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<DATE>2012-10-03</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
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<VID>151103</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE GLORY OF CHRIST Set forth in &s;everal SERMONS, FROM <HI>JOHN</HI> III. 34, 35, 36. and V. 25. AND <HI>The nece&s;&s;ity of Faith in order to plea|&s;ing GOD.</HI> FROM <HI>HEBREWS</HI> XI. 6.</P>
<P>By that able and faithful Servant of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, Mr. <HI>Thomas Allen,</HI> late Pa&s;tor of a Church in the City of <HI>Norwich.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed by <HI>A. M.</HI> and <HI>R. R.</HI> for <HI>Edward Giles,</HI> Book|&s;eller in <HI>Norwich,</HI> near the Market-place, 1683</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>IT being de&s;ired that more might be publi&s;hed of the Works of this Re|verend Author, Mr. <HI>Thomas Allen;</HI> you have here &s;ome more Sermons taken from him in &s;hort-hand, which have been tran&s;cribed with care and dili|gence.</P>
<P>The main points of the Go&s;pel are hand|led in the&s;e Sermons; &s;o that tho&s;e that Read them, may under&s;tand the Authors <HI>knowledg in the my&s;tery of Chri&s;t.</HI> And they are delivered with plainne&s;s of &s;peech, with words ea&s;ie to be under&s;tood; &s;o that it will ea&s;ily appear, that his aim was to &s;et <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">orth Chri&s;t, and not to &s;et forth him&s;elf in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">is Preaching. His &s;peech and his preach|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ng was plain, grave, &s;olid, weighty and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">owerful, like an Amba&s;&s;ador of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>The&s;e Sermons ari&s;e naturally from the Texts of Scripture they are upon: for it
<PB REF="3"> was not the manner of this Author, to name a Text only for fa&s;hion &s;ake.</P>
<P>One great cau&s;e of ignorance in the peo|ple, is, becau&s;e there is no more direct opening and applying the Scripture. The more Scripture is &s;olidly opened, and pra|ctically applied in a Sermon, the better the Sermon is, what&s;oever the injudicious and ignorant do think to the contrary. Indeed as I never heard any man Pray too long at a time, &s;o I never heard any man Preach too long upon a Text. But as many, that &s;eem to pray long, do oftentimes rather Di&s;cour&s;e than Pray, and keep &s;o little to the bu&s;ine&s;s of Prayer, that while they &s;eem to Pray long, they Pray very little: So it is with &s;ome in Preaching, that though they name the &s;ame Text a great while, as if they Preached many Sermons from it, yet, it may be, Preach not one, according to the direct &s;cope and tendency of the words they are upon. I take notice of this, to com|mend the Author of the&s;e Sermons, as a pattern to young Preachers, not to think it any part of the excellency of their Sermons to take but a few words for their Text, or to be long upon the &s;ame words; but to open and apply as much Scripture as they can at <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">
<PB REF="3"> time, which will not only prevent many im|pertinences in Preaching: But when what is &s;aid ari&s;eth immediately and naturally from the portion of Scripture handled, the people may take notice, that it is not &s;o much the Mini&s;ter, as God him&s;elf that &s;peaks the&s;e things to them in his word.</P>
<P>The&s;e Sermons al&s;o are Orthodox, &s;ound, <HI>according to the truth which is after godline&s;s.</HI> We have lived in a time of an inundation of errors and here&s;ies, and yet the Lord hath continued the truth of the Go&s;pel in the <HI>Churches of the Saints.</HI> And although the Churches of the Congrega|tional way have been looked upon by &s;ome as Seminaries of error; yet through the pre|&s;ence of Chri&s;t in the mid&s;t of them, the truth of the Go&s;pel hath continued in them, as well as in other Churches of Chri&s;t, that differ from them in &s;ome points of order and di&s;cipline. Ble&s;&s;ed be the Father of lights, that hath kept the guides and members both of Congregational Churches, and other re|forming Churches, &s;table and &s;teady in the main truths of the Go&s;pel, which have been publickly owned and profe&s;&s;ed in the Land &s;ince the reformation: whereas many others have been carried away with diver&s;e and strange Doctrines.</P>
<PB REF="4">
