were Hypocrites. It were better in respect of other men, and honouring God before the world, though it would be never the better in respect of a man's self; for feigned love, and secret flattery, is in God's account as bad as open enmity; nothing so dangerous in men; esteem as a false friend; Judas was more hateful to Christ than all his Persecutors, because he came to betray the Son of man with a kiss. §. 3. The next Use is of Examination: Use 4 Seeing that the Law has this power even upon unregenerate men, that it can restrain from sin, and constrain to duty, and that godly men do duty and abstain from sin, by virtue of the law written in their hearts; how shall a man know that he abstains from sin, and does duty by the law of his mind, from an inward principle in his heart, or else is only constrained from a law without, and not from a law within? (for the Love of Christ constrains the Saints to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts.) Whether we forbear to sin, and abstain from it, and perform duty, and be much in it from restraining Grace, or renewing Grace? Whether we do serve God in the newness of the spirit, Rom. 7.6. or the oldness of the letter? It was before conversion but a dead letter to him, and did only command duty, but it did no way transform the soul in the inward man; but there is in a man being regenerate the newness of spirit, that is a man's inward man being renewed by the Holy Ghost, etc. Now the rules of Trial are these: 1. Let a man by the Coaction of the Law be put upon duty never so much, and never so often, yet it will never assist him; nay, the more he doth duty, the less strength he shall have to do it, the weakness of his nature will increase by it; as the longer he does abstain from sin, the more the lust will spread, and the stronger it will grow: the more he does pray the less love he shall have to the duty; and though he may get a dexterity in the outward performance, yet the less he shall be able to perform it in a saving and spiritual manner: whereas renewing Grace gives a man strength, a man's heart is prepared to pray, and the spirit of Grace is a spirit of supplication; a man has an Unction from the Holy Ghost, that flows from his union with Christ, and from the Holy Ghost; and he has a strength in duties, the more he does them, the stronger he grows in all the ways of God. The righteous shall grow stronger and stronger, and he that has clean hands shall hold on his way, Job 17.9. and shine brighter and brighter, and grow stronger and stronger; the more he knows, the more he does follow on to know the Lord. And whereas another man has done duty many years, and is grown more weary of it, and more formal in it, but knows no more what does belong to the spiritual performance of it now, than he did when he began it; and he does possibly abstain from sin, but it is not from an inward principle and power of holiness, but from an external motive, which only keeps it under in the course of his life; and therefore although by abstaining the lust may seem weakened, and to decay by degrees, yet really it grows, and they prove more desperately wicked; as appears by men that the unclean spirit is gone out of, and returns with seven worse spirits; and they that have made great and goodly shows of Holiness, yet afterwards fall into the sin against the Holy Ghost. 2. A man that does duty from the Coaction of the Law is partial in it, and taketh notice only of those duties to which he is constrained, and where the law of God lays a strong hand upon him; but as for other things he is not at all solicitous. Herod will do many things, but other things that either the Law does not so immediately and earnestly press upon him, or his lust will not dispense with, those he will leave undone. But renewing Grace makes a man to have respect unto all God's Commandments, and to hate every false way; it sets a man against every sin, but specially against a man's own iniquity, and those sins that are spiritual, that are from Satan, per modum imaginis, as part of his image, wherein they are most like the Devil. 3. All that a man does from the Coaction of the Law will never last; a man may abstain from sin a while, but if a man have the nature of a dog he will return to his vomit, and as a Sow will wallow in the mire still, wash her never so clean; yea, he will return with the greater greediness, by reason of the former abstinence, and so a man may perform duty a while; but as Job says, Will the hypocrite pray always? For he is but as a flag that cannot grow without mire; and if once the fleshly respects of setting upon duty be taken away, his duties will whither: For either praying will make a man leave sinning, or sinning will make him leave praying: or if not publicly, yet will at least kill all his secret duties, and make those that are public, degenerate wholly into a form. 4. Whatsoever a man does by Coaction of the Law, a man has no sweetness in it, it is with no delight and complacency; for things forced are not pleasant: let a man do the least service that he is forced to, and it is a burden; whereas let the greatest works in the world, and the most toilsome be done, if a man undertake them willingly, he can find pleasure in them; as we see men do in recreations, running and wrestling, etc. So to a Saint the yoke of Christ is a pleasing yoke, and his burden light; a soul can dance under it, and the thoughts of his leaving sin is very pleasant to him; and when he does duty he delights in it according to his inward man, and his soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, he is then in his element when he is keeping the Commandments of God. Set water over the fire and make it boil never so much, yet take it off, and it will return quickly into its former coldness, and will be the colder for its former heating: and so it is here, it is not agreeable to nature, and therefore can never be pleasing, either for an unregenerate man to perform duty, or for a regenerate man to commit sin. 5. Whatever a man doth by the Coaction of the Law, a man hath no communion with God thereby, nor is he drawn nearer unto God. A gracious heart is sensible of the want of God, and therefore his end in all that he does is to seek God, that he may find him; and because in Ordinances God will be found, and has there promised a special presence, therefore he seeks him there; and he labours to stir up his Graces in his approach to God, and God does in mercy draw near unto him, because what he does is from an inward principle of godliness: but a man that does duty from a natural conscience only, he does not draw near to God, but his spirit draws back all the while, and looks upon God as an enemy; and therefore he has no fellowship with the Lord. The Law indeed puts him upon duty, and as a task he doth it, but he has no more experience of the approaches of God in it, or his love, or the power of his Grace, the kisses of his mouth, the stayings of God with flagons, and comforting with apples, etc. but a soul that does duties from a principle of godliness, is sensible of his spiritual absence from God in duties, and of his special presence, and would not lose his communion with God in duties for a world; but other men are satisfied in the duties merely, and their sinning and hearing is much alike to them; and if they have done the duty, conscience is satisfied and they have all they desire, etc. Use 4 §. 4. Here we see what a happiness it is to the Saints, that they are freed from the Coaction of the Law, that they are not so under it as unregenerate men are: For (1) they do no good by constraint. The regenerate man is always ready to obey the will of God, he is a man that acts from an inward principle, and therein lives above the Law; he that is born of God never sins, but always obeys God; 1 John. every thing that the Law commands is pleasant to him, and the Commandments of God are not grievous; Cant. 3.10. as Christ's Chariot in which he comes to us is paved with Love, so is our way to Christ paved with Love, and hence a man is never weary; but the longer a man continues in the ways of God, the more he is satisfied with them, because where is a suitableness, there is no weariness: the Sun is not weary with shining, nor the fire weary with burning, nor are the Angels in Heaven ever weary of beholding God for ever, because their happiness is perfected by it; nor are the Saints in earth weary of doing the will of their Heavenly Father, neither doing-work nor suffering-work; to bear Christ's Cross is not grievous to them, to be reproached for his name's sake is counted all joy; they despise the pleasures of sin for a season, living in the sure hope of their enjoying rivers of pleasures that are at God's right hand for evermore. CHAP. V All those that are in Christ are translated from under the first Covenant. Col. 1.13, Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son; or, the Son of his Love. SECT. I. A Scriptural account of this Translation. §. 1. NOW we come to speak of the last Branch considerable in this Covenant, and that is a man's translation out of it: Wherein there are four things to be considered: (1) That all that are in Christ are translated out of the first Covenant, and under it no more. (2) The nature and manner of this Translation. (3) The abolishing of the first Covenant, by a man's translation out of it, and the introduction of a second, by which the former is made old. (4) The subserviency and subordination of this first Covenant in many respects unto the Covenant of Grace, as Hagar, even then when under the notion of a Covenant, it is abolished to Believers. The first of these we shall deduce out of these words, when we have opened them unto you. In the latter part of this Chapter there are mainly two things we are to consider; (1) The honour of our Redeemer. (2) The manner of our Redemption. The honour of our Redeemer is set forth from vers. 15, and the manner of our Redemption, vers. 13, 14; and that in many particulars. Here we may observe, (1) The condition, wherein the people of God are before their Conversion: [1] They are under the power of darkness. [2] They are out of the Kingdom of God's dear Son. (2) Their condition after Conversion, They are freed, there is deliverence, etc. and there is translation unto the Kingdom of his Son. 1. By nature every man is under the power of darkness, even the Elect of God as well as others. The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which does properly signify right and authority over any thing. Man did by the first temptation sell himself to the Devil, and as it were made a virtual covenant and compact with Satan: and as it's said of Ahab, Quod venditur transit in potestatem emptoris. He sold himself to work iniquity; so it is with all by nature. And therefore God in judgement gave man over unto the power of Sin, and therein to the dominion of Satan; and than Satan's godship came in, and he became the god of this World, and the Prince of the power of the air. By darkness is meant in Scripture, ignorance, sin and misery; and of all this darkness, Satan is the Prince, and has the power, he is the ruler of the darkness of this world. Ephes. 6.12. Condemnandi & dominandi This power of darkness is double; there is a condemning power, and there is a ruling power, that makes a man do the works of the Devil, and that brings forth fruit unto death. Now how comes Satan to have a condemning power? the power of death it is by sin: and how came sin to have a condemning power? it is by the Law, 1 Cor. 15.56. that is, Heb. 12.14. the Law as a Covenant. So that all the power Satan has it is by sin; and the power that sin has it is from the Law, as a Covenant being broken. So that every Elect child of God is by nature under the Law as a Covenant, for condemnation and irritation; and by this means is under the power of sin, and under the dominion of Satan. Now a man's deliverance from this is by conquest and by power: for it is in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to deliver a man by force and set him free. Rom. 7.24. When man had no strength to deliver himself, but must have lain and perished under this power for ever; yea, had not so much as an ability of will to desire deliverance; and when all the powers of darkness were put forth to keep a man under, and Sin and the Law and Satan did their utmost; the strong man armed kept the house; then Christ a stronger than he breaks in, destroys sin and death, and him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil; and by this means the Law has no power, Sin has no strength, Death has no sting, and Satan has no dominion. But man being under the power of darkness, he is out of the Kingdom of Christ, which is a Kingdom of Righteousness, and free Justification, Rom. 14.17. He is free from this, for he is under the power of darkness or condemnation, because under the power of the Law, and under the dominion of him that has the power of death, that is, the Devil; and Christ's Kingdom is a Kingdom of light and holiness, but they are under the power of darkness; sin having by their Covenant dominion over them, and they being by Satan led captive at his will, and being acted by the spirit of the power of the air, etc. But all that are converted are under the Kingdom of Christ, as it is a Kingdom of Righteousness for matter of Justification, and as it is a Kingdom of Grace for the matter of Sanctification and Life; and whoever comes under this Kingdom, it is by Translation; and they are thereby delivered from the power and the authority of the one, as they are translated into the other: and the word in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, does signify, to put a man out of one condition into another, and to change a man from his former state in which he was; as Luk. 16.4, My master puts me out of the stewardship, etc. And the Septuagint do use it commonly for transplanting a man out of his native soil, (as they do that plant Colonies from one Country to another) and such a Translation is here meant; that whereas before a man was under the Kingdom of Satan, and the condemnation and dominion of death, now his state is changed; that is, by the change of his Covenant, and he is translated (or transported) into the Kingdom of Righteousness and Holiness. This is the Translation that is here meant, a change of a man's state, through the change of his Covenant; upon which follows the change of his image, and the change of his nature also. A man is translated into it, (1) As a Kingdom of Righteousness, by the change of his Covenant. (2) As a Kingdom of Holiness, by the change of his Image. Doct. All those that are in Christ have a change of their state, they are translated out of their former Covenant. Here are two things to be spoken to: (1) That the Scripture does speak of such a Translation or change of Covenant. (2) The necessity of such a change, and the reasons and grounds thereof. Rom. 11.24. §. 2. First, the Scripture does speak of such a Translation, or change of Covenant. Says the Apostle, Rom. 11.24, For if thou wert cut out of the Olive-tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good Olive-tree: how much more shall these which be the natural branches, etc. Abraham is called the root, because after a sort the Covenant began in him, and therefore he is said to be the father of the faithful, and all that grew by nature upon this root, they were the children of God; and the natural branches unto whom the sap and sweetness and fatness of the true Church, all the Promises and Privileges of the Covenant of Grace did belong; and those that were truly under this Covenant they were not broken off, but some of them that were under it by profession only, they were for their sins, in judgement, broken off; and the Gentiles that were wild Olives, strangers to Abraham's Faith and Covenant, they were grafted in, that is, taken into the Covenant of Abraham, which is the root upon which they were engrafted, and are made partakers of all the Promises and the Privileges of the Covenant of Abraham, as if they were the natural branches. Therefore here are men that are wild Olives that are engrafted, here are branches broken off that are engrafted in again. So that in Conversion there is an Engrafting, a Translation of a man from one stock to another, from one root unto another, and that is by changing of a man's Covenant; for it is by his Covenant only that Abraham is his root, etc. Some indeed are engrafted only by an outward profession, some by inward implantation into the inward and spiritual part, some into the outward privileges of the Covenant only, but some partake of the sweetness and fatness of the true Olive-tree, Joh. 5.24. etc. Christ says, He that believes in him that sent me shall never come into judgement, but is parted from death to life. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, signifies a passage from one place to another. And Joh. 3.14, He is passed from death to life. There is a twofold state of death and life, and there is answerable a double passage, a relative mutation as to a man's Covenant, and a physical mutation as to his Image; Rom. 7.1, 2, 3, The law has dominion over a man as long as he liveth: the woman is bound to her husband as long as he liveth, but if her husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband, etc. It is a dying, or a being divorced from the former husband, that gives her liberty. All the Ancients do generally make the Law the husband, from which a man being dead unto the Law is divorced: and some Modern Divines (as Beza and others) make sin the husband, as being irritated by the law; but the thing is much the same: and a man being engrafted into Christ is freed from the law of the husband. It is also a being redeemed, and the main of our redemption lies in it, Gal. 4.5. as Christ was made under the law, so we were under it, now he was under it as a Covenant to fulfil the precept, and to satisfy the curse; and he did this that he might redeem us that were under the law in both these respects; so that looking upon the law as a Covenant, Christ is said to redeem us from being under it; changing a man's father and his mother, Mich. 7.20. Luc. 1. Gal. 4. and growing on another root, and belonging to another stock, as it is said, Rom. 4.15, Abraham the father of us all, that were before strangers unto Abraham; therefore it is said to be his mercy unto Abraham, and his oath unto our forefathers, and Sarah the mother; whereas before we were the children of Hagar. All men by nature are under the law, children of the bondwoman: for the two Mothers are the two Covenants; and so long as a man remains under the first Covenant, he is the son of the bondwoman; but we that believe are as Isaac, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. children of the freewoman; being discharged of the hand-writing of Ordinances which was against us, and contrary to us; which Christ took out of the way, nailing it to his Cross, etc. This ●lotting out of Ordinances, chrysostom and Oecumenius understand not only of the Ceremonial Law given by Moses, but also of the Moral Law, and the Law of the forbidden fruit given to Adam, etc. and so Zanchy and others, etc. Though some other late Divines will understand it of the Ceremonial Law only, which I conceive it cannot be, because it is spoken for the consolation of the Gentiles, that they were delivered from this hand-writing of Ordinances, under which they never were. So that this change of Covenant is in Scripture set forth by being cut off from the former root and engrafted into another; a change or passage from a man's former state, a being dead to a former husband, a redemption from a former bondage, an alliance to another father, and having a bond canceled that was against a man by its exacting and condemning power. SECT. II. The necessity of a Translation from the first Covenant. 1. THE necessity of this Translation is manifested several ways. 1. From the nature of the Covenant as it is broken, and man's misery under it; for the Covenant in self is unchangeable and eternal, as well as the Covenant of Grace; and it says for ever, This do and thou shalt live; it still says, Gal. 4.4, 5. Cursed is every one that continues not in all things written in the Law to do them; the soul that sins shall die. And to establish it Christ was made under the Law, that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us; and what the Law saith, it saith unto them that are under the Law still. So that while men continue under it, their former husband lives unto them, and the hand-writing stands in force against them: here is the benefit by Christ, a man may be translated out of it, and so there may be a change of a man's Covenant, not by a change of the Covenant itself, but by a change of the man, and his deliverance out of it. Now so long as a man continues under this Covenant, (1) It promises no life but upon condition of perfect and personal obedience; it calls upon thee, To love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy strength; the strength that I gave thee at first: and the man that doth them shall live by them. There is commutatio personae, a commutation of the person, by the Covenant of Grace; but this Covenant saith not that the obedience of another shall be accounted his unto justification and life, and so Justification is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, impossible by the righteousness of the Law; for by the Law no man can be justified; and in this it is weak through the flesh; so that whilst a man continues untranslated, he can never be justified by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, which can profit him nothing, because in the sense of the Law it is not his own righteousness. (2) It is a Covenant without a Mediator: Christ indeed is a Mediator, but it is of the new Covenant; the first Covenant was faedus amicitiae, a Covenant of friendship, made with man in innocency; where there was no disagreement; and Gal. 3.20. A Mediator is not a Mediator of one, etc. So that so long as a man is under the first Covenant, what benefits so ever there are to be had by the Mediation of Christ, he must go without them, either in reference to the presentation of his person, or to the acceptation of his services; for in the Covenant under which he stands a Mediator can have no place. (3) In this Covenant there is no promise of pardon; but If thou dost well thou shalt be accepted, but if thou dost evil sin lies at the door; and there is a curse upon every transgression, every sin thou committest, every disobedience has a just recompense of reward; so that as long as a man does continue under this Covenant, he must bear his own sin, and there is no hope of pardon for him, because under this Covenant God has promised no pardon. The aim of God was the glory of his Justice, and therefore the Lord deals with men as in Courts of Justice: if there be a Capital crime committed, the Judge does not examine whether the man be penitent or no, and if he do repent, than there is a pardon for him; but whether the offence be committed or no, guilty or not guilty; and so Justice does all without respect unto a man's after-repentance. If thou hast sinned, the first Covenant says thou art a child of death; and when a man says, I have sinned, it is the Covenant of Grace only that says, the Lord has put away thy sin; but under this Covenant there is no pardon to be expected. (4) This Covenant promises no Grace: for it was made with man in his primitive condition, when he had Grace answerable unto all the duties that the Lord required of him; he had a power to perform all duties, and to resist all temptations, and this is supposed in every duty that is required, and in every sin that is forbidden; so that all the promises of Grace and strength that are in the second Covenant, a man can never have benefit by, for they belong not unto the Covenant under which he stands unless he be translated. (5) It is a Covenant that every sin breaks, and being once broken it can never be made up again. So the Apostle tells us, Rom. 5.16, By one offence guilt came upon all to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences to justification. Adam's sin was but one offence, and yet it broke his Covenant, and brought guilt and death upon all his posterity, and that for ever; and his Covenant could bring death, but never justification and life any more, so that no man that has once sinned could ever live by that Covenant any more: but it is not so in the Covenant of Grace, because it brings in an everlasting righteousness, that sin can never spend; and therefore though there be many offences yet the Covenant is not broken, but that justification and life may be had therein; and the more sin abounds, the grace of the Covenant abounds much more; as sin takes occasion by the law, so grace takes occasion by sin under the Gospel. (6) It is a Covenant that can never quiet and settle the Conscience, but let a man walk never so exactly, and take never so much care to do his duty in all things, and let him live the holiest life that ever any man did upon earth that was a sinner, and he will be always in a doubt and full of jealousy of God, whether he will accept him or no; as it was with the young man in the Gospel, he had lived a very exact life according to the rules of a Pharisaical righteousness; for he could say, All these things have I kept from my youth; and yet he was not quiet, Gehennam horribiliter timuit. he came and kneeled down to Christ and said, What must I do to inherit eternal life? what lack I yet? And so Luther said, he did endeavour in all things to walk according to his Conscience, and yet he says, I feared Hell terribly, etc. And this is the difference that the Apostle makes, Rom. 10.5, 8, he prefers the righteousness of faith before that of works, upon this ground, because that of works is full of scruples and doubtful inquiries, Who shall ascend up to Heaven? Doubting is the fruit of the Covenant of works; and therefore Bellarmine must come to his Tutissimum, for unto men since the fall the fruits of the first Covenant are only doubting and anxiety: but faith tells a man, Christ has descended into the deep to make satisfaction there, and he is ascended up on high into Heaven there to prepare a place; and there is nothing wanting for a man's salvation that Christ has not done, which frees a man's Conscience from those inward perplexities which the Covenant of works leaves a man entangled in. This is the first ground of the necessity of being translated out of this Covenant, for so long as a man is under it this is his misery, if he look for life it must be by his own righteousness as without a Mediator; and if he sin, there is no pardon for him, and if he be to do duty, there is no grace; if the Covenant be once broken it is broken for ever, never made up again, for the least offence; and a man's Conscience can never be satisfied and quieted, till he does anchor upon Christ Jesus, who is the rock of ages. §. 2. If God will deal with man in a Covenant-way, he must be translated out of this Covenant, if he ever hope to receive any benefit by the second Covenant; for no man can stand under both Covenants, no more than he can be born of two Mothers, Gal. 4. the two Covenants are there compared unto two Mothers, and the Covenants are two roots; and 'tis impossible if one grow upon the one root, but he must be cut off from the other. I do confess that an unregenerate man, that is for the state of his person under the Covenant of works, may have many outward benefits and privileges from the Covenant of Grace. As (1) They are preserved by it; for it is by the second Covenant that the world stands, and it is for their sakes that are heirs of blessing therein, Isa. 42.6, He is given as a Covenant to the Nations to establish the earth; and it is by the Covenant of Grace to the Kingdom of Christ that the curse of the first Covenant is not presently executed upon wicked men. (2) Wicked men have this benefit by the Covenant of Grace, they have the Creatures to serve them; he makes the Sun to shine upon the just and the unjust. Mat. 5. The Creatures are made subject to vanity by reason of him that has subjected them in hope: it is a vanity of service and subjection unto the necessities of unregenerate men, which is a benefit that they have by the second Covenant. (3) They have an employment by Christ Prov. 8. it's said, By me King's reign; and that men are set in honourable places, and do service in this Kingdom of Christ. Saul was made a King, and Cyrus, and Judas was an Apostle. (4) They have great gifts given them by the Spirit of God dispensed in this Kingdom, which is only by the Covenant of Grace: they are enlightened, made partakers of the Holy Ghost, taste of the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come; they may prophesy in the name of Christ, and in his name cast out Devils, and do many great works. (5) They have great privileges given them, they are called the Sons of God, they have the Law and the Promises, they may live in the Church and claim an outward right unto Ordinances, and the offers of Grace as belonging unto them. Abraham's son Ishmael was circumcised as well as Isaac, and he had an outward right unto it, and so all external Church-priviledges Hypocrites may have a right unto, as Judas had among the other Disciples, being undetected. (6) They may have for all these services great Temporal rewards; labouring in the Lord's Vineyard they shall have their penny. Cyrus' a Heathen Prince, yet doing works for God, he shall have a Kingdom for his reward; and Nabuchadnezzar shall have Egypt for his hire; great honours and rewards before men, riches in abundance, that they may wash their steps in butter: Ishmael had the dew of Heaven, and the fatness of the Earth. These and many other benefits unregenerate men may have by the Covenant of Grace, who yet for the estate of their persons are under a Covenant of Works: only unto all godly men they are all given as a blessing, and unto them that are unregenerate men they are all given as a curse, and will be a means but to ripen their sins, and add unto their account and condemnation; and therefore though a man may have many external benefits by the Covenant of Grace, who for the estate of his person is under the Covenant of Works, yet he cannot stand under both Covenants. §. 3. God will deal with him still as he did in his Creation in a way of Covenant and Stipulation, and not in a way of absolute Sovereignty and Dominion and he will keep both on foot, and exercise both together. In man's Creation God did some things by way of absolute Dominion, he gave him what being he pleased, and appointed him to what end, and gave him what Law he pleased, and placed Adam as the common root, the representative head, and put all his posterity under him, as those that were to come under his Covenant, and to stand or fall with him: and as the Covenant made with Adam and us in him, is ●n act of Sovereignty, so the act of Imputation of his sin or righteousness is an act of Sovereignty also. But God did not deal with Adam in this way only, but also in a way of Covenant, giving him a command, and promising life and blessedness upon his obedience; and all the Dispensations of God in his Government unto men since, have been by virtue of, and according unto the Covenant. Whilst man stood all the blessings he did enjoy were by virtue of the Covenant God made with him; and since his fall, all the curses that he has undergone are the curses of the Covenant. So unto man in his fall God will deal with him still the same way; there are some acts of Sovereignty and absolute Dominion which he has reserved to himself, he gives man what Law he pleaseth, and according to his own pleasure changes and abrogates Laws as he will; and he has out of his own absolute Sovereignty appointed the second Adam to be the head of the regenerate, and he does as an act of Sovereignty make a Covenant with us in him, and accounts us one with him, and by a Sovereign Imputation counts his Righteousness ours, and our sins his, and calls things that are not as if they were. But yet though he will keep both ways of Government in his own hand, yet he has declared himself that in his ordinary way he will rule man by a Covenant, and according unto the rules of that Covenant he will dispense himself in mercy or in wrath, according to the Promises, or the threaten thereof: and though man has fallen and broken the first Covenant, and therefore now God might have dealt with him in a way only of Sovereignty and Prerogative; yet the Lord will keep himself unto a Covenant-way, and will so deal with man again; and therefore man having broken the first he will establish the second Covenant. And the grounds why God will deal with man still in a Covenant-way are these: (1) Because the first Covenant stands in force upon all men out of Christ unto eternity, as it appears; because by that Covenant sin is imputed, and the curse of that Covenant is inflicted unto eternity. (2) Because that under this Covenant all that remain must perish, for as many as are under the Law as a Covenant, are under the Curse; wherefore the Lord has instituted a second Covenant, which all that are in Christ shall remain under. And though ●here be some difference in circumstances, and in the manner of administration, yet it is for substance the same from the fall unto the world's end. There is indeed a Triplex Aera, a threefold account, or three several periods in Scripture of the Covenant of Grace. [1] As it was made with Adam after his fall, promising the seed of the woman, and life and salvation in him; and this is therefore called the Covenant of Promise, Ephes. 2.12. [2] As it was more fully revealed after Christ's coming in the flesh, Heb. 8.6, 7. so the Covenant as to the Father's being in the Promise, is called the first Covenant, and as performed, and Christ exhibited, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Heb. 8.10. In quo nihil merito potuit requiri post dies veteris testamenti exactos. Par. the second. Yet the first Covenant comes short of the second in two things: First, because imperfect and only in Types, and Typical representations. 2. Because the people kept it not, neither were made perfect by it, but God found fault with them for their disobedience, etc. [3] As it shall be more gloriously revealed at the calling of the Jews, when the Lord shall make this Covenant with them, that is, take them into this Covenant again, and call them my people who were called Loammi; and this is their grafting in again, Rom. 11. as the Gentiles were grafted in upon their rejection, and therefore Israel under this Covenant is fitly called by some Israel surrogatus, etc. And of this Covenant with Israel, who are the natural branches, to whom primarily all the Promises do belong, does the Lord speak, Ezek. 34.25, The dry bones shall live, and they shall dwell in their own land, wherein their fathers dwelled, they and their children's children for ever; and my servant David shall be their Prince for ever; and I will make a Covenant of peace with her, and it shall be an everlasting Covenant; and I will place them, and multiply them, and set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore, my tabernacle also shall be with them; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people, etc. (3) All the mercies and deliverances that God has given his people have been by Covenant ever since the fall, Luk. 1.72. he sent Christ into the world, a horn of salvation he raised up, (that is, glorious and victorious salvation) in the house of his servant David, to perform his mercy promised to our forefathers, and to remember his holy Covenant: he pardons their sins, and subdues their iniquities, and carries them into the depths of the sea; but it is to perform his truth to Jacob, and his mercy to Abraham, which he swore unto our forefathers from the days of old. And he writes the law in their hearts, and sanctifies them to himself: Jer. 31.33. A new Covenant will I make with you, I will take away the heart of stone, and I will write my law in your hearts, etc. Gen. 6.18. And so for all temporal mercies, God delivered Noah from the flood that destroyed the world of the ungodly, but it was by a Covenant; I will establish my Covenant with thee, and thou shalt come into the Ark, thou and thy sons, etc. God brought Israel out of Egypt, Exod. 6.4, 5. but it was by their Covenant; I have established my Covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, Zach. 9.11. the land of their pilgrimage. And afterwards delivered them out of Babylon, the pit in which there was no water; But it is by the blood of the Covenant. He did nourish the people of Israel in the Wilderness, and fed them there; but it was because he was always mindful of his Covenant. There were many that did not fear him, that were wicked, but he fed the wicked for the sake of the righteous, their meat was given unto them that fear him. Psal. 111.5. So that the Dispensations of God in all ages have been by virtue of, and answerable to a Covenant. §. 4. A man for the state of his person cannot stand under both Covenants, because the one is contrary unto, and makes void the other; so the Apostle reasons, Gal. 2. ult. If righteousness be by the law, Christ is dead in vain. Though in some respects the Law may and doth stand as a rule, and as a handmaid to the Gospel, as Hagar to Sarah, and so in subordination; yet as a Covenant, and in co-ordination it cannot stand so; for the one doth actually destroy the other, and make it void; for if the second Covenant take place, the first Covenant is made void; and if the first Covenant stand, there is no place for the second. And this will more fully appear if we consider the direct contrariety in the Terms of these Covenants. Tit. 3.5. 1. The Righteousness of the first Covenant is in ourselves, the works of righteousness that we have done; and he that doth them shall live in them; but the righteousness of the second Covenant is the righteousness of another; Christ is the end of the law for righteousness: Rom. 10.4. Finis perficiens, sed non interficiens. Aug. all the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in him. It is in the Ark that the law is laid up; and the righteousness of the Law is in him alone, and in no other else to be found, made ours by Imputation only, thereby we are made the righteousness of God in him, 2 Cor. 5.21. Now a man cannot be righteous by his own righteousness, and by the righteousness of another, 1 Joh. 5.11, 12. A man cannot have life in himself and in another, and therefore the one destroys the other. 2. In the Covenant of Works acceptation is first of the works, and afterwards of the person, for the works sake; and so does the displeasure of God begin first with the work, and then redundat in personam, it redounds upon the person; and therefore God speaks unto Cain, Gen. 4.4, If thou dost well thou shalt be accepted: there is not acceptation of the person if there be any imperfection in the work, Gal. 3.10, Cursed is every one that continues not in the law, etc. because of a failing in the work there is a curse upon the person. Haec doctrinae nostra summa quam docemus, & profitemur: personam priùs Deo acceptam & opus fieri acceptum ex persona. But in the Covenant of Grace the person is first accepted, and the works for the persons sake. God had a respect unto Abel and to his Offering; and this indeed is even the sum of the Gospel, that the work is accepted for the persons sake: but if the acceptation of the person be grounded upon the works, it is contrary to the Gospel, that says, The acceptation is first of the person, then of the works. 3. The Covenant of Works is a Covenant without a Priest, there is none to present a man's person, but he must stand before God in his own person: for the first Covenant was made with man immediately, there is none to bear his sin, and there is none to offer his sacrifice; for it was a Covenant made with man in the state of integrity, wherein he needed none of these. Adam had no more need of a Priest in this estate than the Angels have; but now all unregenerate men that are under the Covenant as broken (while they do so continue) have no more benefit by a Priest than the Devils have, only to man there is a possibility and not unto them: but the second Covenant is a Covenant with a Priest, and there is a threefold office of a Priest. (1) He does present their persons, for he stands in their steads; he bears their names two ways, upon his heart, and upon his shoulders. (2) He offers a sacrifice for their sins, and does carry the blood into the most holy place, and doth sprinkle it before the Mercy-seat. (3) He presents their requests and desires unto the Father, together with his own, upon the same Altar of the Godhead, which is the Golden Altar; Heb. 7.22. for he ever lives to make intercession for us. 4. In the Covenant of Works there is matter of glorying and boasting in a man's self; if a man abide in the Covenant, and the reward is of debt. Rom 4.1, 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Indeed Adam might have come into the presence of God, and have said, Lord, I have fulfilled thy Commandment, I have done thy whole will, etc. And as the Lord Jesus Christ did, I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do; now glorify me with thyself, now justify me, bestow upon me the grace and life that thou hast promised, etc. But under the second Covenant there is no place for either, there is no debt, for all is of grace; to give the will and the deed, and to pardon the failings and defects of any thing we do; that we are accepted it is merely of Grace. And there is no boasting, for all is done by the strength of another, and through the acceptance of another; For Christ is made to us Wisdom and Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption, that he that glories may glory in the Lord, 1 Cor. 1.30. And so boasting is excluded: by what law? not by the law of works, but by the law of faith, Rom. 3.27. For the soul says, Ephes. 2.9. I was in the same condemnation with them that perish, and the Lord had mercy upon me, because mercy pleases him, not for mine own righteousness, but according to his own mercy he saveth us, Tit. 3.4, 5. Now it is impossible therefore for a man to be under both Covenants, because the terms and ●he conditions of the one are contrary, and destroy the other. §. 5. It may be asked, Quest. Whether a godly man while he lives here having a double principle, the one from the first Adam, and the other from the second Adam, he may not also have a double Covenant state, and a double Image, partly the Image of the first, and partly the Image of the second Adam, partly of the earthly, and partly of the heavenly? Why may not a man also say, that so far as he is flesh, he is under the Covenant of Works, but so far as he is regenerate he is under a Covenant of Grace? For so some of our Divines have spoken of late, Consider a regenerate man in his natural being, and so he is ever under the Law, and as often as he sinneth is under the sentence of death, but as he is in Christ so he is free from the Law by Grace, etc. A godly man has a double principle, and this doth argue a double image; Answ. and the corrupt principle that is within him is a remainder of the image of the old Adam, and the gracious principle is the image of the second Adam begun in him. But yet this cannot infer a double Covenant, because the Image respects his nature, but the Covenant does respect his Person. Now it is with a man as it is with Christ, there are two natures in him, and they have two properties, the one eternal, and the other in time; the one is infinite, and the other finite; the one mortal, and the other immortal: but if we look upon his Sonship, that is but one, because it respects his Person, filiatio est suppositi filiati, filiation is of a person; so though a man have two very different natures in him of flesh and spirit, the one from Christ, and the other from Satan; and in the one a man does resemble God, and in the other the Devil, yet they argue not two Covenants, quia faedus pertinet ad suppositum, the Covenant belongs to the person. 2. A double Image may stand together: and though indeed they seek to destroy each other, the flesh lusting against the spirit, because they are contrary, yet it shall not prevail: But the two Covenants do actually, necessarily, and immediately destroy each other, because the terms are contrary; and therefore unless a man may stand righteous before God in his own righteousness, and in the righteousness of Christ at once, unless he may be an heir of the Curse and of the Promise, unless he may be justified and condemned, unless his sins may be pardoned, and his righteousness imputed, unless he may appear before God in himself and in another, he cannot be said to be under both Covenants; for the terms of the Covenant are such that they do necessarily destroy each other. 3. The change of a man's Covenant is a legal act, an act of God upon a man's being once in Christ, God does account a man as one under the Law no more, as God did count Abraham righteous, and counted him the father of the faithful; so that it is an act of God without a man and upon him, and this is perfect and may be at once; and a man is truly translated out of the Covenant of Works, the first day of his conversion, and shall never be looked upon as one under that Covenant more: Phil. 1.6. but there is a good work in a man, which is the change of a man's Image, and that is perfected by degrees, and therefore the remainders of the old image do remain, and as God does make the Covenant of Works from which a man is delivered, a servant to the Covenant of Grace, so he does the remainders of the old image in a man also. SECT. III. The APPLICATION. Use 1 §. 1. THe Use is of Examination, whether a man's Covenant be changed or no, and whether he be translated out of the first Covenant. There is no change of a man's Covenant but by union with Christ: for the Covenants were made with a double head, the first, and the second Adam; and it is our union with them, that brings us under their Covenant. A man comes not under the Covenant of the Angels, he has not the righteousness of the good, nor the sins of the bad Angels imputed, because he is not one with them; he that is in the first Adam is still under his Covenant, and he that is in the second Adam, is translated from the first Adam: Rom. 8. 1 Joh. 3.24. Rom. 8.9. Now how should a man know whether he be one with Christ or no; for he that is in Christ is no more under the Law as a Covenant, nor under the curse. Now hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit; if any man has not the spirit of Christ he is none of his. Now wheresoever the spirit of Christ is, it is a spirit of mortification, as Rom. 8.10. for Christ's Spirit had the same end that Christ had, 1 Joh. 1.8. (1) A man's darling lust is mortified, for a man converted hates every sin, but especially these; as a Deer that is shot is not quiet till the Arrow that has wounded him be taken out: Psal. 18.23. Hos. 14.3. and the Psalmist says, I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. There is no greater sign that a man is acted by the spirit of the Devil than indulging this way of sinning. (2) A man conflicts specially against spiritual sins; for those sins make a man most conformable to the Devil: as for gross sins, restraining grace and a natural conscience will go far to keep them under; all sins are from the Devil, either, per modum servitutis or imaginis, in a way of servitude or image. Pride and contempt of God, and drawing others to sin, and delighting in it, hating godliness in others, obstinacy and impenitency, etc. these sins argue whose children we are, That we are of our father the Devil, for his lusts we do, etc. Spiritual lusts are his image. 2. Where the Spirit of Christ dwells, the spirit of the second Covenant, he is a spirit of Sanctification, Joh. 3●6. there is a renewing of the inward man; that which is born of the spirit is spirit; the spirit of God is not only water, but fire, which turns all into itself; it is a spirit of Wisdom, and a spirit of faith, love, meekness, and of a sound mind, conforming the outward man, making him follow the Lord fully; he is willingly ignorant of no truth, he does not hid his eyes, Numb. 14.24. nor stop his ears from hearing of it, nor does he imprison any truth in unrighteousness; he will walk up to his light in every thing, though duties be difficult, to honour God, and own his people before the world, as we may live to see it a crime to countenance a profession of godliness; yet this man that has received another spirit as Caleb had, can let the world see that all his delight is in the Saints; and though he should be reckoned singular, and go alone with Athanasius and Luther, yet he still keeps on his way notwithstanding all opposition, and lays out all that is in him, and dear to him for Christ; and if he perish in a way of duty he perishes, Luk. 11.21. he will venture life and all for God, as Nehemiah and Hester did. Use 2 §. 2. Hence we may see the sinfulness of an unregenerate state in this, That all of you that are so are strangers to the Covenant of promise; and this is set forth by the Apostle as that state of sin in which the Gentiles lay before their conversion. Chrysost. chrysostom says, that they were not only separated from this Covenant, and without it, but wholly strangers to it: and though as to the terms of the Covenant, we be not so great strangers now, because the Gospel of Grace is made known to us, yet all they that do not accept of the terms of the Covenant, but do stand out in their unbelief, and do not embrace the Lord Christ offered in the Gospel, they are as truly in God's account still strangers unto the Covenant of Promise, as the Gentiles were before the Gospel was preached unto them: and let no man say, What are we all Heathens? will you put us into the same condition with them? Let me tell you, the Covenant of Grace has been offered unto you, and the terms of it plainly set before you: And they are, (1) God will be yours, if you will be his; he will be wholly yours, so as you must be wholly his, Cant. 6.2, I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. Bernard says, Mea non placent nisi mecum. Christ will neither marry a Widow nor a Harlot, Leu. 21.14. he will have the first Love, and the whole Love, Hos. 3.3, Thou shalt be unto me alone, and unto none other. (2) Thou shalt give all that is thine unto him, and he will give all that is his unto thee, thou shalt have an interest in what is his, but so as Christ will have an interest likewise in all that is thine; He ●hat does not forsake all that he has, cannot be my disciple; thou must follow the lamb whithersoever he goes; thou must forget thy own kindred and thy father's house; forsake, yea, hate thy ●wn life if it come in competition with thy duty and love to Christ: for a man to be willing 〈◊〉 reserve any thing at his own dispose, that he may enjoy apart from Christ, it is a token 〈◊〉 a false heart, and the Lord abhors it. To do as Ananias and Saphira did, keep back part 〈◊〉 the price, reserve something that they would not give up, and yet pretend to give up all, ●is abominable to God; and that man that does not consent unto the Covenant upon these ●●rms, does not give the hand unto the Lord, and subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, 〈◊〉 2 Chron. 30.8. he that is not willing to come and take of this water of life, Isa. 44. Rev. 22. his name shall ●e blotted out of the book of life, etc. If he do not accept of, nor consent to the Covenant, ●●at man though he live in the Church, he is in God's account as a Heathen, and a stranger 〈◊〉 the Covenant of Promise, as truly as they that live at the furthest ends of the earth, to ●hom the offer of a second Covenant never came; and in some respects are worse than they; ●●erefore we read that David calls the Ziphims, though they were the Inhabitants of Judah, Ezek. 16.3. Hos. 12.7. Amos 9.7. Isa. 1.10. stranger's, and saul's Courtiers, that were wicked men and persecutors of him, he called Heathens; and Saul himself he calls Cush, and that (as one well observes) not without some ●llusion unto his father's name, Cush an Ethiopian, Psal. 7.1. and it's said, Rev. 11.2, The outward Court shall be trodden down of the Gentiles; which is meant of those that receive the ●ark of the Beast, and bear his image: for Popery is nothing else but Paganism under a ●orm of Christianity, and therefore such are Gentiles in God's account, and the Lord measures all with one line; He will punish all them that are circumcised with the uncircumcised, Jer. 9 ult. 8. 9 egypt and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon and Moah, and all that are in the overmost corners that dwell in the wilderness; for all these Nations are uncircumcised, and all 〈◊〉 house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart, etc. The misery of not being translated into the second Covenant has been showed many ways; ●●w we will speak a little to the sin of it, and that in these Particulars. (1) Hereby thou endeavourest to make void the Covenant of Grace, and all those glorious thoughts that God had towards sinners from everlasting as the highest way to glorify himself. He did therefore purpose it in himself, and from himself, Prov. 8.30. Psal. 40.5. that he will gloriefie himself this way by a second Covenant; and God delighted in it, and spent infinite thoughts about it; it's the pleasure of the Lord, and all this thou dost make void to thyself by continuing under thy former Covenant, and if thou accept not the Grace offered in the second. Now the Apostle speaks of it as a fearful evil to make void the Law, but how great is their ●vil that do their utmost to make the Gospel void. (2) Thou hereby at once frustrates the whole end of Christ's coming into the world, for ●he came into the world as a second Adam with a Covenant, and an Image; and no man can partake of his Image unless he have an interest in his Covenant: for all the Promises of renewing the Image of God in man are not the promises of the first, but of the second Covenant; Mal. 3.1. Heb. 12.24. Heb. 7.22. and it's he that is in Christ that is a new Creature, 2 Cor. 5.14. For he is given as a Covenant to the Nations. The Lord shall come speedily into his Temple, even the messenger of the Conant in whom ye delight. So that the great end of Christ's coming into the world is that he might bring in a second Covenant, by which God and man may be reconciled, sins pardoned, and the sinner saved: and whosoever is not translated into this Covenant, Christ is come and dead in vain as to him. (3) Thou dost hereby reject and despise the greatest grace that ever was showed to the sons of men; for God to enter into a Covenant with man in his Creation was an act of mere Grace. God might have required obedience, and have promised no recompense; for all was by right of creation due from man to God; but God did not owe any thing to man again, and yet this was but faedus amicitiae, a Covenant of Friendship: but when man had sinned and become faedifragus, a Covenant-breaker, now for God to try man again by a second Covenant, that it should be a Covenant with man as a sinner, is a far greater act of favour to be engaged to him, Isa. 26.18, 19 and that upon higher terms and better promises: it's the admiration of all the Angels in Heaven that God should so far honour a sinful creature as to take him into Covenant with himself. Jer. 13.11. Zac. 11.10. (4) This is much heightened by this that the Angels that fell were as capable of mercy as we, and Christ and his Righteousness as proportionable a good for the Salvation of the Angels as he is for man, though they did sin ex destinata malitia, maliciously and without temptation: Bernard. and so perire necesse est poenitere potentes: yet had the Lord set his thoughts of mercy upon them, and sent his Son with a Covenant to them. The same Omnipotency that overcomes the heart of a man could have also overcome the heart of a Devil; but he did catch at Mankind when he let the Angels go, and never made them the offer of a second Covenant; and this man's sin is beyond that of the Devils, in that he refuseth to come under this Covenant of Grace. (5) Hereby thou takest the name of God in vain, and receivest no benefit by all his Ordinances and Promises, and motions of the Spirit that thou enjoyest. [1] All his Ordinances: for to what end is the Ministry of the Gospel set up and appointed by God, but only in the first place to bring men into Covenant with God? God is in Christ reconciling the world; and how is that done? why, by making a covenant of peace, as this second covenant is called, Ezek. 37.26. And by persuading men and treating with them to bring them under the bonds of this covenant; 2 Cor 5.18, 19 for as the Apostle says, He has made us the ministers of reconciliation: and all the offers that we make unto you of Christ, it is but to persuade you to accept of him, as God has given him as a covenant to the Nations; and until you do accept of Christ in his covenant, and consent to that, you can have no other benefit by him, that will be effectual to the saving of your soul. And as for all other benefits of the Ministry without this, they will never answer the great end for which the Lord appointed it. It were but a low end in a Minister to propound no higher thing to himself than this, that he might inform the judgements of men, and draw them to some outward conformity, or civilize men, and to do some duties to satisfy their consciences; but our end should be, that which God did send us for, and to count that we have laboured in vain, Act. 26.18. if we miss thereof, and that is to turn men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God: to translate men out of the kingdom of darkness into the glorious kingdom of his dear Son: the greatest mercies of your lives be offers of Christ and his benefits, which are all grounded upon the covenant of Grace. [2] All the Promises do belong unto the second covenant, and he has given us exceeding great and precious promises, 2 Pet. 1.4. whereby we are made partakers of the Divine nature. There are promises of pardon, and of grace, and holiness and happiness, promises of the life that now is, and that which is to come. There are conditional Promises, and there are absolute Promises: I will be thy God, I will give thee my Son, and my Spirit, I will take away the heart of stone, and give a heart of flesh. But the bottom of all these is the Covenant, and thereunto all the Promises of the Gospel are referred; and therefore he that has no interest in the Covenant, he in applying a promise takes the name of God in vain: for if you be Christ's you are Abraham's seed, Gal. 3. ult. and heirs also of the promise: If you are Christ's, and are in him, your Covenant is changed, you then come under Abraham's Covenant; for it is in respect of this Covenant only, Rom. 4.16. Gal. 4.28. that he is said, to be the father of us all; and if your Covenant be changed, you are heirs of the Promise: We as Isaac are children of the promise, etc. And till a man's Covenant be changed, there is not a promise in the Book of God that belongs unto him; and whensoever he does apply them unto himself, he doth wrest the Scripture, and he takes the name of God in vain, etc. [3] As for the Sacraments, whosoever has not his Covenant changed, they can do him no good, for they are all of them added unto the Covenant of Grace as signs and seals thereof. In the ordinance of Baptism there must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 1 Pet. 3.21. an answer, 1 Pet. 3.21. which I take to be an allusion to the ancient manner of John Baptist, Luk. 3.10. the people asked him, and what shall we do? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. thereby implying a willingness to engage themselves unto those practices of repentance, and those duties of reformation unto which John did baptise them; whence arose that ancient form in the Church in baptising persons by propounding unto them Questions, concerning Faith, Repentance, renouncing the World, the Flesh and the Devil, and their solemn engagement and stipulation thereunto: which if it were in truth and from a good conscience the person was truly baptised in the sight of God, or else he was only baptised with water, and no more. So what was circumcision but a sign and a seal of the Covenant, which if it did reach unto the heart it was circumcision; Gen. 17.13. else their circumcision became uncircumcision, for the men were not in Covenant with God, therefore Jer. 9.25, I will punish all them that are circumcised, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jer. 9.25. etc. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or, Omnes circumcises in praeputio, so it is in the Original, and so Montanus and others do render it, all that are circumcised in uncircumcision. Now it is by the Learned observed, that the Nations there named did thus circumcise, but being a people out of covenant with God it was no circumcision unto them; and though they were circumcised, yet they were in uncircumcision still: and so the Jews, they were circumcised, and in an outward Covenant, but yet their hearts did not consent; and therefore though they were circumcised in flesh, yet they were not circumcised in heart. So for the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, it is the New Testament in the Blood of Christ, Mat. 26. Zach. 9.12. and this blood is the blood of the Covenant; and therefore if thou be a man out of the Covenant thou hast no right to it, it can do thee no good, but hurt all thy days. As Cyprian de Lapsis hath a story of one, that when the people of God were receiving the Sacrament, came secretly in amongst them to receive it also, Ausus est latenter accipere, he durst take it secretly; and having taken the bread in his hand, Cinerem se ferre apertis manibus invenit, opening his hand he found it turned into ashes: and so Gratia salutaris in cinerem, imo in venenum, fugiente sanctitate mutatur; the salutary grace is turned into ashes, yea poison, etc. And therefore if such a man receive the Sacrament, he takes the name of God in vain; for in God's account he did never receive it, because it is a seal of the Covenant of Grace, and he remains still under the covenant of works. [4] All the motions of the Spirit of God: as the giving of the Spirit doth belong to the second Covenant: This is the Covenant says the Lord, that I will make with them, Isa. 5.9, ult. my spirit that is upon them, etc. And it is the Gospel that is the ministration of the Spirit, for it is Christ the Prince of the Covenant that doth send the Spirit: and what is the end of the Spirits coming? it is only to advance the Covenant of Grace: He shall take of mine, says Christ, and show it unto you: that he may bring you into Union with Christ, and so into Covenant with God by him: and therefore it is the Spirit of the second Covenant, and the healing motions, and strive, and impressions of the Spirit of God with man, are all to this end, to bring them within the bounds of the Covenant: and though they may receive many gifts, and common graces, and common works; yet the Spirit is grieved, resisted, and quenched, if this great work be not wrought, that the spirit may become a spirit of adoption; and all those glorious works of the Spirit as a witness, as a seal, and as an earnest, they do all come under the second Covenant, and belong to the spirit as the spirit of the Gospel. [5] If thou be not translated into the Covenant of Grace, thou art left in a remediless condition: for thy first Covenant being broken does bring thee under a curse, and there is but one remedy against the sting of the Serpent, and that's the brazen Serpent: there's no avoiding the curse of the Covenant but by being translated out of it; and this translation thou wilt not accept of, therefore thou art in a helpless condition: for thy disease is mortal of itself, and thou wilt not accept of a remedy, and so thou art left to the punishment of the first Covenants curse, Joh. 3.33, He that believes not, the wrath of God abides upon him; not comes upon him only, but abides upon him. There is ira transiens, and ira permanens, transient wrath, and permanent wrath. All sin brings a man under wrath, but there is no sin leaves a man under wrath but unbelief, because a man will not accept of peace, and reconciliation that is made to him. And let me tell thee, O soul, whoever thou art in such a condition, thy misery will be so much the greater, that thou hast had a second Covenant offered, and yet despisest it, and in this Sodom and Gomorrah will come in against thee, and will condemn thee; for if they had had the offers that thou hast had, they would have accepted of them, yet thou hast rejected them: nay, the Devils themselves will be brought in against thee for thy condemnation; and in this as thy sin is greater, so will thy judgement be, for they never had an offer of any terms of peace made to them; they found themselves shut up under wrath without hope, but thou hast had offers and hopes all thy days; and this will be matter for that neverdying worm to feed upon at the last and great day, when the soul shall reflect seriously upon its bypast life: I neglected hopes and possibility, and it's now unrecoverable, though there was a time that the offers of mercy were made to me, and treaties of Grace made with me, by the common works of the Spirit of God, which I rejected; mercy was upon her knees to me, and I had as great possibility and probability to have found mercy as any other: there are some that lived under the same Ordinances and offers of Grace with me, and many of them had never the opportunities that I have had, and yet I see them sit down with Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of God, and I am left out. And this will be the great misery of many, I may say of most of the children of the Kingdom, they that live in the Church at the last and great day. §. 3. We may hence see the happiness of all those that are in Christ, even in this, that their Covenant is changed, and it was unto David the ground of all his comfort, that God had made with him this Everlasting Covenant: and well it might be, for it was the foundation of all his happiness, and his salvation. But you'll say, Wherein lies the glory of this condition of a souls being translated from their former root? 1. Being translated into this Covenant, God is reconciled to thee; for the Covenant of Grace is a Covenant of Peace and Reconciliation, so that the enmity between thee and God is taken up, and he looks upon thee as an enemy no more. 2. Being taken into Covenant with God again, there do many sweet relations grow out of the Covenant: for the Lord saith, I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and the Lord is not ashamed to be called their God: he is our father and husband, and our friend, we have as truly by Covenant an interest in all that is in God for our best good, as the Lord himself hath for his own glory; his power is made over to us as truly as if we had infinite power, and his mercy as if we had infinite mercy, and grace, and wisdom, etc. 3. Being once in Covenant, he becomes the son of God: a man's Covenant is a Covenant of Sonship, I will be their God and they shall be my sons and daughters, etc. 1 Joh. 3.1. Behold what manner of love the father hath showed unto us, that we should be called the sons of God: Gal. 4.18. and if sons than heirs, in all the inheritance of Christ. Being sons of the freewoman, it is thereby that we become heirs of the Promise; the inheritance is not by the Law, but by the Gospel: if they that are of the Law be heirs, than Christ were dead in vain. 4. Hereby a man has a ground for his faith upon all occasions, and a bottom for his prayers: it is the Covenant that is unto faith the Magna Charta, where all the privileges and liberties of a Believer are found; and this Covenant is sure, God is a faithful God, a God that will not lie, that cannot deny himself, Jer. 31.18, Turn thou me and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Lord, do not abhor us for thou art the Lord our God, Jer. 14.21. And the Psalmist hath respect unto this Covenant, For all the earth are full of the habitation of cruelties. Isa. 64.9, Remember not our iniquities for ever, behold we beseech thee we are all thy people. And take them in the worst terms, and when a man has even suffered shipwreck, yet the Covenant is tabula post naufragium, a plank after shipwreck, by which the soul is kept from sinking: see it in our Lord Christ himself in that hour of the power of darkness, My God, my God, etc. how did Christ call the Lord his God: for as Christ is God, so he has the same essence with the Father, and he thought it no robbery to be equal with Him; but as Mediator he is God the Father's Servant, and so the Lord is his God by Covenant. Psal. 89.36, Christ says, Thou art my Father and my God. And Joh. 20.17. And he is no other way Christ's God and Father but by Covenant: for Christ took a new Covenant-right unto God as Mediator. And as we come under the Covenant, so doth the Lord in him become our God also, and we have a right unto him; and by looking unto God in Covenant, the spirit of a Christian is upheld in the greatest sense of wrath, when the Lord did bruise and grind him to powder, making his soul an offering for sin. A man out of this Covenant has no ground for his faith, nor bottom for any of his prayers. 5. It is a Covenant that can never be broken, an Everlasting Covenant, a Covenant of salt, Heb. 7. a Covenant that has a surety. Christ says, If he fail in any thing put it upon my account. And Isa. 56.7, I know I shall not be ashamed. One sin did break the first Covenant, and it being broken could never be made up: by one offence condemnation came upon all, but by the free gift righteousness comes upon all for many offences to justification, because the righteousness of the Covenant is a perfect and an everlasting righteousness; and upon this is a godly man's comfort mainly grounded. David by his sin foresaw that he had undone his Family, the Lord threatened him by the Prophet, That the sword should never departed from his house; yet he comforts himself in this, that his Covenant remained sure. A godly man's comfort mainly comes in by his state, much more than by his actions, and he comforts himself in the one, when he abhors himself for the other: and though God will judge for both, yet he will judge of men's actions according to their states. Therefore whatever you do, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, which can never be without a Translation into the Covenant of Grace. CHAP. VI A Man's Translation out of the first Covenant, is by Union. Gal. 3.29, And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. SECT. I. How our Translation is by Union, with the nature of this Union. §. 1. HAving thus far opened the necessity of a Translation, the change of a man's Covenant as well as of his Image; we come now unto the Second Head propounded, and that is, Wherein this Translation doth consist? For which I have chosen this Text, Gal. 3.29, And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. In the opening hereof, there are Three things that I must lay down as grounds; 1. That God will deal with all men, not only in a way of Dominion, but in a way of Stipulation. So that men in Covenant with God, are of two sorts, either regenerate, or unregenerate; Sons or Servants; Children of the bondwoman or of the free: and they that are unregenerate, ●emain under the Covenant of Works; they that are regenerate, are under a Covenant of Grace. There is a twofold universal Covenant made with all mankind, which Divines do call faedus universale, one made with Adam before his fall, and with all mankind. For the Curse of his Covenant transgressed coming upon all, does plainly prove, that the blessing of ●he Covenant should have belonged unto all, if it had been observed; and the blessing and ●urse of the Covenant does come primarily upon none, but those with whom the Covenant ●as made. There is another universal Covenant made after the fall, made not only with ●an, but with all flesh, even with every living creature that is upon the earth, o● Foul and ●attel, and every Beast of the earth; and it contains in it two Branches. (1.) That all ●sh shall be no more cut off by the waters, or a flood. (2.) That while the earth remains, Seedtime and Harvest, Summer and Winter, Day and Night shall not cease; and this is an universal and an absolute Covenant▪ called the Covenant of the day and of the night; Gen. 8.22. & 9.9, 10. and used to express the stability of the Covenant of Grace, and the perpetuity thereof. Says the Lord, If you can break my Covenant of the day, Jer. 33.20. etc. then may also my Covenant be broken with David my servant: So that all mankind is in Covenant with God, and stands bound to him in a Covenant-way. 2. The two main Covenants, though the federates in them may be said to be all mankind; yet they were not made with all men immediately, but in a public person, a representative head. There being two sorts of creatures that God will deal with in a Covenant-way, some that were created all at once, and did not proceed from one another, neither had dependence one upon another; and with them God made a personal and a particular Covenant, and that he did with every individual Angel; and therefore every one stood for himself, and fell for himself: Thence some fell and others stood, they that consented to the Transgression, and abode not in the Truth, they left their first habitation. Ephes 3.10. But there was a second sort of reasonable creatures, that were to come into the World successively, and to flow from one, as from a common root, all must come out of his loins; therefore all Nations are said to be made of one blood, for God loves variety, that he may show forth his manifold Wisdom: and therefore he made a Covenant with this head, this common root, in whom they all were, and in whom they must all stand or fall: And he will make him also to be, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the type of him that was to come, that he may suit all things one to another: For as his Wisdom is wonderfully seen in the order of his creatures, and the suiting of one thing to another, so it is wonderfully seen in his works of Grace also, in a special manner towards man; and therefore by his absolute Sovereignty, he calls things that are not as if they were; and things are so because he counteth them so, not because man counts them so. He has appointed a twofold common head of all mankind: 1 Cor. 15. ● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The first Covenant was made with the first Adam, and therefore by one man, and by one offence of that one man, Judgement came up on all unto condemnation, ●om. 5. and so all mankind are under the Law, and under the Curse, Children of the bondwoman, even unregenerate men that live in the Church, that is, of the Covenant of Works, as broken, which only binds men over unto wrath, and wholly genders unto bondage: And the second Covenant, made with the second Adam, the Covenant that was made with Abraham, Gal. 3.17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. was confirmed by God in Christ, Gal. 3.17, which refers to Vers. 16, To Abraham and his seed was the Covenant made; he says, not seeds, as many, but one which is Christ. About which there is some controversy: some do understand it of Christ, in individuo, personally; some of Christ, in aggregato, or a Christ mystically; but in which sense soever, it is primarily in Christ, as the head and surety of the Covenant: So that neither of the Covenants are made with man immediately, as in himself, but in another. 3. It is a man's Union with either of these public persons, or representative heads, that doth bring a man under either Covenant. If a man be one with the first Adam, than he is under his Covenant; and if he be one with the second Adam, than he is under his Covenant. The ground of a man's Covenant, is his Union with him that is the head of his Covenant. This appears in both: Men come not under the Angel's Covenant, because they are not one with them; the Lord Jesus Christ proceeding from Adam, not in a natural way, but voluntarily taking to himself the seed of Abraham, and being made flesh, therefore he does voluntarily and freely, Gal. 4.5. not necessarily, come under Adam's Covenant, he was made of a woman, made under the Law; and because he was not of necessity one with Adam, therefore he was not of necessity, but freely under his Covenant; but all mankind coming from Adam by a necessity of nature, because they are naturally and necessarily one with him, they are therefore necessarily under his Covenant. And therefore Divines do ask, how a man becomes a sinner, he cannot have sin in his soul, because it is created by God immediately pure and holy, and, creando infunditur, in the very act of creating it is infused; and sin being only the act of a reasonable creature, there cannot be sin in this body, before the soul is infused: Now if there be no sin in the Soul, than it cannot defile the body; and if there be no sin in the body, how can that infect the soul? Our Divines do answer, That the soul is created by God, pure, and has no spot in it, and the body cannot have sin in it actually, but, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, potentially; and the body cannot work upon the soul being a Spirit, Anima non dicitur priùs habere peccatum, quàm corpori conjuncta est, & ratio est, quia tunc primum facti sunt homines: & Adami peccatum non transfertur nisi in homines. Zan. de peccato. Origen. p. 49. Chrys. on Rom. 5.12. to corrupt it, neither has the soul sin in it, nor the body. Zanchy saith, That the soul cannot be said to have sin, before united to the body, etc. And therefore he adds, Propter conjunctionem cum corpore anima inficitur, non tam actione corporis in animam, quam Dei ordinatione, qui dixerat Adamo, die quo commederis morte morieris. The soul is infected by reason of its conjunction with the body, yet not so much by the action of the body on the soul, as by God's ordination, who said to Adam, in the day that thou sinnest, etc. So that when a man becomes a man, he becomes one with the first Adam, and by his Union comes under his Covenant, and then the transgression of Adam, and the curse of his Covenant, takes place upon him: And therefore the Apostle says, Rom. 5, In him all sinned, and by one judgement came upon all to condemnation. By one offence this Covenant was so broken, that it could never be made up again, but all men must perish under it; therefore they all stood under it, as they were in him, and as they were from him successively in their generations, and did receive their nature from him, so they were to be one with him; and being one with him, they come under his Covenant and his Curse. Chrysostom saith, That he falling, all men did partake of his fall. So for the second Adam, it is only union with him that brings us under his Covenant. 1 John 5.11, God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son; he that has the son has life: So that all the benefits of the Covenant are grounded upon our Union with him, who is the Prince of the Covenant, if you be Abraham's seed: How shall that be? Gal. 3. last. By being Christ's; and then a man comes under Abraham's Covenant, and thereby is a Son of Abraham, and that is only by being in Christ. They that are born after the spirit, are Children of the freewoman, Gal. 4.31. 2 Cor. 1.20. that is, they that believe and it is in him that all the promises are made unto us, in him all the promises of God are, Yea, and Amen; they have their truth and their certainty and stability in him, and we are made the righteousness of God in him, and we bear fruits in him; for every promise does carry back the Soul unto his Union with Christ, in the right whereof we do claim the promises which are made unto Christ in our behalf; and unto us only, so far as we are members of Christ, as we are in him: And from hence, the point that I shall gather, wherein this translation lies, is this: Doct. In a man's Union with the second Adam, his translation out of the first Covenant does consist; it is by a man's Union that his Covenant is changed. §. 2. In the opening of it, there are three things to be cleared, (1) To explain the nature of this Union. (2) How it comes to pass that this Union should be a man's Translation. (3) To show how a man being united unto Christ the prince of the Covenant differs from what he was before his being translated, and in what particulars this difference lies. §. 1. For the nature of this Union, it is an Union with him as he is set forth by God public person, as a representative head, as a second Adam: Now as we were one with the first Adam, and therefore said to be in him, and to sin in him; so we must be one with the second Adam, and so are said to be in him also. Now in the first Adam we are naturally, as we partake of his Spirit, every man by nature receiving the spirit of Adam, as well as the Image of Adam, and voluntarily every man by nature consenting to his Covenant, and desiring still to be under it, Gal. 4. And as Jesus Christ is become one with us, so must we also become one with him: Now he is become one with us, naturally taking our flesh, and voluntarily, as entering into our Covenant; so we must become one with Christ, naturally, by receiving his spirit; and voluntarily, by consenting unto his Covenant: And these two are the branches of our Union, without which it cannot be complete; and therefore our Union in Scripture, is set forth by similitudes that express both parts, naturally between the head and the body, we are the members of Christ, and he the head; between the branch and the root, he the root, and we the branches; between the meat, and the body that is nourished by it, when turned into juice and blood, etc. And also voluntarily, between the Husband and the Wife, they two making up one flesh, Ephes. 5.3, by mutual consent. 1. There is a natural Union between Christ and the Soul: As Christ taking our flesh, becomes one with us, so also we partaking of his Spirit, become one with him. As there are some that God has given unto Christ from eternity in his purpose and decree, so he has appointed a time when they shall be actually united, who though in the Purpose of God, and Transaction between the Father and his Son are given unto Christ, yet do for the present live without Christ in the World; but though Christ in the Purpose of God was a Lamb slain from the beginning of the world, yet in the fullness of time only he took our flesh; so though we were in the counsel of God given unto Christ before the world was, yet there is a fullness of time appointed by the Father, when he shall bestow upon us his spirit, so that the first part of our Union is, that we receive the Spirit of Christ; (for this Union gins on Christ's part) as he did unite himself unto us by taking our flesh, so he does unite us unto himself by imparting of his spirit, Phil. 3.12, That I may apprehend, as I am apprehended. Chrys. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. He took hold of our nature flying from him. So Oecumen. We were no more able to lay hold upon Christ, than to lay hold on the Sun in the Firmament. This ●ending of his spirit makes us become one body with him, as the head and the feet make up ●ne body, because they are acted by the same soul: Because you are Sons, Gal. 4.6. Rom. 8.9. 1 Cor. 6.17. he has sent forth ●e spirit of his son into your hearts. If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his ●e spiritual body, so Pareus; or mystical; or in respect of the Copula, as Beza; as he that 〈◊〉 joined to a Harlot is one flesh with her, his bond is carnal, so he that is joined to the ●ord is one spirit; and so a man becomes the Temple of the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit of Christ dwells in a man, and takes up his habitation there for ever, never to forsake that man afterwards. There is the inhabitation and the operation of the spirit, Jo. 15.26. 2 Tim. 1.14. the Holy Ghost dwells ●here and works there for ever; and so Christ and he having one spirit, they are become one body. Hence we see (1) this Union is real, and not imaginary; though Christ be in Heaven, and we upon th● Earth, yet the bond is real, the same spirit in both, as many members of one body acted by the same Soul; and so though many members be scattered all the World over, yet they make up one body; for it is a spiritual body, and a mysterious Union, for ●he same spirit unites the members to the head, and one to another; for they all partake of ●he same spirit. (2.) It is a natural, and not merely a voluntary Union; and therefore there are many similitudes: some express it by a voluntary, and some by a natural Union; as the members, ●hough they be naturally one, and acted by the same spirit, yet they are of different forms; ●o it is here, Christ and the Soul are not only one by consent, but they are naturally one, etc. (3.) The Union is not with the Gifts and Graces, and Benefits of Christ, though indeed the Communion we have is with these, but the Union is with his person: for Isa. 9.6, To us a son is given: John 1.14, The word was made flesh and dwelled among us. And Psal. 45.10, 11, Harken, O daughter, and consider and incline thine ear, forget also thine own people and thy father's house, so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him: And of Christ as man, Ephes. 5.30, For we are members of his body, and of his flesh, and of his bones. And 1 Cor. 6.15, Know you not that your bodies are members of Christ? There is also a voluntary Union between Christ and the Soul, and so Cyprian does express it, Nec miscet personas, nec unit substantias; sed affectus consociat, & confaederat voluntates, and that is, Ephes. 3.17, That Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. 2 Cor. 3.18. Christ then having thus propounded himself unto a man in the Gospel, and a man beholding as in a glass the Glory of the Lord, seeing the excellency of his Person, and the all-sufficiency of his Goodness, with a secret hint, that all this may become ours, if we accept it, the spirit being in the heart of a man, as the spirit of Faith, does by an Almighty power overcome the Soul to consent and accept of Christ, according to the terms and offers of the Gospel; so that Christ dwells in a man by his spirit, and this spirit being a spirit of faith, does work a free consent, that Christ should be to him as his Head and Husband for ever, and this consent of the Soul unto Christ does complete this Union. So that if the Question be, Is a man in Christ before he does believe? The answer is, His Union with Christ is before he doth believe; and the Soul is as merely passive in union as in conversion: Christ must unite himself unto us, before we can unite ourselves unto him; but the consummation of this Union, is when we consent unto Christ to take him for our own, (as the Wife does her Husband in marriage, etc.) This receiving Act we have set forth, John 1.12, and Isa. 1.19. 2 Cor. 11.2. (1.) It is the Person of Christ that is the primary object of Faith, and not his Benefits. The first promise to our first Parents was of his Person, Gen. 3.15. and not of his Benefits, Gal. 3.16, To Abraham and his seed were the promises made, etc. All the Gifts of Christ are given as a dowry to the Soul that is married to Christ. 1 Joh. 5.12. He that hath the son hath life, and he that hath not the son hath not life. (2.) There can be no Grace that can be the bond of Union with Christ, but Faith. God offers his Son, and that Grace that accepts of the offer, that makes the Union, is Faith: And no grace doth accept of the offer, but that which caries with it the consent of the whole Soul, ex nolentibus volentes facit, it makes men that are unwilling, willing. If a Woman love a Man never so dearly, Rev. 22. yet if she care not to make him her Husband, they become not one flesh: Love is indeed, affectus unionis, an affection of union, and there is a moral union, or a union of friendship, but a mystical union there is not, yea, cannot be by Love. (3.) All other graces are acted by Faith, they are the handmaids thereof. Faith works by love, Gal. 6.5. 2 Cor. 3.18. and therefore this is the grace that has to do with Christ immediately; Faith is the eyes of the Soul, that looks upon Christ in his Glory, and 'tis the mouth of the Soul that feeds upon Christ; there the nourishment is prepared for the body, and there is a distributive Power in Faith, that gives every grace its portion. For this grace of Faith is the steward of the new man; and according to a man's faith, so it is with every grace; and herein lies the excellency of Faith above all graces, Gal. 2.20. Joh. 6.7. not as it is a quality, but as an instrument, as appointed by Christ to be that grace of Union between Christ and us. And hence it is, that being the instrument of Union, it is that by which the grace of the Covenant is conveyed to us; as the action or motion of the mouth in speaking and eating, is not one better than another of itself: but as the one is the means of conveying nourishment unto the whole body, so the motion of the hand in working, is as excellent as that of receiving; but it is not so in respect of the instrumental nature of it, but only as it receives what is for the good and support of the man: So here, other graces in themselves are as excellent as Faith, but as God hath honoured Faith to have the immediate intercourse with Christ, so as it is an instrument, it is more excellent than all other graces; as that which goes immediately to Christ, draws virtue from him, and supplies all other graces in the new man. SECT. II. Why God hath appointed Union to be the way of our Translation. Q. 2. WHY hath God appointed our Translation or change of Covenant to be in a way of Union? The grounds are these. Reas. 1 §. 1. Because God will have Christ to be the second Adam, a public person, as the first Adam was; for God intending that the generations of men should exist successively, and yet proceed all from one root, and not be created all at once, as the Angels were, he made a Covenant with this first man, that was to be the common root, out of which all the rest should grow, for all his posterity that were to proceed from him. (1) How else could the corruption and depravation of the nature that he should convey to them become their sin? It's true, the Socinians and some of the Arminians deny the first sins being by Adam upon all his posterity naturally, and unavoidably propagated, saying, that it is not to be esteemed their sin at all, but only to Adam a punishment of sin, and unto them the condition of their present nature; and so they say, peccatum Adami sine reatu in prolem transiit propter conditionem naturae ejusdem quam ex Adamo peccatores trahunt, that the sin of Adam doth without any guilt pass unto his posterity, by reason of the condition of the same nature, which sinners derive from Adam. But that it is the condition of nature, the punishment of sin, and also a sin in itself, all our Divines do affirm and approve: For (1) where there is a Transgression of the Law, there is sin; but even in the corruption of nature there is an opposition to God and his Law in all things, therefore there is sin; for the Law requires a holy nature, as well as a holy Life, that we should Love the Lord our God with all our heart, not only with all the strength we have, but with all the strength that God did give man in his creation. (2) That which conforms a man to the Devil in contrariety to God, Joh. 3.8. that is sin: he that committeth sin, is of the Devil. Now this can become our sin no otherwise than as Adam was a public person, and stood by a Covenant for himself and his posterity, and was by that Covenant to convey the same nature, and having transgressed his will, being wicked, it is a guilty, cursed, and forsaken nature, that is conveyed unto all mankind from him, they all sinning in him; else corruption of nature might be their punishment, but their sin it could never be. (2.) All Adam's posterity comes under the Curse, even they that never sinned themselves actually, and knowingly, as Adam did, after the similitude of Adam's transgression, even Children of a spanlong: Now the Curse is a Curse of the Covenant, Death is a part of Justice, and that must suppose sin upon the person upon whom it is inflicted, and no man can ●ome under the curse of the Covenant, who is not himself under the Covenant. Now ●ad Adam stood, Life should have been conveyed unto them, and holiness; but he falling, ●in and death takes hold of them; and the Scripture doth speak not only of death entering ●pon all, but sin upon all, and guilt, Rom. 5.12, 17, By one man sin entered into the world, ●nd death by sin; poena mediante reatu. Thus if God will deal with a man in a Covenant-way, it was necessary if they grow out ●f one common root, that a Covenant be made with the first man, for all his posterity, and 〈◊〉 by Union they become guilty of this sin, and come under the curse of the Covenant: Now the Lord will have the grace and righteousness of the second Covenant conveyed the ●ame way, by a second Adam a public person, Isa. 9.6. that should stand in the stead of all his posterity, and become an everlasting Father; and he will have Adam in all this, to become ●he type of him that was to come. Rom. 5.14, That as by one man sin entered into the world, ●nd death by sin; so by one man righteousness and life might enter, by one Christ Jesus. Reas. 2 §. 2. Herein our happiness lies under the second Covenant, that it is not made with us immediately, but made with him who is the common head the second Adam; and with us in ●●e second place, as we are one with him, and no otherwise. (1) Herein consists the chief ●●nour and glory of this Covenant beyond the first, because it is made with a more glori●● head; and therefore, though the first Covenant had much glory in it, yet the second ●●h far exceed in glory; for the first man was but of the earth earthly, and the second 〈◊〉 was the Lord from Heaven heavenly. (2.) And hence it is that the Covenant is sure, and everlasting, and an unchangeable Covenant, because made with an unchangeable head, and grounded upon an everlasting righteousness: and therefore, Rom. 4, it is of Faith that it might be sure, 2 Sam. 23. because that makes us one with him with whom the Covenant is established, and in whom all the promises of it are, yea, and Amen. So that it being made with him, and he being the surety of it, ●nd we one with him, it can never fail. (3.) Hence it is also an Ordered Covenant, Heb. 9.12. Lu. 9.24. and therein David takes a great deal of com●ort, that the mercies of it were the sure mercies of David: How? Because his Covenant was ordered in all things, and sure. That as the first Adam in the Covenant of works entered ●nto a Covenant in an order not only for himself, but for all his posterity also; but so, as he himself was primus faederatus, and all mankind in him: So is Jesus Christ also, and the Covenant made first with him, and then with all his posterity in him; so that it is in the mercies of the Covenant, as it is said of the resurrection of the dead, all shall rise, but every man in his own order; first Christ, than they that are Christ's at his coming, etc. So it is here, all the people of God are in Covenant with him, and they are all his Covenant people; for all that are in Christ, are Abraham's seed; but yet every man in his own order; first Christ, and then they that are in Christ, by reason of their Union; and no small part of our happiness and comfort comes in this way, from the order of the Covenant, as will appear afterward, if ever we come to handle this property of the Covenant of Grace. Reas. 3 §. 3. Supposing man to be a sinner, God cannot enter into Covenant with him immediately any more, unless we do suppose that the Lord should forfeit the truth of his threatening, and so deny himself; for he said, Gen. 2.17, The day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die. Now while this stands in force against a man, God cannot deal with him in any way, but to destroy him; therefore if he will bring in a second Covenant, that must be a Covenant of mercy and reconciliation, and in that there must be satisfaction to God, as well as sanctification of man; the sin must be sent to Hell, as well as the sinner to Heaven: Now this satisfaction, man of himself can never give; it cost more to redeem his Soul, than if he had offered thousands of Rams, and ten thousands of Rivers of Oil, or his firstborn for his transgression, and the fruit of his Body for the sin of his Soul, as Mich. 6.6, 7. But we cannot be redeemed by corruptible things; and therefore if God will have satisfaction answerable unto the wrong the creature has done him, it cannot be had from any creature; wherefore he finds out one that is able to bear it, one that is mighty, the man of his right-hand, that he should be made sin and become a curse: And how doth the satisfaction that Christ gives to the Lord become ours? It can be no other way but by Union, and this union must be (1) Natural, he must take upon him our nature; for our debt was a debt of body and soul, to be offered as a sacrifice unto the wrath of God: And therefore it is said, Heb. 2.1, He that sanctifies, and they that are sanctified are both of one. He must take our nature, and in that nature suffer, as being one with us; for without shedding of blood there is no remission. (2) Voluntary and by consent, he becoming our surety, and so under our Covenant, putting his name into our bond, Gal. 4.4, and voluntary on our part, accepting of him as our surety, and consenting to his Covenant, and the terms of the agreement; and the consent of the Judge to whom the debt was due, and against whom the offence was committed. Sin must be condemned by the ordination of the Judge, and the Surety must accept and submit to what was required of him in order to a satisfaction; and the consent and approbation of the delinquent also; and by this is the Union made up, and all that Christ hath done becomes ours. And thus as man is a sinner, God cannot enter into Covenant with him immediately; but it must be a Covenant in the hand of a Mediator, which can be no otherwise, but as we are one with him, and consent to the terms of the same Covenant: and these are the grounds, why the way of Translation must be a way of Union. SECT. III. What the difference in a man's state before and after his Translation is? Q. 3. WHat is the difference in a man's state, before and after his translation? How is a a man's condition changed from what it was before? 1. His state is changed in God's account, and the Lord looks upon him no more as the Son of Adam, and as growing upon the old root; though God has in his eternal Purpose chosen his elect in Christ, and given them to him before the world began, yet they are not actually in him, (according to the rules of the word) till they be converted, and engrafted into him; and therefore they, as well as others, are dead in trespasses and sins, and are without God and without Christ in the World: Rom. 4.16. Gal. 4. But being once converted, Abraham is their Father, and Sarah is their Mother, and they are Children of the bondwoman no more. 2. Being in Christ, and their Covenant changed, they are under the Law and the rigour of it no more: For that requires perfect holiness to justification, and life in a man's own person. Rom. 10.5. Rom. 5.16, 17. The righteousness that is of the Law saith, This do, and thou shalt live: And therefore it's said, By the offence of one man, death reigned, and not only so, but it's also, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, by one offence: But now faith is imputed unto a man for righteousness, not of him that works, but of him that believes in him that justifies the ungodly. 3. Before he was under the Curse of the Law, and the condemnation of it: For the Law says, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book. But now, Rom. 8.1, There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ, there is a Supersedeas for the Curse, Gal. 3.13, He has delivered us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. 4. Before he had right to no promise, to no blessing by promise; but now he is become an heir of Promise, Gal. 4.28, We, as Isaac, are children of the promise, etc. There is a double right unto blessings, there is a right of providence, and of promise, a jus politicum, & a jus evangelicum, a public and evangelic right. An unregenerate man may have a right of Providence to Blessings, but it is only a man in Christ that has a right of Promise; and though he possesseth nothing, yet he has a jus haereditarum, an hereditary right, hereditary to all things: All things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is Gods, 1 Cor. 3.22. 5. A man's covenant being changed, God is reconciled; for the Covenant is a Covenant of reconciliation; so that the Lord does look on him as an enemy no more. A man stands in no relation unto God before his Covenant is changed, but as he is God's creature; but when there is a translation out of the first Covenant into the second, a man is said to be in God, and to dwell in God, and God in him. God is now Christ's Father, and our Father, his God and our God; whereas before they were enemies to God, 1 Thes. 1 1. Joh. 4.16. 2 Cor. 6.16. and God to them. 6. A man's Covenant being changed, his sufferings and services are accepted as being Christ's, for Joh. 15.5. it is fruit in him, and born by virtue of Union with him, that only is accepted of God. Gal. 2.20, says Paul, Nevertheless not I, but Christ liveth in me. Hos. 14.8. Our sins indeed are our own, but all our duties are his, because they are done by virtue of Union with him, and all that is done by us is tendered unto God as his, Rev. 8.3. And as his passive obedience after a sort is said not to be full, till all the obedience of the Saints is filled up, Col. 1.24. so it may be said of his active obedience also; and all our sufferings are Christ's, Gal. 6.7. Heb. 13.13. 7. All things work together for good unto him whose Covenant is changed, Rom. 8.28. Whereas to a man under the first Covenant, God does watch over him for evil, and every thing proves but an execution of the curse of his Covenant; his blessings become curses, according to the threatening, I will curse your blessings; his Table is made a snare, and the Ordinances of God are cursed to him, and he is cursed in every thing that he puts his hand ●nto: but to a man in Christ not only all the blessings, but even what is in itself a curse is ●lessed to him, death is yours as well as life. 8. Sin has no condemning power in a man in Christ: though it's true, sin remains in him, 1 Cor. 3. ●hich is in its own nature damnable, that is, it does deserve damnation; yet it can never infer damnation, it can never bring it upon a man, 1 Joh. 5.12. because he that is in Christ is passed from death 〈◊〉 life. 9 A man is brought into a state of communion with God, (for all communion is grounded on union.) There can be no communion with God, till a man receives the Spirit of God; for regenerate and unregenerate men are of another Generation, and there is no more a principle of fellowship with God in a man before conversion, than there is in a beast to have fellowship with a man: natural parts and natural conscience cannot do it, if we believe we ●●ve fellowship with the father, and not else. 1 Joh. 1.3. 10. A man than becomes one with all the Saints, and of the same body with them, Ephes. ●. 10. There is a gathering together under one head, and being a member of the Church of ●he firstborn, whose names are written in Heaven; for from the head all the members are ●tly form and bound up in the bundle of the living. SECT. iv The APPLICATION. Use 1 1. IF the way of Translation be by Union, then labour for Union with Christ, and be not satisfied with any thing else. Truly the state of Grace does not lie in the change of a man's opinion, or the change of his actions simply, but in the change of a man's Covenant, and his Image, and the foundation of both are laid in a man's union; this was the Apostles great aim to be found in him. Phil. 3.7, 8. For as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, neither can you except you abide in me, for without me (or separated from me) ●ou can do nothing. And without this all a man's Religion is worth nothing before God. Joh. 15.4, 5. Here I will show what is the ordinary and usual way of Union, and what a man must or ●an do towards his own Union? I will not now enter upon the grand controversy about ●ur preparatory works unto Faith and Union, which is insisted upon from that Scripture, Making ready a people prepared for the Lord. This Union is wrought by the Spirit of the ●ord Jesus, by cutting off the soul from his old root; for there is at least in order of nature a cutting off before a grafting in, Rom. 11.24, 1 Pet. 2.5. We as living stones are built upon him a spiritual house, a holy temple. Therefore Isa. 28.16, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, etc. A foundation, that is, a sure ●nd a firm foundation; for the repetition does signify excellency, and certainty, Isa. 26.3, He shall keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee. Matt. 7.24. Now there are but two foundations, the Rock and the Sand; a man must be removed and taken off the one before he can be built upon the other. Rom. 13.14. Union with Christ is compared to putting him on as a garment; a man must put off his old garment before he can put on the new, and the wedding-garment, which every man by nature is without. It is a Matrimonial Union, and a man must be dead to his former husband, that he may be married to another; says the Apostle, I through the law am dead to the law, Rom. 7.4. Gal. 2.19. Rom. 7.9. that I may be married to another. Again, I through the law am dead to the law that I may live unto God. Paul in his state of unregeneracy was alive to the Law, that is, in the performance of it he thought he could keep the whole Law, and expected by it that righteousness that should save him; but now the Commandment came in a lively and effectual manner, by the mighty working of the Spirit upon his soul, convincing him of his guilt and his inability; that for the curse of the Law he lay under it, and the condemning power thereof by reason of his guilt, and that he was able to perform no duty that the Law required, through the inability that was in him, and so he became dead unto it; that is, he expected life thereby no more, and trusted upon his own strength no more; for he knew he was able to do nothing; and he that knows he is able to perform no duty of the Law, and can expect no reward of the Law, he is dead unto it. Joh. 16.8. And this is done (1) by a work of Conviction, convincing the world of sin; that is, that a man is in a state of sin under the guilt and power of it: under the guilt of it, that he is in his own person liable to the wrath of God for it, and that all the curses of the Law are his portion, and that by nature Hell is his proper place; and he is so under the power of it that he can perform no duty, nor resist any temptation, cannot subject himself unto the Righteousness of God, nor to the Law of God: he is in a state of impotency and of enmity; and if the Lord do offer him Grace, and come to convert him, he cannot but resist; and there is some special and darling lust, in the cords of which he is held, that will prove his destruction. (2) And by a work of Humiliation: the pleasure of all a man's former sins are dampt and taken away, and the man is dead to them all, and he cannot taste them as in times past; and making a man to look upon himself as a miserable and undone man, to loathe himself, to lie under the fear and expectation of wrath, that the Law has threatened, Acts 2.37. Rom. 7.9. and his guilty condition has deserved; which is the proper work of the spirit of bondage, to be pricked in his heart; for a man to die, to look upon himself as a dead man, and to be dead in his own apprehension, full of confession of his own sin, and condemnation of himself as the Prodigal son, Father, I am unworthy to be called thy Son. 3. There is a mighty and a glorious work of revelation, discovering to a soul the good will of God the Father, and of Christ, which is called the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of him, Ephes. 1.18. revealing his son in a man, Gal. 1. And convincing a man of righteousness in Christ, Joh. 6. for the salvation of sinners, that there is a holiness in the Person of Christ, and a sufficiency in his Righteousness for the salvation of sinners. This is called seeing the Son, Joh. 6.40. which is not barely a notional knowledge which a man had before of Christ, but a knowledge and apprehension of Christ and his Glory let into the soul; such a knowledge as a man never had before, seeing Christ to be a proportionable good to the Saints, one that is able to save to the uttermost, and one that he may have an interest in, and he may become his for ever, Joh. 12.44. Which when the Prophet saw he wondered all men did not believe in him, his Glory did so ravish him: and if a man that slighted Christ before once discern this, presently he has an high esteem of this excellent person; To them that believe he is precious, 1 Pet. 2.7. And they look upon him with another eye than ever they did in time past: and this was the plot that God the Father delighted in before the World was, and that Christ was but the Father's servant in all this that he did; and that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself; and that God was not averse to the work as an angry Judge, but that Christ would bring souls to God; and the Father did love to have it so, and that all was the fruit of his own everlasting love to sinners before the world was; 1 Joh. 3.16, That God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. And then all the offers of Christ, the calls and the invitations of God, and his compassionate entreaties that are in his Word, all these begin to take place upon the soul: Ho every one that thirsteth come to the waters, come and buy whosoever will, let him come and take of the waters of life freely. That the price is already paid, and that the blood of Christ was shed to cleanse sinners: the Angels need it not, the Devils can have no benefit by it, it was given only for poor lapsed man; and therefore it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. This is the drawing and the teaching of the Father, Joh. 6.44. not but that it is done by the Spirit also; but it is said to be the work of the Father, because the offer of Christ being God's gift, is presented unto the soul in the Father's name, with a command from him to accept of him, and to believe in him. For this is his Commandment, that we believe in him whom he hath sent, because him has God the Father sealed. And this took Luther so much, when he understood the righteousness of God, that God intending to justify the ungodly, had provided for him a righteousness, which is therefore called, the righteousness of God: and his soul was so taken with this discovery of the Love of God, Rom. 1.17. and the Grace of Christ, that he saith, I felt myself presently newborn, and seemed to myself to have entered into Paradise. 3. Hence there is wrought in the soul an exclusive resolution to ta●● 〈◊〉 other way to Life and Salvation but this alone, because there is salvation in no other, neither is there any other name given under Heaven; and therefore he confines all his thoughts and hopes, and expectation unto Christ alone, and his eye is only upon him: he counts all things else as dross, he undervalues all duties and performances, all hopes and possibilities in nature, as things not worthy to be named the same day with the righteousness of Christ; and therefore he is desirous to glorify God in this way of his Son, and to submit to the righteousness of God, Rom. 10.3. If he had the righteousness of Angels offered to him to be his, he would undervalue all; for he saith, as it is not proportionable to his necessity, so it is infinitely short of that righteousness that was discovered unto him, 2 Cor. 3.18, He doth behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord: and therefore he takes up such a resolution as the Lepers did, (by which our Divines commonly ex● 〈◊〉) If we stay here we perish, if we go into the city the famine is there, therefore 〈…〉 the Syrians, if they save us we shall live, 2 King. 7.3, 4, and if they kill us we ●an but 〈◊〉 And 〈◊〉 those servants of Benhadad (which is another instance) used, come with ropes about their necks, cannot tell whether they shall be saved or hanged; but yet they will go, because they had heard, that the Kings of Israel were merciful Kings. And as the Prodigal son in the Gospel, I will go to my Father, for if I continue here, ●ere is nothing but death to be expected. So says the Soul, if I continue in sin there is ●othing but Hell to be expected; and if I fly to the merits of duties, there is no com●ort and peace to be had, they all say salvation is not in me; therefore to him will I ●ook, for with him is mercy, and in him is plenteous redemption. And this confinement of thoughts is not easy, for in danger the heart of man is in a hurry, Psal. 38.10. and runs ●o and fro as a Merchant, it is tossed to and fro as a Meteor, and a man turns every stone, and knocks at the door of every creature, and is willing to seek help any way. ●s we see in Temporal deliverances, what a hard matter it is to be confined to God ●one, the heart of man will be plodding ways for its own deliverance, and cannot stand ●till to see the Salvation of God. And as the heart of man seeks out many inventions ●n a way of committing sin, so also in getting off the guilt, and the burden of sin; ●ut after once this discovery is made to the soul, it shuts the eyes upon all things else, ●nd now he is willing to part with all his own righteousness and duties, and possibilities, all his former rotten hopes, and whatever before was gain to him, and which he thought should have brought him in glory at the last, and to trust perfectly in the ●race revealed in Christ Jesus, whom he chooseth to rule and guide him for ever. 4. There is put into the soul an instinct after union with Christ, and it doth breath ●●d gasp after him from day to day: the desires of his soul, and the soundings of his dwells, all of them run out this way, that he might know him, and be found in him; ●●ving found the pearl of great price, Phil. 3. Cant. 5. he can have no peace in himself till he has bought 〈◊〉 and now his heart being thus touched with a Magnetic touch, there is myrrh dropped 〈◊〉 at the hole of the door, an impression is left upon his soul that it must go after him, 〈◊〉 Elisha had upon him when Elijah cast his mantle upon him, What have I done to thee? ●ow he follows him from Ordinance to Ordinance, now he cries for Wisdom, now he ●igs for it, now in all his duties he drives no more that low trade of satisfying a natural conscience, and those poor and low aims of flesh; but it is the merchandise of Wisdom, trading for Christ in his Ordinances alone: Prov. 3.15. now if God offer him a bribe of all the creatures, (and indeed with this many a false heart goes away satisfied, if he may have but a quiet conscience, if he may have plenty, peace and ease to his flesh) yet still this soul who has an instinct after Union, says, what is all this to me, if I go Christless? etc. His soul makes after him as the stone to the centre, as that alone which is the fountain of his happiness, and the end of his hopes. 5. The Soul accepts of Christ upon his own terms, and receives him; its whole bent, Joh. 1.12. and all the faculties of it open to embrace him; and he saith, Lift up your heads, O ye gates, that the King of Glory may come in. Whereas before, his will was desperately shut against him, and Christ would have gathered him, but he would not: now his will is brought off, and the man is made willing. Rev. 22.17. For the Covenant between Christ and the Soul is a Matrimonial Covenant, and Marriage lies mainly in consent: and now the Soul says, He shall be my Lord and my God for ever. And this consent to him is to take him with all his Offices as a King as well as a Priest, and to take him with all his Graces, with his Love and Meekness, with his Patience, Humility, Self-denial; for the whole train of these Graces come into the Soul with Christ, as his attendants, with all the relations of God, and of his people; the meanest Saint he will own as a brother, or as a friend he will take Christ with all his inconveniencies, with his Cross as well a● with his Crown, and can truly say, I am as willing if the Lord shall call, to bear the one, as the other; as willing to die for him as live with him; to suffer with him, as to be glorified with him; Christ though with reproach, with poverty, and with disgrace, Christ and a prison, Christ and a faggot is welcome: he is willing to follow him without the gate bearing his reproach; and that he might fill up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ: And he can say when they come, as good Ignatius did, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, now I begin to be a Disciple, etc. Psal. 1●. 6. He gives up himself unto him, and leaves himself with him: The poor leaves himself with thee. He gives up himself unto Christ, and gives the Lord as truly an interest in himself, and all that is his, as he does desire to have an interest in Christ, and all that is his; Cant. 6.3. he can say as truly, I am my beloved's, as my beloved is mine. It is with a soul as it is with a wife, she gives herself to her husband, he must be the covering of her eyes, he must have all her love, she must not lift up her eye amorously upon any other 〈◊〉 ●ll her hope of protection and provision must be from him alone; or, as it is said 〈◊〉 ●●ph●r, He left all that he had in joseph's hand, and he knew nothing that he had; tha● 〈◊〉 he took care and thought for nothing, but left all unto Joseph: or, to use the expression of pharaoh to Joseph, of the great trust that he would put in him, and the great honour he would put upon him, Without thyself, says he, no man shall lift up a hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. So can the soul put itself wholly over into Christ's hand. This is giving up a man's self to the Lord, and trusting him, and resigning up all to him; there is nothing dear to him, he loves not father or mother, or friend, etc. he will part with all when God calls for it, as a snare or as a sacrifice; if the Lord please to have it, he thinks nothing lost that is spent upon him; but if it be a box of precious Ointment never so costly: John 12. if he call for as his Wisdom, it is his; and for his Honour, 2 Tim. 1.12. and his Estate, it shall be employed by him, or forsaken for him; for he will forsake all that he has that he may be Christ's disciple. I know, says the Apostle, whom I have trusted. He had committed his soul into his hand, and he could give up unto him all things else. It was a great act of trust in the poor Widow, 1 King. 17.13. that had but a little meal, yet she must bestow that upon the Prophet, and trust God upon his word, to create more out of nothing. To give up all a man's happiness, and to leave all in God's hand, this is the mighty work of Faith. These are the ordinary steps and degrees of Union between Christ and the Soul; look what you have found of this in you, or which of you find from day to day any such workings of spirit towards him as these. And all that we can do towards it is only, (1) To bring ourselves under the Ordinances, and place ourselves there where Christ is usually dispensed, and there is his bed, Cant. 1.16. where souls are begotten to the lord (2) In these Ordinances the soul is at first merely passive; as it is in regeneration, so in union, for without Christ's abiding in us, we can do nothing; much less can we unite ourselves: the body can as well in the dust lift up itself and unite itself to the soul, and bring the soul down into it, as we can concur to unite ourselves to Christ; but yet when the Spirit of God does work in us, and has begun a spiritual life, we must concur, for we are built upon Christ; but yet we are not built as dead stones that are merely passive in the building, 1 Pet. 2. but as living stones that have an actual concurrence in it; we must be still nourishing and following those motions of the Spirit, cherishing, not quenching them. Use 2 §. 2. If you be one with Christ do all things by virtue of Union. (1) Be sensible of your own impotency, Joh. 15.45. Gal. 2.20. 2 Cor. 3.3. Phil. 4.13. 2 Cor. 5.10, 11. 2 Cor. 8.9. 1 Pet. 2.21. G●rbard. 2 Cor. 2.2. Ephes. 1.6. and look only unto Christ for power; there is not only a deadness in nature, but a weakness even in grace to act itself, without an immediate concurrence of God. God is the immediate Agent of all spiritual works, it's Christ that strengthens the soul to do all things, and from him it draws the main arguments that carry it on in all duties, and that fill the sails, For we must all appear, says the Apostle, before the judgment-seat of Christ, etc. For ye know the grace of our Lord Christ, that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. For even hereunto were you called, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, etc. A new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I have loved you, etc. That is, novo & singulari suo exemplo commendavit, he commended it by his own new and singular example. (2) Refer all to the glory of Christ alone; he works all our works in us; in him is our fruit found. (3) Let your expectation be in Christ alone for acceptance, Rev. 8.4, 5. Ans●l. and account all your own righteousness as filthy rags, Rev. 8.4, 5. all that is accepted must come out of the Angel's hand. Terret me vita mea, My life is terrible to me, saith Anselme. Though he offer but a pair of Turtles, a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, he finds acceptance; for it is the altar that sanctifies the gift, and the Lord doth regard not only gemmas, the Jewels, but sordes sanctorum, the meanest services of the Saints: and our least sufferings also are accepted of God by virtue of our Union: and every scoff and reproach cast upon us is the suffering of Christ, so every duty that we do by virtue of our Union with him is the obedience of Christ, and shall find acceptance with God, not as from the person that brings it, but from the P●●● that offers it, and from the Altar that sanctifies the gift. CHAP. VII. How the Law as a Covenant comes to be abolished. Col. 2.14, Blotting out the hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his Cross. §. 1. OF a man's translation out of the first Covenant, with the manner and the nature of it, which is by Union with Christ, we have spoken hitherto; now let us come unto the thing remaining, and that is the abolition of this Covenant, which I conceive these words do hold forth to us. There are two things in the words to be explained. (1) The ●hing itself which is to be abolished, it is the hand-writing. (2) The manner of the abolishing, how it is to be done, blotting it out, taking it out of the way, and nailing it to his Cross. (1) The thing that is to be abolished is the hand-writing. The use of these things in civil contracts between man and man are of no other end but for a man to acknowledge his debt under his own hand, Vehementius obligat syngrapha 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Erasm. and therefore the Greeks call it Chirographum; and what this hand-writing is there is a great deal of difference amongst interpreters. There are three Interpretations commonly given of it: [1] Some understand ●t of the Moral Law, and the Law given to Adam in Paradise, In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt die. [2] By the hand-writing some of them say is meant the Ceremonial Law, and the whole Pedagogy of Moses, consisting in Rites and Ordinances, by which men did acknowledge themselves guilty of the breach of the Moral Law; for they were all of them open and public confessions of sin: and thus much doth Calvin and Beza only understand by the hand-writing. [3] There is another Interpretation that I have met withal in Glassius, quoted also and hinted by Erasmus, Chirographum est conscientia arguens— & condemnans, the hand-writing is the Conscience accusing and condemning; according to that Scripture, The iniquity of Jacob is written with a pen of iron, and the point of a diamond: noting, that knowledge of sin in a man's Conscience, and a man's obligation unto wrath thereby. And all these I conceive to be meant by the hand-writing in this place. [1] It must be understood of the Mo●al Law, because it is a consolation given to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, but they were never bound unto the Ceremonial Law. [2] It is to be understood of the Ceremonial ●aw as an appendix to the Moral Law; and both these had a power upon the Conscience to condemn a man, and lay him as guilty before God; therefore with Aretius I should understand, Quicquid nos apud Deum potuit reos peragere, quicquid nos damnat, & quicquid Satan contra nos citare potest, hoc totum Chirographum esse, hoc est, testimonium peccati. So that the Moral Law of God enjoining us obedience, and the Ceremonial Law convincing us of sin, and the conscience of both these, are all meant by the hand-writing against us. (2) The manner of the abolition, and that in several gradations. There are three ways of cancelling Bonds, and making them void: [1] Dispunctione, by Dispunction or Cancellation. [2] Laceratione, by Laceration. [3] Litura, by the sponge blotting out, etc. Now if the seal be taken off, and the Bond rend it is canceled, but yet so that the characters of the writing remain; but now in blotting it out, which is here meant, it does not only cancel the Bond, but it does it so that nothing can be read against a man for time to come; and therefore it is as if it had never been; but the Bond remains though the hand-writing be bloated out: Therefore it is further added, he has taken it away, as well as blotted it out. But though it be taken away, it may be reserved against a man to the day of judgement; no, it was rend in pieces and nailed to the Cross of Christ, with the same nails that Christ himself was; so that the obligatory power of the Law, and the damnatory power of it is utterly abolished by the death of Christ, Vniversaliter & sufficienter, universally and sufficiently upon the Cross; Particulariter & efficaciter, particularly and efficaciously, when it is by the Spirit applied unto the Conscience of a man, and speaks pardon to him being justified by faith, so that he hath peace with God, etc. Thence to blot out the hand-writing is to take away the sentence of condemnation. Wherefore the observation from hence is this. Doctrine. The first Covenant is perfectly and utterly abolished by Christ to all that are in him. §. 2. That the Law is taken away as a Covenant, has been showed at large, in respect of the main 〈◊〉 of it; namely, (1) That it remains not for Justification; For no man is justified by the law in the sight of God. Gal. 3.11, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. (2) Neither does the Law remain for condemnation; for he has redeemed us from the curse of the law, and there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Nor (3) for Irritation, You are not under the law, says the Apostle, therefore sin shall not have dominion over you. Not under the Law forbidding sin barely, and so provoking it, but under Grace healing a man's nature and strengthening him against sin. (4) Nor for Coaction; If you are led by the spirit you are not under the Law; that is, not under the Law as a slave under a Tyrant forcibly compelling, but you have a spirit of Sonship, which freely leads a man in all his ways, and carries him on with a free and a willing spirit. Thus the Law is abolished as a Covenant with respect to all ends for which it can serve, whether principal or accidental. These Particulars having been already largely opened, that which I would now chief speak to in the opening of this Doctrine, is, the manner how the Law as a Covenant comes to be abolished; and this is by these steps. 1. Christ himself is made under the Law as a Covenant of Works: the Law that is here meant is not only the Ceremonial Law, which he did freely subject himself to being a Jew, but also and chief the Moral Law, to which he did subject himself as a man: for it's said, He was made under the Law to redeem us, that were under it; therefore it must be understood of that Law under which we were, and from which Christ's purpose was to redeem us, and that wherein our redemption does mainly lie. Now so all men are, in particular the Galatians, who were not under the Ceremonial Law; therefore it must be meant of the Moral Law, that he is said, Gal. 3.13. to be made under the curse of the Moral Law: now comes under the curse must also so far come under the Covenant; therefore Christ being made under the Moral Law, as it is a Covenant came under the curse of it. 2. Christ was made under the Law two ways, as he was man. (1) In respect of the debt to be paid. (2) In reference to the bond to be canceled; for if man could have paid the debt of the Law of obedience, and undergone the curse, yet he could never have taken off the bond of the Law; it would have lain upon him for ever, he would have been for ever under the Law. Now Christ must do both: (1) As our surety he paid the debt, the principal of which was obedience, so that the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us to Justification; and by the Gospel the Law is not made void but established, and also the forfeiture taken off, he being made sin, was also made a curse for us. (2) That the Law might not stand in force against us for the time to come as a Covenant, therefore he has also canceled the bond; being made under the Law as a Covenant of Works, he has taken away the Law as a Covenant unto all the Saints: He delivered us from sin being made sin for us, and from the curse being made a curse for us: and from the Law as a Covenant, by being made under the same Covenant. And so he did not only pay the debt, which we did owe to the Law as a rule of righteousness; but also as it was a Covenant of Life. 3. Christ was not under the Law naturally and necessarily as other men are, neither do I conceive that it is safe to say, that Christ as a man was subject to the Law for himself, and that he did owe obedience unto the Law; for though it be true, that Christ as man was a creature, and indeed every creature is subject unto the Law: yet looking upon Christ as God-man, and all the acts of Christ as actiones suppositi, actions of the Divine person; so they were above what the Law required; which is the ground of all his merit above the satisfaction of the Law; for the Law required perfect obedience of a man, but the Law did not require that it must be the obedience of him that was God and man: and therefore Luther has well observed, that he is the Lord of the Law, whence there is no Law against him; wherefore as he did freely and voluntarily take our nature, so he having taken it, did freely put his name into our bond, come under our Covenant, that he might in every thing become a surety for us, having a right to redeem us being God our brother, and being bound to redeem us, as our surety, and being engaged with us in the same Covenant, and for us: and therefore as he is said to be made flesh, and to be made sin, because it was by his own voluntary submission; so he is said to be made under the Law also, and by his coming under the Law he has both paid our debt, and canceled our bond: and so the Law remains unto the Saints as a Covenant no more, and has no more dominion over a man as a Covenant. 2. He has fulfilled and satisfied for ever all that this Covenant required of us, he did it in our stead, and there is that full satisfaction given in him that the Law can never ask more of us for ever: for this cause we must as it is a Covenant be freed from it, and this is the reason given in the Text, He has taken it out of the way, and nailed it to his Cross: that is, with the same nails that he was nailed with, the bond that bond us; that is, the Law as a Covenant was nailed also; Rom. 7.4. and this is to be dead to the Law by the body of Christ, or in the body of Christ; that is, we died in him, and he bore our sins in his body on the Tree, and whatever Christ did to the satisfaction of the Law in his humane nature, as our nature was assumed by him, it was for us, his righteousness being imputed to us, etc. Christ has indeed fully satisfied the Law, but yet if the Law should require perfect obedience of us also, than it must remain unto us as a Covenant of Works still; but as Christ hath done it, so he hath done it for us, and it is done once for all, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for active obedience: though the Law require duty of us, Heb. 10.10. yet it is not unto Justification, and all our own obedience is in this to be looked upon as a filthy rag; and though we do here undergo many sufferings, yet it is not for satisfaction, for he hath by one offering of himself for ever perfected them that he sanctified: he is said to remain a Priest, Heb. 10.14. Heb. 3.7. Dan. 9 and so doth his sacrifice and oblation remain in the virtue and efficacy of it for ever, and therefore he is said to bring in everlasting righteousness. So that if the Law look for satisfaction to the precept, it is perfected in him; and if it look for satisfaction to the curse it is perfected in him, it can remain as a Covenant to us no more, because it can as a Covenant exact nothing of us more: and therefore to all that are in Christ and stand under the Covenant of Grace, the Law requires their duties of him, and their sufferings of him; so that the Law as a Covenant has nothing to do with them, but with Christ, who is still under the same Covenant remaining their Surety and Priest for ever: and therefore in this victory of Christ over the Law as a Covenant, Luther makes the main glory of our deliverance to lie, and this was indeed the great end of Christ's coming into the world. As for the other ends, Legem docere & miracula facere, Duplici jure Christus legem vicit prostravit trucidávit; primo, ut Dei filius, legis Dominus; secundo, ut sponsor noster in nostra persona: Quod tantundem est acsi nos ipsi vicissemus quod à victoria Christi nostra est. Gal. 3.16. Tit. 1.22. Tim. 1.9. to teach the Law and do Miracles; these were but beneficia particularia, particular benefits; for his Disciples did teach the same truths, and many things more than Christ did in his own person, and wrought as great Miracles as he; but his great end was, Legem vincere & abolere, to overcome the Law, and as a Covenant to cancel it, because he has fully satisfied it once for all: and therefore by way of satisfaction either in obedience or curse, it can never require any thing of us to eternity. 3. By introducing of a second Covenant, and translating men there into a Covenant of Grace and mercy, and reconciliation, and this Covenant Christ hath brought in; for it was a Covenant made with him before the world began; for there was light promised us, and Grace given us before the world began in these eternal Transactions between God and Christ: ●nd the Lord hath said, That this shall be an Everlasting Covenant, and all men that ever are ●aved shall be saved by this Covenant; Justified freely by his Grace; by Grace you are saved, etc. Now as the Apostle speaks of the revealing of the Gospel, Heb. 8. ult. In that he saith, new Covenant, he hath made the former old, and that which waxeth old is ready to vanish away. 〈◊〉 the Lord Christ intending to bring in a second Covenant, and that upon different terms ●d conditions, he hath made the former old and ready to vanish away. Use 1 §. 3. See here the infinite Goodness and Wisdom of God; as in Christ there are many crious Unions in that one, so there are also many very curious distinctions; as in the one t●●ng, that a man would never have thought could have been united, so in the other thing that a man would have thought could never have been divided. As for the Unions, that a child and a son should be given, and God and man should become one Person; and such a word as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a God-man in the world, and Immanuel, God with us; that he that bears up all things should be born; he that made all things should himself be made flesh, made of a woman; that the beauty of Holiness should be made sin; and he in whom all happiness ●es, whose very Presence makes Heaven, should be made a curse; that he who only hath Immortality should give himself unto death; that the Incomprehensible should be comprehended; and Eternity have a beginning, and the Ancient of days become a child! who can ●ut admire that such things as these should be united! and all to make a righteous and a holy God and a sinful creature to become one again. So for the Distinctions, to see God in Christ dividing between the guilt and stain of sin; the guilt Christ will take upon himself by Imputation, but he will not take the stain of sin: to distinguish between the sin and the sinner, that the sin shall be damned and the sinner saved; God will take sin off the sinner, that there should be a change of the person, but not of the righteousness, that the guilt of all sin should be taken away perfectly at once, but the stain of it blotted out by degrees. A man's Covenant is at once renewed, and his image but in part; so for God to distinguish between the Law as a rule, and the Law as a Covenant; and the Lord will utterly abolish it in the one respect, but not in the other. In all this is seen the Majesty and Wisdom of God: therefore as our Divines use to say, If there had been a Council called of Men and Angels after the Fall, how a way might be found out to answer the different demands of the Attributes of God, Mercy inclining to spare the Creature as miserable, and Justice requiring vengeance upon the Creature as sinful; how Mercy and Justice may be satisfied, and God and Man be reconciled; how God satisfied, and the sinner saved; how the sin may go to Hell, and the sinner to Heaven; how the Curse of the Law may be executed, and yet the Grace of the Gospel exercised towards man, all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth could not have found out a way; so I may say in this particular, the Creature must not be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, his own rule; a rule it must have to walk by, which must be the manifestation of God's will, or else what it does can never be accepted, Tert. for Deo serviendum est non ex arbitrio, sed ex imperio. And this is the Eternal rule that God will have his Creatures to walk by, as answering his holy nature, and can be no other, and therefore if we walk not after God's rule, God's curse must follow us. Now take away and abolish the Law as a Covenant, and so the curse will be thereby removed; and now for God to do this, and yet to continue the Law as a rule; to take that away that was against a man, and yet to continue that which was for him; it was that which all the wisdom of the Creatures could never have found out a way to accomplish, that the Law as a Covenant might be abolished, and yet as a rule continued for ever. CHAP. VIII. To all that are in Christ, the first Covenant is made subservient to the second. Gal. 3.17, 18, 19, And this I say, that the Covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the Law which was four hundred and thirty years after cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect; for if the inheritance be by the Law it is no more of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the Law? it was added because of transgression, till the seed should come, to whom the promise was made, and it was ordained by Angels in the hand of a Mediator. SECT. I. The subservience of the first Covenant to the second in general. §. 1. HAving largely opened to you the Doctrine of the first Covenant, we are come at last to conclude it in these three heads. (1) A man's Translation out of this Covenant, with the nature and necessity thereof. (2) The abolition of this Covenant unto all that are in Christ, that it is a writing canceled. (3) The subordination thereof unto the Gospel and Covenant of Grace. Of the two first we have formerly treated, and come now to speak of the last, and so to conclude the Doctrine of the first Covenant. There are in this Chapter two principal parts: (1) Here is a Doctrine confirmed. (2) Here are some Objections against it answered and cleared. 1. Here is a Doctrine confirmed, in which Satan had bewitched the Galatians, and they had fallen off from it, and that is Justification by the righteousness of Christ alone, without the works of the Law: and this the Apostle proves by several arguments: (1) That which conveys the gifts and graces of the Spirit, by that a man is justified in the sight of God: but that is not by the works of the Law, but by the Doctrine of the Gospel, v. 2. (2) All men that are Abraham's seed must be justified the same way that Abraham was; but Abraham was justified by faith; for he believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness, Rom. 4.21, 22. Therefore they that are justified by faith only are the children of Abraham. (3) Justification and blessedness are upon the same persons, and that either to them that are of faith, or of the works of the Law; but it is not by the works of the Law, but by faith that they are blessed with faithful Abraham. (4) They that are under the curse cannot receive Justification and Life from the Law; but they that are under the Law are under the curse. (5) God has said that the just shall live by faith; but the Law is not of faith, that is, it does not require faith, and propound that way of salvation and life, but it requires obedience; for it saith, He that does them shall live in them. (6) If a man do make a Covenant he does disinable himself by his subsequent acts to break it, for by his own act he is bound: how much more than is the wise God engaged to keep his Covenant, who is not as man that he should repent; therefore his acts are firm, and unchangeable like himself. So that the Covenant with Abraham being made 430 years before, an after-act in giving the Law cannot make it void. 2. Now the Objections follow: It will be said that the way of Justification and Salvation by the Law, and by the promise, are directly contrary, or contradictory one to the other, the Law is not of saith; if the inheritance be by the Law, it is no more of promise; so that Justification and Salvation cannot be by them both, they cannot stand together, and therefore it should seem that God did repent of his promise to Abraham, and disannulled it, or else why would he for four hundred and thirty years after reveal the Law as a quite contrary way to Heaven, one by doing, and the other by believing? It should seem therefore that the Law doth make the promise of God of none effect, or at least, that God would have both stand together. For if a King should at first make a Proclamation unto Rebels, that they should live if they would accept of pardon, and then afterward should publish a new one, that they that would live should keep the Law; either a man would conclude, that the King had called in his former Proclamation, and made it null, or else would have them both stand together: and so it is here, God did at first promise righteousness and life, to be had by believing, and afterwards he did publish a Law, requiring duty. Surely either the Lord did repent of the former, and so that Covenant is become of no effect, or else it seems he would have both joined together; and man should be justified and saved, partly by doing, and partly by believing. Now to this objection the Apostle answers: Answ. (1) God's intention in giving the Law, was not thereby to make the promise ●oid, and of none effect; for God did purpose to justify the Heathen by faith, and the inheritance is still by promise, the Covenant made with Abraham was a Covenant established by an Oath, that nothing should arise de novo to make an alteration in it. (2) God's intention was not to join the Law and the Promise together in the matter of Justification and life; because they be quite cross and contrary one to another; therefore by the righteousness of the Law no man can be justified in the sight of God: they do directly deploy each other; if the inheritance be by the Law, it is no more of promise; and therefore 〈◊〉 man can be justified by both. (3) Yet God having revealed the Law after the Promise, and seeing he will have them ●oth to be perpetual and lasting, they must stand together, and a way must be found out ●ow they may, and not cross one another, nor destroy or disannul each other; for the Law 〈◊〉 not against the promise of God, God forbidden we should think so; then if they cannot and together in a way of ingrediency, they may very well in a way of subserviency, if not 〈◊〉 co-ordination, they may in subordination, both tending to honour the Mercy and Grace of ●od in his Son; the one primarily, and the other secondarily, as an appendix or an additi● thereunto. And so much the Text does clearly manifest; (1) In that it's said, the Law was added, was an appurtenance to something else, and was not set up as that way alone by which men ●●e to attain righteousness and life; now added by way of conjunction, it cannot be, they c●●not mix together and be concauses of the same thing, and in the same kind; therefore it must be by way of subordination, the one as the principal, the other as the accessary or additional. (2) It is said, that the Law was given in the hand of a Mediator, that is by the ministry of a Mediator. [1] Moses was the Typical or the Notional Mediator; for he stood between God and the people in receiving of the Law, Deut. 5.5. and Christ was the real and universal Mediator. And hence it will appear that it was not set up alone as a Covenant of Works, as 〈◊〉 was at first; for that was faedus amicitiae, a Covenant of friendship, when God and man ●ere not at variance, when man stood before God in his own righteousness, and there was 〈◊〉 difference nor variance between God and him; for a Mediator is not a Mediator of one, therefore God giving it in the hand of a Mediator, doth clearly manifest, that he did not set it up as a Covenant alone. [2] The real Mediator was Christ, though Moses Typical; and Christ did not by his Ministry bring in this Covenant of the Law, to make void the Covenant of Grace, which was the better Covenant, of which he was appointed Mediator, the Covenant that was made with him as the seed, and with all the Saints in him. Ver. 16. Seeing therefore these two must stand together, and the former cannot be disannulled by the lat●er; hence than it must needs be inferred, that God's intention was in publishing the Law, to ●o it in subordination unto the Gospel, and the second Covenant, and that so it is to stand ●nd to be made use of by the Saints. Hence the Doctrine that lies before us is this, 〈◊〉 Doct. That for all those that are in Christ, God has made the first Covenant subordinate unto the second. The whole use of the Law unto the Saints, and of all the parts of it is, ●hat it may be a servant to the Gospel; and as to be freed from the Law standing alone as a Covenant is the greatest part of a man's Christian liberty, so to have the Law of God pressed ●pon the new Covenant, and standing in subordination to the Gospel as a servant, is a great ●art of a Christians dignity; and a right understanding and apprehension of both these opens 〈◊〉 very great door unto all Gospel-mysteries. §. 2. Now that I may be understood, we are to consider that the Law is taken in Scripture two ways, as it was given by God upon Mount Sinai for a double end: (1) It is taken largely, Jer. 31.33. 2 Cor. 3.3. for the whole Doctrine delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, with the Precepts and the Promises thereof; and so Grace is the Law written in the heart, it is the Epistle of Christ ministered by us. (2) It is taken strictly, setting down an exact rule of righteousness, and promising life upon condition of personal and perfect obedience. And so the Apostle says, Rom. 10.5, 6. That the law is not of faith, the righteousness of the law speaketh in this manner, he that doth them shall live in them. Now if we take the Moral Law as given upon Mount Sinai, in the first sense, so it is a Covenant of Grace; but if we take it in the latter sense, so it is a Covenant of Works; for the Lord's intention in giving the Law was double, unto the carnal Jews to set forth to them the old Covenant which they had broken; and yet unto the believing Jews it did darkly shadow and set forth unto them the Covenant of Grace made with Christ, and therefore it was not only delivered as a rule of righteousness, but in the form and terms of a Covenant, this do and thou shalt live. (1) In the first sense, the Law given upon Mount Sinai was a Covenant of Grace; for this Law does teach them, [1] That the Lord was their God, now since man sinned God is the God of none but in Christ▪ [2] This Law did set forth God to them as showing mercy, pardoning iniquity, not visiting iniquity, a God forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin; and there is no pardon but under a second Covenant. [3] All the Sacrifices they were Types of Christ, and they were commanded in the second Commandment, and they did all belong unto the Covenant of Grace, and did show that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, and God did ratify this Covenant by blood which he sprinkled upon the Book, and upon all the people; and all things under the Law were cleansed and sanctified by blood, Exod. 24.23. therefore the Law in the administration of it unto them, was never intended by God to set forth a Covenant of Works, but it was a Covenant of Grace, and is usually called a Covenant, Deut. 29.10, 11. They stood to enter into Covenant with God, that he might establish them to be a people to himself, and that he might be unto them a God, Deut. 26.17, 18, Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and he hath avouched thee to be his people. So that the Law was given by Moses in God's intention, plainly as a Covenant of Grace unto all those that were able to look upon the intent of God therein. (2) But yet the Lords intention was also that it should be a copy of the Covenant of Works, that God made with Adam before his fall, which was never wholly blotted out of the mind of man; because God would not have that wholly to perish, and be forgotten; and therefore it was delivered after a sort in the form of the Covenant of Works; and in this respect the Lord has made it a handmaid to the Gospel, not that the Lord did intent it for a Covenant of Works, as if men should attain righteousness and life thereby, but as faedus subserviens, a subservient Covenant, as that which in this manner God would make use of, to advance the ends of the Gospel, and the new Covenant. By all this you see that the Covenant, of which Circumcision was a sign and a seal, was not the Covenant of Works, but was the same that was made with Abraham, because the Covenant was the same; Circumcision was the seal of the righteousness of Faith, and continued amongst the Jews in this Covenant; and that Covenant that binds to the observation of the Ceremonial, as well as the Moral Law, is not a Covenant of Works; but the Covenant made upon Mount Sinai did bind to the Ceremonial Law also: nor was the Covenant that God made with Moses a Covenant of Works, for Moses was (Heb. 11.23.) a Believer, but Exod. 34.27. it is called the Covenant which I made with thee, and with all Israel when I stood before the Lord forty days; and he wrote the words of the Covenant, the ten Commandments. But more particularly, the Lord did intent to make the Law given upon Mount Sinai a copy of the Covenant of Works, and to be materially and for substance the same that he did make with Adam, and with all mankind in him, in the state of his integrity. 1. Death reigned from Adam till Moses, Rom. 5. Gen. 4. ult. and therefore sin came in, and we see that murder was a sin in Cain, and public worship was a duty. Men did begin to call upon the name of the Lord; so that the Law was in the World before Moses; and it was not only written in the hearts of men, 2 Pet. 2.5. So Beza, Gen. 6.5. but it was taught in the public Ministry before Moses; for Noah was the Preacher of Righteousness, and in the Ministry of the Word, we know that the Spirit of God did strive with men, Gen. 6.3. The word in the Hebrew is to strive in judgement, and by way of argument for conviction, so that the Law was given to Adam and Noah, and Abraham, as well as unto Moses, and was for substance the same. 2. It is given in the form of a Covenant of Works, with a this do, and thou shalt live; and so it was afterwards by Christ, and by the Prophets also preached: it was to the carnal Jews plainly a Covenant of Works, not in God's intention, but by their own corruption, they going about to establish their own righteousness, Rom. 10.3. and not subjecting themselves to the righteousness of God, it is set forth to them as a Covenant of Works. Now if the Lord will not give it as a Covenant, why does he not propound it as a rule, and lay down the precepts without any such terms of a Covenant, as if men should attain life by it, when he did never intent to deliver it as a Covenant, in which men should attain life by doing, but by believing? Thus the Lord did, that the terms of the first Covenant might be promulgated to the World, and that they that did still desire to be under the Law, might not plead ignorance of the terms that God required in the Law, if they did expect life and happiness thereby. 3. Though I say it be for substance, and materially the same, yet in many circumstances it differs from Adam's Covenant; for this was a Covenant of such promises and sanctions annexed to it, as were not in the Covenant made with Adam, and a Covenant confirmed by blood, and thereby sanctified, which Adam's Covenant never had; and therefore though it did for substance agree, yet in many things there was a difference. This Covenant given unto Adam in a state of Innocency, and for substance renewed upon Mount Sinai, when it was by sin wholly obliterated and blotted out, God has made a handmaid, or foedus subserviens, a Covenant subservient to the Gospel; it is Hagar, Gal. 4.23. but the Covenant of Grace is Sarah; and it is given in the hand of a Mediator, not only by Moses but by Christ also; for Christ delivered the Law to them; Act. 7.38. Moses was in the Wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and what Angel was it but Christ? he that saith, I am the God of Abraham, and he that was also tempted in the Wilderness; and the Apostle says, We are come to Jesus, whose voice then shook the earth, in the giving of the Law, 1 Cor. 10.4. Heb. 12.25, 26. it was his voice: and then by an enumeration of particulars, how the Lord has made every part of the Law as it is materially the first Covenant, a servant to the Gospel, for the discovery of sin, the Law entered that the offence might abound; and the Apostle says, Rom. 5.20. I had not known sin but by the Law: and also for the conviction of Conscience, and the imputation of sin, Rom. 5.13. sin is not imputed where there is no Law; and for the condemnation of sin, that it may be a Schoolmaster to bring the sinner unto Christ, the avenger of blood, Gal. 3.10. a kill letter, and the ministration of death, to kill them and hue them; and it restrains sin, and puts a bridle upon a man, and is a means of conversion; the curse of the Law is sanctified, and the threaten sweet, when the curse is taken out, death has no sting, the grave has no victory, and it is to all under the second Covenant a rule, a companion and a counsellor. The Law is to be considered, as I told you, two ways: (1) Largely, as containing all the Doctrine delivered upon Mount Sinai, and all things that may be reduced thereunto, even the whole Doctrine of Moses; so it is distinguished from the Prophets, the Law came by Moses. (2) Strictly, for the precepts of the Moral Law, Mat. 11.13. Joh. 1.17. as holding forth a perfect rule of righteousness, and as promising life upon the terms of perfect and personal obedience thereunto; and so the Apostle takes it in Rom. 10.5. The righteousness which is of the Law is thus described, The man that doth these things shall live in them. If we take the Law in the first sense, it was a Covenant of Grace darkly revealed; for therein God did enter into Covenant with that Church and State, and unto all the Saints that were in Christ it was a Covenant of Grace. 1. That the Law was given upon Mount Sinai as a Covenant, cannot be denied; for the Scripture does plainly call it so, Deut. 4.12, 13. The Lord spoke unto you, says Moses, out of the middle of the fire, and he declared unto you the Covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten Commandments, and he writ them upon two tables of stone. And Deut. 5.2, 3. The Lord our God made a Covenant with us in Horeb; he made not this Covenant with our fathers, but with us, even with us, who are here alive this day; the Lord talked with you face to face in the Mount, out of the middle of the fire. It was the same Covenant that God before made with Abraham, for the substance of it; but when it is said, not to be made with their fathers, it is to be understood only of the form and manner of the promulgation in that clear and glorious manner, and taking a Nation into Covenant with himself in a public, eminent and solemn manner. And it had all the parts of a Covenant: there are two things make up a Covenant, (1) Direction of something to be done by both parties, something that they are bound unto; and so the Law is the rule of the Covenant. (2) There is a Sanction, which is the consent and agreement of both parties, binding themselves each to other; and therein properly does the formality of a Covenant lie. Now they were both in this, here was a rule, and therefore they are said to transgress the Covenant, that is the precept, or rule of the Covenant, as Deut. 17.2. and here was a sanction, or a promise, you shall be my people: and all good things were promised them. And when the Lord does fulfil his promise, he is said then to establish his Covenant, Deut. 8.18. and to remember his Covenant. So that the Law was given upon Mount Sinai, not barely as a Law, but it was given also in a Covenant-way. 2. This Covenant was a Covenant of Grace. (1) That Covenant wherein God promises to be our God since the fall, is a Covenant of Grace; but so he doth in this, I am the Lord thy God. (2) That Covenant which does hold forth pardon of sin, is a Covenant of Grace; but so does this set forth God as showing mercy to thousands, pardoning mercy; for it stands in opposition unto visiting of iniquity. (3) Circumcision was a seal of the Covenant of Grace, Rom. 4.11. this was a seal of the Covenant upon Mount Sinai, He that is circumcised is a debtor to the whole Law, Gal. 5.3, etc. (4) That Covenant that was confirmed and ratified by blood, was a Covenant of Grace; but so was this Covenant that God made with Israel upon Mount Sinai, Exod. 24.3. See Buckley of the Covenant. He took the book of the Covenant and read it in the audience of the people, and they said all, What the Lord has said will we do. And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and said, Behold the blood of the Covenant which the Lord made with you. (5) That Covenant that binds to the observation of the Ceremonial Law, that is a Covenant of Grace; for the Ceremonies were all Types of Christ, and shadows of good things to come, and the body is Christ. The first Covenant had Ordinances of Divine service, Heb. 9.1. and a worldly Sanctuary, (it is spoken of the Covenant made upon Mount Sinai) and they were all of them enjoined in the second Commandment. (6) The Covenant made in the hand of a Mediator was not a Covenant of Works; for that was foedus amicitiae, a Covenant of friendship, that was made between God and man, he being perfect and needing no Mediator, Gal. 3.19. but this was given in the hand of a Mediator, and therefore it was of Grace. But if we consider the Law strictly, so it contains the sum of the Covenant of Works, which God did therefore reveal, because it was even wholly obliterated, and blotted out of the mind of man; and therefore it was speculum primitivae hominis justitiae, etc. a glass of the primitive righteousness of man. And unto all men out of Christ in an unregenerate state, it remains as a Covenant of Works, binding them to personal and perfect obedience; if they hope to attain life. (1) The Moral Law is the same to the sinner out of Christ that it was unto Christ the Surety; for what it was to the Surety, that it was to the sinner; for he did put his name into our bond; only in us it was necessary, in him voluntary. But Gal. 4.4. the Law was unto Christ a Covenant of Works; therefore to every sinner out of Christ it remains so. (2) That which teaches us Justification and life by doing, that is a Covenant of Works; but so does the Law strictly taken; and it is therefore opposed unto the Gospel; there is the righteousness of the Law, and the righteousness of the Gospel. (3) The Curse under which all unregenerate men are, Rom. 3.20. Gal. 3.1, 2. is the curse of the Moral Law, but that is the curse of the Covenant of Works; therefore the Moral Law is a Covenant of Works. Gal. 3.13. Gal. 4.5. Gal. 4.23, 24. (4) Therefore the Apostle makes it a distinct Covenant, from the Covenant of Grace. The Law thus taken strictly as a copy of the Covenant that God made with Adam, and containing the sum of the Covenant of Works, and being delivered in the form of this Covenant, this Covenant has the Lord made subservient and subordinate unto the Covenant of Grace, as Hagar to Sarah. SECT. II. The Subservience of the Law as it discovers Sin. §. 1. THE first part of the Subserviency of the Law is in point of Sin, and so it has a threefold use or end, There is a threefold use of the Law subservient to the Gospel. Joh. 12. subordinate to the Gospel, and the Grace thereof. (1) As it is a looking-glass to reveal sin. (2) As it is a bridle to restrain sin, and in both these it is a servant to the Gospel. (3) As a Judge to condemn it, and the man for it: There is one that judges you, even Moses, etc. 1. The Law is a glass to discover sin: it is called a glass, Jam. 1.24. He that looks into the perfect Law of liberty. Here it is spoken of the Moral Law, as Beza observes, in opposition unto the bondage of the Ceremonial: not that the Moral Law is a Law of liberty, or can set us at liberty of itself, but it is so to them that are in Christ; because it is a Law written in their hearts, and they are established by a free and a Princely spirit. There is a double glass that the Scripture holds forth, in which Christians should often look, as this here, and that in the 2 Cor. 3.18. Rom. 3.20. Rom. 7.7. Per legem peccati cognitio, per fidem abolitio. Ambros. in Rom. 3. that in the one they may see themselves, and in the other they may behold their Saviour, even the Glory of the Lord. The Law is the one, and the Gospel is the other. Now the great use of this glass is, that a man may see his own spots and deformities, that his sin may be discovered; and therefore the Text says, it was added for transgressions. And of this use of the Law the Scripture speaks often, Rom. 30.20. By the Law is the knowledge of sin; the Law entered that the offence might abound: I had not known sin but by the Law. And Rom. 7.13. That sin might appear sin, and by the Commandment become exceeding sinful; that is, that he might see sin in the extent of it, and its utmost vileness and filthiness; and therefore he shows, that there could be nothing worse than it: he calls it by no worse name than its own, sinful sin; as to call Satan, a devilish Devil, is not so bad as to call him sinful Angel; for sin being the worst of evils, can have no worse name than itself; and therefore when the Apostle says it did appear to him in the utmost sinfulness of it, than he says it did appear sin. Lex est Index peccati non genitrix, the Law is the Index of sin, ●ot the Parent. As the light enters, and discovers filthiness that before was there, but it lay ●id in the dark. And these Scriptures do direct us to sins of two sorts, which are discovered ●y the Law: (1) Original sin, which is called the offence, which was in the world be●ore the Law, even from Adam; for by one man sin entered into the world, and by him it passed ●pon all mankind. (2) Actual sins, whether of the heart or of the life, all the inordinate ●otions of the spirit tending unto evil, which the Scripture calls lusts; Rom. 7.7. I had not known lust 〈◊〉 be a sin, unless the Law had said unto me, Thou shalt not lust. Here I must speak unto two ●hings, (1) How does the Law discover sin? (2) How by discovering sin is it a handmaid and 〈◊〉 servant to the Gospel? 1. How does the Law discover Original sin, and that cursed frame of nature which is in ●ery sin? 1. By showing unto a man as in a glass that primitive holiness and righteousness in which he ●s created. For the Law indeed is primitive justitiae speculum, the glass of primitive justice; ●or that image of God in which man was created, was nothing else but a perfect conformity 〈◊〉 the nature of the Law, and will of God in every thing: So that as Christ while he was ●pon earth in his humane nature was a perfect pattern of that obedience, that the Law requi●ed; so that all that he did was agreeable to the Law in every thing, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 1 Pet. 2.21. and he has therein left as a copy to write after: so was Adam's nature, and so should also his life have been; he should have known no sin, neither should any guile have been found in his mouth; he should ●ave been, as it was said of one, a living Scripture, and a walking Bible, a living Law; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. so ●hat whatever the Law of God now requires of us, that at first God created in us. Now when a man compares himself with this Law, and sees how unanswerable he is in every thing he does, he thereby comes to see how he has utterly lost the righteousness and holiness that was in him at the first, and the glory of his Creation; his Mind that was in the Creation as full of light as the Sun is, is now darkness itself; and his Conscience is now feared; his heart that was tender unto God, is now hardened; his Memory that was firm, is now frail and leaking; and his Affections that did move rationally and orderly, as the Stars in their courses, ●re now full of nothing else but confusion, madness, and disorder; ●●d his Thoughts the immediate issues and the firstborn of his soul always excellent, spiritual, and useful, but now polish, vain and unprofitable, flying up and down like atoms in the air to no end. 2. A man looking upon this rule does not only see a privation of what formerly was his ●appiness and his glory, but he sees now the quite contrary, Act. 13.10. an opposition in him to the Law of God in every thing: that he is an enemy unto all righteousness, and full of the fruits of all unrighteousness, the image of the Devil upon him; so that look how the heart of the Devil works against God and duty, so does his; for he is as like him as a child can be like his father. There is a touch that Satan has left upon a man's spirit, and this is upon his whole soul, 1 Joh. 5.19. also all the faculties of it are turned the wrong way, all of them are taken off from God and duty; and therefore a man when he is converted, is said to return; and when the Lord calls him, he is said to hear a voice behind him: but now by sin he is turned quite away, and there is this devilishness in him, that he is the more contrary unto any duty, because God commands it; and is carried with the greater violence after any sin, because God forbids it, sin taking occasion by the Commandment; which comes nearest unto direct ●●●ity that can be, to do things by way of revenge, which is the Devil's sin. 3. The Law discovers Original sin by showing the dominion of it; a man cannot resist it, he cannot cast it off; it has a double authority in the man, the dominion of a Lord, Rom. 6.14. and of a King, a power of command: and thence some expound sin mentioned by the Apostle, Rom. 7.6. to be the husband; and it is not much material which, whether the Law irritating sin, or sin irritated by the Law be the husband: and so sin has a power of love also, an interest as a husband to persuade, and therefore there must be obedience, men obey it in the lust thereof; for he that hath authority over us to command, and a power to persuade the heart also, he can procure obedience to all his commands when he will; but so has sin, and therefore it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, an encompassing sin, which he cannot cast off, Heb. 12.1. which he has no power to resist, it so besets him in every faculty that he cannot take it away. 4. The Law discovers the filthiness of Original sin, that it is mire, it is vomit, 2 Cor. 7.1. Jam. 1.21. it is filthiness itself, nay that it is the excrement of naughtiness, it has defiled the soul, it defiles all creatures that are for a man's use, Hag. 2.11. as the Leper, whatever he touched is unclean. To the soul of man the Sun in his glory was not to be compared; if a man had been cast into Hell as a Diamond into the dirt, it could never have defiled him, his Holiness like a Diamond would have shined bright notwithstanding: but since the soul is defiled with sin, the defilement is so deep, that nothing can wash it out; it is a stain that will remain to eternity upon all that are not washed in the blood of Christ, as spots in scarlet and crimson much soap will not serve turn to take them out; the fire of Hell will not purge sin, and therefore when men have been there millions of years, they are as black and filthy and as unpurged as at the first entrance into that place of darkness and horror, etc. 5. The Law discovers that Original sin is the seed of all sin, and it contains virtually all sin in it, Jer. 6. Jam. 1.14. it is sin in the fountain; an evil man out of the treasure of his evil heart casts out evil things, murder and adultery. A man is tempted by his own lust, it is his father, and it is his mother; lust conceives and brings forth sin: all actual sins are much more in the heart; there is a beam in the eye, and a dimness in the heart; and I conceive by all occasions also sin is drawn out, and he can look upon no creature but he conceives sin from it, 1 Joh. 2.15. whatever is in the world is the fuel of lust; there is nothing but is the object and draws out some lust in the heart. 6. The Law discovers the deceitfulness of Original sin, that all the lusts of a man's heart are deceitful lusts, Ephes. 4.24. Jer. 17.9. Jam. 3.15. Heb. 3.13. and the heart is deceitful above all things, who can know it? that a man can never fathom the bottom of it, for there is a devilishness in it; that whatever policy there is in Hell, all this is in sin; the wisdom of the flesh will take all opportunities to sin, and make provision for the flesh, and by often sinning men's hearts are hardened, and they use much policy also in drawing others to sin, and to keep them off from that which is good, to set them upon things that are unlawful, or else to pervert and poison them in those things which are lawful, to make an improvement of every occasion, and to grow upon the sudden beyond what a man could have imagined, as we see it in Peter, from lying he proceeded even to cursing and damning himself. Hab. 2. Deut. 25. Ephes. 4.19. Jud. 11. Isa. 56. 7. The Law discovers the unsatiableness and unweariedness that is in Original sin, and the infiniteness that is in it; it is compared to drunkenness, the more men drink the more they desire, and it is like Hell that is never satisfied; the pleasures of sin enlarge the soul, but never fill it, there is a greediness in sin, men pour out themselves, they are greedy dogs that can never have enough, there is such a doglike appetite after sin, they do evil with both hands earnestly, always, modo & modo non haberet modum; and therefore eternity of punishment is reserved for it, God dealing with the creature not according to his actions, but intentions; the sinner would have it infinite, extensively and intensively, and therefore peccat in aeterno suo, etc. he sins in his eternity, and God punisheth in his eternity. 8. It discovers the demerit and effects of Original sin, that it brings a man under the curse, which is all evil, and the wrath of God in Hell, all the curses in God's book, and all the plagues of God's Justice, all the torments of Hell, which either infinite wisdom can find out, or infinite power inflict, and that to eternity; and that not only upon himself, but upon all the creatures for his use; Cursed is the ground for thy sake, and cursed shalt thou be in thy house, Rom. 8.20. and the curse enters into the timber, and there is a vanity of corruption brought upon them all, it turns a land into barrenness, makes the Stars fight against them, and the Clouds to drop vengeance: and there is the desert of sin written in the drops of rain, it hinders the influences of Heaven, binds up the influences of the Pleyades, which no man can do, etc. 2. The Law sets before a man and discovers his actual sins, and that in many particulars: It shows a ma●● what dishonour every sin does unto God's glory; a man gives not glory to the God of Heaven, but debases him as much as in him lies, by casting dishonour upon him, saying The way of the Lord is not equal; Is God unrighteous? I speak as a man, says Paul. he despises his Justice, turns his Grace into wantonness, and gives the glory of God to any thing else; for in every actual sin a man sets up a new God, and serves the Devil in it, who is the God of this World. The Idols of men's hearts (as well as of their hands) strike at the very Being of God, and also at the excellency of God's rule, the Law being the Sceptre by which the Lord rules, and that by which his Sovereignty is seen in the world; Rom. 7.12. it is the glorious royal Law, the perfect Law, it is holy, just and good, infinitely surpassing all the Laws of men. I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy Commandment is exceeding broad. And not only the holiness of the Law, but the harmony of it is opposed, he that breaks one is guilty of all; he that neglects any one command willingly, is undoubtedly an hypocrite, and he disobeys all; for sincerity is accompanied with universality. Then the Law opened in its spirituality shows a man the intention of his heart, much more than it does in his actions; and the intent of the sin goes beyond that of the sinner: it shows also the infection of it upon others, for evil words corrupt good manners, it is as rottenness, a plague, a gangrene, there is an infection in them all. This one act of sin would defile the whole man; as we see it has done in Adam, and the Angels that fell; the act defiles the nature, and the nature defiles the man; the least vain thought deserves death, and the least idle word qualifies a man for Hell; and therefore there is more evil in the least act of sin, than there is good in all the creatures, because they cannot all expiate it, Chrysost. and make satisfaction for it. These things the power of nature can never discover, no though a man hath the letter of the Law; but the Spirit of God makes use of these ends, that the ●race of the Gospel may be the more glorious, and the blood of Christ the more precious, ●hich can purge such hellish stains as these, and take away that evil that else were impossible 〈◊〉 be done away. §. 2. The Law is a Judge, it has an accusing power, as it is a witness against a man, Joh. 5.45. Ezek. 22.2. and as a Judiciary power, Wilt thou judge them son of man, wilt thou judge them? So that Mi●●sters pronouncing the sentence of the Lord in the Law, are said to pass a sentence up●● the actions and states of men; he is convinced of all, and he is judged of all. 1 Cor. 14.24. And therefore ●●e Apostle argues from the word and the judgement thereof unto God, whose word it is, and ●●o shall be our Judge at the last day. The Word is a curious discerner; Heb. 4.12. As a man that is skills in any Langu●●● and able exactly to judge of the idiom and properties thereof, and can ●●●cern any absurdity, impropriety, and incongruity in speech, we say he is a Critic; and ●●t which one man may think an elegancy, he thinks to be an impropriety: so it is with the ●ord of God; and the reason is, because all things are naked unto that God, that Judge with ●●m [in this Law] we have to do; and therefore when this Word is brought home to the conscience in a convincing way, that the soul cannot deny it, it is said to be a receiving of ●●gement in a man's own heart, before that great and dreadful day come, Heb. 10.27. Now 〈◊〉 judgement of the Law is seen in these three Particulars: (1) It revives sin. (2) It con●●●ns the sinner. (3) It does make a man stoop to and own this condemnation, and lie ●●n under it, as his portion, from which no man, no power on earth can acquit 〈◊〉. 1. The Law has this use as a Judge, to revive sin, Rom. 7.9. Rom. 7.9. Here is a double state that ●●e Apostle mentions, that he was in, (1) He was alive. I could do any duty, and I thought stepped the Law perfectly, and also in presumption I thought myself in a good estate, Phil. 3.7. and all ●●y duties I counted gain, such as should bring me in gain, such as should bring me in great 〈◊〉 comes of glory at the last day; and all this while sin was dead, it was to me in respect of ●y present sense and sting, as a dead thing, and I was no more troubled at it, nor affected ●●th it, than if there were no such thing; sin was in its proper place, and therefore seemed ●●t heavy, as Philosophers say, That Elements are not heavy in their proper place, though in themselves they are so. So also whilst the strong man armed keeps the house, all that he ●●ssesses is in peace. (2) But here is another state of Paul, that is, sin revived in the guilt, and 〈◊〉 condemning power thereof; the Law shown him, that there was a sting yet in it that ●●●ld be his ruin, if it were not taken out of the way, and that though the door was shut, y●● sin lay at the door of his Conscience. Conscience is a door that will open, Gen. 4.7. and being once opened, either by the Ministry of the Word, or by death, and the presence of the Lord, sin which now seems to be dead, will in the guilt of it break in again. What a miserable thing 〈◊〉 it to have such a doorkeeper! And then I died; that is, I saw myself to be a dead man, Luther. and 〈◊〉 a state of death, wrath and condemnation, and that death was my portion, and Hell my ●roper place. How was this change wrought, that sin was thus revived that was dead when 〈◊〉 ●aul was without the Law, and yet was alive when the Commandment came? Paul was ●●rn a Pharisee, and therefore never without the Law in the literal sense of it; he had the ●●ter of the Law, and he was according to that in the righteousness of the Law, blameless; ●●●t the Commandment came in the life and power, in the spiritual sense, and in the efficacy thereof, set on by the Spirit of Christ, making it a servant to the Gospel, by this it was that sin was revived: For without the Law sin is dead, Rom. 5.13. Rom. 5.13. Before the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no Law. The meaning is not, that men were not esteemed sinners, and punished as sinners, or that all men were righteous before the Law was ●iven upon Mount Sinai; for death as well as sin reigned from Adam till Moses: but it must be either understood comparatively in respect of God; that is, God did not impute it so much, or as so great a sin, because they sinned against a dimmer light, and a darker discovery of the will and mind of God; or else, which I rather conceive, not imputed by their own Consciences, they did not lay it unto their own charge as so great and so heinous, because the abominable nature thereof was not so clearly discovered; and therefore the Law entered that the offence might abound, as the light discovers spirits, as Index peccati non genitrix, the Index of sin, not the parent. So that though men be sinners, Ambros. and very great and heinous sinners, yet they do not charge themselves with it, nor impute it unto themselves, neither are they affected with it, but walk cheerfully under the burden of it, as if it were nothing. Satan has by nature in every man a Kingdom, and he does there most of all desire a peaceable and a quiet government, and therefore he sets up that lust as Prorex, and the Viceroy in the man that is most affected in the soul, in which the man takes most satisfaction and contentment, that thereby he may keep the whole man in peace; and therefore Mat. 12.45. though he go out of the man and be not cast out, and does it for a further end, going out in some bodily lust, yet he walks in some dry places seeking rest and finding none: he loves not to be disquieted in his government, though he does many times make an improvement of it to bring into the man seven worse spirits. And it is strange for a man to consider, what a power the Devil has over men in this particular to keep all quiet! There is a deceitfulness and a bewitching nature in every sin, that a man is hardened by it, there be strong holds, Heb. 3.13. Isa. 28.15. 2 Cor. 10.5. strong reasonings for it, and there are thick bossed bucklers for resistance, Job 15.26. that men may not feel it; there is a hardness of heart, a feared Conscience, there is a custom in sinning, and there is a virtual league with death, and with Hell, Job 5.23. they shall be at league with Sin and Hell, as a good man is in league with peace and rest: A formal league with Sin and Hell they are not capable of, but a virtual covenant and a league, taking off acts of hostility. Whatever a man is in Covenant with, he fears no danger from, and men walk as if Death and Hell were at an agreement with them, and they fear no evil, but are settled upon their lees; and they make lies their refuge, and under vanity they hid themselves. There is, says Bernard, a twofold evil Conscience, a peaceable evil Conscience, and a troubled evil Conscience. And the first state is more dangerous, when a man is like unto the dead Sea (as some are like the raging Sea, which latter is better than the former) upon such a soul let wrath be discovered, and judgement threatened, it is but speaking terror to a deaf man, nay to a dead man; nay let plagues be executed, and not only so, but let the hand of the Lord be lifted up eminently in the threatening, and they will not see; nay let it fall down in the judgement, and they will not see: Bray a fool in a mortar, and his folly will not departed. But he is as a man lying down in the middle of the Sea, and as one sleeping on the top of a Mast; he sees no danger, there is nothing that he can lay to heart; but he says, Psal. 49. I shall have peace; as Deut. 29.19. While he lives he blesseth his soul. Now comes the Law as a Hammer unto such a soul, and that sets before a man its absolute Sovereignty over the man; it is the Royal Law, shows a man that God is an enemy to him, and writes bitter things against him; and it is this Law by which he will surely judge him at the last day; Zach. 1.6. and though he may fly from it a while, yet it will overtake him; though the decree may bear a great while a judgement in the womb of it, yet it will at last bring forth, and for aught thou knowest it may be Hell before the morning; there is but a thread of patience between thee and everlasting burn. That shows a man the vanity of all his former hopes, and plucks off all that cobweb lawn and varnish that the Devil has cast upon his actions and state; and there is a storm that overflows his hiding place; the Lord lets him see in Spiritual judgements (as he does in Temporal judgements when men promise themselves great things) that the bed is too short, the covering too narrow for him to rest upon. Then offer him the pleasures of sin, and he cannot taste them, they are to him the greatest detestation: Oh how bitter is it to remember that which was formerly sweet to commit? and what a terrible companion is that sin in the guilt of it, that was in the act of it most delightsome? The bitterness of sin is so great, that all the comforts of the creatures cannot sweeten it; as Judas he cast down the thirty pieces of silver quickly, he had no pleasure in his money. So a soul cries out, My iniquity is gone over my head, and as a sore burden too heavy for me to bear. §. 3. 2. The Law of God condemns the sinner; says the Apostle, Sin revived and I died. Rom. 9.7. Hos. 6.5. 2 Cor. 3. The ministration of death and condemnation, etc. There is a hewing and a slaying by the words of the Lord, he doth smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he does slay the wicked. Jer. 6.11. And therefore the word of the Lord is called, the fury of the Lord; what fury or vengeance soever is poured out upon a land or soul, it is all by this word, that is the instrument, and these are the effects thereof. The Law saith, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things written in the Law: and Conscience makes the assumption, truly this curse is my portion. The soul of man is not more prone to sin than it is to self-justification; every man desiring to establish his own righteousness. And the great work that we have in the Ministry is this, to beat them from their own confidences, men will not pass the same sentence upon themselves that the Law does. If men would but look upon themselves in this glass, and stand unto the sentence of this judgement, they would not be so severely judged by the Lord; but there are ways of self-deceiving from that abundant self-love, and self-flattery that is in the heart of man, that they desire to be deceived; and there is no man in the world that can be so great a flatterer of another, as every man is of himself, 〈◊〉 does smooth over himself and makes all please, as a flatterer doth: Psal. 36.2. Jer. 23.31. therefore the false prophet's are said, to smooth their tongues that there may be nothing that may distaste, 〈◊〉 be unpleasant; and so men will not own their own condemnation, they will not ●●e shame. But when the Law comes, and the Spirit of God therein gives in evidence against the man, brings forth the hand writing, and chargeth a man with his pride and uncleanness, and hardness of heart, and says, this thou hast done; then the soul says, I have ●●ed in betraying the innocent blood, I have done exceeding foolishly: Men and brethren what ●●●l we do to be saved? Now every word of the Law comes home to him with life and with ●●er, and all the curses of the book he reads as his portion, and says, This is the inheri●●e that Adam has left me, and this have I also purchased for myself. Tertull. There are a generati●● of godly men in the world, that read over the Promises of the Gospel, and they do claim 〈◊〉 as their portion, and their inheritance for ever, but they are nothing to me, they are 〈◊〉 children's bread, and I am a dog, a devil. Truly the Devils are better creatures and were 〈◊〉 to do the Lord more service, and yet they perish under the curse of the Law, and they ●●ble at the sentence of it, and there is as much hope of a Devil, Jam. 2.19. in the state that I am in 〈◊〉 as there is of me. I know God is merciful, but not beyond the rules of the Word, whilst the Word speaks wrath, all the men in the world cannot speak peace to me. Every ●●tion is a curse to me, and there are no Providences that I can look upon in mercy; my ●●●ngs are cursed, and my ordinances are blasted; they shall add to my sins and hasten my creance. It's wonderful that seeing the time of patience has its period, the Lord has ●●●●hed it forth to so great a length, that I have had thirty or forty years cut off of eternal as a respite of those eternal torments. These are the workings of men under the sense ●reaking the Law. The Law holds a man under this conviction, and self condemnation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. that a man cannot 〈◊〉 off from it; that a man shall say with David, Psal. 51. My sin is ever before me. And 〈◊〉 3.2, 3. here we are all compared unto prisoners, I am shut up under the Law, it is my 〈◊〉, (and if that be not enough to manifest that our bondage under it is sure, and there 〈◊〉 way to escape) he says, we have a garrison to attend us, as the word signifies; 1 Pet. 1.5. the same ●●d is used of Gods keeping of us to salvation. So that the soul is kept under by it, and al●●●s poring upon its misery, and cannot look off it, it is shut up under it: and this is meant ●he spirit of bondage, Rom. 8.15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. the word in the Greek is used partly for the Holy Ghost self, and partly for the inward dispositions that it works in the hearts of men, as a spirit ●●ve, and fear, and joy; that is, such a temper and frame of soul wrought by the Holy ●●●ft: and fo●t is the Spirit of God by the Law working upon a man such a frame of heart, ●●●r of sorrow or fear, Hos. 4.12. A spirit of whoredom is in the middle of them, & c. ●●s, they were bend to backsliding. So when a man cannot cast off his fears, and the bondage 〈◊〉 own heart, than a man is said to be under a spirit of bondage and a spirit of fear, and ●●●e sinners are all their life long by fits, Heb. 2.15. The soul of man desires nothing 〈◊〉 than the pleasure of sin and peace in it; and therefore it does as a Deer when it is w●●●ded, it runs and leaps, and does all that possibly it can; but haeret lateri lethalis aerundo, ●●●●●rtal arrow sticks in the side. A man runs to the pleasures of sin, to his old companions, as ●●re to King Jareb for help; and if that will not do, than he runs to Duties, and the man ●●ys and cries, and all will not heal the man, and he cannot cast the sight of his sin behind back, and it is as ghastly and as unwelcome even as Hell itself. A man is under Conviction 〈◊〉 a wild Bull in a Net, full of the fury of the Lord, and he beats every way; but the ●●e he strives, the more he is ensnared, till at last his soul lies down under the apprehensi●● of it, and does possess the sins of his youth, Joh 13.26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As the thoughts of a man's heart called the possessions of his heart; for all that a man does possess is by thoughts, and that 〈◊〉 which a man's thoughts dwell most, that a man is said to possess most. Job 17.11. Now the man cries 〈◊〉 What fruit have I now in those things whereof I am ashamed? Oh wretched man that I 〈◊〉 who shall deliver me from the body of this death! And his soul lies down in his shame, and ●●ths and abhors himself continually, is afraid at the shaking of a leaf, expects daily when ●●e instrument and messenger of vengeance shall come for him; and Job 31. His life draws ●●er to the destroyers, and he doth seem to smell the savour of death, and of unquenchable fire, Lex est carcer spirituals & verè infernus. Luth. ●●d his soul is continually filled with horror and amazement, the terrors of the Almighty set him round about, he is so fast in prison that he cannot get forth, he is under the wrath 〈◊〉 God, as Christ is said to be in prison, and David so speaks of himself also. §. 4. Now how doth the Law in all this advance the ends of the Gospel? how is it, as ●agar, added because of transgression? 1. It prepares the soul, and the Spirit thereby works those qualifications required to be 〈◊〉 the soul that comes to Christ; for Christ will not come into an unprepared soul; his subjects are a people prepared for the Lord. He sent John Baptist before to prepare his way, for there are valleys to be filled; Mat. 11. and there are mountains to be laid low: Come all ye that are weary, and heavy laden, and I will ease you; take my yoke, having had experience of the iron yoke of sin. 2. The Law prepares the soul by making the opinion of a man's own righteousness die, and letting him see a perishing need of Christ, Phil. 3. that what was before gain, he may now count loss; therefore there is hereby wrought in the soul, a longing for Christ, and an instinct of Union with him; the Law is as the avenger of blood, unless it did pursue, many men would never regard to fly to the city of refuge. 3. It will make the Grace of God the more glorious, and the blood of Christ the more orient, and Salvation the more acceptable, when in such a time of extremity the Lord brought light out of darkness; 2 Cor. 4.6. and then a man says, I thank my God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And therefore there be several dispensations of God, some have less of those break by the hammer of the Law than others have, for the Lord is a free agent; but there are no men in the world that prize Christ and exalt his righteousness, and rely more upon his Grace, 1 Tim. 1.13, 14. than they do that have lain under most of these break, and have been longest in this wilderness. 4. It makes a man fear sin ever after, that which he hath had so great a smart for, when he was under the hammer of the Law; Psal. 85.8. he will speak peace to his people and to his Saints, but let them not turn again to folly. Hos 3. ult. When a man shall remember the bitterness of his spirit in times past, and call to mind the gall and the wormwood, than sin is loathed by him; David commits Adultery no more, Paul Persecutes no more, Peter denies Christ no more, etc. 5. It makes a man pliable to do whatever God would have him: Lord what wilt thou have me to do? A little child shall lead them, Isa. 11.6. Disobedience is grounded in pride; My soul shall weep in secret for your pride. Jer. 13.17. And there is nothing breaks a man's pride, and make a man walk more humbly with God than this does, Mic. 6.8. 6. This makes a man to set a high price upon the spirit of Adoption, that enables him to cry Abba father, after he has had experience of a spirit of bondage. The bread in his father's house had never been so pleasant to the Prodigal, had he not been in want, and tasted husks. Heaven is never so sweet as it will be after the trials of this life; when men have com● out of great tribulation, and made their garments white in the blood of the Lamb, then to be gathered into Abraham's bosom it is much the sweeter; to rest from their labours and their works to follow them; when a man has been under a hard master, to be set at liberty is th● sweeter; when a man out of a Prison comes to a Throne: this, I say, makes him honour that Spirit, and keep close to him, and cherish the motions of it ever after, and be careful not to be led into the same darkness again. The Spirit of Christ is a delicate Spirit, and whe● it is grieved, it withdraws from a soul, and suspends the comfort and quickenings that it used to enjoy, therefore the soul sets a high price upon the spirit of Adoption. SECT. III. The Subservience of the Law to the Gospel as it restrains Sin. §. 1. HAving spoken of the Law in the first sense, I now come to consider it in the second. In the one it discovers, judges and condemns sin; and in the other 〈◊〉 checks and restrains sin. Here are three things to be considered and cleared: (1) That 〈◊〉 Law is as a bridle to check sin, and to restrain it. (2) In what respects it is said so to 〈◊〉 (3) How in this also the Law is in the hand of a Mediator, used as a servant or handmaid ● the Gospel. 1. That the Law is as a bridle to check sin. I desire you to observe three things: 1. That sin hath in it a fierceness and unruliness, and therefore men in it are compared unto the most raging and unruly creatures in the world, Isa. 57.20. It is compared to the Sea, which is the most unruly and tumultuous, and unquiet creature; if there were never any wind; without, yet it is always unquiet from an inward principle in itself, which you may explain by Judas v. 13. Judas v. 13. Jer. 2.23. Savage creatures and raging waves of the Sea, foaming out their own shame And they are compared unto the wildest and most unruly of all the Creatures, a Dromedary, Jer. 2.23. which some say is a She-camel, others say it is Cameleo pardalis, a creature of a mixed Generation; and they are resembled unto this creature for its swiftness, it is on● of the swiftest of all Creatures, and the Female more swift than the Male, as Franzius 〈◊〉 his Historia sacra animalium, has well observed. And a Horse is an unruly creature, his mouth must be holden with bit and bridle; a Horse prepared for the battle, and being chafed to it, of which the Lord says, Job 29.19. That he hath clothed his neck with thunder, he mocks at fear, and does not turn back from the sword, he swallows the ground with fierceness, etc. And such is the fierceness of a sinner in his way, Hos. 8.9. Hos. 8.9. A wild ass alone by himself; in Scripture sinners are compared to the Ass for a double property; (1) for his fierceness; (2) for his folly, as Job 11.12. Vain man would be wise though born like a wild Ass' colt: and for his fierceness a wild Ass in the wilderness, Jer. 2.28. In a wilderness an Ass is alone by herself, under no government, no restraint, no rider to rule or bridle her. It's better to meet a Bear rob of her whelps than a fool in his folly, as 2 Sam. 17.8. 2 Sam. 17.8. The fierceness of this Creature is noted to be the greatest in Scripture, Hos. 13.8. I will meet them 〈◊〉 a bear bereft of her whelps, etc. And by which the fierceness of God's Judgements is ●et out, I will meet them as a bear robbed of her whelps, etc. and will rend the cawl of his heart: ●ow the same rage will a sinner be in, when he is met and stopped in an evil way, in any way ●f sin whatsoever. There is an unruliness in sin beyond all this, that neither the Bear, nor ●y other fierce Creature can vent, All the creatures have been tamed but man, his tongue ●an no man tame, Jam. 3. Now you may say, why, who sets bounds unto this Sea, and who ●hall command and rule this swift Dromedary, this chafed Horse, this wild Ass, and this behaved Bear, etc. surely no natural power. Thence, 2. The Spirit of God doth aim in his deal with man to keep under and restrain their ●sts. Here you are to distinguish between what he doth per se, and in his own proper nature, ●d that which he doth per accidens and occasionally. The aim of the Spirit of God in all his ●orks, is properly and in its own nature to keep down the lusts of men, but yet occasionally his dealing with man doth draw them forth the more: as by sending an affliction, the ●ord doth it to take away his sin; but yet it does raise up his sin; and so does the Law, sin taking occasion by the Commandment, and so the Ordinances of the Gospel also. And this will appear, Hos. 2.6. I will hedge up their way with thorns, and I will make a wall that she shall 〈◊〉 find her pasture. He compares them to wild beasts that will not be kept within ●unds, therefore the Lord made up a hedge of thorns against them, that is, a hedge of af●●iction; and if one affliction will not do it, if they still break through the hedge, he will ●ollow them with a wall, and all this is to the end, that she may not find her path, that she may not go on and prosper in a way of sinning; she shall meet with difficulties in sinful ways, ●nd they shall also want success, and labour in vain in them: for, though they do follow ●fter them, they shall not overtake them, disappointment in the way of sinning is the Lords ●im in all afflictions, Job 33.16, 17. it is, To keep man from his purpose, and to hid pride ●●om his heart. And Paul had a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him that he might not be ●●ted up through the abundance of revelation. The aim of the Spirit of God is to restrain ●e lusts of men, and this very restraining Grace is a great mercy: There is a twofold restraining Grace; (1) Upon the actions of men; Pharaoh he had a desire to the sin, his lust ●s stirred up, but says God, Gen. 20. I with held thee. (2) Upon the lusts of men; says God, Exod. 34.24. There shall no man desire thy land. To have a man's lust restrained is a great mercy, and it is only during the time of this life; for afterwards God will let out men's lusts to the uttermost, as he does the Devils, and their sin shall have rationem poenae, Oh unhappy men when God leaves them to themselves, and resists not their fury! woe be to them whose sin God connives at. Luth. the nature of punishment, as Aquinas observes: after this life the demerit of sin ceaseth, Quia pertinet ad damnationis poenam, because it belongs to the punishment of damnation, as obedience in Heaven belongs to the reward of blessedness. Thus all restraining Grace shall cease, as all natural affection shall; and the Spirit of God shall only work wrath as a spirit of bondage in the hearts of wicked men for ever. 3. The Spirit of God does make use of the Law as a glorious instrument in this work: for he works in restraints partly by the Law of God within, and partly by the works of God and afflictions without; but all his aim is, that men may not find their hope, Rom. 1.16. The Gospel is the power of God to salvation; that is, the great and glorious instrument of the power of God; so is the Law also an instrument in the hand of the Spirit, for the Spirit of God does work by the Word, and answerably to the Word, and not above it, or without it. It is so called by the Lord, Jam. 3.2. If any man offend not in word, Jam. 1.26. Jam. 3.2. he is able to bridle the whole body: to put a bridle to any thing in Scripture, does signify to moderate that thing, and restrain all the rage and exorbitances of it. Isa. 37.29. I will put a book in his nostrils, and a bridle in his lips. Now what is the bridle that does restrain the enormities of the tongue? see vers. 15. It is the perfect law of liberty; and this also is the bridle for the whole man, Psal. 149.8, 9 Psal. 149.8, 9 To bind their Kings in chains, and their Nobles in fetters of Iron, and this honour have all his Saints! To be bound in chains signifies two things, Subjection and Restraint; now how do the Saints of God do it? the fire goes out of their mouths, Rev. 11. that is, Rev. 11. it is partly by their prayers, and partly by their words, setting the the Law of God before them, and by this means they bind them: for they bind up their lusts, they restrain their sins, and they bind over their Consciences unto wrath, and all the Judgements denounced in the Word of God, they do as it were execute them by their bringing them upon them, as Zach. 1.6. Hos. 6.5. Glass. Rhet. Sacr. Ezek. 20.37. Psal. 2.3. So that they do by the Law of God lay chains upon their Consciences, and they execute judgements upon their souls; and for that cause it is conceived that the Law is called the bond of the Covenant, Ezek. 20.37. because (1) as a bond it doth bind to obedience, and all disobedience it does restrain. (2) The Law is counted a bond by men, Psal. 2.3. Let us break their bonds, and thick weighty cords, it is meant the Law of the Lord which brought them into subjection, and they count it cords and bonds which are a token of three things, (1) Of bondage; (2) Of burden; (3) Of baseness; and that also may be the meaning of that expression, Gal. 3.22. For the Scripture has concluded all under sin, etc. And thereupon Luther says, Lex carcer est, etc. the law is a prison; for it does restrain men's lusts, they cannot walk at large as they desire to do in ways of evil; and he says, It is with unregenerate men under the restraints of the law, as it is with wicked men in prison, he that is shut up, does not hate his sin, but hates the prison; and the thief is grieved at heart that he is not free, nor at liberty to steal. §. 2. How does the Spirit of God make use of the Law for the restraining of sin? The Lord has a working upon the hearts of both regenerate and unregenerate men, and he has mighty acts of restraint upon them both, and they are the wonderful workings of God in the world: a man that shall consider the rage and malice of wicked men may wonder that the earth is not more filled with violence, there being so many Nimrods' mighty hunters of men in the earth, that men are not made as the fishes of the Sea, the greater to devour the less without control, breaking forth into all excess of riot, and blood touching blood: Yea, he that shall consider the rage and madness that is in the hearts of the Saints themselves, as we see it in Asa, he put the Prophet in prison when in a rage: and David caused them to pass under axes and saws, and harrows: and that of Peter, who did curse and damn himself: and that of Theodosius, by whose command seven thousand men were slain in the City of Thessalonica: he would soon conclude, truly the very mercy and grace of God in restraint is great. And he that shall see the horrible abominations that men break forth into from day to day, and the strange Apostasies that are come into the world, he must conclude even restraining Grace is a great mercy, and that this is a glorious and an excellent use of the Law, 1 Tim. 1.9. wherein it is wonderfully serviceable to the Gospel. Indeed the Apostle says, 1 Tim. 1.9. that a man uses the Law lawfully, when he knows and considers, that the Law was not given for a righteous man: There is a double interpretation of it that is most common: (1) The Law is not given, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. that is, not laid upon a godly man as a burden; for he has not only a Rule without, but he has also Grace within, that dictates to him, a living Law within himself. So that a godly man lives above the Law, for he has a Law within as well as a Law without, to restrain him from sin; he has an inward principle that makes him hate every false way: and what should an obedient and well managed Horse need a bridle for? (2) The condemning power of the Law is not for the righteous man, against such there is no Law: the Magistrate should be nothing else but God's Vicegerent, and he is not a terror to good works but to evil; but yet while the Saints of God do live here, and are sanctified but in part, they need the Law to restrain their lusts and corruptions: afterwards when their Graces shall be perfected, they shall need to call in no external help of a Law either to restrain from sin, or keep them in duty, or to quicken them to it; but now corruption gets the head many times of the Law within, that a man is induced to call in the force of the Law without also; and the best of the Saints make use of many legal considerations and motives to constrain and restrain them in this world. 1. The Law does restrain sin when the Lord sets before a man the perfection of it. It is therefore called a perfect law of liberty; this was the perfection in which man was created, this was the perfection of the human nature of Christ, a perfect conformity unto this Law in nature and life; for he was a living Law. And this is the perfection in Glory when the Saints shall have a conformity unto this Law; and from hence the soul stands in awe of it, the Lord showing a man's abasement and imperfection so far as he comes short of the Law. 2. The Law restrains sin so far as the Lord demonstrates its Authority, Jam. 2.8. The Royal or Princely Law, wherein the Authority or Sovereignty of the Great King does appear; for wherein does the authority of Prince's lie, but in their Laws? and he is counted a rebel that does disobey them; and that of the Apostle, Rom. 2. Through breaking the Law dishonourest thou God: and the Nomothetick power is that wherein the greatness and the height of Majesty lies; and this Law we are subjected to by bond of Creation, as having received our being from the Lord; and by a bond of Stipulation, having given up our consent to the Law, having given the hand unto the Lord, etc. and as being the rule by which the Lord will judge men at the last day; and this kept Joseph in awe against the importunity of his Mistress, How shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God? the Majesty and Authority of God is despised in it; and the Sovereignty of the Law being exalted in his heart carried with it a kind of moral impossibility, (for there be natural and moral impossibilities; as the Apostle in the 1 Cor. We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.) And sometimes the people of God in the violence of a temptation have been forced to fly to the Commandment; as in the point of self-murder one was fain to do, the temptation was so impetuous, that he was forced to repeat the Commandment for some hours together, Thou shalt do no murder; thou shalt do no murder. 3. Sin is restrained from the Curse of the Law, and the Judgements that it does denounce against offenders, and the several examples of the executions of them: says Job, Chap. 31.23. Destruction from God was a terror to me, and because of his highness I could not endure. And 2 Cor. 5. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men. And observing the several examples of Judgements, and the Curse of the Covenant upon wickednesses which are wrought, that others may see and fear, and do no more wickedly. When a man looks upon the Judgements that are abroad, as the Curse of the Law executed, a man should say, I will not transgress. It was the sin of Judah, that at the Captivity of Israel she would not be warned, and would not receive correction: for that man that has the Law against him, has God against him. 4. Sin is restrained from the Harmony of the Law; he that breaketh one is guilty of all, etc. This makes men stand in awe of the Divine Commands. 5. From God's love to the Law, it being that which is so dear unto God, Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but not an iota of the Law; which is dearer to God than Heaven and Earth. The Saints are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and they have a conformity unto God in all things, they love what God loves, and they hate what God hates. Says the Psalmist, I hate them that hate thee, Psal. 119.10.4. yea I hate them sore, as if they were my enemies. Through thy precepts I get understanding. He says, He did love the Law as his portion and inheritance; as that which was sweeter to him than honey: and his obedience unto which did bring him in all his comfort, and therefore, I have refrained my feet from every evil way: this is my life and this is my wisdom in the sight of the Nations. Lastly, What authority and command the Law of God has in the hearts of men, is that that God's eye is much upon, and with such men he is pleased, and the power of God's Grace is seen mainly in the awe of the Law upon their hearts and lives, which other men despise, and cast behind their back: says the Lord, To him will I look that trembles at my word. Isa. 66.2. And there is a man that fears an oath, My heart stands in awe of thy Word, else I had broken forth and given way to corruption, but I durst not. Isa. 11.6. A little child shall lead him, that which is most easily done; and 2 Chron. 32.12. see the charge against Zedekiah, for he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the Prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. If a man come to us from God, and in the name of God, if we despise him we despise the Lord. §. 3. How is the Law from its restraint upon lust a servant and a handmaid unto the Gospel? This will appear also in these Particulars. 1. The great end of the Gospel is to establish the Earth, and to continue the World; for by sin an utter destruction should have come upon men and upon all the creatures for man's use, only there is a stop put upon Justice for a time, the change of the Covenant bringing in a change of the Government, and the Kingdom that was before the fall, administered by God immediately, is now committed into the hands of the Son, as he is God-man, our Mediator. So Psal. 8. He has put all things in subjection under his feet, Isa. 49.8. and he has given him as a Covenant to establish the earth. And it is upon this ground that those expressions are, Psal. 93. The Lord reigns, he is clothed with Majesty; the world is established that it cannot be moved. And Psal. 97.1. The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice. All this is spoken of the Kingdom of Christ and his Government that is committed to him by the Father under the second Covenant, and by virtue thereof since the fall. And this the Lord doth by the restraint of the Law two ways. (1) Hereby the lusts that are in a man's heart are kept under, that they destroy not one another, for lust is cruel; see it in the second man that ever was in the world, and he that first actually brought murder into the world, and Nimrod a hunter of men before the Lord, and as cruel to men as if they were beasts; nay they are themselves Beasts, and have the cruelty of Beasts, and men would be as the fishes of the Sea, the greater would devour the less, they have no King over them, and are acted by the spirit of the Devil, and his name is Abaddon the destroyer, his delight is wholly in destruction; and if the Lord did leave men to the violence of their lusts, and the impetuosity of temptation, they would overflow as water overrunning all banks and bounds, and blood would touch blood, where either as some say by blood is meant murder, Hos. 4.2. or all manner of horrible wickedness (and so some take it) so there is all manner of cruelty, and all manner of unnatural wickedness, even to the destroying of one another, as we see it in Egypt, every man's sword shall be against his brother, and in the cruelty at the destruction of Jerusalem. Now how comes it to pass that it is not so every where? Only from the restraint of the Law laid upon the spirits of men, and by this means the world is quieted, as Luther in Gal. 3. hath observed, Di●bolus regnat in toto orbe terrarum & impellit homines ad omnis generis flagitia: sicut ergo hominibus obsessis vincula & catenae injiciuntur, ne quem laedant; sic toti mundo qui est obsessus a diabolo adest Deus legibus cohibens manus & pedes, ne praeceps ruat in omnis generis flagitia. (2) The Lord has set bounds unto the sins of the World as well as unto the sins of particular persons and Nations; which when they have by degrees filled up, judgement shall come upon them to their destruction. As there was a fullness of sin when the Flood came upon the world, and it repent the Lord that he had made man upon the earth: so there is a fullness of sin when the World shall be burnt; and when all the wicked have filled up their measure, then shall the fire of God's wrath be kindled upon the World, unto which it is reserved. Only then when the World was drowned, because there was a holy seed remaining upon the earth, the Lord did spare the earth for Noah's sake, because there was a blessing; but when all the Elect of God shall be translated from this earth to Glory, than there shall be an utter destruction, and the earth shall be burnt up, at least refined by fire. Now if there should not be a restraint laid upon the lusts of men, every one that is now a Serpent would become a Dragon; and they that now sin as men, would act like Devils, and the measure of men's lusts would be quickly fulfilled, and the end of the World would be suddenly hastened. Now because God has appointed a time that the World shall stand for Gospel ends, and to show forth the Grace of the Gospel, that mercy may rejoice, and triumph over judgement, therefore he does restrain the lusts of men, that the fullness of the sin of the World may be filled up by degrees. 2. It does exceedingly exalt the Gospel, and the Grace thereof, that it does make such a use of the Law, as is unto man fallen above the nature of the Law, and contrary to the use that sin does make of the Law. (1) It is above the power of the Law unto man a sinner; for the Law is become weak through the flesh, Rom. 8.4. as we see they that know the Law, yet pour out themselves to all excess of riot, and give themselves over unto all manner of abominations. He that says, thou shalt not commit adultery, doth himself commit adultery, etc. All this shows that the Law of itself is weak: it can forbid sin indeed, but it cannot restrain it; as it can require duty, but it cannot enable a man thereunto; but as Bernard has observed, It commands without grace, and it punishes without mercy. Restraining Grace in respect of sin, and assisting Grace in respect of duty comes not from the Law, but from the Spirit that is given in the Gospel working with it. (2) It is contrary to the use that sin makes of the Law, for sin takes occasion by the Commandment, and the Law is so far from being a means of restraining lust, that by the Commandment corruptions are improved and increased, Rom. 7.8, 11. the flood rises the higher by the dam that is made against it, and there is this devilishness in sin, that it does take occasion by the Commandment to deceive a man, that is, it does work in a man a greater apprehension of the sweetness of it, and a greater desire to it, and longing after it; because it is in the Commandment forbidden; and from the very prohibition does arise the strength of the temptation; a man should never have had his heart so much carried out after it, if the Lord had not forbidden it; and then a man says, Stolen waters are sweet, and the bread of deceit is pleasant. Now when Satan and sin shall take occasion by the Commandment to improve corruption, and to draw it forth, that the Spirit of Christ in the Gospel should make a quite contrary use of it, to restrain it, and bind it up, it does much exalt the power of the Gospel, and the spirit of the Gospel which works with this Law. 3. Restraining Grace which the Spirit of God does work in a man by the Law, is of great use, and does mightily exalt the Grace of the Gospel, in preserving from open violences and immoralities. (1) In reference unto the Saints, that they are not destroyed, for they are sheep in the midst of wolves, their souls are amongst lions, and therefore it is a wonder that they are not destroyed; it is God that lays a restraint upon their enemy's lust sometimes, and they desire it not, and sometimes upon their acts, and they cannot effect it. Abimeleches lust was restrained in reference to Abraham, I kept thee that thou shouldst not touch her. And as to Laban, God laid a charge upon his spirit; and so it was with Herod in reference unto John the Baptist: and it is by this restraint laid upon the hearts of wicked men, that the lives and liberties of the people of God are preserved; and this is every day as great a miracle in some respect as to set bounds to the Sea, that it do not overflow, and as to stop the Lion's mouths, or to hinder and restrain actum secundum, the second act, of the Fire in the Babylonish Furnace, that it did not burn so much as the garments of the three Children: and that your peace and prosperity, and that the progress of the Gospel is not interrupted, that the Devil does not cast some of you into prison, and seek your blood as in time past, it is not that he is not as truly the Destroyer still as in times past, but the Lord restrains the lusts of men that he cannot act them and draw them forth as he has done formerly. (2) In reference unto wicked and ungodly men, that live in their sins and perish in them. Though it is true while the corrupt will prevails, and a man's enmity to God remains, so long is a man a sinner before God in every thing, because he is in his habitual frame of heart an enemy unto all righteousness. Augustine's Epist. 144. But it is a great common mercy that wicked men have by the Gospel, that their lusts are not let out to the uttermost; and the greatest judgement that men can be given over to, is to be given up to their own hearts lusts, delivered over unto the power of sin, and to be acted by Satan to the highest, and the utmost, as Judas, the Devil entered into him, it was but a higher degree of acting of him in a way of wickedness. The restraint that is acted upon them lessens the guilt, and does not spread so much in the defilement, the act of sin does intent the habit. Nor is it so dangerous and infectious unto others; for sinners in their actions are corrupters, and by their example taint many with evil ways and words; the more their restraints are, the less will their judgement and condemnation be; and they shall have this fruit by it, which will be a great one hereafter. Seeing that all men are sinners in Adam alike, and sin in one man is as much improved as in another; that all men are not alike sinful in this life, and alike miserable in the life to come, (for there be degrees of wrath;) and that all men do not sin against the Holy Ghost, and are not by Satan hurried on to the great Transgression; it is no thanks to the man but merely to restraining Grace! So in Mar. 10.21. the young man that came to Christ, Mark 10.21. Christ is said to love him; he was proud, and stood upon his own righteousness, and he was covetous, and did part with Christ to reserve to himself an Estate, and went away from him as being offended at his Doctrine, and never returned again; and yet it is said that Christ loved him; what was there lovely in such a man? Here Interpreters distinguish [1] of the act, [2] of the object. [1] Of the Act, they say there is a double love of Christ, so Cartwright; Quia illi grata est humani generis conservatio, ideoque politicas virtutes amare dicitur, Tenues & paulatim per se evanescentes imaginis suae reliquias. Beza. a Humane and Divine; a Divine love, that is to Salvation; so he loves only the Saints; but there was a humane love, and so he loved his friends and kindred according to the flesh, who yet did not believe in him. And some say there is a double love of God, and of Christ as God; there is a peculiar and a fatherly love, and this he bears only to his own people; but there is also a common love, whereby he loves whatever is of his own in any of the Creatures. So Beza and Calvin. But I should rather call them the common works of the Spirit of Christ, dispensed unto unregenerate men under the Gospel. [2] They distinguish of the Object, he ●oved the remainder of his own Image, or rather the works of his own Spirit in him, though they were common, that he was preserved unchangeable, in tanta morum corruptela, where there was such a general and universal overspreading of wickedness; and this was Donum Dei gratuitum naturale illam pravitatem non quidem immutantis, sed in quibus illi placet paulatim reprimentis, Bernard. i e. Not mortifying but restraining sin. So that all this was grounded upon the restraining Grace the Lord did vouchsafe unto him in his younger years; for to be preserved is a good thing, a great gift, it is a great mercy not to be tainted with the common corruption, and not to wallow in the common mire of the times, nor to be given over thereunto. (3) In reference unto godly men, before and after their conversion. [1] Before a man's conversion; so it was with Paul, Phil. 3. who was concerning the righteousness of the Law blameless, and one that did not sin against his Conscience, even then when he persecuted the Church, Act. 23.1. because there is the greater guilt and horror upon a man's Conscience, having so highly dishonoured God, the greater bitterness to a man having ensnared and corrupted others by his example, and the greater matter of temptation, Satan representing unto a man anew the sweetness that a man has tasted in former sins, and his former experience of it does exceedingly strengthen the temptation, and make a man's heart to hanker the more earnestly after them. [2] After conversion restraining Grace is a mercy; Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins, Psal. 19.13. Also the word does signify to restrain, or keep a man back, or withhold him as with a bridle; the same word is used in Gen. 20. I withheld thee from touching her. And so David, Set a watch before the door of my lips. So that though lust will be in a man's heart, and though it will sometimes arise, and all the power of Grace cannot keep it under; yet to have it restrained, that it shall not break forth, and a man not to be hurried upon sinful actions is a great mercy. After conversion for the lust of Adultery to be up in David, and he desired her, and yet if he had been kept from the act, it had been a great mercy; and so in numbering the people his lust was up, and to have been kept from the act would have been a great mercy; as we see it in the case of Nabal, his lust was up, but how does David bless God, that it did not break forth into acts, but that the lust was restrained beforehand: and so do all the Saints of God bless the Lord that sometimes by his Law, and sometimes by afflictions, and by the admonitions of friends, or by the reproach of enemies, any lust is kept within its bounds from breaking forth, or that there is a restraint of it in any measure, that a man doth not pour out himself upon it with greediness, that a man is not wicked in the highest degree, and that carnal fear doth not prevail upon him as it did upon Peter, and carnal love as it did upon Samson or Solomon, and passion as it did upon Asa, etc. 4. By the Gospel lust is subdued and mortified, and that is one great end of the Gospel, That we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, Tit. 2.13, 14. And having these promises should purify ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, 2 Cor. 7.1. And he that has this hope does purify himself even as God is pure. But the Spirit of God doth make use of the Law even to this end also, and the restraints thereof. There is a double way for the mortifying of sin: (1) By infusing a new principle of Grace: (2) By restraining the old principle of sin. (1) There must be a new principle of Grace infused, which will work out the contrary, and hinder the actings of it, the spirit's lusting against the flesh; We are not under the Law but under Grace, therefore sin shall not have dominion over you, Rom. 6.12. Not under the Law, strengthening and irritating sin, but under Grace subduing it, the Spirit of God-working in a man a new and another nature, Joh. 3.6. which is contrary unto sin, and is like unto that spirit of holiness that works it: That which is born of the spirit is spirit, Joh. 3.6. and it cannot sin, because it is born of God. (2) There is a power of the same Spirit of God restraining and keeping under the lusts of men, Psal. 19.13. and thereby destroying them; Withhold from me presumptuous sins: in me they are, and I find in myself a proneness to them, but keep them under. Withhold me from the actings of them, lest they grow upon me, and get the dominion over me. As by the exercise of sin it does increase, so by the restraining of it it does die, and is brought to nothing. It is as fire, if it be covered and have no vent, it will go out, and as Trees the more they grow above ground, the more they spread under ground, lop them continually that they grow not above, and they will by degrees whither and die; Grace doth grow by the actings of it, and so does sin; and if a man should have Grace in his heart, and yet never bring forth fruit, though it could not wholly die because it it an immortal seed, upheld by the Spirit of Grace, yet it would never thrive. There is a double way that the Devil takes to increase sin in a wicked man: [1] He doth infuse all the devilishness into them that he can; the Devil entered into Judas, and put it into his heart to betray Christ; the wicked one toucheth them. [2] All that wickedness that is in them he does act and draw forth to the utmost. And there is a double way of the decay of Grace: (1) By stirring up and strengthening the contrary principle of sin. (2) By hindering Grace from acting in all things: and so though it be immortal seed, yet in the degrees of it it will decay: So it is here, the Spirit of God infusing a new principle, and restraining and hindering the actings of the old, by this means sin dies by degrees, and the heart is weaned and taken off from it, and this is done by the Law. SECT. iv The Subservience of the Law to the Gospel as it is a Rule. §. 1. WE have thus far considered the Law as it is in its subservience to the Gospel, as a glass discovering sin, and as a bridle restraining it; now we come to the third Consideration as it is a Rule to guide and direct a man in all the ways of obedience; and it is a Rule within, and a Rule without. 1. It is a Rule within, that is, the Spirit of God given by the Gospel, or the second Covenant, doth make use of the Law of God as an Instrument of Conversion, and so plants in a man a rule of holiness and obedience in his own heart, a principle of conformity unto the will of God in all things. The Law indeed cannot do this of itself, looked upon as a Covenant alone, for so it is a dead letter, but as it is in the hand of the Spirit, Rom. 7.9. The saving knowledge of the Law is brought in by a secret and yet sacred blast of the Spirit of God breaking in and blowing when he listeth. Now that the Law is an instrument in the hand of the Spirit for the conversion of souls, is plain: (1) Every part of the Word of God has a converting power, if the Spirit of God be pleased to concur with it; for every part of the Word of God is seed to beget, as well as milk and strong meat to nourish; if any part of the Word of God be engrafted in the heart, it will change the stock of what nature soever. (2) It is that which is attributed to the Law, Psal. 19.7. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. Indeed there is some difference about the word converting; some say it is reviving or returning the soul when going down to the pit, thou sayest Return again; but it is returning from sin as well as sorrow, and therefore Act. 7.38. called verba viva & vivificantia, living and life-giving oracles, which give life here, and bring to life hereafter. (3) That is the promise of the new Covenant, I will put my Law into their hearts, and write it in their inward parts: for no man has by nature the Law of God in his heart; for the image of sin, and the law of sin is upon the heart of man by nature. Gen. 6.5. Rom. 12.2. [1] The Law of the Lord is by sin blotted out of the hearts of men, that image of God and conformity unto his will is taken away which they had at first, and they have a new law the law of sin there. [2] It is the Law put into the heart by the Spirit of God, that is the rule of all a man's inward obedience and conformity unto God. Adam had the Law written in his heart, not only a Law without, but inward dispositions conformable to it within: and when man had blotted it out, God wrote it in tables of stone; but now he will put it into the hearts of men, so that they shall have an inward principle answerable to the Law-rule without, and whatever he does require in the Law, something within shall answer to it, but this Law is put in by the hand of God. [3] In Conversion God does put in the whole Law into the heart of man: what Law is it but the Moral Law? that which is a Rule of a man's way without, is the Rule of a man's heart within; and God will put it so therein that it shall never be blotted out again by sin, for he will write it there, that it may remain, Litera scripta manet, etc. but more particularly observe, 1. That no man hath in him the Law of God by nature; but all are enemies unto the Law in their minds, they are not subject unto it, neither can be: and therefore the Apostle says, Rom. 8.7. When the Commandment came, etc. it was a coming Commandment, not of his own fetching; it is therefore said to be a voice crying behind us, This is the way walk in it: for every man by nature hath another law, the law of sin, the law of his members, which stands in opposition to the law of his mind; the image he has upon him is the image of the Devil, and he has contrary dispositions in his inward man unto God, and to the will of God in all things, not form by the word. Rom. 12.2. 2. That which is written there is the Moral Law: There are two great principal parts of a man's holiness, Faith and Obedience; and because the ground of Obedience is Faith, therefore it is commonly called in Scripture the Obedience of Faith: and answerable unto these are the two great principal parts of the Word, there are the precepts of the Law, and the promises of the Gospel, and both these the Lord makes an engrafted word: the foundation of a man's faith is the Promise, and thereby a man is made partaker of the Divine nature; 2 Pet. 1.4. and the foundation of a man's obedience is the Precept; for in the regeneration we are renewed after the image of him that created it; therefore writing the Law in the heart, is a renewing of the image of God, which in Adam we had lost, and that was a knowledge of the whole will of God, in whatever concerned God's glory and his own duty; and he had an inward ability and disposition of soul in all things to submit himself thereunto with cheerfulness. So that in the fall, the Law of God that was written in our hearts, that was stamped upon us, and concreated with us, was utterly blotted out, and now the renewing of this Law in our inward man, is our regeneration, a putting the same dispositions within us that were at first created with us. 3. The finger that writes it is the Spirit; or the writer is Christ, and the ink is the Spirit, and the table is the heart; in which the Spirit works the habits of all Grace. De spiritu & litera, Cap. 3. Austin has decided it against the Pelagians, that there must not only be freedom of will in men, and a teaching and a moral persuasion from God, which they hold; and the Papists and Arminians since: but there must be an almighty work of the Spirit of God upon a man, creating in him a new nature, and putting into a man inward dispositions answerable unto what the Law of God doth require, and that by a hand without, and so writing does signify something wrote in a man from without; and that I conceive to be the meaning of Rom. 2.15. Rom. 2.15. The work of the Law written in their hearts; all the outward acts of obedience that they do, and their Consciences accusing or excusing them, all those are but the fruits of the work, the efficacy of the Law that is written in their hearts. We do not read that the Law is said to be written in Adam's heart, only God created man righteous; but writing notes rather an act from an hand. And therefore I should rather conceive those practic notions, Rom. 2.15. to be written in man by the common work of the Spirit of Christ, than to be left in him after the fall, not the dross of the old Adam, but the foundation of the new, etc. so that the Spirit of God has his works wrought in both; only in the one by a common hand, in the other by a saving work. 4. The thing that the Spirit of God doth write there is the whole Law: he doth write the Gospel and all the Promises thereof; he doth take of Christ and show it unto you; Joh. 16. he reveals his glory to you, and the preciousness of Gospel-promises and privileges; and a man does believe them, and is transformed into them. He does also show a man the Law of God, and a man is transformed into the likeness thereof, even the whole Law, so that a man has respect unto all the Commandments, there is an universal change; for there is not any part of the Law but it is written within him. Civil men may have something of the Law put into their hearts as the Heathen had, and they may show forth something of the work of the efficacy of this Law in their hearts, and in their lives also, but they have but half the copy; but where the Spirit of God does write the Law savingly, he writes the whole Law. 5. The Law is written in the heart, as it is written in a Proposition: that which is written in the greatest Letters in the Law, hath the greatest Characters in a man's soul; and that which is most often repeated in the Law, that is most often repeated in the heart, and therefore Rom. 6.17. Rom. 6.17. There is a form of doctrine into which you were delivered as into a mould. Now in a thing cast into a mould, as there is not the least scratch in the mould but it will appear in the thing moulded thereby, so answerable unto the impression in the mould will the impression be in the thing, and if it be deeper in the one, it will be deeper in the other: now to know God, and to fear him, to cleave unto the Lord Christ, and honour him, and obey him, these are the great things of the Law of God; wherefore for men to neglect these, and have their hearts much taken up though about truths, yet things of less consequence, and lay out the whole intention of their spirits in these, to tithe mint and cummin, and to be all in meat and drink, and neglect true godliness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, in which the Kingdom of God consists mainly, this is an evil sign, and an argument there is not the right moulding of the Law in the heart. 6. Lastly, It notes an abiding and continuing of the Law there; as things written are for continuance, and for after times. So Jer. 17.1. The iniquity of Judah is written, with the pen of iron; that is, they are so set upon sin, and so hardened in it, that there is little or no hope of their repentance; their sin is written in the stains and the guilt of it upon their souls. So Prov. 3.3. we are exhorted, To write the Law upon the tables of our hearts; that is, by constant observation and meditation to fix them, and to imprint them. So that the Law is said to be written in our hearts for continuance: the Law that was concreated with us in Adam, Satan has blotted out; but when the Spirit of God does write it there again, by the finger of God, surely it is that it may be never more obliterated, or blotted out. Mat. 11.30. Christ saith, Mat. 11.30. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy: so that Christ suffers not his people to go without a yoke, he is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, lawless, as to his actions, he is not a son of Belial, which Glassius saith, signifies, a man without a yoke; and this yoke is the obedience which in the Gospel the Lord requires, and that is nothing else but the obedience of the Law, for though Christ hath fulfilled it, yet it lies upon us still as a duty, though not by way of satisfaction to be performed, and this yoke is mainly upon the souls and the spirits of men. Now writing the Law in the heart is a perfect conformity of a man's inward man unto the Law of God, and all duties that the Lord requires; and this is it that makes the yoke easy, because it is become another nature, an inward principle; and what a man does so work from is not burdensome; there is a potentia visiva, a visive power in the eye, therefore it is not weary of seeing; and there is a principle, a law of motion in the nature of the Sun, and therefore it is not weary of motion, because it works from an inward principle. Men do evil with both hands earnestly, and are never weary; the reason is, because they work from an inward principle. And in this conformity unto the will of God, which is taking up the yoke, (1) There is obedientia voti, the obedience of desire, when a man desires to obey God in all things, and has a careful respect unto all the Commandments, and desires to make his heart perfect with the Law of God. (2) Obedientia conformitatis, obedience of conformity, when a man does in some measure answer the Law of God in his actions, and in the workings of his inward man. (3) Obedientia resignationis, obedience of resignation, when a man can wholly give up himself to it, as to the perfect Law, with joy and delight, love the law and finds sweetness in it, and sees a goodness in whatever it requires, and gives up himself unto it as the perfect law of liberty, that wherein his happiness lies; this is that which makes the yoke easy, and the Commandment not grievous: and the ground of it is, because the Law is written in his heart, and this is to serve Christ in the newness of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter, not barely to have a duty in the letter enjoined, which is that which only prevails with other men to perform duty, whilst all that is in their heart is against it, they do it, and yet hate the duty when done, and the Law that injoins it; but here is the Spirit of God renewing and working in a man such dispositions of heart, which answer the duties of the Law in all things; so that a man loves the duties, and the Law that commands them, as setting him about a service that he is pleased with; so that it is the Law that is the yoke of Christ, and it is writing it in his heart, that makes it an easy yoke. In putting the Law as a rule into a man's heart, the Spirit of God doth let a man see, (1) The Holiness of the nature of God; Ephes. 4.24. for man was in this created after God, neither did the Creature behold the Holiness of God any other way than in the Law which doth forbid the least blemish and defilement, all filthiness of flesh and spirit. (2) Herein a man sees the glory that was stamped upon him in his creation, for his heart was nothing else but a perfect copy of this Law created in it; and in this conformity in his inward man to the Law of God, did this image principally if not wholly consist. (3) This is a perfect resemblance of the Holiness that was in the humane nature of Christ, in whom the Law was fulfilled, for there was no sin in him, He knew no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, he was a lamb without spot or blemish; he was a living Law. (4) This is a perfect copy of that conformity unto God, that is in the Saints and souls of just men made perfect: When he shall appear we shall be like him. 1 Joh. 3.2. The law of his mind shall be perfected, and the law of the members wholly destroyed. Now we are conformable to the will of God but in some degrees; for that perfectio graduum, perfection of degrees, is to come; but the Spirit of God will go over our hearts and write more and more of this Law in us, till we be made in all things answerable thereunto. And in our conformity to the Law, (glory being nothing else but Grace perfected) shall our conformity unto God in Heaven be, where we shall not be like God in part, as here we are, but shall be wholly conformable to him, which is the perfection which we strive for, and aspire unto; and therefore the Scripture calls this our perfection, Paul saith, 2 Cor. 13.9. I long for your perfection, that is, a perfect writing of the Law in the heart, and this fits a man for Gospel-Ordinances, and the perfection hereof is the reward of the Gospel; for the Law written in the heart is the foundation of all obedience unto the Law, and the perfect writing the Law in the heart is the highest reward of all the Promises, and all the obedience of the Gospel. §. 2. As the Law is a rule within, being planted there by the Spirit given in the second Covenant, which does change a man's nature, and doth give a man inward dispositions suitable thereunto, a law of the mind; so is the law a rule to guide and direct a man in his way, unto which all the Saints are to give heed, from which they are to learn their duties, and by which they are to judge of all the ways of God, and the ways of the world; the Law is added unto the Gospel, Fides efficit quod lex imperat. as the rule to the hand of the workman; the rule is able to do nothing of itself, it is a dead thing, it is the hand only that does the work, and if the hand can do nothing aright without the rule, the Law can work nothing being dead, without the Grace of the Gospel, that only enabling a man to perform all acts of obedience, and yet the Grace of the Gospel does enable a man to no other obedience but that of which the Law is the rule. Christ himself tells us, that his intention in coming was not to destroy the Law of God, or put an end to it, or make it void; Mat. 5.17. Think not that I come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, and interpreters of the Law. Now there are in the Law but three things to be considered, either it is for Justification, for Condemnation, or for Direction. Now for Justification unto all that are in Christ, it is by Christ abolished; no man is justified by the works of the Law, but by the Grace of Jesus Christ: and for condemnation also; for he hath delivered us from the curse of the Law, and was made a curse for us. There remains now no other proper use of the Law but for Direction, as it is a rule; and therefore either Christ has destroyed it wholly, or else he will have it remain in this last sense, and so the next vers. 18. tells us, Heaven and earth shall sooner pass away, and the whole frame of this world fall to pieces, before the Law shall pass away: therefore it doth remain for Direction unto the Saints unto the end of the world. So Rom. 3.31. the Gospel does not destroy but establish the Law; the word in the Greek doth signify, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. to strengthen and make a thing firm, that was falling before; so by the sin of man the Law became weak through the flesh, neither to be fulfilled in the precept of it, or the curse, but men must be for ever satisfying it; now the Gospel comes and it makes the Law firm: (1) In our Surety; for in him is the precept fulfilled, and the curse born; he did fulfil all righteousness. (2) In us, because by the Grace of the Gospel we do attain strength in some measure to obey the Law, which is increased more and more, till in our nature and actions we shall be made perfectly conformable unto the Law in Heaven, and so the righteousness of the Law perfectly fulfilled in us, the Lord perfecting his good work that he has begun in the day of the Lord, so that the Law remains as a rule to Believers, being not abolished but established by the Gospel. 2. The Gospel sends us unto the Law as a rule of duty, Luk. 16.30, 31. They have Moses and the Prophets, the Law and the Expositions of the Law; and the Lord requires, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, as well under the Gospel as under the Law. And Jam. 1.25. He that looks into the perfect Law of liberty, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word; and therefore Jam. 2.8. we are exhorted to fulfil the royal Law, and to keep the precepts of the Law, and to walk in them. The whole Law as to its second Table, is fulfilled in this one word, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: and for this cause Christ in his first Sermon frees it from its corrupt glosses, and interpretation of the Pharisees, and restores it unto its spiritual sense, because it was to be of a perpetual use in the Church of God; and it is so perfect a rule, that Christ added no new precept to it, but only interpreted and expounded the Law, and restored it unto its primitive and original glory. 3. Christ has left us an example, and he is unto us not only the principle of holiness, from whence it is derived, Mat. 11.29. Phil. 2.5. but also the pattern to which it is conformed, Joh. 13.15. Now the acts of Christ were of two sorts, (1) Acts of Office, as he was a Mediator, by which he merited of God the Father pardon and acceptation for us, and so we cannot imitate him; but there are (2) acts of Moral obedience, which he did as our Mediator, and as our Pattern; and in these we are to follow Christ unto this day: for his whole life was nothing else but a spiritual Commentary upon the Law of God; and herein we must be followers of all men as they follow Christ; because there is a defect in all men's conformity to the Law, but so there was not in Christ. Joh. 4.3. 4. So far as we come short of it, even the best of the Saints, we sin; for what is sin but a transgression of the Law? therefore to the Saints the Law is a rule of obedience, or else they should never transgress it; and if a man would try and examine his ways, he must bring it to the rule; for it is a rule for examination. Adam was bound to the Law, and therefore his least transgression was a sin; and we are bound as strictly as Adam was, and so far as a justified person comes short of universal obedience unto the whole Law, he sins as well as Adam in the state of innocency; only in the Gospel by the Mediation of Christ, the sin is pardoned. Therefore under the Gospel there is no other rule of obedience, but the Law of God, and every sin is a transgression thereof. Christ came into the world to be made a curse for sin, but not a cloak for it: the Saints are bound to the Law under the danger of committing sin, though not under the danger of incurring death; and therefore sin is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a transgression, and Christ when he would show a sin, has recourse to the Law, and also in all his temptations; and so Act. 23.5. some expound that of Paul, I witted not brethren that he was the high Priest, because it is written Thou shalt not curse the ruler of thy people, etc. 5. The Law hath all the properties of a rule, (1) It is recta, right, the Law of the Lord is holy and perfect. Psal. 19 (2) Nota, known, it is promulgated and made known in the authority of God himself, I have written to them the great things of my Law, and they have counted it a strange thing. (3) Adaequata, answerable unto the thing to be measured by it; and so is this Law spiritual, Rom. 7. and gives laws to the spirits of men, and to their words, and their actions; there is no case can fall out, that there is not a rule to be found for it in the word, Psal. 119.96. were our eyes opened to behold the wonders that are there. I have seen an end of all perfections, but thy law is exceeding broad. In all the laws of men we can look beyond them, but there is a latitude here, Psal. 119. that we cannot reach; it was to David his counsellor; and it is such a counsellor that you cannot put that case to it, that it cannot resolve and fully clear; if thou give ear unto it when thou walkest by the way, it shall lead thee, and when thou risest up, it shall walk with thee as a friend and counsellor. 6. That is the rule of obedience to a man in this life, by which God will judge him in the life to come, and according to which he will reward him, Rom. 2. They that have sinned under the law shall be judged by the Law, as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. Joh. 12. There is one that judges you even Moses in whom you trust. And Paul says, The Lord will judge men according to my Gospel. And the greater Grace there is rejected, the greater shall their judgement be; but the curse that is executed upon wicked men in Hell, is the curse of the Law, which the Lord Christ did undergo for those that are his; and the reward both here and hereafter is very great, in keeping of them there is great reward, in this life the fruit is unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life. And though the Law be to all unregenerate men a Covenant of Works, and a curse of the same Covenant made with Adam, yet this is made a handmaid unto the Gospel, and is the only rule of all Gospel or new obedience; the strength to perform it is from the Gospel, but the duties to be performed are from the Law; the ability to walk is from the Gospel, but the way in which we must walk is the way of the Lords precepts. Objections answered. §. 3. There are some Objections against this, that are necessary to be cleared; not that I desire to enter upon a Controversy, or a Polemical discourse, but because it will help us to understand many Scriptures, and so happily free us from many snares, in which men are sometimes taken. Object. 1 Mat. 11.13. Luk. 16.16. It is said, That the Law and the Prophets were till John, since the Kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it; therefore the Law was to last no longer, and is not therefore as you say to be preached as a servant unto the Gospel, because its service and its prophecy is ended; for in John Baptists time it did expire, it lasted so long, and no longer. Answ. 1. It cannot be the meaning that the Law and the Prophets were to cease, Luc. 16.17. and to be wholly abolished; for Christ immediately confirms them, and says, Heaven and earth shall sooner pass away than a tittle of the Law shall pass; which words are added, as Interpreters generally observe, to prevent that objection against, or misinterpretation of this Doctrine of Christ, the Law and the Prophets were till John, but yet mistake me not, as if I would be understood acsi post haec lex in ecclesia exauctoratae esset, as if henceforward the Law should be abrogated; Cartwr. for Heaven and Earth shall sooner pass than the Law, which is a glass to discover sin, and a rule to guide in duty to the end of the world; and there will be use of this rule without, as long as Heaven and Earth shall last, and this frame of Heaven and Earth shall continue, till the image of God be perfectly renewed in all the Saints, and the law written perfectly in their hearts, and they are a law fully unto themselves, and so can live above the law, and can live upon the law, till than you will need the law without, and so long this law shall continue and be of use in the Church of God. 2. The meaning therefore is, that the state of the Old Testament, which is here called the Law and the Prophets, that is, that manner of discovering of the mind of God unto his people, which was in the Law and the Prophets, that was unto John, that is by speaking of Christ to come, and promising a higher and a greater light, and a greater measure of the spirit in after times; but yet it was not accomplished, but in 1 Pet. 1.12. To them it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things that are now reported to us, to whom the Gospel is preached, with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven, which things the Angels desire to look into. So that the state of the Church of God under the Old Testament, and the manner of revelation of the mind of God, and that measure of dispensation of the Spirit of God, and not the Typical part only, as some would have it, is here meant. So that the Ceremonial Law and the Prophets did but speak of Christ to come, and did vanish in John's time, the Substance being come, the Shadows must fly away; but also all that manner of dispensation being more obscure and less spiritual, and less powerful, all that did end, because the Law and the Prophets did but speak of Christ to come, but John of Christ already come, Behold the lamb of God, etc. so much that word in the Original signifies. 3. At the coming of Christ the Law and the Prophets were as it were taken away, not by abrogation, but by way of excellency, as when the Sun rises, the Stars disappear, and are darkened, and all men's eyes gaze on the Sun. This is a new and a higher and more glorious way of discovery, 2 Cor. 3.10. That which was glorious had no glory, in respect of the glory that excelled, because now Christ was manifested to be more fully that which he was styled to be before, Dan. 8.13. the word Palmoni signifies the wonderful numberer of secrets, or as Junius and Glass. what has innumerable secrets. And there are divers such names given unto Christ in the Scripture, his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, to set forth his nature and his actions, Prov. 30.1. Ithiel and Vcal, etc. The Angel Dan. 9 prays unto Christ to discover unto him how long the Vision concerning the daily Sacrifice, and the desolation of the Sanctuary shall be: for as Christ is the head of the Angels, so he is the teacher of the Angels also, and the secrets of the Counsels of God he knows, and he reveals them unto the Angels, in answer to their prayers. Rev. 5. Now there being a fuller and a more glorious way of revelation, and a fuller dispensation of Grace, the state of the Old Testament under the Law and the Prophets is to be done away, not by way of Abrogation, but by way of Excellency; and so these Scriptures also I conceive are to be understood, They shall say no more The Lord lives that brought up his people out of the land of Egypt, Jer. 2.3. etc. Not that this mercy should be wholly forgotten, but as it were darkened and obscured by a greater mercy, and a more glorious deliverance: and that place also, They shall no more teach one another, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall be all taught of God from the greatest unto the least: that is, there shall be a more full and glorious way of discovery, that in comparison of that abundance of light, when the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun, and the fullness of Grace, when the weak shall be as David, there shall be no need of those former ways of instructions, but they shall have their teaching more immediately from the Lord: and so that place, There shall be no more need of the light of the Sun and of the Moon, there shall, be a fuller and more glorious light; there shall now seem to be no need of these former ways of instruction by them: and also that place, they shall see his face; Rev. 22.4. not that men shall have the Beatifical vision here, but that there shall be a fuller manifestation of God, insomuch that in comparison of what it was before, it shall be even, as seeing his face in glory; as there shall be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying; not that absolutely there shall be no more, for while there shall be sin there will be cause of sorrow, and there shall be death till the Resurrection, when the change of them that are found alive at the Lords coming, shall be to them instead of death; death is the last enemy that shall be destroyed, immediately before the giving up of the Kingdom of Christ unto the Father; but the peace and prosperity of the Church shall be such, all the former persecuting Monarchies being destroyed, that there shall be in comparison of what there was in former times, no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying under persecutions, and groaning and mourning under the cruelties of men no more. And thus you see for all this the Law and the Prophets continue till Heaven and Earth be no more. Object. 2 But it is said in this Text, Gal. 3.19. that this subserviency of the Law was but to last till the seed should come, unto whom the promise was made, and afterwards be given in the hand of a Mediator, Vers. 16. But till then; and that seed is said to be Christ, and therefore now Christ being come, who is that seed, this subserviency of the Law is ended, for till then it was to last and no longer. Answ. 1. Some would seem to understand this only of the Ceremonial Law, which they say is afterwards said to be a Schoolmaster to bring men unto Christ: and so Beza seems to carry it, namely that the Schoolmaster is only the Ceremonial Law, (which I conceive our former whole discourse of the use of the Moral Law in this great work of bringing a soul to Christ by discovering of sin, and restraining sin, and showing a man the way of Gospel-obedience, hath fully rectified) but if we consider what is said vers. 12, 13. this will be clearly manifested; for he speaks of that Law that saith, He that doth them shall live in them; and of that Law that saith, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things written in the book of the Law to do them: which cannot be meant of the Ceremonial Law, but of the Moral Law; and therefore if this Interpretation could stand, the answer were easy, that the subserviency of the Ceremonial Law was to end when the seed came, and yet the Moral, the copy of the first Covenant, was still to remain, and might be a servant to the Gospel, and Gospel-ends: but it must be understood of the Moral, and that was the Law that was added till the seed came. 2. Some by the Law understand the whole Pedagogy of Moses in the Ceremonial, Judicial, and Moral Law; and so Beza and Pareus, that way of discovering of the mind of God under the time of the Law, which was to last only till the coming of Christ the promised seed, and all these were added because of transgression, that the Jews might thereby be stirred up to long for Christ to come, and to pray and wait for the consolation of Israel, being shut up under the Law, and this darker and obscurer and less spiritual administration, till Faith should come, that is, the dispensation of the Gospel which was afterward to be revealed, as it is ver. 23. for though the Saints were heirs of the Promises, yet they were during that administration, as it were under the morning twilight, the Sun not being yet risen, as Beza has it; and so by the Law, he understands the same that before we understood, in the continuance of the Law and the Prophets until John, and makes the sense of the words to be the same. 3. Some do conceive the seed to be meant primarily indeed of Christ personal, but yet in the second place of Christ Mystical, Christ with the whole body, of Christ and the Church: the promise being made unto Christ primarily, being primus foederatus, the second Adam, and the Head and Prince of the Covenant; yet so, that as the first Covenant was not made with the first Adam in his person only, but together with him with all his posterity in him, so the Covenant is first made with Christ the second Adam, but yet not with him apart from his body, but with them in him: and so they understand the seed to be not only Christ in himself, though he be primarily meant; but also Christ in his body, all the faithful: and then the meaning seems to be this, that so long as there are any of this seed to come, or to be brought into the body of Christ, and to be continued and kept there, so long there will be this use of the Law, Reinolds, the use of the Law as given for the Seed. discovering sin, restraining it, and condemning it, that they may with the greater earnestness fly to the city of refuge. And as for those places, Rom. 6.14. and Rom. 7. it is spoken of Adam as under the Law as a Covenant, and as a Husband irritating, strengthening, and stirring up sin in us, sin taking occasion by the Commandment; for so he saith, Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the Law; as a husband stirring up sin in you, and thereby bringing forth fruit unto death; but under grace, as pardoning, and so healing corruption, and subduing sin, and breaking the power thereof; and so you are not under the Law provoking sin, and strengthening it, but under Grace healing, sanctifying, and subduing it: Gal. 5.18. As many as are led by the Spirit are not under the law, irritating sin, and forcibly compelling unto duty. Thus a man may be freed from the Law in these evil effects of it, which are but fruits of the Curse, even upon the Law of God itself, accidentally, as it meets with a corrupt nature, and yet the Law remain unto those good ends for which it was given in the hand of a Mediator for our Salvation, and to advance the Grace of the Gospel. Use 1 §. 4. First than it is for Instruction in several particulars: 1. It shows us the great end of God in publishing the Law, it was for the Saints, and for their good only. The Law was published by Christ, he was the Lawgiver, of him Moses received lively Oracles; Act. 7. and Heb. 12. the end and giving of the Law was in reference unto the seed to whom the promise was made. As there is a double end of the Gospel, so there is of the Law. (1) That which was intended principally and by itself, and that only was Salvation both in the Law and in the Gospel, to advance the ends of the Gospel. (2) There is an accidental end, Intentio principalis & per se. that which follows not from the nature of the thing but from the evil disposition of the subject, and so unto all unregenerate men the Law doth discover their sins, and make them out of measure sinful; doth irritate and stir up their corruptions, and so doth heighten and increase them, and their condemnation for them, as the Gospel doth: but yet we may say of the Law as Christ does of himself, That he came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the world by him might be saved: yet by accident he did condemn the world, being despised, and set for the falling as well as the rising of many in Israel; but the proper and principal intent of his coming, was salvation and not damnation; so here. I may say of the Law, as it's said of Christ, had there not been some souls that Christ did intent to life, he had never come into the world; so had there not been a seed unto whom the Law was to be a servant, the Lord had never given the Law, never renewed it, for there was condemnation enough in the world before, and death enough before, and the wrath of God did abound upon men, the Gospel brings it not upon them, but leaves them under it; neither was it God's intention in the Law, to bring them under further condemnation, though it does through their corruption prove so; but had it not been for the seed, the Law had never been added as a handmaid to the Gospel: so that all the use of the Law, and the discoveries of it to unregenerate men, they do own to the Saints; for it was for their sakes only that Christ did reveal it again to the world. 2. See the folly of those that cry down the preaching of the Law; it was published by Christ the foundation of the Gospel, and the only Gospel Preacher, the great Evangelist, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Gloss. and Jerome do expound the word, Isa. 41.27. and yet the Law is dispensed unto the seed by, and in the hand of this Mediator; he that loved this seed so, that he laid down his life for it, abased his glory, and veiled his Godhead; yet he did as a fruit of his love unto this seed, deliver the Law unto them, and in the days of his flesh interpreted it; and will you slight his Love? will you say it is unnecessary? He that appointed the city of refuge did as necessarily appoint an avenger of blood to pursue, or else men would not have fled unto that city. Will you say this is preaching damnation, and driving men to despair? was it not preached by Christ, whose heart was so full of love and thoughts of Grace, and who wept over Jerusalem? he preached the Law, and published it for his seeds sake. Truly when we preach the Law we preach Salvation, and not damnation intentionally; the Lord did deli●er the Law for Salvation, to serve the ends of the Gospel, and so we do preach it; and ●et if it proves not so, it is by accident, by reason of the corruption of the heart of man; ●he damnation that it meets withal is thence. Therefore see your folly, and be ashamed of your ignorance: It is a high act of Grace, and one of the greatest privileges that Believers have by Christ, that the Law is a servant to the Gospel, and yet that Mercy you despise, and that Grace you do not love; you are to be ashamed of your folly and unthankfulness herein. 3. It should teach Ministers that the Law must be preached to the same intent that it was revealed and delivered in the hand of a Mediator, and to the ends of the Gospel, and that not only the curses and threaten of the Law, but the precepts and duties of the Law also. In the curses and threaten of the Law our Divines have usually sent men to Christ to bear those; but duties have been pressed, though not without Christ, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazian. Orat. 17. but that a sufficiency is to be had in him, and acceptance from him, yet not laying Christ as the foundation of duties as he should have been, in time past; but men have been pressed to duty without a through discovery of a man's Union with Christ as the ground of his assistance and acceptance, as there should have been, and so men have been put upon duties in a Moral or Legal way, as if they had wrought them by their own strength, and had a power in themselves; though without Christ, by reason of their imperfection, they could not be accepted; and so the way of the Gospel hath not been so clearly discovered, and the subserviency of the Law unto the Gospel-grace, as it should. When the Law is so preached that men are stirred up to seek for Grace in another, and to obey him, and when the Grace of the Gospel is thus offered, as that it inables a man to walk in the way of the precepts of the Law, this is indeed to preach the Gospel; when a man does so publish the Grace thereof that he does also publish the Law as a servant thereunto. 