<P>There &s;eems to be a great con&s;piracy in the&s;e days, again&s;t the Lord Je&s;us as the Mediator between God and &s;inners. Men are &s;tudying how they may a&s;cribe as little to Chri&s;t as may be, to whom we are to a&s;cribe all, concerning the making atone|ment for our &s;ins, and the bringing in an everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;s to ju&s;tifie us before God. Indeed Chri&s;t hath been &s;o abun|dantly Preached among&s;t us, and many have &s;uch outward advantage by a profe&s;&s;i|on of his name, that they cannot well open|ly renounce him; yet they are &s;ecretly un|dermining the very fundamental points of our Religion. Many amongst us &s;light what hath been generally taught concerning our fall in <HI>Adam,</HI> original &s;in, Chri&s;ts &s;a|tisfaction for &s;in, and the imputation of his righteou&s;ne&s;s to them that believe on his name, and make a mock of being weary and heavy laden with the &s;en&s;e of the wrath of God due to us for &s;in, and looking to Je|&s;us as the Mediator, and re&s;ting our weary Souls and perplexed Con&s;ciences upon him as our only Saviour. Now if the&s;e founda|tions be de&s;troyed, if the&s;e main Doctrines be denied, we are really putting away the Lord Je&s;us from us, though we u&s;e never
<PB REF="4"> &s;o many external Rites to make &s;hew of ho|nour to his name. Yea, it is con&s;iderable, That this oppo&s;ition to the main points of our Religion, is fiercey maintained by per|&s;ons greatly differing in other things: yet in this they agree, and are very earne&s;t upon the matter to deny the Go&s;pel. I &s;peak of the&s;e things, to this end, to &s;hew what great need there is of Preaching much of our fall in <HI>Adam,</HI> of the corruption of our nature, of the &s;entence of death, and condemnation that we are under for &s;in, of the per&s;on and offices of Chri&s;t the Mediator, of the nece&s;|&s;ity of knowing him, and fleeing for refuge unto him, as this Author hath excellently &s;hewed in the&s;e Sermons, and &s;o he did in all his Preaching. Indeed this Author was a &s;on of thunder, and a &s;on of con&s;o|lation; he took all occa&s;ions from the Texts he Preached upon, to thunder out the wrath of God again&s;t &s;inners, to &s;et them before Mount <HI>Sinai,</HI> and &s;hew them the fiery Law, that they might be convinced of their lo&s;t and undone condition in them&s;elves: and then endeavoured to bring them unto Mount <HI>Sion,</HI> and &s;hew them Je&s;us the Mediator, and the blood of &s;prinkling, that taketh away &s;in. In his Preaching he &s;hewed the
<PB REF="5"> people the flaming Sword, the cur&s;e of the Law; &s;hewed them that the avenger of blood was coming; and then told them of Chri&s;t as the City of refuge, and cryed to them to flee unto him: And indeed he is a right Preacher of the Go&s;pel, that can thus change his voice, and readily turn his di|&s;cour&s;e upon all occa&s;ions. The ble&s;&s;ing of Heaven go along with the&s;e Sermons, that they may be for the profit of many, that they may be &s;aved.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Martin Finch.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 N="1" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<HEAD>The Glory of Chri&s;t &s;et forth.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>John III. 34, 35, 36.</HI></BIBL>
<P>For he whom God hath &s;ent, &s;peaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the &s;pirit by mea&s;ure unto him.</P>
<P>The father loveth the &s;on, and hath given all things into his hand.</P>
<P>He that believeth on the &s;on, hath everla&s;t|ing life: and he that believeth not on the &s;on, &s;hall not &s;ee life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>IN the&s;e Words, our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t is de&s;cribed by a threefold adjunct.</P>
<P N="1">1. From his <HI>Authority</HI> and mi&s;&s;ion from the Father, in tho&s;e words, <HI>He whom God hath &s;ent.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. From his <HI>Fidelity</HI> in the di&s;charge of that work he is employed in, in tho&s;e words, <HI>He &s;peaketh the words of God.</HI> As a faithful Me&s;|&s;enger from a King will act according to his commi&s;&s;ion; &s;o our Lord Je&s;us, who was faith|ful
<PB N="2" REF="6"> to him that appointed him, he &s;peaks the Word of God, and nothing el&s;e but the Word of God.</P>
<P N="3">3. Our Lord Je&s;us is de&s;cribed and &s;et forth by his <HI>Ability</HI> and qualification for that work he was employed in; this you have in tho&s;e words, <HI>For God giveth not the &s;pirit by mea&s;ure unto him.</HI> The Spirit is given to Chri&s;t, as Me|diator, without mea&s;ure, or above mea&s;ure.</P>
<P><HI>He whom God hath &s;ent;]</HI> The word here tran&s;lated &s;ent, comes of the &s;ame word that <HI>the Apo&s;tle</HI> doth. Chri&s;t is the great Apo&s;tle, the great <HI>Me&s;&s;enger of the Covenant,</HI> whom all the Elect delight in, <HI>Mal.</HI> 3.1. <HI>The Apo&s;tle and high Prie&s;t of our profe&s;&s;ion,</HI> Heb. 3.1. <HI>John</HI> the <HI>Baptist,</HI> and the other Prophets, and &s;o likewi&s;e the Apo&s;tles, they were Gods Mini&s;ters and Amba&s;&s;adors; but our Lord Je&s;us he is <HI>Amba&s;|&s;adour extraordinary.</HI></P>