4. See how the heart of God is much in the Salvation of Sinners, and to exalt the Grace of the Gospel, and honour and magnify Mercy: Isa. 53.10. it is now that he would force men to accept of it. If men were left unto themselves, Christ should never be accepted, but die in vain, and not a man ever be saved; though there were a city of refuge, unless there were also an avenger of blood; it is not enough for to offer mercy, a moral persuasion will not do it; but there is without, a Law compelling, breaking, and within there is a spirit drawing, and the drawing of the Father, Joh. 6.44. lies in a great measure in this work of the Law; the Lord bringing the soul so low, that the Blood of Christ, and the Grace of the Gospel is precious, and a man will accept him upon his own terms, and say, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ came into the world to save sinners. Thus is the Son a servant unto the Father, Isa. 42.1. and the Law also a servant to the Son, and put into his hand; and this shows how much the heart of the Lord is on this work, and next to the subjecting of his Son, is the subserviency of the Law thereunto. Use 2 It should stir us up to make use of the Law in subserviency to the Gospel; for so long as we are in this life, the ends of the Gospel are not accomplished, there is still sin to be discovered and restrained, and condemned, there are inward principles (the Law in the heart) to be perfected, and there are duties in which men are to be directed in their whole course; and so long as the ends of the Gospel are not attained, so long the Law is still to be used: and this is that mentioned 1 Tim. 1.8. 1 Tim. 1.8. The Law is good if a man use it lawfully: that is, when it is used by us as it was delivered and published by Christ; not for Justification, so as to exact righteousness and acceptation from it, not to set it up against Christ, and the Grace of the Gospel, to make the way of the Gospel void, as the Jews did, Rom. 10.3. but in the hand of a Mediator, and for the ends of it; and they are the great things of the Law; it is the Royal Law, and therefore it is a dangerous thing to abase it, and therein to take the name of God in vain. And as to neglect the Salvation of the Gospel, so to despise the convictions or instructions of the Law. When the Law is used to discover sin, and to keep a man always low and humble in the sense of his own vileness, it makes him set a high price upon Christ, and the Mercy and Grace of God in him, and makes him to keep close to him, to keep in the city of refuge, because the avenger of blood is without the gate to expect him; and that which did at first bring a man in, will keep him in; for Christ is made a curse for us: There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Rom. 8.1. And when a man comes once to delight in the Law of God, it is sweeter to him than honey, and dearer to him than thousands of Gold and Silver, upon this ground, because it furthers the Salvation of the Gospel: as Paul says, I delight in the law of the Lord in the inward man; so far as a man hath an inward principle of conformity to the Law, and is regenerate, so far the Law is his delight; the more a man is sanctified, Mat. 11. ult. the more precious and sweet it is to him; the Commandments of Christ are not grievous, but he doth willingly take up the yoke of Christ, because it is sweet and light, and profitable. There is a sweetness in obedience as well as an ease, and there is a profit also; for there is a fruit unto holiness here, as well as the end everlasting life; and when the Law does bring a man down, to follow the Lamb whither soever he goes, and to walk humbly with his God, and say, Lord what wilt thou have me to do? this is properly for a man to use the Law lawfully, for the Law is added to the Gospel, as the Rule is to the workman's hand; and the yoke of Gospel-obedience is nothing else but the duties that the Law requires, as being the servant unto the Gospel; the way of the Gospel is still the way of thy Precepts, O God. Use 3 It is also for Consolation, it is the greatest ground of comfort, and the greatest gift of God, even next unto Christ and the second Covenant, that he hath made the Law a servant thereunto. It's much that the Lord has given us all the Creatures, and they are all our servants, Angels and Principalities, and Powers, all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollo; and the curse of the Law also, persecutions, afflictions, death, are all sanctified; but above all that he has made the Law a servant to the Gospel, For the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the Law; all is from the Law, and all our fear is from the Law, and to have the Law of God to charge sin upon a man is the great ground of a man's terror, because it comes to the Conscience with the Authority and Majesty of the great King, the highest Judge and Lawgiver; now to have this Law made a servant, and in subordination unto all a man's spiritual and eternal welfare, it is a very high ground of a man's consolation; and so a man under the second Covenant loseth only that which is evil in the first Covenant, but all the good of the first Covenant he attains under the second; whatever good the first Covenant can do him; he hath that also purchased by Christ for him, through the overplus of the Grace, the superabundant Grace of the second Covenant, that we may say Grace abounded much more; thus, Out of the eater came meat, and out of the strong came sweetness; and that which was the ground of the greatest terror in the world, a man can now claim as his portion, talk with as his counsellor, and feed upon as the sweetest of all his delights, that his soul is even ravished with it. Thus the Lord has subjected the Law to the Gospel, and do you rejoice in its Ministration. Thus have we brought this large Tract to an end, which is the Key of all the whole Treasury of God: wherein you have heard, (1) That God in the Creation did deal with man in a Covenant-way. (2) The foederati, the Covenanters were Adam and his Posterity. (3) The terms of this Covenant were perfect, personal, and perpetual Obedience. (4) The Condition on God's part was Life Spiritual, Temporal and Eternal. (5) This Covenant Adam broke, not only for himself but for all his posterity. (6) That the Curse of the Covenant broken is death spiritual, temporal and eternal. (7) That the Covenant of Works is not abolished by the fall, but all unregenerate men stand under it still. (8) That this is to every unregenerate man a desirable Condition. (9) That under this Covenant all unregenerate men are for Irritation, Coaction and Condemnation. (10) There is a Translation out of this Covenant, and an abolishment of it to all that are regenerate. (11) The Subordination of it to the Gospel. The END of the First Book. BOOK II. THE Covenant of Grace, Its AUTHOR, FOUNTAIN, and the Persons with whom it is made. CHAP. I. The Author and Fountain of this Covenant. Gen. 17.2. And I will make my Covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. SECT. I. The Person who makes this Covenant, Jehovah, and why he will deal with all in a Covenant way. THE Covenant of Works as made with man in his Creation, as violated by the Fall, and as canceled in his Regeneration, and as subordinate and made subservient to the Covenant of Grace, we have seen in the former Discourse; and we now come to consider the nature of the second and better Covenant, which all the Saints in Heaven are saved by, which man can never break, and the righteousness whereof sin can never spend. There are in Scripture four eminent public persons with whom this Covenant was made, which are set down in two instances in the Scripture: (1) With Adam, where it is very darkly represented. (2) With Noah, Gen. 3.15. Gen. 9.9. and with his Sons, which is a branch of the Covenant of Grace, and is so brought in, Isa. 54.9. This is the waters of Noah to me. (3) With Abraham, and to him was the clearest manifestation of it, who it may be was therefore called as a special term of honour the Friend of God, because the Lord imparted secrets to him in a more evident familiar manner than he had done with the Saints of old, as a man does with his friend, Luk. 1.73. it is his Oath that he swore to Abraham, to Abraham and his seed were the Promises made; Gal. 3.16. and if you be Christ's you are Abraham's seed; and Gal. 4.22, 23, 24. Abraham's Family is made a type and a shadow of the two Covenants, and the durable generation of men under them. Abraham had two Sons, which things are an Allegory, they are the two Covenants, etc. and therefore Mic. 7. ult. it is mercy unto Abraham, and truth unto Jacob, because in Abraham after a sort the Promise and the Covenant did begin, and therefore it is mercy in making it, but it is truth in keeping of it. (4) With David, Psal. 89.3. I have made a Covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant. And Isa. 55.3. I will make an everlasting Covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David; and Act. 13.34. you will find it again repeated; and therefore is Christ called the Son of David, and also David that shall be King over them. Ezek. 37.24. Hos. 3. ult. Act. 15.16. The Tabernacle of David is said to be raised up in the Primitive times; but there is a time coming that God will raise up the throne of David also, when that promise shall be fulfilled, I shall give him the Throne of his father David, of his Kingdom there shall be no end: and when that (Dan. 7.14.) shall be accomplished, He shall be brought unto the Ancient of days, and shall receive a Kingdom, after the four persecuting Monarchies shall be taken down, which we see not accomplished; when that Scripture Rev. 11.17. shall be fulfilled, That the Kingdoms of the Earth shall become the Kingdoms of the Lord. His they are now as he is the King of Nations, but they shall be so also as he is the King of Saints; and they shall subscribe unto the Lord, and his name shall be called upon them, etc. I have made choice of this Scripture, as setting forth the Covenant made with Abraham, or rather renewed which God had made fourteen years before, Gen. 15.18. but herein gave a more full expression of his entering into Covenant with him. Wherein you may observe three things, (1) That there is a Covenant, the Lord will deal with Abraham in a Covenant way, the Lord will bring him into the bond of the Covenant. Ezek. 20.37. (2) The Author of this Covenant, Jehovah, the Lord God alsufficient; and therefore he doth not here call it Abraham's Covenant, but it is my Covenant. (3) The fountain from which in God this Covenant does flow, And I will make my Covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. This Covenant is a free gift, and an act merely of free grace, and so much doth Abraham acknowledge immediately; for he falls upon his face to show that he could never be thankful enough. The property of a thankful soul is this, the more mercy it receives from God, and the more boldness it may have with God, and with the greater confidence he may come to him, with the greater reverence he does walk towards the Lord; for there is nothing that a gracious heart fears more than goodness, and he is lowest in himself when the Lord exalts him highest by his Grace. And this doth the Lord repeat three times, I will make a Covenant with thee, and my Covenant shall be with thee; and vers. 7. I will establish my Covenant with thee; I will cause my Covenant to arise; that is, I will raise up such a relation between me and thee, I will take thee into Covenant with myself, and I will enter into Covenant with thee; and this he doth repeat so often, (as Mercer does observe) partly to confirm the Faith of Abraham in the promised mercy, partly to set forth the greatness of the mercy, which no words were sufficient to express; also the repetition does stir up and awaken Abraham yet further to consider of the greatness of the mercy of God to him in it, and the greatness also of his engagement to God thereby. And from hence the first observation that I shall give you is from looking upon Abraham's Covenant as being the same with that God made with all the faithful, Gal. 3. ult. Doct. After man was fallen and had broken the first Covenant, the Lord out of his free Grace hath made with his people a second Covenant, and a better Covenant. In the handling hereof are four things to be cleared: (1) The Person that makes the Covenant, who it is, Jehovah El-shaddai, (2) That God will after the fall, as well as before, deal with his Elect in a Covenant-way. (3) The Lord hath the first and the chief hand in it, I will do it, I, even I; and therefore he doth every where call it my Covenant. (4) That the fountain of this Covenant is from God's free Grace. 1. The Person that makes it, the Author of this Covenant; and here there are two things, (1) That all the persons in the Trinity do enter into Covenant, and thereby bind themselves to make themselves over unto the Elect; and that will appear to you by these Considerations: (1) They have all of them the same nature and essence, the same will, and have all a hand in the same acts; as Creation is the act of them all, so they do all concur in making of the Covenant, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. (2) This is a Covenant of peace and reconciliation, and the Son and the Spirit are as truly offended with the sin of man, and had a hand in the first Covenant, and their authority was as truly despised in the first transgression, as the authority of the Father; and a dishonour was put upon them also, and therefore there was as much need that they should be reconciled and enter into a Covenant with man for his Salvation, Bern. Ser. 1. de adventu Domini. as God the Father. Yea some Divines conceive, that the first transgression of Angels and men was chief against the Son; and some of our own Divines (as Reinolds in Psal. 110. pag. 421.) say, That the first sin of man was principally committed against the Son, it being an affectation of that which did properly belong to him, to be like unto God in Wisdom; and also in this was sown the seed of the unpardonable sin which was to be the fatal sin under the second Covenant: and therefore as the mercy was the more glorious that they would undertake Offices in this Covenant for reconciliation, so there was the greater necessity that they should also join and be taken into the Covenant. (3) If we consider the person that does transact this business and strike up this Covenant with Abraham, who though he did it as the Word of God in the name of all the persons, yet it was the Son who did immediately speak in it, as Glassius expounds Job 33.3. the word is there, The breath of the Almighty; and Psal. 91.1. where the same word is used, it is the shadow of the Almighty, etc. (4) If we consider that the Son speaks of himself in Covenant as well as his Father; for it is by this Covenant that the Lord is the God of Abraham, because therein he did promise so to be: now Exod. 3.2, 6. the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Moses, and saith, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, etc. Act. 7.30. and the Angel of the Lord is by Scripture plainly proved to be God the Son; and it's generally (or for the most part) consented unto by all Divines, ancient and modern; Mal. 3.1. and it may be that having the great hand in striking up the Covenant, he is therefore called the Angel of the Covenant. 2. Though all the persons enter into Covenant with the Saints, yet the person that the Scripture says we do chief enter into Covenant with, and that hath the main and first hand therein, is God the Father. 1. Because it is said in Scripture to be a Covenant of peace and reconciliation, and therefore it doth suppose an enmity and a war. Now though sin was committed against all the Persons, yet the suit against sinners in Scripture does chief run in God the Father's name, as in all Societies there is usually one in whose name all their suits are commenced▪ therefore 2 Cor. 5.18, 19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself; he speaks 〈◊〉 of God the Father, who does reconcile us unto himself by Jesus Christ; and therefore we are said to be reconciled to God, and the work of the reconciliation of a sinner Christ calls his Father's business; and he is said to be an Advocate with the Father, 1 Joh. 2.1. Sin is an offence to all the Persons, they having all a hand in man's Creation, and all of them joining in giving man a Law, and entering into Covenant with him in his Creation, but in Scripture the suit against sin is said to run every where in the Father's name, and our reconciliation is unto him; and therefore it is the Father that has the great hand in the Covenant as the person reconciled. 2. Because in the Scripture the other Persons have their peculiar Offices, which they have voluntarily undertaken in this Covenant to reconcile men unto God, and therefore both are said to be sent, which is a term of Office, the Father sends the Son, and the Son from the Father sends the Spirit, Joh. 14. When the Comforter is come which I will send from the Father. Now Christ is the Mediator of the Covenant, Heb. 12.24. and the Spirit the seal of the Covenant, Ephes. 1.13. the Covenant is the Covenant of Promise; and the Spirit of the Covenant is the Spirit of Promise, and the Person that transacts all from each Person within us in reference to this Covenant; as Christ does all with God without us in reference to this Covenant. Thence in Prayer we are said chief to pray to God the Father; and Christ teacheth us to say, Our Father, etc. not that we are not to pray to all the Persons, but because the other Persons have undertaken their peculiar Offices in reference to the Prayers of the Saints; the Spirit within us as a spirit of supplication indites our Prayers, and stirs up affections answerable to our Petitions, and groans unutterable; and Christ as our High Priest receives this Incense, and offers it, and as the great Master of Requests tenders our Prayers unto the Father, and they are received out of the Angel's hand; therefore in Scripture we are chief directed to pray unto the Father: so though all the Persons, Father, Son, and holy Spirit, do enter into Covenant with the Saints, yet the Covenant in Scripture is said to be chief made with God the Father, because of the Offices that the other Persons have undertaken in the administration of this Covenant, and the Grace thereof. 3. It will appear by this, because all things in this Covenant are from him, and the other Persons in all the Offices that they undertake do it by his appointment, the original of all is in the Father. 1. The plot and the project was his to reconcile sinners to himself by a second Covenant, and all that the Son does therein is not his own will, but the will of him that sent him; and it is by this will of the Father that we are sanctified: the original and foundation of all the benefits that we have from Christ in this Covenant is from this will of the Father; Heb. 10. the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do. The plot and platform was by him laid, and as (with reverence be it spoken) David said, the platform of the building of the Temple was showed unto him, and the design was his, though Solomon his Son built it; so it is here, the plot and the form was laid by the Father, but it was the Son that did build the Church. 2. The Person with whom he would make this Covenant, he did design, Joh. 17.6. Thine they were and thou gavest them me: And he shall give eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. Rev. 13.8. 2 Tim. 2.19. And therefore there is God's book of Life, and the Lamb's book, and they do exactly answer one another, the latter being but a transcript only out of the former. The foundation of the Lord remains sure, and hath this seal, etc. 3. He doth appoint how much Grace and how much Glory he will dispense unto every one of them by this Covenant, the Lord has made Christ the Treasurer, 1 Joh. 5.11. and as it were a Feoffee in trust, Ephes. 4. but Christ does not dispense Grace unto all alike: there is a fullness of the age of the stature of Christ; but all Saints do not attain to the same stature in Grace, neither shall they in Glory, the difference is in the appointment of the Father; for in dispensing of Grace as well as in meriting of the same, Christ is but the Father's servant, and does his will. To sit at my right hand and at my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. 4. It was the Father that employed Christ in this great work, to be the Mediator of this Covenant, he did not take it of himself, and of his own motion, but as the Father enters into Covenant, so he appoints the Mediator of the Covenant, Isa. 49.8. He gives him as a Covenant, and he did call him to be a Priest; therefore you read, Mat. 12.18. My servant whom I have chosen. 5. He did confirm this Covenant by an Oath, and thereby made it unchangeable; or else it could never have been. And there is a double Oath, (1) An Oath to Christ, Psal. 110.4. making him a Priest by an Oath: (2) An Oath to all his federates, Heb. 6.17, 18. 6. He has delighted in this Covenant, and spent infinite thoughts upon it; and it is therefore called the pleasure of the Lord. Isa. 53.10. How many are thy thoughts to us ward, etc. Psal. 40.5. it is the speech of Christ unto his Father, as appears afterwards, If I should speak of thy thoughts unto us, they are more than can be expressed: and all these thoughts are in reference unto this Covenant, and his thoughts of peace towards the Elect, which he delighted in from everlasting. And by all this it will appear, that though all the persons be in Covenant with the Saints under the second Covenant, yet it is chief God the Father. §. 2. God will after the fall deal with his people in a Covenant-way: though mankind did prove unfaithful, and break the Covenant of their Creation, and so should have perished for ever under the curse of it, Covenant breaking being the great aggravation of all transgression; and therefore though it was an act of grace and mere goodness before, yet now a man would have thought the Lord should have tried man in a way of Covenant no more, but only have ruled him in a way of Sovereignty, and given him a command, and if he did not obey, to have taken him away as he saw good; but God will deal with man in a Covenant-way. Mic. 7. ult. Rom. 15.8. 1. The Lord will do it, thereby to make known his mercy and his truth, and he doth manifest both these in the Covenant; there is mercy in making the Covenant, and mercy infinitenitely the more, because it is now with a perfidious and sinful people, whose hearts have not been steadfast with the Lord; and there is truth and faithfulness in keeping it, and there was no way for God to show forth his faithfulness but this, by continuing a Covenant, and to be constant in it; from a man's conversion unto his glorification, for spiritual mercies, and for temporal, Psal. 111.9. he is always mindful of his Covenant; he has commanded his Covenant for ever, that is, to stand fast for ever; his Faithfulness is as the Mountains, and as the Ordinances of Heaven, and you may as soon change the one as the other: and this Faithfulness under the second Covenant is so much the more seen, because of our unfaithfulness unto him; when the unfaithfulness of man cannot make the faithfulness of God of none effect 2. Because the Lord will honour his Son as the second Adam; and the glory of the first Adam was a Covenant and an Image, and so shall the second Adam be. And he must have a seed also to whom these shall be conveyed, Isa. 53.8. The word signifies generation. In whom he shall see his seed, and prolong his days, as Psal. 72. and Christ is his Son in both generation and succession, naturally, as they bear his Image, and legally as they stand under his Covenant, and the Lord will honour the second Adam as he did the first; in both these the Lord having made Adam the type of him that was to come. 3. That hereby the Lord might honour the Creature; the Covenant is the staff of beauty, because it is the great beauty and glory of any people that God hath taken them into Covenant, Zach. 11.10 specially if we consider the second Covenant to be Matrimonial, and the Lord doth thereby betrothe him unto himself in loving kindness, and mercy and faithfulness, as Hos. 2.18. the great honour of the people of Israel, Deut. 26.18. was, that they were a people peculiar unto God; thence he is called the God of Israel: and this is the great honour of the Saints, which makes them more excellent than their neighbours, because they have God so nigh them to be their God in Covenant. 4. That it may be the greater obligation unto men to obedience, Gen. 17.7. I will establish my Covenant with thee, thou shalt therefore keep my Covenant. And it is the great answer unto all Temptations, I am in Covenant with the Lord, as a woman that is married, it is a sufficient answer unto all other suitors, I am already married unto another. Je●. 13.11. As a girdle to the loins of a man, so have I caused the whole house of Israel to cleave unto me, that they might be unto me for a name and for a praise. The Lord bound them to him by Covenant, and it is a great aggravation of sin, that the Lord loves us and we forget the Covenant of our God; therefore Adultery is aggravated above all other sins, Hos. 3.2. A woman beloved of her husband, yet an adulteress, how abominable is it! 5. To sweeten obedience, and make it the more free and voluntary; when a man takes it upon himself and gives the hand to the Lord, 2 Chron. 30.7, 8. which was the custom amongst men, when they entered into Covenant, Ezek. 17.18. and that men might see that their good always goes along with their duty, and that God that did command to obey, did promise to reward, and therefore did it not ex indigentia sed potentia, out of indigence, but from power; Christ's goodness extends not unto God as munificentia, by way of munificence. Austin puts the difference between man and God in this, as the Earth drinks up the water, so doth the Sunbeams also, one out of its own necessity, but the other out of its power; so God requires duty out of bounty for your good always, that he may reward it; Grace does not destroy but raise and rectify self-love; Christ in his obedience had a glory set before him, and so had Moses a respect to the recompense of reward. There is a love of reward which is lawful, when it is not this that is the only thing that lancheth a man forth in a duty, but only fills his sails; but when it is mercenary love and has respect to nothing in the duty but the loaves, this is sinful; and it is this Covenant that makes the yoke of Christ easy and profitable, having an eye to the exceeding great and precious promises, which engages a man to have respect to all the Commandments; for the Lord doth delight to allure men into ways of holiness and duty. Hos. 2.14. Lastly, the Lord will have it so: (1) That by the promises of this Covenant, he may sanctify a man, change his image, and make him partaker of the Divine nature, and that every one of them may carry the soul continually to Christ as streams to the fountain, 2 Pet. 1.4. in whom they are Yea and Amen. (2) That this may be the ground of a working faith, and a lively hope, and a fervent prayer, all which are grounded only upon the promises of this Covenant; for had there not been a Covenant between God and us, there had been no place for faith, no ground for hope, and no room for the prayer of faith, which only is bottomed upon a promise. (3) Whatever is done in this Covenant it is God that has the first and chief hand therein, and we do not enter into Covenant with him, but he enters into Covenant with us first; though the Covenant be mutual, yet it is called the Lords Covenant, as Christ faith unto his Disciples, Joh. 15.16. You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you: they did choose Christ (as every believing soul doth) but the love first began on Christ's part; and so it does also in this Covenant, 1 Joh. 4.10. Not that we loved him, but he loved us, and me love him because he loved us first: so we do not begin the Covenant with God, but the Lord doth begin with us; and the motion came from him alone. God the Father is not passive in it, but active, he was content that Christ should reconcile us to him. As it was to David an acceptable service of Joab in reconciling his Son Absalon to him, because his heart did run out to him; so God the Father is active in this work, he is in Christ reconciling the world; and all that Christ does is by the Father's appointment; and he is his servant in it, and it is the pleasure of the Lord, and he doth love to have it so; and had not he employed Christ in this work, there had never been a reconciliation between God and man. As it is true by our Union with Christ we are joined to, or as the word signifies, glued to the Lord; yet the Union doth begin on Christ's part first, and Christ unites himself to us by the Spirit, before we can by our faith be united to him: so it is in the Covenant also, it does begin on God's part; and as it was the Woman's great dishonour to be first in the transgression, so it is the Lords great glory to be first in the reconciliation. And therefore when Adam, after his fall, stood trembling, and could expect nothing but a sentence of condemnation, the Lord was pleased to reveal a new Covenant to him; for the Text saith, he was afraid and he hid himself: so unto Abraham, the motion of a Covenant was from the Lord, and not from Abraham. There is a Grace preceding which works Grace, and there is also a Grace co-operating that acts Grace, but it is preventing Grace that is the first. §. 3. The main part of this Covenant is transacted by God without us, which will appear if we consider the particulars of it. 1. The Purpose and intention of it, that is in himself, from his own will only; for all is done according to the good pleasure of his will, Ephes. 1.9. Rom. 9 and he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy: so that the whole purpose and plot of it is in the bosom of God alone, and according to this plot all things are done in this Covenant. As in the Creation all things are done from an Idea in the mind of God, and according unto that platform, Heb. 11.3. Joh. 1.18. as the Temple was built according to the pattern, so in the Covenant also; and therefore Christ is said to come from the bosom of the Father; being from this gracious intention and purpose of God himself from everlasting. 2. He entered into Covenant with Christ the second Adam that he should be the Mediator of the Covenant, and the person that should do all the great works that he had intended in this Covenant: 2 Tim. 1.9. and therefore we read of a promise of eternal life made unto us before the world began; God did not content himself with a purpose, but he added thereto a Promise and Covenant to his Decree, which could not be unto us, because we were not; therefore it must be unto one that did represent our persons, and was looked upon as in our stead; for a purpose might be in himself, but a promise cannot be but unto another; and there was a glory and a posterity that God did promise unto him in this Covenant, and that he would carry Christ through the work that he had to do, Psal. 16. as appears afterwards: and therefore Christ says, He is my God, and the lot is fallen to me in a fair ground, which is the speech of Christ; and therefore Prov. 8.22. he says, The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way. The Covenant that he made with Christ was the first of his going forth unto the Creature, Prov. 8.30, 31. and upon this were grounded those true delights of Christ mentioned, Prov. 8.30, 31. And my delights were with the sons of men. 3. By virtue of this Covenant are all those Legal acts passed in God. In the work of Redemption there are some acts spiritually natural, and they are acts of God within us, which do imply a real and physical change, Phil. 1.6. when our natures and principles are changed, and of unholy are made holy: but there are also some Moral acts, and they are acts of God upon us; as if a man be a guilty person, or accused as such, and there be an act of pardoning and accepting, this is a Moral act, an act upon him; and if he be a sick person, and there be a Physician to cure him, or blind, and his eyes be opened, this is a natural act in him; and if a man be a captive and he be made a free man by a ransom paid, this is a change of his state; the one is in Justification, and the other in Sanctification; the one is mutatio moralis, and the other naturalis. Now the main acts of God in this Covenant, and the main of the Covenant consists in acts done without us and upon us; as by sovereign imputation he doth count our sins Christ's, Isa. 53. and he makes to meet upon him the iniquities of us all; he died as the second Adam, and all the Elect died in him, and so his death took place for all the Elect that ever were, or shall be, by virtue of the Covenant of God, and the sovereign imputation of God immediately after the fall; Rev. 13.8. therefore is he said, To be a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; that is, in respect of efficacy grounded upon the imputation of God, who can call things that are not as if they were; Rom. 3.25. and so all the sins of the old world and the ancient Saints were pardoned the sins that were passed through the forbearance of God: Tanquam in capite. 2 Cor. 5.21. and so Christ risen as a public person, as a second Adam, and he being justified all the Elect were justified, though there be an actual Justification when they do believe, and so with him we ascend and sit together with him in Heavenly places, etc. And as he is made sin for us, so we are made the righteousness of God in him; as our sins are laid upon him, so his righteousness is imputed unto us, and truly accepted for us as our Surety. For the debt paid by a Surety is in the esteem of the Law said to be paid by the debtor, and he for that cause is acquitted. And so it is in Adoption, Now we are the sons of God, that is, God accepts us as Children and Sons, and because we are Sons he has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our heart, we being by God counted members of Christ, and so by our Union with him we do partake with him in his filiation; and all these are acts of God upon us, but without us, and therefore the main benefits and acts of the Covenant are transacted by God without us; and that is as truly and as perfectly done now as ever it shall be. 4. There is not a soul that is brought into this Covenant but it is by God the Father; he hath said, Ezek. 20.37. Joh. 8.44. I will bring them into the bond of the Covenant. No man can come to me except God the Father draw him. What is the meaning and intent of the preaching of the Gospel without, and all the tenders and offers of Christ to the soul by the Spirit within? It is only to this end, that they might be a people in Covenant with God; and all things that Christ doth, he doth as God the Father's servant, to draw men into Covenant with him, that by Christ we should come unto God. The expression of drawing does set forth unto us its efficacy and certainty; and therefore drawing and coming are put together, to show that man by nature is not willing but an enemy unto this Covenant, but ex ●olentibus volentes facit, he makes men of unwilling willing; he does powerfully work as if he did draw, and men do as certainly come as they that are drawn: Grace works strongly, and therefore God is said to draw, and it works sweetly, and therefore men are said to come; it is an act of power in God, and yet an act of will in man; it is a noble thing to consider how man is drawn to God: never any man did come into the bond of the Covenant but he that was before drawn by the Father; and there is an Almighty power that goes to the work, even the same power that raised up the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead to glory. Ephes. 1.19. 5. All things that are within us or performed by us, he has undertaken to work in us to will and to do; the beginning of it and the finishing of it belongs to him; Phil. 1.6. and here lies the happiness of the Saints, that in the Covenant God has undertaken both parts, and therefore the Covenant doth commonly run, I will be their God, so shall they be my people. He doth undertake for us, as well as for himself, he doth undertake that he will be a good husband, and you shall be a good wife; and in this lies the great blessing of the second Covenant, and the Grace thereof. It is true, that the passive part is ours; and there are some acts that do belong to us properly, we believe and we repent, but it is he that works in us to believe and repent of his good pleasure. Nos agimus sed acti; nos volumus, sed ipse facit ut velimus, We act but as acted by him; we will, but he makes us to will. Aust. 6. We are kept in the Covenant by him alone: he brings us within the bond of the Covenant, and he doth also keep us there, Jer. 31.33. I will put my Law in their hearts, and they shall not departed from me. And Hos. 2.7. I will hedge up their way, and will make a wall that they shall not find their paths. They shall follow after their lovers but they shall not overtake them; God will in mercy cross them in ways of sinning, and make all ways of sin burdensome to them; and all is, that they may return to their former husband; though they have committed adultery against him, yet he saith unto them, Return you back-sliding children and I will receive you; you have gone a whoring from me, yet return to me, and I will receive you. And Hos. 3.3. The Lord will buy them unto him again with fifteen pieces of silver; their base condition into which they were cast should be the ground of their returning unto God again, their former husband; it is the purchase that the Lord would give for them; difficulties and disquiets, and disappointments in ways of sin doth the Lord give men to keep them in his Covenant. Christ tells them, They should deceive if possible the very Elect; Mac. 24. Rev. 13.8. they were deceived as many as were not writ in the Lamb's book; a special hand of God is towards them in their preservation, and there is a power of God put forth for them, that keeps their hearts as with a garrison; he that brought them into the Covenant, hath undertaken to keep them there. 7. Every renewal of the Covenant is from the Lord; Gen. 2.15. the Lord did make this Covenant with Abraham, and fourteen years after renews it. It is not Abraham that renews it with God so much, as God with Abraham: and so the Lord says, Jer. 31.31. I will make a new Covenant; it is but a renewal of the same Covenant, and a further and more glorious manifestation of the mind of God therein; he will show them his Covenant, Psal. 25. Of this renewing the Covenant we shall speak afterward, this is only to manifest, that he who hath the great and the universal hand in this Covenant is the Lord; we may say as the Scripture doth of Joseph, whatever was done in Egypt he was the doer of it; so whatever is done in this Covenant, the Lord is the doer of it, it is the act of God the Father. SECT. II. Freegrace the Fountain of this Covenant. WE come now to the fourth Head, the ground and foundation of whatever the Lord hath done in this Covenant, and that is Freegrace, his own good will, and his own unexpected love; the Lord had no argument or motive out of himself; and therefore he says, I will give my Covenant between me and thee; he hath no other aim in this whole work, but the praise of the glory of his Grace. Luk. 2. It is glory to God, and good will to men. Ephes. 1.7. And thereby is God glorified under the second Covenant, and this the Lord calls upon his people to observe, Look to the Rock from whence you were hewed; look to Abraham and to Sarah; Isa. 41.2. and when he was in Vr of the Chaldeans, and did with Terah his father worship other gods beyond the River, the Lord did call him alone and bless him, and alone singled out this one person, and raised him up and did exalt him and set him on high, and called him to his foot, and led him on his way, and the Lord passed on before him. And so David made the Covenant to be only the fruit of freegrace, 2 Sam. 7.21. What can David thy servant say more? It doth exceed my apprehension or expression, only thou hast done it according unto thy own heart, out of thy own free love, that thou mightest make thy servant to know even those great things. And this will appear, 1. If we consider the person that is first in this Covenant, and that is the Lord, who hath here expressed himself to be El-shaddai, he is all-sufficient, one that hath all in himself, and within his own compass, he is a Sun, that is, he shines with his own natural light, and not as the Moon and Stars with a mutuatitious and a borrowed light; for as he is debtor to none, so he stands in need of none, he needs not borrow any excellency or glory from another; and therefore for this God to enter into Covenant, must needs be of Grace, and by Grace you are saved. 2. If we look upon man as fallen under another Covenant broken and perished under the curse of it, and under that Covenant desiring to continue, Gal. 4.21. They did desire to be under the Law, Rom. 10.3. they looked upon it as a desirable condition, they did seek to establish their own righteousness, and were enemies to the Gospel, and unto all others for the Gospel sake; the way of the Gospel the heart of man is against, and that now the Lord should unto such reveal this second Covenant that hate his Grace, and shut their eyes, and stop their ears, and do their utmost to receive the grace of God in vain, that though they be under another Covenant, & enemies unto this, yet should rather choose to be under their broken Covenant than accept of this. 3. That this Covenant should be given unto some and not unto others: that when the Angels that fell were under the same curse of the former Covenant with us, yet that the Lord should not catch after the seed of Angels, Heb. 2.16. but of Abraham, and let them perish under their Covenant, never give unto them an offer of another Covenant. That when mankind were all of them strangers to the Covenant of Grace, alike in their natural states, and enemies, that the Lord should be pleased to single out some to show them his Covenant, and for nothing but because he hath a favour to them, Ephes. 2.14. to choose some out of a wretched family, and a wicked stock; and the Grace of this Covenant he will make known unto them, and they shall know the power of this distinguishing love; and when he shall pass by many of the great, and the wise, and the noble, and make choice of babes, and the foolish things of this world, that have nothing in them that should commend them, but freegrace made the difference; and it is this that raiseth them up above their brethren; He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy; and he gives a commission to his loving kindness to take hold of such a soul, and he hears a voice behind him, when he is posting with his back upon God, and his face towards Hell, and there is a voice that he hears that other men do not: therefore it is said, Act. 9.22. That they saw the light, but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me: they were with him, and yet there was a voice came to Paul; a noise and a sound of it they did hear, but to hear so as to have it made effectual to their souls, that proceeds only from peculiar love. 4. That in this Covenant, (1) Our persons should be taken into the same Covenant with the Son of God is the highest advancement: as the greatest and lowest abasement of Christ was, Gal. 4.4. to be made under our Covenant, to be made under the Law, and so under the curse thereof, being made sin; so the highest advancement of man is to come under Christ's Covenant, and thereby we have an interest in his Righteousness and Sonship; and by this there is the nearest relation between God and us; for it is a Matrimonial Covenant, the nearest and the sweetest Union; and it is a Covenant of Friendship, wherein there is the fullest communion beyond that of the Angels themselves; for we are betrothed unto the Lord in mercies and loving kindness, Hos. 2.18, 19 (2) In respect of our services; it is by the Covenant that they have a reference unto a reward; there is not the meanest services of the Saints that shall lose their reward, not a cup of cold water: therefore Luther says, The whole world has not a reward good enough for the least service of a Saint; and professes he had rather be the author of the meanest work of the Saints than of the most glorious acts of Alexander, or of Caesar. And this reference unto a reward riseth from this Covenant, for Psal. 16.3. Christ saith, Our goodness extends not unto God. There was in Christ a merit, but it was only ex pacto, Heb. 10. it is by his will they are sanctified, and through his acceptation: had not he made a Covenant with the Lord, it had been free with God the Father to accept the righteousness of Christ or not; and therefore there is the Grace of Union and of Unction, and even the Merit of Christ, the ground of it is freegrace by virtue of the Covenant that passed between the Father and the Son; and therefore much more that our works or any thing we do should have any relation to a reward from God, especially as to Eternal Life. §. 2. But did not Christ purchase this Covenant, or else by his entreaty obtain it? for Christ is the Mediator of the new Covenant, and therefore it may be at his request the Lord did make this Covenant with us, and not singly out of his own love to us. I answer, No, Christ did not merit the Grace of the Covenant; there is a difference to be carefully put between the Covenant itself, and the benefits and fruits of the Covenant; all the fruits of the Covenant are dispensed by Christ, and are part of his purchase, as Heaven, Grace, and Glory, the very being of a Church, God has purchased it with his own blood; but as for the Covenant itself, it is that in which Christ is promised, and all the Merits of Christ, and all our acceptation with God through him; and it is part of the Covenant that God makes with us, I will give you my Son, and one of the grand promises thereof; and when he did resolve to enter into Covenant with man, than Christ becomes his servant, and his chosen, he being to be the second Adam, and Person into whose hand all the transactions of this Covenant should be committed. And to exalt this freegrace in him that is the Prince of the Covenant, and that we may see all things are of God, 2 Cor. 5.18. Who has reconciled us to himself in Christ; and all things that do appertain to the Kingdom of Christ: He that built all things is God; Heb. 3.4. it is spoken in reference to his House, that is, his Church, and not in reference to the general works of Creation: so that though it is Christ that is the builder of his House, and as a Lord in his own House, yet in Christ it is God that is the builder of it, all things are originally of him; and this Grace of God in Christ as the Prince of the Covenant, will appear in these Particulars. 1. There is freegrace in designation; for he is the Elect of God, Isa. 42.1. and Prov. 8.22. He is the beginning of the ways of God, the firstborn among many brethren: one first in the womb of God's Decree, and therefore had therein the pre-eminence, he was first elected, and we in him. And as our Election was an act of freegrace, He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy; so was Christ's also an act of the same grace, and therefore, Heb. 1.3. He is the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person. As he is God, so all the acts of the Father are acts of nature, as his generation is from God naturally, and therefore necessarily: But as he is the Head of the Church, and the Prince of the Covenant of Grace as God-man, so he comes under the acts of the will of God; and it was free with God whether he would have chosen him to this Office, and put this honour upon him or no: and therefore as in the one he is haeres natus, a born heir; so in the other he is constitutus, a constituted heir. So that even in Christ all is of God's freegrace, he did not honour himself, he did not appoint himself, but it was the Lord that did call him, and design him to this service, and wrote his name in the volume of his book; so some expound that place, Heb. 10.7. the first page of it, he being the beginning of all Gods going forth towards the Creature. 2. There is freegrace in the Father's qualification, and preparing and fitting of Christ for this great work: it is true, that Christ was God, and had a power equal with his Father, and therefore thought it no robbery to be so, yet the Scripture doth attribute all unto the freegrace of the Father. (1) It was God the Father that prepared him a body; he that doth give unto every one of us a body, as it pleased him, he also did give the Lord Christ a body, and did fashion it according to his good pleasure, even a humane nature; Heb. 10.5. the Holy Ghost did overshadow the Virgin that she should conceive; it was a body that was given him by the Father. (2) There was Union from the Father; and therefore there is a grace of Union as to us: in Mystical Union, it is the Father made up the match between us and Christ, and we are united unto him for ever; so in the Personal and Hypostatical Union, it is the Father that made up the match, and made the two Natures to become one Person, and therefore it is said, Luk. 1.35. That holy thing that is born shall be called the Son of God; for it was in obedience to the Father that he did come to take this body into Union; it is true, he did take the seed of Abraham, but it was by the Father's command, Heb. 2.16. Heb. 10.7. and in obedience to him, and therefore he says, A body hast thou prepared me; and therefore he did take it upon himself, as he did his sufferings, The cup that his Father gave him he did drink; and so in him dwelled the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 3. There is also the grace of Unction, God gave not the Spirit by measure unto him: Joh. 3.34. Jesus of Nazareth whom God has anointed with the Holy Ghost, and with power. As it pleased the Father in him should all fullness dwell; as the Sun of Righteousness, and as the fountain of life: and this is not in him only as God but as Mediator; but all this is still as it pleased the Father, acts of his freegrace. 4. Assistance in this great work; it is true that Christ was God, and able to raise himself, 1 Joh. 5.11. and did quicken himself, and did overcome death, and spoiled Principalities and Powers, and triumphed over them openly, but yet he doth ascribe all this to the gracious assistance of God the Father; it is the Lord that made him a promise, that he should go through with his work; and Christ doth strengthen himself by exercising faith upon the Promises of God the Father, who promised, Isa. 42.4. He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he hath set judgement in the earth; I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, I will hold thee by the hand; that is, by a mighty assistance and support, and I will keep thee, etc. and with these Christ helps himself by exercising faith upon them: I will trust in thee, he is near that justifies me, Isa. 50.8. Who will contend with me, the Lord is at my right hand, I shall not be moved, Psal. 16.8, 9, 10. therefore my heart is glad, and my flesh shall rest in hope; for thou will not leave my soul in Hell; [i. e. in the grave, under the power and condemnation of that sin and wrath that now is upon me], nor suffer my body to see corruption; but thou wilt show me the path of life, etc. And Psal. 22. he strengthens his faith by experience of his forefathers, Our Fathers trusted in thee and thou deliveredst them. So that Christ's assistance in all his managing of the work of the Covenant is wholly from the freegrace of God the Father; and therefore in all the business of it Christ had recourse unto his Father by prayer continually. 5. Acceptance: It is true that Christ as his Person was in worth and value answerable unto all the Elect of God, and beyond them, so there was a worth and price in all that he did in his suffering answerable unto whatever the Law and Justice of God did require; God did abate him nothing, he paid the uttermost farthing, else there could not have been satisfaction; Isa. 63.6. for it must be redditio aequivalentis pro aequivalenti, it was a full satisfaction, God did abate him nothing in this, but God made our sins to meet upon him, he did not abate him one sin, and being made sin he did not abate him any part of the curse. And what mercies soever the Lord doth bestow upon us, Christ hath paid a valuable price for them, because his obedience did deserve and did truly merit at the hand of God whatever the Lord shall bestow upon us to eternity, either in Grace here, or Glory hereafter; it is indeed free unto us and a gift, but yet it is unto Christ a purchase; and therefore here indeed there is nothing of grace as it were, but all is of debt, that is, Christ did lay down something answerable unto whatever God did either give, or forgive. But yet here is Grace in the Lord's acceptance of all that Christ hath done and suffered for us, and the imputation thereof unto us, and that the Lord should account this by a Sovereign imputation to be as done in our stead, and for us; for the Law did say, the soul that sins shall die; it is Grace only that brings in the commutation of the Person, though there be no commutation of the righteousness that was required of us, Heb. 10.10. it is merely of Grace that the Lord has accepted of Christ for us; all the benefits of the Death of Christ, as Pardon of Sin, Reconciliation with God, Justification and Adoption, they do all depend upon this will of the Father: for had he not appointed this work, and thereby declared his acceptation, had not he accepted it, who was the Judge, we could never have had any benefit by it; and therefore it is by his will alone that all this is made over unto us, there was freegrace abundantly in his acceptation; By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; Isa. 53.11. Joh. 6.38. by the knowledge of him, and faith in him, (for of such a knowledge it is meant.) I came not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me: the meaning is not as if Christ came unwillingly, but that his Father's will was first in this work, and so much in it that the thing that Christ did principally aim at was to please his Father, and to do his will therein. Now because Christ's great aim was to do his Father's will, and to please his Father, doing all by appointment from him, he knew he hath acceptance with him; for though Christ had paid the price, it was free with God to accept it or no. 6. There is a reward that is given unto Christ for all the services that he does perform; He hath a name above every name, Phil. 2.9, 10. and a seed, Isa. 53. and a glory, He being set on the right hand of the Majesty on high, 1 Pet. 1. ult. Angels and Principalities, and Powers being made subject unto him: and this the Lord hath given him as a reward of his service. I will not now speak unto that Question put by some Divines, Whether Christ did merit for himself? which our Divines do deny in this sense, as being the great end why he did come into the world, to merit for his Electones, because the Scripture saith, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, Joh. 3.16. And to us a Child is born, to us a son is given, Isa. 9.6. And Rom. 5. Herein was the love of Christ, that when we were enemies he died for us. And Joh. 17.19. For their sakes I sanctify myself. But yet it cannot be denied, that the Lord did give glory unto Christ as that which he promised as a reward of his obedience; only it was of Grace to appoint it, and of Grace to accept it, and so by consequence of Grace to reward it. 7. And this will appear at the last day, that all that Christ hath and doth is from freegrace; because the Kingdom that he hath received he must give up then unto God the Father, 1 Cor. 15.24. He did receive a Kingdom at the beginning, and had a gracious manifestation of it when he did ascend up into Heaven, All power is given him in Heaven and in Earth; Dan. 7.14. and when the Persecuting Monarchies be taken down, there shall be given him a Kingdom which shall not be destroyed; but all this shall be given up to the Father at the last day. Not that Christ shall cease as Mediator to be the Head of the Church, and to have an influence into them in glory, God doing all by a Head; for I conceive that the Mystical Union is eternal, as well as the Hypostatical, and that a man under the Covenant of Grace shall never stand before God in his own righteousness to eternity, but as he is justified by the righteousness of Christ now, by a righteousness imputed, so he shall ever be; for as here he is accepted of God for his Master's Grace, so he shall hereafter enter into his Master's joy: but Christ shall give up the Church, which is his Kingdom, and the present manner of Government of it, and shall lay it all down, and make it appear before Men and Angels, that whatever he hath done, it has been as his Father's servant to please him, and to do his will, and shall after the day of Judgement (which is the last act of his Kingly Office) give up his account to him, which shall be giving up of the Kingdom to God, that so God may be all in all, that is, have the glory, not only of all the glory of the Saints, but of all the glory of Christ also; and have his Grace honoured as the fountain of all: and it shall be manifested to all the world, that even the merit of Christ is after a sort Gratia inviscerata, Grace inviscerated; the Kingdom shall so return unto God as it is now committed and appropriated unto Christ, Joh. 5.22, etc. The Father judgeth no man; and yet Heb. 12.22. he is called God the Judge of all; the Father judgeth in the Son, but the Son is the person to whom the execution and dispensation of all judgement is committed: now he rules his Church by the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments, and the supplies of his Spirit, by degrees perfecting his Image begun in his Members, and by the sword of his mouth destroying his enemies; and so he shall do till the Resurrection of the Dead; and then after a sort this Kingdom shall cease, he shall no more exercise the Office of a Mediator in compassionating, defending, and interceding for his Church; and then this glory he shall publicly ●●sign before Men and Angels into the hand of his Father, as having done all as his servant; and he himself as a part of that great Church of the firstborn shall appear subject to the Father, as having done all by his command; and God shall be all in all, and have the glory, not only of the salvation of the Saints, but of the exaltation of his Son also; yet so as Christ shall reign for ever as God co equal with the Father, and also as Mediator shall be the Head of the Church as glorified for ever. Use 1 §. 3. Let us from hence learn that God is willing to be reconciled unto sinners, and to exalt his Grace therein, for he is first in the reconciliation, the Covenant of reconciliation began in him, his love had no motive or foundation but within itself, he doth it freely, and ●or his own sake, from the beginning to the end, from the foundation to the top-stone there ●s nothing that is primarily active in our Salvation but freegrace, he has loved us freely, choose us freely, freely given his Son, freely accepted his obedience for us, and imputed it ●o us, it is his gift by grace, freely given us his Spirit; faith and repentance free, Rom. 5.18. Phil. 1.29. God's works are free, Ephes. 2.10. and Salvation free; For by Grace we are saved, through faith, Tit. 3.5. Even when he does reward our obedience, it is free, Hos. 10.12. We sow in righteousness, and reap in mercy. The unbelief of a man's heart is in nothing more seen, than in jealous and suspicious thoughts of God, and therein doth the enmity of a man's spirit appear, when man distrusts him as an enemy; now his intention is to be reconciled, and he hath used the most effectual remedy, sent his Son, and committed unto us the Ministry of reconciliation; it was a work that his heart was much in. How did it please David, when Joab made the motion of bringing home Absalon again, because his heart went out to him? So it is here, could you read the heart of God: you think, it may be, Christ is willing, and that he is compassionate towards you, but that the Father is hard to be reconciled, and Christ hath much ado to plead with him, and persuade him; but I tell you, God is in Christ reconciling the world; Christ is a fruit of the Love of God to you; Joh. 3.16. Christ doth but his Father's will when he brings you unto God, and his Father loves to have it so, for the Father himself loves you; be assured thy unworthiness cannot hinder him, for he loves freely. Cast thy soul upon this freegrace in the Son, anchor thou upon this Rock, and remember that all glory that is given to Christ, and all acts done by him, are to be to the glory of God the Father, Phil. 2.10, 11. It is required not only of the Saints, that they close with the Grace of God conveyed by the Covenant, but with that Grace that made the Covenant and is the foundation of it, and say, Here I will rest, (as the Lepers) if freegrace save me I shall live, if it will reject me I can but die; it is free which way soever he deals with me, there is not freewill in me that can make me differ. Use 2 2. How should this draw in our hearts to close with this Love, and inflame them after the Lord! There is nothing doth inflame the soul towards God but impressions and reflections of the love of God unto us. (1) The great business of this Covenant is to win your Love, not only that he may be reconciled unto you, but that you may be reconciled unto him again. (2) Consider what a grief it is to a man to lose his Love; Love will be paid in no coin but Love again. (3) The love and freegrace of God can do man no good unless it doth work in you love to him again: and as he loves you freely, so do you love him thankfully; as no benefit that comes from him is saving to you, unless it proceed from love, so there is no duty that comes from you is pleasing unto him unless it proceed from love; and the proper fruit of this love is to work in you love to him again. (4) If you despise his Love, you shall surely feel his wrath; and there is nothing in the world that doth inflame the wrath of God, and make his fire burn so fiercely as Grace despised, and Love turned into wantonness. For if Love will not win you, what will? Use 3 3. How should this comfort us when we do turn to God, and specially how should it encourage a back-sliding sinner to return! No man hath such misgiving thoughts as he hath; Erubescit conscientia, erubescit oratio, etc. Tert. Hos. 14.4. but yet remember, he will receive you graciously; Return you back-sliding children, he will heal your back-sliding, and love you freely. There is no sin so great that freegrace cannot pardon, there is no mercy so good, that freegrace cannot bestow; and therefore above all things beg of the Lord that the apprehensions of this Love may be shed abroad in your hearts; it is this only that can make the promise sure, because it is of Grace: this will assist us in all duties, arm us against all temptations, sustain us in all conditions, answer all objections that can be made against the peace and comfort of the soul: and truly when all works in a man cease, and the guilt of sin doth wear out the testimony of blood, and the filth of sin the testimony of water, and the soul hath nothing to fly to, he is then fain to cast anchor here, rest upon the Grace of God in the Covenant, who promises mercy freely, loves for his own sake, and because he will, to show the absoluteness of his will, and the unchangeableness of his Counsel towards poor sinners for ever; Cogitatio suffulta est: as de Deiu upon the place. Isa. 26.3. and here the soul is stayed in the greatest desertions and darkness that can be, and there is a sweet peace that follows in his soul: and there is nothing can stay sinking thoughts and spirits like this, when apprehensions of freegrace are put under a soul to support it; That there is nothing can separate from the love of God; that being the first cause, there can nothing arise de novo, that can make it void and of no effect. CHAP. II. The Covenant of Grace as made primarily with Christ the second Adam. Gal. 3.16. Now to Abraham and his seed were the Promises made, he saith not to seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. SECT. I. The Covenant made with Christ Personal, in regard of his Office. §. 1. WE have formerly spoken of the Person that made this Covenant, whose Covenant it is, and who had a chief hand therein, it is the Lords Covenant. We do now come unto the second thing, and that is the Persons that are taken into this Covenant, with whom this Covenant was made. The first Covenant was made with the first Adam, and with all the posterity that came from him by natural generation, and is therefore fitly called Foedus Naturae, the Covenant of Nature. The second Covenant is made with the second Adam, and with all those that are in him; and because it belongs not unto all, therefore is styled Foedus Gratiae, the Covenant of Grace: and this Scripture holds forth a threefold subordination of the persons received into this Covenant: (1) Christ; (2) those that are in Christ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Oecum. in loc. Rom. 2.4. (3) their seed also. The Apostle had proved in the former part of the Chapter, that men are justified by faith only, and not by the works of the Law, and that the same way of Justification that there was unto Abraham, God did intent to justify all the Elect by, for Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness; and he was herein the common father of all that should believe; For they that are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham, the father of the Circumcision, and of the Uncircumcision also; and therefore he received the sign of Circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of Faith, which he had being yet uncircumcised. Now Abraham being herein a common root, and father unto both Jews and Gentiles, there was but one way of Justification for both, and that for ever. And whereas it is objected, that Abraham was justified by faith before the Law was given, but the Law being published, and that in the form of a Covenant, this do and live, this seems to disannul and to make void the promise, and the ancient way of Justification of Abraham, and to set up another: Now the Apostle comes to prove the stability and unchangeableness of this Covenant, from the manner and custom amongst men, and their transactions one with another. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The word in the Greek signifies both a Covenant and a Testament, and therefore we render it for both; one in the Text, and the other in the Margin, pactionem, so Beza, Testamentum, so the Vulgar. Now if a man make a bargain, and confirm, engross and seal it, and deliver it to the benefit of another, it becomes unchangeable, and irrevocable to the person that did it, and he is bound to it, and cannot revoke it: or if a man make a Testament, and then die, it is amongst men counted sacred, and no man can diminish or add thereunto. If men whose Wills are mutable, who may err and repent, do by their own acts disenable themselves to revoke their Covenants; much more the great God, who is in his Wisdom infinite, able to foresee all inconveniencies, that nothing can arise de novo, that he knew not of before; and who is in his purposes unchangeable, and cannot repent; surely if he make a Covenant, it is sure and stable, that no after-acts of his shall make it void and of none effect: but to Abraham and his seed was the Covenant thus made long before the Law was given; therefore the Law given afterward cannot make it void: and if the Covenant be the same, than the way of Justification and Blessedness must be still the same. Here are three things to be expounded: (1) What is meant by the Promises? (2) How Abraham is here to be considered in receiving of the Promises? (3) What is meant by Christ here, this one seed to whom the Promises were made? 1. By Promises the whole Covenant of Grace is meant: He doth call it the Covenant in the former verse, and the Promise in the singular number in the verse following; and the reason is, because the main of the Covenant doth consist of Promises; they are many, Promises of this life and of the life to come, Promises absolute and conditional, Promises of Grace and to Grace; and they are therefore called better Promises; and so because in respect of the Fathers, their good things were even wholly contained in Promises, as the Ceremonial Law was contained in Ordinances, and they saw nothing in the one but in the Type, and nothing in the other but in the Promises; they did salute them afar off, and embracing them died in the faith of them, but they never received the thing promised, Heb. 11. Joh. 8.57. only as Abraham desired to see my days, says Christ, and he saw it, and was glad. And it is sometimes called the promise, because they are all one in Christ, being in him all yea and amen, as lines in a Centre are one; follow any promise to its Original, as rivers unto the head and rise of them, and they will all lead you unto Christ: and yet they are Promises in themselves many, as the lines are in the Circumference, though but one in the Centre, Ephes. 2.12. the Apostle Paul useth a quite different expression, Strangers unto the Covenants of promise; he doth as it were make the promise but one for substance, and the Covenants many; the Covenants are many, because of their manifold delivery, being severally renewed; and yet in all these in several ages the promises the same, as if but one promise. 2. How, and in what order, is Abraham to be considered in this Covenant, and in receiving this promise? In this Covenant Abraham stands as a public person, as a common root, Rom. 11. or as a common Parent unto all the faithful unto the world's end, as one that did receive the Promise not only for himself, but for all those that should after his example believe in Christ, and become his Children; and therefore he is said to be the father of the faithful, Rom. 4.16. and they that do believe are Abraham's seed, and also heirs of the Promise. For as Austin hath observed, there are three sorts of Fathers and of Sons, some are according to nature, and others are secundum Doctrinam, according to Doctrine; so Paul was father to Timothy, having begotten him by the Gospel; others secundum imitationem, according to imitation, as filii Abrahami nos sumus cujus fidem imitamur, we are Abraham's children if we imitate his faith. And this the Lord doth for a double end: (1) To put an honour upon his servant as a great reward of his faith, and therefore he changed his name, calling him the Father of many Nations, as one that was the root and first in the Covenant, and they all coming in at second hand, under Abraham's Covenant; and therefore Mic. 7.20. it is mercy to Abraham, Mic. 7.20. and truth to Jacob; because in Abraham after a sort the Covenant did begin: not that to him the Covenant of Grace was first revealed, for it was made known unto Adam, and Abel was justified by faith, Heb. 11.3. but because unto Abraham was the clearest discovery of the Covenant, and the Lord did in the most solemn manner enter into Covenant with him, therefore it is mercy to Abraham, that being the foundation of making the Covenant, as his truth and faithfulness is of keeping the Covenant. (2) The Lord does it thereby to make Abraham as it were a Type of Christ, that it may be continued unto posterity, that the way by which God intended to dispense the Grace of the Covenant, was from one common head or root; as the first Covenant to the first Aam, and all his posterity; so the second Covenant with the second Aam, of whom first Abraham, and afterwards David were the fullest Types and resemblances. Thus that the Lord might honour Abraham his friend with the highest honour, as the root of all the Faithful, and that this manner of conveyance of the Grace of the Covenant from one common root might be made known, and thereby man's heart led unto Christ the root, and Prince of the Covenant; therefore it was made with Abraham as a public person, and the father of us all. 3. What is meant by Christ here the seed of Abraham, not seeds as of many? Here Interpreters are divided. There is a twofold seed of Abraham, to which they have an eye, according unto these two promises, In thy seed shall all the Nations of the Earth be blessed, Gen. 22.18. Christus in individuo, Christus in aggregato. and Gen. 17.7. I will be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee; and answerably unto these they observe in Scripture a twofold Christ, Christ Personal, and Christ Mystical; so 1 Cor. 12.12. the whole Church is called Christ, and the sufferings of the Church are called the sufferings of Christ, Ephes. 1.23. and the fullness of the Church, the fullness of Christ, as Col. 1.18. Here, some say, is to be understood Christ personal, for two reasons: (1) The person to whom the promise is made is the same in whom all the Nations of the Earth should be blessed, but this is by Abraham in reference to this seed. It's true, all the faithful as they are the seed of Abraham, they are blessed with faithful Abraham, but they are not that seed in whom all the Nations of the world shall be blessed, Rutherf. Triumph of Faith. p. 51. Gen. 22.18. that is in Abraham, as this seed should come out of his loins, and it refers us only to the person of Christ, which cannot be understood of Christ Mystical; therefore Ambrose saith of this promise, Impletum est in Christo, ideoque non in multis sed in uno firmata est promissio. (2) Because it is said verse the 17. the Covenant was made before of God, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, erga Christum, or ad Christum, in or to Christ, speaking of the same seed that he had spoken of in the verse before; now this promise and Covenant was not confirmed in Christ Mystical, but Christ Personal, in whom all the promises of God are Yea and Amen. And hence Pareus and divers others do conclude it to be understood, Individuè de uno Christo, ex quo omnis spiritualis benedictio in fidelem diffluit, etc. Individually of Christ, from whom all spiritual benediction flows. Others do conceive it is to be understood of Christ Mystical: (1) From the order that is here mentioned, the promise is made first unto Abraham, and then unto his seed; therefore the seed here spoken of must be such a seed as comes to have a right to the promise as second, Bulkley of the Gospel-Covenant. p. 37. in order unto Abraham; but this cannot be Christ Personal, for he has not a right unto the Promise from Abraham, but Abraham from him, and therefore it must be understood of Christ Mystical, who are to look upon Abraham as the root, and themselves as branches. (2) They argue from the Apostles scope in this place, which is to prove that all the Faithful are justified by faith, in the same way that Abraham was: for the Covenant was not only made with Abraham, but with his seed also, and that seed is not many; for then the Covenants must be many; but whether they be Jews or Gentiles, if they do believe, they are all of them the seed of Abraham, one seed, and therefore come under the same Covenant, and must expect justification and life the same way, by virtue of the same Covenant. The reason seems very plain on both sides, and I do conceive that they have the truth between them, and that it is to be understood both of Christ Personal primarily and principally, and afterward Christ Mystical, Gomar. and Mr. Perkins. and so many Divines do expound it: and that the Covenant made with Abraham was confirmed unto Christ and that herein the strength and stability of the Covenant stands, this is plain in the next verse; and that it is in this seed that Abraham is blessed as well as all the Nations of the Earth; for he is the root of all the Patriarches, Rev. 5.5. called therefore the root of David; he did come out of Jesse, but yet he is the root also upon which David did grow; and we see that Abraham was justified by faith, and that was in this promised seed, Gal. 3.15. called the seed of the woman (before he was called the seed of Abraham) and therefore it was in him that the Covenant vouchsafed to Abraham was confirmed and established. And for the order here no man will wonder if he look upon Christ as the Son of Abraham, that he is set first with him and his seed, it is no more derogatory from Christ than that the mercies of the second Covenant should be called, Isa. 55.3. Psal. 89.4. Luk. 1.32. Hos. 3.5. The sure mercies of David, or that the Covenant should be made with David, and that he should sit upon the Throne of David, and succeed David in his Kingdom, and that he should plead the Promises made unto the Fathers, as if he did come under their Covenant, in the actual ministration of it, they being types of him, though he himself was the root and foundation of the Covenant, as the Psalmist speaks of Christ, Psal. 22.4. Our Fathers trusted in thee, and thou deliveredst them. As the Son of David he is said after a sort to enter upon David's Kingdom, as the Son of Abraham upon his Covenant, and yet he is the root and foundation of the one as well as of the other. From all this it is plain here are three sorts of Persons with whom the Covenant is made: (1) Here is Christ Personally, with whom Abraham's Covenant is confirmed, the seed in which Abraham and all the Nations of the Earth should be blessed. (2) Here is Abraham the Father of the Faithful. (3) Here is another sort of seed, the faithful, and they are taken into the Covenant at second hand: and from hence we do learn that the Covenant of Grace is made with Christ Personal the Mediator; Gal. 3.3. and then there being none in this Covenant but they that are one with him, they that are Christ's are Abraham's seed, therefore the Covenant is made with all the Faithful in the second place, as they are one with him, and with their seed. §. 2. Thus the first person with whom the Covenant of Grace is made, is the Lord Jesus Christ, as God and man, and so the observation is this: Doct. The Lord Jesus Christ as the second Adam is that person with whom primarily and principally the Covenant of Grace was made, and to whom primarily and principally all the promises of that Covenant belong. This Covenant made with Christ we see, Isa. 49.8. As the first Adam was the head of the first Covenant, so whatever is done in the second Covenant it is by Christ, Ephes. 1.9. and therefore he is said to be our Covenant, as he is our peace; for he is Caput Confoederatorum, the Head of the Confederates, not only by purpose in himself, Tit. 1.2. 2 Tim. 1.9. Rev. 13.8. but by promise; there was Grace given us before the world began, it could not be unto us in our own Persons before we were, and therefore it must be unto another as one that undertook for us: and therefore we read, Rev. 13.8. there was the Lamb's book from the foundation of the world: the Lord gave the souls unto Christ that he should save, and Christ did write them down in his book as the persons that God the Father had given him, and he had engaged to save; and this Covenant of Christ took place immediately after the Fall, and by virtue thereof God pardoned all the sins of the ancient Saints, Rom. 3.25. Christ did keep the thing that he did Covenant, to pay the debt that we owed to God, and all was viz. transacted by God the Father and Christ in a Covenant way: so that as now Christ trusts God for the performance of his Promise, so God did trust Christ for the payment of his Debt; and therefore as the first Covenant was made with Adam God's friend, so the second Covenant was made with Adam God's fellow; and I know not what else can be the meaning of Prov. 8.22. To be set up or anointed as a King before the foundations of the Earth were laid. The same word is in Psal. 2.6. in reference to the Covenant, and the transactions that were between the Father and the Son before the World was. And this Covenant made between God and Christ hath two parts. (1) There is a Covenant with Christ as Mediator, ratione muneris, in regard of his Office. (2) There is a Covenant made with Christ as the Church's Head, ratione Corporis, as his body; there is a Covenant made with him alone, though it was made for us, yet not with us; and there is a Covenant made with him, and with us in him, but with him primarily as the Head, and with us as the Members, as we come under his Covenant. 1. There is a Covenant made with Christ Personal, Ratione muneris, in respect of his Office, as Mediator, that he hath undertaken; and this we shall see is plain. Here is God the Father entering into Covenant with Christ, he did lay upon him an Office, and he made him a promise thereupon; an Office he did ordain him, 1 Pet. 1.18. Isa. 42.1. Joh. 6.27. Joh. 10.18. he chose him and sealed him, add sanctified him, set him apart for this work, and laid a commandment upon him to execute it, Joh. 10.18. This Commandment I received of my Father: and to this the Lord added a promise: [1] Of assistance, Isa. 42.4, 6. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, I am by thee, and I will hold thee by the hand, and I will keep thee. [2] A promise of acceptance, I go to the Father, says Christ, Mat. 3.17. Jer. 34. 2●. Gen. 8. Psal. 53.8. Isa. 50.8. [3] Of deliverance, Isa. 53.8. Taken from prison and from judgement, he went down to the grave as a guilty person; but yet says, Thou shalt not leave my soul in Hell, under the power of death, but wilt show me the path of life. [4] Of Justification: He is near that justifies me: he was justified in the spirit: as he died as a public person, under our sins; so he risen, and when he arose he was justified, and declared to be accepted by the lord [5] A promise of success, Isa. 53.10. The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand; and by his knowledge he shall justify many. He shall build his Church, the stone hewed out without hands, and shall break the Mountains and the Images to pieces, Zach. 6.12. he shall build the Temple of the lord [6] Of a seed: He shall see his seed; the word in Hebrew signifies, a successive generation, as the Stars of Heaven, or the sand on the sea shore. [7] Of glory: Phil. 2.10. Heb. 2.7. He has a name above every name; crowned with glory and honour, and made the head over all things, Eph. 1.20, 21. and sits down at the right hand of God in glory. [8] Of Victory: The Lord will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong: He shall lead captivity captive; Psal. 110.1. 1 Cor. 15.25. and shall reign till he has put all his enemies under his feet. [9] Of a Kingdom and Government, Joh. 5.22. Rev. 11.17. [10] Of Worship: Heb. 1.6. Phil. 2.10. Every knee shall bow to him. And all these Promises the Lord confirmed by Oath to him. There is a twofold Oath, there is not only an Oath that God has sworn to us, that we may have consolation; but unto Christ also, for he was made a Priest by an Oath, Heb. 7.21. so that this Oath was in reference unto this great undertaking of the Priesthood. (1) Christ does accept this Office that he may be the Father's servant in it; and he does promise obedience unto his Father's will; he did not glorify himself in it, Heb. 5.1. Joh. 10.18. Psal. 4.7, 8. Heb. 10.7. That all men may know that I love the Father. (2) According to this Covenant he is careful to perform all as God the Father's servant in all his Government in the world; and to let no part of the will of God be undone. (3) Upon all these Promises he does exercise faith for their accomplishment; He is near that justifies me: Joh. 12.49. and so when upon the Cross he cries out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why is God called the God of Christ, but by Covenant? he takes a new Covenant-right unto God for us. (4) Answerable unto this Covenant Christ doth follow God with Prayers, that he may have the glory and the victory that the Lord promised him, and that in the Covenant was made over to him before the World was, Joh. 17.4, 5. and that he might have all the glory that he now has in Heaven, Phil. 2.4. Being sat down at the right hand of God, where he is exalted by Covenant, and is in constant expectation when his enemies shall be made his footstool: and the Lord will never cease shaking and working in the World, till the whole Covenant between God and Christ be fulfilled, and the Mystery of God finished. The Covenant of Grace is in the New Testament commonly called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which does signify both a Covenant and a Testament, and it's so commonly translated: if we look upon it as a Covenant, so Christ is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a sponsor, or surety, Heb. 7.22. and if we consider it as a Testament, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Heb. 1.2. so Christ is appointed heir of all things, of all the Promises in the behalf of his people, that they are made first to him and to us in him. 1. We shall consider Christ in this Covenant as the Surety, and this very consideration of him as a Surety, implies and concludes a Covenant: The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is by the Learned derived from striking or taking hands one with another, as the manner was in making of Covenants in time past; and to strike hands is an expression of a Covenant, Prov. 22.26. Be not thou one of them that strike hands. Prov. 6.1, 2. If thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou art ensnared with the words of thy mouth. 2 Chron. 8. Prov. 11.22. Amicitiae & soederis pactionem denotat. And so it is said, Though hand join in hand, yet the wicked shall not go unpunished. And therefore the Lord Christ by becoming a Surety did give his hand; that is, he did enter into Covenant with the Lord, and so his name is put into our bond, Gal. 4.4, 5. he is said, to be made under the Law, and that as a Covenant; and when the Apostle saith, He is the Surety of a better Covenant, whereas the main of Christ's Suretyship refers unto the first Covenant, the Covenant of Works broken; and therefore in respect of our debt he is the Surety of the first Covenant; yet the Apostle does not so express it, but of the better Covenant, because the commutation of the Person, the bringing in of a Surety does properly belong unto the Covenant of Grace, and it is a part of the Covenant of Grace that there should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or a Propitiation, one to stand in our stead, or to make satisfaction to the Justice of God for the breach of the Covenant of Works; and therefore the whole Suretyship of Christ doth refer unto the Covenant of Grace, of which his standing in our stead, and paying our debt is a principal part. 2. God is said in Scripture to be the God of Christ; and Christ calls him not only his Father, Mat. 26. but his God also, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, and my God. Now one Person cannot be said to be the God of another; the Father is not the God of the Son, but the Father, for the Godhead is equal in them both, and the Son thinks it no robbery so to be: therefore as he is the Son, Joh. 20.17. the Father cannot be called his God, but as he is Mediator; and so that grand Promise, I will be thy God, is made to Christ, as well as unto us. Now how comes it to pass that God is the God of Christ? it is by Donation and Stipulation; the Lord bestows himself upon him, and he doth accept of him to be his God in Covenant: and so, though as he is the second Person, God is his Father; yet as he is the Mediator, and he comes into Covenant with him, so he is his God, and it is a new Covenant-right to God that Christ has taken as Mediator: 3. We have a Seal set unto this Covenant made with Christ: Sacraments are sealing Ordinances, Rom. 4.11. and the great end of Baptism is sealing, He received the sign of Circumcision a seal of the righteousness of Faith; a seal of the righteousness which was his by Faith, and he is accepted of God thereby; and what Abraham had by Circumcision, the Saints have by Baptism. Col 2.11, 12. Mat. 3.16. Now the most illustrious sealing of all other was in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus when he was baptised went straightway out of the water, etc. never any Ordinance was graced with such a Presence, the whole Trinity appeared in the work; and what was all this for, but to make way for that great sealing which was grounded upon the Covenant between the Father and the Son? This is my well beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. So that in this the Covenant between the Father and the Son, was visibly sealed God's acceptation of him and of all the Saints in him. 4. The Scripture doth hold forth this Covenant unto us in the terms of it; Christ doth publish his commission unto the world, Isa. 49.1, 2. how the Lord had called and fitted him from the womb, made his mouth as a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me, and made me a polished shaft, and said Thou art my servant in whom I will be glorified. And what is the service that the Lord called him to? to bring Jacob to him. But then the Lord having undertaken the work, and seeing how few of the Jews should be converted, he seems to complain, I have laboured in vain: but yet he comforts himself, it was for God he did work, and his reward was with him. Now the Lord does enlarge his grant, not only to raise the tribe of Jacob, but also to be for salvation to the ends of the earth: I will give thee for a Covenant to the people, to establish the earth, and to cause them to inherit the desolate habitation, Isa. 49. We have in this Chapter related the very arguments that were between him and his Father, who said of him, Thou art my servant in whom I will be glorified. 2dly. Why must such a Covenant pass between the Father and the Son in such a solemn manner? The Lord will deal with Christ in this great work in a Covenant way; 1. Because he will have Christ to be propounded unto the World as the second Adam: For God did intent to bring all the elect under one head, that as the offence was by one, so the free gift by grace might also be so; Rom. 5. God did intent that all mankind should come under a double head, and so be presented unto him in the last Judgement, the first and second Adam; and therefore the Lord speaks as if there were but two men in the World, the first Adam, 1 Cor. 15.47. and the second; and the first Adam must be the Type of him that was to come: therefore as the first Adam had a Covenant made with him, and an Image stamped upon him for himself and for all his posterity, so must the second Adam also have; and therefore he must be the second Adam by Covenant made with him as a public person, and as a representative head, for all his posterity, that seed and generation that should be born of him. 2. That he might thereby advance the free grace of the Father and of the Son. (1.) The free grace of the Father is much exalted by it in two things. [1] In the motion of it; it came first from him, his taking of us actually into Covenant, is a part of the purchase of Christ, and he hath bought the Souls of the Elect, it is the price of his blood, and it is because he died that he doth not abide alone: but the taking of Christ into Covenant, it did not come first from Christ, but the motion was the Fathers; the Son can do nothing of himself: I came not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. [2. Joh 5.19. ] In his accepting a Covenant, it was free with him to make it, and therefore the obedience of Christ was free with him to accept; if Christ had offered himself, and had laid down his life, it is true, it was, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, all that God in Justice could expect, and it was a price sufficient, for all that ever Christ did purchase; yet there is grace in the bowels of all this, because it was free with the Lord to accept of the righteousness of another to become ours: This gracious acceptation and imputation, the Lord doth show forth abundantly, in the Covenant made with Christ himself; for being a Covenant, it must be free. (2.) It doth also exceedingly advance the Grace of the Son in this, That Christ being God equal with the Father, having a perfect dominion over his own actions, and being Lord of his own life, having a power to lay down his life, as he saith, No man takes it from me, but I lay it down; John 10.18. That he should freely and voluntarily bind himself in a Covenant in this manner, to abase himself, to stand in our stead, to bear our sins, and to be under a Curse for us, and to consent unto this cheerfully and willingly, as a thing in which he is pleased and delighted, to show forth therein the love of his Father, and to his people, and to undertake all of it, Heb. 9.10. and to bind himself thereunto by his own voluntary consent, who otherwise was not, could not be bound: For there is this difference between the Covenant of the first and the second Adam, the first Adam was bound to obey by a bond of creation, and he was bound to be subject; but the second Adam was not so, he was perfectly free, and yet he is willing by Covenant to be bound: And the Lord herein dealt, as Aelian hath a Story of Zaleucus, a Ruler in the City Locris, who had made a Law against Adultery, that it should be punished with the loss of both eyes, and his son was afterwards accused and condemned of the same offence, and the whole City in honour to his Father became Suitors unto him to spare his Son; but the story says, he did first put out one of his own eyes, and afterwards one of his Sons, and thereby satisfied the Law: And so between a just legislator and a merciful father he divided himself. Had the Lord so dealt with us, and laid part of the punishment upon us, and part upon Christ, we had been undone; but Christ undertook all for us, to pour out his soul to death, Isa. 53. last. and bear the sins of many, being that to which he was not bound, and that which he could not have been forced to; and yet to make himself by Covenant a debtor, it exalts free Grace, nothing more. 3. The Lord's intention was in the whole work of Redemption, to deal with Christ in a judicial way, as he is the judge of all the World, that he may have his justice satisfied, Rom. 3.25. He doth all to declare his righteousness. Now in a way of justice, there are but two ways to make a man guilty of sin, and obnoxious to punishment, either from sin inherent, or imputed; and this of imputation, is either from a natural Union as it is in us, and therefore we are guilty of Adam's sin; or by voluntary Union, and by way of suretyship, when one person free in himself, doth willingly take upon him the guilt of another man's offence, and subject himself unto the punishment for it: And either of these may be a ground of proceeding against such a person in justice. Now Christ hath in him no sin by nature, either inherent or imputed, he knew no sin, neither was there guile found in his mouth; though he were a Son of Adam, yet being begotten by the Holy Ghost, and not coming into the World, and descending from Adam in a natural way, and being God and man in one person, he could not naturally and necessarily come under Adam's Covenant, but was in this respect separate from sinners; but by way of Covenant, and voluntary undertaking, so he was made sin for us, and so he was made a Curse, and so he doth confess our sins as his own, and so bears them, it being the guilt that he had taken upon him, and thereupon God dealt with him as an enemy, and laid upon him all the wrath that was due to Sin: Now the ground of all this dealing of God, was only the Covenant. 4. It is the Apostles reason, Rom. 4. for the justifying of a sinner by Faith, that the promise may be sure to all the Seed, because it puts the whole power and the righteousness by which we are justified out of ourselves in another; so it is here, the Lord will have the Covenant made with Christ, and engage him therein, that the promise may be sure to all the Seed; the Lord knew that we would fail him, and there was nothing to be expected from us; Psal. 89.19. and therefore says, I have laid help upon one that is mighty, and one that is every way able to satisfy; and I have put it upon him, and from him I will expect it, he hath undertaken it: and therefore God doth take all our sins from us, and put them upon him; as it is said, God was in Christ reconciling the world, 2 Cor. 5.19. putting their trespasses upon him, but not upon them; and it is observable, though we come into the same Covenant with Christ in point of obedience, yet in point of satisfaction he takes only Christ's single Bond, and he will never ask any thing of us till Christ fail him. 3 dly. When did the Lord make this Covenant with Christ, and when was it to take place? 1. This Covenant passed between God and Christ, the Father and the Son, before the World began. How many are thy thoughts to usward? Dan. 8.13. It is Christ that knew the thoughts of God whose name is Palmoni, qui secreta numerata habet peccata, who hath all our secret sins numbered. And what be those thoughts? It is sacrifice and offerings thou wouldst not, etc. thoughts of satisfaction to the justice of God, and the redemption of the elect by a sacrifice; and they are no new thoughts, but such as God took up from eternity, and such transactions as past between God and Christ before his coming into the World; And then said I, Lo I come to do thy will, O God: In the beginning of his way I was set up, as a King, and Priest, and Prophet from eternity; and this not only in decree and appointment, but also by covenant and compact, and by mutual agreement between them: For all that vast eternity that they spent by themselves, was spent wholly in matter of delight, and that was double, (1) The Father and the Son delighted one in another: I was his delight daily. (2) The Son delighted in the salvation of man, and the same word is used in the Hebrew, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. And it is spoken of man fallen; for it is in the habitable parts of the earth, that is, of all mankind scattered throughout the whole face of the earth, wheresoever men dwell: And there was neither Angels, nor any part of the works of God mentioned, but this only; and this delight was while it was only in the expectation of it, in beholding the purpose of God and those vast thoughts of Glory that the Lord had laid up there. Titus 1.2. there is a promise of eternal life, which could not be but unto our representative, one that did enter into Covenant. And 'tis said, 2 Tim. 1.9. There is grace given us in Christ before the world began. 2. But yet this Covenant was not actually to take place till man was fallen. (1) It is a Covenant of reconciliation, and it doth suppose God and man at variance; and it was because the Children were partakers of flesh and blood, therefore he himself took part of the same, He was made under the Law, to redeem us that were under the Law: Our deliverance must be by Redemption, and the Covenant of Reconciliation. (2.) It must be by a Priest, one to offer a sacrifice, and it must be after man had lost all other sacrifices, that he must come. The blood of Bulls could not take away sin, Heb. 10. and yet it did take place immediately after the fall, Christ was a Lamb slain from the beginning of the world; not only as to the decree, but as to the efficacy; and it is by virtue of that agreement between God and Christ, that the Lord under the Old Testament pardoned all the Saints barely upon the word of Christ, before he had paid any part of the debt; and therefore, Rom. 3.25. Christ did not only die with reference unto the sins of the World, that were to come, but those that were passed, and the men were in possession of all, because the justice of God was satisfied, though only in the covenant and promise between them; God looking upon Christ to come, and they exercising their faith upon Christ that was to come. And now satisfaction is given, Christ relies upon the Covenant between him and his Father for the application; as the Father took Christ's word for satisfaction and oblation before his coming. It is one of the greatest grounds of faith that is in the Word of God, that Christ is engaged by Covenant, as well as unto us; and therefore he being the Son, will be faithful to his Father: And also that God is engaged unto Christ as well as unto us, and therefore will be faithful to him also, and will not break with the Son; therefore surely his enemies shall be destroyed that rise up against the Kingdom of Christ; for he is engaged to make his foes his footstool: There are three things that are crying amongst men, (1) The cry of Blood. (2) The wages of a Hireling. (3) The will of the dead unperformed. Now here is all the Blood of Christ shed, and he as a Servant did all by Covenant, and Christ dying did give Legacies, that by the means of death, they that are called may receive the promise of eternal Life; it is a Testament confirmed by the death of the Testator: Surely it shall be performed, for it is a Covenant made unto Christ; and if you did love him, your hearts would rejoice more in the performance of it as to Christ, than unto yourselves. §. 3. I come now unto the fourth particular in the opening of the point; That is, the Terms of the Covenant, as they did pass between the Father and the Son, and are set forth in the Scripture. A Covenant is an agreement upon certain Conditions unto which two persons, or parties, by mutual consent do freely bind themselves: So that in a Covenant properly, and so in this, there are four things. (1) The parties that make the Covenant must be free. (2) The Articles or Terms must be propounded. (3) There must be a mutual, free and full consent. (4) By this consent they are bound each to other. 1. In a Covenant the parties must be free, and in their own power; and therefore in Vows to God, or Covenants with men, if one under the power of another do Vow or Covenant, it is in his power under whom he is, to disannul and make it void. Numb. 30. 4.8. And therefore Divines do here commonly observe two things, (1) The difference between a Law and a Covenant; a Law being the act of a Superior that hath power over another, doth bind, whether the party bound thereby doth consent or no; for it is an act of the Will of a superior upon one that is subject to his will: but it is not so in a Covenant, it doth require consent in both parties. (2) They distinguish between the Covenant that passed between the first Adam, and that which God made with the second Adam: The Covenant made with the first Adam was such, that though his consent was necessary to make it a Covenant, else it had been only a command, yet unto this Covenant by the right of creation he was bound to consent, and consenting it was but his duty; and there was a duty which lay upon him antecedente● to consent unto that Covenant, and the terms that God should propound: But it was not so in the Covenant that God made with the second Adam, he was free to accept of the terms of the Covenant or no, when God had propounded them, so that there was no duty that lay upon him anteceeding his consent. So that the Covenant between God and man is not properly such a Covenant as is between God and Christ, and between man and man, in which each party is free, and not bound to any thing but by his own consent. Now (1) consider God is free, and a debtor unto none; God the Father who hath the first and the great hand in the Covenant, and in propounding the terms thereof, is debtor to none: For he that is the first cause and the last end, of whom all things are, and to whom they are, he can be debtor unto none; but so God the Father is, of whom are all things: And that is Aquinas' rule * Deus non est debtor, quia ad alia non ordinatur, sed omnia adseipsum. Psal. 40.7. Heb. 10.7. . Rom. 11.36. (2) Christ is free and in his own power. [1] If we consider him as the Son, the second person, with whom properly the Covenant was made; for God did agree with the Son that he should take the nature of man upon him, and in that nature suffer and satisfy; and his very taking of man's nature was an act of obedience and duty that was due from the Son by Covenant, and he did it in reference to the will and command of the Father, as he did all other things, either doing, or suffering in that nature. John 1.2. The word is God, and thought it no robbery to be equal with God, Phil. 2.7. and therefore is free even as God himself, and is not bound unto any duty but by his own consent. [2.] If we consider Christ as man, in that he was not free; for he was bound unto the Law and to all the duties of it as he was a creature: It's true he having taken the nature of man, was by his Covenant bound to offer that nature as a sacrifice for God's satisfaction, and for man's sanctification, in that nature he was to be made sin, and to bear our Curse. If we do consider Christ as mere man, than he was bound indeed unto the Law by right of creation as well as we, but if we consider him as God and Man, so we cannot say that he is bound; for actiones sunt suppositorum: And our Divines generally say, that there is a communication of properties between the two natures; so that he does offer himself by the eternal Spirit, Heb. 4.14. All his actions and passions in our nature, are not only humane but Divine, being from him who was both God and Man, and that he was not otherways bound to obey God in that nature, than he was to assume the nature; no Law did require that his obedience should be the obedience of God, and that God should be satisfied by the blood of God, and that he should suffer that did never sin; this was from the Covenant of God the Father, and the superabundant grace of God the Son: And therefore when Christ saith, that he received a commandment to obey, it refers only to his obligation by covenant, and not by any antecedent duty that he did owe his Father. 2. The terms of the Covenant or Articles of agreement that did pass between the Father and the Son, are contained in two things: (1) Something that the Father did require of the Son. (2) Something that the Father did promise the Son. 1. There is a service that the Father doth propound unto the Son, and that is double, (1) That he should take upon him the form of a Servant, The children being partakers of flesh and blood that he should take part of the same: Heb. 2.14. Bernard. Rom 3.26. He took not only the form of a Servant that he might be subject, but also of an evil Servant that he might be beaten; he was willing to take the body that the Father had prepared for him, that he might be bruised by him. (2) That in that nature he should perform whatever was necessary for the satisfaction of God, or the sanctification of man; and in all things he must be God's servant, do his will, and serve his ends, deny himself, humble and abase himself, that his Father may be exalted. Isa. 42.1. 1. He did whatever is required unto the perfect satisfaction of God. The Justice of God is twofold, (1) Remunerative justice, in reference unto the precept of the Law, as man was a creature. (2) Vindicative justice, in reference to the curse of the Law, as man was a sinner; and he that shall give a perfect satisfaction to Justice must perform both these. (1) In reference to the precept of the Law, and the Remunerative justice of God, so God did require of his Son that he should perfectly obey that Law that man had broken; and this obedience of Christ consists [1] In this, That it must proceed from a nature perfectly answering the Law, Heb. 7.26. he was holy and harmless, etc. [2] Holy actions; Matt. 7.3. Joh. 8.29. Rom. 8.2, 5, 19, he did fulfil all righteousness, and it is becoming him so to do, He knew no sin, neither was there guile found in his mouth. [3] Herein he did continue, and persevere unto the end. He doth always the things that do please him, and these go unto God's satisfaction and to our justification; as by Adam's actual disobedience many are made sinners, so by Christ's active obedience many are made righteous: Rom. 3. last. Dan. 9.23. Rom. 8.3. And he saith, he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it. And the way of the Gospel doth not make void the Law but establish it, and there are two parts that Christ must act, to finish transgression, and make an end of sin, and to bring in an everlasting righteousness; and therefore the righteousness of the Law is said to be fulfilled in us, and it is the righteousness of the Law, and that which doth exactly answer the Law in all things: Ambros. It is fulfilled in us, while it is imputed to us. (2) In reference to the curse of the Law and the vindicative justice of God, and herein are four things. [1] He must represent our persons, and therefore he is called a surety, that must stand instead of the debtor, as the sacrifice did die instead of the man: And he is said to bear our names in his heart, as the High Priest did upon his breastplate, as one that represented all these before God; and therefore he is said to be made sin for us, and a curse for us, and to suffer the just for the unjust: for us, that is, in our stead: Therefore we need not say, how can one person make satisfaction for so many thousands? Truly there is a worth and an excellency in the person of Christ, equivalent to the persons of all the elect, and he did as their surety, represent them all before the lord [2] He must bear their sins, and all the guilt of them, 'tis all charged upon him; 2 Cor. 5.21. He was made sin for us that knew no sin. The greatest sinner, says Luther, Christ was, because he bore the sins of all the elect of God; God did make to meet on him the iniquity of us all. Isa. 53.6. Psal. 40.12. Gal. 3.13. He did confess our sins as his own; Mine iniquities have taken hold of me: God did impute sin to him. [3] He must suffer our Curse: He hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, when God made his Soul an offering for sin. [4] He must pay the utmost farthing, and that he did; John 16.10. of righteousness: Because I go to my father and you see me no more: It was an argument that the debt was paid; for the High Priest entered into the most holy place once a year; but I go to the Father where I should never have come, if I had not discharged the debt; and I have done it once for all, and therefore you see me no more. He is gone into Heaven, he was taken from Prison, he was put into the Grave as a Prison, and as a Malefactor; but to show that our debt was satisfied, the Lord sent an Angel as a public Minister of Justice, Psal. 110. last. and did open the Grave, and gave him a release; he did lift up his head, having drunk of the brook in the way. And all this Christ did perform, not of his own will merely, and of his own accord; but he did it in obedience to a command, John 10.18. I lay down my life and take it again; for this commandment I received of my father: Thy law is in the midst of my bowels, Psal. 40.7, 8. it is the law of dying to be made a sacrifice: And he saith, Psal. 40.7, 8. In the volume of the book it is written of me, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, some do understand it of the Book of God's Decrees, and so this of Christ was first, the Lord privileging him to be the Church's head; in the first page of this Book it was written of him that he should do his will: others understand it of the Book of the Scriptures, the Prophecies and Predictions of Christ in them; and the Lord, in them, did foretell what past between the Father and the Son at the Council Table of Heaven, before ever Christ came into the World; the Lord Christ said, Sacrifice and burnt-offering thou wouldst not, it would not satisfy him; but thou hast told the World of me, that it was thy will that I should do it, and I am ready to obey, Gal. 4.4. etc. Thus was Christ made under the Law as our surety, and laid down an answerable price unto whatever the Law and Justice of God could expect of us. 2. Christ did whatever is required unto man's sanctification. (1) He gathers them; Other sheep I have, that are not of this fold, them I must bring in; Joh. 10.16. Joh. 8.39. it is spoken as a duty that lay upon him, which God required of him, I must do it, it is the will of him that sent me, that of those that thou hast given, I should lose none, but raise them up again. (2) He must govern them, and erect a throne of grace in their hearts, and rule in them: Isa. 40.10, 11. His arm shall rule for him, and he shall feed his flock, as a shepherd gathers the lambs with his arm. (3) He sanctifies them, receives the spirit for them, and dispenseth it unto them, Isa. 42.1, 2. He is my servant, I put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgement to the Gentiles. And therefore he went to Heaven as a public person, as the second Adam; and having himself received the Holy Ghost, he doth send forth the gifts and graces of it more abundantly; for Christ is in Heaven by virtue of Office, and it was necessary in that respect, that he should departed from us, because by Covenant he was to perform some acts of office in Glory, he was to go before and prepare a place for you. (4) To be their Advocate and plead their cause; and the word (as Cameron observes) is in opposition unto an accuser, 1 Joh. 2.1. Rev. 12.10. Satan is the great Accuser of the brethren, he doth accuse the brethren before God day and night: And we see, Zac. 3.1, 2. Satan stands at his right hand, as the manner of accusing was in ancient times (as we see in Jobs instance) but Christ makes answer for them; there is a difference between Christ as a surety, and as a public person, who in the Law is to present another, and act for him as in his stead, as an Attorney or an Ambassador. (5) Christ is their Intercessor, he offers their sacrifices, and attains all mercies for them: He offers them sacrifices mixed with his own odours; Isa. 53. last vers. Rev. 8.3, 5. for his blood is a speaking blood, and it is always sprinkled before the mercy seat. (6) He must come again and fetch them, and present them unto his Father, as a glorious Church before Men and Angels, saying, Here I am, and the Children that thou hast given me: and this Chrysostom doth conceive to be the Kingdom, that is, the Church, which Christ shall give up unto his Father, 1 Cor. 15.24. 2. Now follows the promise, if Christ doth perform this in obedience to his Father, not seeking his own glory, but the glory of him that sent him, God doth assure him (1) of assistance in his work, he shall have all the power of God engaged to carry him through it, as Isa. 42.4, 6. I will hold thy hand, and thou shalt not be discouraged, Isa. 45.1. (2) Of acceptance, a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour, and therefore compared unto odours; the presentation of it should be sweet unto God, Rev. 8.4. (3) Of deliverance, that he should not lie under the guilt of sin, but be justified, Isa. 50.8. For the debt was paid, and the bond was canceled, justified in the spirit, nor under the power of death, it was impossible he should be held by death, Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, etc. (4) He should have a seed, Psal. 72.22. His name shall be continued amongst his posterity. Isa. 5.3. He shall see his seed, and who shall declare his generation? (5) He shall have rule and dominion; a Kingdom, John 5.22. not only in the Church, but over all things to the Church, a providential, as well as a spiritual Kingdom, Eph. 1. last, Isa. 42.4. He shall set judgement in the earth, Mic. 4.3. He shall judge among the Nations, and he shall govern as King of Saints, Rev. 11.17. (6) He shall have a worship and a glory, Isa. 5.5. Nations shall run to thee, because I have glorified thee: A name above every name, a worship from Men and Angels, Heb. 1.6. and a public honour, as the Author of all their salvation at that last and great day, when he shall the judge the World in righteousness, and shall come to be admired in his Saints, who shall be with him in Heaven for ever: For they shall enter into their master's joy, and this is the reward the Lord promises Christ for his services with which he comforts himself, Isa. 45.4. 3. Unto these Articles both parties agree, and 4. they are bound by their own consent. (1) Christ doth accept of this office upon the Father's terms, and doth freely submit unto the Father's will; he takes the nature of man, and in that nature subjects himself, Isa. 50.5. He gave his face to the smiters, and he did the work that the Father sent him to do, and he failed not in a tittle thereof; and he doth it freely and cheerfully, 'tis as his meat and drink, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. And he is now in Heaven by virtue of office, Psal. 40.8. as he is God the Father's servant, as our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. (2) Upon these promises he doth exercise faith, and his soul rests upon them, Isa. 5.7, 9 The Lord will help me, my God shall be my strength, Heb. 2.13. Psal. 16.10. he is near that justifies me, he will not leave my soul in hell; and upon the Cross he cries out, My God, etc. It is his God by Covenant; Christ is the highest pattern of believing, and as a public person trusts God for all the benefits of the Covenant for himself and us. (3) The promises of this Covenant he doth follow by a continued Prayer; for he doth obtain it by Prayer, as we do, Psal. 2.8. Ask of me, and I will give thee, etc. John 17.4. Now glorify me, now let the glory of the Godhead shine forth in the humane nature, the time of my suffering being ended. (4) All the glory that Christ has now in Heaven and Earth, is nothing else but in performance of this Covenant, that the Father made with him, God hath exalted him, and he hath received the promise of the holy Ghost, Act. 2.33. Christ must first suffer, and afterwards enter into his glory, and he hath fulfilled it, and the Lord hath given him as a light to the Gentiles, Isa. 49.8. and for salvation to the ends of the earth. (5) He is in constant expectation of the full accomplishment hereof, when the glory of Christ in his mystical body shall be full, and his joy full, and his sufferings full, and his enemies perfectly subdued, and his people perfectly glorified, Heb. 10.13. and all this by virtue of the Covenant that passed between God and him, grounded upon the love and faithfulness of God in Covenant, being a God that keeps covenant for ever. §. 4. Now the Uses and Corollaries that follows from this part of the Covenant, which was made with Christ in reference unto the trust that he hath undertaken, are many, and of very great use both for matter of instruction, and of practice. Use 1. This gives us a great light into the election of Christ. The Scripture doth commonly assert, that he is the elect of God, chosen both to duty and glory, a work that he was to do, Isa. 42.1. and a reward that he was to receive, and we are said to be chosen in him, Ephes. 1.4. which notes properly the order in which God elects his Saints. First Christ God and Man, as the head, as primus foederatus, the prime sederate, after whom, and in whom, in the order of nature all the body are elected, so that the grace of election gins first in Christ our head, and descends unto us in him, it notes the order in which we are elected, and not the cause of our election; not that we were first elected, and then Christ chosen by occasion of our fall; but he is the first born in the womb of God's election, The first born amongst many brethren. Now the election of man is an act of sovereignty, and merely comes under the will of God, Rom. 3. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy: And as the Potter has power over the clay, etc. But Christ as God could not come under an act of his will, as election is, but by his own consent, Ephes. 1.5. It is according to the good pleasure of his will, he is appointed Heir of all things, as he was the Son, he was haeres natus, a born heir, that being an act of his nature; but as the head of the Church, so he was, hares constitutus, a constituted heir, and comes under an act of Gods will. Christ was elected to be Gods great servant in reference unto man, and that under a double consideration, (1) as a surety, (2) as an Advocate, or a common person: And in these two I conceive Christ as our representative is set forth, (1) as a surety, that did undertake to do a thing for another, and doth by his own consent bind himself thereunto, and when he hath done it for the party, than he is discharged of his bond, and the party also for whom he was bound unto the performance: And in this sense Christ was made sin for us, and laid down an answerable price for us; (2) as a common person, as one who personates another, and acts his part by the allowance and authority of Law; so that what he doth, is by the Law reckoned to be done by the person whom he represents, and a possession taken by him, stands good in Law, as if it had been taken by the other: And this the Lord hath made Christ unto us, that according unto all sorts of Laws among men, our redemption and salvation by him might be to declare his righteousness; Rom. 3.25. that by all sorts of legal considerations amongst men it might hold good in a way of Justice: And unto these two great ends, as a double representative of all men as the second Adam, Christ was elected, and we in him, as in a common head. Now, though man as a creature subjected unto the sovereignty of God, comes under an act of his will, yet the Lord Christ being the Son, and thought it no robbery to be equal with God, did not; and therefore as he did not suffer without his own consent, (for a sacrifice it could not be unless voluntary, the person having a power over himself and his own actions, and therefore the Lord did not by his authority impose it upon him whether he would or no) so his being chosen to it was by his consent, that as he did choose you together with the Father, and had an equal hand in your election, I know whom I have chosen, and as you were from eternity given unto Christ by his Father in your election, Rev. 13.8. thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; so did Christ also consent unto his own election, and it was not merely by the appointment of the Father as an act of his will and sovereignty, as the election of man was; but the Father did appoint him, and Christ did consent unto that appointment and determination of the Father before the World began; and therefore as he became a surety by his own will, so he was by his own will appointed a surety and a common person for all the elect of God. And herein we see the great ground of the Covenant between God and Christ, before the World was: God did not choose Christ as a person that was to be chosen, as he did choose you, but The word was with God, God was the word, John 1.2. and there were transactions and consultations between God and Christ before the world was, and upon the Father's motion, and the Sons consent, he was chosen unto this great service, and you in him; so that the Covenant between the Father and the Son, doth reach as high as to be the great ground of the election of Christ unto this great service and office that he hath undertaken: For God did not impose it upon him as an act of his dominion, but barely by his own consent; and as he did not call him unto the execution without his own consent, so his own consent did concur unto his election, for election is an act of the will of God, and of his sovereignty; and as he was the Son, he could not come under an act of his will but by his own consent. Use 2 2. We may hence see how deep the plot of our Redemption and Salvation by Christ was laid; it was not a thing occasionally taken up, and barely to serve a turn, but it was a plotted thing. I confess the Scriptures do hold forth the Incarnation of Christ to be the ground of his redeeming men that were sinners; He came to seek and to save that which was lost; and when we were weak, God commended his love to us in this, that he died for the ungodly, etc. But the foundation of this was laid in a deep counsel between the Father and his Son, at the Council-Table in Heaven before the World was; and the Covenant of man's Redemption was made with our surety before the Covenant of your Creation was made with you: And so much those two words, Prov. 8.22, 23. the Lord possessed me, and the Lord anointed me, do necessarily import; and that word also, Mic. 5.2. His go forth as from the days of eternity: Which, as Calvin expounds it, refer unto the Mediator as being head of the Church, and not unto his eternal generation, as is commonly expounded; and this is the ground of Christ's delight with the sons of men before the World was, Prov. 8.31. as those whose names he had covenanted to bear, and whose persons he had engaged himself to represent before the Father: And this shows how the design of God from everlasting hath been to save sinners, and to glorify himself in a way of mercy, and grace, through a Mediator: And it is the consideration hereof, that is the greatest engagement in the World to sinners to come in and return to him, because God is in Christ reconciling the world, etc. 2 Cor. 5.19. For he did undertake to represent your persons as your surety and representative, before the world was. (1) This Covenant made with Christ could not indeed actually take place as unto us till man was fallen, because it was in the hand of a Mediator, and required satisfaction by way of a sacrifice; but yet though it be last in execution, it was first in intention; and the Covenant of Works made in your creation, is only called the first Covenant in reference unto the relation and discovery of it unto us; but it was the Covenant of Grace in Christ that was the first Covenant in itself, and first passed between the Father and the Son from everlasting; and this shows how exceedingly the heart of God was engaged in it, before you were, before you had need of a Surety, for the Lord to appoint one, and enter into a Covenant with him to perform this work, for God to create the World first, and bring men into it, and for the Lord to take notice of man's necessity, of a help meet for him, before man did observe any such want of himself, this was an argument of great love and care of God towards man; but to provide not only a meet help, but a meet Mediator, and to take care to provide for your salvation and his own glory therein, before he did proceed to your creation, this shows how strangely his heart was set upon this great design of glorifying himself in the World in a way of Grace in your Salvation. (2) If he had only taken up this purpose in himself, it had set forth much love and good will; (for his Purposes and Decrees are immutable as himself is, and there can nothing arise, de novo, that should cause him to change his purpose;) but more, that he proceeded herein to a treaty with his Son about it to be his Servant in this great work, to bring Jacob again unto him; Isa. 49. and made a solemn Covenant pass between these glorious persons about it, and that those thoughts should delight them before the World began, and that the Lord should bespeak his Son with all the terms of dearness that can be to undertake this service; Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee; and therefore being his Son, it was only an office fit for him; and as being his Son, there was all fitness in him, so there was all dearness to him; and by this Christ did, upon this motion of the Fathers, undertake this service, and there was a solemn Covenant passed between them, Jer. 30.21. And thus the Lord did as it were bind himself and his Son unto this great work of your Salvation before the World was, not only laying his love, but also his faithfulness to pawn, though not in a Covenant to you before you were, yet in a Covenant to his Son; and therefore there was a promise of eternal life given us in him before the World began. (3) When he doth Covenant with Christ to be a Priest, Tit. 1.2. it is a Covenant that he confirms by an Oath, to show that he doth never intent to alter and change his resolution, Psal. 110.4. The Lord has sworn and will not repent, etc. Psal. 110.4. Heb. 7.21. This Priest was made by an Oath by him that said unto him, Thou art my Son; the Lord swore and will not repent, and this was from everlasting; for than it was that Christ was first appointed or set apart to become a Priest. Now all this shows, how much the heart of God was in it: For the Word of God is as true as his Oath, and as infallible, and therefore if he had but said it, it had been enough, for there is a greater stability in his Word than there is in Heaven and Earth; but yet it is observed by Divines, that between the Word of God and his Oath there is this difference, though the Lord speaks the word, yet there may be some secret and condition, or some subsequent declaration of the mind of God. As for Nineveh God said, Within forty days Nineveh should be destroyed; yet there was an employed condition of repentance, which being performed, the Judgement was not executed. And so to Ely, I said that thy father's house should walk before me for ever, but now I say Be it far from me; and so the promise is reversed; and it may be that is the meaning of the expression in Numbers, You shall know my breach of Covenant: But if God swears, it shows the unchangeableness of his counsel, an absolute act that nothing can arise de novo, and nothing can be supposed that can cause God to change it; he will never have a relenting thought for the pardon of sins, and saving of sinners for ever; and therefore he swore, and made him a Priest by an Oath; and this Oath some conceive to be the seal of God, by which he did in a solemn manner set apart his Son for this great office, and designed him to it from everlasting: Joh. 6.27. John 6.27. Him hath God the father sealed: So that as he has sealed up his decrees concerning you, that they can never receive an alteration or change more, how changeable soever you be; 2 Tim. 2.19. as 2 Tim. 2.19. The foundation of God remains sure, having this seal, the Lord knows who are his; so he hath sealed up also his Covenant with Christ, and that by an Oath: Now if it were but a King's Seal, who could reverse it? But this is the King of Kings. (4) We see that their hearts were much in it; for neither of these persons ever repent of it to this day. [1] If God the Father would have repent, a man would have expected that it should have been when he came to make his Son an offering for sin: Oh! what relenting thoughts, and rolling of bowels had Abraham when his Son must die, and he himself must have a hand therein, and become the executioner? So it pleased the Father to bruise him, Matt. 26.29. and Matt. 26.29. there is a necessity or an impossibility spoken of, and it lay wholly in the will of God; for so he adds, not my will, but thy will be done: If God could have changed his Will, Christ might have lived, and the Cup passed away; but God had covenanted to make him a surety, he had made him a Priest by an Oath, and his will could not change, he could not repent of it; therefore this Cup he must drink. Thus Isa. 53.5. the same word is used, and it signifies, to beat a thing to pieces as in a Mortar; and God was pleased with it. Ephes. 5.2. The offering of Christ was to God a Sacrifice of a sweet savour; What made it so? Only the end; Finis dat mediis amabilitatem, the end gives sweetness to the means: Had it not been for that, the Lord must needs have abhorred it. [2] And Christ accepts of the Covenant and never repent; he did never call back his word, or change his engagement; he had the law of dying written in the middle of his bowels; as it was the pleasure of the Lord, so it was his; with desire have I desired it; and I have a baptism, and I am straitened till it be fulfilled. Use. 3. Thence we see the ground of the pardoning of all the sins of the ancient Saints under the first Testament, Rom. 3.25. Heb. 9.15. The debt was not paid, and the Sacrifice was not offered, and yet their sins were pardoned, and their souls saved; it was by virtue of the Covenant and engagement of Christ unto God the Father; there was blood of Bulls and Goats, and that could only signify Christ, but could not satisfy God; but when Christ came and performed the Covenant, now he satisfied for the transgressions under the first Testament, and in this respect he was a Lamb slain from the beginning, (though offered in the latter days of the World) because the Covenant immediately from the fall of man took place, and God looked upon him by virtue of this Covenant as our surety, and required all of him. Use 4. It is a mighty ground of Faith that all shall be performed; for if these glorious persons could break Covenant with you, yet they will not break one with another; therefore surely (1) on God's part all his promises unto Christ shall be made good, every knee shall bow taken him, all his enemies shall become his footstool, all the persecuting Monarchies shall be taken down, and the stone without hands shall fill the earth, and the Mountain of the Lord shall be exalted upon the top of all the Mountains, and the Kingdoms of the earth shall become the Kingdoms of the Lord. And Zach. 6.8. There is a spirit that in a way of providence will never leave stirring up the spirits of men, till this great work be effected: For the Lord hath said, Sat thou at my right hand, till I have made thy enemies thy footstool: And he shall have a name written upon his right hand and forehead, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (2) On Christ's part, if he might disregard us now he is in Heaven, yet his Covenant and engagement is unto the Father of Heaven, he hath promised and vowed obedience; and therefore, as he hath as our surety performed all that which he was bound to in his state of humiliation, so he will also do in his state of exaltation and glory, apply all the benefits of his death, and attain all for you that he hath purchased for you, and will come again to fetch you; for he arose as your surety, and he is exalted as your representative, and is gone to Heaven as your forerunner; and therefore he will surely gather in his Saints, complete their number, and perfect their Graces, and their light; The light of the moon shall be as that of the sun, and the weak shall be as David, for courage and boldness in the cause of God; and the stronger Christian that was before as David, Zach. 12.8. Heb. 12.27. shall have even the courage of an Angel of God before him. 5. When you see God making good his Covenant unto Christ in any of the parts of it, rejoice in it: If you loved me you would rejoice, because I go to the father; Love does divide griefs, and multiply joys: He is your Husband, your Head, your Friend, and Surety; in the good that is bestowed upon him you may have a share. Now when the Lord plucks down Enemies, defeats Counsels, shakes Mountains out of their places, works great changes in the earth, the foundations are cast down, all this is but to make a place for the throne of Christ, that he may be exalted in the earth, and that this Stone may fill the earth, Rev. 11.16, 17. There be great breaches made by God in the World; but the Saints do rejoice in them as Paul did, though he Preached the Gospel in much affliction; yet so Christ be Preached and exalted, whatever become of me, I do and will rejoice. So though I undergo never so much, yet all this while God is performing his Covenant unto Christ, for his sake we should be glad. Use 6. Pray unto God that he would perform his Covenant to his Son, Phil. 2.5. The things of Christ are, and should be very precious to a gracious Soul; and a man should seek unto God for the accomplishment of all things concerning his Son; and there are no Prayers that come up unto the Lord with so much acceptation as those do: If you desire to know whether Christ prays for you in Heaven, and takes care for you, see what affections he works in you, to pray to God for the accomplishing of the promises made unto Christ: while he was upon the earth, his great care was for you, when his death drew near, yet he takes care to comfort you, John 14.1. And when he was near his sufferings, yet he lays up prayers for Peter beforehand; and now he is in Heaven, he is not so taken up with his own glory, but that his care is towards his people; he hath seven eyes and seven horns, Rev. 5.7. perfection of wisdom and power for your good: Now as he lays out himself for you, so do you for him also, and press God with his engagement to his Son, and he can deny thee nothing, let thy prayers be for the Kingdom of Christ, and the accomplishment thereof, say Thy Kingdom come, Let the Lord reign, and let his name be exalted, Psal. 7.2. and let his coming in glory be hastened, when he shall be made glorious before men and Angels; let us always say, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. SECT. II. The Covenant of Grace made with Christ, as the Churches Head. §. 1. THat the Lord Jesus Christ is the person with whom primarily and principally the second Covenant is made, must be considered two ways, (1) In respect of the Office that he hath undertaken. (2) As he is the head of the Church, and makes up one body with them. And these two are to 〈◊〉 distinguished, and have in the Covenant distinct considerations; for there are some promises that belong unto Christ alone, as made unto his office, the promise of bringing Jacob to him, of assistance and acceptance in the work of justification by his righteousness, and the honour of having a name above every name, and the Angels of God to worship him, of a resurrection from the dead, without seeing corruption; which though promised unto David, yet never was fulfilled unto any of the Types, but in his own person, as the Apostle sets it forth, Acts 13.36, 37. For David saw corruption: And there are other promises that are made unto him as he is our Head, and to us in him, in which together with him, we have a share, and are made partakers. And there are some acts of office which belong unto him alone, which though we have benefit by, yet we have no share in; for redemption belongs unto him alone, and there is no other name given under Heaven, but one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus: and as there is but one Mediator for satisfaction, so but one for intercession also; for none hath to do with the Censer to offer Incense upon the Golden Altar, that hath not also to do at the Brazen Altar to offer sacrifice; and though in our justification, Justitia Mediatoris, the righteousness of the Mediator is imputed unto us, yet not Justitia Mediatoria, not the mediatory righteousness: The righteousness of the Mediatorship belongs to him alone, who is Jehovah our righteousness. Jer. 23.6. Therefore this first branch of the Covenant, though it were made with Christ for us; (for whatever he was, and whatever he did was for us, for us he descended into the lower parts of the earth, and for us he ascended far above all Heavens) yet it was not a Covenant made with us formally; for the acts were to be performed by him without us, and the promises made unto him, though for our good, yet were not made unto us: But the Covenant that now we are to speak of, is the Covenant of Grace made with us, but with Christ primarily and principally and with us in him, as he is the head and we his members. Doct. The Covenant of grace made with the Saints, is primarily and principally made with Christ, as he is the Church's head, and the second Adam. In the opening of this Doctrine, I will (1) give you some Demonstration for the proof of it. (2) Give you the Reasons or Grounds of it. (3) Answer some Objections that may arise against it. (4) Make Application of the point. 1. The arguments and demonstrations for the proof of it are many. 1 Cor. 15.47. Rom. 5.14. 1. The Lord Jesus Christ is the second Adam; Adam is said to be the type of him that was to come: Now wherein did this type lie? The first Adam was a public person, a representative head; and there were two things that made him so. (1) He received a Covenant for his posterity; the Covenant was made with them, but with them in him; therefore in him all sinned. (2) There was an Image laid up in him, not only for himself, but for all his posterity; and they did all bear the Image of the earthy: so is Christ the second Adam, being a public and common person in both respects, as he had a Covenant made with him; and therefore as we are said to bear the Image of the heavenly, Isa. 49.8. 1 Cor. 15.49. so he is said also to be given as a Covenant to the people, Isa. 42.6. Therefore as the first Covenant was made primarily and immediately with the first Adam, so was the second Covenant made primarily and immediately with the second Adam also. 2. How do all the Saints come into the second Covenant? How does a man become a Covenanter here? How does a man become a Covenanter in the first Covenant? It is by Union with the first Adam; we must be one with him, before we can sin in him; and therefore Angels are not guilty of Adam's sin, nor men of the Angel's sin; because they were not one with them, they came not under their Covenant. So all men do come under the Covenant of Grace, as they are one with Christ the head of the Covenant, Gal. 3.29. If you be Christ's, you are Abraham's seed, and heirs also of the promise: so that as there is not a new Covenant made with every man that is born into the world, but the old Covenant made with Adam in his Creation stands still in force, only (as soon as a man is born and becomes a man, he is one with the first Adam, and is so reckoned and counted by God, as under this representative head;) so there is not a new Covenant made with every believer, for they all come under Abraham's Covenant, and David's Covenant, even the same Covenant that was made with Christ, only they become one with him as members of his body, and so they are represented and counted by God as under this head, and so under this Covenant; therefore in Conversion there is a double change. (1) Moralis, moral, which is a change of a man's Covenant, because there is a change of a man's head; and then (2) Realis, real, or a change of a man's Image, because there is a change of a man's spirit, and a man receives another spirit different from the spirit of this world: but then there is this difference, Our Union with the first Adam is natural and necessary, we being originally contained, and seminally represented in him; but the other is voluntary and by consent, as between a man and his surety, who are one in conspectu fori, in legal account, by the mutual consent of both parties. Christ out of his free love consenting to represent us, and we by an Almighty Power (the Spirit of God giving an effectual power to the will), consent unto Christ to be one with him, and to be represented unto God by him: so then, as Christ has the pre-eminence in all other things, as he is first elected, and we in him; so he is primus foederatus, the first federate, and we in him, and no otherwise in the Covenant but as we are one with him: for if there be a Covenant made between two, and yet afterwards another by consent of parties be taken into the same Covenant; it must be granted, that he was not first in the Covenant, but came in by consent, and at second hand. 3. In whom the righteousness of the Covenant is, with him primarily the Covenant was made; but the righteousness of the Covenant is to be found in Christ alone; he is made unto us of God, Jer. 23.6. 1 Cor. 1.30. Heb. 7.22. Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption, and therefore he is the surety of the Covenant: he is one that did strike hands with the Lord, and did engage himself for our debt. Now in a suretyship there are two things: (1) The principal one that is chief bound to pay the debt, and of whom in a legal way the creditor will expect it. 2. In case of failure of the party, the surety is engaged for it as truly as if it were his own: now in the first respect Christ is not so properly a surety, for God did never make a Covenant with Christ with any intention to exact or expect any thing of us: Psal. 89.9. but I have laid help upon one that is mighty, which is a word often used of Christ: he is called the mighty God, Isa. 9.6. and Psal. 45.3. Gird thy sword O most mighty; as if the Lord had said, I know that these will fail me, and are every way unable to pay, therefore I will lay it upon a substantial person, one that has ability to give me satisfaction, and of him will I expect the debt. But in the second respect it is, that Christ is said to be the surety, as one that has undertaken to pay in our stead what we were never able, neither could it be expected from us; Christ became a surety of the second Covenant and every part thereof, he did not only undertake to satisfy God in his Law and Justice, both in reference to the Precept and the Curse that all lay upon him as his debt, he being made sin for us, and a curse for us, and we by the imputation of it as being in him are excepted from it; for in his justification we were justified also; for he died as the surety of the Covenant, and so he risen, and therefore is said, 1 Tim. 3.16. to be justified in the spirit: as he is said to be quickened in the spirit, 1 Pet. Heb. 9.14. to offer himself by the eternal spirit of the godhead; and being raised thereby, he is said in his resurrection to be justified, because that did declare that the debt was paid; and therefore God sent an Angel as a public Officer and Minister of justice to roll away the Stone, and to let him out of Prison, and therefore, 1 Cor. 15. the Apostle doth reason from the resurrection of Christ, that if he be not risen, we are yet in our sins, but Christ being risen, and thereby justified, we also are justified and accepted, because that did declare that the debt was paid by our surety, and he receiving a discharge, in him we are discharged also: Moreover, as the surety of the Covenant, he hath not only undertaken to pay our debt, but also to work in us whatever God requires of us should be done by us in the Covenant of Grace; so Pareus says, he was a surety, spondens Deo populi nomine fidem & obedientiam: So that the righteousness of the Covenant being only to be found in him, and to be made ours by imputation, and a gracious acceptation, as we are one with him; thence it doth plainly appear, that the Covenant is made with him in the first place, and we come to have an interest in the everlasting righteousness of it at second hand, as we are one with him; and so we are made the righteousness of God in him, 2 Cor. 5. last. Quest. But is not the righteousness of the Covenant required of us also? Answ. It is true, that perfect obedience in nature and life is required of us, as well as of Adam in the state of innocency, and so far as we come short of it, we sin; but yet in the Covenant of Grace it is not required as the righteousness of the Covenant, and as that righteousness by which I am to stand righteous before God, (as afflictions in the Covenant of Grace, are not laid upon the Saints for satisfaction to God, but for correction, etc.) but it is required and that perfectly, 2 Cor. 7.10. That we should cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, and perfect holiness in the fear of God, to manifest the truth of our union with Christ. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself; Joh. 15.5. without me, saith Christ, you can do nothing; and you do hereby manifest that you are one with me: As James 2.24. Abraham was justified by works; according to James, a man is justified not by Faith only, and yet Paul saith, that a man is justified by Faith alone, without the works of the Law, Rom. 4. A man's faith doth justify his person before God, and a man's works do justify his faith before men, and it is that we may show forth the virtues of him that hath called us, 1 Pet. 2.9. and that it may appear that our union with Christ is not a notion, and no more, but that it is real and powerful; and our Faith is lively, because it is a working Faith; and this righteousness now imputed unto us, as we are in him, he will never leave till he hath perfected in us, Ephes. 5.27. That he may present us unto himself without spot or wrinkle; this is a work that he hath undertaken unto his Father, but yet so as the righteousness of the Covenant is to be found in him alone, and made to be imputed only as we are one with him in God's account and acceptation; so that still the Covenant is made with him primarily, because in him only the righteousness of the Covenant is to be found, and comes unto us at second hand. 4. All the promises of the Covenant are made unto him primarily, and unto us only at second hand, and as we are one with him; they are made first unto him, and therefore they are called the sure mercies of David, and Ephes. 1.3. Isa. 55.3. God has blessed us with all spiritual mercies in heavenly places in Christ: 2 Cor. 1.20. they are made in him, that is, unto us as we are in him, and so they are accomplished: If the promises of God were by deed of gift only from the free grace of God, they might be made unto us immediately, for God may give to whom he will; but they are all of them a jointure, or an endowment upon a Marriage, which can neither be either rationally or legally claimed without an interest in the person. All the Promises are as the lines and circumference, they all meet in union with Christ as the centre; for they are all made unto Christ, and unto us only so far as we are members of Christ, Gal. 3. last. Being Christ's we are become heirs of the Promise, and no otherwise. God deals with a people in this, as a Father takes an inheritance of a Child in his infancy, or it may be unborn, and he keeps it in his own hands for him till he comes to years, and then puts him into possession thereof: So it is with the Saints, they are maintained a long time in the womb of God's election, before they are brought forth in a work of calling and regeneration; and being called, they are not capable of receiving of many of the promises, they are in their infancy, but yet these promises are conveyed from God to Christ as an inheritance, which he receives as a public person, a common Father in their behalf, which in God's time he will put them also in possession of. 5. All the graces of the Covenant be first bestowed upon him: The Spirit, as the Oil, is poured first upon the head, and afterwards it runs down upon the skirts of his garments, Psal. 133.2. So Psal. 45.7. He is anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, and 1 John 2.20. We receive an unction from the holy one; Joh. 1.16. Of his fullness we receive grace for grace. 1 Joh. 5.11. God has given us eternal life, and that life is in his son: It is laid up in him as in a common treasury, even the whole Image of God, that he doth intent to bestow upon us in grace and glory, it is given unto us, and laid up in him for us, but yet it is in him, and not in us; he has received the spirit without measure, he is the Son of righteousness, Isa. 6.57. and our healing is in his wings. There are, as you may see, three steps or degrees of conveyance in this life, (1) The living Father as the fountain. (2) Christ saith, I live by the Father. And it is given him to have life in himself, as the channel or way of conveyance. (3) You live by me: All the graces of the Covenant do actually belong unto him, and unto us, as we are one with him, and therefore it is commonly called the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, as that which is originally in him, as in the fountain or principle, and conveyed unto us only by union; as we are members of his body, so we have an influence from him as the head, and no otherwise. 6. All the privileges of the Covenant do primarily belong to him, and unto us only as we are in him; he is the Son, and from him we receive power to become the Sons of God; he is the heir, Jo. 1.12. Psal. 8.4. Heb. 2. and we coheirs with him, Rom. 8.17. He has put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, etc. This is spoken primarily and principally of the man Christ Jesus, he is called God's servant, and in him we are servants also; he is a King and a Priest, and we are made by him Kings and Priests unto God the Father, Rev. 1.6. he is the first beloved, and we in him; he first accepted, and we in him; he first justified, and we in him; he first overcomes, and we in him; we overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our Testimony; we sit together in heavenly places: He judges the world, and we in him; and when we come to Heaven, we shall but enter into our Master's joy. Thus every thing that concerns the Covenant belongs first unto him, and then unto us; and therefore we may safely conclude, that the Covenant made with the Saints of Christ, it is with Christ primarily and principally, and with us at second hand. 7. Lastly, the great and principal respect that God hath in this Covenant is to him alone, and unto us only as we are in him, in all the transactions of the Covenant. (1) In all the service that we tender unto God, by virtue of this Covenant, God doth not primarily respect it as it comes from us, but as it comes from Christ, as fruit in him, Joh. 15.2. 1 Pet. 2.5. as the Lord doth not merely make that a ground; for Christ says, I do not say that I will pray the father for you, Jo. 16.27. for the father himself loves you; he would thereby pitch their faith upon another ground, to assure them, that the prayers he makes in our behalf are answered, and that it is the love of the Father, as well as the mediation of the Son; but he loves them in him also, and therefore respects their prayers principally as they do proceed out of the Angel's hand. (2) In all the mercies of the Covenant, the primary respect is unto him, and it is bestowed upon you only for his sake: For thine own sake, and for thy words sake: 2 Sam. 7.21. Which Glassius and some others do apply unto Christ, that Word of the Father; though it may be meant, as others do expound it, for his own promise sake, respecting his truth, Mic. 7. last. therefore Zach. 1.14. though they pray never so long, Seventy years, yet it is never accomplished till Christ prays, and then the Lord answers the Angel with good words, and comfortable words, he is by and by zealous for Jerusalem: And therefore Daniel says, Dan. 9.17. Hear the prayer of thy servant, cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lords sake. Now if all things that concern the Covenant be in this manner made unto Christ primarily, and unto us only as we are in him; to him for his own sake, and unto us only for his; this doth plainly show, that the Covenant of Grace, though it be made with the Saints, yet it is primarily and principally made with Christ. §. 2. Now we come to the Grounds, why this Covenant must be made with Christ first, and with us only as we are members of Christ, and in him. 1. Because the Covenant of Grace is a transcript of the eternal purpose of God in election, and doth fully set forth the way how the ends of God's electing love should be effected. Now the ends of God's electing love are (1) The praise of the glory of his Grace. (2) The glory of his Son. (3) The holiness and happiness of the Saints. These ends are suitably accomplished by this Covenant, Ephes. 1.3, 4, 5. Ephes. 1.3, 4, 5. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ, according as he has chosen us in him. Here three things are observable, (1) It is spoken of Christ as Mediator, as God-man; for in him we are blessed, in him we are chosen; but our blessings proceed from Christ as Mediator. (2) The order of the election, we are chosen in him, that is in him as the head; and therefore he is first elected, as he is first beloved: In whom I am well pleased; well pleased with his people, Matt. 3.17. all the members of Christ, but first with Christ, and with them only as they are in him, and one with him. (3) According to this order, so are all the blessings of the Covenant of Grace dispensed; for he hath blessed us in him, as he hath chosen us in him; according to the order of election, such is the order also of benediction: Now the blessing of the Covenant of Grace being only in pursuance of the Election of God, the Order of God therein must be answerable to the Election, which is first of Christ, and afterwards of all the Saints of God in him. It's true, there is but one Election, as there is but one Covenant; but yet there is an Order in Election, as well as there is in the Covenant; first Christ is elected, and we in him; as the Lord entered into Covenant first with him, and with us in him as a head. Here consider [1] that the great and the highest end of the counsel of God in Election next unto his own glory, was the glory of his Son; for this is the Order of God, that the Father may be glorified in his Son, and the Son glorified in the Saints; and in the last day Christ shall be admired in them that believe, 2 Thes. 2.10. and that in the glory of Christ God the Father may be glorified, and that God may be all in all, when the Son also is subject to him. Therefore they that make Christ to be chosen only, in remedium peccati, 1 Cor. 15. and bring him in only by accident for the reparation and restitution of man fallen, I think, entertain an opinion dishonourable to Christ, and far below that great plot of God in Christ's Election. He is said to be the firstborn of every creature; Col. 1.15. which I conceive not to be spoken simply of Christ as God, but as Mediator; it is said before, that he is the image of the invisible God: If it be spoken of him as God, than he is equally invisible with the Father; but as Mediator in whom all the glorious Attributes of God do shine forth, so he is the Image of God; and so I conceive it to refer to the Election of Christ, as being Jesus the firstborn in the womb of Election; the like unto that is Prov. 8.23, etc. and in the first going forth in his Decrees towards the creature, therefore Christ was first elected; and the highest ends of God in the counsels of Election, next unto the glory of himself, was the glory of his Son. [2] This glory of the Son he doth intent to accomplish two ways. (1) He will in the fullest manner communicate himself to the Son, he will in the highest way delight in him; there could not be towards any creature the fullest communication and communion, because all communion is founded in union, and the higher the union, the more glorious the communication: Now between God and the creature there was a natural union, as between the cause and the effect; and there was a voluntary union by Covenant; and answerable to these was the communication of God to the creature either ordine naturae, or gratiae; but yet there being a higher union, this must make way for a higher communication; and therefore God intending to communicate himself to his Son in the highest way, he doth first in order privilege him to be personally united to a created nature, and in this nature he can take full delight, which he could not do in any mere creature whatsoever; for the more of God is in any creature, the more God can delight in it; and the less of God, the less delight: Now it is only in Christ, that the fullness of the Godhead doth bodily dwell, and he is his Image, therefore there can be a full delight in none but in him; he charges his Angels with folly, not with actual but possible folly, but yet the humane nature of Christ is impeccable by reason of its union; for actiones sunt suppositi, and therefore in him he takes full delight. Isa. 42.1. (2) God did intent to glorify his Son, by making him the fountain of all that goodness and glory that ever he did intent to bestow upon the creatures, that he should be a fountain of all good unto the creature upon whom he set his love, suitable unto their condition and necessity. [1] If the elect Angels retain their integrity and keep their first habitation, abide in the truth, Christ should be to them medium confirmationis. [2] If man be fallen, he shall become unto him medium reconciliationis. And this I conceive to be the Order of the Election of God, he doth choose Christ as the person to whom he will in the fullest manner communicate himself, and in whom he will glorify himself in the highest way, and as that person that shall be the fountain of all good to the creature suitably unto their necessity and condition, whatever they be; if they stand, to confirm them, if they fall, to repair them: And so he was first chosen and elected, and they in him as in their head; and so the Lamb hath a Book of life, Rev. 13.8. as well as the Father, and he saith, all these are mine, and mine are thine; there is not a soul in God's Book that is not in Christ's Book, they were chosen in him, and given unto him in their Election. Now the Covenant of Grace is but a Copy or counter-pain of this electing love of God; it must therefore proceed in the same way that election doth; election is first of Christ as the head, and of us in him. 2. The new Covenant was given in the hand of a Mediator, Gal. 3.19. therefore after the fal● there could be no Covenant made with man immediately, but with a second, or a middle person, a days man, that might lay hold upon both. This is evident, 1. from the necessity of a satisfaction, Job 9 some have very curiously disputed, Vtrum Deus per potentiam absolutam potest peccata remittere sine satisfactione? Whether God could pardon sin without satisfaction, Matt. 36.39. merely out of sovereignty and prerogative? But Christ saith, If it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt: And it seems to me to silence all such disputes, when I consider, that every creature is subject to the will of the Creator, by the Law of his creation; for there are many acts of sovereignty, that belong to the Creator. (1) To appoint the creature an end, and to give it a Law, which may bring it unto this end. (2) That this Law every creature is bound to obey, and yield obedience to, from his own election and choice: For it must be reasonable service, Rom. 12.1. and a man must choose the way of truth. (3) That every aberration or deviation from this will of the Creator, hath an evil and an iniquity in it, being an undue act, that doth intrinsically carry with it great obligation to punishment. (4) That the same Lawgiver that hath power to give the Law, hath also power to threaten, and inflict a Curse, and punishment for the transgression of that Law. (5) Man's sin being wilful, (a chosen transgression) the punishment whereof he was before instructed in, he doth most justly bring himself under that Curse and punishment that God had threatened upon such a transgression: For God was his judge, having given him a Law; as before he was his Creator, in giving him a being: he was subject to his will, as his Creator; and was subject to his sentence, as his Judge. (6) This sin God could not suffer to go unpunished. [1] In testimony of his holiness, that he might show that he was of purer eyes than to suffer it, Hab. 1.13. and that no evil could dwell with him, Psal. 5.6. being that which he hates, and therefore can be contented with nothing but its destruction, [2] Because of the Covenant wherein the truth and faithfulness of God was engaged, The day thou eatest thou shalt die: He had established a Law against sin, Matt. 5.18. which he could in no wise abolish, for Heaven and Earth shall pass away rather than one tittle of it. It was strange if that which did provoke the justice of God unto the execution of the Law, should procure the abrogation of the Law; therefore here is only place for a punishment to be inflicted, but none for a Covenant to be established, without a Mediator: For the old Covenant is broken, and till there be a way found to satisfy the Curse of the first Covenant, there can be no place for a second. Now this satisfaction must be in ourselves, or in some other that shall undertake it, by the appointment and acceptation of God in our behalf. In ourselves it is impossible, the redemption of a Soul is so great; for whatever man can do for time to come, is but a debt; and to pay a debt or service that we own at present, will not satisfy for a debt that we contracted before; and the demerit of sin is infinite, being against an infinite God; infinite glory is debased, and infinite justice despised; and man is but finite in his being, and his services are all but finite, and between finite and infinite there can be no proportion; therefore there can be no satisfaction; for satisfaction is that which is equivalent, etc. Wherefore if the Lord will be satisfied, it cannot be in a man's self, therefore it must be in a Mediator: 1 Tim. 2.6. And whereas there is a double need of a Mediator, one of Intercession, and the other of satisfaction, there is such a one required; and so was Christ. Thus the second Covenant is a Covenant of friendship, Hos. 2 19 Rev. 19 Abraham my friend; and it is a Marriage Covenant, the bride the Lamb's wife; and God could not take a creature into his bosom immediately, unless his Justice were satisfied; for by the rules of his government he must destroy them, he could not covenant with them, or propound any terms of reconciliation to them, the Curse of the first Covenant must be born, and thereby abolished. Thus God could not enter into Covenant with man immediately, but it must be by a Mediator, that should bear the Curse, and satisfy the Covenant. 2. This Curse being born, and satisfaction being made, God could not enter into Covenant with man immediately in the second Covenant, for he did intent it should be an everlasting Covenant, that by which all the elect should be saved; 2 Sam. 23.5. This is all my hope, and all my salvation, says David, etc. Now there is no creature that is intrinsically unchangeable, either in his being or working; the best of the creatures, the Angels, are subject to change, he is said to charge them with folly, not with actual, but with possible folly all of them; for they be of themselves, and in their own nature subject to change; and so was man before his fall: Therefore much more must he be so afterwards. If the Lord should have received a satisfaction for his sin in Christ, and afterwards left him in the hand of his own Counsels, man would have immediately brought himself into the same condition, and would have had great need of a new satisfaction, and so Christ might have suffered often, and have become, as the beasts were, a daily sacrifice; therefore Christ is called the surety of the better Covenant, Heb. 7.22. not only a surety of the old Covenant in paying our debt, but of the better Covenant in undertaking our duty, that by the one he may deliver us from sin, and by the other he may confer upon us immortality and life. And thus God could not, looking upon man as fallen, enter into a Covenant of Grace and reconciliation with him immediately, without a surety, for satisfaction to pay the debt he owed; and therefore it must a Covenant in the hand of a Mediator, and so the Lord enters into Covenant with Christ the surety, and takes his word for both, which we were never able to perform; and so he doth sweeten the heart of man to draw near to God, and in him we have access with boldness, but not in ourselves immediately. Jer. 31.20. Ephes. 3.12. 3dly. In him alone is the righteousness and the holiness of this Covenant laid up, and therefore with him only must this Covenant be made, and could be with none other: (1) As to the righteousness of the Covenant, we see with whomsoever the Lord made a Covenant, the righteousness of the Covenant was laid up in him, that he had an original power from God to perform the duties of that Covenant; as God made a Covenant with the Angels, and therefore their fall was a voluntary defection from the Law of their Covenant; They abode not in the truth, but left their first habitation: But we find that all the Angels fell ●ot, but only those that had a hand in, and did consent to the transgression; and from ●ence we do rightly conclude, that the Covenant was made with every particular Angel for himself, and not with any common head, but that every one stood by his own righteousness; but men being to come into the World successively in their several generations, and 〈◊〉 have their being from another, and not all at once, therefore the Lord doth make a Covenant with them by a common head, a public person, for them, and in him the righteousness and grace of the Covenant must be deposited; Rom. 41 11. and therefore God condemns man by impu●ation of another's sin, and he justifies man by imputation of another's righteousness, and therefore though the woman were first in the transgression, yet mankind is not said to sin in her, ●ut in Adam, who was the common head. Now unto man fallen there could not be a righteousness laid up in any other; for [1] the righteousness of the second Covenant must be a perfect righteousness, such as may make satisfaction, not only for the sins of a few, but of all the elect of God, not only under the New-Testament, but under the Old; not only those that had been committed before, but such as have been since, those that are past, and those also to come; and this he could never do, Rom. 3.25. Heb. 9 unless there were a dignity and worth in his person answerable to, and beyond all the persons whom he did represent: Therefore there must be a worth in Christ's person above all the Saints, and infinitely beyond theirs; and if he stands in our stead, he must make God amends, and that is only as being God and Man by the hypostatical Union; for the person being God-man he is most worthy. Now all his sufferings and obedience became the sufferings and obedience of him that was God-man; and thus he became a Son of righteousness, Mal. 4.2. 2 Cor. 5. last the righteousness of his humane nature being the righteousness of God, not the essential righteousness of the Divine nature, which is infinite, and cannot be imputed to a creature; but the righteousness wrought in his humane nature, unto which the Godhead gave an efficacy and excellency, and so he is a full and perfect fountain of righteousness; as the Sun is a fountain of light to the World, so is his righteousness to all the elect of God. [2] The righteousness of the Covenant must be an everlasting righteousness, or else the Covenant could never be an everlasting Covenant; Dan. 9.24. for if the righteousness of the Covenant be broken, the Covenant itself is made void, as we see in the Covenant made with Adam, and the Angels; but such a righteousness could not be laid up in any mere creature, which is in its nature subject to change; therefore it's said in Job, God put no trust in the Angels; even the Angels that fell not, Job. the election of God kept them from falling, and they are now confirmed by Christ, by whom as ministering Spirits they are employed in the second Covenant, and kept that they fall not, he being the head of all principalities and powers. [3] The righteousness of this Covenant must have a merit with it, or else it will never answer God's end nor our necessity; for if Christ had paid the old debt, and we had been restored into the primitive state, this had not answered the riches of God's Grace in the new Covenant, nor man's necessity: there is not only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a redemption, price to be paid, but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Ephes. 1.14. a purchase to be made of an inheritance, the adoption of Sons to be attained, and a Glory to be bestowed: Now this could not be in any of the creatures, for they were all bound unto the Law, and when they had done all that was commanded, they were unprofitable servants, it was no more than was due; and for themselves only, they had no righteousness to spare to another; and if they had, it would not answer this legal debt, there is nothing of a sinner can give a legal merit; this only can be from him, the excellency of whose person doth exempt him from the Law, unless by voluntary submission he be made under the Law, and by his subjection is the Law glorified more than all the transgressions of the creature could abase it. (2) The grace of the Covenant could be laid up in no other, and God will not deal with man, being a sinner, immediately in any thing, the grace as well as the righteousness must be in another, as a middle person between God and Man, by whom all must be bestowed. [1. 1 Joh. 5.11. Joh. 3.34. Jo. 1.16. ] It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. [2.] The Spirit could be received in its fullness from no other; the Spirit without measure was in him. [3] It could be derived by no other; the fullness that we do all receive must be dispensed by daily and continued supplies from him, Phil. 1.19. for in us it shall not be perfect in this life; and who can dispense it, but he that hath the Knowledge and Wisdom of a God, and an eye over all the earth, according to the condition and necessity of his people? and he can give them out of himself suitable and seasonable supplies; and though he be in Heaven, he can be touched with our infirmities. 4thly. The Covenant must be made with Christ, and with us in him, because this makes much unto the Honour of Christ the Prince of the Covenant: Christ is said to be Head of the Church, Col. 1.18. Isa 28.16. John 15.1. Rev. 5.5. Col. 1.18. and he is not only a head of Influence but of Eminence, and that in all things; and therefore in Scripture all names of precedency and priority are given him; in a building he is the foundation, in a Tree he is the root, nay he is the root of David, and therefore David was by him, David did not bear the root, but the root him. There was a double honour that God bestowed upon the first Adam. (1) He was caput forense, a legal Head, as a Covenant was made with him, and (2) Naturale, a natural head, as an Image was laid up in him: Now we deny unto Christ one part of his glory, unless we acknowledge him to be first in the Covenant, a common head of representation, as well as in receiving an Image for us. Therefore, Rom. 11.16. it is the honour of Abraham, that the Covenant after a sort in reference unto his family began in him; Mic. 7.20. but in this Abraham was but a Type, and it must be fulfilled in Christ, who was to be the Father of many Nations, and in him all Nations should be blessed, Isa. 9.6. and is therefore called wonderful counsellor, everlasting father, etc. They all come under his Covenant, as all the Saints did under Abraham's; and therefore even the Gentiles also are called Abraham's seed; Heb. 2. and so all that come under Christ's Covenant are called his seed; he shall see his seed, and he shall at last day present them to God, with this expression, Here am I, and the children thou hast given me. 5thly. This doth exceedingly advance the grace of the Second Covenant: for God to enter into Covenant with man after his fall and breach of his first Covenant was a great mercy, and to be taken into the same Covenant with Abraham was a great mercy; but it is one of the highest mercies, Isa. 49.9. that Christ is given as a Covenant, to stand under the same Covenant with the Son of God. (1) Under all blessings, whatever we receive, we receive not apart from Christ, but as one with him; we are justified by his righteousness, sanctified by his spirit, receive his Image here, and in Heaven we enter into our Master's joy; all not apart from him, but as one with him. (2) All the blessings of the Covenant we may claim in Christ's right, by virtue of the Covenant made with him for us; and therefore, Joh. 20.17. Joh. 1.12. to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God; even to them that believe in his name. And Dan. 9.17. For the Lords sake; for the Covenant is the same between God and Christ, that is between God and us. (3) We perform all the duties of the Covenant as accepted in the person of Christ; the Lord receives them all from the hand of Christ, who is engaged by Covenant to perform them, Hos. 14.8. In him is all our fruit found. And therefore, Joh. 15.2. it is bearing fruit in him, and they are received as they come out of the Angel's hand: All our obedience is looked upon by God as the obedience of Christ, and all our sufferings as the sufferings of Christ unto this day; all our hope is in our head. 6thly. From the great inconveniences that must needs follow upon the Doctrine, that the Covenant should be first made with us, and Christ only come in but at second hand to make up our defects. (1) Thereby Christ should in a great measure lose the glory of his headship; for if it be an honour to Christ to be a Head by receiving an Image, than it is an honour also first to receive a Covenant, Col. 2.19. as it was of the first Adam. It is as great a sin, and therefore must needs be as dangerous a Doctrine, to look unto ourselves only for a Covenant, as it is to look into ourselves only for an Image. (2) This will in a great measure take away the ground of our communion with Christ. 1 Jo. 1.3. our fellowship is with him, we have a communion with Christ in his righteousness, privileges and victories; and the ground of this communion is only the Covenant: We have communion with Adam in his sin and curse, because the hand-writing of our Fathers is ours; so the ground of our communion with Christ in his righteousness is, as he is a representative head, and as we come under his Covenant; and therefore his obedience is ours, his sufferings ours, we suffered with him, we died in him, rise with him, because we are under the same Covenant with him. (3) In this does the stability of the Covenant of Grace lie, it is an everlasting Covenant and unchangeable, because it is made with an unchangeable head: Adam's Covenant, and so that of the Angels was subject to change, because the persons were changeable with whom the Covenant was made; if the Covenant were primarily made with us, than our unfaithfulness might break the Covenant, as adam's did; but our Image is not blotted out by our sins, as adam's was; because the fountain of it is not within us, 1 Jo. 5.1. but in another; and he hath said, because I live, you shall live; so our unfaithfulness makes not the Covenant void, because it is not made with us, but with him, and with us in him; and because he keeps the Covenant, it must needs remain sure to all the seed; so that as our sins blot not out our Image, so they break not the Covenant, because Christ is the root and the head in the one as well as in the other: and so it is every way more honourable for Christ, and comfortable for us, that the Covenant should be made with him, and he be the person upon whom the principal engagement should lie, and upon us in the second place; that so, though we be unfaithful, yet the Covenant may remain sure, rather than to bring in Christ in this Covenant but as our surety and servant barely to supply our defects. Object. §. 3. The Covenant is chief seen in the promises of it, and is therefore called The covenant of promise, and preferred before the old Covenant, because established upon better promises; and therefore that which in this verse is called the promise made to Abraham and his seed, is verse 17. called the Covenant; so that the nature of the Covenant is chief seen in the promises thereof, the Covenant being nothing else but a confluence and collection of promises, as the Sea is of Waters, and all the promises meet in the Covenant, as the beams in the Sun, or lines in the Centre. Now there are many promises in this Covenant, that cannot be made first unto Christ, and then to us; for there are some promises made unto Christ alone, and cannot belong unto us, but unto him only, virtute muneris, by virtue of his office; namely, that he should see no corruption, that he should by his knowledge and righteousness justify many, that he should see of the travail of his soul, and should die as a grain that he might not abide alone. So there are many promises that belong to his members only, and cannot be made to Christ; as the promise of giving Christ, yea, Gen. 3.15. even the promise of Christ himself is but part of this Covenant, and the very bestowing of Christ is a fruit of the Covenant: How then can the Covenant be made first with Christ, when it is by this Covenant that Christ is given? And there are some promises that cannot be applied to Christ without dishonour to him, the promise of pardon of sin, giving repentance, taking away the heart of stone, healing backsliding, and pouring upon them clean water, that they shall be cleansed from their filthiness: now to say that those promises are made to Christ, which suppose corruption and imply imperfection, were very dishonourable to Christ, who hath no sin to be pardoned, no corruption to be purged, no backsliding to be healed, no grace to be perfected: But he hath a fullness in him, and that fontis, of a fountain for himself, and to overflow upon all his members: How can these promises be looked upon as made unto Christ the head of the Covenant? Answ. 1. In the Covenant made with Christ, God the Father's giving him is to be considered two ways: (1) As it is an honour unto him. (2) As it is an act of special grace and mercy unto us. (1) As it is an honour done to him, and so the first promise of giving Christ is made to Christ, Isa. 42.6. the Lord doth promise to give him as a Covenant to the Nations: For the Lord's intention was from eternity, to glorify his Son, and to exalt him as the Prince of the second Covenant; for God's intention was to glorify himself in Christ two ways. [1] In a way of mere grace, by conferring upon his humane nature, the highest honour and excellency that a created nature was capable of by the personal union with the Godhead; which Divines commonly call gratia unionis, the grace of Union, that thereby there might be the fullest communication of the Godhead upon him, and the highest complacency and delight in him. [2] In a way of reward. Phil. 2.7, 8. [1] As a reward of his own obedience unto the will of his Father, therefore God hath highly exalted him. [2] As a reward of his sufferings for his members; for by the acceptation of the righteousness of Christ for them, and imputing it unto them, Christ is rewarded, by whom they have access with boldness to the throne of Grace; which though it be justice unto Christ, yet it is mercy unto us: And thus will the Lord make Christ the fountain of all good unto his elect, and this is as you have heard, first promised unto him, that the Lord will prepare him a body, give him a humane nature, take him into personal Union with himself, and in that nature give him unto man with a Covenant and an Image; and so the giving of Christ is by promise, first made unto him, and his coming in the flesh is but the fulfilling and the accomplishment of this promise. (2) We may consider it as an act of special grace and mercy unto us, and so to us, Isa. 9.6. a son is born, and to us a child is given: So he is the promised seed unto the Saints, that promise which all the Saints of old lived in expectation of, that waited for the consolation of Israel; so the giving of Christ unto the World, is by promise made unto the Saints; and so the giving of Christ unto the Saints, hath its foundation laid in a promise made unto Christ, to give him as an head, with a Covenant and an Image; and having promised this unto Christ, now he adds a promise unto the Saints, that he would give him so unto them, as the work of vocation in bringing of souls home unto Christ. It is not so properly and formally a promise made to us, as it is to Christ, That God would let him see his seed, and prolong his days upon earth, and give him the heathen for his inheritance, etc. and all in pursuance of that ancient Covenant between the Father and the Son, when he did agree with him for all the elect, and choose them in him as their head; and all that is done in time is the fulfilling of what the Father did promise the Son, and they come unto us only at second hand, as we are looked upon as one with Christ; and so the Lord giving us unto Christ, and Christ unto us, and we being apprehended of him, he gives us faith to apprehend him again. So it is in this, but so, that the very giving of Christ is by promise made first unto Christ, and then unto us, as the other great promises are, I will be thy God; he is first Christ's God, and then our God, and he is his God as Mediator no way but by Covenant, and our God in him. And I will send my spirit; he hath the promise first made to him to receive it in its fullness, and dispense it, and it is conveyed unto us only as we are one with him our head. So the promise of Christ also is made unto him first as a point of special honour, and unto us as a special favour. 2. For the other sort of promises of pardoning of sin, giving grace and repentance, they are made first unto Christ, as the price of his blood, and part of his purchase, and of that reward that the Lord did intent to bestow upon him; for God gives no souls to Christ but those that he hath purchased; and bestows no grace upon them, but it is done unto Christ as a reward of his purchase, and service, and as a perfecting of his mystical body, till they come unto the fullness of the age of the stature of Christ; for the Church itself is a purchased possession, Act. 20.18. whether it be in grace or glory; and therefore Christ looks upon all graces, and all privileges, as part of his due from God the Father, and that they should be bestowed upon them for whom he laid down a price. And therefore we read that though Christ, while he was upon earth, was a man of sorrows, and had little comfort in this World; yet he did take delight in this, the fulfilling of the promises unto him in the conversion of Souls, and perfecting Saints. When the Woman of Samaria was converted, he said, Luk. 16.20. 'Twas his meat and drink to do the will of his father, he rejoiced in spirit that souls were converted, and that the mysteries of the Gospel were revealed unto babes. And Joh. 11.15. when he called Lazarus from the Grave, they said, he is dead, and he said, I was glad for your sakes, to this end that you might believe; he rejoiceth that there was an opportunity to add unto their faith, and that it might grow and increase one degree more: It was the joy of his heart to see of the travel of his soul. Isa. 53. And there are three things that Christ hath respect unto herein. [1] His suffering's past, and therefore he doth in his intercession always sprinkle his blood before the mercy seat, his blood is a speaking blood, he hath laid down the price, and therefore surely he expects the purchase. [2] It is the joy of his heart now he is in Heaven, to see the graces of his people grow and flourish, it is the meat that he is said to seed upon, as we see Cant. 5.2. I have mingled my wine with my milk, and eat my honey, etc. and thou art the fairest amongst women, thou hast ravished me with one of thine eyes; etc. It's a joy to the Angels when a soul is converted; and a joy to the Ministers, the Angels upon earth, when they grow in grace, and stand fast in the faith: And if the servants and children of the Bridegroom rejoice in it, how much doth the Bridegroom himself rejoice in it? [3] In reference to the glory that is to come, at the day of Judgement he comes to be admired in his saints, 1 Thes. 1. and afterwards he doth present the Church unto God the Father; which some conceive to be the giving up of his Kingdom, that God may be all in all; and he shall have an eternal glory that shall be reflexed upon him from the Saints, who shall sing for ever hallelujah unto him, who is the head and King of Saints: Therefore all these promises are made first unto him, and do principally belong unto him, and he is most concerned in them, that if they be not fulfilled he shall be the greatest loser by them, lose his sufferings past, and his delight for the present, and his glory to come; so that in the performance of them, God hath a special respect to Christ, and they belong unto us, and are fulfilled unto us only as we are in Christ, and no otherways. 2. There is in these promises an active and a passive, a giving and a receiving; (1) They are made unto Christ as the giver, and unto us only as those that must receive all things from him, the Oil is poured first upon his head; Isa. 53. and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand; of his fullness we receive grace for grace; he hath given him power over-all flesh, John Ephes. 5. Heb. 12.2. that he may give eternal life unto those that are given him: he gives repentance unto Israel, and forgiveness of sins; he washeth them and sanctifies them, for he is the prince of life, Act. 3.15. the author and the finisher of our faith, the Captain of our salvation, that in all things he may have the pre-eminence. (2) The passive part of these belong unto the Saints, but it is as they are one with him, and as they have an interest in all this grace received by their head, that it may by him be dispensed unto them; for 1 Joh. 5.11. he hath laid up all their life in him, for all the promises are made unto his seed, though in a different order, and in different respects, some promises made formally to him, and some promises fulfilled in his members. Object. 2 This will bring Christ under both Covenants; for we heard before, Gal. 4.4. that he came under the Covenant of works, he was made under the Law, and now this Doctrine doth bring him also under the Covenant of Grace. Answ. Indeed no mere man can stand under both Covenants, Gal. 4. no more than he can be born of two Mothers: The two Covenants are the two Mothers, and a man can no more be under both Covenants, than it's possible for him to grow upon a double root, to be a member of the first, and at the same time to be a member of the second Adam: But the Lord Jesus Christ came under both Covenants. Tit. 1.2. 2 Tim. 1.9. (1) The Covenant of Grace was made with him from all eternity, and therefore there is a promise made, and eternal life given us before the World began; and it was in this Covenant, that Souls were given to Christ, all that he should save, and therefore he hath a Book of Life: Rev. 13.8. Those that were given him in Covenant, he took their names, and upon this Covenant he did rejoice in the habitable parts of the earth, before there was either earth or inhabitant. Prov. 8.31. And it was the Covenant of Grace that was first made, and was first intended, as being established between God and Christ before the World began; as a Parent may make a Covenant, or take a Lease in behalf of his Child before he is born, or in being: but this Covenant was not actually to take place, it being a Covenant of reconciliation, and in the hand of a Mediator, till the first Covenant was broken, and then comes in the manifestation of the second Covenant, life and immortality being brought to light by the Gospel. (2) But when this Covenant was to take place, Christ finds all mankind under the Covenant of their Creation, and that broken, and they brought under the curse of it; and now the Covenant of Grace cannot take place, unless he will come under the first Covenant, and thereby abolish it; the sin against the first Covenant could never be pardoned, unless he be made sin; and the curse of the first Covenant could never be satisfied, unless he be made a Curse; and the Covenant itself never abolished for any, unless he be made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law as a Covenant, that they may be translated, Gal. 4.5. Only there is this difference, Christ being under both Covenants, man was first under the Covenant of Works, and Christ came in in the second place, as our surety, standing in our stead, paying our debt, and therefore he puts his name to our bond by his own free and voluntary condescension. We were first sin, and he was made sin for us; we a curse first, and he made a curse for us; so we were first under the Covenant of Works, and he did freely subject himself to be made under the Law: he took our nature, that he might communicate his to us; so he takes our Covenant, and subjects himself to it, that he might impart unto us his Covenant, and bring that into the World. But as for the Covenant of Grace, it was made first with him, and we come under this Covenant only by Union with him; Gal. 3. las●. his voluntary union with us as our surety, brought him under our Covenant; and our voluntary union with him as our head, brings us under his Covenant: The curse came upon him by our Covenant which we were first in, and the blessing comes upon us by virtue of his Covenant in which he was first. SECT. III. Christ's Headship in the Covenant applied. Use 1 §. 1. IT instructs us first to observe the rich and free Grace of God, that hath given his Son as a Covenant to the Nations, which mercy the Prophet Isaiah exalts; Isa. 42.6. To us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the giving of his person was the highest honour, and the greatest gift; but yet it will be more heightened in our thoughts, if we consider the ends for which he is given, and the glorious retinue of all grace that follows him: For he is given as a head with a Covenant, and an Image, and we admire God that hath laid up all grace in Christ to dispense unto us, that of his fullness we may receive grace for grace: This is to give him but half of his glory, as he is the Church's head, and the second Adam; for he doth bring a Covenant into the World as well as an Image, and in this respect happily amongst others, he is called the Angel of the Covenant. 1st. It is a free gift; there are three things in a gift, (1) It is not ex debito, of debt, God did not owe unto man a Covenant, it was all free grace, it was that made him enter into a Covenant at first, barely to sweeten man's obedience; and therefore that man might be willing to be bound to obey, God himself is content to be bound to reward him: But when man had broken the first Covenant, and was perfidious before God, now to enter into a second Covenant, this makes the Grace of God the greater, because otherwise he should have perished under the curse of the first. (2) It is not ex pretio, by price; there is no price, that did purchase the Covenant; though all the benefits and blessings of the Covenant are purchased by Christ, yet the Covenant itself is grounded only upon free grace; and it is this Covenant that is the ground of all the acts of Christ, and the acceptation of them all is grounded only upon free Grace in the Covenant and compact between him and his Father. (3) Not ex merito, of merit, from any thing that we can do; for there is not the least blessing in the second Covenant but it is of Grace, and the reward is not reckoned of debt, but of grace; and if all the benefits of the Covenant be so, much more the Covenant itself, from whence comes all the grace we have to do any thing pleasing in the sight of God. 2dly. The greatness of the gift is seen in the love of the giver. There was a love manifested in the first Covenant; but yet it was not such by which he did intent that any of the Sons of men should be saved: He has said, That by the works of the law shall no man be justified; and the inheritance is not by the law, etc. But the second Covenant did proceed from God's electing love, which is exactly suited thereunto; for Ephes. 1.3, 4. he doth observe the same order in the benediction, that he did in election: And the more difficulties love breaks through, the greater it is, Cant. 8.7. Now our Covenant-breaking might provoke God to withdraw his love; and yet the greatness of his love is seen in the duration of it: The first Covenant was broken, and thereby that love was turned into hatred, and God became our enemy, as common love will end in everlasting hatred; but this is from his everlasting love, and therefore it is an everlasting Covenant. 3dly. The greatness of it is seen in our necessity. We were (1) under a Covenant broken, and therefore under the curse of it. (2) It was a Covenant without a Mediator; for God could not enter into Covenant immediately with us being fallen, as we have heard at large; therefore there was in the first Covenant no commutation of the person; we must answer for it in our own persons; the soul that sins, must die. (3) A Covenant that promises no spark of repentance. (4) A Covenant that promises no mercy or acceptance upon repentance; and therefore man had been left in a remediless condition, even as the Devil at this day, 2 Pet. 2.4. being bound in the chains of darkness, 2 Pet. 2.4. which is nothing else but the curse of their Covenant. Now in this condition, it is the Gospel of Christ, the Grace of God that brings salvation, Tit. 2.11. Life and immortality is brought to light thereby. 4thly. Consider the excellency of this Covenant. The first Covenant indeed is that under which the Angels stand, by which they do enjoy happiness and glory; but this is the Covenant under which Christ stands, of which he is the Glory, the Prince, the Messenger; the Mediator of a better Covenant, which the Angels admire, and were it offered to them, would change their Covenant, and cast away their own righteousness, that they might come under the Covenant of Grace, by which Covenant the Saints enjoy all their happiness and glory in Heaven, and have the promises of the life that now is, and that which is to come. 5thly. That Christ is given as a Covenant, doth heighten the promises thereof, and make them of a far more glorious nature, Rev. 21.7. than those under the first Covenant: For I will be thy God, and thou shalt have an interest in all that is in me for thy good; as truly as it is mine for my own glory: The promises are infinitely heightened, because he that is the Prince of the Covenant was worthy and capable, which no mere creature could be. 6thly. This makes the promises of it sure unto all the seed; for with Christ, God cannot break Covenant; and there is nothing in this Covenant but is purchased as well as promised; and the righteousness is everlasting, sin can never spend it: Heb. 7.22. Surety of a better testament: A surety not only of the old Covenant to pay the debt, but also of the new to perform the duty; so that God expects all from him, and accepts all as it doth proceed from his hand. 2. This instructs us also that we are to admire, honour, and exalt the Lord Jesus, given as a Covenant to the Nations; 1st. That he would consent thereunto; for whatever Christ is made for us, and whatsoever he is given to us, is by his own consent; and there is a concurrence of his will with God the Father's therein; for as he is the Son, he is God equal with the Father, and thought it no robbery so to be; Phil. 2.7, 8. and therefore he cannot come under an act of Gods will, but by his own consent; whence in the very election of Christ, there is a concurrence of the will of Christ unto it; Christ's generation is an act of nature, but his election is an act of will; and as Christ is God, he cannot come under an act of Gods will, without his own consent: He is said, to be foreknown, 1 Pet. 1.20. Heb. 1.2. and foreordained before the world began; and to be appointed heir of all things: God having an absolute dominion over us, we being in his hand, as clay in the hand of a Potter, our election is merely an act of his sovereignty, God having absolute power to appoint us to what end he will, as well as to give us what being he will: but it is not so in the election of Christ, nor in any of the consequents of his election, he coming not under an act of Gods will but by his own consent. Hence, that Christ should come under this Covenant, and be made a Covenant unto us, doth exceedingly exalt the Lord Jesus. We look upon it as a great condescension in God the Father, that when he had made his creature he would be bound to him, and not only be his God by creation, but also by stipulation; he pays debts that owes none, he forgives debts as not valuing them: But the condescension of Christ is exceeding great, to enter into Covenant by way of obedience and subjection; and this honour's God more than the obedience of all the creatures in Heaven and Earth, that his Son should be in subjection to him; and this honours the Law more than any thing else, that he that is the Lord of the Law, should be made under the Law; and that he that was equal with God in nature, should come under the counsel of his will; it is much more than for all the creatures to obey him, that did owe all that they were by the right of their creation: for all the Stars to veil their faces before the Son, it's nothing; but for one Sun to be willing to be Eclipsed, that the other may shine: for all the Subjects in Kingdom to serve a Prince is nothing, but for a Prince equal with himself in state and honour, to come and be a Servant and wait upon him on his knees, and be at his command, honours him more. 2dly. That hereby you should have the benefit of this eternal transaction between the Father and the Son before the World began, and of that mutual agreement that was between them; for the whole Covenant was in reference unto you: Christ came into the World under an engagement, and therefore he saith, Lo I come to do thy will; and the Lord calls him his Servant, I will bring forth my righteous servant the branch, and by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; and it was a service undertaken and consented unto, and that which he was appointed before the world began, 1 Pet. 1.20. Titus 1.2. 2 Tim. 1.9. And of this I conceive these places of Scripture are to be understood: John 17.6. Thine they were, and thou gavest them unto me: And Rev. 3.8. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the lambs book, etc. It cannot be spoken of election, for though election being an act ad extra, is common unto all the persons, and therefore the Son and Spirit had a hand in the choice, as well as the Father; I know whom I have chosen; yet that is an act of Christ as God, but this is spoken of him as he is the Mediator: as he is the Lamb, so he hath a Book of life, which can be understood no otherwise, but in reference unto the Covenant that the Lord did work with him as Mediator, and in reference to the Souls that the Lord did then indent with him for to save, all those that he had chosen unto life, that were in the Covenant between Christ and him, and he did give unto Christ by Covenant, and Christ did therein transcribe their names out of the Lords Book of election into the Lamb's Book, which is a mere transcript of the Father's Book of life: And thus you have the benefit of this great transaction between the Father and the Son, by virtue of this Covenant; and thereby you become part of Christ's care, and have your names written in his heart, from all eternity, and thereby have, as it were, a being in Christ, before you had a being in yourselves; he bore you in his bosom, had your names in his Book before the World was. 3dly. That to introduce this Covenant of Grace, Mercy and Reconciliation (for it was not to take place till after the fall) he should put himself under another Covenant, and that upon the worst terms, a Covenant broken; and so he must not only come under the duty, but also under the curse of it, be made under the law, Gal. 4.4. to redeem us that were under the law: To undertake the duty had been much, to fulfil all righteousness; but to bear the curse, to be made a curse for us, was more: But above all, to lie under the guilt as an offender, that was the greatest abasement; to be reputed a sinner by men, and to have sin imputed to him by God; to be made sin, and to confess your sins as his own, Psal. 40.2. 2 Cor. 5.21. to be circumcised and stand in the Temple for purification, as if he were born in sin, and for the iniquity of us all to meet upon him, is a greater condescension: Isa. 33.6. Had Christ undertaken to have been, when that Covenant was broken, but a Mediator by way of intercession and entreaty, being beloved of God, and powerful with him, as the Woman of Tekoah was with David for Absolom, and the Saints are so Ministers one for another, pray one for another, that you may be healed; yea, and the Angels also, for they are Interceders with the Lord, in the behalf of his people, Dan. 4.17. had the Lord Christ but improved his power and interest with God, that when we had broken the first Covenant, he would have tried us with a second, to see if we would be more faithful unto God in that, than we had been in the first, it had been a great mercy, and a wonderful act of love, so far to have appeared for us: but for the Lord Christ to become a surety, that is, a Mediator of satisfaction, to pay our debt, and not to do it by and by, but to come into bond to do it hereafter, and in the mean while to stand in our stead, and to be looked upon as engaged unto God for what we did owe, this still was a far greater condescension in Christ: For to bring in the Covenant of Grace that it might take place for us, he must come under another Covenant, and into that also upon the worst terms that could be. 4thly. When the Lord had brought in this second Covenant by coming under the first, fulfilling it, and thereby abolishing it, cancelling the hand-writing that was against us, and nailing it to his Cross. Now had he in the second Covenant, only undertaken the commanding part, which is that which is honourable in it, and laid upon us the others, that we had stood bound unto God to obey; and so have left us under a better Covenant, the former being taken out of the way, it had been less: but in this new Covenant he must undertake all, and be all in all in the Covenant; not only that he undertakes to dispense all from God unto us, and is the great steward therein, the sun of righteousness, (for God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son, John 5.11.) but as all the glory that God will bestow he doth dispense by Christ, so all the duties that we own to God Christ hath undertaken for, even both parts of the Covenant; his faithfulness is engaged to us, that we shall have acceptance with God, and all blessing●●●om him; and unto God he is engaged, that he shall have all duties; and therefore we be●● fruit in him, Joh. 15.5. and without me you can do nothing: I can do all things through Christ strengthening me, Phil. 4.13. He works in you to will and to do of his own good pleasure; Hos. 14.8. and upon him is all our fruit found: And he hath engaged himself to work all your works in you and for you. Our duties are his, though we do them, for he inables us to do them; we move but as we are moved, we act but as we are acted; the duty is ours, but the efficacy is his, from him alone we have the supply of the spirit that inables us to bear fruit unto God; and he is engaged to present us unto his Father, without spot or wrinkle, because he doth give up his Kingdom unto the Father, that God may be all in all. Heb. 7.22. Thus Christ is the surety of a better Covenant. 3. Hence believers should learn to know their place and station under the second Covenant, that they come in only as accessories into this Covenant, only at second hand, under the grace, and favour, and acceptance of another, and no otherwise. We commonly, through our ignorance of the Covenant of Grace, do think, that when the first Covenant was broken, Christ did come and pay the debt, and satisfy the Curse for us, and as a Mediator, did procure God to make a new Covenant with us, as if we were the persons with whom this Covenant was made, and to whom the grace, mercies, privileges and promises of the Covenant do belong; only Christ as Mediator, by satisfying of the debt of the first Covenant, and taking it away, did procure it for us: But we are herein utterly mistaken, for he hath so brought in, a second Covenant, that he himself is the primus foederatus, the first federate therein, and hath the same place as the second Adam, that the first Adam had in the first Covenant; it was made primarily with him, and it comes upon all his posterity in the Curse of it, only as they are in him; in him all have sinned, Rom. 5 2. So all the Saints are said to be the seed of Christ the second Adam, and the Covenant is made with him, and all the graces of the Covenant, and the promises of the Covenant are made unto him as unto the head, and unto us only as we are in him, and no otherwise; so that it is by our Union that we come under Christ's Covenant, and thereby have a right and title unto all the promises of the Covenant, Gal. 3. last. 2 Cor. 1.20. and privileges thereof, In him are all the promises of God yea, and Amen, and your duties and obedience are no further accepted, than as they are done in him; we have access in the beloved, we are justified, and sanctified in him, accepted and glorified in him; even our glory in Heaven is not properly our own, we enter into our Master's joy. Matt. 25.21. And it is of great concernment that we should know our place in this Covenant, (1) that we may give Christ the Glory, which is part of that name above every name that God hath given him, Phil. 2.9. Isa. 28.16. 2 Tim 2.19. that he should be the Prince of the second Covenant, the second Adam, that he should be the foundation of foundations; The foundation of God remains sure, that is, the election of God, as he hath chosen us in Christ, who is the foundation upon whom all the building of the Church is laid; and therefore is the cornerstone in a double sense, [1] Lowest, as that which bears the stress and weight of the whole building, as it is, Isa. 28.16. 1 Pet. 2.6. And [2] as it is the top of the building, and so in the resurrection, Psal. 118.22. he is glorified and manifested to be the head of the corner: It hath been the great thing that the Lord aims at in all things, That men might glorify and honour his Son, as they honour the Father: This is God's great purpose in the Covenant of Grace, that in every thing Christ might be exalted; if there be any duties to be done, the Soul is to look upon Christ as engaged in it, and it belongs unto him only, as he is one with Christ; and therefore the strength and supply must come from him alone: and therefore behold the man whose name is the branch. If any service be to be accepted, Zach. ●● 12. it belongs unto Christ, and it is accepted of us no otherwise, but as it comes out of the Angel's hand; and if it be never so mean, yet as it comes from Christ it shall be accepted, though but a Cup of cold water, if offered in the name of Christ, and by his hand unto the Father: And if any promise be to be fulfilled, the Soul looks upon Christ and his worthiness, and God's engagement to him for its performance; it is in him that all promises are accomplished; and this hath made Christ all in all, so sweet unto all the Saints; God would have us look on him as all in the new Covenant, and to give him the honour, and the pre-eminence, which we shall never do, unless we know our own place and station. (2) This is the only way to abase us, and to keep us low in our own eyes. Consider thy place and tenure in the second Covenant, thou holdest by another, and comest in under this Covenant only upon his account; thou art by sin cut off from God, the fountain of all blessings, and thou must receive nothing from him immediately, but in the hand of a Mediator. It is as a King gives some great thing to a stranger at the request of a Favourite, the man can only look upon himself as one that hath received his favour, ●ut it is not for his own sake but for another's; my person is not accepted as in myself, but in him, nor my duties, but as in him; if God speak to us it is by him, and if we speak to God it is by him; so that we have nothing to do with God immediately, nor receive any thing from him immediately, but it is through the Angel's hand, the Angel of his presence, and it belongs to us only by Union; the debt i● paid in him, and our duty performed in him. Here is nothing but matter of self-denial and abasement for us, and we have a continual need, for there is a proneness in all men being brought unto God, to be too forward to c●me unto him in their own names, and not to exercise thoughts of Faith upon their Priest, by whom they have access to God, as they should do; and there is no way to keep the Soul humble more than this * Tota vita nostra tentatio est, & ab insidiante superbiâ nec ipsa tuta est victoria. Ambros. . Ephes. 7.3, 12. (3) It is of great use for a man to know his place and station for his consolation. [1] In this, that it being the Covenant made with Christ, a man comes under Christ's Covenant, which is a better Covenant than that which Adam had given him, or of the Angels themselves, he now stands under the same Covenant that Christ himself is under as Mediator. [2] It is of great consolation in this, that whatever is required in the Covenant, he is the surety; so that the Lord hath laid help upon one that is mighty, and it is primarily required of him, and of us in him, as he hath undertaken for us; therefore though we want ability, yet there is strength in him, and he is engaged to dispense it; there is no worthiness in us, but there is enough in him, and he is engaged by Covenant to present it to his Father; for all the duties of the Covenant are required first of him, and all the promises of the Covenant are dispensed first unto him. Use 2 §. 2. The second Use is of Exhortation. If the Covenant of Grace be made with Christ, then if you would have an interest in Christ's Covenant, you must become one with him. Thou art bound unto God by a double bond, of creation and stipulation; and that Covenant under which thou art by nature, makes thee one with the first Adam; and that bond of the Covenant hath held the Devil in chains of darkness, which none can lose, but he that loosed the pains of death; he can lose the chains of darkness, the curse and bond of the Covenant, and that is by a translation into a better Covenant; which is only by Union. And to allure you and speak to your hearts, consider the glories of that Covenant that was made with Christ, into which I desire you to be translated. (1) In this Covenant the Lord shall be thy God, as he is Christ's God, and thy Father, as he is Christ's Father. (2) Thou shalt be freed from the dominion of the Law. The law has dominion over a man whilst he lives, but, saith Paul, I through the law, am dead to the law; all that is good in the Law thou shalt have, but all that is evil and hurtful thou shalt be freed from. (3) From the guilt and dominion of sin; from the guilt of sin, for here is a righteousness without works in this Covenant, God justifies the ungodly; and from the dominion of sin, Rom. 6.14. Sin shall not have dominion over thee. (4) By this Covenant the Spirit is given in all the gifts and graces of it, 2 Cor. 3.6. (5) By this Covenant the Angels are your servants, and all the creatures are yours. (6) By this Covenant the World stands, and the government of the World is changed, Isa. 49.8. He has committed all government to the son, John 5.22. a Kingdom he hath received from his Father; and there is yet a further addition to his dominion that he is to receive when all the persecuting Monarchies shall be taken down, Dan. 7.14. and when the residue of the Gentiles shall come in, Isa. 66.19. Pull, Lud, and they that have not heard of his name shall come unto him; for the coming in of the Jews shall be a new resurrection, even life from the dead. If this be so, that the Covenant of Grace is made with Christ as the second Adam, then there are not two Covenants, one made with Christ, and another with the Saints, but as they make up one body with him, so it is one and the same Covenant under which they both stand; only in this Covenant Christ hath the preeminence, he being the head and we the members, and therefore it is made with him primarily, and with us as in him; so that without an interest in him, we have no title to it. 1. Consider that Christ is not alone in this Covenant, it was not a Covenant made with him for himself, but as a common person, a representative head, a second Adam, that thereby he might become an everlasting Father to all the elect of God; but the Covenant was made with him for your sake, and that you might come under it, as you were under the Covenant of the first Adam: And therefore the Lord is said, to give him as a Covenant to the Nations, Isa. 42.6. and chap. 49.8. The Covenant was not therefore made with him for himself, Isa. 42.6. and 49.8. but for our sake. It's questioned amongst Interpreters, Why Christ is called the Covenant itself, and not the person with whom it is made? I find in Scripture, that when the Lord would express any thing eminently, he doth it in abstracto, in the abstract, Psal. 12.2. that being put for the concrete with a commutation also of the subject, the faithful fail, [it is fidelitates] from the sons of men: So Psal. 68.19. He shall lead captivity captive; that is, a multitude captives: And Ezek. 44.6. Thou shalt say unto the rebellion, that is, Jer. 50.31. to the rebellious house, etc. Pride is put for the person that was eminently proud. So when the Lord would express the eminent and great hand that Christ hath in the Covenant of Grace, he doth say, he is the Covenant itself; as he is said to be our righteousness, our sanctification, our reconciliation, and our peace; because these are gloriously wrought by him, and he hath the chief and only hand in them; and so he is here said to be the Covenant, and that in two respects. (1) Because the Covenant is made with him in himself, and for his own sake but made with us as in him, and for his sake: as fire is hot in itself, and the Sun light in itself, and all things else by participation, as they receive from these; so Christ is the Covenant, because it is with him in himself originally, and with us but as we are one with him. (2) Because all parts of the Covenant lie upon him, whatever is to be done in it; if the Covenant be to be made, he is the Mediator of it; if it be to be confirmed, he is the witness of it, Isa. 55.4. if to be published, he is the Angel; and if to be performed, he is the surety: And he is not a surety as other sureties are, that enter into one and the same bond, so as the creditor may seize on whom he will, the debtor or the surety, and on the debtor first, for him we commonly call the principal; but in this Covenant God takes Christ's single bond for us all, that so he might be sure of satisfaction; and therefore he is said, to lay help upon one that is mighty, one able to pay, and so to discharge us; so God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, 2 Cor. 5.19. not imputing their trespasses. 2. If you have not an interest in this Covenant, you are undone; for all the happiness that the ancient Saints had, was by an interest in that Covenant, and all the glory that they or we shall have, is by virtue of this Covenant. All the benefits of this Covenant are branched into these three sorts, (1) Promises, (and they belong to none but the heirs of promise). (2) Graces. (3) Privileges. Gal. 4. we read there of a company of men that are Abraham's seed, the children of the freewoman, that are begotten under the Covenant of Grace; and there is no promise, or grace, or privilege, whether in this life, or the life to co●●, that belongs unto any but those that are in the Covenant, and have accepted it, as it appears in the matter of the Sacraments, in that of the Lords Supper, for a man's self, and that of Baptism for his child; if a man be not himself within the Covenant, the seal can do him no good, no more than if a man that had gotten the writings of an heiress, should conclude that he should inherit the Lands, because he hath the writing; whereas the ground thereof is interest in the person first, and being made one with her, than he doth seize upon the Land by a legal title, and never till then; so they are Abraham's seed, to whom the Sacraments do belong: And for that of Baptism, the Lord gives a title from the parent to the child, he doth not so in the other, Acts 2.39. And the thing signified in Baptism (the Soul being passive in a Child) hath as good ground by God's Covenant, as by the man's profession, yea better (the man's profession being fallible) than he can have any other way; and it is a man's own interest in the Covenant, that gives him title unto all those privileges: There are indeed membra praesumptiva of the Church of God, to whom these privileges do in appearance belong; but not in truth and in reality, unless they are within the Covenant. 3. This is not a Covenant that is conveyed by nature, but by consent. Consider here, (1) that there is a twofold Union, the one natural, and the other voluntary, and by way of suretyship: now we come under Adam's Covenant by nature, our union with him being natural; for we are born under it; but the Covenant of the second Adam is not so; and therefore we come under Christ's Covenant freely and by consent, for our new birth is voluntary, and our consent is free; we are drawn and yet we come, for Gods drawing makes men willing to come; and therefore faith is commonly expressed by consent; who ever will let him come, Rev. 22. There is therefore no way of getting into Christ's Covenant but by our consent, by laying hold of his Covenant, Esa. 56.4. Esay 56.4. and this is that I would exhort you to; the word in the original signifies to take fast hold of a thing, and that strongly and with all a man's might, as in Job 2.3. it is said of Job, Job 2.3. that he did hold fast his integrity; Satan and his friends would have plucked it from him, and have made him to conclude against himself, that he was an Hypocrite, and his heart unsound before God, but he yet held it, and said, I will not part with my integrity till I die; and so Job 8.15. it's said of a Hypocrite, that made himself a house of gifts, and common graces, Job 8.15. and outward performances, and upon this house he leans, puts all his confidence; and when God by the way comes and shows him the deceit of it, and that it is but a sandy foundation upon which it is built, the self-flattery of his own spirit, and that it is but a Castle in the Air, and will do him no good, in the evil day the storm will overflow his hiding place, yet the man holds it fast, he will live and die with them, and will not cast away his own righteousness: it is such a taking hold of the Covenant that is here meant, with all a man's heart and might. But you'll say, What is it for a man to take hold of Christ's Covenant? We have formerly heard, that there are two ways of conveyance, either by way of gift, or by way of dowry. The promises and all the graces of the Covenant, yea the Covenant itself is not bestowed upon us, as a man would give a gift to another without any farther relation; but it is by way of a dowry, which you cannot have without the person: so it is here, Christ in the Covenant is a common person, a second Adam; and if we have an interest in him, and be represented by him, the Covenant belongs unto us; but there can be no benefit in his Covenant, without interest in his person. As we see the ground and intendment of union is, 1 John 5.11.12. that there may be a communion, and a communication; and all communion is grounded upon union, and is the fruit of it; Gal. 3. ult. it's our union with the first Adam that brings us under his Covenant; wherefore as soon as a man becomes a man, his Covenant and the curse of it takes hold on him; and therefore Infants die: so it was the union of Christ with us that brought him under our Covenant; he was made of a woman, under the Law: Gal. 4.4. had he not been one with us, he could never have stood in our stead living and dying; so it is our being one with him, that gives us an interest in his Covenant, and brings us under it. (2.) The terms and condition of this union is, that you shall receive and accept him, and give up yourselves to him: I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine: Cant. 6.3. you must cut off your right Hand, and pluck out your right Eye, deny yourselves, that nothing shall be exalted in the heart but Christ; and nothing must be dear to a man in comparison of Christ; he must sell all to buy the Pearl, Matt. 13.45. and part with it with joy, not only part with a man's sins, but his righteousness, and privileges, and take them up by a new title; as Paul, he suffered the loss of all things, Phil. 3.8, 9 but found them all in Christ, and attained them by a far better and more glorious title. A man must do it as you do in Copy-holds, a man must bring in his old Copy into the Court, and there must be a surrender made, and then you shall take it up again, and have a new, and a better state in it, etc. A man must part with sin as a snare, and with self as a sacrifice, and lay them all down at Christ's feet, he must be his utmost end, that gives order and measure to all the means tending thereunto, etc. (3.) The will of man is desperately shut against Christ, and against this way of closing with him, partly from a man's ungodliness, because it is the highest way in which God will be honoured, and partly because a man hates the terms and conditions that Christ must be received upon; a man cannot give up all unto Christ, sin is sweet and self is dear, and the great God of the world, the Idol that a man has worshipped all his life time; now for a man to come and change his God, it is that which the will of man is hardly brought unto; and therefore Christ puts it upon the will, John 5.40. You will not come to me: who ever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely; Rev. 22. I would have gathered you, but you would not. The Lord does knock at this everlasting door, and men bar the door against him, and harden their hearts, and will rather cleave to the Law, and seek to patch up a broken Covenant, and will venture their eternal estates upon it; nay if they be convinced that there is no life to be had elsewhere, they will venture to sit down in a state and way of death, rather than they will come unto Christ that they may have life. (4.) When the Lord brings a man into the bond of Christ's Covenant, and he becomes an heir of Promise, there is an almighty power put forth upon the will to persuade it, and to open the heart to accept of Christ, and to be subject unto him upon his own terms: Gen. 9.27. The Lord shall persuade Japhet to dwell in the tents of Sem: which all the rhetoric of the Angels in Heaven, and Ministers the Angels upon Earth could never do; none but the Spirit of Christ can open the heart, it is alone in his power that has the Keys of Hell and Death, Ut velimu, sine nobis operatur: cùm volumus nobiscum cooperatur. August de Grat & Lib. arb. Chap. 17. Phil. 3.8. praebendo vires efficacissimas voluntati, giving power to the will to choose Christ, and so determining a man's will upon this glorious object, that a man seeing Christ to be the chiefest of ten thousands, he also desires him, and so by preventing grace he does work the will, and by assisting grace he works, the deed, that a man chooses the Lord for his portion, and as that which above all things he desires to enjoy, and place his happiness in, and unto him he cleaves with full purpose of heart for ever, Act. 11. 23. And thus a man looking upon Christ as the person in whom there is a Covenant and an Image laid up, and seeing the glory of that Covenant, and the beauty of holiness that is in that Image, of both he desires to be made partaker; but there is the greater excellency, because the person goes with them; there is an excellency in the dowry, but there is more in the person; the soul thus accepting of Christ and catching at the terms of the Covenant, as a dying man does at any thing, looks upon it as a golden Sceptre held forth to him by the law condemned, and as the brazen Serpent exalted upon the Pole to a sin-stung soul; and the heart does greedily and with all its might take hold of it, as a man would do a Cord let down as the only means to pluck him out of a dungeon, or to save him from drowning and perishing. Now to give you some arguments to enforce this, that men should take hold of Christ's Covenant. 1. He is given by God the Father as a Covenant to the Nations, Isa. 49.8. And it will prove a high act of unthankfulness not to accept of him as a gift from God; their sin was much aggravated, John 1.11. John 1.11. He came to his own, and his own received him not; a man does not receive Christ that does not take him in this manner as offered by God the Father as a Covenant; our ends in taking of Christ should answer Gods ends in giving of him; now God did give him as a Covenant and an Image, and we should receive him for both those ends, and the Lord has used all means to enforce you to it that you may lay hold of this Covenant: he did so with Adam at first, Adam still thought that his former Covenant continued, and would have given life, and therefore he still had a mind to the Tree of Life; but God to let him see there was no hope by that Covenant, sent an Angel there with a flaming Sword, and all that man might come to Christ, ●ev. 2.7. who is the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden of God, and came in the place of the old Tree of Life; and he hath taught men, that by the works of the Law no flesh can be justified; and that that way to Heaven is stopped and that door barred for ever; God sets the guilt of sin and terrors of the law upon any man that would be justified by his works. 2. It is Christ's Covenant, and therefore lay hold of it; for Christ is the standard of all excellency, and the more any thing relates to him or holds forth of him, the more glorious it is: The second Temple was more glorious than the first, because of Christ's presence in it, and John Baptists Ministry the greatest of all that were born of women, and yet the least in the Kingdom of God was greater than he: and therefore to you that believe he is precious; 1 Pet. 2.7. and when he shall reign over Israel, and they be converted to him, he shall be the glory of his people Israel. How should we therefore lay hold of him, and take him as worthy of all acceptation! 3. Consider the glory of this Covenant. (1.) In it thou hast an interest in God, in all the persons in Trinity; for, I will be thy God is the grand promise thereof. Now to have the Lord for a man's God is to have an interest in infinite mercy, and power, and grace; the God of my mercy and the God of my strength, etc. and have the Lord thine in a way of communion and fruition, that the Lord will impart himself so as to become my portion, the Covenant of Grace being a Covenant of Friendship: and this is much more if we consider, it is not in our own but in Christ's right, and therefore I having naturally no distinct title unto God, yet being under his Covenant he is become my God, as he is Christ's God; John. 20.17. I ascend unto my Father and your Father, my God and your God. (2.) This Covenant brings in a righteousness beyond that of the Angels; [1.] It is the righteousness of God, Dan 9.24. and not merely of a creature. [2.] It is a righteousness that sin can never spend, an everlasting righteousness; it is a Garment that will cover all the sins of the Elect of God; a Sun of righteousness, that though it enlighten all the Stars and the Earth, yet every day it goes forth as a Bridegroom out of his Chamber, as full of glory as ever it was. [3.] It is a Covenant by which Heaven is opened, which was before shut against all the sons of men: Heb. 10.20. we have access with boldness into the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and a living way which he has consecrated through the veil, etc. when Heaven was shut by sin, there was no way to open it, but the Lord himself to descend from Heaven, and to take upon himself a created nature; so that the way to Heaven is by Christ's Incarnation and Satisfaction in the Flesh, and it is the way that Christ has made new, because the old way was shut and man cast out of Paradise, (a Type of Heaven) and it is a new way, because it shall never wax old as the former Covenant did; and a livingway, because it gives life unto the Passenger that walks to Heaven in it; and in the way of the Law there is no Life to be found; but this is a living way, a man finds life in it, though the Law indeed was a way to Heaven, but a man must bring life with him that will walk in it. And by this opening of Heaven we have a double benefit: [1] All good comes out of Heaven to us: John 1. ult. [2] We ascend up to Heaven to receive the mansions that are prepared for us; and so Heaven is our home, our House not made with hands, and all by this Covenant. (4) It is by this Covenant that a man hath the service of all the Angels, and the inheritance of all the creatures; it's Christ whom the Angels serve, and they ascend and descend upon the son of man; there was no such thing under the first Covenant, they were our fellow servants, but our servants they were not, till the grace of the second Covenant was made manifest: it is first Christ that they serve; the Lord bringing his only begotten Son into the world, he saith, Heb. 1.6. 1 Cor. 3.21. Fidelibus est totus mundus divitiarum. Jo. 5.22. and let all the Angels of God worship him; and of all the creatures 'tis said, all things are yours; for they are Christ's Inheritance, and ours only as we are in him; there is dominium Politicum and Evangelicum, a Politic and Evangelick dominion: they have the use and the good of all the creatures. (5) It's by this Covenant that your Government of the World is changed and committed into another hand; the Lord hath committed all judgement to the Son; Christ is now King of Nations, as well as of Saints; and he has as Mediator a providential Kingdom, as well as a Spiritual, he is the Head over all things to the Church, Ephes. 1.22. a head of Guidance, as well as of eminence; the Keys of Hell and Death are committed to him, the Government is upon his Shoulder, as the great Officer that the Lord employs; Esa. 9.6. and it is our happiness, that he that is our Head and Husband, hath the rule of all things in his hand: should the Lord have continued to have governed the world, he must without a Mediator, have destroyed it according to the first Covenant, and the rules of his Government; therefore the Lord saith, I cannot go before you, but I will send mine Angel, take heed of him and obey his voice; and it's the happiness of the world that the Lord Christ reigns; Let the earth rejoice, etc. (6) It is by this Covenant that the world stands: he upholds all things by the word of his power; had not he put under his hand, Heb. 1. the Earth had melted and come to nothing; he establishes the earth; for the curse of the first Covenant coming upon the creatures, must have received them all. Yet that's not all, but that the earth should stand firm, and that by his word he shall raise the earth, and elevate the creatures, this is much more; for there is an earnest expectation of all the creatures for a deliverance, as well as of the Saints; and hence we look for a new Heaven and a new Earth. What change soever shall be made in the creatures at the last day, whether in substance or in quality, it shall be perfective not destructive; for it is a promise that the Saints expect, and pray for, and all the creatures do groan and wait for, when the glory of the Sons of God shall be made manifest. Use 3 §. 3. It's for consolation: it is this in which the soul lives, and the privation thereof is the death of the soul in Hell, where it is utter darkness. Now as in the first Covenant there is a life of Comfort in the duties of it, he that doth them shall live in them; Heb. 10.38. Gal. 2.20. so there is the second Covenant also, and therefore the just is said to live by faith; as the other by doing shall live in it, so he shall by believing; in believing, he shall live not only a life of holiness, but a life of comfort: and therefore as the second Covenant is the better Covenant, because it is established or founded upon better promises; so the comforts that do flow from those promises are higher, and more glorious consolations: and therefore all the ordinances and promises of it are called the breasts of consolation, Esa. 66.11. Heb. 6.18. out of which a man may suck and be satisfied; the comforts of the second Covenant are strong consolations, that which is powerful and able to bear up the spirit in the greatest assaults of temptation, either from sin or Satan: 2 Thess. 2.16. and it is everlasting consolation and good hope through grace; and such were not the comforts and consolations of the first Covenant. But the more immediate any mercy and comfort is, and the nearer it is to the fountain of Consolation, the sweeter it is; now Christ is the fountain of Consolation, and is therefore called in the abstract the Consolation of Israel: Luke 2.25. and the more immediate the Lord appears in ordinances, the more sweet and powerful they are, as it shall be in the Ordinances of the later days, Rev. 21.22. I saw no Temple there: all dark discoveries of God that were in former ages shall be done away: and yet it is not spoken of Heaven; for vers. 3. it is, the Tabernacle of the Lord is with men, and a Tabernacle is to be removed, and no abiding habitation; vers. 23. The glory of the Lord and the Lamb shall be the Light thereof, v. 23. and therefore no need of the Sun or the Moon, that is, of any creature influences or comforts, but it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lucerna, such a light as doth not make it a perfect day, it is a light that doth argue its night still, in comparison of what it shall be when the Sun of Righteousness shall arise in glory; and yet this more immediate presence made them both more sweet and more powerful, and that makes glory so infinitely sweet, because the comfort that we shall have there, shall come in immediately from the Lord: here though Ordinances, and Providences, and Comforts be sweet, yet they are conveyed by the creature, and therefore they lose much of their sweetness and glory; but then he will make us to drink of the Rivers of his pleasures. Now for a man's comfort to come in from Christ immediately, by partaking with him in the same Covenant, and the promises thereof, to have it in the same Fountain with the Lord of Life, the consolation of Israel, it doth very much sweeten them unto the soul; and therefore it's a Christians wisdom to drink his comforts as near the Fountain as he can, and the greater cordials they will prove, and the more reviving: and therefore be you much in these things, and your souls shall live; they are the most quickening and reviving considerations that are in the whole Book of God. To be much in creature comforts, whether in delighting in them or depending upon them, 2 Chron. 16.12. is a snare. It's said of Asa, That in his sickness he sought not to the Lord; and the reason is given, because his heart was wholly in the Physicians, and his hope and expectation from them. But to be in these consolations is your duty; because as Hezekiah observes, Esa. 38.15. by, or upon, these things men live, by such experiments as these are, by such promises, and in all these is the life of my spirit. And this was David's consolation at the last when he came to die, 2 Sam. 23.5. 2 Sam. 23.5. Though my House is not so with God, yet he has made with me an everlasting Covenant, in all things ordered and sure; there is a threefold property of the Covenant that he takes comfort in, it was everlasting, it was sure, it was ordered in all things; the word in the Hebrew is the same with that in the Proverbs, chap. 16. 1. The ordering and disposing of the heart is from the Lord: and the word is used in a double sense in the Scripture, Prov. 9.2. sometimes for the furnishing of a Table, and for the ordering and marshalling of an Army, 1 Sam. 4. they put the Battle in array, every one keeps his rank; and so it is in this Covenant, every thing keeps its place, Christ is first in it, and then faith in its place, and the Saints in their places, and there is much comfort to be taken from this order of the Covenant; and this will appear to us in several particulars, for God is not the God of confusion but order; and this being the greatest and the most glorious work of God, there is the fullest and the most perfect order to be imagined, and therein the wisdom and goodness of God doth exceedingly appear. 1. It's a great honour that the Lord has put upon his people, that they should be conformed unto the image of his Son, so that they should stand before him in the Covenant of his Son, and have in their place and degree the same right and claim to mercy that Christ has. The Scripture makes Christ the Sun in the Firmament of all excellency; and the more any thing partakes of him, the more glorious it is; as the second Temple was, and John's ministry, the Law and the Prophets were till John, but afterwards the Gospel comes, which was a clearer discovery of Christ; and they were all eclipsed; though the Law had much more outward pomp and glory, yet because it did discover Christ but darkly in comparison of the Gospel, therefore that is said to exceed in glory; and so in Scripture the Saints do ascribe glory one to another as they are in Christ, and according to their priority in Christ, as the Apostle says, Rom. 16.7. Who were in Christ before me, and Paul saith in another place, I was like one that was born out of due time, because last of all he appeared unto me, 1 Cor. 15. and therefore Austin saith, It abated his earnest desire of some principal part of his own good works, because nomen Christi non erat ibi, the name of Christ was not there: had the Lord put man fallen under the Covenant of the Angels, that fell not, it had been an honour, and put them into the same condition with them; but it is far beyond it to put them under the same Covenant that was made with him whom the Angel's worship; and the highest honour that we have by Christ is our union with him; and our legal union standing before God in the same Covenant with him is the highest part of that honour: for our natural union bearing with him the same Image doth flow from it. It's a great honour to stand before God in the righteousness of Christ, but the ground thereof is because we stand before God under the Covenant of Christ; the inheritance of Christ is in the Saints, Ephes. 1. they are therefore said to be the glory of Christ, as Christ is the glory of the Father; his glory shall be at the last to have a large and numerous posterity, to have a beautiful and a glorious spouse, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; and what is it that makes us have relation to Christ as a Spouse? It is taking hold of his Covenant; and therefore the Covenant of Grace is said to be a marriage Covenant; And what is it makes the match between any but consent? Hos. 2: 19 And therefore it's generally concluded by our Divines, amongst the essentials of marriage, for parties to give mutual consent, according unto that received rule of the Civil Law, where there is not the consent of both parties, it ought not to be held legal Matrimony. There may be a wooing, and a ravishment, but truly, and properly, there can be no Marriage without consent. It is therefore a consent jointly in one and the same Covenant: And what makes us become the Sons of Christ? It's the same that makes us the Sons of Abraham, and that is, Gal. 3.29. They that are Christ's are Abraham's seed; it is our coming under the Covenant of Christ that makes us of his posterity. 2. It's a wonderful comfort to a Christian, to stand before God in the righteousness of Christ, to be made the righteousness of God in him; it was that which Paul desired, and that which the Saints glory in, Rev. 12.1. The Church's glory lies in imputed righteousness; Phil. 3.8. and there are two things required to justify a sinner: (1) There must be a perfect righteousness found out, that must as a garment cover all the sinfulness of the Soul. (2) There must be an Application of this Righteousness unto him that wants it, that it may truly become his; and this is to be had nowhere but in Christ, Mal. 4.2. and therefore He is called the sun of righteousness. (1) For perfection; There is but one sun, but there is in the Sun all fullness of light, it is the fountain of it: And so it is with Christ, he is but one; but there is all righteousness in him, whatever is required to justify a sinner before God. (2) There is a communication or application of his righteousness unto us, by the imputation ●f the Father; for the Sun hath not its light for itself, but that it may be communicated; ●nd therefore he is called Jehovah our righteousness: The fullness of it is seen in this, Jer. 23.6. That 〈◊〉 is the righteousness of Jehovah, not the essential righteousness of Christ as God, but ●hat which was wrought in his human nature, unto which the Godhead gave an efficacy ●nd excellency: and yet it is ours also; and therefore he is said, to bring it in. Dan 9 There was ●o righteousness in the World, but Christ brought it in, or did cause it to come, as the ●ord signifies. Now how comes it to pass that Christ's righteousness is imputed to us, and accounted to us? It is not by promise made unto us, for till a man be justified, he is an ●●emy unto God, and hath right to no promise; and therefore formally this promise is ●ade unto Christ, that brings justification with him: Isa. 53. By my knowledge shall my righteous ●●rvant justify many. And how come we to partake in justification? Only as we are justified in him, who is our head, who died under the guilt of our sins, as a public person, ●●d so he risen from the dead; and therefore, 1 Tim. 3.16. he was justified in the spirit, ●ot only before men, but before God also; for he had sin imputed by God, as well as he was reputed a sinner by man, and he was so accounted in our stead, as our surety; therefore he risen for our justification, Rom. 4. last. And there is a justification upon a man, as ●oon as ever he consents to the Covenant; the righteousness of the Covenant belongs to ●im; so that if the Covenant had not been made with Christ, and these promises performed unto the Soul in Christ, we could never have been justified in God's sight; and therefore, though we are said to be justified freely by Grace, yet it is through the righteousness of Christ: There is Grace in God to impute his righteousness unto us; but it is according to the Covenant of God with him, which was the ground why he did perform this righteousness. 3. It's a wonderful comfort to have a share in the merits of Christ, and in the purchase that is made thereby: for as by the sin of man there was a curse incurred, and an inheritance forfeited; so in the redemption wrought by Christ, there must be the Law satisfied, and a new inheritance purchased. For there are two parts of this redemption, there is an old debt to be paid, and there is a new purchase to be made: Bare satisfaction of the old debt, and performing the obedience unto the Law as our surety that was due from us, is not enough; the payment of an old debt, will not make a new purchase; therefore in Christ there must be something that must exactly answer the Law, and that will pay the debt of the Law that was due from us; and there must be something that must be above the Law, which is called superlegale meritum, and that will also purchase us a new inheritance. There are three things necessarily required to this merit to make a new purchase, (1) It must be proprium, a man must give of his own; and so no man can do: Of thine own have we given thee; for all things are of thee. (2) Indebitum, something that is not due, that a man doth not owe; that which is a man's duty, he must say when he hath done it, he is an unprofitable Servant. (3) The reward must not be of grace but of debt, and justice due; but there is no such thing in any thing man can do; for eternal life is the gift of God, It is by grace we are saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, Ephes. 2.8, 9 All this meets in Christ, it was his own, for he thought it no robbery to be equal with God; and he did lay down his own life, and it was free, it was not due, for it could not have been a sacrifice, had it not been voluntary. And it was perfect; there was infinitely more worth in him, than is in all the Souls that he hath redeemed, and all the glory that he hath purchased; and therefore his subjects do set a higher price upon his person, than they do upon his benefits, as God the Father himself doth. Question, How should a man come to get an interest in this merit? The Lord gives Grace and Glory, we can merit nothing. It's true as our surety, paying our debt by the agreement with the Father, you shall be free; but there is a Covenant between the Father and the Son, not only that his satisfaction shall be ours, Isa. 49.6. but his purchase ours also; for the Lord hath given him, not only to raise up the tribes of Jacob, but also for salvation to the ends of the earth: As he hath a seed, Heb. 1.2. so he hath an inheritance; for he is appointed heir of all things, and in him we have an inheritance, being with him Coheirs, Rom. 8. And all is because we come under his Covenant. 4. In respect of the promises of the Covenant of Grace; for it's a Covenant that doth consist in Promises, Heb. 8.6. it is a Covenant that is established by Law, that is firmly grounded upon better promises, Heb. 8.6. Now wherein are they better promises, whenas to Adam God did promise life and salvation, not only here but hereafter? (1) They are better, because all the promises of the first Covenant were conditional as rewards of Grace; but it did not promise Grace. (2) They are better, because they promise higher things; the Lord to be your God, and Christ to be your head, your Husband, his Spirit to be the guide of your way, and also the earnest of your inheritance; a higher Righteousness, a higher Sonship, a nearer Union, a fuller Communion; as the Spouse of Christ, and as his Members, and a more exceeding eternal weight of glory, being rewarded not according unto the Covenant of man, but according to the Covenant of Christ. (3) Better promises, because of their assurance and stability; the promises of the first Covenant might come to an end and be swallowed up in the Curse, as they were, but the promises of the second are the sure mercies of David; for the righteousness of it is an everlasting righteousness, and therefore the promises are eternal promises. (4) But there is one thing as great as any of these, and that is, they are all of them the promises made unto Christ, and by virtue of the Covenant belong unto him, 2 Cor. 1.20. In him are all the promises yea, and Amen: That is, they are made unto him, and they belong unto us, and unto us are fulfilled only by virtue of our Union with him; as we live in him, and die in him, so we receive promises in him; and this is the sweetness of all Gospel promises, they do every one of them carry a man to the fountain of his interest, and that brings into the Soul infinitely the more sweetness. As if a Wife take a favour from her Husband, and look no further, there is not so much in it; but yet in every favour she is carried back unto the Marriage Covenant, which assures her not only of this, but also of all others; whatever is his she has a right to, because of the Covenant passed between them; this is sweet to her: And so here, it brings into the Soul the sweetness of all the promises, together with the present mercy. As to a wicked man in Hell, that hath the terrors of God upon him, every evil doth carry him unto the fountain of it, and that is to the anger and hatred of God, and the curse of the Covenant that he hath broken, and this imbitters his misery a Thousand times more; for now the Soul saith, this is but a pledge of infinitely more wrath: So it is here, every promise carries him to the fountain, and that assuring him not only of this supply, but whatever else he can stand in need of; for in a man's interest in Christ is infinite more sweetness, than in any blessing or benefit we receive by him. Now when a man shall look upon this promise not only as sweet, but as his inheritance, as he is a Son of Abraham, and an Heir of Promise, it brings with it infinitely more sweetness than the promises of mercy itself abstractly, and in itself enjoyed. 5. For all the duties and obedience to the Covenant: And this is commonly the great affliction of the people of God, the Gospel requires obedience as well as the Law, and there is a Law of Christ to be kept, and there is a yoke of Christ to be born, and Christ that hath abolished the Law as a Covenant and a Curse, has established the Law as a rule of Gospel obedience, and hath therein made it a handmaid to the Gospel; and therefore the Law upon Mount Sinai was given in the hand of a Mediator. Gal. 3.19. And how shall we be able to perform this duty by the power of inherent grace? It is impossible, (1) from the remainders of sin: Rom. 7. There is a law in the members, rebelling against the law of the mind; and the fulfilling of the Law requires a holy nature, as well as a holy life. (2) From the imperfections of Grace: Says the Apostle Paul, Not that I have already attained, not that I am already perfect, etc. And how then shall a man appear before God? Now comes in the Covenant of Christ, and of this Covenant he is a surety, Heb. 7.22. not only to pay the debt that we did owe under the old Covenant, but also to perform the duty that is required of me under the new; and therefore the Lord did lay help on one that is mighty; we should have failed, Psal. 89. for we could neither pay the debt of the one, nor do the duty of the other; therefore the Lord hath laid all upon Christ, and will expect all of him; and he must present us unto his Father, as a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle; and what imperfection soever there be in our duties, he must offer them pure before God with his odours; and all this is from the Covenant made with him: In him is our fruit found. Rev. 8.3. 6. The stability of the Covenant can never fail, it is an everlasting Covenant and sure mercy; (1) Upon the faithfulness of God, it's confirmed with an Oath. (2) From the obedience of Christ who hath performed all that is required in this Covenant. (3) From the promise made unto him: for the Oath is made first to Christ; Heb. 7. Psal. 110. and if the Lord could fail with you, he could not fail with him. There are Three things that amongst men are in a special manner noted as the acts of the highest injustice and wickedness. [1] To keep back the hirelings wages. [2] Not to fulfil the will of the dead. [3] The cry of innocent blood going unrevenged; and all these the Lord abhors in men, and they shall not be found in him: Now Christ is God's hired servant, and his reward is, Heb. 9.15, 16. to see the travail of his soul; it is his last Will and Testament when he died, that by means of his death, they that are called might receive the promise; and it's a blood that speaks better things than the blood of Abel. Adam's Covenant did change, because it was established with a mutable head. And hence as the Lord doth make suppositions, Isa. 54.10. The Mountains may departed, and the Hills remove; if you can change the Covenant of the day and of the night, then may the Covenant of my peace be broken: And in assurance thereof the Saints do make supplications, The Lord is our God, we will not fear though the earth be removed, and the mountains cast into the sea: Psal. 46.1, 2. And the root of all the stability of the Covenant lies in Christ the foundation of the Covenant. 7. The acceptation that you find with God is grounded hereupon; 2 Cor 5.9. We labour whether present or absent, to be accepted of him; and there is a double acceptation, one of persons, and the other of services; (1) Of persons, as we find, Gen. 4.4. If thou dost well thou shalt be accepted, says God; offer it to thy Prince, will he accept thy person? (2) Of services, Mal. 1. Heb. 12.28. They are acceptable services: As God delights in the plagues of wicked men, Psal. 120. Coals of Juniper, which burn sweetly and fiercely; so in the services of the Saints, their smell is as Lebanon; and therefore is resembled to the Roses and Lilies, Hos. 14.7. which is the most fragrant smell: else they are of no worth, for they are done not for the worth of the thing, but for the acceptance that they should find with the Lord; and let him come and eat the fruit of his pleasant things. It is the Lord before whom we must appear, i. e. before the judgement seat of Christ; and therefore to find acceptance with our Judge is our great concern. Now how comes Christ to be accepted of God? It is by the Covenant made with him; and by virtue of the same Covenant we are accepted, Ephes. 1.6. He hath made us accepted in his beloved; our services in him are accepted, and our persons also. It's your Covenant only that's the ground of your acceptation, as Luther says well, it is not from the dignity and worth of the duties, but from the nature of the Covenant, by which they are offered, and under which they stand. [1] The Father loves you. [2] The services are holy, and from a holy heart: But [3] it is from a Covenant in which the Lord hath promised to accept all his people's services as fruits in Christ. 8. And Lastly, The glory of the Saints is the glory of Christ, and it is the enjoyment of Christ in Heaven, that makes Heaven the place of Glory; it is to enter into your Master's joy; and to be dissolved, and be with Christ, is a Saints hope: were it only the reward of your own graces, it were much; but to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God, is a great privilege; but O! what is it for a Soul to sit with Christ upon his Throne? As he overcame and sat down with the Father upon his Throne, so also shall we be exalted by him, to sit upon his Throne in Heaven. CHAP. III. The Covenant of Grace made with Believers opened and applied. Gen. 17.7. I will establish my Covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their Generations, for an everlasting Covenant, to be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee. SECT. I. The Covenant as made with Believers, explicated and demonstrated. §. 1. THat the Covenant of Grace was made with Christ primarily, as the second Adam, has been formerly cleared unto you; but when we look farther into the Scripture, we find also that God did establish that Covenant with the Faithful, and with their seed; and this the Text holds forth clearly to you, when I have but premised this position, That the Covenant that God made with Abraham, is the same for substance with the Covenant, under which the Saints under the New-Testament do, and shall stand to the end of the world, Luk. 1.72. which I conceive is to perform the mercy promised to our Fathers, and to remember his holy Covenant, the oath which he swore to our Father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of all our enemies might serve him without fear, etc. and Rom. 4.11. He received the sign of Circumcision as a seal of the rigteousness of Faith, which he had being yet uncircumcised, that he might be the Father of them that believe, though they be not circumcised, and the Father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but do walk in the steps of the faith of our Father Abraham; and therefore vers. 16. he is said to be the Father of us all, If you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs of the Promise: and Galat. 4.28. now we brethren, as Isaac was, are children of the promise, etc. so that both Jews and Gentiles are Abraham's seed, because they come under Abraham's Covenant; therefore there is the same Covenant now for substance, Act. 3.25. that was made with Abraham: and hence Acts 3.25. 'tis said, ye are the children of the Covenant, which God made with your Fathers: Therefore as Abraham's Covenant, so the Covenant made with the Saints is made with them and with their seed. Hence we do learn in the next place, Doctrine. Doctrine, That the Covenant of grace that was principally made with Christ, is also made with the faithful, the members of Christ. In the opening of this Doctrine there are three things to be spoken to, (1) To prove that the Covenant is made with the Saints. (2) To show why it must be so. (3) To show the different manner how it's made with Christ, and with them. 1. That the Covenant of grace is made with the Saints, and they are all federates therein, Rom. 5. 1 Cor. 15.47. will appear by these arguments. 1. From the type of the first Adam, for he is made the type of him that was to come: Now the Covenant that God did make with Adam was not made with him only, but with all his posterity; as appears plainly, because the curse of the Covenant being broken comes upon them all; in Adam all died because in him all sinned; now the Covenant must be as large as the Curse, and the Curse coming upon them must argue the Covenant to be made with them: and so it is in the second Covenant also, God has not only taken Christ into Covenant, but he being an everlasting Father has taken in all his seed; for he is the Father of all the faithful, and the Lord enters into Covenant with them also. So that all his posterity were bound unto the same Covenant, and to perform the same obedience, or to endure the same Curse that he did, if they did transgress. And whereas it may be said then, as all that was required of the first Adam lay upon his posterity, so all that is required of the second, lies upon his posterity also; and as what Adam was to perform, they were in their own persons to perform, so what Christ did perform that also lies upon all his posterity to perform: in this there is a great deal of difference between Adam and Christ; the first Adam stood before God as a public person, as a representative head, that is, such a one as personates and acts the part of another by the allowance of the Law; so that what he doth is by the Law accounted to be done by him whom he represents, and what is done unto him is accounted by the Law to be done unto the other: so in the Law an Attorney appears for another, receives money or takes possession for another, and that stands good in Law, as if a man had done it in his own person; and so Ambassadors do represent the Princes or States from whence they come, and from whom they are sent; what they do, the Prince that sends them is accounted by the Law of Nations to do, if they act according to their commission; and what is done unto them, the Prince doth take as done unto himself, etc. And so indeed Adam was a Common or a Public person standing in our stead, that what he did was accounted to be ours, whether to righteousness and life, or unto sin and death; but yet so, that had he stood, the same obedience was in their own persons required of his posterity for themselves as was required of Adam, though not with the same respect; not as public persons and representative heads; so that if they had not performed it, they had fallen for themselves, though all mankind had not fallen, if Adam had stood; for the woman was first in the transgression, 1 Tim. 2. Rom. 5.12. and yet though the woman fell first, all mankind did not fall in her fall; but by one man sin entered into the world, and therefore it was not every sin of a particular person, that would have destroyed all mankind, but of their representative only. But the second Covenant hath this in it, that the first never had in Adam, the second Covenant hath a surety, and that is something more than a public person, that is one that represents another, and stands in his place, and is bound unto his debt; so that if the person engaged pay not the debt, the surety must; and so Adam was not the surety for all mankind, that he would perform the debt or bear the curse for them all; there was no Covenant that had a Surety but Christ, and he was a surety of the first Covenant, Gal. 4.4. made under the Law, and of a better Covenant to perform all the duties of the Gospel. So that all that is required is of Christ as the second Adam, only in his public capacity and representation; the Law is required of us, but if we perform it not, we have a surety that has undertaken it. Thus as the first Covenant was made with the first Adam and all his posterity, so the second Covenant is made with the second Adam and all his posterity also. 2. We read of a Covenant made with Persons and people, and promised unto them as special mercies, a Covenant made with Abraham and Isaac, a Covenant made with David, 2 Sam. 23.5. The Lord has made with me an everlasting Covenant in all things ordered and sure. And there is a Covenant made with a people also, Jer. 31.31. God made a Covenant with the house of Judah, a Covenant that he would bring them under the bonds of the Covenant, and Esa. 55.3. Every one that thirsts come to the waters, etc. and I will make an everlasting Covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David, and Ezec. 16. I entered into Covenant with thee, and thou becamest mine; and therefore Zac. 9.12. By the blood of thy Covenant I have delivered the prisoners out of the pit, in which there is no water. 3. Men are said to make the Covenant and to break it: Hezekiah exhorts them, 2 Chron. 30.7, 8. to give the hand unto the Lord: 2 Chron. 30.7, 8. it's an expression of entering into Covenant; as striking the hand is in the Proverbs an expression of entering into suretyship for another: there are four expressions of it in 1 Chron. 29.24. All the Princes, and the mighty men; and all the house of the Kingdom gave their hands unto Solomon: it notes a military subjection by way of Covenant and agreement between them, they did take an oath of Allegiance unto him. And so that expression to join the hand, Ezeck. 17.18. He hath broken the Covenant after he had given his hand, etc. and Job 17.3. to strike hand is to enter into suretyship or to be engaged in a Covenant; so the saints are said to enter into Covenant with the Lord by sacrifice, Psal. 50.5. Esay 56. and they are said to take hold of the Covenant: again they are said to break the Covenant, which could not be if the Covenant were not made with them; and not to be faithful and constant therein, Psal. 25.10. Leu. 26.15. 4. It will appear from the promises of the second Covenant, though it's true, that they are all yea and amen in him, yet are they properly and formally made unto us, either the first promises of grace or else of reward unto grace. Promises of grace are, He will give his Spirit, and will give repentance, he will heal our backslidings, etc. and we have an unction from the holy one, etc. And reward of service done, either in the inward dispositions, Blessed are the pure in spirit, blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, etc. or in the outward action, 1 Cor. 9.24. So run that you may obtain; 1 Cor. 15. ult. your labour is not in vain in the Lord. And though the Covenant be made only out of free grace, yet the Saints do claim these promises, not only out of mercy, but from the faithfulness of God. 1 Cor. 10.19. 1 Jo. 1.9. 2 Tim. 4.8. God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able: he is faithful and just to forgive us, etc. And what is the ground of this but the Covenant of God, whereby his faithfulness is engaged? 5. The Covenant of grace is a Covenant in the hand of a Mediator, and confirmed by the death of the Testator; Heb. it's not only a Covenant, but it's a Testament. (1) Christ is the Mediator; now no man is a mediator between God and himself, a Mediator is not a Mediator of one, it must be a third person, a dayman, that must lay hold upon both; therefore there is a Covenant made with Christ, and Christ is a Mediator for the establishment of the Covenant with us also. And (2) Christ is the Testator, he died and left his Legacies of all the promises to the saints; now no man gives a Legacy to himself. In the Covenant made between the Father and Christ, Christ is a party and a public person; but in this Covenant between God and us, he is a Mediator and the Testator, by whom we receive all the Legacies and Inheritance, that he has purchased for us and granted to us. Rom. 4.11. 6. The Sacraments are seals of the Covenant of grace: Now if we look upon the Covenant made with Christ, and consider that his faith was perfect in God, and he knew the Lord would not fail him, but says, He is near that justifies me, who will contend with me? he will not leave my soul in Hell, etc. But though Christ had a strong faith, yet we have but a weak faith, and therefore had need of Sacraments and outward signs to confirm it; wherefore the Sacraments are not to confirm the Covenant made with Christ, but the Covenant made with the Saints; he to whom the Covenant is made, unto him the seals are to be applied; and it would seem unreasonable for the Covenant to be made unto one, and the seals to be applied unto the other; therefore there is a Covenant made with the saints, and to this Covenant the Sacraments are added as seals. 7. There is a double oath to confirm this Covenant, there is an oath made by God the Father to Christ, and there is an oath also made to us; there is an oath made unto Christ, and therefore he is said to be made a Priest by a Covenant oath, Psal. 110.4. and the oath to us, Heb. 6.17, 18. Who are heirs of promise, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, etc. God having taken up unchangeable counsels concerning this Covenant, he did therefore to show the Immutability of his Counsel confirm it by an oath, and being so engaged, he cannot go back, though that be true also, because he is faithful and cannot deny himself. Yet because his counsel was unchangeable, and he did never intent to alter his Covenant for ever, therefore he did swear, that he might show how much his heart was in it, and that he did never intent to change it, but his counsel in it was unchangeable. And this Doctrine I do the rather pitch upon in opposition to the licentious tenant of the Antinomians from the former Doctrine; The Covenant of grace is made with Christ, and he has undertaken to perform all duties required of us, and bear all the curse for us as he was our surety; therefore say they, all is required of Christ, and nothing of us; and so though we walk never so loosely and corruptly, yet God will require all at his hands; and while Christ doth not fail, the Covenant on our part can never be broken. Indeed this is a truth, that God has laid help upon one that is mighty; and he does expect all at Christ's hand, because he can never fail, the Covenant cannot be broken, for he is the surety thereof: but yet we must remember withal, that we come under the same Covenant with Christ, and we in our place are bound unto the same obedience, and so far as we come short, we sin, and may be charged with unfaithfulness before God; though this shall never break the Covenant, nor be imputed unto a man to his destruction, because this Covenant has a surety; yet as the Covenant with the first Adam bond all his posterity unto the same duty, so does the Covenant made with the second Adam also; only a man might have broken the first Covenant for himself, though he could not break it for all mankind; but under the second Covenant a man cannot break the Covenant for himself, (so as not to be capable of mercy upon repentance) because the second Adam is the surety thereof. 2. The Reasons why it was necessary that the Covenant of Grace should be made with all the faithful, and not with Christ only as their head, are Reason 1 1. To answer those great ends, why God will deal with man in a Covenant way. (1) The Lord will enter into Covenant that he may declare his glory, not only in a way of goodness, but in a way of faithfulness. In the Creation, the Lord did show forth much power and wisdom; and in the Law much holiness: But there was no way to manifest his faithfulness, Mic. 7.20. but by Covenant. The Lord hath chosen you above all people, that you might know that he is the Lord the faithful God. And Rom. 15.8, 9 there is the truth of God to the Jews herein manifested, and the mercy of God to the Gentiles, who were strangers, and not before taken into Covenant; so that it is hereby the Lord doth gloriously manifest an Attribute, and that which shall manifest an Attribute must be no small matter; and therefore when the Lord doth show his power, he doth create the Heavens and the Earth, and lays the beams of his Chambers in the waters, raiseth such a roof as the Heavens, and lays such a foundation as the earth, and settles it upon nothing; if he will show his love, he will give his Son; and if his grace, he will pardon sin; and if his holiness, he will give a Law, if his mercy to the vessels of mercy, give them Heaven, a kingdom of joy and glory; and if his wrath, he will make Hell. So that whatever the Lord hath done in the world, is for the manifestation of himself; and that which shall make manifest any Attribute of God to the World, must needs be some great thing. It is only this entering into Covenant, that hath manifested the faithfulness of God, he had not been else known to be a faithful God unto the World, as Exod. 3.6. says the Lord, By the name Jehovah I was not known to them; that is, as a God fulfilling of the promises: So by the name of a God faithful and true, he had not been known, but in reference to the Covenant; and the faithfulness of God was so much the more manifested by this. Had the Lord only entered into Covenant with Christ, he keeping the Covenant, and yielding obedience to it, the faithfulness of God had not been put to that stress and trial as it hath been, now that the Covenant is made with man, and he unsteady therein, and does transgress it, and forget the Covenant of his God, and yet that the Lord should towards him remember his holy Covenant still, and our unfaithfulness not make the faithfulness of God of none effect; and the people of God therefore notwithstanding all their unfaithfulness, to cast themselves upon the Covenant of God and the promises thereof (as David did) 2 Sam. 23.5. and his words yet to be found, as it were tried words, Psal. 12.6. The words of the Lord are pure words, tried as silver seven times, Psal. 12.6. etc. The fire that tries these words was that of affliction, and when a man is brought into a straight, and then casts himself upon a promise, and thereby has experience of the truth and faithfulness of God therein, than it is said to be tried; and all the people of God have had experience of it so often, that there is no dross to be found in it, no more than can be conceived to be in gold and silver purified seven times. 2. The Lord's intention was to honour man also; and it's one of the greatest and highest dignities that the Lord hath put upon his people, Jer. 13.11. to bind them unto himself for a name and a glory; and Deut. 26.18, 19 the Lord did avouch them to be his people, to make them high above all people; and therefore the staff of beauty mentioned in Zach. 11.10. is the Covenant between God and his people; I broke my staff of beauty, that I might break my Covenant which I made with all the people, etc. and it is a Covenant of friendship, a Covenant of marriage; and in all this there is an honour, and a kind of equality, and it's the ground of all the honour that the Lord doth put upon us; for our union with Christ is grounded upon our Covenant with God. Had the Lord taken Christ into Covenant with himself only, he had indeed honoured his Son, but not his Saints; but now to make them one with the Son, and to enter into the same Covenant with them, and in their own persons, that he hath established with the Son, it doth highly honour the Saints, and exalt the grace of God towards them also. 3. That the Lord might bind men unto him more firmly in a way of obedience, and that the obedience might be made the more sweet. Man was bound unto God by a bond of creation; and from whom he had his being, unto him he did owe his service; but the Lord will bind him unto him with a further cord and bond of stipulation; the one was natural and necessary, and the other voluntary; and though he did owe obedience, had there been never a promise made him of a reward, yet much more when the Lord will bind himself by Covenant, to reward his meanest services. The ground of the Covenant is love, Deut. 7.7, 8. 2 Cor. 5.19. Jer. 31.3. Hos. 2.19. and God loves the Saints also in his Son, and is willing to be reconciled to them in him; and a man may say, the yoke of Christ is not only easy, but profitable also, Matt. 11.29. because it hath a promise annexed to every service; and for this cause was the Covenant made with the Saints, that they might be a willing people in all their obedience, there being a promise going with the duty in whatever was required of them. 4. That the people of God might exercise faith in their prayers, putting these bonds in suit that the Lord hath made over unto them, when they look upon themselves as sons of Abraham, Heirs of Promise, and Children of the Covenant, etc. and thereby they come with a great deal the more boldness before the throne of grace, as David, 1 Chron. 17.23, 24. Let the thing thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and his house, be established for ever; do as thou hast said, that thy name may be magnified for ever; the Lord of Hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: For because thou hast told thy servant, that thou wilt build him an house, therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray before thee; now Lord thou art God, and hast promised this goodness to thy servant; let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever: have respect unto the Covenant, for all the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. Reason 2 2. There is a Covenant made with the Saints also, that they may see that they are as strictly bound to obedience in their own persons, under the second Covenant, as they were under the first Covenant; and that the doctrine of the Gospel, though it be a Doctrine of liberty, yet is not a Doctrine of licentiousness; there is as much of duty required of us now, as there was then; and so far as we come short of the Law we sin, and every such transgression is, so far as it prevails, a Covenant-breaking on our part, and an act of unfaithfulness; but the Covenant cannot be broken, because we have a surety which the first Covenant had not; and the righteousness of this Covenant sin can never spend, it is an everlasting righteousness; therefore that Doctrine that saith God requires all of Christ and nothing of you, is a Doctrine of sinful liberty; it's true, That he takes satisfaction in his Son, and he makes you accepted in his beloved, and therefore he will never suffer his faithfulness to fail; for Psal. 102.28. Thou art the same, and the children of thy servants shall continue, etc. yet in point of duty, he expects from us uprightness, and perfect obedience; so that it is your sin and unfaithfulness, if you perform it not; as it was required of the first Adam, so of all his posterity; and as of Christ, so of all his posterity also. 3. That the Saints also may stand in awe of the threats of God under the second Covenant; it's true there is no curse there, for it is a covenant of blessing; but yet there is a double anger in God, paterna, & hostilis ira, simplex & redundans, etc. I will visit their offences with a rod, and that with many sharp and lesser trials, and yet my Covenant I will not break; they shall be the sure mercies of David still, therefore Psal. 119. he saith, Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me; because God had in Covenant undertaken to preserve him to his kingdom, therefore he could not else have been a faithful God; and there is also a faithfulness in the threatening executed, as well as there is in the promises performed; and that the hearts of the people of God may stand in awe thereof, therefore it is necessary, that as they should remember all duty was not so performed by Christ, but that there is duty also in their place required of them; and all suffering was not so undergone by Christ, but that there may be suffering reserved for them also; though not as a part of the curse of the first Covenant, nor for satisfaction; yet as the threatening was for their unfaithfulness under the second Covenant, so it is inflicted for their humiliation and sanctification. §. 3. Wherein lies the difference between the Covenant made with Christ, and with us? (1) It was made with Christ primarily as a public person for all the Elect, but it is made with every one of us in the second place as we are members of Christ; and so being in him, we come under his Covenant. (2) It is made with Christ immediately and for his own sake, there was no mediator between God and Christ, 2 Sam 7. Dan. 21.9. but the Lord accepted of his engagement and relied upon his faithfulness in performing his duty, as Christ did upon God's faithfulness in fulfilling his promise; and whatever the Lord performs unto us, it is for Christ's sake; but it is with us mediately in him, he being the mediator of the Covenant, and of all the mercies thereof. (3) The promise made unto Christ, was made from everlasting before the foundation of the world; 2 Tim. 1.9. Rev. 13.8. it's said, The Lamb had a book of life before the foundation of the world; it cannot be understood of election, for he himself as mediator was elected; therefore it is spoken in reference to this Covenant, that God did make with Christ before the world was, Prov. 8.22. he being from the beginning, and this Covenant was to take place immediately after the fall; but the Covenant with his people is made with them, when they believe and are engrafted into Christ, faith being nothing else but a consent unto the Covenant, and the terms of it on our part, and therefore that is an act done by the creature in time, when a man is converted; and therefore notwithstanding the Covenant made with Christ, yet the elect themselves, Ephes. 2.12. till they be converted, are said to be strangers to the Covenant of promise; as it is in justification, though there be a justification in capite when Christ risen from the dead, (because he risen as a public person) yet there is not a personal justification in a man, till he do believe, and be made one with Christ, and hath thereby an interest in his righteousness. (4) All the promises of the second Covenant belong unto Christ as his purchase, and unto us of promise; to him of debt, and unto us of grace: the making of the Covenant indeed was an act of free grace with Christ, but the performance, and all the benefits thereof is an act of purchase, Ephes. 1.14. it is all the inheritance of Christ purchased by his merits, but to us it comes of grace, and merely for Christ's sake. (5) Christ as to his Covenant hath no surety, God took his word, and his faithfulness he did rely upon, and therefore calls him faithful and true, and said he had laid help on one that is mighty, Psal. 89. but we have a surety of our Covenant to pay the debt and perform the duty: SECT. II. The Covenant as made with Believers applied. Use 1 §. 1. NOw therefore if the Lord do enter into Covenant with his Saints, and they are all a Covenant people, and not only made a Covenant with our head for us, but with every particular man in his own person; then 1. Let every one of us know that it's our duty to enter our Covenant with the Lord; and this is the great end of publishing the Gospel, to bring men into the bond of the Covenant. Dan. 9.27. Dan. 9.27. He shall confirm the Covenant with many, etc. here is a Provinical Calendar, and that Dan. 7. is an Ecumenical, which is the time from the going forth of the Commandment of Cyrus to rebuild the City and the Temple; he names the time of the final destruction of the Temple, and the utter desolation of the City, after the end of sixty two weeks, before the Messiah be cut off but not for himself; and then he shall confirm the Covenant with many for one week, and in the middle of the week he shall cause the daily sacrifice to cease, etc. and this is commonly interpreted of preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, and bringing them unto the knowledge of Christ. Calvin. A antithesis between the old Church and the new, which does extend through the whole world, etc. And this Preaching the Gospel and declaring the new Covenant unto the Gentiles, and bringing them into the fellowship of the Mystery is called confirming the Covenant with them, but the word in the original signifies praevaluit, superavit; therefore it doth signify that the second Covenant shall prevail over men, and bring them in by the power thereof; and therefore when the Lord sends forth his Gospel, Psal. 110. it is called the day of his power not that of armies to force men by constraint, but subdue their wills unto the obedience thereof, and that there should be willingness in the day of this his power: so far should the Covenant prevail; for the Lord hath strengthened it, that it should prevail upon many, and bring them into the bonds thereof: so that the great end of the Gospel, and all the glorious power put forth therein, is but that the Covenant may prevail, and men submit thereunto. Now if a man would enter into Covenant with God, what is required of him? O that the Lord would bring his word at this time upon any soul, and that I might be but instrumental therein, to bring you under this Covenant, that your hearts may take hold of it. The arguments to persuade you and to plead with you are very many, and forcible, in the spirit of grace and power accompanying them. I may take enough from ●he misery of the former Covenant under which you must needs stand, unless you enter ●nto this new Covenant: for it is no more possible for the same man to be under both Covenants, than it is possible to be born of two mothers, as has been manifested to you already out of Gal. 4.21, 23, etc. But for the present I would pitch upon these; 1. If you come not under this Covenant, you have no interest in God; for the former Covenant being broken, God is become your enemy, and he is now no more your God than he is the Devils God, and the damned Spirits God, unless you enter into Covenant with him anew, for there is no way for you to have an interest in God, but by Covenant with him: Psal. 144. they are a happy people whose God is Jehovah; and they on the contrary are a miserable people that have not the Lord for their God, but for their enemy. Now as the Lord came to be Christ's God, so he must be your God; and Christ takes a new Covenant-right unto God to this every end; he hath a double right unto all things, [1] As he is haeres natus, as it was his natural inheritance, as he had a right to whatever his Father had; for he thinks it no robbery to be equal with him; and yet he takes a new Covenant-right unto all things; [2] As he is Haeres constitutus, an Heir appointed by God, that he might be able to communicate the same unto us; so he takes a new covenant-right unto God, that we entering into the same Covenant the Lord might become our God, as he is Christ's God: and how is God made over unto a man in this Covenant? It is in his all-sufficiency, Gen. 17.1. so that look whatever sufficiency there is in God, all this is thine, and thou mayest claim an interest in it. Now if a man had all things else in the world, this very consideration would embitter all to him, that he has no interest in God: as on the contrary, if a man were deprived of all things else, this would sweeten all, that God is his God; as it was said of Job, he lost all that God had given him, but he had him who gave him all▪ and as Bernard says, all meat is unsavoury that has not this salt: And so on the contrary, thou hast all these good things, but thou hast no interest in him who is the God of them all, and whose Love is infinitely in sweetness beyond them all; for his loving kindness is better than life, and all the revenues of life: which appears, because perfection of Happiness in Heaven lies in God alone, when a man shall be taken off from all the comforts of the creatures: and though while men taste the sweetness of the creatures and the pleasures of them, they seem not to find that want of God, but can be content to be without him to all eternity; yet there will come a time when men shall know what it is to live without God in the world, as all they do that have no interest in the Covenant of grace. 2. It is only in the Covenant of grace that all the persons have undertaken peculiar offices for the good of men, and no men have benefit by them but they that are brought under this Covenant; it is for their sake that the Father has given the Kingdom into the hand of his Son, and what benefit other men have by it, it is but as the beasts have, and in some respect as the Devils have; they have some less degree of torment, and that's granted them for their sakes who are heirs of promise, and for their sake the spirit is the prorex, and has undertaken to rule under Christ: all the Offices of Christ are for their sake, and for their good, and all the Offices of the Spirit either enlightening, convincing, sanctifying, or comforting, they are all for their good; and the common works of the Spirit that do fall upon any wicked men in the world is by the Saint's Covenant, or else you should have no more of them (oh hear all you wicked ones) than the Devils and damned in Hell have at this day. Now the great plot of the Gospel in the new Covenant is not only to honour the Attributes of the nature, but also to honour the Persons in the hearts of men; this was the way, for the Persons to undertake certain appropriated works in the days of the Gospel in the administration of the Covenant and all the parts thereof. Now as you will have no benefit by the attributes of the divine nature, but they all make against you, and will at last day bring in their several charges against your souls that are out of this Covenant, not only the Holiness and Justice of God, but even the Mercy and Patience of God will cry against you, Justice Lord, for Mercies sake; so you will have no benefit by the Offices of the persons, but they will all of them be used against you, and bring in their several charges against you. Christ as a King, a Prophet and a Priest, will charge thee: then shall the King say, Go ye cursed: and the Spirit of God as a Spirit, that has been convincing thee and enlightening thee in thy life time, shall condemn thee; and Christ as a Judge will condemn thee, and the Spirit of Christ as a Spirit of Bondage will in Hell perfectly torment thee: for as in Heaven the Spirit shall be perfectly a Spirit of Adoption, so he shall be in Hell perfectly a Spirit of Bondage for ever. 3. Unless thou art in Covenant this way, the Lord regards thee not, nor any thing that thou dost; an instance of it we have, Heb. 8.9. There are Gods own people, whom he took into Covenant with himself, and for the outward part of the Covenant they did enter into Covenant with him, but yet their hearts did not consent unto the terms of the Covenant; and therefore they broke the Covenant. The meaning is not, that ever they were truly and indeed spiritually in Covenant; for then the Covenant could never have been broken; but they were only in the Covenant externally, but their hearts did not come up unto the spiritual part of the Covenant; and therefore the Lord says, I regard them not, I took no care for them, I made no account of them at all, whatever became of them it was all one to me, as it is with us of things that we have no regard of; and for God not to regard a man or a people is the sum of all Judgement: whatever did befall them, the Lord pitied them not, assisted them not, etc. But in the place whence it is taken, Jer. 31.33. there is something more in it, it is, I Lorded it over them, when I consider how the name Baal is used, Hos. 2.16. he did exercise his Lordly authority over them: when they would not be ruled by him as a Husband, he doth then lay Judgement and Chastisement upon them as a Lord, he did not regard their persons; whereas precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of the Saints, yea he puts their Tears in his Bottle, etc. and he does pour out their blood as dust, and their flesh as dung, and he regards them not; Psal. 49. but man though in honour, if he understands not, becomes like the beasts that perish. Without that Covenant he may be compared to the Beasts that perish, pardon the expression, but it's suitable unto the intention of the Holy Ghost, he is unto God counted no better than a Dog that dies in a ditch. And as it is for their persons, so it is for their services also, a man that is out of Covenant the Lord accepts nothing that he doth; unto Cain and his offering he had no respect. But a man in Covenant with God, the words of his mouth, the meditations of his heart, find acceptance with God, and be to him incense of a sweet savour; their persons and their services, their smell is as the Wine of Lebanon, Hos. 14. according to the promise of acceptation; but all the services of men out of the Covenant are abominable to God, as the Grapes of Sodom: all the acts performed by them that are in Covenant are as the Grapes of Lebanon; your works are very acceptable, The Sun of righteousness shall rise upon you with healing in his Wings: but for all others that are not in Covenant with him, the Lord does not respect their offering or take it with good will at their hands; but he saith, Mal. 2.13. To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices, Incense is an abomination unto me, it is a burden, even your solemn assemblies are an offence to me, I will not smell in them, I am weary to bear them; and when you kill an Ox it is as if you killed a man, Isa. 66.3. and he that burns Incense as if he blessed an Idol; because you have chosen your own ways, therefore the Lord abhors you. 4. This is a matrimonial Covenant, and it is a Covenant of friendship; it is of this Covenant that the Lord saith, I will betroath you to me for ever; Hos. 2. and it is the same Covenant which when God had entered into with Abraham, he doth call him, Abraham my friend: Wife and Friend are two of the sweetest and highest relations: if any could prevail, it would be the Wife of thy Bosom, or thy Friend, which is as thy own soul. Deut. 13.6. Now in this Covenant a man enters into both these relations with God, there is the nearest union with him, he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with him; there is the interest love of the persons one to another, they are most precious one to another, and all the world besides are but as Pebbles, to Diamonds which outshine all other stones, and they are still prising the love one of another: how excellent is thy loving kindness, O God it is better than life: because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him, and love him at all times; and in the greatest trials all true friends love most, forsake not one another; the fire burns hottest in Winter by an Antiperistasis; God found Israel as Grapes in the Wilderness, saw her in her blood, and that was the time of love, Cant. 1.13. my Love is as a bundle of Myrrh which is bitter, yet he shall lie between my breasts; all true love is like wildfire, the more you cast water upon it, it will flame the more, Cant. 8.6. Many waters cannot quench it; true Lovers will bear any afflictions one for another; in all their afflictions he is afflicted, and when his Children are persecuted, he says, why persecutest thou me? Let God, saith Ambrose, turn the adversaries of the Church against me, and squench their thirst with my blood; I had rather, says Bernard, men should murmur against ●me, than against God. The soul that loves God is willing to undergo any reproach for God, and be dishonoured, so God may be honoured. And there is also the sweetest communion between friends opening their hearts one to another, and each striving that they may exceed. The Lord's heart is contracted towards other men, his heart is straitened, he cannot discover himself to them; but there is a secret of his Counsel, and a secret of his providence; the one is in the heart, and the other upon the Tabernacle of those that are in Covenant, and they pour out their whole hearts also to the Lord, as Hannah did, and ●ly, Lord all my desires are before thee, they keep nothing back; and there is the fullest communication, the Lord gives up all that he has unto such a soul, Leu. The Highpriest was not to marry a Harlot nor a Widow. and he shall inherit 〈◊〉 things, I will be his God, all that is in God is as truly thine for thy good, as if thou hadst infinite wisdom, and power, and holiness in thy own hand; and the soul gives up all unto God, his love, and his joy, and fear, etc. for God will not marry a Harlot, that hath any reserve from him, but he will have all the strength of the soul; the Apostle says, they gave themselves up to the Lord, their bodies were the Lords, Rom. 12.1. 5. God and the soul know not how to live asunder; tell my Beloved, that I am sick of Love: and as Augustin saith after the death of his friend Nebridius, that he was in a straight desiring to die, because he knew not how to live by halves: yet he was willing to live that his friend might not wholly die, but might yet live in part, even in him. And truly though relations amongst men be notions in a great measure, and their affections do not answer them, and fill them up; yet with God they are not so, but there is something still that fully answers every relation wherein he stands unto you: and whereas your relations here are but for the time of this life, it is but till God shall part us by death; relations unto the Lord are eternal; and it is entering into this Covenant that does invest thee with these relations. It is also to this Covenant that all the promises are annexed, they do all meet as lines in this centre; and therefore till a man be in Covenant he is not an heir of the Promise; we that believe are Abraham's seed, Gal. 4. and heirs of the promise; if once, by entering into Abraham's Covenant, you become his seed, than all the promises are yours, but never till then; for before, all the curses of the first Covenant were thy due, but not any one promise of the second Covenant belongs to thee, which is the Covenant under which Abraham, and David, and all the Saints do stand, and by which they hold their happiness at this day; for it is the inheritance that is by promise; now there is no way to be made blessed with faithful Abraham, and to attain the sure mercies of David, the blessing of the new Covenant, but by this, for they are all fruits of the Covenant, and streams that flow from this Fountain. 6. and Lastly, The Covenant of Grace is the last Covenant that ever God does intent to make with mankind, or tender to him: 'tis true, he did make a former Covenant, and you broke it, and the Lord has made a second, but he will never add a third Covenant, Heb. 6.18. The Lord willing to show the immutability of his Counsel, etc. God doth not change his Covenant because he has sworn, the oath now binds him that he cannot change; yet it was the unchangeableness of his purpose that he might manifest that to be the ground why he did it by an oath, that we might be assured the mind of God will never change to eternity; it is by this Covenant only that he intends to bring all his Sons to glory, and he will never make another; therefore as I may say of Christ, This is the last way Salvation, that ever God will take, He that believes in him shall be saved, but he that believes not in him, shall be damned. There is no hope of another, the Lord has no more Sons in his Bosom to bestow. And as these be the last Ordinances, (and therefore in the Lords-supper, you show forth the Lords death till he come) so it's here, it's the last Covenant that ever God will make, and if you do not accept of this, and like the terms of it, you can never have the Lord to become your God in Covenant for ever. Now it will be said, What should we do, and what is required on our part that we should enter into Covenant with the Lord? All Covenants must be by mutual consent, and out of choice and election, and therefore some do derive the word in Hebrew signifying a Covenant from a verb which signifies to choose, because a Covenant must be an act of choice, and therefore there must be something done on our part; though God offer the Covenant, we must accept it; and that we may do the duty on our part, it's a work of almighty power, Ezec. 20.37. and I will bring you into, as the word signifies, I will make you to come into the bond of the Covenant. Now when the Lord in this Covenant is pleased to put forth the grace of it in the day of his power, there are these three things that he does work the soul to, wherein our entering into Covenant doth consist, answerable to these three expressions; (1) Jer. 11.2. Harken to and hear the words of the Covenant; a man doth learn and generally observe the terms of the Covenant, upon what terms God offers a Covenant unto him. (2) That in 2 Chron. 30.8. Give the hand to the Lord, which is a token and an expression of a man's free and full consent to it, when he does understand it, there is a mighty power enlightening the understanding, and bringing about and inclining the will to consent to it. (3) Joshua 24.23. Incline your hearts unto the Lord, or take up a full resolution or purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord to keep this Covenant, Act 11.23. and to stick to the terms of it, to perform all thy duties towards God by it, and expect all from God according to it, and this is properly to enter into Covenant with the Lord. 1. You are to hear the words of it, and to know aright the terms of it; for he that enters into Covenant with the Lord, it must be by giving up himself unto God, which must be a reasonable service, Rom. 12.1, 2. and therefore Christ, when men enter upon Religion, would have them sit down first and count the cost; for if men enter not upon any duty with a right understanding, their hearts will again draw back, and they will forsake it; so here, if men understand not the terms of the Covenant aright, they will departed from the living God, the consent of the Covenant must be a consent without error, or else it is supposed, that if a man had known it before, he would not have consented; it's said of a marriage Covenant, Error circa ea quae sunt de essentia contractus, vitiat contractum, etc. and a consent with error, and when a man understands not what he doth, is no consent. Now what are the Terms of this Covenant? They are these, 1. That you take Christ and close with him in a work of faith, believe in him and be unto him alone: for Gal. 3. ult. We that believe are Abraham's seed; and it is by our following the steps of his faith that he becomes the Father of us all; therefore the Gospel is said to be making a marriage for his Son; Rom. 4.16. Mat 22. it's Christ and the soul that are married in this Covenant, or else, now is the time of betrothing, and the marriage is to come; and therefore the Church of the Jews, when they shall be converted, and the glorious marriage of the Lamb is come, she is said to be the Bride the Lamb's Wife: now that soul that takes Christ for his portion, looks upon him as altogether lovely, the chiefest of ten thousand, and relies upon him alone for righteousness, and life, and accounts all things else as dross, Phil. 3.9. with an exclusive resolution of looking to any thing else whatsoever; I would win him, (saith Paul) and be found in him alone, not having mine own righteousness: this is the first branch upon which God offers this Covenant. 2. A man must deny himself, Mat. 16.24. and forsake also thy own Kindred, and thy Father's house. Psal. 45. Now self is commonly considered by Divines three ways, (1) As sinful, (2) As natural, (3) As moral self, religious, renewed self; and all these must be denied. (1) Sinful self, that is, the whole body of sin, but specially that lust that thy heart is most addicted to, thy peccatum in deliciis, which the Scripture calls thine own iniquity, and the stumbling block of thy iniquity, there must be a reserve of no sin. (2) Natural self, all thy reason, and natural parts, wealth, Father, and Mother, House and Lands, yea and life for my name sake; and that always, [1] Habitually, in preparation of mind and resolution of heart to give them up all unto God, when he shall call for them, Act. 21.13. I am ready, says the Apostle, not only to be bound but to die, etc. [2] And actually whensoever the Lord calls for any thing thou hast, if they be temptations to draw thee unto sin, and a snare to thy soul, or if the Lord call for them as oblations to himself, if the Lord call thee forth to own him with them by resigning them up; (and we know not how soon the Lord may call to suffering) if thou art a Moses, thou must leave Pharaohs Court and suffer affliction with the people of God; and if thou art a Daniel and canst not worship a false God nor the true God in a wrong manner, thou must expect to be thrown into the Lion's den; and if a Paul, thou wilt resolve to preach a crucified Christ though Nero forbidden it, and the powers of the world threaten bonds and imprisonment to abide thee; nay, thou mayest expect to lay down thy life upon a block: and if thou art a Mordecai, and refusest to bow to unsanctified greatness, or stoop to the lusts of men, thou must expect to have a Gallows prepared for thee. (3) Self renewed must be denied in the notion of duties; we are to perform all, but in relation to righteousness we are to deny all, and account them all as dross and dung and menstruous rags; Exod. 28.38. and if we would have acceptance we must look upon the forehead of the Highpriest, wherein alone is written holiness to the Lord, that we may find acceptance with him; for our righteousness has such an ill savour, that the Lord must abhor it, there is iniquity in our holy things, unless the Lord Christ does offer and present them mixed with his odours: therefore we must deny our righteousness utterly, there must be a perfect self-denial, as the word signifies, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 3. A man must bear his yoke, Mat. 11.29. Take my yoke upon you; the Lord does not set a man free in the Covenant of Grace, that he should turn the grace of God into licentiousness; he has a yoke of obedience for the neck of every Saint, and what is that but all the duties of the Law a●●en in the hand of the Mediator? And this yoke is easy and profitable for a soul, it brings in a revenue both of pleasure and profit; in the keeping of the Commandments is great reward; and there's sincerity required, which is everlasting evangelical perfection, as the Lord says to Abraham, walk before me and be thou perfect: the perfection in this life that is attainable under the second Covenant is sincerity of heart, a suitableness of the will to the Law of God; though a man's actions ●ome short of the Law, yet he can delight in the Law, in his inward man, and has respect unto all the commandments, when he is willing to put his neck under the yoke of Christ, and neglect no known duty; for it is dangerous to seek ease in the ways of God, that the Lord would not have, as we see, Numb. 7.7, 8, 9 the Sons of Gersham and Merari had Wagons to carry their burdens, but the Sons of Coah were to carry the Ark upon their shoulders; now they were not to take their ease: and David brought the Ark upon a new Cart, and the Lord was displeased and made a breach upon Vzzah for it, etc. 4. You must take heed you shrink not at the Cross, but take it up; for there is a Cross goes with the second Covenant, and a man with all the blessings of it must expect affliction, Mat. 19.29. Mark 10.30. He that takes up his Cross in losing any thing for Christ's sake shall have a hundred fold more in this life, but with persecutions; all the rewards of this Covenant are so given as there is a part of affliction and persecution in them all, Psal. 8.9. If thy Children forsake my way and walk not in my judgements, I will visit their offences with a rod, but my Covenant I will not break; he does chastise every Son whom he receives to glory; if you endure not chastisements you are Bastards and not Sons: be not deceived, if you will follow Christ in the world, you must meet with a cross, none ever went to Heaven without it, some of one kind and some of another; some men's enemies are they of his own House, the Daughter-in-Law against the Mother-in-law; some are reviled and persecuted by strangers only by hearsay, that they are such as are of strict lives and holy in their conversation: Oh servum illum beatum, cujus emendationi Deus instat, cui dignatur irasci, Tert. de Patien. c. 11. And for God to afflict a soul under this Covenant is an act of faithfulness, that the Lord may keep your graces active; for there are some things are preserved in Salt, as well as others are in Sugar, and so doth the Lord do. Therefore he that will enter into Covenant with the Lord, must in this manner rightly understand the terms of the Covenant. 2. But yet when he doth understand it, this will never make up the Covenant propounded. Though in all the terms of it it is sufficiently known, and the Lord doth call upon them from day to day; yet they are terms they like not, they consent not unto them; therefore the Covenant is not made up between God and them, the whole Soul doth not consent to accept of the Covenant upon the terms that God requires, they like them not, they are not willing to give the hand to the Lord, as it's called, 2 Chron. 30.7, 8. and it's also called being willing or consenting, Isa. 1.19. If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the Land: Till the will doth open, the soul of man is for ever shut against the Covenant, and it is the Lord only hath the key thereof to open the heart, as the Lord did open the heart of Lydia; else the Lord will say, I would have gathered you, but you would not. It's a Marriage Covenant, a consent of parties is essential to Marriage, and where that is wanting, the Marriage is null and void; but this consent to the Covenant must be free: In what is the Will so free, as in acts of Election? All the World cannot force the will to choose any thing. When men are brought into Religion by education, and have as it were a force upon them to own such and such principles, and forbear such and such practices, it's like a force upon a man by his friends to take a Wife, that suits the Parents advantage, but not the Child's inclination, his heart afterwards dislikes and falls off: so when the terrors of death, the fear of Hell work any affection to the ways of God, this Covenant, he will promise any thing, and will needs enter into Covenant with God; but it is with a mixed will, his soul is not free. As a Mariner in a storm, he will cry, Oh! cast out the wares to save the Ship and his life, but it is not a free consent, his heart still hankers after his goods; so says the Soul in reference to Christ, If I were left to my own liberty, I would pitch here, and make the match up between Christ and me, the sight of his excellencies hath so taken my heart: he is the chiefest of ten thousand, I grant, and fairer than the daughters of men; but there is, alas! a preingagement between me and my earthly treasure, my Parents have already provided for me, I have goods for many years, it's hard to undergo losses, and crosses, and reproaches for Christ's Name and the Gospel, and here the soul sticks and the match is never made up. 2. But a Soul that is truly in love with Christ, and has his Image fixed deeply upon his heart, his consent to the terms that Christ proposes, when he enters into Covenant, is universal, he takes Christ for righteousness, and gives up himself unto him. But there is many a soul, that though they do consent to many of the terms that Christ proposes, and would take Christ for their righteousness, yet they are not willing to deny themselves, or if they do come so far, yet their self-denial is not universal, it is not utterly, there is some sin he cannot forsake; or if he bear Christ's yoke, yet he would not willingly bear his Cross. But there must be (1) a general consent unto the Covenant in all the terms of it, else there is a treaty only, but no agreement. (2) And in the next place, this consent must be perpetual and in all times, and conditions, for the Covenant is an everlasting Covenant, and therefore the consent to it must be for everlasting, never to look for more or another, beloved, for ever: In Matrimony there is a certain kind of perpetual obligation to service, the Soul must never draw back: For then surely the Lord will take no pleasure in thee. It is a Harlot that is for lust, and for hire, and only loves a person in his prosperity; but a true wife loves at all times, as a friend doth, who is still as thy own Soul. Therefore all you that have been enlightened with a beam of light and love, to see the excellencies that are in Christ, let your Soul be still ravished with his Laws, for they are better than Wine: consent still to the terms that he proposes to you, and let neither crosses in your way fright you on the one hand, nor carnal comforts allure you on the other, to draw you back from your beloved, for he is the chiefest of Ten thousand, and his ways are holy, just and good. 3. Unto all this there must be added a full resolution and purpose of heart, to observe all the duties that are required of us in this Covenant, and to keep close unto the terms of it. Joshua made a Covenant for the people, Josh. 24.23, 24. and in that day they say, The Lord thy God will we serve, and his voice will we obey; and thus also in Jer. 50.5. they bind themselves in a perpetual Covenant never to be forgotten, to cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart; and therefore they are willing to engage themselves in all God's ways, to show the sincerity of their heart and purpose, they will subscribe it, Neh. 10.6. they do bind themselves with a curse, and this is the answer of a good Conscience, 1 Pet. 3.21. when a man doth engage no more than the purpose of his heart is to perform; Jer. 32.40. God's Covenant with us is a Covenant of salt, that is perpetual, Sal duraturae amicitiae symbolum. So Pierius. God is always mindful of his Covenant, and so should we be of ours also, Jer. 11.5. as the Lord says, Obey my voice according to all that I command thee, so shall you be my people, and I will be your God, and I will perform the oath that I swore to your Fathers; and the Prophet did answer, Amen, O Lord, etc. so should our souls do; take heed of the treachery that is in your spirits, that you behave not yourselves unfaithfully in the Covenant; for though it is true, that the Covenant cannot be broken by your unfaithfulness (because the Lord hath laid help upon one that is mighty, who is the surety of your Covenant) yet remember, that Covenant-breaking is a great aggravation of every sin on your parts; and there is a quarrel of the Covenant that the Lord will certainly avenge, and the stripes even of a God in Covenant are terrible, even our God is a consuming fire. Leu. 20.25. Use 2 §. 2. Having entered into Covenant with the Lord, let me now exhort you to make Conscience to keep it, let thy heart be faithful, and steadfast in the Covenant: It is that which the Lord requires of all those that do enter into Covenant with him, Exod. 19.5. If you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my Covenant, you shall be unto me a peculiar treasure, Mal. 3.17. my Jewels, above all people in the world: therefore being taken into Covenant, he doth expect you should observe the breach of it, and be careful to avoid it. 1. From the nature of a Covenant, and the ends thereof; it is vinculum conservandae fidei, the great bond and engagement that men lay upon themselves for the being faithful in the promises that they make each to other. And therefore, Ezech. 20.37. it is called the bond of the Covenant; because by it a man is bound unto the terms thereof; and therefore if men keep not their Covenants it destroys their end, and makes them of none effect; and it is an obligation that a man takes and lays upon himself by his own consent; for every Covenant must be free and voluntary, Voluntas est spontanea, the will is most free: And therefore it being free and voluntary, afterwards for us to recede and go back, is the greater abomination, Ezek. 17.18. He despised the Oath by breaking the Covenant, after he had given his hand; and therefore they say, Let us bind ourselves in an everlasting Covenant, Jer. 50.5. never to be forgotten. And for a man to be unsteady and departed from his engagement in which he hath freely bound himself, is the greater evil: but always Covenants have amongst men been counted sacred, and nature has taught men to keep them inviolable; if it had been but a man's Covenant, Gal. 3.18. no man would disannul or add thereunto: and it was looked upon as the binding that men could not go back from, although it were never so much against their hearts to keep it, it is sanctissimum humani pectoris bonum, Seneca the benefic. l. 5. to 10. and therefore, perfidi lege Aegyptiorum capite plectebantur quòd duplici tenerentur scelere, quòd & pietatem in Deos violarent & fidem inter homines tollerent: Diodor. Sic. l. 1. to 6. Tholos. de rep. l. 8. Perfidious persons were by the law of the Egyptians beheaded, because they were guilty of a double crime, impiety towards God, and unfaithfulness to man. Now if there be so much respect unto Covenants between man and man, how sacred should the Covenant be between God and man; the holy Covenant? 2. It is a Covenant made unto God, and there is no going back; for (1) God knows it; if he falsify the Covenant in the least, God will find it out. There is a great deal of falseness of heart within us this way, Our righteousness is like unto the morning dew, and as an early cloud, we promise and go back from our purposes and promises, and our purposes are broken off; we repent, and repent of our repentance; we vow, Prov. 20: 25. and after our vows we make enquiry; we come out of Sodom, and yet with Lot's wife we look back; we are brought out of Egypt, and yet our hearts turn back into Egypt again. Now our Covenant being made with God he will observe it, though the treachery of our Spirits be carried never so secretly; and therefore, Psal. 44.21. the Psalmist says, God would search it out, If we have forgot thy name, and stretched out our hands, to any strange God, God will find it out, for he knows the secrets of our hearts; and this Covenant is a Marriage Covenant, and therefore the Lord looks upon the breaches of it with a jealous eye, which is exceeding quicksighted; there is no disguising of one's self from a true Lover, he observes every motion and out-going of the heart, and will not admit the least deviation from the royal Law of Love; And our God is of purer eyes than to behold the least iniquity, he tries the heart and the reins, by him actions are weighed. (2) God hath declared that he hates Covenant-breaking, and unsteadiness of spirit therein; and he will certainly punish it: There is not only the mercy of the Covenant, but there is the quarrel of the Covenant: I 〈◊〉 ●eal with thee, says the Lord, as thou hast done, Leu. 36.25. Ezech. 16.59. for thou hast despised the Oath in br●●●ng the Covenant. That is, he would deal with them in judgement, as they had dealt with him in a way of sinning. Quis miles a regibus hostibus stipendium captat; nisi planè transfuga & desertor? Tert. de prescript. c. 12. For a man that is a subject to one king to be a Pensioner to an enemy, we judge it very hateful amongst men; that wear the Livery, and take the Wages of one Master, and do the work of another. A subject to Christ and a pensioner to Satan is exceeding hateful to the Lord. And therefore when the Lord would express the worse sort of sinners, the Apostate Jews that did join with Antiochus the Vile, Dan. 11.30. Jer. 34.18. he calls them those that forsake the holy Covenant. God will surely avenge the breach of humane Covenants, as we see in the story of Zedekiah because he falsified his oath he had sworn by God; much more will he avenge the holy Covenant, when that is broken by any; and therefore it being a Covenant made unto God, there is no dallying, it is one of the great things of God, and if we despise it and cast it behind our back, the wrath of God will surely overtake us. 3. We have the highest patterns for our imitation, the glorious Angels; they abide in the truth, they never left their first habitation, they have always kept their Covenant, and they stand before God to this day, in the Covenant of their Creation. And consider your own Prayers, Tert. you do pray, that the will of God may be done by you on earth as it is in Heaven, do not therefore perseverante iracundia orationem perdere: will you, by living in any sin destroy your own prayers? And take, not only the example of the Angels, but the example of our Lord Christ, the rule and pattern of holiness, for you to walk by; he is your Prince, your Leader, etc. all manner of terms that note out exemplariness, and require imitation; and he was faithful in the Covenant made with God; he doth for the active part of his obedience fulfil all righteousness, and for the passive part he paid the utmost farthing, though the Lord did hid his face, and his enemies did rage and triumph over him, it was the hour of the power of darkness, and if the flesh did desire its own preservation, yet the will of nature did give way unto the will of duty; and He did drink up the Brook in the way, Psal. 110. ult. that Torrent of Curses and wrath that lay between us and glory; and therefore did lift up his head, and he is now in Heaven as God's servant, and so shall be till the last day, that he shall give up the Kingdom unto God the Father; he is performing the remaining acts of his Office there and by his Spirit on Earth, and by his presence and intercession in glory; and all is, that he might be a faithful Highpriest, and able to save to the uttermost those that come unto him. But we have yet a higher pattern, and that is God the Father himself, he is always mindful of his Covenant. Psal. 111.5. Psal. 9.34. Mic. 7.20. Ezech. 16.61. My Covenant I will not break, for he is a faithful God, and he will perform his truth to Jacob, and his mercy unto Abraham, as he has sworn in the days of old. And the faithfulness of God is infinitely seen in this, that the unfaithfulness of man cannot make the faithfulness of God of none effect. Says the Lord, I will give thee thy Sisters, thy elder and thy younger Sister unto thee as Daughters, but not by thy Covenant: it is a promise, that though they had by doing more wickedly justified the Gentile nations, (and he instances in Sodom and Samaria,) and therefore worse judgements▪ should come upon them, yet the time would come, that the Lord would remember his Covenant that he had made with their Fathers, and he would make them the Mother-Church, and all the Gentile Churches and Nations should flow unto her; and it shall come to pass, that ten men out of all the Nations under Heaven should lay hold on the skirt of a Jew, Zac. 8.23. but all this shall not be, by thy Covenant: sic non desciverant, ut Deus esset liber, Cal. and therefore it was not in reference to their keeping Covenant with God, but in remembrance of God's Covenant with them; and therefore he refers them unto his faithfulness, and not to theirs; and therefore when they should see it, they should be ashamed, and put their mouths in the dust, to think that the Lord should continue faithful unto those, that had been so unfaithful every way to him as they had been. 4. The people of God in this life do miss of many of the Promises of the second Covenant, that they are not accomplished unto them, because they do not walk exactly according to the rules of this Covenant; therefore, Psal. 25.10. But the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth unto them, that keep his Covenant: The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting unto them that fear him; Psal. 103.18. to such as keep his Covenant, and think upon his Commandments to do them; but else though they shall not fail of eternal mercy, (Christ is the surety that the Covenant shall not be broken) yet there be many promises of the Covenant, that in this life they shall never have accomplished to them, 1 Sam. 2.29. says the Lord, I said thy House and the House of thy Fathers should stand before me for ever; but now that be far from me, says the Lord, for they that honour me, I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. The promises of God are of two sorts, (1) Some are absolute, which God hath undertaken to perform of his own free grace, not only citra meritum, but also citra conditionem, not only without merit, but without all supposed or prerequired conditions in us, As, I will be your God, I will give you my Son, I will pour out my Spirit, I will pardon your sins, etc. I will take away the heart of stone, and give a heart of flesh: these are absolute promises. (2) There are conditional promises, which show what God will do upon such duties performed by the creature; which are such as without God's special grace he is never able to perform; and these are made for the encouragement of men in a way of obedience; but they do not always promise the purpose of God to give the condition of the reward: for as it is in Judgements, there are some conditional threaten, which upon a change in the creature never come to pass, Jer. 18.7 At what time, says God, I speak against a nation to pluck up and destroy, if that nation turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them; and if I speak of a Nation or a Kingdom, to build and plant it, if it do evil in my sight, I will repent of the good I would do unto them; so it is in the conditional promises, Novit Deus mutare decretum si tu non noveris em ndare delictum, God knows how to change his declared promise, if thou know not how to change thy sin, which I conceive to be the meaning of all those places where God is said to break Covenant with his people; Numb. 14.34. You shall bear your iniquity even forty years, and you shall know my breach of promise, that is, by woeful experience you shall find what a misery it is to have such glorious promises made unto you, but by reason of your unfaithfulness on your part, they being conditional shall never be performed; and so the Psalmist has it, Psal. 89.39. Thou hast made void the Covenant of thy servant, all his posterity were cut off from this mercy and promise in this life, because they disobeyed the word of the Lord and walked not in his Covenant, etc. and so Zach. 11.10. I will break my Covenant with them; it is spoken of a national Covenant, and casting off the Nations from being a Church or people unto himself, wherein even the Saints must needs be deprived of many temporal promises of the Covenant, because they did not walk steadfastly with God therein. And if a man shall consider the example of the sufferings of many of the Saints, as of Eli, David, Samson and Solomon, though they were beloved of God and in Covenant with him, yet by their unfaithfulness in the Covenant, how many temporal promises of the Covenant did they miss? Faith is the condion of the Covenant, Foederis pacti, & obedience the condition foederis praestiti. Jer. 7.12. Jer. 11.5. They must obey that God may perform. Esay 54.9, 10. Jer. 32.40. and how many temporal afflictions were inflicted on them? And so I may say to any soul that keeps Covenant with God, thy sufferings will say to thee, cavendae tempestates & flenda naufragia, Austin. de Nat. & Grat. cap. 35. And thus we should take heed of keeping the Covenant, or else, though the Lord continue faithful in reference to the promises of eternity, because Christ is the surety, yet in regard of temporal promises, you may go without them, and many of them never be performed unto you. But you will say, may a man that is in the Covenant of Grace break the Covenant? may the Covenant of Grace be broken as the Covenant of Works was? If it may not be broken, to what end do you exhort us to keep it? It's true, that the Covenant of Grace cannot be broken, a man that is once in Covenant is ever in Covenant, and the grounds of it are these. 1. The Love of God that made the Covenant is an everlasting Love, and therefore the Covenant itself is every where called an everlasting Covenant; and the Lord saith; If you can bring another flood upon the Earth, and if you can stop the Sun in his course, and change the Ordinances of Heaven, than the Covenant might be broken, that he had made with his people. Therefore Rom. 8. the Apostle says, that nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord; for the Lord loves us with an everlasting Love. 2. It is a Covenant made with the persons of men; men's persons are first taken into Covenant; and there is this difference between the Covenant of Grace and the Covenant of Works; in the later Covenant the works were taken into Covenant first, and then the person for the works sake, and so long as their works continued holy, so long their persons were to be accepted and find favour, and honour with the Lord, Gen. 4.7. If thou dost well, there is an elevation and a lifting up of the face, but if thou dost evil cursed is thy person for thy works sake; and there is an ira redundans in personam, wrath falling on the person, that doth immediately follow thereupon: but now in the Covenant of Grace it is quite contrary, men's persons are first taken into Covenant and accepted, and then their works for their persons sake; the Lord had respect unto Abel and unto his offering; and therefore till the person be in Covenant the works are abominable before God. Now the works of the Saints may not always be accepted of God, he may be and is often displeased with the acts of his covenant-people; but yet their persons always find acceptance with him, their persons are the same, I will visit their offences with a rod, and their sins with scourges; but my loving kindness I will not take from their persons, my Covenant I will not break, Psal. 89. there is an ira simplex, simple anger that doth reach to the sin, but not to the person, he is never a child of wrath more after his person is taken into a state of adoption with the Lord. 3. Their union with Christ is that which puts them into the second Covenant, Gal. 3.29. as this union gives them interest in Christ's righteousness and Sonship, so it doth first state them in the Covenant, which is the ground of all the rest; the intendment of God was, that the union between Christ and them should be the means to convey all this to their souls; all comes in by Union: Now, so long as the Union between Christ and a soul continues, so long the Covenant cannot be broken; but this Union is indissoluble; sin cannot, nay death cannot separate between God and a soul in Covenant with him; and therefore as they live, so they die in the Lord, and sleep in Jesus. 4. The righteousness of this Covenant, is an everlasting righteousness. Dan. 9 The Lord hath finished transgression, and made an end of sin, in the great condemning power of it, and brought in everlasting righteousness, such as sin could never spend, for he is the son of righteousness, the Lord of righteousness, and therefore his Covenant can never be broken, seeing the righteousness of the Covenant can never be expended. 5. Christ is the surety of this better Covenant, and therefore though we pay not the debt that we own, he hath undertaken it, and the Lord will expect all of him, and thence he is said to lay help on one that is mighty, Psal. 89. he will take your words no more, but Christ is able to pay it; as he did the debt of the first Covenant, so he is able to perform the duty of the second; the Lord hath engaged him in it, and he expects all from him, as from the surety of the Covenant which he hath undertaken. 6. Lastly, This Covenant can never be broken, because there is an everlasting principle of Grace begun in the Soul that doth always lay hold of the Covenant, and cleave to it, and consent to it, and work towards it; for it is incorruptible and immortal seed, and therefore, Jer. 32.40. This is the Covenant I will make with you, I will write my law in your heart, etc. that you shall never departed from me. In a Married condition there may be many failings in a Wife, or a Husband, as neglect, disobedience, etc. but the Marriage Covenant is never broken, till she take another Husband; and the Covenant of Grace is a Marriage Covenant: Now though there be many errors and failings in a Wife, yet unless thou choose another Husband, and subject thyself to another Lord, the Covenant between God and thee is not broken. It is a matter of wonderful consolation, that the Covenant between us and the Lord is a Covenant of salt, that the sins of the people of God, though they be many, yet they cannot break the Covenant; How should the consideration of this rich Grace and Mercy, make the Saints triumph over Death and Hell! O death where is thy sting, O Grave where is thy victory? blessed be God we are more than Conquerors, through Christ Jesus our Lord. But yet you had need be exhorted, not to break this Covenant; 1. By reason of the falseness of our own hearts; Jer. 2.24. for we are like a wild Ass in the wilderness, that doth traverse her paths, that no hedges or fetters can hold her; in so much, that the Lord speaks it with admiration, How weak is thy heart! Ezek. 16.30. That it's not able to hold out against any temptation, not able to bear any one affliction, but immediately it's ready to departed from God; Gen. 49.4. unstable as water; there is a treachery and a perfidiousness of spirit in the best of us, and therefore we had need be often called upon; Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall; and let us take heed lest any of us fall short of the grace of God, and lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief, to departed from the living God, Heb. 3.12. For there is nothing that the heart of man is more prone to than backsliding; and therefore we had need be often admonished to keep firm to the Covenant under which we stand; for there is not the greatest cheat in the World, that is in falseness and unstedfastness like our hearts; wherefore we need many bonds upon it, and should have regard to the cords of love, that God ties us with to himself in this Covenant. 2. We had need be exhorted to it, from the slothfulness and heedlessness of our spirits in whatever is good, though we be bound unto it by so many bonds; the Lord hath always respect unto his Covenant, and we desire he should do so; now we had need to have respect always to the Covenant, and to be continually minded, that we forget not what the Lord our God requires of us, as 2 King. 10.31. it was a brand upon Jehu, That he took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord his God. Heedlessness in a man's carriage to God, is a high provocation, to walk with God at an adventure, without respect unto the Covenants and great engagements in which you stand to God, Leu. 26.23. Hos. 7.8. this is to be towards the Lord, as a Cake not turned, which is baked only on one side and no more; therefore we had need have the more frequent admonition, to take heed lest any man fall short of the grace of God: we ought to give the more diligent heed, lest by any means we let slip the things that we have heard; and had need to be warned, to cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and to desire of the Lord, that he would fix and unite our hearts to fear his name, as the Psalmist doth, Psal. 86.11. Let these things quicken any secure Soul that goes on in any way of disobedience unto God; for thou wilt pay dear at last for all thy wander from the paths of this Covenant, and thou shalt experience it, an evil and a bitter thing to draw back from God. 3. That you may be quickened to seek unto the Lord for Grace to keep this Covenant, and may acknowledge before the Lord, that the stability and eternity of the second Covenant lies not in us, nor in the observation of it; for, as much as in us lies, we do break it continually; but from the eternal love of God, and the inseparable union between Christ and us, and the Lord having made him the surety of the Covenant, therefore it stands; but were we left unto ourselves, we should break it every day; and every sin in us; would spend all the grace of the Covenant, as it did in Adam; but there is without us a fountain for a supply; for truly the stability of the Covenant doth not proceed from our part in the Covenant, as the Lord says in Ezekiel, Ezek. 16.61. that the mercies he would give them, should not be by their Covenant, but all proceed from his; and therefore, Hos. 10.12. it is, sow in righteousness, and reap in mercy; and it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in ore, Hos. 10.12. in the mouth of mercy, that is, according to the measure of mercy: The mercies and blessings of the Covenant, God doth dispense, not according to the proportion of our righteousness, and stability of the Covenant, but according to the proportion of his own grace manifested there; and there is no argument that is more effectual amongst men than this. As one came unto a Prince, and desired him to perform a Covenant and engagement that he had made unto them, which he refusing, being in his Robes, the Soldier touching his Purple said, Imperator, hac veste indutum mentiri nefas est, O Emperor, it is not lawful for him who his clothed with this Robe to lie. 4. We had need be continually minded of the Covenant, that we may fear those sins that do come nearest a Covenant-breaking. It is true, there is no sin of a Godly man that can break his Covenant (as I have already shown you) but yet there are some sins that come nearer to Covenant-breaking than others do; and in this respect, are to be looked upon as sins of a very heinous nature, and of a deeper dye, etc. This is a rule, That which doth manifest the most unsoundness of heart, that doth break the Covenant; for the condition of the Covenant is, that a man's heart should be perfect with God, Gen. 17.2. And it is one of these sorts, or I may say, both these sorts of sinning that do come nearest thereunto, (1) when a man doth sin against light, and doth it deliberately, and with a high hand; for Eo magis peccatum quo magis voluntarium: The will is the measure of all sins. The more of the Will there is in any evil, the greater the sin is; and therefore it is made the measure of the sin against the holy Ghost, Heb. 10.26. it is sinning wilfully after a man hath received the knowledge of the truth; and in this, David came nearest to breaking this Covenant, 1 King. 15.5. He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Vriah. David had many other sins lay upon him; and he says, his iniquities were gone over his head, and as a sore burden for him to bear, but the Lord said, he turned not aside from the Lord in any thing but this; because it was a studied, plotted sin, committed against knowledge; and therefore with a high hand thus to sin, did manifest the greatest unfaithfulness of David's spirit towards God, that he did show all the days of his life. (2) When a man walks on in a sin, and lies in it a long time together unrepented of, and can act it again and again, and it is as a thread drawn through the course of a man's life, it comes nearest to an unsound heart, and that denominates a man an Adulterer, or an Adulteress, as James 4.4. as we see in Solomon, he lived a great while in these evils, and though he were beloved of the Lord, yet his heart was turned away from following the Lord, and he said to his heart, Go to now, and I will provoke thee with wine: Now his lying and living in sin, it is true, did not break the Covenant between God and him, yet it was the most dangerous step to an unsound heart; and therefore came nearest to breaking the Covenant. A godly man cannot lie, and live, and die in any known sin, but he may live in it long, and be continually ensnared, and turn away to folly; but the more it is thus with thee, the nearer thou dost come unto Covenant-breaking with the Lord. But what shall I do to keep Covenant with the Lord, knowing the falseness and instability of my spirit, the duties are many, and it is impossible for me to observe them all? Take these directions. 1. Get a true heart, Heb. 10.22. Let us draw near with true heart; a true heart is a heart perfect with God, that's the condition of the Covenant; though your ways be particoloured, yet if you have the answer of a good Conscience, i. e. when your heart doth inwardly answer to what you do profess, and there is not a root of bitterness left in you, that draws you back from the Lord, this is a true heart: It is called the Girdle of truth, Ephes. 6.14. Ephes. 6.14. and that is (as I should understand it) not doctrinally, but morally, practically, full of steadfastness and stability of soul in the discharge of all the engagements wherein we stand bound unto God, without shrinking or tergiversation; as it is the sin in the practice of too many professors, both to God and man, there is a vein of dissimulation runs through their conversation, they will dissemble love to persons, behind whose backs they will accuse, and represent them as persons blame-worthy; and through the self-flattery that is in their spirits, they will strive to lessen the excellencies and virtues that are in others, that they may shine the more in the esteem of men; and hereby they manifest, they love the praise of men more than the praise of God; and herein they may have their reward, though it will bring in but little comfort when they come to die, or when they reflect upon this great condition of the Covenant, which is to draw near to God with a true heart: Isa. 11.5. For this faithfulness is a noble girdle, it was Christ's, and therefore it should be ours; it is this truth in the inward parts, that will keep the Covenant that it shall not be broken, notwithstanding thy daily failings. Heb. 13.9. Act. 11.23. Psal. 86.11. 2. Desire of God a established and a fixed heart: To have the heart established with grace is a good thing, and with full purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord. And the Psalmists prayer is, Unite my heart to fear thy name, my heart is fixed, O God, etc. And there is not a greater spiritual judgement in this life, than to be given up to a light, vain, and unstable soul, that is moved with every wind of Doctrine, or with every wind of temptation, when a man is carried to and fro, to have the heart still fluctuating, and be sometimes fixed upon one thing, and sometimes upon another, and unsettled in the principles of Grace; such as are unstable shall not excel. 3. Exercise faith upon the Grace of God in this Covenant, which is eternal love, and have an eye unto the surety of the Covenant, in whom only it remains sure; for it is an ordered Covenant, and therefore sure, and for this cause Christ is called the Covenant itself; Isa. 49.6. he is given as a Covenant to the Nations, to establish the earth, because in him only all the stability of the Covenant is to be found. Consider in the time of affliction what a sweet thing it will be, and what boldness it will give a man before God, when he is able to say, Though thou hast smitten us in the place of Dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death, Psal. 44.17. yet have we not gone back from thee, nor behaved ourselves falsely in thy Covenant: and when at death a man shall look over to the commonwealth of another World, and shall be able to say, Lord, remember that I have walked before thee all my days with a perfect heart, my heart hath stood to the Covenant, and I have not chosen any other Lord, though in many things my ways have not been answerable unto the rule of the Covenant. Use 3 §. 3. Now having entered in this manner into Covenant with God, it is our duty to have respect unto our Covenant, and to improve our interest in it in all our ways: The Covenant is to run through our whole life; for it's a Covenant for a man's life, it being a Marriage Covenant, and In matrimonio est perpetua quaedam servitus, In matrimony there is a perpetual kind of servitude; a Woman which hath an husband, is bound by the law to her husband as long as he liveth, Rom. 7.2. and David puts all his hope in the Covenant, 2 Sam. 23.5. his happiness consisted in it, and all his joy and delight, his soul did run out upon this Covenant, and from hence all his joy came in. There are in Scripture several ways of sinning against this Covenant; (1) There is transgressing the Covenant like Adam: Hos. 6.7. Hos. 6.7. There have they dealt treacherously against me, etc. which is taken Two ways, either as Adam, they have broken the Covenant in which they bond themselves, or else (as Tremelius hath it) they have broken the Covenant, as if it were the Covenant of a man, and as if they had to do with man in it, and not with God. (2) It is rejecting the Covenant, 2 King. 17.15. to despise it as a poor and unworthy thing, not to be regarded by them. (3) There is forsaking the Covenant, as a thing that they are not bound by, neither will they be bound by any longer. Deut. 29.25. Mal. 2.8, 10. And then (4) there is corrupting the Covenant, and profaning it, They have corrupted the Covenant of Levi, that is the Covenant of life and peace, which God made with him; they have corrupted the Law, and they have profaned the Covenant, as if it were a common and ordinary thing; for to profane, is to make a thing common. (5) There is a dealing falsely in the Covenant, Psal. 44.17. which signifies, to lie to a man, and deal treacherously with him in a Covenant made, when a man pretends fair, and doth the quite contrary, there is no trust to him, no hold upon him. (6) There is, Deut. 4.23. Deut. 4.23. forgetting the Covenant, Take heed, says Moses, lest you forget the Covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you: Now when a man in Scripture is said to forget a thing, Verba sensus significant cum affectu & effectu, The words of sense signify affects and effects: God is said to forget men, when he doth not appear for their help. Psal. 13.1. How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord, and hid thy face from my troubles? We are said to forget God, when we do not honour him as God, and are not affected towards him as becomes a God; and so men are said to forget the Covenant of God, when they have not those affections as so great an engagement doth require, do not know and improve their interest in it as they ought to do, do not make it (as David did) all their salvation and all their delight; and therefore 'tis said, Psal. 10.5. he is always mindful of his Covenant, that is, Psal. 10.5. though he may sometimes defer the promises of the Covenant, yet he is always mindful of it, so as to perform it unto the heirs of promise in all generations, not only to one age, but to another, unto a thousand generations. omnes posteri illius gratiae fierent participes, Moller. he remembers it so, as no Son of the Covenant shall go without his share in the grace of the Covenant, and this is termed, 1 Chron. 16.15. Be ye always mindful of the Covenant; as he is always mindful to give unto the heirs of promise the mercies of the Covenant and to improve all the grace of it for them, and for their good, so be ye mindful to perform the duty, and to improve the interest you have in the Covenant, that there may be nothing in it promised, but that to you it may be accomplished; as he waits that he may be gracious to you, he takes his time to give you all the mercies of the Covenant in the season of it; so do you perform the duties of the Covenant in the season of it also; Esay 30.18. that as he is willing to give you the fruits of the Covenant, so you may be willing to receive all the fruits of it, and not undervalue them in the least measure; he waits, therefore do you wait for him; he is mindful, therefore be you mindful also; for all Covenant-ingagements are mutual, and do equally oblige both parties; and as you expect God being in Covenant with you, should out of his faithfulness perform his engagement; so he does expect that by reason of the same Covenant you should perform yours also. Now the improvement of the Covenant is twofold, (1) In reference to yourselves, (2) In reference to the Lord: for there should be an improvement on both parts. 1. In reference to yourselves, remember the Covenant and improve it, and that in these particulars. 1. Consider the matter of the Covenant; in it you do give unto God your persons, and your services; (1) Your persons, 2 Cor. 8.5. they gave themselves unto the Lord; and also, Esay 63.19. We are thine; and Esa. 44.5. One shall say I am the Lords, and another shall subscribe with his hand to the Lord; here is a full resignation of themselves; and so doth the Church, Cant. 6.3. I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine: and in a special manner the heart is to be given to the Lord: my Son give me thy heart, for where the heart is there is the man. So then a man in Covenant is to say, I am at liberty and at my own dispose, the propriety is in another, he has possession of me, and dominion over me, I am lost in myself for ever: Psal. 4.3. God hath separated to himself the man that is Godly, he has set him apart, and he lays claim to him as his portion; and there is no man can claim God for his portion, that is not willing to give up himself to obey the Lord, and to be his portion also: so that when sin and Satan shall come and claim a share, the soul assures him, I am not mine own, I am married already, and therefore out of mine own power, the vows of God are upon me, sin and Satan did not make me; as I am wholly the Lords by creation, so I am his by stipulation, and my engagement binds me to him; so Rom. 8.12. We are not debtors to the flesh, to live after the flesh. I conceive it's spoken in reference unto our redemption by Christ, and all the benefits thereof, you are not your own, you are bought with a price, 2 Cor: etc. but all the benefits of our redemption are founded in the Covenant; and therefore the great ground of the debt lies in this, we are debtors to God, because engaged in Covenant, but we are not debtors unto the flesh, because we are not in Covenant with it. 2. As we own our persons so also all our services unto God, and that by this Covenant: for it is answerable unto the electing love of God, he hath chosen us to be vessels of mercy for the Master's use, 2 Tim. 2.21. we may no more rob God of our services than we may of ourselves, Hos. 3.3. the Lord says, thou shalt not be unto another, so will I also be unto thee. And they are either in matters of necessity or expediency, [1] Of necessity, and so all the duties that the Lord requires in the word, that we should have respect unto all the Commandments, this our Covenant binds upon us, and this we should enforce upon ourselves. Quaedam suut, quae etiam non volentes debemus. August. Josh. 24.22, 24. Ye have chosen the Lord to serve him; and they said, the Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey: and David hath sworn to keep thy tried Judgements. Psal. 119.106. and so N●hem. 10.29. they did enter into a curse to walk in the law of the Lord, and to observe and do all his Commandments: So that what was a duty before, they did by Covenant bind upon themselves, and by the improvement of this Covenant a man having so bound himself, he should enforce it upon himself, because his services are not his own, he belongs to another Lord, and hath given his hand unto another. [2] In things of expediency, the thing being in a man's own power; for in such cases the Covenant must be free and possible, as Jonadab the son of Rechab did draw his posterity into a Covenant, and they did promise him not to drink Wine, nor to build Houses, but to dwell in Tents, Jer. 35.6, 7. etc. Jer. 35.6, 7. Interpreters conceive that these Rechabites were the posterity of Jethro, Moses his Father-in-law, who did come to dwell with Israel in the Land of Canaan, and that this was the same Jonadab, who was a man of great wealth and authority in Israel, and of noted integrity when Jehu being King made him ride with him, and asked him, is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart? and this same Jonadab did bind his posterity, and they looked upon it though in a matter of expediency only, as obligatory and binding in the sight of God; partly that they might show themselves to be strangers in the land of Israel, and that they did not incorporate with them for secular but for spiritual benefits; and therefore they did not desire to encroach upon their outward comforts; and partly, that they might be the better fitted to bear the affliction in the captivity which was ere long to come upon them, etc. So also it was lawful for Paul to have taken wages, but yet he did engage himself not to do it, that he might cut off from them that desired occasion, 2 Cor. 11.7. and that he might not be burdensome to the Churches: so Jacob, he engaged himself to God in his journey, if thou wilt bring me unto my Father's house in safety, thou shalt be my God, and of all my goods I will give the tenth to thee, and this stone shall be God's house, and I will build here an Altar, Gen. 28.22. and this vow Jacob had forgotten at his return, and the Lord sent affliction upon him to mind him of his vow, the ravishing of Dinah and the horrible rage committed upon the Shechemites, and yet Jacob still forgot it, but the Lord in mercy put him in mind of it; Arise Jacob and go to Bethel, and build an Altar unto the God that appeared unto thee when thou fledst from the face of thy Brother Esau, Gen. 35.1. And it was usual with the people of God of old, when they did pray for mercy, to vow duty, Psal. 116.12, 13. What shall I render unto the Lord? I will take the cup of salvation: so it was in their Feasts, and sacrifices of Thanksgiving, they had a cup of salvation, a grace-cup; and I will pay my vows unto the Lord that I spoke with my mouth when I was in trouble; and so Hannah, 1 Sam. 1. 1 Sam. 1.11. 11. If thou wilt look upon the affliction of thine Handmaid and remember me, and give me a manchild, then will I give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no Razor come upon his head; and she did fulfil her vow: the Lord hath heard my petition I asked of him, and his name was called Samuel, asked of God, therefore I lent him (or returned him) to the Lord as long as he lived. 2. In respect of the relation which this Covenant doth bring upon you, and in regard of the duties of this Relation. Now there is a fourfold relation which is the necessary result of this Covenant. Esay 9.6. Heb. 2. (1) Hereby Christ becomes your Father, and therefore he is called the everlasting Father, and Heb. 2. we are said to be his children, and he is said, to see his seed and prolong his days upon earth: Now Christ becomes your Father as he is the second Adam, and that is by Covenant, as well as by an Image, and therefore this Covenant binds you to honour him in this relation, Mal. 1.6. If I be your Father, where is my honour? Where is mine Image you ought to bear upon you? What impression of my likeness is there upon you? What beam of glory do you carry about you in all your conversation? Are you denominated by the world to have my holiness upon you, to be merciful as I am merciful, to be conformable to my law in all things? (2) It is a matrimonial Covenant, Hos. 2.19. I will betrothe thee unto me for ever, and the Lord Jesus becomes your Husband, and his Church is therefore called his Spouse, the Lamb's Wife, and he requires faithfulness and fruitfulness, that you should be unto him and to none other; for the Lord will have no Harlot nor barren Spouse, she must not lift up her Eyes upon any other in any wanton love, her desire must be to him alone. (3) It is a Covenant of Friendship, and so by this Covenant Abraham was taken into friendship with God, and is called by God himself Abraham my friend; and Christ saith, I have not called you servants, but I have called you friends; for I have showed you all things that I have received of my Father: now if thou hast a friend, thou must behave thyself friendly, thou must impart thy heart and thy secrets, and have no reserves from thy friend, thou must have the same friends and the same enemies with him, else never pretend friendship, if any other person come at any time in competition with thy friend, thou must be his at all times. In foederibus eosdem amicos & inimicos habere solent foederati, In Covenants the Federates have the same friends and enemies: Friendship is offensive and defensive, etc. we have the greatest obligation to God, and 'tis our duty to stick close to him at all times, and this friendship is in a special manner tried in adversity; When he is a bundle of myrrh, he shall lie all night between my breasts, Cant. 1.13. and our choice should be the reproaches of Christ, and the waters that do quench other fire do by an antiperistasis become oil to this, and make it to flame the more; Cant. 8.6. it is Coals of Juniper which do burn the hottest; the opposition that a Saint meets with in the world doth but raise his love to Christ the higher. (4) It is a Covenant in which Christ becomes our Lord and we his servants; for he is the Lord that bought us; and therefore it is Paul's honour to be called the servant of Jesus Christ: 1 Cor. 6.19. as by the Covenant that Christ made with his Father he is become the Father's servant, though he be the man God's fellow, or Deo proximus, next to God; Esay 42.1.6. so we also by our Covenant are become servants of Christ, therefore say, I must do his work only, and be only at his command, no man can serve two Masters, much less may he serve Christ and divers Lusts and pleasures; it is an abominable thing for a man to take wages of Christ and do the work of his enemy Satan; for no man can serve two Masters, therefore from him I am to receive directions, and mine eyes are to be upon him, as the Eye of a Servant is unto the hand of his Master, and of a Maiden to the hand of her Mistress; a man's guidance is from him, and to him, a man must give an account, and from him receive wages and expect a probation, and therefore servants nihil suum habere possunt. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Aristot. Saluti dominorum non debent suam anteponere, says the Law, servants have nothing of their own, and therefore must make their Masters will theirs. Herodot. has a story of the servants of Xerxes, qui exorta tempestate in mare desiliunt ut domini sui saluti consulant, who in a tempest leapt into the Sea to save their Master, etc. Malo in nos murmur hominum, quàm in Deum, I had rather men's murmurs should be against us than against the Lord, said devout Bernard. It was Luther's meat and drink, his constant diet to be reproached for Christ. All these relations are the immediate result of the Covenant, and a man should improve the Covenant to enforce upon himself the duties that this relation brings with it; what should keep a woman true to her Husband but this, The Covenant of God is upon me? and what should keep the Nazarites from cutting their hair, and drinking of wine, but the vow of God upon them, and they would not break it? So that the Covenant should be the great engagement unto duty. 3. Your hearts should be always in such a frame as to receive the mercies of the Covenant, for the Lord doth betrothe the soul to him in righteousness and in mercy. Mercy indeed hath a double rise, either it is the issue of providence, or else of promise: now mercies that are the fruit and birth of the promises are the sweetest, for they are children of the promise, that are children of the Covenant; Zeph. 2.2: and the promise of God doth as well travel with mercy, as the threaten of God travel with judgement; seek the Lord before the decree bring forth; it is not to be understood de decreto Dei occulto sed promulgato, of the secret decree, but of the sentence declared in God's word, as Calv. observes, and so do the promises bring forth also; now a man that is an heir of promise, should walk in the expectation of it, that his heart may be fit to receive it continually, Jer. 11.4, 5. and that God may perform unto him all that he hath spoken; obey my voice, do all that I command you, that I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your Fathers. The true reason why we many times fail of the mercy is, because we are not prepared for it, and our heart is not in a frame for Covenant-mercies; and therefore doth the Lord defer them, and wait to be gracious, Esay 30. for mercy is like unto cordials given unto foul stomaches, which do but increase the peccant humour; sometimes Deus non exaudit propitius, God doth not hear in mercy, and sometimes exaudit iratus, he hears in wrath, etc. it will not be given in mercy, but in judgement, if unto a heart unprepared; for then duty becomes duty to us, when our hearts are prepared to receive the command, and a man can say, O Lord, my heart is ready; and then mercy doth become mercy, when the heart is prepared to receive it before the mercy come: and the mercy of the Covenant doth consist in both giving the mercy, and preparing the heart to receive it, fitting the vessel and then filling it. Now a frame of heart fit to receive mercies consists in these particulars. (1.) A believing heart relying upon the grace of the Covenant, notwithstanding all seeming impossibilities: and so Abraham, though his body was dry, and Sarahs' womb dead, yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he did not dispute and reason the case pro and con, and looked not at the probability of the thing, but at the grace of the Covenant, Psal. 118. and the love and power of God therein; so David, many bulls are come about me, they compass me in on every side, but they are extinct, as the fire among thorns, for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them, etc. and I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. As Luther, when all the world was up in arms against him, as it were odium & impetum totius orbis sustinuit; yet he saith, vincet mea audacia in Christo ultimum illorum, & jam pallentem furorem; brevi efficiam ut anathema sit esse papistam, My confidence in Christ shall overcome their fury: they be men that are fit to enter into Canaan, and to receive the promise of the Covenant, that can say of the sons of Anak and the Cities walled up to Heaven, we can overcome them, they be bread for us, their defence is departed from them, their Rock is not as our Rock, etc. (2.) When a soul is kept watchful and in a continual expectation of the promise; I watch for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning; he did expect God should come; Psal. and therefore though he did tarry, yet he would watch for him; and he doth set himself upon his watch tower; Luke 12.35. and this is for a man to stand having his loins girt and his lamp burning, as one that expects the return of his Lord from the marriage, and he opens to him immediately. Surely it is such a soul that God will pour out the mercies of the Covenant upon, he will make him sit down to meat, and gird himself, and serve him, etc. Whereas we go without mercies many times, because mercy is offered, and we are not ready to receive it, the Lord knocks and goes away again, the soul doth not open; a man cannot say my heart is prepared, Cant. 5. looking for, and hastening to the coming of the day of the Lord, 2 Pet. 3.13. (3.) When a man's heart, though in expectation of the mercy, yet is weaned from it, and resigns it unto the will of God, whether he will bestow it or no, whether in this life he shall have the mercy he desires, or whether he will pay him all in the life to come: if he have the mercy now, he does not look upon it as his portion, but only as solatium a solace, a viatick for his way; as if he be deprived of them, fit exercitium justi, injusti supplicium, Prosper de vit. contempl. He has the exercise of the just, and punishment of the unjust. And so David was in expectation of the Kingdom, for it was one of the sure mercies of David, yet it is said, Psal. 131.1, 2. His heart was as a weaned child, to prepare him for that mercy: God had weaned him from it, before ever he should enjoy it: and it is a noble frame of heart to be always in a readiness to resign a mercy, before a man has the possession of it, and to be contented to let God take as well as give, what his soul waits upon him for. (4). When a man desires a mercy no further than it may make him holy; for the Covenant of God is a holy Covenant, Luk. 1.72. and the mercies of the Covenant are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Act. 13.34. which is the word that the Septuagint doth use, Esay 55.3. and Luke renders it according to the translation and not according to the Hebrew, that which in the Hebrew is mercies, they render holy things, and indeed mercies they cannot be, unless they tend to promoting holiness in the soul; and when a man with Agur fears mercies, lest they should draw away his heart; Prov. 30. give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient; he feared the snare that is in prosperity, the hook that is in the bait, with which many a man is taken, and thereby drawn away from the things of God; and few are as Jehosophat, who had Silver and Gold in abundance, and his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord, 2 Chro. 17.6. his heart was encouraged the more in a way of holiness; and when a man desires mercies, quae nos ornare possunt pariter & munire, which may as well fortify as adorn us, Prosper. The soul of a child of God desires he may have mercies that may be his defence, as well as his ornament: there are mercies that do adorn men, but they do also ensnare them, and betray them to the enemy; nay such a soul desires Heaven not so much for the perfection of his happiness, as for the perfection of his holiness, which nothing can perfect but the beatifical vision; when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; answerable to our vision of him, such will be our conformity to him. Mercies unto wicked men are suitable to their services, they give to God unsanctified services, and God does give them unsanctified rewards; and their services are seemingly services, but really sins; so are the mercies that God gives them seeming blessings, but really curses; they are indeed blessings in the thing, but as they draw out their corruptions so they are curses unto the men. So Iratus dat amanti quod malè amat, as Austin says, God gives it in wrath, as he did to them Quails, etc. and though they were fed to the full, yet he sends ●anness into their souls, he gave them their hearts desire in wrath. (5). By this Covenant you do engage yourselves, that whatever God bestows in mercy, you will return again in duty; that you may enjoy nothing apart from God; but as the Lord saith of his people in Covenant, they are his portion, so you also say of God, he is your God; and as all that is in him is made over unto you, so you will be his people, and all that is in you shall be made over unto him, and should be laid out, or laid down for him, and you shall resign to him whatever he shall call for; and this is for a man to hate Father and Mother, and his own life, and acknowledge as David did, of thine own have we given thee; God gave it unto them, and they do return it willingly unto God again; that which is a Samuel, asked of God, shall be also lent unto the Lord; and the soul never desires or expects good from any mercy, from which God hath no glory; for a man is a servant to God, and it is all the Master's that the servant hath of gains; as the Law saith, Cant. 8.11. Servi sunt res Domini, & quicquid acquirunt, acquirunt domino, etc. Solomon had a Vineyard and he let it out to keepers, and he expected the fruits thereof, even a thousand pieces of Silver; and of the Husbandmen to whom the Vineyard was committed the Lord expected fruits, etc. a soul is never so well pleased as when it brings forth fruit for God, and lays out his strength to the uttermost, that he may bring in a revenue of glory to the Lord his God. (6) When all the duties of the Covenant are performed by us in the fittest time, and in the highest and the best manner. [1] In the fittest time; as the Lord takes the fittest time to show us mercy, so should we also take the fittest time to perform our duty to him; and it's a great matter to know the season, there is an accepted time, there is a day of salvation. [2] And also we must perform it in the highest manner, as David said, It is for the Lord, and therefore the house must be magnificent; this have I done out of my poverty, though he offered the wealth of a kingdom. And the Lord says to Israel, wouldst thou offer this to thy prince? I am a great king: God expects we should perform all our duties with that reverence and exactness, as we do, when we offer any gift or present to a Ruler over us. 2. We are to improve the Covenant in reference unto God, for the obtaining all the mercies of the Covenant, because therein the Lord hath in faithfulness engaged himself; Debita reddit nulli debens, etc. God pays debts, and yet is debtor to none but to his own faithfulness. So do they, Isa. 63.18, 19 The Lord was departed, and had sold them into the hand of strangers, and they possessed their Land, they pray, Return for thy servants sake, the tribes of thy inheritance, the people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while, we are thine, thou never barest rule over them, and thy name was never called upon them, they were never a people whom thou tookest into Covenant, as thou hast done unto us. And so Isa. 63.9. Be not wroth very sore, nor remember our iniquity for ever; behold, I beseech thee, we are all thy people. Jer. 14.8, 9 O thou the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in the time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, why shouldest thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man that cannot save? if thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name? Thy name is called upon us, we are thy people in Covenant, The Lord's portion, the lot of his inheritance; for God is always mindful of his Covenant; and in pursuance thereof he doth whatever he doth in the world; if he give Christ, it is with respect to the Covenant; he hath raised up an horn of salvation, Luk. 1.72. that is, a strong and powerful Saviour; for he has laid help upon one that is mighty: And all is, that he might perform his Covenant unto our fathers, and to remember his holy Covenant. Christ and all the mercies by him, which are given to us, are a fruit of the Covenant that was made with Christ before the world was: Leu. 26.41, 42. if their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they accept the punishment of their iniquity; then will I remember my Covenant with Jacob, and with Isaac, and with Abraham, and I will remember the land. Now, How should a man improve his Covenant in reference unto God? 1. Consider rightly the latitude of Covenant mercies, and the greatness of them; for it is in this Covenant that all your salvation lies, that your hearts may be carried out answerable to the vastness of the lovingkindness of God, and that no mercy of the Covenant may be left unconsidered, and untasted of, but that you may have a taste that the Lord is gracious in every one of them; and that a man may see, that it is the weakness of his heart, and the lowness of his spirit, that he doth not press towards them all; for the Apostle, 2 Cor. 5.9. He labours whether present or absent, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are ambitious. etc. habet & sapientia sui generis superbiam, and therefore a godly man is not willing to leave out any thing, either of the graces or the privileges of the Covenant; for they are Covenant mercies, that are the precious mercies of your lives; the flower of all the mercies of a man's life: it is therefore said to be a Covenant established upon better promises; the first Covenant did promise life for ever in Heaven, as it did threaten death for ever in Hell; but yet there are better promises: as he said, Est aliud in Christo, formosius salvatore; There is something in Christ more beautiful than a Saviour; so there is something in the Covenant, that is better than Heaven. (1) The Lord hath made over himself to us in this Covenant, He is not ashamed to be called our God, to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee; And this is the Covenant that I will make with them; I will be their God, Jer. 31.33. and they shall be my people: And what it is for to have Jehovah for your God: The happiness of it you have heard, that as you are wholly his, so he also is become wholly yours; all that is within you is for God, and all that is in God is for you, and for your good. And he is your God, as he is Christ's God; for there the Covenant-right doth first begin; he is my father, and your father; my God, and your God, etc. (2) He doth in this Covenant take you to be unto himself a peculiar people, whom he hath separated unto himself above all people, to be unto him for a name, and for a praise throughout the earth, as Exod. 19.5. You shall be unto me a peculiar treasure above all the people of the earth; and he doth say they are his portion, the Lords portion is his people, and Israel is the lot of his inheritance; though all the earth be his, yet he hath set his heart upon them, and they are dear and precious ones. (3) By this Covenant the earth stands, that all the creatures may serve the Saints, those that are in Covenant with the Lord; it is the curse of the first Covenant, that shall set on fire the whole frame of the world, at the last and great day; all the creatures serve the Saints, as they do serve God; for Christ hath bought the services of all the creatures, and he hath in his house vessels of dishonour as well as for honour, and even the Devils and wicked men bow to him, and they shall worship one day at the Saints feet, and shall know that God loves them, and God makes use of these vessels of dishonour to fan and purify his people, 2 King. 21.13. I will wipe them as a man doth a dish: and I will shave them with a razor, that is hired, even the King of Assyria: And some vessels of honour God uses for the good of his Saints; and so do the Angels as well as all other creatures serve their graces or their necessities, they are ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation. (4) By this Covenant all their sins are pardoned, and God remembers them no more: the foundation of pardon is not only laid in the satisfaction of Christ, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, price, that he hath laid down, but also in the free grace of God in making of the Covenant, and in the gracious acceptation of the payment of the surety, for you see that God is in Christ reconciling the world, there is Covenant grace that runs along with all the fruits of the death of Christ; so that even, Meritum Christi habet in se gratiam invisceratam, The merit of Christ hath grace embowelled it. (5) It is a Covenant of Communion; for it is conjugal, and in it is the nearest Union and Communion that can be between creatures; it's a Covenant of friendship, and the proper effect of friendship is fellowship, 2 Cor 6.16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, I will dwell in them; and walk amongst them, which is a high degree of condescension. There are two ways of Gods communicating himself, the one is infinite, and to us inconceivable, so God doth in the mystery of his eternal generation communicate himself unto his son; and as the Godhead doth communicate itself unto the man Christ Jesus in a personal union, so there is a communication of himself unto the Saints, and the highest communication that is, is in a Covenant way; there is but little that God doth impart of himself unto all the creatures, in comparison of what God doth unto his Saints: there is more of his wisdom, holiness, goodness, and all his attributes that is to be seen in these, than in all the world besides; 'tis the Saint's alone that can show forth the virtues of him that hath called them. 1 Pet. 2.9. (6) By this Covenant he doth dispense Grace, and Glory; [1] For Grace, To make room for that in the Soul, He will take away the heart of stone, and he will put his law into their hearts, Jer. 31.33. And that grace shall teach them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, etc. And [2] for Glory hereafter, that also is dispensed by this Covenant; for the inheritance is not by the Law, not by the first, but by the second Covenant; they only that are heirs of promise, are the persons that are ordained to Glory, and they only are the sons of the Resurrection, their services only are accepted of God, and all the glory that he hath in this inferior world comes in by them, and it is whatever they do, even the meanest services, not only their religious works, but their civil and natural works, which they do out of necessity of nature, yet having a tincture of the blood of this Covenant upon them, they are in order to an eternal reward; and whereas to all other men may be said, to what purpose is the multitude of your services? Summo dedecore vos afficiam. I accept them not, Mal. 2.3. I will spread dung upon your faces, that is, the dung of your fasts, and of your solemn services, they shall make you but the more hateful and abominable and vile, and become a dunghill before God; that's all the fruit you shall have of your religious duties: But now men that are in Covenant, they can say, We will be abundant in the work of the Lord, for we know that our labour is not in vain in the Lord, 1 Cor. 15. last. 2 Chron. 13.5. 2. Have an eye unto the stability of the Covenant; it is a Covenant of Salt; Sal est duraturae amicitiae symbolum, Salt is a symbol of lasting friendship; and signifies here, that the Lord will never turn away from them to do them good; Jer. 32.10. it is a Covenant that we can never break, because the righteousness thereof can never be spent. And the stability of the Covenant lies not only in the love and mercy of God that made it, but (1) in the faithfulness of God who is engaged, and cannot go back; for he is not as man, that he should repent; Dan. 9 4. and therefore in the Scripture he is every where styled, the faithful God, that keeps Covenant and mercy for ever; and the Apostle says, God is not unfaithful to forget your work and labour of love; God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins; for God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able: It is said, Mic. 7. last, He will perform his mercy to Abraham, and his truth to Jacob; and he is engaged by a double Oath, That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong consolation. [1] By an oath to Christ; for he is made a Priest by an oath. Psal. 110 3. [2] By an oath unto us; and therefore it is easier for the Mountains to remove out of their place, and to stay the Sun in its course, to change the Ordinances of Heaven, than for the Covenant of peace to be broken with his people. (2) Unto the surety of the Covenant: for though we fail, yet he does not fail; he did undertake under the first Covenant to pay all the debt we own, and it is his righteousness alone by which we stand righteous before God; and in the second Covenant he hath undertaken to present us without spot, and to make all our services acceptable and well pleasing in his sight; and the argument is a good one that Moses uses in behalf of the people of Israel, pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of thy mercy, as thou hast forgiven them from Egypt even until now, for the sins of men cannot make void the faithfulness of God. 3. Rejoice in the Covenant, and make it the matter of your delight, even Covenant-mercies; for 2 Sam. 23.5. This is all my salvation, and all my delight, that the Lord hath made an everlasting Covenant with me in all things ordered and sure: the sweetness doth not lie so much in the mercy, as in the tenure by which we hold it; it is in the Covenant; and this is the only true ground of all a Christians joy, it is his whole salvation, and therefore should be all his delight. Exod. 24.7, 8, 9 the people of Israel did enter into Covenant with God, Moses read the book of the Covenant to them, and they consented, and said, all that the Lord hath said, we will do; and then the glory of the Lord appeared, and they ●aw the God of Israel, not as we shall see him in Heaven face to face, but some visible manifestation of his presence amongst them there was; and he laid not his hands upon them, that is, he did not destroy them, but they saw God, and did eat and drink, that is, they rejoiced in the Covenant that they had made with God, and they saw that God did manifest unto them the signs of acceptance in this Covenant; and therefore they kept a holy feast, and did rejoice exceedingly before the Lord; and when they entered into Covenant ●n the time of Asa, 2 Chron. 15.15. all the people rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart, and they sought God with their whole desire, and he was found of them: it is that which the Lord expects, that men should glory in him and make their ●oast of him, that he is pleased to be confederate with them. 4. Plead your interest in Covenant mercies; for it is in the Covenant that the power of all your prayers does lie. God is not indebted unto any men in the world, but the children of the Covenant; or not so much unto them as to his own promise: Austin. Conf. dignaris eis quibus ●mnia debita dimittis, etiam promissionibus tuis debitor fieri: and therefore the Lord saith, ●ut me in remembrance, plead thou, Esay 43.26. Psal. 74.20. etc. you that are the Lords remembrancers keep not silence; have respect unto the Covenant, for all the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty: there is all manner of cruelty executed, and yet men hid it under ●ir and specious pretences, and these latibula impiorum, lurking places of wicked men are ●alled the dark places of the earth, etc. Now in such a time as this, when there was nothing ●ut cruelty executed, the enemies did roar in their Congregations, and did triumph in their wickedness; and the more spoil any of them could make upon the Temple, the more famous he was; it was when Jerusalem was taken: now what have the poor people of God to look upon? nothing but put God in remembrance of his Covenant, have respect unto thy Covenant; and so should all the Saints do in their prayers, go to God and plead the uprightness of thy heart, in the middle of all thy failings; Lord, though thou hast smitten us in the place of Dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death, yet have we not gone back from thee; and so doth Hezekiah when he comes to die, remember Lord, that I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart; and it is this that is the condition that thou hast made of the Covenant of Grace, not a perfect way, but a heart perfect with God; and therefore men in Covenant are said to plead with God for themselves, and for the Churches, because they only have an interest in him, and they can by grace claim mercies from God, but other men cannot: and so doth Christ manifest his desires to the Father according to the Covenant, Zech. 1. And the Lord answered the Angel with good and comfortable words: and so a poor soul shall find the Lord will do with him also, in all his supplications to God and plead with God. He will answer him according to his hearts desire. 5. Expect that God shall deal with thee according unto this Covenant, and so thou mayst judge of all his ways towards thee; for God does always dispense himself unto a person according to the Covenant under which he stands: and this is that which deceives most men in the Church, because they hear of the Covenant of Grace, and do live under the outward privileges thereof; though for the state of their persons they be under the Covenant of works, yet they expect that Gods dealing should be to them according to the tenor of the second Covenant; and therefore if they do sin and afterwards ask pardon, they conclude that God will give pardon and grace, and that what services they do, find acceptance with him, and shall have from him a reward. It is true, with them that are in the Covenant of grace it is so, but this is the great deceit, when a man doth transire de genere in genus, and from the privileges of the one Covenant, apply them unto a person that is under the other Covenant. If thou sin thou mayst expect pardon, and if thou do duty, thou that art under the second Covenant mayst expect acceptance, and if thou be afflicted, thou must look upon it as an act of the Father's love; whom I love I rebuke and chasten; and if thou dost sin look that God should visit thy offences with a rod, for God in faithfulness doth afflict his own children, and if the frowardness of thy heart be not overcome by it, he will put forth an almighty power of loving kindness to draw thy heart to him with the cords of thy love; Esay 57 I have seen thy ways and I will heal thee. Some promises of the Covenant are absolute, the immediate fruits of free grace; and the soul may expect these without preparation or condition: but some promises are only upon condition; now in the Covenant thou hast no ground to expect them without the condition be performed. Use 4 §. 4. Having given up our names to God in this Covenant, given the hand to the Lord, it is a duty often to renew it, and to repeat unto a man's soul the same obligation; and here I will show, (1) That it is not enough that a man do enter into Covenant with the Lord, but that he renew it often. (2) I will give you the grounds why a man should renew his Covenant. (3) Show the times when in a special manner the Lord expects it, and when it is a way to find mercy with the lord (4) Show you the manner how it is to be done. (5) I'll press it by setting before you the great benefits and fruits that do flow from a renewed Covenant with the Lord. 1. A man being once entered into Covenant with God, is held and obliged by that Covenant for ever; as we see the Devils entered into Covenant, and this Covenant they have broken in respect of the precept, yet they are all still under the curse of it, and shall be for ever, and that curse the chains of darkness in which they are held; so man being once engaged is for ever engaged; therefore it's his duty often to renew his Covenant: and that will appear in these particulars. 1. The Lord hath often renewed his Covenant with his people; he made a Covenant with Abraham, Gen. 15.18. and yet he renews his Covenant again, Gen. 17.2, 4, 7. So the Lord did take Israel into Covenant with himself, and his name was called upon them, he doth take them into their Father's Covenant, he remembered his Covenant with Abraham and Isaac, Exod. 6.4, 5, 7. and he saith, I will take you unto me for a people, and I will be to you a God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, etc. and yet this Covenant he renews in a public and solemn manner upon Mount Sinai, when out of his mouth went a fiery law, Deut. 5.2, 3. Deut. 5.2, 3. He made a Covenant with us in Horeb; he made not this Covenant with our Fathers; some refer it unto all the Patriaches from Adam, and so the Covenant was the same; for they entered into Abraham's Covenant; but it is spoken in regard of the public and glorious way of revealing it to them, beyond what it was to their Fathers, which was not revealed with that solemnity, and speaking with, and seeing God face to face: or else by the Fathers some do understand those that died in Egypt, and in the Wilderness, who had forgotten the Covenant of their Fathers, and the Lord did not renew it with them; and yet afterwards, Exod. 24.7, 8, 10. Moses takes the book of the Covenant, and reads it in the audience of the people, and they engaged themselves to do all that the Lord had said, and be obedient to his requirings, and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the people, and said, This is the blood of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with you, and v. 11. They did eat and drink before the Lord, and see the glory of the God of Israel, and upon the people he laid not his hand, etc. and yet this is not enough, but the Lord renews his Covenant again, Deut. 29.1. The words of the Covenant which the Lord commanded Moses, to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab; besides the Covenant that he made with them in Horeb; and v. 10. & 12. You stand before the Lord this day, that you should enter into Covenant with the Lord, and into the oath which the Lord made with thee, to establish thee this day for a people to himself, that he might be unto thee a God as he hath sworn unto thy Fathers, etc. thus you see the Lord has often renewed his Covenant with his people. 2. The people of God have often renewed their Covenant also with him; it was not enough that they had in Moses time been taken into Covenant so often, but before he died he renewed the Covenant with them, and they did solemnly engage themselves, The Lord will we serve, Josh. 24.25. and his voice will we obey; and he set up a Stone under an Oak for a witness against them, 2 Chron. 15.12. 2 Chron. 29.10. 2 Chron. 34.31. if they should hereafter deny the Lord their God. And this Covenant was renewed in the days of King Asa, and Hezekiah, and Josiah: and Ezra 10.3. and Nehemiah 9.38. therefore renewing of the Covenant is a duty that we own unto the Lord, and that engagement must be reiterated, etc. 2. But seeing that a Covenant once made doth always bind a man and the force of it continues, distance of time doth not wear it out, why should it be needful for men to renew their Covenant so often? The grounds of it are these. 1. Because of the unbelief of our spirits, and from the infirmity of our faith; for the confirmation of our faith in the mercy and grace of the Covenant. Therefore David made it the matter and ground of all his delight, and his thoughts were wholly upon it. Why did God renew the Covenant so often with Abraham, but to strengthen and confirm his faith therein that it was a sure Covenant, and should never be forgotten? The mercies of the Covenant are great, and the heart of man would fail and his spirit sink in the expectation of them; but then he calls to mind his Covenant, and renews his Covenant-ingagements with them; and for this cause we receive the seals of the Covenant often, and every time we do so, we renew the Covenant between God and us; God's seals are set to our seals, that this may be like unto Joshua's stones, a testimony that we have entered into Covenant with the Lord. 2. To manifest the sincerity of our hearts, that though we fail in the duty of it, yet our hearts still stand to it, we delight in the Law according to our inward man; though we fall every day, yet says a soul in Covenant with God, I love to think of renewing the engagement that is between God and me; as a loving and tender Wife loves often to renew her engagement to her Husband, and to have it much in her mind, that she may not forget the Covenant of her God, so to show that a man doth not repent, but his engagement ●s still pleasing to him, he renews it often; and if it were to do again and again, a man would do the same thing, if it were every hour, to let the world see he is not turned back from the Covenant of his God, Phil. 3.9. says the Apostle, I suffered the loss of all things, and do count them dung, etc. I have not repent of it, I am of the same mind still, there is not in me a principle to draw back, and to departed from the living God; I am willing to renew this ●ngagement still. When there is an error in the contract that a man makes with another, than ●f it were to do again the soul would not do it; so there is many a man that goes back from ●●is engagement to God long, and per poenitentiae poenitentiam Diabolo satisfaciet, Tertul. By repenting ●f his repentance he will satisfy the Devil. But a heart that is sincere with God will renew ●t again, and he would not have his engagement broken, he still cries out, Lord, I am thine, and thou art the Lord my God; surely thou art our Father, and thy compassion does not fail, but thou renewest it upon us every moment: Therefore I come again to give the hand to the Lord and renew my Covenant with him. 3. By reason of the falseness of our hearts; there is so much treachery of spirit, that we are not easily kept within bounds, our purposes are easily broken, and men draw back from the Lord by reason of the falseness of their hearts, and the treachery that is in them, Ezech. 16.30. How weak is thy heart? unstable as water; and it is said, that water hardly contains itself within its own bounds. And therefore it was Chrysostoms' complaint once, Gen. 49.4. and since it has been the complaint of many others after him, That a Minister did never find his ●ork as he left it; and so does a Christian complain, he does seldom find his heart as he left 〈◊〉. Now that a man's heart may be fixed, therefore the Lord takes his people into Covenant with himself, and they bind themselves much in Covenants. 4. They renew their Covenant, that by often repeating and renewing it, it may be set on upon their spirits the more, and lay the greater engagement upon them; for surely the more frequently we bind ourselves, the faster we are bound, and every renewal of our Covenant doth intent and strengthen the obligation, and makes the deeper impression upon the heart; and therefore Deut. 6.7. the Lord commands Israel, to teach them diligently unto their children: the word in the Hebrew is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to sharpen them, as you do a Knife, saepius ad cotem impellendum, the way to make it take the deepest impression upon the soul is to set it on by often and frequent repetitions; because of the deadness of our hearts, and inadvertence of spirit, we are apt to forget the Covenant of the Lord; Deut. 4.23. and when men are apt to forget a thing, they had need have it repeated often to them. 5. By reason of the forgetfulness of the heart; there is nothing that the ungodliness of a man's heart is more prone to than to forget his engagement unto God; and therefore was that strict charge laid upon them, Deut. 4.23. Take heed to yourselves lest you forget the Covenant which the Lord your God made with you, and make you a graven Image, etc. The happiness of the Angels lies in this, that they both know all the duties of their Covenant, and have them always in mind; for where there is no sinfulness, there is no forgetfulness; but the misery of man lies in this, as to the engagement of this Covenant in many things he is ignorant of it, so also is he unmindful of it; and thence the Apostle saith, Heb. 2.1, 2. Lest we prove leaking vessels, etc. or as some will derive the word, Heb. 2.1, 2. charta bibula quae Scripturam non bene continet, the word is written there as in sinking paper, and the Ink runs abroad, that afterwards when you have writ it, you cannot read it: now things that we are willing to remember we repeat them often, and do thereby keep them in mind; as the remembrance of the creation, the mercy the Lord would not have forgotten; and for this cause he has appointed a weekly remembrance; and the death of Christ he would not have to be forgotten, and therefore he appoints us to remember it often; do this in remembrance of me; because it would else quickly wear out of our minds; mercies and duties being for the most part written in our hearts as letters written upon the water, no sooner in, but out: and therefore we read in Esay 48.8. when the Lord would have a thing take deep impression upon them, he bids them to remember it, yea bring it again to mind: O ye transgressors, not only remember it once, but often bring it again to mind, etc. Now there is a double curse upon the memory of man. (1) There is a natural weakness, that it is like a Sieve that lets pass all the Corn, and retains nothing but the Chaff. (2) There is a weakness that is below nature: As there is a strength unto good that is supernatural, when a man is immediately acted by the Spirit of God, that there is in him more than the strength of a man; so there is also in ways of sin, when a man hath an immediate concurrence of the spirit of the Devil, Rev. 2.10. Joh. 8.44. Ye are of your Father the Devil, and his lusts ye will do: and the Devil shall cast some of you into prison, that is, wicked men acted by the spirit of the Devil; and so Rev. 12.11. the Dragon is the Heathen Roman Emperors, but it is as they are acted by Satan; and therefore it is said to be the old Serpent and Satan in them; for the Devil hath not in himself ten horns, it is the Devil working in them and acting them; so there is also a weakness below nature, men are apt to forget the word, and their duty which they learn out of it, but Satan comes and as an Harpy snatcheth away the word, that is, he adds a weakness below the nature, men are apt to forget it sooner than otherwise they would have done, by putting into the heart contrary impressions: the things that we regard and take care of, we are apt to remember, but the things that we care not for, we are apt to forget; quae curant senes meminerunt, old men remember what they care for. Now the heart of man is least set upon Covenant duties of any thing, and therefore had need to have its memory helped with continual and frequent repetitions of them. 6. By reason of the ignorance and blindness of the mind of man, we had need to be remembered of our Covenant, and to renew it often: we are all narrow mouthed vessels, and receive all things from God but by drops, and light comes in upon us but by degrees in several beams, and a man looks often upon it before he can understand it; and therefore the Lord gives unto us line upon line, and precept upon precept, Esay 28.10. And thence the Saints of God read over the same things, and be content to hear the same things again, because they have a new view of them, they have a farther light into, and farther discoveries of them; Psal. 25.14. Psal. 25.14. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, the word in Hebrew signifies mysterium & arcanum, a secret is something that cannot be known, unless it be by revelation, that a man by all his wisdom and industry could not find out; And what is that secret of the Covenant? The Covenant is the secret, and it is with them that he may make it known unto them, therefore there is a mystery in the duties of the Covenant that is not revealed unto all, but it is unto them that fear him; and the Lord will do it suitably unto our frame; as our grace comes in by constant supplies of the Spirit of God, so doth our knowledge also, and all by a daily increase of light from the Spirit, and this is by a frequent repetition of the same act of faith, and therefore the people of God love to repeat it, and thereby they see farther into these mysteries from day to day, and they do the more exceedingly prise the mercy of the Covenant as the greatest mercy they can enjoy. 3. How is this work to be done, and what is it for a man to renew his Covenant? 1. He that will renew his Covenant with God, must be deeply sensible of the breach of Covenant, and of the unfaithfulness of his heart therein. It should deeply humble us to consider that no bonds should hold us. If there were no other tye upon us, but that of our creation, that we had our being from him, and that out of nothing; but when unto this natural and necessary bond, we have added a voluntary, and have consented unto the Lord, yet now for us to forget the Covenant of our God, and prove perfidious to him, and draw back, is this your return unto God, for his Grace in taking you into Covenant, and who doth always remember Covenant mercies for you, even then, when you forget duty to him? Is this your requital of the Lord, who in the performance of the Covenant did not spare his Son, when he cried that he might be saved? God was so resolved upon his Covenant with you, that the death of his Son was a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour, and he was delighted in it, in performance of the grace of the Covenant made with you. And also the Lord Christ met with variety of discouragements, not only the weight of sin in the guilt of it, which he complained of as his own, though he knew no sin, Psal. 40.12. but the wrath of the Father, the rage of his enemies, the hour and the power of darkness, the falsehood of his Disciples; and yet when he was tempted to come down from the Cross, he doth hold it out, that he might thereby show that he loved you to the uttermost, and would save you to the utmost. And now for you, Prov. 20.25. after vows to make inquiry, whenas no man doth receded, or go back from the Covenant in which he hath engaged himself, without infamy, and it's as odious as for a man to prove false to his friend, and betray him; and as unfair dealing it is, as for a Servant to run away from his Master, or a Soldier from his Commander, and as David says, by way of reproach, he hath broken his Covenant, and laid his hand upon him that was at peace with him, yea, for the Wife of a man's bosom to betray a man, and to forget the Covenant of her God, for a man to forget his Oath that he took at his Baptism, and as the Jews did labour to make their circumcision uncircumcision, and to do this unto a God, that was never a Wilderness to you, nor ever gives you cause to repent of your engagement; surely hereby you see, not only your perfidiousness and unthankfulness, but also fully to make forfeiture of all Covenant mercies, to bring upon yourselves all the curses of the Covenant, Gen. 2.28. Num. 14.34. and to put God upon breach of Covenant with you, who have behaved yourselves so unfaithfully towards him; and thereby you acknowledge though you have subscribed your names in the register of Zion, yet you deserve unto your perpetual ignominy, to have them expunged thence, and to be written in the earth, and given up to an everlasting forgetfulness: So it was with Josiah when he made his Covenant, his heart was tender, and he did humble himself before the Lord for their Covenant-breaking: 2 Chron. 34.27, 31. Neh. 10. And Ezra 10. it doth follow upon a great humiliation; a man that is not sensible of, and his heart not affected with the breach of Covenant, that man is not fit to renew his Covenant with the Lord. 2. It must be with a resolution of heart to break all other Covenants; men are said, Isa. 28.15. To make a Covenant with death and hell, that is, they were as secure, Isa. 28.15. and as fearless of it, as a man that hath a person in Covenant with him, whom he looks upon as his friend and fears him not; and thus they make a Covenant with sin, and engage themselves to serve other gods: and so when the people renewed the Covenant in Joshuah's time, you see the Command, you have chosen the Lord to serve him, Josh. 24.22. put away therefore your strange gods; and so the command was to put away their strange wives. Ezra. There are cords of vanity, and there are bonds of iniquity, by which men do bind themselves: Now all these Covenants must be broken, if a man come to renew his Covenant with the Lord; for the answer you must give to the Covenant, must be the answer of a good conscience, and that Conscience that reserves to itself any league with sin unbroken, 1 Pet 3.21. is not a good conscience before God, a Covenant that is sinful, is in itself void and a nullity, because in every such engagement there is dolus, deceit and error, which are destroying to the nature of a Covenant, which should be free and deliberate; and therefore it is in all such Covenants, as with Herod's Oath, they bind to nothing but repentance, for Juramentum non est vinculum iniquitatis; and therefore a man must resolve to break Covenant with all sinful engagements, if he do intent to renew his Covenant with the Lord. 3. A man must know the terms, and read over the Articles of the Covenant anew; for no wise man will set his hand to an obligation, of which he is not well acquainted with the condition; and if there were no other cause nor engagement upon man to know the will of God and their own duty, this were enough, they have bound themselves to serve him, and therefore by the same Covenant they are bound to know the rules by which he will be served; for Deo serviendum non est ex arbitrio sed ex imperio; so doth Josiah, 2 Chron. 34.30. he caused to be read in the ears of the people, all the words of the book of the Covenant, and then he stood up, and made a Covenant before the Lord to perform all the words of the Covenant written in the Book. 4. It must be with a free and full consent of heart; for the Covenant in the renewing of it, must be as voluntary as it was in the making of it; to make fair promises while men are under the rod, as many do in sickness, they promise to lead new lives, but yet return to their old ways, with the Dog, and start aside from these purposes in their prosperity like a broken bow; as when the Goths invaded Rome, the Christians having some mercy granted them, all the Pagans would then become Christians, and after proved persecutors of them. 5. A man must be willing to bind himself in the highest way unto obedience thereunto. When the people did make a Covenant, they did stand up to the Covenant, and said, Amen, Amen, and they swore to it, and that in a public way with a loud voice, Duet. 25. v. last. Nehem. 9 v. last. Neh. 10.29. with shoutings, and Trumpets; and they did write it down in a Book: and it's a further engagement, to have a man's own hand against him, that is a great witness, and lays him under more guilt than any witness can fasten upon him; and he sets not only his hand, but his seal to, and binds himself with a curse, and by fearful imprecations of vengeance upon himself, if he did not perform it; as they did, Nehem. 10.29. desi●e God to avenge upon themselves their falsehood in breaking of the Covenant, and are content the threatening should take place upon them, if they break it, as well as the promise if they keep it; and thereby they show, that they desire the Covenant should abide firm, Jer. 50 5. as they say, Jer. 50.5. Let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual Covenant never to be forgot. 6. It must be with an earnest desire to God for grace to keep it, and an acknowledgement of our own weakness and inability to perform anyone of the duties of the Covenant; for Covenants that are made upon any self-dependance do not long continue, as Peter did not, when he said, Though all men forsake thee, yet will not I; and though I die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Our promises of duty must be supported by God's promises of grace, or else we shall soon fail in them; for God must perform the promises of grace, before we can perform our promise of service; for without him we can do nothing, upon him is all our fruit found, Hos. 14.8. and therefore in all our Covenants we should have an eye unto the promise that gives grace, as well as requires service, and say with David, I will run the way of thy Commnadments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart; Isa. 38.14. and with Hezekiah, Lord I am weak, undertake for me. The word in the Hebrew is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and signifies to become a surety; and so should we consider, the new Covenant is in the hand of a surety, and to him we should look for strength; for the grace of the Covenant is laid up in him: so that there is in our Covenant with God, a double bond laid upon us, not only an obligation unto the duty enjoined, but to have recourse unto God for grace to perform it. 4. What are the times and seasons that the people of God have specially observed in renewing of their Covenant with the Lord? that so a man may be able to say, now God calls me unto this duty: For there is a season for every duty, and a godly man is to bring forth his fruit in the season. Psal. 1.3. I find in Scripture, that the seasons of renewing their Covenant were commonly these: 1. When a man hath eminently fallen into any great sin, or hath relapsed into former sins that were repent of, and that we have humbled our souls for; and if being washed, we have again defiled ourselves, and turned again to folly, then is a season in which the Lord calls you to renew your Covenant. Peter committed a very great sin, it being that sin also which he was warned of, and took up great purposes and resolutions against, M tt. 26 74. it was not a bare denial, but, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he denies with an Oath, nay, with curse and damning of himself as the word imports, imprecating of the wrath of God, and eternal separation from his presence, if he knew the man; Now how must Peter come from this fall? It's called a conversion, Luk. 22.31. When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren; Recovery out of sin committed, is called a conversion: There is a twofold conversion; (1) from a general state of sin; (2) from a particular way of sin: for the first of these Peter had passed, he was converted before, and Christ had given testimony to his faith, that it was true, and that it should not fail; but yet there is a conversion from this particular fall, a renewing of his repentance, and as it were turning unto God again anew, and that is seen in these two things. [1] In renewed humiliation and godly sorrow. [2] In a renewed Covenant, and a solemn engagement of reformation for the time to come; and this is required in the renewing of a man's repentance after any great and eminent fall. The same course doth Paul take, Rom. 7.16. after his conflict, he doth then renew his Covenant, and saith, I do break the Law, yet my heart doth still cleave to the rule thereof, and acknowledge the goodness of it: and this consent of speaking the same thing that the Law doth, is properly and formally the renewing of a man's Covenant and engagement, and so doth the Church after her great fall and backsliding, Cant. 6.3. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine, he feedeth among the lilies; which I conceive to be the words of one rejoicing and triumphing in the assurance of his interest in God; but also they are the words of one covenanting and renewing the reconciliation of himself unto the Lord; as when the Lord hath departed from us, through our provocation, when he doth return to his people, he is said to elect them anew: Zach. 1.17. The Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem; his returning is as it were a second election: So when we return to God after a special fall, it is, as it were, a new conversion: and this is a special testimony of the truth of a man's sorrow, that it is according to God. 2. In time of public humiliation; when men would divert and turn away judgement either from a nation or a person, then is the time for them to renew their Covenant; and this was the ground of the Covenant the Hezekiah made: 2 Chron. 29.8. Our fathers have transgressed, and done that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; wherefore the wrath of the Lord came upon Judah and Jerusalem, to destroy them, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing; as you see with your eyes, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this; now it is in my heart, to make a Covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. The end of his making the Covenant, was to divert the Judgement. And so we read also in the Book of Nehemiah: and thus gracious is the Lord, Nehem. 9.38. that when he doth send judgement for sin, he doth not continue the judgement, but till he doth see an humiliation and reformation in act; let there be but the serious purpose of reformation, and let the Covenant be renewed to engage the soul thereunto, and the Lord doth remove the judgement; and when the will is in his people, he doth accept it for the deed, as David, Psal. 32.5. I said, I will confess my sin unto the Lord, and the Lord forgave me my sin; and the prodigal Son doth but say, I will go to my father, and while he was yet a great way off, the father met him. 3. In a time of public reformation, when the foundations have been destroyed, and all things out of course, and a great deal of difficulty appears, and even impossibility in carrying on the work; yet the people of God looking upon it as a duty, have set upon it with full resolution and purpose of heart, and have covenanted to go through with the work, notwithstanding all opposition. Jehoiada made a Covenant between the Lord, and the King and the people, that they should be the Lords people; here Religion was corrupted, and Dominion was usurped, and the Lord put it into the heart of Jehoiada the Priest, to endeavour the reformation of both: and therefore he brought forth the King's Son, to whom the government did rightly belong, and did set him up in the Throne, and deposed Athalia the usurping Queen; and he doth make a double Covenant, (1) A Covenant between God, and the King and the People; and in this Covenant, the King and the people do make up but one party; and they engage themselves to be God's people, and the King to rule for God, as under him. (2) There is also a Covenant between the King and the People, that he ruling for God, and under God, they will for Conscience sake obey. Now my Covenant with any Magistrate must be understood, as being a second and subordinate Covenant; I am so to keep Covenant with them, that I must also keep my Covenant with the Lord. Wherefore, after they had thus strengthened themselves by a Covenant, in the next verse they set upon the work of reformation effectually; for all the people of the land went into the house of Baal and broke it down. And so did Josiah, he made a Covenant with the Lord, To walk after the Lord, and keep his Commandments with all his heart; 2 King. 23.3, 4. and then he commanded them to bring out of the Temple of the Lord, all the Vessels that were made for Baal, etc. and wrought the most glorious reformation that ever ' was by any of the Kings of Judah, having his heart and hands strengthened by a Covenant with the Lord. 4. As a testimony of a man's Thankfulness for any great mercy or special deliverance; or as an argument of faith that a man is to use unto God, when he doth pray for, and expect from God any special mercy. (1) As an argument that a man should use unto God to obtain mercy; it is that artificial way of praying, that the Lord himself teaches his people, Hosea 14.2. Take away our iniquity, and receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of our lips. Assur shall not save us, we will not ride upon Horses, neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our Gods; for in thee the fatherless find mercy, etc. And so Jacob also, Gen. 28.20, 22. he begged a blessing in his journey, and he doth follow the prayers he had put up with a vow, if the Lord will be with me, he shall be my God, and if he bring me to my Father's house, this Stone shall be God's House, and if the Lord bless me with an estate, I will surely return him of his own, I will give the tenth unto thee; so punctual is this holy man to restipulate or return something unto God answerable unto the mercy that he doth beg of God. If Hezekiah may be delivered from death, Esay 38.20. and David from guilt, Psal. 51.14. they promise to sing aloud of so great a mercy, and to teach transgressors the way of God, also the Fathers to the Children shall declare his truth. When a man in desiring the mercy doth it with a spiritual eye, and doth not ask amiss, he is truly careful to perform the duty that such a mercy calls for, that he may return as well as receive, for quantum à praeceptis tantum ab auribus Dei sumus, Tertullian. When there is no obedience to God, there must be expected no audience by God. And therefore one special argument that the people of God do use in their prayers to obtain mercy, is a renewing their Covenant. (2) It is to be done in testimony of thankfulness for mercy received: and then doth a man indeed make a right use of a mercy, when he is bound the closer unto God by such cords of Love; and the more the Lord doth engage him, the more he is willing to engage himself too God. A great army of Ethiopians came against the King of Judah with an host of a thousand thousand men, and the Lord delivered them into his hand; now at their return they came to Jerusalem to give God the glory of the victory, and they offered unto him of the spoil which they had taken, and now they enter into Covenant with the Lord to seek the Lord God of their Fathers with all their hearts, and with all their souls; and so the renewing of the Covenant is their return made unto God for the mercy. And so the Jews at their return out of Babylon, Jer. 50.4, 5. They come with weeping, and seek the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, and they say, Let us bind ourselves unto the Lord by a perpetual Covenant never to be forgotten; so that in receiving and attaining the mercy, God calls for a Covenant, as also in returning the mercy. 5. When a man finds his heart bend to backsliding, and he is unsteady and unstable in any good way: Moses finding the people of Israel a very unsteady people, and whose hearts were not steadfast with the Lord, after that solemn Covenant with them upon Mount Sinai, he renews it again a little before his death, when they were come to the borders of the promised Land, and enforceth it both with the wonders that God wrought upon Pharaoh, and also the great miracles that he had wrought for them, when he led them through the wilderness forty years. And the same thing was the ground of Joshua's renewing his Covenant, Josh. 24. Josh. 24. And Nehemiah finding that many of the Jews loved their strange Wives, and the children that they had by them, and therefore it would be hard to persuade them to put them away, having convinced them of the sin, and obtained of them a promise that they would put them away, he doth bind them by a Covenant, which they subscribe, seal and confirm by an Oath and a curse; for he that will keep Covenant with God may sometimes be smitten in the place of Dragons, and sometimes his Father and his Mother may stand in the way of his duty to God; when he should keep the Covenant, they may persuade him to break it; now this is praiseworthy for a man with Levi to say to his Father and Mother, I have not seen him, not to know his own Brethren, nor his own Children. Deut. 33.9. A man had need have his heart strengthened by all manner of Covenant engagements, or else he will do as the children of Israel did about putting away their servants, Jer. 34.9. go back again and behave himself falsely and unsteadily therein. 6. When a man doth receive the Sacraments, any of the seals of the Covenant, it is his duty to renew the Covenant: as often as we set to the seal anew, we should read over the obligation anew. Gen. 15.18. The Lord made a Covenant with Abraham, but yet Gen. 17.1, 2, etc. the Lord renews the Covenant, and the occasion of it was, v. 10. because the Lord did then institute the Sacrament of Circumcision, the seal of the righteousness of faith, Rom. 4. when the Lord institutes the seal he renews his Covenant, and so should we as often as we set to the seal. Psal. 50.5. So Psal. 50.5. Gather my Saints together to me that have made a Covenant with me by Sacrifice; there is a double sense given of it, some say it is a description of the people of Israel, whom the Lord owned to be his people, because in Covenant with him by sacrifice: Exod. 24. Calvin: Sigilla & Syngraphae sc. adminicula ad saciendum Dei foedus. others think it to be spoken by way of opposition to them that did rest only in the outward rites, the Sacrifices that they did offer, and did never look upon them as signs and seals or administering helps to the establishment of God's Covenant; they did only use the sacrifices unto the end for which the Lord appointed, or did look upon them as a renewing of their Covenant with God, and their engagement unto him for their obedience. And so it should be in every ordinance of God; these acts of obedience should lead us unto the Covenant which is the ground of our obligation unto the same obedience; this is true of Baptism also, 1 Pet. 3.21. 1 Pet. 3.21. which I conceive to be an allusion unto John's Baptism wherein the people first confessed their sins and renounced them, and afterwards inquired into the work that they were to do in promising and engaging themselves unto obedience, and so there was a restipulation on their part unto God again. And so it is true of the Lords Supper, it is the New-Covenant or Testament in his blood. Now the fruit and benefits that the people of God have found by the renewing of their Covenant are many. 1. It hath been a testimony to them of the truth of their repentance, Math. 3.8. John calls for fruits meet for repentance; and what is a right fruit of repentance, but to abhor the former evils we have been guilty of, and say, Ashur shall not save us, etc. and to engage to perform the contrary duty; for it is not testimony enough of the truth of a man's repentance, that he doth abstain from the acts of former sins, unless also he has a testimony unto his own soul that he doth endeavour to grow in the contrary graces. 2. It is the foundation of consolation. 2 Chron. 15.14, 15. in the time of Asa the King of Judah, they swore with a loud voice, with Trumpets and Cornets, and all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their hearts. A day of renewing Covenant with the Lord will be a day of great rejoicing and great consolation unto the ssoul; for it's like unto a new Wedding-day, the Covenant with God being a Matrimonial Covenant, and it brings the soul from its wander unto God again, and the soul says, I will return to my former Husband, for it was better with me than than now. 3. It is a means to establish and stay the heart, which is in itself exceeding fickle and uncertain: it's unstable as water. Josh. 24.31. they bond themselves by Covenant, to serve the Lord, and they did it all the days of Joshua, and the Elders that had outlived him, that had seen the great mercies of God unto them, and their bonds and engagements to God. So Josiah made them all stand to the Covenant, and all his days they departed not from following the Lord the God of their Fathers; for Jer. 13.11. 2 Chron. 34.33. As a girdle cleaves to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel, that they might be to me for a name, and a praise, and a glory: there is a principle of fixing and establishing in the Covenant, that a man is thereby bound to cleave to God with full purpose of heart, there is no going back, therefore it is called the bond of the Covenant. 4. It's a special means joined with fasting and prayer to prevail with God for mercy, when a man is willing as well to engage himself to duty, as he is to expect mercy from the Lord; they sought the Lord with their whole desire, and he was found of them, 2 Chron. 15. and the Lord gave them rest round about: and there is no more effectual way to obtain any blessing or mercy from God, than a renewing of Covenant and engagement of obedience to God. And the reason hereof is this, because the more the will renews its Covenant with God, the more subordinated it is to the Will of God: now God doth in a manner, to speak ●ith reverence, submit the liberality of his mercies to a will subordinated to his will. Again, the more we renew our Covenant with God, the more harmony there is between our will and the will of God: and O! what peace ariseth hence? what contentment in ●very condition? According to the tenure of the New Covenant a solid full will is accept●● by God for the effect; and therefore the more the will renews its consent to the Covenant, the more it is accepted by God. 5. It doth not only establish the heart, but make it better: as the will becomes good ●t first by willing what is good; so it is then best when it most strongly wills what is best: ●ow when doth the will more strongly will what is best, than when it doth most firmly re●ew its Covenant with God, its best good? So many grains as there are of a determined will in adhering to God, according to the terms of the Covenant, so many grains ●●ere are of saving grace. When the deliberation of a bended will concurs with the renewing of our Covenant, it always brings some new addition of grace: for as grace alone 〈◊〉 first bends the will to enter into Covenant with God; so the more frequently we re●●w our Covenant, the more gracious and sanctified the will is. What more efficaciously separates, yea rends the heart from beloved lusts? Doth not this most potently break the heart for sin, and thence break it off from sin? Whence ariseth the prevalence of any spiritual lust, but from some defect or neglect in the renewing of our Covenant with God? Again, is not the will by such renewed acts of covenanting with Christ, more effectually broken off from self, legal spiritual self, which is the worst enemy Christ has? And O! how much doth the vigour, beauty, growth and perfection of habitual grace depend hereon? May we not justly then interpret that of our Lord, Matth. 7.13, 14. Enter ye in at ●●e straight Gate, etc. of this entering into Covenant with God? 6. The frequent renewing of our Covenant which God, is that which fortifies the heart ●gainst temptations. For the more we renew our Covenant in an evangelic way, the ●ore our hearts are engaged to depend on Christ for grace, in order to the performance of our duty: who more frequently looks up to God for actual grace to perform his duties and avoid the temptations, which may hinder him, than he who by faith frequently renews his Covenant with God? What more effectual course can any take to avoid the crowd of temptations, which in this vain dirty world he is surrounded with, than by giving up his heart entirely to God? And how can this be accomplished, but by frequent renewings of his Covenant with God? Doth not our Lord assure us, Luke 16.13. That the soul which holds to God, will despise the unrighteous Mammon? The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 answers to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and signifies a tenacious and inviolable holding fast of an object, against all those that endeavour to pull it away: How doth the unrighteous Mammon by its heart-bewitching allurements, endeavour to pull off the heart from God? And what doth more confirm the heart in its holdfast of God, than the renewing of its Covenant? 7. Such as oft renew their Covenant with God have a great advantage for the strengthening their union with Christ. Doth not every fresh act of the will in consenting unto Christ as our Lord, bind the heart more firmly to Christ? And is not Christ hereby bound to give forth a fresh Communication of his Spirit to that soul, whereby its union is corroborated? What made David's heart so firmly united to God, but following hard after him by frequent repetitions of his Covenant? So Psal. 63.8. My soul follows hard after thee. The Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies firmly and intimately to adhere to God, as the Husband to the Wife. So the word notes, Gen. 2.24. Deut. 10.20. Job 41.17. Now what gives being and improvement to conjugal union, but the conjugal Covenant? Doth not then the repetition of our conjugal Covenant with Christ greatly strengthen our union with him? So Ephes. 5.31. Shall be joined unto his wife: this is mystically to be understood of the conjugal union between the soul and Christ, as vers. 32. So 1 Cor. 6.17. joined to the Lord, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to be agglutinated, or joined by glue. Our Covenant is the Glue, whereby our hearts are joined to Christ. 8. The principal part of the souls Communion and walking with God as a friend, consists in this renewing its Covenant with God. The Apostle exhorts us, Col. 2.6. As we have received Christ Jesus, so to walk in him: and what doth he mean hereby? Is it not as if he had said; do you not remember with what a strong inviolable assent and consent, you at first received Christ? What passionate, flaming, deep and pure affections you then had for him? How much you hugged and embraced him in the bent of your wills? What complacence and satisfaction you then took in those mutual embracements between him and you? How ambitious you were of showing all friendly and obsequious deportment towards him? O! then be exhorted to receive him afresh day by day, by repeated consent and Covenant, walk in him in the same manner and with the same repeated acts of election, as you at first received him. Herein the main of Communion lies. 9 The frequent renewing of our Covenant with God is the most sovereign means to prevent or recover the soul out of any course of backsliding. Was not this Peter's second conversion, enjoined by our Lord, Luke 22.31. whereby he was recovered out of that dreadful backsliding? How was he again converted, but by putting forth the same acts of closing with Christ in a Covenant-way, which he at first conversion put forth? And is not the soul hereby also preserved from backsliding? Thus the Church, Psal. 44.17, 18. All this is come upon us, yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy Covenant: our heart is not turned back. Neither have we dealt falsely. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to deal lyingly, treacherously, unfaithfully: and what kept the Church from dealing thus treacherously with her Lord under those sore persecutions, but the frequent minding and repeating her first Covenant? How soon would her heart have started back, if she had not bound it fast to God by her repeated Covenants? Lastly, It is principium operandi, a ground of working, of reformation and emendation of life. And it is in the strength of their Covenant that they go forth against all self-love of their own hearts, and against all the opposition that they might meet withal from men. So in Nehemiah's time when they came to put away their Wives and Children, their hearts had need be strengthened unto such a work, and therefore by a Covenant they bind themselves thereunto, and seal and subscribe it, and ratify it by an oath and a curse: and in all their reformation in Asa's time, and Hezekiah's, and Josiah's, the beginning of all their great actions were undertaken by a Covenant, that thereby they might engage themselves unto God, and nothing might divert and turn them back from the work that they had undertaken; and therefore we see it is not in vain for a person or a people to renew their Covenant with the Lord. The Lord grant there may ever be such a frame of heart in us, that we may always live in the comfort of that word, the Lord has made with us an everlasting Covenant in all things ordered and sure, for this is all my salvation and all my desire; as he said, who was a man after Gods own heart; and this is the hope and consolation of all the children of God. CHAP. IU. The Covenant of Grace as referring to the Seed of the Faithful. Gen. XVII. 7. I will establish my Covenant between me and thee, and thy Seed after thee in their Generation, for an everlasting Covenant, to be a God to thee, and thy Seed after thee. SECT. I. That Children are taken into their Parent's Covenant. § 1. THE subject we have in hand is the Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace, the new and better Covenant; and therein having showed the Person that made the Covenant with man, and spoken of the free Grace of God, which was the Fountain from whence this Covenant of Grace did flow, we came in the next place to consider the Persons with whom this Covenant was made, and they are set down in a threefold subordination: (1) First and immediately with Christ the second Adam: (2) In him with all the Faithful: (3) In them with their Seed. And this last is the head we are now to enter upon, having laid these two grounds: (1) That the Covenant that God made with Abraham is the same Covenant that all the Faithful, whether Jews or Gentiles, stand under to the world's end; Rom. 4.16. therefore is Abraham called the Father of us all; though of the Gentiles: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. There is cognatio specialis, quae coram Deo locum habet, & Deo nos gratos reddit. Beza. All Believers have a special Cognation to God by virtue of Abraham's Covenant; and this is not barely by imitation of his Faith, which the Apostle Paul asserts (vers. 12.) of those that walk in the steps of the Faith of Abraham; but there is ● blessed resultance from this, that a man is thereby translated into the Covenant of Abra●am; and there is no distinction of persons, for there is neither Jew nor Greek, Gal. 3.29. neither bond ●or free, neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Ad jus adoptionis acquirendum, vel minuendum nullum discrimen; sancta est in Christo aequalitas, quae & unitas, Par. Par. As to the right of Adoption, there is no inequality; all are in Christ equal: All therefore that are Christ's are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the Promise, Gal. 4.28.31. we as Isaac are the children of Promise, we are not the children of the bondwoman but of the free. (2) Though in the manner of the Administration of this Covenant there be a great deal of difference from what it was in ancient times, yet as to the substance of the Covenant, the persons that are foederati in it, are the same, and taken in upon the same grounds, and shall be so to the end of the world; and therefore as the seed were taken into Covenant with their father, the same way will the Lord dispense the Covenant to the end of the world, that if he take the Parent into Covenant he will take the seed with him; and therefore their children are called the Sons of the Covenant; Act. 3.25. because it's as a Birth-Priviledge, and belongs unto them as they are taken into their Father's Covenant: And this the Lord says shall be the way in which he will dispense his Covenant for ever; Act. 2.39. that no man may say this was a peculiar privilege unto Abraham and his seed only; for Abraham is made the Father of many Nations, Rom. 4.12. the Father of the Circumcision and of the Uncircumcision, and the Promise is to you and your seed, and unto them that are afar off, as Gentiles unconverted are said to be, that are yet strangers unto the Church of God, Ephes. 2.17. and the Privileges thereof, even to as many as in all ages the Lord shall call. And these two grounds being laid, this Covenant made with Abraham will give us ground to observe this point: Doctrine. That the Children of believing Parents in the Covenant of Grace, are taken into the same Covenant with their Parents; the Covenant is to them and to their seed, and therefore their Posterity may well be styled the Children or Sons of the Covenant. A point it is of great concernment, and therefore to be contended earnestly for: 1. As that which doth exceedingly advance the Grace of God unto Parents, and makes much for their Consolation that are Believers, that not only the Lord doth extend mercy to them, but to their seed, as he did here extend it to Abraham's seed, by which God exceedingly exalts his free Grace, and so it's made an argument of special Love unto Parents, Deut. 4.37. Because he loved thy Parents, therefore he chose their seed after them; Mercy unto their Posterity is from the Love of God unto Parents: Now as it is a special Grace of the second Covenant, that wherever Believers come, unto all people where they live they shall be a blessing; Gen. 12.2. the word in the Hebrew is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & esto benedictio, so Montanus; we render it, according to the Septuagint, Thou shalt be a blessing, but, as Aynsworth has well observed, this manner of speaking in the Hebrew is very vehement and emphatical, noting Gods commanding the blessing, according to the Expression, Psal. 133.3. For there the Lord commanded the Blessing even life for evermore, etc. And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as dew from the Lord, etc. They shall be as dew, the cause of a Nations flourishing; and to a decaying Nation they shall be the root and support, the holy seed shall be the substance thereof; Isa 16.13. how much more shall the Grace of the Covenant be exalted in reference to their Posterity for their consolation, in that they are nearer, and dearer to them than any other can be, and therefore they shall be a blessing to them; and this will be much heightened unto them by this, that while they were under the Covenant of Works, while unstranslated, they did convey unto them the Curse of the first Covenant, and the Lord doth threaten that he will visit the iniquity of the Parents upon the Children. Now it were a great terror to a man, that while he is under the first Covenant his iniquity shall be visited upon his Children, if when he is translated into the second Covenant, the grace of the Covenant should no way extend unto them; and ●●range it were, that all the creatures coming under the Covenant of the Saints, are by t●●s means preserved in their being, and attain many benefits that by reason of the curse of the first Covenant they should never have attained, if amongst all the rest, their children should have no benefit by their father's Covenant, and they which are nearest to them should only be excluded. 2. This is one of the great Arguments that the Scripture useth to draw men in to Believe, because not only they shall have benefit by it, but their Posterity: there is a double use that I find the Apostle makes of that argument: (1) To the Children as a means to bring them in; repent ye therefore and be converted, for you are the children of the Covenant, which God made with your fathers; there is mercy in a special manner offered to you, and unto you first, because you are the children of the Covenant, and therefore have in a special manner a right to it. (2) To the Parents, Act. 2.38. Repent and be baptised every one of you in the Name of the Lord Jesus for the remission of sins, for the promise is to you and your children; not only you shall have benefit by it, but your children upon whom you have brought a curse, and therefore were not parents said peremptores, as Bernard speaks of all men in reference to their children in a state of nature; they also shall have benefit by it, and by your laying hold of the Covenant be brought in under the same Covenant with you; your children, that are now children of the curse, they shall become children of the Covenant. Now as it should be a great argument to keep men from sin, that therein they wrong their Posterity, it's a Treason that taints the blood; so it should be a great engagement unto all Parents to come within the Covenant, that the Grace of the Covenant might also be extended in them unto all their seed. 3. This is the great and only difference that God hath put in his Word between the children of Believers within the Covenant of Grace, and the seed of Strangers who are strangers to the Covenant; that their children belong unto the Family of God, and are owned by God as such in a visible way; whereas all the rest of the Families of the world, that are Unbelievers, belong to the Kingdom of Satan, and are to be looked upon as without; Deut. 4.37. and therefore, Deut. 4.37. the Lord chose their seed after them; it's not spoken of an Election to salvation; but there is an Election to Privileges, as well as to Life, and yet both flow from a special Love; for there is but a twofold Kingdom, of God, and of the World; and of these there is a twofold God, there is Satan the God of this world, and all they that are in this Kingdom have for their God the God of this world; but there is a Kingdom of God, and all that are in that Kingdom the Lord has taken to be his people, and they have in a peculiar manner the Lord for their God, as Israel had the Name of God called upon them, and they only had the means of salvation; for salvation is of the Jews, and the Lord did take them as his peculiar Treasure, and did avouch them to be his people, above all people of the earth, they were under more glorious Administrations, under a peculiar Providence and care above all people of the earth, and yet many of them, nay the greatest part of them wicked, and but a remnant amongst them according to the Election of grace, and it were apparently to put the seed of Abraham's faith into a far worse condition in respect of their posterity, than the seed of Abraham according to the flesh were, when the Apostle, in respect of the adoption, made no difference between Jew and Greek, bond and free. And this also is the only ground (as I may call it, for though there be other arguments given, yet they all have their stress from this, and depend upon it) for applying of Ordinances unto the children of Believers, and therein to put a difference between them and the children of Heathen, and this is not a ground of our making, but of the Lords; the Lord takes Abraham into Covenant and his seed also, Gen. 17.7. and having taken them into Covenant, he doth command him to apply the seal of the same Covenant unto them, the command of God was the bond of applying the seal, but the ground of the command lay in their interest in the Covenant, being taken in together with their parents; and so whereas it's true, as Tertullian saith, fiunt, non nascuntur Christiani, men are made, Rom. 1.2, 3. not born Christians, it is not a birth-priviledge, such as comes upon them by nature, for by nature one man has no more right to an Ordinance than another, for there is no difference, all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God; but what they have not by nature, chrysostom in Rom. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. they may yet receive by grace, as a birth-priviledge, to which by their father's Covenant they were after a sort born, as the posterity of Abraham according to the flesh were. 4. It's the only ground that I know that Believers can have of the salvation of their children, if they die in their infancy; I do not now speak of God's secret counsel; for the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows who are his; and what number he has belonging unto the Election of Grace amongst them that are afar off we know not, secret things belong to God; but we find no promise of salvation made unto any out of the visible Church of God; salvation is of the Jews, and 'tis God's promise that is to be the rule of our faith, and the ground of our hope, and not our counsel. Joh. 4. Now if the children of believing parents be not taken into Covenant with their parents, they have no more a promise of salvation than the children of a Pagan. For as I told you, this world is divided into two Kingdoms, either the Kingdom of Christ, or the Kingdom of Satan, Col. 1.13. He has translated us out of the power of darkness into the Kingdom of his dear Son. Now as long as a person is a visible Member of the Kingdom of Christ, and under a promise of salvation that the Lord will be his God, I have no reason or ground out of the Word to question their election or salvation, but rather in the judgement of charity grounded upon the Covenant to hope and believe, or be persuaded of the same, till they visibly manifest the contrary, though there may be some Reprobates amongst them: on the contrary, though we know Christ gathers his Elect out of the Kingdom of Satan, and therefore many of the Elect remain yet under his power, yet I have no ground to hope of any particular person, that he is elected of God, being still under Satan's Kingdom, till he give some testimony of the contrary; for either all infants dying in infancy must be saved, or they must all be damned, or else there must be a difference by grace put between them that are saved, and them that are damned; for in nature there is no difference. Now what difference the Lord may put in his secret counsel we know not, but there is no difference put in his word, but that which is grounded on the Covenant under which they stand, being taken into it together with their parents. What ground had a Jew, if his child died, to hope its salvation, but that God promised to be his God, and the God of his seed also? and the same ground has a Christian to hope the salvation of all his that die in their infancy; because the Covenant is the same with both, and the persons taken into Covenant are the same, Thou and thy seed after thee. This truth therefore we had need to be carefully instructed in, and which has stirred up those that are faithful unto God and his Truth to contend earnestly for this Doctrine as delivered unto, and this privilege as conferred on the Saints, against those that would put their children into the same condition with those who are farthest off from God; Judas 3. so that though they be the children of their flesh, yet they are not of their Covenant. There has of late years been much written about it, and therefore I shall not enter into the disputation, as that which you may read every where, and inform yourselves at leisure about, but barely lay down the truth in a positive way, in which I shall but nakedly represent unto you what I find delivered by those that hold and love the truth herein. I shall first begin with the proof of the Doctrine, That children are taken into their parent's Covenant together with themselves, which I shall endeavour to make good to you by these clear and evident Arguments. 1. This ever hath been since the Fall, and ever since the Father has gathered unto the Lord Jesus his Son a Church upon Earth, the way of the Lords administration of the second Covenant, that whensoever he has taken parents into Covenant with him into his Kingdom and Family, he has taken in their children together with them, Acts 3.25. and has counted them as part of his Family and Kingdom; therefore they are called the Sons of God, Gen. 6.1. and the children of the Lord your God, Deut. 14.1. and amongst the Gentiles, Gal. 3.26. he saith, That you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus; and therefore called the children of the Kingdom: Mat. 8.12. Rom. 9.2, 3. not that they are all born of God, and are inwardly as to the state of their persons the children of God, but Rom. 9.2, 3. Theirs is the Adoption: it is not meant of an inward and spiritual Adoption, but it's meant of an external and visible Adoption, to be separated from all other people, and to be owned by God as his children; Israel is my son, my firstborn, Exod. 19.5, 6. yet there were many in Israel that were inwardly and for the state of their persons enemies to God, and the children of the Devil; and so much the Apostle does evidently assert, Rom. 11.21. Rom. 11.21. Here's a twofold Olive-tree, there is the true Olive-tree, and that is Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by virtue of their Covenant, Non quibus à natura inesset sanctitas; sed quia ex iis erant nati quos Dominus foedere gratuito à reliquis gentibus sibi segregat, Beza. and they that were born of them are called the natural branches; and what is the wild Olive? that is all those that were out of the Church of the Jews, that were not visibly taken into Abraham's family and Covenant; so that now there is a threefold Israel of God, (1) There is natural Israel, and they are taken into Covenant for their father's sake, as they are natural branches growing upon the good Olive-tree. (2) There is surrogated Israel, those that are grafted in, when they were broken off; therefore as the other did grow upon the root of Abraham's Covenant, so do these also, for they were gathered in, Rom. 11.17. that is, as Beza renders it, for those * Pro ipsis in locum ramorum defractorum. that were broken off; therefore as the others grow upon his root, they and their children, so do these also. (3) The Lord shall return again in mercy to his people Israel, they shall be taken in again for their parent's Covenant; for they are beloved for their father's sake, and they shall be again engrafted into their own Olive-tree; so that it has been the constant way of God's administration of the Covenant of grace, he has taken the parents into Covenant, and they being engrafted into a visible Church of God, they are grafted in as the root, and all their children are as branches growing thereupon. 2. When the parents are disinherited and cast out of the Covenant, so are the children also; therefore when the parents are taken in, the children are taken in, Rom. 11. we read of a breaking off and a grafting in. Now the breaking off and grafting in must answer to and expound one the other: now how were they natural branches? They were so called by reason of their birth, growing naturally upon Abraham the root. How were they broken off? They were rejected from being a visible Church, the Lord called them Loammi, and would own them for his people no more, deprived them of the adoption which did before belong unto them; they were formerly counted the people of God above all Nations under Heaven, 1 Thess. 2.16. but now rejected: and this the Apostle calls wrath come upon them to the uttermost: men that are members of the invisible Church cannot be broken off, their sins, though they may vastare conscientiam, yet they cannot excutere fidem, etc. So then as the Lord took in the believing Gentiles and their children into a visible Church unto himself, and translated the adoption unto them, so he did cast off the Jews and their children, he broke off the natural branches, that they should be unto him no longer as a peculiar people; so that together with their fathers, the children were broken off; therefore together with their parents the children of the Gentiles are grafted in, and therefore all is put upon the parent's Covenant; for their opposition to the Gospel the Lord laid this great wrath upon them and their posterity. 3. Children are members of the visible Church where their parents are in Covenant with God: grafting in is admission into visible membership, as breaking off is a casting out of visible membership: so Mar. 10.14. Of such (not only of these very little ones, but of such as these) is the Kingdom of Heaven. Now by the Kingdom of Heaven is meant the visible Church, and it's commonly so put in the Gospel, so that of such is the visible Church of God constituted and made up; therefore little children born in the Church are by Christ counted as those of whom the Church and Kingdom of Christ in part consists. Now all men by nature are children of wrath, and enemies to God, strangers to the Commonwealth of Israel; Eph. 2.12. there is no difference, but only by virtue of the Covenant of grace, which cannot come upon their own, but only in their parents right; no man is born a member of the Church naturally, but 'tis a birth-priviledge that comes upon them by grace through their parent's Covenant. 4. Hence it comes to pass, that there is a holiness comes upon those children of believing parents, Rom. 11.16. Rom. 11.16. If the root be holy, so are the branches; and if the first-fruits be holy, the lump is also holy; the root is Abraham and the Fathers, and they are said to be the first-fruits, because they were first consecrated unto God, and the branches were dedicated in their root, 1 Cor. 7.14. and the lump in the first-fruits; and so 1 Cor. 7.14. Else were your children unclean, but now are they holy. What's the holiness that is here meant? it's not a personal and inherent holiness that's here spoken of; for the branches that were thus holy were broken off, which if they had been truly and spiritually holy, they could never have been; therefore it's spoken only of a federal and derived holiness from their parent's Covenant, as Israel is called the holy nation, Exod. 19.6. and the holy people, Dan. 8.24.12.7. that is, a people that God had separated to himself of all Nations under Heaven, whom he would in a special manner own, and amongst whom he had set up his Ordinances, and would dwell; for federal holiness is nothing else but being separated from the world to become a member of the visible Church, and thereby to have a right unto the ordinances and privileges of a visible member, though he be not truly converted or begotten unto God; and this is called being a Jew outwardly, that is, a member of the visible Church, and to whom the privileges of a Church-member did belong; but there is a Jew inwardly, in whose heart there dwells converting grace. Now how doth this holiness flow, seeing that by nature all men are alike unholy, and there is no more separation of one man unto God than another, and one man hath no more right by nature unto visible and external privileges than another, for all are born in the same condition? This is only by virtue of their being taken into their parent's Covenant; and because the first-fruits are holy, so is the whole lump, and because the root is holy, so are the branches, there is a holiness derived from one unto the other. 5. We meet with very glorious promises that God has made to the posterity of the Saints, Deut. 30.6. The Lord will circumcise thy heart and the heart of thy seed: Esa. 59.21. fear not Jacob my servant, and thou Jeshuron whom I have chosen; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring, and they shall spring up as the grass and as the willows, etc. My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put into thy mouth shall not departed out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed henceforth and for ever. Now though these promises shall not be made good unto every particular person in the Church, yet it is the Church of God that is the proper subject unto whom they shall be made good, and in an ordinary way they shall be acccomplished unto none else. And by nature one man has no more right to a promise than another, nor ground to expect it, only the Covenant of God makes the difference, they are all heirs of the promises, as they are children of the Kingdom and Covenant. Lastly, This is Gospel, and therefore to be believed, and laid hold upon as well as any other part of the second Covenant; for a Believer in the exercise of his faith is to take in the whole Covenant, as in the obedience of faith he is to take in the whole Commandment. A man's faith, if it be sincere, must be universal, as well as his obedience: that this is Gospel, and a Gospel-promise, I suppose that no man will deny; I will be thy God and the God of thy seed. Now how does the Lord become the God of the parents? it's only by Covenant; and so he is said to be the God of the Lord Jesus Christ; he saith, I ascend unto my God and your God; and, My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me? It's spoken with reference unto the Covenant, into which Christ had entered with the Lord: now being the parent's God in Covenant, he says, He will be the God of their seed, that is, theirs in Covenant also. We may observe that God hath revealed this as Gospel, and also that the people of God have believed it, and exercised their faith upon it as Gospel in the behalf of their children. 1. This God has revealed as Gospel and part of the second Covenant. The first discovery that we have of the Gospel in Scripture is that, Gen. 3.15. Gen. 3.15. where the woman being first in the transgression, the Lord was pleased to enter into Covenant with her, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. Adam and Eve were a seminal visible Church, for by them the Church (as well as the world) was to be built; and at the same time when the Lord did reveal ●●s grace unto her, he joins also her seed with her. Now the combatants in that war and enemies Interpreters do observe to be three. (1) Satan and the woman. (2) The seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. (3) One principal seed, the seed of the woman by way of eminence, and that's the Lord Christ, the promised seed; and that old Serpent the Devil. So then in the first dawning of the Gospel, the Lord took the seed of the woman into the same Covenant, and made unto them the same promise, as unto the woman. The next mention of the Covenant that we read of is with Noah, Gen. 6.18. and the Lord intending to bring a Flood upon the Earth, renews this Covenant with him, and this is twice renewed with him. It's true, the Covenant here spoken of is the Covenant of grace, but it's but one particular branch of it, namely a temporal deliverance, for the Covenant of grace takes in temporal as well as spiritual and eternal promises, Pareus. est novi foederis appendix de promissione terrena. (1) The Covenant was renewed in delivering Noah himself from the Flood that was then to come on the Earth, and therein his seed also was taken in; for so it runs, with thee and thy sons, etc. and also after the Flood in reference to himself and his posterity, that the Lord would not destroy them by a flood as he had done their forefathers, Gen. 9.9. Gen. 9.9. I establish my covenant with you and your seed after you: so that the covenant still runs in those terms; the Lord never made a covenant with the parent, but he took his seed into the same covenant expressly. The next mention we read of the covenant, was with Abraham, when the Lord would take his family into covenant with himself; wherefore the covenant is said after a sort to begin in him, Mic. 7.20. Mercy to Abraham, and truth unto Jacob; and still it runs, with thee and thy seed, and not only his immediate seed, but also his seed in many succeeding generations, from one age to another, unto the end of the world; thy seed after thee in their generations; and therefore Abraham is called, the rock out of which they were hewed, Isa. 51.1. and the hole or the pit out of which they were digged; and he is called Rom. 11. the root upon which they did grow, and out of which they did spring, not only in their natural estate, but also in their covenant state, the covenant did as it were begin in him: And the next person with whom the covenant of grace was eminently renewed, was David; 2 Sam. 7.14.19. Psal. 89.28, 29, 30. the Lord did not only speak of David's person, but of his house for a great while to come; and when the Lord took a whole Nation into Covenant, (as he did the Nation of the Jews) it was not made only with them that were present and then alive or men grown up, but with their seed also: so that their children were taken into the same covenant with their parents, though they were not able to understand the nature of the covenant nor to restipulate, and not only they that were present, but (Deut. 20.15.) with him that is not here with us this day: Deut. 29.11, 13, 14, 15. who are they that are hereby meant? their Posterity, unto whom this covenant did alike belong; there was a foundation laid for them to come into this covenant as soon as they should be born into the world; Ipsos Deus anteverterat gratiâ suâ, multis antequam nati essent seculis. Calvin. Meaning thereby their Posterity in all succeeding generations. and therefore Eezek. 16.18. I entered into covenant with thee, and thou becamest mine, and then vers. 20. Thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters whom thou hast born unto me, and hast sacrificed them to be devoured, etc. this is only spoken in reference to the covenant, so they were children born unto God, and so the Lord was their God. Neither was this dispensation of the covenant of grace to the Jews only, but also unto the Gentiles, for Rom. 11. they were grafted in to be the seed of Abraham, by virtue of the covenant of Abraham, for he was the father of us all: now as the natural branches were broken off, so were the others grafted in, but the Jews were broken off themselves, and their Posterity disinherited for many generations; therefore the Gentiles are grafted in, they and their posterity, and thence Act. 2.39. The promise is to you and your children, and unto them that are afar off; Ephes. 2.17. i. e. the Gentiles also and their children; the promise belongs to them whomsoever the Lord shall call, it's for themselves and for their seed after them. Zacheus a Publican being converted, Luk. 19.9. Christ tells him, salvation is come to his house; where by salvation coming to his house, cannot be meant unto himself, or his person, but that his whole Family is taken into covenant with God thereby; and the reason of it is given, because that he himself is a son of Abraham, that is, he is brought under Abraham's Covenant, the tenure of which Covenant is not only to a man's self, but also unto his family and his seed, Act. 16.31. etc. and so Paul to the Jailor, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved and thine house; the meaning is not, that all of them should be saved eternally, as if one man could be saved by another man's faith, but salvation is commonly put for the ordinary means of salvation, Acts 28.28. Now this Covenant-way is the only ordinary means of salvation, Heb. 2.3. and when the Jews shall be taken in, in the latter days of the world, though it's said, that the Lord will make a new Covenant with them in those days, yet it's but the old Covenant renewed, they shall be taken into the Covenant of their fathers; for so Rom. 11.24. the natural branches that were cut off shall be grafted in again to their own Olive-tree; as they were cast off, Parents and children disinherited, so shall their grafting in again be; so that 'tis a part of the Gospel, and a glorious doctrine of the covenant of grace, that children are taken into the same Covenant with their Parents; and there is never a Covenant made with the Parents in the Scripture, but the children are expressly mentioned as coming under it, and therefore our faith is to receive it and rely upon it. 2. The People of God have believed it and exercised their faith upon it, and that both Parents for their Children, and the Children for themselves. (1) Parents for their Children; it was this that Adam did rejoice in immediately after the revelation of the second Covenant, in behalf of himself and his Posterity, when he (Gen. 3.20.) called his wife's name Evah, Gen. 3.20. because she was the mother of all living; and this is conceived by Interpreters to have a threefold respect: [1] As an Expression of his own Faith in the Promise, to show that the woman that should have brought Death into the world, and was first in the transgression, and should have been the mother of none but dead children; now he saith, That she should be the mother of all the living, the Covenant of grace and life beginning in her, for life and immortality never saw light till the Gospel. [2] An expression of thankfulness for so great a mercy, that he might keep the mercy in memory: and that was the ancient manner, to give names sometimes to places; Jacob called the place Bethel the house of God, as the Altar, Jehovah Nissi, etc. and sometimes the Monument of his mercy preserved in a child, Samuel, one asked of God; and here Adam continues the memory of his mercy in the name of his wife; it's spoken by way of gratitude, Merc. ut vel ipso nomine beneficium tantum agnosceret, Merc. The Name is a Memorial of the Mercy. [3] An expression of consolation; the woman being first in the transgression, was much affected with the displeasure of God, from which they fled, and of the misery that she had brought upon herself and all her Posterity if the Lord should prolong her days, that they should labour in the sweat of their brows till they were turned to the earth, etc. Adam now comforts her, and tells her, Be of good cheer, there is a seed yet that shall come from thee, that shall overcome death, and him that had the power of death, that is the Devil; and therefore he doth not call himself the Father of all living, but her the Mother of all living: and thus Adam did comfort himself with the Promise made unto his Posterity in the Covenant as soon as it was revealed. And so did Evah exercise faith this way, first in Cain, as some conceive, Gen. 4.1. Gen. 4.1. she said, I have gotten a man from the Lord; the Septuagint render it, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and the Vulgar answerable, per Dominum, by the Lord: Trem. adds à Domino; but Luther renders it by apposition, Virum Dominum, a man the Lord; and Solom. Glass. follows him, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and makes the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but an expression of the Accusative case, and thereby she did manifest quanto desiderio expectaverit promissionis complementum, etc. with how great desire she expected the fulfilling of the Promise; she was mistaken in the person, yet it shows the exercise of her faith upon the Promise, that her seed should bruise the Serpent's head. And when Cain had slain Abel his brother, and the Lord had given her another son, she called his name Seth, God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, Gen. 4.25. It's observed to be both Sermo & verbum fiduciae, Gen. 4.25. & prophetiae, a fiducial and prophetic speech; that this seed should not be untimely taken away as Abel was, but he should be fundamentum ecclesiae subsequentis, Par. quae in hujus posteritate propagetur, & servetur usque ad Christum, the foundation of the Church, etc. of Cain she had no hope, for he was excommunicated and cast out from the presence of the Lord, though his life was prolonged, yet all the Church Privileges were taken away and forfeited, as Gen. 4.11, etc. now was there not a man to be a seed to the Church of God in aftertimes; yet than she had respect to the Covenant, and she looked for a seed that God had promised her, in whom, as well as in her own person, the Covenant that God had made with her should be fulfilled. Noah afterward exercised faith in reference to his Posterity, Gen. 9.27. God shall persuade Japhet, etc. he had a Spirit of Prophecy, Gen. 9.27. which doth foreshow itself in that, Canan and his Posterity shall be servants; but as for Shem, the Church of God should be continued in him for the present, and for time to come God should persuade Japhet; which either has reference to the conversion of the Gentiles, when they shall be converted upon the rejection of the Jews, and come into their Tents, that is, become the Church of God in their room; they being the wild Olive, but grafted into the true Olive, when the natural branches are broken off, so the Gentiles are surrogated Israel; or else when the Jews shall be a Church, the Gentiles, the posterity of Japhet, shall come in unto them, either as Proselytes; and be added unto them, or else when they shall be again converted they shall lay hold of the skirt of a Jew, and shall come into the same fold together with them, and so both make up one fold under one Shepherd. And thus doth David pray when he came to die, 2 Sam. 23.5. Thou hast made with my house an everlasting Covenant, ordered and sure, and this is all my hope, and m● salvation, though the Lord make it not to grow: he did foresee, that there was a cloud and a darkness coming upon his family, but than though the Lord did not make it to grow, he could rejoice in the Covenant that God had made with him in reference to his Posterity; for he had spoken of his house for a great while to come; and so Psal. 102. last verse. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee, etc. (2) Children have exercised Faith by virtue of their Parent's Covenant; and pleaded to God their Covenant-interest. So David, Psal. 86.16. O turn unto me and have mercy upon me, give thy strength to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid; truly I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid; and so doth Ethan afterward, Psal. 116.16. Psal. 89.49. Where are thy former loving kindnesses which thou swarest to David in thy truth? Remember the reproach of thy servants, and how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people. Thus we see that this is a truth of the Gospel, That under the second Covenant Children are taken in with their Parents, and all the People of God have believed it, and in all Ages exercised their faith thereupon; and when I observe the Spirit of God in Scripture speaking so much of this, it makes me the more wonder at those men that so much deride and scorn this Doctrine, and the derivative right, which they in scorn (some of them) call imputative. §. 2. Let us now come to take a view of the Reasons, why the Lord will take children into their Parent's Covenant, and not take in the Parents alone, and leave their children in the condition in which they were by nature: the grounds of it are these. 1. To show the Extent of the Grace of the second Covenant: the Lord hath not dealt with men as he did with the Angels, he did make a particular Covenant with every particular Angel, but he doth not so with men; he has always delighted to take in man into a Covenant made with Parents for them, that men might see that Grace prevented them, and that they were engaged unto God, and his Promise was out of Grace entailed upon them as a birthright; and therefore as in the first Covenant God takes in Adam and all his posterity, and the second Covenant is made with the second Adam and all his posterity, so, that there may be a resemblance hereof kept in the world, he hath taken in the children into their Parent's Covenant, that they may see Grace extended beyond their persons, even to their posterity. It's a wonderful enlargement of the Grace of God in the first Covenant, that all the creatures came under man's Covenant; and because they did so, therefore they all fell in him, or else why should the curse of Adam's sin come upon the creatures? Cursed be the ground for thy sake; And so in the Covenant of Grace, there is a Promise that they should be all renewed in Christ; and therefore the creatures do wait for the manifestation of the liberty of the Sons of God, Rom. 8.22. because when we shall be delivered, then shall they be also from the bondage of corruption under which now they groan; and thence when God is reconciled to his People, and takes them into Covenant, Hos. 2.21. Then I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth, and the earth shall hear the corn, etc. and if this be a great manifestation of grace to take in creatures, which are but a man's servants, how much more to take in the children, which are bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, Even as Noah cursed Cham, Gen. 9.25. and denounced that the blessing of the Covenant should never come upon him and his Posterity; There shall be no Canaanite in the house of the Lord for ever. Zach. 14.21. and dearer to them than any creatures can be? And therefore the Lord, out of his abundant and overflowing grace, in the second Covenant, is pleased to make the children's federal interest to be the Parent's privilege; and therefore 'tis said, Gen. 48. of Jacob, that he blessed Joseph; and wherein did the blessing consist? not so much upon joseph's person, as upon his posterity, and that was, that the name of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob should be called upon his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh: this is spoken only in reference to the Covenant and the benefits thereof, which was to descend upon them from their Parents, and it became their right, because it was their Parent's privilege; and therefore though they had other personal names, Ephraim and Manasseh, yet this was a name given them from their federal right, and is called the blessing of Joseph in his children's covenant-blessing; for it is a conveying of the benefit of the covenant, from God's abundant grace, not only to himself, but to his posterity; and so David looks upon it, and admires the mercy, 2 Sam. 7.18, 19 Lord, who am I and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And yet as if this were a small thing in thy sight, O Lord, thou hast spoke of thy servants house for a great while to come: and is this the manner of men, O Lord? for thy Word sake, and according to thy own heart hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant to know them. It is therefore to manifest the extent of the grace of the second Covenant, that God takes in their seed; and gracious Parents do exceedingly rejoice therein in behalf of their Posterity, and look upon it as a special privilege and their children's peculiar right. 2. God has so ordered the eternal decree of Election, that the great number of the Elect of God do proceed out of the loins of his own people; and therefore the Promises being but the indefinite expressions of his Decrees, they run to parents called, and unto their children, because the great number of them that shall be called, are their children. It's true, that God hath a seed of Grace that runs through the loins of the wicked, and the Lord will take Proselytes from amongst the Heathen, and they shall be added to the Church; but this is not the ordinary way, but a more extraordinary way of salvation, and very many of the children of believing parents within the covenant are wicked, which we see in Cain, Cham, and Ishmael, yet in their Posterity hath the Church of God been continued, there is yet a Seth, and a Sem, and an Isaac, in which their seed should be called, and answerable to the Election of grace continued: and this doth appear undeniably by this argument; the visible Church of God is made up of Parents in covenant, and of their seed; and therefore while the Church of God was oeconomical and in families only, they were the families of those that were in covenant, in which the Church was continued; and after it did spread into a Nation, they and their seed make up a Church unto God. Now though there be many in the visible Church that are not ordained unto life, for many are called but few are chosen, and many shall seek to enter in at the straight gate, and shall not be able, etc. yet the Church invisible is gathered out of the visible Church, they are hid there amongst the Hypocrites and falsehearted men as wheat is hid amongst the chaff; now the Promises of God are suitable to his Decrees, and the events answer unto both: wherefore if the greatest part of the Elect proceed out of the loins of a people in covenant, as they do, than the promises of the second covenant being but indefinite, it was necessary that they should run unto them and to their seed, upon whom if you look distributively, there are many that shall perish, yet if you look upon them collectively, you can and may see the seed of the Lord is there, and there are many amongst them that are ordained unto life, and the persons upon whom God has set his everlasting love are amongst that number, though we know not particularly who they are, that's a secret that the Lord has hid in himself. 3. To show his peculiar love to their seed, Deut. 7.6, 7, 8. & 10.15. therefore he will gather out of their seed a visible Church; and if so, he must make with their seed a marriage-covenant. And therefore if any say, Why doth not the Lord leave their children till they enter into covenant themselves, and give testimony of their faith and conversion? The reason is, because God will make them a Church to himself, and therefore will make a Church-covenant with them. Now the children of believing parents are taken into a visible Church, Deut. 4.37. Because the Lord loved your parents, therefore he chose their seed after them: There's a twofold election as there is a twofold adoption, an election to life, and unto Church-priviledges. it's not an election to life that is there spoken of, but as Zac. 2.7. the Lord shall yet choose Jerusalem: as he had rejected them and cast them off from a Church-state, and called them Loammi; so now he will choose them again in reference to a Church-state. And thus he is to choose their children after them, not unto life, for that is grounded only upon his own love unto the persons of men, but it's spoken in reference to a Church-state, which was grounded upon his love unto their parents; therefore when parents were converted, there was a Church in their house, and the posterity and family was looked upon as a Church unto God, and theirs was the Adoption, the privileges of sons externally belonged to them, and God owned them for his above all other families in the whole earth: now those that were taken into a Church-state, unto them and their posterity there did belong a Church-covenant, and that's the meaning of Ezech. 16.8. I entered into covenant with thee, and thou becamest mine. 4. This is the surest ground of a man's judgement in reference to persons, whether it be a private Christian or a chosen Officer. There are some persons to be admitted into the visible Church, and there are some privileges of the visible Church that are to be dispensed by judgement in the person that doth dispense or administer them; for we are not sent to baptise all mankind, nor to administer Sacraments and censures unto all mankind, as we are sent to preach the Gospel; neither are we to expect a satisfactory convincing ground that this person is inwardly and spiritually holy and savingly interessed in the covenant of grace, for that we cannot infallibly judge of; but though it cannot come under our judgement, yet our judgement must not be blind charity, we must take the rule of the word, and keep close to it. And what is the surest rule? There are two that are known, either the man's profession, or else the promise of God in respect of the child's Church-state by the Father's privilege. Now as to the first of these my judgement may be deceived, and I may administer it unto one that hath spiritually not right to it, as we see in the Scripture, the Apostles themselves were deceived; but Gods promise in giving the children an interest in the father's privilege is a sure ground to go by, more than any man's believing or profession in the world can be for himself; and therefore a man is bound to believe, that his seed is taken into covenant, and that they do belong to the Election of grace, and are truly justified, sanctified, adopted, and accepted in Christ, till they manifest the contrary; and we have more than a negative ground for it, that we know nothing to the contrary; for we have a positive ground, and that is the indefinite promise which we have cause to interpret in the most favourable sense; and I am sure is a more certain ground for me to pass a judgement upon, than any man's profession can be, seeing that I know my judgement is not infallible in either, but I may be deceived in reference to the person to whom it's applied: therefore consider, that (1) Children, while in their infancy, are members of the visible Church of God. (2) They have always been taken into membership in the same Church with their parents, and accounted as of the same Church with them. 1. Children, while they are infants, may be members of the visible Church of God, before they come to years to be able to understand the nature of a Church, or to consent unto the Duties unto which they are obliged in that relation; and that will appear Luk. 18.16. Mar. 10.13. (1) What children were those spoken of? they were not children in meekness and harmlesness, as some would have it, but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, infants, young children, teneri & adhuc ab uberibus pendentes pueruli, Beza: the same word is used of newborn babes: 1 Pet. 2.2. and so much do the words also import, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he took them in his arms, which notes that they were children in their infancy. (2) What doth he say to these children? he saith, That the kingdom of heaven did belong to such: what doth he mean by the Kingdom of Heaven? the Kingdom of Heaven is put for the Kingdom of Grace here in a visible Church, or else for the Kingdom of Glory, Mat. 8.11, 12. Many shall come from the East, and shall sit down with Abraham in the kingdom of heaven, i. e. shall be added unto the Church upon Earth, and shall enter into the Kingdom of glory; when the children of the Kingdom of the Jews, the natural branches, born children by an external right, shall be cast out. And Mat. 16.19. I give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: it's meant of the Kingdom of Grace here, the Church, and the Kingdom of Glory in Heaven: for he gives him power to bind on earth, and lose on earth, and promises that it shall be ratified in Heaven, but yet all Officers are for the visible Church, and all their power is to be exercised in the visible Church; and though it be for the good of the Elect, the Church of the firstborn, the Church invisible, yet that is not the proper place thereof, but Officers are for the visible Church. So than theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, not only they shall be saved, and so fill up the Kingdom of glory, but also they belong to the Kingdom of grace, and the Subjects of this Kingdom here are members of the visible Church, they are actually Subjects of this Kingdom. (3) Neither doth he speak of these very individual children, as a privilege which belonged unto them alone, he by his omniscience knowing them to be elected of God, but he saith, Of such as these are— delivering it therefore as an ordinary rule of our judgement in the like case of all other children of parents in covenant unto the end of the world; therefore children that are infants are members of the visible Church, and therefore taken into a Church-covenant with their parents; for by nature no man is a Church-member, Eph. 2.12. but all strangers to the Commonwealth of Israel, and men afar off; for if any man were so by nature, than all men by nature must be so; therefore it's a privilege by grace that they are taken into their parent's covenant, and are members of the same Church with them. 2. Children have been always taken into the same covenant with their parents, and have been members of the same Church with them. When the Lord made a covenant with Abraham he took in his family to be a Church; when he took in the Jews, he took in their children also to be unto him a holy and a peculiar people; and when he did cast out the children of the Kingdom, and did give them a bill of divorce, removing the candlestick, he did excommunicate and disinherit their children; and when he takes the Gentiles into covenant also, it is with them and with their seed in their generations; and therefore the master of the family being converted, salvation is come to his house, and there is a Church in his house, his family becomes of those of whom the visible Church is constituted; for the Gentiles were grafted in as the Jews were broken off, and that was in reference to a Church-state for themselves and their posterity; and so were the Gentiles grafted into a Church-state for themselves and their posterity; and the Lord has given us a rule for it, Deut. 29.14. Deut. 29.14, 15. when he enters into a Church-covenant with that people and with their little ones, that they should be a people unto himself, that is, a Church unto God, vers. 15. Neither with you only do I make this covenant, but also with him that is not here with us this day. If you understand it of the Jews only, this leaves to us these two things. (1) That children are included in their father's covenant, though they be not of themselves able to restipulate. (2) That it is the will of God it should not only be so at that time, but in after-ages with them and their seed in their generations. But if we understand by [them that are not here this day] all that shall be taken into the same covenant in time to come (as it may be) than it will leave a door open to bring in all the believing Gentiles and their seed to the end of the world. Thus the Lord out of love unto the parents doth take not only them, but their seed also into a visible Church, that they may be a holy and a peculiar people unto himself. 5. They that have a right of membership are to be admitted into the visible Church, and to be looked upon as having a right, Mat. 16.19. for the Lord has appointed the power of the Keys in his Church unto this end: Church-power and authority is commonly expressed in Scripture by the name of Keys, the sign being put for the thing signified, and the ensign of authority for the authority itself; and this power is either Monarchical in Christ the Church's Head, the only King and Lawgiver, to whom all power is given in heaven and earth, Mat. 28.18. Rev. 3.7. He hath the key of the house of David; or else it is Ministerial whether in the Church (as some) or in the Officers (as others) as in its proper subject. I shall not now inquire, whether in the Church radicaliter, radically, and in the Officers formaliter, formally, etc. as some do speak; but (1) the use of those Kyes is to bind and lose, that is, to open and shut the Kingdom of Heaven, either to receive men in, or to cast men out; for surely they that have authority to cast out, have power to take in, and it is an authoritative act to admit as well as to eject, etc. (2) It's an act that is to be denied unto none that have right to admission; if so, the power of the Keys is abused, for it is not used unto that end for which it was appointed by the Lord; for all the Church's power is but ministerial, and must be according to Christ's order; therefore as to cast them out that ought not to be cast out, as the Pharisees did, if any man confessed Christ he should be put out of the Synagogue, Joh. 9.22. and Diotrephes, Joh. 3.10. he cast them out of the Church, and Antichrist, Rev. 13.7. he cast them out, no man should buy and sell that had not the mark of the beast; and to keep them in that aught to be cast out, as the incestuous Corinthian, and Rev. 2.2. as to be able to bear them that are evil, and not reject them is an abuse of Church-power; so not to admit those that aught to be admitted, and have a right to it, is but an abuse of the same power. (3) It's a power therefore to be exercised with judgement, 1 Cor. 5.12. we judge them that are within. It's true, a judgement of certainty and infallibility it cannot be, and therefore it's commonly called a judgement of charity; but yet that must be more than a good hope, or some negative judgement, that I judge so, because I know nothing to the contrary, there must be a good rule, and something positive, that must be the ground of this judgement, it must be a judicious charity, something there must be that may be a ground to build a judgement upon, that a man may be able to say by this rule, I admit this person, and open Heaven to him, and by this rule I do not admit of another. Those that I cannot know to have a title to membership, I cannot in faith, by the power of the Keys, admit; therefore if it be done in faith, it must be an act of judgement, and I must have a ground to go by therein. (4) In admission, the Lord that has always loved variety, has taken two ways; some are in covenant by their own personal right, and some have been taken into the Church by their parents right, and as it were their birth-priviledge, being born of parents in covenant; as all the Church of the Jews were taken into a Church-covenant with their parents, though they were not able to restipulate; and therefore they are called the Children of the Kingdom, those born in it; others were men born out of the Church, and as Proselytes were added thereunto. Now the ground that a man must go by in admissions of the one and the other, must be visible; for they are admitted into the visible Church; into the invisible Church their admission is an act of God only, and by a work of faith, which no men are employed in; therefore it must be something visible; and so Christ says of infants, Suffer them to come to me; therefore it might be judged who those infants were of whom was the Kingdom of Heaven, or else how should we know to whom this injunction is directed, Suffer them to come to me and forbidden them not? Now there is a double ground of this judgement suitable to the condition; there is the profession of the Adult, and there is the parents covenant and Gods promise; in men grown, if they be admitted, the ground of judgement is the man's profession. Now in reference to an inward and spiritual right, I may be deceived in both, but I may make as true a judgement upon the one as upon the other; nay I look upon the promises of God taking in the children into the parent's covenant to be a far greater and surer ground of judgement in the one, than any man's profession can be in the other: so that the Lord will take them into covenant to show his love to their parents, and this shall be the ground of their being a visible Church of Christ, and their being thus taken into covenant shall be the ground of a judgement in those that have the power of the Keys for their admission into the visible Church unto whom of right it does belong. SECT. II. Twelve Questions for the stating children's Covenant-right resolved. §. 1. HAving thus far carried on the Proof of the Doctrine, let us now come to the Explication thereof, and that shall be in answer to these Questions. (1) Whether all children of confederate parents be taken into their Covenant, or only some, God putting a distinction between their seed, as we see he did between the seed of Abraham, when he said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called? (2) Into what of the Covenant the children of Believers are taken? whether into the regenerating and converting Grace of it, or only into the external parts of it, the outward privileges? (3) If only into external parts, what advantage that is to them, and what they gain by it? (4) What this federal Right or children's Holiness is, wherein it does consist? (5) What it is in the parents that give this right unto the child, whether grace and the power of godliness in the parents, or else their profession, God taking them and their seed into a visible Church? (6) What Right this is, whether it be only a right before men, or whether it be a right before God unto the visible Privileges of the Church? (7) From what parents this right is derived, whether from those that are immediate only, or whether from them that are more remote, and where we must stay? (8) Why God will have the Covenant run by way of entail in reference to the outward privileges of it, and not for the inward? seeing in the first covenant Adam was to convey the image that he had received, and the children of Adam were taken into his covenant for the spiritual part, the grace of the covenant, as well as for the privileges of it; for the internal as well as for the external. Now the grace of the covenant is not conveyed from parents to children, it is no more ex traduce than the reasonable soul is, Joh. 1.13. they that believe are born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God: why will the Lord have the same conveyance still continue for the externals and the privileges of it, when for the graces of it the entail is cut off for ever? (9) How far the administration of the old Covenant should as a rule determine the administration of God under the new? that we may be able to reason from one to the other: he did so with Abraham and his posterity, therefore he will do so with the Saints now; and whether in Abraham there were not something personal and peculiar to him and his seed according to the flesh, that they only that come in by a claim to the faith of Abraham cannot take unto themselves? For Abraham in reference to the covenant is set forth two ways, either as a begetting Abraham, Rom. 4. or as a believing Abraham; and whether the privileges of both the children of Abraham according to the flesh, or by promise be the same? (10) How far the Jews by virtue of Abraham's Covenant as being his seed, and as being taken into a Church-covenant in their parents, being the only visible Church unto God on Earth, could pretend to a right unto the ordinances and privileges of the Church of God under the New Testament? For if the parents were in covenant, so were their children taken in, at least, into the externals of the covenant. (11) How children can be said to be taken into Covenant, when they cannot restipulate, nor be said to be obliged by their Covenant? (12) Seeing there is so much dispute about it, were it not much better to leave children out of this claim? For if they be elected we may rest quietly in that state, and leave them in the arms of God's electing love, and resting upon that foundation for their eternal salvation, the Lord knows who are his, and to defer their claim to the covenant, till they themselves are able to take hold of the covenant, and to give their consent thereunto, to give the hand unto the Lord, and then they may claim it with comfort, children from their parents right, and parents for their children, and then we may with comfort seal up that which we have good ground upon judgement to conclude to be a man's title and interest; and then the parents covenant-interest will come in at second hand, and a man having himself first taken hold and consented to the covenant in his own person, it will be a good argument for a man to plead with God for the mercies and blessings of the covenant: Lord thou art my God, and my father's God; as Moses did, Lord I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid: and so the Church, For thy servant David's sake turn not away, etc. Remember the covenant that thou hast made with Abraham, and Isaac, etc. And so did Austin after his conversion take a great deal of comfort in his mother's covenant-interest, and in all the prayers that she did put up to God for him: Confess. l. 3.11. Salutem meam sempiternam chariùs parturibat corde casto, etc. till the Lord in a dream gave her great hopes concerning his salvation: but till then a man can have little comfort in it. Quest. 1 Are all the children of parents in covenant taken into covenant with their parents; or only some selected by God himself, as he did in the children of Abraham, when he said, in Isaac shall thy seed be called? Answ. The parent's covenant takes in all their seed, and they are all in covenant with God till they be ejected. Cain was in covenant as well as Abel, till cast out of the presence of the Lord, and Ishmael as well as Isaac, till the sentence upon his mocking, cast out the bondwoman and her son; and the Jews not only for their children immediately, but those for many ages to come. Deut. 29.13, 14. Joh. 8. 1. If we look into Abraham's posterity, we read that they were of two sorts; a seed according to the flesh, a carnal generation, which the Jews stood so much upon, and gloried in, Mat. 3.9. We have Abraham to our father: and there is a seed of Abraham that walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham; and in this respect Abraham is called the father of us all: here is a double paternity from begetting Abraham, and believing Abraham, and here is a double sonship, children according to the flesh, and the heirs of promise, Rom. 9.6, 7, 8. They are not all Israel who are of Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called, that is, they that are the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for his seed; and because they are the seed of Abraham, they are not therefore all children: and this is more fully set forth in that Allegory of the Apostle, Gal. 4.22, 23. where we have Abraham's family set forth as a pattern and a resemblance of the visible Church of God, in which there are two sorts of sons, and two sorts of mothers; there is the bond and the free woman; and so the Apostle says it was then, and so it should continue in the Church of God while its militant state did last; and yet both these seeds are taken into their parent's covenant; and therefore all the posterity of Seth are called the sons of God, Gen. 6.1. and all without the Church, the daughters of men; all the Israelites were Jews outwardly: Ye are the children of the Lord your God, says Moses, Deut. 14.1. his peculiar people and treasure; called also the children of the Kingdom, and the children of the Covenant, Act. 3.25. Mat. 8.12. And this is not only so of the Jews, but the Gentiles also, Gal. 3.26. Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus; and yet I suppose no man will say, that all in the Church of the Galatians were truly, really, and savingly so; therefore all their children were taken into the same covenant with their parent's faith and holiness. 2. The sentence of Excommunication hath passed upon such, and they have been ejected and cast out of the Church and from all the visible Communion and Privileges of it. Now Church-censures are to extend to none but Church-members, 1 Cor. 5.12, 13. 1 Cor. 5.12, 13. We judge them that be within, what have we to do to judge those that are without? We see (1) That Church-government is an authoritative thing, a power of judgement, and so the Authority of Christ is called, Joh. 5.25. (2) There is a distinction of men, some are without, and some within; and this is a rule, Differentia divisiva est etiam constitutiva, there is something therefore that makes them to be without, and something that makes them to be within; and this can be nothing but their own personal consent, or their coming in by their father's covenant. (3) This authority is not exercised upon them without; they are left to the judgement of God, as a man is that is wholly cast off from all care of the Church, 1 Cor. 16.22. let him be Anathema maranatha; to show that the Church had done their utmost, used all means that were possible for them to do, and they did avail nothing, and therefore they did now cast him off as incurable, and left him to the judgement of the Lord at his coming; so they that are without, are left to God's judgement; but they that are within, are under the Church's care and judgement. Now that Cain was cast out is plain, Gen. 4.14. Gen. 4.14. Thou hast cast me out from the face of the earth, and from thy face, etc. and so the meaning is, a vagabond I shall be on the earth, from thy face shall I be hid. Of this there's a double interpretation that's commonly given, answerable to a twofold acceptation of the face of God: [1] By God's face is meant God's favour, love, protection, and all the fruits of favour, as all men seek the face of the Ruler, and God says, I'll show thee the back and not the face in the day of their calamity. Mercer. Gloss. [2] Others by the face of God do understand locum patefactionis divinae, etc. the place of God's manifestation; and so it's put for the visible Church, where the Lord in a special manner doth reveal himself; and therefore are the Jews called Jesuron, or the seeing people, and Jerusalem called the valley of Vision, etc. and so to be hid from the face of God, est ab Ecclesia parentum ubi cultum Deo praestabant, etc. is to be cast out of the parents Church, etc. and this is the interpretation that most of our Divines give of it. [3] It's said, That whoever did find him would slay him. Cain was therefore a man taken into a Church-covenant together with his parents, though he was but the seed according to the flesh, and so he continued, till, for the just desert of his own sin, he was cast out, and had an immediate sentence of Excommunication passed upon him by God himself, the first example that we read of in Scripture of a Church-censure; and the same is true also of Ishmael, Gen. 21.10, 12. Gal. 4.30. Cast out the bondwoman and her son; she did speak, it may be, sensu suo de haereditate facultatum; but the Lord did carry it higher, as Pareus hath observed; and he expounds it de haereditate spirituali. Abraham's family was a resemblance of the visible Church, and the ejection was a casting out of the visible Church, and is to be understood of a visible casting out; therefore while Ishmael and his mother were in Abraham's family they were members, and came under Abraham's covenant; but when they were cast out, than they were to be looked upon as people in covenant with God no longer, they could lay no claim to the covenant of Abraham. The same may be said of the whole Nation of the Jews, who were all taken into a Church-covenant, they and their children, Deut. 29.12, 14. and yet but a remnant, a very few of them were saved and taken into the spiritual benefit of the covenant; and those that were not taken in, they and their posterity were also ejected, and the Lord called them Loammi, and gave them a bill of divorce to be such as he would own in way of Church-fellowship and Communion no longer; and the same course the Lord takes with the Gentiles also, when he removes the Candlestick, Rev. 2.5. Rev. 2.5. By the Candlestick is meant not only the preaching of the Gospel and the Ordinances thereof, but the Church itself, for so Rev. 1.20. the seven Candlesticks are the seven Churches; and the Lord would take away his Ordinances, and they and their posterity should be no more owned by God as his Church and people in covenant with him; so that they were broken off as the Jews were. Now they that are spiritually and savingly in the covenant can never be cast out of any part of the covenant, it's everlasting, and they never can be broken off; therefore it's meant of the carnal seed, those that are externally in covenant, but not spiritually and savingly. 3. As for that place Gen. 21.12. For in Isaac shall thy seed be called, Gen. 21.12. which is made so much use of to overthrow this Doctrine, and that none are taken into covenant with God but the● that do truly believe and be the sons of Abraham's faith; the meaning seems plainly to be this: (1) It is to be understood, that the Messiah the promised seed should not come from Ishmael but from Isaac: It's to be understood de semine benedicto. (2) Of the spiritual Seed, and that in a double sense; [1] Of the peculiar and electing Love of God, which should run in Isaac and his posterity; [2] De privilegio foederis; for all his Posterity were not elected, and spiritually holy, and in covenant with God, but in his seed the visible Church of God should be continued, and they should be those amongst whom the Lord would hold forth his Name, and set up his Worship, and this must be chief the meaning; for it's a comfort to Abraham against casting out of Ishmael out of his Family, which had a resemblance of the visible Church, and in the execution of this Church-censure to be done by Abraham the Priest of the Family, he must excommunicate one Son, as he was as a Priest to offer the other; and now the Lord comforts him in this affliction, that the seed that should be accounted his and should be continued as the blessed seed amongst the Nations, should be the Posterity of Isaac, and they should be reckoned for his Seed; an expression answerable unto that of Eve, Gen. 4.15. God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel whom Cain slew; that is, in whom and in whose posterity the Church of God should be continued unto the end of the world; though Cain were excommunicated, and Abel slain, yet the Covenant of God should be made good unto the Woman and her seed; and so by thy seed shall be called in Isaac, is meant the continuance of the visible Church in the Posterity of Isaac, when Ishmael was cast out; and therefore this makes nothing to prove that none of Abraham's seed were taken into the Covenant but those that were elected, and did walk in the steps of the Faith of Abraham. Quest. 2 §. 2. Into what of the Covenant are they taken, and in what respect can they be said to be under the Covenant of Grace who are in a state of nature in the old Adam? and therefore as you have showed us under a Covenant of works, and we have heard from Gal. 4. that it's as impossible for a man to be under two Covenants at one and the same time, as it is for a man to be born of two Mothers; and when the son of the bondwoman shall be born of the freewoman; then can a man that is under the Covenant of works, while he does so remain unbroken off, be also under the Covenant of grace? Answ. 1 1. Of the Covenant of Grace there are two parts, answerable to the two sorts of Promises that belong unto it; as there are the Promises of this life and that which is to come, so there are in the Covenant spiritual Privileges, and there are saving Graces; and a man may be in the Covenant for the one and not for the other. All that are truly converted, they come under the Covenant in both respects; but they that are only so by Profession, and outwardly, they have it for the external Privileges of the Covenant only. And this is clear from two places, Rom. 3.1. he had showed before, that nothing but true faith and holiness gave a man an interest in the spiritual part of the Covenant; it was not those outward things that a man's eternal happiness did consist in, he is not a Jew that is one outwardly; and although they be members of the Church of God, as they are visible Professors, Austin. yet they are not parts said pests, non membra sed ulcera, etc. as our Divines generally maintain it against the Popish Doctrine, Ecclesia catholica quam credimus ex solis constat electis: Daven. determ. 46. And therefore these outward things avail nothing to the inward and spiritual part of the Covenant, as before God, but thy circumcision will be uncircumcision; and the Lord saith, Jer. 9.23. he will join them all together, the circumcised with the uncircumcised; for one is uncircumcised in flesh, and another in his heart; and therefore the Lord called them Rulers of Sodom, and people of Gomorrhae; and their outward privileges will serve to increase their condemnation, ripen their sins, and hasten their ruin; for he only is in God's account a Jew that is one inwardly, Rom. 3.1. in the spirit not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; Now he comes to propound this very question, Rom. 3.1. What advantage then has the Jew, or what excellency has the Jew more than others? for so the word is used Math. 5. What excellent thing do you? now he adds; that unto them did belong the external privileges of the Covenant, who had nothing to do with the spiritual graces of the Covenant; and he makes it not a small matter, to be under, or have a right unto these outward privileges, but much every way, chief in that unto them is committed the Oracles of God, that the Law of God was written unto them, Hos. 8.12. and that it should be called, Your Law; John 8.7. they had a peculiar interest in it above all other people of the world, it was a Law written unto them, and as a Depositum committed unto them to keep, and so I conceive the word used 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 notes, namely, credita vel concredita sunt, not only as Beza saith, ut proprium ipsorum thesaurum notat, As it notes their proper treasure, but also as that which they were to be Stewards of, Isa. 2. and to convey and transmit unto other people; for the Law was to come out of Zion, and the Word of God from Jerusalem; and in the latter days, the water shall issue out of the Sanctuary also, Ezek. 47.8. and from thence shall go into the East country, into the desert, and shall go forth into the Sea, and thereby the waters shall be healed: so Rom. 9.4. he doth recount the external privileges of the Jewish Church and Members thereof, and he doth reckon up eight very remarkable ones: whose is the adoption; not spiritual adoption, Rom. 9.4. but the honour to be called the Sons of God, and to be separated from all other people, Deut. 14.1. 1 Sam. 4.22. and Nations under Heaven, by a Marriage-covenant, Exod. 19.5. the glory; the Ark was the special token of God's presence; and to them was given the Law, the Worship of God, Praesentiae Dei Symbolum. the Promises; of whom were the Fathers, and of whom according to the flesh Christ came. Now all these did belong to the body of the Nation, as being taken into a Marriage-covenant, and the external privileges of it, which did belong to them that should never have any spiritual and saving benefit by it. It's one thing to have an interest in the Covenant in reference to the spiritual and eternal mercies of it, called the sure mercies of David, by the Prophet; and by the Apostle, the holy things of David; and another to have interest in the Covenant only in reference unto the temporal Promises and outward privileges thereof; and there is many a man that has interest in the one, that neither hath, nor ever shall have benefit by the other. Therefore those that are the Elect of God, when converted, they are taken into the Covenant for both; but all the seed of Parents in Covenant are taken into the outward Court, the external part of the covenant, the temporal Promises and outward privileges of it, and are to enjoy them, and may claim them as their privilege and right, till by their sin they do deserve to be ejected and cast out of the Church, and excluded from this privilege; which as a kind of a birthright by grace does belong unto them * As there is a twofold being in Christ, so there is a twofold being in Covenant with God. Christ considered as a head in Heaven, so he has none but living members; but considered as a Vine spreading himself into a visible Church on Earth, so he has many unfruitful branches. . 2. I do not only grant, but teach, that as there are two Covenants, so all Mankind for the state of their persons come under one of these, they are all of them children and sons of a covenant, answerably to their union with the heads of the Covenants, the first and the second Adam. Therefore, 1 Cor. 15.47. the Apostle Paul makes but two men in the world, Adam and Christ, for both of them are Heads of a Covenant; they that are in the first Adam, not yet translated, who do yet bear his Image, they stand under his covenant; and they that are in the second Adam, bear his Image, they stand under his covenant, Gal. 3.29. and if you be Christ's, you be Abraham's seed, etc. and it's as impossible for a man for the state of his person to be under both covenants, as it is for a plant to grow upon two roots, or for a man to be born of two Mothers; the heads of the covenants are so expressly contrary, and the terms of these covenants so directly opposite, that it can never be, that a man can belong to them both: he that is admitted into the covenant of Grace, must of necessity first be cut off from the covenant of Works; for he cannot live by a Righteousness in himself, and in another also. But yet this is true also, that a man who for the state of his person is under the Covenant of Works, may yet have a title unto many temporal promises, and outward privileges of the covenant of grace, and receive many benefits thereby; for the benefits of the Covenant of Grace are of three sorts: (1) Universal, which all the creatures have thereby, even the whole creation; it is by this covenant that the Government of the World is changed, and put into the hand of the Mediator; and so by this Covenant the World is established, Isa. 49.8. the creatures are preserved in their being, which else for the sin of man, by the curse of the first covenant, should have been destroyed; and by this means the patience of God is exercised towards wicked men, and he doth spare them, and even the Devils themselves by reason of the Dominion of Christ, and the Covenant of Grace, and the employments the Lord hath to use them in, as Vessels of dishonour in this great house the Church; therefore they have not the fullness of their Torment, but there is a time of greater torment by them expected, and at which they tremble; by this means the Sun does rise, and the Rain does fall upon the just and unjust. (2) T●●re are some spiritual and eternal privileges, as Grace and Glory, which belong only to the Saints, who are the only proper heirs of the Covenant, and for whose sake the Lord brought Light and Immortality to light through the Gospel. (3) There are some evangelical privileges, or external Church-priviledges only which belong unto some people whom God has by the calling of the Gospel separated unto himself, where he will set up his Ordinances, and make known his Name; and many a man may have these, who for the state of his person is under the Covenant of Works. Quest. 3 §. 3. But if we should grant, that children are with their parents taken into covenant, yet you confess it's but to the external privileges of the Covenant, and that many of them are never made partakers of the spiritual blessings thereof; and therefore what do they gain by it, seeing he is not a Jew, that is one outwardly, nor that circumcision that's outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew that is so inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter, whose praise is not of man but of God? What did Ishmael gain by being circumcised, or Esau? for if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision, Rom. 2.25. and therefore it will but bring a further Judgement upon them: Jer. 9.25. Jer. 9.25. I will punish all that are circumcised with the uncircumcised; and it's observed by the Learned, that the Nations there mentioned with Judah, did use Circumcision, but yet being out of Covenant with God, their circumcision is made uncircumcision; and so it was with the Jews also, that did break the Covenant, and behave themselves unfaithfully therein; therefore, as the Gentiles converted are called Jews, Psal. 87.4, 5. and said to be born in Zion, and to be the Israel of God, Gal. 6.16. so the Jews though circumcised, yet living impenitently, are called Gentiles, Canaanites, Amorites, Ezek. 16.3. Hos. 12.7. Amos 9.7. Ethiopians, Sodomites, Isa. 1.10, etc. therefore those outward privileges may do them much hurt, and may heighten their Judgement; for there are none cast out with so great indignation, as the children of the Kingdom; and there are no men's Judgements that come up to that height as theirs; and this is all the fruit that the greatest part of them have; and for those that shall be saved, they can have no spiritual and saving benefit in an ordinary and rational way till they be converted, and do themselves consent unto the Covenant; and therefore, it's a small matter that will be granted, if this should be granted, that Children are for the outward privileges taken into Covenant with their Parents; for whoever doth plead it, that doth not himself consent to the Covenant, doth but bring forth, as it were, Vriahs' letters against himself. Answ. Unto all this that has been objected, I shall answer under two heads: (1) That it's a Privilege both unto parents and children, that they should be taken into their parent's covenant: (2) I'll show you the particulars wherein this great privilege doth consist, and in what respect the children are gainers by it, that never have any spiritual and saving benefit by the Covenant. 1. That it is a special privilege for parents and children, that they are taken into their Parent's Covenant, will appear by these Arguments and Demonstrations. 1. It will aggravate their sin if they abuse it; therefore it's a mercy and a privilege in itself; for what is not a mercy and a privilege in itself, that cannot add to a man's sin and Judgement. Now as it is in Riches and Honours, and all the Blessings in this Life, they will be unto a man Judgements if they are abused; therefore they are blessings in themselves, blessings in the thing, though a snare to the man: so this very argument that's brought to prove that they are no blessings, and give no benefit, doth clearly prove, that the thing itself is a privilege and a blessing. 2. For a Child to be disinherited and cast out of his Father's Covenant is a very great Judgement, and the forest of all outward afflictions that can befall a man; as we see it in Cain, Gen. 4.14. Thou hast cast me out from the face of the Earth, and from thy face I shall be hid; it's the Sentence of Excommunication that the Lord passeth upon Cain: and so upon Ishmael, Cast out the bondwoman and her son: It's sad for children to be cast out of their Parent's inheritance, but it's a far greater Judgement to be cast out of their Parent's Covenant, and they to be deprived of that Birthright which doth belong unto them by the second Covenant, as being born of confederate Parents; now if it be a great judgement to be cast out, surely it's a great Privilege to be taken into their Parent's Covenant. 3. It's promised as a special Blessing for the visible Church of God to continue in any man's Posterity; and therefore we are to look upon it so, Gen. 4.25. it was so in Seth, God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel whom Cain slew; Gen. 9.27. and so it was promised to Shem, that the Church of God should be in his Posterity continued, and that in due time the Lord should enlarge Japhet to dwell also in the tents of Sem; that is, either of the Gentiles that should become a surrogated Israel when the Posterity of Sem were cast off, and should be engrafted in their room; or else of the fullness of the Gentiles that should in the last days come in unto the Jews, and so make up but one Church with them, when the Lord shall make the Church of the Jews the Mother-Church, and should give them unto the Jews f●● daughters, etc. so in Abraham and his Posterity, and that they might still lay claim unto the Covenant and the Promise made unto their Fathers, being born the Sons of the Covenant. To have any particular office prescribed by God in a Family, is looked upon and promised as a great mercy; to have a Priesthood continued in the Family of Aaron, and afterwards of Phineas as a reward of that great act of his in being zealous for the Lord in executing Judgement, for the Lord gave him an everlasting Priesthood; and to have the Kingdom continued unto David and his Posterity, as he takes notice, Thou hast spoken of my house for a great while to come; there shall not want a man of his loins to sit upon the Throne of Israel; and it's looked upon as a great Judgement for a Family and a Posterity to be disinherited; as for the family of Esau to be cast out of the Priesthood, and the Family of Saul to be cast out of the Kingdom; how much more than is it a mercy to have the visible Church of God continued in any man's Posterity? for all blessings descend according unto this, as it appears in the Sons of Noah, there is a blessing upon Shem and Japhet, and their Posterity, but it is in reference to a Church-state; but there is no blessing upon Cham, but cursed be Canan; God would never take a Church out of his loins, it should never be continued in his posterity: There shall not be a Cananite in the house of the Lord for ever; Zac. 14. ult. and therefore a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren; the curse and blessing is answerable unto the respect men have to a Church-state. 4. It's the greatest wrath that God doth pour out upon men in this life, to cast them out of external Church-priviledges. The Jews, as when they were taken into covenant, it was for themselves and their posterity that God would own their seed as his, and would avouch them to be his people; so when God did cast them out, and gave them a bill of divorce, called them Loammi, and did remove the Candlestick, he did cast them out and their seed; the natural branches were broken off: if it be not a blessing to enjoy it, surely it's no great judgement to be deprived of it; but the Apostle saith, Wrath i● come upon them to the uttermost, or to the end; therefore it the wrath be so great in a casting out, surely there is a great deal of mercy showed in the taking in. 5. The Apostle speaks even of an interest in the external privileges of the covenant as a very great matter; having showed that all men by nature are in the same condition, and in a man's spiritual estate outward and Church-priviledges make no difference, he doth demand, Then what advantage a man hath by Church-priviledges, and what good there is in them? Rom. 3.22. if they make not men to differ, what excellency hath the Jew above any other men or any other people? The Apostle says, Much every way; therefore though they may not differ in reference to a spiritual state, yet there is a great excellency and advantage; and the Apostle speaking of the grafting in of the Gentiles into the same Church-covenant, them and the posterity, when the Jews were disinherited, he says, Rom. 11.17. Privilegia & beneficia foederis in Ecclesia patrum deposita, Par. That they did partake of the root and the fatness of the olive-tree; therefore in Scripture it's commended as a great advantage and privilege unto a man to be brought into the external rights, and to have an interest in outward privileges of the Church of God. 2. But what are those privileges and those particular benefits that come upon a person and his posterity thereby? (1) Many of them shall be saved, elected, and converted to God; for the Lord doth take the number of his Elect out of the loins of his own, the Church of the firstborn whose names are written in Heaven is hid in the visible Church here as wheat in a heap of chaff. (2) It's the only ground of hope that parents have for the salvation of their children dying in their infancy; David did hope it, though he might say with Austin, Ego in illo puero nihil habui praeter delictum; yet he saith, I shall go to him, and his heart was quieted concerning his eternal state, by virtue of the Covenant made with him. We have no other promise but this, I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed; and this is Gospel, a man is as truly bound to lay hold of the promise, and cast himself upon it, for his seed, as for himself. (3) There is no ordinary way of salvation but it is amongst them that are taken into Covenant, salvation is of the Jews: Joh. 4. there was in an ordinary way salvation to be had no where else; and therefore by being taken into the outward privileges of the Church, a man is brought into the ordinary way of salvation. Esa. 5.7. Exod. 15.5. Gen. 6.2. (4) It's a special honour to be the vineyard of the Lord, the garden of the Lord hedged in from the rest of the world, his wall, a wine press, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed, to be called the Sons of God, the people of God, and the Lord to avouch them such publicly before all the world to be his peculiar treasure, the Lord to be their God, and they his people, above all people of the earth, theirs is the Adoption; it's spoken of this federal external sonship. Rom. 9.4. Esa. 22.1. & 29.1. Rom. 3.2. (5) By this you have special privileges: Jerusalem is the valley of Vision, and Jesuron the seeing people; it is Ariel, the Altar of the Lord: chief to them are committed the Oracles of God, which they are to keep and to transmit unto posterity; it's a depositum laid up and concredited to them: In Judah is God known, his name is great in Israel; Psal. 147. ult. he hath not dealt so with other nations; they are a people near unto him, and the Lord hath promised, that he will give them his special presence: I will dwell in the midst of them; Zac. 8.3. 2 Cor. 6. Christ walks in the middle of the golden Candlesticks, though he be in glory. (6) By coming under the outward privileges of this Covenant they have very glorious operations, mighty works upon them that other men have never experience of; and all this, even in them that perish; and they have this as a fruit of their external interest; for Hos. 6.5. there is hewing and slaying, there is sowing and planting, when the rest of the common fields lie untilled, Mat. 13.3. 1 Cor. 12.8. and there are great gifts bestowed, such as the Lord doth not bestow on any other sort of people in the world; for the great gifts that come from Christ as ascended are upon the visible Church of God; yea the thorns and briers in the Church have the rain and influences, great and many common works of the Spirit raising and elevating and improving nature, the least of which works and motions is more worth than the world, it is so in the things, though it prove at last a curse to the man. (7) They by this means come under the care of the Church, and under the power of the Keys, under the prayers and under the censures of the Church, which do restrain them, and are many times blessed to bring men in; as the Apostle says, We judge them that are within. 1 Cor. 5.11. (8) They attain many temporal blessings, and are delivered from many temporal afflictions thereby; Ishmael had many outward blessings by Abraham's Covenant; the external blessings of the Covenant are made good to them; God will not destroy Jerusalem, and the judgement came not upon King Hezekiah, for David my servant's sake; and, I will not rend from Rehoboam, because I will not put out the light in Israel. There are two arguments that I would insist on: (1) A visible Membership is promised as a very special mercy. (2) The contrary, to be cast out of it, is threatened as a great judgement. 1. Gen. 9.27. A visible Membership is promised as a special mercy, Gen. 9.27. God shall persuade Japhet, etc. Noah's family was the Church of God, but he did foresee a defection, or an Apostasy, that should befall the posterity of Cham and Japhet, and that the visible Church of God should only be continued a long time in the posterity of Shem; but yet he doth foretell, that, though Cham's posterity should be for ever cast off, yet there should come a time when the posterity of Japhet tandem redirent ad unitatem Ecclesiae, Pareus. should at length return to the unity of the Church. Now we read Gen. 10.5. that by the posterity of Japhet the Isles of the Gentiles were overspread; this is therefore a Prophecy of the bringing in of the Gentiles into the number of God's people, and they shall become a visible Church unto God: for coming into the Tents of Shem, is being made members of the visible Church. There is a double conversion of the Gentiles which the Apostle speaks of, Rom. 11.12. If the fall and diminishing of the Jews be the riches of the Gentiles, how much more shall their fullness be? If upon their breaking off the Gentiles were gathered in, and enriched with their Church privileges, how much more when they shall be called and come in in their national fullness, shall the Gentiles be enriched by them? Rev. 7.3, 4. This is prophesied, Rev. 7.3, 4. Hurt not the earth, etc. and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the Tribes of the children of Israel, etc. It cannot be spoken of the Church of the Jews, for it is set after the seals, as a Prophecy that ushers in the Trumpets; and as the seals refer unto Rome Pagan, so do the Trumpets unto Rome Christian. Now there were four winds that were to blow upon the earth, and by their blasts they would hurt the earth and the Sea; for there was power given to them by God unto that end: the winds do signify motus bellicos and impetus hostiles, etc. warlike commotions, as we read in Jer. 49.36. Upon Elam I will bring the four winds, and I will scatter them, and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. Dan. 7.2, 3. Dan. 7.2, 3. The four winds contended upon the great sea; so that hereby is meant the incursion of all the barbarous People and Nations, with their power and might upon the Roman Empire; but in this general invasion there are some that the Lord would specially protect, upon whom these destroying winds should have no power; and that is meant by sealing of them, Glass. Amoris & singularis curae symbolum sigillum est, The sealing is a symbol of singular love and care: and yet when it is spoken of the Church of God, of the Gentiles in the Roman Empire, upon whom these storms should fall, and over whom these winds should have power, they are said to be of the Tribes of Israel: There were sealed 144000 of all the Tribes of Israel: whereas Israel was cast off and dispersed upon all the four winds long before, and God had wholly cast off the care of them, and reputed them as a people to himself no more; why then are the Gentiles called the Tribes of Israel? The reason is this, Quia in Israelis vicem successerit, fuitque Israel surrogatus, They were surrogated Israel, they are Japhet brought into the Tents of Shem, that is, become the Church of God, and had all the Privileges of the Church stated upon them instead of the Jews; and therefore their sealing is called the sealing of the Tribes of Israel. But there is yet another call of the Gentiles spoken of, Rev. 7.9. Rev. 7.9. And after this I beheld, and lo a great multitude which no man could number, out of all nations, and kindred, and people, and tongues stood before the Throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, etc. that is, afflicto Ecclesiae statui succedit amplissimus & foelicissimus ejusdem status. This is to be referred unto the time of the seventh Trumpet, when the Jews shall be called, and new Jerusalem shall come down from God out of Heaven, when the mountain of the Lords house shall be exalted on the top of the mountains, and all Nations flow in unto it, when the Gentile Churches shall be given unto the Church of the Jews for daughters, Ezech. 16. and they exalted as the Mother-Church over all the world; when the Nations that are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the Kings of the Earth shall bring their glory and honour to it: Rev. 21.24. and I conceive it's to be understood of taking of both Jews and Gentiles into a visible Church by a first and second conversion, and it is unto both promised as a special mercy: it's made also a special mercy by the Apostle, Rom. 11.17, 24. Rom. 11.17, 24. and that both in reference unto Jews and Gentiles. 1. For the Gentiles, Thou being a wild olive-branch (for that must be the meaning, as Beza observes) art made partaker of the root and fatness of the olive-tree, etc. By the Olive-tree is meant the Church of Israel, Jer. 11.16. the visible Church, Jer. 11.16. The Lord called thy name a green olive-tree, fair and of goodly fruit; and the Lord did thus honour it, because this is one of the most excellent of all the trees, the Figtree, the Olive, and the Vine, and that (1) for its greenness, for it doth flourish and is always green, (2) for its fruitfulness. And that it's not spoken of the invisible Church, the Church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven, is plain for these two reasons. [1] Because the Jews are said to be the natural branches of the good Olive-tree, and the Gentiles are said to be branches of the Olive-tree that is wild by nature, and were grafted in contrary to nature. Now to Jews and Gentiles grace and regeneration are alike contrary by nature; so that there are no natural branches, neither is there any grace derived from parents unto children, Saving grace flows not from any company of men, no not from the invisible Church, they are only Christ's, and he only can communicate them; but Church-ordinances and privileges are properly the Churches, and by the Church are derived unto all the members thereof, whether they be Elect or Reprobate. Mic. 3. ult. We are born again not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, Joh. 1.13. for amongst Jews and Gentiles there is no difference, All men have sinned and come short of the glory of God, Rom. 3. but this is spoken of a birthright privilege, which doth descend and come upon a man as he grows upon such a root; therefore this is meant only of a visible Church-state. [2] It's spoken of an Olive-tree which hath two sorts of branches, some remain in their own Olive-tree, and are never broken off, but some there are that are broken off; for as Christ spreading himself as a Vine into a visible Church, hath both fruitful and unfruitful branches, some are in him that bear no fruit, Joh. 15.2. so hath the Church of God as an Olive-tree some branches that abide, and some that are broken off. Now in the invisible Church there are no branches to be broken off, for ex solis constat electis, it's the Church of the firstborn whose names are written in Heaven; therefore this Olive-tree is a visible Church, and the branches growing in it are visible members; they that are grafted in are taken into visible membership; and they that are broken off, are cast out from a visible membership: the root of this Olive-tree is Abraham the father of the Faithful, with whom as it were the Church-covenant did begin; for there was not a covenant made with him only for himself, That the Lord would be his God, but also the God of his seed; and therefore it's mercy to Abraham, but it's truth to Jacob, and the benefit of their grafting in is this, they partake of the root and of the fatness of the Olive-tree; the root is Abraham, and that in reference unto the Church-covenant made with him and his seed; wherefore they are the children of Abraham and of the Israel of God, and they partake of the fatness of Church-blessings, privileges, and ordinances; for that must be meant; for it's such a fatness that the Jews did partake of that were broken off, and such a fatness from which they also might be cut off, vers. 22. if they continued not in his goodness; therefore it must be meant of Church-ordinances and privileges only, and not of the saving graces of the Spirit, which flow immediately from Christ, and not from the Olive-tree the Church. 2. It is made a special mercy to the Jews, when they shall be grafted in again into their own Olive-tree, that is, become a Church of God, and be taken into Abraham's Church-covenant, and be made partakers of Church-priviledges and ordinances; and this shall be the new Jerusalem that is to come down from God out of Heaven; Rev. 1.2. and this Church shall enjoy communion by outward privileges and ordinances, as the Churches of the Gentiles do; for there shall be a gathering of men to the Lord by them, Esa. 66.19. there shall fishers in abundance stand upon the waters, and the fish, which is the persons that shall be taken and converted by them, shall be as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many; Ezech. 47.10. for the great harvest of the Church is reserved for the latter days, and the Ministry must continue so long as there are any of the body to be gathered in, or to be perfected, till we come to the unity of the faith, Eph. 4.13. and to be perfect men; and there shall be Church-censures administered in their glory and in the highest majesty and authority; there shall no unclean thing enter there; Rev. 22.11. without shall be dogs, and every one that loves and makes a lie; and it's that this Church shall bewail as the great want in those rising Gentiles, we have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: Cant. 8.8. by breasts she means the ordinances and the ministry of the word wherein milk for babes is laid up; therefore this Church that she complains had no breasts was the Gentiles; as afterwards the Gentile Churches do with joy and triumph relate of themselves, vers. 10. That their breasts were like towers, etc. and as formerly the children of the Jews were taken into the Church-covenant with their parents, and made members of the visible Church, which no man can deny; so it shall be with them again; as they were broken off with their parents, so with their parents they shall be grafted in, and those promises made good unto them; their children were Church-members, and so shall they again be, Esa. 65.23. they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them, the promise is, Ezech. 16.20, 21. Jer. 30.20. Cant. 7.2. Their children shall be as afore-time, and their congregation shall be established before me; which latter words do refer unto their Church-state, they shall be sons of the Church as they were in former times; and the Lord says, that the ordinance of Baptism shall be very fruitful even unto those infants of the Church, and very efficacious, though now it's dark, and we find little benefit by it, being an ordinance of God appointed by him to convey secretly gracious influences tending unto infants spiritual welfare, so some expound that place Cant. 7.2. Thy navel is like a round goblet, etc. The Church is here compared unto a mother conceiving and bringing forth: now here is the way of nourishment for children in the womb not yet brought forth, which is ministered by the navel; as to children brought forth it is taken in by the mouth. Now there being no ordinance of which children in the womb of the Church while infants are capable, but Baptism; therefore it's conceived by some to be meant here by the navel of the Church: and thus we see it shall be a special mercy to the Jews, when they shall be engrafted in again into the external form of a visible Church. 2. To be cast out from being a visible member is the greatest judgement that can befall a person or a people in this life; God doth then cut them up by the roots, (1) Upon a person; 1 Cor. 5.5. such a man is delivered to Satan, left under his power and kingdom: a man without the Church is under the care and inspection of the Church no more, but even left to the Devil to hurry him into all manner of wickedness or despair, as he did endeavour to do the incestuous person; and there was none of the Saints that might bear the burden with him; 1 Cor. 16.22. such a person is said to be Anathema maranatha; a man delivered by the Church of God as incorrigible, until the coming of the Lord; we can do no more with him, and therefore hereby he is bound over to answer it before the Judgment-seat of Christ. (2) It's the highest degree of temporal wrath upon a people, Hos. 1.7. Hos. 1.7. there is a pedigree of judgements set down, but yet the highest is Loammi, and this breaking off of the Jews, the natural branches, Hos. 2.2. and saying of your mother she is not my wife, is wrath that comes upon them to the uttermost; and then a people may be truly said to be utterly destroyed or brought unto an end; 1 Joh. 2.18. 1 Pet. 4.7. this is the last hour, the end of all things is at hand; the end of your Worship, and Temple, and Ordinances, and Services, and so the end of your Church and Commonwealth doth now draw near; it's not meant of the end of the world; and that's the end that Christ speaks of, Luk. 21.9. Luk. 21.9. Ye shall hear of wars and commotions, but the end is not by and by: Therefore when the Lord doth once unchurch a people, the end of all things is at hand with them, there is nothing but utter destruction remaining for such; I say when the Lord doth thus, he doth cut them off by the root; as we see in the Churches of Asia, What a miserable condition have they been in ever since the Lord removed the Candlestick from them? and of all the enemies of God the Antichristian Church is the greatest, and is reserved unto the greatest judgements; and though it is true it doth fall by degrees, yet as soon as it became a mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of Harlots, and spiritual Egypt, and Sodom, ever since the Lord hath been pouring out vials of wrath upon her by degrees, which will at last sink her as a millstone into the Sea, and her plagues shall come upon her in one day, suddenly and irresistibly, and the Lord will deal with her as a Harlot, and one to whom he hath given a bill of divorce, to the amazement of all the Christian Churches; and it will be easier for her by all her art to weigh the fire, to measure the winds, to call back the day that's past, and to restore the verdure of the withered grass, than to reverse the sentence that's written against Babylon, She is fallen, is fallen, it is become a habitation of devils, and a cage of all unclean and hateful birds. 2. Now the particulars wherein this great Privilege consists, are many. 1. They have by this means the offers of the highest mercies, they are the children of the Kingdom, and the guests that were first invited unto the wedding, and therefore it was necessary, Act. 13.46. says the Apostle, that the word of God should be first preached unto you, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. There was a double privilege that the Jews had before Christ's coming, they were soli, alone, there was a partition-wall between them and all other people; but this being taken away, yet being the people of God to whom belonged the adoption, it's necessary that they should be primi, the first to whom the Gospel was offered. And the great mercies of our lives be offers of grace, and they are such, as being neglected, all the world cannot redeem; and these many an ungodly man hath in a glorious manner made unto him that he doth never accept, but doth, as the Jews did, put it from him, and thereby judge himself unworthy of eternal life, and the grace that is offered him in such offers of the Gospel. 2. They have the most glorious presence of God of any people in the earth; they are a people near to God, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he dwells with them, he has promised, Rev. 21.3. Ezech. ult. & ult. I will dwell in them, and walk amongst them; the Lord walks in the middle of the golden Candlesticks, he goes down to the gardens to gather lilies: Jehovah Shammah: Jer. 13. Even as a girdle doth cleave to the loins of a man, so have I caused this people to cleave unto me, even the whole house of Israel; the Lord is in the middle of her; Christ sits there upon a glorious Throne, and they are all gathered together round about him, after the manner of their pitching in the Wilderness, where all the Tribes did pitch and incamp round about the Tabernacle, and therefore they are said to encompass the Lord about. 3. They have the most glorious influences: it's true, that Christ as Mediator hath a providential Kingdom as well as a spiritual; a Kingdom of Providence as well as of Grace, Ezech. 1.10. and both are administered by the Spirit, They have quieted my Spirit, Zac. 6.8. but he hath a spiritual Kingdom in the Church, which is therefore called the Kingdom of Heaven, and all the members of it, whether they be regenerate or unregenerate, are called Children of the Kingdom, and upon those the Spirit of Christ hath great works, for the foolish Virgins have oil as well as the wise; and they have many excellent gifts, Mat. 12.43, 44. the unclean Spirit goes out of the man, when he returns he finds the house swept and garnished, for there is a great diversity of gifts, but the same Spirit: and what is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of those gifts? only the Church, 1 Cor. 12. for they are all for the body, and therefore they fall from them, when they depart this life, as Elijahs mantle did, when he went to Heaven; for then Prophecy shall cease, and knowledge shall vanish away; and they have glorious common graces restraining sin, and are Virgins that have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of Christ; and the house is swept, and the Devil is gone out, and thereby men are restrained from those lusts which they dearly love, and forced to an external conformity, when they have no inward principles to support them; and common grace's elevating, improving, and sublimating nature, as we see, Heb. 6.7. Heb. 6.7. The ground that drinks in the rain that comes oft upon it: there is a rain of Influences as well as Ordinances; and by this means nature is strangely raised and improved, and yet the man continues in a state of unregeneracy still, and is nearer to cursing for it in the end. 4. They have very great temporal blessings; when Israel was taken into a marriage-covenant with God, the Lord says, I entered into covenant with thee, and thou becamest mine: Ezech. 16.8. then I clothed thee with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers skins, and girded thee with fine linen, and covered thee with silk, I decked thee with ornaments of gold, and put bracelets upon thy hands, etc. Upon the removal of the Candlestick, if the Lord unchurch a people, all other blessings go away with it: They shall take away thy eminent place, Ezech. 16.39. and they shall strip thee of all thy : and 2 Chron. 7.20. this house will I cast out of my sight, and I will pluck them up by the root out of the land which I have given them. 5. They have a special patience and long-suffering attending them, and the Lord doth bear with them far for his people's sake, Mat. 13. he lets the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say unto the reapers, Gather the tares in bundles to burn: we know that the patience and long-suffering of God is salvation. 2 Pet. 3. 6. They are delivered from many temporal judgements that others fall into; there is a special preservation and protection over them in the time of common danger, there is a sealing for the Church, the Lord sets a special mark upon them, Rev. 7.4. and wicked men receive much by this, and so even a Cham may be saved in a common deluge, where many a better man may be drowned. There are privileges belonging to the society that a man joins himself unto, that a man enjoys for their sakes, but not for his own; as many a man, saith Austin, in the Invasion of the Goths, did scape by joining themselves unto the Christians. August. de Civit. And Rehoboam shall be a Prince all the days of his life, for David my servant's sake, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem. Jehoram the son of Jehosaphat, 1 King. 11.34, 36. a wicked man walking in the ways of Ahab and the Kings of Israel, and one who at the entrance of his Reign had practised that ordinary devilish policy in use amongst Princes, to slay all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the Princes of Israel, thereby to strengthen himself; and yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the Covenant that he had made with him, to give him a light for ever; and when Jerusalem was besieged in the days of Hezekiah by a mighty Army, the Lord says, Esa. 37.35. They shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, but I will defend this city to save it for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 7. There is a holiness that comes to them thereby; 1 Cor. 7.14. 1 Cor. 7.14. Else were your children unclean, but now are they holy. (1) An inward holiness and sanctification it cannot be, for it's a holiness that is conveyed from the parents, but so the graces of the Spirit cannot be, which are not of blood nor of the will of the flesh. (2) Neither can it be meant of legitimation, Joh. 1.13. that they are legitimate; for there is a lawful marriage between one man and one woman out of the Church as well as in the Church; so that they are lawfully man and wife, and their children lawfully begotten; for the truth of those relations are not founded in grace, a father is as truly a father, a Magistrate a Magistrate, a husband a husband in wicked men; and grace adds nothing to the truth of them, though it doth to the comfort and right use of them. (3) It's such a holiness as is derived from the faith of the parent; for it doth not come unto the child through the unbelieving parent; for if they were both unbelievers the children were unclean; but it's a holiness that comes upon the child from the faith of the parent, which can be nothing else but a federal holiness, being taken into the parent's covenant, which is either from father or mother derived unto the posterity. Now all these are great blessings in themselves, though they do ripen a man's sins, and bring a greater curse upon him in the end; for the marish places shall be given to salt; there be no men in the world delivered over to such fearful spiritual plagues, as they are, Amos 8.1. Heb. 6.1. Quest. 4. Answ. and if any men prove Devils they do, the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out, and the Lord will say unto them, I know you not, etc. §. 4. But what is this foederal holiness, and wherein doth it consist? This I shall speak to, (1) Negatively, and show you what it is not: (2) Positively, and show you what it is; and both are very necessary in the present business, both that the false glosses fastened upon this place may be removed, and also the true nature of this Holiness cleared and established. 1. Negatively, what it is not: and here I find three interpretations as false and corrupt glosses given of it. 1. Of a Holiness of Regeneration: but that cannot be the meaning of it, for the gracious qualifications of the Soul are no more ex traduce than the Soul itself; Joh. 1.13. no man is regenerated from his Parents, that he proceeds from; though they be themselves regenerate, yet the New-birth is not by Propagation. In this sense it is true, and to be understood, what Tertullian saith, None were born Christians. Here is a case propounded to the Apostle by some of the converted Corinthians, 1 Cor. 7.12. 1 Cor. 7.12. whether from the example of the Jews and the Law in force amongst them, and their practice in Ezra, to put away their strange Wives; or whether it were really the fear and jealousy of their own spirits, lest they might be corrupted by them, and lest their converse with them should be displeasing to God, and bring a Curse of God upon them; for it's spoken non de matrimoniis contrahendis sed retinendis, Calv. not of contracting but continuing marriage, Calvin. for else the command holds, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; and marry only in the Lord; but being married, when they both continued in infidelity, whether now one party being converted and the other continuing in Idolatry, it be not the duty of the party converted to departed from such a yokefellow, because of the danger of being defiled by such constant and intimate society? In answer to this case, the Apostle says, if the unbelieved will continue, let not the believing husband put away his unbelieving wife, etc. and the Apostle gives the reason drawn from the powerful influence that a state of Grace hath upon those that are brought into it; for the privileges of the Covenant of Grace are not like unto Conclusions in Logic, which do follow in deteriorem partem; the same grace that doth sanctify the man, hath a powerful and a gracious influence to sanctify all things unto the use of the man; and as Calvin says, pluris est pietas unius ad conjugium sanctificandum, quàm alterius impietas ad inquinandum. There is a great deal of difference between jus naturale & evangelicum, a man may have a natural right unto the creatures, and that lawful and before God; even unregenerate men may have so, which Christ bestows upon them as servants, as a reward of their labouring in a lawful way, and this is a right of Providence; but there is a right by virtue of union with Christ, when a man comes to take every creature as part of the Inheritance of Christ, as the Dowry that follows upon the Marriage with him; and this is a right of Promise: and answerable to this twofold right there is a great difference in the use of any thing, between legitimum, legitime, and sanctum, holy; a lawful use unregenerate men may have, who have according to the Law of God and Nature a lawful right; and so a Heathen may have a lawful use of Meat, Drink and Apparel, and Marriage, etc. but a holy use none have but Believers. There is a double curse come upon all the creatures, and all relations by the fall: (1) They are deceiving; (2) They are defiling; they draw out a man's lusts, and they ensnare the man, and add unto the inward pollution of his spirit the more, for to the unclean all things are unclean; the uncleanness of a man does pollute all things unto him, because the Curse is not taken off from them; and so doth the holiness of the man sanctify all things unto him, all creatures and relations; the curse being taken off from the person, it's taken off from all the creatures, and relations for his use, that it shall not be a snare to him to defile his Conscience and improve his lust, and thereby destroy his Soul. Now as for that interpretation that is given by some, viz. The unbelieved is sanctified, that is, 1 Cor. 7.14. by living with them they may be sanctified; for how knowst thou, O man, but thou mayst gain thy wife, In futuro de re incerta & optanda, sed in praeterito de re jam peracta, etc. Chamier, p. 1418. etc. It's true, that the believer living with the unbeliever may be a means of conveying Grace; for grace is as fire that will turn all things into itself; but that I cannot conceive to be the meaning here; for the sanctification of the unbeliever is an uncertain thing, and many times does not fall out so, but the unbeliever is made the worse, and the more enraged against godliness thereby; but the Apostle does not say, shall be sanctified, as of a thing uncertain, but is sanctified, as of a thing past: thence it cannot be meant of true Grace; for this sanctification nihil point in infideli, he is an unbeliever still, and in himself still unclean; in themselves they are not holy, but yet they are sanctified, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which Beza will not render per uxorem as we do, by the wife, and by the husband, but in uxore, in the wife, and in the husband; that is, uxoris respectu, in reference to the believer either husband or wife: if I may present to you my own thoughts, I would here take 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as it's usually put in Scripture, 1 Cor. 7.15. For God has called us unto peace, it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 1 Thess. 4.7. God has not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness; the Gospel is said to be preached unto every creature under Heaven, Col. 1.23. a place that has been lately abused much by some, upon which they would found that Doctrine, That men may come to salvation and to the knowledge of the Gospel without the Word, because they say every creature does preach the Gospel, the Gospel is preached in every creature; and so here, sanctified 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is unto the believer; though there be no holiness at all in the Unbeliever, but uncleanness, yet it is sanctified unto the Believer, that it shall not defile him. And this the Apostle doth further clear in another relation; for if Grace in you cannot sanctify your Conjugal relation, than it can never make your Parental relation holy and sanctified unto the Children; for there is the same power in Grace to sanctify one relation, as another; for if the worse party, the unbeliever, had a power to make the husband or wife unclean, then had he a power also to make the children unclean: but there is not such a power in the Believer, but it is sanctified to the other by Grace; and therefore are their children holy; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, alioquin certè, As Beza. else truly were your children unclean, but now are they holy: for if your wives were to you only as other Pagan's wives, and such of whom you have only a lawful use, as Pagans have, and not a holy use, than your Children also were in the same condition with other Pagan's children, that is, unclean and profane; but your children are not so, they are not in the same condition with other Pagan's children, for God has made a Covenant with Abraham, and with his spiritual seed amongst the Gentiles, as well as with his natural seed amongst the Jews; and the course of that Covenant the unbelief of a Pagan wife, so remaining, shall not hinder, if the father be a Believer, and taken into the Church of God; as we see in the example of the son of Moses, and in the example of Timothy, Exod. 4.24, 25. Act. 16.1, 2, 3. his mother Eunice being a Believer, though it is expressly noted that his father was a Greek, and nothing spoken of him, but as if he were a stranger unto the faith. And if it be objected, that the Child is holy as the Wife is, who is an unbeliever; for the wife is said to be sanctified as well as the child, and this is but a holiness of use, as you have interpreted, as all other things are by Grace sanctified unto the Saints, and all of them tend to their spiritual good: In answer hereto here we are to consider, that the Apostle does not say, that the child is sanctified unto the Parents, but 'tis said positively of their children, that they are holy. There is a double holiness, statûs & usus, of state and use, the wife is sanctified unto his use, as all other things are by virtue of the covenant of Grace, a blessing to him, and shall not be a snare unto his soul, nor a means to pollute and defile his inward man; and so is his honour sanctified, and his estate sanctified, and all things that belong to him; which cannot be said to be holy in themselves, but sanctified unto the man: but this of Children is the holiness of their state; that they are holy without respect unto their Parents use, they are so counted by God and are to be so reputed by men. Now what is this holiness? I answer first Negatively, what it is not: 1. It's not spoken of a Holiness of Conversion and Regeneration; for, (1) The Sin of Adam came alike upon all Mankind, and by Nature all are alike polluted; and therefore the Apostle speaking of Jews and Gentiles, he says in this respect there is no difference, but even the Elect of God are the children of wrath as well as others; Rom. 3.22. Ephes. 2.3, 5. and if the Election of God have not that power upon a man to sanctify him, much less any relation else in the world can have in reference unto Regeneration, till the Spirit of God put forth upon him a work of his Almighty power. (2) This is not spoken of Regeneration; for it is a holiness that comes upon the Child through the Faith of the Parent, whether he be a Believer in verity or in visibility only; but the holiness of Regeneration doth not come upon the child any such way; if neither of the Parents do believe, the child is unholy, but if either of them be a Believer, there is from the faith of the believing Parent a holiness comes upon the Child; but that is not of Regeneration. (3) It's a Holiness that may be lost; Joh. 1.13. Rom. 11.20. for these branches may be broken off, that is, either cast out with their Parents, as the Church of the Jews were; when the Lord was pleased to unchurch them and call them Loammi, he did with their Parents cast out their Children, and they were holy unto God no more; or else they may be cast out and justly deprived of their own privileges by their own personal offences, and so be cast off from this estate of holiness: but this cannot be said of the holiness of Regeneration and Conversion, for there a man's holiness is everlasting, because a man receives a seed of holiness and sanctification, which shall never die, which can never be broken off; for he receives a spirit of sanctification within him, and has not only an outward respect to holiness put upon him, etc. but there is many a man in Christ as he is a Vine that spreads himself into a visible Church on Earth that may be cut off from him, and may be cast out as a branch and whither; and yet if we look upon Christ as he is a head in Heaven, so he has no dead members; but as a Vine upon Earth, so he has many a withered branch, that may be cut off, and be cast out, and men gather them, and they may be cast into the fire and burn, that is, they burn hotter because they prove more wicked than other men, and their privileges do but add to their sins and quicken their destruction. 2. It's not meant of Legitimation, that is, a civil holiness (as some will call it) as if the meaning were, else were your children bastards; but now they are holy; that is, lawfully begotten: (1) Because the Legitimation of the child does not depend upon the faith of the Parent either one, or both; for we know that there were lawful marriages among the Heathen, and where the marriage is lawful by the consent of one man and one woman, there the seed is legitimate, though neither of them be a Believer; as on the other side, a child may be a Bastard and illegitimate though both Parents be believers, if not begotten in lawful marriage, by the mutual consent of both parties, giving up themselves each to other in such a relation; as we see it in the child of David begotten in Adultery, which was illegitimate, though both the Parents were Saints; for so we have good ground to conceive of Bathsheba; Prov. 31.2. Solomon the Son of my Vows; now the holiness here spoken of is such as depends upon and flows from the faith of the Parents, one or both, and which only faith can give, and nothing else. (2) The Holiness that is here spoken of, is such as may be lost; Rom. 11.20. there is a holiness that is derived from the root unto the branches, and the branches may be broken off, and others may be grafted in; now a man that is legitimate cannot be made illegitimate, and a man that is illegitimate, cannot be made legitimate; there is no way in the thing itself to make him so, whatever may be done in the account and repute of men to civil ends. (3) It has been well observed by some of our Divines, that this doth wholly take away the strength of the Apostles answer, and make it to be nothing to the purpose; for when once the Corinthians were converted, they did scruple in point of Conscience whether they might lawfully live with their Pagan yoak-fellows, for fear of being corrupted by them: Now the Apostle answers this case thus, You may lawfully live with them, for ye are lawfully Man and Wife, your marriage is lawful; if your Marriage were not lawful, your children were bastards, but your Marriage is lawful, and therefore your children are legitimate, which makes the Apostle speak that which is nothing in itself; for who did not well know, that the legitimation of the Child did flow from the lawfulness of the Marriage, and that if the Marriage be not lawful, the Child cannot be legitimate? This makes the Apostle speak nothing to the purpose, or to the case that is propounded to him. 3. There is yet another interpretation given of it by Estius, which also I find Jerome in one of his Epistles to Paulinus to give as the sense that Tertullian did put upon these words, ask, Fidelium filii dicuntur sancti quia sunt quasi fidei candidati. How the Children of believing Parents are holy? He answers, Because they are as it were in a way unto Faith and to Conversion, and brought under the power and blessing of a Christian Education, and have the example of the Saints before their eyes, which may be powerful to Conversion; and so say they, Sanctification is such a preparation, one deputed and prepared for such an end; Isa. 13.3. the Medes and Persians are called Gods sanctified one's, that is, such as he has set apart and prepared for such a work; and so do these seem to be set apart by holy Education, and as it were prepared unto holiness and conversion; and this is a sense also that some do catch after, to avoid the true sense of the holiness that is here spoken of by the Apostle: But this cannot be the meaning here, (1) Because the Apostle does not here speak, as Chamier hath well observed, de re incerta & futura, of a thing uncertain and future, but of something which was already actually in being; not only they were in a way or preparation to holiness, but they are holy, and the wife is sanctified, as that which all the Believers in the Church of Corinth that were thus unequally yoked might build upon, though many of their Children should never be converted by their holy and religious Conversation. (2) This is a holiness that is derived from the root to the branches, and doth come upon the Children through the faith of the Parents; but for Religious Education, that may as well befall the Child of a Pagan, he may be taken into a Christian family, as men were bought by Christians of old, and had religious education; and in this respect any Pagans Child taken into a godly family to be educated, may as truly be said to be holy as the child of a Believer; so a Turks Child taken here to be educated, is as truly holy as the Child of any godly man in the world: but this cannot be, for it is a holiness that doth proceed from the faith of the parent, that if one of them be not a Believer, their children are unclean, and if they be, than they are holy; however they are educated afterwards, yet there is a holiness that by grace comes upon them, and if the child of a Christian should be taken away by a Turk (as we have known many children have been, as Scanderbag was, etc.) yet there is a holiness comes upon the child from the faith of the parents, though he should be deprived of holy and religious education, which good parents, if it had been in their power, would have given him. 2. Let us now come and speak unto it positively, What is this holiness that doth come upon children by the faith of their parents and by their coming under their parent's Covenant? You say, that it is neither Regeneration, nor Legitimation, nor Preparation unto Grace by a religious education, what is it then by which they are said to be made holy? This holiness is a special privilege which the Lord hath annexed unto the Covenant of Grace, taking in the children of believing parents into Covenant with themselves, making the promises of the Covenant to run to them and their seed; that as natural parents in a natural way convey sin, so believing parents in a federal way may also convey holiness to their seed. 1. There is an Adoption belongs to them, Rom. 9.4. Rom. 9.4. As there is an Adoption of God that is grounded upon regeneration by men's being begotten and born of God, so there is an Adoption that consists in the external reputation only, when the Lord will honour men and visibly own them for his before the world, as Exod. 19.5. Israel is my son, Exod. 19.5. my firstborn. (1) They are separated from the rest of the world to be a visible Church unto God, and by virtue of this separation or partition-wall the Jews were commonly called the holy people, because they were taken by God into the holy Covenant; Dan. 8.24. & 11.28. for it's a holiness that flows from the covenant, it's the holy Covenant that makes them to be accounted the holy people. There are two sorts of men in the world, some are said to be within, and some without. Now they that are brought into a visible Church are said to be within, 1 Cor. 5.11. separated from all other people to be a Church unto God, and out of which number God will in an ordinary way gather all those that shall be saved, Joh. 4. Salvation is of the Jews, and unto which number all that shall be saved shall surely be added; Act. 2.47. And the Lord added unto the Church daily those that should be saved; for a person to have a hedge so made about him, and for God to separate him from other men of the world, that are made of the same dust with him, and that are no more polluted with sin from Adam than he, and yet for the Lord to take one into such a society, and separate him from the common rank of the men of the earth, this is a special privilege and favour; as doth appear by the contrary judgement, when the Lord doth unchurch a people or a person, and call them Loammi, it is a fruit of the highest and greatest wrath, when he doth break down the hedge, and remove the Candlestick, and deliver a man unto Satan as they are that are without. (2) The Name of God is called upon them, and they are children born of God, and he doth own them for his, and he is not ashamed to be called their God, they are a peculiar people and a holy nation; Ezech. 16.8. Exod. 19.5. which, as all Interpreters agree, is taken from Exod. 19.5. which related unto them, not as an invisible, but as a visible Church; such a Church as had Officers over it, which the Church invisible cannot have; and therefore God is called the God of Israel, and they are called the Israel of God; and that's the highest honour that can be put upon a creature, that the Lord should be called their God, to have the number of his Name, as 'tis said of Antichrist, Rev. 13.17. he hath four things, the mark, the image, the name, Rev. 13.17. & 15.2. and the number of his name; and the Saints are said to get victory over all these: I do not take number here to be arithmetical, a man consisting of numeral letters, as generally it hath been conceived to be, but I take number for the common account and esteem that is had of men, and so it is taken in several languages, as in the Greek Homer hath it, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a man of great account in war, a man numbered, that is, generally known to be a skilful and expert soldier; and in Latin we say, vir nullius numeri, a man of no account and esteem, and Act. 1.26. He was numbered with the Apostles, that is, he was generally taken, accounted, and esteemed as an Apostle, and to be added unto the Apostles order; so that the number of his name is that common esteem and repute of men belonging to Antichrist, to favour and to carry on his design, though under fair and specious shows to the contrary, when men do not seem to declare it, but yet all their actings tend that way; as many a man doth oppose Christ under the profession of Christ so there is many a man that doth exalt Antichrist under the detestation of Antichrist; such men whatever their profession and great outcries are, commonly are esteemed and reputed to be of that number, and that they do labour to build that which they would fain make the world believe, they endeavour to pluck down. Now if it be so great a dishonour to have the name of the beast, or the number of his name, what an honour on the contrary must it be to have the Name of God called upon a man? And if getting victory over the name of the Beast, and the number of his name be so great a mercy and glory, what an infinite shame and reproach will it be for a man to have the Name of God taken off from him which was formerly called upon him? 2. The Ordinances of God do of right belong to them; and God hath therefore separated them from other people, that he might set his Tabernacle in the middle of them, and they have his presence with them; Rom. 9.4. Rev. 4. there the worship of God is, there is a glorious Throne, by which is meant the Lord Christ in the presence of his people, and it is of a visible Church; for there are Beasts and Elders, there are Believers, and there are Officers, which cannot be in the Church invisible; therefore this presence of God in Ordinances, and the Ordinances themselves do belong unto this visible Church, and the members of it have a right unto them all, as being born of believing parents; and they have not only jus haereditarium, an hereditary right, but jus actuale, an actual right, which is called jus in re, when they shall be made fit for them, and are capable of them: it was the great honour of Israel that it was the valley of Vision, and that because of the presence of God there, it is called the holy City, Esa. 12.1. & 29.1. Rev. 21.3. Ezech. 48.35. Ariel the Altar of God; and the great honour of the new Jerusalem is, Rev. 21.3. That the tabernacle of the Lord shall be with men: it is not meant of Heaven, for it is a Tabernacle, there shall be Ordinances therein; and the same is spoken of, Ezech. 48.35. Jehovah shammah. 3. There is a special Providence that doth watch over them: though it is true, not the same peculiar Providence that doth watch over those that are really Saints and by union members of Christ, but yet there is a special Providence towards the visible Church in reference unto all the works of God; and therefore, Zac. 2.5. to hurt them is as touching the apple of his eye, and he will be a wall of fire about Jerusalem; theirs is such a protection as other men have not; and therefore when the Lord did unchurch them, he says, he will take away the wall and the hedge, Esa. 5.5. and they shall be trodden down; that is, that peculiar Providence that the Lord did before exercise towards them, now he will remove and give them up into the hands of men to devour them; as it is in Deut. 32.30. said, that their rock had sold them, God did put them into the hands of their enemies, Thou sellest thy people for nought: and we know amongst men what it is for an outlaw, a proscribed man to be put out of the protection of the Law; and so when the Lord doth cast any man out of the Church, he doth put him out of protection also. 4. The great and special workings of the Spirit of Christ do belong unto such: it is true, that Christ hath a providential Kingdom as well as a spiritual, and the Spirit is the Viceroy and Prorex in both; the Spirit rules for him, and therefore there are mighty workings of the Spirit of God raising up the spirits of men, and fitting and preparing of them for to accomplish the Lords work, and to bring about his ends, but yet in the spiritual Kingdom there are the chief operations of the Spirit; the Apostle counts three things as works of the Spirit: 1 Cor. 12.4, 5, 6. (1) Gifts of the Spirit. (2) There are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, administrations, functions, and offices, and they are divers, which these gifts qualify men for. (3) There are different fruits and effects, works and successes that the Spirit doth give unto these gifts in different offices and administrations: but unto whom doth all this belong? they do all of them belong to the Church: vers. 12, 28. he hath set in the Church offices, and given them gifts, and his saving gifts are amongst these, and many very glorious common works, by which even unregenerate men are sanctified; for the Blood of Christ by which they are sanctified they may despise as an unholy thing; and in this privilege of being a member of the visible Church of God, and having the Name of God called upon him, and the services of God pertaining to him, in this doth this holiness consist, and a man thereby is separated from all other people in the world. Quest. 5 §. 5. Is this federal right to the children only the privilege of parents, and so conveyed unto the child from the parents, one or both of them being Believers? or is there any other way of conveyance? We read Gen. 17.12. how not only they came under Abraham's Covenant that were of his seed, but he that was born in his house, that was not of his seed, or bought with his money, or any stranger, he was to come under Abraham's Covenant, and was to be circumcised as well as any that did come out of Abraham's loins; and we find that the Church of God did therefore ordain Sureties, which were to take upon them the care of the education of such children, answerable unto that Religion into which they were baptised; and they were admitted thereunto by their proparentes right, which otherwise had no right thereunto by their natural parents; and this is so ancient, that I find in the second Century Hyginus; Susceptores ad baptismum Christianorum adjecit, etc. Magdeb. And Tertullian has a hint of it, as in use in his time also, Tertul. de coron. milit. August. which hath been justified by Divines since, and therefore practised in the Church of God in succeeding ages to this day: Aliquando filiis infidelium per statum haec gratia ut baptizentur, cùm occulta Dei providentia in manu piorum qumodocunque perveniunt, Aug. de Grat. & lib. And hence our Divines generally have concluded, that as there is a spiritualis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Christ doth convey unto the Saints, a sonship before God, so there is a privilege that belongs to Christians of those that are taken by them into their care and charge, Et adoptati pro liberis sunt habendi, Gerh. loc. come. de baptis. p. 582. they have a privilege to convey a kind of sonship unto them by a spiritual Adoption. And Mr. Calvin in an Epistle to Farel about the baptising of a child of a Papist by father and mother, the Grandmother being a Protestant, and desiring the child might be baptised, Calvin inquires, if she would engage to the Church for the education of the child, the child then might be baptised, and had an interest in the Covenant by her right, undertaking for its education, though it had not intetest nor right by the immediate parents. And Mr. Perkins and many others, Casts of Conscience, pag. 76. And Am. Cases of Consc. says, That infant's illegitimè nati & excommunicatorum, interventu sponsorum idoneorum possunt baptizari, si ab aliis piis educatio eorum suscipiatur, p. 232. though they look upon sureties as not of divine institution, and only for a civil use, testifying the abundant care of the Church, of the education of those that were received by them, and not as simply necessary unto the Sacrament of Baptism; yet they conceive them lawful, and not to be rejected, so as they be qualified for so great a trust, and do faithfully discharge it in the fear of God. By this it will appear our Divines generally judge, that there is a kind of spiritual Adoption, that a godly man may convey a right by, and give an interest in the Covenant, and the privileges of the Covenant unto those that are not his seed, and ●hose that from their natural parents have no right at all. Now to cross the judgement of so many reverend and holy men, both ancient and modern, hath been a very great trouble to me, and upon the most serious debate I did desire, ●hat the balance might have been cast the contrary way; but at last considering that the scripture is unto them and us the Rule of Doctrines, and the Judge of Controversies, unto which they bind themselves, and that if an Apostle, or an Angel from Heaven do speak the contrary, it's because there is no light in them; and because we have learned from themselves, Esa. 8.20. ●●at they were not satisfied with their own light in many things, but writ according to their present apprehensions, with a desire still to a further and clearer discovery: De catechis. rudib. c. 1. Mihi prope semper ●rmo meus displicet & melioris avidus sum; and therefore our Divines generally forsake them ●n many things, as not walking with a right foot towards the truths of the Gospel; and Luther professes of his works, If the Lord Jesus Christ was willing to give an account of his doctrine when he asked, Quantò magìs ego faex, non nisi errare potens, etc. Et primus ero qui libellos meos in ignem projiciam. and therefore he doth ●eseech men by the mercy of God, That if any man could convince him of his errors he would, for he was ready to retract them. This hath encouraged me with all submission to speak my apprehensions out of the word, though they are contrary unto that doctrine that hath been ●o anciently taught, and so commonly received. Herein I would speak unto three things. (1) I would lay this for a ground, That only parents' can give the child a federal right. (2) I would answer the instance given of the circumcising of servants born in Abraham's house, or bought with his money, though they were not of his seed, and how far they had their right from Abraham. (3) I would speak something to the ancient custom of Sureties or Godfathers in the primitive times. 1. Only parents can give their children a federal right, and none else; and that I shall endeavour to make manifest to you by these arguments, 1. From the nature of the Covenant, which doth only take in his seed, Abraham and his seed, Noah and his seed, the woman and her seed, Gen. 3.35. & 9.9. & 17.7. Psal. 89.29. David and his seed; the holiness of branches, it's spoken of a federal holiness, because it is applied to branches that were broken off, therefore it is meant of a child's holiness, and it doth proceed from the holiness of the root, upon which they grew, Rom. 11.16. and such a holiness as the converted Gentiles had for their seed, by virtue of the same Covenant; and therefore the children of believing parents are called the children of the Covenant, Acts 3.25. as being a birthright that belongs to them; and as we may not with some, deny them that which is their right, so we are not of our own authority to appoint them coheirs, some that shall share with them therein. Mr. Calvin indeed saith, Hîc certè locum habet regula vulgaris, favores sunt ampliandi; yet we should not limit the grace of the Covenant, and stretch it beyond the rule of the Word, and our grace in receiving men must not be larger than God's grace manifested in the Covenant that he hath established, wherein we do learn that the child's federal right is the confederate parent's privilege, but never that a person in covenant hath a power, having no seed, to adopt any unto himself for spiritual privileges, or that he may extend them to any but those that God hath taken into covenant with him, which is his seed; an adoption in things temporal is allowed by the Law of God and man, but that there should be in men adoption in things that are spiritual in reference to a covenant-right, that is to extend the terms of the covenant beyond the line that God hath in his Word stretched forth. It's true, Divinus sese obstrinixit Christo homini in persona Abrahami, Zanch. Abraham was a public person in the covenant of grace with whom as it were the covenant eminently began, and he was (as one hath well observed) therein a type of Christ, as David, Psal. 89.34. and therefore Abraham is said to be the father of us all, Rom. 4.16. the father of many Nations; but this is only in respect of the spiritual grace of the covenant, and not the external spiritual privileges of the covenant, for the children of the promise are accounted for his seed; though they were not of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, Rom. 4.12. yet they did walk in the steps of Abraham, and were the children of his faith, though not of his flesh: but other Christians are not made public persons in this respect, as Adam, Abraham, and David were; and therefore in reference to these outward spiritual privileges they can convey them unto none but unto their seed, whom the Lord takes into covenant with himself, as appears in the Text; and our grace must not be larger than Gods. 1 Cor. 7.14. 2. The Apostle, 1 Cor. 7.14. lays down the rule plainly, That the holiness of the child comes from the holiness of the immediate parent, one or both; and on the contrary, the uncleanness of the child comes from the uncleanness of the parent, else were they unclean, but now are they holy; it's spoken here of a federal holiness, as we have before proved, and the Divines before quoted do grant, if one of the parents be not in this respect holy, the Apostle pronounceth their children unclean; that is, they have no federal holiness; and if the Lord say, that they are unclean, who is it that can by his undertaking for their education make them holy, till God by a work of conversion make them so? It would make federal holiness, which is one of the great privileges of the second Covenant, and an expression of the free grace of the Gospel, to be a thing of small account, if any man might say of the children of a Heathen, It's true, neither of their parents was a Believer, and the children are unclean by their birth, but I will make them holy, for I will undertake for their education; this seems to be a way of holiness that was never appointed by the Spirit of God, and was unknown to the Apostles and to the Church of God in the times of the Apostles; for he puts the holiness or the uncleanness of the child upon the holiness or uncleanness of the parents only, either one or both. 3. It would make this title to be a vain thing in the sight of God, and all administrations of the Church grounded thereupon to no purpose; as if a Jew should have taken the child of a Heathen and circumcised it, it had not been an Ordinance of God, neither should that child have been looked upon as circumcised; as it's observed by Cyprian: De ratione circumcisionis. Cunaeus de Repub. Hebraeor. l. 3. c. 5. Jer. 9.25. So Mont. renders the word circumcised in uncircumcision. Non tantùm in Hebraeos, sed etiam in Phoenices & Arabes haec traditio inolevit. So Jerome in Jerem. 9.25. and yet the Lord says, I will punish them that are circumcised with the uncircumcised; and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in their heart; they did use Circumcision, but it was not an Ordinance of God to them, neither did he count them circumcised, being out of covenant with him; whatever Church-administrations are used towards men, not as an Ordinance of God to them, are in God's account of none effect. Now there are but two ways that we read of in Scripture of bringing men into covenant, either by a personal right from the parties by conversion, or by parental right, which by the grace of the covenant is extended from the parents unto the children in a way of federal sanctification. 4. This Doctrine of federal right by Sponsors lays three absurdities inevitably, which I conceive those very Divines cannot admit. (1) It puts the child's federal right upon his education, and a persons undertaking for it to the Church, which the Scripture doth put upon a man's generation, making it a birth-priviledge; whatever his education be, that cannot take away the right of a child, till by his sin through the Ordinance of Excommunication he be as a branch broken off from the root upon which he did formerly grow. (2) It makes that which is an act of Gods free grace, to be man's free gift; no man is bound to adopt or to undertake the education of the child of another man; whereas it is of free grace that God only takes parents into covenant with their children also; and to put this upon the act of man as an act of his grace, I cannot but look upon it as derogatory to the grace of God. (3) This will justify that which generally our Divines condemn, namely the Papists stealing of the children of the Heathen to baptise them, there being some sureties that will undertake to the Church for their education. It's true that it doth not justify the theft, but yet as to the baptising of them it doth, which our Divines generally and many of the Popish Divines themselves condemn. Jerh. loc. come. de Baptismo, pag. 584. Aquin. 22. q. 10, 11. 2. For the instance out of Gen. 17.12. That all the males in Abraham's house were to be circumcised, whence it's inferred, That Christians have the same privilege upon those that are per media legitima brought into their power, whether they be born in their house, or bought with their money, or taken in war, and that they undertaking for their education, they are to be looked upon as having a federal right by adoption conveyed to them, and may therefore be baptised; This is the answer Pareus eives on Gen. 17.11. it is answered, There are two ways by which men come to have a federal right, either personal, or parental; all the men grown being in Abraham's family were instructed in the knowledge of the true God, and the ways of his will and worship, as we see his servant Eleazar of Damascus was; and therefore they are called, Abrahamum officii sui admonebat, ut servos doctrina foederis diligenter imbutos & symbolo initiatos Deo consecraret. Non quidem inviti erant ad circumcisionem adigendi infideles servi, ne foedus profanaret, contemptores verò in familiis patrum & in Ecclesia ferendi non erant. Gen. 14.14. his catechised servants, and so the word will bear, and God gave that testimony of him, Gen. 18.19. That he did command his children and his household: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 disciplinâ & pietate imbutos: therefore those were circumcised in their own right, that is, by their own consent; and it's the observation of a learned Jesuit, Menoch. de Reg. Hebrae. l. 3. c. 170.9. Ad circumcisionem nullus invitus adigi poterat. Non poterant Hebraei habere domi servos incircumcisos, and either they ought not to buy them, or not to retain them; therefore they that were men in Abraham's family were circumcised by their own right, as a visible Church by their own consent, and for the children of such they were not circumcised in Abraham's right, as is supposed, though they were taken into his Covenant, but in the right of their own immediate parents, who were themselves circumcised and Church members, as all the children of the Jewish Proselytes were, their father's being circumcised and admitted into the Church of the Jews; which the Prophet doth call being joined to the Lord, their children were also taken into the same Covenant in the right of their parents, they being Proselytae foederis, and had an interest in it, being received into it by their own consent, they and their seed as well as the Jews themselves had. 3. For that ancient custom of Sponsors or Sureties in the Church, I think Austin gives the ground of it, when he saith, There were many that were converted from Paganism that were not well instructed in the principles of Religion; and therefore to testify their great care of those that by Baptism they received into the Church, in reference to their education, though their parents were Christian, and so their children had a right, yet some able and faithful men of known integrity and authority in the Church were as sureties together with the parents to engage themselves to take care that they were instructed and educated according to the principles of that Religion into which they were baptised. Yet this was no institution of God, but a prudential act of the Church to a holy and a good end; neither doth it make any thing for the giving of the children a right by any but the immediate parents; neither were such sureties used in the baptising of the children of Pagans, or any but those that were Christians and themselves converted to the faith. Quest. 6 §. 6. If only parents can give the children a federal right, is this right from the immediate parents only, or from those that are more remote also? For answer to it our Divines commonly say, that the right is from either the immediate or the remote parents. There is an Epistle of Mr. Farells that he wrote unto Calvin in this case. Nobis minimè dubium est quin soboles ex sanctis & piis atavis progenita, quamvis apostatae fuerint avi & parents, ad Ecclesiae tamen corpus pertineant, Calv. Epist. pag. 442. Calv. epist. pag. 174, 175. There was one of the Church had married her daughter to a Papist, and the Grandmother desired that their child might be baptised, which Mr. Farell refused, Ego respondi non admittendum quòd in foedere non sit, cùm neuter parens sit fidelis, and this caused some difference between him and his Colleague or Fellow-labourer in the work of the Ministry. And to decide this controversy he writes to Mr. Calvin, and in answer to it he laid down two positions. (1) That it's unlawful for us to baptise the children of Papists: Absurdum est ut eos baptizemus, qui corporis nostri membra censeri nequeunt; & cùm in hoc ordine sint Papistarum liberi, quomodo baptismum illis administrare liceat non videmus, etc. (2) The Grandmother desires it, and there's the difficulty, upon that he answers, Cùm Dominus gratiam suam in multas aetates extendat, eam astringere non est nostrum, etc. Calv. Epist. pag. 174, 175. And it's the ordinary answer of our Divines, That the infant is not to be debarred from the privileges of the Covenant for the sins of the immediate parents; for those that descended from Abraham and David had a right to Circumcision, and were within the Covenant, though the immediate parents for some foregoing generations were wicked, as Psal. 106.35. they were mixed among the Heathen, and had learned their works, and served their Idols, yet he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry, and remembered for them his Covenant, vers. 44. even the Covenant that he made with Abraham, etc. The promise is to you and your children; and yet it's clear, Acts 2.39. that their immediate parents were a wicked generation, that had killed the Prophets, as they themselves had a hand in crucifying the Lord of glory; concerning the Gospel it's said of the Jews, That they are enemies for your sakes, Rom. 11.28. but as touching the election they are beloved for their father's sake; their immediate fathers were wicked and enemies to the Gospel, and yet is there a holiness that comes from Abraham the root unto the Jews, when they shall be converted; for God shows mercy unto them that love him to a thousand generations; and Joshua had little reason to have circumcised the people at Gilgal for the holiness of their immediate parents, whose carcases fell in the Wilderness, and yet he did circumcise them there as being within the Covenant, and did thereby roll away from them the reproach of Egypt: and hence they do say, Mortons' Appeal l. 4. c. 6. §. 1. Rutherford the due right of Presbyt. pag. 2. c. 4. §. 6. p. 259. that the children of Papists and excommunicated Protestants born within the visible Church are to be baptised, if any of their forefathers have been found in the faith. And I could gladly have rested in this so received a judgement of godly and learned men, but that some considerations have put me upon a further inquiry; for I find in the administration of the seals of the Covenant as well as in the application of the promises of the Covenant, that they are to be administered with judgement in the parties that do administer them, and that there is a great trust and a special charge committed to them therein, Mat. 7. Give not that which is holy unto dogs; It's a dangerous evil for a man either wittingly or negligently to dispense the Ordinances of God and the privileges of the Covenant to those unto whom God did never intent them, as it is to deny them unto those whose right they are. As to apply the promises unto wicked men, and make glad the souls of the unrighteous, and to sew a pillow under every arm-hole, and provide a kerchief for every head, is as bad as it is to deny the promises unto men whose right they are; so to make glad the souls of the wicked by applying the seals to their seed, is as bad as to make sad the souls of the righteous by denying them. It was that Chrysostom stood much upon in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, he would rather suffer his own blood to be poured out, than to give the blood of Christ to be profaned by an unworthy receiver; and surely if so much care and diligence be to be used in Church-Officers in dispensing of one Sacrament, the other is not to be so carelessly and promiscuously administered as it is; and therefore it was the great offence that Mr. Farell took at the Colleague joined with him in the Ministry: Quòd omnia profanare & improbissimos velle admittere non-vereretur, That he feared not to profane all things, and admit the most wicked. These thoughts have put me upon farther inquiry concerning the persons unto whom the Sacrament of Baptism is to be administered, and to whom the privileges of the Covenant do belong, and the apprehensions that I have of it out of the word I shall desire with all submission to propose to you. (1) I'll lay down in several propositions what. I conceive to be the truth. (2) I shall answer the objections that are commonly made against them; and so I hope the truth may be cleared, or at least hereby an occasion given to them that are better able to judge, of further inquiry. Reasons why federal right comes to children from their immediate parents only. 1. I conceive that federal right comes to the children only from the immediate parents; and the Reasons that induce me to conceive so are these. 1. In Scripture I find that when God took parents into Covenant, he also took in their children with them, and whensoever God cast parents out, the immediate parents, he did cast out their children also. When he took the Jews into Covenant, he made this Covenant also with their seed; and because the root was holy, from thence came also an holiness upon the branches: and when he did cast off the immediate parents and called them Lo-ammi, he did also cast off their seed; and it would have been in vain to the Jews to have said, We have Abraham for our father, and therefore have still a federal right, when God had given unto their immediate parents a bill of divorce, and looked upon them as a people in Covenant with him no more: as therefore, though none of their predecessors were holy and in Covenant, yet the faith of the immediate parents and their interest in the Covenant does make the children holy, and brings them under the privileges of the Covenant; so though many of their predecessors were holy, yet if the immediate parents reject and cast off the Covenant, and be rejected of God, the children also are cast out with them; there is the same reason of rejection by immediate parents, that there is of reception; but the rejection may be in the one without respect unto Ancestors, therefore it must be so in the reception also. 1. There are some Ordinances that are purely so, and may be dispensed to all that will partake in them; but there are some Ordinances that are such as carry also privileges with them, and belong not unto all men that will receive them, but in Scripture are appointed to some only; and amongst these chief are the seals of the Covenant which are not to be administered to all men; for Christ did never appoint his Ministers to baptise all mankind, but Believers only, and their seed whom he takes into Covenant with himself. 2. I look upon Baptism as a great Ordinance: (1) As being one of the first Institutions of the New Testament, and which the Lord Jesus Christ himself subjected unto by the hand of a servant. (2) In respect of the things signified and sealed thereby, which are our first union with Christ, the great promise of the Spirit of Sanctification, our Redemption by Christ, and communion with him in his Death and Resurrection. (3) It being the Ordinance of public admission into the visible Church; for as under the Old Testament the admission was by Circumcision, so under the New it has always been by Baptism: They were baptised and added to the Church. 3. It being an admission into the visible Church, it is a power committed unto men, unto whom the power of the Keys is committed; for as admission into the Church invisible is an immediate act of Christ, so admission into the Church visible is committed unto the Officers under Christ: Mat. 16.19. I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: in Scripture a Key is symbolum potestatis, a symbol of power, as Esa. 22.22. and this power is twofold. (1) Supreme and absolute, which is in the hand of Christ, who is said to have a double power, the Keys of Hell and Death, and the Key of the Church, called the Key of David; Rev. 1.18. & 3.7. and this is by some called the Key of Royalty, he being the Head and King of the Church: but there is also (2) A power subordinate and limited, potestas oeconomi, the power of a steward, as Beza does expound it, a power of Ministry, by which all the affairs in his house as visible may be acted and ordered according to his mind for the ends that he has proposed; and this is a Key of Ministry, which some do call a Key of Charity; Esa. 22.22. Rev. 3.7. and these Keys are for opening and shutting the doors of the visible Church; and therefore the persons to whom they are committed, whether they be committed to the Church first, as the first subject, or to the Officers, we need not now dispute; they both have an authority to open the Kingdom of Heaven unto some, and to shut it unto others. 4. Christ owns their acts no further than in them they walk by his rule and observe his order; as it is in Excommunications and Ejections, if they be clavae errante, they do not bind in Heaven; as we see in the putting out of the Synagogue by the Pharisees, and by Diotrephes his usurped power; as also by that of Antichrist, who ordains, Joh. 3.10. Rev. 13.17. Mede. That no man must buy or sell save he that had the mark; anathematis Ecclesiastici censura innuitur. Now as such Ejections are not owned by Christ, so neither are Admissions that are not according to the same rule; because they are exercised errante clavae, and therefore all that labour is in vain, and is a mere abuse of the power of the Keys, and so a dishonour put upon the Ordinance of Christ in the one, as well as in the other, because the rule is transgressed in both; for he has in his Word given rules for the one as well as for the other. 5. The trust committed unto Officers in this kind is exceeding great, and therefore the account will be dreadful; for what is a particular visible Church, but a golden Candlestick, and the Sponse of Christ, and the Body of Christ? Now how great a trust is it to be employed in things of so high concernment, and how dangerous must the error needs be to espouse a soul to Christ that he neither can nor will own for his? How great a wrong is it? Now the nearer the relation, the greater the transgression; and so it is to place a member in the body of Christ that he abhors: and therefore Admissions and Ejections of Church-members are some of the greatest acts of men's lives, and should be done with greatest heed and the greatest solemnity; and how shall that Officer appear before the Lord at the last day, who through ignorance knows not, Judicatur magno cum pondere, ut apud certos de Dei conspectu summumque futuri judicii praejudicium, Apol. c. 37, 39 or through carelessness or custom regards not the rules of Christ in either of them? which Tertullian says, was the greatest mischief that could befall the Heathen: Hoc solum sufficit neutra ultioni, quòd vacua exinde possessio immundis spiritibus pateret: To leave men out of the Church as a possession of Satan, to leave a man to Satan, and to deliver him to Satan, admits not much difference; and so for their receptions, they were solemn things; for what can be greater than to receive a man into the Kingdom of Heaven, or to deliver a man unto Satan, and bind his sins upon his conscience until the coming of the Lord? 6. There aught to be as great care in one Sacrament, that it be not misapplied, as there is in the other. It is granted, that to administer the Supper of the Lord in a promiscuous manner to all without distinction were a great evil, a giving of the children's bread to dogs, a great means to harden the hearts of profane men in an evil way, looking upon themselves as having a right to all the privileges of the Saints, though they be such as hate holiness; and by this means great breach of trust in them that do administer it: and therefore the Church in ancient times did proceed with much wariness and tenderness in it, as appears by the instance of chrysostom; and they took the same care for Baptism also, they must be audientes, and afterwards competentes before they were admitted unto Baptism; and therefore the rule in the Nicene Council, as it is recorded by Balsam. is this: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, That no unbeliever be baptised without sufficient instruction and trial, etc. They were first to be instructed in the Principles of Religion, and if well catechised, yet not by and by to be admitted unto Baptism, because the trial of those things do require time: and if a man had scandalously sinned, there was a great deal of care taken of readmission; as we see how much there was of the incestuous Corinthian, before he was received; at first they did too little chastise, and then afterwards they did too much; the Church had much ado to observe the order of God in it; and so it was in Augustine's time, for some sins per triennium erant inter catechumenos, and in some sins quinque annos exigant inter catechumenos, nay sometimes it is poenitentes erant cum catechumenis septem vel decem annos, the Penitents were with the Catechumeni seven or ten years, and for some sins they were not admitted all their life time. Now if there be so much to do about Readmissions, As Albaspinus hath it, p. 329, 330. surely there should be a great care had of the first Admissions. As therefore in admission to deny it to those to whom Christ by a Legacy hath bequeathed it, would seem highly derogatory to the goodness and rich grace of the Testator (as the Anabaptists do) so also to misplace it upon those that by divine warrant have no right to it, is as great a breach of trust, and a dishonour unto him that did institute this mysterious Ordinance, and bestow it as a privilege upon the Church, as I fear we too commonly have done. These considerations have put me upon a further inquiry into it, as desirous to see divine warrant for the persons to whom I do administer one Sacrament as well as the other, and not to take up a tradition which has deceived many. And herein, though I grant, that there is unto children a federal holiness, and they have a parental right unto Baptism, Nazianz. orat. 40. p. 6, 48. and I say with Nazianzen, Let him be sanctified and offered unto God in his infancy; yet I say, that this being by a parental, and not by personal right, we are to inquire into this right, whether it does lawfully descend from the parents or no; and if it do, it must be from the remote or immediate parents, or both, or either. Now upon consideration I conceive, that the Scripture wholly carries it unto immediate parents only, and that there is no other title to Baptism, or to any federal holiness but this only, and that upon these reasons. 1. Wheresoever God has taken parents into Covenant, he has taken their children also; and when he has cast out the immediate parents, he has cast out their children with them, as before. 2. If there be such an ascending as this is, where shall we stay? for if we go upwards, one parent has no more privilege to give a child a right than another, and so by this means we shall take in the children of Turks, and Jews, and all, for some of their predecessors were holy, and men in Covenant, and that in far less than a thousand generations; and therefore there will be no way to stop, but by this rule we must baptise all mankind: and whereas this Ordinance as well as the other is to be administered with judgement by him that administers it, that it may be done in faith, in this federal right from remote parents there is nothing but uncertainty; so that no man is able to conclude any thing from it. I confess that man's judgement is not to be the rule, but the application of the rule is to be by him as well in one Sacrament (I conceive) as in another; as he that shall say he does not conceive such a man fit to receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, and such a man he does, this does not make his judgement the rule, but leaves unto him the application of the rule in reference to the trust committed unto him; and this will make all to go upon doubtful and uncertain grounds all their days, that a man knows no holiness by his immediate parents, and yet he can suppose some of his remote parents were holy; and by this means he knows not how to administer it upon the known unholiness of his immediate parents, and yet he knows not how to withhold it from the supposed holiness of the remote parents; and this has brought in, I say, the promiscuous baptising of all amongst us without distinction. 1 Cor. 7.14. 3. The Apostles expression argues as much, Else were your children unclean; it had been in vain to have said that they were unclean, if one of the parents be not a Believer; for it may be said, that the Grandfather and the Grandmother might be so, and who can give that testimony? it puts men upon impossibilities to search: but the Apostles argument is from the immediate parents; if neither of them were a Believer, their children were unclean, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. but if either so, than they are holy: now the word in the Greek implies, that there is no other way to make the children holy but by a federal holiness; for else it may be replied, though neither parent be a Believer, yet their children may be holy by the Covenant interest of their Ancestors, and therefore it matters not what the immediate parents are in reference to the holiness of the child, but if any of his Ancestors were ever Believers, the child doth never lose his right, the Covenant-right does lineally descend upon their posterity unto succeeding generations; but this doth quite cross the Apostles reason, taking it from the immediate parents. 4. There is much said to this purpose by our Divines touching the children of parents that are profane, Calv. epist. pag. 175. Papists, or excommunicated persons. Calvin, as you have heard in his Epistle to Mr. Farell, speaks of the children of Papists, and the same was the judgement of Mr. Hildersham in Joh. 4. pag. 128. Absurdum est, ut eos baptizemus qui corporis nostri membra censeri nequeunt: quum in hoc ordine sunt Papistarum liberi, quomodo baptismum illis administrare liceat non videmus, Calv. In curia illa neutiquam potest excusari, quâ promiscuè, & sine discrimine qulcunque ad baptismum admittuntur, Ames. cas. p. 231. It's a great contempt done unto God's public Worship when all without difference are admitted into the privileges of the Church, as if they had equal interest in them with the people of God, when such as are known to the Congregation to have committed whoredom, have their children instantly admitted unto Baptism, before themselves have given satisfaction to the Congregation by their repentance; and so for children whose immediate parents are excommunicated, which was not fit to be done, as Ames has it; therefore in his judgement, if the immediate parents were cut off, so were the children also cut off with them; and they that have no actual right unto Church privileges themselves, cannot convey an actual right to others; and that is also Mr. calvin's rule, Epist. 16. Persona quae Ecclesiae communione indigna est, multò minùs potest aliis in eam aditum patefacere, Epist. ibid. The * Object. 1. Objections that I meet with against it are mainly three, the first taken out of the second Commandment, Exod. 20.5. He shows mercy to thousands in them that love him and keep his commandments. Thus God extends Covenant-mercy not only to parents, but to their children also, and that to succeeding generations; and we must not limit the grace of God, for that were to limit the holy One of Israel. For Answer hereto, (1) if the meaning here be of the privileges of the Covenant which are conveyed by the parents unto the child, then if any of them were godly from the beginning of the world, this Scripture will entail Church-priviledges upon them by a lineal descent unto the end of the world; for it's likely there shall not be a thousand generations from the beginning of the world to the end thereof, because these are called the latter times; wherefore this is but a certain for an uncertain number, and therefore in this case we must know where to stop; there must be a period put, that a man may be able to say, none of them was holy in the second, third, or fourth generation, and therefore now the federal holiness that was this man's or this child's is expired. (2) If it should be understood of Church-priviledges and a federal holiness that descends upon the child from the parents, then how shall this promise and threatening be both made good? for it may be some of the Ancestors have been godly, but the immediate parents are wicked and profane, why may we not as well and much rather say, that God will visit the iniquity of the immediate parents upon the children, as that he will show mercy unto the children for the grace and holiness of their remote parents? (3) Of what mercy soever it's thus understood, whether of saving mercies, or of outward blessings, it's plain, that it's only unto those children which walk in the same ways of holiness with their parents; for God will visit the iniquity of the parents upon the children, and if his hatred to children to the third and fourth generation be of them that walk in the ways and wickedness of the fathers, than his mercy to thousands is upon them that walk in the ways of their father's obedience. So much I conceive the last words imply, vers. 6. Showing mercy to them that love me and that keep my commandments: if this be the meaning, it will be easily granted, that the children of godly parents, who walk in the same ways of holiness with their parents, shall obtain mercy from God unto many succeeding generations; but that is nothing to the thing in hand, which does suppose children to grow wicked, and to degenerate from the holiness of their parents, and yet men would infer, that their father's privileges do unto many generations descend unto them, which I conceive is far from the scope and intent of the Holy Ghost. Object. 2 But the Israelites were circumcised, though their immediate parents were wicked, of which the instances before given are many, and therefore our children should be baptised, though the immediate parents be wicked; and if the profaneness of a Jew did not prejudice the child's right, why then should the profaneness of a Christian take away the child's title? are not our privileges as large as theirs? In answer hereto, Answ. (1) of Circumcision there was no set Officer appointed by God to administer it, and therefore commonly the parents did it, and it's plain by those that writ their stories, that women did it commonly: now there being no set Officer to administer it, there was no set Officer to suspend it. But in the Christians Baptism it's not so, there is a set Officer, who is to administer it with judgement, and as he is to deny it to none to whom it belongs, so he is to dispense it to none, but such to whom it belongs. (2) The Lord took the whole Nation of the Jews into a Church-covenant, and they became a peculiar people unto him, and whoever was born of that Nation, was therefore born a Church-member, and had right unto the privileges of the Church; it is not so with any other people under Heaven, there is something more required to make a man a Church-member than barely to be born of such a Nation; and therefore while they continued Church-members, though they were never so profane and wicked, this could not prejudice the privilege of the Church. And though such deserve to be cast out, yet as long as the Church doth through negligence or connivance continue such in a state of membership, they cannot deny them the privilege of members; but yet it doth appear, that now under the Gospel many men that live in the Church are not true members of the Church; or if they be cast out, than they and their children are justly deprived of the privileges of members, because it doth not belong unto them; and though the posterity of Ishmael and Esau did use Circumcision after they were separated from the Church of God, yet it was unto them only a vain and an empty sign, and no Church-ordinance, neither was it unto them a Church-priviledge any longer than they continued Church-members. (3) This seems to be demonstrative, that none are to be looked upon as within the Covenant, and to have right unto the seals but Church-members, and that the Church-membership of children is a privilege that they receive from their immediate parents only, and that it's not barely a parents being baptised, and making a profession of Christ, that doth de jure give him a right to membership; and therefore if parents profess Christ, and yet are not to be looked upon as members of the Church, than calvin's rule I think will hold, He that is not a Church-member himself cannot convey a right of membership unto his children. Here are three things to be proved. 1. That none have a right to the seals of the Covenant, but those that are members of the Church. This Calvin in an Epistle to Mr. Knox clearly asserts: Semper attentè cavendum est, ne profanetur hujus mysterii sanctitas, quod fieri certum est, si promiscuè alicui conceditur, vel quispiam recipitur, qui inter legitimos Ecclesiae cives numerari nequeat. Therefore they that are baptised must be Cives Ecclesiae, those that have a title to membership; for the Ordinance of Baptism is profaned, if it be applied unto any other, and the clear grounds of it are these. The scals are the privileges of Church-members only, and if they be administered unto any whose privilege they are not, they are certainly profaned; for Christ admitted none but Disciples, Act. 2. and his Disciples afterward admitted none but Disciples: They that believed were of one heart, and they continued in breaking of bread, and prayer, etc. and afterwards when the Church grew more corrupt and more remiss, that such were admitted who did manifest they had no right unto this privilege, they were looked upon as spots in their feasts, and it was judged a dishonour unto that Church. And for this cause in the primitive times, though the Catechumeni were admitted to hear, and were called Audientes and Orantes, yet those that they did excommunicate they did allow those Ordinances to, and therefore they did use to sentence them, Orent per triennium inter Catechumenos, or sometimes more years, according to the nature of the fact; but yet they still did deprive them of the seals, as being a privilege of members only. (2) Baptism is a Sacrament of initiation, and the Ordinance of visible admission into the Church; and that must not be done promiscuously, and without discrimination; for, as it's a sin to keep out those whose right it is, so it's a sin also to admit them that have no right, because thereby the Ordinances of Christ are abused and misplaced where he never intended them, and for whom he never instituted them. Now a person must have a right to membership before ever he is to be admitted a member, and he has no right to claim admission of those who have the power of the Keys, unless it be upon this ground, that a right of membership does belong unto him; and therefore he does upon this desire admission as a member, that so he be not defrauded of his right. And Calvin professes in another Epistle, Nisi inter vos vigeat discrimen aliquod, ut prohibeantur, qui sine crassa Dei injuria admitti nequeunt, pro confesso sumo, tam baptismum, quam coenam profanari. To whom is this spoken? It was not to Jews and Turks, and the admission of Heathens, but unto Christians and Professors; and yet he says, that there must be among them discriminatio quaedam, a certain discrimination; though they were Christians in profession, yet that did not give them all a title, if it had, there needed no difference to be put: and observe, he will have this difference to be put in reference to the Sacrament of Baptism, as well as the Supper of the Lord; and he complaineth of this disorder of administering the Sacrament promiscuously, and exhorteth the Ministers to endeavour the reforming it; if they could not say how it was lawful for them to hold their places, certè ubi rogando & hortando nihil proficitur, ac frustra etiam conquesti sumus, nos religione constringi, ne pergamus scientes & volentes sacra Dei mysteria profanare; in tam confusa ordinis perturbatione quomodo stare nobis liceat, nescio. 2. Right of membership conveyed unto children from the immediate parents is a truth that the whole Scripture seems to hold forth. [1] the immediate parents were taken into Covenant, whatever their Ancestors have been, their posterity were taken into Covenant also, and had a right to membership together with their parents; Abraham's father was Terah, And he with his father served other gods beyond the river, Josh. 24.2. and yet as soon as the Lord took Abraham into Covenant, he took in his posterity also with him immediately; and therefore the children of those that are Church-members are called the children of the Covenant, Act. 3.25. so as their interest in the Covenant comes upon them as their birthright. For it is true, that there are but two ways of conveying a Covenant-right unto men, either personal by their own faith, or parental; and this is not of nature, for by nature one man's child has as much right as another's, none are born Christians, but it's a gift of grace, and which doth follow upon the child by virtue of the parents Covenant; and though none of his Ancestors were Believers, but served other gods, yet the immediate parents being Believers can give a right without respect unto the condition of their Ancestors: and so it was with the Proselytes among the Jews, their children were taken into Covenant with their immediate parents, though their Ancestors were for many generations wicked. Many instances of this have been given before. [2] Children taken into Covenant have with their immediate parents been cast out; Ishmael was taken into Covenant, and received the seal of the Covenant; but when he was cast out, though Abraham was alive, yet Ismaels' family was never after looked upon as in Covenant, or as members of the visible Church of God: so it was with Esau and his posterity the Edomites, their father being put out of Covenant, though they did attain Circumcision, which was a seal of the Covenant, yet it was not Circumcision in God's account; for they were never by God accounted a Church unto him. But that's a remarkable instance amongst the Jews, when the Church of God had continued in that Nation for many generations, and though God had there a greater income of holiness once, than he had in all the world beside, and was not ashamed to be called their God, and to call them of all the nations of the earth his peculiar people; yet when the Lord cast off their immediate parents, and gave them a bill of divorce, he did also cast off their children, who can never claim a right from their Ancestors; neither would any man by this claim (I conceive) admit a Jew unto the seals of the Covenant. And yet after this long interruption, wherein wrath is come upon them to the uttermost; when the immediate parents shall be converted, and taken into Covenant with God again, then also shall their children be gathered in together with them; and this, as far as I understand, is the whole tenor of the Scripture, and I know no instance that children were taken into Covenant, whatever their Ancestors were, unless their immediate parents were Church-members. 3. The right of membership does not consist barely in being baptised, and making a profession of the name of Christ; and therefore parents may have both these, and yet not be judged Church-members. (1) Being baptised doth not give a man a right unto Church-membership, and the grounds of it are these. [1] That which is the seal of our admission into the visible Church, cannot give a man a right to it, so as to make a man a member; that is, if a man ought to have the right of membership before he be baptised, than his Baptism does not give him this right, but seal it only, and gives a visible confirmation thereunto; but Baptism is a seal of a man's admission; therefore it's not Baptism that gives him a right of admission, but the promise, Act. 2.39. For the promise is to you and your children, therefore says the Apostle, Be baptised; therefore it's something before Baptism that gives a right of membership, by virtue of which a man lays claim to Baptism; for the seals belong to Church-members only. [2] If Baptism make a man a member of the visible Church, then while the Baptism remains firm, the membership remains; for forma dat esse rei; but we see that is not so in a double case, 1. In the case of wilful Apostasy, when men withdraw themselves from the Church, They went out from us, 1 Joh. 2.19. because they were not of us; these were baptised, and their Baptism did remain, and yet they did wilfully separate from the Church of God; wherefore according to this opinion they are to be looked upon still as Church members; because Baptism which gave them a right does remain, and there is nothing can take away their right but that which does null their Baptism and makes it void. 2. In the case of Excommunication; as the former does cast off the Church, so is the latter cast off by the Church; and as the one renounceth fellowship with the Church, so does the Church renounce fellowship with this man. Now if there be a power of the Keys, as 'tis commonly granted, then as there is a power of admission, so there is also a power of ejection; and therefore Christ says of such a man, You are to account him a Heathen and a Publican, that is, no Church-member; and yet this man's Baptism remains, and the man may be truly godly, and a member of the Church invisible, as the incestuous Corinthian was, and yet justly cast out of the Church visible, and to be looked upon, according to the rules of Christ, as one that had no right unto visible membership, nor to be reckoned among that number. [3] This will evidence the Church of Rome to be a true Church, and the Papists among us to be true members; for all the members of the Church of Rome have received true Baptism, and therefore they are members of the true Church; and yet we know that the Scripture calls Rome, Babylon the great, the mother of Harlots, Rev. 11. and that she is spiritually Egypt and Sodom; the Lord has given her a bill of divorce; and our Divines generally will not acknowledge Rome to be a true Church, and therefore the members thereof not to be true members; and yet it is as generally acknowledged, that their Baptism is true Baptism, therefore 'tis not Baptism that gives a man a right unto Church-membership. (2) It's not an outward profession in a Christian Church that gives a man a right of membership: now by a profession I mean an assent unto the Doctrine of Faith and life, as it is in the Word of God delivered unto us, as it stands in opposition unto practice, and so we usually oppose it; for if profession and practice go together, as far as man can judge, than there is something to judge of such a man's membership by besides profession only; but profession only will not suffice, [1] Because the members of a visible Church must be visible Saints; for the matter of the Church visible and invisible is the same, that is, Saints only; the one are Saints in God's account, who discerns them by the judgement of certainty and infallibility, because it's God that admits into the Church invisible; and the other are Saints in the account of those to whom the power of the Keys is committed, who judge only by the judgement of charity; and therefore what there is in the one in truth, must be in the other in show and appearance, for it must be a judicious, and not a blind charity. Calv. Instit. l. 4. c. 108. Apoll. de qualif. membrorum. Now our Divines generally say, that there are three things that do concur to make a man a visible Saint. (1) They must be men instructed in the Principles of Religion, and able in some measure to give an account of the reason of the hope that is in them. (2) They must yield a willing subjection to the Gospel, 2 Cor. 9.13. and they that gladly receive the word, as Act. 2. (3) They must walk unblamably in their conversation; but the foolish Virgins as well as the wise had oil in their lamps, and made a show, a profession before men, and did seem to shine as lights in the world, and yet their hearts were not upright and sound with God. It's true, that some there are that grow higher in the qualification of members, but we will content ourselves with these in reference to the thing in hand; and if a visible Saintship doth make a man a member, and that visible Saint must be in this manner qualified, then it's not barely profession will do it; but many a man amongst us holds forth the profession of Christ, who is ignorant even in the Principles of Religion, and knows little more of the Religion that he professes, than if he were a mere Pagan, yea is so far from subjection unto the duties of Holiness, that he is a professed enemy and scorner of them, and whose life is full of nothing else but profaneness and the most profligate wickedness. Now I cannot conceive, that a man's profession of the name of Christ, and calling himself a Christian, can give him a right of membership, because it cannot constitute him a visible Saint, which is acknowledged by all to be the matter of a visible Church. [2] It will appear that profession will not do it, by this, because persons who are Church-members may scandalously fall, as the incestuous Corinthian did, and may by the scandal of their fall justly deserve Excommunication, and thereby be cut off from the Church, and yet the man's profession still remain. And being cast out, profession is not enough to restore a man to the right of membership; for there must be a humiliation and an answerable conversation upon trial, proving that humiliation to be true, or else all the profession in the world will never be a ground unto them that have the power of the Keys to restore such a man, as in the incestuous Corinthian it doth appear: neither was mere profession a ground of admission in the primitive times; and therefore, though men had embraced the Christian Faith, and made a profession of it, yet they were not admitted Church-members, till they were baptised; and they were Catechumeni some of them a great while, to be instructed in the Principles of Religion, and that an exact account might be taken of their conversation, before they were baptised. Now if this be true, that the children's right of membership is from parents that are members, and that none are members but visible Saints, and visible Saints are such only as are instructed in the Principles of Religion, and profess to subject themselves to the Ordinances of Christ, and walk outwardly answerably thereunto; then surely many of them who are counted Church-members, really are not so, and if in their visible standing they be yet so, because not cast out, yet de jure they ought not to be so reputed, for they ought to be cast out. Calvin confesseth, Calv. epist. pag. 438. Nullam esse legem quae coenae & baptismi sanctitatem custodiat, ne utrumque mysterium contemptui & ludibrio expositum sit, remissio est minimè excusabilis, etc. And truly if the parents have no right, what can they convey unto their children? Nil dat quod in se non habet, That which hath nothing can give nothing. And if the generality of men be such as de jure have no right, than they can derive no right unto those that come from them: and as Calvin saith of the woman that lived in the Church, and married her daughter to a Papist, and afterward did demand Baptism for the child in her own name, because she was a member of the Church, he says, the question might have been easily answered: Si vigeret legitima disciplina, excommunicatione digna erat, quae Ecclesiam unâ re fraudaverat, Epist. pag. 175. etc. and if it had been done, there had been an end put to the controversy; and so I say it is here; for if they be without the Church, they are not to be admitted, being not qualified for members; and if any man will say, that they are within, they are to be cast out, because they walk so unanswerably unto the profession of members; and so which way soever it be, they can convey but a mean right unto their children, who have none at least the jure according to the rules of the word themselves. 2. That only immediate Parents can give a right, will appear by the great Inconveniencies of the contrary doctrine, which must needs follow upon it. (1) This does make way for the Baptising of all promiscuously that live amongst us; for if we acknowledge, that by their immediate Parents they have no right, yet in the judgement of Charity it's said, that we are to conceive, that some of their Ancestors were Believers, and therefore we may upon this judgement baptise them, which Divines do commonly say, is a Profanation of the Ordinance, as Calvin, and Ames, Cas. Consc. p. 232. Distinctio aliqua inter puros & impuros debet observari in omnibus sacris; Instituta Dei non aliter possunt ab omni pollutione conservari. It's spoken in the case of Baptism, and putting a difference between persons that are received thereunto; and Hildersham makes it a contempt done to the Ordinance. (2) By this means they that are Officers are put to act upon great uncertainties, as having no Rule to admit by; for there is certainly a time when the federal Right of Ancestors will cease, it doth not last in all succeeding Generations; and how shall a man be able to judge of this? Now I conceive we had need be as careful in Admissions as in Ejections, and have as sure a Rule, and as clear for the one as for the other, if we look upon it as an Ordinance, and an Institution of Christ. And truly were we as careful of Admissions as we ought to be, we should have less need of Ejections than now we have. (3) By this means we put a great deal of difference between the Seals of the same Covenant, as if one were far more honourable than the other; therefore we must have such Rules to satisfy us for admission to the one, but we may go upon any uncertainty, which we will call the Judgement of Charity, for the other. (4) By this means ungodly men are nourished in an evil way, and are born up with a good conceit of themselves, of their estates, that they are in as good a condition as any, and their Children have as good a right unto all Church-priviledges as any other men, though they be never so wicked and profane, nay though they deserve to be cast out; and by this means men's hearts are strangely hardened in a way of sinning; for they say, all the Lords people are holy, every one of them, Color omnibus unus; and therefore the world have ever been great enemies to all differencing ways whatsoever; because all must go under the common notion of Christians and of Protestants, though it be in opprobrium Christi. (5) I find that in the ancient Church there was a great deal of care and exactness this way, touching him who was admitted unto Baptism, as well as to the Supper of the Lord; and so great was the strictness, that Calvin says, Nimia fuit austeritas in veteribus, non permittere indignos, qui arceri legitimo judicio nequeunt; speaking unto this very case, thinking it unlawful to deprive such of what he did conceive to be their right: but yet such was the strictness and exactness of the Ancients in this Ordinance, and the administration of it, that he looks upon it as too great severity. And for that Objection of the Jews, Object. That the wickedness of the immediate Parents could not prejudice the Child of a Jew in his federal right, and therefore (say they) it cannot the right of a Christian; for we are gathered into the same Covenant, and do enjoy the same Privileges, for ourselves, and our Posterity, and the Covenant-grace of God is so far from being restrained under the New Testament, that it is enlarged; and therefore Calvin saith, Vbicunque non prorsus extincta est christianismi Professio, fraudantur suo jure infants, si à communi Symbolo arceantur; Epist. p. 442. 1. This is but asserted, Answ. That a wicked Parent amongst the Jews could not prejudice the child's Covenant-right, and therefore all their Children were circumcised; but this is but gratis dictum; for that there were Church-censures amongst the Jews is commonly granted, and that these censures did in some cases reach not only to the Persons but unto their Posterity also; and we are told by men judged to be very skilful in the Antiquities, as Buxtorf, Godwin, and Gillespy in Aaron's rod blossoming, p. 64. that persons excommunicated, if they remained impenitent, their punishment was to be increased according to the pleasure of the Judge, and in the mean time their male-childrens were not circumcised; and if that the Profaneness of an immediate Parent might so far prejudice the Covenant-right of a child amongst the Jews, it may also amongst the Christians; but I build not much upon this, because it is a humane testimony, without the Word, eâdem facilitate quâ asseritur, rejicitur. 2. There is a great deal of difference in the constitution of the Jewish Church, and of the Churches under the Gospel; theirs was National; which is plain, because they are National Officers, and National Ordinances, and a set place for the Church-meeting of the whole Nation, to which by the command of God the Nation was to repair three times a year; and therefore all that were of that Nation were to be admitted Church-members, and to receive the Seal of admission, and no man might live among them if they were uncircumcised. Non poterant Hebraei habere domi servos incircumcisos, The Hebrews might not have servants uncircumcised; but if they were such as would not subject themselves unto the Ordinance of Admission, which was Circumcision, either they ought not to buy them, or they might not lawfully retain them: but it is not thus with the Gentile-Churches under the New Testament, the Lord doth not take in Nations into Covenant with him, but he takes them in man by man; and therefore even in the same Nation, some may be within, and some without; neither is there any necessity, that all that are born in the Nation should therefore be members of the Churches of God in that Nation; hence the Lord when he did cast them off, did cast off the whole Nation, and the ejection was not of particular persons, Isa. 66.8. and God will convert the Nation again, and they shall have national Ordinances and a national Covenant, and therein they are distinguished from all other Churches, and shall be; but seeing our taking in is personal, and our ejection personal, it's not so with us, but the father may be taken in with the children, and the father cast out with the children, and yet the Covenant be continued to the rest of the people, and the Churches of Christ amongst them. 3. The Jews continued in a Church-state though they were profane, till the Nation was cast off, and cut off from being a Church unto God; now the question is not, Whether an ungodly man living in the Church, while he keeps his visible standing there, and is not cast out, may not claim a visible right unto all the Ordinances, for himself and his Posterity, for certainly, while he keeps his visible standing, though he be a wicked-man, yet it cannot be denied him; and so it was amongst the Jews: But if any amongst us, through the negligence of the Church, be continued in our Churches so profane, and we do not bear them as burdens, and cast them off, as judging that a little leven will leven the whole lump; it is the sin of the Church, that such men should have a visible standing, therefore they ought to be cast out; and so de jure they have no right, and if they be once cast out and excommunicated, than they that are judged themselves to have no right unto Church-Ordinances, cannot give this right unto others. And it is that which we must look upon as the great sin of this Nation, that we will entitle the whole Nation to a Church-state, and every particular person a Church-member; and yet no care is taken that either they walk as does become Members, or else that they be excluded from such a pretended right; and the Reformation of this Nation will never be through, according to the Rules of the Gospel, till this be done in all Privileges, Ordinances, one as well as another. There are two more questions have been propounded to me concerning this case; (1) By this means what difference will be put between the Children of Christians, and the Children of Pagans? (2) If that they were baptised, their Parents having no federal right, whether is their Baptism null, and must they then be rebaptised? (Quest. 1.) 1. To the first I answer, that though it be a thing that may sound harsh, and carry an Odium with it, yet the Scripture does commonly call them Heathens, even those that were wicked within the Church; Rulers of Sodom, and People of Gomorrha, Saul is called Cush; the Ethiopians, and the Ziphims, though they were Jews, David calls Strangers or Aliens, etc. and the Papists, though they profess Christ, and take upon themselves the title of Churches, Rev. 11.2. yet they are called Gentiles. And we must know this, that all men are either without, or within; if without, though some are nearer, and some are further off, and therefore have greater opportunity of entrance than others, yet they are still without; and if they are within, they must be visible Saints, or else they ought not to be within, and it will be judged by God the sin and profaneness of the Church, and the Officers thereof, if they are suffered to continue within as Members. Now if we lay aside the hateful name of Turks and Pagans, and if we say, that the Parents either are not within, or ought not to be within, than I conceive he being unto me by Christ's rule as a Heathen man and a Publican, I cannot think his Children in a better condition in reference unto a Covenant-right, than they can receive from their Father, which I am well assured he has not to give. (Quest. 2.) And as for the Second Question, it has been generally concluded by Divines ancient and modern, that they are not to be rebaptised, but that when they come to believe and repent, they then reap the benefit of that Baptism which before they had no fruit of, because they had no right to it; yet when once they come by Faith to have a right to it, than their Baptism availeth, and so is not null to them; nor need there a second Baptism; but this would be entering into a new controversy, which I shall have a fit place in this discourse to handle, where it will more directly fall in; and therefore I must beg your patience in whose minds this does raise any scruple, that you will spare me for a full answer unto it till then. And so much shall serve to be spoken to the sixth Question. Quest. 7 §. 7. If the Child's federal right be only by the confederate Parents privilege, what is it in the Parent that gives the Child a right? Is it converting and regenerating Grace? or is it an external Profession only? When the Apostle says, the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband, else were your Children unclean, doth he mean there justifying Faith, which the Scripture calls the Faith of the Elect? and is the holiness of the Child so from the faith of the Parent? Laurence, c. 6. p. 191. or is it from an outward Profession of faith only? It's affirmed by some, that it's only regenerating Grace, saving Faith, that does bring the father within the Covenant, and therefore it's this in the father, and nothing else, that can entitle the child to it, which is proved from Rom. 4.16. Abraham is the Father of us all, not only of the Jews, but of the Gentiles also; because the Covenant-right after a sort began in him, he is the root upon which they all did grow that came after; now that brings us under Abraham's Covenant, which gives us a title to be called Abraham's seed. And it's plain, Rom. 11. that there were two sorts of seed or children, and so in Abraham a double Paternity; there was Abraham begetting, and there was Abraham believing; and answerably to these two there are children according to the flesh, and children of the faith of Abraham; and though while the Jews continued, they might claim Circumcision as belonging to them by generation, because they did descend from the loins of Abraham, yet we can claim no title by carnal generation, and therefore our title must be from our faith, walking in the steps of the faith of Abraham; andso the Apostle, writing to the Galatians that were Gentiles, tells them, there is no way of being sons of Abraham, and entering into his Covenant, but by believing; Know you therefore that they which are of faith, etc. Gal. 3.7.9. And if it be only the faith of the Parent, that doth entitle unto the Covenant of Abraham, surely then if the children's right come from the Parent, it must be from the faith of the Parent, which only gives himself a right thereunto. Here are four things to be spoken of: Answ. (1) That it's not the Grace and saving faith of the Parents that gives either them or their children right unto external Church-Priviledges: (2) That it's a visible Profession of faith that does it. (3) Yet it is not a bare Profession, and a bare living in a Christian Church, that is sufficient either for the Person to claim a title, or for the Church to admit of it. (4) I will give an answer to the Objections that are before mentioned, of the entrance into Abraham's Covenant, and having a title to be called Abraham's Children. 1. I say, it is not Grace regenerating and sanctifying, that gives a title either to the Parent or to his seed; and that I shall prove by these particulars: 1. If men that have no Grace, that were never regenerated, never newborn to God, may have a Covenant-title; then that which gives a man a title is not Grace; but a man that has no Grace, that was never born from above, may have a true title; therefore, it's not their Grace that gives them this title. Here consider, (1) That the Church of God is either Invisible, or Visible; the Invisible Church is the Church of the firstborn, Heb. 12.23. whose names are written in Heaven, and consists only of regenerate, and Believers in truth; this is the body of Christ, the Spouse of Christ, and the fullness of him that filleth all in all: But as for the Visible Church, it is made up of visible Saints, and it does enjoy visible Ordinances, as we see in the Church of the Jews, and in all the converted Churches of the Gentiles, they did all imbody for the public Worship of God. (2) This visible Church has visible Members, and visible Privileges; as the Church invisible has invisible members, and invisible Privileges: Indeed it is unto these that all the spiritual Promises of the Covenant do belong, and all the saving Graces of the Covenant are conferred; but yet there are many visible Privileges of the visible Church, which none but the visible members, according to the Rules of the Word, are to partake of; we have these summed up in eight particulars, Rom. 9.4, 5, 6. These are the visible Privileges of the visible Church. (3) Unto these a man that has no saving Grace may have a right, according to the Rules of the Word; and being looked upon by the Word as a visible member of a Church, he has by the same Rule a right to the visible Privileges which belong unto a Church-member. A man may be a true member of the visible Church without Grace; for the Net gathers of every kind, some good, and some bad; Matth. 13.47. and into this Society many are called that are not chosen; there be foolish as well as wise Builders, and Virgins; unclean, as well as clean Beasts; branches in Christ, as he spreads himself upon Earth into a visible Church, that bear no fruit, and yet are truly said to be members, and grow as members of the Church; and therefore the Jews are said to be broken off, Rom. 11.19. that the Gentiles might be grafted in; now what were the Gentiles grafted into? not into the Church invisible, for many of them have no saving Grace, never were regenerated, therefore they were grafted into Christ spreading himself into a visible Church upon Earth; and what were the Jews cast off from? not from being members of the Church Invisible, for there the calling and election of God is without repentance, he knows who are his, and he never casts out whom he knows to be his: All the Jews were called Loammi, they are not my people, Rom. 9.26. they were once owned by God as a peculiar people, and as a holy Nation unto him; but now he will be no more styled their God: and as men may have a visible standing in the Church, and a visible right of membership, without Grace, so a man may partake in and have a right to the visible privileges of a member, though he have no Grace, Rom. 11.17. Thou being a wild Olive Tree, wast grafted in amongst them; and to what end were they engrafted? it was, that they might with them partake of the root and fatness of the Olive-tree; this root and fatness cannot be meant of saving grace; for if they had partaken of them, Pareus. they had never been broken off, therefore it's meant of outward privileges only; therefore the Gentiles have their privileges into which they are engrafted, that is, installed, as well as the Jews had, and yet it's not saving grace in them that entitles them unto this privilege, because he says, Let them also take heed for all this, lest they also be broken off, as the Jews the natural branches were. 2. These external privileges are such as belong to the visible Church, into which men must admit, and they cannot judge of the truth of grace and regeneration by an infallible judgement, and therefore there must be some visible signs which, as rules, they are to act by in things of so high a nature. As the Church is distinguished into visible and invisible, so there is a double power of the Keys answerable. (1) The Lord Christ has a Key of Royalty, Rev. 3.7. as you have heard, the Key of David, which I conceive to have respect to the Church only; and he admits into the Church invisible, and it's by vocation and union with Christ, which is the end or terminus of vocation. (2) There is a Key of charity, as some call it, though improperly, yet true in this respect, because it's only the judgement of charity, that they can proceed by, and not of infallibility; and this is an act belonging properly to Church-officers, Mat. 6.19. by virtue of an institution of Christ unto that end, and they that are employed in this work cannot judge infallibly of the truth of grace in any they admit. Though it's true, that the tree is much known by the fruit, yet we find that Peter did baptise Simon Magus, and the Church admitted Ananias and Saphira, and those mentioned in 1 Joh. 2.19. they were admitted amongst them, though afterwards they appeared not to be of them; and that which was said of Israel, is true still of the visible Church, They are not all Israel that are of Israel. The Church invisible has no Officer but Christ alone, and he admits by a judgement of infallibility; but the visible Church has visible Officers, who are to proceed by a known rule, and Baptism being the ordinance of admission, is by them to be administered to persons as visible, and not as invisible members of the Church; all these therefore that are to be admitted by them, must be admitted by a known rule, which they can judge of, which is not truth of grace, for that they cannot know, it belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ only, who knows both the counsels of God, and the hearts of men; and therefore they must admit such as in appearance and in the judgement of charity are so, though it may be in truth and verity afterwards they prove not so to be. 3. Excommunication breaks a man off from the visible Church and the visible privileges thereof, but it cannot cut a man off from the Church invisible and the truth of grace in the heart, which the Lord has promised to continue to the end; for into what a man is admitted by the Keys, out of that by the Keys he may be ejected; but no man is admitted for grace, neither can he be ejected for want of grace, if visibly a member, Mat. 18.15. Let him be unto thee as a Publican: it's not spoken of one without, but of one within, for it's an offending brother; and he says, he should be put into the same condition with a Heathen and Publican. Amongst the Jews they did not hold communion with Heathens and Publicans; Heathens were not admitted into Ordinances as Church-members, till they became circumcised Proselytes; so that the meaning is, count them unworthy to be admitted to public Ordinances and the public privileges of the Church, which other Church-members may challenge a right unto, and they themselves had a right before their scandal and ejection: 1 Cor. 5.5. Deliver such a man unto Satan, which I conceive cannot be meant of any miraculous work, because the Apostle commits it to the Church to do it in the Name of God, and by virtue of the authority committed to them in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ; and therefore I conceive it to be nothing else but casting a man out of the society of the Church, and leaving him amongst the society of ungodly men, over whom Satan rules; and being put out of the Kingdom of Christ, which is the Church, and the care of the Church, he is truly delivered to Satan to carry him whither he will, as ungodly men are called by the Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. and yet the incestuous Corinthian was a godly man, and he was not cast out from the promises of grace and the workings of the Spirit, but from the external privileges of the Church; and so may a godly man for scandalous falls justly be, and yet his grace continue an immortal seed, and he remain a member of the invisible Church still, even when he is cast out of the visible Church; as Job and many of the Saints were members of the invisible Church, and yet had not opportunity to join themselves unto any visible Church any further than their own family were such. The Church then can cast a man out of what he was by them admitted to; but that was not grace, but outward privileges, and they can only cast men out of these. It is not grace gives a man a right to external admission; for then a man that had grace, what offence soever he committed, could not be ejected; but a man that has true grace may, for a scandalous offence, be according to the rules of the word, lawfully ejected, therefore it was not his grace that gave him his admission; neither is it grace that in his ejection he can be deprived of; that being an act of God, but they can only hinder him from visible communion. 2. A visible profession will give unto a man in foro Ecclesiae, a right of membership. (1) Men can go upon no other ground; for if the matter of a Church must be Saints, they can judge no further of Saintship than by the visibility of it; and because they cannot have certitudinem fidei; ergo Deus judicium charitatis eis substituit; for the Key of Ministry committed unto Officers doth but open and shut in reference unto the external privileges and benefits of the Church, into which a visible profession will give unto a man a visible right, and is proper and proportionable thereunto. (2) Upon this ground admissions have always been: it was so that the Jews admitted Proselytes; called Proselytae foederis, upon their profession of the Jewish Religion, and a subjection unto the Ordinances of God there; and yet many of them were the children of Hell after they were made Proselytes, as Christ himself tells us; and so John Baptist admitted unto Baptism, they were baptised of him after they had confessed their sins, etc. and Peter, Simon Magus, and Philip the Eunuch on his confession of the Faith; and we read, 2 Cor. 9.13. of a professed subjection to the Gospel, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it's in the Original a subjection, or confession of the Gospel; and all their after-obedience is but a manifestation of the truth of that profession of theirs: and therefore I conclude, that it's but outward profession will give a man a right in the external court of the Church. 3. Yet I conceive it's not a bare profession, how unanswerable soever a man's conversation be, that will bring in a man being without, or being within keep him from being cast out; and this will appear in these particulars. (1) The Lord in his Word requires that they should be visible Saints, which we heard before a bare profession would not entitle them unto; therefore Esa. 54.12. He will lay their foundations with precious stones, etc. it's not to be interpreted de doctrina, of doctrine, Calvin. according to that 1 Cor. 3 10. but de hominibus, ex quibus spirituale Ecclesiae aedificium construitur, of men, whereof the Church is composed. Rev. 22.15. Without shall be dogs, Rev. 22.15. and every one that loves and makes a lie. Some do expound it of Hypocrites; though I conceive that not to be the meaning, but it is such whose heart does love and hanker after a way of idolatry, specially that lie of Antichrist, which should then be destroyed; and when once the members of the Church began to be corrupt and degenerate, it became an outward court, into which all were admitted, even without distinction; then the Lord cast it out, and gave it unto the power of Antichrist to tread it under foot in a most cruel and tyrannous way, Rev. 11.2. Rev. 11.2. The court which is without the temple, leave out, etc. and therefore it concerns all Churches to look that they become an outward court, in allusion to the Atrium Gentium, the Court of the Gentiles among the Jews; for it was that which set up Antichrist, and gave him in judgement that power that he has exercised over them. And it was a great trial (how lightly soever we conceive of it) that the Apostles had of all they did admit: for if we suppose they did only require of them a confession that Christ was the Son of God, and that upon this they were added to the Church; yet if we consider that this was the great truth then opposed and persecuted, the great controversy of the age, and that which betrayed them to persecution immediately; Joh. 9 for whoever did confess him was to be put out of the Synagogue; and this made many men to keep off from embracing of the Gospel; wherefore it was then a great mark of sincerity for a man to embrace a persecuted Truth in times of Persecution; and to endure a great fight of afflictions, and yet receive the Word in much affliction, with joy in the Holy Ghost, it was a very great ground for a man's judicious charity to rest on. As it were now a small matter for a man to preach against Transubstantiation, the real presence of Christ in the Sacrament; yet for a man to bear witness against that error, and to maintain the truth in Queen Mary's days, when all the power of the Kingdom was against it, and when so many were sent to Heaven in a fiery Chariot for the same, that had been a great ground for judicious charity to have rested upon for the sincerity of the man; and therefore it's said, Phil. 1.6, 7. He that hath begun the good work in you will perfect it; it is but an equal and just thing for me to think so of you all; they were all such of whom he might have some ground in charity to hope and judge, that they had a good work begun in them, which should be perfected in the day of the Lord. (2) The matter of the visible Church must be suitable to the ends for which the Lord has instituted such Churches: for every wise man does choose materials suitable to the work in which he intends to use them; as in the Tabernacle there was gold and silver, and there was purple and blue, each answerable to the end in which it was to be used: now there is a double end why the Lord has instituted visible Churches. [1] That they may be a pillar of truth to hold forth his word and to hold up his worship, 1 Tim. 3.15. [2] That they may be a people amongst whom the Lord may dwell; and therefore the Church is called the House of God; and he will dwell in them, and walk amongst them, 2 Cor. 6.16. The tabernacle of the Lord is with men, Rev. 21. the name of the city is Jehovah shammah, the Lord is there. Now if men profess, and yet be ignorant, they cannot hold forth the truth, and if they be profane, they will never hold up the worship of God, and if they are wicked, the Lord will departed from them, and will not dwell among them. (3) It will appear also from the nature of the Ordinance of Excommunication; which is to pass upon none but those within, 2 Thess. 3.6. if a brother, etc. and it was the honour of the Church of Ephesus, that they looked upon them that were evil, as burdens, and could not bear them. Now if a profession with a scandalous conversation will not keep a man in, when he is in, surely it is no good ground to let a man in when he is without; if such aught to be separated from the Church being admitted, surely if they be without they are not to be admitted; and I do think it strange, that men should speak of it as a great sin that profane persons in the Church should be tolerated, and yet should plead for a promiscuous admission upon a bare profession only, though their whole conversation speak the contrary. Truly unless we make Churches and Church-members to be only notions and empty things, we ought, I conceive, to make conscience of our admissions as well as ejections: and surely if that were done, there would be less need of Excommunications, and yet a greater purity in our Churches preserved, and be for aught I know the best bottom of our reformation. 4. I must here repeat what has been already delivered, viz. that it is the immediate parents only that give federal right to their children. 1. Some considerations were premised, namely that admission of members is an act of the Keys, and the great trust the Lord has committed unto them, and therefore they are to proceed by rule therein. And that to administer Sacraments is not an act of Christian liberty, that a Minister may dispense to whom he will, but an act of power, which Christ has given to them that are called to the Ministry of the Word; and they are to dispense them to none but unto those whose privileges they are; and that as great care is to be taken in the administration of one Sacrament, that it be not done promiscuously, as of the other. Whence we proceed to prove our position: (1) I find in Scripture, that when the immediate parents were taken into covenant, the children were taken in with them, how wicked soever their Ancestors were, as Abraham's, &c. and when the immediate parents were cast out, the child was cast out with them, how holy soever their Ancestors had been, as we instanced in the Jews; therefore admission is with the immediate parents as well as ejection. (2) From that place, 1 Cor. 7.14. Else were your children unclean, the Apostle speaks it as knowing no other way of their federal sanctification, neither will that take it away to say, because their Ancestors were Heathen, for there is but one way of sanctifying Heathens by profession, and those that are as Heathens in their conversation. (3) There is no stop; if a federal right from Ancestors will not wear out, how shall a man know where to stay? and if it must be thought to reach to all their succeeding generations, than we must baptise all mankind; therefore there is no certainty, unless we pitch here. (4) Sacraments are to be administered only unto Church-members, and if parents have no right to membership they can convey none; but it was not enough to make a member to be baptised, and to make profession of the Christian Faith in a Christian Church, and therefore being himself no member, he cannot convey a right of membership. (5) From the inconveniences that must needs follow upon it. 1. The Ordinance is profaned by promiscuous administrations. 2. Ministers are put to act upon uncertainties. 3. Wicked men are hardened and encouraged that cry, The Temple of the Lord are we, and all the Lords people are holy, which formerly I am sure many of our Divines bitterly complained of. (6) I was much the more led into it, because of many things that I have met with in the Writings both of ancient and modern Divines to that purpose, some of which were quoted, and there are many more that might be added, but it's not fit for a Pulpit and a popular Auditory, this being, as you know, not a Doctrine of my fetching in, but that which Providence in the course of my Ministry did put me upon; I confess I durst not wave it, though in my own inclination I could willingly have done it; neither was it out of a desire of novelty to be the Broacher of some new Doctrine or Opinion amongst you, God is my witness; I know nihil novandum nisi quod traditum; yet conceiving it after my best examination to be a truth of God, for I did desire to believe before I spoke, I could not but speak what I apprehended to be the mind of God therein; I should not desire to obtrude any thing upon you without examination, if it be upon trial but hay and stubble, I shall be content that it shall burn; but if it be a truth of God, it will abide the trial; and though such a truth as this is may receive some prejudice by the weakness of the instrument, yet if it be a truth the Lord Jesus will certainly raise up such instruments as shall be able to carry it through against all opposition. I come now to answer the former Objection. I do acknowledge that there is no way for the Gentiles to come under Abraham's covenant but by faith; they cannot claim a title from Abraham begetting, that belongs to the Jews only, who are therefore called by the Apostle the natural Branches, Rom. 11.24. and the Gentiles are said to be engrafted contrary unto nature, and therefore the Gentiles can claim no interest in Abraham's covenant but from believing Abraham; and yet I deny that the faith which shall give a man any kind of right or title must be true, saving, and justifying faith. And to clear this, I must give you a threefold distinction: 1. Of Abraham as a father; and it's plain, that the Scripture speaks of a threefold paternity of Abraham. (1) Abraham is a natural father, and so to the Jews only; for they are his posterity according to the flesh, the natural branches that grow out of this root; and this is the paternity that the Jews did glory in: We have Abraham to our father. Mat. 3.9. Joh. 8.39. (2) Abraham is a spiritual father unto all true Believers, who walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham, whether they be of the Jews, or of the Gentiles, and they shall be blessed with faithful Abraham; Rom. 4.11, 12. for which cause I suppose it is, that Heaven is called Abraham's bosom, Luk. 16.22. Luk. 16.22. Abraham being the father of all the Faithful, they shall be received into the same happiness with himself, and he will show unto them special love and tenderness, Infants in parentum sinu gestati amorem & benevolentiam intimam experiuntur; and so to be gathered to the Saints, our fathers, is a special mercy, because we shall have an experience of the highest love of the Saints; even Abraham himself, the father of us all will own us for his sons, and receive us into his bosom. Others take it as a Metaphor from the custom of the Jews in conviviis, in their feasts, where they did alter in alterius sinu occumbere, lie down one in the others bosom, Joh. 13.23. answerable unto that, Mat. 8.11. They shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, Joh. 13.23. Mat. 8.11. and Jacob in the kingdom of God; which doth very fitly suit unto the Parable in hand; Lazarus stands at the door of the rich man, and was not admitted to taste of his meat, much less to sit down at his table; but he shall sit down in Heaven at the supper of the Lamb with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he shall there lean upon Abraham's bosom. (3) Abraham is also an Ecclesiastical or a Church-father; Rom. 11.16. as it appears Rom 11.16. he is the root upon which the Churches of the Jews did grow, and into which the Churches of the Gentiles are engrafted: many of the Jews were not spiritually his seed, and yet they are said to be broken off, not from being Abraham's natural seed, that they could never be deprived of, they were the posterity of Abraham according to the flesh, and so they do remain even after their breaking off; but they are only broken off from a Church-relation, and so they are the seed of Abraham no more: and the Gentiles are grafted, not into Abraham as a natural father, a natural root; for they never can be the posterity of Abraham according to nature, and many of them are not from him as a spiritual father; for many of them believe not, and therefore are in danger of being cut off, as the Jews were broken off; whence they grow upon Abraham, and are engrafted into him as an Ecclesiastical or Church-father. So then the answer is, there is not a sufficient enumeration of Abraham's paternities. It's confessed, the Gentiles cannot become the posterity of Abraham as a natural father, or as a spiritual father, for so many of the Gentiles are not of the seed of Abraham, as do not walk in the steps of his faith; but yet Abraham is an Ecclesiastical father unto the Gentiles, as well as he was to the Jews that believed not; for the Gentiles are engrafted into the same root, out of which the natural branches were broken off, which cannot be spoken of his faith and grace that's never broken off, therefore it is of his Ecclesiastical or Church respect it must be meant. 2. In the Covenant of Abraham there are two parts, the one spiritual, consisting in the inward graces and privileges; the other external, consisting in outward privileges only; and this doth plainly appear in Isaac, who was the child of the free woman, and unto whom the Covenant descended according to the spiritual graces and privileges thereof; and in Ishmael, who was the son of the bondwoman, born after the flesh, and taken into covenant only in reference to the external privileges thereof: Deut. 29.10, 12, 13, 14. Rom. 9.4. and thus were all the Jews taken into covenant with God, as it appears, Ezech. 16.8. and yet with many of them God was not well pleased, they never had an interest in the saving graces and the spiritual privileges of the Covenant; for Rom. 9.6. They are not all Israel that are of Israel, they were all inchurched Israel, but they were not all of elected Israel: for as there is an external calling, Mat. 22.14. and sanctification, Mat. 22.14. Joh. 15.2. Heb. 10.29. and an external being in Christ; so there is also an external being in Covenant with God, or being taken into the Covenant of Abraham; for Abraham is the root of the Covenant, into which the Gentiles also are engrafted, Rom. 11.17. there is a fatness that is from the Olive-tree communicated to the branches, even to such branches as were broken off, in whose places the Gentiles were grafted in: Now the saving graces of the Covenant are not communicated from any Company of men in the world, no not from the invisible Church, but from Christ only; who is therefore said to be the Root of David, Rev. 22.16. and the fountain of the Gardens; Cant. 3.15. but Ordinances and outward Privileges are properly the Churches, and from the Church are communicated to others, as members, whether they be elect or reprobate: the Gentiles therefore may have an interest in Abraham's Covenant in reference to the outward Privileges and Ordinances thereof, though they have no interest in it in respect of the spiritual privileges and saving Graces of the same Covenant. 3. There's a twofold Faith that the Scripture speaks of; there is true and saving, justifying faith, which is called the Faith of God's Elect, and there is a temporary faith, or a faith which is in profession only, Math. 13. Heb. 6.4. Act. 8. and not in truth, as we see in the stony ground, and the temporary Believers and in Simon Magus: and as it's true saving faith that doth give a man an interest in the graces of the Covenant, and makes a man Abraham's seed in reference unto grace; so there is a visible faith, a profession only, that which only men are able to judge of, to whom the power of the Keys for the dispensing of Ordinances are committed; and this gives a man a title to the visible and external Privileges of the Covenant in for● Ecclesiae: as we see Simon Magus profession of Faith was ground enough for the Apostles to administer Baptism unto him, the Seal of the Covenant, though afterwards he did quickly manifest that he was in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity. Though therefore the Gentiles can never claim Abraham's Covenant as his seed according to the flesh, nor many of them a spiritual right, as not having the saving faith of Abraham; yet they may claim relation to Abraham as an Ecclesiastical father; and from a profession of the faith of Abraham, may claim a true and a real interest in the external privileges of Abraham's Covenant; though they cannot pretend to his saving Graces, and spiritual privileges, having never had any experience of a work of Conversion and Regeneration. Quest. 8 §. 8. Why will the Lord have the Covenant run by way of entail, in reference to the outward Privileges of it, and not in reference to the inward Graces of it? The Covenant that was made with Adam was to convey the one as well as the other, and the image that he had received he was to convey to his Posterity, and the promise of Life spiritual and Life eternal, was made unto his Posterity in case of their Obedience, as well as unto himself; and therefore as all died in him, so all should have lived in him; Nos omnes in Adam● peccavimus & in eo sententiam damnationis accepimus omnes. Bern. S. 1. de Advent. So that by the first Covenant, Adam might have conveyed not only outward Privileges, but inward Graces also: and whereas now by reason of the fall, all Mankind do convey death to their Children, Tertul. but not life, and so they are become, non tàm parentes quàm peremptores; not so much parents as destroyers; therefore seeing that the first Covenant is broken, why doth not the Lord only take the Elect into Covenant, and extend the Covenant of Grace unto none else, and so make it with particular persons, as the Covenant of the Angels did run? or if he will make it to descend from Father to Son, why doth he not convey the Graces of the Covenant from Parents to Posterity, as well as the outward privileges of the Covenant? Why does not the Covenant run for all the Benefits of it, as well as for some only, the internals of the Covenant as well as the externals? Answ. 1. The Lord will not have the Graces of the Covenant entailed from Parents unto Posterity; (1) Because the Curse of the first Covenant is now become ex traduce, by propagation, and all the Posterity of Adam do now as naturally convey the Curse, by reason of their broken Covenant, as Adam should have conveyed life and blessing, if he had stood in his integrity; and therefore whatever the immediate Parents be, Adam's sin comes alike upon all whether they be godly or wicked; and the child of a godly Parent is as truly and as deeply guilty of the sin of Adam in his birth, as the child of the most wicked man that is; that is an entail left upon all mankind that can never be cut off, while there is a man born upon earth; Rom. 5.12. for in Adam all dye, because in him all sinned; and therefore the children of godly Parents as well as others are born the children of wrath; Gregor. so that Timothy, though there was faith unfeigned that dwelled in his Grandmother, and his Mother, yet he himself must be converted by the ministry of Paul, or else he had no benefit by the faith of his Ancestors; Rom. 3.29. and thence the Apostle saith, We look upon the Jews as a people holy unto the Lord, and the only visible Church upon earth, and the Gentiles as strangers unto God, who followed dumb Idols as they were led, and yet in reference to their natural condition the Apostle says, there is no difference, for all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God; and therefore all in their births are alike corrupted with the sin of Adam, that being imputed, but the personal sins of their Parents are not imputed unto them, and therefore they are said, Joh. 1.13. to be born not of blood, that is, Joh. 1.13. not by a fleshly generation, so some; or else, as Calvin, it is bloods, ut longam generis successionem melius exprimeret; though Grace has continued long in that line, and has as it were run in a blood, and comes upon a man by succession as it were for many generations, as it was with Timothy, etc. nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man; Idem significat, etc. If the parents be godly, and they never so earnestly desire that their children might be godly also, as it was Abraham's desire for Ishmael that he might live in God's sight, it was spoken of living before God as in Covenant with him, as it appears by the answer that the Lord returns unto him; but yet for all that, his desire is not granted as concerning him; though, he saith, I will make of Ishmael a great nation, and many nations shall come from him, yet in Isaac shall thy covenant-seed be called; and with him will I establish my Covenant, etc. therefore the Covenant, in respect of the grace of it, can never be entailed upon posterity, because every man begets a son in the likeness of the first Adam, as he himself did immediately after his fall, Gen. 5.3. and thereby conveyed the image that by sin he had brought upon himself and his posterity. (2) Because under the second Covenant it's the Election of God that takes place, and puts all the difference between men and men, between whom in themselves there is no difference. It's true, that it's a great dispute, Whether the Lord in Election did consider man in massa pura, or corrupta, and I conceive it was an act of Sovereignty, and therefore God respected ma● in massa pura, as a creature, and not in massa corrupta, as a sinner; as the potter hath power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel to honour, and another to dishonour, Rom. 9 yet this Decree could not actually take place without sin had come between; and now sin has interposed, there are some that belong to the Election of Grace, and they are chosen out by vocation, which is nothing else but electio actuata, election actuated, and the eternal Decree of God doth exempt them from the common condition of the rest of the world, as we see Rom. 9 there the Jews are cast off, and they are all in one outward condition, but the difference lies in this, there is a remnant according to the Election of Grace, and the Election does obtain, when the rest are hardened; and therefore we are said to be born of the will of God, in opposition unto all things in nature whatsoever, Rom. 11. Joh. 1.13. Rom. 8.29. for vocation is the firstborn of Election: Of his own will he begat us by the word of truth, etc. The generation of Christ was an act of his nature, and therefore necessary, but the generation of Saints is an act of the will of God, and therefore free; it's wholly to the praise of the glory of his grace; and this his will is manifested in this, Eph. 1.11. That he did from all Eternity elect some, and reject others, according to the counsel of his own will. Now that the Lord may make it manifest that it's an act of free grace, therefore he will sometimes reject the children of the Kingdom, as the Jews are called, men born in the Church, Mat. 8. and unto whom the Kingdom of Christ did seem by a natural right to belong, and to descend unto them; and he will send forth and call men from the East and from the West to sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God; he will cast off the bidden guests, and will send out to the high ways and hedges, and compel men to come in, that he may manifest that you are begotten of his own will for the praise of his grace. (3) Because since the Fall the Lord has appointed another way to convey life unto his people, and that is not by generation from the first Adam, but by regeneration from a second Adam; and therefore the Lord will surely honour his own way, and he will not convey the grace of the Covenant from parents unto their posterity, but from him only who is the second Adam, and is therefore called the everlasting Father, Esa. 9.6. Esa. 9.6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as the Septuagint renders it, that is, as the Apostle says, He hath subjected to him the world to come, Heb. 2.5. so he is made the father of the world to come, Heb. 2.5. and all the Saints that come thence shall acknowledge that they all hold of him as a father, as it is said Psal. 87.4, 5. of the Ordinances of Zion, Psal. 87.4, 5. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia: this man was born there; and of Zion it shall be said, this and that man was born in her; that is, that what Nation or Kingdom soever any of the Saints were in, they may for their first birth mention Egypt and Babylon, but for their second, their new birth, they shall know and acknowledge that it was in Zion, and by the mighty work of God in the Ordinances therein; so I may say of the Lord Jesus Christ, that whomsoever they may call father on earth, whether within or without the Kingdom, yet they shall all own the Lord Christ as their Father in reference unto their eternal states, and in reference unto the world to come; and therefore he is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, non solùm Spiritus vivus, but also vivificus, not only a living Spirit, but a quickening Spirit, a Spirit that makes us alive also; for Joh. 14.19. he says, Because I live, you shall live; and the Apostle Paul saith, The last Adam was made a quickening Spirit, 1 Cor. 15. Bernard▪ and Rev. 22.16. he is said to be the Root of David, and he is therefore said to be the Fountain of the gardens, Cant. 3.15. it is from hence that all flourishes; therefore grace shall not be entailed upon posterity, but, as the Father quickens whom he will, so also the Son shall have life in him, and power of quickening whom he will. Upon these grounds it is, that the spiritual and the saving graces of the Covenant are not conveyed from parents unto their children by a lineal descent, but the Covenant, in reference to grace from the parents is wholly made void; and as God many times has a seed of grace running through the loins of the wicked, so he does many times cast off the children of the Saints; and as he said of Ishmael, But my covenant will I establish with Isaac; Gen. 17.21. so God saith of Believers children, that he will not establish his Covenant with them as to inward grace. 2. Yet the Lord will continue the Covenant from parents to children by a kind of lineal descent in reference to the external privileges of the Covenant, and they shall be conveyed from parents unto the children, who shall have a Covenant-right as the parent's privilege: and the grounds of it are these. (1) Because the Lord will have a visible Church out of the loins of his own people; therefore when he takes in their parents into a Church-covenant, he takes in also their children; they are the children of the kingdom, because they are the children of the Covenant that God made with their parents. He doth indeed take in as Proselytes, some here, and some there; but the visible Church is chief and generally made up of such confederate parents and their children: and to make a visible Church there is required outward ordinances and privileges, that there may be a difference put between them and the rest of the world, Exod. 19.5. that they may be unto God a holy and a peculiar people; and this may be where the graces of the Covenant are not dispensed, yet the privileges of the Covenant must. It's true, there are tares among the wheat in the same field, and there are goats feeding amongst the sheep in the same pasture; it's not grace (as you heard) makes a man a visible member of the Church visible, for it cannot be seen, it cannot properly come under any humane judgement; but it's grace makes a man a member of the invisible Church into which Christ only admits, and that which Christ only judges, and not man. (2) The Covenant is entailed in reference to the privileges thereof, that the Lord might magnify and exalt his love unto parents the more; and that it might be a great inducement to come into Covenant with God, because the promise shall be unto you and your children, even unto them that are afar off, or as many as the Lord shall call; not only to the Jews and their children, but also to the Gentiles, for that is meant by afar off, Eph. 2.17. all that shall be converted and take hold of the Covenant for themselves, their posterity shall be taken into their Covenant-right also, and that's the inducement and the argument used Act. 2.39. The great plague of sin lies in this, that a man does not only undo himself, but his posterity, as it was in Adam; and the great comfort in grace is, that a man shall do good to his posterity, as it was promised to Christ, Psal. 89.29. filiabitur nomen ejus, his name shall be continued amongst his posterity in the Church. Now for God to give a man a name in his posterity to own them, it's a great mercy, to speak of a man's house a great while for to come: and it's exceedingly heightened by this; Adam's sin was imputed to his posterity, as well as his grace; now the privileges of the Father's Covenant shall be entailed, but the sins of the parents are personal, and shall never be imputed unto the children. It's true, that the sin of Adam is imputed, but the sin of the immediate parents is not imputed unto the children; and though God doth visit the iniquity of the parents upon the children, yet it is as true, that the children do not bear the iniquities of the fathers; so that the father's privileges are the children's, but the father's sins are his own; for every man now sins as a private person for himself, not as a public person, as a representative head, as Adam did for himself and his posterity. (3) The Lord would engage their children to himself above all the Families and Posterities of the Earth, Ezech. 16. and therefore he calls them the children born unto him; thou hast taken my sons and my daughters that thou hast born to me; and they shall have the Privilege that none upon Earth have, that thereby they may be engaged to God; and if they be wicked, they may be the more left without excuse: as Nazianzen says, in Orat. 40. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are persons given up and dedicated to God in their infancy, and from the womb, there is written upon them holiness to the Lord; and if outward and temporal mercies be such great Obligations upon the Soul, what are spiritual and Church-mercies? and therefore the condemnation of the children of the Kingdom shall be greater than of the children of this world, because their mercies and privileges and opportunities are greater; the Lord would bind them unto himself by higher cords of love, than he does the rest of the world; he does make the Sun to shine, and the rain to fall upon other men, filling their hearts with food and gladness. There are temporal mercies that God dispenses to all men, but they are not like unto the mercies of spiritual and Church-priviledges, that's beyond what other men enjoy, the Lord would bind them that are his Covenant-people unto himself by this cord, beyond the rest of the world. (4) To show forth the goodness and overflowing mercy of Christ, under the second Covenant, unto unregenerate men, who for the state of their persons are under the Covenant of Works, and are enemies unto the Covenant of Grace, and yet they shall enjoy many privileges and benefits thereby; and this the Lord does bestow upon them either as preparatives and as means to fit them for services, or as privileges and rewards of services; for all the creatures are now given into the hands of Christ, and all men in the Church belong to him; they all come under him either as servants or as sons; they that are sons partake in the graces of the Covenant, but the servants also partake in the privileges of it, for they abide in the house, though not for ever, and while they are in the house they have bread enough and to spare, they partake of the root and fatness of the good Olive-tree; they have Church-ordinances that fit them for service, and they receive Church privileges as temporal rewards of service. (5) For the Elects sake; there are some upon whom the grace of the Covenant is bestowed, and unto whom the Privileges of the Covenant do chief belong, and they are the Elect of God; but because they are bound up in the same bundle with the rest of mankind, and men cannot distinguish, for it is electing Love that puts the difference; therefore as Ordinances are continued unto all for the Elects sake, so Privileges are bestowed upon all; but the primary intention of them is for the Saints, the Elect of God, that they might partake in them for whom they were specially purchased and intended. As the preaching of the Gospel was primarily intended for the Elect of God, that they might partake in it, and for the gathering in of Souls unto him; but because the Elect of God are amongst the wicked of the world, therefore if men be to dispense Ordinances, they must do it in common, and wait upon God in the use of them, and the grace of God will fall upon the Elect unto Conversion; and so it does accidentally come upon ungodly men; but primarily and intentionally, it is given only for the Elects sake; as appears by this, that when the Lord has finished and gathered in the number of the Elect, he will continue Ordinances and Church-priviledges unto unregenerate men no longer; therefore as Ordinances being dispensed by men, must be in common for the Elects sake, so must privileges dispensed by men be also: as the World stands for the Saints, and yet ungodly men enjoy much of the comforts of the world, that a man would think it were all for their sakes; so Church-priviledges are vouchsafed to ungodly men as a great part of the Church, that a man would think all were for their sakes, and yet it is with a special respect and primary intention to the Saints, that both the one and the other are continued in the world; wicked men shall share with the Saints in the external privileges, rather than the Saints of God be wholly deprived of them: And upon these grounds I conceive, it mainly is that the Covenant is entailed from father to son for the outward privileges, but not for the inward graces thereof. §. 9 How far Arguments drawn from Circumcision, Quest. 9 being an Ordinance of the Old Testament, can by way of Rule determine any of the Essentials of Baptism, which is an Ordinance of the New Testament? that is, how far this argument has force in it, to say, The Children of the Jews being infants came under their father's Covenant, and therefore were by Gods command initiated and sealed by Circumcision, which was the Seal of the Covenant; therefore under the New Testament, the children of Christians while infants, are taken into Covenant with their Parents, and so ought to be initiated and sealed by Baptism, which is the Seal of the Covenant under the new Administration, as Circumcision was under the old, their infants were circumcised, therefore are ours to be baptised. They that are Antipedobaptists, do say, Antipedobaptists objection. that no argument drawn from the Ordinances of the old Testament conclude in reference to the Ordinances of the new, by that analogy and parity of reason; and therefore by our own reason, to draw consequents from Circumcision, which was an Ordinance of another Covenant, is to set our posts by God's post, and to be wise above, what is written; for Ordinances are grounded upon Institutions merely, and have their efficacy only from the will of the Institutor, and do not depend at all upon the reason of the thing, neither are we to make like Institutions from any analogy to the Ordinances of the old Testament, that our reason suggests unto us; and we are desired by them to consider, that this way of arguing has brought in many a great Error into Popery: As because the Jewish Church was but in one Nation then, till the bounds were enlarged, so now the Gospel being preached unto every creature under Heaven, by just consequence the Church should depend upon one head; so that as there were many subordinate Priests and Levites among the Jews, yet there was but one high Priest; so by just consequence it must needs be in the Churches of the New Testament, there is but one Pontifex Maximus, great Bishop of our Souls in the Church, all the world over; and yet these we deny to be good arguments: therefore that which is drawn from the circumcision of the Infants of the Jews, unto the Baptism of the Infants of the Christians, there being an express word of Institution for the one, but not for the other, but only grounded upon inferences drawn by way of analogy, it is conceived that way of reasoning in the one as well as in the other is alike unsafe and unsound. Answ. Now to give an answer to what is said, and to sum it up as briefly as may be, I would lay down these Conclusions. 1. In all Ages there has been great designs upon the Word of God, to make it void, and enervate it. Men generally that are in an evil way, bear the same affection to the Word that Jehoiakim did unto Jeremiahs' roll, which he cut in pieces with his Penknife, and cast it into the fir●● that was upon the hearth: But because that they cannot cut it, therefore they would take it away, in a secret manner, and undermine it, specially that part of the Word that is contrary either to their corrupt opinions, or practice, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Justin Martyr Ep. ad Zenam. Et Scripturas secundum sensum suum legit; & voluntatem sequitur, nunquàm audit sed quam attulit. Aust. de gra. Christi. And this did David complain of, Psal. 119.126. Psal. 119.126. the word signifies non palam & ex professo, sed obliquè, to do it secretly and underhand; and so did the Pharisees, ye have made void the Law; Matth. 15.6. it was not by denying it, but by false Glosses, and corrupt Interpretations, they took away the ruling power and authority thereof; and this has been mainly done in this latter age, by these two ways: (1) Some men deny the authority of the whole Old Testament, at least any further than it is in express words confirmed in the New; and this is looked upon as an argument sufficient to answer any argument that is brought for any thing of the Old Testament; Can you show any thing in the New Testament for it? as if the Old Testament were now antiquated, and out of date: but we dare not divide the two words of the Apostle, which he doth apply generally unto all the Scripture, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 2 Tim. 3.16. The whole Scripture is given by inspiration, and is profitable, etc. therefore either we must deny it to be of divine Inspiration, or we must say not only that it was, but it is still profitable: and we know that Christ and his Apostles do generally confirm the Doctrines of the Gospel by Moses, and the Prophets; and our Divines do generally therefore say, that the Old Testament is but Evangelium sub velo, which now we see with open face. The Apostle speaks of a great trust that was committed to the Jews in the Word, Rom. 3.2. Rom. 3.2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to them were the Oracles of God concredited; that is, committed unto them by way of trust, that they might transmit them unto others: and it is a testimony that's given to the Jews to their honour, Judaeum centies potius moriturum, quàm ut pateretur legem in aliquo mutari: And there is the like, and a greater trust, committed unto Christians; for the Church is the Pillar and the ground of truth; I desire we may be as faithful to Posterity therein as the Jews were, and not sell any part of the Truths of God, unto the Lusts of men. (2) Men take away the Authority of the Word by denying, if not the express words of the Scripture, yet all things that are drawn, though by evident and necessary consequences, out of the Scripture; and so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Clem. Alex. They do steal from us a great part of the Word of God; for a great part of it lies in consequences. We know, (1) That Christ himself does cite Scripture by a consequence, and prove the Doctrine of the Resurrection by a Consequence out of Scripture; Mat. 22.32. (2) We know the Apostles and Evangelists do often assert that to be Scripture which is no where in express terms to be found in the Scripture. 2. I do acknowledge, that no Ordinance of the Old Testament is a ground for the Institution of the same under the New Testament; neither is it safe to make one Ordinance institutive of another; neither can any Inferences made from a man's own Reason, be a ground for any Institution in the Worship of God. (1) I say one Ordinance cannot be institutive of another; for Institutions do depend purely upon the will of God, manifested to the creature in matter of Worship, and therefore it were sinful to say, Because there were two Sacraments under the Old Testament, therefore there must be two under the New, and because there was one Sacrament of Initiation, and the other of Confirmation, therefore it must be so under the New, unless we had a word from Christ that did warrant it; or to say, Because they had a Sabbath amongst the Jews, a day of Religious rest, therefore we must have so amongst the Gentiles that are now Christians, unless we have a word that doth manifest this to be the will of God, that he will in such Ordinances be worshipped in the Church: and therefore we are far from making Circumcision to be the ground of the institution of Baptism. (2) It is no inference from reason that man can make, can be a ground in the things of God, in which the reason of man must only stoop unto the will of God. It was not enough for Jeroboam to say, Ye shall worship the God of Israel, but it shall be under the resemblance of a Calf, and ye shall have the Ordinances of God every way as glorious and as rational at Dan and Bethel, as ever you had at Jerusalem, what can you desire more? there is nothing for matter of worship to be had at Jerusalem, but it may also be had here. For every thing done in the service of God must not be ex arbitrio, Tertullian. sed ex imperio; and if the reason of man in this persuade him and interpose, whatever is set up so, is an image of jealousy and will-worship, as the Apostle speaks, Ezech. 8.3. Jer. 17.31. Col. 2. and that which the Lord will one day return upon you, and say, Who hath required these things at your hands? it's that which I never spoke, it never came into my mouth, nor entered into my heart: so far we are from setting up reason, or the wisdom of men to have any place in the worship of God, and to infer because this is rational, therefore it shall be accepted. For I know that as the power of Ordinances, so the fruit and the acceptation of them come from the institution only: and as it's sinful in the things, that God has commanded, to dispute his commands in matters of obedience, and to examine them by the rule of reason, and bring them unto that Bar; so it's also to impose any thing upon God in matters of worship that he has not commanded. It's said Hos. 11.14. Israel hath forgotten his Maker and builded Temples; Hos. 11.14. a man would think surely he that builds Temples has God much in his mind; but he that doth build many Temples, when the Lord had appointed but one, this is to forget God, under a pretence of worshipping of God: and in vers. 11. 'tis said, Ephraim hath made him Altars to sin, and Altars shall be unto him to sin; they had multiplied Altars beyond the institution of God, therefore that was their great sin, as Drusius expounds it; or else this was the sin that God did give them up in judgement unto, till they had destroyed themselves; for vain man would be wise, and he loves to show his wisdom in nothing more than in imposing in the worship of God; and this is so far from bringing God near to the soul, Ezech. 8. that it's an image of jealousy that does provoke him to go far from him. 3. As for Institutions merely typical it's not safe arguing from them, that there must be in the externals of Worship something answerable to them in the Ordinances of the New Testament; and it will be no good argument to say, It was so under the Law, therefore by way of Analogy and proportion, it must be so under the Gospel; and the reason is, because they were shadows of good things to come, and therefore when the substance came, Heb. 10.1. the shadows were to vanish; for Joh. 1.17. the truth of all those legal Types and all those shadows came by Christ, as well as the grace of them; and therefore when he came, they were all done away; and of this kind are all the instances; the legal holiness upon the people and land was typical in the Priests and high Priests; and their ornaments and vestures typical, and their Temple a type, and their Altar a type, all fulfilled in Christ, and so abolished, he having taken down the partition-wall, and taken the hand-writing that consisted in Ordinances out of the way, by nailing it unto his Cross; Col. 2. of all these Types we may lawfully argue, that there remains something spiritual in the days of the Gospel, there is a spiritual Temple, and there is a great High Priest, and there are inferior Priests that are made Kings and Priests unto God, and we have an Altar of which they have no right to eat which serve the Tabernacle; Heb. 13.10. we have even under the Gospel a Circumcision without hands, putting away the body of the sins of the flesh, the inward workings of the Spirit of Christ circumcising our hearts; and we have a spiritual Passover also; for Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. The Apostle has a distinction, Col. 2.11. Heb. 9.23, 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, figures and shadows of the true, and there are shadows of heavenly things themselves, the one remains when the other are done away; therefore it is confessed, that arguments drawn from typical institutions are not valid so far, as that there must something remain to answer them in the days of the Gospel; they may justly be denied and rejected, because they were shadows of spiritual and heavenly things, and nothing external was to come in the place of them. But I suppose no man will say, that Circumcision was a type of Baptism, nor the Passover a type of the Lords Supper, they are all of them seals of the same Covenant, under different administrations; and therefore there may arguments be drawn from these in reference unto the externals of worship, which cannot be from the other, they being shadows only of heavenly things and spiritual under the Gospel. 4. Though no institution of the Old Testament can be the ground of any institution of the New, but barely the will of the Lawgiver, yet in many things the institutions of the Old Testament may give rules, and in several particulars afford arguments to regulate those of the New. As, though I do not say, that the Jewish Sabbath was institutive of the Lords day (as some do) and that it was no new institution, but remained by virtue of the fourth Commandment, and though the day be changed, yet it hath the same institution still; yet I suppose that many arguments may be drawn from the Jewish observations, as directions for the Christian Sabbath: as (1) The Jews in their Sabbath did consecrate to God the whole seventh day, that is, a natural day, consisting of 24 hours, and therefore were derided by the Heathen in losing the seventh part of their lives; so it's the duty of Christians to give the same time unto God, as great a proportion in their Sabbath as the Jews did. (2) The Jews in their Sabbath were to do no servile work, only our Lord Christ lets them see that works of piety and of charity and necessity might be done upon that day; and so are the Christians to celebrate their Sabbath also, by doing no servile work. (3) The Jews were not only to take care of the observation of the Sabbath themselves, Nehem. 13.19. but also that all that were under their charge, the Magistrate in his place; as Nehemiah did give forth a commandment, he did set his servants to observe that it was done, and he did threaten even the strangers, that if they did not reform, he would lay hands on them, which he would surely have done, had the sin been continued in; but it's said, That from that time they came no more upon the Sabbath: and surely this duty lies upon the Christian Magistrate also, and it's his sin if he do it not; and so for private persons in reference to their families: Thou and thy son and thy daughter, thy man servant, etc. (4) The Jews did meet to worship God publicly upon the Sabbath day, and there they had the Law and the Prophets read and preached to them every Sabbath day; and from hence it's a good argument to infer the public meeting of Christians to worship God publicly upon their Sabbath, Act. 13.27. & 15.21. and that part of this worship should be a constant reading and publishing the will of God in the Law, and in the Prophets, and in the Gospel. It will be a hard matter to find rules for this under the New Testament; but we must be regulated by the practice of the institutions under the former administrations. I conceive it will be in this counted but a slender answer to say, The institutions of the Old Testament must in nothing regulate those of the New; and that argument drawn from them by way of Analogy or à pari ratione is but the presumption of man, and can no way reach the mind of God. The like instance I may give for the public worship of God; his commands or institutions given to the Jews and their practice will be good arguments to regulate us Christians. (1) They did with a great deal of diligence and conscience frequent the place of public worship three times a year at Jerusalem, and in their Synagogue every Sabbath day: They went from strength to strength every year appearing before God in Zion. (2) Their coming at the beginning and staying during the whole time of the service, as Ezech. 46.10. when the people shall go in, he shall go in, and when the people go forth, he shall also go forth, etc. (3) We are to behave ourselves with a great deal of reverence during all the time of the Ordinances, Leu. 19.30. Ye shall reverence my Sanctuary. (4) That you are not to departed without a blessing, which is to be done by way of Office in the Name of Christ as an Ordinance; Num. 6.27. Aaron and his sons did bless the people. It will be hard for a man to find rules for these in the New Testament, and yet it will be as hard to say, that these institutions and commands of the Old Testament should not regulate us under the New. We have another instance of Tithes, which was a legal institution under the Old Testament; I would not enter upon any unwelcome Disputes about it, the Apostle lays down this as a rule, That he that serves at the Altar, should live of the Altar; he should receive by the Law of God from his people as a reward of his labour, and as a testification of the honour that is due unto him, such a maintenance as may be a support and supply for necessaries to him and his, that he should not go to warfare at his own charge. I do not speak these things out of partiality and affection unto my own cause and calling; but the Law says the same, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox; doth God take care for oxen? It is spoken there for our sakes, that the encouragement of the Ministers in their service might depend upon the Law of God, and not on the will, humours, and allowances of covetous cruel men. And our Divines reason commonly from the manner of Gods dealing with the Priests and Levites under the Law, and from thence argue the care that God takes of his Ministers, Leu. 27.30. Num. 35.2. and that it must be a free and a liberal maintenance; for they had the tenth of all the increase of seed or fruit, of all their great and small , they had forty eight Cities with their Suburbs; they had all the first-fruits also, besides the sin-offering, the meat-offering, all their vows and voluntary oblations; and from a parity of reason, they do infer that the like care ought to be taken and the like maintenance in the days of the Gospel. And whereas the people (though in a poor condition) failing in this, are said to rob God, and therefore are cursed with a curse, that they did sow much and bring in little; they do from thence conclude and infer, that where the like sin remains, it will be looked upon by God with the same eye, Mal. 3.7. and will surely be followed by him with the same curse; and many such instances may be given of rules to be drawn from Old Testament-institutions, to regulate men in many things of the New, or else we shall in many things be left without direction. 5. Let's examine how far our Divines do argue from the seals of the O. T. unto those of the New, and it will appear, that every position hath enough in Scripture to warrant it. (1) Our Baptism is the seal of the same Covenant that Circumcision was; then the Covenant of Grace was the same for substance with that under the New Testament; for it's Abraham's Covenant that was sealed in Circumcision, and so it is in Baptism also; for Rom. 4. Abraham is the father of all that are circumcised, and of all that are uncircumcised also; to that Covenant, the righteousness whereof is the righteousness of faith, that of Circumcision was a seal, and we are also baptised into Christ, into his Death and Resurrection, etc. (2) The persons taken into Covenant of old were the children and their parents: I will be thy God and the God of thy seed; their children are the sons of the Covenant, and of the promise that God made with their fathers, etc. This has been, manifested not only under the Law, but before the Law, from the beginning, and also under the Gospel; the Lord, as he did cast off the Jews and their children, so he took in the Gentiles and their children into Covenant with himself; and though they were by nature the wild Olive-tree, Rom. 11. yet they were engrafted into the good Olive-tree, and do partake of the root and fatness thereof; and when he will take in the Jews again, they shall be taken in they and their seed, as they and their seed were disinherited and cast out. (3) That Baptism succeeds in the room and place of Circumcision as the seal of the same Covenant and as the Ordinance of Initiation: which will appear, (1) Because the end was the same in both, viz. to be the Sacrament of admission of visible members. (2) Because the grace of the thing signified is the same, Circumcision is cutting off of the body of sins in the flesh, and Baptism a being buried with Christ in his death by a work of mortification, etc. and so much the Apostle doth intimate, Col. 2.9, 10, 11, 12. he had said we need join nothing of the Law, for we are complete in Christ, and therefore need none of the Jewish Rites any more; and because they stood much upon Circumcision, therefore he gives that instance, We are circumcised with a better Circumcision, that of which the Circumcision of the Jews was but the Type; and whereas they might have said, but they had Circumcision, which was to them as a visible sign the more to confirm them; and therefore though we have the inward grace, yet we are not so complete as they, because we want the outward sign; therefore he tells them, that privilege is not wanting to the Christian no more than to the Jews, for we have a Sacrament to the same use and end, being buried with him in baptism. (4) To those that are the children of the Covenant, taken into Covenant, the seal of admission into it doth belong; because God took all the Jews into Covenant, they and their seed, therefore they were all of them circumcised: The seal of visible admission can be denied to none that are within the Covenant; but the children of confederate parents are within the Covenant also under the New Testament; therefore unto them the seal of visible admission is to be administered: so that as under the Old Testament none were admitted but by Circumcision, so under the New none are to be admitted into the Church but by Baptism. (5) The children under the New Testament are as capable of the grace of Baptism, as under the Old Testament they were of the grace of Circumcision; yea they are as capable being children, as if they were men; for nulla actio requiritur à recipientibus, sed tantùm receptio passiva: all that is done being acts of God upon a man, unto which the person can contribute nothing at all, they are therefore represented by Christ in his death and resurrection; those that are united unto Christ, receiving the Spirit of Christ, are baptised for the remission and purging away of sins, etc. All the benefits that the Scripture speaks of Baptism, the subject is passive therein: and therefore we may upon these Principles safely conclude, that the Lord having instituted this Ordinance in the room of Circumcision, has conveyed the same grace; and it being ordained to the same ends, though the similitude of it be not expressly set down in Scripture, yet we may lawfully fetch the similitude of it from that of Circumcision, as we do many Rules for Ordinances in the New Testament from the Old wherein the New is silent. Quest. 10 §. 10. How far might the Jews by being in Covenant or a Church unto God, as the sons of Abraham, before they were rejected of God, pretend a right unto Ordinances of the New Testament? The ground of the inquiry is this, The Covenant under the Old and New Testament is the same, and the Gentiles are grafted into the same root, from which the Jews were broken off; and this is the Covenant of Abraham, which belongs to Abraham's posterity, as he was the root of the Covenant, the person in whom after a sort the Covenant began; and therefore it's mercy to Abraham and truth unto Jacob: Mic. 7.20. and seeing the Covenant did run by way of entail then from father unto son, and the same Covenant now continues, only the outward administration is changed, and the difference is in the elements only; whether or no the children of a Jew being in Covenant before they were rejected from being a Church unto God, might not claim a right unto Baptism by virtue of the father's Covenant; theirs being the same, and the conveyance from parents to children the same, only the outward Ordinances differing, their Ordinance of admission being Circumcision, and ours Baptism; or whether all federal right of children did then cease upon the publication of the Gospel, till parents did believe, and by Baptism were personally brought under the new Covenant themselves, and then their children were taken in, but so as all federal right amongst the Jews from parents to children did then cease, and every man that was taken into the Covenant under the Gospel, was taken in by a personal right, and he did convey a federal right unto his posterity: why should the change of the outward administration cause so great a difference, that it should put an end unto all federal right of children from their parents? If it was good and valid in reference unto former administrations, why in reference to this should it be invalid and of no effect? If the natural seed of Abraham cannot at all pretend unto New Testament-ordinances, as from their parents, much less can the adopted seed of Abraham, or those that are substituted in their room, pretend unto them from any right derived upon them by their parents whatsoever. Answ. The answer I shall give hereunto shall be digested into these several Propositions. 1. The Covenant for the substance of it is the same both unto Jews and Gentiles: they were not under one Covenant, and we under another, but it's but one Covenant; for their Covenant was that of Abraham, who is therefore called the Father of us all, both them that are circumcised, and them that are uncircumcised, and our Covenant is the same, we only claim from Abraham, Rom. 4.11, 12, 16. and therefore do expect▪ abraham's reward, and at the last to be gathered into Abraham's bosom; the glory of Heaven and the happiness of the Saints is so expressed, I conceive, Luk. 16. mainly as Abraham is the Covenant-father, and 'tis the reward that the Saints have, as coming under his Covenant; the Jews were broken off, and the Gentiles were grafted into the same Olive-tree, Rom. 11.16, 17. Rom. 11.16, 17. upon the same root or stock, which did remain when branches were broken off: from hence these generals do plainly arise. (1) The Olive-tree is the Church of God, as formerly was showed out of Jer. 11.16. The Lord called thy name a green Olive-tree, etc. it's spoken of the Church of Israel, which is in Scripture sometimes compared unto a Palm tree, Cant. 7.8. and sometimes to a Vine, Psal. 80.14. I planted thee a noble Vine, Jer. 2.21. therefore Jews and Gentiles make up one Olive-tree, they are all of them but one Church, all of them are branches of the same Olive-tree. (2) The Root of this Tree was Abraham, and the Church covenant that God did make with him, and in him with his seed, and so I conceive the root is to be taken, [1] For the Covenant that God made with Abraham, which was the root upon which Abraham himself and all his seed did grow, and from whence their fatness was derived, and that I conceive is meant vers. 17. Thou partakest of the root of the Olive-tree; it's the Covenant upon which the Church is built, and upon which as a root it grows, and so though some of the branches are broken off, yet the root is not taken up, but it remains still for others to be grafted upon; it is spoken of the Covenant which is the same whereupon both Jews and Gentiles do grow. [2] It is put for Abraham with whom this Covenant was first made, and in whom after a sort the Covenant began; and so I conceive Root is taken vers. 16. If the root be holy, so are the branches; neither is there any inconvenience to say that the Covenant is the Root upon which Abraham and all the rest of his branches did grow, and also that Abraham was the Root from which his seed did grow up into Covenant; for he was the Root only by virtue of the Covenant, which did in a manner begin with him, and by virtue of this Covenant all his seed were as so many branches to grow upon him, and were owned as a Church unto God. (3) As the Olive-tree is the Church, and that is but one, and the Root is the Covenant, and that is but one; so the branches of this Olive-tree are to grow upon this Root: and though many of the natural branches were broken off, yet that does not make void the Covenant, the Root still remains the same for others to be grafted in upon, and some branches were grafted in that were taken out of another stock, and that never grew upon this Covenant, and their grafting in was being made members of the Church, who were before strangers to the Commonwealth of Israel, and the Covenant of promise, and standing upon the Root was being taken into Covenant; so that he that is taken into Covenant is thereby made a Church-member. Whosoever therefore is taken into Covenant with God, and hath a federal relation unto God, that man is grafted into the Root, and is made a branch of the true Olive-tree, and grows upon the same Root that all the Saints of God do grow on; and therefore to be taken into Covenant, and to be made a member of the visible Church, is in the notion of the Spirit of God, and in the language of the Scripture the same thing. Whence it appears, that there is but one Covenant between Jews and Gentiles, one Root that bears them both. 2. Though the Covenant be the same in substance, yet it is under different administrations, In the Covenant three things are carefully to be distinguished. for the external Ordinances thereof: There are three things in the Doctrine of the Covenant that are carefully to be distinguished; (1) There is a twofold being in Christ, one by a Mystical Union, so he that is in Christ is a New Creature; and the other by an external Profession; and so as Christ is a Vine spreading himself into a visible Church, 2 Cor. 8.17. he has many unfruitful branches. (2) The Covenant has two parts; [1] One inward and spiritual, which is by Faith and Conversion, and the benefits of it are Justification, Adoption, and Sanctification, which is the Covenant spoken of, Jer. 31.33. I will put my Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; [2] Another external, which entitles a man to the outward privileges only, and this is the Covenant in regard of the outward administrations owning them for a visible Church of God; thus God is said to break with the Jews; for the Covenant of Grace in the spiritual part of it is everlasting, Zach. 11.10. and cannot be broken. (3) Answerable to this twofold consideration of the Covenant, so there are different Seals annexed thereunto; unto the spiritual part of the Covenant there is added the Seal of the Spirit, which is secret between God and the Soul; Eph. 1.13. & 4.30. and unto the external part of the Covenant there are added visible Seals before men, and these visible Seals are different amongst the Jews and the Christians; the Ordinance and Seal of Admission amongst the Jews was Circumcision, but it's Baptism amongst Christians; therefore the administration is varied, though the Covenant remain the same; Heb. 9.10. and for this cause the times of the Gospel are called the times of Reformation; that is, when all these weak and beggarly Elements, though they were God's Ordinances, should be removed, and new and more spiritual and unchangeable Ordinances established in their room; for the Ordinances and Administrations of the Gospel are those that shall never be changed; but continue the same to the end of the world; as they are the best, so they shall be the last; as these Two places do clearly prove, Matth. 28.19. Go teach and baptise all Nations, and I am with you to the end of the world; therefore that administration shall never be changed; and 1 Cor. 11. Ye show forth the Lords death till he come; therefore that Administration shall last unto the second coming of the lord Heb. 8.7. There is a double time that the Saints of God in all ages have had a special eye upon; they in the Old Testament upon the times, or as it is, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the season, or the fit time appointed by the Father for the reformation of all things; and there is a time that the Saints in the New Testament are to have an eye upon, and that is the time of the restitution of all things, which refer to the same time, 2 Pet. 3.13. and Revel. 21.1. a new Heaven and a new Earth; for the first Heaven and Earth is passed away, etc. Heb. 8.8. and it is therefore commonly called a New Covenant, because, though it be the same, yet it's under new outward administrations; and this was prophesied, Dan. 9.27. Dan. 9.27. he shall confirm the Covenant with many for one week; That is, in the last seven years of that Provincial Calendar, the Seventy two weeks, which was the time of the continuance of the Jewish Church and Worship after their return out of Babylon, in the last seven years thereof Christ the Messiah should establish the Covenant with many, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it's meant of preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, and bringing them into the Fellowship of the Gospel, and the New Covenant, who were before strangers to it; and it is said, Multitudes should be converted; and in three years and a half, that is half the week, by the Ministry of Christ, the Jewish Sacrifices and Oblations and all their Ceremonies shall be disannulled, and the administration changed, and that shall make way for the destruction of their City and State. 3. The administration being changed, in reference to the new Administration, the Jews and the Gentiles are upon equal terms, and have an equal right one as well as another, whosoever freely and voluntarily submits thereunto. A man's external right to the Covenant comes from his subjection to the present administration under which God has put the Covenant; the Covenant of Grace was the same which God revealed unto Adam immediately after his fall, in that first Promise, Gen. 3.15. and when the Saints did gather into visible Churches or Societies, and thereby separate themselves from the world, to worship God in a Communion of Saints, it was the external Privileges of the same Covenant, Gen. 4. ult. For there are two great Institutions of the Gospel, unto which the Lord has a special eye, and so should all the Saints have, (1) Christ, and, (2) A Church or Society of Saints, and there was a distinction then between the Sons of God, and the daughters of men, Gen. 6.1. But none of these did enter upon their title by Circumcision; and yet when the Lord did renew his Covenant with Abraham and his posterity, and took them as a visible Church unto himself, all that would lay claim to an interest in the Covenant must submit unto that administration; and that being put to an end, and the Lord having put the Covenant under a new administration, all that do, or can claim a title to it, must freely and voluntarily come under the new administration, which the Lord has in the times of Reformation put upon the external part of the Covenant: Though therefore the Jews might for themselves and their seed lay a claim unto the Privileges of the Covenant under former administrations, yet those being done away, and put to an end, the hand-writing being canceled, now they can claim by that title no more, and all federal right which they had to that administration ceaseth, and they must together with the Gentiles begin their claim anew, and upon a new title, that is, a free and a voluntary subjection unto the new administration of the Covenant; and therefore it's said, Eph. 2.14, 15. That the partition-wall was taken down, Eph. 2.14, 15. that was between the two sorts of people, that then did divide the world, the Jews and the Gentiles; and that was the Law of Commandments contained in Ordinances, that is, the present administration, that so both people might be joined into one, that the Jew could now claim no more right to the external administration of the Covenant than the Gentiles, because the Ordinances unto which they did claim a Covenant-right were taken away, and God had published new ones, and settled the Covenant of Grace in the world under new administrations, and unto them the Jews must submit as well as the Gentiles, or else they can have no federal right to the outward privileges thereof, either for themselves, or for their seed: and upon this ground, though the Jews were members of the visible Church of God under former administrations, yet they can claim no such visible membership in the Churches of the Gospel, because the former administrations unto which they did lay claim was come to an end, and the Jew must believe, and repent, and be baptised as well as the Christian, and then the promise shall be unto him and to his children, but never else. Quest. 11 §. 11. How can children be taken into Covenant with God when they cannot restipulate, can neither understand the terms of God's Covenant, nor give any consent thereunto? We have been formerly told, that a Covenant is grounded upon a mutual consent of parties, and if either party withhold or withdraw his consent, it is no Covenant: the Covenant of Grace is a Marriage-covenant, and the Civil Law hath this Rule, Vbi non est utriusque consensus, non potest esse matrimonium; and therefore when the Lord takes any man into the spiritual part of the Covenant he requires their consent; a Commandment is from God, whether we consent to it or no, but a Covenant is with our consent unto it; and therefore faith is nothing else but the consent of the whole soul to accept of Christ upon the terms that God has offered him, Rev. 22. and that is, Whosoever will let him come and take of the water of life freely; there must be a willingness to come to Christ, or else you can never have him; and it is a being willing of him and assenting to him that gives you truly and properly an interest in him; the spiritual part of the Covenant therefore is not without our consent: and so it is with the Church-covenant; between men and men there is a consent to be both of the Church that receives, and of the parties that join themselves, and if either of them withdraw their consent, the relation ceaseth immediately; if the Church cast a man out, and will own him no more, but reject him, or if he will own the Church no more, as they 1 Joh. 2. They went out from us, because they were not of us; therefore all Church-fellowship is grounded upon consent: How then can children be said to be taken into Covenant that cannot consent? Answ. 1. Some of our Divines do say, that a Covenant cannot so properly be said to be between God and man, as between man and man; for amongst them consent is required to make the Covenant valid, but an antecedent consent is not required in the Covenant between God and man; and so they say the Covenant that God made with Adam did not depend upon consent and acceptation; for he was bound to do what God commanded, whether he would agree to it or no, and he was bound to accept of what God required. And it's by some disputed, Whether Adam did know or give his consent that he should stand as a public person in the behalf of his posterity to stand and fall for them, and they in him, etc. But this is an answer I cannot rest in, I look upon consent as essentially necessary to a Covenant both between God and man, as well as between man and man; and so I find that in the Covenant that God made with Christ and with the Saints, a consent has always been required thereunto: and that Adam did know the terms of the Covenant by which he stood, and did consent unto them for himself and his posterity, we saw the grounds of it before in the Doctrine of the former Covenant. 2. That Infants may enter into Covenant with God doth clearly appear, (1) In that Circumcision amongst the Jews, the seal of the Covenant, was applied unto them; and they must be foederati, federates, or else they could never have been signati, sealed one's; the seal of the Covenant is only to be administered unto them that are within the Covenant. (2) God takes them into Covenant, Deut. 29.11, 12. as Moses tells them, Ye stand this day before the Lord, all the men of Israel, your wives and your little ones, that thou shouldst enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, etc. therefore the Lord did not only take the men into covenant that were grown, and able to give an actual consent, but also their little ones, that neither were able to speak or consent to the terms of this covenant. (3) It is plain, that children are members of the visible Church: Of such is the kingdom of heaven; Matth. 19.14. which can be meant no other way, but that of such is the visible Church of God constituted, they are of the number of those that make up part of the Church here, and that shall fill up Heaven hereafter. Now to be a member of the visible Church, and to be one in Covenant with God is all one, for it is the grafting of a branch into the Stock, and growing of it upon the root of the Covenant that makes it a visible member; I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed. 3. As the children are brought into Covenant by a parental right and not a personal, so to the being in Covenant the consent of the Parents is in Gods account accepted, and a personal consent is not required: but as when the Parent doth descent, he doth thereby keep the child out of Covenant, as all the Heathens do, who do not consent to the Gospel, and the Jews did, that cast off and rejected the Word of Life; so when Parents do consent, they bring their children within the Covenant, which runs unto them and their seed as confederates; it's therefore the consent of the Parents that is in God's account taken for the consent of the child. As God did under the first Covenant include all the consent of Adam's Posterity in the first man, and they all consented in his consent; and therefore all sinned in him, and violated the Covenant; so the Lord binds up the consent of the child in reference to the Covenant, in the consent of the Parents; he consents for himself, and his seed also. Gell. Succanus, in his book de baptismo lays down two Rules that are of excellent use unto the present Question, that the Covenant of Grace is to take in the seed together with the Parents. (1) It is a special overflowing of Grace to the Parents, which they are to believe, and consent unto: for though the benefit of it does come upon the children, yet it is the Parents privilege, and it is a part of the Gospel of Grace, that he is to give consent unto, and his faith takes hold of, that God will be the God of his seed, as well as of himself; he is to take hold of the Covenant in all the parts of it, that is, not for himself only, but for his seed also. (2) All Infants, P. 23.8. imputative fideles dici possunt, may be imputatively called Believers; that is, in God's account and esteem they are also persons in Covenant with God, and the consent of their parents is imputed or counted by God as their consent. Now we know, that Imputation is an act of Sovereignty, and of Gods own free will, as it appears, in that God will account Adam and his posterity one, and that he will account Christ and the Saints to be one; and so impute the Sin of the one, and the Righteousness of the other. And if the Lord will impute the consent of Parents to their children, so as to own them as his in Covenant with him, according to the Word, till they do themselves manifest their dissent, and cast off the Covenant of their God, he may justly do it, and yet God, according to the Rules of his Word does count them, though they belong not to the Election of Grace, as confederates and in Covenant with himself; it's no wonder if the Church also do while they so remain, own them for members, and those that are in a visible Covenant, the consent of the parents' being by Grace imputed unto them as theirs. Neither need this seem strange, if we consider that common rule, that the whole Doctrine of the Gospel is built upon, Vnitas prostantis est fundamentum proprietatis, the ground of all Imputation is Union; Adam's sin is imputed, because there was an union between him and us, we were all in him as in a root; and therefore, totum genus humanum in Adamo velut in radice computruit. Greg. This is also the true ground of the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ, because we are made one with him; we must be found in him, if ever we have Righteousness from him; Phil. 3.9. Phil. 3.9. and 1 Joh. 5.12. He must have the Son first that will have Life through him; and this Union is twofold: [1] There is a natural Union, which is between the Parents and the Children, and [2] There is a voluntary Union: now the Union with the first Adam was the first, and the ground of the imputation of Christ's Righteousness, or Union with the second Adam was the last; therefore, if the children and the parents have a natural Union in God's account, and the act of the parents be counted the act of the child, in all legal considerations, as it is so amongst men, and if the children and parent be looked upon as one person, it's no wonder if they be in Gods account judged to have but one will, and therefore the consents of the parents may be well counted the children's by reason of the natural Union that is between them. Quest. 12 §. 12. But seeing it is so great a dispute, were it not better to leave Children out of this claim and Covenant? If they belong unto the Election of Grace, let us leave them in the arms of God's electing Love, which if they die, will take care of their Salvation, and if they live, of their Conversion; and then when they come to years, and be able to take hold of the Covenant for themselves, they may boldly claim their interest in it, the children from the parents, and the parents for their children; specially considering, that the Lord Jesus Christ himself when he was baptised, did defer it till he came to a ripeness of years; and why were it not better for us to do it also, by his example? Answ. Mic. 6.8. 1. We see vain man would be wise, though he be born as a wild Ass' Colt; sometimes men dispute what is best, and were it not better thus? He hath showed thee O man what is good, and what the Lord thy God requires of thee; and thou mayst as well dispute the electing will of God, Tert. as the commanding will, Deo serviendum est non ex arbitrio sed ex imperio. Audaciam existimo de bono divini praecepti disputare; nec quàm bonum est auscultare debemus, sed quàm Deus praecepit. Tertullian de poenis. Shall God say, I will take thee and thy seed into Covenant; and shall men say, Were it not better leave the seed out, till they can actually understand, and give consent unto the Covenant, into which they are taken? truly it's abominable presumption and unthankfulness. 2. It's not better that it be deferred; for, (1) Hereby they that have the power of the Keys do their duties, that is, they do admit those, and let them partake of the root and fatness of the true Olive-tree, to whom it does belong; for as it is their sin to take in any, that by the rules of the Word ought to be left out, so it's their sin also to keep out any, who by the rules of the Word are to be within. (2) Hereby infants dignitatis insignia gerunt, Infants bear the Ensigns of their dignity; that they are taken out of the world, have the Name of God called upon them, and by Covenant are the children of God, and members of the visible Church, of the number of those out of whom the Lord will take ordinarily the number of the Elect; for he hath so ordained his eternal Decrees, that the greatest part of those that shall be saved, come out of the loins of his own people, and those he takes into a Church-covenant, because the children of the Elect are mixed with, and taken out of the Church visible; and to be without such a title of Honour as God has put upon the Infants of his people, is it better than to enjoy it, seeing free grace bestows it? 3. The one half of the Church of God, as well as the one half of Mankind die in their Infancy, and do never live to partake of the Dews and Influences of any other Ordinance, but this only; and if they might not be owned by God in having the Seal of the Covenant set to them as the children of the Covenant, they should go out of the world without any visible owning from God at all, or any visible way of blessing from him; whereas the same Lord that will glorify them with his Son in the world to come, will own them for his in a visible way, before they go out of this life, and he has appointed this Ordinance of Sealing to this very end. 4. If they live, it's an Obligation that lies upon them, that they are not their own; for they were dedicated to God by their Parents in their Infancy. There was under the Law a Dedication of the Males, and that was an Obligation upon the child, as we see in Samson and Samuel; though they did not actually consent unto the Vows which were made by their Parents, yet their Dedication was a bond upon them; and so must this needs be upon the children of Christians also. 5. The fruits of Baptism have an influence upon a man's whole life, and the benefits of it carry a man on from his Cradle to his Grave, and it's all the nourishment that children do enjoy, or in Infancy can receive, from Ordinances; therefore Cant. 7.2. it's said by some to be called the Navel by which the Child in the womb is nourished; a man's Baptism and the Grace of it is never accomplished till he come to Heaven; for Baptism saves; and therefore having an influence upon a man's whole life, it's not best to leave it out in any part of a man's life. 6. It lays a great engagement upon the Parents to bring them up in the knowledge of that God to whom they have dedicated them, and whose Seal is upon them, and that they pray for them, and in their behalf take hold of the Covenant; and it lays also a very great Obligation upon the Church to which the Parents belong; for they looking upon those children as Church-members together with themselves, they fall under their constant care, and prayers: in all these respects, it is not better that it be deferred, but it's every way best that it be according to God's Rule, and that our will be wholly moulded into the discoveries of his will. 7. As for the Example of Christ, it's true, that he was not baptised till he was Thirty years of age, but he was circumcised the Eighth day, and so admitted into the Church of the Jews, and so long as that building was to continue, so long he continued a Church-member, and walked in Church-communion with them; but the time of Reformation being come, that the Lord would by him set up another Church, now he receives a new Sacrament of Initiation, which was proper to the new Administration of the Covenant, that he might fulfil all Righteousness: but for us there is not the same reason, neither have we now any other way to be received into the Church in our Infancy, beside Baptism, and children are as capable of the grace of Baptism in their infancy, as they will be when they are grown men; for it's a good rule of some Divines, Nulla actio requiritur, Ames. med. p. 314. sed tantùm receptio passiva; infants igitur sunt aequè capaces hujus Sacramenti respectu principalis ejus usùs atq, adulti, In Baptism there is required no action, but only passive reception; therefore Infants are equally capable of the principal use of this Sacrament as adult persons. SECT. III. the Covenant-right of Children applied. §. 1. HEre is a threefold Use of this Point: 1. Of information, and that in two things: Use 1 1. To show the evil and danger of the Doctrine of the Antipedobaptists, who deny unto children an interest in their parent's Covenant, take parents into covenant without their children, they must be left out until they come to be of years, actually to take hold of the covenant for themselves; but as for a parental right, they acknowledge no such thing; such an entail of the covenant upon Abraham's natural seed they cannot deny, but unto the spiritual seed of Abraham they deny it, because, say they, it's every man's own faith makes him a son of Abraham. And by this means, (1) they make another covenant than God ever made, a covenant with parents not respecting their children, which is such a covenant as God never made, either in the Old or New Testament. Before the Flood as soon as the covenant was revealed, we have heard that it was unto parents and to their seed, Gen. 3.15. and therefore Eve was called the mother of all living, it's spoken in respect of the covenant, Eve was a covenant-mother, as Abraham is the father of us all, Rom. 4.16. and it was continued in Seth, a seed that God gave her not instead of Cain, who was cast out of God's presence, that is, out of the Church, but instead of Abel, whom Cain slew, that is, the covenant-seed; Gen. 6.18. & 9.9. so to Noah before and after the Flood; afterwards the Lord hews these spiritual stones out of another pit, as the expression is Esa. 51.1, 2. and then with David and his seed. And the Jews being rejected, Psal. 89.28. Rom. 4.16. Act. 2.39. the same covenant was continued, for the Gentiles were grafted into the same Root, and that root was Abraham and his covenant, Rom. 11.16, 17. and for this cause Abraham is called the Father of the Gentiles; and therefore 'tis said, The promise is unto them that are afar off, and to their children as many as the Lord our God shall call: and when the Jews shall be grafted in again, they shall be brought they and their children into the same covenant, Rom. 11.24. out of which they were cast off they and their seed. The Scripture speaks of no covenant that doth not comprehend parents and their seed; therefore that which leaves out the seed of confederate parents is a covenant of man's making, and not of Gods; and it will be good for men to consider, what a dangerous evil it is to pervert any order of Gods, as we see in David, the Lord was provoked against him, that he smote Vzzah with death, because they sought not God according to the due order; and if matters of order be so great, what is it for men to vary in matters of faith, Col. 2. and to change the covenant of God? it's made a great offence, Esa. 24.5. To change the ordinances of God; much more that which is the foundation of all Ordinances, the everlasting Covenant. A man could not act upon a more dangerous way of sinning, than to change the covenant of God that he hath made with his people. (2) By this means there is a great injury done unto children, which are the Embryo's of the Church of God; and Christ saith, It's dangerous to offend one of these little ones, they shall be sure of a rebuke from Christ, for of such is the kingdom of God; to admit any into the Church of God, that the Lord would have secluded, is a high provocation and a great unfaithfulness in them that have the power of the Keys; but to seclude any that the Lord would have admitted, is a greater provocation. The covenant of grace is not only a covenant, Gal. 3.15. but a testament, and that is amongst men accounted so sacred, that no man disannulleth it or addeth thereunto; and if we could say, that children were secluded from the covenant because they cannot restipulate, then to blot their names out of the last Will and Testament of Christ, is a horrible injury to the persons, and a very great presumption in the man. But there are two special places that I would name to you for this; one in 1 Cor. 10.1, 2. Our fathers all passed under the cloud, and through the sea, were baptised into Moses in the cloud, and in the sea. The scope I conceive to be this, where there are the like privileges of grace, there will be the like punishments, but we have the like privileges of grace that they had, therefore we may expect altogether with them the like punishments; Estius. so Estius says of the benefits that they received, they were eorum praefigurativa, prefigurative of those which we now receive by Christ, and therefore he pitches upon two extraordinary Sacraments of the Jews, in which, if in any thing, they might seem to be privileged; but he says, that they were also as types and examples unto us; and that the Apostle had such an intention is plain to me, and that he intended them as sacramental types, [1] else he would never have called them spiritual meats and drinks: [2] Else he would never have singled out barely these two, giving to one the name of Baptism, and to the other the name of spiritual Meats. The first noted protection for them and their children passing under the cloud, and direction also; for the cloud did not only go before them as a guide, but it was spread also over them as a covering: it's said, Num. 9.15, 16, 19 That the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and so it was always, that the cloud covered it by day; and this was a type of that special protection that the Lord seals unto parents and their children in their Baptism, for they are baptised in the cloud: and their passage through the red Sea, and their preservation from Pharaoh doth signify properly our deliverance from all our spiritual enemies, and is commonly made a type of it in the Scripture, and this was a mercy that was vouchsafed unto them and unto their children. Now if the Apostles reason shall be of force, we must have the same privileges in Baptism that they had in these, or else the Apostles reason doth nor can not conclude. Again, Baptism is typified by the salvation of Noah and of his family in the Ark; and the resemblance seems to lie in this, that as the Ark was the Ordinance of God appointed for the safety of the Church in the general Deluge, and a family-salvation, the father with the child; so Baptism is the Ordinance that the Lord has appointed for the salvation of the Church from the general destruction that shall befall the world of ungodly, and it doth run by families also. Now by this means all these encouragements are denied unto the infants and the families of the Saints, which are the great privileges in the Scripture given unto them, as they were unto Israel, and happened unto them but for types only; and therefore have their accomplishment in their antitypes under the Gospel. (3) Hereby the practice and prayers of the Churches of Christ and all the ancient Saints of God are without any Scripture-ground causelessly condemned and rejected as profanations of the Ordinances of God: Consuetudo Ecclesiae matris in baptizandis infantibus nequaquam spernenda est, nec divina credenda nisi Apostolica esset traditio, Aug. de Genes. ad literam, Tom. 3. p. 464. And it is a dangerous thing for men to blaspheme the Tabernacle of God, and them that dwell in Heaven, Rev. 13.6. it's an expression of the true Church of God, and to have a mouth given to a man for that end, is not the least spiritual judgement, as vers. 5. there was a mouth given him so to speak, and he opened his mouth this way. 2. Hereby we may be informed of the cruelty of unbelieving parents, men that do not only exclude themselves from the grace of the Covenant, but as much as in them lies their posterity also, Non parents, sed peremptores, Bern. as far as concerns the ordinary way and means of bringing them into Covenant with the Lord. And these are of two sorts: (1) Some that are actually without the Church of God. (2) Some that are not cast out through the neglect of the Church, but yet they ought so to be. 1. Unto them that are actually cast out from being a Church unto God; and of this number I look upon the Papists to be, Abest ut eos baptizemus qui corporis integri membra conseri negarunt. Quum in hoc ordine sint Papistarum liberi, quomodo baptismum illis administrare liceat non videmus, Calv. epist. p. 175. whose children are to be secluded from Baptism, themselves being not in Covenant, nor owned as a Church of God; for I cannot but assert with Doctor Whitaker, and many others of the Worthies of this Nation, Ecclesiam Romanam non esse Catholicam, imò ne veram quidem Ecclesiam particularem; sed deserendam esse dicimus ab omnibus qui servari volunt, tanquam Antichristi & Satanae Synagogam, De Eccles. q. 6. (1) That Church which the Lord has cast off as a Harlot, and as the greatest enemy to the Church of God that ever was, that he does not own unto himself as a Church; but so has the Lord cast off the Churches of Rome; therefore he does not own them as Churches unto himself; it's Babylon the great, the mother of Harlots; and she is set every where in opposition to Zion, and her Adherents are those that shall make war with the Saints, and they shall be joined unto this Church, whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life; the Lord has thus cast out these Antichristian Churches, and given them a bill of divorce for ever. (2) That Church from which the Lord calls to his people for a separation, that the Lord does not own as a true Church; but the Lord calls upon his people for a separation from the Church of Rome: Come out of her my people. And here I conceive with * Oper. Camer. p. 520. Camero: A dislike and an abhorrency of their idolatry and superstitions is not sufficient, for that should be even in a true Church, from which yet a man may not departed, so as to hold no communion with them: though Churches be very corrupt, and 'tis a man's duty to separate from the corruptions of them, to touch no unclean thing with them, as Christ did in the Church of the Jews, yet he did hold Church-communion with them all in the Ordinances of God, and did not separate from them, because they remained a true Church to God, and the Lord had not yet called them Loammi, and put them away from him; therefore the Lords calling out a people to separate from the Church of Rome, doth plainly give unto them a bill of divorce, and the Lord does thereby manifest that he does own them for a Church unto himself no longer; for if they were a true Church, though ye were to separate from the corruptions of it, yet not from communion with it. (3) Where there is no salvation to be had, that is not a Church unto God; for extra Ecclesiam nulla salus; but in the Church of Rome by the rules of their own Religion there can be no salvation, because they make a man to forsake the Lord Jesus Christ the only foundation in point of Justification, which whosoever misseth must build upon the sand, and not upon the Rock, as our own Mr. Perkins, etc. has long since manifested: and where no salvation is to be had, surely there is no Church in God's account. They therefore that embrace the Doctrine of Popery, and do fully close with it, they and their seed are cast out, they are no more a Church to God, neither to be looked upon as in Covenant with him, and to have any right to the seals of the Covenant. 2. There are another sort that are not actually cast out through the negligence of the Church, being able to bear them that be evil, and it's true, while such are owned as members, the privileges of members cannot be denied to them, who ought to be as a Heathen man and a Publican; and though men do neglect their duty therein, yet there is a kind of spiritual Excommunication goes out from God all the while. Use 2 §. 2. It serves for Exhortation, and that unto three sorts: 1. Unto parents, it does necessarily enforce upon them to take hold of the Covenant, not only for themselves, but for their posterity also; for (1) he that will embrace the Covenant of God, let him accept of the whole Covenant, not only that he will be thy God, but the God of thy seed also. There is no part of the Gospel that should be neglected, or any of the grace of the second Covenant that should be received in vain. (2) Else thy faith will be defective therein: the Apostle speaks, 1 Thess. 3.10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Thess. 3.10. of a defect of faith, and that lies in two things. [1] When it does not take in the object of faith in its extent, but there is something held forth to be believed, that faith is not exercised about. [2] When it does not act in the highest degree, there is a defect in reference to the object, and in reference unto the act also. (3) The people of God have exercised faith upon the Covenant for their children; and Christ Jesus himself for his children, Psal. 102.28. Heb. 1.10, 11, 12. for he shall see his seed, and in them he shall prolong his days upon earth; and therefore we read of his children. There was a Covenant made with Christ personal, and a Covenant made with Christ mystical, with him as Mediator, in regard of what he was to perform, and with him as head for us; and Christ takes hold of the Covenant in both these respects, and all promises made unto a posterity Christ has an eye to the accomplishing of them in the behalf of his posterity, as well as himself, as being part of the promise and covenant that the Lord made unto him for himself and his seed: and so should all the Faithful do, look upon all the promises that are made unto the seed of the Faithful in the Scripture, and put them in suit before the Lord for thy seed also, as being part of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you: we might by this means leave and entail very great blessings upon our posterity, and live to see the Covenant accomplished unto them, unto the great consolation of our souls: Psal. 128.3, 4. Thy children shall be like olive-plants round about thy table; Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord: the Church is called the Olive-tree, as we have seen Rom. 11.16, 17. and they as Church-members are as Olive-plants, those that are of use and excellency profiting Church and Commonwealth: Esa. 59.21. This is my covenant, says the Lord, my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words that I have put in thy mouth, shall not departed out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed or seeds seed henceforth and for ever. Whilst we straiten the Covenant and our Covenant-interest unto ourselves, we are enemies to our own consolation; the great flourishing of the soul lies in the enlargement of the faculties, and they are vast objects that do cause large faculties; it's of admirable use unto a man's own spirit, to look unto the Covenant in the extent of it to you and to your seed. 2. It is matter of exhortation unto children, that they would walk worthy of this mercy, this inheritance that God has entailed upon them, and not despise the grace of God in their parent's Covenant, but actually take hold of the Covenant also in their own persons. (1) Consider grace hath prevented you, and you are taken in by God into a familiar Covenant with himself, merely out of preventing mercy, whereas thou mightest have been born among the uncircumcised: it's no small privilege to be born of those that are themselves in Covenant with God. (2) It will be a great aggravation to thy sin and judgement, when thou shalt with Esau despise thy birthright; the contempt of a spiritual privilege is a great sin and dishonour to God, and it will surely add to thy judgement: Mat. 8.11. The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into utter darkness, Mat. 8.11. and how will that never dying worm gnaw upon thy conscience, when it shall tell thee, I had a godly parent, one within the Covenant of God, by whom I had a right unto all outward privileges of membership, but I have walked unworthy of them all, and abused them all, and therefore now some come from the East and from the West, others are grafted in by their own faith that were born of wicked parents, and I that was as it were a natural branch, grew upon a holy stock, and in Covenant, am now rejected and cast out as an abominable branch. (3) The people of God have exercised faith upon their parent's Covenant, and have been able sometimes in distress to plead that when they have had little to say for themselves, Exod. 15.1. when Moses prays he says, Thou art my God, and my father's God; and the children of Israel, though they could say little for themselves, for they were a wicked and disobedient people, and their righteousness as a filthy rag, yet they say, Remember the covenant that thou madest to Abraham, and the land that thou gavest unto Abraham thy friend for ever; and so David, Thy servant and the son of thy handmaid. And Austin pleaded his happiness in his good mother, he was the son of her tears and of her Covenant-interest, and he glories that in her prayers she did bring forth unto God his own bond, and did plead her Covenant in his behalf; do not walk unworthy of such Ancestors, and be you not degenerate plants when you grow upon such glorious roots, and thereby become a shame unto your father that begat you, and your mother that bore you. 3. It is also an Exhortation unto the Church, and the Officers thereof, that they have a special care and respect unto the children of the Church, they being children of such glorious and great hopes, being such as are in covenant with the Lord, and the children of the kingdom, those that the Lord owns for his children, Ephes. 6.4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. and therefore would have them brought up in the nurture and the fear of the Lord, they should be brought up as becomes the children of God. (1) They are Church-members, and therefore aught to be the care of Church-Officers; for the power of the Keys being committed to them, they are by them taken into the Church; and if so, they come under their care also. (2) Out of these the Lord does ordinarily gather the number of them that shall be saved; as you have heard, the greatest part of the Church comes out of the loins of his own people; and therefore it is of their seed that he will have the visible Church, out of which he will have the Church invisible made up. (3) It's the greatest glory of a Church to be fruitful, and to bring forth many young ones to God; and the greatest misery of a Church, and an argument that the Lord will departed from it lies in this, that it is barren; and barren Ordinances and a barren Church is the greatest plague in the world, it's that for which the Lord does threaten to give a people unto salt; Ezek. 47.12. the barren has born seven, and she that has a husband is waxed feeble; it's happy with the Church, when she can say, My bed is green; Cant. 1.16. for the Church of God has a Posterity, Jerusalem has her daughters, and the glory of the last Church shall be, that there shall be abundance of fish, as those of the great Sea, exceeding many, Ezek. 47.10, 11. that is, abundance of Souls shall be begotten to the Lord. And children should come under the special care of Church-Officers in two things; (1) For matter of Instruction; and that in the Ordinances that they are capable of. They had two sorts of Catechumeni in the Primitive times; some Adulti, who were ignorant; some Parvuli, who were such as were born in the Church; and they did undertake the Instruction of them all; the Scripture hath Milk for such Babes; and the neglect of this makes Ministers to build without a foundation, and in a great measure lose their labour all their days, in preaching things that they never did teach the people when they were young, to understand. (2) To lay up constant Prayers for those that they receive; and it's not a small mercy for a man to have a stock going in the Church's Ship, and to have a daily and a continual interest in their Prayers; Christ gives an example of it, Math. 19.14, 15. He laid his hands upon them and blessed them; Non erat inane symbolum nec frustra preces. Calvin. surely this was not done in vain, they being Members of the Church, Christ shows that the duty of the Officers of the Church is in this manner to pour out the Prayers of the Church for them, being such as are to grow up, and to hold forth the Name of the Lord in the succeeding generations; the people of God their care should extend beyond their Lives; 2 Pet. 1.15. and so did Peter, and so should ours for a Posterity also to the Lord in this world of ungodly men; that he may still have an increase of children. Use 3 §. 3. It's for consolation unto Parents, and that in two things, 1. Surely that God, that has out of his free grace to thee, taken thy seed into Covenant, also out of the overflowing of his goodness, will deny thee nothing that is a blessing of the covenant; if the Lord show so much grace unto another for thy sake, and he be so much beloved, how much more to thee? Nay, it's said of the Jews, when they shall be converted, though now they be strangers and enemies for the Gospel's sake, yet are they beloved for their father's sake; there was little loveliness in them for their own sake, but yet there is love for their father's sake; and it's this free grace that will at last bring them in, that God may accomplish unto them their father's Covenant; and if the Lord will do such great things to others for their sakes, and in love to them, O how may they judge of his love unto themselves thereby! This may be a great stay to the hearts of many sinking Christians, who doubt of the Love of God toward themselves. 2. When you are to die, and be solicitous for the little ones you leave behind you, now remember they have a Covenant-Father with whom thou mayst leave them, and they shall not be found to be Orphans who have God for their father; now remember he saith, leave thy fatherless Children with me; and so could Jacob when he came to die, The Angel that redeemed me from all evil, Gen. 38.16 bless the lads; and let my name be named upon them, and the name of my father's Abraham and Isaac: and this was the great comfort of David, when he saw that there was a decay coming upon his family, the Sword should not departed from his House; yet God had made with him an everlasting Covenant; 2 Sam. 23.5. though he make it not to grow; it was not spoken in respect unto himself alone, but unto his Family, and his House also; and that was Luther's will, I have neither Lands nor Possessions to leave them; Tibi reddo, nutri, doce, serva, ut hactenus me; qui pater es pupillorum, & judex viduarum. And so a man may die in faith, not only in reference unto himself, and his own Covenant-interest, but the Covenant-interest of his Posterity also. BOOK III. The Covenant of Grace, its Nature and Benefits. CHAP. I. God's part of the Covenant doth consist in Promises. SECT. I. What Promises are: why and how the Covenant of Grace doth consist of Promises, and of what. HAving spoken thus far of two general heads, (1) the Person that made the Covenant, and had the first great hand in it, and that was God, and therefore it's called God's Covenant, and not man's, I will establish my Covenant between me and thee, (2) the persons with whom this Covenant is made, and that in a threefold subordination; [1] with Christ as Mediator, as a public person, as the second Adam, [2] with Believers in him, [3] in them with all their seed: Let us now come to look into the nature of this Covenant more particularly, and examine the essentials thereof. There are three things that are ordinarily distinguished by Divines, a Law, a Testament, and a Covenant; A Law depends upon the absolute Sovereignty of the Lawgiver, and requires subjection, whether the persons commanded consent to it or no; and so all the Laws of God do depend upon the absolute Sovereignty of God, as he is a Lawgiver, able to save and to destroy: A Testament is grounded only upon the Will of the Testator, bequeathing of such Legacies freely without requiring the consent of the party to whom they are bequeathed; but a Covenant differs from them both, in this, that it requires the consent and agreement of both parties, and therein each party binds himself freely to the performance of several conditions each to other. Cocceius doth ground it upon that place Heb. 8.6. A Covenant established upon better promises, and he defines it thus; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Divina legislatio promissionibus sancita. It is a Law that God establishes upon Promises: and therefore implies two things, something on God's part, which is the promise, and something on man's part, which is the duty, and unto both these consent of parties is required; God's consent unto the promise, and man's consent unto the service; and therefore by a Synecdoche the name Covenant is applied unto both parts of these, and both of them are called the Covenant. (1) The Covenant is sometimes put for the Promise of God, which is the Covenant on God's part: Exod. 34.10. Behold I will make a Covenant before all thy people, I will do marvels: the meaning is no more but voluntaria promissione me obstringo, etc. I bind myself by a voluntary promise. This is my covenant with thee, Esa. 59.21. says the Lord, My Spirit that is put upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, etc. Numb. 18.19. All the heave-offering of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee and thy sons by a statute for ever, it it a covenant of salt for ever, before the Lord. It is spoken only of the free promise of God made unto Aaron and his sons in reference unto the Prieshood. (2) The Covenant is sometimes put for the command of God, in which he doth require a duty from man. Moses was with the Lord in the Mount forty days and nights, and he writ upon the Tables the words of the Covenant, Exod. 34.28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the ten Commandments; and it's common in Scripture-acceptation, to put the command of God and the duty of man under the name of the Covenant of God. So that there are in the essentials of the Covenant two things, (1) there is the promise on God's part, which is God's part of the Covenant, (2) there is the duty on man's part in reference unto the command of God, there is mercy and duty, and mutual consent of both. We shall begin with the Convenant on God's part, that we may see what of his free grace he doth oblige and bind himself unto; though it's true, he is debtor to none, any further than his own free grace makes him so. Deus promittendo se debitorem fecit. Austin. Now God's part of the Covenant consists in promises and rewards, and man's part of the Covenant consists in services; and in these two are the essentials of the covenant, and these will be our three general heads to be spoken to. First, God's part of the covenant doth consist in promises; such is the covenant that he made with Abraham, wherein he does promise to be a God unto him, and to his seed after him; and this will appear in four things. (1) Because in Scripture we find the covenant and the promises to be put for one and the same thing: Gal. 3.16. To Abraham and his seed were the promises made; and this I say, that the covenant confirmed before of God in Christ, the law that was four hundred and thirty years after could not disannul, or make the promise of none effect. And hence it is called the covenant of promise, Eph. 2.12. which though some of our Divines do put, and may be not unfitly, as a distinction of the covenant of Grace, into two branches, Ball of the Covenant 4. p. 27. the covenant of promise, and the new covenant, taking this for the covenant made with the Fathers before the exhibiting of Christ in the flesh, who did only see the promises afar off, and saluted them, Heb. 11.13. and therefore they are called the children of the covenant and of the promise; Act. 3.25. yet the truth is, so long as there is any one part of it unaccomplished, so far it will be the covenant of promise, and consist in promises still, till God's people do come to Heaven, and receive the happiness and the inheritance of the covenant, which the Lord has now promised to the Saints. (2) A people taken into covenant with God are said to be entitled unto the promises, which before they were strangers unto, Rom. 9.4. and could claim no interest in; when God took the people of Israel into covenant with himself, and they became unto him a peculiar people and treasure of all the people of the earth, then unto them did belong 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the worship of God and the promises, which all the other Nations of the Earth could lay no claim unto; and upon this ground all those that are confederates with God, and taken into covenant, they are called the coheirs of promise, because they have a title unto all those great things which God in covenant has engaged himself to bestow. (3) When the Lord doth perform any promise, he is then said to keep his covenant, and to remember his covenant, to perform his mercy promised unto our Forefathers; when he did fulfil his promises he remembered for them his covenant: so that as when they do transgress his command, that being part of his covenant, they are said to break covenant with God; so when the Lord does not perform his promise, he is said to break the covenant, Psal. 89.39. Zac. 11.10. and to make it void. (4) The end of the covenant is but to inherit the promises, all the Saints are said to be the Sons of Abraham, because they are taken into the same covenant with him, with whom God did eminently make the covenant; and for this cause the children of the same covenant are called the Sons of Abraham; and Heaven, being the same inheritance that Abraham had as the end of his covenant, and the same that all the Saints enter into, it's therefore called in respect of them, Abraham's bosom, they sit down with Abraham in the kingdom of God, that is, having the same reward of their covenant that Abraham had; and that's nothing but the promised inheritance, they do inherit the promises: Heb. 6.12. so that all the glory that the people of God have in Heaven, it's nothing else but the accomplishment of promises, it's both a purchased and a promised possession: it is true, that one ingredient of the covenant is Law, but that belongs unto the covenant as it contains the rules of our services, and the covenant on our part, and not to the covenant on God's part; for to make a Covenant is simply an act of Grace, whereas to give a Law is simply an act of Sovereignty and absolute Dominion. Here my purpose is not to handle the Doctrine of the promises in the extent or full latitude thereof, but only speak of it as it refers mainly unto the point in hand; First we will consider what a promise is, It is the declaration of the eternal purpose of God concerning good things to come, which he doth engage his faithfulness freely through Christ, to bestow upon his people. Eph. 3.9. 1. I say it's a declaration of God's eternal purpose: the purposes of God are secret, and hid in his own breast only, these are Mysteries hid in God, that is, while it remains only in his own purpose, and is not discovered unto the creature; and this purpose of his, as it is the ground, so it's the rule of all the good that he intends to do unto his Saints; he doth call them according to his own purpose and grace, 2 Tim. 1.9. It's true, we read of a promise made before the world began, Titus 1.2. but it was in respect of the covenant that passed between the Father and the Son, and could not be formally made unto the Saints, but is secret in his own thoughts and purposes; and these thoughts of God to us-ward, as they are innumerable, so they were exceeding delightful to the Lord Jesus Christ, Psal. 40.5. How wonderful are thy works, and thy thoughts to us-ward, etc. but the breaking forth of this purpose of God is seen in his promises. There is a double consideration of the will of God, (1) voluntas propositi, his will of purpose, (2) praecepti, of precept: there is the will of God that he would have us do, and the manifestation thereof is his precept; and there is the will of God which he himself will do, and that is expressed in Prophecies that he will accomplish, and Promises that he will fulfil. And there is a great deal of difference between this his revealed will, and his secret will; for the whole will of his precepts is revealed, and therefore the Apostle says he has declared the whole counsel of God, Act. 20.27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. and there is enough to make the man of God perfect, perfectly instructed to every good work; and much of the will of his purpose what he will accomplish is revealed also; though much of it be secret in the breast of God, yet all the Prophecies he will accomplish, and all the promises he will assuredly fulfil: as he has declared his whole will concerning man's duty, what he should do, so he has also declared his whole will concerning all the good he doth purpose to do for men; and this declaration of the will and the mind of God is called the promise of God. 2. Promises are of good things to come: threaten and promises are both conversant about things to come, but threaten are about evil things to come: Heb. 11.7. Zac. 1.6. Zeph. 2.1, 2. Noah being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, etc. And promises are of good things to come: Josh. 23.14. You know in all your hearts, that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you, etc. As when the Lord doth perform any word of his, it's said, he doth cause it to arise, he has confirmed his word, Dan. 9.12. excitavit or surgere fecit, Calvin; he has caused his word to arise: so when it is not performed, it is truly said to fall. David says, Thou hast spoken of my house a great while to come. All the great promises that God made to David are of things to come, and therefore David says, 2 Sam. 7.19. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. As it was the happiness of the people of Israel, that they had in the Wilderness a Rock that followed them, not only for a present supply, but for a future provision; 1 Cor. 10. so are the promises also unto the Saints in mercy received, they have the glory of the Lord going before them, and his promises to follow them; they have the glory to be their rearward; they are compassed about with mercy on every side; they have goodness that goes before them in performance, and mercy that follows them in promises, as the rearward; that as a wicked man ●gh there be evils tnreatned fall upon him here, yet they are but the first-fruits, 〈◊〉 ●cium Divini judicii, the prejudgment of Divine Judgement, but the main of the evil think threatening is to come; so though godly men have much good that they receive a●●sent, yet the main of it in the promise is yet to come. 3. Unto the performance of these, though they be made freely, yet the Lord does engage his faithfulness by virtue of the Covenant. If we look upon the promises in fieri, in making, so we must look upon his free grace only; but if we look on them in facto esse, as made, so we must have an eye unto his faithfulness; his love and mercy is the only reason of making promises, but his faithfulness and truth is the ground of keeping and performing promises: as it's spoken of his promise made to David and his house, for thy words sake according to thy own heart hast thou done these great things, that is, of thy own free grace and unexpected Love; because thou wouldst have mercy: and yet it is Mercy to Abraham, but it is Truth to Jacob, etc. Mic. 7. v. ult. and therefore Austin calls the promise Chirographum Dei, God's Bond; it is the bond or hand-writing that God has given the creature to assure him of Heaven; so that as the Apostle calls the Law Chirographum contra nos, Col. 2. a bond against us, so are the promises the bond that is for us, because they do speak God to be with us. 4. All this is through Christ, both making and performing, 2 Cor. 1.20. so it is in him that the promises are Yea and Amen: as all the precepts of the Law, though given to us, yet they are principally required of Christ as our surety, and the transgressions of them are laid upon him; so all the promises of the Gospel, though they be made unto the Saints, yet they be primarily made unto Christ as our head, and representative; for as we have heard, he is the seed with whom the covenant is made, and he is given unto us as a covenant: so he is primarily the Heir of promise: and as in respect of possession, Esa. 49.8. we enter into his inheritance called our master's joy, so in respect of the promise and reversion, we come under his covenant, and so partake of his inheritance, and have no further any promise made to us, than as we are one with Christ, and no promise is performed to us but by virtue of union with him; and therefore its Christus in aggregato, Christ mystical, that is the proper subject of all the promises; and their accomplishment is to himself, as the head, and to the Saints, as the body. §. 2. Why doth God's part of the Covenant in this life mainly consist in promises? It's true that these promises shall end in performances, and Heaven is the accomplishment of all the promises; it is a promised, as well as a purchased possession, when the Saints are all gathered home, all the promises shall be at an end; and therefore in that respect faith shall cease; for the object of it shall be taken away, and therefore the acts of it must needs come to an end: though it's true, that the habit of faith, as well as all other graces, being a part of the image of God, and the new creation of Christ, is of an eternal nature; but yet the Lord does mainly dwell with his people in a way of promise, and the covenant on his part doth run in promises. 1 Cor. 2.5, 7. 1. The life that the Saints live in this world, must be a life of faith, and not by sight; there is another life (though we live by faith and not by sight here) that in glory is reserved for us, and another manner of living, and the main objects of faith are the promises, Rom. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 4.19, 21. He staggered not through unbelief. He did not reason pro and con about it, because faithful is he that has promised, and he will also do it, he is able to perform. It's true, there is a faith that rests upon the whole Word of God as true and good, and so the soul receives it; but yet the object of faith by which the soul rests on God is mainly the promise: so that as obedience is the Law written in the heart, so also the object of faith is the promise written in the heart: the Lord lets in the promise, and the soul rests thereupon; and if the Lord had not dealt so in a way of promises, our life could never have been a life of faith. 2. They are the great grounds of our hope, and thereby the Lord will sweeten our obedience: he doth not give forth a bare command as an act of Sovereignty, but he adds thereunto a promise as an act of Grace; Heb. 6.18. The Lord willing to show the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that we might have strong consolation, who are fled for refuge to the hope set before them, which hope we have as an anchor to the soul. And the Anchor is cast under water, and takes hold of something that is not seen as yet; for if I see it, why do I yet hope for it? Now though it's true, a godly man should not yield obedience merely for reward, yet a man may have respect to the recompense of reward; and though it is true that this should not be the great thing that should launch them forth in duties of holiness, yet this is a good wind to fill the sails, the Lord letting him see, that there is an inseparable communion of God's glory and our good also, duty and mercy 〈◊〉 hand in hand; and that the Lord requires no duty, but it is for our good always, t● he may perform unto us the promise that is annexed thereunto. There is an amor merc● 〈◊〉 love of reward that is not mercenary; Heb. 12.1. Christ had the joy set before him, that did sweet 〈◊〉 sufferings, he had a glory and a posterity promised him; and Moses had respect also to the recompense of the reward. Heb. 11.25. And the Apostle saith, 2 Cor. 4.18. While we look at the things that are not seen, that is the scope and the main aim of the soul in all our obedience, active or passive, and by this the Lord doth delight to sweeten our way. 3. The promises are the great means of the souls purification, 2 Cor. 7.1. Let us purge ourselves having these promises, and perfect holiness. And by these great and precious promises we are made partakers of the Divine nature. The promises are the Treasury of all that grace that God doth intent to bestow upon his people, and from thence do the Saints fetch it; Isa. 12.3. for they are the wells of salvation, and it is by this that the soul is fitted for the performance: there is a being made meet, and 'tis the promise that made them so, as a man's beholding of God in himself doth transform him perfectly into the image of God, Col. 1.12. 2 Cor. 3.18. so beholding God in the promise does transform a man by degrees into the image of that holiness that is in the promise. A man looking upon himself sees his heart as a barren wilderness, as empty of grace as the first Chaos was of form and beauty: Now he says, what is impossible with man is possible with God, and the soul sucks a promise, and is thereby changed into the image thereof. 4. That they may be the rule of the prayers of the Saints; for his will must be the rule of our prayers, as well as of all other acts of our obedience, the precepts of the one, and the promises of the other: we must ask according to his will, if we hope to speed; and therefore our prayers should be nothing else but pressing God with his promises; and thereby we put his bonds in suit before the Throne of his own grace; so doth Jacob, Lord this is that which thou hast said, Return into thy own country, and I will do thee good: and so doth Nehemiah, Neh. 1.8. This is that thou hast promised unto thy servant Moses. A soul that can bring unto God his own promise, and can plead it before God, has a certain argument, that it shall be fulfilled. It's the great ground of the prayer of Christ, and of his Angels and Saints in Heaven, for the Angels do pray, and so do the Saints in Heaven, the souls under the Altar cry, Dan. 4.16, 17. Zac. 1. How long Lord? Rev. 6. and they have no ground to offer a prayer to God, but merely the promise of God, and therefore all their prayers are prayers of faith to this day. §. 3. The promises of God in Scripture are of two sorts, some are absolute, some conditional, and the grounds of these distinctions of promises are these. 1. There is a twofold love of God unto the creature, (1) antecedent Love, that is set upon the creature, for love sake and out of his own free choice and election; Rom. 9.18. he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy; and upon this are grounded all absolute promises: (2) there is a consequent Love, as the Lord delights to crown the acts of his own Love in the creature, having wrought his own image he doth love it, and delight in it, more than in all the rest of the works of his hands, and this is the ground of all conditional promises. 2. Absolute Promises are not formally made unto us, though they be fulfilled in us, but unto Christ; for no promise can belong unto him that is not an heir of promise; and though a man be so in the Election of God, yet he is not actually so till he be united unto Christ; and therefore it is unto him that all the absolute promises do belong. If we look upon man in a state of Nature, so there are absolute promises of grace for a man's conversion; but look upon a man in a state of Grace, and so there are conditional promises that do belong unto him for his consolation and salvation. 3. In absolute promises the creature is merely passive, and there is no prerequired condition in the creature for the accomplishment of it; it's perfectly an act of God's grace to the creature to promise him to be his God, to pardon his sin, and take away his heart of stone; there is no concurrence of the endeavour of the creature in it; for all the works of God in this k●l are a new creation: but in conditional promises there is a condition prerequired in the creature, and there is an actual concurrence of the creature to their performance, without which God will never perform the condition; he that converts thee without thee, will not save thee without thee; we must be built as living stones in the Church of God. 4. There is a double state of Faith, a state of Recumbency or Affiance, and a state of Assurance; and the promises of the Gospel are suited unto both these states. A man that can see no grace in his own soul, he comes to the promise for grace, and resolves to cast himself upon it, he does ●e to Christ that he may have life, and casts himself upon the promise, that his sins may be pardoned: and the truth is, in this doth properly the application of faith in a man's first conversion lie, in leaving a man's soul with the promise, that he may receive grace and pardon; not in believing that Christ is mine, but in relying upon him, and giving up myself to him. There is a kind of personal Application, and that is direct; and there is an axiomatical Application of faith, when the soul being in Christ, and having received grace, is able to see and to conclude its own interest. Unto faith of Recumbence the absolute promises do fitly suit. But there is a state of Assurance, when the soul looks into his own heart, and finds the image of Christ written there, and sees promises made to a broken and a believing heart, one poor in spirit, and he finds the condition in himself, and now all the conditional promises come in with comfort to him, who before could taste no sweetness in them, because he could not find in himself the condition. 5. There are two ways of assurance answerable to the twofold witness of it: there is a witness in Heaven, and there is a witness also in the heart. (1) There is an immediate testimony; Rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven, saith our Lord: again the Lord says to a man, Be of good cheer thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art greatly beloved. Such immediate testimonies there have been given to the Saints; and surely the bowels of the Lord are not straitened. 1 Joh. 5.7. Thus there is a testimony of the Spirit that is distinct from the witness of water and blood; the Spirit is the seal in both, but in the one he is the seal of his Office, and in the other the seal of his Officers; a particular seal and a privy signet: in the one he testifies the love of all the persons, and there is testified that his own love and the love of God is shed abroad in the heart, there is illuminatio quaedam è montibus aeternis, an illumination from the eternal mountains, as Gerson speaks. (2) There is an Assurance that comes from the witness of a man's own graces, the Spirit of God witnessing with our spirits. Now the first assurance is in an absolute promise, I am thy God, thou art greatly beloved, thy sins are forgiven thee: and the latter kind of assurance is in a conditional promise, the Lord discovering to a man the signs of grace in his own soul, and the glorious works of the Spirit of Christ upon his inward man, conforming him to the image of Christ. 6. The great difference between the first and second Covenant lay in this: the promises of the first Covenant were all of them conditional, being given unto grace received, and did suppose grace in the person to whom they were made; but there were no absolute promises to give grace: that Covenant did suppose grace, but it did not give grace. But under the Gospel, as there are promises of reward of grace received, so there are promises of giving grace, where there is no grace; and herein lies the great glory of the promises of the new Covenant, and the grace of them, it gives grace, and then it crowns grace; and therefore they are said to be better promises. 7. Absolute promises have their degrees of accomplishment as well as conditional; though a man has a right to them all at once, yet the Lord doth perform them by degrees to us; there is no promise that is fully and perfectly accomplished till we come to Heaven; our justification is not perfect till then; our iniquities are then perfectly blotted out, when the time of refreshment shall come; then a man shall be perfectly acquitted from all sin for ever, and have an absolute sentence passed upon him by God, and in his own soul for ever. As the Lord did give his Son by degrees, and yet there is a further giving of him, when he that is gone before shall come again, and fetch you; also there are degrees of giving of the Spirit, and there is yet a further degree to come, when the weak shall be as David; so the Lord will be your God hereafter more eminently than he has been, in giving you not only grace, but glory. Now as the Lord doth take up and possess the soul to himself as his habitation, so he does more and more become a God to that soul, who is never perfected till he come to glory, till he enjoy him as he is. Use 1 §. 4. 1. Look on the promises therefore as precious, and store thy soul with them; for they are all that you have to show for an interest in God in this life; that by which you hold your inheritance, all is in promises: the richest adornment and furniture that the soul can have in this life, is grace and promises; and therefore have thy inward man filled with them. Use 2 2. Upon all occasions stay thy sinking soul upon a promise, for it's as firm as the faithfulness of God, and it's grounded thereupon. If there be any truth in the Covenant of Grace, it lies in the promises of it on God's part, and we should observe the performance of promises as we do of prophecies: Psal. 144. as Austin says, Ingrate, Legis debitum cernis redditum, & non credis promissum, Ungrateful wretch, thou seest the debt of the Law paid, and yet believest not the promise. Use 3 3. Look unto all the promises for their accomplishment. The heirs of a promise have a great happiness that they have such an inheritance; It's ●er be as low as Hell with a promise, Ego quidem sine Verbo ne in Paradiso optarim vivere, at cum Verbo etiam in inferno vivere sacile est. Luth. than with Adam in Paradise without it: For it's in the promises of the new Covenant in which the glory and the stability of the Covenant lies; but if they be so sweet and precious in the contemplation, and in the working of faith upon them while they are in hope only, what must they needs be in the fruition? The Wise man says, The desire accomplished is sweet unto the soul, there is an unexpressible sweetness in it, when the desire comes its a tree of life: it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vitarum, of lives, there are all lives in it, and it sets a man as it were in Paradise again. And this is one thing that will make Heaven the sweeter, because it is a perfect accomplishing of all those promises with which the soul was feasted and entertained here with the hopes of in its pilgrimage: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrysostom. for Christ will be the sweeter when we come to Heaven, because having not seen him, yet we loved him here; and we shall find him to be the same Christ in all things that before we heard him to be in the Gospel. And so the society of the Saints, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the rest of the Saints in Heaven, so much the more precious will they be, by how much our hearts have been taken with any of them while they lived here: and for this cause the promises may well be called precious, 2 Pet. 1.4. 2 Pet. 1.4. the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and signifies either precious or honourable, to him that believes he is precious, 1 Pet. 2. or an honour; (1) as they are the price of his blood, who was the Saviour of the World; (2) as they are the evidences of our inheritance, and all we have to show for Heaven; (3) as they are instruments of purification and sanctification. 2 Cor. 7.1. 2 Pet. 1.4. But (4) they are specially precious in this, [1] that they are God's part of the Covenant; [2] this has been the happiness of the Saints, and the contrary is noted as an imperfection in their condition here, Heb. 11.13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises: it's spoken of the ancient Saints, of whom it's said some of them attained promises, and others of them received them not, but only saw them afar off, and saluted them, etc. and to attain promises is reckoned with stopping the mouths of lions, and quenching the violence of fire: and hereby there is more of God made known, Exod. 6.3. By the name of Jehovah I was not known to them. It's spoken in reference unto the accomplishment of the promises, and their attaining of them, there is something further that God discovered, and his name Jehovah further manifested to the Saints: [3] specially in our times upon whom the ends (or as some render it) the perfections of the world are come: for as the great harvest of the Church shall be in the latter days of the world, so there shall be the great harvest both of prophecies and promises: for the ancient Prophets did speak of good things to come, but it was manifested unto them that they did not administer for themselves, but for us, 1 Pet. 1.12. they should be gathered to their Fathers, and never live to see the good things that the Lord would do, but should die in the Wilderness, as many of the ancient Saints of Israel did, and never inherit the promised Land; for all the things that the Lord hath spoken shall have their accomplishment at the sound of the seventh Trumpet shall the Mystery of God be finished. Rev. 10.7. They are glorious things that the Lord has spoken of the latter days of the world, and it's a great unworthiness and lowness of spirit in Saints, that they should be content and sit down satisfied whilst they go without any part of their inheritance, and that they should think much of any thing they have attained, si dicas sufficit, etc. It's true, that we are less than the least of all his mercies, and we should think every one of them great to express our thankfulness, but we should not think any of them great to nourish our slothfulness. He that has an interest in the great God, must strive to have his heart form into a holy greatness of mind: there is a lowness of spirit that does no ways become men that have high hopes and high expectations, to be content to go without any thing that God has promised: he has promised not only truth of grace, but growth, as the willows by the watercourses, strength of grace, strengthened with all might according to his glorious power, comfort of grace, as the Apostle has it, to be filled with a spirit of consolation, and to walk in the assurance of his love, and yet with all this he is never satisfied. There is a further promise, and that is an inheritance with the Saints in light; and therefore he can never rest satisfied till he come there, he forgets that which is behind, and does reach forward to that which is before, Phil. 3.12. Quest. But how should we do to attain promises? 1. Be sensible of your want of them: we should look over all the Paradise of the promises, and know that there is not a tree nor a fruit in it, but it's good for food, the fruit is for meat, and the leaves for medicine. See how far thou dost come short; look upon duty in the latitude and extent of it, for obedience must be universal; so you must do upon the promises, that your faith may be universal also. There should be always in our eyes a sight of something before, unto which we should reach out ourselves, Phil. 3.12. God doth never accomplish promises, but he doth use to make men see their need of them beforehand; they say, Lord, increase our faith, and Christ shows them the excellency of faith, Luk. 17.5. and their necessity thereof, that by this means raising their apprehensions of it, and showing to them their necessity of it; they might be prepared to receive it, as the Lord was ready to bestow it: we go without many promises, because we see no necessity of them, and therefore our souls sit down quietly without them. 2. Get a strong faith; for it was by faith that they did attain the promises, Heb. 11.33. and it must be such a faith as must stay the heart, and fix the eye upon the promise, and thereby support it under all the seeming oppositions and improbabilities or impossibilities unto an eye of reason, or an arm of flesh: it must cause a man to close his eyes against them all, in the matter of justification: there is in faith an exclusive resolution against all other ways and means of righteousness whatsoever; so there is in this also against all things that from sense and reason may be offered or pretended to the soul, to weaken the power of the promise of God therein. Rom. 4.19, 20. In Abraham there was enough that he might have taken in to have discouraged him, but yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he did not admit a dispute, he did not take in a consultation of flesh and blood: when men have so consulted flesh and blood, their faith has failed them. God had promised his people a deliverance, but they say our bones are dry, and our hope is past, Ezech. 37.11.12. we have no more reason to expect the accomplishment of such a promise, than that we should see dry bones revive and arise out of their graves. And the people of God have had their hearts always to fail them, when they have looked off from the promise; as Peter when the wind arose, and he gins to sink, he cries out, Lord save me; and Martha saith, By this time he stinketh; and the Israelites say, The sons of Anak are there, etc. As whensoever the people of God begin to turn away their eyes from the holy commandment, than their hearts fail them in point of duty; so it is when they look off from the holy promise, than their heart fails them in matter of faith, and they cast away their confidence; for every promise carries with it an obligation laid upon the power of God to accomplish it: our faith gives us a title to the promise, and the promise binds the omnipotence of God for its accomplishment; and therefore it's said, They stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of the fire, Heb. 11.13. and raised the dead to life. By acts of God's omnipotence all this was done, yet they are attributed unto their faith, as the fruit of it, by which the omnipotence of God is engaged in the work. Therefore it was a brave spirit in Luther, fit for him that shall attain the promises, that when they sought his life by all means that might be at home and abroad, and at last raised a war against him, that small Chaldean war, yet he wrote upon the walls of his Study that speech of David, I shall not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord. Psal. 118. 3. Be much in prayer, for the promise is a kind of a debt, and therefore it's said when God doth perform any promise, reddit debita nulli debens, etc. and it's prayer that puts this bond in suit before the Throne of Grace. Jer. 29.10, 12. After seventy years are accomplished in Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word towards you, in causing you to return unto this place; then shall you call upon me, and pray to me, and I will hear you: and this was the very course that Daniel took; Dan. 9.1, 2. for we can expect nothing from God in mercy that we do not obtain by prayer; he leads his people into their own land by supplications. In the consolations that we receive from God, he speaks to our hearts, and in the supplications that we put up unto God, we speak unto his heart: and the grounds are these, why God will have all promises to be nothing else but the returns of prayer. 1. That hereby we may testify that it's the will of God that we eye in the mercy, and not our own will; for its whatsoever we ask according to his will he hears us. There is a natural and a carnal desire of mercies, when it's a man's own will that puts him upon it: and there is a spiritual and holy desire of mercies, and that is when a man has an eye unto God's will in the promise to bestow them, as well as to his own necessity that requires them. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Hence there is a double importunity in prayer, as Luk 11.8. a holy kind of impudence that they will in no wise be put off, there's a being stirred up by the apprehension of necessity, Hos. 7.14. and a desire of the flesh to attain the thing, and so men howl for corn, wine, and oil, but they are but the cries of beasts, and not of Saints, and so men ask amiss, and attain not, as it is in Jam. 1.5. But there is an importunity that is grounded upon the will of God and upon the promise, and the soul earnestly desires it, because he sees its agreeable unto the will of God that has promised it, it's not the love of the thing that is so much the ground of his importunity, as seeing the will of God in the promise, and for this cause the Lord will make the accomplishment of all promises to be the only returns of prayers. 2. That hereby we may know, that his mercy is free in bestowing of it; and that though God has promised it in a way of mercy, yet there is no way for us to attain it but in a way of duty, to perform the promise is God's part, and to press God with his promise is our part. I will do it for you, says tne Lord, yet I will be inquired of by you, that I may do it for you; ask and you shall receive, knock and it shall be opened: and there is no way that ever any creature could attain any thing of God but this way. Upon this very ground Christ himself, if he will attain from God, he must ask; and so 'tis with the Angels, and so 'tis with the Saints in Heaven, Dan. 4.17. they cry, How long Lord? How much more is it to be with dust and ashes. 3. That the Lord may honour his own Ordinance, and testify how much he doth delight in the worship of a creature, and that thereby he might make it a double mercy. For ungodly men to receive blessings as a fruit of Providence unto them, it comes always single, that is, in the thing only; but unto a godly man, that has it as a fruit of the promise, it's always a double mercy, mercy in the thing, and mercy to the man, not only an accomplishment of God's promises, but the return of the man's prayers, the exercise of God's faithfulness unto us, and of our graces towards God; and there are no mercies so sweet as those that come in with the exercise of grace in the attaining of them: Deum orationibus ambiamus, coelum tundimus, & misericordiam extorquemus, as Tertullian says of the power of the Saints prayers, because of his delight in the exercise of their graces. And there is no duty wherein the graces of the Saints do act with more life and power than they do in prayer: there is magna conjunctio, a great concurrence of grace in them, as we see it in Abraham in his prayer, what strong acts of grace he puts forth, Gen. 18. The nearer the soul draws to God the fountain of its life, the more lively it works, and moves the swifter, the nearer the centre; and there is no duty in which the soul draws nearer to God, than it doth in prayer, and hath more immediate communion with him, than when he is upon his knees before the Throne of grace. 4. And lastly, the way to attain promises is a patiented waiting for them till the Lord's time come; for it's true of promises as it is of prophecies, though the vision be for an appointed time, Hab. 2.3. yet wait for it, for it will come and will not tarry. It's a speech like unto that in Luk. 18.7, 8. though he bear long with them, yet he will avenge them speedily: it may tarry long in respect of the time prefixed by us, and may seem long to us, but it shall not be long when the time comes that is appointed by God. The Lord commonly does in the answering of prayers, as he does in the fulfilling of Prophecies, it's a great while before the Prophecy seems to speak, or to give any hope of its accomplishment, as it was in the deliverance out of Egypt and Babylon; but yet when once it gins but to dawn its day, immediately, in a manner, it strangely and suddenly breaks forth, that the Saints of God can scarce believe their own eyes, they are like unto them that dream. And so it is in the return of their prayers also, as in the calling of the Jews, they are as dry bones, and they are scattered here and there all the world over; but the bones shall come together, and it shall be so suddenly done, that the Lord saith, A Nation shall be born at once, and before Zion traveled she brought forth; and so it is in the answer of Prayers, as it was with Elijah, he prayed seven times, and his servant looked and there was nothing, and yet he continued praying, at last there appeared a Cloud like unto a man's hand, and by and by the Heavens were covered over with Clouds, and then the rain fell: when it gins once to appear that the Clouds do break away a little, the Lord doth strangely hasten the work, and there is a glorious concurrence and falling in of all causes to its accomplishment; there is a time of the Promise's accomplishment, Acts 7. 1●. and a great part of the Mercy is in the season of it: the Lord doth not delay because he is unwilling to bestow it, or because the Mercy comes hardly off, for he knows, that to our hasty Nature, bis dat qui citò; but the Lord doth defer it, that he may improve the Mercy by the season of it, for God's time is best, and not ours; my time is not yet come, though your time be always ready, all Christ's Miracles were so much the more glorious, by the seasons of their putting forth, and so are Gods Mercies also the more magnified in coming to us in the fittest time; he does wait to be gracious, that is, that he may bestow the Mercy when we are fittest to receive it, and our hearts are best prepared for it: As in judgement to a wicked man the Lord does watch over him for evil, and he shall be ensnared in an evil time, as a Bird in an evil snare, judgement shall come upon him when he lest expects it, and is least prepared for it; he shall be cut off as the foam upon the waters, Hos. 10.7. sicut aquae superiores ferventis ollae, Jerome; for the word spuma doth signify a bubble that does arise from heat, etc. when they are swelled up and hold up their heads on high, and be lifted up above the rest of the waters, than they shall suddenly be cut off: As (I say) there is a time for judgement, that Justice doth watch over men for evil; so there is also a time for Mercy, that Grace does watch over men for good; there is a time for the Promise to bring forth, as well as the threatening, and therefore it's said, That by Faith and Patience the Saints have inherited the Promises, and there is as well a Patience in waiting, as in Suffering; Zeph. 2.1, 2. let Patience have its perfect work in you in this respect also, that you may be entire and perfect wanting nothing. Hebr. 10.36. But the Soul will be ready to say, I could be willing to wait God's time, if I could be sure to attain the Promise at the last; but what grounds are there to support and underprop my heart that I shall receive the Promise, and not miss of it in the end? Now the grounds to assure the Soul thereof are these: 1. The faithfulness of God: the Promises are therefore confirmed by an Oath, Heb. 6.17. that by two immutable things, wherein it's impossible for God to lie, we might have strong Consolation, Quid est Dei juratio, nisi promissi confirmatio, Aust. & infidelium quaedam increpatio? An Oath amongst Men puts an end to Controversy, much more should the Oath of God put an end to all Controversy and Disputes in the Soul; and it's a strange expression that of the Apostle, Hebr. 6.13. because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself; to show how willing the Lord is to give an assurance unto the Heirs of Promise, that if there had been a greater, or any thing that could have given them more assurance, they should have been sure of it; but because there was none greater, therefore he did swear by Himself; Nos miseros qui nec juranti Deo credimus. 2. The Covenant made with Christ was confirmed by an Oath, and upon that the assurance of it is mainly put, for upon him the Promises do mainly depend; all the Promises are in him Yea, and Amen, and upon that it's put, Tit. 1.2. the promise of Eternal Life, 2 Cor. 1.20. which God that cannot lie has promised before the world began: To whom was this Promise made before the world began? a purpose might be in his own breast, but a promise must be to another; and God cannot lie unto Christ, he will not surely deceive him; the Son has been faithful to him in all the parts of the Covenant, and therefore surely the Lord will be faithful unto Christ. The Covenanr is confirmed by a double Oath, one to us, Hebr. 6.17. Psal. 110.4. and the other to Christ; the Lord has sworn and he will not repent: He was not made a Priest without an Oath, therefore the New Covenant is called the Word of the Oath, Heb. 7.28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. and the Promises are primarily made to Christ, and are his inheritance, and secondarily ours, only by virtue of our Union with him. 3. The Intercession of Christ; Christ in Heaven stands besides the Golden Altar, Revel. 8.3, 4. he is gone to Heaven to make intercession, and what is the subject of the intercession of Christ in Glory? it's only the promises of the Covenant that yet remain unfulfilled, and it's these that he doth plead before the Throne of Grace, and the Lord Christ has a promise to be heard, Psal. 2.8. Ask of me and I'll give thee the Heathen for an inheritance: and he prays with assurance of audience, John 11.42. I know that thou hearest me always. When Christ was upon Earth, before our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was paid, the Lord did trust Christ upon his bare word, yet than he did accomplish many promises unto him at his request; for Christ's intercession begun from the Beginning, ever since the Fall, when his Priesthood did first begin, for he was a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; Revel. 13.8. how much more shall we be saved by his life? how much more will the Lord accomplish it on his part? now all that is due on Christ's part is fulfilled, now he is gone to Heaven, and sits down at the right hand of God, and does only expect the accomplishment of those things which are the price of his own blood: we know that blood has a crying nature; and if it did cry so loud when it was but in the promise, much more will it do now it is blood shed, and set as a seal to the promise. 4. The experiences of all the Saints and thy own experiments: the Saints all of them have known the Lord by his name Jehovah, they all of them have by faith and patience inherited the promises; but in a special manner a man's own experience, from which he may argue, God that delivered me from out of the mouth of the Lion and the Bear, will also deliver me from this Goliath, 2. Tim. 4.17. etc. and God has delivered me, and he will deliver me from every evil work. A man should treasure up every experiment as an assurance of the same faithfulness in the same extremity, and thereby set to his seal that God is true. A great part of the Communion of Saints should be in this, in imparting their experiments one to another, and thereby honour the faithfulness of God: and as it is our duty here on earth, and our comfort, so it shall be a great part of a man's happiness in Heaven, when a man shall tell stories of God's mercies and faithfulness unto all Eternity. But says the Soul, I may stay long for this promise to be accomplished; for God has set no time in his Word when it shall be, and therefore the Saints have waited till their eyes have failed, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Heb. 10.37. till the promise have come to the birth: the Apostle says it's not long, 'tis but a little while. Oh therefore set faith on work, and that looks as God looks, to whom a thousand years are as but one day; that which seems long to sense, is but short unto faith: consider much the waiting and all the long-suffering of God for thee, before thou didst take hold of his grace in Christ Jesus, and shall not we wait upon a great God that could have been, and was happy without us, and needed none of our services, we that are but as a worm, and unprofitable to him in whatever we can do? But there are three things that a Soul may know by, that the accomplishment of the promise is at hand. 1. When the extremity increases, for the time of the promise is near, when the tasks are doubled, for his name will always be known to be a God seen in the Mount: when all is desperate, and you know not what to do, then look for God to come in to your help. 2. When God does raise up in the soul an earnest expectation of the mercy, and a man gins to set himself to seek the Lord with more earnestness for it, then it's a sign it is near at hand. When Christ was to come in the flesh, there were those that waited for the consolation of Israel, and had special expectations raised up in them for his coming. And so it was with Daniel, Dan. 9.1. when he understood by books the time of Jerusalem's Captivity drew to an end, than he sets himself to prayer: for those expectations and enlargements of the heart are from God, and shall be answered. 3. When in the middle of all a man's seeking, his heart is brought into a quiet and an humble frame, and he is contented to submit to the will of God, when a man's heart is brought to a holy indifference, to be contented with God alone; as David was never nearer the Kingdom, Bernard. than when his heart was as a weaned child, Vis me constituere ovium pastorem, aut regem populorum, ecce paratum est cor meum. When the soul is in such a frame, he may expect the promise shall not be long delayed to him. SECT. II. The personal Promises of the Covenant, and of the three Persons in the Trinity. Doctrine. §. 1. THE great promises of the Covenant on God's part are personal promises: I will be thy God. There is objectum fidei duplex, a twofold object of faith, Persons and Things; and answerable to these the promises are personal and real, etc. We have seen that the Covenant on God's part does consist in promises; and that these promises are either absolute or conditional, either performed by God without any required condition in us, not only citra meritum, sed & conditionem, not only without merit, but also condition: or else performed by God upon a certain condition wrought in us, as a preparation or a qualification of the subject to receive the promises. And we find in the next place that these absolute promises are of two sorts, answerable unto a twofold object of faith, that the Scripture doth hold forth: they are either personal or real, either promises of persons or of things. [1] Promises of things that are absolute and real; and of these are chief four. (1) Ezech. 36.26. I will take away the heart of stone, and I will give you a heart of flesh. (2) Jer. 31.33. I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. And these two are promises of conversion and of the power of God in Christ put forth upon the Elect of God. (3) Esa. 43.25. I, even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember thy sins. And unto this belong many other promises of remission. (4) There are also promises of perseverance, Jer. 32.40. I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not departed from me. [2] There are also personal Promises, and these are the great and leading promises of the second Covenant. Here I will show you, (1) that there are such promises, and (2) show you the nature of them, (3) the grounds of it, why the second Covenant must have such promises as these, (4) wherein the excellency of these promises doth consist. 1. That there are some personal Promises in which all the three persons in the Godhead are made over unto the soul. The first great promise was, Gen. 3.15. personal, it was of the seed of the woman, that the Lord would give Jesus Christ his Son to be born of a woman, and to take man's nature, and pitch his Tent with us, that he should take not the nature of Angels, but the seed of Abraham, etc. and so Esa. 9.6. To us a Son is given. And when the Lord came to renew the Covenant with Abraham, it is, That he will be a God unto him, and to his seed after him: and that is common in Scripture for God to say, Jer. 31.33. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And there is a further discovery of the promise in Esa. 44.3. I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring. And so Joel 2.28. I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh. So that these three are the great personal Promises of the Gospel, and in these doth the main grace of the new Covenant lie. 2. As for the nature of personal Promises, they do import a gracious propriety in the persons, which God doth by Covenant make over unto the creature. The end of promises is to give a propriety; and we know that a propriety amongst the creatures is nothing else but jus ad rem, when a man doth claim such a thing as his own, and has a power to use it, and dispose of it in a lawful way for his own benefit and advantage, as it seemeth good to him: so that propriety as it were puts the thing into the man's hand to do with it what he pleaseth, to make improvement and advantage of it, that it may be for his own accommodation, he may do what he list with his own, etc. As if a man hath a propriety in Lands or Houses, he may either sell, or let, or give, or leave, or live upon them as he pleaseth. Now as there is a real propriety that respects things, so there is a personal propriety that respects persons, which is grounded either in natural or voluntary relations; as a Father has a propriety in his Son, and the Son in the Father, and the Husband in the Wife, and the Wife in the Husband, the Prince in the People, and the People in their Prince: and the intent of personal propriety is the same in its kind with that which is real, that every person that has such a propriety in another, should enjoy all benefits and advantages, as they could in a way of equity expect or desire to do: as the husband that hath a propriety in the wife, if there were no sinful defects in the persons that are so appropriated, should receive from her all manner of help and assistance, as if he himself were the wife; and his wife receive from her husband all that kindness and support, as if she were the husband, and as if all were in her own power to use. And so it is in personal promises, the intent of them is to make over the persons, that when the Lord says, I will be thy God, the meaning is, whatsoever is in me as a God, shall be truly thine, my infinite power, my infinite wisdom, and grace and mercy, all shall be thine, that the soul may lawfully lay claim to it, and confidently expect it of him, and that as truly, as if the creature itself had infinite power, and wisdom, and mercy, and all in his own hands. So it is in giving the person of the Son, that we should have a propriety and an interest in him as our Brother, our Husband, our Head; and whatever is in him, whether of grace or merit, shall be as truly ours, as it is his, and as truly laid out for us, as if we had it all inherent in ourselves: And so it is in giving the Spirit, it is a propriety in the person: so that the Spirit for conviction, for conversion, for sanctification, for renovation, for direction, and for consolation, doth as truly improve these for us, as if they were our own, and as if they were inherent in us, or we could use and exercise them according to our own pleasure: and they are these personal promises of the Covenant that do entitle the soul to such an interest in the persons. 3. The grounds of them, why must the second Covenant have personal promises? The grounds of it are these. 1. Man in his Fall had wholly lost God, and therefore he is said Eph. 2. to be without God in the world, one that had no relation to him, one that had no interest in him. It's true, that Adam before his Fall had a natural propriety in God, both as his Creator, and as his Father, Luc. 3. ult. Adam was the Son of God; and so it's true of the Angels, they are called his Sons, because they did bear his Image, Job 1.6. which no other Creature did; but after his Fall all Right unto God was forfeited, and man could not look upon him in any relation, either as a Creature or as a Son, for now he is not the Creature that God made him, your spot is not the spot of his children, for you bear not his Image or Similitude. Now in the second Covenant, the Soul has his relation unto God, and propriety in God that was his happiness in his Creation; and if ever he be made happy again, his propriety unto God must be restored. Therefore that is the purpose and intendment in the Second Covenant, to restore that which is lost by the breach of the first Covenant; and our great loss by the Fall was the loss of God, and a propriety in him; though we also lost the Creatures, and forfeited our lives and souls, lost ourselves, yet our great loss was the loss of God; and if the Lord should have restored unto Man the inheritance of the Creatures again, yet all this would never have repaired his loss, unless he had found out a way for to make over himself again. 2. Without this the Creature could never be happy; for wherein doth happiness consist, but in these two things? There must be Proportion and Propriety; a good that must fill up all the desires of the Soul, and a man must have an interest in it: Now if the Lord should give a man all the Creatures, they are not a proportionable good, because they are finite; and they are without Propriety in them, they are not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a proper good; it will be therefore another man's, and may remain unto another. And though it is true, that God is a proportionable good, as he is also unto all, even the Devils, and damned Spirits, so as to make them happy, for he is an infinite good; yet they cannot be made happy by him, because they have no propriety in him: these two must concur to the happiness of the Creature. Now if when Man had fallen, God should have restored him unto his Inheritance in the Creatures again, yet they could never have made him happy, because they wanted these two ingredients; his happiness therefore consists mainly, radically, and fundamentally in his personal interest and propriety; and there was no way left to make him happy, the former way being made void, but by a free and a gracious promise. God by Covenant and Gift made himself freely over to him, that is, all the persons in the Trinity unto the Creature for his happiness; and therefore we may see, that was the great intendment in the Gospel of Grace; for that which is ultimum in executione, last in execution, is primum in intention, first in intention: The highest happiness of Man in Glory is the enjoyment of God, when God is all in all to him; and the full fruition of Christ, and the Spirit; for therein is the last and great accomplishment of all these personal promises, as we shall see afterwards: now in this consisting the happiness of man, this was the great and first intendment of the Gospel, to make over God to him in all the persons for his highest advancement and perfection. 3. These Promises are the grounds of our Union with all the persons in the Trinity. That there is such a Union between Christ and the Soul is plain, and that it is not only unto Christ as Man, but unto Christ as God-man; and there is a Union that we have after a sort therefore with the Godhead of Christ, and there is a Union with the Spirit, which also is clear, 1 Corinth. 6.17. He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit; and by this means there is a Union also with the Father, John 17.21. I would that they might be one as we are one; not only one in themselves, but one with us, after a resemblance of that unspeakable Union that is between the Father and the Son; and therefore God is said to dwell in us, 2 Corinth. 6.16. we are said to dwell in him, 1 Joh. 4.16. the Church is said to be in God, and the Faithful, to be in Christ Jesus, 1 Thess. 1. and to work in God, John 3.21. most of their works are wrought in God; and this Union is begun in this Life, and so far as it is wanting, so far is the Creature imperfect; it's the perfection of this Union in Heaven that is the full happiness and perfection of the Creature; and it's by virtue of these promises, that this Union between God and the Creature is begun; and Heaven, that is the perfection of this Union, is nothing else but the accomplishment of these promises: the Promise in the fullness of it makes Heaven. 4. It is in this Union that the foundation is laid of all Communion: Communion is properly of persons, though it be in things; Men can with things have no fellowship, this must be properly between persons; 1 Joh. 1.3. Our fellowship is with the Father, and with the Son Jesus Christ: and there is a fellowship of the Spirit also: now all fellowship is grounded in Union; and the very Communion of Saints that they have with all the persons, doth prove, that they have a Union with them also. Now it's an interest you see in the person that's the ground of fellowship; as the Covenant of Grace is a Covenant of Friendship, and it's likened to a Marriage Covenant. Now all matrimonial Communion is grounded upon the interest that they have in the person each of other; so that the Husband is not his own, and the Wife is not her own; they have by their own consent freely made over the interest and propriety of themselves unto each other, that now they are not at their own dispose, without the mutual consent each of other: and so it's in this also; it's our Union with the person, that is the ground of our Communion; and all our personal interest in any of the persons is grounded upon these personal promises, by which the persons are made over to the Saints; and it is in these personal promises, that the Glory of the second Covenant does consist; it's said to be established upon better promises. Hebr. 8. The first Covenant did promise Life and Happiness, which could not be without God, and the enjoyment of God; for the Life promised must be answerable to the death threatened, which is an eternal separation from God, and from all Communion with him, in Hell; therefore the Life promised must be a fruition of God, in all ways of Communion, in Heaven: But yet there is something more in these particular promises of the Gospel Covenant. 1. It's true, that Adam had a personal interest in God, but yet not such an interest as the Saints now have; for the Lord was a God to Adam to reward him persevering in ways of obedience here, and to be himself his reward in Heaven; but it was but while he continued in ways of obedience, God was not made over to him, therefore he did not say, I will make over to thee my Mercy to pardon thee, if thou sinnest, and my Grace to heal thee: but there is something of God made over in the personal promises of the Gospel that never saw light before, and that is Mercy and Grace, which is the Glory of the Gospel, an Attribute that was never known but under the second Covenant. And as all God's Attributes were not made known to Adam by his personal interest, so neither were all the persons unto those perfect, high and complete ends, that now they are unto the Heirs of Promise. The Lord did give Adam an interest in his Son, but not his Son to take the Nature of Adam, to be made lower than the Angels for the suffering of death: He gave him also an interest in his Spirit, but not to heal his corruption, and to perfect his Graces, or help his infirmities, or be an Advocate to plead his Cause before God, and his own Soul also; for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, also signifies an Advocate, as well as a Comforter: Christ is an Advocate without us, and the Spirit within us, enabling us to plead for ourselves before his Throne. Now in these respects, though Adam had personal promises, yet these of the Gospel are now more glorious, and of a higher nature, and of a larger extent, and therefore they are better promises. 2. The greatest Gift that ever God did bestow upon a Creature is a Person, and therefore the giving of Christ is called by way of excellency, The gift of God: Joh. 4.10. If thou knewest the gift of God: And unto us a Son is given. It was a great gift that the Lord should give to Adam the Lordship of the whole world, the inheritance of all the Creatures: but there is no excellency in Creatures in comparison of the glorious persons in the Trinity. Answerable to the excellency of the thing given, we do rightly value the gift; and answerable unto the gift of his Son, we may also conclude of the Father and the Spirit; for the gift of the Son is upon that ground so great, because he that has once attained an interest in the Son, the whole Godhead is become his. 3. All the interest that a Soul has in the blessings of God, and benefits by him, have their foundation in our interest and propriety in the persons themselves; they are made over to us by these personal promises; and a man can have no more benefit by God, than he has interest in him: as the Psalmist having spoken of all the benefits and blessings that they have by God, he comes at last to show the title and the conveyance of them all, Psal. 144. ver. the last. and that is, Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah. The ground of all our benefits by Christ, is our Union with him, and the intendment of Union is Communication; and till a man become one with him, he can savingly have no benefit by him; as 'tis said, 1 Cor. 3.22. All things are yours, and you are Christ's: it's your interest in his person, that gives you a title to his inheritance: as the Wife can have no claim to the estate and the honours of her Husband, but by her Union with him, and interest in his person; and answerable unto men's interest in persons, such is their title unto benefits by them; and they that have no interest in God, can have no title to any of the blessings of God; and therefore the fundamental promises and mercies are those that are personal; He that hath the Son hath life: 1 Joh. 5.12. there is no life from the Son, but by Union with him, you must eat his flesh and drink his blood, which are terms of Union, if ever you hope for everlasting life by him. 4. From our interest in the Persons, the personal promises give us boldness, and access to him; we have, says the Apostle, boldness and access to come to God by Christ. Ephes. 3.12. Now a Child comes to the Father with boldness, because he has an interest in his person as a Father; and a Wife has access unto her Husband with boldness, because she has an interest in him; whereas all ungodly men are strangers to God, and therefore cannot engage their hearts to draw near to him, for they have no interest in him, and therefore must stand without and can have no access. 5. The great promises to Christ as Mediator lie in this, that he has an interest in persons, and by personal promises they are made over to him, Psal. 89.26. He shall call me my Father, Psal. 16.5. my God; and this Christ glories in, the Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; and it is this Christ takes hold of in his desertion, my God, my God; that high speech of Faith taking hold of these personal promises. It's a glorious inheritance that God has given to Christ, for he hath made him heir of all things: but yet his inheritance in all the Creatures is nothing in comparison of the inheritance he has in the Lord, as he is his God, Joh. 3.35. and in the Spirit, which is therefore called the Spirit of Christ, because he received not the spirit by measure. As the great delights of the Godhead from everlasting were in the persons one of another, Prov. 8.30. I was by him as one brought up with him, and I was his delight daily: so the great delight of Christ is in his interest in the person of the Father. He has also a great delight in the Saints, because they are his Seed, and his Spouse, and therefore he doth rejoice over them as a Bridegroom over his Bride: but yet the main delight of Christ as Mediator, doth lie in his interest in the person of the Father, and of the Spirit; and as God made over his person first unto Christ by the Covenant of Redemption, so by that Covenant in him he made it over unto us, for he is Christ's Father and our Father, he is Christ's God and he is our God; Joh. 20.17. I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God. 6. The main comfort of a Christian comes in from personal relations of the Covenant, and they are all of them grounded in personal promises. He is our Father and our Husband, and our Friend, and all of these are personal relations, and speak an interest in the person; and the great support of Faith in the worst times lies in this, as we see in the Church, Isai. 63. doubtless thou art our Father: When the Lord was displeased with them, and had hid his face, and poured upon them spiritual judgements, hardened their hearts from his fear, and variety of temporal judgements; for the Adversary had trodden down their Sanctuary: yet now when they have nothing else to lay hold of, it is upon a personal relation that they pitch, doubtless thou art our Father; and it's according to our relation to his person, that the Lord exhorts us to come to him: All our Prayers when we pray, is Our Father, and the spirit teacheth us to come unto him as our Father; so in all our addresses unto God, he teacheth us to cry Abba Father; and so the Saints in Scripture, O Lord thou art my God, early will I seek thee. 7. Hence comes that glorious communication of properties that is between God and the Saints; That as Divines do observe, by reason of the hypostatical Union, there is a communication of properties, that what is done by the humane nature is attributed unto the persons, and the blood of the humane nature is called the blood of God, Acts 20.28. and God is said to be received up to glory, 1 Tim. 3. and Christ is called the Son of God, which is proper only to the Divine Nature, Luk. 1.35. and the Humane Nature being taken into the same person, it comes under the same filiation; for the rule of the Schoolmen is, filiatio est suppositi, filiation is of a person; the Sonship belongs and relates unto the person, and not unto the nature: so from our Union with Christ's person arise those strange communications which some observe, the Lord calling himself by the name of a Creature, Psal. 24.6. This is the generation of them that seek him; that seek thy face O Jacob: and that glorious, and which some say is an incommunicable name of God Jehovah, yet it is said to be attributed to the Creature, through his interest in the person of God, it's the name of Christ, Jer. 23.6. And in his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is his name whereby he shall be called The Lord our righteousness: and this name is also given to the Church, Jer. 38.16. And in those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely, and this is the name wherewith she shall be called The Lord our Righteousness, etc. and all this flows from interest in the person through personal promises. 8. Our interest in the persons is always the same, and varies not, though the dispensations are very various; and there is no Saint of God but doth find changes of the right hand of the most High, though the Lord in himself changes not: Sometime he lifts up the light of his countenance, and sometimes he hides his face; but yet in the middle of all this here is the comfort of the Saints, the Lord is still their God, and they have an interest in him. And so did Christ himself find a change of dispensations, there was substractio visionis, a substraction of vision, but yet not unionis, of union: and when the Lord hide his face from him, than Christ flies to a personal promise, and in that he looks upon God, when he could look upon him no other way, my God, my God, etc. and so doth the Church, doubtless thou art our Father. And there is a special Art and Mystery that the people of God have learned, when they are in the deepest desertions to recover themselves out of it, Cant. 5. there the Church falls in love with the person of Christ, and looks upon her own interest in him, and then she breaks out, this is my beloved, and this is my friend, and this recovers her again, so that she glories in Christ's interest in her, and hers in him, I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine; the comfort of the Saints in their worst estate is, that God has an interest in their persons, I am thine, O save me, may every Saint of God say; and so they also have an interest in the person of God, this God is our God for ever, and ever: Psal. 48.14. if there be never so great Changes or Dispensations, yet our relation unto the person is still the same, and therefore so should our claim be. 9 The highest objects of Faith are Persons; for there is a threefold object of Faith: (1.) Primarium, primary, and that is all Divine Truth: (2.) Mediatum, mediate, that is Christ as Mediator: (3.) Vltimatum, ultimate, for through Christ we believe in God, 1 Pet. 1.21. therefore the ultimate and the highest object of Faith is a Person: Objectum fidei est jus incomplexum, the object of faith is an incomplex right. Now that which is the highest object of Faith, that is the most perfect, in which only Faith can rest, and therefore must be the greatest ground of Hope, and Love, as that wherein our happiness doth ultimately consist. 10. The highest act of God's Love to us, is, in accepting our persons. Electing Love was set upon the person, and in Christ he doth accept our persons, and has respect unto them; therefore if he respect our persons so highly, being made over to him in Covenant, how much more should we set a high price upon his excellent person, being made over to us in Covenant? It is his Love unto our persons, that doth incline his heart to accept our services, and reward them, and to bestow all good things upon us: and so should our Love unto the person of God be, that which should sweeten all his benefits towards us: he has not this Treasure only, but he has the root also upon which it grows; Revel. 21.6. He shall inherit all things, I will be his God; and it is much more than all the Creatures can be to him, for he shall receive a hundred fold more in this life; it is not to be understood formalitèr, formally, sed eminentèr, but eminently, that is, they shall have all made up in God that the Creatures could supply, if they were a hundred times multiplied; God shall be all in all to them, so that they can complain of no want, for the Lord is their God. Use. §. 2. First we may hence gather the devilishness of that Opinion, that denies all persons in the Trinity, they do thereby make void the main of the New Covenant on God's part, which doth consist in personal promises; for if there be no persons, than the promises of making of them over by way of interest unto the Saints is void, and of none effect: And truly of all the Abominations of this last Age which Satan has cast forth, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as Athanasius calls it, Orat. 1. cont. Arian. there is not any so desperate an Opinion, that strikes more at the root of all Religion, than this doth: all Heresy is the smoke that arises out of the bottomless pit, and it is commonly vented by some Star that falls from Heaven, some Man Eminent in the Church, and he making an Apostasy and Defection from the Truth, the Key of the bottomless pit is given him in judgement: a Key is potestatis symbolum, a symbol of power, as we know, and unto one man it's given as a special Mercy, and unto another it's given as a special Judgement; Revel. 20.1. to the one it's given to bind Satan, and to the other to let out his smoke; and woe to the man to whom such a power is given, as Revel. 20.1. Satan is ready enough to vent it upon all occasions, but he cannot do it himself, but it must be by Instruments; as the Devil casts men into prison by Instruments; Revel. 2.10. now when he meets with fit Instruments for his work, and God in judgement gives them over unto an efficacy of deceit, that they do vent the Doctrines of Hell, the depths of Satan, than they do receive in judgement the Key of the bottomless pit to open it, that the smoke of it may be let forth, and the world receive its vent, which before was shut up in Hell, in the hearts of the Devils only, but now it is let forth to overspread the Earth, and thereby the Sun and the Air is darkened; (so all the Truths of God are expressed) it's darkened as to all spiritual light, for that Satan doth aim at. Some do apply this to the Doctrines of Mahomet, and some unto several abominations of that Idolatry that broke forth in the West about that time, as Brightman understands it of both. And out of the smoke came Locusts upon the Earth: by Locusts in Scripture two things are commonly intended; (1.) That they are a devouring Creature, and are therefore threatened as a judgement, that they should seize upon all, and destroy and devour all: (2.) They do go by great troops, Joel 1. and strangely overspread the Earth wheresoever they come; and this some do understand of the followers of Mahomet, and some of the Discipline of Antichrist, as Paraeus; but still Brightman takes in both: and this I do assure you, never doth the smoke arise out of the bottomless pit, but it breeds Locusts, there doth arise out of it abundance of wicked and worthless men, that go by troops and would surely devour all; and it's Satan's plot against the Church of God, and therefore the most dangerous, and that in which he doth put the most confidence, he doth love to raise persecution, and to roar like a Lion when he can, but if that do not accomplish his end, than he betakes himself unto this, he casts a flood out of his mouth; but still his end is the same, that the woman that was not devoured by the great red Dragon might be carried away with the flood. Austin hath given warning to the Churches of a threefold Persecution that they should surely undergo; Revel. 12.17. Prima Ecclesiae persecutio fuit violenta per mundi principes; secunda fraudulenta per haereticos; tertia erit violenta & fraudulenta simul, etc. The first Persecution of the Church was violent by the Princes of the world; the second fraudulent by Heretics; the third violent and fraudulent also. Objection. Object. Now they that deny the persons in the Trinity, this Argument is very rife and common amongst them, If there be Persons in the Godhead, they are either something or nothing, either they are substances or they are accidents; if something, then there was something from eternity that was not God; and if nothing, that cannot be the ground of a distinction, for Non entis nullae sunt affectiones, that which is not has no affections: and if finite, then there is something in God that is finite, and if infinite, then there are three infinites, which cannot be in one God: the very Argument of Arius that he did use, and was refuted by Athanasius, and from him Socinus had it, and there have been some in our Age that have asserted the same, who are Stars fallen from Heaven, to whom the Key of the bottomless pit is given in judgement to themselves, I am sure, and we may fear, to the Nation who have not received the Truth in the love of it, and therefore God gives up to the efficacy of deceit, to believe a lie, to whom I say, this Key has been given to give vent to this smoke again in the world: And this I pitch upon, because it is the great Argument that they glory in. Answer. Answer. For Answer to it, I would first lay down these positions: (1.) It's plain in Scripture, that there is but one God, and that an Idol is nothing in the world, there is none other God but one, as it is, 1 Corinth. 8.4. The Lord thy God, is one Lord. (2.) The Scripture speaks of Father, Son and Spirit, and they are said expressly to be Three, and therefore are distinguished from one another, 1 Joh. 5.7. For there are Three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these Three are one. (3.) The Godhead in Scripture is attributed to them all, and the essential properties of an infinite being: He is called God the Father, John 1.1. 1 Cor. 8.6. and the Word is God, the same Word that was incarnate, and was made flesh, and this Word is God, and the Spirit dwells in the hearts of the Faithful all the world over, and that both in Heaven and Earth, and therefore must be every where present changing the hearts of men, which nothing but an Almighty and a Creating Power can do, and doth know their hearts, for he doth supply them with graces and influences daily, and helps their infirmities, and teaches them to pray, etc. all which can be done by none but he that is God; and they are therefore said to be one, because the Godhead of the Divine Essence is but one. 1 Joh. 5.7. (4.) There is something attributed unto one in the Scripture, that cannot be said of another: the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father; the Father doth beget, and is not begotten, the Son is begotten of the Father, and cannot be said to beget; the Son is said to take flesh, the Word was made flesh, and so did not the Father; the Son was said to be sent, and so is not the Father, therefore they are distinguished, yet it's plain that they are but one God: this is plainly the Doctrine that is delivered unto the Saints. Now let us apply this unto the Argument in hand, and we will, (1.) Retort it, they are Three, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; these are either something or nothing, they are substances or accidents, they are finite or infinite; and the same inconveniences will return upon themselves, for they must assert them to be Three, and yet one, for a Trinity in Unity the Scripture doth clearly hold forth. (2.) It's not strange, even amongst the Creatures, that the same person should be a Man and a Father, yet as a Father distinguished from himself as a Man, and a Son distinguished from himself as a Man, therefore it's not strange in this, that the Father should be distinguished from himself as God, and the Son also: The Scripture does clearly speak to us of certain actiones ad intra, which are in God, which do not refer to the Creatures, but to Father, Son and Spirit, amongst themselves; as the Father does beget, and the Son is begotten, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from both; and from these actions do arise the relative properties, of Father, Son and Spirit, in one and the same essence; and therefore if any man say, a person is something or nothing, I say it is something, it is, Essentia Divina cum proprietate sua hypostatica, the Divine Essence with its relative property: As what is the Father? He is God begetting the Son; and what is the Son? He is God, and begotten of the Father, etc. and so the Father is infinite, and the Son infinite, because they have all Three an Unity of Essence, which is infinite, and therefore there is no reason why there should be so much exception against the title of Person, as some of the loser sort would seem to take it, being a word that doth most fully, that I know, express the nature of the thing, that we can have, and most answers the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, used by the Apostle, Heb. 1.3. Who being the brightness of his Glory, and the express Image of his Person, and upholding all things by the Word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; but call them either Persons or Subsistences, so the thing be the same, I shall not contend for the words. (3) But suppose that the manner of it we were not able to express, yet it is, and should be enough unto us, that the thing is clearly set down in Scripture, and that we walk by grounds of faith, and not by reason; it is enough to us that there is but one God, and yet that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three, and are yet said to be one: if we could not describe how three are one, nor how one is three, yet the deep things of God, we must not bring unto the rule of our blind, crooked, and presumptuous reason; a quomodo or how in the things of God, is hateful unto God, and not agreeing to the nature of faith, Col. 2.8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. and is very unbeseeming Christians: Take heed lest any man spoil you through philosophy, the word notes to make a prize of you, and carry you away, as Pirates do another man's goods; and so there is many a man made a prize of at this day. Philosophy is nothing in itself but rectified and raised reason, and res Dei ratio est, Tertullian: and whilst reason is subordinate unto Religion, and a handmaid, it's of excellent use; but when it will step out of its place, and will needs be a Judge in the things of God, then it's vain: that man that will bring down the Scripture unto the rules of his own reason, will quickly be made a prey of by any seducers. Cum de rebus sibi subjectis pronunciat, philosophia audienda est; Daven. sed cùm de rebus ad fidem spectantibus, explodenda, When philosophy judgeth of things that belong to her, let her be heard; but when she judgeth of things belonging to faith, let her be exploded. Dau. And this has heen the true ground of all these Heresies, of Arminianism and Socinianism, which have, especially in these latter ages, pestered the world, because they will arraign the highest Truths of God at the Bar of their own blind and presumptuous Reason and Understanding: And this is that which in answer to it Justin Martyr often pressed, De recta fidei confession, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, pag. 375. It becometh the Church's adherents to measure divine things not by humane reason, but according to the intention of the Spirits doctrine. So having in the same Book affirmed the Union of the two Natures of Christ, he adds pag. 382. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, If you ask me the manner of this Union, I am not ashamed to say and confess my ignorance therein; but rather I glory in this, that I do upon the authority of God believe that which my reason cannot comprehend, nor my tongue express. Use 2 2. Exercise faith upon all the persons grounded upon these promises, and walk in the love of them all, and expect the sealing of them all, and so much these promises will carry you unto. Exercise faith upon all the persons grounded upon these promises, they are the great and ultimate objects of faith: now faith is imperfect that takes not in all the objects of faith; and it's a greater imperfection for a grace to fail in its object, than to fail in any of the acts of it. The Apostle, 1 Thess. 1. speaks of some defects in faith; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. and truly these are the great defects: there be abundance of objects of faith that faith doth not act upon, because we know but in part, etc. nay the greatest suspicion that a man has of his faith lies in this, if any object of it be willingly neglected: as in a man's obedience, it's a great ground for a man to question the sincerity and the truth of it, if the meanest duty thereof be willingly neglected; so it's ground enough to question the sincerity and truth of our faith: much more if a man do observe the lesser duties of obedience, and be precise in them; but the great and weighty things of the Law are neglected by him: so it's here, if a man take in lesser and inferior promises; but as for the promises of the persons which are the great things of the Gospel, they are neglected, and faith acts not upon them. Here a man's faith should take in these particulars. (1) That all the persons have a special hand in the salvation of a sinner, and that by these promises every believer hath an interest in them all, in reference unto these works. Opera ad extra sunt indivisa. It's true, they having one and the same nature and essence, what the one of them doth, the other doth also; whatever thing the Father doth, the same thing doth the Son likewise: But yet though these be not opera propria, proper works, yet they are appropriata, appropriate. There are peculiar works attributed unto each person, as 1 Pet. 1.2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctification of the Spirit, and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Now suitable to these appropriated works, so should a man's faith eye each of the persons, and his interest in them. When the soul is conversant about Election, faith then must look upon God the Father; and when about Redemption, than faith must look upon God the Son; and when upon Sanctification, than faith must eye the Holy Ghost: because these are the works that the Persons have undertaken under the second Covenant, to accomplish in man's salvation, and they are by promise made over to these ends. (2) One main intendment of God in the Gospel, is not only to advance the Attributes of the Divine nature, to glorify his Justice, and his Mercy, and Grace by making higher discoveries of them, than ever could have been showed forth under the old Covenant; but it is also to glorify the three Persons in the Trinity in the hearts of Believers: and this appears plainly by Eph. 1.3, 7, 13. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus; in whom we have redemption through his blood, and have attained unto an inheritance; in whom after you believed, you were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise. So that to honour the Persons, and to exalt them in the hearts of Believers, is one great and main intendment of the Gospel; and therefore if your faith close not with them, you cross one great and main end of the Gospel of grace: and that must be done not only in receiving of blessings and benefits from the Trinity in common; but that a man take special notice of the distinct works of them all, what is done by the Father, and what is done by the Son, that in that blessing the person from whence it comes may be highly exalted in the soul: therefore we do read of distinct acts of faith exercised upon the Son, Joh. 14.1. Joh. 5.23. and the Father: You believe in God, believe also in me: that all men may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. (3) As the order of their working doth follow the order of their subsisting (as the Schoolmen observe) the works of the Father being first, and then the works of the Son; so it's in the work of grace, and all the benefits of it attributed to God the Father are first in order of Nature, and then those that are attributed to the Son; and therefore Adoption being the act of the Father, is by some asserted to be first in order of all spiritual blessings that we receive by grace, before Redemption, which is an act of the Son, and of Sanctification, Forbes of Justification, p. 28. which is an act of the Holy Ghost: and this very consideration will give a man great light into the order of all spiritual blessings that we receive by virtue of the new Covenant; for the order of the blessings are answerable to the order of the workings of those persons from whence they flow. 1 Joh. 4.16. 2. Believers should exercise love towards all three Persons: God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwells in God, and God in him. There is a walking in love, and a dwelling therein, as a man dwells in his own house; there is not only a love of the Son, as says Christ, Joh. 15.9. So I have loved you, continue you in my love; but there is a love of the Father also, that the soul is to look upon as distinct, Joh. 14.23. Joh. 16.27. If any man love me and keep my words, my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him. I say not that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father himself loveth you, beca●●● you have loved me. (1) It is a great comfort and honour unto the Saints, that they are come unto the innumerable company of Angels, and unto the Souls of just men made perfect, Heb. 12.23. And the promise is made good to them, Zac. 3.7. They have places [or galleries] to walk in amongst them that stand by, and that they can walk in the love of Angels, and of the general Assembly of the Church of the firstborn, whose names are written in Heaven; but much more to walk in the love of all the Persons; that they are come unto Jesus, they are come to the Mediator of the new Covenant, to the blood of sprinkling, and unto God the Judge of all, and so can walk in the apprehension of the love of them all: and it's a great comfort that they can go to them all in prayer grounded upon the particular love of them all, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Spirit: Rev. 1.4, 5. Grace and peace be with you from him that is, and was, and is to come, and from the seven Spirits that are before the Throne, and from Jesus the faithful and true witness. And the soul tastes the love of the Father in giving his Son, and the love of the Son, in that he loved me, and gave himself for me, Gal. 2.20. (2) That we might testify our love to each Person distinctly, and suitable unto the love with which they have loved us, [1] let us fear to offend them all: not only fear to offend God the Father, because our God is a consuming fire, and it's a great and terrible name, Ezech. 21.10. the Lord our God; but also fear to offend God the Son our Saviour: Take heed of him, obey his voice, provoke him not, for my name is in him; it is the rod of my son which it contemneth as every tree, etc. And Eph. 2.4, 30. fear to grieve or quench the Spirit, or resist his motions. [2] Perform duties by arguments and motives drawn from the love of them all, Joh. 14.23. If any man love me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will make our abode with him: he that has my commandments, and keeps them, he shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. [3] Give glory unto them all, being affected with their love particularly, that the soul may say, Glory be unto the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, according to the intent of the Gospel, that as we were baptised in the Name of them all, so we may give glory to them all in a Gospel-sense. And the truth is, as this should be the great and principal object of our faith, so it should be of our love also: the highest love we can love God with, is to love him for himself: we may love God for his benefits and his blessings, but yet that is not true love, unless the highest love be set upon the persons, Plus diligere famulum quam sponsum meretricis amor est, Aust. To love the servant more than the Bridegroom is adulterous love. 3. As in the work of Faith the Soul is to be exercised upon all the Persons, so also in the point of Assurance, which is an addition unto Faith, we should wait for the Witness, and the sealing of them all, because all of them set their seals unto the Evidences of the Saints: The scope of the Epistle of John is, 1 Joh. 5.7. that the Saints may know that they have Eternal Life and there are Witnesses some in Heaven, and some in Earth, but yet the Testimonies that these give all of them are in the heart of a Believer: for so it is said, He that believes hath the witness within himself, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, Vers. 10. and these three persons in Heaven give a distinct witness unto the assurance of the Saints in their own hearts; there are three seals that are set unto it: though it's true, that a man knowing the Love of any one of them, he may by consequence, and by way of deduction conclude the Love of them all; yet a man should expect to have it not only discursive, but intuitive, & radio directo, by a direct beam, that a man may in Prayer from a principle of sealing, cry to God, Abba Father, and may say, I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: and so the Soul may walk in the Love of them all distinctly though not severally; and the Soul is never able to triumph and make his boast of God, till he has assurance of his interest in all the persons; and in all these respects we see that the great grounds of a Christians comfort lie in his interest in the persons, and therefore it's no wonder if the great promises of the Covenant to a Christian be personal promises. CHAP. II. The Covenant of Grace makes God to be our God. SECT. I. The Covenant of Grace makes God ours, and the Benefits hereof. §. 1. LEt us come more particularly unto the words of the Promise, in which the main of the Covenant lies on God's part, for we have heard it's unfolded in promises, or to use the Apostles word, established in Promises, Hebr. 8.6. and these promises Musculus calls Caput foederis, the Head of the Covenant: the chief and the bottom promise, on which the Covenant stands, is this, I will be thy God: and Pareus calls it anima foederis, the soul of the Covenant; for it's the principal promise of the Second Covenant: as in our part of the Covenant, there is one great Commandment, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart; so there is in God's part of the Covenant one great promise, and that is, that he will be our God, and we shall be his people, and therefore a great weight is to be laid upon it. 1. For the opening of it we are to consider there are Two things to be distinctly considered in God: (1.) Essentia, his Essence: (2.) Subsistentia, his Subsistence. (1.) The Essence of God is but one pure and simple act of Being, but yet cannot be comprehended as such by a finite understanding, because it's infinite; therefore it is set forth unto us by several Attributes, which though in God they be all one, yet they are diversified according to the different objects upon which they are set, and about which they are conversant, and the different acts that they do put forth unto the Creatures: and so when the Lord doth promise to be our God, he doth make over unto the Creature by promise an interest in all the Attributes of the Essence and Divine Nature. (2.) In this Divine Nature there are three distinct subsistences, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, is the word used by the Apostle; Hebr. 1.3. and why we should be offended, as some of late, at the word Person, by which it is expressed, I know not, but from the novelty and curiosity of this last Age: There is in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit, and these Three are One. Joh. 5.7. Now when the Lord doth promise to be a God to his People, he doth make over his whole self, God in Essence, according to all the Attributes of his Nature, and God in Subsistence, according unto all the persons or subsistences in the Godhead; and it is very necessary, that as in point of obedience we take in the whole latitude and extent of the Law, for the Commandment is exceeding broad, so in point of Faith also, that we take in the whole latitude and extent of the promises; that as in the one our hearts and desires in obeying may answer God's in commanding, so in the other our hearts and desires in believing may answer God's in promising. 2. To be a God implies a sufficiency. (1) It is a term of Sufficiency, and so it is here, Gen. 17.1. I am God all-sufficient: he that is self-sufficient in himself, is all-sufficient to his people. What is there that can be necessary unto your happiness, but it shall be had in me? and therefore Psal. 144. ult. Blessed is the people whose God is Jehovah; because in God there is an all-sufficiency, that not only you shall have all happiness from him, but you shall have all things in him: so that as he is sufficient for himself, of and from himself, without going forth unto any other; so shall you have all things in him immediately, that you need look unto nothing else to make you happy; for all the perfections of a God shall be yours. (2) To be a God is a term of Sovereignty, for he is the most high King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Dan. 4.17. the most High rules in the Kingdoms of mortal men, and he is God over all, Rom. 9.5. blessed for evermore. Therefore to be a man's God is to undertake the rule and government over him, and to rule and govern all things for his good, that they may be all unto him a blessing; Eph. 1. v. ult. that as Christ is made the head of all things for the Church's sake, so will the Lord rule over all things for his people's sake, rule all as a God, as truly for their good, as for his own glory. 3. It points also to the manner of the fulfilling of this promise, it shall be as becomes a God, and in the way of a God: and so much also A Lapide hints upon the place, Ero tuus tuorúmque Deus, ut à vobis solus collar, I will be the God of thee and thine, that I may be worshipped by thee. Now there are two ways by which a people employ their interest in God, (1) by way of Communion, they come unto God, and they draw near to him, which are terms of Communion, (2) by way of Fruition, their happiness is in him, and he will be their portion and reward in the land of the living. When the Lord casts off a people from being a Church to himself, he will own them in ways of worship no more, he doth express it so, Hos. 1.9. calls them Loammi, they are not my people, I will not be their God: he does not say, You shall not have the creatures to be yours, as the fruits of my bounty, you shall not have respite of torment, as the fruits of my patience; but yet when you have all things here below, you shall not have me in them all, in ways of communion here, or of fruition hereafter. Doctrine 2 The main intendment of God in the new Covenant is this, That he may become the God of his people. Every man that is brought into the new Covenant doth change his God, Jer. 2.10. it's said, Pass over to the Isles of Chittim, and send unto Kedar, and see if there be such a thing, has any nation changed their God? It's looked upon as a strange thing in the world, and yet this is the condition of all those that come under the second Covenant; and therefore as the great Commandment to a people is, Thou shalt have Jehovah for thy God, and thou shalt have none else; so the great promise on God's part is, that I will be thy God, that though the earth be mine, and the fullness thereof, all souls are mine, yet I will be thy God, and thy portion, as if there were no other men in the world besides thee. There is a double change wrought in the Saints, (1) a change of a man's state, (2) a change of a man's life. The first is the great and the universal change that God works in men at their first conversion, and that the Schoolmen do well say is mutatio circa finem ultimum, a change of a man's utmost end. Now finis ultimus & summum bonum inter se convertuntur, the last end and chiefest good are convertible: therefore he that doth change his utmost end, does also change his chiefest good, and he that doth so, doth change his God. 1. Here we are to consider, that all mankind that are out of covenant with God, have no interest in God, they have all of them another God. Eph. 2.12. they are all of them Atheists, or men without God. Before Abraham was taken into covenant with God, he did serve other Gods beyond the river with Terah his father, Josh. 24.2. but when he was taken into covenant, the main intendment of the Covenant was this, he shall change his God. Now I will make a covenant with thee, to be a God to thee and thy seed, and thou shalt worship the Nations god no more. It's true that there are no men but they have some impressions of a Deity upon them; every man worships some God, a Numen he doth acknowledge, and there is a God that every one doth choose unto himself, as it is said in Judges, they chose new Gods, but they are called Stercorarii, they are dunghil-gods, they are not the God of Abraham, they are not the God that makes over himself in covenant unto his people, but they are new Gods newly come up. It's true, he that is without the true God, will be ready to fancy any thing to himself as a God; therefore one man doth adore himself, and another this or that creature, and another serves his belly as his God, and the other he chooses Mammon for his God, every man as his fancy leads him; for all these Gods are nothing else but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Act. 7.43. but the truth is, it is the Devil that is worshipped under all these forms as a God, Deut. 32.17. They sacrificed to devils and not unto God: or Demons or newmade Gods newly come up, whom their Fathers knew not: and so did the Gentiles in all their ways of worship, they sacrificed unto Devils, 1 Cor. 10.20. and not unto God. And so it is in the worshipping of Saints and Angels under Popery, it's but worshipping of Devils or Demons, Rev. 9.20. they repent not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship Devils, etc. And for this cause the Doctrine of worshipping Saints is called the Doctrine of Devils, or Demons. And it's true in both senses, either the worshipping of Saints, or the worshipping of Devils in them. And this is indeed the Idolatry of all unregenerate men in the world, 2 Cor. 4.4. they do worship Satan who is the God of this world; and therefore all unregenerate men being of this world, they have no God but the God of the world, and therefore it's said of the world, 1 Joh. 5.19. In aliquo positum esse, in ejus potestate esse. Camer. The world lies in wickedness: it notes the highest subjection to the Devil that can be, to be subject to him as God. And this is the great sin of all unregenerate men, who are out of covenant with the Lord; and therefore it's well called by Tertullian, Principale crimen humani generis & summus seculi reatus, The principal crime of mankind and chief guilt of the age. So that every man that has not the Lord for his God in covenant, he worships the Devil for his God instead of the true God. 2. When men are in covenant with God, they do change their God, and Jehovah becomes their God. And that will appear in two things. (1) The Lord styles himself their God; and therefore when he had taken Abraham into covenant with himself, Exod. 3.6. than he calls himself the God of Abraham: and it's said Heb. 11.16. of all the Saints, He is not ashamed to be called their God. And that's the great promise of the Covenant, Jer. 31.33. 2 Cor. 6.16. Rev. 21.7. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. He that overcomes shall inherit all things, I will be his God. (2) Upon this ground they do claim an interest in him as their God: so doth Moses, Exod. 15.2. Thou art my God, and thou art my father's God. So doth David, Psal. 63.1. Thou art my God, early will I seek thee: and so doth Esa. 7.13. Will you weary my God also? so doth the Church, God, even our own God shall bless us: this God is our God for ever and ever. Psal. 67.6. Psal. 48. v. ult. And therefore all they that are in covenant with God, they have the Lord for their God. Now what is there that doth make the Lord to become our God, that a man may say he has changed his God? There are three things in the new Covenant that give a man a propriety in God. 1. The Lord doth graciously and freely make over himself: it's an ordinary thing amongst men to make over a propriety, either in things or persons, by covenant; as you have heard, the wife by covenant has a propriety in the husband, and the husband in the wife; and so the Prince has a propriety in the Subject, and the Subject in the Prince. Now the Lord doth thus freely make over himself unto his people by covenant with them to be a God to them. 2. There is a Union with Jesus Christ that the Saints have, they are one body with him, and the Covenant of grace being made primarily with Christ, the Lord becomes his God in covenant, and so he saith, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, Joh. 20.17. Psal. 22.1. unto my God and your God: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Therefore the great intention of this Covenant was, that the Lord might become the God of Christ, as he is the Mediator, and being his God, and we being one with him, he becomes our God also. 3. There is a free and a voluntary acceptation and consent on the creatures part to embrace this God for his, and to give up himself to him, to perform all those acts of soul towards him as becomes a God: the Lord will not receive a man for his that has another God, he must cast off all the dunghil-gods that before he served. He saith, What have I to do any more with Idols? He doth cast his Idols of silver and gold unto the moles and to the bats. It's not honourable for the great God to put himself upon a people to be their God against their will, and therefore there goes forth an illumination upon the hearts of his people, by which they choose him for their God, and they will own no other: and this mutual consent between God and them doth complete their interest and propriety in him. How did Dagon become the God of the Philistines, and Apis the God of the Egyptians, and Chemosh the God of the Ammonites? it was, because they chose them unto themselves to worship them; and there is no means to set up a God over a people, and to entitle them to him but by their own consent: and so it is with the God of Israel, it is because they yield themselves to give the hand to the Lord: 2 Chron. 30.8. They gave themselves first to God (says the Apostle Paul) and then to us, by the will of God, 2 Cor. 8.5. And by this means it is, that he that is taken into covenant with God, doth change his God, and take the Lord for his God. The Lord doth make over himself unto him in the Covenant to be his God, and he does consent to it, and says, This God shall be my God for ever and ever, and I will have no other God but him. Use 1 §. 2. First, see here the miserable condition of all those that are out of covenant with God: for they that are strangers to the Covenant of Promise, Eph. 2.12. they are without God in the world; and that will appear 1. in this, it's the greatest sin to live without God, it's against the great Commandment of the Law, and against the grand promise of the Gospel: the great Commandment of the Law is, Thou shalt have Jehovah for thy God, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God. If he that loves his wife loves himself, much more he that loves his God must love himself most; for he is, as the Schoolmen speak, intimior intimo nostro, more intimate than our most intimate part: he is nearer unto a man than a man is to himself; and therefore conversion being a writing the Law in the heart, this being the great Commandment, this is specially written there, to love the Lord our God with all our heart: and the truth is, upon this all the other Commandments do depend, on this hang all the Law and the Prophets; and therefore Austin well observes, Qui non diligit Deum non diligit proximum, quia non diligit seipsum, He that loves not God loves not his neighbour, because he loves not himself. A man ought to love his neighbour as himself; but he that loves not himself cannot love his neighbour: and he that doth not love God, neither doth he, nor can he love himself, he hates his own soul: and as this command to love God is the greatest, it is the grand promise of the Gospel, that the Lord will be our God. Now in a man's conversion as the precepts are written in the heart as soon as he is newborn to God, as the rule of his obedience; 2 Cor. 3.2, 3. so also are all the promises written in his heart, as the ground of his faith: Ye are (says the Apostle) the Epistle of Christ ministered by us, written, not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, in the fleshly tables of your heart. And therefore as it is in vain for a man to speak of obedience unto lesser precepts, if the great Commandments be wanting; so it's in vain to claim an interest in inferior promises, if the great promise, I will be thy God, thou hast no part in. 2. The baseness and unworthiness of a man's spirit is seen in nothing so much as in this, that a man can take any thing for a God. The Lord doth justly deride his own people, that they turned their glory into shame, Jer. 2.11, 12. they changed their glory for a thing of nought, the word in the Hebrew is * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To worship the true God is a man's glory, and to have an interest in him, he is said to be the glory of his people Israel. Psal. 62.7. nihilitates, nothingnesses: and the Heathen man could well scorn the Egyptians for that porrum & caepe nesas violare & frangere morsu. Men commonly count it a great matter what servants they have, and much more what yoke-fellow they take, as the companion of their lives, or what Prince they subject themselves unto; but here is the baseness of the spirit of man, that he cares not what God he hath, but he is contented to worship the creatures, which God has subjected to him as servants, nay to honour the Devil as a God, who is his enemy, and cursed above all creatures; and yet all men that have not the God of Heaven for their God, they worship the God of this world, the Prince of the air, the Devil. Therefore to be mistaken in a man's God, and to join himself unto a strange God, Hos. 9.10. is the greatest reproach that can befall a man. It's said of Israel, That they joined themselves unto Baal-Peor, and separated themselves unto that shame, and they were abominable secundum amorem eorum, according to their love, that is, as the Gods that they loved, as God is called the fear of his people. 3. It is more to lose God than to lose all blessings that come from God. And therefore Hos. 1.9. that's made the top of the judgement Lo-ammi; it's more than Lo-ruhamah, for to have God is more than to receive any mercy from God; and therefore this is the true difference between an hypocrite and a gracious heart, one is content with what comes from God's hands, the other can be satisfied with nothing but God; Sicut mea tibi non placent nisi mecum, sic tua non satiunt nisi tecum, etc. As my good works please not thee without myself, so thy good things please not me without thyself. Bern. Let a man tender to God thousands of rams, and ten thousands of rivers of oil, yet all this doth not please God, unless we give ourselves to the Lord: and so it is with the Saints of God. Should God bestow all the creatures upon them in Heaven and in Earth, yet all this would never make them happy without God himself. Now if the Lord should strip you naked of all the comforts of the creatures, Luk. 16.25. as one day he will all ungodly men; for it shall be said, Son remember in thy life time thou hadst thy good things; you should neither have bread to eat, nor to warm you, nor the Sun to give you life: If the figtree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vine, you would think yourselves miserable men to want all these. Now the people of God can rejoice in the want of these, can rejoice and triumph in the God of their salvation; Hab. 3.7. and yet at the last day to departed from God, and to lose your God to all eternity shall be much more; for the greatest judgement that doth befall men is the loss of God, and it's very just with God to take men in their own sin: as they in the Gospel being invited to the marriage, made excuses, and would not come; therefore that which was their sin was their judgement and plague, they shall not come, those that were bidden shall not taste of my supper: you will not come, you shall not come; and so they will have none of God, Israel will have none of me, that's your sin, and shall be your plague, you shall have none of me, I will not be your God for ever: for he that has not the Lord for his God in this life, shall have no interest in him in the life to come. It's the misery of all unregenerate men that they speak of God as another man's God, and not as their own; as Laban said to Jacob, Gen. 31.29. the God of your fathers, and Pharaoh, I have sinned against the Lord your God. But this is the happiness of the Saints, that they can say, The Lord is our own God; as Tertullian said to Martion, Christus in Evangelio tuo meus est, Christ in thy Gospel is mine, etc. 4. He that has not the Lord for his God, shall surely have him for his enemy; and as he doth rejoice over his own Covenant people for good, so he will rejoice over you for evil: Deut. 28.63. Jer. 44.27. he will watch over you for evil; you shall have all evil to befall you here, as pledges of eternal wrath, Heb. 10.27. As a people in Covenant with God do receive all mercies as pledges of glory in Heaven; so do they; there is an expectation of wrath, etc. Heb. 10. All acts of common goodness are in wrath to them: if the Lord do suffer them to prosper, and they be fed as a lamb in a large place, it's in wrath, that their table ●ay become their snare, and to fat them against the day of slaughter. Nihil est infoeliciùs foelicitate peccantium, quâ poenalis nutritur impuritas & voluntas mala roboratur, etc. There is nothing more unhappy than the happiness of sinners, whereby their penal impurity is nourished, and their evil will fortified, August. And if the Lord forbear to punish them, it's in wrath; why should they be smitten any more? And if the Lord do hear their prayers, and grant their desires, it's in wrath: he may grant their request, but send leanness into their souls, Q●osdam ad utilitatem exaudit, quosdam ad damnationem, Some he hears for their profit, some for their damnation. Aug. And if he bestow mercies, Iratus dat amanti quod malè amat. The whole design that the Lord hath in all his deal is against such a one for evil. Lord, who knows the power of thy wrath! Psal. 90.11. Use 2 2. We may hence learn, what the happiness is of a people in Covenant with God, they have the Lord for their God. 1. Consider every man has a treasure which in this life he doth lay up: one man hath treasure in Earth, and another hath treasure in Heaven, as that wherein he does place his happiness, which is the chief good, upon which he sets his heart; which if he may attain, he says it is enough, and by this he values himself and all things else, in which he glories: the rich man glories in his riches, and the wise man in his wisdom, and the strong man in his strength, etc. Now in this a godly man doth glory, that he is the Lords treasure. For Saints are his Jewels: Exod. 19.5. and as a godly man is God's Jewel, so God is his, and in him he has full satisfaction: and without this chief good they contemn all things else, Omnis copia quae non est Deùs meus, egestas est, All abundance that is not my God is want. The Scripture pronounceth a blessedness upon such, Psal. 144. ult. Blessed are such who have Jehovah for their God. Now unto happiness (as the Philosophers say) there are three things required, it must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, perfect, proper, and eternal good, which properties are to be found no where but in God in Covenant. (1) It must be bonum perfectum, a perfect good, a general and universal good extending unto all things, and all times, and all conditions: for the Lord is a God all-sufficient, Gen. 17.2. he can make a man happy according to the whole life, as Moses said to Israel, The Lord alone led thee, and there was no strange God with him. And the people of God shall need blessings from none but their own God, God, even our God shall bless us. (2) It must be proprium, proper good: there is nothing can be said to be a man's own that can be taken away from him: all a man's estate and riches and honour here are but this world's goods, and they shall cease and fail him, and not follow him into another world, naked he came in, and naked must he go out; nay his gifts and tongues will fail: I, but God is a man's own, that he can never lose. It was the folly of the Heathens, which Austin derided, that they tied their Gods, that they might not be stolen; such are the dunghil-gods of the world, qui non possunt custodire custodes, who cannot keep those that keep them. But this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us, it is our own God. (3) It must be perpetuum, eternal: Esa. 25. the eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath is the everlasting arms: they tempted Basil with money, but he replied, Da pecuniam quae permaneat, ac gloriam quae semper floreat, Give me money that will abide, etc. Therefore you see how the people of God may satiate their souls with fatness, and how God has promised they shall be satisfied with goodness, Jer. 31.14. for with him is the fountain of life, and it will run for evermore; there are pleasures at his right hand for evermore. 2. This is the ground of all the great things that the Lord hath done, and will do for his people: as David says, The Lord has done great things for us whereof we rejoice. Psal. 126. This lets us see (1) the fountain of all the great things that have been done for his people; and truly you have lived in the times, when the towers fall, and the mountains skip, and the Sea goes back, etc. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, Psal. 107.8. but we will remember the name of the Lord our God; they are brought down and fallen, but we are risen and stand upright, for their rock is not as our rock, nor their God as our God, our enemies themselves being Judges. Therefore say, Had not the Lord been on our side, they had swallowed us up quick: Psal. 124.1. for they eat thy people as bread, Zac. 12.3. and drink them also at sweet wine, though they shall prove a cup of trembling in their hand, and God will punish them who have punished his people. (2) The Lord has spoken great things concerning his people for time to come, specially in the latter days, because the Mystery of God shallbe finished. Consider, new Jerusalem shall come down from God out of Heaven, and then the Church's foundations shall be laid with Saphires, Calvin. which is to be understood, non de doctrina, sed de hominibus, not of doctrine, but of persons, i. e. then the Lord will lay the foundations of Churches with choice men, and not with common and ordinary stones, that shall be built up a spiritual house unto himself; and the glory of the Lord and of the Lamb shall be the light thereof, and the name of the City shall be Jehovah Shammath; and the Kingdom and Dominion under the whole Earth shall be given to the Saints, and Satan shall be bound from raising up any persecution against the Saints for a thousand years: so that there shall be as it were a triumphant state of the Church in this life, that they that hated them shall be dumb before them, and shall lick up the dust of their feet, and the Lord will make them to know and acknowledge that he has loved them: and this is a sufficient ground for it, Rom. 8.32. If he has given us his Son, shall he not with him give us all things. So I say, if he hath given himself, Bernard. we may reason from the greater to the less, he will give all things else: Qui dedit regnum, nun dabit viaticum? He that hath given a Kingdom, will he not give a viatic? Wise men do use to make the building answerable to the foundation; no man doth lay a foundation of Marble to cover it with a roof of straw, and set upon it a mudwall: and this we should consider the rather, because before the accomplishment of these promises there is a great cloud that will overshadow all the Gentile Churches in this Western part of the world, and then our hearts are apt to fail us, and say our bones are dry, our hope is past. He that could but look into the enlargement of the soul of the Almighty in this promise, and could measure the height and breadth and length of it, might easily read in the face thereof what great things he will do for his people, even when he yet sees nothing in preparation or tendency thereunto. (3) He may be assured of the acceptation of his services: and that consists in two things, [1] ut sunt in ordine supernaturali Deo grata, as they are in a supernatural way accepted by God, not only as natural actions, but as acts flowing from grace, and the immediate influence and motions of the Spirit of Christ: [2] ut ordinationem habent ad vitam aeternam, as they have respect to an eternal reward, and the ground of all their interest in God; for jure venit cultos ad sibi quisque Deos. And this is the ground of acceptation of services, Lord thou art my God, early will I seek thee: and of expecting a blessing, God, even our God, shall bless us. A man can expect nothing from a strange god, but the worshippers of Baal did expect he should hear them, because he was their god; and so do the Saints also: and upon this ground it is, that Luther said, That one good work of the Saints, ex fide & in fide est pretiosius quàm coelum & terra; & totus mundus non potest reddere dignam maercedem pro unico bono opere, flowing from faith and in faith is more precious than heaven and earth, etc. it is accepted of our God, and this is to walk before him to all wellpleasing. Psal. 23.4. (4) They shall be sure of a special presence and providence. [1] A special presence. The Lord being Abraham's God, tells him, I will be with thee in all places where thou shalt come: the Lord is my shepherd, though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, yet I will fear no evil: Ferer. umbra quâ morientium occupantur oculi. They were resembled by Shewbread, because God sets them before his face for ever, his eye and his heart are never off them from one end of the year to the other. [2] There is a special providence over them, the Lord is their glory, and therefore they are the glory of the world, they being the image and glory of God unto them: and upon all the glory there shall be a covering, there is the secret of the pavilion of God, Esa. 4.4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa. 26. v. ult. Cant. 1.4. in which he hides his people; they have their Chambers into which the King doth bring them: therefore be not discouraged when you look without you, he is no fool that is wise by the wisdom of God, and he is not weak that can say, he is strong by the power of his might; therefore though innumerable difficulties in thy condition in the world, and adversaries encompass thee round about, and threaten to ruin thee, fear nothing, thy God is with thee. (5) In the saddest condition of the Saints, in reference to the decays of their inward man, this is their cordial, that God is their God. There are two sad states of a Saint, Apostasy and Desertion. [1] Apostasy, they may fall from God into sin, and may relapse into sin again; and relapses are very dangerous, worse than the disease, and yet the people of God are not secure from them, they may fall into the same sins, and their hearts may strangely departed from the Lord; and then erubescit conscientia, conscience blusheth. Tertull. Yet this is the way to recover the fall, the Lord in his Covenant is thy God to restore thee: Behold we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God. This was when they were under the sense of dreadful Apostasy from God. [2] In a state of Desertion, when the Lord hides his face, takes away the light of his countenance; and yet now this doth raise up the soul again to be able to say, My God, my God, though thou hast forsaken me; and this is properly to take hold of God, when a man lays claim to his interest in him as his own God. 2. How should a man know whether he has Jehovah for his God, and whether he has an interest in God by virtue of this grand promise of the Covenant or no? 1. If he has chosen the Lord for his God, his will is the leading faculty, and the primum mobile in the lower world: and if it be an act of Election, it must be free; that as we become God's, because he chose us, as Christ says, Thine they were, and thou gavest them me: so the Lord becomes ours, because we choose him; and the soul of man is in nothing more free than in his choice, specially in the choice of his God; and therefore 'tis said, Hos. 9.10. They joined themselves unto Baal-Peor, and separated themselves unto that shame. So in conversion a man doth change his God; the great work of grace is upon the will, The Lord shall persuade Japhet, vocatione alta & secreta, by a deep and secret vocation, and all that power is put forth by making them a willing people, Psal. 110.3. 2. He that has Jehovah for his God must have no other God, Psal. 81.9. There shall be no strange God in thee: thou shalt have none other gods but me. And therefore Dagon falls before the Ark. And it was the great objection of the Senate against worshipping of Christ as a God in their Capitol, when offered by Tiberias, because he would be God alone; it's the great objection that Nature has against exalting of God in the heart: when God is exalted, all lusts must give place, Satan then falls from Heaven as Lightning, Luk. 10. Hos. 14.8. and all the Idols of the soul give place to God: What have I to do any more with Idols? There are Parelii in Nature by way of reflection, two Suns, but there cannot be so in the Soul in reference to Gods; and if there be so, and any thing allowed in the soul for God but the true God, that man's interest in God is but a fancy. 3. If the Lord be thy God, thou wilt exercise all these acts of soul towards him that becomes a God; for that is to have Jehovah for thy God: for Mic. 4.5. All nations do walk in the name of their gods, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. There is a twofold worship of God, (1) Cultus naturalis, natural Worship, which is inward, and there is something in nature that dictates it without a word of institution. (2) Institutus, instituted Worship, an outward worship that depends upon an additional manifestation of his will: and these outward acts of worship may be interrupted, but the inward acts can never be, but you may be abundant in them, namely to fear him as a God, to trust him as a God, and to love him and believe in him as a God: and these acts let thy soul be most in, offer all thou hast to him, and expect all good from him: he it is that is called the hope of Israel, because all their hopes are in him, as all our springs are in him: look for your happiness from no other, depend upon none but him, take up this noble resolution before all the world, and say it shall never be said that the King of Sodom made Abraham rich by the things of this life, I will have all from my God, and then they are all blessings indeed, because God comes home to the soul with every mercy, and the more immediately any mercy comes from God, the sweeter it is; and this should make a man walk worthy of God, and of such an interest in him. It was said of Felix by Tacitus, Jus regium servili ingenio exercuit, He exercised the kingly power with a servile mind: a greatness of mind, a Princely spirit answerable to the greatness of your interest is becoming you: it is the honour and glory of the Saints to be always showing themselves worthy of their high calling before the world. SECT. II. God in the Covenant has made over all his Attributes. §. 1. LET us now come unto the first thing to be considered in God, and that is his Divine Essence: there is a twofold discovery, a double manifestation of God that the Scripture speaks of, the face and the back parts of God: God's face is his Essence; Exod. 33.20, 21. 1 Joh. 1.2. 1 Cor. 13.12. for that is to see him as he is, we shall see him face to face, which is the vision that the Saints and Angels have of God in Heaven; for their Angels behold the face of your Father in Heaven, Mat. 18.10. And this is that in which the happiness of rational creatures doth consist, it is this which destroys sin, and perfects grace, and makes the creature impeccable: our conformity unto God in holiness and happiness is grounded upon our vision of him, 1 Joh. 3.2. We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is: and it's true, that this is also promised by God unto his people in this promise, to be their God in fruition, as will afterwards appear; for this promise is never fully accomplished till we come to Heaven, Job 11.7. and yet even then we shall not find out the Almighty to perfection; for an infinite Being can never be comprehended by a finite understanding. It's the happiness of God to know himself to perfection, We shall know him sufficiently for our perfection, but we shall never be able to know him according unto his perfection; but the knowledge of God in his Essence doth not agree unto a man's present state, the imperfection whereof is set forth by a threefold similitude, 1 Cor. 13.12. (1) of a glass, (2) of a riddle, (3) it is answerable to the knowledge of a child, of the things of a man. Therefore the knowledge that we have of God in this life is not of his essence or his face, but of his back parts, non sicut est, sed sicut vult, non as he is, but as he wills. Bern. And the back parts of God are those Attributes that he is pleased to express of himself in the Scripture, by which he is made known, either viâ negationis, in a way of negation, as he is infinite, immortal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable; or else viâ causalitatis, in a way of causality, as he is holy, and merciful, and just, and wise, etc. These being excellencies in the creature are attributed unto God, as being wrought by him; and therefore must needs be in him in a more glorious and transcendent manner, than they can be in any creature. This is a knowledge of God suitable unto this life, and it is an interest in God that is attainable in this life, God has made over himself to his people in all his Attributes. Doctrine. Observe hence, That the Lord in the Covenant of grace has made over unto his people all the Attributes of his Divine Nature. Here for the opening of it we must show, (1) That it is so, that God's Attributes are made over; (2) That this is peculiar to the second Covenant, and is the Saints privilege or portion; (3) The manner of making them over, how they are in God, and how a man may conclude that they belong to us. (4) To what end they are made over unto the Saints. (5) What a glorious revenue such have who have an interest in the Attributes of God, and how infinitely more it is than a man's interest in all the promises of God, and all the creatures of God for his inheritance. Lastly, the application of all unto ourselves. 1. That the Lord has made over all his Attributes unto the Saints. And that will appear by these arguments or demonstrations. 1. The Lord is said in Scripture to be the portion of his people, their lot, and their inheritance: so the Church, Lam. 3.24. The Lord is my portion, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says my soul. And it is the same claim, and in the same way that Christ made unto God, Psal. 16.5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance. The word signifies to divide into parts, as the land of Canaan was divided by several lots, and every man had his share: and thus it is here, there is a division and a distribution made, all ungodly men have their portion out of God, Psal. 17.14. because they are not in Covenant with him, and they have their portion in this life and in the things of this life: Son remember that in thy life time thou hadst thy good things; but in this a Saint is not satisfied, he will not be put off with this world's goods: as Luther says, Valde protestatus sum me nolle sic satiari, I greatly protested I will not be so satisfied. Gen. 15.1. And the Lord says, I am thy exceeding great reward: the word in the Original doth signify praemium laboris, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the reward of thy labour, etc. and the Hebrews having no Superlatives, do express them by an Adjective and an Adverb; and so it is here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 exceeding great, and it's as much as to say, thy greatest reward. There are variety of rewards that God gives unto all his labourers, even in this life; though it be true, as Manasse Ben Israel has observed, That this life is mundus laboris, the world of labour, and the world to come retributionis, of reward; yet the reward is begun in this life. There is no man that shall labour for God in vain, no man shall shut his door, or open it for nothing; but yet God doth give many things as a reward unto those to whom he doth never give himself, because there are many that do work for God, that do never give themselves unto God: and therefore Jehu shall have a Kingdom, and Nabuchadnezzar shall have Egypt for his hire, etc. they have their reward from God, but yet the Lord himself is not their reward. And even the people of God have many great blessings from the Lord, as the reward of their services; 1 Cor. 3.21. for the Apostle Paul says, All things are yours: but yet the greatest of all their rewards, and that without which all the rest were nothing, lies in this, that the Lord is their God. Now how doth God become the portion and reward of his people in this life, but as he has revealed himself. There is a discovery of God that is beyond the capacity of grace in this life, and the people of God by virtue of this promise may rejoice in the hope of it, as Rom. 5.2. but yet they cannot possess it in this life; but as the Lord has revealed himself to his people in this life, so he hath made over himself unto them. Now the great discovery of God being in the Attributes of the Divine Nature, it's in thi● that he has made over himself unto his people: this is the portion Christ had, and his reward, and ours also, by virtue of the same Covenant. 2. This will appear also if we consider the Promises are, that we shall have all in God; He that overcomes shall inherit all things, I will be his God; the Lord is his Inheritance, Revel. 21.7. and he that has God he doth inherit all things, he shall have a hundred-fold more in this life, Mark 10.30. that forsakes any comfort of it for God, in this present time: Now a man cannot understand this formaliter, formally, but eminentèr, eminently, he shall have that in God that shall exceed all this, if they were a hundred times multiplied; and so the Lord is a Sun, and a Shield, Psal. 84. and how is all this to be understood, but that we have all in God? It's true, that a Christian has all things in promises, but yet the promises are not the root of his inheritance, but there is something that is a root, and is the foundation of all the promises, and that is the Attributes of the Divine Nature, and the goodness and faithfulness of God, etc. which I conceive also is the meaning of that, Isai. 2.6. and last: Come my people, enter into your Chambers, etc. it's referred unto the mind and the state of the Soul, and so it doth signify pacatum animi statum, the quiet state of the mind: But I conceive this is not all the meaning, Calvin. that the Soul is quiet as in its Chambers of refuge, in the time of the greatest trouble and unquietness, but as Forer hath it, Ne solliciti essetis de rerum visibilium vicissitudine, sed de Deo, etc. be not solicitous about visible things, but about God: And the Chambers in which the Soul only rests, are the Chambers of Promises, and of Providences; For upon all the Glory there shall be a defence; but the Attributes of God are the secrets of his presence in them both, so that the people of God have all in him, as there are attributes in him that answer unto all their conditions. 3. So much the several relations in which God stands to his People do imply; the Lord is said to be unto them a Father, I will be their Father, and they shall be my Sons and Daughters; 2 Cor. 6.16. Isai. 54.5. James 2.23. and he is said to be their Husband, Thy Maker is thy Husband; and their Friend, as he was Abraham's Friend, and he was called the Friend of God; and the terms of friendship are mutual; and it is the sweetest relation; a true friend is as a man's own soul. Now what do all these relations import amongst the Creatures, but this, that answerably to the Wisdom and the Power, and the Mercy, and the Love that is in me, saith God, so will I lay them all out for you, as the duties or offices of my relation do require; and we know amongst men, relations are great obligations, and they do carry with them vast affections; they are maxima efficaciae, of greatest efficace, as the Schoolmen speak: therefore though it be less to say, I will be thy Father, thy Husband, or thy Friend, than it is to say, I will be thy God, because this imports an Infinite Being; yet it is as much, he being a God to stand in these relations, as if he should have said, I will be thy Father, and Husband, and Friend, after the manner of a God, whatever there is in infinite wisdom, and in infinite power, and in infinite goodness or holiness, to dispense, it shall be laid out for thee, suitable unto the relation in which I stand unto thee; for though men in their relations act weakly as men, yet in the relations which God stands in to his People he doth act infinitely, and as it becomes a God. 4. It will appear also by the expressions in Scripture, that the Saints have interest in several Attributes of God, and from their interest in some of them, we may conclude their interest in all, for God is not divided; Integram salutem à Deo diviso sperare non possumus, we may not hope for an entire salvation from a divided God, Psal. 59.10. he is called not only the God of Mercy, as he is commonly, but the God of my Mercy; so of all the Mercy that was in God, David lays claim to it as his Mercy; it's in God indeed subjectiuè, but yet it is mine, even all the Mercy that is in God, and he is the God of my Mercy: Psal. 84.5. Ephes. 6.10. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; and the Apostle's exhortation is, Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might; the meaning is, that very Omnipotence that is in God, is by the Covenant on God's part, so made over unto his people, that it becomes as effectually theirs unto all the ends and intents thereof, as if they themselves were the subjects of it; and the meaning of the Apostle doth arise unto this height, that they should take unto themselves as great confidence in the overcoming of enemies, be they never so powerful, and in performing of duties also, be they never so difficult, as if they had Omnipotence in their own hand, to exercise and put forth according to their own desires, and for the effectual procuring of their own happiness; and on this ground it is, that the Saints are said to glory in God, and make their boast of him all the day long, Hab. 3.18. and they triumph in the God of their salvation, because they do look upon all things, as having the attributes of God engaged unto them, and by this means the Soul treads down strength, for what can be too intricate for infinite wisdom? and what can be too heinous for infinite mercy, or too difficult for infinite power, & c? and so the Soul does laugh at all oppositions, and all the power of man to scorn, because he looks upon himself with all the Saints to be interessed in all the Attributes of God, and fortified by them. 5. The great end of Christ's coming into the world was to bring us unto God: and that was not only, 1 Pet. 3.18. that all the Attributes of God should work for us, as they did for Christ, which because we had forfeited, therefore they all acted against us, and should have done for ever; but that Christ by bringing us to God, might give us also an interest in them all, that they should all become ours, as they were his; for Christ is but the way, as he himself saith, I am the way, the truth and the life: and therefore Aquinas hath well branched Divinity into these heads, De Deo & de Christo prout via est nobis tendendi in Deum, Of God and of Christ, as he is the way tending to God. Christ came to reconcile all the Attributes of God unto Man, and the great purchase of the death of Christ was not an interest in all the Creatures, but an interest in all the Attributes of the Divine Nature, that they should be ours, and should act for us. 1. Pet. 1.21. 6. The highest object of faith is God, he is, Objectum ultimatum, the ultimate Object, Christ is but Mediatum, the Mediate Object: Now what is there in God that is revealed unto our Faith, but his Attributes? we know him no otherwise but by his back parts, and we know that every Attribute of God is an object of Faith in the Scripture, and whatever Faith lays hold on as its object, it makes it to become its own, in ipso amplexu, in the very embracement. He that takes hold of Christ by Faith makes him his own; Thou art my Lord and my God, and if it lay hold of its promises, they become its own; and there is nothing that gives a propriety to the Soul, but its receiving of it, and appropriating it; he loved me, and died for me, and gave himself for me: Thus Faith argues and appropriates Christ and all his Benefits; and so it is in laying hold of every attribute of God, that doth appropriate it unto his person, and it becomes his own, rests upon infinite wisdom, and lays hold on infinite power, and relies upon infinite mercy, and holiness, and grace, and all shall be thine: Believe Soul, and all shall be thine; for all the objects of faith are offered and propounded by God, and nothing is required to make them ours, but receiving them; as it's said of Christ, Joh. 1.12. To as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the Sons of God, to them that believe in his Name; so it's of promises, and of attributes also, and if they be not ours, it's because we receive them not; our interest lies in our application. §. 2. This is peculiar to the Second Covenant, that the Lord should make over unto his people the inheritance of all his Attributes. 1. It's true, that Adam had an interest in God, or else he could not have lost it: But we have heard of Man's great misery in the Fall, that it lay in his loss of God, Ephes. 2.12. and we know that if he had continued in that state of Innocency, that Covenant would have brought him unto God; for death threatened upon his breach of it was eternal separation from God in Hell, therefore the Life promised must be an eternal fruition of God in Heaven; but yet it was not such an interest as the Saints have under the second Covenant, for that was limited only unto one condition, that men if they did stand in their integrity, the Lord would be so unto them, but if they fell, the Lord would become their God no more, but now is become their enemy, etc. But there is this in the New Covenant, that the Lord is their God in all conditions whatever, and they have in all conditions an interest in all the Attributes; and they may expect that they shall be all employed for them, and every Saint may conclude with the Psalmist, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all my days; which is more than the petra sequens, that Rock that followed the People of Israel in the wilderness, in their long journey; they had wisdom to direct them, and power to protect them, and mercy to pardon them, and grace to heal them; and so it is of all the other Attributes of God, they belong unto his People in all conditions, and though there be never so great changes in them, yet there is no change in the lord Isai. 57.17, 18. We read in Isai. 57.17, 18. of a man in a wicked way, and the Lord corrects him, but he goes on freely in the way of his heart; now what should the Lord do? Felix cui Deus dignatur irasci, etc. Happy man with whom the Lord is angry: but if this avail not, casts he him off, as he did the Devils, and the Angels that sinned? nay, the Attributes are now engaged, and though the man be unfaithful to God, yet the Lord has engaged himself to be his God, and therefore he says, I have seen his ways, and I will heal him, I am his God, and he is mine for all this, etc. 2. Under the Second Covenant there is a fuller and a more glorious discovery of all the Attributes than there was under the First Covenant. As the Saints have a greater interest in the Attributes of God than the Angels have, so they are more fully revealed unto the Saints, than they were to the Angels; and therefore they are said to go to School to the Church to learn; Ephes. 3.10. for by the Church they are taught the manifold wisdom of God: The Lord Christ as Mediator is a Glorious Stage, upon which all the Attributes do strangely act their parts; Exod. 23. and therefore the Lord saith of Christ, My Name is in him, and he is therefore called, Colos. 1.15. the Image of the invisible God, because all the Glory of God doth shine forth in him. (1.) Here are some Attributes that could never have been discovered under the first Covenant, and those are [1] the mercy of God, as it respects misery; for had the first Covenant continued, there had been no misery, and therefore no place for mercy: [2] the love of God to mankind, when he did catch at man fallen, and did let the Angels go, as it is Heb. 2.6. [3] the patience and the long-suffering of God; for there had been no place for these, if the Lord had not been provoked by sin against the sinner; for it is it that hardens them in their impenitency, and magnifies this patience of God that he can bear so long with such sinners. (2) All the Attributes under the second Covenant are discovered in a far higher way than they could have been under the first Covenant. [1] There was higher wisdom discovered than in the Creation; indeed there was great wisdom in making a World and in giving a Law, but there is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, manifold wisdom in this, Eph. 3.10. that the Angels that had studied the wisdom of God in the first Edition, ever since their Creation, now do desire to look into this Mystery, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. or they stooped and with great diligence and observation looked into it: but now there is such a discovery of wisdom as was never known to the world before; which is a second Edition, and has put the Angels to School again; and therefore Aquinas says, There is a threefold knowledge of the Angels, 1. matutina, morning, that which they had of God in their Creation, 2. respectiva, respective, that which they did attain further of God rebus ipsis, from their own experience and observation, 3. the knowledge that they have of God in Christ, and that he calls meridiana, meridian knowledge. [2] There is a greater power under the second Covenant than was under the first Covenant; for that was but to command a creature to stand up out of nothing, and it was done by a word; but now for the Godhead to join itself into a personal union with the creature is much more: the power of God over a creature is not so much as the power of God over himself, for to forgive sin is an act of power; Num. 14.17. to support a creature against himself, and his own revenging hand under the guilt of sin, shows the depth of wisdom and grace. [3] There is greater Justice under the second Covenant; for the first Covenant being broken, God's rejection of Adam was but rejecting of a creature; and the Angels they were but God's Servants, and he might punish them for their sin; but herein is higher Justice, when God will not spare his Son; and his strong cries and tears moved him not, nay and God himself was to be his Executioner, and yet his Justice is pleased with it, It pleased the Father to bruise him, Esa. 53. conterere, it signifies to grind one to powder, for that is to make one contrite, etc. he hath put him to grief, and he was wounded for our transgressions, and was bruised for our sins. [4] There was a greater discovery of God's truth under the second Covenant. Under the first Covenant the Lord had spoken the word, the day thou eatest thou shalt die; and the Lord was as good as his word, and had cast off man, and Angels by it, but they were as clay in his hand, he had no need of them: but now if his Son will undertake it, surely one would think God would either abrogate his Law, or mitigate it; but the Lord will do neither, his truth shall stand rather than Heaven or Earth, and therefore if the Son of God be made sin, he shall be made a curse also. 3. Under the second Covenant we have a firmer hold upon all the Attributes, than we could ever have had under the first Covenant: the Lord was the God of Adam, and also of the Angels; but yet so as he might by their Covenant become their enemy, if they were not confirmed by his grace, in the new Covenant: therefore the Angels are beholding to Christ for their confirmation, as well as men are for their reconciliation; but the Lord becomes the God of his people so under the second Covenant, that he is their God for ever and ever, this God is our God for ever and ever. Psal. 48.14. The wisdom of God is eternally thine, and shall never be turned against thee, as the manner of enemies is, they turn your own ammunition against you, many times. His mercy is everlasting mercy, and his power is everlasting power, and his lovingkindness is everlasting. §. 3. What is the manner how the Lord makes over all his Attributes unto his people? This Question is of moment, that so we may know the tenure by which we hold so glorious an inheritance. Now the manner of it is this. 1. Man by the Fall having departed from God, and thereby lost and forfeited his interest in him, and become to him wholly a stranger and an enemy, Col. 1.21. there was no way to restore a man to a title in God again, unless sin, which was the cause of enmity, were taken away, as that which did take God off from man; as if ever a man's inheritance in the creatures were restored, that must be taken away which did deprive man of them; therefore the great business that God had to do, and which was the great thing in his eye by Christ was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Heb. 10.5. to take away sin, to prepare him a body, that he might bear the iniquity of us all, etc. and therefore he is set forth as a propitiation for the remission of the sins that are past, through the forbearance of God, Rom. Heb. 10. 3.25. and as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Joh. 1. Therefore the Lord cannot become our God immediately, Gal. 3.19. Job 9.33. no not so much as by Law, but in the hand of a Mediator, that is Ministerio, by the intervention of a Mediator, who is as it were a days-man, to lay hold upon both parties. Now the Lord therefore becomes Christ's God in Covenant, and makes over all his Attributes unto him, Joh. 20.17. and therefore saith Christ, I go to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God; and therefore says the Apostle, Eph. 1.3. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it's that which Christ lays hold of for himself and his people, Psal. 22.1. & 89.26. Phil. 2.7. My God, my God, &c Now how doth the Lord becomes Christ's God? as he is the second Person? no, that he cannot, for so he thinks it no robbery to be equal with God. One person cannot be said to be a God to another, having all of them the name of God given to them, and all of them having one and the same Essence or Divine Nature. But as Christ is Mediator, as he is God-man, as the Word is made flesh, so the Lord is become Christ's God by the Covenant that he did enter into with his Son, when he did possess him in the beginning of his way, Prov. 8.21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal. 2.6. that is, of all his go forth towards the creature, and therefore did anoint him and set his King upon his holy hill, which is the same word as is used Psal. 2.6. And by this Covenant the Lord did wonderfully manifest his love to his Son, by engaging himself that all the Attributes of the Divine Nature should work for him: Joh. 3.35. Joh. 5.20. the Love of God should work for him; for the Father loveth the Son, and shows him all things, and gives him all things into his hand; and the Power of God works for him, Esa. 42.6. I will hold thee by the hand, and I will keep thee: and the Justice of God works for him, that when he had paid the debt, he should be released out of prison; and therefore after he had lain three days in the grave, to show forth the truth of his death, Esa. 53.8. the Lord sent an Angel as a public Minister of Justice; for he was taken from prison and from judgement: and the Faithfulness of God is also engaged for him: Thus saith the Lord, Esa. 49.7. to him whom man despiseth, and the nation abhors, to a servant of ruler's Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship because of the Lord that is faithful, and he shall choose thee, etc. And we may see what it is in vers. 8. In an acceptable time have I heard thee, in a day of salvation have I helped thee, I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant to the people to establish the earth, etc. So that Christ has a double inheritance, (1) in God, all that is in God is his, and all works for him: for the Lord is become his God. Heb. 1.3. (2) In the creatures; for he is appointed heir of all things. Now all the Attributes being in this manner made over unto Christ by the Father, and he given as a Covenant to the Nations, and as primus foederatus, the first federate in the Covenant, and that covenanting being not only for himself, but as a second Adam for us; hence it is, that whatever is made over unto Christ by his Covenant, is made over unto us also, he being our head, and so we come not only to have the same claim to the creatures that Christ had, and can say all things are ours, 1 Cor. 3.21. Joh. 17.23. but the same claim also unto God that Christ has; for we can say, that whatever is in God is ours, because he is become our God; and therefore he is said to love us as he loved Christ: and a great ground of a Christians consolation comes in by it, that they may know that thou hast loved them, even as thou hast loved me, and that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, that is, that this love in the apprehension and assurance of it, may be shed abroad in their hearts abundantly; and that under this notion, that it's the same love that God bears unto us, that he did bear unto the Lord Christ, as Mediator; it is to be understood of an as of similitude, not of equality; it was such a love as made over not only all creatures unto Christ, but all Attributes unto Christ, and it was a love that gave Christ an union and an unction; and such a love it is unto us in both: but consider it is but pro modulo, according unto our condition, so as the Lord Christ in all things may have the pre-eminence. 2. The Lord hath made over all his Attributes to Christ as Mediator, that they shall all of them work and be employed for us, according unto the necessity we are in. For Christ did not only as Mediator make way for all the Attributes to work, and to be put forth for us, that so no Attribute might stand in the way of mercy and goodness towards us; and so Christ came in as causa removens prohibens, etc. but all the Attributes thus made over to Christ in covenant, are all of them to be acted and exercised by Christ as Mediator; as the government of all the creatures is committed to him, so also the discovery and the exercise of all the Attributes of God are committed to him; and therefore it's said, My Angel shall go before thee; Exod. 23.21. and that Angel that God sent and led his people in the Wilderness was Christ, called therefore the Angel of his presence, or of his face, because in him the face or the glory of God is discovered, Mat. 18.10. and not only because he doth behold his face, for so do the other Angels: it cannot be spoken of Christ as God, for so he is not the Angel, that is, the Messenger of God sent forth from God; and it's said of this Angel, that the name of God is in him. Now the name of God is whatever God is made known by; and therefore when the Lord doth publish his Attributes he saith, he will proclaim his name, Exod. 33.19. and therefore all the Attributes of God are in him, and by him to be acted and exercised; for the Father judgeth no man, but has committed the administration of all things to the Son, to this end, that all men may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father: and therefore Col. 1.15. he is said to be the image of the invisible God. Joh. 5.22. All the glorious Attributes of God do show forth themselves in Christ, he it is that acts them all: the love of God to the Saints is exercised by Christ, and all the grace of God is dispensed by Christ, and the wrath of God against his enemies is executed by Christ; and therefore we read of the wrath of the Lamb: for it's he that shall give every one of them their portion. Now if it be so, that all the Attributes be in the hand of Christ to exercise and act, than the Lord reign, therefore let the earth rejoice. Christ Jesus exerciseth all the Attributes of God for his people in another way than ever they could else have been acted by God immediately. Now if we be in Christ, and by a mystical union make up one body with him, then as he doth exercise and act all the Attributes of God, as the Sovereignty of God is given to him, and he sits upon the Throne of God in the administration of all things; so they shall be all laid out for us, for the Church which is the body of Christ, and the fullness of him that fills all in all. 3. Though all the Attributes be made over unto us in this manner, yet it's after a certain order in the Attributes: the Attribute that the soul doth first close with is the mercy and the free grace and love of God; and by that a man comes to have an interest in all the rest; and the Attribute that is engaged for all is the faithfulness and truth of God. (1) The attribute that the soul first closes with is his love and mercy and free grace, which are the attributes that the Lord doth mainly exalt in this life, and has most gloriously set forth, and therefore 'tis called riches of mercy, and the glory of God, the knowledge of the glory of God. It's this attribute in which the Lord doth mainly glory, 2 Cor. 4.6. and therefore it's called his glory; and it's said, that mercy rejoiceth over judgement; for in the time of this life under the offers of the Covenant of grace the attribute that God doth mainly exerercise in the Gospel is free grace, that God is in Christ reconciling the world, and has sent abroad the ministry of reconciliation; and God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. This is the great Loadstone that doth draw in the heart unto God, 1 Tim. 1.14. God who is rich in mercy, out of his abundant love, etc. Now the soul being thus drawn in with a cord of love, the Lord giving a command unto loving kindness to fetch in such a wand'ring soul unto himself, hence the soul at first coming unto God grounded upon his mercy, by closing with him in this, is made partaker of all the attributes of God, and has an interest in them all; but so as the soul doth close with mercy first, and with free grace. As it is in the offices of Christ, the soul doth close with them all, and has an interest in them all; but yet so, as it doth take Christ as he is offered him by the Father, and that is, first as a Priest, as a surety for sinners, and as one set forth to be a propitiation for sin; and the soul having in this manner closed with Christ as a Priest, and having a title to the Priestly Office, now he has taken whole Christ, and submits to him as his Prophet and King also: thus as the immediate object of faith that justifies is Christ dying and rising, and as made sin, and as made a curse for us, etc. and then the soul having closed with Christ, it has an interest in whole Christ with all his Offices: so it's here also; though all the attributes of God are gloriously displayed in the second Covenant, yet the attribute that mainly the Lord delights to honour is mercy and free grace; and the soul first closes with this, and so comes to have a title and an interest in all that is in God, in every attribute. (2) As his love is the first attribute that the soul closes with, and so comes to have an interest in them all; so it's his faithfulness that is engaged for the exercise of them all, and therefore all our forgiveness is put upon his faithfulness: He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Isa. 49.7. How do we know that the pardoning mercy of God shall be exercised towards us, when we have sinned? God is faithful who has promised: 1 Joh. 1.2. and he hath wholly made over himself unto us in every attribute, and the promise and the oath of God are both grounded in his faithfulness for the performance thereof; so that the faithfulness of God doth not only assure us that all creatures shall work for us, shall all work together for our good; Rom. 8.29. but that all the attributes of God shall work for us in their season and in their order: as it is said, That the stars in their courses fought against Sisera, so there is an order for the working of all the attributes, and every one of them in their courses work for the Saints, the faithfulness of God is engaged for them so to do. §. 4. What are the ends for which God has in Covenant made over the Attributes unto his people? They are many, and we shall best discover them by the use that the people of God have of all the attributes in the Scripture. 1. That they may be all discovered and made known unto the Saints: there is in all men a blindness of heart, and that specially in reference unto God, from whom they are estranged through the ignorance that is in them. Eph. 4.18, 19 Now they having an interest in them all, the Lord will proclaim his name, and cause his mercy and goodness to pass before them, though not in that visible manner as he did unto Moses, Exod. 33.19. yet in a more spiritual way they do behold the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus; 2 Cor. 4.6. and therefore the great aim of God in all his works is the discovery of his attributes unto the Saints, and all his great works are done to that very end, and therefore he gives them a Law that he may manifest his Holiness: To show his power he has made a world, to manifest his love he has given Christ, to declare his grace he doth pardon sin, and to show his justice and wrath he has made Hell, and laid the foundations of the bottomless pit: and this is the first end why God has made over his attributes unto his people, it is that they may know them; and therefore the great thing the Saints look at in all God's works, and his go forth is, what attributes are discovered: I would see thy power and thy glory in the Sanctuary: Psal. 63.2. Psal. 10.6, 8. He saved them for his name sake, that he might cause his power to be acknowledged. 2. God hath made over his attributes to his people, that they may take from them all grounds of faith, with an assurance that they shall be all exercised for them according unto their necessities: Psal. 13.5. so the Mercy of God, I have trusted in thy mercy, my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. Here is mercy the object of faith, and an assurance that this attribute shall show forth itself in a work of salvation, and deliverance for him; I have trusted in the mercy of God, for the bringing me out of this and another affliction, and I have been delivered; Psal. 52.8. therefore I will always exalt the mercy of God. So for the Power of God, the soul can argue from thence, Dan. 3. when men threaten, and Devils rage, and the fiery furnace may be heated seven times hotter to consume the soul that has no help amongst creatures, yet says Daniel and the three Children, the God whom we serve is able to deliver us. And the Lord encourages the soul from the assurance of his power, Is my arm shortened, that I cannot save, is any thing too hard for the Lord, is there any restraint to omnipotence? And so also Christ puts them upon it in this, With man it's impossible, but with God all things are possible; it's spoken in reference to a work of Sanctification, when the Disciples said, Who then can be saved? Esay 26.4. Esay 27.5. So for the Eternity of God, Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord Jehovah is a Rock of Ages: and so men are said to take hold of the strength of God. And so of the Holiness of God, I have sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David: and therefore Psal. 23.6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And so Abraham believed God was able to raise him up again from the dead, if it might stand with his glory; he did not question his will, but that his power should be put forth for the accomplishment of his promise. We know that the ultimate object of faith is God through Jesus Christ; 1 Pet. 1.21. our faith and hope is in God: now the highest object of faith in God is the attributes of God, that he has discovered: for we can believe in him no otherwise than we know him, and as he has revealed himself; and the way of Gods revealing himself unto his people in this life, is only by his back parts, which are his attributes, and therefore this is the way of the acting of faith in this life, and all the promises of God, and the precepts and the threaten of God are all of them founded on his attributes, and in these doth the strength and stability of them lie, because the Lord Jehovah is a rock of ages: As it is in ends, all intermediate ends work in the strength and the power of the utmost end; so it is in objects also, Objectum mediatum fidei movet in virtute objecti ultimati, & ab eo perfectionem accipit, The mediate object of faith moves in the virtue of the ultimate object, and receives perfection from it. Eph. 4.18.23.24. 3. That from these the soul may receive all principles of grace: grace is called the Life of God; and the Divine Nature, the Image of God created in the soul it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, according unto God. Now in an image there are two things required, (1) Proportion or similitude and resemblance. (2) There is a deduction or a derivation, it must be taken from it. As there is a resemblance of the nature of God, so there is a derivation of it from God. Now though the incommunicable attributes of God are so called, because there are in the creatures no footsteps or resemblances, yet there are of the attributes that are communicable; from them the image of God is derived unto us, and we are made partakers of his holiness, holy as he is holy, Heb. 12.10. Jam. 1.5. and merciful as he is merciful, and wise as he is wise: If any man want wisdom let him ask it of God; as all of them shall be employed for man without him, so all of them shall work in man an image or a resemblance of himself within him; that a man beholding the glory of the Lord, is transformed thereby into the same image. And this is to be made the rule to judge the measure of our graces by; for primum est mensura reliquorum, etc. The first is the measure of the rest in that kind. So far as they do come short of bearing a resemblance with the communicable attributes of God, I say of bearing a resemblance (for they are in God by nature, but in us by grace, and by new creation; they are nature in him, they are not so in us) so far we are to bewail the defects of our graces; and so far grace is the image of God in us but in part, a good work begun, and no more; and it is a discovery of his attributes, which are the original pattern that doth perfect his image in us, which is but the counterpane; and therefore we shall be perfectly like him, when we shall see him as he is, 1 Joh. 3.3. 4. God hath in Covenant made over his Attributes, that from these the soul may take all rules of duty: and as the highest objects of faith are in God, so from him are the highest rules of duty: and therefore Eph. 5.1. the exhortation is, Be ye imitators of God, 1 Pet. 1.15. and be you holy in all manner of conversation, because he is holy: and so from the Sovereignty of God it's the ordinary argument, thou shalt do thus and thus, for I am Jehovah thy God. And David takes his rule from this in the preparation he made for the Temple, the house must be exceeding magnificent; and therefore all his preparation, though the wealth of a Kingdom, was but an act of his poverty; for it is for the Lord, who is a great God; and dwells not in Temples made with hands, etc. And it's the argument that he himself useth as the rule unto them in their performances, Mal. 1.13. I am a great King, and my name is dreadful amongst the Heathen: As the soul is never rightly bottomed upon a promise, till it is carried out into that attribute upon which the promise doth depend; so the soul is never grounded in duty, till it looks beyond the precept, and sees the attributes in God, which are the foundation of the duty; and this is properly to walk worthy of God, Col. 1.10. That ye may walk worthy, etc. It doth not note exactam proportionem, Daven. sed quandam decentiam & convenientiam, not an exact proportion, but a certain decence and convenience; when a man's duties are done by rules taken from so great a God, and proportionable unto the nature, holiness, and excellency of that God. God is a Spirit, 1 Joh. 4.24. and therefore must be worshipped in spirit and truth. 5. That the great motives unto duty, and the great restraints from sin be taken from these. It's a matter of great consequence, not only that we do the duties that God requires, but also what motives they are that fill the sails in our performances. For a man to perform high duties upon low motives, argues a heart full of flesh: to preach the Gospel is a high service, but to do it to serve a man's belly or his pride, to gather Disciples after him, that he may have the credit of a Teacher of others, and be cried up amongst them; this doth in a great measure blast all his service; therefore let men look to their motives in their performances. And so for sin, it's not enough to abstain from sin, but a man is to have an eye upon the principle that lies the restraint upon him, what it is; many a man may be kept from sin for fleshy aims, as Haman refrained himself till he came home, and so King Joash during all the days of Jehoiada: the fear of man will restrain lust many times, where there is no fear of God. There are as it were several topics from which the arguments and reasonings of the soul are taken; for the Word of God is quick and powerful, etc. Heb. 4.12. the one refers to principles, for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the seat of principles; and the other to the dianoetick faculty, a man's arguments and reasonings from those principles; and there are some high and noble motives suitable to the nature of grace, and there are some low and sinful motives agreeable to the nature of flesh; and the Word of God is a curious discerner of both, and it's a great matter from what topics a man doth take the argument that does mainly act his spirit in duty; and as the highest rule of duty is to be found in the attributes of God, so the noblest motives unto duty are to be found in them also: Joel 2.13. Rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and gracious, he is long-suffering, slow to anger, and of great kindness, who knows if he will return and repent? And Gen. 17.1. I am God all-sufficient, walk before me, and be upright. There are arguments enough to be taken from God, and those of the highest kind, to quicken a soul in all duties required of him. And so it is also as to restraint from sin, Hos. 3.5. They shall fear the Lord and his goodness: Heb. 12.29. Let us have grace to serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire. Exod. 34.14. Thou shalt worship no other God; for the Lord whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. 6. That they may be unto the Saints the ground of prayer; and that is in three things. (1) They desire that God would manifest his attributes, it's something of God that they would have discovered, therefore they cry out with the Psalmist, Psal. 57.3. O send out thy light and thy truth, send forth thy mercy and thy truth: it is the discovery and manifestation of an attribute, that is the great thing the people of God do beg in all their prayers: Num. 14.17. Let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast said. (2) It's the great argument that they use in prayer, the main argument of faith is from an attribute, and a man's interest therein: Remember me O Lord for this, and pardon me according to the greatness of thy mercy, Nehem. 13.22. Psal. 115.1. 2 Chron. 14.11. for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. And Asa argues from the power of God, It's all one to thee to save with few, as with many. (3) They do come to God under such an attribute suitable to the mercy that they beg, and their faith is stayed thereupon, and 'tis a great matter to look upon God under an attribute that answers our necessity; as Christ when he would speak of Judgement, Mat. 11.24. Joh. 17. Num. 14.14. and give God thanks for it, he call him righteous Father; and when he begs Sanctification for his people, he calls him holy Father: and so when Moses prays for the pardon of sin, he calls him the Lord merciful and gracious. 7. That they may admire and adore the Lord for the excellencies that are in his Divine Nature, and that they may give him the glory of every attribute. Glory is but the shining forth of an excellency, the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Effulgence and brightness of it, Heb. 1.3. and our giving glory is but the reflection of this excellency. Now we give God the glory of his works and of his going forth unto the creature; but we should not only give him the glory of these, but also of the excellency of his own nature: there is none holy as the Lord, who is a God like our God, pardoning iniquity? If we had hearts truly spiritual, we would admire God more for the excellencies that are in himself, than for all his go forth to the creature; and so the Saints and Angels in Heaven do. 8. That in the manifestation of every attribute and the working of it for his people, the Saints may rejoice, and particularly give God the glory of that attribute, which he hath now so eminently put forth for them, and that they may glory in their inheritance thereby. Psal. 21.13. Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thy own strength, so will we sing and praise thy power. I will sing of thy power, Psal. 59.16, 17. and I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning, for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. To thee O my strength will I sing, for God is my defence and the God of my mercy: Rev. 4.8. and so do all the Saints, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is, and was, and is to come. The attributes of God are the last city of refuge that the Saints can fly unto, Prov. 18.10. even the Name of the Lord is their strong tower: and when the Lord doth make bare his arm, and takes to himself his great power, and sends forth his mercy, and relieves his people in their distresses, Oh! how then do the Saints triumph and rejoice in him? The last refuge is in God, and the highest triumph is in God; and these are the glorious ends for which God has made over his attributes unto the Saints. §. 3. See the glory of this inheritance: that of the creatures is indeed glorious, and that of promises is more, but the foundation of all and top of all lies in attributes. It's of no small concernment for a soul to know the glory of his own inheritance, partly because there is a profaneness of heart in all men that do undervalue spiritual things, as well spiritual privileges as spiritual truths, or spiritual graces, with Esau, who did despise the birth-bright, Heb. 12. and partly that the soul understanding it, may receive satisfaction, and see an all-sufficiency in it; Aristotle. for godliness hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a self-sufficience going with it, as it is 1 Tim. 4.8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Perfect good seems to be self-sufficient: and for this cause the Apostle prays for a spirit of illumination, Eph. 1.18. That the eyes of their understanding being opened, they might know what is the hope of their calling, and the riches of this inheritance which God has prepared for the Saints; that God whose are all things, and of whom are all things, yet his portion is his people; they are of all people his peculiar treasure: and what a glorious inheritance the Lord has chosen to himself in them, making up one glorious body with the Lord Jesus Christ! Now if it be necessary the eyes of our understanding should be enlightened to know the glory of God's inheritance in us, how much more the glory of our inheritance in God's attributes? that the soul may be able to rejoice in the goodness of the Lord, and say, Thou art my portion, says my soul: that as Calvin observes upon that place, Zac. 9.12. Satis praesidii in uno Deo, There's safeguard enough in one God, so it may be said of all things else, there is wisdom enough, and holiness enough, and all to be had in him; and it is enough, if it be in him alone. There is a threefold inheritance that Christ hath stated upon his people, for Christ is heir of all things, (1) by Nature and Generation, (2) by Donation, as he was man; now the first belongs unto him alone, and he cannot communicate it; and the other he doth impart unto us, as we are one body with him: and as we partake with him in the same Sonship, so we do also in his inheritance, Eph. 1.14. and this inheritance of Christ the Saints have a triple benefit by, (1) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as he is the Heir of all things, we have by him an inheritance of creatures; as Christ is God, he comes not under an act of Gods will, and therefore it's spoken of him as he was Mediator. (2) He has an inheritance of promises; for they are all made first unto him, Gal. 3.16. 2 Cor. 1.20. to him were the promises made, not of seeds, as of many, but as of one who is Christ; and therefore it's in him that all the promises are Yea and Amen: as we were chosen in him, he was first elected, and we in him; so the promises were first Yea, and then Amen in him, and by virtue of our union with him unto us. (3) There is a higher inheritance, and that is, Psal. 16.5. that the Lord is the portion of Christ, The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup, Psal. 45.7. etc. Answerable unto this is the inheritance that Christ has made over unto the Saints, who as they are fellows with him in his Unction, so they are Coheirs with him in his Inheritance: Rom. 8.17. as they have an inheritance in creatures, for all all things are yours, whether life or death; and also in promises, 1 Cor. 3.22. which is beyond what they have in any of the creatures; so they have an inheritance that is far beyond both these, and that is in God himself, Rev. 21.7. He shall inherit all things, I will be his God. Heb. 6.12. Now if we consider it, we shall see that there are great riches in this; to have all the attributes of God theirs, is greater than to have all the creatures and the promises of God made over to them. 1. The Attributes of God are nothing else but the transcendent perfections that are in God, the Divine Nature shadowed forth to us according to the capacity of the creatures, in which the Lord as in his back parts, that is, pro nostro modulo, according to our capacity, makes known himself unto us, and causes his goodness to pass before us; and if the Lord would take any soul of us, as he did Moses, and in this manner discover himself, there is nothing in the world would affect the soul like unto it; for if these be the perfections of God, how infinitely must they needs exceed all things that are in the creatures? for they are all in him after the manner of a God, and therefore all the attributes may be predicated of God in abstracto; he is Wisdom, and Holiness, and Mercy, etc. because they are all of them the Divine Nature: all the excellencies that are in the creature are received from him; and therefore surely there is infinite more in himself. Thence the Saints have been more taken with the Divine Excellencies that are in the Nature of God immediately, than in all the blessings and benefits that come from him: 1 Sam. 2.2. as Hanna after the blessing she had received from him, she admires his goodness and the excellency that is in him, there is none holy as the Lord, and who is a Rock save our God? and if the Saints did not do so, their love were not of a right kind, Austin. plus diligere attractum quàm sponsum meretricius amor, to love the token more than the bridegroom is adulterous love. 2. This is the foundation of all our interest, and all the comfort of it, either in creatures or in promises. How comes it to pass, that all things are yours, and promises yours? etc. but because the Lord is our God; and therefore it's brought in as the foundation of all blessedness, having spoken of all creature-comforts in the highest, he adds this, Psal. 144. Blessed are the people that are in such a case, yea blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. There is a blessedness therein without the creatures, and the only foundation of blessedness in the creatures lies in this. (1) In creatures; consider this is the difference between the portions of godly men and wicked men, they may both possess the same thing, but with a different temper, and the one has only a title unto creatures, as a gift of God, but the other, as he has a title unto God; the one has them by a single, and the other by a double title; and so a little that the righteous has, is better than great riches of many wicked, because he has all that he has conveyed unto him from his interest in God, as the Original thereof. (2) In promises; it's true that their inheritance in them is very glorious, far beyond that of Adam in Paradise, but yet the foundation of all the promises is an attribute, and they must all lead the soul unto God, and his interest in him that did promise; for Faithful is he that has promised, and he will also do it. There is a promise of pardon of sin, but still it is to be resolved into an attribute, 1 Joh. 2.1. He is faithful and just that forgives us our sins. As all the precepts of the Law are to be resolved at last into the authority of the Lawgiver, so all the promises of the Gospel are to be resolved into the power and faithfulness of him that made the promise; so that every promise is but a line to lead the soul into this centre, first unto Christ, unto whom the promises were first made, and through Christ unto God who made the promises. It's full of sweetness, when a man can look upon all the creatures in the world, and can say all things are mine, all shall work together for my good; when he can look into the precepts and promises of the Word, and can say, I have claimed it as mine inheritance for ever, for it is the joy of my heart; but much more when the soul can look upon the attributes of God, which are as far above creatures and promises, as the Heaven is above the Earth, in comparison, and can claim a propriety in these also; and therefore it's the Motto of the Saints, Tolle Deum, & nullus ero, Take away God, and I am nothing. If I had all the creatures in the world, and all the promises in the Word, yet if I have no interest in God, all these could be no good to me. 3. It's the last refuge of the Saints in this life: The name of the Lord is a strong tower, Prov. 18.10. and his name is his attributes, called the Memorial of God; it's the property of men to fly to the city of refuge that is next unto them, and at hand, and therefore in danger the Saints are apt to betake themselves unto creatures, and think that their mountain shall stand strong; but then God breaks all their hopes and expectation in the creatures, and the man's provision proves to be made of snow, and it melts away; Esay 66.11. and being thus beaten off from creatures, now the Saints betake themselves unto promises, and they suck these breasts of consolation. But when the soul looks upon himself, and finds his unsuitableness unto them and his title but baffled, he can find no sweetness in them; now unto what shall the soul fly? it comes to Attributes, and under them it sits down securely, and can rejoice in the Lord when creatures fail; Hab. 3.18, 19 and when a man has not a promise that his soul can pitch upon, yet he can say, The Lord, the Lord merciful and gracious: and from thence, though he hath not a promise, yet he can gather as it were a half-promise, and that is, who knows if he will return and repent, etc. Joel 2.14. The Lord in this doth delight to train up the soul to an immediate dependence, and therefore doth often reduce a man unto such extremities, that he may see the foundation upon which all his mercy is built; and therefore as he deals with comforts and signs in reference unto Christ, so he deals with creatures and promises in reference unto God. Now God gives unto his people the consolations of the promise, and signs of his grace, to refresh them in their way, that they may be unto them as grapes in the wilderness; but yet he will sometimes hid the consolations of his Spirit, and withdraw his light, and sometimes will hid the light of a man's own graces from him, on purpose that a man may fly unto Christ, and see that it is in him only that we hold them, and from him we must fetch them also; the Lord will let his people enjoy the comfort of promises and of creatures, but sometimes he will turn away from us as it were the comfort of them both, that our souls may retire unto him alone, in whom our happiness and comfort doth consist; so that a man that has for many years walked in the light of God's countenance, and enjoyed the assurance of his love, yet shall be brought unto acts of recumbency again, and to launch out into the fullness that is in Christ, and the all-sufficiency that is in God, as if he were to begin all anew; and therefore Bernard, de Amore Dei cap. 2. has such an excellent speech of himself, who did daily strive to see his interest in God: Manibus pedibúsque sursum tendo ad te, sed respiciens factum, sum mihi ipsi de meipso laboriosa & taediosa quaestio, I do greatly tend upward to thee, but beholding the work, I am a tedious question to myself. Now he says his heart is filled with joy in his interest in God, Clamo, vociferor, Domine, bonum est nos esse hìc, sed repentè cado in terram quasi mortuus, & respiciens, nihil video & me ubi priùs eram invenio, in dolore scilicet cordis, & afflictione spiritûs, etc. I cry, Lord, it's good being here, but presently I fall on the earth as dead, and looking back see nothing, etc. Now in such withdrawments, blessed is the man whose God is Jehovah; and in the failing of all the rest of his comforts, yet he can rest and stay his soul upon this Rock of Ages. 4. This shall be the only happiness of the Saints in glory, when this promise shall be perfectly fulfilled; for there will come a time when both creatures and promises shall cease, for the earth and all the works thereof shall be burnt up, when the Heavens do shrivel together as a scroll, and then the good things of thy life-time will take their leave for ever; for God did but set up the stage of this world to be as the wilderness through which the Saints should pass into Canaan; but the stage of this world shall be taken down, and all the promises of God shall come to an end, for they shall all of them speak in their due time, and not lie: there is a time for the finishing of the whole Mystery of God; Rev. 10.7. and the Decrees of God shall bring forth in mercy, or in wrath, and the promises shall be delivered of all the blessings that are in them, and the threaten shall be eased of all the plagues that are in them. Now when both these inheritances shall cease, what has a Saint then to live upon? Now he has a higher inheritance, and that is of Attributes; for then God shall be all in all, and in him alone shall the happiness of the creature consist; 1 Cor. 15.28. and it is observable, that then our perfect happiness gins in God, when creatures and promises are come to an end; and therefore the soul that has his interest in him, can take his leave with delight of all creature-comforts, as never to have use of them more, as Elijah did part with his mantle when he was taken up into Heaven, because they see that it shall be infinitely made up in God, though it come not in in this low way, as it did unto his people in times past, suitable to their low estate, while they walked as servants upon the earth. 5. Creatures and promises could never make a man happy, if a man's interest in them were never so clearly discovered to him; for it could never put his soul into a fruition of the chiefest good, it would only make all to be faith, and we should rejoice in the hope of the glory of God; 1 Pet. 1.9. and it is true, that this is a joy unspeakable and glorious, Fruitio est actus voluntatis circa finem, & importat quietationem & delectationem anima in amato, Fruition is an act of the will about the end, and it imports the quietation and delectation of the soul in its beloved. Medin. But the soul would be for ever unquiet, and always full of restlessness, still tending towards God, Heb. 12.23. therefore it enjoys him as the end of faith and hope, and thence souls in Heaven are made perfect, not only because their image is perfected by the beatifical vision, but also because they are put into a fruition of that which was the highest and ultimate object of their faith and love, and fruitio est nobilissima actio voluntatis, the most noble act of the will; and it's this act upon the highest object that doth perfect the will, and the perfection of the will is the perfection of the man, as the act of the will is the act of the man. Use 1 §. 4. From hence see the misery of all those that are out of Covenant with God, they have all the Attributes of God against them, and they have no inheritance in him; thou mayst have large revenues amongst the creatures, (for God doth give Kingdoms unto the basest of men) but it is but mica canibus projecta, a crumb thrown to a dog, as Luther speaks of the Turkish Empire; and in them all thou shalt but inherit the wind, Prov. 11.29. for thou hast no inheritance in the Lord, he is no God to thee, tolle meum & tolle Deum, take away my and take away God; it is unto thee as if there were not God. And here it's good to consider, 1. If a man had all the creatures armed against him for his destruction, as all men out of Covenant have, for the Creation groans under their service, that is the bondage of corruption spoken of Rom. 8.21. but also they are very ready to make war upon thee; for when a man is taken into Covenant with God, there is a league made with the beasts of the earth, the stones of the field, and the creeping things of the ground, And God will hear the Heavens, and the Heavens shall hear the Earth, Hos. 2.21. and the Earth shall hear the corn, and the wine and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel; and I will sow her unto me in the earth, and will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy, etc. All the creatures shall work together for their good; and yet if God arm the meanest of the creatures against a man, they shall destroy him. Pharaoh the great King of Egypt that durst presume to war against God, cannot contend with Flies, nor with the Lice and the Frogs, he cannot fight a pitched battle with the waves. Now if a man cannot stand out a battle with the smallest of the creatures, how can he fight against God? Therefore I would a little reason with you, as God doth with his people: if thou hast run with the footmen, Jer. 12.5. and they have wearied thee, how wilt thou contend with horses? and if in a land of peace they have wearied thee, what wilt thou do in the swell of Jordan? if thou canst not stand it out against creatures, how wilt thou be able to endure when the Lord shall rise up, and all his Attributes shall be armed against thee? For as this is the great comfort of the Saints, and their last refuge, so it's the great terror unto wicked men, and their last destruction. 2. Consider if it were but a threatening, what a miserable thing it is to lie under any evil aspect thereof: the Lord has spread out the Expansum of his Word over the rational world, and the Lord rules all by it, and according to it he will judge them all, Zac. 1.6. Did not my word overtake your fathers? for the Decree will surely bring forth, it will not always carry the judgement in the womb of it; and if it be so terrible a thing to be under the power of any one threatening of God, Zeph. 2.2. what is it to lie under the evil aspect of all the threaten of God; that there is not a word in this book but speaks terror unto the man? much more under the evil aspects of all the Attributes of God. 3. This is the happiness of the Saints, that they have something in God to plead for them, they have as it were a threefold Advocate, (1) within themselves, and so the Spirit pleads the causes of the soul: (2) without them, and so Jesus Christ is an Advocate with the Father: (3) they have something in God himself, I say not that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father himself loves you, etc. So here is the misery of wicked men, not only the Spirit pleads against them, and will strive with them no more, but becomes unto them a spirit of bondage in themselves, and binds them over unto wrath; and Christ pleads against them; as Luther tells a story of one Doctor Krans. in a Tract of his, De Fascina spirituali, in Gal. 3. Ego Christum negavi, ideo stat coram Patre, & accusat me; illam cogitationem tam fortiter conceperat, ut nullâ adhortatione, aut consolatione sibi pateretur excuti, atque ita desperavit, & seipsum miserrimè occîdit, etc. I denied Christ, and therefore he stands before the Father, and accuseth me, etc. The learned do for our understanding frame a holy kind of conflict between the Attributes of God, according to the liberty allowed them in Scripture, speaking of God after the manner of men, in the work of our Redemption, as if the Lord were reduced into some straits by the cross demands of several Attributes, Justice calling for vengeance upon sinful and cursed creatures, and with Justice the Truth of God doth join to make good his threatening, the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt die, and mercy on the other side pleads for compassion towards miserable and seduced man; and this sets infinite wisdom on work to reconcile the different pleas of the Attributes of God in man's redemption: but what a misery will that man be in, that shall have no Attribute of God to plead for him; but they shall all join in their pleas and demands against him, not only those terrible Attributes that the soul is afraid of, as Justice, and Truth, and Holiness, but also the Attributes in which a man's hope is? Men cry out God is merciful, Oh but mercy is set against thee, O sinner, and thou hast no interest in his mercy, he is not the God of thy mercy, and his patience and long-suffering thou hast no claim to; but all these Attributes shall join also with Justice in their pleas against thee: what is there that can stand in the way to hinder the fullness of wrath from falling on such a soul? 4. The perfection of this misery thou wilt never know, till thou comest unto Hell, as the fullness of this promise can never be known by the Saints till they come to Heaven: here you may enjoy your inheritance in creatures and promises, but thou that art a Saint shalt enter one day upon the inheritance of Attributes more fully than can be enjoyed here, there where they all shall be set forth gloriously for thee, in their full lustre, to make thee happy in the Lord: so also it shall be a man's utmost misery when he comes to Hell, that all the Attributes of God shall be in his utmost extremity turned against him for ever, and thou shalt know God to be perfectly an enemy unto thee, and all that is in God; as he is the God of his people, all that is in him is for them, so all that is in him is against thee. And then every Attribute shall act to the full for ever. Here in this life Justice doth not act its utmost, and God does not stir up all his wrath; there is by the Kingdom of Christ not only a benefit comes upon all the creatures, for they all stand and continue in their being by it; but there is a suspension upon the workings of all the Attributes of God towards wicked men, that though they have an evil eye at them from day to day, as 'tis said, God is angry with the wicked every day, yet he does not immediately break forth against them; but when the Kingdom shall be given up unto God the Father, and God shall be all in all, this restraint upon the Attributes in the actings of them shall cease, and every Attribute shall have its perfect work against thee for ever, and then he will show his power upon the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. Use 2 2. Take comfort in the Attributes of God, look upon these as the main of thy inheritance, and shelter and shroud thyself under them from day to day, for this is your strong hold, you are prisoners of hope, and this is the desire of the Saints. As Bernard, de Amore Dei cap. 1. speaks in reference unto Christ, he would not only touch him with Thomas, and put his finger into his side, etc. sed totus intrem, usque ad ipsum cor Jesus, etc. in sanctum sanctorum, I would enter wholly, even into the very heart of Jesus, etc. into the holy of holies. So should the soul wholly hid itself in these Chambers, this secret of his Pavilion. 1. In the middle of all creature-comforts, and inward consolations of thy Spirit, let thy heart rise from them, and say, Surely this is not my portion; there is indeed a great deal of sweetness in this, but yet there is much more in that which is my portion: a gracious heart should rise in this manner, and please itself with thinking, if there be sweetness on Earth, much more in Heaven, Si adeò splendeat terrestris Roma, saith Fulgent. So we should rise from our privileges and comforts below, and our inheritance in them to that in God; and so as Christ comforts himself in this, Psal. 16.5. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance. 2. If at any time God takes away the creatures from thee, retire unto him and say, Lord, my portion was not in them, I can stand upon the ruins of the world, and can say I have lost nothing; for the time will come when God will put an end unto all creature-comforts, and he will supply all immediately in himself; and therefore so he give thee more of himself, it's no matter what thou dost lose of all things else, Christ says Mat. 21.22. that man hath a treasure. Now where there is so, there are some Exchequer-days when the Treasure comes in: a worldly man that has his treasure and portion in this life, when God takes away the creatures his soul dies within him, that's the best day to him that brings in most of that treasure; but he that has his portion in the Lord can rejoice in his income that way, even when he is deprived of the creatures: and it's a disparagement unto God not to rejoice in him alone, as if there were not enough in him, as Elkanah told his wife, Am not I better to thee than ten sons? Cannot all my comforts be supplied in thee? 3. Do not unworthily fear the fear of man; it is true that they do speak high, and they will threaten much, and the people of God are apt sinfully to fear, because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy, and so by and by are apt to say a confederacy with the wicked: O! should you fear who have infinite wisdom and infinite power of your own, either to disappoint or to resist, it doth plainly argue, that you are not acquainted with, and do not make use of your interest in the Attributes of God in Covenant, Should such a man as I fear, and should my heart quail, and fear in the evil times? Let us never profane the name of the Lord our God in this manner: Mark. 8.17, 18. says Christ, Why reason you because you have no bread? perceive you not, have you your hearts yet hardened, when I broke the five loaves, & c? It's the most unworthy thought that could lodge in you, after so much experience of my power and provision for you, to think you should want: consider, you have had so much experience of my power and infinite wisdom that has wrought for you, when your own reason was at a non plus, and infinite power, when your hands did hang down, and your knees feeble: consider the setting forth of every Attribute of God, and delight your souls in it, Hos. 13.3. He will scatter them as smoak out of a chimney. A man should look upon them, and laugh them to scorn, from a high assurance, Luther. that vincet mea audacia in Christo: this raiseth in the soul only true courage, and a holy greatness of mind. 4. Look upon the Attributes as having an interest in them; and as in a strait you eye a promise, and expect its accomplishment, do the same with attributes also, and thereby honour them by taking hold of them: if thou sin, eye mercy, the Lord merciful and gracious, pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin: if thou want wisdom, look on him as the Father of lights; and if power, be strong in the Lord, and the power of his might, etc. And sometimes thou mayst have no creatures, no hills to look to, then look towards God: when thou knowest not what to do, it may be there are no promises that thy soul can fasten upon, yet there is an attribute left which will be tabula post naufragium: now expect the goodness of God to appear for thy succour in his putting forth of an attribute; for none of them shall fail in their season: there are no graces in the Saints but there is a season for their working, Phil. 4.10. Your care for me, says the Apostle, Phil. 4.10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth reviviscere, it doth flourish, or wax green again; so that graces have their opportunity of working, there is a spring-time. Now we do not say, that a tree is dead that bears not fruit always, but that which doth not bring forth in the Summer, which is the season of fruit, and therefore I cannot but look upon it as an act of Sovereignty, that of Christ's cursing the figtree, Mark 11.13. for the Text says, The time of figs was not yet come. Mark 11.13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Some say that the figtree in this country did bear fruit all the year; but that this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will not bear: for it is plain there was a season of the fruit of this Tree, as well as of other trees. Some say, that the time of the ripening and the gathering of fruit was not yet, but there might be expected green figs; but there was no fruit, nor hope of fruit, for the Tree had leaves only. Innuit Christum hoc facto altius quid significâsse, ficum scil. symbolum esse populi Judaici, Kem. Christ hereby signified the Jewish Church, from whom the Lord expected always fruit, because the season of it was always, and this was an act of absolute Sovereignty over the creature, and he that created it might curse it at his pleasure; but the Lord does never expect fruit but in the season of fruit: at the season he sent to the Husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of his Vineyard; Luk. 20.10. for that grace is not idle that doth not act at all times, but Quae non operatur quando dabitur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, That which doth not act when a season shall be offered. So also there is a season, an opportunity for the exercise of every attribute; and as the Lord expects the one of us in its season, so should we, and we may with boldness and comfort expect the other from him in the season. The Hebrews say, In the mount will the Lord be seen. If thou hast sinned at any time, then expect that pardoning mercy shall be put forth; say, The Lord is the God of my mercy, now pardon me according to the greatness of thy mercy. And if thou be at any time assaulted with temptation, expect that the Power of God shall be put forth for thee, and that the Lord shall say, My grace is sufficient for thee. If thou be at any time perplexed with difficulties, and thou knowest not what to do, now look up unto infinite Wisdom, The Lord knows how to deliver the just out of adversity; though I know not which way to scape, yet say, deliverance shall come from some other hand, as Mordecai said; though I cannot see from whence it shall come, and I cannot in my wisdom see a way of deliverance, yet it shall come; now is the season for such an attribute to show forth itself; and therefore now I can look for the acting of it with comfort, as having an interest in it, God is a help found in the time of need, he is a help promised before, Psal. 46.1. but he is never found so to be before the season; when the soul is in trouble, than he puts forth himself, and makes bare his arm; and therefore as the Apostle says, He is as having nothing, 2 Cor. 6.10. and yet possessing all things. So the Saints, they have them not in possession, but they have them in their right of inheritance, and for their use, as their occasions and necessity do require; that if it were possible for them to stand in need of the service of the whole Creation, all the creatures should work for them, and wait upon them in their necessity; and look what experiences the ancient Saints have had thereof, they in the like cases and necessity may expect, if it stand with God's glory, and their best good: the Moon shall stand still, and the Sun shall go back, and the Lions shall stop their mouths, the fire shall cease to burn, and be a defence, the Ravens bring meat, the Heavens shall rain bread, the Rocks shall give water, etc. and whatsoever attributes the Lord has at any time exerted and put forth for the Saints in the season of their need, that you may expect, grounded upon the same Faithfulness, the same Covenant and Oath that was performed unto them; and it's the highest privilege and happiness of the Saints, to have the Attributes of God lie as a rescue for them, Zac. 1.8. as the Angels did behind the Myrtle-trees, in the bottom, when there can be an expectation from nothing else in the world; as David speaks of his enemies, Psal. 6.2, 5. They did imagine mischief, and consulted how to cast him down from his excellency, whom God had exalted, but says he, My soul wait thou on God only, my expectation is from him alone. He can now look up to God, and expect salvation from him, when he can see no hope any other way. As we are not the fountain of our own grace, but it is laid up in Christ, 1 Joh. 5.11. and we can expect that all the grace that is in Christ shall be put forth answerably unto our necessity in the season of it, and therefore our grace shall abound as our trials and occasions do increase; for suitable unto them shall our supplies of the Spirit be, Phil. 1.19. says the Apostle, For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ: So the fountain of all our happiness is not in ourselves, but in our God; and all the attributes that are in him, shall be managed and put forth for us, as our necessity shall require, according to the Love, Wisdom, and Faithfulness of a God; so that if thou couldst stand in need of infinite wisdom, and infinite power, and grace, and mercy, all of them should be put forth and exercised for thee; not only a conspiracy and combination of all the creatures, but also of all the Attributes of God, all of them shall work together for thy good. 5. Is not this a mighty ground of assurance, that all the creatures shall be given you, and that the Lord here will deny you nothing that may be for your good? He that gives the greater, will he deny the lesser? He that makes over all that is in himself, will he deny any thing that is in any of his works? Surely it was a good saying of Bernard, for the things of this life, Qui dabit regnum, non dabit viaticum? etc. He that gives a Kingdom, will he not give a viatick or livelihood? And also of the Apostle Paul, He that spared not his Son, shall he not with him freely give us all things? There is a higher inheritance, a greater gift of God, than giving Christ as our Mediator, which is this, in giving us himself, that is the Fountain of it. Now if it be a good argument that he will deny us nothing that may be for our good, he that gives the greater, will he deny the less? He has given us his Son; much more because he has given us himself will he give us all things. Every wise Builder doth build answerably unto the foundation; he doth not lay a foundation of Marble, and set upon it a mudwall, and cover it with a roof of straw. Now the Lord that has laid so glorious a foundation as this in the giving of himself, surely he hath thought nothing too much or too dear for the Saints. O! what heart can but admire his love! The love of the giver may be seen in a very small gift; and so there is unto the Saints peculiar love seen even in temporal favours, Chrysanthes. a small token may be magni amoris indicium, an argument of great love; but much more the greatness of love is seen in the greatness of the gift. Now of all other this is the greatest; and therefore to distrust God for mercies and blessings of an inferior nature, of meat and drink, deliverance and preservation, it is the most unworthy thought that can enter into the heart of a Saint; for if the Lord hath, like a God, bestowed himself, it is a principle of the basest unbelief and jealousy of spirit to doubt, whether he will not bestow all things else. Gen. 17.1. 6. Hereby the Saints may see wherein their all-sufficiency lies, I am God all-sufficient, and the all-sufficiency of God lies in the Attributes of God, which he has made over unto his people: and hence it comes to pass, that there is unto the Saints an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, selfsufficiency, as there is in God an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Phil. 4.12. All-sufficiency, 1 Tim. 4.8. Godliness is profitable to all things: and it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a perfect good, I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound, every where, and in all things I am instructed: I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. Prov. 14.14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It must needs be a perfect good that makes a man self-sufficient, that he can want nothing else; and therefore it's said, A good man shall be satisfied from himself, it notes full and abundant satisfaction. Esay 1.11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am full of the burnt-offerings of Rams, and the fat of fed beasts. Now how is Self considered here? not in opposition to God, for so there is in a man's self no satisfaction; for there is nothing but emptiness; but it is self in union with God, for tolle meum, & tolle Deum, take away my, and take away God: and so there is satisfaction in a man's self, for Deus est intimior intimo nostro, he is as the utmost end, and our chief good, nearer to us than ourselves, and as it were more one with us, than we are with ourselves; therefore it is in the all-sufficiency of God that the selfsufficiency of a Saint doth lie. Use 3 3. It's a Use of Direction, and that unto two sorts. 1. Unto all the ungodly of the earth, who are engaged against the Saints, and confederate against them that are of a contrary party; the men of this world; for the Lord Christ saith, If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Here is a double direction to you. (1) Let fall your desires, and cease your hopes of prevailing against the Saints; for all the Attributes of God are engaged for them, beat your swords into ploughshares, etc. It's the misery of all ungodly men, and they have so much of the Devil in them, that though they be frustrated, and see that they labour in vain never so long, yet their hopes are born up, and they think, surely if that plot did not take against the children of God, yet this will; as men that are deluded in the Philosopher's stone, they try this and that experiment; but that did fail by a mischance, now they'll try another, and then they have great hopes, but all comes to nothing: for so it's with the Devil himself, and it's his envy blinds him, and it doth so besot him, that though he hath conspired against God and his people so often, and sees that he cannot prevail, but still his own weapons are turned against himself, and that which he thinks shall be for the ruin of the Church, that still tends to its advancement; yet he is a restless and an indefatigable Spirit, he constantly walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Now if men would be persuaded to lay down their hopes, all their endeavours would immediately cease; but the delusion that Satan has upon their spirits is, that he feeds them still with new plots and fresh hopes, that they cannot say, Esa. 44.20. Is there not a lie in my right hand? And if they consider duly, this doctrine must needs bring down all such hopes: has the Lord given unto them, thinkest thou, an interest in all his own Divine Excellencies to this very end, that they may be food unto thy malice, and that they may perish by thee? what conceit can be more vain? Zac. 12.1, 2. It's true they are a people that are injuriis opportuni, exposed to injuries, the worm Jacob, that every man is ready to tread upon, lies to every one's mercy, as the complaint is, They eat my people as they eat bread, and they are as a cup in their hand, it's as easy to destroy them as to drink; but yet do not promise thyself much that way, for thou wilt never prevail, because all the Attributes of God are made over unto them for their succour and their portion the Lord Jehovah is a man of war, though he may never appear till the day of battle, Exod. 15.3. and then he will fight for them against all their enemies, and shall certainly be victorious, and lead captivity captive, etc. (2) Let this be a means to raise up your fears in the way that you go; for he that lifts up his hand against these anointed ones of the Lord, all the Attributes of God are engaged for them against him. It was good counsel given by Gamaliel, Act. 5.39. Refrain from these men, and let them alone, lest you be found fighters against God: and did ever any man fight against God and prosper? Hast thou a counsel able to out-plot infinite Wisdom, and a power that does exceed the holy arm of the great and terrible God? etc. There is no such way for a man to engage the Attributes of God against himself, as to engage against those that have an interest in the Attributes of God; for the Covenant that God hath made with his people is offensive and defensive, and the Lord will surely appear for them; it's therefore a design that did never prosper in the hand of any that did undertake it, nay be sure thou wilt perish under the power of those attributes: there is no such way to turn the edge of them all against thee, as this is: as it was said of Canaan, It's a land that eats up the inhabitants; so we may say of this, it's a work that devours the workers, the Lord will rebuke Kings for their sakes, if they touch his anointed; and there is no vengeance like unto that of the Temple, thou wilt surely perish in thy own opposition; for it doth arm all the Attributes of God against thee, and they do arm the Church against thee, and therefore the worm Jacob must thresh the mountain; Isa. 41. and when the strength of the Church's enemies is greatest, and their hopes highest, when they are folded up as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, Nah. 1.10. they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry; and in the same place where they did expect the destruction of the Church, they shall be sure to find their own. Mic. 4.11. Now also many nations are gathered against thee that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion; but they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel, for he shall gather them as the sheaves in the floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass, and thou shall beat in pieces many people, etc. They are to the world as a burdensome stone, all men will be lifting at them, till they be broken in pieces by them; it's their own folly to dash and fall upon them, percussum è pectore ferrum. 2. It's a Use of direction to the Saints that have an interest in God, as their God in Covenant, and so are entitled unto all the Attributes of God. (1) Exercise faith upon every attribute, and thereby make it to be your own in the use and improvement thereof: Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, that is, let your faith take hold of the strength of God, and thereby let it rise unto such a height of confidence, as if you had almighty power in your own hand to exercise; if thou be in any straight, and dost want wisdom to direct thee in thy way, be thou wise by the wisdom of God, and let thy faith raise thee up unto that height of confidence, that it is as impossible for Satan to out-wit thee, as it is to go beyond infinite Wisdom; and so if thou sin at any time, question thy pardon no more than if thou hadst infinite mercy in thy own hand, and wert able to pardon thyself; for it's all made over to thee in this one promise, I will be thy God for that which is originally and essentially in God, that by our dependency becomes ours, as truly as if we were the subjects in which it doth reside. (2) It should raise up in a man a holy greatness of mind suitable unto such a privilege: and it's a thing of no small concernment, that the people of God should be raised up to such a holy greatness; for it would free them from those vain hopes and fears, and those low employments that now they are busied about, for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, there is nothing great here below: a man should look upon all things with the eye of God, to have all the Attributes of God made over to him: if dangers offer themselves, the soul is not surprised; for as God sits in Heaven, and laughs them to scorn, when the workers of Babel did build a Tower to their own confusion; so do the Saints also, the virgin, the daughter of Zion doth laugh thee to scorn, etc. If wisdom show itself, and a man hath to do with the policy of an Achitophel, he fears it no more than folly, and believes it shall be as he prays, Lord turn it into folly, and he laughs at the plot. And if the guilt of sin rise up in his conscience, he can say, Though I have sinned, and am a sinner, yet God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and grace is free, Jesus Christ is ascended up into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God: for it's a fault in the Saints, they think when they sin it's their duty to question their estates, their interest in God: and it's good to question it for trial and examination, but not by way of diffidence unto a man's dejection; for the way to increase a man's sanctification is not to weaken his faith in the point of justification: and if the power of sin do prevail, yet a man goes forth against it in the strength of the Lord, and he saith, Though it be to 〈◊〉 impossible, yet it is possible with God, and his power is engaged for my perfection; and this were to live the life of God, as grace is called, Eph. 4.18. (3) Sing unto God the praises of every Attribute; for as we should look through all that is in Christ, that our hearts might take in whole Christ, and the Church doth so, Cant. Psal. 21.13. 5 and Paul, Phil. 3.7, 8, 9 so should we of all the Attributes of God also: Be thou exalted in thy own strength, O Lord, so will we sing and praise thy power: and I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning, for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of trouble. Observe the attributes that at any time God discovers to thee, in thy straits specially, and unto those sing praises: it's all that the Lord expects as a return for all that his attributes work for you, that you should give them glory: and the way to engage any Attribute of God for you again, is to give it the glory of any of the former discoveries thereof, and the way to disengage an attribute is to neglect to give that attribute its glory, when it has been put forth: Cessat gratiarum decursus ubi cessat recursus, etc. Where the recurse or return of graces ceaseth, the decurse or flowing forth of fresh graces ceaseth. For the Lords aim under the new Covenant is the glory of the attributes of his nature, as well as the glory of the persons, that they all of them may have their due place and order in our hearts; and as the Lord doth distinctly put them forth in their order for a man, as his necessity does require, so he does expect that we should take them as our portion, and rejoicing in the Lord therein give unto them in our hearts their particular and distinct honour; for the Lord is not a God of confusion, he loves to have every thing done distinctly, he cannot delight in a general confession of sin, because generals do not affect nor afflict; neither can he take pleasure in a general thanksgiving and blessing of his Name, but he delights to be honoured by distinct apprehensions in the soul; and as it brings the greatest honour unto God, so it will surely bring the sweetest consolation unto the creature. Eph. 4.24. (4) Get a resemblance of every Attribute stamped upon thy heart. There is a double image that we read of; that of God after which we were created, and that of Christ according to which we are renewed, Rom. 8.29. Now as we must get an impression of all the graces that be in Christ, receiving of his fullness grace for grace, that we may be conformable to the image of Christ; so we must also of all the Attributes of God, that we may be made conformable to the image of God: there is something in grace that doth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, make us Godlike, as Nazian. And he that is a Christian, saith Ignatius, is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a man that carries God with him wheresoever he goes, he has an image of the Omnipotency of God, and may say, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me: and also of the Eternity of God, he doth all things upon eternal principles and unto eternal ends; and of the Immutability of God, his heart is established and will not shrink, he is not changed with ev●ry wind, but he is steady in his course, as the Sun going forth in its strength. [1] This is the only ground of assurance, that thou hast an interest in that attribute; for if it work no resemblance of its self in thee, 2 Cor. 3. ult. it is none of thine: For beholding would transform thee into the same image: if thou wouldst know whether thou hast an interest in any of the graces of Christ, look into thy own heart and on the prayer of Christ in Heaven, look into the workings of thy own heart, and see if there be any resemblance between Christ and thee, and then thou mayst conclude it; so it's here also, if thou hast an interest in any Attribute, there is a resemblance wrought in thee. [2] This will give thee a ground of assurance, that it shall be put forth for thee, or else it will be exercised against thee; he that shows mercy shall attain mercy; and on the contrary, he shall have judgement without mercy that shows no mercy; and therefore it's of great concernment to the Saints, that they may have in themselves an image and resemblance of every Attribute; for though their portion lie not in that, but in God, yet in that is a great ground of their assurance that it's theirs, and shall be acted for them in its season. CHAP. III. The Beatific Vision of God's Essence explicated and applied. SECT. I. What the Saints Happiness in the Vision of God is. §. 1. WE now come to the second particular in this great Promise, and that is, The Lord doth hereby make over his Essence to his people. In the Essence of God there are two things which the Lord himself distinguishes, his face, and back parts, Exod. 33.23. Similitudo ab hominibus sumpta, quos non agnoscimus, nisi ex parte, Calvin. si aliò conversa sit eorum facies, etc. The similitude is taken from men, whom we know not but in part, if they turn their face from us. It notes to us that weak and imperfect knowledge that we have of God, or can have in this life, which is but as if a man should see a man's back, and no more; whereas ex oris & vultûs intuitu perspicua est cognitio, The perfect knowledge we have of a man is by his face only; so here the one of these is agreeable unto the state in this life, and that is in the attributes, and the other is agreeable unto the state of the life to come: for here we do behold God non sicuti est, sed sicuti vult, Bernard. not as he is, but as he wills. In the opening hereof there are these particulars to be spoken to. (1) That all the happiness that the Saints shall have for ever is nothing else but a fruit of the promise, which they have here a right unto. (2) That their portion lies in the very Essence of God. (3) The manner how this becomes happiness unto them, and that is by way of Vision. (4) The nature of this Vision, as it conduces unto happiness, is to be opened also, and how the creature can be said to see God in his Essence, or as he is. 1. All the happiness that the Saints shall have in Glory for ever, is nothing else but that which is in the promises here made over to them. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is, 1 Tim. 4.8. and that which is to come, and therefore the life to come and all the glory and happiness of it is in nothing else but a fruit of the promise, Heb. 6.12. and so the Saints are said through faith and patience to inherit the promises: and therefore eternal life is said to be promised before the world began: so that eternal life is but a fruit of the promise, Tit. 1.2. and Heaven is but a promised inheritance; though it's true, that refers unto a promise made unto Christ, and not unto us; for a purpose there might be concerning us before we were, but a promise doth suppose the party to whom it is made subsisting. This promise therefore was made unto Christ as representing our persons, as standing in our stead, as being our surety, one that received a Covenant and a promise for us; and therefore Heaven is a Kingdom which he has promised unto them that love him Jam. 2.5. and so Chap. 1.12. and this is the promise that the Lord has showed us, even eternal life. 1 Joh. 2.25. Hence there is a double distinction that is commonly used by our Divines. 1. That the Saints have a double right to Heaven. There is (1) Jus ad rem, a right to the thing; as an Heir has to his Land in his nonage, which as yet he enjoys not, because he is not meet for it, he is not able to manage it, and therefore is under Tutors and under Guardians, till the time appointed by the Father: and so it is with the Saints till they be made meet, Col. 1.12. (2) There is jus in re, when a man has a right to it as being in possession of it. It's true that we have not so a right to Heaven, because we look on it but by an eye of faith, 2 Cor. 5.7. and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, Rom. 5. and it is by faith that we walk, and not by sight, and that argues that we have not the thing in possession, but in expectation only; but when we come to possess it, it is none other but what in the promise we had a right to: it is the fiducial vision that we have of God in this life, that (as it prepares the soul, so also) gives us an interest in the beatifical vision, which is only proper to the life to come. 2. Divines say, That the Saints have a threefold title unto Heaven and Glory in this life, (1) in pretio, as there is a purchase made; for Heaven is as well a purchased possession as any thing that we do enjoy in this life. There are two things in the satisfaction of Christ, there is debitum legale, a legal debt, so he paid the old debt; and there is superlegale meritum, a superlegal merit, and so he made a new purchase; answerable unto the two benefits by Christ which the Apostle speaks of, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Eph. 1.7, 14. we have by him redemption and an inheritance, etc. (2) The Saints have another title, and that is jus promissionis, in the promise: for it is a promise entailed upon them, as it was made unto Christ before the world began. Eternal life is made first unto him, and it is that which he himself doth glory in, thou shalt show me the path of life, Psal. 16. in thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore. And by virtue of the same Covenant and promise the Saints do claim eternal life, that Jesus the Mediator of the Covenant did, though it belong unto him primarily, and unto them only in his right, and at second hand. (3) They have a title in primitiis, in the first-fruits, as they have received the first-fruits of the Spirit: So Israel had unto Canaan, God did give them a promise many hundred years before, but yet they were strangers unto their own inheritance that the Lord had promised them, and many of them died in faith, not having received the promise, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Patriarches did; but when the Lord had once brought them into the borders of the land, and they had tasted the grapes of Eskol, this gave them a further title, because they had tasted of the good land that the Lord had promised them: And so it is with the Saints, who have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, and in them tasted that the Lord is gracious: for the first-fruits are a further pledge of the crop; it is called an Earnest, which is a further security than barely a promise; therefore all the happiness of the Saints that they shall have in Heaven is a fruit of the promise; and they do enjoy glory by virtue of the same Covenant, that they obtain grace, which is therefore called an everlasting Covenant, not only because it shall never be broken, as a Covenant of salt which stands for ever, but because the fruit of it is to everlasting in a man's eternal inheritance. §. 2. The portion of the Saints lies in the very Essence of God, which will appear to us by these demonstrations. Psal. 16. ult. 1. By clear Scripture, Psal. 16. ult. In thy presence is fullness of joy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in faciebus, in thy face is fullness of joy, according to Gods own language, thou shalt see my back parts, but my face thou shalt not see and live: therefore it is in the face of God that the fullness of the joy and the happiness of the Saints doth consist; for in that the happiness of Christ as Mediator, who is our head, doth consist; and when we come to Heaven we have not a happiness apart from Christ, as if he had one happiness, and we another, for we do enter into our master's joy, and 1 Joh. 3.3. it is see him as he is, that is, not as he does now discover himself pro captu humano, according to our capacity, in a glass and in a riddle, rather as he is not than as he is; but we shall see him with open face, according to his Essence, that is, as he is. 2. The ultimate object of faith is that in which the happiness of the Saints doth consist, and that which is the highest thing in the promise, in that doth the glory and the perfection of the creature lie. Now there are many intermediate objects of faith, but the ultimate is glory: 1 Pet. 1.21. So 1 Pet. 1.21. Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. And the last thing in the promise is eternal life, and that being once attained, all the promises are at an end; therefore it is in the Essence of God that eternal happiness lies. 3. Without this nothing can make the Saints happy. (1) Nothing in this life can: they have in this life four things: [1] They have glorious promises, but those are but of an inheritance to come, and we believe that which we see not, and therefore hope for it, for faith and sight are opposed; there is a fi●●●al presentiality unto faith in the promise, but it is not beatifical; and therefore an inheritance of promises will never make a man happy, because it keeps the soul in a continual longing, and in an hungering and thirsting condition, and therefore is unsatisfied. [2] Of graces; but they are also imperfect, because they do not make a man's soul perfect; Heb. 12.24. till a man be actually united unto God the Fountain of all happiness and perfection, he can never be happy: it's true, Gratia electis infunditur, ut actiones peragant ordinatas ad vitam aeternam, Grace is infused into the Elect, that they may perform actions ordinate to life eternal, as Aquinas. But these graces have respect unto an eternal reward, they do but make us meet for a further mercy, Col. 1.12. to make us meet for the inheritance of the Saints in light. [3] In creatures: a man's happiness does not consist in them, because they are finite, and the soul is ordained to be happy in an infinite good; and therefore when a man shall be made happy by going to Heaven to enjoy God, he doth take his leave of the creatures; they were his inheritance in his way, and were to him a viatick, but afterwards God shall be all in all, and a man goes to God with joy, 1 Cor. 15. and is glad to see the Moon under his feet; so the Saints of God in this life continue still longing for their future happiness. [4] There is an inheritance of Attributes; Rev. 12.1. and so the Saints have an interest in God here, and a vision of him; for they may behold him in his back parts and live, as the Lord discovered unto Moses. Now no man can be perfectly happy in this life, and therefore the discovery of God in his Attributes being the way of Gods revealing himself in this life, there is a higher way of manifestation, in which the happiness of the Saints doth consist, and that is a seeing his face, which is his Essence, or seeing him as he is, which is reserved for them. (2) There is nothing but this in the life to come that can make them happy. It's true, there shall be in this Paradise a confluence of all good things, and there shall be every way perfection, fullness of joy, rivers of pleasures for evermore. Consider [1] the glory of the place; it's the Palace of the great King; and if there be so much glory and magnificence in King's Palaces, what is there in the Palace of him that fills all, and is all, and is the King of Kings? Paul was taken up into the third Heaven, and yet he was not glorified, but afterwards he had a thorn in the flesh, and had need of the grace that should be sufficient for him: so that to be in Heaven is not that which makes the Saints happy, therein the formalis ratio, the formal reason of their happiness doth not lie; and therefore says Paul, I desire to be dissolved, not to be in Heaven, Phil. 1.23. but to be with Christ, which is best of all. It is more to be with the Lord Christ, than to be in Heaven; and therefore Luther said well, Malim praesente Deo esse in inferno, quàm absente Deo in coelo, etc. I had rather be with God in Hell, than without God in Heaven. [2] There is a glorious society; for we are gathered here unto the innumerable company of Angels, and the souls of just men made perfect, Heb. 12.23, 24. we be here, as Tertullian says, Angelorum candidati, the Candidates of Angels, etc. Zac. 3.7. and I will give thee places to walk amongst these that stand by: but as it is here in the Communion of Saints, there is a great deal of sweetness; yet herein is not the perfection of the happiness of the Saints, but it's in a higher communion: so it is glorious to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of God; but they have all of them their happiness from the same fountain, and that is in God himself. [3] There shall be a glorious and a full enjoyment of Jesus the Mediator; Joh. 17. he doth pray that they may be where he is, that they may behold his glory; and it's that which Job doth glory in, I know that my Redeemer lives, Job 19 and that I shall see him with these eyes: and Paul also longed to be dissolved and to be with Christ, and to be ever with the Lord. But the height of the happiness of the Saints cannot consist in this; partly because Christ himself as he is Mediator, has a happiness in another, Psal. 16. thou shalt show me the path of life; and there is an eternal life promised him, as well as promised us; and therefore he having his own blessedness from another, he doth direct us unto a higher Fountain of our blessedness: and partly because that which was not the highest object of our faith, can never be the greatest ground of our joy. Now Christ as Mediator is not the highest object of our faith and hope, and therefore cannot be the perfection of our joy. [4] In Heaven there will be a perfection of graces: For when that which is perfect is come, 1 Cor. 13.12, 13. then that which is in part shall be done away: and this is after a sort a man's happiness; and therefore the Schoolmen do distinguish between beatitudo subjectiva & objectiva, subjective and objective beatitude. There is a blessedness in us, which doth consist in the perfection of grace in the man, (for glory is nothing but grace perfected) and that haply is the meaning of the souls of just men made perfect, that is, their graces are perfected in them, Heb. 12. and what is lacking in any of them is supplied, that which is in part is done away; and this doth indeed wonderfully perfect the soul, but grace perfected is but a creature (though it be the new creature, 2 Cor. 5.17. and we are God's workmanship created in Christ unto good works) and therefore it hath but a finite good, that can never make the soul of man happy, which was ordained for an infinite good. The perfection of grace is but a consequent of happiness; for we shall therefore be like him, because we shall see him as he is. Therefore in the life to come there is nothing for the happiness of the creature, both men and Angels, to consist in, but the Essence of God. 4. It will appear from the nature of blessedness, that nothing can make the creature blessed but the Essence of God, and that will appear in three things. (1) Nothing can make a man blessed but that which doth perfect his graces. Now there is nothing can do this but the beatifical vision, which is a vision of God in his Essence: answerable to a man's vision of God, 1 Joh. 3.3. such is the perfection of the image of God in the man. Now while we know in part, so long we are sanctified but in part, for the vision of God is transforming; 2 Cor. 3. ult. but it is a perfect vision that doth work in the soul a perfect sanctification; seeing God in his back parts will not do it, it's seeing his face; this doth perfect the Angels, they behold the face of their Father, and so it shall do us when we shall be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. (2) There is nothing can make a man happy but that which makes him impeccable; because the soul will still be in fear so long as he is a sinner. Adam had a posse non peccare, a power not to sin, but that did not make him happy; there must be a non posse peccare, an impossibility of sinning; now this only the vision and essence of God can give: and therefore Suarez de beatif. Vis. saith, Visio beatifica excludit omnem defectum tum erroris, tum inconsiderationis, ideò facit voluntatem impeccabilem, The beatific Vision makes the will impeccable, etc. (3) There is nothing can make a man happy, but that which gives unto the soul a fullness of satisfaction, Psal. 17. ult. when he sees his face he shall be satisfied, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it notes a fullness and an abundant satisfaction, so that the soul desires no more: In beatitudine impletur omne desiderium beatorum, All desire of the blessed is filled up in blessedness. Aquinas. Now the soul will never be satisfied while it sees any thing beyond what it doth enjoy, till the soul can write a nil ultra, etc. There is primum verum, a first truth, and till the understanding come unto that, it will never be satisfied in inferior truths: and there is ultimum & summum bonum, a last and chiefest good, and till the soul comes to that, it will never be satisfied in inferior goods; but the soul will be always aspiring, because it sees something further to be attained, donec requiescat in te, until it can rest in thee, as Austin. The happiness of the blessed God consists in himself, and in the perfect vision and fruition of that blessedness consists our blessedness also. §. 3. But what is the manner how the Lord becomes the happiness of his people in his Essence? That is by way of vision, We shall see him face to face, 1 Cor. 13.12. We shall see him as he is, 1 Joh. 3.3. (1) To this end the Lord will discover himself unto them as he is, and he will show unto the Saints his face then, as now he doth his back parts, while they live here: he dwells in light inaccessible, that no man doth, or can see; but he will make himself visible then to complete their happiness, and that not only to the eyes of the mind, though it shall be chief there, Job. 19.26. (and therefore glory is not only radicaliter in cord, but redundanter in corpore) but yet he will discover himself unto their bodily eyes also, as, in my flesh I shall see God. (2) There shall be a glorious light, by which the soul shall not only be enlightened, as his eyes are by the light here in this life, but it shall be elevated and enabled to see that which else it could never see: as it's in the light of grace here, the pure in heart do see God, Heb. 11.26. Psal. 36.9. Mat. 5.8. and Moses saw him that was invisible, etc. The Psalmist says, In thy light we shall see light. There is a double light the Saints have, there is a light of faith here, and there is a light of glory that is reserved for hereafter, Lumen quo divinam essentiam tanquam objectum beatificum visione intuitiuâ recipere posset, Synop. purior. Theolog. pag. 807. That light whereby the soul can by an intuitive vision receive the Divine Essence as a beatific object. Whether this shall be by a light immediately created of God, or whether it shall be per naturam humanam Christi glorificatam, veluti instrumentum Divinitatis conjunctum, by the humane nature of Christ glorified, as a conjunct instrument of the Deity, we will not now inquire or dispute. But (3) this vision of God, though it shall be of his Essence, yet not of it unto perfection; for so it's infinite, and therefore cannot be perfectly understood or comprehended by a finite understanding, as that of the creature must still be, though it be glorified. There shall be enough unto our perfection, but we shall never be able to know God unto his perfection; and therefore the Schoolmen do affirm, that though all the Saints for the substance of their happiness shall see God in his Essence as he is, yet quoad mensuram ex sola Dei voluntate pendet & ex arbitraria dispensatione, as to the measure it depends wholly on the Divine Will and his arbitrary dispensation. And this is the ground of the degrees of glory in Heaven, that as there are different discoveries of good here, which are the ground of the different degrees of grace here, so it shall be in glory also. §. 4. Now follows the Nature and Properties of this Vision as it conduces unto the blessedness of the creature. 1. Here we see God by Negatives only, and speak of him rather as he is not, than as he is, viâ negationis, by denying to him the imperfections of the creatures: it's one of the highest ways that we have here, and therefore we say he is invisible, incomprehensible, and eternal, etc. that is, he hath neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but we shall then see him in all those Positive excellencies that be in him, and we shall come to the knowledge of him in that low way no more. Joh. 3.12. 2. Here we know God but by way of Resemblance and Metaphors taken from the creatures; he doth speak to us heavenly things in an earthly manner; he is said to be the Lord of Hosts, a man of war; and he is said to be a Rock, a Fountain, a Father, an Husband; and he is said to have a face and back parts, to be the ancient of days, to have a garment white as snow, and the hair of his head as pure wool, and his Throne as a fiery flame. Dan. 7.9. And so we see him Discursively, as we can gather something of God from these similitudes; but we shall then see him Immediately, and Intuitively as he is in himself, and not through the glass of the creatures any more; not by Ideas taken in by the weak and imperfect collections of our understanding, but by the glorious, pure, and perfect representations of himself. 3. They shall see God as their own, and all the excellencies that are in him as their own portion. It's but a little the Saints do see here of God in this life, a small portion is known of him; but yet there is this difference between the sight of the Saints that they have of God here, and other men, as the Apostle says, Col. 1.27. It has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to the Saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. They read it as they do the Scripture as their own evidence; but other men they read over all the mysteries of godliness and Heaven, as the evidences of other men, and not as their own portion; they cannot say as the Saints do, Christus in Evangelio tuo meus est, Christ in thy Gospel is my Christ, as Tertullian to Martion. There is a great difference between a strangers looking upon the glory and excellencies that are in a man, and of his wife's looking upon them; the one looks upon them and admires them, and is affected with them, and will talk of the fine sight he has seen, and there's an end, he lets the discourse fall again, it's not his concern to be thinking of it; ay, but his wife looks upon them with another eye, as being hers, and because she has an interest in his person, she has a settled esteem of them, and the thought of it is always her contentment. So do the Saints look upon the fullness of Christ here with delight, and so they behold the glory of God with satisfaction, for their soul says unto the Lord, Thou art my portion. 4. They see themselves in God. There is indeed much of God discovered in all the creatures, and yet they are but only vestigia Dei, the footsteps of God, and yet the Saints delight to behold them, because they see something of God in them; and the more of God is discovered in any creature, or any passage of providence, the more their hearts are affected with it, Psal. 8. When I consider the heavens the works of thy hands: it's the speech of Christ, he is much affected with the creatures, and the sight of God in them; but there is more of God discovered in the meanest Saint, than there is in the Sun, Moon, and Stars, and in the most glorious creature. Dan. 12. 'tis said, They shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their father, the glory of the Sun is not to be compared unto them, etc. To see beauty is a great delight to the eye, but much more for souls to see their own beauty: to see the image of God in the Saints here is glorious, and to see it in a man's self is more comfortable; much more taking shall it be, and more comfortable, to see it hereafter when it shall be perfected. 5. They shall see all things that concern themselves in God. Adam had a Law written in his heart, that was the guide of his way; and the Saints have also in their hearts a rule, as well as in the book; but the Saints in Heaven have no other book but God, Beati in Deo vident omnes actiones & circumstantias ad se pertinentes, The blessed see in God all actions and circumstances that belong unto them. This is the book in which they shall read lectures in his face for ever, the Dectatis speculum, the glass of the Deity; as their happiness shall be wholly in God, for God shall be all in all; so their direction shall come from him immediately; and so shall their consolation and their acceptation, they shall see that God is pleased with them for ever, whatsoever they put their hands to; and they shall be no more in doubt of the rule, and go with their way hid no more; as many of the Saints here walk uncomfortably, because sometimes their duty is hidden from them, the rule in some particular cases is dark to them, and they droop many times, because they know not what to do, though their eyes be lifted up; yet be of good cheer, poor soul, it shall be otherwise when thou comest to enjoy this vision of God in glory. 6. It shall be a vision that shall be everlasting, we shall behold his face for ever: here in this life, in our greatest discoveries of God, there is an interruption, a veil that is drawn between us and our God; and though now we are sometimes in the light, by and by we walk in darkness again; but in Heaven the discovery shall be perpetual, we shall see his face, so that he will never hid his face from us more, we shall never lose the sight of God unto eternity; God will never withdraw himself from us, for he doth embrace you with everlasting mercy, and sin shall never interpose, or cause an Eclipse. This is the extent of this glorious Vision, which shall never be accomplished till thou come to glory: here we are to have it in our eye continually, and to exercise faith about it; O walk in the hope of it, for here is the happiness of the Saints; and if the Attributes of God that are discovered to them, and made over to them be not sufficient to make them happy, yet surely there is enough in the very Essence of God himself; know he is thy God in Covenant quantus quantus est: and if there be enough in him to make himself happy, surely there is enough to make thee happy also; and therefore blessed is the soul whose God is Jehovah. SECT. II. Questions touching the Beatific Vision resolved. §. 1. FOR the further opening of this point, it being of highest concernment, as that wherein the perfection of our blessedness lies, there are several Questions to be resolved. (1) Why the happiness of the creature must consist in vision? (2) Whether this vision can attain to the Essence of God, to see God as he is in himself or no? (3) Whether it be only an intellectual vision, or corporal with the bodily eyes also? (4) What is the happiness that doth follow upon this vision, that we may see how this vision doth conduce to the blessedness of the creature? Quest. 1 It's true, that the happiness of the creature lies in God, who is the chief good; but why should it consist in the Vision of God? Answ. 1. Our eternal happiness doth consist in vision, because this is the way by which God doth dispense all things unto us, it being the only way that is agreeable to the rational nature: for as the Lord doth expect that all that comes from us should be reasonable service, modo naturae rationali proportionato, proportionate to our nature; so all that he doth communicate unto us, he doth it in a rational way: this is the way of nature, and this is the way of grace; and therefore the Lord will make it to be the way of conveying all things to us in glory. (1) This is the way of Nature: the will of man is appetitus rationalis, a rational appetite; and therefore it can receive nothing, unless there be a Dictamen of the understanding that goes before; and answerable to the Dictamen, such is the choice and election of the will; and hence come such various impressions upon the will, sometimes there is a good inclination, and a good purpose or resolution, the man is almost persuaded, and by and by the will is off again, because the understanding represents things otherwise, not holding on in its former light: and when there is in the understanding an ultimum dictamen, a last dictamen, then doth the will firmly and constantly close; and therefore sin came in that way; Satan knew that there was no corrupting of the will but by the understanding; for an immediate access to the will there was not, therefore the woman was deceived, and this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lies in the understanding properly. This is the way of nature, there must be a light in the understanding, and that brings resolution and election, and all things into the will, and acts it. (2) This is the way of Grace also: the Lord when he will change the will, doth it first by a spiritual illumination of the understanding, and from thence there doth by the power of grace come an effectual determination of the will to embrace that ultimum dictamen, last dictate of the enlightened understanding; and that makes a free and cheerful choice of that supernatural good, which is to the understanding by a spiritual and heavenly light discovered, and clearly apprehended thereby: there is a teaching that goes with the drawing of the Father, Joh. 6.44. And so it is for all growth and increase of grace also: for grace is improved in the same manner as it is at first created; men grow in grace, as they grow in knowledge; 2 Pet. 3.18. as the Lord will enlarge the affections, so he doth first raise the apprehensions of the man. (3) Glory being in some respects but the perfection of the same grace (for Divines commonly say, that grace and glory differ but in degrees) therefore the way that the Lord took in the one he doth take the same in the other also; as he sanctifies the man modo connaturali, in a connatural way, so in the same way he glorifies him: as it is in this life, vision doth increase grace, and answerable to the degrees of vision, such are the degrees of grace; so it's perfect vision that doth perfect grace: in the same way that Satan brought sin and death into the soul, 1 Tim. 2.14. namely by the understanding; for the woman was deceived, as it is in 2 Cor. 11.3. so the same way will the Lord bring in grace and life into the soul, it comes in by the understanding, the eyes of our understanding being enlightened by a spirit of revelation; Eph. 1.17, 18. and the same way doth glory enter into the soul, namely by the understanding also; and therefore it must be in a way of vision. 2. Divines do commonly conclude, that the main and essential part of glory doth consist in contemplation: This is life eternal to know thee the only true God. Joh. 17.3. Mat. 5.8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. And Heb. 12.14. For without holiness no man shall see the Lord. It's the happiness of Christ, in thy presence, or in thy face is fullness of joy, it is in the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Plural. Now the manner of the Hebrews is to put the Plural Number when the excellency and transcendency of a thing is expressed, as Cant. 1.3. Thy love is better than wines: or else to set forth the great variety of the glorious discoveries of God, which the Lord gives unto his own people in Heaven: and in this is the fullness of the joy of Christ after his Resurrection from the dead, and so it is with the Saints, Psal. 17.15. Psal. 17.15. I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. The Saints sleep in the grave, and they do awake unto the vision of God, and they shall see his face in righteousness, and they shall be satisfied with his image; the which in the original doth signify full and perfect satisfaction, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that there is no place to receive any more. There is a great satisfaction in the discoveries of God to the soul here in this life, in the joy of the Holy Ghost, they do rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorious; but yet there is still something to be added, they are not in such a condition, but their faculties may be enlarged, and their satisfaction increased: but there is a full satisfaction hereafter unto which there can be no addition. But what is meant by his image and likeness? Here some do understand it of the image of God created in us, which shall then be perfectly restored when they come to glory; the good work that is begun in this life shall not be perfected till in the day of the lord Phil. 1.6. Though I do not find the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 any where used in Scripture for the image of God created in man, or renewed in him, but two other words; yet this word I find in Scripture to be put either for a corporeal, or an intellectual image, Exod. 20.4. Thou shalt not make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing in heaven above, not make unto thyself a corporeal or visible representation of an invisible God: 'tis said, Num. 12.8. the image or the similitude of God shall he behold, it's spoken of an intellectual image and representation of God in a glorious manner unto the understanding, full of glorious excellencies, though under no shape: and this was a privilege, that the Lord would give Moses a further discovery of himself beyond what he would do to any man upon earth. And so I should take the meaning to be here, it's not the image of God in us, but the discoveries and manifestations of God unto us; that is, unto our understanding, in which our fullness of joy and satisfaction doth consist: Cùm tenebrae mortalitatis transierint, manè astabo & contemplabor, When the darknesses of mortality have passed away, in the morning I shall stand and contemplate, Austin. In contemplatione divinorum maximè consistit beatitudo, Beatitude consists in the contemplation of divine perfections, Aquinas. It's true, that this shall be the greatest torment in Hell, the contemplation of their misery, and the reflection upon their own lost and irrecoverable condition; it's concluded, that poena damni, the punishment of loss is the greatest part of the torments there; and that can not otherwise afflict or be a torment but by the contemplation thereof: and surely in this doth the blessedness of God consist, namely in beholding of his own perfections, and the glorious persons delighting themselves in each other; for the Lord is blessed for evermore and from everlasting, when there was no creature, but his blessedness lay in himself, and the contemplation of himself was his blessedness; and if this do make the Lord blessed, surely then in the contemplation of him much more must the blessedness of the creature consist, therefore happiness must consist in vision. 3. Because the understanding is the leading faculty, by which all good is brought into the soul: it's true, that the souls in Heaven are called souls made perfect, Heb. 2.3. Beatitudo cùm sit summa perfectio perficit totum, Beatitude seeing it is the highest perfection perfects the whole soul in all the faculties thereof. There are three things wherein the happiness of the Saints doth consist. (1) A perfect Vision, or perfect understanding. (2) A perfect Fruition which is nobilissima operatio voluntatis, the most noble operation of the will, Medina. (3) Perfect Joy and exultation, joy unspeakable and glorious, everlasting joy upon their heads, Psal. 16. ult. in thy face is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore: and by this means the whole soul is made perfect; but yet the leading faculty still is the understanding, and for this cause seeing blessedness comes in by the understanding, Psal. 17. ult. satisfaction also comes into the whole soul by those revelations, manifestations, visions, and discoveries of God made unto the soul. Aquinas saith of blessedness, that it is in intellectu primariò, & in voluntate per consequens & secundariò, In the intellect primarily, and in the will by consequent and secundarily. Seeing therefore that this vision doth carry with it Fruition, Delectation, and whatever may make the whole soul to become perfect, therefore it's no wonder, if the Lord is said to be the portion of his people by way of vision, and the blessedness of the Saints be said to consist therein. Quest. 2 §. 2. Shall the Vision of God in glory be corporeal, or shall it be intellectual only; discoveries of God unto bodily eyes, or unto the eyes of the understanding only? Answ. 1. The Essence of God in glory cannot be seen with bodily eyes, it cannot be a corporeal vision, which is manifest, (1) from Scripture, 1 Tim. 6.16. He dwells in light inaccessible, whom no man has seen or can see, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Now there shall be a vision of God, that's plain, for we shall see him face to face; therefore it's spoken of bodily eyes, when he says, No man can see thee; they can see him with the eyes of the mind, but they cannot with the eyes of the body: and (2) it will appear by reason drawn from the nature of a body; for the body, though it shall be made spiritual, yet it shall not be made a spirit, that is, it shall not lose the essential properties of a body. Now nothing can be seen with bodily eyes, but bodily objects; but God is a Spirit, and therefore invisible, Col. 1.15. i e. in reference unto bodily vision, etc. The Schoolmen indeed speak of the elevation of bodily subjects to work upon Spirits; and so here they speak of the elevation of bodily eyes to behold a spiritual object; but these are but the empty conceits of men; for the body shall retain even in glory its essential properties, and shall have a happiness suitable and proportionable unto them in objects fitted to the bodily senses; for beatitude, though it be radicaliter in cord, yet it's redundanter in corpore, etc. and this shall be either per lumen gloriae, as, in thy light we shall see light: or else in natura Christi glorificata, veluti Divinitatis conjunctum instrumentum. And so is that to be understood, Job 6.19, 26. I shall see my Redeemer with these eyes. And 1 Joh. 3.3. When he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is: it shall be in the appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; but yet this cannot be a corporeal, but it must in the essence of blessedness be an intellectual vision. 2 Cor. 3. ult. Rev. 22.4. 2. That there is an intellectual Vision of God, will appear three ways. (1) By the visions of God that the Saints have here by an eye of faith; they shall see his face, Num. 12.8. The similitude of God shall he behold, it's a speech of visio mystica, the mystic vision that the Saints have in the life that now is, by discoveries made unto the eye of their faith; for God hath given them new understandings, Joh. 1.20. to this end, that they may be able to know him that's true; and if there be discoveries of God and his glory unto the understanding of the Saints here, how much more in glory in the inheritance of the Saints in light? (2) It will be made appear by the Angels: says our Saviour, They do behold the face of your Father which is in heaven, Mat. 18.10. and they are Spirits, and have no bodies, and yet in all their employments about the creatures (for Christ doth in the Oeconomical Kingdom govern all things by these, the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels) they never lose the vision of God, they carry their Heaven with them wheresoever they go, though they are not always resident in loco beatorum; as the Devils do carry their Hell about with them, though they are not always in the place of the damned. Now we shall be in Heaven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as the Angels, and shall have like discoveries of God as the Angels have: but theirs are to their understanding; so discoveries of God will be according to ours also. (3) It will appear in the souls of just men made perfect before the Resurrection, they have the vision of God, that's plain, because their souls are made perfect: now nothing perfects the soul but the beatifical vision, because nothing renders it impeccable but this, and finis ultimus perficit agentem & actionem, the last end perfects the action and Agent; therefore there is an intellectual vision of God, in which the substance or the essence of happiness doth consist. Quest. 3 §. 3. But can there be an intellectual Vision of God's Essence? Can the understanding of man immediately see the Essence of God, or be made happy thereby? Answ. 1. There must be a vision of the Essence of God; for (1) the promise is, 1 Cor. 13.12. That we shall see him face to face, 1 Cor. 13.12. and we shall know even as we are known. The opposition is between the knowledge that now we have of God, and what we shall have hereafter; and they are compared in two things, [1] in the manner of knowledge, which shall not be the same; now we see in a glass, but then immediately we shall see without a glass: but if we should see God per abstractam imaginem, (as Gomer hath a disputation of it in Joh. 1.17. part 1. pag. 328.) though it were the purest glass, more clear than crystal, yet it were seeing in a glass still, which is wholly denied; we shall no more see in a glass, but face to face. [2] In the imperfection of our vision: we now see darkly, and the reason is from the manner of it, because we see in a glass; but than it shall be perfected, because we shall see face to face; so much is manifested to Moses, thou shalt see my back parts: the Attributes of God are discovered here in this life, but there is the face of God discovered, which must be something beyond what is called his back parts, that shall be discovered to the soul, which here he cannot see and live, but hereafter he must see, or he cannot live, therefore there is a vision of the Divine Essence. (2) It will appear by reason also, the chief good of the creature is in God alone, that which is called Beatitudo objectiva, objective Beatitude, which doth only satisfy and fill the heart of the Saints; and it's in the vision and fruition thereof that the soul rests. Now any image of God or manifestation of God that is created cannot be our objective happiness, for these are but creatures, as the discoveries of God unto the soul by the Spirit in a way of Ordinances are; therefore the soul can never rest in them, can never look upon them as its happiness; as the Saints receiving here the joy in the Holy Ghost, they are exceedingly ravished with it, it's joy unspeakable, Ego mihi visus sum tanquam unus ex illis beatis, I seemed to myself as one of those blessed ones; but yet the soul is not satisfied with it, but when he sees God's face he is satisfied with his likeness, that discovery that there is of God in his own face, but is never satisfied till then. 2. Though we shall see God in his Essence, yet we shall not see the Essence of God unto perfection. There is a twofold knowledge: (1) Apprehensionis, of Apprehension, when a man knows any thing truly. (2) Comprehensionis, of Comprehension, when a man knows any thing perfectly, secundùm modum cognoscibilitatis, as it is knowable, or to the utmost that it may be known. Now the Essence of God being infinite, cannot be comprehended by any finite understanding; even the Angels themselves cannot know all that is in God; for an infinite Being cannot be known and comprehended but by an infinite understanding: We shall know so much of God's Essence as will tend unto our perfection, though we cannot find out the Almighty to his perfections. As for the measure of the manifestation, it depends ex sola Dei voluntate & dispensatione arbitraria, wholly on God's pleasure. As there are different degrees of grace in this life, and the Lord doth give unto men different degrees of light, according unto the measure of grace that he has appointed them unto; so he has appointed them also to different degrees of glory: says Christ, To sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. As the souls that he shall save are given by the Father, so also the measure of their grace and their glory is appointed by the Father; and answerable unto the degrees of glory that they are appointed by the Father, such shall be the manifestations of God unto them when they come unto glory: therefore as glory is of grace, so are the degrees of glory also: as here the Lord dispenseth divers gifts as he will, so he doth in Heaven; some have more of the presence of God and clearer discoveries than others have, because it's not by necessity of nature, but by an act of the will. And therefore whereas some do object we cannot see the Essence of God perfectly, therefore not at all, because Essentia est simplicissima, most simple; and if we see the Essence of God we must see all his Attributes, and so the knowledge of God, etc. and we must know as much as God knows, etc. it's true, if God did glorify his people as a natural Agent, we might conclude he must add ultimum potentiae, discover himself to the utmost; but seeing he doth it as a voluntary Agent, who acts certo moderamine, by a certain measure, so much of his Essence they shall know as he will discover, and that shall be so much as is for their perfection, though not to his perfection. Quest. 4 §. 4. How doth the Vision of God's Essence conduce unto the happiness of the creature? It makes the creature happy in these particulars. Answ. 1. A man hath hereby a full and perfect accomplishment of all the promises: for as the end of Christ is but to bring us unto God, the same is the end of all the promises, it's but to bring the soul unto God. He has indeed given us exceeding great and precious promises, 2 Pet. 1.3, 4. There are promises for the way and for the end, for this life and for that which is to come, and the top and the coronis of them all lies in this, that he doth give himself; and till the soul do attain this, it is never satisfied. Omnino non me satiaret Deus, nisi promitteret seipsum, ipsum vitae fontem scio, sitio, esurio. August. Now how sweet is a promise that a man has waited long for, and prayed long for? The desire attained is a tree of life: how much more than is the fullness of a man's desires when all of them are attained, and accomplished in him who is the well of life etc. 2. In this is the accomplishment of all the whole purchase of Christ, the accomplishment of all the works of the Son and Spirit in the Mediatory Kingdom; says the Apostle Peter, Ye are begotten to an inheritance immortal and incorruptible and undefiled, and without holiness no man shall see the Lord; therefore holiness is the way to vision, 1 Pet. 1.5. and the highest end of the work of Sanctification it's but to make you meet inheritors with the Saints in light, Col. 1.12. Now it's a joy unto Christ to see his work carried on in the world, to see his grace and glory communicated to us, to see of the travel of his soul: and therefore shall it not be so to us to see it accomplished in ourselves? That though the blood of Christ were as it were shed in vain in respect of many persons unto whom it was offered, they trample under the blood of the Covenant as an unholy thing; yet to us it's not in vain, but the grace of God has been effectual to bring us unto glory. 3. Then God shall be all in all, 1 Cor. 15.28. that is, as Christ is now all in all, Col. 3.11. so after this life God shall be all immediately, when the Mediatory Kingdom of Christ, in reference unto this life, Luther. shall be at an end: Quicquid frustulatim ab omnibus creaturis nobis mendicandum est in hoc seculo, ille unus omnium nobis instar erit, What God is now to us by bits in the creatures, he will be then in himself, etc. The power and efficacy and sweetness of things is much abated by their manner of conveyance, as we say in the Galenick Physic; and as comforts from the Spirit in the joys of the Holy Ghost are far beyond those that come in by the creatures, though God may be enjoyed in them both, because it is more immediately, dulcius ex ipso fonte. Now all things are of God that we have here in this world, but it's but by the creatures; but when God shall be immediately all in all, all things shall come from himself, and from his own hand: as when God doth punish men by the creatures, it's much less than when he doth it immediately, as it is the wrath of God in Hell which shall be the immediate executioner; so it is when God doth comfort men by the creatures and by himself immediately, there is as much difference in the one as there is in the other. 4. There shall be perfect Sanctification; for by his vision we shall be like him: there is an image begun in this life, but it's not perfected; God being all in all in Heaven, we shall read his will, 1 Joh. 1.3. and our duty, in his own face for ever. (1) The ways of instruction shall be no more as now we have here in this life; but as in ways of consolation God shall be all in all, Austin. so in ways of instruction also: Sine codice in verbo leges, Thou shalt read in the Divine Word without a book: and we shall know him as he is, and the reason of all his actings and deal with us, Quicquid nos latet ibi ratio erit manifesta, cur hic electus & iste reprobatus, cur alius moritur in infantia, alius in senectute, etc. (2) Our wills shall be made perfect, for the souls of just men are made perfect, and they shall be perfectly determined unto good, that they shall have non posse peccare, an impossibility of sinning for ever; impeccability in Christ was from the hypostatical Union, but it is in the Saints from the beatifical Vision. 5. We shall have perfect communion: here while we are at home in the body we are strangers to the Lord; it's true we have here a fellowship, but it is with much imperfection and frequent interruptions, dulce commentum, sed breve momentum. Joh. 17.24. I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me, that they may behold my glory. This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise, Luk. 23.43. And they shall be ever with the Lord. I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. The communion that we have here is but begun, but it shall be perfected for ever. Our communion here has much imperfection in it, partly because of sin, which separates between us and our God; for answerable to our conformity such is our communion, amor complacentiae, love of complacence is grounded thereupon; and partly through our weakness, there is much that we are not capable of the manifestation of, there is much that we cannot see and live. Now that being taken away and healed by the beatifical vision, we are able to take in what we cannot of God here; though as our weakness and imperfection is begun to be healed here in this life, we are so far capable, and we shall be fully capable when it shall be fully healed. Here also is much interruption, (1) by sin, we provoke God to hid his face from us. (2) For our trial, the Lord doth many times hid his face to exercise our graces; but neither of them shall be hereafter, we shall sin no more, and the time of our trials will come to an end, the Lord will never turn away from us, but he will cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us without a cloud for ever. 6. There shall be fullness of Fruition. Austin says, Frui is more than uti, frui finis est, usus mediorum: frui est cum gaudio uti, Fruition is of the end, but use of the means, etc. Fruition is the delight and satisfaction that the soul has in the possession of the thing that it has attained, Psal. 17. ult. satisfied with thy likeness, there are pleasures for evermore, such pleasures as the men of this world never tasted; nay the joys of the Holy Ghost are such as eye hath not seen; but the joys of Heaven are such as the Saints have not tasted; when there is no place left for desires; hunger and thirst have an end, the soul thirsts for God no more. In Heaven they cannot pray, Austin. because they stand in need of nothing to perfect their happiness, all is enjoyed in God, and they see all to be theirs, and that they are out of danger of losing their happiness; and even in this life there is much sweetness in the sealing work the work of assurance, because a man sees all is his, and that there's no danger of miscarrying as to his eternal state; much more is it there when he is in possession of all those glories, that the Lord gave him the first-fruits of here. SECT. III. Application. Use 1 §. 1. FIrst see here the folly and the misery of all unregenerate men, who place their happiness in any thing else that is not God, and forsake God, and the happiness that is to be had in him, for the creatures sake. 1. See their folly: sin is never seen aright, unless it be seen to be a foolish and an unreasonable thing: Psal. 14.1. The fool has said in his heart that there is no God, and this fool is every unregenerate man; and the great folly of a man lies in his utmost end, or else his great wisdom; for he that doth err in that is a fool, though he have all the wisdom of the world beside; all his wisdom without this tends to no other end but to deceive and undo himself: and therein doth the wisdom of a godly man properly consist, that he doth never miss his utmost end, and therein the meanest Saint is wiser than all ungodly men, though they may be counted the wise men of the world. Consider 1. What a folly is it for a man to frame to himself a happiness? for he that gave him a being, he only can appoint him to an end, he only can prescribe him a rule; therefore he that will be faber foelicitatis, the framer of felicity unto himself, he doth make himself a God, and create his own Heaven, which will prove but a fools Paradise in the end; for God hath appointed for man no other happiness but in himself, in his Essence lies his portion, and without this nothing in this world should satisfy, neither doth it a gracious heart that is truly wise: Tua non satiunt nisi tecum: omnis copia quae non est Deus meus, egestas est: tolle Deum & nullus ero, etc. Thy good things satisfy not unless with thyself: All abundance which is not my God is want: Take away God and I shall be nothing. These are the speeches of grace and godliness that carry a man directly towards God. Now for a man that is God's creature to create to himself a happiness and an imaginary Heaven, is the greatest folly in the world, because it consists only in imagination, the excellency of all things here below as a man's portion being but a fancy only, as the word is Act. 25.23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, with much fancy. And as a dreaming man that dreams he is full, and when he awakes his soul is empty: so it is with them on whom the Lord pours out a spirit of slumber, and though they dream of Heaven, yet they awake in Hell. There are several ranks of creatures as the Lord has pleased to set them in the world, all being in his hand, as clay in the hand of the potter. Now a man may as rationally choose to himself another shape than God has given him, and degenerate into a beast, as choose to himself another end, and fancy another happiness and perfection in that condition in which he is created. This is certain, he that will walk by his own rule, and will be his own master, he must look to be his own Saviour; and he that will appoint to himself an end, and will create his own Heaven, must expect that shall be his Hell in the end. 2. When you forsake your happiness in God, you turn unto creatures that have no worth, or sufficiency in them, and therefore Jer. 2.13. they are called broken cisterns. Jer. 2.13. (1) They are cisterns, comforts they have none in them, but what they put into them; for a cistern has not a spring, the water doth not arise out of it; what therefore if God put no comfort into the creatures, the cistern is but empty, it will have no water; all the comfort that is in the creatures God puts into them, there is none of them can hurt us apart from God, nor comfort us apart from God; and therefore the Saints in all their mercies taste the love of God, and delight themselves in his goodness, as Nehemiah acknowledged God's goodness in all his favours from the King. (2) A cistern will hold but a little when it's put into it, for it is of a narrow capacity, there is a great deal of difference between the fullness in the cistern and in the fountain. As it is with the Saints in point of grace, so it is with the creatures in point of comfort; the fountain can never be drawn dry, nay the more it is drawn, the quicker the springs are, there is never the less; and it is most true in God, the more a man doth draw happiness from him, the quicker the returns are, and there is never the less in God; for he doth communicate good as the Sun doth light emanatiuè, by way of emanation, and that must needs be without diminution, etc. but the creatures are but as the Moon, Rev. 12.1. that has but a little light, and that but borrowed, and as soon as the Sun turns away its reflection, its light is darkened, and the Moon is clothed with sackcloth, and its light doth not appear. (3) Water in a cistern will die, and lose its vigour, as we see it is in a standing pool, Gen. 26.19. it's said of the servants of Isaac, that they digged a well of living water, so water in the spring or fountain is called, but it is not so with water in the cistern, it will die and putrify, and stink, and grow noisome in the end; creature-comforts will not be comforts always, the good that is in them will not be always sweet: let but the Lord change the mind of a man, and that which was before sweet, will be bitter, even the water of gall: take a man that is converted, and the creature-comforts that before he delighted in are not now pleasant to him, dulce est istis suis voluptatibus career; and it is so to ungodly men also when once they are converted, the world passeth away and the lusts thereof; sometimes the creature leaves a man, but the comforts of it will certainly, before a man dies, and let once the lust pass away, a man has no desire to it, and he finds then no satisfaction and contentment in it, Prov. 25.27. The searching out of glory is not glory, that is, search it to the uttermost, and there will never be a satiety, it will be glory still; but take the choicest and the sweetest contentments in this life, and they will be so: a man may eat honey till it will not be honey to him, but prove loathsome; and so a man may in the enjoyment of any creature be nauseated, and his soul may loathe that which before was dainty meat; but in God it is not so, the comforts that there are to be had in him are always fresh, living, and vigorous; for they are in him as water is in a fountain. (4) If God put into the creatures any comfort, it is but into cisterns that are broken, and they'll leak out, they cannot hold them long; for sin hath made a crack in all the creatures, that as fast as God puts comfort into them, they do leak them out again: Heb. 2.1. as it's in reference to the Word of God, we prove leaking vessels, and let the things slip from us that we have heard; so do the comforts also of the creatures that God gives us, in reference to all the sweetness and comfort that is put into them by God. If a man have an Estate, he puts it into a bag with holes; when a man hath gotten it, all his care will not keep the comfort of it long; for there is a vanity by sin come upon all the creatures, they are blasted quickly. It's true that in the Creation they were but cisterns, and it was but little that they could hold, a man's great comfort and satisfaction came not in by them, they were made to be his servants, but not his portion to enjoy; and therefore by sin there is a vanity put into the creatures, that though they may satisfy a while, yet their comfort will quickly be gone, as they themselves will: for the world passes away, and the fashion of it, and it is but a fashion and an outside, and no more. 3. If you place your happiness in any thing else, you do but forsake God: other things may be enjoyed in subordination to God, yet so as your Heaven must be in him alone; but they must not come in competition with God, for he will be God alone. When Parmenio made the motion to Alexander to accept the terms that Darius did offer, and persuaded the King to it, he told him the Heavens could have but one Sun: and surely the heart of man can have but one God, there can be but one last end, one chief good. Now as a man that doth not sell all cannot buy the Pearl, for it is to be had at no other price, as says Christ, Luk. 14.33. He that forsakes not all that he has, cannot be my Disciple, all things are to be forsaken, not only as an oblation, but as a condition, without which Christ is not to be had: so it is also in this, Jonah 2.8. he that will have his portion in God must have no other God, they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy, the word doth signify to keep also, as of jacob's keeping of sheep, taking care of them as his charge, that none of them were lost or did miscarry; and so men do keep lying vanities, their great care is over them, that they lose them not, that their Idols be not taken away from them. And so Prosper also says, of all those things in which men place their happiness, labour quaerunt, cura servant, & anxiâ delectatione possident, they seek them with labour, keep them with care, and possess them with anxious delectation. And it's used for the most heedful observation, Psal. 130. and thus it is with a great deal of heed, care, and industry that men preseve their Idols. So all these things that we are so careful of, they are but lying vanities, or the vanity of a lie; to show the emptiness of them they are called vanities in the abstract in the Plural, which is ordinary with the Hebrews to do: though they are nothing but emptiness, yet they are such vanities as carry that curse with them, that they do raise a man's expectation, and he believes great things from them, and by that means they become a lie; and therefore men of low degree are vanity, Isa. 44.20. and men of high degree are a lie; he cannot say, Is there not a lie in my right h●nd? and Rev. 22. Every one that loves and makes a lie. Now what is the misery of that man and his folly in it? Quam Deus illis largissimè offered. Drus. why, he doth by observing these but forsake his own mercy, that is, that mercy which is offered to them, and might become their own; had not they neglected it by observing lying vanities, it might have been truly their own; whereas none of the things that they so observe could be; for it is but this world's goods, if we are not faithful in that which is another man's, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. who shall give you that which is your own goods? Now God may be a man's own, but it cannot be said of any creature-comfort without God; and therefore here is your folly, to be observing these lying vanities, and forsake your own mercies. 4. God will set himself against all these things in which you do place your happiness apart from him; and there is no such way to engage God against the choicest contentments as this is, that thou shouldst place thy portion in them, for thou makest that creature an Idol, and the Lord will set himself against them in a special manner. Esay 2.18. The Prophet Isaiah speaks of a Judgement that the Lord would bring against that people, and the daughter of Zion should be left as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and as a besieged city: and what is that great inquisition that God makes at such a time? it's only for the Idols, and upon these he will suddenly stretch forth his hand; the Idols he will utterly * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 abolish, he will utterly divide them, or cut them in pieces. The Lord said, he would search Jerusalem with candles, Zeph. 1.12. the meaning is, that the Lord would make a diligent and a very exact search, and therefore accensa lucerna quaerere is a Phrase for exactness in this kind, and it notes not only things open, that are discovered in the face of the Sun, and may be seen by its light, but the most secret things that are hid in the dark, abstrusissima & in tenebris latentia; the Lord will in this manner search Jerusalem with candles, and the great things that the Lord doth search for and discover are the Idols, as appears in Ezech. 8. he doth show the Prophet the things which are done in the dark, in the chambers of their imagery; and be sure if it become an Idol, the Lord is engaged against it to destroy it; for he will not give his glory to another, nor his praise unto graven images. 5. It's a folly in this, because there is no need of it, for there is a sufficiency in Go●; you may be happy in him, though you have nothing else; for he is all-sufficient to himself, and his happiness lies in himself, he is God blessed for evermore, and shall he not be sufficient unto thee? He useth this as an argument to Abraham, he will need no other, Gen. 17.1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rev. 21.6. I am the All-sufficient God, walk before me, and be thou perfect. He will need no other, he shall inherit all things, I will be his God. If a man can be happy that has all things, then surely he may be whose God is the Lord; he is the happiness of the Angels and of Christ himself, and of all the Saints after this life, when all the comforts of the creatures shall be no more; and therefore can you seek happiness in any other? As I may reason it with you concerning Christ, have not you need of a Saviour? and is there salvation in any other, has the Lord any more sons in his bosom to bestow? and is there any defect in this Christ? can you look for a better? do you expect one that shall be able to save you more perfectly, than he who is able to save you to the uttermost? will you go away? whither will you go, if you depart from Christ? So I say also concerning God as your happiness, have you n● need of happiness? You are neither the fountain of your own being or well being, can it be had in any other but in God, who is Lord of all? and is there any defect in him, that he cannot make thee happy in himself, as well as he has done the Lord Jesus Christ? who says, Psal. 16. ult. With thee is the fountain of life, and in thy light we shall see light. It's a great folly for a man to go far, and labour hard for that which may be had near home, and at an easy rate; it's the folly that the Lord did reprove in Judah, Esay 30. They went down to Egypt for help, and they sent their Ambassadors, and they were at Zonan and Hanes, and they were at great cost, they sent their gold and silver on the back of Asses and the bunches of Camels, etc. and they did trim their way, turn themselves into every fashion and every shape, abased themselves unto the dust, and all to attain the favour of man, whereas it might have been had from God's protection at an easier rate; for your strength or security is to sit still, and rest upon the Lord for ever, for he is a Rock of Ages: so it is in point of provision as well as of protection, we knock at every door of the creature, and with great weariness and pains labour in the fire * Hab. 1.13. To labour in the fire is cùm operis nullus sit fructus, etc. sed igne statim ut confectum est absumpto. , and so by labouring in the creatures in this manner a man doth sustain duplicem jacturam, a double loss (1) Operae, (2) Materiae, both of labour and matter: a man doth lose the creatures and his labour about them also; for the Lord of Hosts doth in judgement make them labour in the fire, and weary themselves for very vanity, whereas all might be had in God easily and at a far better rate: surely Nimis avarus est cui non sufficit Deus, He is too avaricious whom God doth not suffice. 6. There will come a time when you will have need of God, who did offer himself unto you to be your portion, and you have refused him, and then you can expect no other, but as you have rejected him, so he should also reject you: Israel would none of me, Psal. 81. so I gave them up, etc. There will be a time when the channels of all the creatures shall be stopped, and your portion in them shall be no more; but it shall be said, Son remember that in thy life time thou receivedst thy good things, they were given thee, but they were only for thy life-time, and in them thou didst place thy happiness and thy portion; and therefore they are called thy good things; for that which a man doth choose to himself to place his happiness in, that is his good things: and then the soul must return to God that gave it; and at this time will the Lord send thee unto those things wherein thou placedst thy happiness and thy portion: Go now unto the Gods that you have chosen, and let them deliver you. When we come unto God in the day of our distress he will say, Go to the pleasure, riches, honours whom you have chosen, and let them deliver you: and then also the Devil will deride your folly, as what is sweeter than revenge to evil Spirits? and what will insult more over a person in misery? a great part of revenge lies in this, to laugh at our destruction; for when revenge is once entered and has taken possession of a breast, pity never returns there: the Devil mocked the King of Babylon, Esay 14.9, 10. How art thou fallen from heaven, O great Lucifer, son of the morning! he that gloried in the greatness of his power, etc. And the same God who doth beseech you here, Psal. 2. as if he had need of you, he will deride and scorn you hereafter; that God that doth laugh here at wicked men, though Princes, when they are engaged against his people and cause in the world, the same God will also laugh at their misery and confusion in the life to come. Therefore as it is a folly here to despise or deny Christ, because you shall meet him one day, For there is a day appointed when he shall judge quick and dead, and we must all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ, and then they that have despised him here, shall be despised by him in that day; for Christ says, He that is ashamed of me before men, of him will I be ashamed before my Father, and before the holy Angels: The same thing I say concerning God, do not place your happiness and portion in another; for the time will come that you must return unto God, and if he be now rejected by you, he will surely then reject you, and say, Depart from me, I know you not. And this doth absolutely set forth the folly of those that live without God, and who have their portion in this world, because God doth fill their bellies with his hid treasures, Psal. 17.14. by hid treasures he means exquisitas & non vulgares delicias, exquisite and not vulgar delices, Mol. not only the common contentments and comforts of this life that other men have, but the richest and choicest comforts that the world can afford God bestows upon them; but it is only to fat them up unto the day of slaughter, to fill their bellies, that the fatting may go before the killing-time, therefore he doth feed them as a Lamb in a large pasture. §. 2. Their misery also is very great, who place their happiness in any thing else but in the Essence of God; for they that do so, live without God in this world. 1. Their portion of creatures that they have chosen will fail them: and I tell thee, O man or woman, that hast so done, thou art but a steward, and it's but for a time that these things are put into thy hands, thou must lay them down, the Prince's Robes must be laid down as well as the beggar's rags, the candle of the wicked shall be put out, and you shall lie down in sorrow; you have something now to supply you and bear up your spirits, which are the creatures, whom you have chosen for your gods, your portion they are, but that candle that you make so much of, though it may burn long, yet it will be put out at the last; but the happiness that the godly man has chosen is the Sun, it will not be put out. 2. If thou be without God, and placest thy happiness in any thing else, all things that thou dost enjoy and place thy happiness in, are given thee for a curse and for a plague; as Saul gave his daughter Michol to David to be a snare to him; and that which is thy sin shall be thy punishment; you will have your portion in this life, so you shall; you have lost God in his image, in his favour, in his fellowship, and in his fruition: as Christ made that their punishment, they will not come, they shall not taste of my supper. Sin cannot have a worse punishment than itself, nor a worse name than itself: so if you will not have your portion in God, you shall not for ever, but shall be without God here, and without him hereafter, when God shall be all in all. 3. Your misery will be the greater, that it was your own mercy that was offered to you; you might have had I am for your portion: now to see Abraham and Isaac sit down in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves shut out, Oh what a misery will it be to reflect then upon those creatures that stole away your hearts from your Creator, and one that offered to be a Redeemer! This is the worm that will gnaw thee for ever, to think I might have been as happy as any of the Saints in glory, but I withstood my own happiness, and am undone for ever; and thus the miserableness of thy condition will be unutterable, that the tongues of men and Angels are not able to express it. And as men can never know what it is to have their portion in the Essence of God till they come to Heaven, for hac in re cognitio nostra penè tantùm Grammatica est: so a man can never tell what it is to lose a man's portion in God till he come to Hell. And if a man could beforehand lay an ear unto that bottomless pit, and but hear how the misery of this loss is set out there with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, it would cause a man's heart to fail, and fall asunder within him as drops of water. But because the way of the working of the Spirit in this life is by the Word, and if men hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they believe if one should come from the dead again: therefore this is the way that we must attend upon. But more particularly, his misery that loseth the chief good is unspeakable in these particulars. 1. From the capacity of the soul of man. The Lord did make himself to be the portion of his people, and he created all souls capable of so high a happiness and glory as himself and his own Essence; for they are all created for the enjoyment of God himself: other creatures were created to enjoy a good within the compass of their own nature, and therein did their perfection consist; but man was created to enjoy a good above his own nature, and in his enjoyment of it he was to be perfected, and so long as he falls short of this, he falls short of his perfection; therefore when souls come to Heaven, and enjoy God in his Essence, they are called Souls made perfect; Heb. 12.23. and all other perfections that men have are grounded upon this, and do flow from it, namely the perfection of their faculties, graces, and comforts. Now of this capacity all the souls of men were created; there is not the wickedest man in the world, even such as perish for ever, but they have souls created capable of God, and of a happiness in his Essence, and they can be happy no other way. Now a restless life is a miserable life; it was that which David did groan under, Psal. 55.6. Oh that I had wings like a dove, than I would fly away and be at rest: and there is no unquietness like to that of the soul, a restless spirit is one of the greatest miseries that can befall a man. Eccles. 2.23. speaking of men labouring in the creatures, he saith, his heart takes no rest at night, even when he is taken out of the mill of his calling, and his body is laid down to rest, yet has the man a restlessness all the while; and therefore it is that Christ speaks, Mat. 11.29. and promises as the great inducement, Come unto me all that are weary, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and you shall find rest unto your souls. Psal. 38.8. I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. A man's heart trade's up and down amongst the creatures, and he is always driving on such troublesome trades, that he is never at rest in his own spirit; and therefore a man by believing is said to enter into rest; and the greatest judgement that can befall a man is, Heb. 4.3. that God should swear in his wrath against him, that he should never enter into his rest: it is not spoken of Heaven any otherwise than as faith gives a man an interest here, for we that believe are entered into it, because it is faith gives a man an interest in God, and bottoms his soul upon him, and upon nothing else; for there is a threefold rest there spoken of in that Chapter. (1) A rest of the Sabbath, that men did enter into according to God's institution, when he ended his works; which is one of the strongest places against the imaginary anticipation of the Law of the Sabbath that is in the Scripture; for then men entered into this Sabbath when God ended his works, but that was from the foundation of the world. (2) There is a rest of Canaan, into which Joshua brought them, and they were entered in David's time; therefore that cannot be meant, for than he would not have spoken of another rest. Now (3) what rest is it then that remains yet for the people of God? That rest is a ceasing from their own works, from all their sinful cares, labours, practices, and supplies, which are to be had in the creature, and a quieting and resting the soul in God, which is our salvation; and answerable unto a man's enjoyment of God, Inquietum est cor. donec requiescat in te. such will this rest of his soul be; and when he doth perfectly enjoy God, then shall his rest and the Sabbath of the soul in glory be fully perfected. 2. He that hath not the Lord for his portion will choose unto himself any thing else, and set his heart upon it; and it's the greatest misery of all unregenerate men, that they have their portion in this life. Now what is a man's portion, Psal. 14. but that which he chooses unto himself, and that in which his soul rests and receives satisfaction, that is the man's portion, and this all men that are unregenerate have in the things below, something that is not God; though it be the works of God, it's not the Essence of God; and the greatest spiritual judgement that can befall a man in this life is this, to be given up to the ungodliness of a man's own spirit, to have his portion in any thing else, in that which is not God; this is to lay out his money for that which is not bread; whereas a gracious heart saith, Thou art my portion, O Lord. And Esay 57.6. Lam. 3.24. Esay 57.6. Amongst the smooth stones of the streets is thy portion. They did use by the rivers to worship their Idols, and to build Altars to them there, as well as upon the mountains, and under every green tree; and because they could not all of them have smoothed stones fitted for it, therefore they made choice of the fittest they could find, the smooth stones of the brook, which the water, by its continual running had smoothed; and in these you have placed your portion, and the happiness that you expect is to come in by these; and seeing you have chosen it, you shall be sure to have it, and Ipsi erunt sors tua, ut non nisi lapides & inutilia saxa possideas, Forer. They shall be thy portion, thou shalt possess nothing but stones. And by this means a man turns his glory into shame; Phil. 3.19. God is a man's glory, and it is highest honour to have an interest in him, or have any relation to him, though it be but by way of office, much more is it an honour to have a portion in his Essence; and therefore the Lord calls himself their ornament, as Jer. 2.32. Can a maid forget her ornaments, but they have forgotten me their ornament, days without number; and they turned it into shame: all Idols are so called, they offered sacrifice unto that shame, it's spoken of Baal-Peor; that which is filthy in itself, and so is matter of shame, Hos. 9.10. which is malum turpe, and that which is dishonourable unto the man, and therefore truly his shame, which is nothing else but the apprehension of an excellency abased. Now the greater the excellency, the greater must the shame be, and the confusion in the apprehension of the abasement thereof. 3. For a man to have no recompense for all his labours but barely creatures, and the comforts of them, is a great misery. It's true, that the Saints may lawfully have respect to the recompense of reward; Heb. 11.26. so had Moses, and so had Paul: We make, says he, things not seen our scope and aim in all our labours and endeavours; 2 Cor. 4.18. and so did Christ: For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, and despised the shame. It's true there is a recompense in obedience, Psal. 19.11. in the keeping of God's commandment is great reward, the excellency and honour of the work is a sufficient reward for the worker, though there were no reward afterwards to come. Now Christ having bought all the services of the creatures, he doth employ them all in his Kingdom, they are all sent by him to work in his Vineyard, and there is no man shall labour for Christ one hour in vain, but as ungodly men do perform to him unsanctified services, so they shall have unsanctified rewards; and as their services be seemingly services, but really sins, so shall their rewards be seemingly blessings, but really curses. And as Christ said of the Pharisees, they fasted, and they prayed, and gave alms, but they had a reward here below only; they did it to be seen of men, to be well spoken of for it, which they obtained: now to have a man's reward in any thing that is below God, that's a man's misery. But the recompense of the Saints reward lies in God himself, when he will take from them all the good things that they enjoy below, and all that communion which they enjoyed here with him, where they see his back parts, there they shall see his face for ever, and therefore it's beyond the hopes and the expectation of the Saints: ● Thess. 1.10. He shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and admired in them that believe. Now the ground of admiration is the overplus of expectation, they shall say as the Queen of Sheba did of Solomon's glory, We have heard of thee here below, but the half was not told; and this glory lies in God alone. It's true there is not the meanest reward, but it is beyond the desert of the best of our services, and it is merely free grace that rewards them; but if the Lord should give a man (as he did Nabuchadnezzar Egypt for his hire) Kingdoms and Nations, as the reward of his services that he did in this life, and yet say to him at the last day, You have your reward, you were herein for ever miserable. 4. Thy portion in the creatures will fail thee for ever, and deceive thee as a brook that passes by; for all flesh is grass, and the glory and the pride of it is but as the flower of the field, and it will be said to thee, In thy life-time thou hadst thy good things: for as you brought nothing into this world, so it's certain, that you can carry nothing out, but the soul shall be stripped of whatever is dear to it here below; for they are this world's goods, and given but as a viaticum in the way, till a man come to his journey's end, and whether they be ad regnum, or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, ad supplicium, as Chrysost. it's all one, they are not of any use in the life to come; and therefore when all men have acted their parts here, and are gathered into their own place, than there shall be a general conflagration of the world, when the earth and all the works of men shall be burnt up; 2 Pet. 3. for they are but for the present time of this life, and they will afterwards be of no further use to a man for ever; but hereafter God shall be all in all, 1 Cor. 15.28. and God will work all things by himself immediately. Here he doth comfort us by the creatures, and rules us by Angels, by Magistrates, and Ministers; but that shall not be in the life to come, for he will work all himself immediately. In this life we are to be taken up about God, the knowledge of God, and the love of God; but we are busied with many things else, cumbered about many things, and we are to take care of the things of this life, in our calling, which interrupts our abiding with God: but these employments are but for the support of humane society in this present state, that we might serve God, and the good of Community; but we shall be taken up with God, and the things of God only in the life to come, and with God immediately, not God in the creatures, as now we are. In this life we take pleasure in many things besides God, the works of God are sought out by his servants, and we please ourselves with the comforts that he has given us in our way: for in this life God heaps variety of benefits upon us, he loads us daily with his benefits; but after this life there shall be but one great reward, and a man shall go out unto creatures for nothing unto eternity; there shall be a comfort in them, but not out of necessity, but variety, all of them seeing God in themselves, and in each other; but if a man's portion be in any thing without God, I tell thee thou must leave it behind thee, Isa. 50.11. when thou comest to lie down in the grave, and so having kindled a fire you compass yourself in your own sparks, you shall lie down in sorrow. All the comforts, of an ungodly man in this life are compared to the light of a candle, not only because they are maintained by creatures, base matter here below, but also because they will go out in the end, for the longest candle will end in a snuff; but now the light of the godly and their comfort being in God, it shines as the Sun more and more unto the perfect day. 5. It shall be unto you according to your desire, you shall never have any part or portion in God for ever; that which is thy sin shall be thy punishment: as Christ made it to them that were invited, they shall never taste of my supper; so it shall be with you, you will have no interest in God, neither shall you have unto eternity, depart from me you cursed, cursed with eternal destruction from the presence of God, and the glory of his power; 2 Thess. 1.9. and this is called utter darkness. It's true our Divines commonly say, that the Torments of Hell are of two sorts, (1) Poena damni, something privative, which is the loss of God, and the happiness of the Saints. (2) Poena sensus, which is something positive, a punishment inflicted by God immediately upon soul and body. But it's said commonly by Divines, that it's the first that is the greatest part of a man's torment, and it's that which makes Hell properly such, which is demonstrated (1) from the meritorious cause of it, which is sin. There are in the Law two things, [1] the precept, [2] the prohibition. Now the mind of the Lawgiver was most in the precept, and therefore the omission is a greater offence than the commission, if they be apart considered: now the punishment of loss is proportioned unto the omission of the precept, as the punishment of sense is unto the commission of the sin. (2) It will appear in this, that the blessedness of the Saints in Heaven doth mainly consist in the vision of God, that they shall see him face to face; and in this is the happiness of the Angels and Saints, yea of Christ himself, Psal. 16.1. therefore on the contrary doth the misery and damnation of the wicked lie, that they shall be deprived of the vision of the face of God for ever: Mille gehennae poenae, at nihil est quale à gloria Dei excludi, & à Deo odio haberi, etc. Chrys. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Basil in oratione de extremo Judicio. 6. He that has his portion in any thing below God, and not in the Essence of God, God will be engaged against him for ever, and his judgement shall flow from God immediately▪ For either thou must have thy happiness in him immediately, or else thy misery will come in immediately from him for ever: for as after this life God will not govern by the creatures, nor comfort by the creatures; so neither will he afflict or punish by them, but it shall be from his own immediate hand; therefore the fire of Hell is not material fire, as some have fancied, but it is God's dispensing himself in wrath; Heb 12. ult. for our God is a consuming fire. It's disputed amongst the Schoolmen, Whether the Devils who were unto men incensores in culpa, abettors in the sin, shall be also tortores in poena, etc. tormentors in the punishment. And it's denied by some of them solidly upon these grounds. (1) The Devil's ministry shall last no longer than the time of the ministry of good Angels, and that shall be but for the time of this life; for Satan shall be the God of this world no more after this life, and the good Angels shall be Principalities and Powers no more; for all rule and all authority shall be put down, whether good or evil; and therefore what power soever Satan has over wicked men while they are here (for he works effectually in them) he shall have no power over them hereafter. (2) The Devil himself being the greatest in sin, shall be the deepest in torment; for Hell is prepared chief for the Devil and his Angels. Now who shall torment the Devils? who can have power over them? this must be by God immediately, it must be done by his own hand: Therefore man being appointed to partake with the Devil in the same torment, and by the same fire, look what it is that torments the Devil, that also must be the torment of those that in a way of sinning have given themselves unto him. (3) No creature can make a man perfectly miserable; there is no creature that can deprive the soul of God, and shut out all hope of mercy, make it utter darkness; if the soul did not apprehend it to come from God's hand, his hope in God would still be continued; but as God hides his face in mercy sometimes here from his own people, so he shall show the wicked his face in wrath for ever; and therefore as in Heaven he is immediately the happiness and the glory of the Saints, so in Hell he is immediately the torment of the wicked: and the Lord Christ, as he is man, shall pronounce the sentence against them, but it is as God, that he shall inflict the punishment. As the sufferings of Christ here upon earth, the greatness of them lay in this, that God hide his face, and it pleased the Father to bruise him: so the same way will God t● with all unregenerate men; and therefore cursed art thou, O man, if thy portion be 〈◊〉 in the Essence of God for good and for blessedness, it shall lie in the Essence of God for misery and torment for ever. Use 2 §. 3. Therefore let your hearts and thoughts rise unto this height to seek God for himself, and be satisfied with nothing else; for all the creatures and the good things of this life are but given by the Lord to try men, whether they will prove baits to them, and to see whether they will rest satisfied in them without God: and herein lies the power of godliness, when a man is carried towards God for himself, and when there is nothing that comes from God will satisfy without God; for a regenerate man's happiness lies in the Essence of God, and in the vision thereof; and in this lies the happiness of Christ as Mediator, Psal. 16. that the Lord is the portion of his inheritance and of his cup. It's true, that Christ hath a great deal of satisfaction in seeing the travel of his soul, and is satisfied in the Saints, they are his friends, and his Spouse, and his brethren, etc. but yet the happiness of Christ as Mediator doth not consist therein, but only in the enjoyment of God himself, the vision of his Essence; and in this is the sincerity of a man's heart made manifest, when his heart is right with God, and he can say, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee. And truly in God a soul shall have all things, he that gives himself will deny thee nothing. Oh the height of the happiness of the Saints! that that which is the happiness of Christ, and the blessedness of God himself, that shall be thy blessedness also; and therefore we may cry out, O the blessedness of that man whose God is Jehovah! Now the ways of attaining of this blessedness are these. 1 Pet. 2.21. 1. By way of Union with Christ; for God is first Christ's God, and then our God: Christ's end is to bring us unto God, and it must be by entering into Covenant, and there is no way of coming into Covenant but by Union▪ be one with Christ, and then God is thine in Covenant. Joh. 3.3. 2. By a work of Regeneration: Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Grace is above nature, and grace is a principle that doth qualify a man for the enjoying of God: there is no beatifical vision without a fiducial vision, no seeing God, without holiness no man shall see the Lord; for it is by this that a man is made a meet inheritor with the Saints in light. Rom. 12.1. 3. There must be Self-resignation to God. Give yourselves unto the Lord; for he that will have Christ to be his, must be Christ's: he that will have the Lord for his portion, must also himself be the Lords portion; and therefore the Scripture speaks it reciprocally, The Lord is the portion of his people. Use 3 3. See the riches of the Love of God under the second Covenant, called the riches of his grace, Eph. 1.7. Indeed it was great Love that the Lord was pleased to show to man in his Creation, when he did make over all his creatures to him for his use, even all the works of his hands, and great was his bounty therein; but all this is nothing in comparison to the second Covenant; for so bountiful is his love, that he gives himself; that he will not only act for you, but he will be yours truly, wholly, entirely yours, so as your happiness shall consist in him, and not in yourself, he will be your chief good, and your utmost end, and the bottom of free grace lies in this; the ground of his giving his Son, and of all the great things in the new Covenant is this, they were the men of his good will that should be happy in himself, and he will bestow himself upon them. And that he may do so, he gives them his Son to bring them to God: all tends but to this end. Use 4 4. It's the highest ground of comfort and assurance unto faith in the world: if God give his Son, if he give himself, therefore he will give them all spiritual and temporal blessings. There is unto the Saints all things in God; therefore when the Lord desires to give unto his people full assurance, Heb. 6.17. as if he were in dispute about it, it's said, When he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself, as if the Lord had been solicitous about it, and so desirous to give a man ground of fullness of assurance, that if there had been a greater, God would have sworn by it; but because there was no greater, he swore by himself: and so it's here in this particular also, the Lord is desirous to show his Love unto his Saints to the utmost, and Love is mainly seen in the bounty of it. Now if there had been a greater gift than himself he would have bestowed it; but because there was no greater he gave himself, and made over his own Essence to them: which is not only a strong ground of assurance that you shall be happy (for he is the blessed God, and his blessedness lies in himself, and he is his own blessedness) but that he shall according to the possibility of the creature become thy happiness also; and it's a sure ground, that he that gives himself will deny nothing that may conduce to bring thee unto that glorious end, which is the vision of Gods own Essence, in which the height of his Love and of thy happiness 〈◊〉; and therefore Psal. 84.11. He will be a sun and a shield, he will give grace and glory and he can withhold or hold back nothing, non prohibebit, etc. He that has given himself, and could not withhold himself and his own Essence, surely there is nothing else that he can withhold from thee that lovest him. Use 5 5. Admire the happiness of the Saints: blessed men that you are, who have your portion in the Lord: Psal. 144. ult. O the blessedness and the infinite happiness of that people who have, as their trust, so their portion in God alone! O happy must that creature be that hath his happiness in an infinite Being. It is the glory, of the righteousness of the Saints, that it is settled in another, and not in themselves; and therefore the Saints should glory in their portion, and make their boast of God, Psal. 34. My soul shall make her boast of God: in God we boast all the day long. The word in the Original is laudabit se, shall praise itself, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 admire its own happiness and blessed condition: every man answerably unto what he places his happiness in, so he doth solace himself, and glory in it. Psal. 44.8. Rich men boast themselves in the multitude of their riches, and praise their condition, as the only happy men in the world; but this doth properly belong unto the Saints: and therefore though thou art in never so mean a condition below, though thy commons be short, and thou art fed in the world as a Lamb in a large place, yet thy happiness ends in God, and that doth please thee more than all the corn and wine and oil in this world; as it did Christ, Psal. 16. the Lord is my portion, the lot is fallen to me in a fair ground, I have a goodly heritage. Who is able to measure that happiness that lies in an infinite Essence and an infinite goodness? I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy commandments are exceeding broad: so say all the Saints, nothing is to be compared with a God. Use 6 Lastly, If this be the happiness of the Saints, then look through all the means that lead unto this end, and let this be the great thing in your eye; for Christ, and Promises, and Ordinances, all of them are but to this end to bring you to God; therefore look through them all to a further end, Christ himself is but a medium thereunto, and therefore for this happiness sigh and groan, and be not satisfied with any thing else, no not with the graces of God, and communion with Jesus Christ; but consider, the enjoyment of the ultimate object of faith is God, and then will our happiness be completed, when we shall be ever with the Lord, then, and not till then. CHAP. IU. In the Covenant of Grace God makes over all the Persons in the Trinity. SECT. I. The distinct Offices and Acts of each Person in the Trinity in this Covenant. §. 1. I Now come unto the third Head in this great and glorious Promise, and that is, When the Lord doth promise to be the God of his people, he doth make over to them in Covenant all the Persons in the Divine Nature; for they had all of them a hand in the making of the Covenant, and therefore all the promises of the Covenant come from them all, they all of them do make over themselves unto the Saints: and this will appear, (1) by looking upon them all as free Agents, and those that are absolute Lords, and have dominion over their own acts, and they have all given themselves. [1] God the Father has made over himself, I will be unto him a Father, it's spoken of Christ; and therefore he is called by the Apostle the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by this means he is our Father, my Father, and your Father, my God and your God, say Christ. Joh. 20. Esay 9.6. [2] He gives the Son unto us, Unto us a Son is given, and therefore he is called by way of eminency, the gift of God, Joh. 4.10. Rom. 8. He that spared not his own Son, but gave him to death for us all. And yet the Son is not so given by the Father, but he doth also freely give himself; for he saith, I and my Father are one, not only one in essence, but also one in will, Joh. 10.30. in reference unto the great work of Redemption; and therefore God doth ●o sooner make the motion to him, Psal. 40. it is brought in as the consultation held in Heaven before the Lord dispatched Christ into the world, but Christ saith, Lo I come to do thy will O God. Psal. 40. Joh. 10.18. I came not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. There is none that takes away my life, but I lay it down of myself. [3] And the giving of the Spirit, it's sometimes said to be the gift of the Father, and therefore called the Promise of the Father, which they were to wait for, Acts 1.8. and sometimes the gift of the Son, I will send the Comforter: again, Joh. 14.26. The Comforter that I will send you from the Father, Joh. 15.26. and the Comforter whom the Father will send in my name. Which is not to be interpreted as a promise only of the gifts and graces of the Spirit to come in but at second hand: but as the giving of the Son is a giving of his person, and giving us an interest therein; so giving the Spirit is a giving of the person of the Spirit also, and giving us a personal interest in him: and as the Father and Son are one, so is the Spirit also one with them; and therefore has the same will with them, and doth freely bestow himself upon the Saints for their portion, as the Son doth to accomplish the great designs of the Gospel. 2. This will appear from the union of a Saint with all the Persons in the Trinity. The Scripture speaks distinctly, 1 Cor. 6.17. not only of a union with Christ, but with the Spirit, he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit, i. e. not only makes up one spiritual body with him, but also is one with the Spirit that dwells in him; and therefore Joh. 17.21. Christ's prayer is, That they may be one, Pater & Filius sunt unum per naturam, nostra unio per gratiam. Athan. De 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 spiritualis piorum in Deo unitatis in vitae hujus infirmitate pluribus disserere non possumus, sed mysterium hoc reverenter adoramus, & unitatis hujus participes fieri optamus. as we are one: not only one amongst themselves, but one with us also, according unto that glorious and unspeakable union that is between the persons amongst themselves, of which this is but a shadow and a resemblance. God is said to dwell in the Saints, and they are the habitation of God through the Spirit, 2 Cor. 6.16. and they are said to dwell in God, Joh, 1.4, 16. and 1 Thess. 1.1. which is in God the Father, etc. and to work in God, Joh. 3.21. And our Divines do commonly say, that in glory our union with God shall be perfected; and they say, that the soul is capable of an union with God, as it does appear in its union with the Son; for the mystical union is not only unto Christ as Man, but unto the Godhead, as well as unto the Manhood of Christ; for we are made one with whole Christ both God and Man. Now by this means there being but one Essence, there must follow a glorious union with all the Persons, and if this be perfected (as some make that to be the intent of Christ's prayer, Joh. 17.21. That they may be one with us, as thou Father art in me) if there be a perfection of their union hereafter, then surely there is an union that is begun in this life with all the persons in the Godhead; and so much also our particular union with them does imply, for all communion is grounded in union. 3. It will appear from the distinct Communion of the Saints with them all: Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 Joh. 1.3. And there is a fellowship of the Spirit also, Joh. 14.21. 1 Cor. 13.14. (1) There are distinct manifestations: Christ says, I will manifest myself to him; and there is a distinct Love, He that loves me shall be loved of my Father. I do not say that I will pray the Father, for the Father himself loves you; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father also: and therefore there is the love of the Son discovered, and the love of the Father also. Sometimes the love and good will of the one is let into the Soul, and sometimes of another; and the soul is drawn out and ravished sometimes with the love of the one, and sometimes with the love of another: and we honour them distinctly, and believe in them distinctly, honour the Son, as they honour the Father, and believe in God, believe also in me, Joh. 14.1. Answerable unto the manifestations and discoveries that are made, such are the apprehensions and the affections of the Saints. Some are mightily at first conversion taken up with the love of the Father, and they see that Christ was but his servant in that work, and the fountain of free grace was in the Father, and the plot to redeem was his, and it was his will that Christ came to perform, and therefore their hearts and faith are mainly drawn out towards God the Father. Others there be that have the love of Christ set on upon their hearts, who though he were God, and in the form of God, and thought it no robbery to be equal with God, yet he did empty himself, and humbled himself unto death, even the death of the Cross; and he came off freely upon the motion of the Father, which was so much the more, because all the acts of the Father, though they are acts of Love, yet are acts of Majesty also, and there was no dishonour or condescension in the Father; but the acts of Christ were acts of ministry and of humiliation, and that even unto the death of the Cross, that he should be made sin, and made a curse; and the Love of Christ is discovered unto them as passing knowledge. There are distinct manifestations of them all, and therein is the ground of their communion with them all. (2) There are distinct communications, the Father opens his bosom, and he reveals his counsels. There is a book in the right hand of him that sits upon the Throne, he reveals his mind unto Christ, Joh. 1.18. Joh. 6.46. and by him unto his Saints; and therefore he is said to come out of the bosom of the Father, and therefore man is said to hear and learn of the Father: and the Son communicates his righteousness, his graces, his victories, his privileges, his inheritance, and the Spirit doth convey unto the soul his right and his warmth (for the Spirit is as fire) his holiness and his comforts, for he is the oil of gladness; his communion doth consist in giving and receiving and returning. Now there is something that all the Saints do receive from each of the persons, and there is a peculiar glory that they do return unto them all, answerable unto the mercies that they do receive; and by this means proportionable unto the mercies they receive, such is the communion that the Saints have, sometimes with one person, and sometimes with another; they know that he that has communion with the Father has communion with the Son and with the Holy Ghost, because they are one; but my meaning is, that person which a man's heart is at the present affected with, and drawn out unto in a more special manner, that he has a special communion with, which is something of the Love of the Father, and the manifestation and communication of the Father, sometimes of the Son, and sometimes of the Spirit, and answerable unto these our communion is said to be with each of them. 4. It will appear by these distinct acts of office which they have for the good of the Saints undertaken; for though opera ad extrà sunt indivisa, and we cannot say that one works, but the other works also; and therefore we cannot call them opera propria, proper works; yet they are appropriata, appropriated, in the Scripture they are more specially attributed some unto one, and some to another. Eph. 1.2, 3. Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, and blessed us with all spiritual mercies in Christ: and for Christ, we have Redemption through his blood, etc. and as for the Spirit, Eph. 1.13, 14. After you believed you were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of your inheritance. And so 1 Pet. 1.2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God, through the sanctification of the Spirit, and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: therefore by reason of the special interest that they have given unto the Saints in themselves, they have undertaken distinct offices; and this is plain in Son and Spirit, which are terms of office. He that is sent doth imply as much as to be employed in the business of another, and to receive his commission from another. This will appear, (1) in the work of Conversion and Election, the Father begets, calls, draws: For no man (says Christ) can come to me, except God the Father draws him. Christ he receives men, but he receives none but those that the Father has given him, he gives him the souls that he must save, and they that come to him are so given him of the Father, these shall come, and none else, he will in no wise cast them off. And as Christ receives them, so the Spirit unites God and the soul; for he is the bond of union between them and their Head, he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit; and we are one Spirit, baptised into one body; and therefore in the work of Election each of them have their distinct acts and office. (2) In all the duties of the Saints they have their proper and distinct works; as in hearing, it is God the Father whose the truths are that they hear, Eph. 3.9. they are a mystery hid in God from ages and from generations. The book of his counsels are in the hand of him that sits upon the Throne, who is the Word of God, that is, the Interpreter of the Father's mind, as the word of a man is of the mind of a man, which I conceive is the proper meaning of that expression; and so Joh. 1.17. The law came by Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ meritoriously; for there is not a truth revealed but cost the blood of Christ, and it is as the Lamb that was slain, by virtue of his Priesthood, that he doth open the book, Rev. 5. And so the Spirit is the Eyesalve that gives us an understanding to receive the truths that are revealed, and doth engraft the word into the heart: so in prayer also, Joh. 5.20. the Father is prayed unto; and therefore Christ teaches us in our prayers to look up unto God, and to cry, Our Father; not but that Christ and the Spirit may be prayed to, for they are God, they are believed in, and therefore are to be prayed unto; but yet because of the different offices of the persons in this work of prayer, therefore we are mainly directed to pray unto the Father; so that he hears prayers, and the Spirit indites them, Rom. 8.26. and the Son he offers them with his own odours, Rev. 8.3. (3) It will appear also in the sealing of the Saints, which, I conceive, is not the working of grace, as some say, and so the allusion is of a seal, modo naturali, and so the Spirit in working an impression of the image of Christ upon the soul is said to seal it, leaving the like impression in the man; but it is after a man believes; Eph. 1.13. and I conceive, that sealing is used in Scripture chief in a metaphorical sense, to assure and to mark out a person, as it's said Ezech. 9 They were sealed, that is, set apart for it, and seal the stone, that is, to make it sure, to ratify and confirm it. Now there are the distinct seals of all the persons unto the evidences of the Saints, they have all of them a distinct witness, 1 Joh. 5.7. The Father, the Word, and the Spirit, and they three agree in one, they do all of them testify the same thing, but yet they do all of them give a distinct witness in the hearts of the Saints; as they did witness unto Christ, the Father from Heaven, and the Son in his Baptism, and the Spirit descending as a Dove, so they do also unto the souls of the Saints: and therefore Sacraments are called Seals: not that they do work the righteousness of faith in any man; (for they do not work grace, but strengthen and witness grace) but because they do assure it unto the man that doth receive them, and for that cause are said to be sealing Ordinances. §. 2. Now these distinct acts of office they do perform, are grounded upon the distinct interest that the Saints have in them all: and I call these acts of Office upon a double ground. [1] Because they are but for a time, during the present administration of the mediatory Kingdom, which shall have its period, and then the Father will draw souls to Christ no more, the Son will present sacrifice to God no more, 1 Cor. 15.24. the Spirit will no longer assist, call, purge, sanctify, seal; but all the graces of the Subjects of the Kingdom of Christ shall be perfected, and all God's ends in the Covenant of grace attained; and then the offices that were undertaken but for the accomplishment of these ends shall be laid down. [2] Because there is a personal glory that doth redound unto each person by these offices: there be natural acts that do add to the essential glory, the glory of the nature; but acts of Office being personal, they add unto the glory of the persons that do perform them; 1 Cor. 5.17, 18. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, the Father hath the glory thereof; and the Son he hath taken the form of a servant, and paid the service, and made a purchase, and he has the glory thereof, all Nations are given unto him, and the honour of it in the hearts of all the Saints: Joh. 5.23. That all men may honour the Son, etc. And the Holy Ghost he works all in the hearts of the Saints, he gins the good work, Phil. 1.6. and he perfects it; for all the graces of the Saints are but fruits of the Spirit, and therefore he has a distinct glory also. The great end and intent of God in the new Covenant was not only to show forth the Attributes of his Nature, and to glorify them in a higher way than ever they were formerly under the first Covenant discovered, as we have formerly seen; but also to exalt the glory of all the persons in the hearts of the Saints, that they might, with hearts ravished with the love, goodness, and the offices of them all, cry out, Glory be unto the Father, Son, and holy Ghost, and pray unto them all, Rev. 1.5, 6. Grace be unto you, and peace from him which was, and is, and which is to come, and from the seven Spirits before the Throne, and from Jesus the faithful and true witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth, who has loved us, and washed us from our sins by his own blood, and has made us Kings and Priests unto God, and the Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, etc. They have each of them their peculiar glory of the distinct works that they themselves have wrought, and all of it is grounded upon this distinct interest that the Lord doth promise to the Saints, that he will be their God. 5. When the Saints come to glory, their communion with all these glorious persons shall be perfected, they shall not only have perfect sanctification, but communion; and as their communion in this life is not with God only, but with all the persons distinctly, having hearts affected with love, and sensible of the communion of them all, so it shall be much more in Heaven; for the communion here that we have shall be perfected. Now in Heaven we shall have not only the vision of God, that is, of his Essence, but also of all the persons, we shall see God in Trinity, as well as in Unity; for what we have here by faith, we shall have there by sight; but here we have that by faith, therefore we shall see them there, or else we cannot see him as he is; and according to our vision, so shall our communion be, but we shall have a distinct fellowship and sweetness in the Father, Son, and Spirit for ever. Now the grounds of it are these. 1. That our happiness might appear to consist in the vision and fruition of them all, therefore they are all of them distinctly made over by Covenant to us, we shall not only see God in his Unity, but in his Trinity also, not only the glory of the Divine Essence, but the excellency of each of the persons. This is a mystery now that is inconceivable unto us, which we are not to pry into, which the Angel in a vision told Austin while he was studying and did endeavour to comprehend, he did but attempt to empty the Sea with a spoon into a pit, Scrutator Majestatis opprimitur à gloria. This Mystery is here discovered only to the faith of the Saints; but that revelation which is in this life imperfect shall be perfected in Heaven, and our knowledge which in a way of faith is imperfect (for faith is a grace that doth suppose imperfection) that shall be perfected in vision; for in Heaven whatever doth suppose sin, or implies imperfection, shall be done away; therefore the Father as distinguished from the Son, and the Son from the Father, the nature of the generation of the Son, and the procession of the Holy Ghost, which now we have only revealed unto us that it is so, the nature and the manner of it we shall understand, so far as the creature is capable of such glorious and inconceivable mysteries, and then in them all shall our happiness consist, and our soul is to have its portion in them all. 2. That the soul may honour them distinctly; for the aim of God in the new Covenant is not barely the glory of the Divine Essence, and to exalt in the hearts of the Saints the Attributes of the Nature, but the excellency of the persons also; that they may honour the Son, Joh. 5.23. as they honour the Father, that they may give glory to the Father, Son, and holy Spirit, and may cry always day and night, Holy, holy, holy, Rev. 4.8. repetitâ acclamatione unum Jehovam celebrant, quem etiam trinum agnoscunt, Bright. And the Lord doth in Scripture exceedingly stand upon a distinct glory, and to that very end requires not only a general and confused, but a distinct acknowledgement; not only that we should know God to have all goodness and all sufficiency in him, but the particular attributes and excellencies that are in God; and not only to know Christ, to have all fullness in him, but that the soul see the several offices and the particular excellencies that are laid up in Christ, as the Church doth, Cant. 5. for as else a man can never give God glory till his particular excellencies be known and discovered, so a man will never be in his own soul affected with it (for they are particulars that do affect:) as whilst the Queen of Sheba heard but a general report of the wisdom of Solomon, she was so far affected, as that she was moved to come a great journey, even from the farthest parts of the Earth to hear his wisdom; but when she saw his wisdom in the particulars of it, when he had answered all her questions, and she had seen all his glory, there was no more spirit left in her, 1 King. 10.5. they were the particulars that did affect, his wisdom, and his house, and his servants, etc. As it's in confession, they are not generals that do affect, it's a small thing for men to say, That they are all sinners, and they have broken all the commands; but when a man sees his sins in the particulars set down in order before him, then is his soul amazed, and he doth abhor himself, never till then: and so it is in thanksgiving also. Now because that all the persons shall be glorified, and they shall all have great glory, therefore it must be distinct; and that it may come from a heart truly affected with it also, therefore he must give unto each person his distinct glory. 3. That a man in this life may exercise distinct acts of faith upon them all, Joh. 14.1. You believe in God, believe also in me, not only to the glory of God the Father, but of the Son and Spirit also; that faith may have an eye unto God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Eph. 1.14. and unto Christ as the Son, in whom he is well pleased, as Mat. 17.3. therefore he is in the bosom of the Father able to reveal all his Father's counsels unto the Saints, and interceding as he is the Son, and therefore is very powerful with him, Joh. 3.16. he cannot deny the cry of a Son, Heb. 7. ult. Though Christ as he is God cannot pray, because he can stand in need of nothing that he should go out of himself for, for he is God all-sufficient; 1 Cor. 3.11. Rev. 4. yet it is the Godhead that gives an efficacy to all that is done in the humane nature. There are two things Christ does as he is a Priest. (1) His Satisfaction, and the sufficiency thereof is put upon the Godhead in the Scripture, Acts 20.28. The blood of God, and, We are made the righteousness of God in him, 2 Cor. 5.21. and Heb. 9.14. He offered himself by the eternal Spirit without spot to God. (2) His Intercession: and though he doth intercede by the power of his satisfaction (for he doth enter within the most holy place) and doth sprinkle the blood with the incense, his blood is a speaking blood; yet the prevalency of his Intercession is commonly put upon the strength of the relation between God and him, Psal. 2.7, 8. Thou art my Son, etc. Ask of me and I will give thee, etc. Thou art Christ the Son of God, it's the confession of Peter's faith, and is also called the Foundation of the Church's faith, 1 Cor. 3.11. And so there is Divine Worship given to Christ as Mediator, they worship the Lamb, this is by reason of union; and yet it is evident, Rev. 4. that the humane nature remains a creature after its union, and therefore it is as he is the Son, and so is coessential with the Father, this is the formalis ratio, the proper cause of this Divine Faith and Worship; and so the Holy Ghost also he is to be believed for himself and his own testimony: the Spirit is truth, 1 Joh. 5.6. and the Scriptures are to be believed only for the testimony of the Spirit, 2 Pet. 1.21. But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; therefore we are commanded to hear what the Spirit says unto the Churches; he is called therefore the Spirit of faith, 2 Cor. 4.13. 4. That we may honour them in our prayers distinctly: for whomsoever a man is to believe in, him he may pray unto, Rom. 10.14. How can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And therefore in our prayers we are not only to go unto God, but unto each of the persons, with distinct petitions, suitable unto the acts that they have undertaken, and the offices in which they have made over themselves unto the Saints under the new Covenant. Christ he prays to the Father, Holy Father, righteous Father, I will that those that thou hast given me be with me, sanctify them by thy truth. And Stephen at his death, Lord Jesus receive my spirit. And the Disciples, Lord increase our faith. And so doth the Church, Tell me where thou feedest, etc. The Apostle commonly speaks of them all together, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit be with you. And Rev. 1.5, 6. Grace from him that is, and was, and is to come, and from the seven Spirits that are before the Throne, and from Jesus the faithful and true witness. And as it is a man's duty to believe in the Son as well as the Father, so it is to pray to the Son distinctly, as also unto the Father: for as our faith must distinctly take in all the objects of faith, or else it is imperfect; (for there are two things that tend to the perfection of any grace: (1) When it takes in all the objects in their extent and latitude. (2) When they do put forth complete and perfect acts upon these objects: thus I say, as faith must take in all its objects, or else there is something wanting in it, as the Apostle speaks of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the wants of faith) so must faith give unto each of these their due and proper glory; and Christ being to be believed in, he may be prayed unto, nay it's an honour that belongs unto him, and therefore our faith must give it to him. 5. That the soul may have a distinct fellowship and communion with them all; and there is a fellowship with the Spirit; 1 Joh. 1.3. we are by the Gospel brought into communion with God, and it's a distinct fellowship and communion that we are to have with all the persons, our communion is as large as our relation, and the soul is to look upon himself as reconciled to them all; and therefore all of them are become our friends; and we have a particular and distinct interest in them all. Now how is a man said to have fellowship with God, or to walk with God? it is when the thoughts of a man's heart are taken up with God, and he has an eye unto him, and unto his glory from day to day: As a man is said to have communion with the Devil, when he walks with his temptations, and the desires and thoughts of his heart do run out towards the unfruitful works of darkness; a man has fellowship with the Devil in all things, as it is said; Prov. 6.22. The law shall talk with a man waking, and keep him when he is asleep, and lead him when he goes; how is this is? it is but in the thoughts and the meditations of a man's own heart, by the suggestions and directions thereof, where it doth richly dwell; so it is in this also, it is communion with God, and Gods dwelling in the soul, animus ascendit frequenter, etc. the soul frequently ascends, there is gratiarum decursus & recursus, a flowing down and reflowing of graces, and in this doth our communion lie. Now a man having an interest in all the persons, all of them having undertaken something for a man's good by way of office, and a man receiving something from them all, and returning praise to them all, there is in the soul a distinct fellowship to be exercised with them all; sometimes the thoughts of his heart being drawn out to the Father, and sometimes unto the Son, and sometimes unto the Spirit; and observing the witnessing of them all, and the sealing of them all unto the evidences of the Saints, sometimes we walk with the Father, and sometimes with the Son, and sometimes with the Spirit; and the more distinct a man's communion is, the more sweet it is. 6. That a man may draw arguments and motives unto duty and against sin from them all, and a man's interest in them all. We are said to be baptised in the name of them all, Mat. 28.20. Mat. 28.20. Baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Now what is it to be baptised into the name of the Father? it's conceived to be taken from the manner of marriage, wherein the wife doth transire in nomen, in familiam, etc. into the name and family of the husband: or of servants, who had their master's name called upon them; 1 Cor. 1.13. and therefore no man might be baptised in the name of a creature, it is that which Paul detests, that he should baptise in his own name; and therefore the meaning is, to be baptised in fidem, in cultum, into the faith and worship of God; and so you are unto them all, and give up your names unto them all; and therefore unto each person we own both faith and worship distinctly, all manner of duty and obedience, because we are distinctly baptised unto the faith of them all, to believe in them, and worship them: and a man should draw arguments to keep him from sin from them all, and his interest in them all, the Father is greater than all, and it is by his will we are sanctified: If we call him Father, who without respect of persons judgeth every man according to his works. Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear, 1 Pet. 1.15. And he says of Christ, I send my Angel, but take heed of him, obey his voice, provoke him not, for my name is in him. And grieve not the holy Spirit, by whom you are sealed to the day of redemption, do not resist the Holy Ghost, do not tempt him, lest he forsake you, and say, I will strive with you no more. A man should fear the evil aspect of any word of God, and the estrangement of any promise of God, that he should be in such a condition, that he cannot go to it with boldness and comfort, and be kept off from an Ordinance of God, that he cannot eat the Passover with the people of God in the season of it: how much more when a man shall look up upon the Father, Son, and Spirit, and sees any of these estranged from him; for they seek the glory one of another, and delight to have each other honoured in the hearts of the Saints; and if thou walk unworthily towards any of them, they are all of them provoked and displeased thereby. §. 3. Let us now take a view of the particulars, how, and in what respect each person doth make over himself unto the Saints in the second Covenant, that we may see how they have an interest in them all. 1. God the Father makes over himself in Covenant unto the Saints as he is the Father; Joh. 20. therefore Christ calls him My Father and your Father, my God and your God. The Saints also call him our Father, 2 Thess. 1.1. In God our Father, etc. Christ is his Son by nature, as he is God, and as Mediator, he is taken into the same Sonship by the grace of personal Union, Luke 1.35. That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And we are also taken into the same Sonship by the grace of Adoption, by virtue of the mystical Union, even as the Manhood of Christ is by the personal Union. Now what is it to have an interest in him as a Father, that we can call him Abba Father? The sweetness of that relation is very great unto the Saints; for he is the Father of mercies, and he is the Father of lights, 2 Cor. 1.3. Jam. 1.17. by which Majesty, Holiness, and Perfection is intimated, for so much Light doth signify, 1 Joh. 1.5. and therefore he is said to dwell in light, and Heaven to be an inheritance in light, and he is the Fountain and Father of all Light, whether it be lumen fidei, or lumen gloriae, Col. 1.12. the light of faith, or the light of glory: and from hence Saints looking upon God the Father making over himself unto them, are greatly affected, considering, (1) they have the honour of such a relation; and truly the highest honour of the Saints is that of Sonship, as it was the highest honour of Christ in his relation, that he was the Son of the Father; and we count it a high honour to stand in relation unto a Prince, as David said, Is it a small matter to be Son-in-law to a King? It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a privilege or prerogative to be called the Sons of God, Behold what manner of love the Father has showed us, Joh. 1.12, 13. that we should be called the sons of God Now we are the sons of God in this life, we have this title of honour put upon us, though it is true our condition doth not seem answerable unto such a relation; adoptionis fructus nondum apparet, etc. 1 Joh. 3.2. (2) We may be sure to be acquainted with his secrets, and see all his actings; for the Father loves the Son, and shows him all that he himself does: he did so to Christ, and in your measure he will deal so with you also; for the Son is in the bosom of the Father, and therefore he knows his mind and his purpose, The secrets of the Lord are with them that fear him, Joh. 1. ●8. i. e. the secrets of his counsel with them, and the secret of his providence over them, his Law is in their hearts. (3) He loves you as a Father, My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And we know the bowels of a father to his son by abraham's to Ishmael for his everlasting state, his love did rise so high, though we are begotten not of the will of man, but of God. And though Absolom were a disobedient son, yet David doth love him, so that his heart went out to him, even when he rebelled against him, there is an efficacy in love. (4) As a Father he'll hear your prayers: Father I thank thee, that thou hast heard me, I know thou hearest me always, whatever you ask of the Father, he will give it you also that are his children. It is by our sonship that we prevail with God in prayer at any time, we have an Advocate in the Father, The Father himself loves you, saith Christ, and therefore whatever you ask the Father be sure you shall speed, and Christ argues the case with us, Why should you doubt this? If you know how to give good gifts to your children that are evil, how much more shall your heavenly Father give to them that ask? (5) He will as a Father give you a supply for all your wants: The Father loves the Son, and has committed all things into his hand, all judgement is committed to the Son; so he will give you as a Father the greatest gifts, he gives his Son, his Spirit, he will give the Holy Ghost to them that ask him, he will give grace and glory, he doth not think Heaven too dear for them, because they are sons, and his own Essence he will make their portion and happiness. (6) He rejoiceth in your prosperity here in your well-doing, when wisdom is justified of her children, he rejoiceth in their well-doing, a wise son maketh a glad father: he loves to see them prosper, to see their graces grow, and their souls thrive, that they may have all good things both here and hereafter. (7) He spares them in their services, as a father spares his son that serves him, though they be weak he doth not reject their offerings, and he doth accept the will for the deed; does not deal with us as an enemy that watches for our halting, but as a father; we do not stand without as the rest of the world do, but we come into the inner Court. (8) last, they have an interest in him for correction, Whom I love I chastise, says God; and in all their afflictions he doth pity them as a father, Eph. 3.12. he doth correct in judgement, not in fury, but in measure, etc. it is for their profit, that they may say it was good for them, etc. But more particularly this must be premised, How and in what respect each of the Persons have made over themselves to the Saints under the second Covenant. that under the first Covenant all the persons had an equal hand in the same things, and there were not opera propria, but what the Father is said to do, that the Son and Spirit also are said to do; so that they have not their appropriata, any peculiar works appropriated unto them, but whatever is done, is done by the Godhead jointly; and the same thing that is said to be done by the Father, is said to be done by the Son also, that as God the Father is said to create all things, so is the Son also, Joh. 1, 3, 4. All things were made by him, and without him was nothing made that was made; and so it is said of the Spirit also, Gen. 1.2. The Spirit moved upon the face of the waters. Job 26.13. By his Spirit he has garnished the heavens; which doth not note the instrument or the minister by whom the Lord wrought, but only the order of the working in the Trinity, for the order of working is answerable to the order of subsisting; the Father works by the Son, and the Son works by the Spirit; and therefore Job 33.4. The Spirit of God made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life. It's attributed unto the Spirit alone: and not only in the work of Creation, but also in the upholding of the things created; for Joh. 1.3, 4. In him was life, that is, omnia per ipsum sustentari, etc. which is expounded by that, in him we live, and move, and have our being, and that Col. 1.17. By him all things consist, as well as were made by him, and in a more special manner the image of God, in which man was created, was from them all, Gen. 1.26. Let us make man in our own image, which was but one and the same of all the persons; for it is added, in the image of God created he him: Joh. 1.4. the life is the light of men, which is as much as to say, hominem per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad imaginem Dei creatum, as Chemnitius. Thus under the first Covenant all things were carried on by the Godhead jointly, and whatever was done is said to be done by them all, without any appropriation of any thing unto one person more than another. But when we come to a second Covenant, then though God works all in all, yet there is a special kind of appropriation of the actions, some more peculiarly unto one person, and some unto another, vel quoad agendi modum, vel quoad actionis terminum in quo se unius personae operatio potissimùm elucet, etc. Med. p. 37. Synops. purior. etc. p. 103. In which, though there be a joint concurrence of all the persons by way of consent, for they have all but one will, yet they may be in a special manner so appropriated unto the one, as they cannot unto the other; so the Father is said to send his Son, and the Son cannot be said to send himself; and so the Son is said to be incarnate, the word was made flesh, and to take upon him the form of a servant, which cannot be said of the Father; and so the Father and the Son are said to send the Comforter, which cannot be said of the Holy Ghost; Mat. 1.20. and the Holy Ghost is said to form Christ in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the holy thing conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost; and the Holy Ghost is the bond of Union between the two Natures, and the bond of Union between Christ and us, which cannot be said of the Father, or the Son, though there be a consent of will, and so a concurrence of all the persons unto every action that doth tend unto our salvation; for having one and the same Essence, they have all of them one will also; yea they have so taken upon themselves the special offices and acts, that per solennem quandam appropriationem, by a certain solemn appropriation, some of them are said so to be done by the one, as that they cannot be said to be done by the other; and it is according unto these appropriated Acts, that the persons are made over unto us under the second Covenant: for though the will of the Father and the Son be one and the same, because the Essence is but one; yet as the Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father, so eadem voluntas distinctè appropriat se alteri ut donanti & mittenti, alteri ut dato & misso, Cocceius de Testament. Dei Disput. 9 Thes. 92. The same will doth distinctly appropriate itself to one as the giver and sender, and to the other as given and sent. Now answerable unto this consent of will, such are the offices that they have undertaken, and such are the actions and operations that they do put forth, and by this distinct consent of will unto the several actions, which in the Scripture we see they do appropriate unto themselves, (for it is the Word of God, and the Lord speaks it of himself, and not any man) according unto these do they under the second Covenant make over themselves to the Saints, that, answerably to these several acts and offices, they may be able to look upon each person, to whom in Scripture they are appropriated, and from that person in faithfulness to expect the accomplishment of them, because they have each of them undertaken it, speaking so of themselves in the word, as if such acts did properly belong unto them, and thereby manifesting the distinct appropriation of their wills unto each of them. This being premised, let us now see how each person has made over himself unto Believers in reference unto the second Covenant. (1) As a distinct object of their faith; for there are distinct acts of faith to be exercised upon all these persons answerable unto their appropriated acts: Joh. 14.1. Ye believe in God, says Christ, believe also in me; for though the ultimate object of faith be God (for by Christ the Mediator we believe in God) yet the several persons are to have faith distinctly exercised upon them, 1 Pet. 1.21. answerable unto that distinct revelation of themselves. Joh. 5.23. Rev. 1.4. (2) As a distinct object of worship, That every man might honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. Grace and peace from him that is, and was, and is to come, and from the seven Spirits that are before the Throne. (3) As distinct grounds of their consolation; for though God be the God of all consolation, yet there is a distinct consolation comes from each person, answerable unto their appropriated acts, which is the ground of a distinct communion. (4) For their salvation, each of the persons having their proper work in bringing many sons to glory; but it has been showed, that these appropriated acts, which I called Acts of Office, are but for a time taken up with reference unto the mediatory Kingdom, and when that shall be ended, and all the Saints perfected and glorified, and the Kingdom again given up into the hand of the Father, than God shall be all in all; and the persons shall act jointly without any such appropriation for ever: and look what the Spirit in the Word has spoken of each person, that we may be assured of, that each person has undertaken; for the Spirit of God knows the mind of God and the things of God, and the Lord would never have spoken so of himself, but that he would have us to look upon them as acts that the persons had each of them undertaken for the Elect, and these we way build upon in the new Covenant, that they have and will perform. SECT. II. The Actions undertaken by God the Father in this Covenant. §. 1. GOD the Father has spoken of himself distinctly, and has taken upon himself some appropriated acts, and hath in them made over himself unto the Saints for their consolation and salvation, which we shall demonstrate unto you in these particulars. 1. All things begin at God the Father, he is first in order of working, as he is in the order of subsisting; he was the first Plotter and Mover in this great work of man's salvation; for the Son saith, He can do nothing of himself in it, Joh. 5.19. but what he sees the Father do; and therefore Luke 24.9. Christ calls it his Father's business: as though Solomon built the Temple, yet the Platform was revealed unto David, and by him was left unto his son; so though Christ, this Solomon was to build the Temple, the man whose name is the Branch, yet the Platform of all was laid by the Father; and therefore he is in Scripture every where said to have the first and the great hand therein: and I shall reduce these to two heads. (1) The Actions that are undertaken by the Father. (2) The Relations in which the Saints stand unto the Father. 1. The Actions, that according unto Scripture-acceptation the Father has undertaken, and these are of two sorts. (1) There are some acts that are eternal and before time. (2) There are some that are done by the Father in time. 1. The actions of the Father before all time, and they are these. (1) He did from Eternity purpose to glorify himself in the Son; for the Father will be glorified in the Son, Phil. 2.11. The great end of all the acts of Christ, and of all his life is this, that every tongue might confess, Joh. 14.13. That Jesus is the Lord, unto the glory of God the Father; for this is the highest way of glorifying the Father, and therefore Christ knowing that to be the Father's end, that he might show himself to be the Father's servant, he did aim at this end, and it was always in his eye in all things that he did, I seek not mine own glory, but the glory of him that sent me, Joh. 8.50. There is one that seeks not his own glory, and therefore Heb. 1.2, 3. he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which is the shining forth of the glory of the Father; for his great aim was from Eternity to be glorified in his Son; and therefore 1 Cor. 11.7. Christ is said to be the image and glory of God, and the woman the man's glory, the head of Christ is God. Now glory is the manifestation and the shining forth of some supereminent and transcendent excellency. And it was an argument of great excellency that was in man, that all the creatures were created for man, and put in subjection unto him; but the highest honour of man was the woman, who was created in the same nature, having a reasonable soul, as himself had; and souls know no sexes, being created after the same image, and unto the same glory with himself, and yet this glorious creature should be created for man, and put in subjection unto man, for the woman was created for the man: so also God hath great glory by all his creatures, for Prov. 16.4. He made all things for himself; and he has a more special honour from the reasonable creatures, the Angels and the Saints; but yet the top and the highest of God the Father's glory is, that the Son, who thought it no robbery to be equal with God in glory, yet shall give up himself to the glory of the Father; and this is a far greater glory than the Father has by all the creatures in Heaven and Earth. And there is a double glory that the Father did seek by the Son: (1) That the Son himself should give him glory, should seek his glory in all things, reflect all his own glory upon the Father, and attribute all to him, and be content to veil his own glory, that the glory of the Father might appear. (2) He has the glory of all that glory that is given to the Son by the Saints, it's all ultimately resolved into his glory who is the Father, as all the promises of God in Christ are in him Yea, 2 Cor. 1.29. and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us, Phil. 2.11. All the confessions and acknowledgements that are made unto Christ, do all of them redound unto the praise and glory of God; for the more the Son is glorified, the more it redounds unto the glory of the Father, whose glory the Son seeks in all that he does; and therefore in every respect the Father is glorified in the Son: and this was the great plot that God made from everlasting. (2) The Father's purpose was to glorify the Son in the Saints, that he might make him the head of both the Creations of God. [1] To them that stood; so he is the head of all Principalities and Powers, that they should all hold of him; and so they should all honour the Son as they honour the Father; Col. 2.10. and therefore it's said Heb. 1.6. the Angels do worship him; and so Angels are round about the Throne, Rev. 5.11. The Father will receive glory from no creature, but it shall be by the Son; for the great glory of the Father we must still remember comes in by him, and all the honour that they do unto the Son redounds unto God the Father. [2] As for them that should fall, as well as those that stood: Joh. 5.23. Joh. 17.10. All men must honour the Son, even as they honour the Father, and he that honours not the Son, honours not the Father; and therefore Christ says, All thine are mine, and mine are thine, I am glorified in them; so that all the glory that the Son had, its foundation was laid in the plot and purpose of the Father. I speak of his manifestative glory; as for his essential glory, he had that from himself, as he is God of himself, and was therein equal with God; and did no more receive his glory from another, than he did his essence from another; but having one and the same essence, they must needs have one and the same glory; but as for the glory that he hath amongst the creatures and from them all, it's from and by the plot of God the Father: to this end was Christ the head of both Creations. Esay 42.1. Eph. 1.4. (3) The purpose of the Father was to glorify the Elect, which he chose to himself out of both Creations; and therefore 'tis said Ephes. 1.4. He has chosen us in him before the foundations of the world were laid. He chose him as the head, and the Elect as the body: Eph. 1.9, 10. He has made known unto us the good pleasure of his will, according as he purposed in himself to gather together all things unto one, whether things in heaven, or things on earth. There is a Mystery in the Gospel which is called the hidden Wisdom, which God hath ordained before the world unto our glory; it was free grace to mind the glory of the Elect next to the glory of his own Son, 1 Cor. 2.7. and that as the Son shall glorify him, so also the glory of the Son shall come in by the glory of the Saints; and the Son engaged, who was the Lord of glory, to bring many sons to glory by this, because therein should his own glory consist; for at the day of Judgement the great glory of Christ shall be in his Saints, He shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and be admired in them that believe, etc. And if he did look upon man as fallen, he need never have taken up such a purpose as this is; for being enemies, he had a prison that was large enough to have held them all, Esay 10. ult. for Tophet was prepared of old, he hath made it deep and large, and he needs not their service nor their friendship, he could have destroyed them, and, as John Baptist saith, Of these stones he could raise up children unto Abraham. But yet it was the lovingkindness of the Father, that did think thoughts of peace towards them, and he had an eternal purpose of good will: and as the Father will be glorified in the Son, so shall the Saints also; and therefore they are said to be elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, 1 Pet. 1.3. and the plot is in Scripture commonly attributed unto the Father. (4) It was God the Father that made the motion unto Christ the Son, who called him and appointed him unto this work, Joh. 8.42. I came not of myself, it was an honour that Christ did not take upon himself, Heb. 5.5. But he that said, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee, he doth engage him in the work by the highest relation, and the greatest obligation that can be, as he was his gift, so he must be obedient unto the Father in this thing; Heb. 10.6, 7. and therefore In the volume of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy will O God, and this is intended in these two expressions, Prov. 8.22, 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he possessed me, Prov. 8.22, 23. for the servant is part of his master's goods; and therefore it's said, That he is his money, Exod. 21.21. Now as soon as the Son became in the purpose of the Father his servant, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 immediately he possessed him, and he is called the beginning of all the ways of God towards the creature. The first step of all the good will that was towards the creature, and all the go forth of God towards him was laid in the Son, he is the beginning of his way: and it is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I was set up from everlasting, it's the same word in Psal. 2.6. I was anointed from everlasting, it is spoken in the purpose and intention of God; for the efficacy of it took not place till after the Fall, neither was he actually anointed, till he in the humane nature received the Spirit without measure, and was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. (5) He proposed it unto the Son by way of a Covenant; for the Covenant was originally made with Christ, Esay 49. Gal. 3.6. and so 2 Tim. 1.9. there is a promise of eternal life, not unto us, but unto him; and also in Tit. 1.2. eternal life that was given us before the world began; he did appoint him the office that he should undertake, him has God the Father consecrated, and sanctified the service that he should do, Joh. 10.18. I lay down my life, and this commandment I received of my Father. And to show the intention of the Father's Spirit in it, he did swear, that he should be a Priest, and it was the word of the Oath made him so to be; For him hath God the Father sealed. Heb. 7.27. Joh. 6.26. And it was by this Covenant that most properly Christ became the second Adam, 1 Cor. 15.47. As the Lord made a Covenant with the first Adam for an image and an inheritance, which he was to transmit unto his posterity; so also he did with the second Adam: only here was the difference; though the first Adam's consent to the Covenant was voluntary, yet he being a creature, and subject to a Law, when the mind of God was made manifest in a Covenant, and to deal with him in a Covenant-way, it had been his sin to withdraw his consent. But now the Son being God equal with the Father, it was every way free with him to have consented unto the terms of this Covenant, or not; but he did it freely, Lo I come to do thy will, O God. (6) In this Covenant he did appoint unto his Son what glory he should have, and what glory and grace the Saints should have: He hath given us eternal life, 1 Joh. 5.11. and this life is in his Son: so that all the grace that ever should be communicated to the Saints here, and their glory hereafter, it should be all laid up in him, as in a common Treasury: It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And when the Saints enter into happiness, they do but enter into their master's joy, all is laid up in Christ for them. And God doth appoint Christ what glory he should have for his personal glory, Phil. 2.10. That he should be exalted at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and have a name given him above every name, and that he should be glorified in the Saints, and admired in them that believe; Joh. 5. the Father has given him to have life in himself, that he may quicken whom he will, and hath given him power to execute judgement, because he is the Son of man. (7) The Father did appoint him the souls that he should save; for Joh. 17.10. All thine are mine; I pray not for the world, but those that thou hast given me, etc. The Father and the Lamb have each of them a book of life, and they do answer one another; Rev. 13.8. for every soul that God would have saved, he did give unto the Lord Christ by Covenant: so that as he did measure out suffering to Christ, and sins too, for he had our sins unto a number laid upon him; so he did souls also that he was to bring to glory; and he knew all the souls that were given him of the Father, and the travel of his soul is seen in them. (8) The Father appointed all the degrees of grace they should have here, and of glory hereafter. Christ is but a Steward to dispense that eternal life which is laid up in him to that end. There is a measure of the age in the body of Christ, Joh. 5. Eph. 4.12. and the measure is appointed by the Father, and so are the measures of glory also, Mat. 20. It is not mine to give, says Christ, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. (9) The Father did engage unto the Lord Christ, that the service which he should do, should be accepted for the Saints, and that he would delight in it: It pleased the Lord to bruise him, etc. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, and shall prolong his days, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (10) The Father did engage himself to fit him for the work he was to do: Then said I, Lo I come, Heb. 10.7, 8. as in the volume of the book it's written of me, to do thy will, O God; sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, Psal. 40.5. but a body hast thou prepared me. And Esay 42.6. I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a Covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles. Psal. 16.8, 9 I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved, therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope, etc. 2. There are some acts that take place in time, though the decree and purpose of them was from everlasting; and these acts of the Father either concern Christ or the Saints, they are acts that are more immediately terminated in him, or in us. 1. The Acts of the Father which do more immediately concern Christ are these. 1. When the fullness of time appointed by the Father was come, than he sent him into the world, and that which was before only in Decree and Covenant, he doth now put in execution, Gal. 4.4. When the fullness of time was come, God sent his Son made of a woman, etc. So that the sending Christ into the world was God the Father's act: Luther. mos Scripturae est tempus exactum ac finitum impletum dicere, the Decree of his coming into the world was from everlasting, and the Son did engage himself unto it by Covenant from everlasting; but yet there was a set time appointed by the Father when this should actually be put in execution, and when that time was come, and fully accomplished, than God the Father did put this great plot in execution; and therefore when Christ came into the world he is said to come out from the Father, Joh. 16.28. I came forth from the Father, and came into the world. And again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. So that the Son's taking our flesh is done in obedience to the Father, and he is said to be sent unto that end: the Father did not only send him in reference to the office that he did undertake being made flesh, but he did also send him to take flesh, Non ideo missus Filius, quia Verbum caro factum est, sed ideo missus, ut Verbum caro fieret, The Son was not therefore sent, because the Word took flesh, but therefore sent, that the Word might take flesh, Austin. Why did not Christ come sooner into the world, but in the last days? The reason in respect of Christ was, because the time was not come that was determined by the Father, and he was as well obedient in the time of his coming, as in the coming itself, his obedience was seasonable, it was in the fullness of time. But why did not God the Father send his Son sooner into the world? As it is not for us to know the times and the seasons, so it is not for us to inquire into the reason of them. Bernard gives this reason, Cùm magis esset necessarium, tunc primò ferret auxilium: all ways had been used, and all means tried, and all in vain, and now non apparebat Angelus, non loquebatur Propheta, etc. The Sceptre was departed, Prophecy ceased, and all ways of intercourse and converse between God and man seemed to be at an end, now is the season to recover lost man; now therefore the Father did appoint him to come into the world, and he saith, Lo I come to do thy will, O God. 2. God the Father did ever since the Fall command the Son to undertake the actual administration of all things, and all was done by him as God, and as having the government upon his shoulders ever since the Fall: for (1) the Kingly office of Christ immediately took place as soon as the Priestly office; Rev. 13.8. and therefore 'tis said Joh. 5.23. The Father hath committed all judgement to the Son, he has given all things into his hand. So that it was he that continued man in his being, and the use of his reason; for else the day that he did eat he was to die; but Joh. 1.9. He it is that inlightens every man that comes into the world; it's spoken of Christ after the Fall, and it is spoken of him, because he was made flesh: it is an act of Christ that is common to all mankind, which can be nothing else but the light of reason, and those common principles of natural light that mankind is endued with. (2) He it was that cast Adam out of Paradise, and plucked him out from the Tree of Life, he it was that made void the first Covenant in respect unto any hope of life by it, and set an Angel to keep the way to the Tree of Life, which was the first office that Christ did appoint unto the Angels after he had actually undertaken his government, and was to further the design of the Gospel, by shutting man out of hope of having life and salvation by the former Covenant, which they had broken. (3) He it was that gave to the old world the Spirit of Prophecy; Rev. 19.10. Judas 14. for it is the testimony of Jesus, Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied of these, saying, Behold the Lord cometh with thousands of his Saints, etc. for the discovery of the will of God, and for the gathering of that small harvest that he had out of the world of ungodly men, etc. (4) They being gathered, and there being but few, and the Earth being overspread and filled with violence, he it was that brought the flood upon the world, Gen. 6.3. and destroyed it: My Spirit shall not strive, whose Spirit? 1 Pet. 3.19, 20. By which Spirit he went and preached unto the Spirits which now are in prison, who sometimes were disobedient in the days of Noah. They were then men upon Earth, but they are now Spirits in prison. (5) He gave the Law, and he did appoint and institute all those legal ways of worship, and all those types and shadows of the Law, which were but praeludia humanitatis, preludes of the humanity, that it might be represented unto the faith of his people as lively as might be, till the fullness of time appointed by the Father was come, Heb. 12.25. (6) He it was that brought Israel into Canaan, and planted them a Church there unto himself; Esay 5.1, 2. I will sing unto my wellbeloved a song of my beloved's concerning his vineyard, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is generally conceived to be a name given unto the Messiah, and he had a vineyard in a fruitful Hill, he fenced it, and gathered out the stones, planted it with the choicest Vine, and built a Tower in the middle of it, and made a Wine-press therein: and all this is the act of him whom he doth call my Beloved. 3. The Father did prepare the nature that Christ was to assume unto union with himself: Heb. 10.5. offering hadst thou no pleasure in, but a body hast thou prepared me, he that called him to be a Sacrifice, he did prepare a body, etc. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, by this is included the soul also, that very individual nature, though form by the Holy Ghost, yet according to the appointment of the Father; Col. 2.9. for in him was the fullness of the Godhead bodily to dwell, that is, he was to take our nature thus prepared into a personal union with himself, so that not only that Christ should take the nature of man, but that very individual soul and body that he was to take was appointed and prepared by God the Father, which he would have to be as a Sacrifice to himself, and unto him he would give this grace of union, that it should become one with the second Person in the Godhead. 4. This very humane nature thus prepared by the Father, and by the Son thus assumed, the Father did fill with all habitual grace, Col. 1.19. Col. 1.19. It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell, the meaning is, not only that he should have fullness of grace in himself, but such a fullness also that he might convey and communicate unto us, that all the fullness of the creatures should be derived from him, Joh. 1.16. That of his fullness we may receive grace for grace; he hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son: and he is therefore said to receive the Spirit without measure, because he has the Spirit so as to fill all the Saints, the Spirit so as to dispense the Spirit: this cannot be spoken of Christ as God, for so he cannot receive the Spirit, and so he cannot receive grace; but it's spoken of him in reference to his humane nature, which the Father prepared and anointed, as he saith, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord hath anointed me, he cannot be said to be anointed as God, but as he is Mediator; and therefore there is a double grace comes from the Father upon this nature of Christ, a grace of Union, and a grace of Unction also; so that though the Godhead of Christ were infinitely holy, yet his Godhead doth not qualify the humane nature; but he being the Father's servant, and the grace that was to be dispensed, was by the appointment of the Father; therefore it is the Father that laid up this grace in the humane nature of Christ, as in a common Treasury, making him a second Adam, that he might dispense it unto us. 5. Having in this manner prepared him, the Father did send him forth into the world, and owned him before the world to be his Son: at his Baptism, Mat. 3. ult. A voice came from Heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son: and in his Transfiguration, Mat. 17.5. it was again repeated, and 2 Pet. 1.17. God the Father gave him glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. God the Father did declare him to be the Son of God with power, partly by the doctrine that he preached, for no man spoke as he spoke, he spoke of heavenly things as one that had seen them; for he came down from Heaven, as one that came out of the bosom of the Father; and also by the Miracles that he wrought the Lord did give a testimony to him to be the Son of God, by opening of the eyes of the blind, healing the sick, raising the dead, etc. So that the Father did eminently own him to be his Son before all the world, that men might believe in him, which is a thing of mighty concernment to us; and Heb. 1.6. when he brings his first begotten Son into the world, he saith, Let all the Angels of God worship him; so that he is owned by the Father before men and Angels, as the person that it was the design of the Father to set up as the Head of all Principalities and Powers for the happiness of his Saints, and the glory of God the Father. 6. The Father did appoint how long he should live upon earth, and what death he should die: He was delivered by the determinate counsel of God; and therefore Christ tells them, Act. 2.23. My hour is not yet come, and that is given as the reason, why they that were so malicious had not seized upon him sooner, it was because his hour and the power of darkness appointed by the Father was not yet come; he was to die a crucified death, being made a curse for us; for it's written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree, Gal. 3.13. 7. The Father also becomes Christ's Executioner. It is true, sin did not only set God against us, but all the creatures also; and therefore Christ standing in our stead, he shall have men to be his enemies, and they shall seek to destroy him, he shall be delivered into the hands of men, and they will serve the turn to destroy his body, but it is no more that they can do; but it is the soul of man that was the great Traitor against God, and men cannot reach the soul to afflict it; therefore it pleased the Father to bruise him, when he made his soul an offering for sin; and therefore his great satisfaction being there, his great purchase is made thereby; for it is said, He shall see of the travel of his soul, which then mainly begun in the garden, though it's true all his life time he had been a man of sorrow, but specially when he cried out 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. yet he had then some lucida intervalla, but in the three hours' darkness, when he fought it out between God and him alone, than the Lord did enlarge his faculties for wrath, and poured it out abundantly, when all the graces of Christ did act to the highest, to take hold of God, and to uphold himself. To have been in Abraham's bosom then when he was about to slay his son, even his only son, and seen what strive of heart, and rendings of bowels, what great grief possessed Abraham at that time, how should a man of compassion have been affected! But there was much more love in God to his Son Christ, and yet to bruise him was that which he delighted in: it was unto him a sweet smelling savour, when he was offered up upon the Cross: God that doth not delight in the death of a sinner, yet he doth delight in the death of a Son, that the sinners may live and be saved eternally. 8. God the Father being in this manner satisfied by his Sacrifice, he doth raise him from the dead: he is said to be raised by his own Godhead, that is the Spirit spoken of Rom. 1.4. & Heb. 9.14. he himself saith, I have power to lay down my life, Joh. 10.18. and I have power to take it again, he received a commandment from the Father concerning both; but he is said to be raised by the Father, because he was by the Father as a Judge condemned as an offender and malefactor, executed, cast into the prison of the grave, which I understand by that in Esay 53.8. Now the debt being paid, the Father doth grant him a deliverance, and sends an Angel, a public Minister of Justice, to manifest that his debt is paid, and the Father satisfied thereby; and therefore it is unto the Father that he did look for it, Psal. 16.10. thou wilt not leave my soul in statu separato, in a separate state, nor my body in the grave, etc. thou wilt not suffer thy holy One to see corruption. 9 God the Father gave him glory, and exalted him far above all Principalities and Powers, and might, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. Eph. 1.21. He has a glory that he is invested with above all the Angels in Heaven as he was Man; whiles he was upon earth he was made lower than all the Angels for a little while, but now he has more glory as he is Man than all the Angels are capable of; as he has more grace than they have, therefore he must needs have more glory, and that as he is Man; by this means he is gone to Heaven as our Forerunner, to take possession for us: Joh. 14.2. I go before, says he, to prepare a place, and therefore it is expedient for you that I go away. Acts 2.33. 10. He receives the fullness of the Spirit from the Father: Christ waited for the promise of the Spirit as well as we, for the full accomplishment of it; for as the faculties of Christ were enlarged, so did his grace exalt itself, though he was always full of grace and truth; and therefore as he was said to grow here, in all things he was like unto us, only without sin, so in the growth and in the degrees of the perfection of his humane nature; therefore when he came to Heaven his faculties were enlarged, as ours shall be; and so there is the fuller measure of his receiving the Spirit in glory, than he had when he was here upon earth; for when he was here on earth he knew not the day of Judgement: Of that day knows no man, no not the Son, while he was upon earth, but when he came to Heaven it was revealed unto him; it was first revealed to Christ, and by Christ unto his Servant John, and therefore he did himself open the book, which was sealed to him, as well as it was unto us, but he did open it, and looked therein, etc. They were such discoveries as the Lord did not communicate unto the humane nature of Christ, till he came to glory, and then his knowledge (as also his grace) was perfected; therefore Joh. 7.39. that's given as the reason why the Spirit was not yet given in its fullness, Joh. 7.39. because Christ was not yet glorified, he did not fully dispense it unto us, because he had not in fullness received it; for every promise is first made unto him, and in him unto us, and it is first fulfilled in him, and through him in us also. 11. God the Father has put him into the actual administration of his government as he is man, Dan. 7.14. all Angels, Principalities and Powers being made subject to him; and so much his sitting at the right hand of the Father does imply, 1 Pet. 3. ult. namely the actual administration of all things, and that as he is man; for he must as well rule as man, as he shall judge as man: as he is God in prosecution unto the Covenant that God the Father made with him, so this Kingdom has been in the hand of the Son ever since the Fall, and so it's true, that the Father judges no man, but the Son has all judgement committed to him; but while he was man here, he was in a state of humiliation, and it was the time of his ministry; but in Heaven is the time of his Magistracy, and the Lord hath now made him to be both Lord and Christ; and now he doth actually rule the world as man, whereas before his ascension he could not; for as he was man he received not himself up into glory: and this is the glory that the Father did promise to give him, and to glorify him with himself therein before the world was, that that nature which he should take should be exalted above all creatures, and the actual government of all things should be committed thereupon unto him, and so as man he is made the head of all things for the Church's sake, Eph. 1.21, 22. §. 2. But there are some Acts of God the Father that more immediately respect the Saints, and are terminated on them, and they are also very many, as, 1. the work of Vocation, when men are turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, Joh. 6.44. that's attributed unto the Father, Joh. 6.44, 45. No man can come to me except the Father draw him; he that has heard and learned of the Father cometh to me. To come to Christ is to believe in him, as appears vers. 35. He that comes to me shall never hunger, and he that believes on me shall never thirst. He expounds coming to him by believing in him; for he knew who they were that believed not, vers. 64. And therefore said I unto you, No man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. And the Lord speaks not of the will here, no man will come, but of the power, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, no man can come. There is a dispute between us and the Arminians about the power of nature unto acts of grace; and they say there is auxilium sufficiens, sufficient grace which God gives unto all men; but Christ in the Text denies any such power, he saith, No man can come to me, except the Father draw him. What is this drawing? It is not a forcible act by which violence is offered upon the will of man; and yet it's called drawing, because it's an act of almighty power: the words note the sweetness and the efficacy of grace, grace works powerfully, and therefore God is said to draw, and it works sweetly, and therefore man is said to come, as if he were not drawn, trahitur animus & amore, etc. it doth consist in a spiritual illumination of the understanding, and in an effectual persuasion and determination of the will; for it is a drawing, that is, a teaching, as the next verse makes it manifest; and in this is the foundation of eternal life, as it is in us begun: all this was in the purpose of God towards him, but the man was dead in trespasses and sins as well as others, without Christ, and without God in the world; and therefore the Saints actually converted, are styled by the Apostle, the called according to his purpose. Rom. 8.29. But how is this work attributed to God the Father, that the power and the act of believing and of closing with Christ is from him, the teaching and the drawing is the Father's act? Here I meet with a deep silence amongst all Interpreters, only I find this to be offered by Kemnitius, That the grace that we receive is laid up in Christ by God the Father, and in the Gospel Christ is but God the Father's Servant; and therefore though grace be given unto us by Christ, yet it is by the appointment of the Father, and Christ is only the Father's Servant in it, and so the principal efficient of faith is God the Father, though you do receive it immediately from Christ. This is true, that all the grace that we receive from Christ all our days here, and all the glory we shall have to Eternity, was by the Father laid up for us in Christ, and in the whole work Christ is but the Father's Servant; but why in a special manner is this work of the Father appropriated unto the work of conversion and vocation? The ground of it I conceive to be this: In the Covenant that passed between Christ and the Father, the Lord did require this service of him, that he should lay down his life, and give himself for the Elect, he gave himself a ransom for many, and he did make him a promise, that he would give those souls unto him again. Therefore as in the fullness of time the Lord did give Christ for them, Unto us a Child is born, Isa. 9.6. Joh. 4.10. unto us a Son is given, and so he is called by way of eminency the gift of God; for though he were promised from the beginning of the world, yet he was not actually given and exhibited till the last days; so there is a time also when God the Father must fulfil this promise unto Christ, to give souls unto him, as he has given himself for them, in obedience to the Father. Now when are souls given unto Christ? It is when they come to him, and believe in him, they are not actually any part of his charge till then; and therefore they are said to be without Christ, they have no actual relation to Christ, or Christ to them, Joh. 4.10. for the union between Christ and the soul is matrimonial, and it is the Father that gives them each unto other; and therefore marriage between Adam and his wife is made a type and resemblance of it, or rather mystery, called by the Jews Cabala, Eph. 5.33. This is a great mystery, but I speak of Christ and the Church: so that it's God the Father that gives Christ to the soul, and gives the soul unto Christ, he it is that doth join them in a marriage-covenant for ever. Therefore as when the time appointed by the Father was come, he sent his Son actually into the world; so when the time of love is come, that a soul should be converted, who before lay polluted in his blood, then doth God the Father send his Spirit in Christ's name into the soul, who doth discover the beauty of Christ and the free grace of God the Father, how ready and willing he is to bestow him; and the manifestation of this grace of the Father is made effectual to the soul, not only to persuade, but also to enable it to accept of Christ upon the terms that he is offered. And upon this ground the work of vocation is mainly attributed unto the drawing and the teaching of the Father; because as they were in the purpose of God, and in the Covenant between Christ and the Father given to him from all Eternity, so they are by the Father actually given to him in the fullness of time, that is, when the time of their conversion appointed by the Father is come; and therefore the enlightening of the soul in this work is attributed unto the Father, 2 Cor. 4.6. God that commanded light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, etc. and by the same almighty Word that he did that work in the Creation, he doth shine into our hearts, discovering Christ unto us and the glory of God; all the incommunicable Attributes of God are gloriously set forth in the Man Christ Jesus, and so the power by which the soul is enabled to believe, is the power of God the Father, Eph. 1.17, 19 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, would show you what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of the mighty power which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead: so that if any soul be brought home unto Christ in a work of vocation, it is by the almighty working of God the Father, and you are to acknowledge his grace, as well in giving you unto Christ, as in giving Christ unto you. 2. In the work of Reconciliation: though all the persons were wronged by sin, their essence and glory being but one, yet the suit against sin doth mainly in Scripture run in God the Father's name, God has reconciled us unto himself by Jesus Christ; 2 Cor. 5.18. and God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. This was properly the act of God the Father, Rom. 5.10. When we were enemies, we were reconciled unto God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled shall we be saved by his life: Col. 1.19, 20. it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell, as being to reconcile all things to himself, etc. What is it to reconcile? It is properly amicitiam diremptam resarcire, to set them all at one again, who were before friends, but now at variance amongst themselves. God is an enemy unto all men by nature, the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord, and we are enemies unto God, and are deeply rooted in enmity, in our minds, both by secret flattery, and by open hostility, every way, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Col. 1.21. Rom. 1.30. haters of God; but now God is no more an enemy unto us, but he loves us with the same love that he loves the Son, Joh. 17.23. and they are no more enemies unto God, but they are called the friends of God, and the Lords possession, the Father's inheritance is in the Saints, Eph. 1.18. The riches of his inheritance in the Saints. Thus it is God the Father that offers reconciliation, when you are a great way off he doth run to meet you, and he doth fall upon your neck, and kiss you, and he lets you see, that he has forgotten all the wrong done to him, Cupit amari. Austin. and that though the earth be his, and the fullness thereof, yet he is taken with nothing so much as with your love; it is to gain your love that he doth all that he does, and he it is that is the person in whom you are properly reconciled, and with him properly the peace in Scripture is said to be made, for the Son is the Peacemaker, Shiloe, he makes peace by the blood of his Cross, and it is by his Spirit that we have access unto the Father; therefore reconciliation is properly unto God the Father, and herein is the soul properly made the friend of God, the enmity being slain thereby. 3. Justification is properly the act of God the Father, putting upon a Believer the righteousness of Christ's not imputing his sin; for he that made Christ to be sin for us, he it is also that makes us the righteousness of God in him, 2 Cor. 5. ult. and it is by his grace that you are justified freely, who did set forth Christ to be a propitiation, Rom. 3.24, 25. There is a double act of God the Father in the work of Justification. (1) There is an Imputation of righteousness, Rom. 4.6. Blessed is the man to whom God imputes righteousness without works. There is a righteousness that is wrought by Christ, called the righteousness of God, because the Godhead gave an efficacy and an excellency thereunto, and this under the second Covenant by virtue of our union with him is counted ours, as our sins were by the Father counted his, and it is this counting of the Father that is truly imputation; and so much the word in the Greek doth properly signify; so that though Christ had no sin, yet through the Covenant between him and his Father, our sin is counted his, and though we have no righteousness, yet by virtue of union his righteousness is counted ours; Rom. 3.24. and so it being an act of grace, for we are justified freely by grace, so it's true, justitia nostra est indulgentia tua. (2) There is Remission of sin, that is, Rom. 4.8. a non imputation, Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes no sin, etc. that is, though we be sinners in ourselves, yet the Lord doth not count us so, but looks upon us as pure and unspotted in his sight: it's true, that the righteousness wrought for us is the righteousness of Christ, he brought in everlasting righteousness, Dan. 9.24. But how shall this become ours? This is by an act of God the Father, imputing his righteousness unto us, and that is counting his righteousness ours, and he looking upon us as being one with him; and though it is true that we are sinners, and every sin hath a guilt naturally and necessarily going with it, for there is a difference between reatus personae and reatus poenae, guilt may be separated from the person, but it can never be from the sin; now the Lord will not impute sin in the guilt of it unto the person; but though he doth sin, and that doth carry a guilt with it, yet it shall not be charged upon the person for ever. 4. Adoption, that also is properly an act of God the Father upon a Believer; a man made one with Christ, 1 Joh. 3.1. Behold what manner of love the Father hath showed unto us, that we should be called the sons of God. Adoption is properly an act of God the Father graciously receiving a man into the number of his sons, and giving him his Spirit, the privileges and the inheritance of a son: so that though it is by Christ that we have this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Joh. 1.12. that is, because Christ is the Son; therefore we being made one with him, we also become sons of God by the Sonship of Christ, only his Sonship is natural, and ours by grace, as our union is, and by this means the Father of Christ is our Father also, Joh. 20. I ascend unto my Father and your Father, to my God and your God, etc. yet is it an act of God the Father, that doth receive us as sons, by virtue of our union with him, who is the Son of the Father. Now consider the benefit we have by it. (1) We have the spirit of sons, Rom. 8.15. before we had but the spirit of a servant, a spirit of bondage. (2) We receive the honour of sons, Joh. 8.35. Th● servant abides not in the house always, but the son abides always: so we are of the family and of the household of God, and he is not ashamed to be called our Father. (3) We have the boldness and the access of sons, Eph. 3.12. We come not as servants to a master, as guilty persons to a Judge, but as children unto a father. (4) We have the Inheritance of sons; for being sons we are heirs, Rom. 8.17. Coheirs with Christ, and so may claim Heaven by a double right, by virtue of the purchase made, and the price paid for it, and also because we are sons, and therefore the inheritance doth belong to us, for all the sons of God are heirs of God also. 5. We have also acceptation with God, Eph. 1.6. He has made us accepted in the beloved, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is to embrace a man with love and special favour and acceptation, which doth proceed from this love; and this also in the Scripture is double. (1) To their persons, he had respect unto Abel, and the Lord tells Cain, If thou dost well thou shalt be accepted, Gen. 4.4. that when they do come before God he doth respect them above all the world beside, to him will I look, Esay 66.2. I will cast a more favourable eye upon him than upon all the world beside; whereas the person of a wicked man, as well as his service, is an abomination to the lord (2) To their services, Psal. 17.14. Let the words of my mouth be acceptable in thy sight. It is that which the Lord does promise, Exod. 28.38. that their Sacrifices should be accepted before the Lord, what they do doth please him, and he doth not reject any of their services, as he doth other men's. It's said, Mal. 3.3. He spreads the dung of their sacrifices upon their faces, Mal. 3.3. It doth imply two things. 1. That the Lord doth reject their Sacrifices with indignation, as if they had offered dung in their solemn feasts. 2. Summo dedecore eos afficiam, I will spread the highest reproach on them, so Mercer; as you do unto a man, when you cast dung in his face, the Lord will reject their services, and instead of honouring them in them, he will cast shame upon them also; whereas the services of the Saints are [1] accepted ordine supernaturali as flowing from a heavenly and supernatural principle, and [2] add vitam aeternam ordinata, services appointed unto an eternal reward. Other men's services are not thus accepted, but as they come from a principle of nature, so they shall have no higher reward, they shall rise no higher than the head of the spring from whence they flow. 6. There is a Communion also that the people of God have with the Father, 1 Joh. 1.3. Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. There is a communion that the Saints of God have distinctly with all the persons when they receive mercy from them all, and rejoice in the love of them all, and they do return to them again all the glory of the grace of them all; as faith is distinctly to be exercised upon all the persons, so the soul should strive to have a distinct fellowship and communion with all the persons. (1) A man should pray to the Father: for saith Christ, Your Father knows that you have need of all these things. (2) You are to give thanks to the Father, who has blessed you with all spiritual blessings. (3) You are to rejoice in his love: says Christ, I will love him, Eph. 1.3. Joh. 14.21, 23. and he shall be loved of my Father. I say not that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father himself loves you: you are in his bosom, receive all gifts from him as from a Father, and come to him as to a Father, as one that has communion with him and access to him as unto a Father. (4) Glory in the witness of the Father; Joh. 5.7. for there are three that do bear witness in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, and these three are one, you are not only to have the Spirits testimony and seal upon your evidences, but the Fathers also bearing witness in your souls, testifying unto you the adoption of sons. There is a glorious communion that the Father gives unto his people, as Christ had with the Father, so may you also in and through him. SECT. III. The Relations undertaken by the Father and Christ in this Covenant. §. 1. THE Father having in this manner made over himself in Covenant to his people, they have an interest in all the relations of the Father; for we are not only related unto Christ, but by him to the Father, and as we are to exercise faith upon Christ under all relations, so we are also upon the Father; and these relations are both honourable and comfortable also to the Saints. 1. God the Father is our Father: says Christ, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, Joh. 20.17. Mat. 5.16. to my God and your God; that they may glorify your Father which is in heaven. Be you merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful; and therefore says the Apostle, Rom. 1.7. Grace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, etc. Now what is there in such a relation as this is unto God the Father? We shall see what it was unto Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, and see how in all things he is a Father to us as he is unto Christ, though it be in a lower way, for Christ in all things must have the pre-eminence. (1) It is the great honour that is put upon Christ as Mediator, Joh. 1.14. Luk. 1.35. that he is the Son of God; we saw his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. That holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God: and in this he is exalted above the Angels, Heb. 1.5. Unto which of the Angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, and I will be unto him a Father, Bernard. and he shall be unto me a Son, etc. Altissimi Filius ac proinde co-altissimus ipse ejusdem penitùs altitudinis & dignitatis. And in this manner the Saints do partake pro modulo; it is the greatest privilege of the Saints that they do receive from union with the Son, and that in which they are exalted above the Angels: That as they do stand before God in a higher righteousness in their justification; (for though the righteousness of Angels be perfect in its kind, yet it's but the righteousness of a mere creature; but the righteousness of Christ is called the Righteousness of God, 2 Cor. 5.21. which though it were wrought in the humane nature, and therefore was not the essential righteousness of God, for that could not be imputed, yet it was that which being wrought by him that was God and man, the Godhead had an influence into it, and gave it an excellence and efficacy;) so they have a higher sonship in their adoption, that is, it's founded on a higher right than that of the Angels, even in the Sonship of the second person in the Trinity; for Christ as Mediator was not a Son by adoption, but by generation, his humane nature being taken into the same person, did by virtue of that grace of union partake of the same Sonship; for there was not a double Sonship of Christ, one as he was God, and the other as he was man, for subjectum filiationis est suppositum, the subject of filiation is a person, as the Schoolmen speak. Now as Christ had great glory from other things, in relation to the Angels, Dan. 9.24. for he is the Head of Principalities and Powers, and to the Saints, he is the King of Saints, the holy of holies, and from all the creatures, for he is the beginning of the creation of God, and is the head over all things to the Church; yea in reference to God himself, for he is God's King, I will set my King, and the man God's fellow; but there is none that is a term of so high an honour unto Christ as this, that he is the Son, and it's this that the Lord doth publish to the world as the ground of all the rest, Isa. 4.5. Psal. 2.7. I will declare the decree, the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son, etc. so it is with the Saints, they are called the glory and the first-fruits of all the creatures, the excellent ones, Kings and Priests unto God, to whom the Angels are but servants and ministering Spirits; but yet there is no title of honour like unto this, that they are called the Sons of God. Men do glory in titles of honour, as Pharaoh did in this, I am the Son of the ancient Kings; and the Jews gloried in this, We have Abraham to our father. The Saints have a higher glory, that Jesus Christ is their Father, for he has a successive generation that none can number, Isa. 57.8. he shall see his seed, and shall prolong his days upon earth; and yet to be the sons of God the Father is a far higher honour; for Christ himself says, My Father is greater than I: it is to be understood of him as Mediator only; for as he is God, he is equal with the Father, and thinks it no robbery so to be. 2. As God is the Father of Christ, so he loves Christ as his Son, and therefore he doth call him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Mat. 3.17. my beloved Son, Mat. 3.17. and the Son of his love, Col. 1.17. there is an Hebraism for most beloved; as the man of sin, i. e. the most sinful man, the child of wrath, one who is subject unto the highest displeasure of God, and the son of perdition, i. e. one utterly and eternally lost; so the son of his love is one tenderly beloved by him, the most beloved of the Father; and this was the great thing that Christ gloried in, even the love of his Father, Joh. 5.20. The Father loveth the Son, and it was this that did bear up his spirit under all his sufferings, that he did abide in his Father's love, Joh. 15.10. Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world, Joh. 17.24. and in this also you bear a part with Christ, Joh. 14.21. He that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, Joh. 17.23. Joh. 16.27. The Father himself loves you, Joh. 17.23. Thou hast loved them, even as thou hast loved me; non aequalitatem denotat, sed similitudinem, it denotes not equality, but similitude. [1] He loved him from Eternity, and so he doth you. [2] He loved him as a Son, and so he doth you, ad similitudinem filii naturalis, so he doth love you as sons. [3] He loves Christ to Eternity, to give him the fruition of himself, and so he loves you also. Now as the great glory and comfort of Christ was in the love of the Father, so also should this be the great glory and the comfort also of the Saints, that though we may glory and rejoice with joy unspeakable in the love of Christ that passeth knowledge, yet specially in the love of the Father, Christ being but a gift that flows from God the Father's love; therefore Joh. 4.10. Christ is called by way of emincency, the gift of God, and next to the giving of Christ, the love of the Father is principally seen in this, that we should be called the sons of God, Behold what manner of love the Father has showed unto us, 1 Joh. 3.1. 3. The Son knew the mind of the Father, and is acquainted with all the Father's counsels, the glory of God the Father is made known to the Son, all the excellency of his person; No man knows the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him; Mat. 11.27. and so for all actings of the Father, The Son can do nothing of himself, Joh. 5.20. but what he sees the Father do, for the Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that he himself doth, and he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. This is not to be understood of Christ as God, but as he is Mediator; and so as there was an Idea and a Platform in the mind of the Father, so this is also discovered to the Son, that all the great works that God doth purpose to accomplish in the world, he is able to look into all the Father's counsels: that as when Solomon was to build the Temple, it is said, That David gave him a pattern of all, according as he had received of the Spirit, 1 Chron. 28.12. Solomon was to build the House, but he received the Platform from his father; so it is in Christ also, the man whose name is the Branch, he it is that must build the Temple of the Lord, Zac. 6.12. but yet he must do all according unto the pattern, for he is but God the Father's servant in that which he doth, and he must receive the Platform from the Father; therefore it's the Father that doth discover to the Son as a fruit of his love all his own works, and he doth that which he hath seen of the Father, Joh. 8.38. And the discoveries of these secrets of God unto his Son were by degrees more and more: he will show him greater works, he had showed him some great works already in healing the sick, and raising of the dead; but yet he lets them know, that these were not summum sibi ex operibus Dei mandatis, but when he did come unto glory, his own discoveries should be perfected, and then as he had his works more fully revealed unto him of the Father, so also he should show them forth unto the world; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Christ was not yet glorified: so it is with the Saints, according unto their measure the Father loves them, and therefore he shows them all that he himself doth; Joh. 1.18. and as Christ is in the bosom of the Father, so are they also after a sort, for the bosom is the seat of secrets, and the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, they are Jesuron, the seeing people, they do hear and learn of the Father, they shall be all taught of God, Joh. 6.45. and as a Father he will not conceal his purposes in all his great works from his children, only he doth discover them by degrees, as he did unto his only Son: Hos. 6.3. His going forth is prepared as the morning; and therefore they must follow on to know him: and though now there be many veils drawn before the eyes of his people, for very many of the secrets of God are yet under a veil, the fullness of time for their discovery being not yet come, for he revealed his word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Heb. 1.1. and the Lord has promised, Isa. 25.7. That he will destroy the face of the covering that is upon all people. [1] It is a great and a thick covering, it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the manner of the Hebrews, when they would express a thing highly, they do it by a duplication, Esay 28.16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though some would render the last word by the Participle, a covering spread forth upon all people, and the face of the covering, that is as much as involucrum facierum, a covering spread upon their faces. Now to have a covering upon their faces, it notes guilt and dishonour, which God saith he'll take away; but I do not conceive that to be all that principally is intended, but with Calvin and Forer, rather, ignorantiam & caecitatem veluti quodam velo diffusam, ignorance and blindness diffused as by a certain veil: there is a double veil, and God will take both away, a veil upon the truth, and a veil upon the heart also, and both shall be swallowed up, that is, shall be utterly removed, and there shall come a time, that the Sea of glass that is now mingled with fire, shall be clear as crystal again, and the Temple shall be opened, so that a man may see into the Ark of the Testimony, which formerly had a veil before it, Rev. 11.19. that it could not be seen, it was in the secret of the Pavilion of God; but then the most secret mysteries shall be exposed unto the common view of the Saints, but it shall be when the Kingdoms of the Earth shall be given to the Lord Jesus Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. 4. The Father is pleased in Christ his Son, he delights in him, and so he did before the world, he was the delight of God the Father from all Eternity. I was his delight daily, Prov. 8.30. this is my beloved Son, Mat. 3. ult. and therefore even amongst men children are called the desire of their parents eyes, and that upon which they set their mind, their hearts do go out unto them, Ezech. 24.25. so in your measure, you that are Saints are the delight of God the Father from day to day, he loves you as well with a love of complacence, as with a love of benevolence; and therefore he calls the name of the Church, Esay 62. Hephziba, my delight is in her, the Lord takes pleasure in his people, his delight is in them that fear him, Psal. 147.11. & 149.4. and them that hope in his mercy. Therefore the carrying on of the work of Redemption to the full accomplishment of all the gracious intentions of the Father is called the pleasure of the Lord, Isa. 53.10. which was to prosper in the hands of Christ, it being of all the works of God that in which he doth most delight: as when a man sets his greatest love upon any thing or person, in that he has the greatest delight to see it prosper, and thrive, and succeed; never did an earthly father take so much delight and full satisfaction in the prosperity of a child (and yet we know that a wise Son makes a glad father) as the Lord does, to see the souls of his people prosper, and the ways of his grace to be fully magnified towards them; because all the love of the creature is but a drop, unto the love of the Father which is in Heaven; as the Lord has more delight in Christ, than he has in all the Saints, so he has more delight in one Saint, than he has in all the creatures besides; because he bears unto them a greater love, and hath from them a far greater glory: There is joy in heaven, says Christ, over one sinner that reputes, and so there is amongst the Angels; why? because theirs is a joy in the Lord himself, and it's the happiness of the Saints that they can joy in God; and we may well make God our Father our delight, when he does make us his delight; he that has the Son, and the Saints, and Angels in glory to delight in, that yet he should declare, that his delight should be with the sons of men here below, what an amazing condescension is this of our God? how does it engage us to delight in him only? 5. Jesus Christ as he was the Son, had a glorious and a sweet communion with the Father; so Christ saith, Joh. 14.10. I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and he dwells in me, it notes that constant communion that he as Mediator had with the Father, Joh. 16.32. Ye shall leave me alone, and yet I am not alone, but the Father is with me; and therefore upon all occasions he did retire himself unto the Father, as his great support in the days of his pilgrimage: Joh. 1.3. and so have the Saints also; our fellowship is with the Father, they have access by one Spirit unto the Father, Eph. 2.18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he leads us by the hand, and by our sonship we have boldness with him, Pater nomen pietatis & potestatis est, Father is a name of piety and power, Tertul. Oh the infinite sweetness that is for the soul to walk before God the Father in ways of holiness, that in these ways he may enjoy fellowship and communion with himself! There is a great deal of sweetness in a communion of Saints, our Brethren, but much more in communion with Christ our Husband, but most of all in communion with God our Father, he is to be taken as well for a pattern of the one, as of the other. 6. As God is the Father of Christ, so he doth hear the prayers of Christ; and therefore Christ says, Father I thank thee, that thou hast heard me, and I know thou hearest me always, Joh. 11.41. And though his satisfaction be always referred unto his Godhead, Heb. 9.41. yet his Intercession refers unto his Sonship, Act. 20.28. Heb. 7. ult. the word of the Oath makes the Son, who is consecrated for evermore; men that know how powerful the name of a father is, and what bowels it moves, may well assure themselves that it is much more in him who is the Father of mercies, as well as our Father; and therefore if we know how to give good gifts to our children, and will give them suitable to their necessities, surely so will he much more; and such a man must acknowledge that our Father is. Saints may assure themselves, that they have not only an Advocate without them which is Christ, with the Father, and an Advocate within them unto the Father, for the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used of both; Joh. 16.27. but they have an Advocate in the Father also: and it's that which Christ puts them upon, not only to look upon his Intercession, as that which doth prevail only, but to the Father's love, and the bowels that are in himself, the Father himself loves you. 7. As a Father he gives Christ an inheritance: Thou art my Son, Psal. 2.7, 8. I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance. He has appointed him heir of all things, Heb. 1.3. and all that are the sons of God are heirs, Rom. 8.16, 17. yea all that are sons of God are firstborn, Heb. 12.23. 1 Cor. 3.22. and therefore they have a double portion; All things are yours, and Rev. 21.7. He that overcomes shall inherit all things, etc. And it's such an inheritance as none else have in the creatures, for it is one thing to hold it by right of a servant by providence, and another by the right of a son: 1 Pet. 1.5. for the son abides in the house always, and 'tis an inheritance in promises of grace and of glory, which no other men in the world have; God's inheritance is in them, Eph. 1.18. and theirs is chief in God, therefore Heaven is called the Kingdom of the Father, in this life it is the Kingdom of Christ. There is a progress and a regress of this Kingdom, it is from the Father, and returns unto the Father again. 8. Christ's great comfort in departing this life was, that he should go to the Father, If you loved me you would rejoice, Joh. 20.17. Joh. 14.28. Luk. 23.46. because I go to the Father: this would make the thoughts of death sweet, and the thoughts of Eternity desirable; Christ at his death resigns his soul into the Father's hand; the people of God in this world are as it were orphans, but they have a Father in Heaven, and who would not make haste to him? for your happiness and your home is in your father's house: Joh. 14.2. In my Father's house are many mansions; and Christ is gone before to prepare a place for you, 1 Joh. 3.1, 2. Now we are the sons of God, but it appears not what we shall be, that is, adoptionis fructus nondum apparet. It's in our Father's house that our portion is laid up; therefore long for the adoption even the redemption of your bodies, and in the mean while keep the truths that you have heard, that you may continue in the Son and in the Father, 1 Joh. 2. 2●. 2 Joh. 9 that you may have both the Father and the Son, abide in their favour and their fellowship, having once attained it; keep the commandments of the Father, and abide in his love, as Christ the Son did, Joh. 15.10. and the day will come that thou shalt shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of thy Father. Concerning the relations of the Father under the second Covenant, we are to take this general rule, that in the same relation that he stands unto Christ, in the same, according to our place and station, he stands unto us; yet so, as Christ in all things is to have the pre-eminence, for that in all things must be reserved unto him, Col. 1.18. and the ground of this rule is from that, Joh. 20.17. I ascend unto my Father and your Father, my God and your God. This benefit the Saints have by their union with the Lord Jesus Christ, that they not only stand in many sweet and comfortable relations unto him, but through him in their own sphere they stand in the same relation unto God the Father together with him. §. 2. The second relation of the Father unto Christ is, that he is Christ's King and his Lord, 1 Cor. 11.3. The head of Christ is God, the head of every man is Christ, 1 Cor. 11.3. and the head of the woman is the man. It's not spoken of Christ ratione naturae, in regard of his nature, for he is God equal with the Father, and he counts his equality no robbery, he takes but what is his own; but ratione oeconomiae, in respect of his office, that he has undertaken by the appointment of the Father. Now how is the Father the head of Christ? as Christ is the head of the Church, and the man of the woman, that is, in respect of the guidance and government he has over us, and so Christ is the Church's head, is called the Church's King, and it is usual in the Hebrew to call Princes, heads of the people. Num. 14.4. Let us make us a head, and return into Egypt, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a prince, a ruler; Judg. 11.8. They said unto Jephtath, Be thou our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead; be thou our King: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Hos. 1.11. it's spoken of the conversion of the Jews, after they were called Loammi, and therefore it's not yet come, they shall appoint unto themselves one head: Ezech. 37.24. David my servant shall be King over them, and David my servant shall be their Prince for ever; it's spoken of their choosing Christ to be their King, and their glory in the day when the Lord shall raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen down. So here by Head is meant, that the Father is Christ's King, and he doth rule him as a King in the whole work of his Mediatorship; and he is Christ's Lord, so he himself doth call him, Psal. 16.2. It's the speech of Christ, as appears by the whole Psalm, and he saith unto Jehovah, Thou art my Lord, Adonai. Now in this relation the Father also stands to all those that are Saints, and members of Christ, he is their Lord, and their King also, Mat. 22.1. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king that made a marriage for his son: God the Father is the King, Mat. 22.1. Christ the Son is the Bridegroom, the Elect of God is the Spouse, the Lamb's wife, their marriage is their union with Christ, and the marriage-feast are the Ordinances, unto which the guests were by his servants invited; and of how great consequence this is, we shall see in the person of Christ himself, as God the Father is his Lord and King. (1) He doth give unto Christ a Law, as he is his Lord and King; for God the Father is the great Lawgiver, Christ doth nothing but as the Father's subject, and in obedience unto him; so Esay 42.1. he is called but the Father's servant, and he does only the Father's business, Luk. 2.49. and he receives a Law from him, Joh. 10.18. This commandment have I received of my Father; this law is in the middle of my bowels, and it was a law commanding him to lay down his life for his people; and so do the Saints, for Christ is God the Father's King, Psal. 2.1. [1] Because he receives his government from him, he it was that did anoint him, and set him up, he did receive his Kingdom from the Ancient of days, Dan. 7.14. [2] He hath from him the laws and rules of his government; for he says, I came not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me; therefore all the laws that he gives, they are no other than those he has received from the Father. [3] For the ends of his government, they are also prescribed him, For I seek not mine own glory, but the glory of him that sent me. Now it's a happiness for any people to have a wise and a righteous Lawgiver, and this is a comfort and an honour to the Saints, that they have Christ their King, and the law that he has given them is a royal Law, Jam. 2.8. much more should the Saints rejoice in this, that he that is Christ's King and Lord, is their Lord also, and he that is Christ's Lawgiver is also theirs: the subjection of the Angels should be enough unto a man that he should be brought into subjection, but much more we should be content to receive the law at his mouth, and rejoice in it, when he is unto Christ himself a Lord and a Lawgiver. (2) As he is King and Lord to Christ, he carries him through all his service; for protection doth properly belong to a Prince in the duties of subjection, which are required of him; and therefore Kings have those names given them in Scripture, they are called Latibulum, a hiding place from the wind, Esay 32.2. and the shields of the earth, and they are for defence, Psal. 47.9. and the Angels of God, 2 Sam. 14.15. And they are for protection also to a man in his way, Psal. 91.11, 12. so the Father doth promise Christ, Esay 42.4, 6. I have called thee in righteousness, I will hold thee by the hand, and I will keep thee, etc. and in this Christ comforts himself, that his Father was at his right hand, Psal. 16.5, 9 Here also is the happiness of the Saints, that the same God that protected Christ, that girt his loins, and strengthened him for his work, the same God has also undertaken their protection in all the services that he calls them unto, Joh. 10.28, 29. he saith, I will give unto my sheep eternal life, and none shall pluck them out of my hand, for the Father, who gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. Is there any service that can be so hazardous as that which Christ was called unto to conflict with, even the curse of the Law, the powers of darkness, and the wrath of God immediately? yet Christ did strengthen his faith in this, that he had the power of the Father engaged therein, as he was his Lord; we have assurance of the same protection in all our services that Christ had in his, therefore let not your hearts be troubled. (3) God the Father doth destroy Christ's enemies, and as his King doth fight his battles, and doth engage himself mightily therein, Psal. 110.1. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sat thou at my right hand, till I make thine enemies my footstool. God the Father is engaged in all the victories of Christ, that he shall conquer, and there is none shall be able to stand before him: and as he doth destroy Christ's enemies in the worst season for them, that so it may be with an utter destruction, so shall he do yours also; for the Lord doth but wait for an evil time, Zeph. 2.4. that they may be ensnared, as Zeph. 2.4. They shall drive out Ashdod at noon day. In those hot countries they did keep their houses in the heat of the day, it was the worst season to travel, I but then shall they be cast out. Christ has assured you of a victory, Rev. 19.14. Rev. 19.14. the Armies in Heaven followed him upon white horses, as an emblem of joy and victory, and therefore they are said to be clothed in white Robes with palms in their hands, Rev. 7.9. and they are said to have gotten the victory over the beast, his image, the mark and the number of his name, Rev. 15. There are many great promises unto them that do overcome, To him that overcomes I will give to eat of the hidden Manna, and he that overcomes shall inherit all things, I will be his God. And the Apostle insults upon this, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. and says, Rom. 8. We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. And here is the ground of a Christians comfort, that the power of his Father is as truly engaged for his conquest as it was for Christ's, and we may as well expect victory, as Christ himself did, Rom. 16.20. The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet shortly. (4) Christ is to give an account unto the Father as he is his Lord, and we find that he doth so; as the creatures give an account of their services unto Christ, so he does give an account of all his services unto the Father. Zac. 3.11. The Angels had been sent in messages throughout the Earth, and they return unto Christ an account of their service, they answered the Angel of the Lord that stood amongst the Mirtle-trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, etc. but Christ gives his account to the Father, Ezech. 9 ult. the man clothed with linen reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me; and at the last day he shall give up the Kingdom to the Father, with an account of all the service that he has been engaged in, 1 Cor. 15.24. All the accounts of the creatures are passed with Christ, We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, 2 Cor. 5.10. but having received them, Christ does as the Father's servant present them all unto him, as a part of the service that he himself has undertaken: so that here is the happiness of the Saints, your accounts shall pass before the same Father that Christ's accounts do; and he that doth now present your persons and your services unto the Father, he will then also unto the same God and Father present your accounts, and give you your discharge and your sentence, Come you blessed of my Father. (5) As the Father is the King, so from him does Christ receive his reward, Psal. 16. ult. Thou shalt show me the path of life, in thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore: and the comfort and happiness of the Saints lies in this, that they shall have glory from the same hand that Christ had his glory, Mat. 25. Luk. 12.32. Come you blessed of my Father; it's your Father's pleasure to give you a kingdom. There is a double Throne that we read of, Rev. 3.21. He that overcomes shall sit with me upon my Throne, as I overcame, and am sat down with my Father upon his Throne. The Throne that Christ now sits upon is the Throne of the Father; for so Heaven is called; and so all the Saints, when they come to glory, do sit upon the Throne of the Father, that Throne that he has prepared for them from the foundation of the world: but Christ has also his own Throne which shall be at the day of Judgement, when he shall sit upon his Throne, and all Nations shall be gathered together before him, and the Saints shall sit upon that Throne also; for so he saith, They shall also sit upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel at the day of Judgement; therefore they shall sit with Christ upon his Throne; and in Heaven they shall sit with him also upon the Father's Throne. And the ground of all is this, because when God the Father did make Christ his King, he did not put the power out of his own hand, and he did not divest himself, but the Kingdom of the Father is carried on in the Kingdom of Christ through the whole administration thereof; and therefore in the work of grace, 2 Cor. 5.19. God is in Christ reconciling the world, it's the Father that doth put all things under Christ, 1 Cor. 15.27. And the Saints have not only Christ's name written upon them, Rev. 3.12. but Rev. 14.1. they have the Father's name also written in their foreheads. Rev. 14.1. It was an ordinary manner in those parts, that servants should receive the name of the master for a mark of the person for whom they lived, and Soldiers the name of their General or chief Commander, etc. and this mark was sometimes in the right hand, and sometimes in the forehead; so that they are professed servants not only of Christ, but of God the Father also, whose servant Christ is in all that he doth; and therefore Rev. 11.16, 17. The kingdoms of the earth are said to become the kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ, not only Christ's Kingdom, but the Father's Kingdom also; though it's true, that the actual and immediate administration of it, is in the hand of the Son, Joh. 5.23. The Father judges no man, yet in the Son the Father reigns. There is a time for the regress of Christ's Kingdom into the hand of the Father, that he may immediately administer it again, as he did from the beginning, and that I conceive is meant by the subjection of the Son, 1 Cor. 15.28. Then shall the Son also be subject unto him, that put all things under him, 1 Cor. 15.28. etc. He is subject during all the time of his Kingdom; for he does rule but as the Father's servant, and he says, As the Father gave me commandment, even so do I; but there is a greater subjection that yet Christ must show unto the Father. [1] He is now the Father's servant, and yet so as he rules the world; and therefore as you have heard he is called God the Father's King: but after the day of Judgement having put down all rule and all authority and power that was substituted by him, he shall give up his government into the hand of the Father, and he shall rule the creatures as Lord of all things, as Mediator no more; but having brought them under his government unto the Father, he, together with that great Church and general assembly of the firstborn, shall come under the immediate government of the Father for ever. [2] He is now the Father's servant, and subject to him, but it is in a secret and unobserved way, the government is in his hand, though the Father rules in him; but then he shall lay down all at the Father's feet before men and Angels, and become subject to the glory of the Father. §. 3. God the Father stands unto Christ in the relation of a Friend, or a Companion; and so he calls him, Zac. 13.7. the word there doth properly signify two things, Zac. 13.7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (1) Socium, a man's companion, one that he doth enjoy intimate communion and fellowship with. (2) Amicum sive proximum, a friend, Christ is one that is near to God the Father, one with whom he doth enjoy the most intimate society, and so much the expression of his being in the bosom of the Father doth intimate, Joh. 1.18. Joh. 1.18. for there are three things which it notes, (1) arctissimam conjunctionem, the nearest conjunction, (2) ardentissimam dilectionem, the most ardent love, (3) secretissimorum communicationem, Jam. 2.23. the communication of the deepest secrets: it is used of wives, Deut. 13.6. and of friends, Luke 16.23. Now there are four great acts of friendship, as the Philosopher has observed: (1) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, benevolence, Arist. Ethic. l. 9 c. 9 Deut. 13.6. a true well-wishing, desiring his good, as the good of his own soul; as we read, thy friend which is as thy own soul. Thus as the Son seeks the glory of the Father, so does the Father seek the glory of the Son, as truly as his own glory; so Joh. 14.13. That the Father may be glorified in the Son; and therefore he saith, He that honours not the Son, honours not the Father, Joh. 5.23. so he doth seek the salvation and good of the Saints, even as his own glory; for as he will be glorified in the Son, so he will also be glorified in the Saints; and therefore though the Lord Jesus Christ be in glory already, yet he is not satisfied with his own glory, but takes care that his friends may be partakers of it, and therefore he will leave Heaven once more, that he may come again to fetch you; for his glory is not perfect without you: and this he doth as he is the Father's servant also, because the glory of the Father as manifested is not perfected till all the Saints be brought home to him, and are glorified with him. (2) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, concord, friends have one mind, idem velle & idem nolle est firma amicitia, to will and nill the same thing is firm friendship: Again, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he that doth choose the same things: so it is with Christ, Joh. 10.30. I and my Father are one, that is, we have the same will, and we act in the same time, we carry on the same design; and so it is with the Saints also; and therefore he doth by an almighty power, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself, Isa. 56. subdue their will unto his will, that they choose the things that please him, and they say always, Not my will, but thy will be done; and therefore Salvian makes this the happiness of the Saints, Lib. 1. de guber. Dei, p. 8. quia ex voto agunt humiles sunt, hoc volunt, pauperes sunt, paupery delectantur, sine ambitione sunt, ambitum respuunt, etc. because they live by prayer, they are humble, etc. (3) In friendship there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, beneficence, a readiness and a willingness to do all good unto the party beloved: so is God the Father a friend to Christ, he gives him glory, he sets him at his own right hand, and gives him dominion over the works of his hands, and has put all things under his feet, Psal. 8. And so he is a friend unto the Saints also; for he has made them heirs of all things, and has given them all things necessary unto life and godliness; the most precious things he bestows upon them, himself, and his Son, and his Spirit, his Grace, the ministry of Angels; and he has subjected all the actings of his Providence unto their prayers, and they all work together for their good; he doth employ them in the highest and most honourable services, and he doth bestow upon them the greatest rewards. (4) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, All friendship is in communion, Arist. Eth. 1. so the Father is a friend to Christ, Joh. 5.20. The Father loves the Son, and shows him all things that he himself doth. Abraham is called the friend of God, and therefore there is such a fellowship that the Lord has with him, that he cannot hid from Abraham the thing that he means to do; and so there is a communion that he has with the Saints, a constant communion, they come and sup with him, and make their abode with him, Joh. 14.23. They dwell in God, that is, in the sense and the apprehension of his love from day to day, 1 Joh. 4.16. they are in the Father and in his Son Christ: friends do impart secrets, and divide grief, 1 Thess. 1.1. and multiply joys; and because we cannot ascend up unto God, therefore he will come down to us: We will come to him, and dwell in him, etc. There is a great deal of sweetness in society, where a man loves, We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in companies; but there is none like unto that that is between Heaven and Earth: I saw heaven opened, and the Angels ascending and descending upon the sons of men, Joh. 1. ult. Joh. 15.1. §. 4. As Christ is the true Vine, so the Father is the Husbandman: Christ is not here spoken of as a head in heaven, for so he has no dead members; but it's spoken of him as spreading himself into a visible Church, which is sometimes compared unto a Vine, Jer. 2.21. and sometimes to an Olive-tree, Rom. 11. and of this Vine the Father is the Husbandman or the Vine-dresser: for there are branches in this Vine that do bear no fruit, parents pampinarii. Now there is a double act of the Father in this relation. (1) The unfruitful branches he takes away, that is, all hypocrites and unsound-hearted in the Church visible he takes away, partly because they dishonour the root, and partly because the husbandman has no fruit by them, Cant. ult. 11, 12. For who is he that plants a vineyard, and doth not drink thereof, he lets it out unto vinedressers, etc. and it was to yield for the fruit of it a thousand pieces of silver; there is nothing more hateful than an empty Vine; Hos. 10.1. and these branches he takes away, and they are cast out. [1] They are cast out of the hearts of God's people, and out of their prayers, and in the end they are cast out of their society. [2] They whither: their gifts whither, and their former seeming graces from which they had their greenness decay, their lamps go out. [3] Men gather them, Heretics gather them, or profane men gather them, for they shall be gathered together in bundles, those of their own kind, and all those spiritual judgements that complete a man for separation from God, befall such a man, and this punishment is from God the Father, who is the Husbandman. (2) All the branches that are fruitful he doth purge them, that they may bring forth more fruit. There are two parts of Sanctification, and there is a growth of a Christian seen in them both; there is a growth in grace, the new image is more visibly seen; and there is a growth in mortification, or the decay of the old image: the new man is renewed day by day, and the old man decays day by day, etc. In visible Churches the purging of the members is the Father's act, the remainders of sin are the great misery of a Saint. Now to whom should a man look to be cleansed? It's true, that it's the sprinkling of the blood of Christ upon the conscience by which it is done; but it is properly the act of God the Father applying this blood; for every degree of grace in the one or the other, it's an act of the grace of the Father. But more particularly, here are three things to be spoken to for the opening of this relation, that we may receive the fruit, and taste the sweetness thereof. (1) How and in what respect is Christ compared to a Vine? (2) Why is he said to be a true Vine? (3) How is the Father said to be the Husbandman? and what doth he unto this Vine as he is the Husbandman? 1. How and in what respect is Christ compared to a Vine? and here we are to consider, that the visible Church is in Scripture compared in Scripture to four trees, because there is no one that is able to resemble it. (1) It's compared to an Olive-tree, Rom. 11.17. Jer. 11.16. Rom. 11.17. and that for its profitableness; for the Olive-tree is for light, which makes the lamp to burn, and there is all light in the Church; and it's for nourishment to be eaten, Leu. 6.15, 16. and so there is all food in the Church; and it's for ornament, for oil makes the face to shine, Psal. 104.15. the trees of the Lord are full of sap, etc. (2) It's compared to a Palmtree, Psal. 92.12. The righteous shall flourish like a palmtree, which lives always; so there is a flourishing and a greenness and glory that is upon the Church of God, and that in the greatest winter of affliction, when other trees do cast their leaves. Again, a Palm the more weight it has hung upon it, the more it grows, and the deeper it takes root, as the Walnut-tree, the more it's beaten, the more it bears. (3) It's compared to a Cedar, Psal. 92.12. and Ezech. 17.23. He shall grow as a cedar in Lebanon. [1] For its deep rooting, for it's the strongest of all the trees: as the wood of it is of all other least subject unto putrefaction; so in respect of the deep rooting of it it's of all other trees least subject unto subversion; so the Israel of God is said to be, He shall cast forth his roots as Lebanon, Hos. 14.5. etc. [2] For its growth and height; it's therefore called the Cedars of God, Psal. 80.10. [3] For its spreading nature, the boughs spread to the Sea, and the branches to the River, therefore the birds make their nests and sing in the branches of it, Psal. 104.17. [4] But the Church is specially in the Scripture compared unto a Vine, [1] for its excellency; for in the Parable of Jotham this is recorded amongst the most excellent, the Vine, the Figtree, and the Olive, Judg. 9 [2] For its spreading nature; for it will not only compass the house, but it will fill the land, Psal. 80.9. [3] For its fruitfulness, it is the fruitful Vine; and the excellency of its fruit is such, Psal. 128.3. Judg. 9.13. that it is said by it to cheer God and man, Judg. 9.13. it's said to cheer God and man, where by Elohim I should understand great men, the great ones, as well as the mean ones, are cheered and revived by it: Some do expound it of God, and how the Lord was pleased with it, and it was offered unto him in Libamina, for a drink-offering. [4] Of all trees there is none requires so much husbandry, and such a continual labouring about it; it is a tree that hath more enemies than any other, whether they are suckers from within, which call for continual pruning, or beasts from without, which will surely waste the Vine, and root it up; or else the Foxes, Cant. 2.15. for they all will spoil the Vines, and prey upon the grapes: and it 〈◊〉 in this respect that the Church is called and compared to a Vine. And it's of this Vine that Christ is the root; for it's not spoken of Christ as he is a Head in Heaven, so he has no dead members, there are membra praesumptiva quae ad columbam non pertinent, Austin. but it's spoken of Christ spreading himself into a visible Church here upon earth, and his being the root notes two things: (1) Their union with him, as the branches have with the root; and therefore they are said to be in him, even those that bear no fruit: some are in him only by profession, and some by a real coalition. (2) They may suck sap from him, for the foolish Virgins have the oil in their lamps from him, as well as the wise that have oil in their vessels; the one have the oil of gifts, from whence their greenness comes, though they afterward whither, and the other have the oil of their graces; the one has it from the Spirit of Christ assisting, and the other from the same Spirit inhabiting or informing; for there are two sorts of branches in this Vine, as the Text makes manifest. 2. Why is he called the true Vine? He may be fitly resembled to a Vine, as he is called the true light, Joh. 1.9. and the true bread, Joh. 6.32. because he has the excellency of the Vine in a spiritual sense, he is a spiritual Root that has spiritual branches, and they bear spiritual fruit; for omnia corporalia sunt imagines quaedam rerum spiritualium, all corporals are images of things spiritual: and as Christ did condescend unto the lowest condition for our salvation, he became a worm and no man, Psal. 22. so he doth compare himself unto the lowest of creatures for our instruction; but yet so as the creatures are but shadows and weak resemblances in respect of those spiritual excellencies that are in him; so he is the true bread, and so his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed, Joh. 6. that is, it is spiritual nourishment, and is to the soul that which all earthly food is to the body; for as the creatures are but shadows of God, so Christ and spiritual things have the truth of all excellency, of which the creatures are but resemblances. 3. How is the Father said to be the Husbandman? There are six main acts of the Husbandman, and all of them are in the Scripture attributed to God the Father. (1) The husbandman doth plant the Vine: it's true here both in the root and branches, both are the plantation of God the Father. [1] It is true of Christ the Root, who though in some respect he be called a Branch, as he did grow out of the dead and withered stock of the house of David, as a branch out of a dry tree, and yet so the Father brings him forth, Zac. 3.8. Behold I will bring forth my servant the branch; yet as all the other branches do grow upon him, being one with him, so he is in a more special manner termed a Root, the root of David, as he is called, Rev. 5.5. and it is the Father that did cause this branch to grow, Est radix Davidis, quia portat & non portatur. Bernard. Jer. 33.16. and it's the Father that planted this Root; for he bids you look unto him, Zac. 6.12. The man whose name is The Branch, he shall build the Temple of the Lord, and he is made unto us of God wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It's by the Father's appointment that he is become the Church's Root; he had never had a Church built upon him, had not the Lord laid him in Zion as the chief cornerstone, 1 Pet. 2.6. and a Church had never grown out of him, as the root, had it not been of God the Father's planting; for he has given us the rule, Mat. 15.13. Every plant that grows alone in the Church, and is not planted by the Father, shall surely by the Father be rooted up. [2] He it is also that doth plant, or engraft all the branches into this root, Esay. 60.21. Thy people shall be all righteous branches of my planting, that I may be glorified; and therefore Rom. 6.5. we are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, planted together into the likeness of his death and his resurrection, created in Christ unto good works, for we are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, things made by him, Eph. 2.10. Now if we do consider Christ not only as a Head in Heaven in reference unto the Church mystical and invisible, but as he is a root on earth, spreading himself into a Church visible, and the great benefits that we have thereby, as the incomes of Ordinances, the labours of Officers, and the fellowship of Members, we own these all unto God the Father, he is the Husbandman that planted them all. (2) The Father as Husbandman fenceth the Vine: he that plants the Vine, he it is also that makes the fence; for the invisible Church of God has spiritual enemies, in heavenly things; but the visible Church, that has variety of outward enemies; as the lily amongst thorns: sometimes the Foxes by their subtlety seek to spoil the vines, and sometimes the wild Boar out of the wood doth endeavour to root it up, and yet it is preserved, the bush is in the fire, and yet it's not consumed, it is because there is a hedge about it, Joh. 10.29. says Christ, My Father that gave them me is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand: Job 1.10. Thou hast made a hedge about him, and all that he has round about; and this hedge of protection is sometimes made by Gods own immediate hand, Zac. 2.5. God himself is a wall of fire about Jerusalem, he doth himself become their hedge and their defence; upon all the glory he doth stretch forth a covering: and sometimes he doth make others to be a hedge, sometimes his own Angels, and they pitch their Tents round about them that fear the Lord; Rev. 5.11. they were round about the Throne; and sometimes he does make Rulers, which are the shields of the Earth, to become the shields of the Church, but their protection and defence is the work of the husbandman. Now when the Lord doth pluck up the hedge, and break down the wall of the visible Church, we then see what terrible inroads all the enemies do make, and how they come in and spoil her; The Boar of the wood doth waste it, and the beasts of the field devour it, Psal. 80.13. so that it's God the Father only that makes the hedge, and he it is that doth remove the fence, and he it is that has the hand in making it up again. (3) He as the Husbandman doth hire labourers into his Vineyard; for it is the work of God the Father, Mat. 20.1. as he is the Lord of the harvest, so he doth thrust forth labourers into his harvest; as he is the husbandman, so he doth hire labourers into his vineyard, which is the visible Church, and the labourers are the officers and the workmen that do labour therein, and they are said to be hired, (1) ratione pacti, because there doth as it were a bargain and an agreement pass between God and them; for answerable unto a man's end, such is the implicit agreement that he makes with God; and answerable unto that, so God will give a man a reward: if a man do it for profit, he shall have it; but then he is said not to serve Christ, but his own belly; and if he do it for praise of men, Christ saith, They have their reward, etc. (2) Ratione praemii, in regard of reward, because there is no man that shall labour in Christ's Vineyard, but he shall have his reward, answerable unto the penny that he himself did agree for; for no man doth labour there in vain, there is a certain wages promised him, etc. And this belongs unto God the Father, there is not a man whose gifts you enjoy, and whose labours you have, and do prize, but he is hired by the Father, and he it is that gives him his hire. Now we know that labourers in the vineyard have been very precious to the Saints, and are the glory of the Churches, a Crown of twelve Stars, Rev. 12.1. they are all of them hired by him that is the Husbandman, and the Lord of the Vineyard, etc. (4) It's the husbandman that waters the vineyard, and the vine that he himself has planted, as it's said Esay 27.3. I will water it every moment: and there is a double watering, sometimes he does it by the dew, Hos. 14.5. I will be as the dew to Israel, and he shall grow as the lily, etc. that is, in a secret, silent, and insensible way, as the Manna fell in the dew, without any observation; there is a secret River that doth refresh the City of God, Psal. 46.5. and the Church is secretly refreshed and supported no man knows how; and it's also watered by the rain, the former and the latter rain, in a more glorious way; Psal. 68.10. the Lord comes in, and doth revive the Church, and all men shall see that it is his work, and that it is from Heaven only, and both put together, as the dew and as showers upon the grass, Mic. 5.6. which tarrieth not for man, it waits not for the sons of men, the Lord doth wait for no humane concurrence or the joining in of any of the creatures, but he doth water his own vine himself, that it doth flourish and grow, and these waters are all the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which the Father doth send; for the giving of the Spirit is called the promise of the Spirit, Acts 1.4. for the succus vitalis, the vital juice of this Vine is the Spirit. (5) He pruneth it as he is the Husbandman, the unfruitful branches he takes away: Joh. 15.2. Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away; but yet there is the skill of the husbandman in it, who will have in his Church no unfruitful branches: though for a while they may continue, yet he will gather out of his Kingdom whatever doth offend, and whoever works iniquity: and he prunes it in the fittest time, in its season, when it may be best for the vine. It may be some do wonder that the Lord lets wicked men alone to continue in the Church so long, why they are not immediately cast out; truly if the Father be the Husbandman, let us leave it to his pruning, for it's his work, and he will do it, in his time and season, we must not undertake to direct him which season is best, he keeps it in his own power, and he doth it at the fittest time; so that after this pruning the other branches may grow better, and the Father hath undertaken it; and though there may be some hypocrites that may a long time escape the eyes of men, and the censure of the Church, yet they shall not escape the Father's eye, who is the Husbandman. There is a spiritual Excommunication that goes forth against them from him, and he will surely cast them out as dead branches, and he hath provided a fire for them, and they are burnt; and there is no man that burns so fiercely in Hell as such dry wood prepared for the fire; for all the vessels of wrath are fitted to destruction, as well as the vessels of mercy are prepared for glory. (6) The fruitful branches he doth purge, as the husbandman, that they may bring forth more fruit: and in this are the two parts of Sanctification. [1] The destroying of the old man; for the Lord Jesus Christ hath as well bought off in our Redemption the power of sin, as the guilt of sin, Tit. 2.14. he hath redeemed you from all iniquity, that he may have the more communion with you, Jam. 4.8. and that he may fit you the more for use, 2 Tim: 2.21. If a man purge himself, etc. and also that your services may be the more pleasing unto him, Mal. 3.3. 1. He doth it by Ordinances, Eph. 5.2, 6. He doth cleanse them by the washing of water through the word, and they are clean through the word that he doth speak unto them. 2. Sometimes by the inward motions of the Spirit, discovering the filthiness of sin, and stirring up a man's heart to hate it, and himself for it, that a man shall make it his business to mortify sin; and as Christ suffered in the flesh, and ceased from sin, so he doth arm himself with the same mind, his resolution is the armour that strengthens and establishes his heart therein. 3. Many times the Lord doth it by shedding abroad his love in the soul, so that the sense thereof makes a man to purify himself from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit, as the exhortation also is, 2 Cor. 7.1. Having this hope [such exceeding great and precious promises] let us perfect holiness in the fear of God. [2] The reviving of the new man; it's the Father's end that they may bring forth more fruit, for they are ordained to bear fruit, a vine is of no worth, if it be not fruitful; therefore Col. 2.19. they are said to increase with the increase of God 1. Some say the increase of God is a great and glorious increase, as the mountains of God, and the Cedars of God, Col. 2.19. and the wrestling of God. 2. Some say it is the increase of God, quae est à Deo tanquam à primario efficient, which is from God as the prime efficient: Paul may plant, and Apollo water, but God gives the increase: therefore we should honour the Father in the work of Sanctification as well as we honour the Father in his Election. 3. Some say the increase of God is ad Deum tanquam finem ultimum, is to God as the last en●: And when doth a man bear more fruit? [1] When he doth the duties that he did formerly neglect, and is more abundant in them, 1 Cor. 15. ult. [2] When he doth exercise more grace in them, and there is more of the inward man in them, Rev. 3.2. though he doth the same duties, yet it is more fruit to God than formerly, when he doth it with more pleasure, and the commandments are none of them grievous to him, it is his meat and drink to do it, his comforts do come in by his duties, as well as by the promised rewards, and he is also more constant in the performance of them, and doth not perform duty only by fits: inconstancy in any man is an argument of weakness, 'tis a reproach to have it said, a man's righteousness is but as the morning dew, and as the early cloud that passeth away. §. 5. We come now unto the last particular of the personal and appropriated relation of God the Father as he stands unto Christ, and in him unto us: as he is his Father and our Father, our God and his God, his friend, so he is the fountain of the life of Christ, and in him the fountain of spiritual life to us also, 1 Joh. 5.11. and that is set down, 1 Joh. 5.11. God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son: we see of what person it's spoken, it is the Father that hath given us this life, and laid it up in his Son, as in a common Treasury, Joh. 6.57. that from him it might be conveyed unto us. So Joh. 6.57. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. Here in the opening of it I must show, (1) Whether this be spoken of Christ as he is God, or as he is Mediator? (2) How Christ as Mediator is said to live by the Father? (3) What the life is that we have from Christ? (4) That all this life that we have from Christ and is in him, is from the Father, he that is the fountain of the life of Christ, is also the fountain of our life. 1. Whether it be spoken here of Christ as he is God, or as he is Mediator, God manifested in the flesh? That it's not spoken of Christ as he is God, there are three things do clearly make it manifest. (1) It's spoken of Christ with respect unto his Office; for he speaks of himself as sent by the Father, and sending is a term of office. Now as he is sent by the Father, so he lives by the Father: but he is sent as Mediator, and it wholly relates unto his Office in which he is by the Father employed; and therefore it is as Mediator that he lives by the Father. (2) It's spoken of Christ as he is fed upon by the faithful, I live by the Father, so he that eats me shall live by me, which refers to him as he is made man; for so he saith vers. 34. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood, hath eternal life, etc. Now the Father is the fountain of life unto Christ in the same respect that Christ is the fountain of life unto us; but it is as Mediator that he is so to us, as he hath flesh and blood, for so he becomes unto us a natural head; and therefore suited to be an object of our faith, fit both to be our surety here, and our Advocate in Heaven; our surety here, as having our nature, and therefore being able to pay our debt; and our Advocate hereafter, as having our nature still upon him, and therefore knows how to have mercy and compassion, the same nature in him will incline him thereunto. (3) I conceive, that it were dangerous to say, that as he is God, so he lives by the Father, though I often find that Divines writing of the eternal generation of the Son, do speak of the Father's begetting of the Son by the communication of the same Essence, that he is God of God, etc. But surely he that is God, must be without cause, he must have his Being from himself, he must be the first and the last; he that hath his essence from another must have his sufficiency from another, and he that is from another must be unto another; for he that is the first cause, he must also be the last end, Rom. 11.36. For of him, and to him, and through him are all things, etc. and therefore he that is not God of himself, is not God at all. I dare not therefore say, that he hath the Divine Essence communicated by eternal generation, Calv. Institut. l. 1. c. 13. §. 25. but rather he is à seipso Deus, à Patre filius, essentia ejus principio caret, personae verò principium est ipse Deus: it's spoken of Christ, therefore not as he lives in himself, as he is God, but as he is Mediator made by the Father the fountain of life unto us. 2. What is the life, which as Mediator Christ receives from the living Father? There are two words in Scripture unto which commonly all things excellent or desirable are compared, and those are Light and Life; and so all misery is set forth under the two contraries, and they are Darkness and Death, as Psal. 97.11. Light is sown for the righteous: in thy light we shall see light, etc. And so life also, Psal. 30.5. In his favour is life: Psal. 36.9. With thee is the fountain of life: Psal. 63.3. thy lovingkindness is better than life; life is that which doth comprehend in it all good things, as the lesser is comprehended of the greater; for the life is more worth than meat, and the body than raiment; and so it implies that Jesus the Mediator doth receive all things that are good, excellent, and desirable from God the Father, he doth live by the Father, etc. he is unto him the fountain of all good things: But this is but general. I find life in Scripture used four ways, as standing in opposition unto a fourfold death in us. (1) There is a death in reference to the guilt of sin, a man being under the sentence of the Law dead; and in opposition thereunto there is a life of Righteousness in Justification: therefore it's said Rom. 5.17, 18. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gifts of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ: therefore as by the offence of one judgement came upon all to condemnation, so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification to life. (2) There is a death in reference to the dominion of sin; and thus we are said to be dead in trespasses and sins: and so there is a life of Holiness and Regeneration, when the Lord saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and stand up from the dead, Eph. 5.14. Joh. 5.25. When the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear it shall live: and so he doth quicken those that are dead in trespasses and sins, Eph. 2.5. they are made alive unto God. (3) There is a death in sorrow, and under misery, as the Jews were in their Captivity, they were dry bones dead, and their restoring of peace and comfort was a resurrection from the dead, Ezech. 37.12. and so Heman is free amongst the dead, as they that are wounded and lie in the grave, etc. and in opposition thereunto there is a life of consolation, 1 Thess. 3.8. 1 Thess. 3.8. Now we live if you stand fast in the Lord, that is, this will be one of the greatest comforts of our lives, our happiness, our glory, and crown of rejoicing, etc. Rom. 7.9. Rom. 7.9. I was alive without the law once, alive in performances, and alive in presumption, alive in comforts, alive in confidences, and that is the meaning of Hab. 2.4. The just shall live by his faith, Hab. 2.4. and in the same sense it is used Heb. 10.38. He that shall come will come, and will not tarry, Heb. 10.38. now the just shall live by his faith. There is a double sense of these words: [1] In matter of Justification, Gal. 3.11. No man is justified by the law, it is evident, for the just shall live by faith. [2] In matter of consolation in any affliction, and so faith doth not only make a man live, keep body and soul together; but it makes a man live a comfortable and a cheerful life also, non est vivere, sed valere vita, etc. (4) There is a death eternal, which is an everlasting separation from the vision and fruition of God, who is the fountain of life, and so we read of the second death; and so there is a life of glory, Joh: 3.36. He that believes not in the Son of God, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him; and Heaven is commonly in the Scripture called everlasting life, etc. Now in all these respects the Son lives by the living Father, and they that are one with him do live by him. 1. Christ as Mediator receives from the living Father a life of justification: he was made under the Law, and under the curse, 2 Cor. 5.21. it pleased the Father to make all our sins meet upon him, he did bear the sins of many, he did appear the first time of his coming into the world loaden with transgression, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but he shall appear the second time without sin, Heb. 9.28. and this was by the Father's imputation, Hostilem incursum designat, etc. and his voluntary susception; but when he arose from the dead, he is acquitted by God the Father, and therefore is said to be justified in the Spirit, i. e. by his own Godhead, and 1 Pet. 3.18. he is said to be quickened by the Spirit, that is, he raised up himself by the power of his own Godhead; so being raised he is justified, that is, he is acquitted from the guilt of all the sins that he did before lie under; and so he is taken from prison, he did not break prison, but he was released, and had a fair discharge, and the judgement that was passed upon him he was absolved from. Isa. 53.8. Now as the sentence of his condemnation came forth from the Father, so must also his justification, and as he says, Joh. 16.10. Ye see me no more, to note that his death should fully satisfy, and his sacrifice be perfectly offered: as for other Priests, they came often to present their Sacrifices which were imperfect, and the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin off the sinner. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 2. He received from the living Father a life of holiness and sanctification: Col. 1.19. It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. What fullness is here meant? Plenitudo gratiae habitualis. an habitual fullness of grace, Joh. 1.16. Of his fullness we have all received grace for grace: as he was anointed by the Father, he received not the Spirit by measure; Joh. 3.34. for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. It's true, that grace in the humane nature of Christ, which is the subject of habitual grace, is not infinite, for that only belongs to the Holiness of God; but yet there is all fullness in it, because it's laid up in him, that he might dispense it; and there is a sufficiency, and there are supplies of the Spirit for all the Saints; and therefore he is called, Dan. 9.24. The most holy, Dan. 9.24. or holiness of holinesses; the humane nature is capable of more grace, and therefore of greater glory, by reason of its personal union, than all the creatures in Heaven and Earth, either men or Angels; for he is the Son of Righteousness. 3. He received from the living Father a life of consolation. It's true, if we look to his condition amongst the creatures, so he was a man of sorrows; but if we respect his communion with the Father, and the fullness of the consolation of the Spirit (for where the Spirit is truly a Spirit of Sanctification, there also he is in perfection a Spirit of Consolation) so he is said, Psal. 45.7. To be anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows: his blessed Soul had experience as of greater and higher privileges, so of far greater comforts than of the creature, men or Angels; and though it's true, that when he bore the sins of men, and the wrath of God, there was substractio visionis, and therefore he is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which is as much as extra confortium vivere, Mar. 14.33. to live without society: he was to be sequestered as in a wilderness, and set apart unto grief, and to nothing else, yet it was but for a short time; for as the Sun did recover its light again, so did his Spirit also, and his Soul was filled with unspeakable joys, as he before underwent unutterable sorrows; therefore he says, Joh. 15.10. I kept my Father's commandment, and abide in his love; my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, etc. Psal. 16.11. 4. He received from the living Father a life of glory: Thou wilt show me the path of life, in thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore: and therefore, Rev. 3.21. Rev. 3.21. He that overcomes I will grant to sit with me upon my Throne, even as I overcame, and am sat down with my Father in his Throne, etc. Jesus Christ has a Throne on which he now sits ruling the Nations, having received a Kingdom from the Ancient of days, and he has a Throne in the Church; a Throne is set in Heaven, Rev. 4.2. and there is a more glorious Throne to be erected at the last and great day, when he shall sit upon the Throne of his Glory, etc. but all this while Heaven is the Father's Throne; and when the works of God are perfected here below, the Kingdom shall be given up into the hands of the Father again: and thus Christ as Mediator, as sent by the living Father, so he received from him a fourfold life, and therefore may be fitly said to live by the Father. Joh. 5.26. But it may be objected from Joh. 5.26. As the Father hath life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself. How is it said that Christ hath life in himself, when he receives his life from the Father? I answer, Christ's meaning is this, he did publish himself to be the fountain of life, and he doth commonly tell you, that there is a double fountain of life, (1) there is the living Father; but so life could not have been derived unto us being dead; for there is no way to receive any thing from God, but by the hand of a Mediator, therefore the Father hath appointed another fountain of life, and that is his Son, and in him he hath laid up life, as in a common Treasury; though as Mediator the fountain of his life be in God, yet in reference unto us; the Father hath given him to have life in himself: it's not spoken of him as he is man, but as he doth raise the dead by an Almighty power, and they shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live, as he is an everlasting Father, and begets souls unto the Lord, and as it is given unto him: and therefore it must belong to him as Mediator, and not as God, and it is said, He has given this power to him, because he is the Son of man: therefore the meaning is, that God the Father being the fountain of life, man being fallen, and separated from God, and dead in trespasses and sins; now if the Lord will convey life unto us, it must be by another hand; and therefore he hath made the Son the fountain of life, and the fullness thereof to dwell in him: and so the Son has life in himself, as the Father has life in himself; the Father conveys it to the Son, and the Son receives it of purpose to derive it unto us. 3. Having seen what the life is that the Son receives from the living Father, and how he lives by the Father, let us in the next place consider, how we that are members live by the Son also: and it will appear, that answerably to the life that Christ received from the Father, so is he the fountain of life unto the Saints. (1) A life of Justification; for he is become Jehovah our Righteousness, Jer. 23.6. 2 Cor. 5.21. we are made the righteousness of God in him: so that there is no condemnation unto them that are in Christ Jesus; for the debt is paid, and the bond is canceled; for the Lord hath brought in an everlasting Righteousness, and such as sin can never spend. Thus we live by him a life of Justification, he is made unto us of God wisdom and righteousness. (2) We have from him a life of Holiness and Regeneration; we are dead in our trespasses and in the uncircumcision of our life, till by him we are quickened; and therefore, 1 Cor. 15.44. it's said, The first man Adam was made a living soul, that was his state in his creation, and God did breathe into him the breath of life, and he became a living soul, that is, such a nature as he had, such he could propagate unto his posterity, and so from the first Adam we are made living souls; but if they were dead, Adam could not revive and quicken them again; and therefore that belongs to the second Adam, he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in spiritum vivificum, for a vivifick spirit, we have the unction from the holy One, 1 Joh. 2.20. and therefore the Spirit that we receive and that dwells in us, is the Spirit of the Son, he is the head from whence our influences come, and he is the root from which all our sap is derived, it is of his fullness only that we receive grace for grace. (3) We receive from Christ a life of consolation: for he it is that sends the Comforter, the message is, Esay 61.2. he is sent to bind up the , to proclaim liberty to the captive, and to publish the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of Jubilee, the time of rejoicing; Isa. 57.15. his work is to revive the spirits of the contrite ones; he gives them strong consolation and good hope through grace, Hab. 3.2. and that's the meaning of that place, Hab. 3.2. Revive thy work in the middle of the years. The Church was then in captivity, and in great affliction, and they were as dead men under the hand of God, it is such a reviving that they beg: and all the incomes that the Saints have from the Spirit of consolation, it is a life that is derived unto them from the Lord Jesus Christ; from whom the Spirit of Sanctification comes, from him comes also the Spirit of Consolation. (4) We receive from Christ a life of Glory; he is gone to Heaven as our Forerunner, and having prepared a place for us, he will come again and fetch us; we can never be received up to glory, if Christ had not been first received; and then he receives us also into the same glory, we enter into our master's joy: it is his by a personal purchase and propriety, it is ours by our mystical union and fellowship with him only; and therefore it is said; That he doth raise us up at the last day. And Phil. 3.21. He shall change our vile body, that it may be like to his glorious body; and when he shall appear, we shall be like him, 1 Joh. 3.3. so that our life is hid with Christ in God, but when Christ who is our life shall appear, we shall appear with him in glory, Col. 3.3. 4. God the Father is the fountain of life unto the Saints: and that two ways, (1) as he is the fountain of life unto Christ, and as he lives by the Father. (2) As by the Father's appointment and decree he is made the fountain of life unto us. (1) As the Father is the fountain of life unto Christ; for, Joh. 14.19. Because I live ye shall live: if he did not give himself, we could not live by him. Now, Col. 3.4. And when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. Christ is our life causatiuè, non essentialiter, etc. and he gives us life, because he hath life in himself, but that is given him from the Father; there is a righteousness in him by which we are accepted, and the fullness of habitual grace in him by which we are sanctified: all this is laid up in him by the Father; it is upon this ground only, that he is the fountain of life unto us, because he himself lives by the Father; therefore in all the glory of Christ, Rom. 5.10. the Father should be honoured, because all the fullness of Christ he doth receive it from the Father: Therefore whensoever we have recourse unto Christ for righteousness, holiness, and comforts, and see him to live by the Father in all these; and when we look up unto him who is our Head, and see him exalted above all Principalities and Powers; and that he lives by the power of God; now say, Christ lives by the power and the glory of the Father, and the life that I live is by the faith of the Son of God. (2) As by the Father he is made the fountain of life unto us; for the Father did give eternal life unto us when he laid it up in the Son: therefore it is said, That they killed the Prince of life; Joh. 5.11. Acts 3.25. as he is the King of Righteousness, and the Prince of Peace: it is said Moses was a man of peace, but he could not command peace in the mutinous and murmuring people, but if he had been a Prince of peace he could; and so Christ as a Prince of life can convey life, and dispense it, Rev. 22.14. We having fallen and forfeited Paradise and the Tree of Life, we were secluded from it: Now God the Father hath appointed another Tree of Life, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will give unto men a right or a privilege to eat thereof also, which they were formerly shut out of. So that you see, it is the Father that hath given him power to quicken whom he will, to have life in himself, and to give eternal life to as many as believe in him. SECT. iv Our Covenant-Interest in Offices, Acts, and Relations of the Trinity applied. Use 1 §. 1. HAving finished the doctrinal part, and seen how God the Father makes over himself in the Covenant of Grace to the Saints; for their portion lies in God, not only in the Attributes of the nature, but in an interest in the persons also; and we have an interest in all the actions that the Father appropriated, whether they be eternal, or in time, and those whether terminated in Christ immediately, or in us; and we have seen how we have an interest in all the personal relations of the Father, that in the same relations he stands to Christ, in the same he stands to us also; he is his Father and our Father, his God and our God; he is our Father, our King, our Friend, our Husbandman, and the Fountain of our life, for he hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son: Now we come to apply all this to ourselves, and it shall be 1. for Information, that so in so great a truth as this, we may not be mistaken. And here we are to consider, (1) that a man hath interest in all the persons at once, they all be given together; a man hath not first an interest in the Father, and then in the Son, and then in the Spirit, but having an interest in one, he hath an interest in them all, he that hath the Son hath the Father also, he hath the Father and the Son. Joh. 2.23. Joh. 2.9. And by this we may see what a glorious change there is in a man when he is converted and made one with Christ, he hath an interest in all the Attributes of God. It's true, that they do all act for him afterwards successively, and according to a man's necessity at several times they work for his good; sometimes an act of mercy is put forth for him, sometimes an act of power, sometimes wisdom, sometimes patience; but yet the soul comes to have an interest in them all at once, and at the same time, and when he is entitled to the one, he is entitled to the other, even to them all: and so it is with the Persons also, the title Believers have to them gins at once. As a man hath interest in Christ the Mediator; it's true, that Christ doth exercise all his Offices for his spiritual good successively, and he is now to him a Priest to offer his Sacrifice, and to bear his iniquity, now he is a Prophet to teach him, now he is a King to govern him; and there are distinct acts of all these offices; but yet the soul hath an interest in them all at once: As it is in all grace; it's true, that the graces of God's Spirit do all of them act in their places; 2 Pet. 1.5. for we are to add to our faith virtue, and to our virtue knowledge, etc. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is taken ab iis qui choros ducunt, from such as lead the dance, in which every one keeps his own place, and acts his own part; for grace brings the most glorious order into the soul that can be; but yet all grace is wrought together, even the whole new man is begotten at once: And so for all the creatures of God; it is true, that they do all in their places act for the Saints, the Stars in their courses do fight against Sisera, but yet a man comes to have jus haereditarium, an hereditary right to them all at once: And this is the glory of the change at a man's first conversion, which a man may admire, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a man that had before no interest in any Attribute of God, in any person in the Godhead, or any of the Offices of Christ, or any grace of the Spirit, or any promise of the Gospel, or in any creature of God, yet at once in the very same instant, he comes to have a title unto all these; that though all the promises be fulfilled by degrees, and in their time, yet the soul hath a title unto them all, and that as true and as great as he shall have when he comes to Heaven; 1 Cor. 13.10, 11. for it is by the same title that he shall enjoy Heaven; for this is but our nonage and childhood, yet a child hath the same title to the land his father left him, as when he comes to be a man, only he hath not the possession of it: and so the title by which you shall enjoy God for ever, is begun in this life; only there are two great changes you must pass through, the first is conversion, the second is death; by the one the soul is entitled to his heavenly inheritance, and by the other he is fully put into possession. 2. Though the interest of God's people begin at once in all the persons, yet the Lord would have us take notice, that there is a distinct interest in them all to be attained unto; for the more distinct our apprehensions are, the more glory we give unto God, and the greater will our own comfort be: God delights not in generalities, neither in general confessions, nor in general apprehensions or thanksgivings. As it is in the Attributes of the Nature of God, though a soul that hath an interest in God in Covenant, hath a title to them all at once, yet they are all of them as so many distinct objects for faith to work and rest upon; as mercy, and justice, and holiness, and wisdom, and faithfulness; and the soul should not only be content with a general apprehension that he hath an interest in them all, but should be distinctly drawn forth, and exercise distinct acts of faith upon them all: And as it is in Christ, there are distinct excellencies in him, there is the Holiness of his Nature, the Holiness of his Life, and the fullness of his Satisfaction, the glory of his Merit; and a soul that hath an interest in Christ, and is made one with him, hath immediately an interest in all these; but yet the Lord requires that the faith of his Saints should be exercised about them all, and have their apprehension raised by the glory of them all: As a man that believes any one part of the Word of God, doth believe the whole Word of God at the same time; for faith that doth close with any Divine Truth aright, doth it upon this ground, to rest upon God, tam in revelatis, quàm revelandis, as well in what is revealed, as what is to be revealed: as it was with Adam and the Angels, unto whom there are made daily new discoveries of the will and counsel of God, that they never knew before; but yet there is not a precept, Eph. 3.10. promise, or threatening in the whole Word of God, but it is a distinct object of faith, and the Lord would have the apprehensions of his people particularly set upon them, that they may be particularly affected with them, and see and admire the grace of God in giving them an interest in this promise, and in that threatening: So it is true, that a man that hath an interest in the Son of God, hath an interest also in God the Father, and so a man may consider it discursiuè, discursively; but the Lord would have the soul stay upon the particular interest he hath in the Father and the glory thereof, and upon the particular interest he hath in the Son and the glory thereof also. As it is in point of assurance, though he that hath the witness of the Father and the Son, hath the witness of the Spirit also; and he that is assured of the love of one, may be assured of the love of them all; yet there is a distinct bringing home of the love of each person to the soul; so that a man doth not by way of discourse only reason himself into the Father, Son, and Spirit, who having one nature have also one love, and if I have a testimony of the love of the Son in me, I have also a witness thereby of the love of the Father also; but when the soul is particularly drawn out and distinctly affected with the love of each of the persons, his apprehensions are raised by reason of this interest: and so it is in the work of faith also, and the ground of it is this, (1) because all the glory that God hath by us here, is when he is exalted in our hearts; for God's glory is in the hearts of his Saints, as all their melody is in their hearts, Ephes. 5.19. when all things in the inward man are in tune, and set right, Exod. 15.2. He is my God and I will exalt him. Now as our apprehensions do rise in the consideration of the glory of any thing that is in God, God hath the more distinct glory thereby; for as he hath given us variety of ordinances, and he will be honoured by us in them all; so he hath propounded to our faith distinct objects, and he will be honoured by our faith in them all; for as you heard, the glory that God hath in this world chief is in the hearts of the Saints, they only do glorify him actively, all things else do it but occasionally, that is, by giving them an occasion to glorify him. (2) Because there is a distinct sweetness and virtue that comes from every one of these, when the soul is distinctly drawn out to them, and they are distinctly exercised: as Phil. 3.10. says the Apostle, That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his sufferings, etc. When a man looks upon the death of Christ, there is a virtue will come out of it; and if upon the sufferings of Christ, there is a virtue will come out of them all, and they have all of them their peculiar and proper virtue upon the soul. The Apostle speaks of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 2 Cor. 2.14. a savour of knowledge: now it is here as it is in a Posy, there are many flowers put together, and they do yield a very fragrant smell, that is very refreshing and delightsom; but he that will be affected with each flower must take them all apart, and he will find that each of them hath its distinct and proper savour, which unless the man had taken apart he would never have known: and so it is also in all the glorious excellencies that are in God and in Christ. Use 2 §. 2. The second Use is of Exhortation, and that 1. To stir you up to consider the glory of this interest in the Persons; this was that did most affect Christ, Psal. 16.5. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance: it is his interest in the Father that mainly his heart doth glory in. He had several other interests that he might have boasted of; for he was Heir of all things; Heb. 1.3. but in a more special manner he hath a glorious inheritance in the Saints, Eph. 1.18. which may be interpr●●● either that his inheritance is in them, for they are his both dono and merito, by a gift and by a purchase also, or else 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for inter, as it is rendered, Acts 26.18. To give them an inheritance amongst them that are sanctified, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and so the Saints have a great inheritance to glory in, they are heirs of promises, yea they inherit all things; but the main of Christ's glory is his inheritance in the person of the Father, and that should be also the glory of the Saints; and here consider, (1) that the high advancement of the creature lies in union with the persons, as the highest advancement of the humane nature of Christ lies in the personal Union; the grace of Union is far greater than the grace of Unction, that he was made one with the second Person in the Trinity; and the advancement of our nature is more by our mystical Union with the Person of Christ, than in all the benefits we receive from him; but there is a higher union that this tends to, and that is an union with all the persons in the Trinity thereby, for communio fundatur in union. Now having communion with all the persons, it argues that we have an union with them all; and as we have a higher union with the person of the Son than the Angels have, so we have a nearer union with the Father, and with the Spirit also; and herein lies the greatest exaltation. (2) There is more in union with the persons, than there is in all other benefits whatsoever, and all other interests: as there is more in the person of Christ than there is in all the benefits of Christ; so there is more in giving of the person of Christ, than in giving of all the benefits that he bestows. Thus there is more in our title to the persons, than in all other interests whatsoever, whether we have an interest in promises, in creatures, in ordinances, nay it is more in some respect than an interest in Attributes; for under the first Covenant the Attributes were after a sort made over to Adam, that they should all work for him, they were his portion; but under the second Covenant it is that the interest in the persons comes in; for if Adam had stood, he had had an interest in God in common, whatever was in the Nature of God, all the Attributes of his Nature should have been his; but it is the second Covenant that brings in union with the Son of God, that gives us a distinct union with the Father and with the Spirit; and therefore it is a personal interest that is the great mercy and glory of the new Covenant. (3) It is our title unto the person that gives us a title unto all the benefits: as it is in our union with Christ, 1 Joh. 5.12. He that has the Son has life, it's our union with the Son that gives us a title unto life for him; for the Covenant is matrimonial, and it is the union with the person only that entitles the woman to her husband's honour and estate: so it's in this also, having an interest in all the persons gives a man a title unto all the promises and unto all the privileges of the Saints; and therefore the jus haereditarium of the Saints unto all other good things from God lies in this, that they have an union with all the persons; for they that are not entitled unto the persons, do in vain hope to entitle themselves to the benefits. (4) This gives a man a threefold title and interest, [1] in all the Attributes, [2] in the Divine Nature, [3] in their actings: for as they are all made over unto the Saints, so they know that all these attributes are to be found in all the persons. There is in the Father infinite wisdom, and infinite power, and infinite mercy, and infinite grace, etc. so there is in the Son also, for the attributes of the nature are in common to them all, they having all of them but one and the same simple and undivided Essence; and it is glorious to a Saint to see all the attributes in them all, and thereby he is assured, that in all the actings of the Father he will improve all the attributes, and so it is in all the actings of the Son and the Spirit also, and so they become ours in the actings of them by reason of our interest in all the three persons. (5) This is the proper ground of our communion with God: wherein lies the sweetness of a Christians life here, but mainly in that fellowship that he hath with God, that he walks with God, and that he is not alone, but the Father is with him, & c? Now all communion is personal, and is a mutual intercourse between persons: 1 Joh. 1.5. Our fellowship is with the Father, and with the Son Jesus Christ. And there is a fellowship of the Spirit, 2 Cor. 13.14. It's true, we have an inheritance in attributes and in promises, but we cannot properly be said to have fellowship with him but in regard of the persons: Adam had in his creation an inheritance in all the creatures, but yet he could not have communion with them, there was none meet for fellowship with him but Eve: so it's here, there is nothing but a person that a man can have communion with. It's true, our communion is in things; as we have communion with Christ in his righteousness and in his privileges, in his graces, in his victories, that is, we have a share together with him in them all, and they are as truly ours as they are his, according unto our necessity; but yet remember, our communion is with the person of Christ, not with the benefits: so it is in this also, we have a communion with Father, Son, and Spirit in the attributes of the Nature, so that they are as truly ours according to the tenor, and for the ends of the new Covenant, as they are his; but still our union and communion is with the persons in them, therein doth properly the foundation lie: as if a husband marry a wife, she shall have a communion with him, that is, a common share in his honour and in his estate, in whatever is his; but yet the communion that she hath is with the person of her husband. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Now man being a sociable creature, we know what sweetness there is in fellowship with the persons of men, to have the communion of those he takes most delight in: as nature doth enable a man to taste the sweetness of that fellowship; so doth grace, being a Divine nature, and fitting the soul for communion, it doth enable a man to taste the sweetness that is in fellowship with the Divine nature, with all the persons in whom only there is all fullness and joy unspeakable, and full of glory. 2. If there be such an interest in the persons to be had, then let every man examine himself, whether he have such a title unto the persons or no. In all other titles we do use to try, because we would not be deceived, and upon the trial of a title a man doth conclude it is good; illud certum quod ex dubio certum, that is certain, which out of doubtful is made certain. Let us therefore examine our title, which we have so much the greater cause to do, because there is this vanity in the heart of a man, that it's very apt to suppose a title here without trying; and this is the overthrow of many a soul: the foolish Virgins did suppose that they had been espoused unto Christ, and should have gone unto the marriage with him, as well as the wise, etc. as men do in the benefits of Christ, they are willing to suppose that their sins are pardoned, and their persons are accepted, and so they deceive their own souls: there is a fallacy when a man disputes ex falsis suppositis, from false suppositions, and then all the conclusions that he doth build upon them are unsound; and that's the very condition of most Christians, they argue ex falsis suppositis, from false suppositions all their life time, Jam. 1.22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. and that's the fallacy spoken of, Jam. 1.22. But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own souls, etc. which is to dispute and gather conclusions from false and corrupt premises; because they were hearers of the word, though they were not doers, yet from this false principle they did reason and argue all their life time that their state was good: and so did the foolish bvilders, Mat. 7.22. Lord, we have prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, we have eat and drank in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets; therefore there is no doubt but we shall attain an entrance at his coming; and so the soul is under a fallacy all his days, and this is the great deceit of the old Serpent, to deceive a man in reference to his eternal state; for as Satan by his instruments doth endeavour to beguile you in the matters of truth, Col. 2.4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he deceives a man by false reasonings; so also he endeavours to deceive a man in matter of his state, that he might deceive himself by false reasonings also: and upon this ground it mainly is, that there is that extraordinary averseness in the hearts of men unto the duty of self-examination, and a far greater averseness to the examination of a man's state, than of his actions; for there are many men that will make conscience to review their actions and consider their ways, and yet these very men are willing to go upon a supposition in the matter of their spiritual states, and to be content to take that for granted, though it be the ground of all. And here we are to consider also, that many that are true Believers may not know that there is a distinct interest in the persons to be had; they in general do believe in God, and close with Christ, who is offered them in the promise, but as for such a distinct title unto all the persons, it is a thing that they are not acquainted with; it seems it was this that Christ reproved in his Disciples, Joh. 14.1. Ye believe in God, believe also in me: their faith in the acting of it was not so distinct and particular as it ought to have been. As it is in witnessing, there is many a man that never knew that there was a distinct witness of all the persons in the hearts of the Saints, and therefore they did never look out for any such thing; so it is in the point of faith also: but now this is a truth discovered to you, and the Lord will expect the fruit of Gospel-discoveries, he will come and demand fruit of his Vineyard, and he doth expect it; he it is with whom, Heb. 4.13. in the word read or preached, that you have to do; he looks what power it hath upon your hearts after it is dispensed. (1) We are to consider, that the way by which we can come to have an interest in all the persons, is by closing with the Son; for it is our union with the Son, that as it gives us a title unto all good things, so it gives us in the first place an union with all the persons, and it entitles us unto them all; it is he that hath the Son hath the Father also, 1 Joh. 2.23. and he that hath not the Son, hath not the Father: for it is only the blessing of the second Covenant, and it comes upon none but those that are in Covenant, as the promises come upon none but those that are heirs of promise; therefore we should first inquire, whether we be one with the Son or no. Now there is no union with him but by believing in him; for it is the eating the flesh of Christ, and drinking his blood that gives us life by him. Joh. 6.54. Now though believing be an act of the whole soul, for the subject of faith is the whole soul, with the heart man believes, yet it is specially seated in the will; as unbelief also is specially seated there. There is a double infidelity: (1) Purae negationis, of pure negation, which some have said is no sin; but yet if there is a command to believe, then bare not-believing is a sin, because it is the transgression of the Law. (2) Pravae dispositionis, of depraved disposition; and that lies mainly in the will. Now when the will opens aright, it is unto two things: [1] It does consent to receive and accept of Christ upon his own terms, not only Christ with his righteousness, but Christ with his graces, not only Christ with his privileges, but Christ with his inconveniencies, Christ to all the ends for which the Father hath ordained him, he would have him glorified in them all in his heart. [2] With the same hand of faith that he doth receive whole Christ, he doth give up whole self unto Christ again, so that he is his own no more, but put out of his own power for ever; and he rejoiceth in this, that I am my beloved's as well as my beloved is mine; he would have his happiness in him, and he would enjoy nothing apart from him for ever, he would live in him, and bear fruit in him, and work for him, and be into him, and that to eternity; for he saith to him, as Ruth to her mother-in-law, Where thou goest I will go, where thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, thy God my God, and where thou diest I will die, etc. Where there hath been such an acceptation and such a resignation, there the work of faith is wrought with power, and he that is thus one with the Son, is thereby madelone with the Father also; for our union is by him, as our access and communion also is all by him with the Father. (2) If a man be entitled unto the persons, there will be drawings out of his heart towards each person: for there is an impression of the love of them all left upon the soul; We love him, because he loved us first; and this love will warm our hearts with love again; there will be the workings of it in the soul, though there be not the witnessing; 1 Joh. 4.19. for Phil. 1.6. there is a good work begun, and it's begun by all the persons, and it is to glorify the persons mainly in the hearts of Believers, and therefore such workings the Lord will draw forth in them: O that ever God the Father should give his Son to me! Joh. 3. God so loved the world! and that I should be called the Son of God, that the Son should lay down his life for me, should bear my sins and my sorrows, that his Spirit should abide in me, enlightening mine eyes, renewing me in the spirit of my mind; there will be such a spiritual warmth wrought in the soul towards all these persons, because there is a principle of the love of them all kindled in the soul. But yet, (3) There will never be the fullness of assurance, till the persons that have given you an interest in themselves, do also themselves witness their interest, 1 Joh. 5.7. and they will surely do so to all those that wait for them; the Father will say, I am thy Father, and the Son say, I am thy Saviour, and the Spirit, I am thine: therefore exercise faith upon your interest in all the persons, and in particular upon your interest in God the Father, and be much in communion with the Father; seeing communion is personal, and there is a distinct interest in all the persons, therefore a distinct communion; that which was the happiness of these persons communion, and the infinite satisfaction that they took one in another, that shall be thy happiness and thy portion for ever. §. 3. We are to exercise faith upon all the persons in this manner made over under the second Covenant, and to live upon this principle in all our ways. (1) That they are all of them objects of faith is clear: for the ultimate object of faith is God, 1 Pet. 1.21. Now as we are to take in the whole Scripture, as objectum immediatum, the immediate object, and every part of the Scripture is to be believed as an object of faith; so the whole Godhead, all the attributes of God, and all the persons in the Godhead are by faith to be rested upon; for there are, 1 Thess. 3.10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, defects of faith, so long as faith takes not in its whole object, it hath not its perfect work, Jam. 1.3. (2) We are to worship them all, though not as apart one from another, yet as in our apprehension distinguished; and we are to give unto them distinct worship, as Christ says, Joh. 4.23. The time cometh, that you shall neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem worship the Father; he that will worship God, must worship him in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeks such to worship him, etc. Now worship is twofold, either cultus naturalis, qui ex ipsa Dei natura pendet, natural worship, etc. There is no man that did ever worship a God, but he did acknowledge, that this God he was to believe in, and hope in, love, and pray to, and to hear and obey him in all things: and there is a cultus institutus; qui ex liberrima Dei voluntate pendet, etc. instituted worship, which depends on the will of God. Now the highest act of worship is in believing, and it's unto this that all the Institutions, which are but media cultûs, means of worship are properly subordinate; for cultus institutus medii locum tantùm supplet ad cultum primarium: being to worship the persons we must give to each of them that which is the main of worship, and that is to believe in them. (3) It is from the objects of faith that the life of the soul comes in, Esa. 38.16. By these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: for the Prophet Esaias had said, Take a lump of figs, and lay it upon the boil, and he shall recover, by this promise I shall live, and many others that come after shall live upon the promises by this experiment that I have had, and found of them; for faith is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the mouth and eye of the soul. Now the delight of the eye in seeing comes from the object, and the nourishment of the body comes in by the mouth; and therefore it's said, Eccles. 6.7. That all the labour of the man is for his mouth: it's from the meat that a man eats, that the strength of his body is derived; and therefore Christ, as the object of faith, saith, That his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood drink indeed, it notes strength and nourishment comes from the object of faith, and the way of conveyance is by union; it is by sucking the sap and the sweet of it, creed & manducâsti, and if any object of faith do not contribute its part, and the soul lives not upon it, it will in its strength decay; and therefore we live by the faith of the Son of God, Gal. 2.20. because it is from the direct acts of faith that life comes in: and here are two things to be spoken to: (1) What the objects of faith are that the soul is to take in, in the making over of each person under the second Covenant? (2) What acts of faith the soul is to put forth upon them? 1. The objects of faith that the soul is to take in in each of the persons are these: (1) The persons themselves, we are to believe the record of them all, 1 Joh. 5.10. Joh. 5.45. we are to hear and learn of the Father, and we are to believe in the Son: To him give all the Prophet's witness, 1 Joh. 5.6. Act. 10.43. that whosoever believes in him shall have remission of sins, Joh. 3.16. and we are to believe in the Spirit, it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth; and so we are to come unto them in duties, in prayer, and hearing, and in all acts of worship; and the ground of it is, because we are to believe in him; for they cannot pray to him in whom they have not believed, Rom. 10.14. Rom. 10.14. Now though the benefit that we have by all these persons is exceeding great, the Father adopts and justifies us by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, and the remission of sins, and the Son is Jehovah our righteousness, and he gives us power to become the sons of God, and the Spirit is the bond of our union, the principle of our sanctification, and the guide of our way; yet the ground of all this interest in their benefits is our interest in their persons: so that as our interest in the Mediator, and union with his person is far greater than all the benefits that we receive by him, because it is the fountain from which they do all flow, and the root upon which they do all grow, 1 Joh. 5.12. so it's here also, interest in the persons is the foundation of all our interest in their benefits; for if we had no title unto the persons, we could have no benefit by them, or any part thereof: and therefore as they are personal promises that are the great promises of the Gospel; so they are personal interests that are the great privileges of the Gospel, and that in which the main of the life of a Saint lies: so that as when Christ is set forth by God the Father as a propitiation lifted up in the Gospel, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Rom. 3.25. the soul by the recumbency of faith casts itself upon him, leaves itself with him; Psal. 10.14. so the Father and Spirit are set forth in the Gospel as the God of consolation, and the soul is to rely, roll, and cast itself upon them; and as we are not barely to look upon the benefits that come by Christ, so neither are we to the benefits that come by them, but it is their persons, ens incomplexum, not things that the soul is to rest upon. (2) The soul is to rest upon all the promises that in Scripture are made concerning these persons: there are promises that have a peculiar respect unto them all. [1] There are promises that specially concern the Father, which though they be formally made unto the Son, yet it is with special respect unto the Saints: as the promise of giving Christ unto their souls, and nourishment and life by him; for he says, Joh. 6.32. Moses gave you not the bread that came down from heaven, my Father gives you the true bread: promises of justification by him, Esa. 53.11. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, that is as much as to say, as many as believe in him shall receive remission of sins, and a promise of guidance, Exod. 23.20. Behold I send my Angel before you. They were in a straight; for they were in the wilderness where there was no way; now the Father doth promise the Son should undertake their guidance, and it is not a promise that is peculiar unto those times only, though there was something peculiar in it. And there is a promise of gifts, Acts 1.4. Wait for the promise of the Father. The extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost that were to be poured out to fit men for office in those times, it's called the promise of the Father: and the promise also of preservation and perseverance, My Father that gave them me is greater than all, Joh. 10.29. and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand. [2] There are some promises that do more especially belong unto the Son, as that of grace, and a continual supply; he shall go in and out and find pasture; and says Christ, I am come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly; and a promise of a constant presence, I will dwell in them, and walk amongst them; Joh. 10.9, 10. what concord hath Christ with Belial? I am with you to the end of the world; that he will beautify his Church and sanctify it, and cleanse it, that he may present it unto himself a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, Eph. 6.26, 27. and that he will subdue our enemies, Esay 63.3, 4. I will take them in my arms, and keep them from their enemy's fury; their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will slain all my raiment; for the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come: he shall be clothed with a garment d pt in blood, and his name shall be called the word of God, Rev. 19.13. [3] There are some promises that in a more special manner respect the holy Spirit: he has promised them a spirit of sanctification, and he will purge the filth of the daughter of Zion by a spirit of burning, Esa. 4.4. promises of direction, The Spirit shall lead you into all truth, Joh. 16.13. he shall undertake to be the guide of your way, and you shall hear a voice crying behind you, This is the way, walk in it: a spirit of liberty also you shall have; 2 Cor. 3.17. for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty; and a spirit of victory, Esa. 59.19. when the enemy doth break in as a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him, so that they shall conquer, not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, Zac. 4 6. Now all these lead a man unto the person of the Spirit, and his interest in him, as so many lines into a centre; for as all the promises do lead a man to union with Christ, by which means he becomes an heir of promise, so do all the promises lead a man to an interest in his person, without which he can lay no claim unto the promise that is made by any of the persons, for they are not universal, and made unto all; but as the promises of Christ belong unto those that are one with him, so all the promises of the persons belong only unto those that have an interest in them; and therefore we are to cast ourselves upon the persons for the accomplishment of the promises. (3) Faith is to rest upon the love of them all; for though they are essentially one, and therefore have but one will, yet as they are personally distinguished, so they are three, and have distinct wills and distinct loves; and therefore Christ distinguishes between his will and the Fathers will: I am come not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me; not my will, but thy will be done; essentially his will and the Fathers are one, but they are personally distinguished: so they have essentially one love; but if we look upon them as persons, so they have each of them his own proper and peculiar love: He that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him: if any man love me, my Father will love him, Joh. 14.21. etc. so that faith is not only to close with the love of God in general, as it is an Attribute of the Divine Nature, as his Wisdom and Holiness, Mercy and Power are; but faith is also to close with the love of each of the persons, as they are relatively distinguished one from another, the love of the Father, and the love of the Son and Spirit: and as it is the love of God essentially, that is the ground of all that God has wrought for us, it was his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Tit. 3.4. and though Esau was jacob's brother, yet I loved Jacob, Mal. 1.2. so it is the personal love of all the persons that is the ground of all those workings of the persons for us; and therefore you are to take in that love also as an object of your faith. (4) Faith should rest upon the appropriated acts of each of these persons, and rely upon them for the performance of them. We have formerly heard, that each person hath undertaken some special and peculiar acts for men's salvation, as [1] the work of Vocation, Adoption, Justification, Preservation, Glorification; for it is your Father's pleasure to give you the Kingdom, they are all of them undertaken by God the Father. And [2] the work of Satisfaction, Presentation, Oblation, Intercession, Conquest, Judgement, all these the Son has undertaken. [3] The work of Sanctification, Direction, Consolation, Supplication, they are all of them undertaken by the Spirit. Now we are not only to rely upon the essential faithfulness of God for the performance of it, Heb. 6.17. but upon the personal faithfulness of each of these undertakers, for they are all of them engaged in it: and here is a farther and higher consideration to be taken in the acts of the persons, and they are of two sorts. [1] Acts ad intrà, internal acts; and they are acts of nature, which are acts one towards another, as the generation of the Father in respect of the Son, and the procession of the Holy Ghost, as from them both. [2] There are acts ad extrà, which are terminated in the creatures, and are merely acts of will: now faith is not only by this means to be exercised, and taste the sweetness of the acts of will ad extrà, but the acts of nature ad intrà: for I have an interest in that Father, as the Father that did from all Eternity beget the Son, and I have an interest in that Son that was begotten by the Father; so that those acts of nature that were of God before the world was, they have all some respect unto me, and I can taste a sweetness in them all; that as I have not only an interest in the absolute perfections of God, which are his Attributes, but in the relative perfections of God also, which respect the persons; so I have not only an interest in, and benefit by all the actings of the Atrributes of God, but by the eternal actings of the persons also, that we may see how high it reaches, and that there is nothing in God but it is as truly for our good, as it is for his own glory, therefore we may rejoice in them all. (5) A man's faith should expect all the Attributes of God to be distinctly exercised for him by all the persons: a man has an interest in them all, in all the works that they do put forth; for as they are three in their subsistence, so they are but one in their Essence; and therefore all the Attributes of God come in unto them all: the Son thinks it no robbery to be equal with the Father, Phil. 2.6. for he is found in the form of God, that is, in the nature of God, subsisting in the nature or essence of God; and therefore Divines do commonly, when they prove the Deity of the Son and Spirit, show, that the Attributes of God are in Scripture given unto them, as Esa. 9.6. Wonderful Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, Prince of peace, that's given to the Son; and to the Spirit is given Omnipotency, Omnipresence, and Omniscience, etc. Now when the Father comes to work, he has the power of God, the wisdom of God, the holiness of God put forth for the accomplishment of his work: and so have the Son and Spirit also; and therefore we see that the Son could not miscarry in any thing that he did; and though he died, yet it was impossible that he should be held by death, Acts 2. because he had the power of the Godhead to carry him through; and so it is with the Persons in all their operations and undertake for men in the work of our salvation; and therefore it is good for a man not only to exercise faith upon the Attributes of the Divine Nature in common, as they are infinite and absolute perfections, but as those Attributes are to be found in each of the persons, and to be exercised for us in all their appropriated actions; and by this means the Attributes of the nature are made over not only by the Essence, but also that they shall be all of them exercised by each person, acting according to their own acts which they have undertaken, and so we have an assurance of the acting of the Attributes for us in a threefold way, and a threefold cord is not broken. (6) As it is the recumbency of faith, so it should be in the assurance of faith also, it should distinctly close with them all in their witnessing, as well as in their working, 1 Joh. 5.6, 7. 1 Joh. 5.6, 7. There are three that bear record in heaven: it is not only a testimony to the truth of the Gospel, but it is a testimony also given unto the state of the Saints; for they have the witness in themselves, for it is, that they may know that they have eternal life, verse. 13. which could not be unless the testimony were given in the heart, and a man's state put out of controversy. Now though they be one in Essence, and though their testimony do agree in one, yet they are three in their witness in the word and in the heart: now under the Law, in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established: we receive the witness of man, but the witness of God is greater; the same God who hath but a few witnesses amongst men, but two witnesses, Rev. 11.3. yet he will not let a man's assurance go without a full testimony, there shall be two classes of witnesses, some on Earth, and some in Heaven, and they shall be three of each of them: therefore as in acts of recumbency we are to close with the love of all the persons, so in acts of assurance we are to close with the witness of all the persons; and thus we see that there are distinct objects of faith upon which it is to work in them all. 2. Now let us come to consider the acts of faith that are distinctly to be put forth upon them all: as 1. There is to be a fiducial knowledge hereof, that the persons are made over to us: for as faith without works is dead, so faith without knowledge is blind; therefore faith is commonly set forth by knowledge in the Scripture, Joh. 17. ult. and Phil. 3.8, 9 To know him, and be found in him, etc. But it is not every knowledge, but that which is described, Col. 2.2. and Tit. 1.1. A knowledge of the mystery of God, and the Father, and of Christ, a knowledge that draws an acknowledgement with it, that carries the consent of the soul with it, and he sits down under it, and lies under the power thereof, a sapida scientia, a knowledge of a truth that lets in the savour of the goodness of it with the truth. 2. The soul is distinctly to cast itself by distinct thoughts upon each of these persons: as when a soul comes to Christ, he sees his need of him, that he is undone without him, he sees the excellency that is in him, and thereupon he doth leave himself with Christ, and will look out for salvation in no other, there is an exclusive resolution against all other ways, and a full determination to go this way only, and if I perish, here I will perish; so when a soul sees all this, and sees his need of the persons, and the glory that is not only in Christ, but in the Father and the Spirit, and sees that without an interest in them he is undone; for else there are no benefits by them; thereupon he doth distinctly resign himself unto each of them: for as all the promises of the Gospel being distinct objects of faith have not their due honour, unless we exercise distinct acts of faith upon them; so it is true also of all the persons much more; because Christ is set forth as an object of faith, therefore we rely upon him; so we should upon the Father and Spirit also; and therefore Christ looks upon it as a dishonour, that being set forth to them, they did not distinctly believe in him. 3. Faith draws virtue from all the objects of it: Esa. 66.11. It will suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of consolation. It's true, that we are now in a state of childhood, 1 Cor. 13.12. our manhood is to come, but yet there are breasts of consolation agreeable unto our condition; as Christ cannot be touched by faith but virtue comes out of him, Luke 8.46. there is a power and efficacy that goes out of him, there is life to be drawn from the living Father, and from the Son, and from the Spirit; a man can exercise no act of faith upon any of the objects of faith, but he can find there is an influence that it hath upon the man that believes; as it is in all the acts of Christ, Phil. 3.9, 10. so it is in this much more; how should a man rejoice to see the influence of each person upon his soul? 4. There is also an act of resignation; for faith hath two hands, one to receive, and the other to return: I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine, says the believing soul: Cant. 6.3. a man doth as well give up himself to God, as he doth receive an interest in God. David says as well, Lord I am thy servant, as O Lord thou art my God; and therefore a man should give up himself to the praise and glory of Father, Son, and Spirit; for to be baptised in the name of them all, is for a man to give up himself unto the obedience of them all: there is a judging and reasoning also in faith; says the Apostle, Because we thus judge, 2 Cor. 5.13, 14. if one died for all, then were all dead: if the Father, Son, and Spirit give up themselves to work for our good, and we have an interest in them all, how much more should we give up ourselves to be to the praise and glory of them all, and still keep up the eye of our faith open to see the Lord making himself over to us, and the ear of faith open to hear and receive the testimony that is given, and be not indulgent to the unbelief, doubtings, and the misgiving of your own spirits, receive the witness of God within you, and having received a testimony of thy interest, than triumph in God, for there is a triumph of faith, Eph. 1.3. blessed be God the Father by Christ, who was rich in love, loved me, and gave himself for me, glory be to the Father, Son, and Spirit. §. ●. Be much in exercising distinct acts of communion with all the persons: seeing there is a distinct interest in them all, we should labour for a distinct fellowship with them all. The ground of all unions and relations amongst all rational creatures is, that they might have a fellowship one with another by their interest one in another, for their interest must be improved and exercised modo rationali, in a rational way. It is true, that there are relationes aequiparantiae, as well as disquiparantiae, between inferior and superior, and between equals; but yet the end is communion in them both: therefore the man and wife are made one flesh, and therefore friends do become one heart and soul; therefore in the Church the members do become one body, 1 Cor. 12.12, 13. as the body hath many members, even so is Christ's body: We are baptised into one body; and all is, that they might by mutual consent enjoy a communion of Saints amongst themselves; and for this cause we become one body with the Angels, Eph. 1.10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that he might gather them all together under one head: so that the Saints and the Angels do make but one glorious Church; and therefore it is Bernard's apprehension, That God did elect as many men as should supply the places of the Angels that fell, and they should be in Christ taken up into the same body with them in glory; and therefore we are said to come to the innumerable company of Angels, Heb. 12.23. and all that we might enjoy a communion with them; and so much the words ascending and descending imply, Joh. 1. ult. and this is the end of our interest in Christ the Mediator, and we are married to him, that we might have fellowship with him, and by this means we rise to an higher interest, and that is in the Father, Son, and Spirit; and this also is that we might have a distinct communion with them all. §. 4. Here we will consider, (1) That there is a distinct Communion with them all, that a Believer may and aught to have with all the persons grounded upon his interest in them all. (2) Wherein this Communion doth consist, and what are the actings of it. (3) Give you some arguments that may persuade the people of God to be much in the improvement thereof; that as you have a fellowship with Christ and with the Saints, and you look upon that as sweet, so you would not neglect this, which is the highest fellowship that you do attain by faith, and is the end of all your union and communion whatsoever. 1. That there is a distinct fellowship and communion to be had with all the persons. That will clearly appear from 1 Joh. 1.3. Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ: so that we have not only a communion with Christ the Mediator, but through him with the Father: and 2 Cor. 13.14. we do read of a fellowship with the Spirit also, which must be mutual; he hath a fellowship with us and we with him; we are said to have access unto the Father, which are terms of communion, and that distinct communion which we have with all the persons, Heb. 12.22. as well as they one with the other; and therefore 'tis said, Heb. 12.22. Ye are come unto mount Zion, etc. Now to come unto the three persons, notes (1) faith in them, and so we come unto Christ, Come unto me all ye that labour, Mat. 11.29. that is, that believe in him. (2) It notes a communion with them; and so we have access by him, Ad gratiam, ad gloriam Patris. and thus we are said to come unto God by him, Heb. 7. and no man comes unto the Father but by me, Joh. 14.6. for he is the Mediator of Communion, as well as of Reconciliation: and we have as much need of him for the one, as for the other. If we look upon God and man as enemies, than there needs a Mediator, that may be as a days-man, to lay hold upon both; but being reconciled and made friends, he having made us near by the blood of his Cross, yet we cannot come unto God but by him, it is he that gives us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Eph. 3.12. Here to come to them is to be taken into favour and fellowship with them all, as appears in these particulars. (1) We are come unto mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, that is the Church of Christ, under the New Testament, called therefore Jerusalem that is above, Gal. 4.26. and in allusion to it we read of a new Jerusalem that comes down from God out of heaven, Rev. 21.1, 2. (2) To the Church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven, that is, we are taken into fellowship with all the Elect of God, we do make up one body with them. (3) Unto God the Judge of all: we have not only communion therefore with Christ, as Mediator, and with the Angels and Saints, but we have a further communion, and that is with God himself, which is a term of his Essence when it is put without a term of restriction, and refers us to all the persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 2. Wherein doth this Communion and fellowship consist? I shall describe it to you according to the fellowship that is between men, from whence this Metaphor is borrowed. 1. The great communion that persons have is in the love one of another; that was the great thing in which David and Jonathan had communion, and not so much in their persons; for David lived a persecuted life, 2 Sam. 1.26. but he was sure of Jonathans' love, Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women: therefore is no fellowship like that that is by interchanging of love; for love is the souls bias, it carries it with it wheresoever it goes, it is an interchanging of hearts, an interchanging of love: transit amans in amatum, the lover passeth into the beloved. Now though the Father be in Heaven, yet he loves not, though we be strangers from the Lord, while we are in the body, yet the Father himself loves you, says Christ, Joh. 14.21, 23. I will love him, and my Father shall love him; and though we be upon earth, yet we can walk in his love: 1 Pet. 1.8. Whom having not seen you love, and though now you see him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, etc. and this is the communion that we have with the Angels, though they are Spirits, and we see them not, yet we know that they bear a tender love to the Saints; for they do as Nurses bear them in their arms: and in this was the fellowship of the persons one to another much seen, they delighted themselves in the love of each other, Joh. 14. ult. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; and that is the communion that the Saints have with Christ, 1 Joh. 3.1. Joh. 3.16. he is my beloved, Esa. 5.1. I will sing to my beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard, etc. he it is whom my soul loveth, my beloved is mine and I am his: and this was the great thing that delighted the Lord from Eternity; his delights were with the sons of men, Prov. 8.30. his thoughts of love were his delight towards them: and as the Lord had communion with our love in the thoughts of it, so may we have communion with his love also; and therefore we do read of walking in love, and dwelling in love, 1 Joh. 4.16. 1 Joh. 4.16. that upon which the soul is constantly set, it is said to dwell upon it, Job 17.11. the thoughts are called the possessions of the heart, that which the thoughts do dwell upon, the heart is said to possess. Now as the Lord is said to inhabit the praises of Israel, because they praise him constantly; and therefore he is said to dwell in praises; so because his love doth daily refresh sinners, therefore they are said to dwell in love also: as a man hath communion with Satan by thoughts, the go forth of his heart are after him and his ways; so a man hath communion with each person also by the go forth of the soul to them: there is therefore a communion by interchanging of love, and they that so do interchange hearts. 2. There is a communion in their actings one for another; for there are mutual offices of love that this amor benevolentia doth bring forth, and the soul is never satisfied in either of them. God the Father acts in love in giving his Son, and making over himself to thy soul in justifying thy person, and adopting thee to be his own son, and estating upon thee a Kingdom; for it is the Father's pleasure to give you a kingdom: and all these acts of love the soul opens, and considers them apart, and says, What shall I return unto the Lord for all these things? and then love doth unlock the heart, and it saith, the love of bounty from the father calls upon me for a love of duty; is any thing too much for him, that hath done so much for me? and then in all these he tastes the love of God, Rom. 5. for it is shed abroad in his heart, and the soul in the gift tastes the love of the giver; and therefore the soul is willing to speak for him, and act for him, and live to him, and die for him: What shall I return to the Lord for all his benefits? And then his own poverty comes in with bitterness to him, he is willing beyond his ability, he would be bountiful, but he hath it not; and therefore he doth as it's said of Aeschinus, that when he saw other hearers of Socrates give gifts to him, he saith, Nihil te dignum quod dare possum invenio, & hoc modo pauperem me esse sentio; itaq, dono tibi quod unum habeo, meipsum, etc. I have nothing worthy of thee to give, but I give myself: and the soul saith, as Cicero to Lentulus, Caeteris in officiis omnibus satisfacere possum, nunquam mihiipsi, etc. And this also is the communion that Christ hath with the Father, the Father says, Sat thou at my right hand, and I will give thee the heathen for an inheritance, etc. and I will hold thee by the hand: and Christ saith, I must do my Father's business, and it's my meat and drink. 3. They have a communion in visitations; for we say, that amongst men friendship is maintained by visits, and increased thereby; and so it is between God and the Saints also, there is indeed a visitation in wrath, as the Lord saith, Jer. 5.9. Shall I not visit for these things? and there is a visitation in mercy and compassion, Zac. 10.3. The Lord hath visited his flock, the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle, etc. Luk. 1.68. He hath visited and redeemed his people. Now God is said to visit us, when he comes to manifest his love, and to bestow upon us sweet and spiritual blessings, Cant. 5.1. I am come into my garden, etc. and when the soul comes to God of purpose to enjoy communion with him; for we can never come to God but we have need of him, and when we are most sensible of our wants, and man's interest carries him to God; but surely to desire to see God for himself is an act of pure friendship, to see thy power, O God, and thy glory; for thy lovingkindness is better than life. When a soul is thus taken with a sight of God, that if a man had no dependence, and were put into a condition as perfect as the Angels, and had need of nothing, yet then to come into his presence, and to behold his face, because we delight in him, this is properly an act of friendship and of familiarity that should be between God and the Saints. 4. There is an imparting of counsels between the persons: Christ was given out of the bosom of the Father. There is not any discovery that is made to the Saints, Joh. 1.18. but it comes out of the same bosom; Shall I hid from Abraham the thing that I mean to do? Gen. 18. surely the Lord will do nothing, but he reveals his secrets to his Prophets, Amos 3.7. 1 Sam. 9.15. The Lord told Samuel in his ear; there is a Vrim and Thumim for the Saints still, and the Lord gives them a spiritual skill here to make use of it, so as to know the secrets of the Almighty; We took sweet counsel together, etc. and the Saints also do impart their counsels to God, 1 Sam. 1.15. I have poured out my soul before the Lord. There are indeed a generation of men that dig deep to hid counsel from the Lord. Isa. 29.15. It is true, that there is no secret hid from him, but it is their endeavour so to carry it, as they might not only blind the eyes of man, but of God also; but a Saint opens his heart to him, there is no secret that he is willing to hid from God, but there are such sighs and groans that he doth open when he hath to do with him. 5. There are mutual delights in their interest one in another, and they do love to profess it, The Lords portion is his people, Israel is the lot of my inheritance, the Lord is my portion, says my soul: and says God, They are the first-fruits of the creatures unto me, and they are those that do consecrate all the rest to me, without which all the rest were profane, and have a curse upon them, etc. O Lord, thou art my Lord, says the soul, early will I praise thee; I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid, Esa. 4.4, 5. A man often glories in his interest here in this world; but herein doth the Saint glory, that he can say, I am the Lords, and that he can call himself by the name of Jacob, and can subscribe with his hand to the Lord: and a great part of the fellowship of love is in a mutual profession of their interest each in other: And I will be yours for ever, there is nothing in me, or that I can do but is at your commandment. 6. They call upon one another for further fellowship and communion. There is a call of the Father's upon vocation, Joh. 6.44. which is called drawing, vocatio alta & secreta, a secret and deep vocation, Austin. And there is a calling unto communion, as Rev. 22.17. The Spirit saith, Come, and the Bride, Come. Now as in witnessing, 1 Joh. 5.7, 8. For there are three that bear record in heaven, etc. they do all give a testimony, but it is done by the Spirit, in the Name of the Father, Joh. 16.13. Son, and Spirit; for Christ says, He shall take of mine, and give it unto you; so he doth in calling also, he doth speak sometimes in the Father's name, and sometimes in the Son's name; Open unto me, come away my beloved, etc. and the soul always saith, Come; and therefore draws near unto God continually, and all is but to see the face of God, and that he may have some fellowship with him, who is the God of his life: God is his centre, and there is a tendency of soul to God; for godliness is nothing else but tendentia animae in Deum, the tendency of the soul to God, there is something in the heart that doth echo unto God again; when he calls a soul to communion to seek his face, the soul answers, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. But it may be objected, How can it be, seeing God is in Heaven, that we should see him, and have such intimate fellowship here below? (1) God hath said, I will dwell with you, the heart is the habitation of the great King of Heaven and Earth; Joh. 14.23. he hath said he will come to you, and dwell with you, and sup with you. (2) There is a Spirit also that will carry your souls up to him again, as the Prophet Ezechiel was carried in the visions of God to Jerusalem, Rev. 1.10. and John was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, etc. though the body be upon Earth, the soul may be in Heaven with the Lord, and there all the Saints long to be, all their delight is in the mean while in the intercourse that passes between God and their souls by sweet fellowship and communion here. 3. The Arguments to stir you up thereunto are these. (1) Consider this is the great end of the Covenant of Grace: it is not only peace, but good will, it is a Covenant of Friendship, and the end of friendship is fellowship; and our end should not fall below God's end. (2) See the great preparation that the Lord hath made thereunto: all that Christ is said in Scripture to have done, is but to give us access unto God, and all that he hath suffered, it is all but to bring us to God, 1 Pet. 2.21. And we have access by him to the throne of grace, Eph. 3.12. and it is the great end of all the workings of the Spirit also to bring us to God, and strengthen us with might; for through him we have an access by one Spirit to the Father. Prov. 5.18. (3) There is a sweetness in fellowship; as 'tis said of the wife, Let her be to thee as the young Hind and pleasant Roe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times, and be thou ravished always with her love: and 2 Sam. 1.26. Thou wast very pleasant to me, thy love to me was wonderful, etc. and yet there are no men but have burdensome dispositions, which they discover sometimes more than at others; but who would not walk with the great God, who is Love, and Holiness, and Wisdom in perfection, whose paths are all pleasantness, and whose ways are peace? There are pleasures at his right hand for evermore, Psal. 16. (4) All mercies are obtained by it: when the Lord doth meet his people, he doth bless them, Exod. 20.24. there is no communion with him but there is blessing from him, and there is no blessing from him but by communion with him; but the special blessing of all other is an Assimilation; a man is made like him; When he shall appear, we shall be like him, 2 Cor. 3.18. etc. 1 Joh. 3.3. We are chosen to show forth the praises of God; 1 Pet. 2.9. therefore being so highly advanced as to be enjoyers of communion with God, be exalted [1] to grow in your conformity to Jesus Christ; for that is the ground of all communion; What fellowship hath light with darkness? O 'tis a blessed thing to have this testimony from God himself, which David had, I have found David the son of Jesse a man after my own heart, which shall fulfil all my wills. [2] Accustom yourselves to communion with him, Job. 22.21. acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace, thereby good shall come to thee, receive the Law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart: we cannot have too much communion with God, who is our life, our joy, our peace, who is our all, etc. and the more communion we have with God, the greater blessings we shall be to the Nation wherein we dwell, not only to procure blessings for them, but to divert Judgements. CHAP. V God in the Covenant of Grace makes over himself in his Alsufficience SECT. I. The Alsufficience of God as made over to the Saints explicated and demonstrated. §. 1. HAving spoken thus far of the great Promise of the new Covenant, which is called anima foederis, the soul of the Covenant, by Pareus; and Musc. calls it foederis caput, the head of the Covenant, unto which all the other promises are subordinate, even the gift of Christ himself is but to bring us to God, and that our faith and hope might be in God; and though we have formerly seen, that in this promise all the Attributes of the Divine Nature are made over unto the Saints, and what we have further to say might be included under that head: yet to be a God I find in Scripture doth in a special manner point us unto two things: (1) To be a God notes one that has an alsufficiency unto his own Being and blessedness, and an alsufficience to the Being and the blessedness of all the creatures. (2) It notes him to have a Sovereignty and Dominion over all the creatures, which are but the works of his hands: the first they take from Gen. 17.1. I am God alsufficient, and I will make a covenant between thee and me, and the terms of that Covenant on God's part are, I will be a God to thee, and thy seed after thee; that as I am a God alsufficient, so I will be thy God, thy God in my alsufficiency: and the other they do commonly take from that place Rom. 9.5. God over all blessed for evermore; so that he that is God is over all: as the first notes the Sufficiency, so the other notes the Sovereignty of God. 1. I am God alsufficient, Gen. 17.1. I will in my alsufficiency be thy God; Gen. 17.1. the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shaddai, which has a double notation or derivation amongst Interpreters; some derive it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which signifies vastavit, spoliavit, he hath destroyed, and so it signifies the omnipotent one, that is able to destroy all things; as he made all things of nothing, so he is able to reduce them unto their first nothing; and according to this derivation the LXX. render it sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Esa. 13.6. Joel 1.15. It shall come as destruction from the Almighty; and sometimes it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he that made all things, Job 8.3. Doth the Almighty pervert judgement? And some of the Rabbins conceive that he adds this unto it, à vastatione mundi in diluvio, etc. from the destruction of the world by the flood: others derive it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sufficience; and they say it is, qui sibi & aliis sufficiens est, he that is sufficient for himself and others: and so the LXX. render it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Job 31.2. and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he that has a sufficiency in himself, and so they make it to answer unto the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, self-sufficient. These and some other are the derivations of the word: but I conceive they do all coincidere or fall in with these two. (1) Some make it a title only given unto Christ as Mediator; Lib. 3. c. 15. so doth Pet. Galatinus de arcanis: Nomen hoc divinum propriè soli Messiae sit congruum, which he proves from that place Job 3.4. anima Shadai vivificavit me: and he saith, the Father has not a soul; animam solus Dei Filius habet, the Son of God only hath a soul: So Glass. in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. pag. 33. which he proves from Gen. 48.16. The Angel Goel that redeemed me from all evil, etc. which though it be a notion that I shall not insist on, yet it doth prove the Godhead of Christ, having the glorious names of God given to him, as he is called Jehovah our Righteousness, and he is called God, Heb. 1. Thy throne, O God, endures for ever, and Esa. 9.6. he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 also. But (2) we shall take it at this time as a term of alsufficiency, and so it takes in God's Omniscience, and all his other Attributes, I am God alsufficient, and I that am so will be thy God in my alsufficiency. Doct. The Lord who is a God in Covenant with the Saints doth make over himself unto them in his Alsufficiency. In the opening whereof I must show, (1) What the alsufficiency of God is, and why he is called Alsufficient, and in what respect. (2) That by the Covenant of Grace he makes over himself in his Alsufficience unto the Saints, with the grounds thereof. (3) That this Alsufficience belongs unto none but unto his Covenant-people. (4) We must descend to the Application. 1. What is meant by the Alsufficience of God, or why is God called Alsufficient? A perfect good is an alsufficient good. Arist. Ethic. l. 1. c. 7. Now that is a perfect good which supplies all a man's wants, and does satisfy all his desires, both in this life, and in the life to come; which only can do it, if enjoyed alone, and without which nothing else can, if a man had all the enjoyments of Heaven and of Earth. 1. There is in God enough to supply all a man's wants: a man cannot stand in need of that blessing that is not to be found in the blessed God, and that is not only efficiently, as all good things come from him, but formally, as all good things are in him; for he doth make use of the support of the creatures, as he doth of all their operations, not to supply any defect that is in himself, and therefore sometimes he will make use of their assistance, and sometimes he will do it without them, to show that they are but instruments, and operantur ac si non operarentur, and this will appear, Psal. 84.11. The Lord God is a Sun, there is a double notion of a Sun in Scripture: (1) Ob splendorem, foelicitatem significat. (2) Ob aestum infoelicitatem, by reason of its splendour it notes felicity, and by reason of its scorching, Isa. 60.19, 20. Rev. 21.23. infelicity: thy Sun shall no more go down, for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light: the city shall have no need of the light of the Sun, for the glory of God shall enlighten it. It is not spoken (as some would wrest it) of the Scripture and Ordinances, but it is of all temporal prosperity and felicity, they shall have such a supply from God immediately, that though they shall have abundance, such as never was in the world, yet they shall have no need of it, by reason of the immediate supply that they shall have from God himself: Amos 8.9. and so Jer. 15.9. Thy Sun shall set while it is yet day; I will cause thy Sun to set at noon day, that is, all thy comforts and thy prosperity shall suddenly and unexpectedly departed, when you looked for nothing less: so that by the Sun is meant all happiness, all comfort, all prosperity; and there needs but one Sun, and when this Sun doth shine, there will be no need of the light of the Moon, or the Stars, and he that having God, doth take in any other comfort, it's but Lucernam ad Solem accendere, setting up a candle when the Sun doth shine: there is enough in him, there needs no more. And this will appear first in this life, and that by these three demonstrations. (1) He that hath God, has all things else: Rev. 21.7. He that overcomes shall inherit all things, I will be his God; and it was all the portion that Christ looked for and gloried in, Psal. 16.5. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup, the lines are fallen to me in a pleasant place, etc. Mar. 10.30. He shall have an hundred-fold more in this present time; it cannot be in kind, and therefore cannot be understood formally, but eminently, that is, he shall have in God the comforts of all these, if they were an hundred times, nay if they were a thousand times multiplied. (2) It will further appear by this, if there were not an alsufficiency in God, he could never give a selfsufficiency unto the Saints; for they have no sufficiency in themselves, 2 Cor. 3.5. We are not sufficient of ourselves, as of ourselves; we have a sufficiency, but it's not in ourselves, as of ourselves, but it is that which we receive by grace, and is by God communicated unto us; but a godly man hath a selfsufficiency, 1 Tim. 6.6. Godliness is great gain, I know how to want, and how to abound, I am instructed in all things; yet this is not to be understood of self as divided from God, but of self as united to God, he hath his sufficiency in him alone: now he that can give a man a self-sufficience, must have in him an alsufficience. (3) It will appear, if we consider the particulars, whatever a man can in this life stand in need of, it is all to be had in God, in such a way as a man shall not need to go any whither else for a supply, but unto him alone. Jer. 2.13. [1] For Provision, he needs none else, he is the fountain of living water; for by water all good things are expressed that are necessary for the support of a man's life, and when we depart from God, we go from the fountain unto the streams, for all is in him, and from him; the creatures are all but streams, and they are supplied from him, and therefore it is far more glorious in him than it is in them, and far more sweet; and therefore it is well observed, that when Christ cursed the figtree, it withered by the roots, to show, that the growth and greenness of it did not depend so much upon its own root, as it did upon the blessing of God thereupon; and therefore take Moses for an instance, and he lived forty days without food upon the mountain; and so did Eliah in the wilderness: and if the bread that comes down from Heaven, which is Christ, can nourish the heart of man, much more the bread that is in Heaven; it is this that is the Angel's food, upon him they live, and on him they feed unto Eternity. [2] For Protection, they need none else, but he is a Shield as well as a Sun, Zac. 9.12. Return to your strong hold, there is safety enough in one God, they need no other defence but himself: it's true, that the Lord doth nourish us here by creatures, Psal. 84.11. and he doth protect us by Angels, they pitch their Tents about us, etc. but it is not to supply any defect in God, for there is all protection in him, and 'tis in him that the Saints rejoice, and place their defence: God is the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God: Psal. 62.7. it's taken from the City of refuge when the avenger of blood did pursue. Now I have no City of refuge to fly to, when the danger is eminent, but God alone; and therefore it may be that is meant by the Chambers spoken of, Esa. 26.20. Come my people, enter into your chambers: it is God and the several hiding-places that be in him, Zac. 2.5. it's the secret of his pavilion in which he will hid me: I will be unto Jerusalem a wall of fire: it's true, that they had no walls, for the City lay waste, and in its ruins, but there is no wall like to that of fire. There is a story of an Island in Lycia, Ephestion incolae vocant, quam sine ullo damno ignis innocuus circuit, Sen. epist. 79. regio laeta & herbida, which is encompassed about with fire, etc. This is a fit resemblance of the shelter of the Saints in the God of their Salvation, they shall have salvation for walls and bulwarks, when the rest of the world are exposed to the wrath and the judgements of God, which shall burn and consume them. [3] For Pleasure and Delight, they need none but in him; God is the Well of life to his people, and shall make them to drink of the river of his pleasure; Psal. 36.10.9. Job 22.26. and therefore the Saints are said to delight themselves in the Lord; thou shalt delight in the Almighty; and to delight themselves with God is the highest satisfaction a creature can be capable of; and than God gives us the desire of our heart, and we are exhorted to rejoice in the Lord always, Psal. 37.4. and there are no delights amongst the best of the creatures that hold any proportion unto those that the soul takes in God; O they will sweeten all the bitterness of the creatures! In the multitude of my thoughts thy comforts delight my soul: it's true; may a poor soul say, Psal. 94.19. that I have had great variety of troublesome thoughts, which have much perplexed me; for there is nothing disquiets a man so as the thoughts of his own heart do: Now there are comforts in God that do delight the soul, even then when there are multitude of thoughts that disquiet it. We are to consider the delight of the glorious persons one in another, Prov. 8.30. I was his delight daily; so it is with the Saints in God, he is their delight daily, for their portion and their happiness is laid up in him alone: all pleasure of the creature is but madness out of him; I have said of laughter, Thou art mad; there is more sweetness in the comforts that come into the soul by him, than there is in all the creatures in Heaven; and Psal. 4. Thou hast put more gladness into my heart, than when their corn, and wine, and oil increased. For as there is no comparison between the strokes of the creatures and of God, when he smites immediately, he will be a consuming fire to the creature; so there is no comparison between the comforts of the creatures, and those which God gives in immediately: and therefore the more it is mixed with any creature comfort, the less it influences the soul with consolation; it is like unto Physic given in the drug, it has the less vigour and strength: how much difference is there between the Spirit's comforting, and the comforts that do come in by meat and drink, & c? what though they that love God have no pleasure in the world, yet they have joy in God, and it's such a joy as no man can take from them, it is such a joy as a stranger cannot meddle withal. [4] For Glory and Honour. In this world they need none else, they say to God, Psal. 3.3. Jer. 2.31. Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of my head: can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? but my people have forgotten me days without number: the Lord was their ornament and their glory; not only their praise is of God, but their glory is in God; and therefore they are called The Glory; Upon all the glory there shall be a covering; that as Mount Zion is the glory of the Earth, so are the children of Zion the glory of the sons of men, the only glorious ones, the only excellent ones; and because the Lord is their glory in the midst of them, the glory of the Lord is risen upon them, Isa. 4.5. therefore they are the people that glory in God, and they are a people in whom the Lord doth glory. [5] They need no Companions but God for matter of communion: Isa. 60.19. 1 Joh. 1.3. their fellowship is with the Father and with the Son Jesus Christ. They are many times despised in the world, as Christ was rejected of men, and cast out of their society as hateful, when they have cast out their names as evil; but yet if Abraham go out of his own country, he must leave all his own friends, Isa. 43.2, 3. and go alone, I will be thy God, I will be with thee, when thou goest through the fire I will be with thee; yet sometimes thou must go in untrodden paths and alone, but I will be with thee; so says Christ, Ye shall be scattered every one to his own, and leave me alone, yet I am not alone, but the Father that sent me is with me; so the Saints they may be scattered from their friends, and forsaken by them, but they are not alone, God is with them and his Son and Spirit to entertain them. The three Children in the fiery Furnace needed no other Comforter than the fourth man, who was like unto the Son of God. When they were in the Mount with Christ, they say, It is good to be here; when a man hath been with Moses in the Mount, and for some time conversed with God, he would never choose to come down to converse with men any more, for he knows not how to converse with them again, their society is not set by, but the wisest company in the world is to him unsavoury and unprofitable; a man that hath tasted old wine he desires not new, but says the old is better. [6] He needs no other Pattern or Example: Eph. 5.1. Be you imitators of God, as dear children; be you holy as he is holy, and merciful as he is merciful. It's true, there are other patterns that he takes notice of, even the Saints of God, that make it their business to walk as God would have them walk; as the Apostle says, Be ye followers of us, and walk so as you have us for an example: We are to look upon Christ as the pattern of Holiness, as having left us a copy for us to write after; but all these are but to lead us to the Original of all Holiness, and that is in God; that in these glasses we beholding the glory of the Lord, may be thereby both in heart and ways transformed into the same image from glory to glory, 2 Cor. 3.18. as by the Spirit of the Lord; and the truth is, the more immediately a man reads in God the rules of duty, the more immediately he fetches from God his motives unto duty; and the more perfectly any lays up his comforts in God, the more self-sufficient that soul is, and the more he doth partake of the alsufficiency of God, and that man is the happy man that hath his Heaven so far begun in this life, that as far as may be all his comforts concentre in the Lord. [7] He looks for the reward of all his labours from God, who hath promised him to be his exceeding great reward; and this is the great gift that God bestows upon his precious ones, his reward is himself, and the soul says it is in God alone that he reaps all his wages, and he desires none other, none other will satisfy him; he will not be put off with a Kingdom for a reward, let the Nebuchadnezars of the world take that for their hire, he hath more high and noble aims than the enjoyment of this world's goods, which is what Satan who is the god of this world often tempts them with, as he did their Lord and Master Jesus Christ, but he can despise it that hath taken employment under God, who he knows hath laid up for him an immortal crown and an inheritance amongst them that are sanctified; though he may be poor in this world, and without many of the comforts of it, yet he hath Treasure in Heaven laid up for him. [8] It is God alone that satisfies his desires; he shall never thirst: it's true, there will be always thirsting for more of the same kind, My soul thirsts after God, even for the living God; and so, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for him; but for any thing of any other kind he desires not, there is that satisfaction in God, that there is no room left for desires: which is not so with any thing here, if a man have never so much of the creature, never so full satisfaction now, yet he will thirst again; yea there is that evil in the satisfaction of it, that it will increase the thirst, Deut. 29.19. It is adding drunkenness to thirst; but this doth allay a man's thirst for ever, for there is in the man a well of water springing up to everlasting life: Jer. 31.14. Jer. 31.14. I will satiate the soul of the Priest, and my people shall be satisfied with goodness; there are two words used, one is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to be satisfied even to drunkenness, in excess, as she did, Prov. 7.18. Come let us take our fill of love; it is the word that is used of Noah, Gen. 9 He was drunken and uncovered in the Tent; and the other word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to be filled even to weariness and loathing, Esa. 1.11. I am full of the fat of well-fed beasts; it is such a fullness and abundance, that the soul cannot desire any more, there is such an abundance to be found in God, not only to supply our wants, but to satiate our desires, that if we could extend them to the utmost, and as it is said of fear, Psal. 90.11. Extend your fear to the utmost, so it's true of desire also, extend it to the utmost, there is something that will fill it still and exceed it; for God says, Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it, which none can do but God alone; there is such a satisfaction in God, that the soul can desire no more for ever, Psal. 73.25. Whom have I in heaven but thee, and I desire nothing on earth in comparison of thee: having the Lord, the soul saith there is no place for desires. 2. As it is true in this life, so it is much more true in the life to come, when God shall be all in all immediately, and a man shall look upon his parting with the choicest contentments, as his happiness, they were, non in praemium, but in solatium, and now having done their work, I gladly part with them as this world's goods; and therefore it is, Cùm mundus undique exarserit, cogitat se nihil habere de tanta mole perdendum. Sen. quaest. nat. l. 2. q. 697. being unclothed, the soul seems loath to put on any earthly covering again, and the enjoying all more immediately in God, he doth rejoice in it, and is satisfied with thy likeness, O God, Psal. 17.15. he that did with joy sell all to buy the Pearl, surely will with greater joy leave all to possess the Pearl. §. 2. This A sufficiency of God is by Covenant made over unto the Saints: he is their God as alsufficient, and this will appear both by promises and by instances. 1. By promises, Psal. 84.11. The Lord God is a Sun, and a shield, and no good thing will he withhold from them that love him. (1) By Sun is meant all good things, all manner of prosperity, Solis lux prosperitatis nota; sicut Solis occasus metaphoricè omnes calamitates significat, The light of the Sun is a note of prosperity, as the setting thereof notes all adversity, etc. Gloss. Rhet. pag. 225. See it also in Esa. 60.20. Thy Sun shall go down no more: it notes a constant and a lasting prosperity, a continuing, glorious condition: Esa. 30.26. The light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun, and the light of the Sun sevenfold: it notes not only a great increase of spiritual light in the Church, but also great spiritual felicity; Sed magnam foelicitatem spiritualem metaphoricè significat, etc. and on the contrary, when he speaks of the going away of all prosperity, he says, Amos 8.9. Their Sun shall go down at noon, as you have already heard. (2) What is meant by a Shield? by it is meant all manner of defence and safeguard, be the danger what it will be, Psal. 3.4. and 18.3. and it is not that he will provide all this, but he will be all things to his people, and there is no good thing that he will withhold or keep back from them that walk in their uprightness; it is being upright is the condition of the Covenant, Gen. 17.2. and so it is as much as to say unto persons in Covenant, he will withhold no good, all good things shall have their free course and their full passage, there shall be no restraint upon any good thing unto such a one; to other men indeed mercies and good things have not their free passage, cessat gratiarum decursus, the Lord gives them some good things, the dew of Heaven and the fatness of the Earth, and plenty of corn and wine, etc. but there are some good things that the Lord withholds, for so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies, and they do not run out unto men with a full stream; but this is the portion of those that are in Covenant, they that walk uprightly: Psal. 34.10. The young lions do want, and suffer hunger; Psal. 34.10. Job 4.11. the old Lion may perish for lack of prey, being not able any more to hunt for a prey, but the young Lion hath the greatest ability to make provision for himself; and therefore it's strange that they should want any thing either for their hunger or humour. Now what is meant by these young Lions? (1) Wicked Rulers, or men of the greatest strength and of the highest authority; as the Lion is the King of the Beasts. Take up a lamentation for Pharoz, and say, Ezech. 32.2. Thou art like a young Lion of the Nations: Prov. 28.15. As a roaring Lion so is a wicked Ruler over a poor people; and Paul, 2 Tim. 4.17. I was delivered out of the mouth of the Lion: it's spoken of Nero. (2) All the great men of the Earth they are compared to Lions for their power; for what is stronger than a Lion? a Lion is the strongest amongst the Beasts; Prov. 30.30. and therefore the Devil is compared to a roaring Lion partly for his power, and partly for his cruelty. (3) All the subtle Politicians of the Earth that use not only their power, but their parts and their policy to oppress others; for the Lion is a subtle creature, as well as powerful, Ezech. 38.13. The merchants of Tarshish, and all the young Lions thereof, pro negotiatoribus argenteis minis, men that know how to take beasts for themselves, Muis. Psal. 10.9. and to make the best of their market; He lies in wait secretly as a Lion; men that take the opportunity and the fit season to bring men to destruction, and yet men of the highest place, the greatest power, and the deepest policy they shall lack, they shall be brought to poverty and to want, they shall not have wherewith to supply themselves; but they that seek the Lord, and fear him, shall want no good thing, Who are they you'll say? it is a promise made only unto the people in Covenant with God, and so much doth the expression imply, as Psal. 24.6. This is the generation of them that seek thy face, O Jacob. There is a generation of seekers in the world, and in that respect the name is honourable, though to be Sceptics in Religion is very hateful; and they that do in this manner seek him are the true Jacob, true Israelites indeed; many others may and do pretend to the name, to be of the same family, and of the posterity of Jacob, but they only are so indeed, that are those that seek the face of God: Hos. 14.5, 6, 7. He shall grow as the lily, Hos. 14.5, 6, 7. which is the most beautiful of all flowers, Mat. 6.24. Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these; and she shall cast forth her root as Lebanon, that is, as they should have the beauty of the Lily, so they should have the stability of the Cedar, which is the strongest of all Trees, and is less subject to putrefaction; or that Lebanon, that is, as the goodly Mountain, that you may as soon remove a mountain as the Church of God; and her branches shall spread; there shall be a daily and a wonderful growth in the Church in all the gifts and graces of the Spirit of God, yea and the members thereof also, they shall thrive and grow from strength to strength; for as wicked men grow, so do the Saints also: Austin. Mundus totus est in maligno positus propter zizania, sed Christus est propitiatio propter triticum, and their beauty shall be as the Olive; there is indeed (as you have heard) a great beauty in the Lily, but it will whither at winter, and it is but a beauty to the eye, for it is but for show, and no more, but it bears no fruit; but the beauty of the Olive is more, there is in it a greenness and a fruitfulness, it is green at winter, and it bears excellent fruit for light, and for food, and ornament; for it is oil makes the face to shine, etc. they smell as Lebanon: it's spoken of the sweetness and the acceptation of their graces, services, and persons; we are in ourselves, and all that comes from us gall and wormwood, Deut. 29.18. and the Lord will not smell in them; Amos 5.21. but the services of the Saints shall be a sweet savour unto God; and again, they that wait on him shall dwell under his shadow: there shall be safety and security in all dangers, for so much is intended by a shadow; so Num. 14.9. They are bread for us, for their defence is departed; the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their shadow is departed from them: and they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine; though the corn fall into the ground and die, though it lie under ground under the nipping frost and the winter snow, it will break through all, and revive again, and so shall the Church of God do in the worst affliction; Tertullian. as Tertullian saith, Omnia pereundo servantur, omnia de interitu reformantur, All by perishing are saved, etc. And the Vine doth not only, as other Trees, cast her leaves, but it is pruned and lopped, as if it should bear no more, but yet it doth spring forth and bear fruit more gloriously, and brings forth more abundantly; so the people of God, the more they are crushed and kept under, and lopped by persecution, the more they thrive, and the more fruitful they grow, etc. Quest. But how comes all this to pass? Now he directs the soul unto his alsufficiency in two expressions. Hos. 14.4. (1) Hos. 14.4. I will be as the dew, the dew is of a heavenly original, and it is the cause of all greenness, growth, savour, and fruitfulness that is in things below; now saith the Lord, I will supply the place, and perform the work of this dew, and ye shall find all these effects in me. It's true, that you are as the dry and barren earth that has no beauty, no fruitfulness, there is no savour, no reviving in your performances; but unto all these effects I will be alsufficient, I will be as the dew unto thee; the dew doth produce all these things in the earth, I will be unto thee instead of the dew, and thou shalt find all in me. (2) I am a green Fir-tree, that is, as he is sufficient for their spiritual refreshment, so he will be the dew; and as he is sufficient also for their spiritual preservation, in opposition unto all other shelters and hiding-places whatsoever, so he will be the Fir-tree: the Fir-tree is arbour frigida, a cold tree, because of the thickness of its boughs, and therefore Drusius renders it frondosa, and the LXX. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, densam umbram praebens, affording a thick shade: and it's known by common experience, that it never casts its leaves, but yields a perpetual shade both winter and summer; and such a protection, saith the Lord, shall my people have in me, I am a green Fir-tree; from me is thy fruit, thou hast a beauty, a growth, a sweet smell, it is all from me as the dew, and thou dost bear fruit, it is from me also; for though it's true our works are ours, when they are done by us, yet it is he that works in us to will and to do; the duty is ours, but the efficacy is his; and thus is he alsufficient; but unto whom is all this? it is unto none but unto his Covenant people; for it is, I will be as the dew to Israel; therefore he has in the promise made over his alsufficiency unto his Covenant-people; and upon this ground it is, that being in Covenant with God, is more than all earthly blessings from God whatsoever, because it does entitle a man unto God in his alsufficiency, Gen. 17.21. I have heard thee for Ishmael, twelve Princes shall he beget, and I will make of him a great nation, but my covenant will I establish with Isaac: this is more than all the promises that were made unto the son of the bondwoman. 2. This will appear by instances also. There are mainly two: (1) Christ himself, he had nothing else to live upon but the alsufficiency of God; and when he was born he had not a house to put his head in, became poor for our sakes; so that it is said by some 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & nihil erit illi, etc. Dan. 9 the Messiah shall have nothing, it was a wonder to see Verbum in fame, qui regit sidera sugit ubera, the Word in hunger, etc. but for him that was Heir of all things to have nothing, and for him that was Lord of the world, not so much as to have a foot in the world, nay not so much of his own as a burying place, which every one doth challenge in the Earth; but he lived upon the alsufficiency of God, Psal. 16.4, 5. The Lord is my portion, the lines are fallen to me in pleasant places, I desire no other portion but this, and 'tis as well as I could wish for myself, though I have nothing of the things below. (2) In the Saints; and because their condition in this life is commonly set forth by the state of the people of Israel in Egypt, let that be the instance to express it unto us; when they were come out of Egypt, they were in a barren and howling wilderness, death did a thousand ways present itself to them, and under as many shapes; they had neither bread nor water, nor provision nor protection, but what they had from God immediately, and yet having God in Covenant they had enough, because they were interessed in the alsufficiency of God; and therefore if they want bread, he gives them Manna, and if water, he doth cause the Rock to yield it, if protection, if direction, he is a pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night, in allusion to which the Prophet speaks, Esa. 4.4, 5. Now we shall see this set forth by Moses, who was an eye-witness of it, and a Leader of the people through the wilderness, Deut. 33.27. for their provision it's true, that he has a land of corn and wine, and the Heavens drop down dew, but it is from the fountain of Jacob; it's commonly expounded the posterity of Jacob, and so haply it may be understood; Qui à Jacobo instar fontis perennis ortum ducunt. but there is yet a spiritual meaning in it, and so Cocceius observes: Fons Jacobi dicitur, quòd est fons salutis, Psal. 68.27. The fountain of Jacob is the fountain of salvation: So that all these mercies they had from him that was the Father and the Fountain of mercy, he was the Fountain of Israel; and for protection, the eternal God is thy refuge; in danger you need fly to no other Asylum but to him alone, Esa. 26.20. Come my people enter into your chambers, and shut the door about you, it is the Attributes of God and his alsufficiency that are the chambers into which the Saints are called to hid themselves; and therefore it is to preserve them from dangers, that if they fall at any time, they may never fall to the ground; for under them are the everlasting arms, which notes two things: (1) Potentiae sustentationem, sustentation by his power. (2) Gratiae amplexum, the embracement of his grace: he doth carry them in his arms, and though they fall, yet still his arms are under them: and who is this that is in this manner all unto them? it is he that is alsufficient, he that is thy God in Covenant, the God of Jeshuron for a habitation, they and thy fathers wandered up and down, having no settled dwelling place, incertis sedibus, but thou, Lord, Psal. 90.1. hast been our habitation in all generations; and when they wanted Ordinances in the Captivity, they had neither Tabernacle nor Temple, but he was a Sanctuary to them, Ezech. 11.16. he did supply the want of public Ordinances in himself, and for their guidance; and Deut. 32.10, 12. The Lord alone led them, and there was no strange God with him, he did all by himself alone, he led them, and he fed them, and there was none other joined with him in the work, he was alsufficient to them. But to come to the reasons and grounds of all this. Reas. 1 1. The first and great ground of all this is his own love, it was only his love that brought him into Covenant with them; because the Lord loved thee, and made thee to be his people; it was looking upon them in the time of love, and this love is the womb in which the Covenant and all the mercies of the Covenant were bred: now the nature of love is bountiful, nescit nimium, it knows no excess. The Father loved the Son, Joh. 3.3, 5. 2 Thess. 2.16. and has given all things into his hand; the Father hath loved us, and given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace. The great thing that God aims at in the second Covenant is his own glory, manifestative glory: now he cannot receive manifestative glory, but according to the measure of love manifested unto the creature, and his love therefore being the highest, he must find out an expression that is suitable to the manifestation of such a love; the gift must be such as may express the height, and depth, and breadth of his love; and therefore it must be in giving the greatest blessing, or else it could not have been an expression of the greatest love; if there had been any thing greater or better to have been bestowed, that is in point of consolation, he would have given it, Heb. 6.13. If there had been a greater he would have sworn by it; so he doth in point of affection also, if there had been a greater he would have given that gift, but a greater than himself in his alsufficiency God had not to bestow. 2. It was necessary from the insufficiency of all things else to supply our wants; there is an insufficiency in all the creatures, and therefore a continual restlessness in the soul, while it is bottomed upon the creatures, they are but broken cisterns, Jer. 2.13. that can hold no water; when once man departed from God, and forsook him the Fountain of living water, he sought a sufficiency in the creatures alone, they immediately became vanity, they have not a vanity in themselves, but it is the sin of man that fills the creature with vanity; if the Lord should give a man as he has done the Devil, the dominion of the world (for he is not only the Prince of the air, but he is the god of this world) yet all this would but leave a man in the Devil's condition, and his soul would never be satisfied with it, there is still something wanting that all the creatures cannot supply; so that the soul saith as Austin, Quicquid nobis adest praeter Deum nostrum, dulce non est; nolumus omnia quae dedit, si non dat seipsum, qui dedit omnia. 3. Because the Lord would have the happiness of the creatures to concentre in him alone, which could never be, if he were not an alsufficient God, Esa. 26.3. Trust in the Lord for ever, 1 Pet. 1.13. trust perfectly in the grace that is revealed unto us by Jesus Christ; if there were any thing wanting in him to be supplied and fetched in elsewhere, the soul could never trust in him alone; but he will have them have no other god, therefore surely there is no need of any other; he hath all good things in him: the happiness of the soul lies in the rest of it; Psal. 116.7. and therefore when a man comes to Heaven, he is said to enter into his rest. Now God is the resting place of the soul, return unto thy rest, O my soul; wherefore if there were not an alsufficiency, but something wanting in God, the soul must needs be restless, till it know whither to go for a supply; but he being alsufficient, he that desires nothing but God, need fear none but God, nimis avarus est, cui non sufficit Deus, he is too avaricious to whom God is not sufficient, who has a selfsufficiency in him for his own blessedness; for it is one's being a perfect good, that he goes not out for a supply to any other; nothing can add unto God to make him blessed, and surely the same will make the Saints blessed also; Blessed is the people whose God is Jehovah, etc. 4. He will have the creature perfect with him, Gen. 17.2. Walk before me, and be thou perfect; he will have you perfect in his obedience to serve him alone, and be unto him alone, he'll have you forsake all for him; and this could not be required of the creature, if he were not alsufficient and a full reward; sin is nothing else but the aversion of the soul à bono incommu●●tabili ad communitabile bonum, from the incommutable to a commutable good, as the Schoolmen say, when a man doth not believe the alsufficiency of God, and so would go out to the creature to fetch in some supply to make it up: as it is in the Righteousness of Christ, when men go to their own duties to piece it out; so it is here in matters of comfort and supply; and so long a man is a double-minded man: but when a man's heart is fastened to the alsufficiency of God, so that he saith, If I have him I need no other, I need no friend if he be a friend, nor no honour but that which comes from God only, if I lose any thing, he is able to make it up, he can give me much more, I desire no other God, even our own God shall bless us, he goes not out to the creatures to fetch in supplies, and it's the want of this that makes men to hasten after another God. The only proper ground of a man's perfection with God is laid up in this alsufficiency of God, that a man needs not go out unto any thing else, he needs do service to no other, and they that do so, do proclaim that they look not unto him as alsufficient; but when the soul is satisfied in this, that he has God, and can say, In that I have enough, then will he be perfect with him alone: so it was with Moses, the Lord would send him unto Pharaoh, but Moses tells him, Exod. 4.11. I am a man slow of speech, I am not eloquent, and they that speak unto Kings must speak well, if they hope to be heard, must speak with silken words; if the subject is unpleasing, and the words also, if the message be disliked, and the delivery of it, what hope is there then to prevail? but the Lord made him this answer, Who made the mouth, did not I? I will be with thy mouth, in that thing rest upon me, and for words care not, I will be alsufficient unto thee, as if thou wert the most eloquent Orator in the world. And so it is for all things else, a man that looks upon God as sufficient for any work or any comfort, so as he will be with him, he will rest upon him, and look no further, this is to be perfect with him. You'll say, What is perfection with God? it's nothing else but when the soul looks upon God as an alsufficient God, has an eye upon him alone, expecting all his happiness from him, and putting all his trust and hope in him. The Schoolmen say, that God is objectum beatitudinis dupliciter, the object of blessedness two ways, (1) quia in ipso sunt omnes perfectiones simpliciter, because in him are all perfections simply: and so to cleave unto God is actus charitatis principalissimus, the principal act of love. (2) suam perfectionem per ipsum consequatur, As the creature obtains his perfection by him: and both these are to be conjoined in our happiness, as God has all perfections in him, and so is alsufficient unto us, when God takes up the whole soul; and Psal. 18.2. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I will trust, my buckler, the horn of my salvation, and my high tower; he is the fear of Isaac, the hope of Israel, the love of Ignatius, etc. when he takes up and possesses the whole soul, and a man looks no further, does not hasten after any other God, Psal. 16.4. as they all do that join any thing else with him, this man's heart is perfect with God, Hos. 3.3. Thou shalt be for me, says God to the soul, and thou shalt not be for another, Mat. 6.22, 23. so will I be for thee; and that's meant by a single eye, Mat. 6.22, 23. it is in opposition unto a double eye, that is, a double intention of spirit; a single eye looks but upon one object, but a double eye looks upon a double object, it is divided between God and the world, and knows not which to choose, but he would follow them both, he has an eye to God, and an eye to his pleasure, and his credit, and his profit, etc. that man's heart (whatever his possession be) is not whole with God, he is not perfect with him; and the ground of all is this, because there is in God an alsufficiency, that the soul may rest upon him alone, and have no other God. The Heathen multiplied their gods, because one god served for one end, and was good to them in one way, and another in another; but if there be a God that is sufficient for all things, than there needs no other; and therefore the soul is confined to him alone, and in this is said to be perfect with him, and if men go out unto any thing else, they may truly be said to transgress without a cause, for there was no need of any other, but all good was to be found in him. 5. That by this means the Lord may make up the banks against that which is the greatest temptation that doth ordinarily befall men: it's true, that there are some motions that come from Hell immediately, that are purely devilish, a messenger of Satan, that immediately comes into the soul as Lightning, as thoughts of Atheism, and blasphemy, etc. but the ordinary temptations that prevail with men are by a bait, Jam. 1.14. Satan taking the same course that his instruments and his messengers do, beguiling unstable souls, 2 Pet. 2.14. promising them liberty; there is some bait that he useth; for all sorts of sinners are not fit for that immediate touch from Satan, it belongs unto them most properly that have been much exercised in all spiritual wickedness, their hearts and tongues are set on fire of Hell immediately; but the way by which Satan deceives men is, he doth bait his hook with the creature, and therein lies the temptation; he did first tempt our parents with the forbidden fruit, it was fair to the eye, good for food, and desirable to make one wise, etc. There is not a creature in the world but Satan can make a bait of it; when you look upon the Sun, Moon, and Stars, take heed that your hearts be not enticed; and therefore we read of an enticing by a woman, who is many times Satan's bait to draw a man to wantonness; therefore Basil says, Plays are, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, hamus diaboli trahens ad ruinam, a hook of the Devil to draw men to ruin. Now to strengthen the soul against this, which is the great temptation of the god of this world, and in which respect really the creatures are made subject to vanity; for it is spoken of a vanity of service, Rom. 8.21. not only to serve the lusts of wicked men, but to serve the lusts of the Devil also; therefore the Lord has made over himself to a man in his alsufficiency, that he may have to answer these temptations: it is true, there is much good in the creatures, but yet it's no bait to me, because I have no need of it, I have all in God, my profit and my pleasure is in him, etc. and by this means is the world crucified unto the Saints; for when any sinful way is suggested, as baited with gain and worldly advantages, the soul can say, What need I gain or any thing who want nothing, who do possess all things? and by this means the greatest offers take not with him; though the Devil come with an all this will I give thee; and if sufferings be suggested, as attending the way that is called holy, as every where bonds and afflictions abide them that walk in them, he shall lose all his friends, his honour, his estate, and life, yet he says, My sufficiency is not in these, and I may well lose all for him, who has undertaken to be all in all to me; and whatever I lose will be made up in him in a far more glorious manner; and therefore, si mundus exarserit cogitat se nihil habere, etc. and upon this ground temptations that are baited with the creatures do vanish; for he that has the alsufficiency of God made over to him, he can serve him both with patience and abstinence: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Suffer and abstain, saith the Stoic: if evil things befall him, he can bear them with patience, and if good things be offered in a way of sin, he has in himself a resolved abstinence, he is content to be without them. Now there is an innate desire in all creatures, planted in them by the Law of their Creation, to seek their own perfection, and if it were not to be had in God, than an offer of a supply any where else must needs be acceptable; but seeing it is to be had in God, and the soul hath chosen him in his alsufficiency, now he saith as a woman that is married must say, he must be unto me the covering of my eyes, I must not lift up my eyes upon any thing else; but in every temptation a man must say, Shall I lift mine eyes unto the hills? shall I look for a supply from any of the creatures, which are but mountains of snow? from whence doth my help come? my help standeth in the name of the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth; and by this means all such temptations are enervated, and they come not with strength and power upon the soul. 6. That upon this ground you may fear to lose God above all things, because your alsufficiency is in him, tolle Deum & nullus ero, take away my God and I am nothing, Austin. There are two things in sin, aversion and conversion, a turning from God unto something else that is not God; but the foundation of all sin lies in the turning away of the soul from God; and therefore the great aim of Satan is to draw away the heart, Jer. 1.14. It is forsaking God the fountain of living waters, and hewing cisterns that can hold no water: it is departing from the living God, Heb. 3.12. and therefore the main of temptation lies in this, in taking the soul off from God, and being once turned away from God, it will centre upon any thing else; and therefore the special care that the Lord takes, is to keep the souls of his servants close unto himself, and that's the great promise, Jer. 32.40. I will never turn away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts, and they shall never departed from me: and one special argument to keep them and make them to cleave unto God for ever, is this, because their alsufficiency is in him. As Peter said unto Christ, when he asked, Joh. 6. Will you also go away? Whither shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life: so says the soul, when any thing would draw it from God, surely in his presence is life, and there is no departing from him, but a man departs from his own alsufficiency; Harp. Theolog. mist. p. 37. and therefore adhaere fortiter, & inhaere suaviter, nescit ille deficere, si non incipias fastidire, etc. adhere strongly, and in here sweetly in God, who cannot fail, unless thou begin to loath; for a man with full purpose of heart to cleave unto God, and with full contentment of heart to rest and abide in God, it's the great work of a Christian; and the soul doth never departed from God so long as there is a through apprehension of his alsufficiency, and that's the reason that in Heaven they are impeccable, because there is a continual presence of the alsufficiency of God upon the soul; but when that apprehension gins to be clouded, than the soul gins to piece up a happiness with something else, and then unus & alter assumitur, one and another is added, etc. As when men depart from the rule of the word, they multiply inventions, and so make up a patched Religion: so when men depart from God, they do heap up creatures that make up a patched felicity: and it is this is the great and continual fear of the Saints; and therefore a great part of filial fear lies in this, and is a main difference between that and servile fear, which is well expressed by Austin, Haec ne veniat, illa ne discedat; haec ne puniat, illa ne deserat: and therefore he doth endeavour to keep up the thoughts of God's alsufficiency as his portion from day to day. 7. That thereby creatures may be kept in their own place; for they were given but as servants to be subordinate, and no more, they are iniqui praemium, but justi solatium, the reward of the unjust, but comfort of the just, they are but a viaticum for the way; yet it is a hard matter for a man to keep them in this place in which God has set them, but they will be Lords, and men are brought under the power of them, they do overpower a man, that is, when a man looks upon them as if his sufficiency were in them, then immediately the creatures have left their place, and they have gotten the rule over the man; and this is an evil that many times befalls the best men, they do not keep the world at a distance, and confine it to its own place, as they ought to do: but when a man saith, The creatures are my comfort, but my sufficiency is not in them, my portion is not in them, ubi omnia mea sunt tu scis, this will keep the creatures from encroaching upon a man, and usurping authority over a man, Tenet. and bring them into subjection unto his servants, which is contrary to the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free: hence it comes to pass, that men set their hearts too much upon them, contrary to Psal. 69.10. If riches increase, set not your hearts upon them. The more any man's heart runs out upon the creature, and the more he doth place his happiness in any of them, the more his soul departs from the alsufficiency of God. And hence if you take away the creature from a man, he saith you have taken away my heart, and therefore he sorrows as a man without hope: when another man can see the creatures departing and melting as ice under his feet, and he can rejoice in their departure, and bid them farewell with joy, because he has had the Moon under his feet, and these being gone, he knows he shall be restored unto that wherein more immediately his alsufficiency doth consist. And the way to cast off this weight, is to keep up the alsufficiency of God in the soul; all my sufficiency lies in him alone, and because he has made over his alsufficiency to me, therefore I will not look upon any thing else as my sufficiency and happiness: the man whose eyes are opened to see his alsufficiency to be in God in the middle of the creature-enjoyments, is in a blessed condition. 8. That the soul may upon this ground live in God immediately, as in whom his alsufficiency doth consist: 1 Thess. 1.1. Joh. 3.21. there is a being in God, and a dwelling in God; he that dwells in love, dwells in God; and a working in God; he comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God: and therefore Nazianzen speaks of grace, that it doth after a sort deify the man, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. not only begin a divine nature in him, but making him to live out of himself in the alsufficiency of the Divine nature; and the Schoolmen speak of an illapsus Dei, a certain illapse or coming down of God into the soul: he is said to dwell in us, 2 Cor. 6.16. that is, cum infinita quadam opulentia, with a certain kind of infinite plenitude: and by this means spiritus nunc ab omni velle liber est, acsi in coelo aut terra, etc. as if there were nothing that he did stand in need of in Heaven and Earth; for when God's love dwells in us, it is in the manifestation of God; and when God in his sufficiency dwells in us, it is in the manifestation of it, Harp. p. 678. etc. and therefore the soul looks upon God, ut mare quoddam infinitae magnitudinis, Harp. pag. 666. our sufficiency comes from him, and returns unto him again, but all is in him, and the soul looks upon all the creatures as things indifferent; but if he sin, he looks upon alsufficiency to pardon him; Who is a God like our God pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin? and he looks upon alsufficiency for healing; and if he has a work to do for God, he looks upon alsufficiency for strength; and if he has a cross to bear, he looks for the support of everlasting arms; and if there be creatures either to work with him or against him, he saith, that they can do neither good nor evil, they work but as instruments in the hand of God, and the wicked man is but thy sword, Nabuchadnezzar that great King, is but the staff of mine anger; and if there be no creatures, Psal. 17. he saith there is no need of any, for he is as able to save with few as many, and his supplies tarry not for man, he waits not for the sons of men, nor for any humane concurrence in his work; Mic. 5. and therefore his eyes are turned away from beholding vanity, and he lives upon God alone; for he saith, What is Heaven, and what have the Angels of God and the souls of just men made perfect to feed upon? they neither eat, nor drink, they marry not, all earthly comforts and relations cease, they are but for the time of this life, and no more, but then God is all in all: now if it shall be enough to live upon him in Heaven, and it shall be there my happiness and perfection, surely the more my heart is stayed on him, and the more it is settled upon his alsufficiency, the nearer it comes to happiness, and the less shall my spirit be disquieted by the changes and uncertainties of things below; and unto this Christ did train up his Disciples, Do not say, What shall I eat, and what shall I drink? but say, There is an alsufficiency in God, which I have an interest in, and it shall be manifested for me, either for my provision or my protection; for he that hath made it over to me by Covenant, will lay it out for me, and therefore I leave myself with him, and cast my care upon him, for my sufficiency is in him alone. §. 3. This Alsufficiency of God belongs unto none but unto his own Covenant-people: it's a joy that no stranger can intermeddle withal, it is the hidden Manna that they only do feed upon, who are fled for refuge to the hope set before them; Gen. 17.1, 2. I am God alsufficient, walk before me and be upright, and I will make a covenant with thee to be a God to thee: and he is a Sun and a Shield not unto every one, but unto them that walk uprightly: Psal. 84.11. there is a secret river, the streams whereof do make glad the City of God, when the earth is moved, and the mountains cast into the middle of the Sea; Psal. 46.4. there is an Olive-tree that doth drop oil into the golden Candlestick, Zac. 4.3. Zac. 4.3. it is new Jerusalem that comes down from God out of Heaven, that has no need of the light of the Sun; but the glory of the Lord and of the Lamb are the light thereof: it is spoken of the light of creatures, Rev. 21.23. and not of Scriptures, as some would interpret it, it's only upon the glory that there is a covering. (1) It is only by Covenant that he is thus made over; and therefore it can be only unto his Covenant-people: all men in Adam have forfeited their interest in God, and they can lay no claim to him; though it's true, that men in their necessity will put themselves upon God, and will lay claim to him in a presumptuous way, and they will cry to him, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth, Jer. 34.5. though they have spoken and done evil things against him as they could, but it is but a false pretence, and they lay claim to him upon a wrong title; only there are some that are in Covenant with him, and unto them he has made over himself, and it is the Covenant that gives them a title to him, and he will be called their God; and as for other men, he will reject their claim, and say unto them, Depart from me, I know you not: when men at the last day shall say, Lord, Lord, Heb. 11.16. then will the false claims to him be discovered, and all pretended titles rejected, and it will be made manifest in the great day of trial, to whom he is a God alsufficient, it is called, Rom. 2.5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a day of revelation: and the great thing that then will be manifested will be this, the false title upon which men have laid claim to God, and thereby have deceived their own souls. (2) To them only that are in Covenant with God, does his alsufficiency belong; for they only have chosen God for their portion, and placed their happiness in him; as Joshuah speaks, Josh. 24.22. You have chosen the Lord for your God; as for other men, their portion is in this life, in the sufficiency of the creatures, and no men have an interest in this sufficiency of God, but they that have rejected all other sufficiency, that can say, I have none in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I can desire in comparison of thee; other men follow lying vanities, and forsake their own mercies, the Saints only choose him, and choose the things that please him, Ionas 2.8. and do trust perfectly in him; whereas other men stand partly upon the Sea, and partly upon the Earth; and therefore the Lord doth choose their delusions, Esa. 1.29. You shall be ashamed of the gardens that you have chosen. The folly of men is seen in nothing more than in their choice, and in that shall their greatest shame be. (3) The alsufficiency of God would not satisfy the desires of men that are out of Covenant, because they place their happiness in ways of sin, and in the pleasures of sin do the comforts of their lives come in, they eat the bread of wickedness, and they drink the wine of violence: there are two sorts of desires, some are natural desires, and these may be supplied in God; but there are some unnatural desires, as those that are lustings after the sensual life; and therefore Heaven would not be a satisfaction to an ungracious heart, that hath not a spirit suited to the things that are spiritual and of a heavenly nature; it would be a wilderness to them, and a land of darkness to be taken up to the heavenly Canaan; and hence it comes to pass, that in the midst of their sufficiency they are in straits, and yet in the middle of straits the Saints have a sufficiency, they walk upon the high places of the Earth, that are fed with the inheritance of Jacob his chosen, and they walk at liberty upon the high places of the Earth, because when they are weak, they are strong, and when they have nothing, they possess all things, because the alsufficiency of God is only theirs. Object. But we see godly men that claim an interest in the Covenant to be in as great wants as other men, and are brought under as great straits and continual dangers, and if so, then how is God a Sun to them, and how is he a shield and all this that you now speak of? We find Job upon a dunghill, and poor even to a Proverb; and Paul (that great Convert and Apostle) is said to have nothing: 1 Cor. 4.11. Even to this present hour, says he, we are hungry and thirsty, and naked, and buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place, etc. God hath set us forth last; and the last sufferings of the Church are always the worst and the sharpest: We are made a spectacle even to men and Angels, that is, we are brought upon the stage as offenders did use to be, men condemned to death, to fight with wild beasts to make the people sport, and therefore the Proverb was then, chrysostom. Christiani ad Leones, and he saith it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, not in one corner of the world, but their sufferings were spread and were famous even through the world, and all the wicked of the world did rejoice at them: and not only wicked men, but Devils also; for Satan being the god of this world, and ruling in the Rulers thereof, Rev. 12. therefore he is described having seven horns, as he ruled the Roman Emperor; and therefore Rev. 2.10. The devil will cast some of you into prison; therefore it's great joy unto the Devil to behold the blood of the Saints in this manner spilt; for it's true, that in the time of this dominion of Satan, as he is the Prince of this world, ludit in humanis, thereby to drown the noise of the chai●s of darkness in which he is held, and it's true also of the good Angels, chrysostom. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is such a combat as it draws the eyes and the observation even of the Angels themselves, who with joy behold our patience and the constancy of our spirits therein; and we are counted the scum of the world, as if all the filth of the world had been emptied into them; and if we could barely look at the hand and malice of men in it, we could expect no other; for in the world we shall have tribulation, but God hath set us forth so to be, and hath made such a demonstration of us unto the world, and men are but instruments in the hand of God in what they do, the wicked is but a sword in the Lord's hand; yea we see it mainly in him that was the Prince of the Covenant, who yet was made a man of sorrows, whose life was a continual death, for he had nothing of this world's goods: and I do the rather insist upon this, because the people of God in this day and time may consider what their portion is like to be in this Nation, notwithstanding this fair Sunshine of liberty and prosperity that we now enjoy, and how soon a cloud of suffering may come upon all our glory, and the children of God may be exposed to primitive sufferings by walking in the steps of the primitive Saints, and following their Lamblike Prince, who was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and endured the contradiction of sinners, and was put to death by them. If this be so, that all that will follow the Lord fully meet with such hard usage from the world: How then is the alsufficiency of God made over to his people that are in Covenant with him? and if it be made over to them, as you have demonstrated, what use have they of it, when it doth neither bestow upon them good things, nor protect them from evil? Answ. 1. The Lord doth it, that their sufficiency may be in him alone, and that they may trust perfectly in him: Zeph. 1.12. we read of men settled on their lees, therefore God empties his people from vessel to vessel, that so he may take them off from the lees of the creatures or sins, upon which they are apt to settle: men do think there is some sufficiency in God, or else they would not seek him at all. Now if they would look upon him as alsufficient, than they would be content with him alone, and could say to God, Take all things else from me, so thou give me thyself, and it's enough; here therefore is the trial, when the Lord shall deal with a man as he did with Abraham, he promised to give him the land of Canaan for a portion, but he gave him not a hand-breadth in it, but only a burying place; God will have him to trust him without a pawn: so he will have thee to live by pure faith, and that is, when a man hath nothing of sight, but his dependence is upon God alone, and he hath nothing of the creature to look upon. It's a disposition that is apt to creep upon the best men, to serve God in the abundance of all things, but not in want. It's an ordinary accusation that the Accuser of the brethren hath, Rev. 12. and he doth accuse them before God day and night, and (there is as much danger of Satan as to his accusations, as there is in his temptations) he doth commonly object, Doth he serve God for nought? Therefore to clear the sincerity of his servants, the Lord doth, as he did to Job; take all away from them, whatever riches they have here of this world's goods, and give them himself, and they live upon him, and thereby he doth silence the wicked one; and by this means they have in their consciences a trial of their own sincerity with the Lord. 2. The Lord doth it, that they may be made partakers of the sufferings of Christ; the Lord did from Eternity ordain us to a conformity unto Christ, Rom. 8.29. that as he was, so should we be in this world. There is a double image we are to conform to: (1) Of God, and that is laid up in the Mediator. (2) Of Christ the Son of God: and our happiness is in being conformed unto both these images; Rom. 8.29. 1 Joh. 1.3. and by this means having communion with both, when we come to Heaven we shall have the fruition of both. Now in this he did leave us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, an exemplar: 1 Pet. 2.21. there is a fellowship of his Suffering as well as of his Resurrection, and we must have a share in the one as well as in the other, in his sufferings as well as in his graces and his victories, Phil. 3.10. Now we know Christ was a man of sorrows, and one that had trial of all sorts of afflictions; the Lord took all from him that are the comforts of mankind in this life; though he were Lord of all, yet he did lay down all; Joh. 17.5. for he that laid down his glory that he had with the Father before the world was, it was not much unto him to lay down all things else, that though the Earth were the Lords to dispose of, yet his blessed Son had not so much of it as to set the sole of his foot upon in the earth: and by this was the Prince of your Salvation made perfect; Heb. 2.10. for there is not only active but passive obedience required of us, and we must come to perfection the same way that Christ himself did: and if it lead us to perfection, it's no great matter though we be deprived here of what the world counts our perfection; and we may glory in the Cross, being it is the direct way to the Crown. 3. God is alsufficient to them in the loss of all things, and in the want of all things; and it is better for any soul that their sufficiency be in him than in themselves, and they would choose it rather; and therefore 2 Cor. 6.10. it is said, As having nothing, and yet possessing all things. He was alsufficient to the three Children in the fiery Furnace, and to Daniel in the Den of Lions; therefore the people of God are compared unto fatherless children, With thee the fatherless find mercy. Hos. 14.3. It hath been the manner of men to provide Hospitals for children that are cast forth and forsaken by their parents; and so it was with David, When my father and mother forsook me, than the Lord took me up. In what a sad condition is a child, an infant cast forth and forsaken by the parents, that hath ●●ne to take care of him, and to provide for him, etc. but the more perfectly they are fatherless, the greater assurance they have of provision from him, he is a most merciful Father, and therefore he must be compassionate to his children in misery, and the mercies we need are better in his hand than ours, he knows how to do it, when our wisdoms are nonplussed, and we cry out, We know not what to do, but our eyes are unto thee; he knows how to deliver the just out of temptation, though they are often in such straits, that they know not how they should be delivered, but grope as blind men, they are utterly devoid of counsel to direct themselves: and he knows not only how, but when to do it; the season of mercy is much to be considered, as well as the season of duty, the one makes it acceptable to God, and the other sweet to us; the Lord is a God of judgement, Isa. 30.18. Joel 2.23. and therefore blessed are those that wait for him: as God's way is best, so is God's time best, Joel 2.23. He will give you the former and the latter rain, pluviam justitiae, the rain of righteousness, that is, largam & copiosam, a large and copiose rain; and so Drusius expounds it, as Christ is called the Sun of Righteousness; but others understand justitiam, justice to be as much as in a just proportion, so much as shall be needful, and for your good, and no more: there shall not be excessive rain, and he will give you this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in primo, that is, as some render it, in the first month; but the word signifies not only primus ordine, sed & dignitate, that which shall be the choicest and the fittest for them, pluviam tempestivam, a seasonable rain, in the fittest season; it's a great mercy to be in the hand of God for the timing of mercy; for our hearts are hasty, and we would have them too soon, and so they would be unseasonable, and prove a curse, and not a blessing. 4. Because it is very sweet to God, when we follow him through a wilderness, and see nothing but an alsufficiency in him, through a land not sown, Jer. 2.2. than you show your love to him, and he looks upon it as the day of your espousals; Hos. 9.10. I found Israel as grapes in the wilderness, it is a proverbial speech, when you have none to look to but God, Drusius. when you are in a land of drought; it is never so pleasing unto God, as when we are brought into a wilderness, and yet there to follow him; and the Lord doth never speak so sweetly to us, as when he doth deprive us of these outward things, that our hearts may stay upon him alone; and therefore, Hos. 2.14. he says, I will allure her into the wilderness: what was there in the wilderness that might allure her? The wilderness has a double consideration. (1) It was a place of affliction, and so there was nothing to allure; for no affliction for the present is joyous, but grievous. (2) The wilderness was a place of manifestation, where God did show himself in his Ordinances and in his mighty works; and if the wilderness be so, there is an alluring in it; and then, saith God, will I speak to her heart. O when God brings into the wilderness, and gives discoveries of himself, there are the greatest comforts and the sweetest speakings unto the souls of his Saints: the Lord doth not fail them in their time of need. 5. God's great glory is to manifest his Attributes in the sufferings of his people, and it is the great work that he doth in the world, and the greatest comfort that the Saints have is to see the Attributes of God drawn forth, and to work for them: Jer. 2.31. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? It's true, says the Lord, I brought them into a wilderness, and did allure them thither, but when they were there, I was not a wilderness unto them; they found all in me, though the earth afforded them nothing, yet there was nothing wanting from Heaven, it was not a wilderness when they were in the wilderness. See an instance of it Jer. 29.22. there were two false Prophets that did strive to make provision for themselves, and they pleased the people, Jer. 2.29. and said, The King of Babylon should not carry them away captive, they spoke lies in the name of the Lord, and we see what became of them; but Jeremiah that made no provision for himself, did not, as Baruck, seek great things for himself, we see how he is provided for even in the enemy's hand, Jer. 39.11, 12. Look well to him, do him no harm, but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee: how good is it to look up to God for all our supplies, and not to distrust his goodness and power in any danger or straight that we may be exposed to! 6. As our supplies do come from God, so also there is a special token of love and interest discovered in his sufficiency, and that is sweeter than the mercy itself: the Lord loves to give unto his people every mercy that they need, and as it is lined with love, so it shall be faced with love, that the mercy shall come in according unto the promise, and he can look upon it as the birth of the promises, as a pledge and a fruit of interest in the alsufficiency of God: it's a great thing, and is much more than the blessing itself, if it were a thousand times multiplied, that all the promises lead a man to Christ the foundation of them all, 2 Cor. 1.20. they do lead a man as beams to the Sun; so when the mercy leads a man to his interest in the alsufficiency of God, that's more than the mercy itself: when a m●n sees it's given in to the bargain, when he seeks first the Kingdom of Heaven, all things in this world shall be added to him, Psal. 6.33. though they are in themselves but small, yet they are magni amoris indicium; there is a great deal of difference between a kiss and a reward, though there may be a greater bounty in the one, but there is more love in the other: and so far as the people of God taste that the Lord is gracious, so far they taste his love is sweeter than all unto them; for if there were not love in the gift, there were no relish in it, we use to despise the gifts only of enemies; and indeed the hearts of all the Saints do so far undervalue them, as Luther, that they can tell God, Let thy gifts of this world's goods only be to another, but let me have a smile from thy face, one kiss of thy mouth, and it shall cheer me more than corn or wine and oil: as for all other things, they are but, as Luther said of the Turkish Empire, mica canibus projecta, a mite cast to the dogs, because there was no love in it; therefore a little that the righteous hath is better than the riches of many wicked, as a little that the righteous doth is better than the pompous services of many wicked persons; because there is love in the one, and none in the other, and without this all is as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. Object. 2 You say that none have an interest in the alsufficiency of God but his Covenant-people. But we see that the men of the world have great sufficiency, Psal. 73.7. they have more than heart can wish, they enjoy all manner of abundance, that one would think the alsufficiency of God were made over to them rather than to the Saints; one would have thought it to have been the portion of Dives rather than Lazarus: For the wicked fare deliciously every day, etc. Answ. It's true indeed, that many wicked men, who are strangers to God and his Covenant, have great sufficiency in outward things; but yet, (1) though it be from the alsufficiency of God, for he it is that is the Fountain of common mercies, he doth cause the Sun to rise upon the unjust, etc. he opens his hand and fills every living thing; it is he therefore that is said to fill their bellies with his hid treasure; Psal. 17.14. but yet it is not from their interest in his alsufficiency, they have all from God, but they have no interest in God; it's one thing to receive mercy from God ex largitate, from an overflowing of his goodness, and another thing to receive it ex proprietate, from an interest in his goodness. There are some benefits by Christ that wicked men have that have no interest in Christ; there are many works that the Sun doth effect in the earth, when it never shines; and so it's with Christ, he vouchsafeth good things to many a soul in whose Horizon he doth never rise: there is a great difference in the manner of conveyance. (2) A sufficiency they have many times, Psal. 17.14. but it is their portion, it's all that ever they must look for of good from the hand of God; Luke 16. Son remember that in thy life time thou hadst thy good things; never look for good more from God; their hope is as the giving up of the ghost, Job 11. ult. they breathe out their last hope with their last breath. Now who would have these to have their portion in them? As there is a difference between the sufferings of the Saints, and the sufferings of others, so there is also in their enjoyments; in the Saints sufferings is justi exercitium, the exercise of grace, but in the wicked injusti supplicium, the punishment of the unjust: and so it is of their good things also, it is unto one in praemium, and to the other in solatium. (3) They are given as a snare to themselves and others: [1] To themselves, their table is made a snare, and they are taken in their own abundance, and are betrayed by it to the evil day, it doth but ripen their sins, and make them the greater enemies unto God, it is as a worm in the gourd, as chrysostom observed. Riches are given for the hurt of the owner, to fat them to the day of evil; there is a fattening, and there is a kill time; 2 Pet. 2.9. and the man is but reserved all the while to the day of slaughter. [2] They are given as a snare to others; therefore many people fall to them, because waters of a full cup are wrung out to them; they that work wickedness are built up that is, they prosper, therefore they call the proud happy; Mal. 3.15. the Lord doth lay snares for men in the world, that is, that which their corrupt hearts do make snares, and they are taken, Rev. 13.8. even as many as are not written in the Lamb's book of life. (4) In the middle of their sufficiency they are in straits, that is, when men are come to the height of the sufficiency in the creature, than they are at a loss, and find they are in straits; for it shall be said, Here is the man that made not God his help, but trusted in the multitude of his riches, and now shall the sufficiency of God be engaged against him, and he shall be in perplexity for ever, and his sufficiency in outward things shall be but an inducement unto the enemy to straiten him the more. SECT. II. The Application of God's Alsufficience made over to the Saints. Use 1 §. 1. FIrst, this doth justly reprove them who claim an interest by Covenant in the Lord, yet their hearts go out to expect a sufficiency in the creatures, who please themselves in a selfsufficiency, as if either they understood not the terms of the Covenant, or as if their sufficiency were not in God only, when in his alsufficiency he has made over himself. 1. For them that set their hearts upon the sufficiency of the creatures, and having the creatures in abundance, they think that there is a sufficiency in them, and when they want the creatures, they look upon themselves as being defective in point of sufficiency. I confess there is a curse come upon all the creatures, that they are become a snare to us; that which was made to be a servant, has with Reuben climbed up into his father's bed, and ever since Satan has been the god of this world, which he never was until man sold himself unto Satan, and since man subjected himself to the evil one. God has subjected man in judgement unto Satan, and all the creatures unto the power of Satan, that were for man's use, which is the greatest part of the subjection unto vanity, Rom. 8. that the creature groans under; that now Satan makes it a bait, and the soul is ensnared with it, and men are ready to place a sufficiency in the creatures, yet we have heard, that in the fullness of sufficiency he is in straits, it's spoken according to the esteem and conceit of the man, he thinks that he shall have a fullness of sufficiency in it, but he shall find a defect in the creatures; there are some wants that all the creatures will not answer, but the soul will be still straight in the middle of his alsufficiency; Cocceius expounds it of men whose lusts go out beyond their estates, and therefore they are but poor in the middle of all their riches and abundance, and such an esteem it is that Solomon intends, when he says, Prov. 23.5. Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? the word in the Hebrew signifies, wilt thou cause thine eyes to fly on that which is not? The Scripture doth express much of the affection by the eye, that being the window at which the soul looks out, and at which the affections of the soul are discovered; as the desire of the eyes, the delight of the eyes, and pity in the eye, thy eye shall not spare them; and therefore we use to say, Vbi amor ibi oculus, the desires of the heart are much seen in the eyes; and to fly notes two things, hastiness and greediness, 1 Sam. 15.19. But didst fly upon the spoil: men's desires run out towards it with all hastiness and greediness, because they conceive, that there is a sufficiency to be had in the creatures: but it is not the thing that you took it to be, there is not that in it that you expected, it's an expression like that, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 4.8. Psal. 102.27. They all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture thou shalt change them, etc. 1 Cor. 4.8. the Apostle speaks it of the Corinthians, Ye are full, ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us; he speaks it by way of exprobration, what they were in their own vain conceit and apprehension; they pleased themselves in their outward prosperity, as if now the Kingdom were their own; and when the Apostle was suffering, and they enjoyed their peace and their estates, they pleased themselves in it; and therefore he says, That they did reign as Kings, not in ways of duty, for than it had not been without us; but it was in ways of felicity, in which they did satisfy themselves, as if they were now no less than Kings in their own conceits: and hence it comes to pass, that in the enjoyment of them their hearts are lifted up; and if they be deprived of them, their hearts die within them, and they be like unto them that go down to the pit. How unsuitable is this to the alsufficiency of God, to place your sufficiency in any thing else? and whether is not this a staining of your glory? and will not this hinder the alsufficiency of God to be improved for you? for surely he will be alsufficient unto none, but he will be alsufficient to them alone. 1. Consider herein how exceedingly you dishonour God, and d● hereby proclaim to all the world, that there is something wanting in him that must be supplied by the creature; and so as Salvian saith of the Name of Christ, Dicimur Christiani in opprobrium Christi, We are called Christians to the reproach of Christ; it is true that the name of God is called upon us, but it is unto God's dishonour; the Lord takes it as a high dishonour done unto him, when his people dig to themselves broken cisterns, and forsake him that is the Fountain of living water; when they shall do suit and service to another god, and stretch out their hands unto a strange god, the Lord will search it out, it's a dishonour, and will be a great provocation to him; whereas they that have an eye to him alone, they do honour him: Daniel who said, Psal. 18.31. The God whom I serve is able to deliver me from the den of lions; and David who says, There is no god save the Lord, and there is no rock save our God; these honoured God in advancing him above all things: it's true, that men do fancy to themselves other Rocks to fly unto, but it is but in vain, for there is no other Rock, these are but the imaginations of men, but in truth and reality there is no such thing there is no Rock but our God; and Paul having nothing, but yet possessing all things; and so did Habakkuk, 3.17. For it was a true way of reasoning that Elkanah used, when Hannah was sad and discontented for the want of a son, he took it to be as a disparagement to him, that she thought not herself so happy in him, and in his love, as sometimes she had professed, and he conceived it was her duty to do, she should have counted him beyond ten sons; so doth the Lord reason with you, when your hearts go out to the creatures, and you are troubled in the getting of them, and disquieted in the losing of them, it is because you do not think him better than a world; for if you did, you would not go out so unto these things with such intenseness of spirit and affection. We read, Gen. 20.16. the husband is said to be unto the woman the covering of her eyes, not only that she lift them not up wantonly unto another man, but also that she should look upon no other for protection and for provision: if a woman should wait upon another, and apply herself wholly to another man, and neglect to please her husband, and to be a help unto him, might he not look upon it as a dishonour, and say to her, Is it not because there is something in me wanting towards you, that I cannot protect you, and provide for you, and therefore you go out in your heart, affection, and observance to another man? he looks upon it as the greatest dishonour that his wife could do him: Mat. 22.32. Mat. 22.32. Christ proves the living of the souls of the Saints in statu separato, after death, and a resurrection from that place, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac: it's a great question, wherein lies the fullness of the argument; I conceive it to amount unto thus much; If God be of infinite power and goodness, than they that have an interest in him, and stand in a peculiar relation to him, they must have from him whatever is necessary to their happiness; it were else every way unworthy of God, and that upon which ground no man would seek or prise an interest in him; but happiness without life there can be none; and therefore if he will be the God of his people, he must be happiness to them; and if so, he must give life to them also; for he cannot be the God of the dead, but of the living. To make a people to have a special interest in him, and to say that they are dead for all their interest in God, and that he is the God of the dead, is a thing every way unworthy of him and dishonourable to him. 2. As it dishonours God, so it doth dishonour us also; for all the creatures were given unto man in his creation as servants, and he had dominion over them, they were all put under his feet: Gen. 1. therefore God brought them all unto man in their creation, as the lord of them, he gave them their names: now for a man to put his neck under the yoke of a servant, and to lay down his soul on the ground unto them that went over it, doth argue a great baseness in a man, and is a great dishonour to him: it's true, the creature will invite a man as the bramble, Judg. 9.13. Come and put your trust under my shadow, place your confidence in me; now would it not be a dishonour for a man to go and put his trust in the shadow of the bramble? And so are all the creatures in reference unto shelter and defence: if a Senator of Rome did marry a servant, and not a free woman, he did subire maculam infamiae, incur infamy; so it is when the soul will be married unto the creature, which is but the servant, there is a blemish that lights upon that man. And much more when it is done from a low spirit, and the soul doth choose it, that shows, that he is ad mancipium natus; as when a servant amongst the Jews would not go free, his ear was bored, Exod. 21.6. not only as a token of perpetual servitude, which, as Cajetan observes, was not only done in perpetuam servitudinem, sed in poenam & ignominiam, neglectâ libertate. When the Lord has set men's spirits at liberty from the creatures, and if they will not go free, but they will be in bondage to their own servants still, it's a great reproach to them, and a sign of great baseness of mind; whereas the Spirit of Christ in his people is a princely Spirit, and that saith, 1 Cor. 6. I will not be brought under the power of any thing; and therein properly doth a man's liberty consist, when he looks upon God only as necessary, and all things in the world tanquam adiaphora, as things indifferent, that he can enjoy them, or go without them, for his happiness is not in them. 3. Consider the creatures unto whom thou fliest for sufficiency, they can do neither good nor evil; it's spoken of Idols and all creatures in which we look for a sufficiency, they are but Idols; and we are exhorted, Jer. 10.5, 6, 7. Be not afraid of them, for they can do no evil, neither is it in them to do them good; for as much as there is none like unto thee, O Lord, for thou art great, and thy name is great in might, who will not fear thee? If the creatures could do us good, they might be sought unto, and they might be feared, if they could do us hurt; but it is not in the creature to do either; if they do us evil, it is because the Lord has bid them; as it's said of Shimei, The Lord has bid Shimei curse; and if Job lose all that he has, though by the hand of creatures, yet he saith, The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away; there is no evil in the city that the Lord has not done; and therefore Christ saith, Thou couldst have no power over me, unless it were given thee from above. Now as you look upon them as vain that worship an Idol, and stand in fear of it, though you know they do but bow down to the stock of a Tree, yet a deceived heart has turned him aside, etc. that he cannot discern the deceit, and say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Esa. 44.20. so when men fear creatures, it is but as if a man feared an Idol that can do him no hurt; and they can do you no good: though every man seeks the face of the Ruler, and they think that he is able to show them much favour in judgement, yet let him do what he can, Prov. 29.26. Psal. 33.15. and intent never so much good to you, all that is good to you is from the Lord, in his judgement; He doth fashion the hearts of men, and he considers all their ways, etc. they have the same apprehensions that he gives them, and the same affections and intentions; if they do thee any good, it is because the Lord has assisted and touched their hearts; for they have but such a fashion as he gives them, therefore he is said to ascend and descend, Prov. 30.2, 3, 4. it's conceived by some to be an expression taken from jacob's Ladder, in which there were Angels ascending and descending, as it is Joh. 1. ult. but yet in all the administrations of the best of creatures it is he that ascends and descends: for all the good of the creature is at his dispose, and he must give the creature a commission to do good as well as to do us evil: and will you fly unto that for sufficiency that can neither do good nor evil? 4. Will you place your sufficiency in the creature, when it cannot reach unto that which is best in the man? Every holy man doth take a measure of all things, as they relate unto his soul, and that which doth his soul most good, that he judges best for him, and that which doth the soul most hurt, that he judges worst for him; for Saints measure all prosperity by that of the soul; but all creature-comforts are but food that perishes; and therefore we are exhorted not to labour for them, for they will all die unto us; Joh. 6.27. and therefore that men might not dote upon carrying them with them into another world, consider we brought nothing into this world, 1 Tim. 6.7. neither shall we carry any thing out of this world; as soon as we have put off this Tabernacle, all the necessary supports thereof will be of use to us no more; for they are all in reference to the Tabernacle itself: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, He only can cure the heart that form it: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. de poenit. hom. 4. when God establishes the heart in peace, no creature can move it. 5. The creatures have no good in them but what is borrowed. All the good that is in the creatures is either real or apparent. (1) If there be any real good in any creature, it is derived unto it from God: they are all cyphers, and they have no good in them of themselves, but what is put into them; if God will put much of his Spirit into a Magistrate, as he did into Moses, the abilities of many men shall be in that one man, he shall rule his people with great success; and if the Lord will afterward take it away, and divide it amongst men, it is as he will dispose of it, whether to fill the vessel, or empty it: and if the Lord will create the fruit of the lips peace, a Minister shall be able to speak peace, and administer a word that shall be in season unto him that is weary; but else though he speak with never so much eloquence, it will be to no purpose, there is no more in it than God puts into it. (2) There is appearing good, and that is put into the creatures by the subtlety of Satan and by the lusts of men. [1] By the subtlety of Satan; for he intending to make use of the creature to betray the soul of a man, doth put a fair gloss upon it and a varnish, as we see he did to Christ, when he represented to him the Kingdoms of the world and the glory of them in a moment of time; so doth Satan represent the creatures to us in his own glass, and deceives us with the apparent good that is in them. [2] There is also something that the lusts of men do add, and that is a conceit, that there is some such excellency in it; Prov. 18.11. it is a strong hold and a high wall, it's desirable for food, and pleasant to the taste, but it is but in his own conceit, and all the pomp of the world is but fancy, and all the great things of the world are not great in reality, but only that great affection and the high apprehension that men have of them, makes them seem so to be, Psal. 36.9. but with God only is the fountain of life: by life is meant all good, and it is in God originally, as in a fountain; it is in the creatures but derivatively, as in a stream; and therefore it's the greatest folly for a man to leave the fountain to go to the streams, and to forsake the Sun to take our light from the Moon and the Stars, which shine only by a borrowed light; and upon this ground the Saints are not much troubled at the miscarriages in creatures, when they promise fair, but by and by their hopes are nipped, and it brings not the work to perfection; therefore they regard it not, and say it is but a bucket broken, and a stream dried up, a pipe stopped, but there is as much water in the fountain still as ever, and unto that he has immediate recourse. 6. A man's retiring unto creatures in any of his straits is that which doth cause God to leave him; for no man is to have a double dependence, because that argues a double heart; God will be all in all for supports and supplies, as well as Christ will be all in all for righteousness and salvation; 2 Chron. 26.15. and therefore it is said, That Vzziah was helped till he was strong, he was marvellously helped, but then his heart withdrew from God unto his own supports, and then the Lord left him to them, which proved his overthrow; for with him only the fatherless find mercy, they that are truly so in their own esteem and account, and have none to look to, or make provision for them any more than fatherless children have, it is in him that they shall find mercy; but they that say unto the creatures, Thou art my father, and they have their help in them, there is no mercy for them in the Lord in an evil day, the creature than shall be so far from assisting, that it shall distress them; for the Lord rejects carnal confidence, 2 Kings 16.5, 8. Jer. 48.13. Isa. 31.2, 3. and he says, Thou shalt be ashamed of Bethel thy confidence, and ashamed of Egypt as thou wast of Assyria, etc. for it doth engage God not only against the evil doers themselves, but against their helpers; and therefore the way for a people to find mercy from God, is to put away all carnal confidences and dependences whatsoever, and say (as they did, Hos. 14.3.) Assur shall not save us, neither will we ride upon horses; this is the way to mercy: Jer. 17.5. Cursed be the man that makes flesh his arm, and his heart departs from the Lord, he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, he shall inhabit the parched places of the wilderness, etc. But blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, whose hope the Lord only is, he shall be as a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, nor be careful in the year of drought. There is no man in a worse condition in an evil time, than he that has had his heart resting upon creature-comforts, and his spirit has gone out to them, and not to the Lord, who then will send him to the gods whom he had chosen to himself; and there is not only the first and original curse upon the creature, as the fall of man left it, but also there is a more particular and immediate curse upon the creature by reason of the confidence of men, and that sets God against it, and blasts it before its time, which is like unto the curse of Christ upon the figtree; if it had stood, it would in time have decayed by reason of the first curse that came upon all the creatures, and so it would have withered away; but now Christ comes with a more particular curse immediately, and it is dried up by the roots: and so it is with all the creatures, that the vain confidence of man puts into the place of God, Isa. 30.12, 13. and expects a supply and assistance from: says the Prophet, Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant: and he shall break it as the breaking of a potter's vessel that is broken; so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sheard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. Use 2 §. 2. As it is a just reproof unto all the Saints that place their sufficiency in the creature, so it is also unto them that do place any sufficiency in themselves; it is well observed by Aquinas, that there are two roots upon which all sin in a man grows, and from which they have their continual support and supply, ex parte aversionis à bono incommutabili superbia, ex parte conversionis ad bonum commutabile avaritia, the first thing in 〈◊〉 is aversion from God, and then the soul turns itself unto something else, Jam. 1.14. and the thing that was next in order was self, and so men are turned unto themselves, and so self taking upon itself a Deity, it must have also a sufficiency. The first sin was pride: now pride is nothing else but an overweening apprehension of a man's own excellency, when a man doth think of himself above what he ought; and from thence there follows in the soul self-admiration, selfsufficiency, self-dependence, and a contempt of others, undervaluing all in comparison of itself: one that has enough within himself, he needs not go out unto any other, and there is nothing more ordinary than for men to do it, for they are ready to place their sufficiency in any thing rather than in God. Now there is a twofold self-sufficience that the heart of man is apt to go out unto. (1) In respect of gifts and inward abilities either acquired or infused; and this the Apostle doth give a charge against, Rom. 12.3. That no man do think of himself above what he ought, but according as God hath given to every man the measure of faith: per fidem intelligit dona spiritualia. Glass. Now when men have received a spiritual gift immediately, they have a dependence thereupon, and place a sufficiency in themselves, and they are as if they had all knowledge in themselves, and think they need go out of themselves for nothing, and so the wise man glories in his wisdom, and the strong man in his strength, all such glorying is a fruit of pride and selfsufficiency: so we see how far Samson trusted in his strength, and Solomon in his wisdom, and their own sufficiency proved their snares. And that's the common use that the Devil makes of all abilities either infused or acquired, that they may, as we read in Ezech. 16. trust in their beauty, and boast themselves of what they have received, as if they had not received it. (2) There is also a sufficiency in respect of grace received, as we see in Peter, Though all men forsake thee, yet will not I, though I should die with thee, yet will not I deny thee; having received a principle of grace, he looked upon the acting of it in his own power, as if he had no more dependence upon Christ the Fountain of his grace, but could go out in his own strength against the temptation, and this makes men trust in themselves; for all selfconfidence depends and is grounded upon a selfsufficiency, and this the Apostle denies to be in themselves, 2 Cor. 3.3. We are not sufficient of ourselves, to think any thing as of ourselves, all our sufficiency is of God: for pride being an inordinate and high apprehension of a man's own excellency; therefore the higher the excellency, the greater is the pride, and the more will Satan surely put a man upon a dependence thereupon, that he that is able to do all things through Christ that strengthens him, and by the power of God, shall look upon himself as the fountain of his own sufficiency; which was properly the Devil's sin, and it is the like Godhead that he strives to affect men withal, that whereas the proper end of grace is to carry a man out of himself, and to make him happy in another, and so sufficient in another, Satan persuades a man, that having received grace he should place this in himself, and in the grace that he has received, which is properly a Torch from Hell, 1 Joh. 5.19. which may and many times doth befall the heirs of Heaven, that they that place truly their happiness in God, yet may too far seek a sufficiency in themselves, and too much omit fastening upon the Lord Jesus, who is our Saviour to the uttermost, etc. Now we come to show the evil of a selfsufficiency in both these, more particularly. 1. In respect of gifts, for a man to look upon himself, and grow in love with his own shadow, and to depend upon them and glory in them, consider the evil of it in these particulars. (1) They are another man's goods, they are not thine own, men are ready to think so of riches and honours, that which is without a man; but as for the abilities of his own mind, they think those are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, their proper goods, if any thing be; but yet as it is said of riches, it's true also of gifts, and all those inward qualifications, Luke 16. they are another man's, and they are so in a double respect: (1) Because they are given thee from another, What hast thou that thou hast not received? he that doth boast of, 1 Cor. 4.7. or trust in any thing that he has received, he doth thereby say that it is his own, and that he has not received it; for if thou hast received it, than thy dependence is upon another, and not upon thyself: mendax de proprio loquitur; cùm autem in bonis laudabilis vita ducitur, Prosper add Demest. p. 866. Dei est quod geritur, Dei est quod amatur. (2) They are another man's, as riches are, for they are given thee mainly for the good of another: grace is given a man for himself, and is properly his own; 1 Cor. 12.7. but gifts are given for the Church and for the edifying of others, the manifestation of the Spirit is given unto every man to profit withal, and therefore thou art but as a steward of every gift, and thou must dispense them, and lay them out for the good of the family, to give them their meat in due season, and if not, this will be the benefit that thou wilt have by thy gifts, that thy account will be the greater, and there will come a time that the same Spirit that is now thy Teacher will surely be thy Accuser, Luke 16.1. for wasting thy master's goods. Accepta bona dissipamus quando iis nec ad ipsius honorem, nec proximi aedificationem, nec ad propriam salutem utimur. Stella. There is a double difference between gifts and graces: [1] Grace is for a ma●● own salvation, but gifts are for the Church's edification; and therefore they are but pr● hoc statu, for this state, and there is an end; the gifts that the Angels have are but for the edification of the Church, Dan. 9.23. Rev. 19.10. & 1.4. He sent and signified it by the Angel unto his servant John; and when the Elect of God shall be gathered, and the Church of Christ perfected, and the Kingdom given up to the Father, then as the protection of Angels shall cease (for there shall be no more use of it) so these qualifications, this influence of the Spirit of Christ upon the Angelical nature, by way of gifts, shall cease also. [2] Some put this difference, that the Spirit to some gives gifts as a Spirit assisting only, but not dwelling there where he assists by gifts; but where grace is, there is a residence of the Spirit, and that not only according unto the gifts and effects, as in the other, but according to the essence; for we are said to be Temples of the Holy Ghost. Now to dedicate a Temple to another, is to give Divine honour, which is not to be done unto the gifts and graces of the Spirit; for they are but creatures; and therefore the Spirit doth not dwell in them barely by his gifts, but according to his essence: Habitat verus Spiritus in credentibus, non tantùm per dona, sed quoad substantiam, neque sic dat dona, ut ipse alibi sit, sed donis adest, creaturam suam conservando, gubernando, addendo, The Spirit dwells in Believers, not only by gifts, but according to his essence, neither doth he so give gifts as to be absent himself, but he is present, etc. Luther. (2) He doth give them unto wicked men; and therefore there is no sufficiency to be placed in that in which God puts no difference; Psal. 68.18. Christ received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious also; not only those that were rebellious, and are now converted, but those that live still in rebellion; Christ received many gifts to dispense unto these: Christ is in the Scripture set forth as a Head and as a Root; he gives graces as Head unto the Church, which is his body, Joh. 15.1, 2. the fullness of him that filleth all in all; but as he is a Root he spreads himself into a visible Church upon Earth, so he gives much sap and greenness unto those that bear leaves only; and therefore it was a good saying of Luther in one of his Epistles, Potentior est veritas quàm eloquentia, potior spiritus quàm ingenium, major fides quàm eruditio. A little grace is to be preferred before abundance of gifts, and a little of the Spirit of Sanctification above the fullness of the qualifications of the Spirit; for the Lord doth cause this Sun to shine upon the evil and unthankful, and doth continue it unto them for a while, as a Spirit of Qualification, to whom nevertheless he will be for ever as a Spirit of Condemnation hereafter. (3) When a man depends upon these, and places his sufficiency in them, he serves Satan in the highest way that can be, that is, with the gifts and the graces of the Spirit of God: Mat. 12.44, 45. we read Mat. 12.44, 45. there is a house swept and garnished, it's the house that Satan will choose to himself to inhabit above all other places in the world; and therefore he places a strong garrison there of seven Spirits; for there is no soul whom he takes so much delight in, and in which he doth love so much to dwell, as he doth in such a man; and therefore it was a great speech of Austin of Licentius, a man of a great wit, but of an unsound mind, Abs te ornari diabolus quaerit; Accepisti à Deo ingenium spiritualiter aureum, & in illo Satanae propinas teipsum, The Devil seeks to be adorned by thee, etc. It was the abuse upon the vessels of the Temple that in Beltshazers' time, they must be brought forth, and used in the worship of their gods, which was but the Devil instead of a God: the gifts that a man has are the utensils of the Temple of the Holy Ghost, and therefore above all others Satan loves to be served with those; and if the Devil do but puff a man up with either of these, Luther Potentia, justitia, sapientia. that's the house he delights to dwell in: now for a man to serve Satan with his wealth or his honour is a great evil; but with the immediate works and gifts of the Spirit of God, is a far greater provocation. (4) That which you place your sufficiency so much in, remember you cannot act without Divine aid: a man that has received gifts cannot exercise and use those gifts that he has received. The Apostle doth distinguish between all these three, there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Gifts, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Offices, and there are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Effects or Operations of the same graces: now as the Spirit doth appoint every man his office, and gives unto every man his gift; so he doth give unto every man a success as it pleaseth him; and therefore though Paul may plant, and Apollo water, yet it is God that gives the increase; and the success is not always answerable unto the labour that is bestowed, even in the best, we see it in Christ himself, he did spend his whole life, and his very radical moisture in labour, Esa. 49.4. as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signify, and yet he doth himself complain, That he had laboured in vain, and spent his strength for nought, etc. So when the Prophets had received a Spirit of Prophecy, and the Apostles a gift of Miracles, yet notwithstanding they could not act it when they would, but when the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, as it was with Samson; and therefore it's a kind of a Proverb that Luther has in Gen. 4.4. Spiritus Sanctus non semper tangit cor Prophetarum, The Spirit doth not always touch the Prophet's heart: so the Apostles had a gift of healing, but they could not heal when they would; and therefore when Epaphroditus had been sick, and was nigh death also, Paul who had the gift of healing (for when they brought from him but handkerchiefs and aprons, the diseases departed from them) yet he cannot now heal him who was so dear to him, and whose ministry was so useful: it's not in a man's power therefore to act his own gifts, he cannot use his own abilities at his own pleasure: as there is an ability in a man to gather and know much of God by his works that are in the world, yet it is according as God did point and direct his understanding, or else he could never do it: Rom. 1.19. it is manifest in the creation of the world, for God has showed it unto them; and to know what seed to sow, and with what instruments to thresh, and when the ground is fit for seed, and when it is sufficiently ploughed, etc. It is God that doth instruct him to discretion, Esa. 28.26. The men of might cannot find their hands; they were men of strength, and they were skilful in war, but they could not use it at such a time, they could not find their hands, it is unto them as if they had no strength, as if they had had no skill, for they have no use of them: therefore remember this when you place your sufficiency so much in these things. (5) As they that have these gifts cannot act them of themselves without God's assistance, so neither can they give success to them, or make them in any measure effectual: the best men have but their measure, Rom. 12.4. God has not given all gifts to one man, and therefore the greatest and the best and most eminent member of the body shall have need of the gifts of the meanest; there is a supply of every joint unto the edifying of the body, there is something in the meanest Saint that thou mayst despise as weak-gifted, yet it is wanting in thee, and thou canst not give success to thy greatest endeavours, but he that gives the gift must give the blessing: mundus non potest esse sine personarum discrimine, Luther. there must be Princes, and Rulers, and Governors, sed dona non sequuntur illas differentias, etc. and so it is here; the effect doth not always follow the abilities, but a man of lesser gifts shall bring forth more fruit to God, than he that thinks himself most sufficient; For the Lord resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble; he will give the success there where he may have the glory, and many times a man of great ability is laid aside, though he labours, yet he brings nothing to pass, and a man of lesser parts is blessed exceedingly; and the reason is, the one is too great in his own eyes, or in the eyes of others; and therefore the Lord cannot use him, non patitur in regno suo superbiam, God cannot bear pride in his Kingdom. (6) When we place our sufficiency in them, that will provoke the Lord to take them away from us; there are two things that provoke God exceedingly, one is being weary of our work, as it was in Moses, and the other is when we do exalt ourselves in our work, and put an excellency upon ourselves for our own actings; therefore says the Lord, From him that hath not shall be taken away, he will put thee out of thy stewardship, if thou waste his goods to maintain thy own pride; and there is nothing in the world doth blast the parts of men more, and provoke God to take them away in judgement, and the man dies besotted, he withers in all the greenness that did appear so fresh in him; Joh. 15.6. he doth in this (saith Luther) as Vespasian, when he saw there was no way to take men off from seeking wealth, In Gen. 4.4. aequo animo patiebatur eos ditari, with a patiented mind suffer men to be rich; but he said, Divites spongiam esse, there would come a pressing time when men that gathered so much for themselves should go empty away; remember this ye that forget the Lord, and place a sufficiency in any gift that God has given you, the Lord will certainly deprive thee of it, and thy folly shall be made manifest. 2. When men do place not only sufficiency in their gifts, but in grace received, which a man also is very apt to do; and let me tell you, it is the highest spiritual pride in the world, and is an abuse of the highest gift and grace of God. (1) Consider it is quite contrary to the nature of grace, which is to live in another, and to fetch all from another, and therefore it is an unnatural sin. (2) No man can act his own grace, Deus agit immediaté. (3) Grace is but a creature, and may decay in the degrees of it, and it doth oftentimes, I and in the essence it would also, if it were not preserved by an almighty power; Rev. 2.4. for it is not in its own nature immortal seed. (4) It doth make grace an Idol, and so it provokes the Spirit to withdraw from his own graces, so that he shall delight to see the ruin of his own workmanship. Object. But you'll say, Do not we read in Prov. 14.14. That a good man is satisfied from himself, and that there is a sufficiency that the Saints should seek in themselves? Answ. (1) Remember this is not in opposition to God, or apart from God, but in subordination to God. (2) There is a double sufficiency: [1] Not receiving an addition of good; so God only is sufficient. [2] As containing all things necessary; and so there is a sufficiency in grace, for it brings all things into the soul, and fills it. 1. There is a great proneness in the best men unto this great evil, that having received grace, they place their sufficiency in it, and that for matter of strength and matter of comfort. (1) As to matter of strength, a man that has received grace is apt to think, that he being made alive from the dead, is able now to perform those vital actions that flow from this life; surely now I can hear, I can pray, and can perform the duties of godliness as becomes a living man; or if by the power of sin and the strength of temptation the outward act be hindered and interrupted, yet they cannot hinder the inward workings of the Spirit; and as I am able to do that which is good, so I shall be able to resist that which is evil: so that as grace is in me a well of water springing up to everlasting life in the duties of holiness; so also it will of itself work out the mud of corruption that Satan and the old man doth cast into it from day to day: and we see this in Peter, he had received a principle of grace, and his heart was warmed with a true fire, the principle of the love of Christ, whom he loved so greatly, that he thought it impossible that he should so far forget it as to deny him, and therefore he speaks for himself after the resolution or presumption of his heart; Whatsoever other men do, yet though I should stand by him alone, come what will come, I will confess him in the face of danger, I will never deny him; and so many a man doth by the strength of grace received promise himself security from some sins, and therefore they are secure in themselves, and exceeding censorious of others. It is true, men will say, I cannot resist rovings of heart, and vain desires, and sinful love, and carnal fear, and inordinate passions, etc. but for drunkenness and adultery, murder, persecution of the Saints, or Apostasy from Religion, and the Truths of God, I hope I am secure from these; and the man walks not in fear of them: and it's very common for young and weak Christians so to do, and they are exceeding bitter and censorious against other men, and they immediately question their estates, whom they see do fall into these sins, which they ignorantly conceive, that the very being of grace secures them from. And so it is in respect of duties, having received grace, he doth conceive, that he can pray, and hear, and perform the duties of God's worship in another manner than a natural man can, for he has received a new principle, and therefore having done a duty at one time, having trusted God, or shown forth an act of love to God, he thinks he can do the same at another time; and by this means a man is the less solicitous for an immediate supply for the discharge of such duties as he is to perform; he thinks that he has received a stock sufficient to defray the charge: It is true, says he, if I am put upon a greater temptation, or upon the performance of any higher duties, than I shall see reason to go unto Christ for a supply; but as for these ordinary things in both kinds, the grace that I have already received is sufficient for it, according unto that ordinary and natural way of concurrence of God with his own grace, which doubtless he will delight in, as he doth concur with the creatures in the common actions of their lives; and so a man's sufficiency in point of strength is much in reference unto the strength of grace that he has received, either to perform duties, or to resist sin. And (2) as it is for matter of strength, so it is for matter of comfort also, having received grace from God, men turn in upon themselves, and by a reflection upon their own graces they think to raise their spirits under any desertion or dejection whatsoever; and therefore when they walk in the dark at any time, they are immediately poring upon their own graces, to see what witness their own spirits will give unto them, and by the evidence of their own hearts they conceive, that they can comfort themselves at any time, when they are in a doubt in the matter of their estates towards God. Principale speculum ad videndum Deum est animus rationalis inveniens seipsum: hoc speculum verus poenitens non cessat quotidie inspicere, Bernard. de inter. Domo, The principal glass of seeing God is the rational soul, which a true Penitent inspects daily. Now a man looks into his own spirit, and sees his own face in this glass, and upon this glass he that should see God sees himself, and by this means thinks to raise and quicken and comfort himself from day to day, which is the true reason why most Christians spend much more time in looking upon the witness of water, than upon that of blood, or of the Spirit, on the witnesses upon Earth much more than to the witnesses in Heaven. 2. There is a great policy of Satan therein: if it were in the power of the Devil man should never receive any good from God; for he that envied the good estate of man at first in which he was created, touched him with the same devilishness that was in himself, and thereby became a murderer from the beginning; for he left no good in the man, In me, Rom. 7. that is, in my flesh there dwells no good thing; and he doth as truly desire and endeavour from the same principle of envy to keep out all good, as at first he did to cast it out; but if the Lord will sow wheat, and the envious man cannot prevent the seedtime, than he will take the opportunity to sow tares also with the wheat, that he shall dishonour God with the grace that he has received from him, and with it sacrifice unto himself, who is under Satan the great Idol, and by honouring himself he doth sacrifice unto Satan all the while; and so a man placing his sufficiency in grace received, even grace itself, if it were possible, should tend unto his destruction, that was a special grace, and with special and eternal love was given for his salvation; for Satan looks upon grace in the Saints as being the image of God, and as his greatest enemy, and that which he hates more than he does the souls of men, or any thing in the world; for his main malice is at godly men only, because they bear God's image; for his hatred is directly against God, it is unto us but collaterally, and in the second place; as the Saints love God, and they love grace for God's sake, so the Devil directly hates God, and he hates grace as being that by which God is most honoured; therefore his greatest designs are to pervert grace in the Saints, he will keep men as long as he can to stand out against grace, and resist it as long as he can, that the strong man armed may keep the house; but if he cannot keep grace out of the heart, than his next design is to advance grace above a creature, and set it in the place of God and Christ, and make grace itself to be an Idol, and the man to place his sufficiency in it, and his dependence upon it; and he knows that God is engaged against the habits of grace in the man, though they be the works of his own Spirit, the Apostle saith that there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, an occasion that sin will take from the Law of God written in the book; Rom. 7. and so it will from the Law of God written in the heart also; and therein the devilishness and the wisdom of the flesh in a great measure lies, that as the wise God doth make advantage by sin, and temper the greatest poison into the most wholesome Cordial, as we see in Viper-wine, if it be not well mixed, it presently kills; so the richest Cordial, even the grace of God, Satan tempers with his ingredients into the strongest poison, that it may be occultum & profundum malum quòd homo non malus bonis operibus sese vestiat & alat; sed & ipsius fidei titulo sese palpet & venditet, etc. Serpentis antiqui caput hoc est, Luther. Luther Tom. 2. Thus as the Lord works by contraries bringing light out of darkness, and the greatest good sometimes out of the greatest evil; so doth Satan also work by contraries, and delights to do it, to bring darkness out of light, and to bring the greatest evil out of that which is the greatest good, even grace itself, for quò quis sanctior, eò pejor, the better the worse, if he place his sufficience and dependence upon the grace he has received; for that is Idolum speciosissimum, the most specious evil. Now that I may take the Saints off from a dependence upon their own graces, and that their sufficiency may be placed in God alone, consider these particulars. 1. Though grace be the best of all the creatures, and the image of God, and a new Creation wrought by the Spirit of Christ, which the Lord takes more delight in than he doth in all the creatures, and without which he can take no pleasure in any of them; yet grace is but a creature, and therefore the common nature of a creature doth belong to it, and that is to be defectible and subject in its own nature to decay. It's true, Eph. 4.24. Col. 3.10. that it is the same image that is renewed in us, which we lost in Adam. Now as the image in Adam was subject to decay, so in its own nature this is also. As it is with the Angels, though they be confirmed in grace, and can never fall away (so it is with the souls of just men made perfect) yet being creatures, there is a defectibility in them, a possible folly, though not actual, Job 4.18. he charges his Angels with folly, etc. and so there is in grace itself, it's true, grace cannot decay, but it is not properly from any thing that is in itself, but from a double ground: (1) Ex foedere gratiae, from the Covenant of Grace, in which the Lord has promised that he will keep them, it's an everlasting Covenant to put his fear in their hearts, Jer. 32.40. that they shall never departed from him; For we are kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto salvation, 1 Pet. 1. and so we cannot fall away, not ex interna renatorum constitutione, not from the intern constitution of the renewed, but because the faithfulness, and thereby the power of God is engaged for their preservation. (2) Ex fonte gratiae, from the Fountain of Grace; for the fountain of it is not in a man's self, it is of his fullness that we receive grace for grace; 1 Joh. 5. 1●. it is the image of the Son, and so it is not from God immediately, but as being laid up in him. So there is a great deal of difference between the image of God in Adam and in the Saints, Gen. 11. as Austin has well observed, De Corruption & Gratia, there is non solùm posse quod volumus, sed velle quod possumus: if the fountain of it were in ourselves, it might decay; but it being laid up in Christ, and he being by virtue of the personal Union impeccable, so long as grace in Christ doth not decay, it cannot decay in the Saints; for he has said, Because I live, Luther. you shall live also, Joh. 14.19. Quàm hominibus impossibile est mixtum fermentum à pasta separare, tam impossibile est diabolo Christum ab Ecclesia separare, Luth. therefore place not your sufficiency in a creature, for grace received is no more. 2. It is contrary to the very nature of grace to be made the ground of a man's dependence, for grace in its own nature is properly to be dependent upon another, and the fountain of its sufficiency is in another; therefore God is called the God of all grace, and the Spirit is the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of faith and love and joy; for all graces are fruits of the Spirit, Gal. 5. Joh. 3. and a man is said to be born of the Spirit upon this ground; Christ is the root, and we are the branches, he is the head, and we are the members; and therefore the fountain of the life of grace is in him, and not in us, the fountain of our life is Christ, and we live by union with him a life of holiness, as well as a life of righteousness; all is by union with him. And therefore some very learned men have maintained, That there are no habits of grace in us at all, but that we live by an immediate influence from the Spirit of Christ, which dwelling in us, doth act our spirits sometimes in a way of faith, sometimes in a way of love, sometimes in a way of godly sorrow, etc. which I cannot consent to, as being an extreme on the other hand; we are said to be new creatures, and created in Christ, and we are said to have faith and hope as fruits of the Spirit dwelling in us; and therefore we are exhorted to stir them up, and to act them, and to grow in them; and they are said to decay in us, and to increase in us, which cannot be in respect of acts merely by the Spirit of God working upon us, but we have truly a life within us, that is, an inward principle that puts forth vital actions, Gal. 2.20. but yet it is a life that is maintained by union; and therefore though Paul saith, I live, yet he looks off from himself immediately upon the fountain of his life, and the manner of the conveyance of it, and that is by union continually; Phil. 1.19. and therefore Phil. 1.19. we read of a supply of the Spirit, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, est dux chori, or as some say, quòd ornamenta suppeditat sacras choreas agentibus, and so is as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Jul. Pol. pag. 145. publicum subire munus, or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Gymnasiis praeesse; and therefore he says, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, pag. 147. and for the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, some render it by subministrare, and so it notes a sweet, but yet hidden and secret supply; some insuper suppedito, to supply, aid, and all to add something to what a man had before, and some make use of that rule 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in compositione intendit significationem, and so they read it abundè suppeditare: from all which there are these particulars in the words. (1) That the Spirit is not communicated unto the Saints as a Spirit of Grace all at once, but by degrees, and this in a secret and an unobserved way. (2) That the Spirit hath undertaken this work as a public office and administration in the Church of Christ. (3) That the supplies of the Spirit come in by the teaching of the Spirit. (4) That the Spirits supplies are rich and abundant supplies in all things necessary unto the salvation of the Saints. Now the more any sin is against nature, as we say murder is, and unthankfulness is, and disobedience to parents is, the more hateful it is, and there is a principle in nature that is against all such sins in a special manner: and so is this also an unnatural sin, for grace to be set up in a man by God the Author of it, and yet for a man to deal so unnaturally with God, as to make the grace he hath received from him his own sufficiency, and neglect the God who alone is alsufficient. 3. No man is able to act the grace that he hath received. Christ tells his Disciples plainly, Joh. 15.5. Without me you can do nothing; not only by virtue of our union with Christ is our grace acted, but there must be a daily and a continual influence from Christ also, 2 Cor. 3.5. and the Apostle says, We are not sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, etc. As there is an immediate dependence of all creatures upon the first cause, so there is of grace also upon its first cause: now Deus agit immediatè cum omni agente creato, God acts immediately in all; so it's here also, and if the Lord will suspend but his own actings, no creature can act or do any thing; as we see it in the fiery Furnace, in which the King of Babylon put the three Children, the fire remained true fire still, for it immediately consumed the men that were thrown in, but yet the Lord suspended the actum secundum, the second act of the creature, and it could not burn the three Children: as it is in the creature, so it is in grace much more; but the one is a natural, and the other is a supernatural concurrence, and therefore hath a more special and supernatural dependence and influence: now the Spirit is a free Agent, he works where, and when, and in what manner he pleaseth, sometimes God doth as it were withdraw himself from us, and then all our grace is becalmed, for it is as wind to the sails, and therefore we read of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the plerophory of faith: it is taken from the wind filling of the sails; for the Spirit of God is compared to wind; when he will fill the sail, a man is carried on with a full gale, or else he cannot move, he can but lie in the harbour, so that though the man hath grace, yet he can never be able to perform one good duty, either inward or outward, without further assistance. It is true, that the Lord doth commonly concur with grace, according to the measure given to the soul, as he doth with the rest of the creatures according to their kind; but yet the Lord will sometimes withdraw to let them see where their strength lies, and where the fountain of all their grace is, he will use his Prerogative, and leave a soul to itself, and then resolve a Christian into his principles; and one would think, having such a good foundation laid, such a stock laid in a man, he can think well, or speak well, or do well when he pleases, and he may begin to rouse up himself as at other times, as Samson did, no, he hath not so much as a sufficiency to think a good thought, all the grace that he hath cannot procure it to him. 4. All the grace that a man hath cannot free him from temptations, nor secure him from falling into the greatest and the foulest evil that a godly man is capable of. (1) It preserves a man from no temptation; grace could not preserve Adam in Paradise, or Christ himself from being tempted, whose grace was perfect: Prosper. Viatoris gratia neminem intentabilem facit, The grace of a viator makes no man intentable; and therefore we see what dangerous temptations the Saints have had; Satan stood against David, as he did against Joshua, Zac. 3. but it was against the one for temptation, and the other for accusation, and grace could preserve from neither. (2) It cannot preserve a man from the greatest and the foulest falls; as we see how David fell into adultery, and murder, and numbering the people; and Samson also to the same sin of uncleanness again and again; and Peter denied his Master, and began to curse and to swear, that he never knew him, he wished upon himself the most terrible and dreadful curses, if he knew the man. There are only two sins that a godly man is secure from by the state of grace, and that is, the sin against the Holy Ghost, and final impenitency; but it is not the grace that is in a man that doth secure him from falling into sin, but the state of grace by reason of his Head Christ Jesus, to whom he is united, and by reason of the Covenant under which he stands; therefore there is no sufficiency in that grace that will not preserve a man from the greatest sins and foulest falls; and indeed how is it possible that it should preserve us, that cannot preserve itself? as Austin did deride and mock the gods of the Heathen, They that cannot keep themselves but are stolen away, much less could they keep others; so it is of grace also, etc. 5. This will certainly provoke God against thy grace; though it be his own work, yet he will let it decay, as he doth his own Ordinances of the Law, which are called beggarly rudiments, and Nehushtan, a little piece of brass: God will abase the excellency of all creatures that we make an Idol of, and the Lord will let you see, that your grace cannot preserve you: and therefore there are two reasons why God hath let the Saints fall, and hath set before you their example. (1) Ostendit infirmitatem nostram, ut timeamus. Luther. (2) Judicium suum, quòd minus nihil ferre possit, quàm superbiam, He shows (1) our infirmity, that we may fear. (2) His judgement, how much he hates pride. For it is for this cause that he doth give up the Saints unto such gross and dangerous falls, either to prevent pride, or to cure it; and therefore Bernard demands, Why, when the people of God do pray for grace above all things, God many times denies them the degree of grace that they desire? Oportet ipsam gratiam temperari, ne in elationis vitium incidamus, pag. 521. interdum subtrahitur gratia, interdum retrahitur, To keep from pride, etc. all is grounded upon pride, vel superbia, quae jam est, vel quae futura est, etc. pag. 729. either the pride that already is in the heart, or that which may be. 6. The supplies of grace the more immediate they are, the sweeter they are; for they come with a greater favour from the fountain of grace, from which they flow; 2 Cor. 12. My grace is sufficient for thee: and a Saint hath more sweetness when grace comes in from God and Christ immediately, than if it were in his own power or hand, to lay it out upon himself at his own pleasure: and as in respect of creatures, a supply from God immediately is sweeter than all the second causes in the world, as the woman's meal was better than if she had it still in her own hand; so much more is the supply of grace, dulcius ex ipso fonte, etc. for hereby Christ is immediately honoured, and there is a continued love testified: it was the first sin and the first temptation to be simile Deo, scilicet ut bonorum suorum ipse sibi sit fons, ipse sibi copia, to be like God, the fountain of good to himself, Prosper. etc. a godly man hates it, and curseth it to Hell from whence it came: as God hath laid up all grace in Christ, as the Steward to dispense it, so a gracious soul desires and delights it should be in Christ's hand, rather than in his own, and he would not take it out of Christ's hand, or make himself the fountain of his own grace for a world; for he says, My life is in Christ, and because he lives, I shall live also. Use 3 §. 3. It serves also for exhortation unto all you that have chosen the Lord for your God, that you be content with him alone, though you have nothing else; for there is an alsufficiency in him; he that was sufficient unto himself before there was any creature in Heaven and Earth, his selfsufficiency shall be thy alsufficiency: it is your Election that gives you an interest in God, Josh. 14.22. you have chosen the Lord unto yourselves, the Lord will not put himself upon any man, but he doth enlighten their minds, and sets the will at liberty to choose him for himself; for every man's portion is of his own choice, he is in this sense, though not in the Arminian notion, propriae fortunae faber, etc. so Dagon became the god of the Philistines, and Chemosh the god of the Amorites, it was by their own election: and having chosen the Lord God Jehovah to be your God, O study him, let your heart be rapt up in the contemplation of him; there is a kind of ecstasy in love, there is a rapture, which is nothing else but supremus contemplationis gradus & mentis excessus, the supreme degree of contemplation and excess of mind, and be exhorted to use all the means to know God. There are three ways by which we may know God: (1) Viâ negationis, by way of negation, denying all the imperfections that are in the creatures to be in him. (2) Causalitatis, in a way of causality, all the good that is in the creatures comes from him, as its proper cause. (3) Eminentiae, in a way of eminence, and therefore all is in him, and in him in a more glorious manner than is or can be in the creatures: a man should use to set God before him in his greatness and in his glory, see him as a Sea, as being without banks or bottom; this is life eternal, to know God. O it is good for a man to drown his thoughts in this Sea; to cast himself into it by a holy meditation, and think till his thoughts be at a loss, till he can think no more. As a poor troubled soul, when he looks upon the wrath of God, his soul is swallowed up with it, and he can think himself into an endless maze, till he lose himself; so you should do in the alsufficiency of God, they are the narrow thoughts that we have of God, that are dishonourable to him, and are also uncomfortable to us, my thoughts are not as your thoughts; he is able to do above all that we can ask or think; according to thy fear such is thy wrath: and when you have viewed him in this manner, and found that there is a good in him beyond all things, more than thy thoughts and desires can reach, and what thou canst desire is not to be compared to him, (and yet the heart of man can frame to itself vast desires) now say, This God shall be my God for ever and ever, and in him alone will I place my happiness and hope, I will be content with him alone, though I have nothing else; Lam. 3.4. and let this be the full resolution and bent of thy heart so to do, The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. It's true, that all men will acknowledge that God is the Fountain of life and the chiefest good, but it is in o'er tantùm, only in mouth; but the Church brings in her soul speaking it as verbum mentis, the word of her mind, it's that which my soul doth embrace and consent unto; and that will make a man to be contented with him alone, Psal. 37. and he will go out to no other; and so it was with David, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee, etc. Now wherein is this contentment of soul in God to be found and manifested? 1. The soul lays up all in God, in him alone, it hath nothing out of God, as it hath nothing apart from God; for a godly man enjoys all in God, and God in all things, so that there is nothing that is not to be found in him: Thou art a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of my head; the Lord is my rock and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my strength, my buckler, the horn of my salvation, my high tower; the Lord is my light and my salvation; the Lord is the strength of my life: it's sweet to see all to be in God, it's glorious to see the fullness that is in Christ, the beauty of him who is our Husband; but it is much more to see it in God, he is objectum ultimatum fidei, the ultimate object of faith, in whom the soul doth ultimately rest; and the Lord is all these, (1) unitiuè, unitedly, all of them are united in him, they do all meet in him as lines in a centre, they are scattered in the creatures, but they are one in him; as the Attributes of God are diversified according to their objects, but they are one in God, so are all the excellencies of the creature, and therefore he is a Sun; Psal. 48.11. all the light that was scattered abroad all over the earth, the Lord united in that body of the Sun, and made it a glorious body, because all light is in it; so all the excellencies and sufficiency that are continued and scattered in broken rays in the creatures, are all united in him. (2) It is in God eminenter, eminently, so that he shall be unto us the end of all things in a far more glorious manner than any creature can be; Deut. 32.31. their Rock is not like our Rock, there is no God like our God, there is no God that can save after this sort, he is deliverance, Dan. 3.29. he is protection, provision, and consolation, and salvation in such a way as no creature can be fully: indeed the creatures are good in their kinds, and they do fetch in supplies to one another, but it's still but as a creature; but God doth it in the manner of a God, as having all eminently in him; there is something of infiniteness, something that manifests a God, wherein God appears. (3) Causatiuè, causally; the Lord is all things as being the cause of them all. Who laid up all these things in the creatures? was it not the Lord? doth not all provision come out of his store-house? and doth not all protection from the creature come from himself? Zac. 2.5. I will be a wall of fire round about Jerusalem; they had no wall; but what is wanting, says God, I will supply it; and they were never so guarded, they never lay down in so much peace, though the enemies were enraged against them round about; the Psalmist saith, The Lord takes my part, Psal. 118.7. therefore I shall see my desire upon them that hate me: and the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. It's true, that there is something in creatures, but they are but instruments in his hand, and there is but so much good as he will put into them, and no more; so much wisdom, so much power, and so much provision as he will put into them, and no more; and the same creatures that are now used for you, he can turn against you; Armies and Navies, and wise men, and great men shall all combine against you for evil, as they have appeared for your good, if you forsake God. 2. Having God, the soul doth not run out after other things in an anxious and a solicitous way; but having him he saith, I have enough, whether I have much or little. Gen. 33.9, 11. Esau seemed to have a kind of contentment in the creatures, but he says only, I have much, multum habeo; but there is another kind of speech of Jacob, Sunt mihi omnia, I have all: having God, the soul hath room for no more, for you can have but all, and he that hath the Lord for his God hath all things else; and so Paul saith, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, I abound and am full, a little supply is fullness to him, because there is God in all he hath; and therefore he looks upon all things else as things indifferent, if he have them they are not his portion, and he doth not set his heart upon them; and therefore when other men are busied all their days in a traffic of creatures, yet there is to him but one Pearl of great price, Phil. 3.20. his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, conversation or merchandise is in Heaven, all things here below are dross, My heart panteth, my strength faileth me, saith David; but the wicked his heart runs to and fro from one market of the creatures to another, and hunts what he can get of them; for his treasure is in the things below, he hath all his good things in this life, and his hope in this life, and then a man is miserable; but while other men are hunting for the creatures, as it's said of Nimrod, He was a mighty hunter before the Lord, it was for a Kingdom that he did hunt: there is a prey that all such men do pursue, as the Lord threatens, Jer. 16.16. I will bring many fishers and hunters upon you, that is, the Chaldeans, men skilful to take all prey, and they shall be hot and fierce in the pursuit of it; but the prey that the Saints hunt after is this, Ego Deum venor meum, etc. I hunt after my God, he that hath drunk of this water, his thirst is allayed in respect of all creature-comforts for ever; and therefore it is enough whether he hath little or much; and he can be content with the things that are present, as the exhortation is, Heb. 13.5. and who can be more happy than that man, cui omnia sunt ex voto? humiles sunt, hoc volunt, pauperes pauperie delectantur. Allow them but the Lord for their portion, and they can easily spare the things of this world unto the men of the world, and leave the pursuit of these things to them that have no higher good to follow. 3. He only fears the loss of God; if he can but keep God with him still, he fears nothing else, Psal. 27.1, 2. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? so long as God is with him, there is no fear enters into him. What misery or affliction is there in this world, that I cannot object God against it all? tell me of poverty, and can he be poor that has an interest in him that is Lord of all? tell me of disgrace, the Lord is my glory, and the lifter up of my head; tell me of danger, the Lord is my rock, and my shield, my high tower, if I can but keep him to me, it's enough for me: only the soul remembers that the rule is, The Lord is with you while you be with him. Now when his soul departs from God, 2 Chron. 15.2. than he remembers that it may befall the Saints sometimes that their shield is departed, and the Lord will give them up; their rock has sold them; Deut. 32.30. and therefore his great solicitude is to keep God with him, his fear is ne discedat, lest he depart, and this is the ground of a double fear that is in the Saints, they fear the Lord, and they fear sin, which provokes God to departed from them; and therefore chrysostom speaks it of Paul, and it was the same Spirit that is recorded to be in himself, and therefore he did intimate it de laudibus Pauli, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and therefore it was the same message that he sent to Eudoxa, when she breathed out threaten against him, and sought his life, tell her that I fear nothing but sin; and therefore, Rom. 8. If God be with us, who can be against us? All the creatures are reconciled when God is reconciled, and they can do neither good nor evil, but as they are acted by him; and therefore the creatures are never against us, till God arm them against us, for they are all of them at his dispose, and it's no matter who is against us if God be with us; for they are but as the briers and thorns in battle against the fire walking in the middle of stubble; and truly this is the very condition of Saints in this world, when God is with them, there is a fire that goes out of their mouths, and destroys their enemies, Rev. 11.6. and he that will hurt them must in this manner be killed: they are never in any danger while their portion is with them; but woe to them when the Lord departs from them; therefore all their care is to keep with God. 4. They are not much troubled with the loss of all other things. It's true, they know that they must part with them, and they can do it with comfort when it is to enjoy God. A man that has a yoke-fellow that is truly the wife of his bosom, whom he loves as his own soul, in whom he delights above all creatures, both in her person, and in her graces, yet he saith, Farewell, I can part with you with joy, as the Martyr said, My Christ is dearer to me than all; if I were to live here, I would choose you above all the creatures; but now my portion is in him that is all in all, farewell. A man can with joyfulness bid an everlasting farewell to many comforts here, having his heart born up with his interest in God and his alsufficiency; whereas other men, if you take away their estates and creature-comforts, you take away their hearts also: Gen. 44.30. for as it was said of Jacob, That his life was bound up in the life of the lad; so it is with them, if a friend be taken away, they sorrow as men without hope, and will go down to the grave mourning: but it's not so with a Saint, when he lives upon his portion, he considers, when he loses a creature-comfort, there is a bucket broken indeed, but the fountain remains, the way of conveyance is changed, but the same God that was all to me in that comfort, will be the same to me in another; and therefore his soul is not troubled much at the loss of any of the creatures, for his portion lies not in them; he is as rich as he was before, for they are no part of his treasure, his treasure is in Heaven, Luther. Mat. 6.21. Moritur tibi pater, filius, uxor, amittis rem, gloriam, sed non Christum; & quid magni est quòd uxor, quòd liberi perierint, cùm non periit Deus? And therefore when a soul comes to die, his eye runs unto the recompense of reward, the glory that is set before him, and that makes him forget that which is behind, and what he doth leave behind also; the sight thereof is so alluring and ravishing to his soul, that it's a small thing to part with any thing for it; he that can sell all for Christ with joy, when the glory of Christ is discovered in the Gospel, surely much more can he with joy part with all, when he has the glory of God set before him, and is now about to enter into his master's joy. 5. Do not envy at the prosperity of the men of the world; for he that doth envy another man's condition, it argues he is not content with his own: it's true, there is a spirit in us that doth lust unto envy, Jam. 3. and it may prevail far upon a godly man, as we see it did upon the Psalmist, Psal. 73. Because waters of a full cup are wrung out to him; and therefore many godly men's hearts are bitter, because of the prosperity of the wicked. Now compare thy portion with theirs; as it's said, Two Ambassadors met, the French and Spanish, and one boasting of the greatness of his Master's Dominions, he was King of Spain and King of Arragon, Catalonia, Portugal; the other answered to them all, That his Master was King of France, implying, that there was more worth and wealth in his one Kingdom, than in all the Dominions of the other, set them all together: and so it is here, one man hath wealth, but I have God, saith the Saint; and he hath honour and esteem here in the world, but saith the Saint, I have God; there is no compare between the portion of the wicked and the portion of the godly; nay we should rather pity them in two things. (1) They have their portion here, they have received their consolation, it is all that ever they are like to have from the Lord: as when you see a young man have a portion of money left him, and he flaunts it out, and is in all his glory, you say it will be spent, and he hath no yearly income, this is all, it hath no root that it may grow again, as all the contentments of the Saints have. (2) To have a fullness of all things here, and to have their eyes closed up by the creatures, and their spirits drowned in them, to go out of a great estate to meet nothing, and leave all behind them, as Dives from all his riches to want a drop of water, to go from all his glory to shame and everlasting contempt, to say as Adrian the Emperor did, Animula vagula, etc. what a misery is it? and it is a token of a man's content, when he would not be in another's condition, but thinks his own to be best, as Paul said to Agrippa, when he stood to be judged, he did not wish himself in the King's condition, but the King in his, as the greatest Kings will do one day, O that I might die the death of the righteous! 6. Rejoice in God, Phil. 4.4. bless your souls in your choice: let thy soul go out to him with a holy kind of complacency from day to day. As a man that hath chosen a yoke-fellow, and is pleased in his choice, he can delight himself in her, she is to him as the young Hind, and the pleasant Roe, Prov. 5.19. so it is with God much more; a Saint takes more comfort in the thoughts of God, and meditation of him, than in all the comforts of the creatures in Heaven or Earth, and therefore thoughts of God do secretly steal away his heart with a sweet and unspeakable delight: as it is with a man in the pleasures of sin, his soul is stolen away with the thoughts of them insensibly, much more is it so with the thoughts of God; as the Lord having chosen us, doth rejoice over us as a Bridegroom over his Bride, Hephzibath, much more should we rejoice in him as our portion. There are two things wherein joy is exercised: (1) Contemplation, when a man takes a view of the happiness of his own condition by reason of his interest, as Nabuchadnezzar doth, Is not this great Babel that I have built? and Jezebel to Ahab, Dost not thou now govern Israel? So a Saint, Is not the Lord my portion in the land of the living? (2) There is a dilatation in joy, it doth enlarge the heart, and thereby prepares it for the entertainment of the object; for it doth transport, or carry a man beyond himself; as we see in David's dancing before the Ark; and the Saints should be much in rejoicing in God, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. 7. Make your boast of God, glory and triumph in him, Psal. 97.7. My soul shall make her boast of God: as it's said of wicked men that boast themselves in their vain gods, etc. so a Saint should make his boast in God, and say, I have made a sweet choice, I have a goodly heritage; and undervalue all other Beloved's in comparison of your own, There is no God like unto our God. Make your challenge to the men of the world, and bid them bring forth all the gods of the world, and let them be compared with Jehovah; there is none like the Lord; therefore in thy choice bless thy soul that there is no rock like our Rock; this God is our God, and there is none besides him; triumph over all thy enemies and their opposition, In thy strength we shall tread down our enemies, bear yourselves high upon your God, despise them, say, The virgin daughter of Zion hath laughed thee to scorn; we care not though they be gathered together against us, they shall fall, for God is with us, Job 5.22. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth, etc. And this is to have a selfsufficiency, and to have a man's mind conformed to the greatness of his interest: these things can never be known but by experience and practice: nunquam futurum, ut quis speculatiuè tantùm fiat Christianus, none ever became a Christian by speculation only. Use 4 §. 4. See and observe from hence the happy condition of the Saints, that they have an interest in the alsufficiency of God, Psal. 144. ult. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord. It's a special duty that lies upon the people of God, to maintain in themselves high thoughts of their own interest, and the excellency of their condition; and a special step to bring men in to God, is to have their thoughts raised, and a high esteem of the blessed condition of them that have an interest in him: and here consider, 1. It's the highest way of honouring God that can be in this life. It's a great honour to God for a man to see so much excellency in him as to choose him at the first sight; but many a man that doth so, may afterwards fall from his former apprehensions, and then his former affections do wax cold; as there is many a man makes choice of Christ, and calls him the chiefest often thousand, and yet afterwards it may be said to him, Where is the blessedness you spoke of? Gal. 4.15. it is still the same it was in itself, but it was not so in their apprehensions; it's said, many of the followers of Christ went back from him, Joh. 6. and the Apostle speaks of men that do draw back, Heb. 10.39. Heb. 10.39. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, subauditur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, so Grot. We are not subductionis filii, in which is an Hebraism, and it signifies two things. [1] Men excellent or eminent in any thing, addicted or inclined unto it, are said to be the sons of it, as 2 Sam. 2.7. there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sons of valour, men eminent in it. [2] It signifies a man destinated and appointed unto it, as 1 Sam. 20.31. Saul saith of David he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a son of death, a man judged and appointed unto death. Now there are some men that are the sons of Apostasy, men that are of themselves addicted and inclined to it, and they are by God judged to it, of old ordained, Judas 4. and it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which is subductio, a secret withdrawment in an unobserved way, not an Apostasy from the profession of the Truth, but a receding of the affections, and the inward dispositions of the soul they recoil; for as Job 31.27. he speaks of a man's heart being secretly enticed, and so there is a secret withdrawment of the inward man, and blessed is that Christian who keeps up his esteem of spiritual things, and that his apprehensions of them rise rather than fall; for love is grounded upon esteem, and as a man's apprehensions do decay, so will his affections also. Now this is the highest love that can be, when a man upon second thoughts, reflex thoughts can approve and applaud his own choice, and can bless himself in his heart, and say, I would not have it otherwise: so doth Paul show his love to Christ, I have and I do, Phil. 3.7. yea doubtless and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, etc. and so do the men of the world show their love unto the things of the word, Psal. 49.18. While he lived he blessed his soul; and they are looked upon as the blessed and happy men by all the world, etc. that if a man were to choose his own lot, he would be in such a man's condition; but a godly man, if he had all the estates and conditions of the world before him, yet he would choose and prefer this before them all, to have an interest in God: As reflex acts do most fully show the settling of the soul in a sinful way, that a man doth approve of it afterwards, as by continuing impenitent in it, it is manifest; as the Devil, non invenit locum poenitentiae, ergo nec veniae, Bernard. so there is nothing that doth show the establishment of the soul so much upon God as this doth, that a man can reflect and take a review, and say, I would not have it otherwise for all the world; as these reflex thoughts of our interest in God are most comfortable unto us, so they are most honourable unto God also. 2. It's this that doth make a man to set light by the scorns and derisions that are put upon him by the world: it's true, that such are counted the only fools, men of low thoughts and weak spirits, that cannot please themselves with the face and glory of the times, as other men do; but the Saint saith, when he makes comparisons, (and that is one way of exercising of faith) There is no Rock but our God, Deut. 32. Jer. 14.22. their rock is not as our Rock, the enemies themselves being judges: the soul dares to compare with them all; Are there any amongst the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are called vanity, quia non subsistunt, non prosunt, because they neither subsist nor profit; so the soul says, Look upon all the gods of the world, Can they do this? as Saul said in a brag when he had almost ruined the Kingdom (for David saith it was weak, he bore up the pillars of it) will the son of Jesse give you fields and vineyards? etc. is there any comparison between the happiness that you enjoy under me, and what you are like to do under him? 1 Sam. 22.7, 17. And so the Saints of God say; and therefore they are content, as a worldly man is, populus mihi sibilat, at mihi plaudo, and that's enough, let the men of the world take their portion, but they are not like the portion of Jacob, Jer. 10.16. and therefore whatever they are in other men's esteem, so long as they are blessed in their own, they are happy, Nemo aliorum sensu miser est, sed suo, & ideò non possunt cujuscunque falso judicio esse miseri, qui sunt verè suâ conscientiâ beati, etc. Salu. pag. 8. Although wicked men upon earth can see no happiness in God, it doth no way abate the happiness of the Saints in glory who enjoy it; nay it doth the rather heighten it, when they consider that so many thousands have their portion in vanity, and yet Esa. 44.20. cannot deliver their own souls, and say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? then a man doth bless himself, and saith, Who made me to differ? As this will be a special part of the misery of the wicked at the last day, to see Abraham and Isaac and many come from the East and the West, and sit down with them in the Kingdom of Heaven, and they themselves thrust out; for the happiness of the Saints is a great means to aggravate the misery of the wicked: In die judicii gloriam beatorum videbunt, & poena eorum non minuitur, sed augebitur: (1) Propter invidiam de eorum foelicitate dolentes: (2) Propter privationem, quòd ipsi talem gloriam amiserunt, Aquin. sup. quaest. 98. art. 9 so it will be a special part of the happiness of the Saints, that they shall see the misery of the ungodly, poenas videbunt damnatorum; contraria juxta se; therefore they shall see the misery of the wicked, ut beatitudo illis magìs complaceat, etc. Aquin. sup. quaest. 93. art. 1. and the same happiness in a measure is in this life begun, that the people of God are so far from envying the happiness of the wicked, that they pity them, much more to consider how they are fed as a lamb in a large place unto the slaughter-time, and how their portion is in vain things, and they have made lies their resting place. 3. This gives unto the soul in all its necessities and straits a city of refuge; a place of retreat, when it is put upon any distress, or when it is under any pursuit whatsoever; and the Saints are sometimes greatly distressed, as 1 Sam. 30.6. David was, and then they make their retreat unto the strong holds, Zac. 9.12. satis praesidii in uno Deo. When a man is pursued by the thoughts of his own heart, then that which is his portion, the man retires to, and in the bosom thereof he lies down; as we see in Haman, his heart was unquiet, he needed a cordial, for lust is tender, and it can bear nothing, now he retires to something to refresh him, Hest. 5.11. he talks of the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the King had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the rest of the Princes, etc. and by this he doth make a recruit unto his unquiet spirit; for it is from a man's chief good that in any trouble a man's cordial must be fetched; and so it is with a godly man also, Prov. 18.10, 11. The name of the Lord is a strong tower; and the rich man's wealth is his strong tower, they have each of them in all difficulties and dangers a retiring place, suitable unto what is their chief good; and here is the misery of an ungodly man, that when dangers come, his retiring place will not support him, but the storm doth sweep away his refuge of lies, and the waters overflow his hiding place, Esa. 28.17. as a man that in a storm gets to a shelter, but there is an interpluvium, it doth drop upon a man, and haply wet him the more; in a storm he casts anchor, but the anchor comes home, and is not able to be a stay unto his tossed vessel; they do hang all their hopes upon a nail, and it's not fastened in a sure place, and so it doth not uphold the burden, Esa. 22.23. but it's never so with the Saints, when they are pursued with temptations, with guilt, with fears on the right hand and on the left, Prov. 18.10. yet Prov. 18.10. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe, the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it doth signify to be exalted, that is, to be set on high, out of reach, and so out of the fear of danger; it is not only a strong place munitus, fortified, sed sublimis, very high, Rev. 21.12, 16. Rev. 21.12, 16. it is a great and a high wall that had twelve foundations, and therefore must needs be strong and impregnable, and for the height it was 12000 furlongs; and this wall is nothing else but that in Zac. 2.5. The Lord will be a wall of defence unto them, that he that is within this wall, and hath gotten under this shelter, need not fear. 4. It's this that will keep and guard the heart from going out unto any thing else whatsoever it be, because a man hath high thoughts of his sufficiency in God alone; for the true reason why men do go out to any thing else, is because they believe not the alsufficiency of God; and the reason why the Saints that do believe in truth, have sallyings of heart out to the creatures, is because there is something wanting in their faith in this particular, Phil. 4.7. Phil. 4.7. there is a peace of God which is a quieting of the soul in the wisdom and alsufficiency of God, when in his way we have committed all unto him, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. it doth guard the heart, and nothing else, it sets a strong guard upon the whole inward man, this wall is as well that none should break out, as that none should break in, it defends from all enemies, it's this that makes the souls of the glorified Saints impeccable, visio beatifica reddit impeccabiles. Now what is there in the beatifical vision so advantageous to a soul? (1) Cognition; a man doth perfectly know all the glory of God; and the Saints that know most of him here, he will hereafter come to be admired of them, 2 Thess. 1.10. and we know that admiration is the overplus of expectation, they will say when they come to Heaven, the one half was not told them, Oh how little a portion is known of him! (2) Application; there shall be a perfect application unto a man's soul, that he shall know his own interest in him, that all this is his right, that it is his father's pleasure to make it to be his portion, which doth here much abate all the joy of the Saints in this life, that many times the soul is not able to apply the portion he hath in God to himself. (3) There is Fruition, which implies both actual possession and glorious satisfaction. And he that finds this in the Lord and his alsufficiency, he cannot go out unto any thing else; for his soul is filled with it, In thy presence is fullness of joy, Psal. 16. ult. and that which is full can receive no addition, as it needs none; and so far as the soul is made partaker of this vision in a fiducial way, so far it is impeccable also; and what was the true reason why the Devil did fall; what was his condemnation? 1 Tim. 3.6. it was this, that he did not look upon God as alsufficient, he would have taken in some created excellency, something of himself to have made up his sufficiency, and so he departed from the Lord; and as often as men do turn aside to any thing else, it's because the thoughts of the alsufficiency of God are not kept up in a man, and this is the way for a man to fall into the condemnation of the Devil. And this we ought so much the more to seek, because a great part of the happiness of the Lord doth consist in the contemplation of himself; and surely that which makes the Lord himself happy, will make us happy also; the satisfaction that God takes in his own excellency and sufficiency. And truly there are two things in which mainly our godliness should consist, (1) in a constant contemplation of God, and (2) a perfect obedience unto him, walking before him, and walking with him, and seeing him that is invisible, this is the great work and guard of a Saint. But wherein doth the happiness of a Saint, by reason of his interest in God's alsufficiency, consist? There are these particulars in which it makes a man very happy. 1. It supplies all a man's wants, the Lord is my shepherd, he hath undertaken both to feed and defend me, and he will surely do his office, and therefore I shall want nothing that is necessary either for my provision or my protection: The lions do lack, but they that fear the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good; if they have it not formaliter, formally, in kind, they have it eminenter, eminently, as the Sun hath light in it in a far more glorious way than any other light; if they have it not in silver, yet they have it in gold; and therefore the Apostle, 2 Cor. 6.10. puts it in with a quasi, as if sorrowful, as if poor, 2 Cor. 6.10. as if having nothing: afflictio nostra habet quasi, sed gaudium nostrum non habet, our affliction has an AS IF, but our joy none, Austin. there is but an appearance and a resemblance of the one, but there is a truth and a reality in the other: we are as those that have nothing, and yet it is but in appearance so, for in truth he that hath his interest in the alsufficiency of God, he doth possess all things: The alsufficiency of God runs through all God's Attributes, as the sincerity of a man doth through all his graces, and is to be observed in them all; the soul saith, I am in a great strait in my business, and I want direction, but in God there is alsufficient wisdom; I am a sinner, and a fresh sense of guilt is upon me, and I want remission, but there is in God alsufficient mercy; and I am under the power of a lust and of a temptation, and I want strength to overcome it, there is in God alsufficient grace, his grace is sufficient for thee; I am poor and want wealth, it's the Lord that makes rich; and I am despised, not honoured, it's the Lord that honours them that honour him; and I want friends, he doth many times give unto his own the hearts of men, and turns their hearts to love you or to hate you, he puts a man's acquaintance far from him, or brings them near to him upon all occasions; yea even the issues from death belong unto him; and it is very much sweeter to the Saints to see it, and to rely upon it, as it is in him, than if they had the mercy in their own hands; because as the promise leads a man unto Christ, and so though it be but small, yet it is a pledge of union with Christ, so though the supply be but small, yet it brings a man to the alsufficiency of God, and thereby discovers a man's propriety in God. 2. It enables a man for all the works he hath to do in the world: the Lord sent Moses in a great service to Pharaoh, and he tells him, I will be with thee; and when Moses did object he had a stammering tongue, saith God, I will be with thy tongue; and the alsufficiency of God was his sufficiency for his work: so he sends Joshua, and tells him, He will never leave him nor forsake him, and nothing shall be able to stand before him all his days: and so the Apostles were sent forth as sheep, etc. but he bids them, Go, for behold I am with you unto the end of the world. A man needs nothing else to enable him for any service but this, God is alsufficient for me; and were it not for that, there are many of God's people would sink under the apprehension of their own weaknesses, and the burdensome callings that lie upon them from day to day: Christus tunc regnat in nobis, quando nos ab operibus nostris feriatos inhabitat, cùm ipsè in nobis facit opera nostra, Luther. Christ then reigns in us, when he works in us, etc. and so a man's soul keeps a Sabbath unto Christ: as in point of Justification a man saith, My good works are the Righteousness of Christ; so in point of ability a man saith, My ability is his alsufficiency; for I am of myself able to do nothing; and therefore when a Saint looks upon himself and the greatness of the service that he is called to, he says, Who is sufficient? who can do any thing of this great work? but when he looks upon the alsufficiency of God for his supply, than he saith, Who is insufficient? I can do all things, and the greater the service is that any man is called unto, and the greater difficulties he encounters with, the more he is to take hold of the alsufficiency of God. 3. It doth disburden the soul of all its troublesome afflictions, of all a man's cares, and fears, and sorrows: it's this that doth discharge the soul of them, Psal. 27.1, 2. The Lord is my light and my salvation, Psal. 118.6. whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my glory. The Lord is on my side, I will not fear what man can do to me. It is an interrogation of knowledge and of contempt, etc. it doth silence all a man's doubts, answers all his objections: when the soul saith, I am a child, I cannot speak, God saith, I will give thee a mouth; the people are hardhearted and insufficient, but I will give thee strength of spirit answerable to thy opposition: We know not what to do, but our eyes are unto thee; I fear death, but God is in life and death alsufficient, he is the God of the dead, as well as of the living; the creatures are but vials in the hand of God: I will not pour out my wrath upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak: 2 Chron. 12.7. he is but the vial; and they are no other, who are employed by Christ as instruments of vengeance against Rome; the vials are put into their hands, it is but so much wrath in such a measure, and executed by one hand, and by another hand: so they are for good also, it is but such a measure of good done by them and of service; but the alsufficiency is of God still, and this brings a sweet rest unto the soul, fies Sabbatum Christi, there is a gracious and a holy rest of Christ in such a soul as this is. 4. It's this that doth fulfil all a man's desires; Open thy mouth wide, saith the Lord, and I will fill it: Austin. pateres in te angustias, thy straits are not in me, but in thy own heart, in thy own bowels, open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it, for I am the fountain of thy life; there is no man can open his mouth so wide, that the alsufficiency of God will not fill it: so that as the Lord is called the fear of Israel, that is, he was the sole object of his fear, the adequate object of it, he did fear him, and he did fear nothing else; so he is the desire of his people also: as Christ is called the desire of all nations, they desire him, and they desire nothing else, it is all terminated in him, so that a man hath not any thing else to desire: and the greater difference the Lord puts between men, the higher he doth advance them, the more he doth make over this as their portion, and they are satisfied with it. Levi was separated unto the Lord, of all the Tribes of Israel, but he must have no portion in the Land of Canaan, but the Lord is his portion; and who would not prefer the lot of Levi before that of all the Tribes, though he had no inheritance with them? And this makes the soul in all dangers bold as a Lion, quiet in the greatest commotions: De me comburendo consultatur, Luther. at coelum non ruet; credo & certus sum, habeo, qui causam defendat, etiamsi totus mundus in me solum insaniat, Luth. add Stampic. If there want means, he can work without them; if the means be weak, he can act above them, and so the soul is in his sufficiency at rest. Now study and try your interest in this alsufficience: if we delighted as much in spiritual things, as we do in the things of the earth, it would be unto us the sweetest study; for what can be more delightful than for a man to read over his own evidences, that having tasted the sweetness of all his comforts, he may also take a view of the tenure and title by which he holds them? 1 Pet. 1.7. the Apostle saith, that there is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 1 Pet. 1.7. the trial of a man's faith that is more precious, or more honourable, for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies both; the trial of faith is better than the trial of gold. (1) By trial a man attains a certainty, and that is precious; for according unto the excellency of the thing, so we do prise a certainty in it; gold being of all metals the most in price, therefore we are the most exact in our trials of it; we have the test, the touchstones, and the scales, etc. and all because we would not be deceived: but faith is more precious; therefore a certainty therein is more precious, that a man may know that he doth not embrace a fancy, his faith is not adulterate, but is the faith of Gods Elect. (2) There is a purity that doth arise from the trial, for by the trial of gold its dross is purged, ab adulterino distinguitur, à scoriis purgatur, etc. so it is with faith also, when it's tried by affliction from God, or by examination from ourselves, it appears the better; when the infirmities that cleave to faith are as dross to the gold, for there is something wanting in faith still. (3) The trial of gold is but for this life, ad exiguum tempus est utilis, for it is gold that perisheth; but the trial of faith refers to the life to come, for by faith a man lays hold of eternal life, and the purer the faith is, the surer the hold is. (4) The trial of gold makes it the more precious unto men, we esteem tried gold above other; and therefore the most precious gold is set forth by it, Rev. 3.18. so it is with tried faith, it makes it the more precious unto God, and therefore he doth try it, ut coram ipso gratior fiat; tried faith is more precious in God's eyes, as tried gold is to ours, as the word of the Lord is a tried word; though the people of God do prise the whole word of God, that it is dearer to them than thousands of gold and silver, yet there is no part of the word that hath so high a price with them as a tried word; as the word of faith, the more it's tried, is the more precious with us, so the grace of faith, the more it's tried, it is the more precious with God; and if the trial of faith be so precious, what is the trial of a man's interest, which is that unto which the trial of all graces tends? for the witness of water, as well as of blood, is, that we may know whether we have eternal life abiding in us, etc. But now consider for thy better trial: 1. He that hath an interest in the alsufficiency of God, hath an interest in Christ; for though the Attributes of God are his Essence, God himself; yet there is a threefold respect unto Christ that we are to have in them. (1) It is by him that we are entitled to them; for he is first in the Covenant, and we in him, and therefore in all the promises he hath a pre-eminence; therefore the Lord is first, his God, Joh. 20.17. and then our God, Joh. 20.17. it's by our interest in Christ that we have an interest in God. (2) In him all the Attributes of God are discovered and revealed, and that in such a manner as we never could have seen them, 2 Cor. 4.6. We behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ: for he is the image of the invisible God, Col. 1.15. which I cannot look upon as spoken of Christ as God, for so he is the invisible God, and equally invisible with the Father; but as Mediator, and so the glorious Attributes of God do shine and show forth themselves in him. (3) As all the Attributes of God are exercised and actuated by him, so all the mercy of God, and the wisdom of God, and the judgements and severity of God, it's all in the hand of Christ to be executed by him, for the Father hath committed all judgement to the Son, Joh. 5.22. He raiseth the dead, and he quickeneth whom he will, he bears up all things by the word of his power, he hath the keys of Hell and of death, he kills and he makes alive, etc. he hath committed all his works unto Christ, and all his Attributes are acted by him, for the ruling and ordering of these works; and he hath committed unto Christ all the promises; and all the Attributes of God are in his hand for the accomplishment of these promises, etc. it's the foundation of all a Christians comfort, when he doth see the promises of God in the hands of Christ to dispense, and the providences of God in the hand of Christ to dispense, and the Attributes of God in the hand of Christ to exercise and to actuate for both these. There is a fourfold sight of faith in this life that is exceeding glorious, to see God in Christ, Christ in God, to see Christ in us, and we in him, Joh. 14.20. 2 Cor. 5.19. he therefore that hath an interest in Christ, hath an interest in the alsufficiency of God, and none else, and we are to try our interest in Christ by the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us; for if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, the same is none of his, Rom. 8.9, 10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, and the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 2. He that hath an interest in the alsufficiency of God, doth choose this for his portion to place his happiness in, Josh. 24.22. Josh. 24.22. You have chosen the Lord to be your God: no man hath an interest in God but by choice. A man doth not only choose his way, some the broad, and some the narrow way, but men do also choose their portion; and the wisdom and folly of a man is much seen in his choice and in his esteem; and as the first going forth of the love of God to us is in his election of us, so the first going forth of our love to him is in our election of him also: and he that doth choose God aright doth choose all that is in God, as the mercy of God to pardon him, and the grace of God to heal him, and the power of God to defend him, and the holiness of God to sanctify him, the wisdom of God to guide him, and the alsufficiency of God to make provision for him; and faith is seen in the electing as well as in the consenting act of the soul: Josh. 24.23. now as, Josh. 24.23. having chosen the Lord, they must put away the strange gods that were amongst them, and incline their hearts to the Lord God of Israel, so you must cast away all sufficiency in any thing else, all creature-sufficiency, all selfsufficiency, and look upon all as vanity and emptiness, and as that which hath no sufficiency in it, and as that wherein your sufficiency doth not consist. And the word in the Hebrew doth signify three things in the Scripture: (1) Inclinavit, for the bend of a man's heart to go out that way, as Judg. 9.3. where there were two that contended for the supremacy, it's said, That their hearts inclined after Abimeleck, 1 King. 2.28. Joab inclined after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absolom: a man's heart must go out in the bent of it this way. (2) Reclinavit, for a man to rest upon a thing, Amos 2.8. You lie down upon laid to pledge, etc. and therefore the word signifies lectum, a bed upon which men lie down, or rest themselves: and so it should be here, the soul should rest and lean upon this alsufficiency of God as that which he hath chosen, and in which he rests; and therefore the word signifies baculum, a staff to lean upon. (3) Extendit, expandit, as Esa. 4.22. He stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, etc. so should a man do, he should open his heart, extend it, and stretch it out, enlarge it in all the desires and affections of it towards the alsufficiency of God; and this will be the necessary and proper fruit of such a choice of God in his alsufficiency: he therefore that hath an interest in the alsufficiency of God, hath chosen him in his alsufficiency for his God, and he that hath so done, doth put away all other gods, casts off all other sufficiencies, and doth in the bent of his soul incline to God alone, unto him he doth stretch out his soul in the latitude and utmost extent thereof, and in and upon this he doth rest, and sweetly repose himself in the middle of all difficulties and dangers whatsoever. 3. He that hath an interest in the alsufficiency of God, doth honour and exalt that Attribute in his heart; for whatever we have the comfort of, God must have the glory of; as there is not a promise, but if the soul sucks sweetness from it, it is exalted in that soul, and a man having tasted of it, doth set a high price upon it, and his soul goes out to it to live upon it all his life time; Isa. 38.10. and there is not a truth of God, but by these things men live, Esa. 38.10. wherefore the price and the glory of them doth arise in the soul, and he thinks he did never know how to value them before, he knew not what they were worth; but now he sees there is a value in them, as Luther did in Rom. 1.17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Chrys. As a man that hath found a medicine to relieve him when he was in great extremity, he lays up that as a choice receipt all his life time, and when he sees other men cast the materials of it away as a thing of no value, he saith, O! there is an excellency in it, did men know it, they would set a high price upon it, I was in such an extremity, and it relieved me; so it is with all the Attributes of God, they are exalted in the soul suitable to the use and experience that a man hath had of them: as he that doth undervalue duties, doth it because he hath not found the spiritual good that is in them; so he that doth undervalue the Attributes of God, doth it from want of experience which makes spiritual things great in our eyes; and therefore Paul having an interest in the mercy of God, we see how it was exalted in him, 1 Tim. 1.14. the grace of God was exceeding abundant, God who was rich in mercy out of his abundant love and pardoning mercy, etc. Mic. 7.18. Who is a God like to our God, that pardons iniquity, transgression, and sin? And the Saints that have perfection of holiness from him, they give him the glory of his holiness from day to day, saying, Holy, holy, holy, for the highest glory that we can give unto God here is, that we honour those Attributes in our hearts, which he doth honour in his dispensation towards us, whether it be wisdom, or holiness, or faithfulness, or patience, etc. as he doth honour the word that he doth accomplish, so we are to honour the Attributes that he doth put forth; Jah is the same name with Jehovah, and is a name of Being, denoting that God is he that hath his Being of himself, and gives being unto all things else, he that is the Fountain of Being; whence a soul having had experience of him to be such a one, lets his glory in that respect arise and be exalted in his soul: if you would have any Attribute work for you, then exalt that Attribute by trusting in it; and when it hath wrought for you, then exalt it also by glorifying of it: and as you have exalted God by his name Jah, so by his name Elshaddi, a God alsufficient also; for there is no name of God but it will be exalted in the soul, suitable to the interest that we have in it, and the taste that the soul hath of it. For there is a double putting forth of every Attribute of God savingly upon his Elect; not only a putting of it forth in his works and administrations towards them, but there is also a putting of it forth by exalting it in a man; and therein the main sweetness of the discovering of it doth lie. He therefore that hath not had the price of this Attribute raised in his soul, nor tasted the sweetness of it, nor rejoiced in it, nor adored and admired it, and God as such a one, under the apprehension of such an attribute, truly that man hath no interest in it. If a Saint cannot say that attribute is mine, and this attribute I have an interest in, yet he can admire the attribute, and give God the glory of it as an excellency in himself; and he doth not only praise God for his goodness towards him, but as it is in himself, for the glorious excellencies that are in the Divine nature; as we may see it in Hannah, 1 Sam. 2.1, 2. My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in the Lord; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies, I will rejoice in thy salvation; there is none holy as the Lord, etc. And as it is exceeding sweet unto the people of God, and a Paradise to walk from one Tree to another in the Paradise of God, and to say such a truth the Lord fulfilled unto me, in such a case, and in such an extremity, and such a promise, at such a time; so much more for a man to be able to look over all the attributes of God, and to say such a time the Lord did glorify such an attribute towards me, and such a time such a one; and to see all the attributes of God, as well as all the works of God to work together for a man's good, every one in their proper places; as the stars in their courses fought against Sisera, and the threaten of God fight against wicked men, so to have the word of God, the works of God, and the attributes of God work for a man, is their happiness and their joy. 4. He that hath an interest in the alsufficiency of God, will be raised up in his soul to an holy selfsufficiency; as there is no grace that is in Christ, but it will have a resemblance in us, so there is no attribute of God, but it hath its resemblance; therefore 1 Pet. 2.9. we are said to show forth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the virtues of him that hath called us; and in this doth properly our conformity unto God in this world lie, there is something in us that doth hold a resemblance with the attributes of God, that are manifested and put forth for us. And in this is the greatest exercise of the attributes of God for our good, when the patience of God works patience in us, and we be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful, and holy as he is holy, when the wisdom of God works wisdom in us, and there is a resemblance of the power of God in us, that we are able to do all things through Christ that strengthens us, when the greatness of God works in us a holy greatness of mind, and when the alsufficiency of God works in us a gracious selfsufficiency; for there is a selfsufficiency that is a duty, as there is a selfsufficiency that is a sin, 1 Tim. 6.6. Godliness is great gain, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 2 Cor. 9.8. Every where, and in all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. and it is that which the Apostle had learned, Phil. 4.11. so Prov. 14.14. A good man is satisfied from himself. There is self as divided from God, which is a sin, but self as united unto God, is a great duty. Selfsufficiency in opposition to the creatures is a duty, for a man can be happy without them: but selfsufficiency in opposition to God is a sin; for if a man be one with God, than a man's selfsufficiency is God's alsufficiency; for having God and that sufficiency that is in him he hath all, though amongst the creatures he hath no portion, no inheritance; when a man hath the Moon under his feet, and he can say when he sees all the world destroyed, Se nihil habere bonum tantâ mole perdendum, etc. and can look upon the general conflagration of the world, as Lot did upon Sodom in the burning, without a relenting thought, because his portion is not in them, this man hath a selfsufficiency grounded upon his interest in the alsufficiency of God; for as the Apostle saith of the Fathers, Heb. 11.13. That choosing to be pilgrims they did declare plainly, that they did seek a country; so when we see the Saints of God to seek after no creature-sufficiency, and not to place their happiness and the stay of their lives upon them, it is a plain argument, that they have their sufficiency in something else, there is something else that doth bear up and elevate their spirits, which can be nothing else but the acting of their souls upon the alsufficiency of God. Use 5 §. 5. All you that have an interest in the alsufficiency of God, walk before him and be upright, Gen. 17.1, 2. for what need a man to turn aside to any other, what need had he to hasten after another god? Psal. 16.4. If the alsufficiency of God be yours, he that is self-sufficient for his own happiness, surely he will be alsufficient for yours; and therefore there is no need to wander after the pleasures of sin, or the comforts of the creatures; if there be no defect to be supplied, what need had we to call in any other? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, perfect good seems to be alsufficient, Aristot. If there be a perfect good, it must needs be sufficient, for that is perfect unto which nothing can be added; if the creatures be added unto the Lord, he is never the more perfect; therefore if the creatures are wanting there is no defect, no deficiency in him; and if we need no other, why should we trouble ourselves to make out to another, to do any thing in vain? we count it folly to take in many things for that which may be supplied in one, frustra fit per plura, etc. therefore keep God to thee, and thou shalt want nothing. Here is a double duty required from the alsufficiency of God to all his Covenant-people. 1. To walk with God: Walk before me, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before my face, in conspectu meo, as in my sight, as being under mine eye, in whatever thou dost put thy hand unto. There are three expressions take in a man's whole duty towards God in the way and in the course of his conversation: (1) Walking with God, Gen. 5.24. Enoch walked with God. [1] It is a term of reconciliation, that the enmity between God and the man is taken away, for they are friends that walk together, Amos 3.3, 2. Two cannot walk together unless they be agreed; so that a man must be in a state of reconciliation. [2] It's a term of communion, that in a man's way he should have fellowship with God in his whole course, and in all the actions of his life; for that is a man's walk: and therefore 2 Cor. 6.16. when the Lord hath communion with his people, he is said to walk with us, and when we have communion with God we are said to walk with him, Luther. extra causam justificationis nemo potest bona opera satis magnificè commendare, Luth. and a man is to walk with God not only in religious duties, but also in all the common and ordinary actions of his life; a man should not only do what the Lord doth command, but he should do it unto the same end for which it was commanded, and that is, that he might enjoy communion with God therein. (2) There is a following of God, or a walking after him, Num. 14.24. it's called following of the Lamb, that implies three things: [1] A walking by rule; for a man must go no where but where he sees the footsteps of God before him. [2] It is coming up unto the exactness of the rule, that he doth follow the Lord exactly, he doth not miss one step where he sees God to have gone before him, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. and this, Eph. 5.15. is walking circumspectly. [3] It is walking with God unto the end, and so it implies a perseverance, it is not a going a part of the way after God, and then to turn back from following him, but it is to follow after him, and to continue unto the end; and so it is said, That the Lord called Abraham to his foot, Esa. 41.1. and this is to follow the Lord fully, or as it is in the Original, implevit post me, he did fulfil after me, etc. (3) There is a walking before God, that is, with a constant respect unto his allseeing eye, he sees the eye of God always upon him, and he sees that to be a holy eye, that no sin can scape it, nothing can blind it, all things are naked and open before it, and he that doth observe it, it is unto this end, that he may judge it, that he may give unto every man according as his works shall be, and that's the meaning, Luke 15.21. I have sinned against heaven and before thee: by Heaven the Learned do understand the presence of God, who doth dwell in Heaven; and therefore Psal. 73.9. They do set their mouth against heaven, Mollet. Ad veram sapientiam pertinet, ut Deum praesentem, & cuncta inspicientem jugiter attendamus. Carth. that is, contra Deum audacter sese efferunt: Mat. 21.25. The Baptism of John was it from Heaven or from men? that is, from God; and that was the great thing, that without regard unto the greatness of God and his glory, without respect unto his presence, and his holiness, and his allseeing eye, he sinned against him, and that did affect him; and that also did cut the heart of David, I have done this evil in thy sight, and yet I had no fear of thy glorious presence and thy allseeing eye: so that there are these six things necessary to a man's walking as becomes a Saint in reference unto God, [1] he must be in a state of reconciliation, [2] he must walk by rule, [3] he must go to the exactness of the rule, [4] he must persevere and continue unto the end, and not turn away and draw back; [5] he must have an eye upon the presence of God and his eye in all he doth: [6] he must do all this, that he may enjoy fellowship and communion with the Lord in his whole course. 2. That we be upright or perfect with him: there is a perfection of the Saints in this life, even while their souls are imperfect, Heb. 12.23. and it consists in two things: (1) When the soul in its choice and bent cleaves unto God alone, and goes out after no other, Psal. 18.29. God will be yours, if you will be his, you must be unto him, and to no other, Hos. 3.3. God can admit of no Corrivals with him. (2) When there is a perfection in the inward man, all grace is there in truth, the whole new man, the whole Law of God is written in the heart, he respects the whole Law of God, leaves none of his Commandments out in his practice; it's not enough to know the will of God, but there must be a doing of his will, his practice must answer his knowledge, and when all these are in you, and abound, than you are said to be perfect; and this is the ambition and the endeavour of every child of God, that the law within may fully answer the law without, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work, as well as every good word, and may be ready in season and out of season, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that his labour shall not be in vain in the Lord; this is our perfection, to glorify God always in our hearts and in our lives, etc. CHAP. VI The Sovereignty of God made over to the Saints in the new Covenant. SECT. I. How and why God's Sovereignty is made over to the Saints. Doctr. §. 1. I Now come unto the second particular implied in the fourth Head, and that is the Sovereignty of God, which is made over in this promise, I will be thy God, for God doth imply a Supremacy, Rom. 9.5. He is God over all: Eph. 4.6. There is one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all, etc. And hence the Observation is, That God hath in the new Covenant made over his Sovereignty and Supremacy over all things to the Saints, so that it shall be truly exercised as for his own glory, so for their good also. And for the handling of this point I must show, (1) What the Sovereignty of God is: (2) That it is by the Father committed into the hands of Christ: (3) That it was by the Father committed and is by Christ exercised in the behalf of the Saints, in all the administrations of it. (4) The grounds or the reasons of it, why it was necessary, that to whom he should be a God, they should have an interest in him as he is Lord of all. (5) The Application of all. 1. What is the Sovereignty of God? It is that absolute and universal Authority which he hath over all things, as being the works of his own hands; and so much Christ teaches his Disciples to acknowledge, Mat. 6.13. Thine is the kingdom; Psal. 10.2, 19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in heaven, and his kingdom ruleth over all; and therefore he is called a great King, Mal. 1.14. King of kings, and Lord of lords; and therefore all things are said to be in the hand of the Lord, Deut. 33.3. all the Saints are in his hand, Esa. 50.2. Is my hand shortened? Isa. 50.2. Now there is a hand-ruling, a hand-providing, a hand-protecting, a hand-assisting, a hand-inflicting, and a hand-dispensing; for all these are to be understood by the hand of the Lord in the Scripture. And this Kingdom and Dominion of God (1) is universal; there is no restraint or limitation of his Kingdom, it doth reach unto all things in Heaven and in Earth; his Kingdom ruleth over all, he doth whatever he will in Heaven and in Earth, and in the Sea, and in all deep places; and therefore he is commonly in Scripture called The Lord of Hosts: The Lord of Hosts is with us, and the God of Jacob is our refuge, Jam. 5.4. etc. Jam. 5.4. The cries of them enter into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath or Hosts: all the creatures are under his power, as their absolute Commander in chief, all is but his Army, and he is the General of them, he doth order and marshal them all at his pleasure. There are four respects why he is called the Lord of Hosts, [1] propter numerum & multitudinem, they are many, not a few, but the whole army of them, from the Angels in Heaven unto the meanest creatures, the whole host of them is in his hand, under his power, and at his dispose. [2] Propter ordinem & dispositionem, they are not barely a number, but they are ordered and placed in their several conditions and ranks, Joel 2.7. Joel. 2.7. it is expounded of the Locusts and Caterpillars that the Lord did threaten, and he saith, They shall every one keep their ranks; even in the most disorderly condition of things there is an order that the Lord doth set, the stars in their courses shall fight, Judg. 5.20. etc. the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ab exaltationibus suis, from their Towers: it's a Metaphor taken from fight, from Castles, or some high places of strength, from their Towers, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as the Septuagint renders it, and so we also render it, in their order, and in their courses, as God hath set them. [3] Propter praeparationem, they are an army, and therefore prepared for the battle, ready to go upon all services, any design that the Lord would appoint them, for they have their weapons in their hands, Ezech. 9.1. Every man with his slaughter-weapon in his hand, the very Flies and the Lice, the Caterpillar and the Canker-worm, they are all of them armed, and all of them ready for service when he doth command them. [4] Propter subordinationem & obedientiam, they all of them go at his commandment; they continue to this day according to his ordinance, for all are his servants, they do dispatch his commands; for he saith to one, Go, and he goeth, etc. as it is said of the Angels, Ezech. 1.14. Their going and returning is as a flash of lightning, with the greatest readiness and dexterity that can be, every one of them moves in their own due order with all possible speed that can be. (2) It is supreme; his government is independent upon any other; all other Authorities are from God, and therefore they all hold of him, Dan. 4.17. The most High rules in the kingdoms of mortal men, etc. deponit reges, & disponit regna; à Deo sunt omnes potestates, quamvis non omnium voluntate; magnus est Caesar, sed Deo minor: he deposeth Kings, and disposeth Kingdoms, etc. and therefore saith the Lord, Ezech. 21.26. I will overturn, overturn, remove the diadem, and take away the crown. Yea the Lord Jesus Christ, though he be King of Kings, and the great and the only Potentate, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, yet he received the Kingdom from another, Esa. 9.6. Dan. 7.14. he gives a Kingdom and Power and great Dominion, he doth commit all judgement to the Son; he hath a government, but it is given him, and though he be our Lord, yet he is therein but the Father's servant, etc. and therefore he doth rule so as none other doth: [1] He gives all what being he will, according to his Sovereignty; and therefore there are several degrees of beings, they were all in his hand, and there is an election unto being, and unto the order of being. [2] He doth appoint them to their end; as he made all for his own glory, and they shall be unto his glory; so in what way he will glorify himself by them, some in mercy, and some in judgement, some vessels unto honour, and some unto dishonour. [3] He doth give them what law he will, some have a law written in their nature, there are ordinances of the heavens; and some have a law given them upon their understandings from without. [4] He doth order all their actions, that there is not any thing they do but it is according to the rule and dominion that he hath over them; not a sparrow falls to the ground without my Father; The lot is cast into the lap, but the determination is from God: not the smallest or the meanest, ordinary, and casual things but they are at his dispose, all come under his government, and are subjected unto his dominion. [1] From him all is received. [2] Unto him all shall give an account; Kings and Rulers, he is the Judge of all the Earth, and they that now judge shall then be judged; and Christ himself shall give up his account unto the Father; as he is God's King, he rules from him, and for him. [3] Unto him at last all shall be reduced: it's true, by way of oeconomy and dispensation, for a while, there is a Kingdom in the hand of the Angels, and the Magistrates, and in the hand of Christ; but Christ shall put down all rule and authority, and he shall give up his own into the hand of the Father, that God may be all in all; so that all Nations shall be returned unto him; as of him are all things, so to him shall be all things. (3) It is an absolute Dominion; for it's wholly according to his will. [1] He hath none to give laws unto him, or set him down the rules of his government; all other governor's in the world have their rules set them, by which they are to rule and to dispense all things, but he doth whatever he will in heaven and in earth; he doth pluck up, and he doth build up; he doth kill, and he doth make alive; and all is at his will, and he doth whatever he will in heaven and in earth, and in the sea, Dan. 4.32. according to his will he works in the armies of the heavens, and in the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou? none can restrain him, none can call him to an account for it, and say, Why hast thou done this? Shall the clay say to the Potter, Why hast thou made me thus? he gives not account of any of his matters, he only rules by will without giving a reason. Therefore amongst the creatures there is no such thing as an absolute Monarchy, in which men should rule by will; for men are to rule as men, that is, by reason and by love; an absolute Monarchy is but absolute Tyranny; there must be known rules, by which they must govern: but so doth not the Lord, there is none to prescribe to him, for his will is the rule of goodness, non ideò volitum, quia bonum, sed ideò bonum, quia volitum, a thing is not therefore willed by God, because good, but it's therefore good, because willed; for there is nothing that is good antecedent to the will of God. [2] It is absolute in respect of the greatest things; all being under his dispose, not only men's temporal, but their eternal estates; he can show mercy unto one because he will, and he can harden another, and it is because he will; one shall be for the glory of his grace, and another for the glory of his justice, and he doth it freely, and hath no reason but his own will; one shall be high, and another low; one in honour, and another in dishonour; one shall be employed, and another laid aside; one shall be raised from the dunghill and set amongst Princes, and made to inherit the Throne of Glory; for the pillars of the earth are the Lords, and he hath set the world upon them, 1 Sam. 28. he will sometimes work by means, and according to their nature, and sometimes he will lay the means aside, and he will work without them, and sometimes contrary unto them, that the battle shall not be unto the strong, nor the race to the swift, nor favour to men of understanding; but there is a disposing, a time and a chance, which shall befall them all, Eccles. 9.11. by which he doth mean the disposing of the highest power; but it is called chance, quia illa ordinatio ab homine non cognoscitur, that ordination is not known to man: and all is, that man may find nothing after him, he will not go by any ruled cases, that so all the world may see, that he hath an absolute Sovereignty, and hath no other rule for his government but his will only. §. 2. This Sovereignty of God is during the stage of this world committed into the hand of Christ as Mediator: for he it is doth act and exercise all the attributes of God; as all threaten are executed by him, and by him all promises are performed, so all the attributes of God are exerted by him; and therefore Col. 1.15. He is the image of the invisible God, there we may see all the glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ, Joh. 5.22. He hath committed all judgement to the Son; judicium dominium significat, he it is upon whose shoulders the government is, he bears up all things, and he rules all things by the word of his power in heaven and in earth; and therefore he is called, 1 Tim. 6.15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, The only Potentate, not that God the Father is put out of authority, but he rules in and by his Son, as he will at the last day execute judgement by him, and he hath given him power to execute judgement, because he is the Son of man, and this Kingdom that he hath received, he shall surely give up unto the Father again. 1 Cor. 15.24. And the Kingdom of God which is committed unto Christ is twofold, spiritual and providential. 1. It is spiritual, by which he doth rule in the souls of the Saints in heaven and in earth, in the one it is a Kingdom of Glory, and in the other of Grace, which is called the Kingdom of God, Rom. 14.17. The kingdom of God consists not in meat and drink, but in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The kingdom of God comes not with observation, Luk. 10.21. the kingdom of God is within you; and in this Kingdom, (1) he sets up a Throne in the souls of men, and appears unto them in his glory, as a great King, and they see him and know him so to be, Rev. 4.3. there is a glorious high Throne, and the Lord sits thereon, and they do worship before him, they look upon him as a King upon his Throne, though it be called a Throne of Grace. (2) As a King he gives Laws unto the soul, and binds the inward man, that what they do is for conscience sake, Rom. 13.5. Act. 23.1. I have lived in all good conscience: for Conscience is regulated by a Law, that's a good conscience, and none can prescribe laws to conscience but God alone; for it is in vain for man to give a Law unto that which he cannot judge for the breach of it, but this is the habitation of the great King. (3) In this Kingdom he hath enemies to subdue; 1 Joh. 3.8. and therefore he did come to destroy the works of the Devil, first to cast out Satan, and call men to translate them out of his Kingdom, Col. 1.13. and then to destroy the works that he had wrought in their souls; Col. 1.13. the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to lose the works of the devil; sin and corrupt principles in the heart are the Devils works, and the great thing that he doth labour in from day to day: now first the word doth signify to destroy or demolish, Joh. 2.19. Destroy this temple, and 2 Pet. 3.11. it is the desolation of all things here below; so that though the Devil hath erected the building, the Lord will surely pull it down, he shall not have that habitation for himself to dwell in, where God's Kingdom is to be set up. 2. It notes also solvere, to lose it, so that a man is bound by it, and it is unto him as a snare, the works of the Devil in a man are an enthralling thing; but thus to fight the battles of the Saints doth belong to the spiritual Kingdom of Christ. (4) He doth bestow and confer graces and gifts; these are the proper gifts that belong unto this Kingdom, he is Melchisedeck King of Righteousness, and he is also King of Peace; he doth give gifts unto men, and before the Throne are the seven Spirits of God, Rev. 4.5. all the graces of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are at his dispose, and he gives them out as he sees it good. (5) He rules in their hearts and in their ways, for the Spirit of Christ is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the guide of the way of his Saints, he doth lead them; Joh. 16.14. My sheep hear my voice; they are his sheep, he goes before them, and they follow him: They follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes; all that Dominion of God subjecting of their wills unto the will of God, and their consciences to the rule of God alone, is the spiritual Dominion of Christ within them. (6) He hath the keys of hell and of heaven, he doth open heaven, and translate his people unto glory, and they that are in enmity, he doth open hell for them; for it is he that hath his reward with him, Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me; there is none can open and shut heaven but Christ, and this he doth as he is the spiritual King of his Church, this Kingdom he hath entered upon, but it is but begun, it is not come unto its perfect glory; but there will come a time, Rev. 11.16, 17. That the kingdoms of the earth shall be the Lord's and his Christ's: and the mountain of the Lords house shall be exalted upon the tops of the mountains, when the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun, and abundance of grace shall be poured out, that the weak shall be as David; there shall much more of the glory of the spiritual Kingdom appear than now there doth; for now the Devil seems to rule in the hearts of all the men of the world, Rev. 20. but then shall Satan be bound for a thousand years, in fine seculi millesimi anni malitia omnis aboleatur è terra, & justitia regnet, etc. Lactant. 2. The providential Kingdom which is the government of all things in the world: (1) All the works of God are committed into the hand of the Mediator, Ezech. 1. there is the subordination, and so Psal. 8. All sheep and oxen are all under his feet, which cannot be spoken of Christ as God, it's spoken of Christ as he died and risen again, Eph. 1.21. he is made the head of all things unto the Church; therefore it must be understood of him as Mediator, he hath committed all judgement unto the Son, and it is, that all men might honour the Son as they honour the Father, Phil. 2.11. that every knee might bow to him, and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father; for this is the honour that the Father did promise Christ, to give him a kingdom and glory, that the government of all things should be in his hands: for it is by me kings reign, Prov. 8.15. it's spoken of him whom the Lord possessed in the beginning of his way, before his works of old, I was set up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I was anointed, which is the same word used Psal. 2.6. and therefore it's not spoken of him as God (so he was not anointed) but it's spoken of him that was God-man, Mediator. (2) All the great things in Scripture are attributed unto him; he it was that brought the flood upon the old world, for it was his Spirit did strive with the old world, 1 Pet. 3.19, 20. and he it was that destroyed Sodom, he it was that brought Israel out of Egypt, and that led the people in the wilderness, he it was that gave them a Law, and he it was that did shake heaven and earth, Heb. 12.27, 28. all the shake that have been were from him, and he it is that must fulfil all the prophecies and all the promises in the word; and then his name shall be called the Word of God, Rev. 19.13. and he it is that fights all the battles of his people; and he is clothed with a garment dipped in blood, and the armies of heaven do but follow him, and he hath a name upon his garments, which is the highest name, King of kings, and Lord of lords, etc. he doth destroy Antichrist with the breath of his mouth, and the brightness of his coming, and he it is that doth prepare new Jerusalem as a Bride for the Bridegroom. (3) He it is that shall judge the world, and he could not judge the world, if he did not rule the world, he must employ them, and he must reward them; for God will give unto every man as his works shall be; he doth rule as the Father's servant, and he shall judge as the Father's servant; Judgement being the last act of his Kingly Office, having ordered all things for the great accomplishment of all the Father's ends; for he doth all for him according unto the counsels that are in his bosom, which he hath revealed to him, etc. Judgement is committed unto the Son of man, both for government here, and the sentence hereafter; Joh. 5.22. and therefore it is said, All judgement is committed to him. (4) He shall give up the Kingdom unto the Father, 1 Cor. 15.24. that is, that which he hath received; but it is the government of all things that he shall give up, that of the Angels as well as any other; he shall lay it down, having attained all the ends thereof; so that then God shall be all in all in the Saints and in the world, etc. (5) Christ himself tells us, That he hath received such a commission from the Father, not only to govern the Church, but to rule and to order all things in the world for their sake, Joh. 3.35. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand, that is, in his power, under his government, and at his dispose, as Gen. 24.10. all the goods of his Master were in his hand, under his power and authority, and at his dispose: and so Job 1.12. the Lord saith unto Satan concerning Job, Behold all that he hath is in thy hand; he did not give this to Satan as by commission, but by permission, he left all the goods of Job in the Devil's power, Joh. 5.22. to do with them what he would: and Joh. 5.22. The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgement to the Son; there is indeed a Kingdom which belongs unto Christ, as he is the second person in the Trinity, a Kingdom which is regnum naturale, a natural Kingdom, wherein Christ is equal with the Father, and a Kingdom that he doth not receive from the Father, neither is he subordinate unto the Father in it; he is not the Father's servant, as he is in the mediatory Kingdom; for this is the same to all the persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, and the Son hath the same dominion, and is equal with them all; but this cannot be the Kingdom that is here spoken of, for it cannot be delegated by God, because it is natural, and he cannot put the Kingdom out of himself; neither can it as a gift be received by the Son, because it is natural unto the Son as it is unto the Father, it's his own proper right; but the Kingdom that is here spoken of is a power given unto the Son, in which he is the Father's servant, and subordinate unto him; and therefore it's not spoken of the nature of the essential Kingdom, the government which belongs unto Christ as God, but as Mediator only; and by Judgement Interpreters generally understand pro imperio & administratione rerum omnium in coelo & in terra, Chemnit. so that the government of all things is in the hand of the Mediator; for it is a power that is given by the Father unto the Son, which could not be unto him simply as God, but as Mediator only. (6) The Spirit of Christ doth rule, act, and order all things in the Providential, as well as in the Spiritual Kingdom; as we see it, Ezech. 1.12, 20. Ezech. 1.12, 20. there is Christ set forth as ruling all things in heaven and earth, and it is not spoken of Christ as he is the second person, but as he is Mediator; for it's spoken of him as having a dominion given to him as he is the Son of man; the Angels move the wheels, and the Spirit acts the Angels. Now how doth Christ as Mediator govern? It is by the guidance of the Spirit, and this Spirit moves both the Angels and the wheels; it is not spoken of those spiritual acts of the Holy Ghost upon the hearts of the Saints, but of the ordinary dispensations of Providence ordering all things here below, so as the ends of Christ may be attained. It is the Mediator therefore that doth govern all things, and the motions and impressions that are made both upon the Angels and the wheels, they are from the Spirit of the Mediator, who makes the Spirit to be the Viceroy in the providential as well as in the spiritual Kingdom, as the Father makes the Mediator to be in them both: and as the Father doth not divest himself of power, but keeps the original of it in himself, that we may still say to him, Thine is the kingdom; only he doth it by the Son, who doth exercise it; so it is true of the Spirit also, the Son hath the power, he governs all, he doth it immediately by the Spirit, the immediate execution and administration of it is in the hand of the Spirit in the one Kingdom as well as in the other. (7) This will further appear by the session of Christ at the right hand of the Father; for it doth import potestatis & Majestatis plenitudinem, a plenitude of power and Majesty. [1] The highest Majesty and glory; for it is the highest degree of his exaltation, Heb. 8.1. therefore called the right hand of Majesty in the heavens. [2] It is the highest Authority and Sovereignty; for sitting at his right hand implies, that all things are put under his feet, as it is Psal. 110.1. 1 Pet. 3. ult. sitting down upon his Throne, Angels and Powers being made subject unto him, Eph. 1.20, 22. all things put under his feet, which is the highest Sovereignty and the greatest subjection that can be, for all to be his servants, his vassals; and therefore Rev. 1.18. when he is in heaven he is said to have the keys of hell and of death; keys are an ensign of authority, and so are used in the Scripture, the keys of the kingdom of heaven are his, and the keys of death and hell are his, all authority in this world and the world to come; and therefore Mat. 28.17. immediately before his ascension he saith, All power is given to me both in heaven and in earth: it's true, that he had it given him from the Fall; and he did exercise it by virtue of the Covenant that was passed between him and the Father; for his Kingly Office and his Priestly Office in the efficacy of them began together, but yet he did not actually reign as Mediator, that is, as God-man, till in our nature he ascended up on high, and sat down in heaven with the Father upon his Throne; and though quoad potestatem judiviariam, according to his judiciary power, all things are now put under his feet, for the administration of all things are in his hand, yet quoad executionem actualem, as to actual execution, so it is not; there are many things that seem to oppose him, and to be enemies unto his government; therefore he must reign till he hath put all his enemies actually under his feet, 1 Cor. 15.15. so than he that sits at the right hand of God rules the world; but Christ as God doth not sit at the right hand of God, and as he is the second person; therefore it is as he is Mediator that he sits at God's right hand, and so all judgement and authority are executed by him. (8) If this be made as the ground why all authority is in the hand of Christ, because he is the Son of man, than he hath this authority over all things, not as he is the second person only, but as he is Mediator, as he is God-man; but this is the reason and the ground of it, Joh. 5.17. He hath given him power to execute judgement, because he is the Son of man; Joh. 5.27. which hath several interpretations given of it, all will prove the thing. [1] Because he is the Son of man, that is, because he is the Son of man that was foretold, Dan. 7.13, 14. Dan. 7.13, 14. to whom the kingdom should be given by the Ancient of days, and therefore is given unto him all government, because he is the person that was foretold, to whom it should be communicated. [2] Because he is the Son of man, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendered quatenus, and so it is by Beza, that is, he hath all power given unto him, and all judgement, not only as he is God, as he is the second person, but as he is the Son of man, quatenus homo, etc. non tantùm secundùm naturam divinam, sed etiam humanam; and so Chemnit. doth from hence infer, humana natura in Christo assumpta est in communicationem gubernationis rerum omnium, praecipuè verò regno Deo in Ecclesia. [3] It is by many others interpreted by that place, Phil. 2.10. Because he humbled himself, and took upon him the form of a servant, therefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that to the name of Jesus every knee should bow, etc. that is, this is the reward that the Father hath given him for his obedience in his humiliation, taking upon him our nature, the form of a servant; therefore he is exalted unto the highest pitch of Majesty and of Authority, to be next to God himself. Now which interpretation soever we take of these, it will appear, that this power is given unto him, not only as he is God, but as he is Mediator, and that the formalis ratio of giving it unto him is as he is the Son of man, and not as he is God; for as he is God, he had an equal hand in the Sovereignty of all things, and an equal right to it with the Father and the Spirit, and so it could not be said to be given to him; but it is given him as the Son of man, and as a reward of his obedience, because he became the Son of man. But to answer an Objection or two about this. 1. It is objected, It appears plainly by Scripture, and is by you granted, That there is a double Kingdom of Christ, the one belonging to him by nature, and the other given to him by the Father; the one proper only unto Christ the Mediator, the other common to the Father and the Spirit, as well as to the Son; the one to be exercised for ever, and the other but for a time; wherefore there are two distinct Kingdoms of Christ; why therefore may we not say, that as he is the second Person he rules in the world, and as he is the Mediator he rules in the Church only? Answ. I do confess there are two Kingdoms, and these are really distinguished one from another; that Christ as God hath an essential Kingdom equal with the Father, and a Kingdom which he doth receive by donation from the Father as he is God-man; but I say, That the exercise and administration of both Kingdoms are now in the hand of the Mediator, and shall be unto the time of the restitution of all things, for the Father judges no man, Joh. 5.22. that is, natura divina absolutè sine Mediatore; judicium, sive totam administrationem dedit Filio Mediatori incarnato, etc. Chemnit. i e. totius mundi imperium, etc. The Divine nature hath committed all judgement to Christ, etc. so that the spiritual Kingdom is administered by the Spirit in the ordinances of the Gospel, and the providential Kingdom by the power of his Spirit working without ordinances, who orders and disposes of all the creatures unto their several ends; but yet all this is by the hand of the Mediator, and he doth not simply as he is God rule in the providential Kingdom only; for all judgement is committed to him, [that is, the government of all things] as he is the Son of man; as he is the Son of man so he rules the Angels, and they act the wheels, and as he is the Son of man, so he is appointed Heir of all things, and as he is the Son of man, so all things are put under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and the beasts of the field, etc. therefore it's but a conceit to say, That Christ doth rule the world indeed as he is God, but he doth rule the Church as he is Mediator; for it appears plainly, That both of them are acts of his Kingly Office as he is Mediator, as the judging of the world will be at the last day; and he tells us, that God gave him all this power for this end, That he might give eternal life unto as many as the Father had given him, Joh. 17.20. he doth rule all things in the world, so as he makes them serviceable unto spiritual ends; but it's done by him not simply as God, but as Mediator: and so much Mr. Gilespy cannot but grant out of Calvin in Aaron's Rod, pag. 203. that all things are put under the feet of Christ the Mediator, not only in respect of glory and dignity, but in respect of his power and overruling providence, whereby he can dispose of all things, so as they make most for his glory, etc. which is all that I assert; and that the Mediator is not barely Gods servant in the spiritual Kingdom, but in the Kingdom of Providence also, is plain from Psal. 8.6. Eph. 1.22. Object. 2. But Christ as Mediator is King, Priest, and Prophet, but he is not so any where but in his Church; therefore to say, that Christ as Mediator doth it, is as much as to say, he doth it as King, Priest, and Prophet; and so he shall be made a King, Priest, and Prophet unto the Pagans, and unto all other creatures, even to the Devils, etc. Answ. It's not necessary that whatever he doth as Mediator must flow from all his Offices; for he doth many things as he is King, that he doth not as he is a Priest, or a Prophet: he is unto the Angels a King, and that as he is the Son of man; for he is the Head of all Principalities and Powers; and yet he is not unto the Angels a Priest; yet as Mediator he rules them, and they do belong unto his Kingdom as Mediator: and as he is King, so he shall judge the world also at the last day, so he shall judge the Heathen, he shall judge the Devils, and so he doth rule them now, and overrule them for the good of the Church; and yet he is not unto the Heathen a Priest nor a Prophet, neither is he so unto the Devils: But his rule and dominion over the works of God is as truly part of his Kingdom, as his rule and dominion over the souls of the Saints; the Mediator is not a Priest and a Prophet to every thing to whom he is a King, and yet he is a King as Mediator, and so far as any thing relates unto his Kingly Office, so far it may be said to belong unto him as Mediator, because as Mediator he is King as well as Priest; he is indeed a Priest and a Prophet only to his people, but as he is a King so he rules over his enemies, even those that will not acknowledge his kingdom over them. It's true, that none have an interest in any Office of Christ, but he that hath an interest in them all, and therefore he cannot be said to be our King so as to rule us for our spiritual and eternal good, unless he be also our Prophet and our Priest; and none are in this sense the Subjects of the Kingdom of Christ, but they that consent to and accept of his government, they that kiss the Son; but yet he is a King appointed by God, though he be not accepted by us, and therefore he is God's King, that is, he rules by God's commission, and as a servant unto his ends, even then when we acknowledge him not to be our King, and his government is not assented to by us; he will judge them as a King, though he doth not save them as a King. §. 3. The government of all things in his Kingdom is exercised by him in the behalf of the Saints, and so they have a right to the Sovereignty of God, and it is made over to them, as will appear, 1. In this, that it was given to Christ for their sake; he hath a kingdom given him not for his own sake, but for our sakes, Joh. 17.2. Joh. 17.2. He hath given him power over all flesh, that he might give eternal life unto as many as thou hast given him, imperium accepit Christus, non tam sibi, quàm nostrae salutis causâ, Calv. so that it was with special respect unto them, that he did undertake the government of the world; had it not been that he had a people in the world that were given him of the Father, and whose names were written in the Lamb's book, and whom he did intent to save, he would not have undertaken the government of all things; for Eph. 1.22. he is made the head over all things, but it is to the Church, magna consolatio est, quòd tantum imperium habet is, qui id exercet Ecclesiae bono, etc. Grot. But wherein lies the force of this reason, that he must have power over all flesh, that he might give eternal life unto as many as God had given him? Why could not Christ have given them eternal life unless he had had power over all flesh, unless the government of the world had been put into his hands? I conceive the force of it to lie in this. 1. Had the government still been in the hand of God as God, so he must have proceeded according to the rules of the first Covenant, and according to the severity of a God; and therefore the Father judgeth not man. Now the Father as God, and the Son as God have but one judgement, and they do proceed by the same rule; and if the Father cannot judge them but he must destroy them, than neither can the Son as God; for they have one and the same will and judgement: but supposing a Mediator, one that will undertake to give God satisfaction for sin, than the world may stand, and it is fit that he should rule it that hath bought it; he hath bought the persons of the Saints, and the services of all the creatures for their good; therefore it is by Christ that the world stands, the government is put into his hand as Mediator; for had not there been a Mediator, the world must have perished under the weight of the first transgression; but that the world might stand, and men live in the world in their successive generations, and so by grace attain holiness and glory, for this cause there was power given him over all flesh; and this is the reason given by Chemnitius, why the Father judges not immediately, Patris nostri sive Divinae naturae judicium cum peccatoribus agentis est juxta severitatem & rigorem legis divinae, etc. 2. He could not give them eternal life else, because he could not order all things for their spiritual good, even all the motions of the creatures, all the temptations of Satan, all the affections of men, either good or bad, sometimes in ways of love and courtesy, sometimes in ways of displeasure and persecution, and all providential occurrences; such opportunities of service, and such occasions of sinning, which he hath the ordering of for the good of his people: All things do work together for good to them that love God, Rom. 8.28. because all of them are in the hand of a Mediator, for this very end and purpose, that he might order all things so as might conduct them safe to heaven: how comes it to pass, that all the creatures do service to the Saints, and there is not one of them that can do them a disservice in reference to their spiritual estates? Cyrus' in ways of kindness shall be drawn out to the service of God, My shepherd, saith God, he shall be; and wicked men shall wipe them as a man doth a dish, etc. the fire shall not burn them, the water shall not drown them, no weapon form against thee shall prosper, etc. All this is because that the administration of all things are put into the hand of a Mediator for their eternal good, and he will order all things so as they shall conduce unto that great end for which he hath undertaken the government in the Kingdom of Providence, it's all in order to the spiritual Kingdom, it was purely out of the love of the Father to the Saints, that he did give the Kingdom unto Christ, and it was purely out of love to the Saints that he did accept of it; and thus the Lord laid help on one that's mighty: Christ the Mediator doth administer all things for their good, and that both in the spiritual and in the providential kingdom. In the spiritual kingdom all the Ordinances are for their good, it is for the edification of the Saints, and the building up of the body of Christ, Eph. 4.12. all the institutions of Christ are for their good, and all the motions of the Spirit, in what kind soever, and the desertions of the Spirit, Cant. 4. ult. all of them are, that their spices may flow forth, whether it be North wind or South wind, and they have two quite different or contrary qualities and operations, yea the very operations of the Spirit, and the desertions of the Spirit also work for good: the Lord hides his face for a little moment, that he may have mercy upon them with everlasting kindness, etc. So it is in the providential kingdom also, all is for the good of the Saints, 1 Pet. 1.6. and they shall be gainers by it in the end; so much affliction they have, as they need; and so much prosperity, as will do them good; for the Lord delights in the prosperity of his servants, he feeds them with food convenient for them. We see in the story of the four Monarchies, how they all wrought for their own ruin, and the Church's advancement in the end, and that they did all but lift at the Church as at a burdensome stone, and they themselves were broken thereby, all tended to the Church's glory and greatness: And the mountain of the Lords house shall be exalted upon the top of the mountains, and new Jerusalem shall come down from God out of heaven, and all Nations shall come unto the Church, and bring their glory unto it, and lick the dust under the sols of their feet; the Lord will make it manifest to the world, that they are a people that he hath loved; and therefore 1 Cor. 3.21, 22. All things are yours, things present and things to come, all are yours; the vials that are now poured out, Christ hath the ordering of them, and they shall all of them make for the good of the Church in the end. 3. Christ is at the right hand of the Father, and we sit there together with him: Eph. 2.6. He is exalted unto the right hand of Majesty, and hath all authority put into his hands, and that not for himself, but as a public person, as a representative head; and therefore we have an interest in all his authority which he is invested with; he doth administer all things for us as our head, and as one that hath undertaken it in our behalf. 4. God hath subjected all his Sovereignty unto the prayers of his people by virtue of the Covenant, it being made over to them, Esa. 45.11. Concerning my sons and the works of my hands command ye me; and the people of God therefore in their prayers have desired God to rend the heavens, to shake the earth, to remove mountains: Awake for thy people unto the judgement that thou hast commanded, the hand of the Lord is not shortened, what Sovereignty and Power soever God hath over the creatures, they can desire God to put it forth according to his wisdom, as their necessity shall require, and they do expect that it shall be done; they die in the faith of it, that Rome shall be ruined, and Antichrist destroyed, verbo victus est mundus, verbo Ecclesia est servata, & Antichristus, ut sine manu coepit, ità sine manu per verbum conteretur, Luth. and they have cursed men in the name of the Lord, upon this ground, that the Sovereignty of God shall be put forth for their destruction; the Saints of God have done so of old, and so do the people of God now, blast men by their prayers, the fire that goes out of their mouths, Rev. 11.5. devoureth their enemies, etc. and so doth Luther curse Antichrist, Pereat igitur in aeternum, & maledicant omnes Angeli & Sancti huic portento, etc. and he died in the faith of it, that the Lord by his Sovereignty, even the zeal of the Lord of Hosts, should perform this. SECT. II. How the spiritual Kingdom of Christ is made over to the Saints. Doctr. §. 1. HAving thus in general manifested the truth of the point, that there is a twofold Kingdom of God, spiritual and providential, and that both these are committed into the hands of the Mediator, and both are committed unto him for the Church's sake; we must now come unto the particulars, that we may see how all the Soveraigny of God is made over and laid out for the good of his people. I shall begin first with the spiritual Kingdom, how that is ours, and what interest we have in the Sovereignty of God in reference thereunto, and so the Observation is, That the Supremacy or Sovereignty of God in reference to the spiritual Kingdom is made over to the Saints. The spiritual Kingdom is either in Grace or Glory, Christ rules in them both. Now in the handling of this I shall propose to you, (1) The Subjects in this Kingdom, who they are; and having showed that Christ is the King, and unto what this kingdom doth extend (for the matter about which both the kingdoms are conversant is to be preserved as distinct.) (2) The Agents or Officers that Christ doth employ in the government of the spiritual kingdom under him. (3) The Laws of this kingdom by which he doth govern them. (4) The end or the intent of Christ in this government; for what it is that he doth in this manner rule them. (5) The Enemies of this kingdom (for all kingdoms have their enemies) and how they are in this kingdom ordered and subdued. (6) The punishments in this spiritual kingdom, and they are also spiritual, according to the double Covenant by which Christ doth dispense himself, an inward and an outward Covenant, some being in Covenant in truth and reality, and some by profession only. (7) The Rebels against this kingdom, who are within it, and profess to subject themselves unto the Laws of it, and yet do rebel against this kingdom. (8) The consummation or the perfection of this kingdom, when grace shall be swallowed up in glory, and when the kingdom of grace shall bring in the kingdom of glory, unto which men are in this kingdom but in a way of preparation to be made meet, Col. 1.12. and if it do appear that the Sovereignty of Christ in all these particulars is made over unto the Saints, and exercised for their good, than it will be clear, that they have an interest in the spiritual kingdom, and that his Sovereignty over it is theirs, and by Covenant belongs unto them. 1. Concerning the Subjects of this spiritual Kingdom; for if the two Kingdoms and the Lords government in them be distinct, than we must keep the Subjects of these Kingdoms distinct through the whole discourse. The spiritual Kingdom I conceive to have for its Subjects only those that live in the Church, and that belong to it; for out of the Church of Christ he hath no spiritual Kingdom; for this is a Kingdom administered by Ordinances and the workings of the Spirit in them, and by them. Not that even in the Church there is not concurrent a providential Kingdom, for that is universal, and it's that of which it's said, Thy kingdom rules over all; he hath not a limited Kingdom as other Princes have, Psal. 103.19. that hath its bounds, for God hath set men the bounds of their Dominion, as well as of their habitation: 'tis said, The head of Syria is Damascus, Esa. 7.8. and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, caput in the Hebrew is summitas & cacumen, the top and the height of any thing is said to be the head thereof, and it is as much as to say, Ego met as constitui, quas non egredientur, I have set bounds which they shall not pass, Calvin: they are at the highest that ever they shall be, Syria shall never be higher than it is, its head is Damascus, nor shall Ephraim be higher than it is, its head is Samaria: but as for the Kingdom of Christ, it takes in all the Kingdoms and Dominions of the world, for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords; which is a name that will one day be more gloriously written upon his vesture and upon his thigh, Rev. 19.16. and whereas the spiritual Kingdom extends only unto reasonable creatures, the providential Kingdom takes in also all unreasonable creatures; for Heb. 2.7, 8. Thou hast set him over the works of thy hands, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which cannot be spoken of Christ as he is God, for it is a setting by way of office, and so the word signifies, Acts 6.3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and therefore it belongs to him as he is man also, and it is said, Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands, which is, Psal. 8.4. said to be all sheep and oxen, etc. Now as there are two parts of the second Covenant, external and internal, so is there a double administration of the spiritual Kingdom; for according as men come under the Covenant, so are they said to belong unto this Kingdom; for Christ receives all by Covenant, and rules all by Covenant, and all our interest is by a Covenant, and grounded thereupon. Now that there is a twofold being in Covenant is clear, in that all Israel were called the Lords Covenant people and the children of the Covenant, Acts 3.25. that is, they came into the Covenant, as it were by right of inheritance, by descent, by a paternal right, and yet with many of them God was not well pleased; and as they were called the children of the Covenant, in the same sense they are called the children of the Kingdom, Mat. 8.12. and so Grotius observes, Filii regni ex foederis privilegio dicuntur, etc. yet they were cast into utter darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. You have already heard there is a twofold being in Christ, Joh. 15.2, 3. Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away, etc. and there are some that belong to the Kingdom of Grace in respect of the externals of it only, who have a right unto the outward privileges thereof; and there are some that belong to it in respect of the graces of it, and the eternal benefits thereof, in whose soul Christ rules and dwells. Now the Kingdom of Grace or the spiritual Kingdom doth extend not only unto those in the Church, in whose souls Christ dwells, being born again, but over whom he rules by his Ordinances, in respect of an outward profession and a visible conformity, and have thereby an outward right according unto the external rules and dominion that Christ hath over them, and the outward subjection which they yield unto him; and therefore have a title unto the external privileges of the Subjects of the spiritual Kingdom, and therefore even the branches that are afterwards broken off are said to partake of the sap and fatness of the good Olive-tree, Rom. 11.17. Now the Dominion that Christ hath in the Kingdom of Grace, whether it be in the hearts of the Saints, over whom he rules by a spirit of regeneration, or whether in the hearts of Formalists, who are brought into subjection by a profession only, yet it will appear, that in this Sovereignty over both the Saints have an interest, and the Lord Jesus doth rule over both for the Saints sake and for their good. 1. The spiritual Kingdom as it is in the souls of the Saints; those that are newborn unto God, and have a mighty work of regeneration passed upon them, by which they have given up themselves unto Christ, having by a perfect self-resignation put the rule and the government wholly out of their own hands into the hands of Christ, and have done it with cheerfulness, and by way of election have given the hand unto the Lord, 2 Chron. 30.8. have given themselves unto the Lord, Psal. 110.3. 2 Cor. 8.5. and that as a willing people: Thy people shall be willing, Psal. 110.3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the word doth signify two things: (1) Either voluntas or spontaneitas in the abstract, and so it is common with the Hebrews to put the abstract for the concrete, when they would express any thing in a superlative way, Jer. 50.31. I am against thee, O thou pride: and when the Lord would express the high degree of willingness of his people, he doth it as if they were made up of nothing else. (2) It signifies oblationes voluntariae, gifts and freewill offerings, Deut. 23.23. and so the meaning is, that the people should come to Christ, and give themselves to him of their own accord, without any enforcing or any compelling, it should be freely their own act. In the handling of this I will show you: (1) That Christ hath such a Kingdom. (2) Wherein it consists. (3) That it's a Kingdom only over Saints. (4) The happiness of the Saints, that they are under such a government and dominion. 1. That Christ hath such a Kingdom in the hearts of men, will appear by two Scriptures, Luke 17.20, Luk. 17.20, 21. 21. The kingdom of God comes not with observation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the word doth signify three things. (1) A curious observation, and so Luke 14.1. the Pharisees watched him, to see if he would heal upon the Sabbath day, and so the Kingdom of God comes not with observation. Let men never so carefully observe, yet the Lord doth secretly insinuate himself into the heart no man knows how, it is as the blowing of the wind, a secret that comes not under the most curious observation of man. (2) It signifies an idolatrous or superstitious observation, and so it's used, Gal. 4.10. Ye observe days, and months, and years, I am afraid of you, etc. when men do talk greatly of Ceremonies, and external outward Forms, and bodily exercise, and performances, etc. the Kingdom of Christ doth not consist in these, it doth not come with these, it consists not in these. (3) It signifies also a pompous observation, Grotius. in a glorious way, that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, cum regio splendore ac apparatu externo, as the Jews expected a glorious Kingdom and a pompous Kingdom; most men do love a sumptuous Religion; but that is not the Kingdom of Christ; but where shall we then find the Kingdom of Christ? it is within you, it's a Kingdom that is set up in your hearts, and by that means doth subject the whole man unto itself: it is, Eph. 3.17. the dwelling of Christ in the heart by faith; but it is such a dwelling as hath a ruling attend it, for he dwells there as a Lord and as a Master in his own house, he dwells there as in a Temple, 2 Cor. 6.16. Ye are the temples of the living God. Now though the Lord be in a sort present every where, for he doth fill heaven and earth, yet he is in a special manner present in his Temple; and though he rules every where, yet in his Temple he rules in a more special manner; and he saith, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. Therefore in the souls and in the hearts of Saints Christ hath a rule, Rom. 14.17. Rom. 14.17. The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, etc. It is spoken here both of the kingdom of grace and of glory, both which are commonly in Scripture called the Kingdom of God: and the meaning is, that the kingdom of grace doth not consist in these, neither do these lead to the kingdom of glory; or prepare the soul for it, regnum gratiae in his non consistit, & per haec regnum gloriae non acquiritur, but it is in righteousness, and peace, and joy, and these are acts wrought upon the soul and the inward man; and therefore the Kingdom of Christ, the spiritual Kingdom is over the souls of the Saints, and it's a Throne erected in their hearts. 2. Wherein doth this spiritual Kingdom consist, which he doth exercise over the Saints? It's a Throne that Christ sets up in the Conscience, which doth order and command the whole man, and that in the name and by the authority of God. There is a twofold Throne of Christ in the spiritual Kingdom. (1) There is a Throne that he erects in his Ordinances, Rev. 4.4. when all his people are gathered together about him, all the Saints sit down at his feet, Deut. 33.3. that they may receive a Law from his mouth as their King. (2) There is also another Throne of Christ in the spiritual Kingdom, and that is in the Conscience, which is properly the Throne of God; and therefore the great work of Christ's rule is in the conscience of the Saints, Acts 23.1. I have lived in all good conscience, and my care is to keep a good conscience void of offence, Acts 29.16. Heb. 13.18. We have a good conscience, desiring in all things to live honestly. It's true, that the Lord doth rule in the whole soul, and there is no faculty that is not brought into subjection, the understanding and the will, there is not a thought or a reasoning, any thing that is the issue of the soul, 2 Cor. 10.5. 2 Cor. 10.5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, leading captive every thought: and we know captives were not only subdued by conquest, but they were led in Triumph, and they were afterwards made use of for service; and so it is in the Kingdom of Christ in the inward man; but yet the Throne is the Conscience: it is true, that the power of a King reaches throughout the whole Kingdom, and they are all governed by him; but yet the place of his residence, and the Royal Seat is in some eminent place of the Nation; and though Jesus Christ rules in the whole soul, and dwells in the heart by faith, yet the Throne is mainly in the conscience; and therefore the assenting act of faith, the accusing act of faith, and the commanding act of faith is mainly in the conscience, 1 Pet. 3.21. it is the answer of a good conscience by the Resurrection of Christ, etc. Now conscience what is it? Est judicium intellectûs practici prout subjicitur judicio Dei, It is the judgement of the practic intellect as subjected to the judgement of God. It is this that hath the great command of the man, that whatever he doth he is to do for conscience sake, Rom. 13.5. and whatever he doth scruple or doubt of, it should be for conscience sake, 1 Cor. 10.25. for it speaks in the person of God unto the man, and therefore even to go against an erring conscience is a sin, because the authority of Christ is rejected in whole name conscience speaks: it's true, that conscience is not the highest rule, it is but regula regulata, a rule ruled by the Divine love; yet it is the highest rule in the man, and it hath the power of subordination, which Kings would fain take to themselves, who pretend that they are subject to none but God, and to give an account unto none else, Magnus est Caesar, sed solo Deo minor, Tertul. This is true of conscience, all the rest of the faculties are to give up their account unto the conscience, it can call them all to an account, but is subject unto no other thing in the man, it is to give an account unto none but God; and the Lord working upon men modo connaturali, in a connatural way, conscience being the leading power that God hath placed in man, the Lord comes mainly into that, and by it he doth rule and guide all the rest of the faculties, and keep them in subjection: and this will appear in two things. (1) It's conscience that doth receive the discharge for the man, Heb. 9.9. therefore a man is said to be made perfect according unto the conscience, so that when a man's conscience is acquitted from guilt, and purged from pollution, it's then said to be made perfect, and the man is perfected thereby; and for this cause conscience hath an account to give of the man, in reference unto all that office and authority in the man that Christ hath set him over, Rom. 2.15. Their consciences accusing them, it hath the power over the man in all persons: it was in the Creation set over man by God, but being renewed, it is now set over the man by Christ, and when he comes to give an account (for we must all give an account of ourselves to God, Rom. 14.12.) what is it in the man that shall give an account for him? it is conscience that must make up our account at the last and great day, and in the Saints then will the Lord pass a sentence in conscience, and he will acquit it from its viatory office, that hath a charge of the whole man. It's a great honour and a great trust, and it is a great burden to take the charge of the man, and make an account for all ordinances, all mercies, all motions of the Spirit of God, all opportunities of service that the man has had in this life. (2) Because the main guilt of the man is charged upon the conscience, as that by which all sin came in, it's neglecting its duty, and holding a league and a confederacy with sin, Tit. 1.15. Their consciences are defiled, and it is by this that sin comes in, and for this cause the wrath that is poured upon the man will come in by his conscience, it will be as it were the funnel by which God will pour wrath into the whole soul, because thereby Satan poured sin into the whole soul; and for that cause the torment for ever lies mainly in the conscience, and it shall be the faculty that shall torment the whole man, it's the worm that never dies, it is only the acts of conscience, the soul turning in upon itself, and its former ways, and past hopes for ever: now that which was the great Officer here, that shall give its account, and be chief acquitted hereafter; glory in heaven comes in by the conscience, and torment in hell will come in by the conscience; for there is the Throne of Christ mainly erected, the mystery of faith and of holiness, all is kept in a pure conscience, 1 Tim. 3.9. 3. This Rule and Dominion Christ only hath in the hearts of the Saints; he has such a rule over them as he has over none else in the world. 1. The relations in which he stands to them do bind him to it, for he is their head, and they are his body: now Christ as their head is not only a head of eminence, which he is to other creatures also, but of guidance, that is, he doth give them his Spirit to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the guide of their way, and he is their husband, and therefore not only a covering to their eyes, but also the guide of their youth, and he is their shepherd, and therefore he has undertaken to rule them as well as to feed them, Joh. 10.2, 3. He goes before them, and they do know his voice, and they follow him: he has no such Kingdom and Government any where else as he has in the souls of his own people; he does govern as a Lord in the world, but it is but as one without, there is no inward principle that he can close with, he rules over them, but does not delight himself in them, there is no fellowship between light and darkness; the Saints are his peculiar people, and therefore they have an interest in his peculiar providences, and therefore he comes in with a specially to them, Tit. 2.14. 1 Tim. 4.10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. It's true, that all mankind in the Fall did put themselves out of the protection of God and his guidance, and therefore the Lord did justly suffer them to walk in their own ways, and he might have suffered the brute creatures to prey upon them, or men to devour one another as the fishes of the Sea that have no King, Hab. 1.13. but because the Lord will have the stage of this world stand for the Elects sake; therefore he has committed the providential Kingdom unto the Son also, who takes all men into protection for the preservation of the world; but he takes none into his special protection for their preservation and his peculiar guidance, but those that are his people by a peculiar Covenant. 2. There are none other that give up themselves unto his guidance; he will not force himself upon any people to be their King, though he has a right, for the kingdom is given him by God the Father, yet if he come to his own they receive him not, Joh. 1.11. he will not force himself upon them to be their King; Luk. 19.14. they that say, We will not have this man to rule over us, Psal. 110.3. he will destroy them; but there are a people upon whom a day of almighty power doth pass that subdues their wills, and commands their consciences, and they do submit unto his guidance, they would have no other Lord, and it is their misery that it should be so that sin should at any time reign in them, and they complain of it; other Lords besides thee have had dominion over us, but we will acknowledge and own no other, sin shall not have dominion over us; they will give that honour unto none but unto their King, and they do rejoice in their King that they have such a Ruler, and they do willingly and cheerfully follow him. 3. Consider the happiness and blessed condition of the Saints under this Government of Christ, which will appear in these particulars. (1) He doth rule them with justice, it's a kingdom of righteousness that he sets up in their souls, for he is Melchisedeck, the King of Righteousness, and we have a kingdom of sin in us, and therefore is sin said to reign in our mortal bodies, and therefore he must have a kingdom of righteousness: grace is said to reign by Christ, Rom. 5.21. he rules his people with righteousness, and sets up a righteous Throne in the consciences of men. (2) He rules them with wisdom, Mat. 12.20. He will bring forth judgement unto victory; there is a wisdom in the government of Christ that shall be victorious. Men are foolish in their government, we read in Eccles. 4.13. of an old King that was foolish, delirant reges, they do many times take courses that are not the wisest for the people's good; but Christ takes the wisest courses for the good of his people, and none can prevail against his wisdom. (3) He rules them with meekness, I am meek and lowly in heart: as it's an argument to subject to his teaching, so unto his rule, for he is not harsh in his government, Esa. 40. He doth bear his lambs in his bosom, he doth gently lead them that are with young; whereas men are cruel, their possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty, their own shepherds pity them not; therefore the Lord will give every man into the hand of his brother, and into the hand of his King; but Christ rules his people with tenderness, he will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, etc. (4) He will give them strength to obey, Phil. 4.13. I can do all things through Christ strengthening me, he commands and enables us to obey, jubet & juvat, he puts under his hand, so that we offer to him of his own in what we give him, and it is with his own strength that we do serve him, he works all our works in us and for us; there is a creating power in the commandment; for as in the promise he creates peace, so in the commandment he gives power; it is stand up and walk, it puts a power into him, for it is a creating word, the very word of his power puts a power in us for the work. (5) He rules them in peace, and there is a safety under his government, Esa. 32.1, 2. a hiding place from the wind, a covering from the tempest; there shall be all in this government that we can stand in need of, he is the King of Salem, and the Prince of peace, all his ways are ways of pleasantness, and all his paths are peace, and men never departed from peace till they do forsake his government, and subject themselves unto another lord (6) His government leads unto life; for there is a life to be had in obedience to him, he is called the Prince of life, that is, he hath a power given him to dispense life as the Prince of it, and he doth give it to whomsoever he has undertaken to rule, if he be a King of Righteousness to them, he is also a Prince of life, he doth all for the good of his people, it's for their sakes that all the government is managed that he has undertaken in the world. Now if we consider how many sons of Belial there are that live without a yoke, and consider that they have no Law but the wills of the flesh and of the mind, the Law of sin and death, we shall all say, O blessed is the man whom the Lord rules and reigns over, the Lord rules and reigns, let the Saints rejoice, etc. (7) In his government they do behold him in his glory; for he that doth rule in them, doth also dwell in them as in a Temple; and he walks amongst them continually, Esa 33.17. Thine eyes shall see the King in his glory. Now there are many men that are ruled by Kings that never see them; but this is a Court where they may see their King, and it is the Palace of the great King, where he is always to be seen by his Subjects, the meanest as well as the greatest, non factio, sed curia dicenda est, Cyprian. It's not a government at a distance in remote parts, but so as he takes up his dwelling place there, and they are joyful in their King; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King always, but never so much as when they see him in glory. (8) They have a communion with his person all the while: there are many that have a benefit by his government that have no fellowship with his person; but the Queen, the Bride, the Lamb's wife, she has the fruit of his government and communion with his person, and delights in his love and in his glory also, and the King sits at his round table, and we eat with him, we sup with him, and our souls rejoice in his salvation, his left hand is under our head, and his right hand embraceth us, he brings us into his banqueting-house, and the banner of love is over us, as a Bridegroom over his Bride; while he rules us as a King, he doth delight in us, and we have communion with him, as a husband continually. §. 2. There is an external part of the Covenant, and so there is of the Kingdom, which is the rule and the government that Christ hath over the spirits of those that are under the spiritual kingdom by profession only, unregenerate men that join to the Church, and are with them under the dew and influence of the Ordinances, and of the common works of the Spirit of God in them; for Rev. 4.5. Rev. 4.5. There are burning before the throne seven lamps of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God; the Throne is an expression of Majesty and government, for unto the King belongs the Throne, the Sceptre, and the Crown, they are properly insignia regia, etc. and by the seven Spirits is meant the Holy Ghost; that's clear from Chap. 1.4. where he wisheth grace and peace from the seven Spirits of God, by which surely is meant the Holy Ghost; for we are to make our prayers unto God only, but yet it is seven Spirits, because of the variety of graces and gifts, which he doth pour out upon the Church of Christ in his administration and government; and here we may observe two things. (1) That the spiritual kingdom of God doth not only extend to his rule over the Saints which are his subjects by election and regeneration, but also that there is a great deal of dominion which he has even over them that are the subjects of this kingdom only by profession. (2) That the rule and dominion that Christ doth exercise over these, is for the sake and for the good of the Saints, and that they themselves have no benefit by it in the end; but all doth turn unto the advantage and the spiritual improvement of them that are heirs of salvation; so that the administration unto unregerate men, as members of the Church visible, is for the good of those that are members of the Church invisible. 1. The spiritual kingdom of Christ doth extend even unto unregenerate men, who are the subjects of it by profession only; where we are to take notice, That there are many give their names unto Christ, who never give their hearts, who have the name of Christ written in their foreheads, which have not his image instamped upon their souls; 2 Cor. 9.13. there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a profession which is not always accompanied with a real and spiritual subjection unto the Gospel. 2. These are all the while subjects to another kingdom; for till vocatio alta & secreta, there be a deep and secret vocation, a man is never translated, Col. 1.13. the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is è natali solo, etc. a man is actually under the kingdom of Satan still; for while a man is of the world, though he be in the Church, he is of the world's kingdom; for they are not all of us that are amongst us, not all Israel that are of Israel; there are some do say that they are Jews, and are not, but do lie, but are of the Synagogue of Satan, Rev. 2.9. for the world lies in wickedness, in aliquo positum esse, est in ejus esse potestate, as Cameron hath observed: there are many enemies that live in a kingdom, against which they conspire and endeavour to destroy it. Jesus Christ after this life shall rule over his enemies, but in this life he rules in the middle of them. Psal. 110.2. 3. Yet while they do live, and in outward show continue the subjects of this kingdom, so long they are to be looked upon in outward show as subjects, and the privileges of subjects belong unto them, they are servants, Joh. 8.35. But the servant abides not in the house always; there will come a time when the Lord will say, Cast out the bondwoman and her son, Gal. 4. but yet while they are in the house they do enjoy many privileges and benefits by being in the family, they partake of the sap and the fatness of the good olive, Rom. 11.17. and yet be afterwards broken off. 4. But they shall not continue subjects of this kingdom always; though for a season the tares and the wheat, the sheep and the goats may stand together till the day of separation, good and bad be in the net together, till the one be gathered into the vessel, and the bad be cast away; for though the spiritual kingdom in respect of Christ shall have no end, but Christ shall be so a King in glory, that he shall never cease to be a head of eminence, or of influence, or of guidance (for the mystical Union shall never be broken) no more than the hypostatical, yet his kingdom in respect of those that profess it, is but for the time of this life; natural worship shall be in glory, and they are only Saints that worship Christ therewith; but there is instituted worship that is only for the time of this life, and it is in this that they worship him, and become subjects to him, Mat. 8.12. but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out at the last, Joh. 15.2. there are branches that bear no fruit in this Vine, and they are cast out as a branch and whither; but during the time of their continuance in this kingdom till he has cast them out for their rebellion, there is a government that the Lord Jesus by his Spirit doth exercise towards them and over them for the good of his Saints. And this will appear by the expressions that we meet with in Scripture. (1) They are his servants, Joh. 8.35. the Church is compared to a house, a family, as it's called the family of God, and the house of God; and of this family Christ is the Master: now there is a special employment that he has for every one of his servants, and they are under his special command and dominion; it is true, this family is made up of servants and of sons, and the servants may have a greater rule in the house than the sons, but yet both under the authority of the householder, only he rules over the one as a Master, and over the other as a Father, but both are in subjection. Cant. 6.8. there are in the Church sixty Queens, and fourscore Concubines, and Virgins without number, some are truly married unto Christ, and have a true right and authority in the family by their marriage-union with the King, for the woman shines by the beams of her husband; but there are Concubines that came in only for lust's sake, and that did bear fruit, but it was never from a marriage state; and there were Virgins that were companions only, that were not married, neither did they in a manner bear fruit, but were for attendants only, and the King has a special rule and dominion over all these, etc. (2) The Church visible is compared to a great House, 2. Tim. 2.20. some expound it de mundo, but contextus nos ducit, ut de Ecclesia intelligamus; non de extraneis disputat Apostolus, sed de ipsa familia Dei, Calv. there is not a vessel but it has its use, though all have not the same use, nor of the like honour, yet all are for use, and all are for the Master's use; so that there is a special dominion that is exercised over them all, as well the vessels of wood and stone, as those that are of gold, to employ them where he will, and as he will, in what service he pleases; for it is his will that makes their use to differ; it is for the Saints sake that he makes use of them; so that all God's dispensations towards unregenerate men in the Church is for their sakes, all the husbandry that is exercised about the unfruitful branches is for the sake of those that have a blessing in them; for the wicked shall have no benefit by it in the great day of the Lord; the greater rule the Lord has exercised towards men, the greater will their abhorring be, the nearer they have been to him, the further off shall they be from him, the higher they have been exalted to heaven, the deeper shall they be cast down to hell, Mat. 11.23. there is utter darkness for the children of the kingdom, Mat. 8.12. And this we may reduce unto four Heads, (1) their graces, (2) their gifts, (3) their services, (4) their sins, and in all these the dominion of Christ over them is for the good of the Saints. 1. Their graces are ruled by Christ for the Saints: there are common graces which the Lord doth give unto unregenerate men in the Church, common illuminations, by which they see much glory and beauty in spiritual things, and yet had never their eyes anointed with eyesalve; and there are many common works upon the wills of men letting in a taste of the goodness of spiritual things, so that the heart is much taken with them, and makes out after them; and there are many tendencies to the new birth, Hos. 13.13. we see them set forth to us, Heb. 6.3, 4. which is meant of the common graces of the Spirit of Christ under the Gospel, which he works upon the souls and consciences of unregenerate men, which are only from the Spirit assisting, and not from the Spirit informing, which flow not from union, but from conviction; and therefore from which in time they will surely fall away: there is a great beauty that the Spirit of God in such common works doth put forth upon the souls of unregenerate men, though it be but as the Sun shining upon a mudwall, or as a curious robe put upon a dead carcase, it cannot keep it from stinking, because there is not a principle of life in it. (1) Hereby the Lord restrains their spirits. There is a restraint without by a power that is upon the Devil, by which he is restrained from doing the mischief he would else do; but there is a restraint within upon the lusts of men, and that is by some special works of the Spirit of God upon them, Exod. 34.24. No man shall desire thy land, etc. and the Spirit restraining is for the Saints sake as well as the Spirit renewing, Psal 76: 10. The wrath of man shall praise thee, Psal. 76.10. and the remainder of wrath thou shalt restrain, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 accinges, thou shalt gird up; sometimes the Lord lets men's lusts lose, and sometimes he does gird them up as he doth the Sea in a girdle of sand, or else the Saints of God, who are always as sheep amongst wolves, would surely be devoured by them, for their soul is amongst lions. Now they are common works that do exceedingly restrain the sins and the rage of unregenerate men, and bind up their spirits both in reference unto persecution and the wrongs done by them, as also in reference to corruption and the evil example given by them also. (2) Hereby the Lord doth fit them for service; for even the vessels of dishonour are for service in the house also, though they be but of wood and stone, etc. Now though gifts do immediately qualify them, yet they are common works that do make them to exercise those gifts, and are unto them as oil to the wheels in the use of them; as a temporary Believer he may be an eminent Professor, and the house that such a one builds is far more glorious in outward show than that of a Saint, for they are both called bvilders, Mat. 7.7. and many men do service for God, but they are cold in it, because they are acted only from without, Rom. 16.18. whose God is their belly, Non ità glacies & frigus sicut Elcius & alii, sed ego rem seriam agebam, ut quòd diem extremum horribiliter timui, etc. Luth. and this will make a man seem to act from an inward principle, as if he had received life from the Spirit, and were made alive from the dead; and thereby even ungodly men do many times give a great testimony unto the principles and the practices of the Saints, that they acknowledge them and seal unto them, and yet nevertheless there is in them a principle to hate them, and that will vent itself in time, when the thorns shall spring up to choke the word, notwithstanding all the restraints that are upon their lusts for a season. (3) Thereby they do good many times, and give great encouragements to the Saints by their example; for their lamps do shine as lights in the world, and there are many that do show others the way, in which they themselves walk not, but they have their diverticula, their crooked ways, they go forth with the people of God, Psal. 125.5. and yet they do afterwards repent themselves, and turn back again from the way that's called holy, 2 Pet. 2.21. Godly men do not only follow the example of the Saints, that is, those that are really and truly so, but they have many times very great encouragement from the example and the countenance of them that are not so, as we see it in the instance of Joash, how he did encourage the bvilders of the Temple; especially when they are men in authority and power, they do encourage and go before the Saints of God, unto the end whereof they never come; and so we have much experienced in our days. 2. By their gifts also; no man hath his gifts for himself, they are this world's goods, they are not thy own, but another man's, as thy riches are: and they are the Church's Treasure, and they will fall from a man when he dies, as Elijahs mantle; for they are of no use in the world to come, and therefore shall not continue, 1 Cor. 13.8, 9 they are (1) for the Church's collection, that so they may be instrumental in gathering in others. As for that dispute, Whether a man that is unregenerate is made use of by God to convert others? I shall not now insist on; but I conceive the power of conversion being not of man, but of God, the Lord calling such as belong to the Election, doth according to his good pleasure concur with the one as with the other; the gifts of the Ministry are for the gathering of the Saints, Eph. 4. many of them are unregenerate men, and yet have received a gift, Mat. 7.21. and can say to Christ, We have prophesied in thy name; yet are castaways themselves; for Christ has received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell amongst them, Psal. 68.18. that is, that the Lord might have a Church for a habitation amongst them, Habes ingenium verè aureum (saith Austin of Lycentius) & diabolo propinas teipsum. Deus populo suo tam per pios quàm per impios magna facere & donare potest, Luth. Golden wits may be the Devils vassals. (2) For the perfection of the Saints; for during the standing of this great house the vessels shall continue, and there will be a continual use of them, that though they serve their lusts, yet by the use of their gifts the Lords ends are accomplished, Phil. 1.18. Some preach Christ out of envy, but yet Christ is preached, and thereby the savour of the Gospel is spread abroad, and souls are converted and edified; for there is many a man that builds an Ark that saves others, that never saves himself, that preaches to others, and is himself a castaway; there were many that converted others to the Faith in the times of Popery, that yet departed themselves from that Faith when suffering came; And I fear it will also be said of some Ministers now amongst us, that seem great Zealots for the cause and ways of God, that when the hour and power of darkness that is coming once again in this Nation shall overspread it, they will draw back from the plough, to which they have before so many witnesses put their hand, etc. the love of many shall wax cold. 3. All their services also; for they have gifts for service, and it is for the service of the house, and they are therefore called servants; and truly it's an honour to be a servant to the Saints, seeing the Angels are so; and there is much benefit that the Saints have by it, as we see in Saul, the spirit of government was upon him, and that service he did in it was for the Saints; and Zac. 4.12. they are said to empty the golden oil out of themselves, etc. but it is all for the good of the Candlestick, it is that the light thereof may be maintained. (1) Sometimes they protect as badger's skin's the Ark from storms that the Church is exposed to; unregenerate men may be very serviceable to the Church of God, as we see in Cyrus, etc. (2) Sometimes they may assist them in any work that they set upon, they may stand by them, and strengthen their hands, as we see Joash the King did about the building and repairing the House of the lord (3) Sometimes they may supply them; there is many a man that supplies the necessities of the Saints, that doth it to be seen of men, and have their reward; for they are labourers in the Lord's Vineyard, and it is for the benefit of it that they are employed, and they have their penny, and they may also bear much of the burden and heat of the day, as it seems they that murmured did, and they do commonly set a high price upon their own services: and hereby the Saints do glorify Christ, who has given such gifts to men; and when he hath given such to his enemies, O what are those gifts that he hath reserved for his sons! They see it is the great fruit of the Ascension of Christ, and as from the seven Spirits that are before the Throne; and they can bless God for his goodness to the children of men; and though they pity such a soul to see him destroyed by his own gifts, in his abusing of them, non est calamitosior homo in terris quàm doctor superbus, There is not a more piteous man in the world than a proud Doctor, Luth. yet they glorify Christ therein, and see this as a fruit of his government, that there may be those that shall build the Tabernacle of God, as it is said of Bezaleel and Aholiab that they were gifted for the work, etc. 4. By their sins; for (1) the Lord doth let them live for the Saints sake, let's both good and bad grow together to the harvest, and he will weed them out for the Saints sake also; for he will gather out of his Kingdom all that offends, and whoever works iniquity; and he will not have the society of the Saints always polluted by the chaff of the world, for they are spots in their feasts, and therefore he doth take them away as unfruitful figtrees, he cuts them down and gives them to salt, to a perpetual barrenness; for the grace and ordinances of the Gospel will heal even the dead sea, Ezech. 47.11, 12. therefore he casts them out in order to their destruction. (2) The Lord will not have his people always deluded: the Saints many times are mistaken in their opinion of persons, they may as Eli did misreprove a Hannah in the Church of God, and as David believe a Zibi against the son of his friend; for commonly the best deserving Christians are clouded by the glaring light of the lamps of Hypocrites, who make it their business to raise false reports against such as outshine them in true grace and holiness; but at last God will discover them and cast them out of the Church's prayers and affection, they shall not always abide with them, 1 Joh. 2.18. that they may be made manifest not to be of them: and they that are approved shall be made manifest; and so shall they that are corrupted also, they shall be found liars, and they shall be cast out, the Lord will cut them off, that they may deceive the expectations of the Saints no more; the Lord doth delight to do it, and we should wait his leisure in it, who will certainly show himself a God that judges in the earth. (3) That thereby the Saints may be awakened and admonished; when Hymeneus fell, than 2 Tim. 2.7. is that exhortation most seasonable, Let him that names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity, and let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall: when a man observes horrendas tempestates & flenda naufragia, horrid tempests, it is a hint to the Saints, look to your standing, see that you be built upon a Rock, that storms and tempests may not overthrow you. 5. In their judgements; for they are terrible judgements that the Lord doth execute upon unregenerate men in the Church, there are no mercies like those out of Zion, and there are no judgements like them; no men are so eminently under the curse as they are: Out of the Throne came thundering, and lightning, and voices, Rev. 4.5. for the Church's sake and by their prayers. And this is (1) that the Saints may be thankful; how great a mercy is it that I had not fallen away as well as he, Joh. 14.22. (2) That they may take heed of the same sins, lest they be overtaken by the same plagues; Remember Lot's wife; the natural branches are broken off, thou standest by faith, be not highminded, but fear; they entered not through unbelief; let us fear, lest we also come short, etc. Heb. 4.1. §. 3. There belongs also unto the spiritual Kingdom reductiuè, all the works and the dispensations of God amongst the creatures; for though only men that live in the Church be the proper subjects of the spiritual Kingdom, and in respect of the spiritual part of it, only the Saints; yet as the Mediator undertook the government of all other things for the Church's sake, so in the government of all things he has a special respect unto their good; Eph. 1. ult. Joh. 17.2. so that all the creatures and the government of them all comes under the spiritual Kingdom two ways: (1) As they tend to perfect the graces of the Saints. (2) As they belong unto the privileges of the Saints; so reductiuè they belong to the spiritual Kingdom▪ 1. Christ in the spiritual Kingdom doth so order and dispose of all the creatures, that they do all tend to perfect and increase the graces of the Saints, Rom. 8.28. Rom. 8.28. All things shall work together for good to them that love God: the Apostle speaks it in reference unto affliction; but yet because there was a general doctrine in it, he would not restrain it, and therefore he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that is, all creatures and all events, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, i. e. (1) they shall not work so of themselves, but by a blessed and gracious concurrence of God with them all, as it is said, That Ministers are workers togethers with God, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 2 Cor. 6.1. Alas! it is not any thing we can do, or by any power that is in us, but only there is a concurrence of the principal with the instrumental cause; for instrumentum agit dispositiuè in virtute principalis agentis. (2) Some refer it unto the creatures themselves, that they do not do this apart, as if any one action or any one dispensation merely did it, but they do it as it were in a conspiracy or concatenation, they all join together in the work, that if we take any one particular, we may seem to go backward, and it may tend to the disadvantage of the spiritual Kingdom, but we must take them all together; as we are not to judge of the works of God ante quintum actum, so neither are we to judge of the fruits of his works, but by laying of them all together, and see how they work in a due order and subordination one to another, etc. and unto what is it? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that is, ad aeternam piorum salutem; for sine summo bono nil bonum. As there is nothing good without the chiefest good, so there is nothing good that doth not lead a man unto the chief good; and therefore when it's said, That all things work together for good, the meaning is, they shall all make for the increase of their grace here, and their glory hereafter, all of them shall work for the eternal good of their souls: whereas unto all wicked men, all the creatures and all the dispensations of God in the ordering of the creatures cedunt in perniciem, tend to their perdition: they are unto the one in praemium, for a reward, unto the other in supplicium, for punishment, as Prosper has it; Or as Cyprian saith of the Sacrament, it was Petro in remedium, Judae in venenum, a remedy to Peter, but poison to Judas; so it is here, all the creatures that the wicked do enjoy, they are indeed seemingly blessings, but really curses, outwardly bread, but in verity a stone, a fish in show, but in truth a scorpion; for they do all of them tend to the ripening of their sins, and the hastening of their ruin: but to the Saints, 1 Cor. 3.21, 22. All things are yours; he was speaking of glorying in men, they should not boast of their Teachers; though it is true indeed, that the Primitive Church had their Crown of twelve Stars, yet they were all the servants of the Churches, & debent tam corpori quàm capiti servire, they ought to serve the body as well as the head; and therefore some will have it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but the Apostle doth speak here, as in the forequoted places (as I conceive) where though speaking of one particular, yet there being a general truth in it, he doth propound it generally; for it is not to be restrained to persons, as the after-enumeration shows, for he speaks of life and death, things present and things to come: now how doth he mean that all is ours? that is, aedificationi & saluti destinata, as ordained for our edification and salvation; there is a special design of grace in ordering and disposing of them all, so as they shall be truly our servants, that is, they shall tend unto the advancement of our spiritual and eternal good, Rom. 8.38. what he had before spoken positively, that they shall all do us good, here he speaks negatively, that they shall never be able to do us hurt: I am persuaded that neither life nor death, via extrema, secunda, & adversa, the highest pitch of prosperity, and the lowest ebb of adversity or affliction, shall not be able to hurt us, nor Angels good or bad, nor principalities, and powers, that is, all the powers of Empires and Monarches of the world, nor things present, nor things to come, not any intermediate events that now do, or hereafter may befall us, nor heights nor depths, nor any creature, i. e. if there be any creature that comes not under the former enumeration, whether it be in heaven above, or in the deeps beneath, it shall never be able to hurt us in respect of our eternal state, because it shall never be able to separate us from the love of God, which has so sure a ground; for it is love born to us in Christ, in whom he has elected us, etc. therefore you see there comes no disadvantage, but a continual advantage unto the spiritual Kingdom by all the creatures and by the dispensations of Christ in the ordering and the government of them all. Let us see this by an enumeration of some particulars. 1. If the Lord give unto his people prosperity, it shall be to the advantage of the inward man, and in their outward prosperity their souls shall prosper, 2 Chron. 17.6. Jehosaphat had silver and gold and riches in abundance, and his heart was lifted up and encouraged in the ways of God's commandments; and thereby the people of God make them friends of the unrighteous Mammon, and they lay up a good foundation, that they may lay hold of eternal life; Eccles. 7.11. Wisdom is good with an inheritance; it is good in itself without an inheritance, but there is a special advantage by wisdom with an inheritance, and so it's better to the man; or it is good to a man's self, but it is not so good unto another; and so Prov. 14.24. The crown of the wise is their riches; but there are to other men riches reserved for the hurt of the owner, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them, Prov. 1.32. wisdom is the better with an inheritance, but folly is the worse with an inheritance; for the folly of fools is foolishness; he speaks it of rich fools, there are no men discover their folly more, and whose foolishness is more eminent and notorious than these men's; as riches draw forth the graces of the one, so do they also the sins of the other. 2. If the Lord give unto his people afflictions, it shall be to the advantage of their inward man, Rom. 5.3. Tribulation works patience: surely patience is a fruit of the Spirit, as all other graces are, and cannot be wrought in any man by affliction, unless it be given him by the Spirit. A man must have patience, (1) if ever he will bear affliction fruitfully; but (2) the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which doth signify to work a thing out, and bringing of it to perfection, Phil. 2.12. It is this therefore, that when patience is wrought in the soul by the Spirit, it is improved and exceedingly drawn out by affliction, it doth improve the graces of the Saints; and upon this ground it is said, Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations, Jam. 1.2. Esa. 27.8, 9 in measure God shoots forth the affliction; and the mercy of God is greatly seen in the moderation of the affliction: By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is the fruit to take away the sin of his people, when he makes all the stones of their Altars to be as chalk stones; and therefore Esa. 24.15. Glorify the Lord in the fires 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Heb. 12.10. he doth chastise them, that they may be made partakers of his holiness. 3. Temptations; for the Lord Jesus doth order all the temptations of Satan, and directs them unto spiritual ends; for even the very enemies of the spiritual Kingdom he doth overrule so, as he makes them servants to it, even the vessels of dishonour have their use in the great house, as the Apostle speaks, 2 Tim. 2.21. Satan is an enemy, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that enemy, in two things to the Saints: (1) In his accusations unto God; he is therefore called the Accuser of the Brethren, and so he did move God against Job to destroy him without a cause, Job 2.3. there was cause enough in Job, if the Lord had been extreme to mark what he had done amiss; but there was not that cause that Satan did allege; and it is a mercy to the people of God, that though there be cause enough, yet he doth hid the true cause from their malicious accusers, that that which they fasten upon them is no cause to set God or man against them, but the more the Lord doth appear for his servants to justify them; had not Satan accused Job so impetuously, God had never so eminently appeared for his justification. This should quiet and comfort the Saints in all the hard measure and reproaches that they meet withal in the world, that yet the Lord will arise for their justification and their enemy's confusion; that though a child of God may lie under the blast of the wicked for a season, yet God will vindicate him at last, so that false friends, as well as true enemies, shall be made to say, Surely there is no enchantment against any of the seed of Jacob; Judas 15. etc. Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgement upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him and his children, etc. (2) Satan is an enemy by his temptations unto the Saints, and so the strength of God is made perfect in their weakness, that is, manifestly declared so to be, 2 Cor. 12. for thereby their strength is tried, there is nothing tries grace so much as temptation unto sin, because nothing is more opposite unto grace, and gratia vexata seipsam prodit, grace vexed discovers itself: thereby also their corruption is purged, for the Lord doth commonly temper that poison into a medicine, and Satan that seeks to kill shall be instrumental to cure, he that doth intent to stab the man shall but give vent to his imposthume; and therefore Luther says of temptation, when the Papists did object unto Luther, that he himself granted Purgatory, I do indeed, saith he, but it is but that Purgatory of temptation, and he adds, Hoc Purgatorium non est fictum; and hereby the enemy is conquered; for we are more than conquerors, Rom. 8. It was said that the Carthaginians did prevail against the Romans in praelio, in a battle sometimes, sed nunquam in bello, never in war; so does Satan against the Saints, but they surely have the victory in the end, and therefore faith has its triumphing as well as its relying act, etc. 4. Corruptions of men shall tend to the Saints spiritual advantage: though God is not the Author of sin, yet he is the Orderer of it. (1) He doth not let out the corruptions of other men any further than for the good of his Saints: The wrath of man shall praise thee; no man shall desire thy land; I suffered thee not to touch her; the Lord withholds men from hurting his people, and his restraining grace is not only upon their acts, but upon their corruptions also; so as they are not let out but unto the Saints spiritual advantage also. (2) Not only the corruptions of other men, but those of the Saints themselves; the falling out of any new and eminent fall the Lord will make as a new conversion, Luke 22.32. When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren; the foundation is laid anew, and there is also a renewing of justification, a more fast application of the Righteousness of Christ: I will take away thy filthy garments, and I will thee with change of raiment; Zac. 3.4. I have caused thy iniquity to pass from thee; and this makes way for a glorious assurance and for an eminent employment; for God sets a Mitre or a Crown upon his head, and he was thereby fitted for the great work of the Temple, and taken into society with them that stand by. 5. All a man's employment; it is a testimony that a man is a vessel of honour, when in every condition he is fitted for the master's use; and it's a token that a man is called unto any employment in mercy, when he has the graces of that condition drawn forth; a man may be called to the Ministry or the Magistracy, but not in mercy, without this; there is an election to an employment as well as to life, Paul was separated from his mother's womb unto the Gospel of Christ, etc. If David be a shepherd, he follows the Ewes great with young, and he doth it with faithfulness, and if he be taken from the sheepfold to feed Jacob the Lord's people, and Israel his inheritance, he doth it with the integrity of his heart, and the skilfulness of his hand, Acts 13.22. Vis me constituere pastorem ovium, aut regem populorum, ecce paratum est cor meum, etc. sometimes friends, sometimes enemies, sometimes the chief of the Princes were against David, but God was with him. 6. Even death itself and the agonies thereof: for even death itself is yours, it is a servant, and not an enemy, because it doth improve and further a man's spiritual interest. (1) As men die in the Lord, Rev. 14.13. death is theirs by virtue of their union with Christ, that as they bear fruit in him, so they die in him; death cannot dissolve the union between a soul and Christ. (2) As they die to him, so they live to him, that is▪ Rom. 14. ●. they make him their end in living and dying, they would live no longer than he might be glorified, as Paul says, and they would then die when he might be glorified, that Christ might be magnified in my body, Phil. 1. and they count not their lives dear. (3) It is a life of glory that death lets the Saints into, it opens the door unto a weight of eternal life, it doth perfect the purer part of man, delivers him from the body of sin; for he that is dead is freed from sin, and it doth let him into the beatifical vision, and thereby his sanctification also is perfected: as it is recorded of Bernard when he was sick unto death, there was a great while nothing heard of him but this, Tempus perdidi, quàm perditè vixi! but at last he adds, Hoc meum solatium, duplici in re Christus regnum possidet, quà filius, quà passus, hoc secundo nihil ei opus fuit, sed mihi dedit; and under this consolation he fell asleep. 2. All the creatures belong to the spiritual Kingdom reductiuè, as they do belong to the privileges of the Saints; for all things are yours, because you are Christ's; there is a double right, jus politicum & evangelicum: now in this manner they belong to the spiritual Kingdom, 1. In respect of their continuance; for it is for their sakes that the world stands. By virtue of the ancient curse, Cursed be the ground for thy sake, the earth would sink under us, but that the Lord Jesus did put under his hand and keep it from ruin by virtue of the new Covenant; therefore he is brought in as the upholder of all things, who also purged our sins, and is sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Heb. 1.3. for the Lord did not continue the creatures in their being to serve his enemies, but the subordination of creatures depends upon the second Covenant, as appears Hos. 2.21. and the Lord will surely manifest it in these two things. (1) In the latter days the Kingdom and Dominion of the whole Earth shall be taken out of the hands of the enemies, and shall be given into the hands of the Saints to the end of the world, Dan. 7.18. and then all the wicked of the earth shall lick the dust of their feet, and it is in order thereunto that it is continued to this day. (2) As soon as the Lord has gathered in the number of his Saints, and has perfected their graces, he will take down the stage of this world, and overturn it, that it shall be no more, at least such as now it is. Now they that are the heirs of this world, as Abraham's seed are called, they are translating, and Gods children being called home, the Lord will not continue the world for servants, but he will break up house-keeping, and he will send every one of them unto their own place, etc. the tares and the wheat do grow till the harvest, but the Lord will not suffer the tares to grow again after the harvest; and therefore the very continuation of the creatures belongs unto the spiritual Kingdom as one part of the privileges of the Saints. 2. The restitution of the creatures; for as they were made subject unto vanity by sin, (for they all came under man's Covenant, and therefore you have heard in man's fall the curse took hold upon them, they being made for the use of man, Rom. 8.20, 21.) they shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption; and therefore they wait for the manifestation of the glory of the sons of God; not that all the creatures shall be continued in being, for many of them shall be consumed in that last conflagration, but yet the substance shall continue as standing monuments unto God's glory, as matter of praise and of delight unto the Saints, which shall be begun in the last days of the world, Acts 3.21. there shall be a wonderful change in the creatures doubtless before the last day, when the Ass shall eat clean fodder, Esa. 60.17. or provender, and when the stones shall be silver and gold, and out of the earth shall come brass, etc. and when the lion shall lie down with the lamb, Esa. 11.6. which some, as Lactantius, do understand literally to be fulfilled, terra aperiet foecunditatem suam, rupes montium melle sudabunt, non bestiae sanguine alentur, non aves praedâ, Lactant. lib. 7. cap. 4. The earth shall discover its fecundity, the rocks sweat honey, etc. When Christ shall come to the wedding, his servants shall put on their gay apparel, and this is the new Heaven and the new Earth, which shall begin before, and shall in the glory for the substantials of it remain after the Lord by the last fire has purged the world, unto which the world is reserved: now in this also all the creatures belong unto the spiritual Kingdom of Christ. §. 4. We have seen that the spiritual Kingdom is in the hand of Christ for the good of the Saints, and that (1) in that inward dominion that he has over them in whose hearts he dwells by a spirit of regeneration: (2) over them that belong unto this Kingdom by profession only: (3) over all the creatures reductiuè, how they all belong unto the spiritual Kingdom, [1] as they tend to perfect their graces, [2] as they belong to the privileges of the Saints. There is yet one head remaining, and that is, how Christ the Mediator, who is King in this spiritual Kingdom, doth rule and order the Angels, that they have an influence and do conduce to the advancement of the spiritual Kingdom; and they are of two sorts, Angels on Earth, his Ministers, and the Angels in Heaven; for they are both Officers in the spiritual Kingdom under Christ the King, and their Kingdom begun with that of the Mediator, and he that did set them up, will also put them down before he give up the Kingdom unto the Father; for they must give up their account unto Christ, and Christ must give up his unto the Father; for he saith, Heb. 2.13. Behold I and the children that thou hast given me: 1 Cor. 15.24. 1 Cor. 15.24. He shall put down all rule and all authority and power; the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, some refer it unto all powers opposite unto the Kingdom of Christ, and they say, that all these he shall put down, non modò ut non praevaleát, sed ut planè non sit. Now he doth overrule them so, that they do advance that Kingdom which they intent to oppose, for he rules in the middle of his enemies, but then they shall not be able to oppose; now he defeats all their plots, but then he shall destroy their persons also: but others do refer it unto the powers set up by Christ, which then he shall put an end unto, when the end of that institution is accomplished, and that not only unto the mediatory Kingdom which is to last but until the Saints are perfected, and till they all come unto the unity of the faith and to a perfect man, etc. but it is expounded also the principatu Angelico, they shall have no further hand in the government of the spiritual nor of the providential Kingdom, but during this present state, both these powers are to continue till he that did set them up shall put them down, and in the continued ordering and rule of these, much of the spiritual Kingdom of Christ doth consist, and they do much conduce unto the perfection of the spiritual Kingdom, and therefore I shall instance in them both. 1. For the Angels upon Earth; for so the Ministers and Messengers of God are styled, Judg. 2.1. Judg. 2.1. An Angel of the Lord came from Gilgal to Bochim: it is most probable that it was a Prophet, one that spoke to them in the name of the Lord, and some conceive it to be Phineas the Priest, because he is said to come from Gilgal; whereas Peter Martyr well observes, if it had been a heavenly Angel, it would have been rather said, Coelo descendisse, etc. Eccles. 5.6. That he descended from Heaven, and Eccles. 5.6. Say not before the Angel it is an oversight, that is, before the Priest before whom the errors of their rash vows were to be confessed, Rev. 2.1. Levit. 5.4, 5. Rev. 2.1. To the Angel of the Church, etc. and it is both a term of office and a term of honour; for they as well as the heavenly Angels are sent forth for the good of the Elect; and they are but Messengers, they must do their office, and it is also a term of honour, for the Lord takes them into the highest employments and administrations; and therefore it is unto an Officer that the promise is made, Zac. 3.7. Zac. 3.7. If thou walk in my ways and keep my charge, thou shalt judge my house and keep my courts, and I will give thee galleries to walk in amongst them that stand by. Now Christ being the King of the spiritual Kingdom, we shall observe how he doth govern and rule and order things for the Saints sake: that he did set up a Ministry in his Church it's true, that he doth give them a Commission to preach the Gospel to all Nations, and the sound of it goes forth unto all the earth, it comes unto them that are hardened as well as to them that are converted by it, but it was only for the sake of the Saints that he did it, or else he had never appointed such an office; therefore Eph. 4.12. the end of the Ministry is for the perfecting of the Saints, and for the edifying of the body of Christ; there are indeed many inferior and subordinate ends, there is finis minùs principalis, and many of these are attained also by one and the same action, and yet it is the principal end that was really the intention of the efficient, without which he would never have done it, though he also takes in many lesser and inferior ends: it's true, that there are many ends that by the preaching of the Gospel the Lord doth accomplish upon the wicked of the world, but yet he had never sent the Gospel for these ends, nor set up a Ministry for the publishing thereof, but it was only for the Saints, for their gathering and their perfecting, etc. 2. It is for the good of the Saints that he doth furnish them with gifts and abilities for so great an employment, it is onus humeris Angelicis formidandum, who is sufficient for these things? It requires the highest abilities attainable by the art of man and the grace of God, 1 Cor. 4.1. we are stewards of the mysteries of God, Parmenid. non ad politias regendas aut bella gerenda, etc. but that the mysteries of God, the truths of the Gospel are committed unto them, and the Lord doth lay them up in them as in a common Treasury, 2 Cor. 4.7. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, etc. It is not committed to them for their own sakes, or for their own use, but it is for the good of the family, and so Christ speaks unto his Disciples, Mat. 13.52. they should be as a Scribe instructed unto the kingdom of God; it was the office of the Scribes to teach the people the mysteries of the Word of God, and to give the sense, as Ezra the Scribe did; and therefore Christ makes use of the word, and applies it unto the Ministers of the Gospel, and he must be endued with all sorts of knowledge, he must have variety, he must have old things which he has treasured up long, for he is to be a Treasury of it, the Priests lips are to preserve knowledge, and also he must not be content with old things, but he must seek after new discoveries, new degrees of light, he must grow in knowledge daily, and therefore he must have new affections also, and this he must not hid and reserve there, but he must bring it forth; it is what a godly man, that is called by God to teach others, should be affected with and afflicted for, if he come short in any grace or gifts that some of his flock are eminent for; Non quod ferre potes, sed quod proffers, Cajet. Esa. 50.4. and all those that the Lord does call to this work he doth in some measure qualify, for God doth not send a Messenger and cut off his feet: now all this is for the Churches, for the Saints sake, and for their good; 1 Cor. 3.21, 22. Let no man glory in man, for all things are yours, all for your sakes; the highest offices, and the greatest gifts, and the greatest variety, Paul, Apollo, and Cephas, all is for your sake, for your edification and salvation: We preach not ourselves, but Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake; we are not Lords of your faith, but helpers of your joy, etc. Eph 4.11, 12. he gave gifts unto men to qualify them for their offices, and all is for the perfecting of the Saints. 3. He puts into them suitable affections and inward dispositions of heart towards them: Paul says, I was amongst you as a Nurse, with much pains and unweariedness, 1 Thess. 2.7. and with much patience and forbearance, bearing with your frowardness and the crookedness of your spirits and dispositions, Phil. 1.8. I long for you all in the bowels of Christ, Phil. 1.8. bowels you know do signify the tenderest affections, (1) such as are not natural, but wrought in me by Christ; for I had them not of myself, and so it notes causam efficientem. (2) With great affections, such as Christ their Saviour did bear to them, having their names written in his heart, even to lay down his life for them, with such bowels do I long for you, being willing to be sacrificed unto the service of your faith, and so it notes causam exemplarem, 2 Cor. 8.16. he put the same care into the heart of Titus. Phil. 2.20. it is said of Timothy, Phil. 2.20. he doth naturally care for your things, ad animi sinceritatem refert, Theodor. it is not from any outward respect or fleshly end, but from a natural principle wrought in him by the Lord, that he doth it naturally from an inward principle in nature; as the natural affection of the father and mother is put into them for the good of the child, so there is a natural principle put into them for the good of the Saints, etc. 4. He doth set them in their places, stars they are, and he doth appoint them their orbs, where they shall shine, for the seven Stars are the Angels of the Churches, and are in the right hand of Christ, are at his dispose, who sends them to a people where they shall be fishers: men do not know where the shoals of fish go, for we fish under water, but the Lord saith, Go and speak to them, for I have much people in this city; and when he has gathered in the number of his Elect in any place, than he takes away the Ministry from thence, and when there are any to be gathered in, than he doth bring them again. This is the reason why he doth cause it to rain upon one city, and not upon another also. As he sets them in their stations, so quoad protectionem, he it is that doth preserve them from the rage of men, which truly we know not how soon we may be exposed to, for I fear the time draws near; yet the witnesses shall not be killed till they have finished their testimony, and it is not all the power of the enemy shall be able to remove them. 5. He doth overrule and order them in their Ministry for the good of his people: sometimes the Spirit of the Lord comes upon them, and they speak beyond their intentions or meditations, Heb. 1.1. he speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he order their hearts, and he doth overrule their tongues, he doth make discoveries unto them for the good of his people, as sometimes he doth pour a darkness upon them for the sins of his people: and sometimes God in judgement hides his truths from a Teacher, because the people are not fitted to receive them. It's true not only of the Magistrates, that the Lord gives them up to commit follies, as he did David, because he was provoked against Israel, therefore he tempted David to number the people; but also it is true of the Ministers, Mic. 3.6. Pro divinatione erit caligo, ye shall have darkness, and the Lord will give no Visions unto the Prophets; and though they seek it, Esa. 29.10. yet they shall have no answer from God, he will pour out upon the Prophets and the seers the spirit of a deep sleep. Now as the Lord doth sometimes hid his word from his Prophets and his Messengers of purpose in judgement unto the people, that they that say to their Ministers, Prophesy not, the Lord says, They shall not prophesy; so he doth also give light unto them; and answerable unto the good that he doth mean to do unto a people, such is his presence and assistance with the Prophets that he doth employ, and all the discoveries of God in the Word shall be to them to whom he intends evil, as the words of a sealed book, that they shall say, I cannot read it, because it is sealed, as the Lord opens the book in mercy to his people and to his Prophets, so he doth seal it in judgement to other men, that seeing they shall see and not perceive, and hearing they shall hear, and not understand. Acts 18.5. Paul was pressed in spirit, and testified unto the Jews pro violento impulsu ad solitum instinctum plus accessit fervoris, Calv. There is sometimes a greater impulse upon the Ministers of the Gospel than there is at another time, and we should watch and wait to hear what God speaks to us in that manner, even while we are speaking to others; and truly the secret hints that God many times gives, that are immediately darted in from God, we have cause to consider of and look upon as the special mercies of our lives, because therein God has glory in a special manner according to the service that the Lord has to do for them and by them, and all is for the good of his people. 6. He doth give an efficacy and success unto their labours in three things. (1) He doth by them gather souls; for Paul saith, 1 Cor. 4.15. I have begotten you thorough the Gospel; and therefore as Christ is a Father, so are they also spiritual Fathers under him, as they are employed by him to bring souls unto the Lord, and they travel in birth with you, there is a planting as well as a watering, and this should be the great aim of a Minister, without which he should think all the other ends as it were lost, as Christ doth, Esa. 49.4. I have laboured in vain, Israel is not gathered; not in vain as to his reward, but yet unto the great end of his calling in vain, which is to bring men to repentance, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, Acts 26.18. (2) For the perfecting of their graces, Rom. 1.11, 12. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established, etc. 1 Thess. 3.10. it is, that I might perfect that which is wanting in your faith; for there is to be a watering as well as a planting, there is a fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ, in which the Ministers should desire to come unto a people, Rom. 15.29. that it be not an empty Ministry, but come with a fullness of blessing, oratione satagamus, ut ipse perficiat in auditore quod loquitur in doctore, Luth. (3) To preserve them from error; they are the salt of the earth for this end, that men may not prove unsavoury, Eph. 4.14, 15. that men be not carried about with every wind of doctrine called so, Eph. 4.14, 15. [1] for its mutability, it doth not abide long in one quarter, men are not long of the same mind, quò quis foret religiosior, eò promptiùs novellis aedinventionibus contrà iret. [2] For its prevalency, it is strong and powerful, and for the strength of it, it is compared unto a mighty wind; and so it is with this also unto light things, that which is chaff and has no root it carries away with ease, trees that have no root; but that which has a root is the more firmly rooted; and this is the honour of the Ministers, that the people be in this manner preserved and established, etc. 7. Their sufferings are for the Church's sake also, and the Churches good: Phil. 1.12, 13. The things that have happened to me in my bonds, they have been for the furtherance of the Gospel; I endure all for the Church's sake, that they may attain the salvation which is in Jesus Christ, I fill up that which is behind of the suffering of Christ for his body's sake, which is the Church. It is true, that the sufferings of Christ are only for the Church's redemption, 2 Tim. 2.10. Col. 1.24. and that the suffering of the Ministers also is for the Church's edification, and they whom the Lord will have to profit his people no longer by their preaching, shall do it by their suffering, as one of the Martyrs said, I hope we shall kindle a fire this day in England that shall never be put out again; Christ's sufferings only are meritoriously available for the salvation of the Saints, but ours also ministerially for their edification; and therefore what do they intent that seek to destroy the Ministers of Christ, of which Christ makes so great a use, far from the apprehension of the people of Antioch, who when chrysostom was banished professed, tolerabilius fuisset, si Sol radios suos retraxisset: and Luther, Si in manu mea res esset, non vellem Deum mihi loqui de coelo, sed huc tendunt quotidianae preces meae, ut digno honore habeam: his care was that he might esteem the Ministry as the Ordinance that God had appointed, etc. 2. And as Christ useth the Angels upon earth for the advancement of the spiritual Kingdom, so he doth the Angels in heaven also; (1) they pray for us, Dan. 4.17. Non ex officio, sed charitate, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Clem. Alex. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Origen. 2. They do join with us in our praises, and out of their love bless God wonderfully for mercies unto us; at the Birth of Christ the Angels sing, Good will towards men, Rev. 5.11. there is a principle of love that makes them to rejoice in our good, that we are taken into their fellowship, members of the same body, and it may be as many men are saved as there were Angels that fell qui supplent locum illum, as Bern. and so the Schoolmen generally, non in naturam Angelicam, sed statum, for they shall be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 3. They do instruct us in the things of God: for as the Devil doth put evil motions into mankind, so do the Angels good motions also, Dan. 9.22. I am sent to inform thee; and the Angels themselves, as by the Church, so for the Church's sake they have many discoveries made to them; that they might also teach them to us; they receive a spirit of Prophecy from Christ for the Church's sake, Rev. 19.10. the god of this world blinds the eyes of men, and the Angels that are employed by the Spirit of God do enlighten them. 4. They watch over them carefully to keep them from sin: Judas 9 Michael the Archangel when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee, etc. Why did God hid the body of Moses? Ne corpus ejus in superstionis occasionem adducerent. Now here Michael contends: if it be Christ that is here meant, the Angels are his armies, and they are behind him, Zac. 1. but some conceive it a created Angel, for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he durst not give him a railing accusation, Satan would have brought it to light, but the Angels hindered it; and so Rev. 19 John would have worshipped the Angel, but the Angel saith, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow-servant. Now see the difference between the good Angels and the bad, the Devil will be worshipped, he tempts all men, as he did the Lord Christ to fall down and worship him, he delights to make men sin in point of worship; but now the good Angel will restrain from sin, and will not suffer the servants of God to sin against God: See thou do it not, etc. 5. The Angels do sweetly comfort and cheer the souls of the Saints in their dejections; when Daniel was troubled, an Angel bids him not to fear, thou art a man of desires; they delight as well in your consolation as in your conversion, and so they did with Christ in his agony, the Angels comforted him; and so to Paul, Be of good cheer, says the Angel: Acts 27. Discamus optimos & constantissimos amicos nostros esse Angelos, qui fide, benevolentiâ, & omnibus amicitiae officiis visibiles amicos longè superant, sicut diaboli omnes hostes visibiles, The Angels are our best and most constant friends, etc. Luth. Lastly, At death they carry the souls of the people of God into Abraham's bosom, and they do rejoice in such a conveyance, that they may be employed to bring another into society and communion with themselves in that glory which they by Christ attain unto; for they delight in the filling up of the body of Christ; and when a soul is converted, there is much joy not only to the Angels, but even to God himself; how much more therefore when a soul is glorified, etc. as the Devil from a principle of enmity is ready as an Executioner to conduct souls to be tormented in hell, to carry them from the presence of the Lord; so are the blessed Angels from a principle of love, as Officers for our conduct to enter into our Master's joy; and sweet shall the converse of the soul and the Angels be in that pleasant passage; but as terrible in the passage will the converse of the soul and the Devil be, there shall be nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, etc. SECT. III. What Interest the Saints have in Christ's Providential Kingdom as to the greatest and least things. §. 1. WE have spoken of the Spiritual, and come now unto the Providential Kingdom, which is a further manifestation and exercise of the Sovereignty of God; and this also have the Saints an interest in, and it is in the second Covenant made over to them for their good, that it shall be wholly administered for them; and this will appear in these particulars. 1. There is a special Providence over them above all the rest of the Creation; it is true, that there is a general Providence of God that doth reach unto every thing, even the meanest and the vilest creatures, Mat. 10.29. a sparrow, a hair; He doth whatever it pleases him in heaven and earth, and in the sea, etc. there is a Divine manuduction, etc. and there is a concourse; God has not set up a world to act of itself, but there is and must be a concurrence, that is, (1) with all second causes, or else they cannot act; this appears in the Furnace of Babylon, if the Lord do but suspend his act, the creatures immediately work not; and therefore there is an immediate acting that is with all second causes, causa prima concurrit immediatè cum omni agente creato, etc. But (2) in a special manner over the Saints; for that's the scope of Christ's reasoning, Mat. 10.29, etc. Ye are of more value than many sparrows; he that feeds the ravens and the lilies, will he not much more you, O ye of little faith? and not one of them is forgotten by your heavenly Father, vocula Pater tanta est in cord eloquentia quam Demosthenes & Cicero non possunt exprimere, etc. Luther, all the rest are but his servants, but he will much more take care for his sons; to the rest of the world he is but a Master, but he is unto you a Father, and his affection answers his relation, etc. and therefore Deut. 33.3. All thy Saints are in thy hand, that is, under thy power for their preservation, as Joh. 10.28, 29. None can pluck them out of my Father's hand; and they are also under his care for their direction, Num. 4.28. Under the hand of Ithamar, and by the hand of Moses and Aaron and of David, he rules them with the skilfulness of his hand, etc. they are as the apple of his eye, Zac. 2.8. tactum pro injuria ponit, so Jerome, and 'tis that which is the dearest to him; and therefore it's that which he has the more tender care of; Psal. 83.3. they are his Jewels and his hidden ones, Psal. 83.4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those that are kept as in chambers that are never exposed unto open view, as it's spoken of the chambers of the South, of the stars that are under the Southern Pole, which are not seen in our Horizon, but are as it were locked up in their chambers; and so it is with these Saints, they are shut up in the secret of the Tabernacle, and as it were kept in the Holy of holies, where no man may come, etc. Now wherein doth this special Providence over the Saints consist? It is (1) in ordering, ruling, and overruling all things for their good, that nothing shall touch them or do them hurt, for he could not preserve them, if he did not rule and order all things for their good, he doth so order all things, that nothing shall do them hurt; let there be the most cross turn among the creatures that can be, Psal. 46.1, 2. let the earth be moved, and let the mountains shake, let the Sea roar, yet they will not fear; how is it that they are so fearless? Truly it is when they are not faithless; and the ground of it is, because there is a Providence that watches over them, that none of these things shall do them any hurt, Luke 10.19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, There is nothing shall by any means hurt them. It is true, that they have enemies, they have one great enemy who is called the Envious man, and all the means that he can use is to turn every thing to their hurt, but they shall tread down all the power of the enemy, that none shall be able to hurt them; as it is said of the Patriarches, He suffered no man to do them wrong, but he reproved Kings for their sakes; there were many that had a mind to do them wrong, but he suffered them not, and any that did attempt it, the Lord turned it into their good, and they did it not impunè, it was unto their own destruction, Esa. 49.17. There is no weapon that is form against thee shall prosper; and this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, it is that which belongs to them only, and that which they have a glorious title to, it is jure haereditario theirs, it descends unto them by their interest in God as their Father, and they that have God for their Father, have the secret Providence of God as their inheritance, so that there is nothing shall work against them, when God is for them. (2) Every thing shall work for their good and their preservation: the stars shall fight for them, the Sea shall be a wall unto them, instead of drowning of them, their very enemies shall favour them, Psal. 106.46. he gives them favour in the sight of their enemies, and even Nabuchadnezzar shall give charge concerning Jeremiah, when there was none concerning Zedekiah the King; and he will turn the curse into a blessing, Deut. 23.5. The Lord turned it into a blessing. To a wicked man every thing is for his hurt, what should be for his welfare, that becomes his snare; but it is quite contrary unto a godly man, that which is intended for his hurt that is turned into good, and to a quite contrary end than that unto which it was by the enemy intended. Now when we see many causes with contrary purposes and intentions, all of them conspire unto an end which they understand not, but seek and desire the contrary, it must be said, that there is a providence and a wise hand that did overrule all this, for this is an end that was far from the intention of second causes; for there is a peace with enemies, Prov. 16.7. there is a Covenant with beasts, as Hos. 2.18. and there is a league with stones, Job 5.23. Dominium habet, custodem habebit, & lapides, etc. and all this is nothing but an expression of that special and secret providence of God that doth watch over his own people; so that this is the comfort and the inheritance of the Saints, that every thing in the whole government of the world is so ordered, that it shall do them no hurt, but all shall make for their good, who love him and fear him. Now to set forth this in the particulars of it; we shall see that all things about which the providence of God is exercised, are so ruled, as that the government of them makes for the good of the Saints; and here I shall propound these five distinctions. 1. The Providence of God is either circa maxima, vel minima. (1) The greatest things in the world are not above the providence of God, neither are the smallest things below it: He doth whatever he will in heaven and in earth, and in the sea. It is not what the creatures will, Psal. 119.91. but it is what he will; all are his servants, the very Angels in Heaven do his pleasure, and they hearken unto his voice; and the greatest of men, Dan. 4.16, 17. the most high rules in the Kingdoms of mortal men, he puts down the mighty from their seat, he exalts them of low degree, deponit reges, disponit regna, Ezech. 21.10. It is the rod of my son contemning every tree, etc. (2) There is not the smallest thing but it is ordered by him, there is not a worm that creeps upon the ground, Hos. 2.18. but he can make it hurtful to a man, he can command a serpent and he shall by't a man, etc. he can hiss for the fly, etc. 2. There is a double exercise of providence, or the providence of God has two parts. (1) He doth uphold them in their beings, and the same Spirit that did create them doth to this very day sit and brood upon them, as Gen. 1.2, 3. He doth bear up all things by the word of his power, Heb. 1.2. he doth hang the earth upon nothing but a word, and the same word that created all things doth still continue them in their being; if he should take away that word, they would run into their first nothing immediately, and therefore it is truly said of providence, that it is continuata creatio, a continued creation: Psal. 104.3. He sends forth his word, and they are created, and he renews the face of the earth; it is spoken of the providence and the preservation of all things, which he doth call a Creation, for the same creating power is put forth continually, and daily exercised; for as ejusdem est potentiae annihilare & creare, so ejusdem est creare & conservare, to give a being and continue the creature in that being, Psal. 66.9. Who holdeth my soul in life, etc. even the continuance of a man's temporal or spiritual life is an act of a creating power. (2) He doth order their actions at his pleasure; all of them shall accomplish his ends; either he doth act them, or he doth suspend their actions at his pleasure; and if he will concur with them, or if he will withdraw his concurrence, it is all according to his pleasure; and therefore he is the Lord of Hosts, and all the motions of this great Army are at his command; as Pharaoh said to Joseph, Without thee shall no man lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. It is true, that the Lord governs all things, yea the very thoughts of the heart, there doth not a motion arise but he doth fashion the hearts of men, Psal. 33.15. Zac. 12.1. he formeth the spirits of men within them, so that what fashion he doth put upon the apprehensions of men; or the affections of men, the same they have; for all is of his government; Ezech. 38. 1● things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought, etc. all his government of the creature is for the Saints, both when they act and when he doth suspend their actings, when he doth concur with them and when he doth withdraw his concurrence, all is for their good. 3. The Providence of God is either, (1) what he doth by his own hand immediately by an extraordinary providence; as sometimes the Lord doth, so that it doth appear to be the finger of God, and that there is nothing of second causes in it, Esa. 52.10. his arm was made bare, and Hab. 3.9. his bow was made naked, both of them do signify patefacta est potentia, Drus. And so it appears when God goes out of the course of nature, as when causes have not their natural efficacies, the race is not to the swift, the battle is not to the strong, the men of might cannot find their hands, the horse and the rider is cast into a deep sleep, Psal. 76.6. and so it is in all the Lords miraculous workings, when he doth create a new thing in the earth, and a woman doth compass a man, Jer. 31.22. he doth make the Sea to go back, and the Sun to stand still, the Heavens to give bread, and the Rocks water, and all these extraordinary workings of God are for the good of his people; and that way he will work for them as their necessity shall require; for there is no such thing that the Lord has done for his people formerly, but they may still expect the same, if they be brought unto the same straits and necessities, Esa. 10.24. Esa. 10.24. He shall lift up a staff against him after the manner of Egypt: it was a miraculous way that the Lord dealt with his people then, but it was not so that he would never do the like for them again, and that they were never to expect the like again; yea after the same manner as he did deliver them, when they came out of Egypt in a miraculous way, by signs and wonders, so he will do again, and the grounds of it is the same, Hab. 3.9. Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the Tribes, Hab. 3.9. even thy word, Selah, thou didst cleave the earth with rivers, etc. it is according unto the oaths that he swore unto the Tribes, even his word, the juramenta quae saepiùs repetita, etc. (2) When he doth work in an ordinary way according unto the course that he has set in nature, and according unto the dependence that things have one upon another; Hos. 2.22. the heavens shall hear the earth, and the earth the corn and the wine, and they shall hear Jezreel, etc. there are the ordinances of Heaven, of the Sun and the Moon and the Stars, Jer. 31.35. that constant and established course that God has set amongst the creatures, etc. Now whether the Lord work by means, or without means by his own immediate hand, all is and shall be ordered and disposed for the good of the Saints; all the governments that the Lord doth exercise in the world either of those ways. 4. The Providence of God is either seen (1) in things necessaria, which have a necessary dependence upon their causes, and we may accordingly expect them; as the Sun and Moon to shine, or to be in their Eclipse, as we say, It will be foul weather to day, for the sky is red, and it will be fair to morrow, for the sky is red, which men do conclude of by their observation, because they have a necessary dependence upon their causes, Mat. 16.2, 3. And as it is in natural things, so it is in morals also, there are signs of the times, by which things may be as well known, and as certainly concluded by an observing man: a man may as well know the signs of the times, as the Stork and the Crane and the Swallow know their times, Jer. 8.7, 8. or else why should they be blamed for it, as being more unwise for themselves than the brute creatures are, etc. (2) There are some things that are accidentalia, that are casual or fall out so as we can give no reason for them; there is no expectation of it in man, as the disposing of the minds of men, the King's heart is in the hand of the Lord, Prov. 21.1. as in King Ahasuerus in the business of Mordecai, there was a concurrence of many things that were casual; and so Prov. 16.33. The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing of it is from the Lord: so that there is not the most casual thing that can be, but it comes under a providence; and in all these also it is for the good of the Saints: as it's said, 2 Kings 3.22. a rumour Sennacheribs Army shall hear, they shall have such an apprehension, that because the Sun shines upon the water, therefore the Kings have slain one another, for this is blood, etc. 5. Providence is either circa bonum vel malum, either (1) in all good, so the Lord doth work and order the spirits of men; for as every good gift is from above, so every good work is from him that is the Father of lights, and the Fountain of all goodness. (2) Also of all the evil that is in man there is a providence; for God would never have suffered sin to have come into the world, if he had not known how to have wrought his own ends by it; even by the vessels of dishonour he is served in his house, 2 Tim. 2.21. he doth order and overrule even the sins of men unto his own high and most glorious ends; he doth uphold Pharaoh and let out his spirit, but it is that he might show his power in him: Even the wrath of man shall praise him; and the remainder he will and doth restrain: and Gen. 20.3. I kept thee that thou shouldst not touch her. There is a letting out of sin, and there is a restraint upon sin, so far as it may serve to his ends. Now all the providence of God, whether it be for good or ill, either permitting or disposing, it is all of it for the good of the Saints. 1. The Providence of God is circa maxima, and that is for the good of the Saints, and this I will reduce unto two heads. (1) His government over the Angels. (2) Over men in all the great turn and changes in the world, in the policies and in the governments thereof, for it is the most High rules in the Kingdoms of mortal men, and all this is done for the Saints sake, and all is ordered so as it shall be for their good. 1. For the government of the Angels either good, or bad, it's all for the good of the Saints. 1. As for the good Angels, it's true they are part of the spiritual Kingdom, and shall make up part of that great Church and body of which Christ is the head; and therefore Heb. 12.22. we are said to be come unto them; and therefore it is ordinary with the Fathers and the Schoolmen (as I told you) to intimate, that there are as many men elected as there were Angels that fell, and that they are taken in to fill up that number, qui locum illum supplerent, & ruinas Jerusalem restaurarent, Bern. But they are also used by the Lord in the providential Kingdom, and all is for the Saints good in their whole Ministry; it is for the sake of them that are heirs of salvation, Heb. 1.14. And Ezech. 1.5, etc. Ezech. 1.5, etc. we have the manner how the Lord governs all things in a threefold subordination; there are the wheels and the living creatures that act them, and one as the Son of man, by whose command and by whose Spirit they do move in all their ways, and the wheels by them. (1) They do by a secret virtue work upon and overrule the hearts and the wills of men; and therefore the Trumpets and the Vials are given unto the hands of Angels, that is, they do fashion the hearts of men and stir up their spirits unto such a work, and strengthen their hearts in it; for as the Devil doth fashion the minds and wills of men, and gives suggestions suitable to his designs, so do the good Angels also; and as Satan strengthens the resolution of wicked men, so do the good Angels also; for they have a power upon the soul also being Spirits, and a more immediate work upon the minds of men, as Ahabs false Prophets, thou shalt persuade them and prevail; there is an impression upon their hearts, they have their arguments and suggestions, and they follow them with reasonings, till the men be overcome; so do the good Angels also: Rev. 2.10. the devil shall cast some of you into prison; it's Satan's working powerfully in his instruments and upon the hearts of men to bring such a design to pass, etc. (2) They fight for them against their enemies, Dan. 10.20. I return and fight against the King of Persia, and when I am gone forth, etc. the Lord goes forth before a people, for they go forth under the conduct of the Angels, and they do oppose themselves in a secret way that we know not: now as it is sometimes a terror to the Saints to consider they fight not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness, so it is a mighty terror unto wicked men that they fight against principalities and powers, and spiritual holiness in heavenly places, those that will be sure to watch over you for evil; for the same intention that the Angels had after the Fall with a flaming sword to keep man out of Paradise, the same intention they bear still to all that are not the members of Christ and of the same body with them, and fellow-servants with them. (3) They do execute vengeance upon the enemies of the Saints: Zac. 6.6, 7. there are black Horses, instruments of vengeance, and they go forth into Persia, but it is to destroy them, and to execute upon them the vengeance of the Temple for all the wrong that they had done unto the Saints, all was by an invisible virtue that they saw not; there the Spirit of God was displeased, and would not be pacified till wrath was executed upon them; for the same Spirit order the Kingdom of Providence that doth order the Kingdom of Grace, etc. and therefore they have their special charge, Ezech. 9.1. it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the visitors of the city that draw near, first the Angels came, and then the instruments of vengeance came, they do perform that great work upon them. (4) The Angels overrule the creatures for the good of the Saints, even beyond their nature, and they are very instrumental in their deliverance and preservation; as we see Dan. 3.28. the fire cannot burn, the Lord sent his Angel, Dan. 6.22. and stopped the Lion's mouths; there is a secret work that Angels have in all these great things, for the Saints deliverance and preservation; and therefore it is the Angel that rowls away the stone from Christ's grave, and it's an Angel opens the prison for Peter, Acts 12. The prayers of the Saints do prevail with God, and he commands Angels to do their office; it was an Angel that said unto the Christians at Jerusalem, Ite ad Pellam, and by that means they were preserved in the destruction of the City; so that in the ordering of all things they are employed by God for the good of the Saints. (5) It is the Angels that guide them in their way, and succeed their business and all their undertake, as we see Gen. 24.7. The Lord of Heaven which brought me out of my father's house, he shall send his Angel before thee; and the business shall surely prosper that they do undertake; a godly man goes no where without such a guard for his protection, and without such an assistance; and therefore it was a certain argument, Dan. 10. ult. that the King of Grecia should prosper, because the Angel was gone out before him; blessed is he that hath such a guide, he shall not dash his foot against any stone, etc. Lastly, They do compass the earth, visit all the parts of it for the Saints sake, to see how it is with the Churches, Zac. 1. All the earth is quiet and still; as the Devils do, so do the Angels also compass the earth, and they do lie in ambush for the Saints, that when there is no eye to pity them, and there is no remedy or relief for them, than they do appear, Zac. 1.8. They are behind the myrtle-trees, in the bottom, and they do watch the fittest season for the deliverance of the Saints, which is when they are lowest, and when their enemies are highest, than they do appear for them: therefore the people of God that have such a guard still near at hand, that hath been so successful in all ages, need not fear what Satan and his Angels are continually plotting against them. §. 2. We now proceed unto those arcana imperii in reference to the Providence of God in the government of the evil Angels, and this also is for the good of the Saints; the Sovereignty of God over the Devils in his government of them is wholly for the sake and for the good of the Saints. In the opening of this I will lay down these Conclusions. 1. That Satan hath a power over all mankind by nature to rule and order them according to the pleasure of his own will; for when man at first did freely subject himself unto the Devil, God did judicially give him up into the power of the Devil; and therefore 2 Tim. 2.26. they are said to be led captive by him at his will; 1 Joh. 5.19. they are said to lie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in the wicked one, that is, to be under his power, and to be subjected unto his will, and it is just with God so to do, Illud appensum est aequitatis examine, ut nec ipsius diaboli potestati negaretur homo, quem sibi malè suadendo subjecerat, Aust. For of whom a man is overcome, unto him he is brought into bondage; it's the manner of Conquerors to use men as slaves, whom they have subdued; and this was the Devil's intent, not first to destroy men, but to take them alive, 2 Tim. 2.26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that he might use them for service, and so rule over them; yet the meaning is not, as if he had received a commission from God; and the Lord had commanded Satan to rule over man; for he will surely judge the Devil for it at the last day, Non ità debet intelligi, tanquam hoc Deus fecerit, aut fieri jusserit, sed quòd tantùm permiserit, justè tamen, Aust. Tom 3. p. 295. The command unto Ahabs false Prophets was not a commission from God, but a permission, Thou shalt persuade him and prevail, go forth and do so, and his going into the herd of swine was not a commission, but a permission only, when he said unto them, Go, etc. like unto that of Balaam, Go with the men, and yet the Lord was angry because he went, so it is here also. 2. This power of Satan is very great; and therefore he is called Principalities and Powers, the Ruler of the darkness of this world, yea, he hath the power of a God, for he is said to be the God of this world, which doth set forth a high condition, not the highest power, credo posse occidere in una hora quemcunque in terra viventem, Luth. for the power that Satan hath is from God, and that in just judgement. Now if the Lord give so much power to a man, as he did to Nabuchadnezzar, that none could stand before him, but he was the hammer of the whole earth, and yet the Lord did it in judgement, as he was an instrument in his hand, he did gather the riches of the Nations as eggs, none opened their mouth, or peeped against him; how much more unto him that God hath in judgement made the god of this world will the Lord permit such power? Omnis voluntas díaboli semper est injusta, sed tamen Deo permittente justa est potestas, Bern. The Devils will is of himself, but his power is of God, and therefore he is mighty. 3. The malice which doth set his power on work, though it be against all mankind, yet it is specially against the Saints. It is true indeed, that it is against all mankind, and therefore his great labour is to draw all men to be partakers with him in the same sin and the same torments, it is the fire that is prepared for the Devil and his Angels, that they may all of them be cast into the same Lake; and though he know it will but increase his own torment, yet there is this power of envy in him, that he will destroy them, though it tend so much the more unto his own hurt in the end: but his malice is in a special manner against the Saints, the spiritual combat is mainly between the seed of the woman and of the serpent, Gen. 3.15. it is against Michael and his Angels, Rev. 12.8, 9 But why is Satan so much against the Saints above all men in the world? (1) Because God hath set his love upon them, therefore Satan hath set his malice against them. (2) They are the members of Christ, whom above all he doth hate, as having a Kingdom set up of purpose to destroy his Kingdom. (3) As they bear the image of God, and carrying thereby the greatest treasury within them; for as chrysostom hath well observed, Satan is as a thief, he will not come to rob where nothing is to be had, but where the treasure is, he will not rob stones and straws, but Jews. (4) They conquer him; for it is out of them that he is cast out, which he looked upon as his house, as his own portion, Mat. 12.44. (5) They shall surely judge him at the last day, Tunc maximè saevit, quum hominem ex laqueis liberatum videt, tunc plurimùm accenditur, cùm extinguitur, Tertul. 4. There is amongst the Devils a kind of policy and order in carrying on of this design; so that, though there be no love in them one to another, for that is not amongst the damned in Hell, all natural affection ceases there; yet there is a kind of faithfulness, they being by the same sinful principles carried on unto the same end; and therefore there is a Prince of Devils, there is a kind of government amongst themselves in tendency to the deep designs which they are to prosecute; not but that they were all of the same nature, but the same God who in judgement subjected mankind to his power, he giving up himself, hath subjected the Devils also unto the power of him that was the chief of Devils, and was first in the transgression; that they have a kind of order amongst themselves to carry on their ends; there are the gates of Hell which some do interpret the Counsels of it, there are orders and methods and devices amongst them, and therefore Luther hath observed it: Diaboli regnum & politiam inter se habent usque diem judicii, ubi Christus evacuàbit omnià. 5. The end of all this power and this policy is the highest that malice can invent, and that is the destruction of all the Saints: for the name of the Devil is Abaddon and Apollyon, the Destroyer, in two Languages, and Job 33. His life draws near to the grave, and his soul unto the destroyers: it is to destroy their souls that he doth aim with an eternal destruction; and Eph. 6.12. it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in supercoelestibus, in the things of eternal concernment, things of Heaven; he doth not contend with us about Estates, and Dignities, and Dominions here below, such contentions are too mean for him, but it is a contention that is for souls, Psal. 91.3. the promise is, He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, or the hunter, which some do apply unto the Devil, as he is one that hunts to lay snares for souls, nothing else will content him. Satan's speech is the same with that of the King of Sodom, Take you the goods, give me the souls: if the world were his, as he makes it to be, when he says to Christ, All this will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me; he would give all for a soul; he tempts souls with money to be his, etc. 6. This Kingdom of Satan is so under the Sovereignty of Christ, that he doth order it wholly, and rule it, and overrule it for the good of the Saints, 2 Tim. 2.20, 22. The Church of God is compared to a great house, and there are some vessels to honour, and some to dishonour, but they are all of them for the master's use, and for the use of the house; and therefore we see, when the sons of God come together, Satan himself also appears before God, Job 1.6. Job 1.6. partly being overruled by the power of God as a creature, and partly being inclined by his own malice as an executioner, he is desirous to be employed by God as a vessel of dishonour, as being one that hath mortis imperium, the power of death, etc. and therefore he cannot deceive Ahabs Prophets without leave, nor can he enter into the herd of swine without leave, neither can he possess the man that had the Legion when the Lord Jesus will cast him out; his authority is limited, and though he be never so high and exalted up to heaven, yet he doth fall from heaven as lightning, if the Lord command it; and so he cannot deal with Job till the Lord permit him, and he cannot move beyond the bounds of his permission, Diabolo potestas quaedam est, plerunque tamen noceret, & non potest, quoniam potestas injusta est sub potestate, August. 7. God may and many times doth give up his people into the hand of the Enemy; their Rock hath sold them; and not only into the hand of bodily enemies, but even into the hand of this spiritual enemy also, who is the great enemy, therefore called Satan, which signifies an Adversary; so he did Hezekiah, the Lord left him; and so he did David, the Lord moved him, the Lord did it by giving Satan leave, and by leaving David in his hand; and Job 2.6. Behold he is in thy hand, only spare his life. (1) Satan doth always desire it, and the Lord doth sometimes in judgement unto Satan grant his unjust desires, Luke 22.31. Satan hath desired to winnow thee; and so Job 2.3. Thou hast moved me against him, he did make a challenge, and desired God that he would stand by and leave him in his hand a while, see what he can do with him. (2) Sometimes in just judgement God doth it, when his people sin against him, and departed from him, the Lord doth leave them in the hand of the Devil as a prisoner, that he may correct them, and so recover them; as a father leaves his child in the hand of a servant to correct, so as he stands by and sets the measure to it, he shall but correct him in measure, Rev. 2.10. He will cast them into prison for ten days, as he did Paul, he was buffeted by Satan to prevent sin, he did leave him to correct his sin. (3) In an ordinance of Excommunication, 1 Cor. 5.5. being delivered to Satan he doth exercise tyranny over him to stir up the guilt of sin within him, and to torment his conscience, and God departs from him in point of comfort; for 2 Cor. 2.7. it was, that he might not be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow, therefore it is sorrow that is the fruit of this Ordinance, etc. 2. Yet all this doth the Sovereignty of God order and overrule for the good of the Saints. There are two things that the power of Satan is wholly exercised in, temptation and affliction. (1) He is a Tempter in us, and that both as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as Clem. Alexandr. speaks: [1] He doth effectually stir up sin within us, and he works effectually in the children of disobedience; and [2] In any sin that is stirred up in us, he is a worker together with us, to bring it forth unto perfection; for it's not only to beget sin in us, but to perfect it that he doth aim at. (2) He is an Accuser of us unto God, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the accuser of the brethren, Rev. 12.10. as Christ is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Satan doth plead against them before God and before men, and in their own consciences also, stirring up of guilt in them also, and he hath his accesses unto Heaven, and he doth put up his desires unto God against us, and doth lay our sins unto our charge before the Throne of Justice, and demands justice against us; Zac. 3.1, 2. for Zac. 3.1, 2. Satan stands at his right hand, which was to accuse, for the Accuser stood at the right hand; and it was to resist him, the right hand being chief the instrument of action, therefore it was to hinder him in the great service that he was now about to do, and to object against him before the Lord his filthy garment with which he was clothed at his appearance before the Lord. Now both these, the temptations and the accusations of Satan, the Sovereignty of God doth rule and overrule for the spiritual good of the Saints, which I shall make appear in these particulars; and therefore Bernard calls him Malleus terrae, and he saith, Terit electos in utilitatem, & reprobos conterit in damnationem, pag. 300. 1. There is a restraint upon him, that he shall tempt them no more than is for their good: He will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able, 1 Cor. 10.13. It is true, that Satan is subtle in his temptations, and he doth take a measure of the spirits of men, that so he may proportion his temptations unto them; some spirits are too low for some temptations, as their understandings are for some opinions. Now Satan therefore doth not suggest such depths unto them, but deals with them in a lower way; but there are some temptations that would not take with some, because their spirits and their understandings are above them, and he deals with them in a higher and in a more ingenious way. Now as Satan doth take a measure of the spirits of men in every temptation, so doth God also take a measure of their grace, that it shall be so much, and no more; for there are some temptations that the grace that is in some men could not bear, and therefore the Lord doth proportion it in wisdom and in mercy: it is true, unto wicked men it is otherwise, there is a power that is beyond the strength of the common works that are upon them, an opportunity of temptation that turns them off as leaves that are shaken with the wind; but it is not so with the Saints: Ad mensuram permittitur tentare Diabolus; sed qui dat Tentatori potestatem, ipse tantato praebet misericordiam, August. tom. 8. p. 435. 2. Satan shall tempt no further than it shall be for the subduing of corruption: men are delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh; but it is an overruling hand of the Sovereignty of God, who doth temper such poison into a wholesome medicine, and what the enemy did intent should kill, that shall be a means to cure. And therefore Luther doth deride the Papists in this, who having spoken in his Covent unto one of the Society of a Purgatory, and they objected it against him, that he did grant in his writings a Purgatory also, he answers them, That he doth grant a Purgatory, but it is this of temptation only, by which the Lord is pleased to purge the souls of his people, and that makes them to come out the more refined, hoc Purgatorium fictum non est, etc. Great hath been the gain that the people of God have had by their temptations this way, yea even by those temptations in which they have been foiled: Nescit Diabolus quomodo illo insidiante & furente utatur ad salutem fidelium excellentissima Dei sapientia, etc. Aug. tom. 3. p. 218. 3. It doth mightily improve their graces; we see it in Job, we know what the end was that God made with him; as all afflictions improve graces, and make the land fruitful, as the rain doth, though it make the way foul, so there is not a greater affliction than temptation, for a man to be left to be as the sink into which the Devil shall empty all the filthiness that is in that unclean spirit; therefore this also shall turn into the increase of grace: wherefore Luther's saying, That there are three things make a Divine, Meditation, Oration, and Tentation, is most true, for grace opposed is much improved; a soul had never seen such high acts of grace, had it not met with such high opposition. It's true, in itself it doth not increase grace, for it is opposite unto it, but by an Antiperistasis it doth, debemus esse Dialectici, non pugnamus ut homines, sed ut Christiani, Luth. and therefore the Spirit of Christ will improve his own work in us by our temptations also. 4. We have by this, experience of the power of Christ in us. Experimental knowledge is a knowledge upon trial, and such a knowledge a man can never have till he be brought unto a trial; there is many a man that doth presumptuously think that he can do much, and resist much, but when he comes to the trial he is weak as water, and it's all but the vain presumption of his own spirit, 2 Cor. 12.9. My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength shall be perfected, that is, shall be declared to be perfect, in weakness; therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, for when I am weak, then am I strong: it is an easy thing for the potsherds to contend with the potsherds of the earth, but when we come to contend with Spirits, and they strengthened by the darkness that is within us, now the strength of grace is put to it indeed, now we see what power of Christ is in us; for there is no power but Christ's power that can hold out against temptation. 5. That we may know the benefit of Christ's Intercession, that having so great an Accuser as Satan is, we may go to him, and strive to find the benefit of such an Advocate. O what an advantage was it to Peter to hear this sweet word of Christ to him! But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. Christ was tempted in all things like unto us, and he is sensible of our infirmities, and with the temptation we shall find a way to escape; for this very end Christ suffered himself to be tempted by Satan, that he might secure us in all our temptations, he is pleading for us against the accusations of our subtle adversaries, and if he had not undertaken to be our Advocate, we had been undone, but he still saith to Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, etc. 6. And truly hereby we have experience of the power of our own prayers; how many times have the prayers of a Saint stilled the enemy and the avenger that pursued them furiously? how many times hath Satan fall●n before them like lightning, and all the devices of the enemy have come to nought? Rev 11.7. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies, etc. and they shall not only kill men, but Satan shall also be trod under their fee●; and it's a great honour to the Saints, that in their conquests they can overcome Satan; for resist the Devil, and he will fly from you; that so proud a Spirit should be so subdued by mankind, in fide fortes Diabolum despiciunt quasi vermiculum, etc. Bern. pag. 1309. cùm viderint contemnunt. 7. It quickens the people of God to wisdom and watchfulness; to wisdom, that they may discern the devices of Satan; and to watchfulness, as the exhortation is, 1 Pet. 5.8. Watch therefore and put on the whole armour of God, because he is as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Austin observes, that there are two ways that Satan hath. (1) In times of persecution, cogit Christianos negare Christum, he compels Christians to deny Christ. (2) In times of peace and prosperity he raiseth up Heretics, and so docet Christianos Christum negare, teaches Christians to deny Christ, Tom. 8. pag. 233. therefore we had need be wise and watchful. 8. There is a time coming when this overruling power of Christ will put an end unto this dominion of Satan; he shall not be the god of this world always, but when Christ puts down all rule and all authority and power, his Kingdom will for ever be broken, it must last no longer than the day of Judgement, for there will be no further use of him either in tempting, accusing, or tormenting; but as after the day of Judgement Christ in glory shall make up the head of that great body the Church which shall be gathered unto glory by him, as they were here on earth gathered into his Kingdom of Grace; so Satan in Hell also shall make up the head of that great body of the wicked that he hath been gathering into his Kingdom here upon earth, and he shall be tormented together with them: and it is no small comfort, that we can look beyond the power of the enemies; though they be so powerful for the present, it is but for a while; Nabuchadnezzar had power to do what he pleased in the world, but after a little while this great Monarch shall be destroyed, My anger, says the Lord, shall cease in his destruction, etc. Lastly, The temptations and accusations of Satan shall tend to the greater increase of the glory of the Saints; for if these light afflictions that all Saints meet with in the world from lesser evils do work for us, much more will such great afflictions, Potest inimicus excitare tentationis motum, sed quoties restiteris, toties coronaberis, Bern. p. 11, 15. They had their several Crowns in their Triumph answerable unto the several Victories that they won; therefore Christ hath upon his head many Crowns, because of his many Conquests: so it shall be unto the Saint's matter of great triumph; Satan himself who did above all things desire to keep them from glory, his very temptations and his accusations shall be so far useful, as that they shall add unto our glory, and they that have been most tempted and accused by him, and have by grace resisted him, shall be most glorified in the day of the Lord. §. 3. The next thing propounded was God's providential Kingdom, as it respects men, and these either good or bad, which belong both unto the providential Kingdom; and the Sovereignty of God over them is laid out wholly for the good of the Saints. And here first we are to consider Providence ordering all things either in reference unto the Saints own spiritual good, that the ordering of all things towards them shall tend unto it; or else in reference unto the good of others; Providence shall so order things, that they shall become a common and a public good unto others in the generations in which they live, yea and it shall extend also unto after-ages. 1. Providence shall so dispose of all things, as they shall tend unto their own spiritual good; and all by reason of their interest in the Sovereignty and the Supremacy of God, as, 1. If we look upon their conversion, Providence doth strangely order things so, that they shall be cast upon such societies and opportunities, which they never thought of nor looked after; and in these they shall be converted and brought home unto God: there is an instance in Onesimus, Philem. 10, 11. he ran away from his master, and by this means was brought to Rome unto the Apostle Paul's ministry, and there the Lord was pleased to convert him unto the faith; a thing that he little thought of or aimed at in going from his master; and yet now he that was before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, unprofitable, Is profitable both to thee and me, says the Apostle Paul to Philemon, etc. And so it was with Junius, his father laying the Scripture before him, Joh. 1.1. he fell occasionally and carelessly upon Joh. 1.1. In the beginning was the word, etc. he was so taken with the majesty of the stile, and with the excellency of the matter, that he did not know where he was, nor what he did, it did so far excel all humane writings. And truly there are few men converted but they will be able to tell you some special providence of God, as well as the special grace of God therein, bringing them into such societies, and casting them upon such occasions, sometimes in their callings, and sometimes even in a way of sin; he being found of them that sought him not, and pleased to bring them out of darkness into his marvellous light: and when men shall come to Heaven, infinite will the praises be, not only of grace, but of his Sovereignty this way, to set forth what great variety the Lord hath used, and what marvellous wisdom he hath exercised towards his people in bringing them home unto him; for as there are ensnaring providences, so there are also converting providences; the one befall wicked men, and are exercised towards them, and the other befall those that are the people of his good will. As we see Eccles. 7.26. there is a woman whose hands are snares and bands: all men do not light upon such providences, God doth not cast them upon them; there is no man that doth scape these snares by his own wisdom, but it is the man that is good before God, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he that the Lord hath a delight in, that shall be delivered from such a one, but the sinner shall be taken with her, providence shall so order it, that he shall have such occasions, opportunities, and temptations, that he shall be ensnared. And so it is in converting providences, he shall be cast upon such company, time, places, and opportunities that shall be effectual to his conversion; so many a man is able to say, God brought me in the University unto such a Tutor, into such company, and into such a family, and under such a ministry, and by this in an unexpected way was I wrought upon; and some have come to hear a Minister by chance, in a journey, and have been smitten, haerebat lateri, have carried home a wound in their consciences; and when with Saul they did but go to seek Asses, they have found a Kingdom: some, as Austin did Ambrose, go to hear a man for his elegancy of stile; and as Galeacius Caracciola did Peter Martyr, and they, together with the excellency of his words, felt a warmth and power in their hearts, a fire was kindled that they never could put out again. Some have come to see the sufferings of the Christians, and thereat were converted, and at the sight of their patience cried out, Verè magnus est Deus Christianorum, The God of the Christians is truly great; and some by the sight of an affliction, as Waldus by seeing a man to fall down dead before him; and some that have come to hear Ministers only to mock at them, and yet have before their departure been taken by them. Very strange are the over-rulings of Providence for the conversion of the Saints, when all their experiments shall be laid together this way: but there are two famous instances of overruling Providence, one in Vergerius a Bishop of Justinople, of whom Sleidan reports, that being employed as a Legate by the Pope in Germany, was suspected to lean too much unto the Lutherans opinion, and therefore had not favour with the Pope as he expected; at his return he intended to clear himself, and to write a Book in the refutation of the Lutheran opinions; and by that means looking more narrowly into them, he was truly converted, and left his Bishopric, etc. And the other is of famous Doctor Reynolds, who was formerly a Papist and his Brother a Protestant, and they wrote to convert one another, and it pleased the Lord so to order it, that his Brother by him was converted to Popery, and died a Papist, to whom he wrote much afterwards to reclaim him; and he was converted from Popery, and died a Protestant, and proved a famous and an eminent instrument in the Church of God for the beating down of Popery all his days; and he had not any thing stuck more upon him, than that he was an instrument in the perverting of his Brother, by whom he himself had received so much good. 2. Not only for their Conversion, but for their Instruction: the people of God have met with strange providences. We see it in Apollo's, Act. 18. Claudius commands all Jews to departed from Rome, and thereupon Aquila and his wife departed and came to Corinth, and there Paul finds them, and being of the same trade they wrought together, and they travel with him to Ephesus, and there he leaves them, and there came Apollo's a Jew unto Ephesus, a man that was mighty in the Scriptures, and they took him and instructed him in the way of God more perfectly; all this concurrence of providence there is for his instruction. So Luther, as soon as the Lord had revealed the Righteousness of Christ to him to be imputed for Justification, immediately he fell upon Augustine's Book, De Spiritu & Litera, and there he finds the word justitia commonly so used, non de justitia puniente, not of the punishing Justice of God, but of his pardoning Righteousness, that is, the Righteousness of Jesus Christ for which God would pardon the sins of his people. 3. For deliverance out of danger; as we see in the instance of Moses, it was God's providence that brought out Pharaohs daughter to the place where he lay in an Ark of Bulrushes; and it must be by a dream that Joseph is to be delivered out of prison; and so David being besieged, and not knowing how to escape, when he thought that he was now in the mouth of the Lion, news was brought unto Saul that sought his life, that the Philistines had invaded the land, and he returned from seeking after David; and so Hezekiah, it was told him by the Prophet, that Sennacherib should hear a rumour, etc. for it was told him that the King of Ethiopia had invaded the land, and so he raised the siege and departed from Jerusalem. The Lord knows how to deliver his children in the time of their greatest extremity, and the God that hath delivered, doth still deliver his people, and is a God near at hand and not afar off from them that wait for him. 4. For their preservation, when there hath been no visible support; when a famine is in the land, Elijah is fed by Ravens; and so the woman of Sarepta by the multiplying of the meal in the barrel, and the oil in the cruse; and so in the Massacre at Paris the Divine that was with the Earl Marshal when he was put to death by the Conspirators, was preserved in a Hay-mow by a Hen daily laying an egg by him, etc. they are strange ways that in the want of all things the Lord hath for the support of his own. 5. For their consolation; when the day hath been dark over them, and their souls have drawn near to the grave, and their life to the destroyers, the Lord hath caused light to shine out of darkness, and hath made their light to break forth out of obscurity; and when they have walked in the shadow of death, a light hath risen upon them; as the Martyr that was in prison in his own spirit till he came into prison, and the prison was that which the Lord made use of for his enlargement, Schola crucis, lucis fenestra: and so we read of another Martyr, who upon this ground did wonderfully bless God that he came into prison, that thereby he became acquainted with that Angel of God John Bradford. The providence of God is as wonderful in the consolations as in the conversion of his people; for it is a creating of the fruit of the lips peace, Esa. 57.19. and that is ex nihilo. 6. In temptations; when the lust hath been high, and the temptation impetuous, and the man about to yield, the Lord hath sometimes appeared and struck the lust as it were from Heaven immediately, and said, Stay thy hand, and the lust hath vanished (for the fashion of the world passeth away, and the lust thereof) that a man's heart hath been dead unto that which before it was with the greatest violence set upon; the Lord hath hedged up a man's way with thorns, so that he could not sin with security, as other men do, Hos. 2.6, 7. but still when he would have sinned there were stumbling-blocks in his way, and some providences that did concur to cross him in a way of sinning, and some to pull him out of the fire when he was falling in; as the instance of Vzthazares the Persian, and the story of Ambrose of a young man that met with his mistress, with whom he had formerly had dalliances, and when she met him again the Lord struck his lust, so that when she said, Ego sum, I am she, he answered, Ego non sum, I am not he. 2. There is a special Providence over godly men for the good of others that are good in their present and in after-generations. 1. There is a strange Providence in improving their parts; Moses being to be a man of great employment for the good of the people of God, he must be learned in all the learning of the Egyptians; and so the parts of Austin and his learning, and so of Luther, how strangely did God make use of for the good of his people! and Luk. 11.22. 'tis said he takes from him all the armour wherein he trusted, etc. that learning and those abilities and improvements the Lord doth employ for the good of his people, and he hath strange ways of improving of those that he doth intent to employ, and men see not the reason of it till afterward. 2. In drawing out of their graces, as in Joseph by the temptation of his mistress, and the persecution that he met with, his bow abode in strength, and his arm was made strong; and so it was with Job, that we might hear of his patience, and what end the Lord made with him; and we know how strangely the Lord did order things, that the height of Luther's spirit did rise by the opposition that was against him, that he that at first would have accepted of easy terms, afterwards resolved that nothing but the utter overthrow of Popery should satisfy him: Efficiam ut Anathema sit esse papista●. 3. Thereby there is a Providence that doth turn them to the good of his people that are to succeed, partly for admonition, that they may be warnings unto them; Remember Lot's wife, remember Peter, and David, and Solomon, that you may take heed to avoid the same snares in which they were taken; and partly for their consolation, that God might show in them a pattern of all long-suffering unto them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting; as Beza said, when one derided him for his wanton Poems in his youth, Hic homo invidet mihi gratiam Christi, etc. 4. Their sufferings; so it was with Joseph, Gen. 50.20. Ye intended evil, but the Lord turned it unto good to save much people alive; it was your good that God intended in my affliction: and so John's banishment into Patmos, it was that he might receive the Book of the Revelations, which hath been the great stay of the hearts and faith of the people of God ever since; and though it may be obscure, yet Conrade. Graserus speaks of it by his own experience: Me non ex ullius libri canonici lectione ad instructionem & consolationem plùs proficere, pag. 2. I have not profited more by any book, etc. 5. Their labours; As 'tis said, that Moses wrote the Book of Job for the consolation of the people of God, when they were in Egypt; and of what use hath that been in general to the Church of God ever since? so, many of the pains of the people of God in writing the lives of the godly, and the Sermons and say of the Ministers of God, and their own observations of the signs of the times, and whatever they have of that kind been put upon in particular cases, providence hath so overruled things, that they have been as a standing benefit unto the Church of God in after-ages; and they have lived when the men have died. There are many defences of the people of God and Apologies that they have been put upon in all ages, when men of corrupt minds have aspersed the writings and persons of those that have been eminent in their places for asserting the Truths of God, and witnessing against the corruptions of the times, etc. 6. Not only their labours have been very useful in all ages, but also their Examples of well-doing. Povidence doth put the Saints upon many things and conditions, that they may leave their example as monuments in the ages to come, as the Apostle says, Phil. 1.14. By my bonds many of the brethren wax confident, are much more bold to speak the truth without fear; 1 Tim. 4.12. Be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity: they must be exemplary in every generation, that they may leave their footsteps behind them, that the people of God may walk after them, and go forth by the footsteps of the stock in after-ages; and that they may be so, the Lord doth in his providence so order things, that they shall have occasion to show themselves examples in all things; so that there is an overruling providence by virtue of the interest of the Saints in the Sovereignty of God that order all things towards good men for their own good, and all providences over them for the good of his people in the present and in after-ages, that so a good man may be every way a common good. 7. They have great advantages by the prayers of the Saints; for even the wicked of the age, yea and of after-ages do attain benefits by their prayers, much more do the Saints that are of the same body with themselves; for they do none of them live barely as private men; though they are not all public persons in respect of office and function, yet they are in respect of their relation, and they have all of them reference unto the body, and they do pray as members of the body, and have in all things respect unto the good of the body; for as the Spirit that doth interpret the Scripture, is not a private Spirit, so the Spirit that doth act the Saints is not a private Spirit; therefore as in the good of every member the body is interessed, so also in the prayers of every one the body is interessed; therefore as we are to look upon all the prayers of Christ not as the prayers of a private man, but as put up by him who is the Church's Head, so we are also to look upon the prayers of all the Saints, not as of private men, but also as under the relation of membership, under which they stand in the body of Christ; and as we are to look upon their sufferings as being of the body, so are we also to look upon their services as being done by the members of the same body, and all of them for the good and benefit of the body. Moses obtained great benefits to the people of Israel by his prayers, their blessings depended much upon his prayers: Pardon them as thou hast done it from Egypt till now; and the Lord answers, I have pardoned them according to thy word; and again Moses prays, Go before them, or carry us not from hence; the Lord answers, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. The blessings that godly men attain are not barely the fruit of their own prayers, and yet they that are godly do pray also, but they are a concurrence of prayers, and by them we do attain mercy; yea sometimes when we are little able to pray for ourselves, when the spirit of prayer is low in its actings in us, yet then the souls of some of the Saints are upon the wing, and the Lord will have respect unto them, for they are of the body. As we rejoice not in the gifts of others, because we look upon them as given unto other men, and do not look upon them as a part of the body, and so see our interest in them, that they are given them for our good, and therefore they are to us rather matter of envy than of rejoicing; so we take no comfort in the prayers of the Saints upon this ground, because we look not upon them as praying upon the same common interest with us, and as praying for us as fellow-members, who have with them an equal interest in the good of the body and its prosperity. And as they obtain mercy, so they keep off judgement; if Noah, Daniel, and Job stood before me; he speaks it as the most effectual way of prevailing with him, and as that which he would least of all deny, and yet the Decree being gone forth, his heart could not be towards them. The Saints have in their ages attained great mercy for the body, and therefore Elijah is called the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof, their main defence lay in him, under Heaven they had not so great a one: and therefore godly men in all ages have looked upon it as a great misery for the godly of the age to be removed, as having their party and their interest upon earth weakened; as if an eminent man of any party be taken away, it's looked upon as a great weakening to them, and he is thereupon gre●●y bewailed by them. Wherefore it is reproved as their sin, Esa. 57.1. That the righteous perish, and no man layeth it to heart, etc. and Mic. 7.1. it is expressed by the Prophet as a duty; and so it was with Augustine's mother, he says of her, Orationibus vivebat, and it was in answer to her prayers that he was newborn unto God, Parturivit me, & carne ut in hanc temporalem, & cord ut in aeternam lucem renascerer, Tom. 9 cap. 8. She travailed with me, as in her flesh to bring me forth to a temporal life, so in her heart to an eternal life: he was an eminent instrument in the Church in the age in which he lived, and mightily confuted the false Teachers of the time, and did gloriously defend the truth, and appeared for it, and all this he did attain by the benefit of his mother's prayers. And they do bring upon the Church's enemies very great and terrible judgements by their prayers; there is a fire that comes out of their mouths and consumes their enemies, and that not as they are theirs, but as they are the Church's enemies. And not only the prayers of the present age shall have power against Antichrist, but the prayers of the former ages; as to instance in the prayers of David taking place against Judas, Act. 1. so there have been prayers for many years that have been going for the Reformation of England from Popery, which have been answered eminently in our days, and will be more and more answered in succeeding generations, the people of God pray continually for more degrees of grace and light. Now it's true, that when men strike an Oak with many blows, yet it doth not fall till the last blow, and yet we say, that it is not the last blow that fells the Oak, but all that went before; so 'tis here, as it was in the death of Christ, his last act was the full payment, but yet all his former obedience and sufferings did concur thereunto to all that full satisfaction that was given by him to the Father; and it's dreadful when the prayers of all the people of God do fall upon a man, surely vengeance will overtake him as an armed man. Look as all the prayers of the Saints do at the last day meet together in the Devil's destruction; so it shall be in the destruction of any great and eminent instrument of his; as in attaining special deliverances, the Lord stands upon number, so it is in bringing in eminent judgements also; and therefore Hezekiah sends for Isaiah and tells him, That the children were come to the birth, the promises did travail with deliverance, but there was no strength to bring forth, unless he would add his prayers also; and so it is with the people of God, it is much more to lose one praying man than a plotting or a fight man; and that is the meaning, that great Babylon came into remembrance before God; how was it? it was from the Lords remembrancers, for the Vials did come out of the Temple, Rev. 16.1. all their prayers met together, Rev. 16.1. and there is a full cry, that the Lord is put in remembrance, which by his long delay and forbearance he had seemed to neglect and forget. 8. By their Faith the people of God attain much mercy to others as well as by their prayers; for as by their prayers they do not only attain mercy for themselves, so they do not only by their faith attain mercy for themselves: it is said of the men that came to Christ Jesus, That when he saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy, Son thy sins are forgiven thee, etc. Mark 2.5. There is a question put by Interpreters, whether any man be saved by another man's faith, or what benefit a man may have by the faith of another? to which they commonly give this answer, That the faith of others may be very useful unto men, though they be sinful, in reference unto temporal mercies and deliverance, as the Saints are said by faith to subdue kingdoms, attain promises, stop the mouths of lions; out of weakness were made strong; Heb. 11.33. waxed valiant in fight, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens, etc. in which works there were many others had the benefit of them besides themselves, and yet all is attributed to their faith. And therefore if by the faith of one many, even ungodly men, may far the better, how much more may all the Saints (who are one body, and live not only for their own good, but also for the good one of another) by their faith attain very many temporal blessings one from another, and by the faith one of another? Yea they go further, though it's true that no man can be saved but by his own faith, and it was by this man's faith also laying hold upon pardon, that his sins were forgiven him, yet ubi est mutuus fidei consensus ab aliis juvari aliorum salutem, Calv. The Lord, even in granting spiritual blessings to his people, hath as well respect unto the faith of others, as unto the prayers of others: as when we pray and others pray for us, the mercy is granted as a return unto both prayers; so when we believe, and others also do believe, the mercy is given with respect to the faith of both parties: and this is the blessed condition of Saints, that they do not only attain temporal mercies one for another, and are the better in temporal things, but even in spiritual and eternal things they do attain mercy, as by their prayers, so by the faith one of another; as they may pray one for another, so they may also believe one for another; and the mercies be granted to them, so there be a concurrence also of the faith of the person that receives the mercy. It was a great mercy that the people of Israel should enter into ●anaan by the faith of Abraham, and Jacob, and Joseph, they only believing and embracing those promises, which they never lived to see fulfilled and accomplished: But if it be so great a mercy to enter into the earthly Canaan, and yet some entered not because of their unbelief (for a man's own proper unbelief may deprive him of those temporal blessings, which a man might else attain) how much more a mercy is it to enter into the spiritual Canaan, that of the Gospel, even the promised Land, the spiritual Privileges of the Gospel, and those that are eternal; and that with the assistance of another man's faith? It is ordinary with us to desire the prayers one of another, and by the same reason that we have an interest in the prayers of the faithful we have an interest in the faith of the faithful also; and we may as well desire them to improve and exercise their faith for us, as their prayers; and so did Monica for her son; and parents should do it for their children as well as for their own souls; and so for our friends also. Austin speaking of the former experiences that his mother had in the answer and return of her prayers, says of her, Semper orans tanquam chirographa tua ingerebat tibi, etc. And truly the returns of the faith of the faithful would be as great (though they be not so commonly known) as the return of their prayers, and yet their prayers will avail nothing, if they be not the prayers of faith. §. 4. Thus we have spoken something of the providential Kingdom in overruling all things for the good of the Saints in reference unto Good men; now follows that we speak something also in reference unto Evil men; for there is a Government and Sovereignty that the Lord doth also exercise towards them, and all for the good of his own people. Now the Lord Jesus hath a rule and dominion not only over his own house, but also over the world; and he doth rule them with a rod of iron, Psal. 2.9. and it is in this only that the people of God, when they look upon wicked men in the world, can comfort themselves that the Lord reigns, and the power and the government of themselves is not in their own hand, even the vessels of dishonour in his great house (whether we understand it of the Church or of the world) are for the master's use, and at the master's command; even wicked men as well as Devils, are not at their own dispose, there is a government that he doth exercise over them, for he hath undertaken the government of all things for the good of his people, and for their sake, and if he do administer all for their good, he must rule their enemies in all things, as well as the Saints, that the people of God may say, That neither Angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor any creature shall be able to separate them from the love of God in Christ, Rom. 8.38. he order all the motions of enemies as well as the motions of his people, as the Captain of the Lords Host, and he order all things so as it shall be for the destruction of the enemy at the last; for all things are put under his feet, the last enemy that is destroyed is death; therefore all is put under his government, and he doth rule them so, as that in their own actings they do find their own destruction; his government over them is that they might be destroyed, and in their own way find their destruction, but yet so as they shall be wholly ruled and ordered for the good of his people, and that will appear in these particulars. 1. That they have a being and standing in the world is for the good of the Saints, caeteri mortales qui ex isto numero non sunt, ad utilitatem nascuntur istorum, August. They had never been born, if God had not had some use to make of them for the good of the Saints: non enim quenquam istorum Deus temerè aut fortuito create, God creates none of them in vain, as if he knew not what use to make of them, it is for the Saints sake that they have their standing in the world; for it is for them that the world stands, it is but that the number of the Elect may be gathered and perfected; and when that is done, the stage of this world shall be taken down. It is also for the Saints sakes, that Hypocrites have a standing in the Church, Mat. 13.29. Mat. 13.29 Lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them: so that the tares are to stand for the wheats sake, but it is but till the harvest, till the wheat be ripe; and then the Lord will soon command that the tares be gathered also and burnt. That Parable, because it is much urged now adays, as it hath been by some of the Anabaptists of old, against the power of the civil Magistrate in punishing gross offenders, that all are to be left unto their liberty, and unto the judgement of the Lord at his coming, and therefore none are to be punished nor restrained, which is the greatest cruelty that can be under the pretence of liberty to go on in sin without restraint; therefore it will be necessary that we inquire a little into it. (1) We will inquire of whom this is spoken: which I conceive to be of the Church, and not of all the world; for it is said to be the Lords Field, where the good are sown with the bad, which can be meant no where but in the Church, unless we will say, as many men do, that there is salvation amongst the Heathens, that know not Christ. And it's also the scope of the other Parable, of a people where the Gospel is preached, Mat. 13.24, 25. Vers. 24, 25. the Kingdom of Heaven is the Church of Christ in its outward condition, neither do I conceive that it can be manifested, that any where the whole world is ever called the Kingdom of Heaven, and the servants speak of it with admiration, Thou didst sow good seed in thy field, from whence then hath it tares? Now never any man did wonder that there should be tares in the world, which lies in wickedness: and for that Christ doth interpret the field to be the world, it is not to be understood (I conceive) of all the wide world, but by a figure for the Church that is gathered out of the world, as it is usual in the Scripture to be put; Joh. 3.16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, etc. 1 Joh. 2.2. Not only for us, but also for the sins of the whole world. (2) The state of this Church, this field of the Lord is in this life said to be a mixed state, there are tares and wheat mixed in it, which is not to be understood of all sorts of sinners; it is true it's the seed of the wicked one, but it is the seed that is in the Lord's field where gross offenders are not to be suffered or supposed to be; but it is spoken of Hypocrites, such as the servants did not discern at first, but they grew up with the seed, and had a great likeness with it, as Jerome observes, Zizania quamdiu herba est, grandis est similitudo; for in vers. 26. 'tis said, When the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, than appeared the tares; therefore it seems by this plainly, that the tares are not the same with briers and thorns, for they would have been at first discerned, but they were like unto the wheat for a great while, so that they discovered them not: therefore the seed of the wicked one sown in the Lord's field are Hypocrites and unsound-hearted men. And if this be meant of the whole world, as the opposite party would expound it, than it must be meant of all sorts of sinners in the world that appear; not only Heretics and Idolaters, as they would have it, but of all the children of the wicked one, unless they will give unto these this special honour, which is indeed due unto them (as much as now they are pleaded for) that they are only or mainly called the children of the wicked one; and as they do deserve that name above all sorts of sinners. (3) This mixture cannot be avoided by all the care of the Lords servants; for they cannot foresee them, and it's long before they do discover them, and when they are discovered, it is dangerous to pluck them up. Calvin saith, that Christ doth not here dispute either the power of the Magistrate or of the Minister, or how they should exercise their power; but only to free the weak from scandal, when in the Church they shall see Hypocrites and unsound-hearted men to continue; for this is and will be the state of the Church of Christ in reference to its outward condition until the day of Judgement. But how comes it to pass, that the sinners must be restrained here only to Heretics and Idolaters, when they are the children of the wicked one? and why not extended to murderers, and adulterers, and thiefs? and why is not the one to be spared by this Parable as well as the other? and how comes it to pass, that by the servants here are only to be meant the Magistrates, and not the Ministers? and why are not Ministers as well bound to tolerate these in Churches, as Magistrates in Commonwealths? and yet that they are to be cast out of Churches, that is granted. Now why should not these mixtures be let alone in the one as well as in the other? and why is not the direction given to one sort of servants as well as the other? (4) It is for the Elects sake, for the good seed, that they are spared. [1] There is a great deal of moderation to be used and care in reference unto the tares, that nothing be done unto them that may prejudice the good corn, that nothing be done in it to the offence or the scandal of them that be good, that they be offended with their rigour and bitter zeal. [2] Because they that are tares now may afterwards become good corn, and therefore a great deal of patience is to be exercised towards them, though they discover themselves to be tares. [3] That though there be still some that are unsound, yet a man should not be offended, and cast off all Church-communion and Ordinances, but be willing to let both grow together unto the harvest, and expect the Lords time for the rooting of them all out, till he shall send his reapers, because we cannot fully discern who are tares, or who may so continue: but this is no way to infringe either the Magistrates power in reference unto the sword, which is an Ordinance of God, and he is not to bear it in vain, nor Church-officers power of the Keys, who are not after all admonition and means used to reclaim them to bear them that be evil, but to put away wicked persons, and to deliver men to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the soul may be saved in the day of the Lord: neither is this Parable to be expounded so as to cross other plain and clear Scriptures; for the Scripture is to be taken together, and the hard places of it are to be interpreted by them that are more clear. 2. God stirs up the spirits of wicked Magistrates for the good of the Saints; as we see it in Cyrus, though he were a cruel and a bloody Prince, yet he takes care for the building of the Temple, and gives forth commands for that work; and therefore Esa. 44. ult. he doth say unto Cyrus, Thou art my shepherd; and so Alexander when he came to Jerusalem, and Jaddus the High Priest came forth to meet him, by the providence of God it was so ordered, that he did give the Jews great privileges, greater than any of the neighbour Nations, insomuch that the Samaritans did style themselves Jew's also, that they might partake in the same privileges with them; Nabuchadnezzar gave commandment unto Nabuzaradin the Captain of his Guard concerning Jeremiah, God overruling his spirit therein, that the Prophet was cherished rather than evilly entreated by him, etc. 3 By stirring up the spirits of wicked men to stand for a good cause, and to assist the people of God therein; as we see when Lot was carried Captive by the Kings, that Abraham did pursue them, Gen. 14. ult. and there did join with him Aner and Escol, etc. they that were but Heathens, yet were assistant unto Abraham in such a work as this, the Lord did stir up their spirits; and so he doth many times by an overruling power stir up the spirits of men, otherwise uningaged and uninteressed, to be instruments and means that the people of God may attain their rights, and all of it is only by this overruling hand of the Sovereignty of Christ even over ungodly men. 4. By their Persecutions, the Lord doth stir men up many times to persecute his people; Nabuchadnezzar is the rod of mine anger, and I send him against an hypocritical nation, though he know it not; but this is all the fruit, it is to take away their sin, for by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, Esa. 27.9. it is to make them to beat their Altars into chalk-stones, etc. and let me tell you (because we may look for times of persecution) that great hath been the victory and the glory that the people of God have gotten even by the persecution of ungodly men, nunquam majore triumpho vicimus. Nay if it be but a mock, a scoff, a reproach, a false report from an evil spirit, the Lord makes his use of it; as we have an instance in Augustine's mother, she had by custom, rather than inclination, learned to drink up full cups inhianter, but after a while the maid of the house and she fell out, and in their difference the maid objecit hoc crimen amarissimâ insultatione, vocans meribibulam, quo illa stimulo percussa respexit foeditatem, confestimque damnavit & exuit, Confess. lib. 9 cap. 8. 5. By their sins, the people of God are warned; the Lord doing as the Lacedæmonians, setting them forth as patterns of evil, that his children might flee them; heresies arise in the Church, that so they that are approved may be made manifest; and Apostates, that Hymeneus and Philetus' Apostasy might make the rest of the people of God the more careful, that they that name the Name of the Lord Jesus may departed from iniquity, when they see such eminent and dangerous falls as these; and the Lord doth make use of their sins in a way of admonition, as of their judgements also. 6. Their desertions, and proving false to the people of God many times and forsaking them, as Egypt proved a broken reed, turn to the Saints good; that so they might cleave to the Lord alone, and that they may see that there is a deceit in all their former Lovers, there is no trust unto such men that speak lies in hypocrisy, and follow God's cause and people only for loaves, etc. and God permits them so to do, that the people of God may say their trust is in the Name of the Lord only, Assur shall not save us any more, nor King Jareb; they have all deceived us as a brook that passes by, etc. I might instance in many more particulars, as 7. Their restraints for their good; God puts a hook and a bridle upon them, they shall not be able to hurt the Saints, they shall hear a rumour that shall divert them another way. §. 5. As the providential Kingdom is circa maxima, so it is circa minima, and all these are ordered by the Sovereignty of God for the good of his people, they have an interest in the Sovereignty of God even in the ruling of them also: here are two things to be spoken to. (1) That the smallest things come under the providential Kingdom of God, that is, under the Sovereignty and Supremacy of God. (2) That in the government of them he doth order all for the good of the Saints, that the Sovereignty of God works for them in small things as well as in great things. 1. That the smallest things are subjected unto the Sovereignty of God, and that his Kingdom is seen in the government of these also. This I shall clear to you in a few particulars. 1. The Lord is called commonly in Scripture the Lord of Hosts, and that not only in reference unto the Angels, and the Sun, Moon, and Stars, which are the Hosts of Heaven, but even as to the Hosts that are here below, Gen. 2.1. there is an Host of the Earth as well as of Heaven; and as there is not the smallest Star in the Heavens, but belongs unto the one, so is there not the meanest, the poorest creature upon earth but is part of the other; the Locust, the Canker-worm, the Caterpillar, and the Palmer-worm my great army, says the Lord, Joel 2.25. And they are the Lords Host in three respects. (1) Propter multitudinem, Joel 2.25. for multitude, there are many of them gathered together, for they are not a few that make an army. (2) Propter praeparationem, in regard of preparation, every one comes armed and prepared for the slaughter or any work that the Lord hath to do either for relief or for destruction. (3) Propter subordinationem, by reason of their subordination, they all act in their places, and do the service unto which they are particularly appointed, they do every one keep their ranks, fire and hail, snow and vapour, wind and storm fulfilling his word; they do not thrust one another out of their place, but there is a military order observed amongst them. (4) Propter obedientiam, in regard of their obedience, they do all of them obey the word of command, which they do receive from the great Commander, for they are all of them under command; as the Centurion said of his servants, I say to one, Go, and he goes, so doth the Lord also say unto the creatures; for it is said, that even before an army of Locusts, Caterpillars, and Palmer-worms, the Lord doth utter his voice, he doth command the winds and the sea, and they obey him. 2. Christ himself doth extend the care and the rule of God unto the meanest and smallest things, Mat. 10.29. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? Mat. 10.29. Luk. 12.6. A sparrow is put for the vilest and the most contemptible of all birds, partly for their short life; for Pliny saith, that they do not live above one year, negat anno diutiùs vivere; and partly for their price, for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, est moneta minutissima; and yet these things which are of so little worth and value amongst men, they are not forgotten by God, they are under the care of God; and they fall not upon the ground, that is, either in respect of their motion, they do not pitch upon the ground but it is by the direction of God, or else of their destruction; they are not taken and killed, neither do they die, but it is by the Sovereignty of God, and by his appointment; there is not one of them that is turned out of life, but it is by the command of him that gave it life, etc. yea, Mat. 10.30. The hairs of your head are numbered; Mat. 10.30. so that the Providence of God extends not only to the souls of men, that he takes care for them, but even unto their bodies, and not only unto the chief and principal part of them, but even unto their very superfluities and parts that are excrementitious, the very hairs of their head; and therefore he saith, Luk. 21.18. That there shall not a hair of their head perish, Luk. 21.18. that is, quidpiam vestrum quod non sit cum gloria Dei & vestrâ utilitate conjunctum. Itáne perit anima, cujus capillus non perit? August. Can the soul perish, if not one hair? He it is that feeds the Ravens, he gives them their meat in due season, they gather it, for he doth hear the young Ravens when they cry. Aristotle saith, l. 6. in Animal. c. 11. 5. that the Ravens, when they had many young ones more than they were able to feed, did commonly leave and desert some of them, but even those that were deserted by their dam, they are provided for by God, and he doth hear them when they cry, he it is that the lilies also, and the grass of the field, which doth flourish to day, and to morrow is cut down and cast into the oven: Providentia à summo ad ima pertingit, flosculorum atque foliorum pulchritudo comprobat. 3. They do work for ends which they themselves understand not, and yet they do accomplish them; as the Flies, and the Frogs, and the Locusts against Pharaoh, which one wind brought, and another carried away; and so for the Quails, with which the Israelites were fed in the Wilderness, etc. and the she-Bears that came out of the Wood, and destroyed the Children, and the Lion that slew the Prophet that came from Judah, but did neither devour the Carcase, nor rend the Ass, but the Ass and the Lion stand by the Carcase, that the hand of God in a more than an ordinary manner might appear therein; and Amos 9.3. If they go down to the bottom of the Sea; I will command the Serpent, and he shall by't them; all that is done, is done at his Command. If we see many Arrows shot, and all of them hit the mark, we know that the Arrows could not direct themselves, there must be the hand of a skilful Archer, that did direct them, though we see it not: and so it is here also, for all the Creatures are as so many Arrows shot at a Mark, and they do all of them attain an end, which they understand not, and therefore they come under the Government of an higher hand. It is a vain conceit of proud men, ignorant of the Scripture, to say, It is a dishonour to God, to take care of these small things, Non vacat exiguis, etc. Si non est Dei probrum minutissimas fecisse, multò minùs factas regere. Nay, it is infinitely unto the glory of God, and his honour, that he has a Wisdom and a Power that can reach ad conservationem & gubernationem minutissimorum: That he is so absolute a Lord, as that nothing subsists and hath a being without him, so every thing that has a being, is ordered by him, and he that hath created it to an end, doth also order and direct it to that end for which he did create it. 2. All these small things the Lord doth order and govern for the good of his People; they have a benefit by them all, which will appear in two things: (1) As he did create all things below for man, so he doth rule and govern them all for man's sake; and now man is fallen▪ he doth preserve the World for the Saints, and it is for their sake that he doth govern the World, 1 Cor. 9.9. Doth God take care for Oxen? or speaks he this for our sakes? Yea verily for our sakes; Non curat Deus de pecoribus propter ipsa, sed propter nos quorum causâ creavit. Ambros. A statu & consummatione Ecclesiae finis omnium pendet; tolle hanc, & frustra inferior ●●eatura revelationem filiorum Dei expectat, etc. Bern. in Cant. Serm. 58. Therefore he ruling all things for the sake of the Saints, they must be all ordered for the good of the Saints. (2) All these things come not only under a providence, but under a promise, and that surely doth belong to none but to them that are heirs of salvation, Hos. 2.18. heirs of promise, he will make a covenant for you with the beasts of the field, the fowls of heaven, and the creeping things of the ground: no creature is properly capable of a Covenant but the reasonable creatures; but the meaning is, that the Lord will in his providence so order all the motions of these things, that they shall all of them work for the good of the Church, as if they were bound in Covenant so to do, for a firm Establishment in their creation is called a Covenant, Jer. 33.20. Jer. 33.20. if you can break my Covenant of the day, and my Covenant of the night; that is, an establishment by a sure and settled decree, etc. they shall do you no hurt, they shall do you good; for the enmity and cross-working of the creatures came in by sin, and that Covenant which takes away sin, shall take away all contrariety in the creatures also, in their working, so that they shall do you good and no hurt all your days, Job 5.23. Job 5.23. Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the Field; it is a Covenant of Gods making, men cannot make a Covenant with them, they will not be bound by man's Covenant, it is not an actual, but a virtual Covenant, that they shall do a m●n good, and no hurt, it is a league offensive and defensive, etc. There is a threefold interpretation of it, and all of them fit to this purpose. [1] In thy walking, the Stones of the field shall not offend thee, the Lord shall so lead thee, that thou shalt not dash thy foot against a stone; tibi nocere non possunt, sed coguntur inservire. [2] Stones were for bounds and Landmarks, and they shall not be removed; but you shall continually enjoy the bounds of your own habitation, they shall not be removed, it shall be as sure as if you were in league with the Stones, that they shall not departed from your bounds. [3] Cocceius hath out of Ulpian a certain punishment, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 appellant, whence they did use to heap stones upon a ground, that it might never be ploughed, to hinder its fruitfulness. Thus the sense is, The Stones shall be at league with thee, that none of them shall hinder the fruitfulness of thy land, and make it lie barren and untilled, as in judgement they might do. Now if there be a Covenant by God made with all these for his people, then surely the Motions and the Actings of all these shall be for the good of his People. But you will say, In what particular do all these little things work for the good of the Saints? It will clearly appear in these particulars. 1. In the smallest things the people see God, and their spirits are elevated and raised up to behold him in them▪ for not only the Heavens declare the Glory of God, Psal. 19.1. but even the meanest Creatures in all their motions do it; Repraesentat quaelibet herba Deum. Now there is a threefold Vision of God in this World, in his Works, and in his Word, and in his Son; and it is of special use, that the works of God are unto the Saints in all their being and motions, that they can see something of God in them. Our Communion with God depends upon our Vision of God, and the more we see God in all things, the more we converse with him. Now there is not the least of all the Creation of God but it doth represent him to us, and we look upon it as a footstep of God, it is that which doth raise up our hearts unto Heaven while we are upon Earth, and causeth us to look upon nothing small that hath so glorious a Creator, and so wise a Disposer; in minimis lauda magnum, says Austin when he speaks the culice; there is much of God to be seen, and the heart is much to be overawed not only in the lesser things of the Word, but also of the Works of God. 2. It is unto the people of God matter of praise, even in the actings of the meanest of the creatures, to see how they work unto an end that they know not, but the wise disposer of them knows all their motions, and directs them unto his end; the out-going of the morning and evening do praise thee, that is, objectiuè and occasionaliter, as they give unto his people matter and occasion of praise. In the creation, the Morning Stars did sing, Job 38.7. and so they do in all the Executions of Providence also, fitting them for this end, and guiding them to this end, etc. Austin in Psal. 148. blames those that dislike and find fault with the works of God; In officina non audent vituperare fabrum, tamen audent reprehendere in mundo Deum. Perdidisti. Hallelujah. A man doth lose his praise, and the matter and occasion of it, which is unto a Saint a great loss; for praise is his delight, and he loves the occasion of it. 3. There is great matter of Meditation even in these ordinary things, such as do mightily affect the Souls of the Saints; it was so to David, Psal. 148.7, 8, 9, 10. Praise the Lord from the earth ye Dragons, and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and vapours, stormy wind, fulfilling his Word, mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars, Beasts and all , creeping things, and flying fowls; and how can this be? Nudae creaturae Deum celebrant, Moller. dum ad mirandam ejus sapientiam, & potentiam quotidie ostendunt. The dangers prevented, and the good things conferred, such as are secrets unto us, and we know not, we consider not of; as Luther saith of himself in the like case, Somnia nostra observat, quando nescimus nos vivere, etc. equidem odi carnem meam quòd haec scio vera esse, & iis tamen non seriò afficior, etc. It gives the Soul high matter of Meditation, puts it into the Mount with God. 4. It is unto the People of God a great ground of exercising their Faith, and that in two things, (1) Upon the word of Promise, that all these creatures are his by Covenant in all their motions, and therefore he has not a common interest in them, with the rest of the world, but they come unto him from another hand, and he receives them by another tenure. Now any mercy that has the respect of the Covenant put upon it, is infinitely heightened unto them; the smallest mercy enjoyed by Covenant, is better than the greatest without the Covenant; it is better be as low as Hell with a promise, than in Paradise without it: therefore it is true, that other men walk upon the Stones and they hurt them not, and the Beasts break not in upon them, the Sun shines, and the Rain falls upon them; yet here is the sweetness to a Believer, This I enjoy as a fruit of an everlasting Covenant, as an heir of Promise, and as a Pledge of an eternal Inheritance. (2) It will be a ground to exercise a man's Faith for a support; if the Lord the grass of the field, how much more will he you? and if he feeds the Ravens, he will surely not starve his Children; nay, if the supply of all the Creatures will be a Provision for you, you shall not want it, they shall all act for you, and if it were possible to put a Saint of God in this life in such a condition as he should want the supply of all the creatures at once, they should surely all work for his good; for the Lord provides them of purpose, and for that very end that they may work for you, and therefore are they continued in their being, and to that end are governed by him. 5. The Love of the People of God is drawn out by them exceedingly, even by small Mercies; for it is not the greatness of the Blessing, but the abundance of Love discovered to the soul in it, that takes a gracious heart: for we love him because he loved us first. And as his love is discovered, such are the outgoings of our love to him again. Now these small things may be magni amoris indicium; an ordinary turn of the creature may testify a great deal of love from God to the Soul, as when Israel came out of Egypt, Joh. 19.36. not a Dog did move his tongue, Exod. 11.7. if they had, the matter had not been great, for in the night they use to bark; but though there was a great cry amongst the Egyptians, yet amongst the Israelites, not a Dog did move his tongue. Signum est magni silentii dum canes silent. A great love may be seen in an ordinary Providence to a man, as Grapes to be had in a wilderness, as a Messenger sent one of a thousand, a word spoken in due season, a Scripture opened to me when I had need, it was directed to me in my necessity; such a comfort administered at such a time, when I was in extremity, and it came in the season of it, it is an argument of great love; as when David was besieged, and Saul thought that he had them sure, now a report must be brought that the Philistines had invaded the Land, and so change his Counsels, and divert the forces from pursuing David. 6. Small and ordinary things shall be for their preservation, Exod. 23.25. He shall bless thy bread and thy water, and will take sickness away from the midst of thee: that whereas other men's food breeds and nourishes diseases, his food shall be blest unto him, that it shall be healthful, and not hurtful; and when Sennacherib is come to besiege Jerusalem, after all his ranting and threatening, he shall hear a rumour, a report shall be brought him, that the King of Ethiopia had invaded his Land, and so change his purpose, and it shall be for the preservation of the people of God. 7. Ordinary things shall tend unto the destruction of the enemies, and they shall fall by the turning of an ordinary providence, the smallest things shall even ruin persons and nations; as Pharaoh and all Egypt were even destroyed by flies and lice, etc. the Sun shines upon the water, and they shall say that it is blood; The Kings have destroyed one another, 2 King. 3.22, 23. Sometimes by the turning of the wind, great things have been done for the people of God, great battles have been won both by Land and Sea; and sometimes by rain, strange things have been wrought for the defeating of the counsels of enemies; Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an East-wind, etc. And we know what small providences have cast the balance for the people of God against the enemies, and that in many doubtful cases, when they had nothing but providence to work for them. 8. Consider how by small and ordinary things the Lord doth preserve the lives, and support his people in the world, by causing the Sun to shine, and the rain to fall, the earth to bring forth, the figtree to blossom; and we see he gives them food out of the earth, and the beasts do them service, and they do it willingly and readily. Now what a miserable life were the life even of a Saint here, if it were not for such common and ordinary refreshments; if the Lord should as a Lion watch over us, as he doth threaten them, he would be as a Lion and a Leopard in the way, to observe them? There is a providence that hath given these unto the sons of God as their inheritance, so that they do enjoy the comfort of them, and eat the fruit of them day by day; the service of thy hand maid, and of thy beast, all act for thee, as being made by God to be thy servants. It is true, that the service of the Angels is comfortable, but it would not be sufficient without these which are ours in a way of ordinary providence; Cogita te esse in regione deserti, & in peregrinatione vitae, Aug. and such as we account less, though we taste the good of them from day to day. Surely therefore all things, even the smallest things, shall work together for good to them that love the Lord, for the good of their spiritual and temporal state also. SECT. iv The Saints Interest in Gods Providential Kingdom, both mediate and immediate, necessary and contingent. §. 1. WE have gone thorough the first distinction of the providential Kingdom, we come now to the second, which is, that Providence is either immediate or mediate. The one is when the Lord works without means, putting forth his own power immediately to the producing of any effect, without the concurrence of any means or help of second causes, and this is called making bare his arm, or making it naked, Esa. 52.10. So long as the Lord doth work by means, though there be his hand, yet his hand is hid, and covered under the appearance of creatures, so that our eyes are either wholly or mainly upon them; but when the Lord lays creatures aside, and his own arm doth appear to bring salvation, so that nothing else is seen but the hand of God in it, without the concurrence of creatures, the Lord is then said to make bare his own arm, that is, to show forth his own power, Hab. 3.9. purely and nakedly; so Hab. 3.9. His bow was quite made naked, etc. he speaks it of the discoveries of God's power in an immediate way, and his bow is vis tua, robur tuum, Drus. he speaks it of the dividing of the red Sea, and the turning back of Jordan in its own channel, the power of God did immediately appear without any concurrence of means, and any instrument or second causes, and therefore his bow was naked, etc. the Scripture doth speak of the Lords smiting with the rod and with his fist, etc. And here there are three Propositions that I must lay down. 1. That whatever the Lord does by means, he can work immediately by his own hand, without all means: he that did give being unto the second causes, can without those causes produce their effects; he is independent in his working, as well as in his being, and doth not depend upon means and second causes in any thing that he doth; and therefore if he do deprive his people of the means, and will supply it in himself, it shall be infinitely better, they shall have a hundredfold more in this life eminenter; the Sun shall be no more thy light by day, but the glory of the Lord shall be the light thereof: if he deprive them of the light of the Sun, yet he gives them his own glory to be instead thereof, and it shall abundantly answer it. He hath indeed bound us in duty to use the means, but he hath not bound himself, he is still at liberty either to work by his own immediate hand, or in the way that he hath set in the order and subordination of causes, yea as much as if no such order had been made by him; and therefore the time will come when God shall be all in all; and this order of causes shall surely cease, and then all effects shall be produced by God immediately, and that in a far more glorious manner, than now they are by the influences of their causes amongst the creatures. 2. In the means which he doth use, there is an immediate concurrence of his own power to the producing of the effect: concurrit immediatè, etc. and without this the second cause could do nothing, men live not by bread only; and therefore if God do withdraw his acting or withhold it, the second cause is of no value; it is but as an axe in the hand of a man, or as a pen, it is but as it were a dead instrument, as the Apostle says of himself, 2 Cor. 3.2, 3. and therefore the people of God put no confidence in them: I will not trust in my bow, and it is not my sword that shall save me; it is thou, O Lord, that savest us from our enemies: this is the language of a true Saint; and therefore it is only the Lords withdrawing, and then all second causes work not: whence it is said, That they shall eat, and they shall not be nourished, and they shall put on , but not be warmed: there is a natural aptitude in these means to produce such effects; but yet if the Lord do but suspend his influx, they can do nothing. And therefore in the Babylonish Furnace, Divines do commonly say, that the Lord did not take away the nature of the fire, it remained to be fire still, only in reference unto such an object he did suspend his own concurrence; so that, though it remained in actu primo, yet it was not able to produce actum secundum, because the immediate concurrence of the first cause was denied: so it is in all means, and this is the reason of their want of efficacy; the same Ordinances would be as effectual at one time as at another, and unto one man as unto another, there is no difference in the means, only in the concurrence of the first cause with the means; and so it is with creatures also, the same land would be as fruitful at one time as at another, and there is no difference, only when thou tillest thy land it shall not yield its strength, says the Lord, there is not the same concurrence of God with it, which is his blessing upon it, and that is the true reason of all the difference in the use and the success of means whatsoever. 3. Though the Lord doth in the administration of all things in the providential Kingdom use means, and therefore hath made all things in a due order and subordination, yet he doth delight sometimes to work without means, by his own immediate hand, not by power nor by might, but by my Spirit, Zac. 4.7. if there be none to help, yet his own arm shall bring salvation. And the Lord doth this, (1) that he may sometimes show forth some special discoveries of his own power. The heart of man would be wholly terminated in the creature, as we are very apt to be, and we would look no further, therefore the Lord is pleased sometimes to show forth something more than the power of the creature; and sometimes he will go in an ordinary way of nature, sometimes in a miraculous way to show, that there is a higher hand that rules all things, that he may not be forgotten by us. (2) To show that he doth not use the creature necessarily, but voluntarily; and therefore he can use it or lay it aside at his pleasure, work by it, or work without it, that the souls of his people may depend upon him alone, both in the want and in the enjoyments of the creature; and the good effect is never the further off when they want it, nor ever the nearer when they do enjoy it, whether they have it or not, it is all one, they can rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the God of their salvation, Hab. 3.17, 18. (3) That he may still keep up in the remembrance of his people a creating power; when there was nothing but himself immediately, there was no means used. It hath been disputed by the Schoolmen, Whether the ministry of Angels were not used in the creation of the world? and it is commonly answered, No it was not, it could not be, because in the exercise of almighty power there can be no concurrence of the creature, no creature can be raised by the power of God unto such an elevation, as to be made capable to put forth any act of omnipotence; and therefore that this power of the Creation of God may be kept up, he doth do the like often in the world; that as he hath appointed a day to remember the Creation, and would have us to remember our Creator, so he doth works, that he may keep it continually in our remembrance; providence is said to be nothing but a continued Creation, therefore the Lord will do something that shall be as a Creation still, that this great work may never be forgotten; he that doth create grace in the souls of men daily, doth put forth other acts answerable thereunto. (4) The Lord doth it, that he may train up his people by it unto a remembrance of Heaven, where all means shall cease; for God shall be all in all, that is, he shall be all unto his people immediately. It is true, that the Saints do enjoy God here, and they enjoy all in God, he is their portion and their hope, but all this is in the use of means; as they see him in a glass, so they shall enjoy him also: but there is a time that will shortly come, when all means shall be done away, and he that now governs the world, and so dispenses himself by second causes, will do all by his own immediate hand; there shall be immediate, therefore pure mercy, and pure wrath, and pure power, and pure acts of Omnipotence. In this life we are by the creatures refreshed, and when he comforts us by the creature, those comforts lose much by reason of the vessel; and so when he doth teach us by the creature, that treasure is in earthen vessels, it is much otherwise when he teaches himself immediately; and so when he doth punish by the creature, it is but as a mighty man correcting a man with a straw: it's true, that he is mighty, but it is but a small thing that is in his hand, which is nothing in comparison of that which shall be hereafter; it shall be all immediate, and that keeps up in his people an expectation of this, that they may have herein a kind of foretaste of Heaven, by beholding the immediate working of God without the help of creatures, or their concurrence. Now this immediate acting of Providence is wholly for the good of his people, and is so managed; sometimes he will use means for their good, and sometimes he will for their good work without means, but still so as his Sovereignty is made over unto them in these his actings: and herein we are to observe, 1. The Scripture speaking of a creating power, which the Lord doth often put forth for the good of his people, Esa. 4.5. Esa. 4.5. there 'tis said, I create upon every dwelling place a cloud, etc. Upon every dwelling place there is a protection, that which is immediate and beyond the power of second causes, when there is no defence in them, yet their succour shall be from the immediate hand of God, and that by a creating work, that when the people shall look to the creatures and say, we see no means to defend us, yet they can look to an immediate acting of Omnipotency, Esa. 67.17. and that by a creating work for his people: I create a heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness: it is spoken of the glorious reformation that shall be in the later days; it is there spoken not of renewing the substance, but of the qualities of Heaven and Earth, a glorious restitution of their primitive and original glory, a mighty work, that God shall not only pass upon Saints, but on the creatures, which shall be restored and delivered into the glorious liberty of the sons of God; and he that looks upon the corruptions of men, and the desolations of nations, and the confusions amongst the creatures that shall be immediately before those days, he will say, How can these things be? It is impossible that such a glorious reformation should be wrought. But to strengthen their faith, and to raise them up to expect it, he puts them off from second causes, and tells them it shall be an act of almighty power, it is by a creating work; and surely the same hand, and the same power that did make them at first, can also renew them, and restore them unto their primitive and original glory; that as the said immediate power is put forth for the renewing of their souls, Eph. 2.10. We are created in Christ to good works, all is made new within him by an immediate power, so also all shall be made new without him by an immediate providence; that though there be no concurrence of means and second causes, yet if God can make a new world, than he can renew this, he can create a new Heaven and a new Earth, and he can create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and the people a joy, as the promise is unto them; so that the Lord will not always work for his people in a ruling, but sometimes in a creating way, in which there is an immediate putting forth of power, and there is not, there cannot be any concurrence of means or second causes with it. 2. God puts forth an immediate providence for the Church's preservation; he doth many times work immediately, when there is no help in second causes, but all men are engaged on the contrary part; and the Lord looks, and there is none to help, and the Lord wonders that there was no intercessor; no helping of them, none to intercede for them, there was none so much as by way of prayer that comes in for them; and yet now the Church must be preserved, Zac. 4.23. Zac. 4.2, 3. the Candlestick is the Church, but by what means shall this be maintained? there can be no supply of oil expected from men, but the Lord will make Olive-trees to grow by it, that shall make oil of themselves, and shall drop into the bails thereof, that though no men in the world stand by it, or prepare for it, yet the Lord will supply it in an immediate way, from himself, and by himself, and by this means the lamp in this Candlestick shall never go out, for by an immediate provision of God they shall be maintained, Mic. 5.7. Mic. 5.7. The remnant of Jacob shall be as due from the Lord, and as showers upon the grass; when they were Jezreel strengthened by the Lord, though amongst many people that should hate them and persecute them, yet should they be preserved; and therefore as Calvin observes, rorem pro prato rorido, like unto the herbs which are nourished by the dew from Heaven, and by the showers from above, which stay not for man, it tarries not for the sons of men: that as the grass is nourished immediately by the dew, and doth not depend upon the labours and the watering of man; so shall these from God immediately, there shall come from him an immediate dew, an influence shall come, by which they shall be supported, that they shall not need to stay for any creatures assistance, or any concurrence of second causes whatsoever. 3. There is an immediate Providence that is seen in restraints upon the souls and spirits of men, when there are no hindrances in second causes, and yet this shall work for the people of God: see it Gen. 20. Sarah was in the hand of Abimelech, and his lust was stirred up towards her, when he heard of her, and there was nothing to hinder him but he might have had his will of her, and yet for Abraham's sake she was returned unto him chaste and undefiled; but it was by an immediate working of God upon his spirit, when there were no second causes in the way, the Lord saith, I did hold thee, that thou shouldst not touch her. And the same thing is true of the people of Israel, when they went up to worship at Jerusalem, and all the males left their habitation, the fittest advantage that could be for the neighbouring Nations, who hated them, and sought to invade them, and did it at other times, yet that now they should not have made inroads upon their Land in the several borders thereof, when there was no restraint in second causes, no man can give a reason for it but the immediate working of providence, that the Lord doth put forth his power upon the spirits of men, that it shall be enough if he withhold them. There is a bridle without and there is a bridle within, by which the spirits of men are turned about, there is a hedge for men's ways, God doth many time's hedge up men's ways with thorns; but there is a hedge for the spirits of men also, that when there is no hindrance in second causes, and none to lift up a hand against them, yet their spirits are restrained by an immediate hand. And indeed when the secrets of the counsels of God's providence shall be made manifest at the last day, many and glorious will ●he records of such immediate puttings forth of providence be. We have an instance in Esau, his malice was stirred, and he had power in his hand, he had three hundred men by which he might have cut off his brother Jacob, but only there was an immediate appearance of God upon his spirit, and that put a restraint upon him, that he could not so much as speak an ill word unto his brother. 4. The Lord appears immediately for the destruction of the Church's enemies, when their means fail. When there was no help from second causes to destroy Egypt or deliver themselves, for the Israelites had no power, but they cried unto the Lord, and in the night the Lord looked upon the Egyptians host and troubled them, and took off their chariot-wheels, and they drove heavily, and there was a terror upon their hearts, that they said, Let us fly, for God fights for Israel. And so he will do in the destruction of Antichrist, the little horn, who doth arise with the ten horns, and he is strong not by his own power, for the ten Kings give their kingdoms to him, and he doth exercise the power of the former beast before him, and it is said Dan. 8.25. He shall be broken without hands, that is, by the breath of the Lord, and the brightness of his coming, 2 Thess. 2. by an immediate manifestation of God against him, not by any power of second causes; for the people of God may expect the same immediate workings of providence for them that they have had in times past, Esa. 10.26. He will stir up a scourge for them according to the slaughter of Midian, and he shall lift it up after the manner of Egypt. Now as for that of Egypt it was by an immediate appearance of God, when there was no means used; and so for that of Midian, Judg. 7.19, 20. they blew the Trumpets, and they broke their pitchers, and that was all that was done, which was a means that of itself had no influence into the effect, but the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow; and such immediate discoveries and actings of providence the Lord doth promise unto his people, and they may expect them from him in all their straits, when the enemy comes in like a flood, etc. 5. They may expect immediate deliverances: Laban came out against Jacob with an evil intention, but he saith, Gen. 31.29. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt, but the God of your fathers spoke to me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. And so Balaam had a will to curse the people of God, and he wanted no encouragement and solicitation from the King of Moab to do it, and yet remember what Balack consulted, and what Balaam answered. And the instance of Abraham, when his hand was up to flay his son, and the Lord called to him out of Heaven, Stay thy hand, Mic. 6.5. and thereby it was a Proverb reserved in the Church of God ever since, Jehovah jireh, In the Mount will the Lord be seen, that is, when all means and hopes of preservation is past, that they look upon themselves as to be sacrificed, now they may expect an immediate appearance of God for them. 6. For their immediate Support; if the Lord call Moses to him into the Mount, he shall there be maintained forty days and nights, and neither eat bread, nor drink water, but his support shall come from an immediate hand; and so it was with Christ also in his temptation by Satan, when he had fasted so long: when the Lord does deny his People the means, he doth give them a support in himself, that they shall have no want of the means; as it is in a spiritual way, so it is also very often in a providential way, that when the Lord denies the means, he doth give unto his People a support in himself, that so they may learn to trust unto him, and to know that they have an interest not only in his mediate, but in his immediate Providence, and that the special Providence of God towards his people has both these parts in it, to show that though they see not Providence in the use of all the ordinary means, yet that they tempt not God, nor look for all things in a common way in the use of means, that it may appear, that they trust in God alone, and can shut their eyes and say, I know not how it will come in, I see no means, but there is a Providence that is above means, with him the fatherless find mercy. So it is in all inward afflictions also, and distresses of Conscience, the Soul has many times nothing to look upon but an immediate and almighty hand, all means fail, they have gone from Ordinance to Ordinance, and they have waited when a Messenger one of a thousand should be sent to them, but there is none that can speak peace to them, there is no fruit of the lips to refresh them; and when the man's soul draws near to the Grave, and his life to the destroyer, than he doth immediately lift up the light of his countenance, and thereby his soul is revived again, and delivered from going down into the pit; that as the Lord Jesus Christ when there was nothing of creature comforts to uphold him, (for they all forsook him and fled,) then the Promise of the Lord was made good, Isa. 42.6. Isa. 42.6. I will hold thee by the hand, and I will keep thee; when all the creatures withdrew their succour, not one of them did hold forth their hand to him, now there was from the Father an immediate and a secret support; so it is with the Saints also, Psal. 37.24. Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast away, for the Lord upholds him with his hand▪ but there is sometimes an immediate income that is known unto the Soul, the Lord lifts up the light of his countenance in the darkest night, when he sees nothing but Hell and Destruction before his Eyes, which is called the hidden Manna, Rev. 2.17. and the new Name and the white Stone, Rev. 2.17. They had no Manna till they were in the Wilderness, and all hope of support from creatures did fail, now the Manna comes; and such are the incomes of the Spirit into the Soul; and a new Name, and a white Stone; when he comes to judgement upon himself, and he is ready to pass an eternal sentence upon himself, counts himself free amongst the dead, like them that lie in the Grave, whom thou remember'st no more, never to have a good look from God; now the Lord comes in with a sentence of absolution, and gives a man a name that none knows but he that has it, but then the Lord will make him to know it, it is speaking peace from the Lords immediate voice; as the Martyr, when he came to the Stake, and had no means of comfort in a Desertion before, now he cries out, He is come, he is come. It is with many a Soul as with the woman that had the issue of blood twelve years, and had waited upon the Physicians, attended on the means which God had appointed, and spent all her time and pains upon them, and yet was not the better, but rather the worse, and she is reserved for an immediate cure by Christ, and an immediate rouch from him shall do the work; that, as Bernard observes concerning the time when Christ came in the flesh, which is in Scripture called the fullness of time, Non apparebat Angelus, non loquebatur Propheta, cessabant velut desperatione victi; tunc dixi, ecce venio, etc. so it is with the coming of the Spirit also, when all means have been used, and all fail, and the soul is ready to sink under the burden, now the Spirit saith, Lo I come; the soul did before find that there were everlasting arms under it, and that it did hang as the Earth upon nothing, did not know how it was upheld, but now the Spirit comes in, and makes bare his arm, dispels the darkness, and saith, Behold me, it is I, now I come; and so a man's comforts and supports come in from an immediate discovery of the Light of God's countenance, as if it were a voice from Heaven, as it was to Christ, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. 7. He doth sometimes give unto his People courage and assistance immediately beyond what is natural unto them, Zach. 4.7. and above and beyond all the means, Zac. 4.7. Not by power nor by might, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord; it is spoken of the Spirit of God immediately strengthening and stirring up the spirits of instruments beyond their own natural strength, as Samson was, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and then he had the strength of many men in him; Isa. 35.6. and Isa. 35.6. The lame shall leap as an Hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; it is spoken of immediate strength and healing by the grace of Christ, that as the Lord Jesus did heal men, and with a word only, and without means, their feet and ankle-bones received strength, and they did leap as a Hart, and praise God; so here they have immediate assistance, as David had in the business of Goliath, the spirit of fortitude came upon him for that service, and the promise is Zac. 12.8. The weak shall be as David, as full of courage in any difficult services that they should be called unto, as David was, when the Lord shall say to him that is of a fearful heart, Be strong, and it shall be so, Esa. 35.4. and so Mat. 10.19. It shall be given you in that hour, Luk. 21.25. I will give you a mouth and wisdom that all your enemies shall not be able to resist; for it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you; that as Samson was not acted by his own strength, so neither did they speak by their own spirits, but by an immediate assistance from the Spirit, both directing their minds, suggesting to them the matter, and also guiding their tongues, and directing them unto words what to say, and how they ought to speak; that as 'tis said of the Prophets, the Lord speaks in them, Heb. 1.1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Heb. 1.1. for they are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as they were transported or carried by the Holy Ghost, 2 Pet. 1.20. they were not acted according to their own spirits, 2 Pet. 1.20. neither did they speak according to their own parts or light, but as they were directed by the immediate assistance of the Spirit of God at the same time; so there is an immediate assistance that the Lord hath promised unto his people, when he doth call them forth unto any service wherein the immediate presence of God and power of the Spirit is necessary and required, it is beyond the power or strength of a man; and it is that which the Lord many times doth, he will bring his people into such a condition, that there shall be no means for them to look unto, that they shall be wholly fatherless, and have neither Sun-light nor Starlight in the creature, receiving the sentence of death in themselves, that they may look for God's immediate appearing, 2 Cor. 1.9. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, that we could see no means to escape, but now must have an eye to an almighty and immediate power of God, that we might trust, not in ourselves, but in God that raiseth the dead, that our deliverance must be a kind of resurrection from the dead. And the people of God, if they have the means, yet they look upon them as nothing: We have no might against this great multitude, but our eyes are towards thee; and if they have no means, they can look upon him that hath a creating power, that can make waters to break out in the Wilderness, and streams in the Desert, and the parched ground shall become a Pool, and the thirsty ground Springs of water; in the habitation of Dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes; that which only was fit and delightsom unto the Devil, the Satyrs, that shall be good for the glory of God and the use of man, as it is Esa. 35.7, 8. 2. There is in the next place a mediate Providence, and that is in the manner of Gods ordering of all things in the use of means; and so all the means that the Lord does use are for the good of his people, Rom. 8.28. All things work together for their good, that though the Lord doth work by means, and doth make use of second causes to produce their effects, yet they do all concur in this, that they do conspire for the good of the Elect of God, Hos. 2.21, 22. I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth, Hos. 2.21, 22. and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel: the Lord doth work for the good of his people by second causes, he doth not rain corn from Heaven, as he did Manna in the Wilderness, but the Earth shall hear the corn, and he will give it them out of the earth, and in all the actings of second causes it is the Lord that hath the great hand, he doth make them to be a means of blessing, or else they could never prove so to be, it is the Lord that doth hear the Heavens; it's a mighty strain of speech, that the Heavens and the Earth that were before deaf and dumb to them, that took no compassion upon them in their necessity, and answered them not, now when they are reconciled, are brought as it were to be humble suitors and petitioners for them; the Heavens shall say, Lord, I would give my influence, rain to refresh thy people; and the Earth shall say, Lord, I would give my strength for the good of thy people also, etc. For as it is by virtue of the Covenant of the Saints that all the creatures stand, so it is by their Covenant also that they do act, it is by being betrothed unto God, that all the creatures are in Covenant with them, and it is for them that all means do act freely, and all creatures willingly do serve; for it's their redemption that they wait for and long for; but unto other men, they are made subject not willingly, but the Lord hath subjected them in hope, Rom. 8.20, 21. but their subjection is an act of Sovereignty, and not of choice, for they would not serve the lusts of ungodly men, though they are willing to serve the necessities of the Saints; therefore all the means that the Lord doth use are for the good of the Saints, and it is for them that they work in all that they do. 1. He it is that doth provide and appoint means, there is in Providence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as well as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he doth order and appoint the cause to the effect, the means to the end, for the good of his people, which all the creatures could not do; he brings food out of the earth, and he doth cause rain, and reserve the appointed weeks of the harvest, Jer. 5.24. it is he that order every thing unto its end for the good of his people. Mat. 4.3. Psal. 127.1. 2. He doth Bless the means; man lives not by Bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, etc. Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: He gives all things richly to enjoy, 1 Tim. 6.17. It's the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and it's he that blesseth the labours of our hand, that we labour not in the fire, Hab. 2.13. and therefore the creatures are said to be sanctified by the Word and Prayer, 1 Tim. 4.5. by a blessing attained thereupon, Eccles. 5.17. that they shall prosper for their ends. 3. He doth raise up means when we can see none, unexpectedly, Mic. 6.4. he sent before them Moses and Aaron; Zac. 9.13. When I have bend Judab for me, and filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons O Zion, against thy sons O Greece, etc. So for the deliverance of Mordecai; and he raised up the Spirit of Cyrus, and stirred it up, so that he made a Proclamation for the good of Jerusalem, Ezra 1.1. and Zac. 1.8. he stood among the Myrtle-trees that were in the bottom, etc. In the evening it shall be light, Zac. 14.7. an Angel stops the Lion's mouths, and opens the prison-doors; when all hope is gone, and they cannot see from what quarter supply shall come, then do means appear unexpectedly; and therefore the people of God do believe in hope, against hope, upon this ground, because the hand of the Lord is not shortened. 4. The most unlikely Means, Isa. 41.15. The Worm Jacob shall thresh the Mountains, etc. He doth open Rivers in high places, Isa. 41.18. waters shall break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the enemies shall turn their Swords against one another, that they shall destroy themselves, Judg. 9.7.22. And their own breath shall be as fire to devour themselves, Isa. 33.11. And so the ten Kings shall destroy the Whore, who set her up; and God will act means contrary to their own nature, or above their nature, for his People; Ravens to feed Elijah, and the Heavens to give bread and flesh, and the Rocks water, out of the Eater shall come meat, and the waters shall be a wall unto them, and the Sun shall stand still; for the wheels of Providence are sometimes lifted up, he doth not always go in an ordinary way, but useth means that they know not of, as in the work of Redemption, so in a work of Providence also, and beyond their intention, as the instances are many which might be given, Isa. 44.25. that frustrates the tokens of the liars, and maketh Diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish: the fiery furnace shall not consume Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego, but their enemies, etc. §. 2. We come now unto the Third Distinction of Providence, it is either circa necessaria vel contingentia, about necessaries or contingents: That is said to be necessary which could not otherwise be, but the effect hath a necessary dependence upon its cause, that it doth from an inward principle, ex necessitate naturae, produce such an effect; and so the Sun doth naturally and therefore necessarily enlighten, and the Fire doth naturally and therefore necessarily warm; such causes as have a natural and therefore a necessary influence and causality. And things contingent are such as have no necessity in their causes, but in respect of us they might have been otherwise, such of which we are able to give no reason, but their causes are to us unknown, and so the event unexpected. That is said to be contingent, and to fall out beyond our expectation, Aust. cujus ratio & causa secreta est, the seed whereof we are not able to foresee in second Causes: Fatum nil aliud est quàm series implexa causarum. So that if we look upon all things in reference to the first cause, so all things are necessary, and there is nothing that is contingent or falls out by chance or accident, but all contingency is in reference unto second causes; for they are known of God and appointed by him by a necessary and infallible Providence; as if a man hewing wood, the Axes head falls off, and smites his Neighbour that he die; or if a man cast a stone unawares, and it light upon his Neighbour, Deut. 19.5. Num. 35.23. that which is beyond the intention of the man, yet God is said to deliver him into his hand, Exod. 21.13. that is, God has jus vitae & necis, & ad altissimam ejus providentiam refertur. And so it was in the death of Ahab, there was a man that drew a bow at a venture, or in simplicity, not aiming at him, not intending his death more than any other man's, but it smote the King of Israel between the Harness; there was a Providence that infallibly guided it, though in reference to the second cause, it was merely contingent and accidental; and therefore the Lord foretells things that are merely casual before they come to pass, as that to Saul, upon the plain of Tabor, There shall meet thee three men, one carrying three kids, and another three loaves of bread, and he shall salute thee, and give thee two loaves, and thou shalt receive them at his hand: Luk. 22.10. There shall meet you a man bearing a Pitcher of water, follow him, etc. for all things are unto him certain, and infallible, not only ex praevisione, but ex praeordinatione, he did order them that they should so come to pass. 1. God's Providence regards all Necessaries; and such are all natural causes, they work necessarily, because ex necessitate naturae, from a necessity of nature, and so ad ultimum potentiae, to the utmost of their power: Now there is even in the ordering of these a gracious hand of God for the good of his People, and that will appear in these six instances. 1. In the Sun, it riseth naturally, and therefore necessarily, and so it shines, yet it is God makes it shine; so Math. 5.45. He maketh the Sun to rise, etc. But it will be said, that this is an act of common grace, for it riseth upon the evil and the good, the just and the unjust, but it's ●ar, that the Lord makes it to rise and to shine; for Job 9.7. he commands the Sun and it riseth not; he can cause it to put on sackcloth; (for he has a negative voice upon the motions of all the creatures) and although it riseth upon the evil as well as upon the good, yet it is upon the evil for the sake of the good: for all the creatures in their service are subjected under hope, to be delivered into the glorious liberty of the sons of God; Rom. 8.20. therefore there is an earnest expectation and a groaning of them, and it is in reference hereunto, that they may serve the Saints: for as the Angels being the servants of Christ, do serve the Elect as his members, so do all creatures, as being subjected unto Christ, and given into his hands, serve the saint● as his members. And though the Sun be in respect of the light, a glorious Body, yet it may be much of that glory by Sin and the Curse is obscured; for surely the curse hath reached unto all the creatures that were for man's use; and therefore it's possible that place may have in some respect a literal sense, Isa. 30.26. The light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun, and the light of the Sun sevenfold; for there is a time of the restitution of all things, which I cannot expound of the last day of Judgement, Act. 3.21. for then there shall not be a Restitution of all things, but an Annihilation of many things, a New Heaven there shall be, Isa. 65.17. which I cannot understand to be spoken after the day of Judgement; for vers. 21. he speaks of building houses and inhabiting them, and planting of Vineyards, and eating the fruit of them; therefore some renovation in quality, and restitution of the ancient glory of Heaven and Earth is meant here: and if that place, Isa. 11.6. the lion and the lamb, the leopard and the kid shall lie down together, be not only to be understood figuratively of men of such dispositions, but also literally of the creatures themselves, that the antipathy which came in by sin shall be destroyed, as Lactant. saith, Non bestiae sanguine alentur, nec aves praedâ, sed quieta & placida erunt omnia, we may expect also even for the Saints sake, the glory of the Sun may be restored also in reference to the Light thereof, as of the Earth in reference to the fruitfulness thereof. And the influences of the Sun are as natural and necessary as the light thereof; and yet there is a Providence that order them for the good of the saints, Psal. 126.6. The Sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the Moon by night; there are noxious influences of these celestial bodies, which are to be looked upon as a grievous stroke, but the hurtful influences of them the Lord will suspend and turn away; and thou shalt find (as Israel in the Wilderness) that though thou encamp in the Field, and hast only the Heavens for thy Canopy and covering, yet the influences of them shall be sweet to thee and benign, vivificat & prolificat, such as shall be cheering and comforting: for as it is in the Commands of God and Prohibitions, when any sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded; so when any evil is removed, the contrary good is promised; it shall not hurt thee, but it shall help thee, it shall not smite thee, but it shall comfort and quicken and revive thee. 2. The Stars they work as natural causes, and therefore necessarily, Amos 5.8. Amos 5.8. He maketh the seven Stars and Orion, etc. the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth not signify barely facere or create, but disponere, dirigere, not so much their creation as the providential disposition of them, he doth order and draw forth their influences, and trims up these Lamps of Heaven, and he doth draw them forth, or seal them up at his pleasure, as Job 9.9. Job 38.31. it is not in the power of any creature to draw forth or to bind them up; if the Lord lose them, none can bind them: they work naturally, but so as they have their commission from the Lord for the good of his people; all the Stars that thou seest, if the Lord should take a man abroad, and show him how all of them have a commission of influence for him, etc. what a comfort would it be? So Judges 5.20. they fight for the People of God; Judg. 5.20. it was by their influences in raising winds, and thunders and lightning, thereby both discouraging, and also scattering and destroying all the power of the enemy; now these were natural causes, and wrought necessarily, but yet there is a Providence that doth rule and order them for the good of the Saints. 3. The Rain, it doth proceed from a natural cause, and therefore comes necessarily upon the Earth, and yet Job 38.28. The rain hath a father, and he has begotten the drops of the dew, and Hos. 2.21, 22. The Heaven shall hear the Earth, etc. they are all brought in crying and praying for a Covenant people, and the Lord will hear their prayers; the Heavens they cry unto God, that their influences are withheld; and the Earth cries to the Heavens, that it cannot for want thereof give forth its strength and fruitfulness; but the Lord doth give this unto his people, opens the windows of Heaven, he reins down a blessing, Mal. 3.10. for the clouds do drop fatness, so that there is a providence that order these necessary things for the good of his people, and he stays the rain in answer to prayer; for they have power over rain; Rev. 11.6. and also that it shall be a Teacher of Righteousness, Joel 2.23. by the withdrawing they shall learn righteousness, and by the giving of it also in the season thereof. 4. The Earth brings forth naturally and necessarily also, and this ●●●r Lord doth suspend; not that there is not the same strength in the earth, only in judgement he turns it into barrenness, that is, it gives not forth its strength; but in the new Heaven it shall not be so, Esa. 65.22, 23. the earth shall hear Jezreel, They shall plant vineyards, and shall eat the fruit of them, they shall no more labour in vain, the earth shall open her bosom, and gloriously yield her increase, when God, even our own God shall bless us, the treasures of Heaven shall not be withheld, nor the treasures that are in the bowels of the Earth, but there shall be gold for silver and brass, Esa. 60.17. and for iron silver, and for wood brass, and iron for stones, there shall be that plenty and abundance of those chosen treasures, which are yet hid in the earth but shall then be discovered. 5. The Seas, they have naturally an unquiet motion, but the Lord doth order their motions for the good of his people; they now are out of their proper place, and therefore they are in their motions restless, but the Lord rides upon the high places of the earth, and he treads upon the high places of the Sea, Job 9.8. though for the Sea to be a wall be far above the nature of it, yet it was agreeable to the nature of it to return again into its channel upon the enemies of Israel; he doth therefore rule the raging of the S●●, when the waves arise, Psal. 89.9. 2 Pet. 3.4. he saith unto them, Peace, be still; and by this wicked men are confuted that say, All things continue alike from the creation of the world; but that they do not, for first the earth was covered with water, now it is separated, and the dry land appears; it was afterwards in judgement covered with waters in the Flood, and then the waters entered into their own channel again. 6. The winds also, they have a natural and necessary cause: The Lord brings the winds out of his treasuries; there are treasures of winds, Job 38.22. and the stormy winds fulfil his word, Psal. 148.8. but there is not a wind that ariseth upon the Earth or Sea, but he doth in this dispose of it for the good of his people; Ma●. 24.7. the winds and the Sea obey him; and if there be a wind in the earth, an Earthquake, as there was at the Resurrection of Christ, for the confirmation of their faith, all these obey him: Acts 16.26. Rev. 11.13. when Rome shall fall, seven hundred men shall be slain by an Earthquake, and there shall be great discoveries of God in those things which he overrules for the good of his people: which when they consider, should bear up their hearts in the greatest storms and tempests that any of the creatures can raise against them. 2. There are also some things which are contingent or fortuitous, that is, though all things be governed by a determinate counsel in God, and there be nothing casual unto him, but foreknown unto him were all his works from the foundation of the world, yet in respect of us there are some things which are contingent and merely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, without humane election, and wonderful, and those casual providences are for the good of the Saints in dreams, in lots, in ordering the wills and affections of men, in the slip of a horse, the fall of an house, the meeting of a friend, a man is casually cast upon such places, persons, occasions, as Saul when he went forth to seek Asses and found a Kingdom; we may instance in a more special manner in the business of war, wherein though there be a Council, yet in the execution or the executive part every thing seems merely contingent; and yet we see all to be for Alimoth, Psal. 46.1. for the hidden ones, he doth choose the Officers, appoint the Soldiers, appoint the weapons, direct the execution, order the stratagems, give the advantages, act or take away men's courage and their skill, the Captains shall be as Grasshoppers, and he it is that either teaches their hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by their arms, or the heart of a Lion doth melt, and the men of might cannot find their hands; and he casts it for the victory, it is he that doth put the Crown upon the head of the Conqueror, for the victory is of God. SECT. V The Saint's Interest in Gods Providential Kingdom, as it regards goods and evils. §. 1. NOw follows the fourth distinction, and that is, circa bona vel mala, about good and evil things: and in both these also Providence doth order all things for the spiritual good of his people. 1. There is a Providence circa bona, for all the good things which do befall the Saints; for every good doth come down from him who is the Father of lights, Jam. 1.17. they are all from him who is the Fountain of living waters; they are streams from the upper Springs; as in Election there is a special love, so there doth flow from it a peculiar Providence: If God cloth the grass of the field, much more you, O ye of little faith! He is the Saviour of all men, but specially of them that believe; so that if we look upon all the good things which in this life befall them, they have it by a special providence over them for their good: for the present I shall instance in these particulars. 1. In appointing of their calling; for there is as truly an election unto calling, and a separation by God, as there is unto life and salvation, Rom. 1.1. Separated unto the Gospel, that is, set apart by God to preach the Gospel; and so Gal. 1.15. says the Apostle, But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, etc. There is not a man that comes into the world, but the Lord doth appoint him in what condition of life he shall serve, and he doth set him apart unto an employment; for he is the Lord of Host, and he doth set every man his station. As it is said of Peter, The Lord did appoint him by what death he should glorify God; so it's true of all the people of God, he doth appoint them by what condition of ●ife they should glorify him; and though Paul went on in another way a long time, and little intended any such thing, yet God ordered it so, that he would reveal his Son in him, both per modum objecti, objectively, that others should see Christ in him, and subjecti, subjectively, that he himself should see the discoveries of Christ by a Spirit of Revelation, and he should be a glorious instrument in the hand of the Lord to reveal Christ unto others: and in this there is a wonderful and a gracious hand of Providence unto his people, that unto other men their callings are for their hurt, and their callings as well as their tables become their shares, that they are entangled by them; yet they are for the good of his people. Thus Luther doth observe of himself, in Gen. 17. Deus voluit me esse concionatorem, & sustinere pr●pter verbum odium & invidiam mundi: Aliis imponit laborem manuum, & videntur mihi beati, etc. exerceor periculis & tentationibus, & tamen mechanicus ille aequè atque ego salvatur. But he saith this was the calling in which God had set him, and in this he must walk with him, and the works of this calling were unto him the works of God, etc. Of this we have a famous instance in Junius, his father was exceedingly against his being a Preacher of the Gospel, was desirous that he might have godliness in himself, but that he should never be a Teacher of it, vivus non fuisset passus, etc. but in sententia planè eram diversa à sententia patris, in Vita Junii. To engage the spirits of men, and to order occasions and opportunities that men might glorify God in such a way of service as he hath appointed for them, and that it should be suitable to their spirits, their parts, their graces, and they shall be par negotio, fitted for the work unto which the Lord hath called them, that they may honour God in it with pleasure, sweetness, and delight; there is a special hand of a merciful and a gracious Providence therein. 2. In setting them their habitation; the earth is the Lords, and he hath given it unto the children of men, but he hath set every man in his place in the earth, the bounds of their habitation are set; so he doth tell Paul, I will send thee afar off to the Gentiles, that he should preach amongst the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. The Ministers of the Gospel are the Stars in the right hand of Christ, ●ev. 1. ult. and he doth set them in their orbs where they shall shine, as well as give them light by which they shall shine; there are some Stars primae magnitudinis, of the first magnitude, but they are not all so, one Star differs from another in glory: Jonah must go to Nineveh, Amos must prophesy at Bethel, though it be the King's Chapel, and the King's Court; John Baptist must preach in the Wilderness of Judea, and he must not spare the sins of any of his Auditors, neither the Publicans nor the Soldiers, and if the Pharisees come, they shall meet also with their reproof: O generation of vipers, who hath forewarned you to flee from the wrath to come? We have an instance in Nazianzen, who was chosen by the people to be Minister at Nazianzum, which was the place of his birth, and from whence he hath his name; but at his hearing of it he did declare the work was that which he thought himself no way fit for, and yet after some stay, and much ado, the Lord brought him thither: and so for Musculus, when he was turned out of the Covent, and deprived of all means of livelihood, he betook himself unto a Weavers house that was an Anabaptist, and there he wrought some two years, where confuting a Teacher which used to come unto his master, he was thereupon displaced; and now he knew not what to do, and then resolved for a livelihood to go work in the Town-ditch, for they were making of Fortifications, and walking there the night before he made these Verses, Est Deus in coelis, etc. and so next morning one sent unto him to be Minister of a Church, etc. 3. In giving them occasion and opportunity to exercise their graces; for opportunity is the spring time of grace and of sin, Phil. 4.10. Ye but wanted opportunity; and Judas sought an opportunity to betray Christ; there is much within, that if there were not opportunity would never be vented, it's this that gives the vent unto the inward man. Now opportunity and occasion of sinning is a judgement, and it is one way that the Lord hath a hand in the ordering of sinful actions, he doth give the occasion to them; he ordered it that Judas should have the bag, and Achan should see the wedge, and the young man have a harlot come out to meet him, etc. So the Lord doth give occasion and opportunity for the exercising of graces, and it is a special providence so to do; 1 Cor. 1.6, 9 A great door is open to me, that is, a great and a blessed opportunity of service; Rev. 3.8. I will set before thee an open door, that is, give a man a great opportunity; and to continue to a man such an occasion as this is, a door that shall not be shut; though not only service, but even opportunity of service, shall be sure to meet with many adversaries. This is a special mercy unto the people of God, and a great gift, if the Lord doth in providence so order things, that it shall be so unto them. So the obedience of Abraham in leaving of his country, and his offering of his son; the strength of Jacob in prayer, therefore Esau shall meet him; the chastity of Joseph, and the patience of Job, the zeal of Jehosaphat, and his readiness to work for God, he ●●d abundance, and his heart was lifted up in the ways of God's commandments; and the courage and height of spirit in Luther, he shall meet with opposition that shall draw it forth, gratia vexata seipsam prodit, he had never appeared unto that h●ight, had it not been that the Lord by their opposition gave him occasion and opportunity for such eminent service: Prov. 17.16. and Prov. 17.16. Why is there a price in the hand of a fool? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hoc pretium, this great and this excellent price, some expound it of riches, which the Lord doth give men, that they might by them endeavour to get wisdom, and to exercise it; but it is, I conceive, of a larger extent, and to be understood of any talon which the Lord doth put into a man's hand, it is all given by God, that it may be used and improved unto a spiritual end, and the wisdom and the folly of a man is much discovered in the use of the price that is put into his hand, wise men have a heart to it, that is, they do understand it, what they are betrusted with, and they have a will and a desire, and they do their endeavour to employ it, but fools understand not what it is, neither do they consider it, and therefore they have no desire to use it unto the end for which God gave it, they know not the season in which talents are continued, nor the end for which they were committed unto men, and therefore they use them for their hurt, and are but as a sword put into a mad man's hand to hurt all that comes near him, and they cast firebrands, and say, I am in sport, etc. Now it 〈◊〉 true, opportunity is a great talon, it is a man's day of visitation for service, as there is a day of visitation for grace, and if a man know it not, and take it not, but let it slip, it is his folly and his sin, and will prove a curse to him. There is many a ●●n that has as much sin as another, but yet it is not so improved, because he never had in providence the opportunity which makes others grow more exceedingly and out of measure sinful, and so it is also in this, there is many a man that has much more grace, because he had more opportunity of exercising it and drawing it forth, and so the habit is exceedingly improved, and there are glorious fruits of it, all which do abound unto the account of the Saints: thus providence orders opportunities of service. 4. There is a special Providence unto his people in appointing of their societies; that as ungodly men are permitted to be cast upon some that will improve their sin, for a man is much built up by his society, either unto Heaven or Hell, Prov. 1.10. If sinners entice thee consent thou not; sinners will entice, and a man shall be cast into such companies and such occasions of converse he knows not how; so there is a providence also in casting of the people of God upon their societies, Act. 18.24, 25. Apollo's came to Ephesus, and at the same time Claudius had commanded all the Jews to departed from Rome: now Aquila and Priscilla coming from Italy meeting with him, and they instructing him in the way of the Lord more perfectly, this was happy for him to meet with such company, hoc providentiae meritò tribuendum est: insomuch that the people of God bless God unto Eternity one for another; as the Martyr acknowledged it as a wonderful glorious providence unto him, that he was cast into prison, for there he became acquainted with that Angel of God John Bradford; so Austin doth acknowledge much of the goodness of God to him in the society of Nebridius. But there is an excellent story of Junius in this kind: he being in Leyden for his study's sake, there arose a great stir and tumult in the City, insomuch that many of the inhabitants fled away for safety, and he amongst the rest fled to save his life, and being in the country thereabouts, he came to a countryman's house to beg some victuals, the countryman received him, and very courteously entertained him, and he began to talk with him about matters of Religion, which the countryman performed with so much zeal and affection, ego malus Christianus siquidem Christianus, etc. una & eadem hora gratiam suam in utroque explicavit Deus: à me scientiam rusticus, ego ab eo zelum, etc. And he saith it did abide upon him ment fixâ, that he was not able to put the impression out of his mind, and the Lord made it useful to him all his life after, etc. 5. In their preservation in service, and their dismissions from service. (1) There is a preservation in service, that they shall be continued to do the work for which the Lord has appointed them, and they shall not be cut off till they have finished their work; so it was with the Lord Jesus Christ, Luke 13.32. Go tell that Fox. It's true, Luk. 13.32. that he was a subtle enemy, and one that did want no skill to bring those bloody designs he had to pass, but yet there was a time set for Christ's work, to day and to morrow and the third day; and during that time all his enemies were not able by power or policy to reach him; and then afterwards, I shall be perfected, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that is, I shall have perfected the work of my ministry, and the perfection of a man's work, is the perfection of the man, he is never perfected till then: and so it is with the two Witnesses, they shall not be killed till they have fulfilled their Prophecy; there is no putting any man out of employment till the Lord discharge him, a man that has any work to do for God, no man can stop him in it before it is finished. (2) When their work is done, they shall have a very gracious dismission, and they shall lie down with honour; the best of the Saints have but their time of service, and they shall receive their discharge, but they shall come to their grave in a full age, as a shock of corn in the season thereof, Job 5.26. Some men have a longer, and some have a shorter time of service, but all have but their time. As sinning is a warfare, and wicked men in that do receive their discharge, and it is in providence ordered so, that they die when it is in judgement to them, when they least expect it, and are least prepared for it; so godly men die when their graces are perfected, and their work is finished, and never till then: and therefore when they sought Luther's life so much, yet he could write this upon the wall of his Study, I shall not die but live, and declare the works of the Lord, etc. And there are some men upon this account can laugh at dangers in a way of service, and deride threaten as the crackling of thorns under a pot, because they say, My time is not in your hands, neither the time of my life, nor of my service, and he that employs me will uphold me, and will maintain me till the time of my dismission shall come, and then I shall go off the stage of this world in mercy, and lie down in peace, and rest upon my bed after the time of my labour is ended. 6. There is a special Providence in blessing and providing for their posterity; God has a special providence over those that come out of the loins of his own; for indeed he has so ordered all his Decrees, as that the greatest part of the Elect comes out of the loins of the Saints, Prov. 20.7. His children are blessed after him; there is grace in a special manner that is promised unto them, but 'tis a blessedness that doth descend upon them by virtue of their parent's Covenant, Esa. 59.21. My words which I have put in thy mouth shall not departed out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever: and Esa. 44.3. I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring, etc. as Austin was filius lacrymarum, the son of his mother's prayers and tears, and the Lord did give an answer by giving the soul of her son unto her, that he was graciously converted unto the Lord, and proved an eminent instrument for service in the Church of the Lord. The Saints can with Jacob pronounce upon them a blessing when they die, and that out of faith in the promise, and the Lord willsurely make it good unto them; but we are begotten not of blood, Joh. 1.13. And therefore though many times ungodly men may and do come out of the loins of the Saints, and the spiritual part of the Covenant is not made good unto many of the posterity of his own people, yet the outward part of the Covenant surely is; though the Covenant for matter of grace be unto Isaac, yet there is another part of it that is made good to Ishmael: Twelve Princes shall he beget, he hath the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth. God doth in outward things strangely supply them, and provide for them: when the children of the wicked are vagabonds and beg their bread, Psal. 37.25. Yet I never saw the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psal. 37.25. Not that a godly man may not be brought to beggary, or to live upon the charity of another, Jesus Christ himself was so, he was poor, and so poor, that the women, Luke 8.3. his followers did minister unto him of their substance to supply his necessity in this life; but there is a fourfold interpretation of that place of Scripture. (1) Begging of bread is taken for extremity of poverty, the seed of the righteous are never so poor, but the Lord doth find out a way of support and supply for them; he has said, That the just shall inherit the earth. (2) It is not meant that it was never so, that they were never poor, but in David's experience, he had never found it so. (3) There is another interpretation of Muis, and that is, semen ejus quaerens panem non derelictum, not forsaken, though begging of their bread; the Jews in this misery that they are, yet grow rich wherever they come, the temporal promise is fulfilled to them. (4) The term righteous may be restrained to such as are eminently righteous as to works of mercy. So it follows vers. 26. He is ever merciful, etc. So among the Hebrews, mercy towards the poor is termed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Righteousness. §. 2. There is also a Providence circa mala, about evils; for his Kingdom rules over all, and this malum, evil is either culpae, of sin, or poenae, of punishment, concerning both which the Sovereignty of God doth gloriously work, though it be in a far different way. First, the Sovereignty of God in his providential Kingdom is conversant about the evils of sin, they do all come under the government of God; and that it is so, will appear from Gen. 45.5, 6, 7. Gen. 45.5, 6, 7. it was the observation that Joseph had about that unnatural act of his brethren, he looked upon a double hand in it, one was theirs, which he from a principle of meekness and forgiveness was ready to pass by and overlook, and another was a special hand of providence in this sin of theirs, and that he speaks of three times, as being much affected with the Sovereignty of God ordering of that sin of theirs both in respect of him and themselves, Ye sold me, but God sent me, in that sin of theirs there was an overruling hand of Sovereignty, and that he tells them three times together, That it was God sent him, and that it was not they that sent him: Ye sent me out of malice, and God sent me out of mercy, you to destroy me, God to preserve both you and me; you sent me, that I should be a slave to man; God, that I might be a father to Pharaoh, and a Ruler of all the land of Egypt. We see what a glory here is over this sinful action in respect of Joseph, Pharaoh, Egypt, and the whole family of Jacob; and this was not a casual thing, something that came to pass by accident or by chance, but it was by counsel, a Sovereignty that did with wisdom lay this as a design and plot beforehand; Gen. 50.20. so Gen. 50.20. You thought evil, but God meant it unto good: the word in both places is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which doth signify a plotted thought done by counsel, Psal. 10.2. Let them be taken in their devices that they have imagined, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: it is spoken there of plotted designed evil: and so it was here; the good was done by counsel, and it was a thing that comes not to pass without foresight, but God meant and plotted it for good; and therefore we read, Exod. 28.15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 opus ingeniosè inventum, a work that is artificially done, upon which many thoughts went before, it was brought unto a ripeness and perfection; and such was this work here also, they plotted upon evil, and the Lord plotted and designed this their evil unto good: Esa. 10.6, 7. so Esa. 10.6, 7. the King of Babylon comes against Jerusalem, and the Lord sends him not by any command, for the work was displeasing unto him, as done by them, and for which he will visit them, vers. 12. but arcano imperio, by a secret act of the Sovereignty of God, so ordering things in providence, that this should come to pass; and therefore Ezech. 9.1. they are called the visiters of the city, men appointed by the dominion of God unto that office, but yet the man had a thought of nothing less than to do Gods work in it, or to submit unto his dominion, or execute his counsel, which unto them was secret, he meaneth not so, he thinks not so; there are two words used, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 secum cogitare, he hath not such a thought that did ever enter into his heart, he never had so much as the least secret imagination of any such thing; and the other word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which doth signify a devised, designed, and plotted thing, it was a thing that he never consulted, never designed in all that he doth to execute my displeasure against an hypocritical Nation; but yet he shall do my work, while he doth wholly intent his own, and design that only, and yet the work that shall be done upon Zion is the Lords work, vers. 12. and by these two Scriptures it will clearly appear that the Sovereignty of God is conversant about the sins of men, things in themselves evil and forbidden of God, and yet his Sovereignty reacheth unto them. And this I shall branch into two heads. (1) The Sovereignty of God over a man's own sins for the good of his people. (2) Over other men's sins; he doth so employ his Sovereignty about the sins of men, that they shall be ordered for the good of the Saints. 1. The Sovereignty and Supremacy of God in reference unto the sins of his own people; the Lord doth so rule and order all things thereby, that their own sins shall in some kind work for their good, that which in its own nature is only evil, can by an almighty overruling hand, turn into good; which no man in the world is able to do; they may make good use of things in themselves good, but they are never able to bring good out of that which is per se malum, of itself sinful, as sin is; and this I shall demonstrate to you in four things, (1) In respect of the being of sin. (2) In respect of the rising of sin. (3) In respect of the actings of sin. (4) In respect of the raging of sin, in an open violent scandalous way. 1. It will appear in reference unto the being of sin in the Saints. The Lord, who has forbid all sin even in the Principles and being of it, and has sent his Son to take away sin, yet he has in his Sovereignty so ordered the condition of the Saints here, that sin shall have a being in them, and they shall never be perfectly freed from it; so that it will be true of the best while they are here, he that saith he has no sin deceiveth himself, there will be reliquiae vetustatis, as Austin calls it, a Law in the members, a body of death. To be without sin here is given to us as praeceptum, a precept in this life, or else Original sin were no sin, and the being of sin were against no Law of God; the Law requires a holy Nature, as well as holy Actions; but in the life to come it shall be given to us as praemium, a reward; here as a Law, and hereafter as a Reward. And why has the Sovereignty of God so ordered it that those that shall be freed from sin perfectly in the Life to come, and whom Christ shall present without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, why will he suffer them to have the Remainders of sin in them in this life, and they shall never be freed from it till their dissolution? We shall easily see that he, as the Lord of all, has ordered this by his Sovereignty and Supremacy for the good of his people, and that it was for their sakes. (1) That hereby he may exalt the Grace of Justification unto the Saints; for God to pardon sins past, it were rich mercy, infinite mercy; but for the Lord to leave sin remaining in a man, and while he is conflicting with it, and fears he shall be overcome with it every moment, sees himself still to remain a sinner, and yet the grace of Justification still to hold out, that as there is in me a Fountain of sin, so God is the Father of mercies, and he doth not only pardon at first, but when I sin and endeavour to make a breach upon my Justification again, he shows mercy still, and doth multiply to pardon, Isa. 55.7. this exalts the Righteousness of Christ imputed in justification; for tolle morbos, tolle vulnera, & nulla erit medicinae causa. Dam. Therefore a man doth daily wash his feet, and sees the Sun of Righteousness to rise upon him daily, that he may be justified not only from the Acts of sin, but also from the remainders and Relics of sin that are in him, Joh. 13.10. And this also doth exalt the grace of God the Father justifying. When the Apostle had had more than ordinary experience of the remainders of corruption in him, and was much afflicted, looking upon himself as a miserable man by reason thereof, and judging himself worthy to be destroyed for it, and might by reason thereof have expected the sentence of death every moment; now he looks upon the grace of the Gospel as justifying, and he finds a new sweetness in it; there is now no condemnation unto them that are in Christ Jesus, Rom. 8.1. Not only the sins committed before Conversion, but the sins remaining after, do justly make the soul liable to condemnation: but such is the grace that justifies us, that there is no condemnation unto them that are in Christ Jesus. (2) That there may be a continual Conflict kept up in us; our life is a Warfare; and therefore Job 14.14. it is said, all the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come, it is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, all the days, militiae meae, of my warfare, this is not against enemies without, against spiritual wickednesses in high places only, but against enemies within, in a special manner, the Flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the Flesh, and by this means the war is maintained. The Lord will have the time of this life to be tempus militiae, a time of warfare, and the other life laetitiae, of triumph, as Bernard speaks; this laboris, of labour, that mercedis, of reward; and there is no conflict in the world like unto this, to have two contraries in the same place, each of them striving to destroy one another; and yet neither of them completely and totally prevailing; for they are contrary, Gal. 5.17. and there is a greater opposition against sin than there is against the Devils themselves, or any enemies without: there are the sorest battles fought between flesh and spirit in the same soul, and with greater displeasure and indignation against them, than Saints against the Devil himself; for this is the greatest evil to them, because it is in them; and because the Lord will have a conflict, that so the graces of his People may be both exercised, and also tried, and improved; the power of Grace and the truth of it, would never have been so gloriously seen, if there had not been such a principle of corruption drawing it forth daily. (3) That he may keep his people humble: there is no one thing that the Lord takes more care of, than that the Saints should not be lifted up; it is the end of Affliction to hid pride from their hearts; and of temptations and desertions in the flesh, that they might not be lifted up in themselves, and exalted above measure. Now it's true, it's matter enough to humble one, if duly considered, to call to mind what he has been, as it did Paul, I was a persecutor, and a blasphemer, and injurious, 1 Tim. 1.13. As some of the Heathens, having risen to be Kings from small beginnings, would keep something still to put them in mind of their Original: as one being a Potter's son would be served only in Earthen Vessels all his life-time. The remembrance of what is passed might humble a man, to say, Such were some of you, such were ye; but it is much more effectual to humble a man, to consider, that very iniquity is not fully purged unto this day, but there are still some remainders of it upon me, there is still a law in my members that rebels against the law of my mind, that when I would do good evil is present with me; and this makes me to look upon myself as a wretched and a miserable man, and makes me to loath and abhor myself, the same sore is running upon me still, I am sensible I have the leprosy, and therefore I can take no pleasure in myself, the Devil comes, and hath something in me; there is a Principle that is prone to close with any temptation, there is a sea of corruption that doth but wait for a wind, nay if the Devil should never disquiet it, yet it is a Fountain that will cast mire out of itself, etc. (4) That the Saints may be exercised in Prayer and Repentance daily. Now it is that which the Lord requires of them every day; Pray without ceasing, and a man is Nulli rei nisi poenitentiae natus, etc. Now that there may be something that we may ask of him daily to give us, that is, a further degree of Grace, a greater measure of purging, and that we may apply the Righteousness of Christ for to mortify sin in us, as well as to satisfy God for sin, and that there may be always something that we may confess, and bewail before God, and repent of, and mourn for, this sin is still left in us: And look what benefits the people of God do receive from these constant and daily exercises, all these do flow from the Sovereignty of God towards them, in leaving of the remainders of sin in them; and by this means we come to have a part in that great honour which belongs to Christ, and that is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, taking away of sin. It's true Christ only doth it by way of satisfaction, and he is the only original of our sanctification; but yet we do it as having our spirits also acted by the Spirit of Christ, and so our wills and desires joining and concurring with him in that work; therefore we are said, to mortify the deeds of the body, and to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts, to purge ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, 2 Cor. 7.1. which we do by his Grace, yet there is a concurrence of ours therein. (5) That the Patience and forbearance of God even towards the Vessels of mercy may be so much the more exalted; Num. 14.17. Moses says, Let the Power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, the Lord long-suffering and of great mercy; even his forbearance is an act of his power: it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is an impotency in a man, that he cannot forbear if he be injured; it is utterly a fault amongst you; but it is not so with God, it is his Power that he can forbear; 'tis the patience of his power, and therefore we are not consumed, when we daily provoke him, the imagination of a man's heart being continually evil, he is God and not man, Gen. 6.5. Gen. 8.21. Hos. 11.9. therefore, Gen. 6.5. and 8.21. they do seem to cross each other: in the first place 'tis said, the Lord will destroy man, because the imaginations of his heart were evil; and in the other, I will not again curse the ground for man's sake, for the imaginations of his heart are evil from his youth, it seems to be given as a reason of two contraries, he will and he will not; every imagination of the heart of man is evil, therefore I will no more curse the Earth for his sake; it seems strange reasoning: it is by the Jesuits and Arminians looked upon as an extenuation of Original sin, There is now that infirmity come upon him, which was in Adam indeed a sin, but now it is become a disease, an infirmity, a condition of Nature, and therefore humanae infirmitatis miserebor, I will pity humane infirmity, so A Lapide and others, who make the being of sin in us to be no sin; but there is quite another sense of the words, the particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is taken either causatiuè or adversatiuè, and so it is rendered sometimes quia, because, and sometimes quamvis, although, Glass. Rhet. pag. 606. Our translators take the first, for the imaginations of the heart, or because the imaginations of the heart of man are only evil; and so Brentius, Pareus, etc. Si vellem semper genus humanum diluvio punire, etc. If I should always bring upon them a flood for their iniquity, I should not leave a man upon the earth, all mankind would be destroyed, for the imaginations of his heart are evil from his youth; and therefore now having smelled a savour of rest from a sacrifice, I will not for this cause destroy them any more by a flood: But many of the learned render it adversatiuè, and so it is although; so Exod. 13.17. The Lord led them not through the land of the Philistines, although that was near: it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exod. 34.19. Let my Lord I pray thee go amongst us, for it is a stiffnecked people; that is, although it be a stiffnecked people; and so it is an expression of the wonderful patience of God, that though men provoke him daily, and all the imaginations of their hearts are evil continually, yet, hoc non obstante, I will show my patience towards them, and will no more curfe the ground for man's sake, etc. and it is spoken of all men, not only wicked men, but godly men, for whose sake the Lord doth spare the creatures; for it is for the Saints sake that the world stands, and that the earth is not destroyed, and yet the imaginations of their hearts are evil from their youth; and by this the patience of God towards the vessels of mercy as well as towards the vessels of wrath is very highly exalted. (6) That the Lord may hereby show how great a grace that donum perseverantiae, gift of perseverance is, and what an almighty power doth concur thereunto: Adam had no sin, and yet he fell from his first state; how then shall we stand, that have in us nothing else but sin? something of the venom of the old Serpent that is ready to open unto him upon every suggestion, and ready to take fire by every temptation, a sin that doth easily beset us or compass up about? Heb. 12.21. And the great aim of Satan without, and sin within is to extinguish grace, that this seed may die in the man; but it is maintained, and there is an almighty power that does it; therefore 1 Pet. 1.15. We are kept by the mighty power of God through saith unto salvation; or else we should perish every day; and this exalts the grace of the second Covenant unto the souls of the Saints, because there is not only a grace of conversion, but of perseverance also, the Spirit of Christ having once taken possession of the soul, takes possession for ever, never to leave it again, if Christ hath cast out the strong man, he will never himself be cast out, till Satan be stronger than he, which is never possible. (7) That the souls of the Saints may be kept here in a continual longing and a groaning condition for glory; there is nothing so great an evil as sin, and therefore nothing should make the soul weary of this life so much as sin, because it cannot end but with our life, and this is one blessed fruit of it, Rom. 8.13. We groan for the Adoption; but why do we groan? 2 Cor. 5.24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, there are many burdens that the people of God are under in this life, but there is no burden like unto that of the body of death, that is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a weight indeed, Heb. 12.1. and they groan therefore to put off this tabernacle, because without it there is no putting off this body of sin, but by being freed from this prison; we are so apt to be in love with this present life, that we had need of something that might be bitterness to us, and embitter it to us, so that we take not up our rest here, but that the soul may look for, and hasten to the coming of the day of God, and may rejoice to put off this Tabernacle, be willing that the flesh should be destroyed, that thereby there may be the destruction of the body of sin in us also. And thus we see the Sovereignty of God working for the Saints in this great state of the being of sin in the Saints in this life, bringing much good unto them as well as much glory unto himself thereby. § 3. 2. As the being of sin comes under the Sovereignty of God, so doth the rising of it in the heart, which doth never break forth into act: it is true, that the heart of man is an evil treasury, and it is an evil fountain; but though it be always issuing, yet it doth not vent itself the same way, but sometimes in this kind, and sometimes in that, Seneca. in omnibus omnia vitia sunt, licèt non se exerunt, etc. Mar. 7.21, 22, 23. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all these evil things come from within, and defile the man, etc. for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, Mat. 12.34. Now how comes it to pass, that now one sin riseth in the heart, and sometimes another sin, when there is an equal propension unto all sin? it riseth out of the heart, but there is a Sovereignty of God that doth order these motions and desires in the heart, permitting such motions and stir of heart now which he had not before, Jam. 1.15. Lust conceiveth and brings forth sin; there is original sin the root of corruption, which is called Lust, Jam. 1.15 and that is the mother of all sin, and it is said to conceive, when it is form into motions, reasonings, consultations, and desires, and consents; but yet there is many a lust conceived that never is brought forth into act, and the permitting the rising as well as of the being of lust depends upon the Dominion and the Sovereignty of God. As there came into the heart of Esau such a resolution, when my father is dead I will slay my brother Jacob: so there came a motion into the heart of Judas to betray Christ, and thereupon he consulted how to do it with the greatest advantage, and how to take the fittest opportunity to bring it to pass; so a thought came into David's heart to number the people, Satan stirred it up, but God in judgement giving him over, that it should be at this time when God was angry with Israel; and Ezech. 38.10. It shall come to pass at the same time, that things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought; a thought that he did not think before, the time of his destruction was near then, such motions shall arise, as it did in Ahab, Is not Ramoth in Gilead ours, & c? which was the occasion of his destruction. There is a providence even in the rising of lusts in the hearts of his own people, that this lust at this special time, and another lust at another time, should rise in them: it is the same Sovereignty of God that doth draw forth gracious desires in the Saints, and doth permit corrupt desires in them also, God is not the Author, but the orderer of them, and yet even in this also the Sovereignty of God is exercised for the good of the Saints, and that many ways. (1) In this, that all lusts break not forth in the soul continually: for lust that is the mother of all sin, original sin stands equally prepared unto all sin, at all times; and therefore that all lusts be not stirring in the heart together, is from a glorious act of the sovereign restraint of God, Hos. 4.2. By swearing and lying and killing and stealing and committing adultery they break out, etc. erumpunt: it is taken from waters that have been hid, or from fire shut up in an oven or a furnace, Hos. 7.6. sometimes it breaks forth into thoughts in the soul, and sometimes into acts in the life. Now there is a double restraint that the Sovereignty of God has over men's acts and over their lusts, and it's a great mercy to have acts of sin restrained, as it was in Abimelech, Gen. 20.6. his lust was let out, but God restrained the act; and it is a greater mercy to have the lust restrained than the act, as the Lord said, They shall not desire thy land. Now the Lord doth restrain the Devils acts, but for his lusts he doth let them range; and so he doth very far also restrain the acts of wicked men, when he sets no bounds unto their lusts: next to being freed from the being of sin, it's a mercy to be delivered from the rising of sin, and in that there is a special manifestation of the Sovereignty of God: for if the rising of one sin be so troublesome unto a godly man, that he strives and prays and wrestles with it, and it is unto him as the thorn in his flesh, he cannot be quiet in himself by reason of it; how miserable and continually unquiet would the heart of a godly man be, if he should have many such strangers and way-faring men come to him (as it was said of the lust that came into David's heart?) how should a godly man be able even to stand under the burden of them? therefore even this restraint of the rising of some lusts is a special mercy; that joseph's lust should not rise and conceive in him at such a time, and when he had such an opportunity. And it is the greater because I conceive the Spirit of God, by a peculiar work and not a common, doth restrain the lusts of the Saints. It's true, that there is restraining grace both unto the godly and the wicked, but not both from the same principle; but the Spirit having once taken possession of a godly man for his own house and Temple, he doth never work common works in that man more, as a Spirit assisting barely, but as a Spirit inhabiting. (2) There is a great deal of mercy in the Lords ordering of the rising of lust, when lust doth not rise when the object is present; there is the object and the opportunity, but the lust is passed away, as Ruth lay at Boaz his feet all night, yet no lust ariseth towards her: and David had an opportunity of kill Saul; but yet when Saul was in his hand, and he was stirred up to it by his servants also, yet God restrained his lust, it did not rise in him; which we may see by the contrary in other men, as soon as the object is offered, the lust is up in the young man, Prov. 7. he met a harlot, and he went after her straight-ways; and there is a man that no sooner sees his neighbour's wife, but he doth lust after her, his lust riseth as soon as the object is presented; and so it was with Achan, I saw, and I coveted, and I took; and so it is with many a man, let the least show or provocation be given, and his spirit is on fire immediately; but it was not so with Abraham, though he was the better man, and had a better right than Lot, yet in the contention, the lust of pride and passion did not arise in him: Let there be no strife between me and thee, for we are brethren. A man of understanding is of a cool spirit, he doth not take fire immediately; that lust should rise at one time and not at another, it can be attributed unto nothing but the Sovereignty of God ordering and overruling and restraining it, etc. (3) The Lord doth let some lusts at this time arise, that it may show a man that such a sin is in his nature, which formerly he haply never considered, never particularly repent of, and never saw the fruit of it breaking forth in his life. Now to lead a man to a more particular acquaintance with sin and self, therefore the Lord doth let such lusts rise up in a man's heart. A man that haply never thought that he could be tempted to be an Atheist, and deny that there was a God, the Lord will let forth such sinful rise and motions in his heart, that he shall be ready to call all into question, and see that it is possible for the corruption of his nature to make him like that fool, that saith in his heart there is no God; and a man that never questioned whether the Scripture was the Word of God or no, (for it is the faith that he hath been brought up in, which he received from his parents) yet the Lord will let that lust rise in thee, which may bring thee to question the authority of the Scriptures, whether they be of God or no. There is in a man a principle that tends to a denial of the doctrine of godliness, and this principle lies deep, and works mightily in our lives; and therefore that they may see that this root of bitterness is in them, the Lord will suffer them to rise up unto actual thoughts, and then the man will say, I thought I should never have doubted whether there was a God or no, or a Heaven or Hell, or a Scripture, but now I see to what my natural corruption is ready to lead me, and by this means his soul is not only humbled for those bosom-principles of Atheism, but these bosom-principles of Religion are laid anew and more firmly in the soul, which else would not have born the stress of a work of grace upon them. (4) That a man may be drawn out to hate sin the more, therefore the Lord doth let it rise in a man and infest him. As a man's darling lust that has risen in him most, and most troubled him, that sin when he is converted he hates above all other, Hos. 14.8. and so Rom. 7. there is not only the being of sin, but the rising of it, Rebelling against the law of the mind, and leading me captive to the law of sin and death, when I would do good evil is present with me; that the soul may see its misery the more, and so hate its adversary the more; for to love God and hate sin is our great work, and the more the goodness of ●od is discovered unto us, the more we should love him, and the further the evil of sin is discovered unto us, the more our hearts should be engaged to hate this also. It is true, a man should hate sin in the root, hate it at all times, but specially when it rises within us, and presents itself to us with the greatest enticement; as Christ hated Satan always, but then specially when he assaulted him with a temptation to worship him; so should we deal with sin, as Junius faith of himself, he being a modest man a wanton woman came to kiss him, and he gave her a box on the face; he hated impudence at all times, but specially when it was offered him; and so it is in this particular also, when lust doth rise in the soul presenting itself to be chosen, he hates it then most, as wicked men hate godliness always, but specially when it comes nearest unto them, and they are pressed to it, than their hearts rise against it. (5) The Lord doth in his Sovereignty permit that lusts should arise in his people, but it is to awaken them; and the Lord makes this an excellent remedy against a secure condition; for if his people will sleep, God has three ordinary ways to awaken them. [1] By letting out corruption. [2] By affliction. [3] By desertion: it is the first of them is the worst, because there is not a greater evil than sin, and there is not any thing that doth use to affect the hearts of godly men and awaken them more than to find former lusts reviv● in their hearts, which they thought had been dead long ago. A man has formerly set himself to mortify such a lust, and prayed against it, and used all means, and now he hath through mercy in a good measure attained it; but the man grows proud and secure, and carnally confident: then the Lord lets his lust revive again, and the man shall see that his enemy is not dead, but that the said root of bitterness still remains; only the Lord by his Sovereignty permitted it to spring forth for such an end. (6) It is that which is matter of repentance to the people of God continually; they are not humbled barely for the sins of their lives that break forth in their conversation in the world, but also those sins that do arise in their hearts, and they do apply the Righteousness of Christ for the one, as well as the other; and they are more humbled for lust rising in their heart (if they could be separated) than for lust breaking forth in the act, because this defiles the inward man, the soul; and so it's said of Hezekiah, That he humbled himself for the pride of his heart; so confidence in creatures is what we ought to be humbled for, and weep in secret for our pride, and repent of all the inward rise of sin in our heart, though not any discovery of it be made in our lives and conversation. §. 4. 3. The Sovereignty of God is seen in the actings of sin also, and therein it doth order all for the good of his people; sin shall not be always kept within bounds as fire in the bosom, but it shall appear in the life many times, and the members shall become weapons of unrighteousness; lust conceived shall bring forth sin; as there are many thousand lusts stirring in the heart, that do never come into act, they are conceived, but do never bring forth; there is much plotting in the world against godliness, but they do bring forth the wind; Esau says, I will slay my brother Jacob, but he never did it; and G●hazi had in his heart a hankering after Vineyards and Olive-yards, etc. and so they in Neh. 4.11. We will come upon them and destroy them, and they shall neither see nor know, etc. But the act doth not succeed accordingly, there are many devices in the hearts of the crafty when their hands cannot perform their enterprise, Job 5.12. and so the Lord doth with sin in the souls of his people, but yet sometimes it shall break forth into act, it was as new wine in the soul, and the act shall give it vent, it was secret, but the Lord by an act will permit it to be visible and legible; when it was in the soul it is but thirst in the desire, but it is drunkenness in the act, when it is come to the full: and all this doth the Lord permit by a supreme providence for the good of his people. (1) That they may see the power of sin and the tendency thereof; it is such a filthiness as would overspread the whole man, it is a leprosy in the whole man, therefore it is called the old man, and when we sin we are carnal and walk as men: 1 Cor. 3.3. now the whole man is not defiled with it in the rising of sin, it is kept within bounds till it overflow into the members; also the inward man is defiled, but sin will come upon the outward man also, and there is in the members in reference unto the act of sin, [1] A fitness to be employed in it, Rom. 6.13. Weapons of unrighteousness; the members have distinct forms according to the employment for which they were created, there is a fitness in the foot to walk, and in the hand to work; so there is a different fitness answerable unto the several acts of sin that the soul can put them upon or employ them in, and they are weapons, there is a fitness in them to be used and employed in the service of sin: it's said of David, Psal. 45.1. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer; it is fit to be employed in the works of grace; so because Doegs tongue did cut like a sharp razor, he is fit to accuse others, and to wound them in their good name. [2] There is also a readiness as well as a fitness; fitness may be passive, but a readiness is active: You have given your members weapons of unrighteousness, Rom. 6.13, 14. Acts 13.10. and therefore Acts 13.10. Full of all mischief, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, ad peccandum facilitas, & ad quodvis scelus propensio, so Beza, their feet are swift to shed blood, whereas there is a deadness and a backwardness unto every thing else that is good, there is a weariness, their feet are not ready to walk, nor their hands to work, etc. [3] There is also a greediness and an unweariedness; the one in the soul, and the other in the members, Deut. 29.19. it is a drunkenness, and they are for taking of their fill of drink, as if they could never have enough; to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant; and so in a lust of the flesh how unsatiable is it? and in the lust of the eye, the eye is never satisfied with seeing, though presently weary unto any thing that is good; and there is no such greediness towards it, but towards sin it is so; and in this doth sin in the body lie. Now that it may appear what an overspreading evil is in sin, and that the Saints may know in themselves the power of it in the breaking forth, therefore the Lord doth give them up to acts of sin. (2) That a Saint may see that if he be deserted of God, he shall be drawn into sin in all the kinds and degrees of it; I cannot, saith he, resist the rising of it, and if the Lord leave me, I shall not be able in the least to resist the actings of it: according unto the measure of a man's desertion, such is the degree of his sin, that we may see how great an evil, and how dangerous a thing it is to be deserted by the Lord in any degree, in any measure of it. Damascene in his Orthodox. Fidei cap. 29. mentions three sorts of desertions. [1] Temporary, for trial, such was that of Job, which was a desertion only for a present dispensation, that thereby the Lord might show forth and draw out the grace of Job, which else had not been so clearly seen. [2] 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, castigatory, which is for correction of some former neglect, and to teach the people of God to keep closer unto him, and to fear his departure more than formerly. [3] Vindictive, and that's a final desertion, and so he doth never forsake his own people; the Lord left Hezekiah, that he might see what was in his heart, and so he doth the Saints, that they may see if they are left to themselves what they are, and what a terrible thing it is to be deserted of God, and what a fearful creature the best men would quickly appear to be then. Elias Cretens. made four sorts. [1] Explorationis, to try their graces, as we see in Job. [2] Correctionis, as in David, and Solomon, and Samson. [3] Rejectionis, and so the Lord deserted the Jews, and so he doth wicked men. [4] Satisfactionis, and so he did desert the Lord Jesus Christ; but there was a satisfaction of Justice in that desertion, for it was the payment of a debt. (3) That they may see how weak all means are, if sin in the power of it be so set against them, that they cannot keep it in, but it will break out, and that unto the highest degree; men would think that reason, and fear, and shame would suppress it, and indeed by these the Lord doth many times restrain sin, as they did the Jews, they would have taken hold of John, but they feared the people; but now let but the Lord withdraw his hand, and all means and arguments and reasonings will not prevail at all with them, they are like unto the wild Ass in the wilderness, and as the swift Dromedary, there is no restraint, nothing will be withheld from them of any thing that they have a mind to do, they run into it as the horse into the battle, Jer. 8.6. so Christ says of Judas, it had been good for that man that he had not been born; but there is a prevailing injunction, he goes on to act, nothing can stay him. (4) That the people of God may fear to be delivered up unto the power of Satan. There is a kind of spiritual Excommunication which the Lord doth exercise towards men many times: What thou dost, do quickly, and Satan entered into Judas; there is a restraint upon the Devil, that he cannot always carry men to acts of sin, the Devil is bound; wicked men shall have the same persecuting hearts, but they shall not be able to draw forth those lusts into act, Rev. 20.8. but Satan shall be let lose, and will hurry men to acts of sin with violence, he tempted David to number the people, 1 Chron. 21.1. and God was angry with him, and Satan stirred him up, and it was in vain for Joab to speak to him, and show him his folly, he was set upon it, and it must be done, the King's word prevailed: and so it is still with many of the children of God, Satan will carry men on unto horrid actions, and they shall act with violence. (5) That godly men may exercise repentance of all kinds: the object of repentance is all sin, not only this or that sin, but all sin, original sin, actual sin, sins in the heart, That the body may be afflicted by fasting and prayer, etc. and being famula in culpa, it may be socia in poenitentia. and sins in the life, sins of commission, and sins of omission; as God will have our faith take in all the objects of faith, and be exercised about them all, so should our repent●●●e take in all the object of repentance; and the Lord makes us sensible of our proneness to all sorts and all ways of sin, that as patience, so repentance may have its perfect work; for as to humble the soul sin is left in it, so also the breaking forth of sin into act discovers our natural weakness, and is in wisdom permitted, because the Lord will have his people to perfect their repentance as well as their faith while they do live here. (6) That the soul may be willing to put off the body, as it is an instrument and a servant to the soul in sinning; I am shortly, saith the soul, to put off this tabernacle, and I am the more willing to do it, because my members are weapons of unrighteousness, I shall then never sin more, no more be subject unto the bondage of corruption to serve the lusts of men; it shall be the glory of the body to serve the graces, but never the lusts of the soul any more, but perfect sanctification shall be in it. 4. The Sovereignty of God is seen in the breaking forth of scandalous sins: there are but two sorts of sins that godly men are freed from, the sin against the Holy Ghost, and final impenitency, because they are delivered from the wrath to come, and being in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation unto them, Rom. 8.1. but else there is no sin either in judgement or practice, from the danger of which they can assure their hearts, be it never so foul, never so hateful before God or man; and therefore when we look upon the naufragia, shipwrecks of the Saints, who can, if God should withdraw his suitable assistance, secure themselves, or promise unto themselves freedom? If we consider the idolatry of Solomon, and that as gross as any that we shall read of, 1 King. 11.4, 8. and the persecution of Asa, 2 Chron. 16.10. and the Apostasy in Peter, and that the grossest with a denial, nay an abjuration, Mar. 14.71. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which some do expound to abjure Christ, Mar. 14.71. and to wish unto him a curse, but most do say it was wishing a curse and an Anathema upon himself. Grotius makes it the same with that, Act. 23.14. They bond themselves with a curse, diris se obligavit, etc. of whom Bernard saith, Peccavit grande peccatum, & fortassis quo grandius nullum est, etc. Now seeing that there is in them a sea of corruption, a body of death, it is only an act of the Sovereignty of God that restrains the winds that they blow not upon this sea, Rev. 7.1. There are Angels that hold the winds of commotions that they break not forth, and Jer. 49.36. Dan. 7.2, 3. that they shall break forth in their season; so he doth also hold the winds of temptation, that they do not blow upon the sea of corruption; and by this means the mire and dirt is not discovered; but let but the wind blow upon it, and it is full of unquietness and rage immediately: 2 Sam. 12.4. there came a way-faring man unto the rich man, concupiscentiam viatorem vocat aut peregrinum, Pet. Martyr. [1] It is not a friend, or a servant, it is not one that is ordinarily accustomed to the house; there are some sins that are daily in a man, constant inmates, but there are great sins that damn rise in a man but now and then. [2] Lust's are travellers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the heart of man doth coast and wander all the world over to see what will become of it, and where it may be able to make advantage unto itself. [3] It comes upon a man suddenly and unexpectedly as a stranger, or as a traveller useth to do. [4] Yet when it comes it looks for entertainment, and it doth so ordinarily find it, the man will make provision for it. Now this traveller goes not where or when he pleases, but according to the Sovereignty of God, in the ordering the going forth of the lusts of men, it is a messenger of Satan, there is a time appointed for the opening of Hell, for the sending forth the messenger of Satan upon the soul, the letting forth of the smoke, Rev. 9.1. The Lord doth in his Providence turn this unto good, (1) Unto a new conversion, Luk. Luk. 22.32. 22.32. Christ said to Peter after his first conversion, when he foretells him of his scandalous fall, When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren: there is a double conversion, 1. From a state of sin, Acts 3.19. 2. From some particular gross acts of sin, because that doth make a breach upon a man's justification: [1] A damp upon grace, which there is upon the committing of such sins: Create in me, says David, a clean heart, and renew a right spirit in me. [2] There is a suspension of all the comforts of grace; he is as the leper, and he doth, as Zanchy saith, quodammodo excidere à gratia, he hath no comforts in the promises and the privileges of the Saints. [3] There is a change of all the deal of God with him, Esa. 63.10. he became their enemy, and fought against them by spiritual judgements upon them, vers. 17. he shall have broken bones, and his moisture shall be dried up, God's wrath shall fall upon him; for there is a temporal wrath, there is filius sub ira, etc. Now here seems to be a particular Conversion by laying of all anew in the Soul, as if nothing were true before, he must repent anew, and believe anew; that as Zach. 1.17. the Lord's returning unto a people after eminent displeasure, is called a new Election, so also this is a new Conversion. (2) Hereby the Soul hath experience in himself of the strength of Sin, the power of Temptation, and of Christ's Intercession: [1] He has experience of the Strength of sin; for sin is but too powerful in the best: Gen. 49.6, 7. it is said of the Sons of Israel, Simeon and Levi, Cursed be their anger for it was fierce, and their wrath for it was cruel; and David put the Ammonites under Saws and Harrows; and Jonah, 4.9. he justifies himself against the debates of God with him, and saith, that he doth well to be angry unto the death. [2] The Soul experiences the power of Temptation, what there is in the winnowings of Satan; if the Lord should leave a man to the power which he hath already received, he would soon work all good out of his soul; for Satan is the ruler of the Darkness of this world, Ephes. 6.12. and he hath not only a great power over wicked men as Darkness itself, for they are led captive at his will, and he doth work effectually in them, but even upon the darkness that is in the Saints also; he can stir up that darkness in them, that it shall endanger to overspread all, that there shall seem little difference between them and ungodly men, for the time that it doth prevail upon them. [3] The Soul experiences the power of the Prayer of Christ, Luk. 22.32. I have prayed for thee, that thy Faith fail not; how comes it to pass, that it doth not excutere? It is not so much from a Principle of Grace within, for that is in its own nature defective, but by virtue of the Covenant and the Prayer of Christ without; and it is this Prayer that doth uphold all the Grace that is in us, or else it would 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, deficere, etc. This Intercession doth not only present their Duties, but it preserves their Graces also, the one would be rejected and the other extinguished, were it not for this. The Saints have a double Advocate, as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies, the Spirit of Prayer as an Advocate within us, which as a witness doth many times fail us, and we by our own sins lose the benefit and the comfort of it; but then we are to have recourse unto the Advocate without us, as the Soul is sometimes to make use of the witness of Blood, when he cannot see the witness of Water. (3) It brings a man unto the great duty of Confession, to become public examples of Repentance, which hath been a great honour unto the Saints, who have risen out of their falls; and we cannot say that the records of their falls have been so dishonourable unto them, as their public Repentance and abasement before God has been honourable; with this the Lord honoured David, and his Repentance stands upon Record, Psal. 51. and with this also he honoured Solomon, which is Recorded in the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is therefore entitled Coheleth, which Cocceius observes to note receptionem suam ad ecclesiam per poenitentiam, his reception into the Church by Repentance, and is as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a man gathered unto the Congregation of the Lord; and so did Paul, Act. 22.4. I persecuted this way, and I was mad against them; and so doth Luther, he left it upon record, tantus eram sanctus, ut paratissimus fueram unumquemque occidere, etc. and this Tertull. de poeniten. chap. 9 observes to be in use in his time, .......... Presbyteris advolvi, charis Dei adgeniculari, as the example of Eccetalicus, etc. Thus as they were eminent examples in sinning, so they were desirous to be of Repentance. (4) Hereby they are no more confident of their own strength, and so exalt not themselves above their Brethren; so Christ asked Peter, Now lovest thou me more than these? Joh. 21.15. he was before for making comparisons with all other men, though all men should forsake thee, yet not I; but now here is no Comparison: and if there be any strength in that, Christ asked by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and he answers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which is a less degree of Love; it was good advice to him: But he said well, Hîc quaerendae non sunt subtilitates, the words are commonly in the Gospel promiscuously used; and it is a signal instance of God's power to bring good out of evil, when a man by reflecting upon some great sin that he hath committed, can say, that his carnal confidence in himself and his own strength, is healed thereby. (5) This makes a Saint to walk in fear ever after; and blessed is the man that fears always; a fearless spirit doth bring sin: [1] A godly man fears sin as the only Evil, fears an Oath, and he doth say with chrysostom, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, this only is matter of fear; but specially when he has had experience of the breaking forth of it eminently, a man fears a disease that he hath felt; and so David will not trust his tongue without a bridle, and his Eyes without a Prayer; turn away my Eyes from beholding vanity; and thereby the bank is made up against that sin all their days; and it may be a sin that a man feared least, shall get the greatest hand upon him, if temptation get the wind and the hill of him. [2] He fears lest the Lord may therefore leave a note of dishonour upon him; Revel. 7.6, 7. when the Tribes were sealed, Dan was left out, Rev. 7.6, 7. and so is Ephraim, tanquam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 antesignani, Mic. 1.13. this Tribe was the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion; they of Dan did it; for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee; it was a scandalous sin: the Lord may leave a note of sin upon a man, and his posterity afterwards for it, and he may not be honoured as the rest of his Brethren, but may have a brand stick upon him for committing folly in Israel, etc. (6) That a man may be fitted for service by it; Luk. 22.32. Christ says, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren; a man's own comfort doth fit a man to comfort others, 2 Pet. 2.2. and so do a man's own falls also, 2 Cor. 1.4. who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble: [1] By the Experience of the power of sin, he may be the better able to admonish others, 2 Pet. 2.2. they denied the Lord that bought them; and he can best speak of the danger of such a way himself, that hath found it, and had experience of it in himself. Austin having been himself a Manichee, when he disputed with Felix the great Manichee, he could show him the vanity of it by experience, and so frustrata vanitate & errore illius sectae ad nostram fidem conversus est, etc. Possidon. in vita August. [2] He will be able to comfort others against the guilt of that sin; having himself sound favour, he can show others the way unto it; and so could Peter, having found mercy himself; and David, for this shall every one that is godly prey unto thee; and so Luther did publish unto all the way of Mercy that God had vouchsafed him, that all men might see that mercy is to be had for them; Peter velocissimè veniam consecutus, etc. Bern. (7) That it may be unto a man matter of Humiliation all his days; sins before Conversion be grievous, as they were to Paul, I was a Persecutor, and a Blasphemer, 1 Tim. 1.13. and such were some of you, but now you are washed: A man should not so look upon what he is, but he should also look back what he was, Behold thou art made whole; remember that thou wast a sick man; and the keeping it in view, will be useful unto a man all his days, to make him exalt mercy, and to cause him to abhor himself: So Austin, after he had made his Confession, he saith, Spes mihi valida est in illo qui sedet ad dextram tuam, & interpellat pro nobis, alioquin desperarem; magni enim & multi sunt languores animae meae, magni & multi, sed major est medicina tua & amplior. And so a man doth exalt Grace, and by this means abase himself all his days; Oh, I was a Blasphemer, I was an Adulterer, a Persecutor, and yet I have obtained mercy, God hath showed in me a pattern of Patience! Oh that ever such a one should find mercy and favour with him, that he should take me into his bosom! (8) It puts a man upon the greater Mortification of sin, he doth with the greater hatred abhor all evil; ye that fear the Lord, hate evil; Dolour dolore tollitur, venen● venenis dispe●luntur. Aug. now hatred will be contented with nothing but destruction, the more the Enemy doth arise, the more doth a man's hatred arise, Gratia vexata, seipsam prodit; a man shall say, What have I to do any more with Idols? to the Moles and to the Bats; David hates that sin that had so defiled him, and this sets him against the whole body of sin; I was shapen in iniquity, and now he looks for the Root, Psal. 51. and he doth hate sin in the Fountain of it. And as it is in a sin in Practice, so it is in an error in Judgement, he will not only be watchful against it, but he will also hate it the more. There was not such an enemy against the Manichees in the world as Austin was, because he had been himself deluded with it; as when he was to dispute with Fortunatus, Secum in eodem errore constitutum congredi putabat: And so Luther that of Popery, Brevi efficiam, etc. and so he doth answer himself, Vincet mea audacia in Christo; and Paul with more Zeal did preach that Faith which before he destroyed; and thereby the Saints glorified God for him, Gal. 1. ult. it makes a man zealous to honour God in that thing, wherein he had so highly dishonoured him. (9) It makes a man tender towards others, Gal. 6.1. he will put on a spirit of Meekness to others, because he hath found the mercy of God to his own Soul, and therefore he despairs of nothing, that they may also through your mercy attain mercy, Rom. 11.31. there being the same mercy showed unto them that was showed unto us, and they are as capable of the same mercy as we were; Christ shown tenderness unto Peter, and he appeared unto him one of the first after his Resurrection, and he did comfort him even against his fall, shown him great favour; and surely so will the soul be ready to comfort others also; he that hath received mercy, will put on bowels of mercy; who is offended, and I burn not? no man is put off, no man encouraged in his sin; the pride of a man's heart is as well broken with Mercies as it is with Crosses, and Afflictions; and the Lord doth hid pride from the heart in them both; that a man that doth put his mouth in the dust when God is pacified, will be as low as the dust towards another in the same Offence with himself; this I have had experience of, and yet received unto mercy; and it becomes me to put on the same bowels to others. (10) Providence order it for the consolation of the people of God, and it is a mighty argument of faith: as if when God gives his Son, he will give all things; so if God do bring good out of sin, all shall work together for good. Sin is the greatest evil, greater than Hell, the one God is the Author of, but not of the other, the one is against an uncreated good, the glory of God, the other is but against the good of the creature; and yet even this shall be for good, and so a man may say with Gregory of Adam's sin, foelix culpa, but not talem meruit Redemptorem. §. 5. 2. Not only a man's own sins, but other men's sins are turned unto the good of the Saints also; the providence of God doth so order all things, that they have a benefit by them, and that both by wicked and godly men's sins; and in the sins of wicked men it is true what Austin saith, That God had never suffered sin to come into the world, if it had been such an evil as he could have brought no good out of it: Bonitas tua novit malis nostris bene uti, Anselm. Non solùm mala passiva quae nobis irrogantur in bonum cedunt, sed etiam activa quae nos ipsi facimus, Luther. Collaudandus est benignissimus & omnipotens Deus, qui malis nostris non solùm non vincitur, sed ex iis operatur nostrum bonum, Gerson. Omnipotens Deus cùm summè bonus sit, nullo modo sineret aliquid mali esse in operibus suis, nisi adeò esset omnipotens & bonus, ut benefaceret etiam de malo; illorum nequitia est malè uti bonis operibus ejus, sic illius sapientia est bene uti malis eorum operibus, August. And as all the sins of ungodly men shall turn to the glory of God, so they shall all of them be for the good of his people, they shall be gainers by all the wickedness that is done in the world, as the Lord will work his glory out of all. Though the Lord forbidden sin, and hate it, and thereby appears not to be the Author of it; so the Saints do hate sin and mourn for it, that thereby it may appear, that they are not partakers in it; and yet for all this, God doth work his glory, and the good of the Saints out of all the wickedness and all the confusions that are in the world; and next to the pardon of sin, this is the great privilege of the second Covenant, that their own and other men's sins do work together for their good, those things that they do mourn for and pray against, etc. And this I will manifest (1) in general, and then (2) in some of the particulars thereof, because it is maximum divinae providentiae argumentum, Clem. Alex. 1. In general, how doth God make the sins of wicked men to conduce unto the good of the Saints? This will appear in these particulars. (1) Hereby they may always read what they were, as in the example of the Saints, they may always read what they ought to be; the one is set before them as a pattern as well as the other, Tit. 3.3. We ourselves were sometime disobedient, foolish, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy; and it is good for the Saints to be mindful thereof what they have been, sic fuimus olim; I was once, saith Luther, Monachus miserrimus: look to the rock whence thou wert hewn: Paul kept the condition of his unregeneracy always in his mind. It is true, God forgets our sins, but we should not; see the wickedness that is in the lives of other men, and read thine own in it, as Austin did in a child, vidi puerulum, etc. and thence he doth conclude it was so with him, quando minimus fui. (2) By this they see what they are delivered from; might not I have been such a one? 1 Cor. 6.11. Such were some of you, but now you are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified; and by this the grace of God is exalted in their hearts so much the more, which might have suffered them for ever to have walked in the error of the wicked, and to have gone in the same way with them: Psal. 69.27. Add iniquity unto their iniquity; that is, as the Saints go from one degree of grace to another, they go from glory to glory, from strength to strength; so let these go from one sin to another, God lets them do it till they have filled up their measure, and then let's go judgement after it upon them, by giving them over unto it, that so they may fill up their measure; for there is a measure of sin as well as of grace, Joel 3.13. Put in thy sickle and reap, for the harvest is ripe, the press is full; there is a measure of iniquity, and then they do come up in remembrance before God; the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. A dismal judgement it is, that a man should live for no other end, but to fill up iniquity. (3) Hereby the Saints are daily admonished what they are in their own nature, if the Lord leave the best men to themselves, and kept it not under the restraint of grace, 2 Tim. 2.19. they seeing others Apostasy fear themselves; and Christ speaking of him that was to betray him, all the Disciples began to fear lest it should be themselves; this sin is in my nature, say they, and therefore it is mere mercy that I am not so wicked as Cain and Judas, I am as like to commit it as they, if the Lord should leave me to myself; that gratia subsequens, the Rock that followed them preserves his people from the sin that is in their natures, and they reflect upon that when they see others fall into sin, considering themselves, lest they also be tempted, Gal. 6.1. (4) Hereby they are minded of the ends that sin brings men to, that they may fear them. As the ends of godly men are to be observed, whose faith follow; knowing the end of their conversation; so we are called upon in Scripture to consider the ends of the wicked, Prov. 23.21. Drunkenness will a man with rags, who hath redness of eyes and wounds without cause? Prov. 6.26. By the means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a morsel of bread, and a dart striking through his liver, and he gets a wound and dishonour that shall never be wiped off; Prov. 21.16. The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in coetu gigantum, in the congregation of the Giants: they being the first sort of sinners that ever went into Hell, and so did give the first denomination unto the place of the damned. (5) By this the Saints are put upon many duties towards them which will abound unto their account; and [1] to pity their souls, and to wait for them with patience, Tit. 3.2, 3. Showing all meekness towards all men, for we ourselves were such; Rom. 11.31. says the Apostle, That through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. [2] Despair not of them; because the Lord shown mercy to you, therefore wait if at any time God will give them repentance, 1 Tim. 1.16. He shown in me a pattern to them that should hereafter believe in him, etc. we have in ourselves an instance. [3] We are to undervalue the persons of these men how great soever, Prov. 29.27. The wicked is an abomination to the just, Psal. 15.4. Dan. Dan. 4.17. 4.17. they are the basest of men, be they never so great. [4] As the people of God fear the ends of the wicked, so they hate their ways: He walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Psal. 1.1. he stands not in the way of sinners; when sinners entice him he consents not; Gen. 49.6. My soul come not thou into their secrets, unto their assembly, my honour, be not thou united: Psal. 141.4. let me not eat of their dainties; and also Psal. 26.9. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: there is a bundle of the living, there is a being gathered unto ones fathers and people: wicked men are so, and godly men are so, they both have their people; let me not be gathered with them that are ungodly, O Lord. 2. Now more particularly, the Saints are by Providence gainers by the plots of wicked men, and their counsels, by their attempts against them, and by their executions, and in all these the secret providence of God over them is manifested. First by their plots and counsels; a great part of the evil of wicked men lies in their plots, devices, and machinations, Psal. 35.20. They devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land; they never know what they are doing or meditating on, their thoughts are a continual forge of evil, the Devil's anvil, always at work against the people of God, Jer. 18.18. Jer. 18.18. Let us devise devices against Jeremiah; it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies a cunning plot, and a curious work, etc. and the Saints fear their plots commonly more than their power, as they fear the Devil more as a Serpent than as a Lion, and yet by their plots they travail with mischief, devise evil continually, Prov. 6.14. and it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies fodit, he hath a Mine within, Prov. 6.14. and is always digging out mischief; as a godly man hath a fountain that is always issuing good: there is a good treasure and an evil treasure, and the Holy Ghost speaks much of the plottings of wicked men against the Saints, which never come unto any thing, they wove a spider's web, which never becomes a garment; and by these plots the Saints are gainers. (1) They see the Lord restraining their very plots, that they do not always rise; none of them shall desire thy land; they shall not see their own advantages; and they shall grope at noon day, Job 5.14. it is spoken of their counsels, he disappoints the counsels of the crafty, and that is by snarling their thoughts, confounding their plots, that they do not see their own way; they want no will to effect their mischievous devices, but yet they cannot tell what way to take against the people of God; therein the Lord is seen. (2) He clogs them, their hands cannot perform their enterprise, they cannot bring their wicked devices to pass always, when they should come to execution; when the children are come unto the birth, there is no strength to bring them forth, for the Lord doth blow upon them, and they whither as the grass upon the house top, and they bear no fruit. (3) They end in their own destruction, Esa. 59.5. They hatch cockatrice eggs, and wove the spider's web, etc. a serpent, a viper eats out the bowels of the mother, they themselves are stung with them unto death, they are taken in their own craft; the wicked is ensnared in the work of his own hand, etc. (4) The Lord doth time the plot, that it shall be at such a time, when it is to accomplish his purpose, and that it shall be for the good of the Saints: My hour is not yet come, says Christ, Rev. 9.14. Lose the four Angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates, which were prepared for an hour, for a day, and a month, and a year, to slay the third part of men; they had designed it, but it rested a great while, and now it is revived again; and so they plotted against Daniel when God did intent to exalt him; and so that of Gog, Thou shalt think an evil thing, etc. (5) The Saints are the more driven unto God by prayer, Lord, turn the wisdom of Achitophel into folly; and they have the more need of the counsel of Jesus, to be wise as serpents, and they have the more experience of their interest in the wisdom of God, which is made over unto them, who in the things wherein the wicked deal subtly will out-wit them. There are two ways by which the enemy hath always set himself against the people of God: (1) In a way of policy; For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. (2) In a way of power; they will be first as a Fox, and then as a Lion, as the Pope said, If Peter's Keys will not do it, give me Paul's Sword: the same spirit there is in all wicked men, their aim is to destroy the Saints, but they are not willing to appear in it, if it may be hid. Neh. 4.11. the adversaries said, They shall not know nor see, till we come upon them in the middle of them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. They would fain accomplish their ends, and effect their cruelty by a plot, that they should never know who hurt them, that's their design. As the Devil, he will never appear as he is, if putting upon himself the form of an Angel of light will do it; so it is with the enemies unto the Church, Jeroboam robs the people of their Religion, but it was under a great show of ease to them; and for their worship at Jerusalem it was but a form, they should have as good worship elsewhere, and as holy as there, and it was much more for their ease than to be in this manner scattered from their dwellings; and Julian raised against the Church the bitterest Persecution, but it was under the show of a toleration, let every man enjoy the liberty of his own conscience, he would have no man forced in his Religion, and he doth encourage the Jews to build their Temple again, and he doth himself favour the Gentiles in their worship, and yet he can bear with the Christians also; so the Donatists in Augustine's time, (1) They did deny any to be a true Church but themselves: (2) There should be no compelling of men to live holy, coacta & invita pietas: (3) That the Magistrate is not to punish or restrain Heretics and false Teachers in matters of Religion, every man should be lest to his liberty. (4) They did rebaptize men into their Church: But this plot being laid, facti insolentes, vim orthodoxis inferebant: insomuch that the Emperor Honorius was forced to send Dulcitius the Tribune with an Army into Africa to restrain their rage against the Orthodox Christians, whom they would suffer to live in peace no longer than till they had got power in their hands, Danaeus de haeresibus, cap. 69. and then they would not yield unto them that liberty which before they pleaded for themselves. And here I would observe from the Scripture, (1) How wisdom and carnal policy is looked upon by God, and what respect he hath unto it: (2) Yet how all this wisdom, in the exercise and the putting forth of it in plots and devices, is by the providence of God turned unto the good of his people. 1. What respect God hath to the wisdom of the flesh, though never so deep, never so profound. 1. He saith, That the wisdom of the flesh is vanity and folly; the Lord knows the wisdom of the flesh to be but vain, for it is foolishness with him, 1 Cor. 3.19, 20. take it in those two things that Solomon mentions, Eccles. 1.15. Eccles. 1.15. (1) In the defect of wisdom: That which is wanting cannot be numbered; there are many thousand conclusions in nature that the most exquisite understanding is not able to pierce into, and there are many thousand turn in providence that do amaze and nonplus the wisdom of the wisest men in the world; and therefore in this respect God doth even charge his Angels with folly, how much more men, that is, there is in them a negative ignorance, which is folly, if compared with the infinite wisdom of the great God. (2) They cannot make a crooked thing strait; that is, they do meet with men of cross and perverse spirits, which they cannot change, and men of crooked dispositions, and they do meet in the way of their wisdom also with many cross providences, that all things do not succeed according to their plots, and as they would have them, and then they are put upon new plots and devices to rectify the other, and yet when they have done all, their wisdom could not prevent it, neither can their wisdom reform it, that which is crooked will be crooked still, and the men that oppose them will oppose them still, and the stumbling-blocks that are in the wise man's way will be there still, and all his wisdom cannot remove them. 2. God looks upon the wise men of the world and their wisdom as enemies unto himself, and the Lord hates as much to be opposed in a way of policy, as in a way of power, Rom. 8.6. their wisdom is enmity against the Law of God, it is not subject, neither can it be. Aquinas observes, That faith is more strange to a wise man and a learned man, than it is u●to another that is more ignorant, because he is able to raise more objections and doubts against it, and the grounds of it, than another man is; and therefore if any man in the world stumble at the Word of God, or the ways of God, it is a wise man according to the flesh, and he has much to say, and strong reasons to object against it. There are two things that must be exalted in the heart of the Saints in the Word of God: (1) The holiness of the Word; (2) The wisdom of the Word, a man must look upon it as that which will be his wisdom also. Now a man that is profane, he is an enemy unto the word, and is not subject to it because of the Holiness of it, he must take more liberty than the Word will give him, it is too straight and narrow a way for him; and a wise man is offended at the Simplicity of the Word, it doth not agree with his Wisdom, he is ready to think he could give better Rules to guide a man's life, and bring him unto Happiness, of governing of Estates, and ordering the affairs of men, than the Word doth lay down, and so he cannot submit to it, because he doth look upon it as a foolish thing, and as that which hath no wisdom in it; but a man must submit in point of wisdom and holiness to it. 3. All fleshly Wisdom the Lord doth hate, and look upon as Devilish, Jam. 3.15. Jam. 3.15. that as spiritual wisdom is a Divine beam from the Father of Light, so is carnal Wisdom a spark that ariseth out of Hell beneath; it is a part of that wisdom that is in the Devil, and answers unto it in all the ends, intents, and actings thereof; that look what ends the Devil hath in his wicked plots, such have they; and look what means he useth, such do they use also; for it is that which their wisdom doth direct them unto; so that take a man that hath a subtle and malicious heart, and if you would see a picture of the Devil incarnate, that is the man; and as the wisdom which Satan hath as an Angel (that remaining Stock) doth make him the more perfectly a Devil, so it is with this man also, all that wisdom he has gotten by nature, and by study, and by experience and observation, he becomes the more like unto the Devil by it; and therefore this fleshly wisdom being so perfectly conformable unto the Devil, and being inspired from Hell, it is said to be devilish; for there are the Devils lusts: The Devil hath his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Now which way to vent or to propagate them in the world immediately, he knows not; and they are much more propagated when they are acted, than when they are suggested. Now the ordinary sorts of sinners are able to act the Devils lusts, but their plots are deep, they are such depths that they must be wise men indeed that are able to understand them; and for that cause, as by his temptation he doth stir up the one, so he doth by his suggestion inspire the other; and as there are Messengers of Satan, immediate Lusts from Hell, so there are immediate Plots from Hell, and Satan fills the hearts of men with them, as he did the heart of Judas in his betraying of Christ, etc. and upon this account ●or its original, and for its resemblance, it is called by God devilish wisdom. 4. God doth seldom or never give Grace unto that man, who is inspired with carnal Wisdom; he doth seldom grafted it upon such a Stock as this is, 1 Cor. 1.26. Not many wise men, not many noble are called; and Math. 11.25. Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto Babes, etc. But might it not have been much for the honour of the Gospel, and the advancement of Religion, if the wise men of the world did come, as the wise men of the East did, and bow down unto Christ, and worship him? would not Religion have the greater name and glory amongst men? and would it not be freed from that scandal of Piscatoria simplicitas? No, they are only the poor of the world, and the foolish and simple ones that embrace it and believe it, God looks not as man looks, he doth choose the poor of this world, and the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, etc. and this is one of those depths of God's Judgements which are unsearchable, and his ways that are past finding out; for he will exalt free Grace alone. And the Lord hath no need nor the Gospel of any such Subsidiaries, he hath a wisdom that is able to carry on the Gospel of his Grace, and it shall prevail, though there be no wisdom in the Professors thereof, that it may appear to be his work, and that he doth alone promote it; if men stand not by the Gospel, yet God will, and the Simplicity thereof shall overcome; that as he will have the Power to be of God alone, so the Wisdom shall be also of God alone, that makes a man wise to salvation. 5. This is the Man that commonly the Devil doth make use of. There is nothing in an unregenerate man but what is or may be the Devils weapons, Luk. 11.22. his Soul is the Devil's house, and the inward abilities of the man, that's the Armour of Satan; now the greater any natural man's abilities are, the stronger armour he has for Satan, and the more use he will make of him, and that because he is able to do him more service; and as God doth use men according to their Graces, (for he will act the Graces that he has given) so will Satan also use men according to their abilities, they shall not lie idle, he doth proportion the service a man can do him, as God doth, that men may be pares negotio. They will also be an honour to their employment, because they are looked upon as wise men by the rest of the world, Cupit & Diabolus abs te ornari, as Austin saith of a young man of great gifts and abilities; and so there is this Curse upon humane wisdom, it is a servant unto Satan, and yet it is a snare unto the man, and a Curse upon his Soul. And indeed Satan's cause hath need of such instruments, that shall lay deep plots, and not carry things in simplicity, because it is darkness, and if it be seen and discovered, it is for the most part clouded. But with the Lord it is not so, he doth all in the Light, and loves so to do, therefore he has no need of any such secret plots, and hiding of Counsels, as the wise men of the world are accustomed unto: There is but one very worldly wise man, namely Solomon, that the Scripture doth speak of among all the godly men in it, and the Scripture has recorded more of his falling and of Gods departing from him, leaving him to himself, and more of the madness and folly that he ran upon by his exercise of, and his leaning upon his own wisdom, and the use that the Devil made of him, than of any other godly man that we read of in all the Scripture besides; therefore surely they are dangerous instruments in Satan's hand. 6. Carnal wisdom is commonly used against the people of God, the edge of it is commonly turned that way, Psal. 83.3. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones: there are a people which the Lord hath undertaken to hid and to protect; for he is the Saviour of all men, but especially of them that believe; and there are a people that he doth lay up for himself as his peculiar treasure, for the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Exod. 19.5. signifies both these, and against these are the plots of the wise men of the earth; see it in Pharaoh, Achitophel, and Herod, they all prospered till they turned their wisdom this way; but when once they began to turn the head of their policy against the Saints, they did very speedily find their ruin; therein the Lord did go beyond them, and they were taken in their own craftiness. For when Satan has engaged their spirits against the Saints, Satan never leaves, but he makes them restless, raiseth up in them both great plots and great hopes, and so they never cease till they meet with the Church as a burdensome stone, at which they will always be lifting, till they be broken therewith; for in their very policy they do perish, and in their own plots, as in the net which they had privily laid is their foot taken, Zac. 12.1, 2. Behold I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and Jerusalem. 2. How doth the Lord turn these plottings of wicked men, be they never so deep, unto the good of his people? 1. God doth set Divine wisdom on work for them; for they have an interest in all the Attributes of God, and they shall be put forth for them as their necessities do require, Psal. 119.120. It is time for thee, Lord, to work, for they have made void thy law. The Saints may desire God to put out an Attribute then, and they do fly unto their strong hold, unto their chambers, as Esa. 26. as when the power of man is exalted against them, now it is time for them to say, We have no might against this multitude, but our eyes are upon thee, it is all one to thee to save with few or with many; so when carnal wisdom is exalted, now is the time for God to put forth his wisdom for them that are his people; for they say, We have no wisdom against this wise and subtle generation, but our eyes are upon thee, and in thee is our wisdom laid up. Herod had a plot against Christ, and he will come and worship him, that is, he would come and destroy him, and the Wisemen also that came to seek him; now is the wisdom of God put forth for Christ's preservation, one is sent into Egypt, and the other are admonished by God, and they return into their own country another way. And the people of God have more benefit by seeing the wisdom of God acting for them, than they can have disadvantage or discouragement, by seeing all the wise men of the world against them. O great is the sweetness that the people of God have by seeing any Attribute act for them, and for their good, that by this means they may come to understand their inheritance in Attributes, which is far beyond that of creatures or promises: as a father, his bowels are moved for a child, when he sees him in danger, and then his affections do discover themselves; so do the Saints expect that the Lord shall fulfil his relation in that respect, when dangers are pressing upon them, etc. 2. In the middle of all their plots they comfort themselves in this, that they shall take no effect against them, till they have done the service which the Lord hath, appointed them unto, Luke 13.32. they told Christ that Herod had a plot upon him to kill him, he saith, Go tell that Fox, Luk. 13.32. behold I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Franc. in his History Animalium, gives us three properties of a Fox, he is animal dolosum, crudele, gulosum, subtle and deceitful, all for death, cruel, and all for the prey: and there is a double property of him as deceitful. (1) Noctu prorepit, he only goes forth in the night, doth all things secretly; and so do Plotters, they must not be seen, and a great part of their wisdom is to be undiscovered. (2) Nunquam rectis incedit itineribus, sed ambagibus, He doth never go right on, but always he hath his wind and turn; so Politicians, they love to walk unseen, and they never love to go in plain paths, but in secret ways to ensnare men: But Christ, when they told him of the design of this Fox Herod, he comforts himself with this, there is a set time for my work, and then when that is done my service is perfect, then shall I die, and I know all his policy shall be able to avail nothing against me, till I have finished the work that the Father has given me to do. And so may all the Saints comfort themselves against all the plots of wicked men against them, they shall finish their work notwithstanding. 3. This shall sometimes make way for their service in a wonderful manner: the Jews had a plot against Paul, and they had taken an oath, That they would neither eat nor drink ●ill they had killed him; this occasioned his being sent unto Caesarea first, and afterwards to Rome, where the Lord told him he must bear witness of him also; and glorious was the service that he did there; and the souls that he converted were many, and in a special manner even in Caesar's family there were souls brought home unto the Lord, Phil. 4.22. All the Saints salute you, chief those that are of Caesar's household: it was Nero that opprobrium humani generis, and yet the Lord had some to pluck out there; and the Lord made the plot which they had against him the occasion of all this great work: what loser was Paul by it? nay how much honour did it bring unto t●● Lord? and how great thanksgiving was given unto God by these poor converted souls, who came unto the knowledge of the Gospel, and the way to life by this means? 4. What they do plot to hinder, shall by their very plots be advanced, Esa. 44.25. he turns wise men backward, that is, they shall see a quite contrary effect unto that which by their wisdom they intended to bring to pass against the Jews: and the raising persecution against the Christians since, was to hinder the Gospel, and to suppress it; but this did further the Gospel, for it did occasion their going forth unto the Gentiles, and by this means the sound went forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world; and 〈◊〉 the casting off of the Jews became the enriching of the Gentiles by this means, which else had never been so gloriously and fully done: and I do not doubt, but the very opposition that is against the Ordinances of the Gospel shall establish them in the Lord's time, and the opposition against any truth hath ever established that truth; for they are but as winds that root the trees, by shaking of them they fasten, Jer. 20.10. Report, say they, and we will report it; the wicked plot to take away the good names of the Saints by casting out slanders against them, as if they were the vilest wretches upon earth; but there is not such a way to bring an honour upon them, and to cause the Lord to make their light to break forth out of darkness unto after generations, as to reproach them. 5. Hereby they have experience of those glorious promises that God has made to his people, of frustrating the plots of their enemies, Esa. 8.10. Consult, but it shall come to nought, speak the word, but it shall not stand, for God is with us: Prov. 6.14. Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually, he sowed discord, therefore shall his calamity come suddenly, suddenly shall he be broken without remedy: and Psal. 19.21. Many devices are in the heart of a man, but the counsel of God, that shall stand. Psal. 64.6, 7. They search out iniquity, they accomplìsh a diligent search, the inward thoughts of every one of them, and the heart is deep, but God shall shoot at them with an arrow, and suddenly shall they be wounded. Hereby the Saints fly unto those promises, and they have experience of their interest and the prayers of the ancient Saints against all the enemies that ever plotted mischief against the Church; as the instance of Judas; they are answered in after-generations: and there is a Communion of Saints that the people of God have with Saints departed upon this ground also, they have a benefit by the prayers which they did put up upon earth, which are accomplished upon the enemies of the Church and people of God in after-ages. Lastly, They have experience of strange, secret, and glorious deliverances by this means; and truly experience of God in any kind is no small advantage to the Saints, they make much of their own experiences, and live upon them afterwards. Possidon tells us in the Life of Austin, that as he was travelling there were certain of the Donatists, whom he calls Circumcelliones, that did lay wait for him armed to kill him, obvenit Dei providentia, sed ductoris errore, but he miss the way, & per hunc errorem manus impias evasit, and so escaped. This drew forth in him and in many others of the people of God many praises unto God for so great and unknown deliverance: and I did the rather insist upon this, because the enemies of the people of God are very busy in plotting against the Saints, and we have cause to fear the fraud of the enemy as well as their force; though if hand join with hand, yet the wicked shall not be unpunished; and the God that has delivered, will again deliver. These things may one day be worth thinking of; when we are cast upon such providences, that we know not what to do, than the Lord will arise for the help of those that wait on him. FINIS.