<P>Men, and Angels too (<HI>Luke</HI> 1.18.19.) <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ave been &s;ent and employed by God, but none of them were ever &s;ent, as Chri&s;t was, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in an everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;s: This was he who was the brightne&s;s of the Fathers Glory, and the ex|pre&s;s Image of God, he only was able by him&s;elf to purge away &s;in; neither was ever any other &s;et about this work but he. God never laid the help and &s;alvation of his people upon any but that mighty one.</P>
<P>Doctrine 1. <HI>That Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Mediator, was &s;ent of the Father.</HI></P>
<PB N="3" REF="6">
<P>There is frequent mention made by our Saviour, of his being &s;ent of God: To mention a few places, John 17.3, <HI>And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t whom thou ha&s;t &s;ent. Ver&s;.</HI> 8, <HI>For I have given unto them the words which thou gave&s;t me, and they have received them, and have known &s;urely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou did&s;t &s;end me.</HI> And again, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 21, <HI>That they al&s;o may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou ha&s;t &s;ent me.</HI> Ver&s;. 25, <HI>O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and the&s;e have known that thou ha&s;t &s;ent me.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. How &s;hall we under&s;tand this Phra&s;e, That Chri&s;t was &s;ent of the Father?</P>
<P>Sent of God!</P>
<P>This is <HI>a great my&s;tery,</HI> which we &s;hall not fully under&s;tand till we come to Heaven; when Chri&s;t is &s;aid to be &s;ent of God, 'tis to be under|&s;tood <HI>principally</HI> and <HI>primarily</HI> of him, as he is the Son of God, and &s;o he is &s;aid to <HI>come down from heaven,</HI> John 3.13. <HI>To de&s;cend,</HI> Eph. 4.9. But he being in that re&s;pect equal with God the Father, Eternal, Infinite, Immen&s;e, Omnipre|&s;ent, as the Father is, it may be asked, How the Lord Je&s;us is &s;aid to be &s;ent of the Father?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. The Lord Je&s;us may be &s;aid to be &s;ent of the Father as Mediator, <HI>in re&s;pect of the Covenant of Redemption</HI> between the Father and him, for the &s;alvation of the Elect; for though Chri&s;t as God is equal with the Father, yet with reference to the work of Redemption, he
<PB N="4" REF="7"> is &s;aid to be his Elected one, and Servant. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 41.1, <HI>Behold, my &s;ervant whom I uphold; mine Elect in whom my &s;oul delighteth.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. The Lord Je&s;us may be &s;aid to be &s;ent of the Father, <HI>in regard of his Incarnation,</HI> &s;o Gal. 4.4, 5, <HI>But when the fulne&s;s of time was come, God &s;ent forth his &s;on, made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law.</HI> Now, brethren, upon this account, becau&s;e the Father prepared him a body, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.5. He is &s;aid to &s;end him to redeem us.</P>
<P N="3">3. The Lord Je&s;us may be &s;aid to be &s;ent of the Father, <HI>in regard of his commi&s;&s;ion;</HI> him hath God the Father &s;ealed, <HI>John</HI> 6.37. Chri&s;t and no other is <HI>ordained of God, an high Prie&s;t for ever, after the order of Melchi&s;edeck.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. How doth it appear, that Je&s;us of <HI>Naza|reth</HI> was the true <HI>Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> he that was &s;ent of God to be the Saviour, according to the Promi&s;e made unto the Fathers?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. <HI>By the miracles he wrought. Nico|demus</HI> could &s;ay &s;o much, <HI>John</HI> 3.2. &s;ays he, <HI>We know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do the&s;e miracles but he who is &s;ent of God.</HI> John 5.36, 37, <HI>I have a greater wit|ne&s;s then that of John; for the works that my fa|ther hath given me to fini&s;h, the &s;ame works bear witne&s;s of me.</HI> And &s;o when <HI>John Bapti&s;t</HI> &s;ent unto Chri&s;t, to know whether he was the <HI>Me&s;|&s;iah,</HI> &s;aith our Saviour, Go and &s;hew him the things which you do hear and &s;ee; the Blind re|ceive their &s;ight, and the Lame walk, the Lea|pers are clean&s;ed. 'Tis true, the Prophets and
<PB N="5" REF="7"> the Apo&s;tles wrought miracles, but not by their own power and holine&s;s: but Chri&s;t wrought them by his own power.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>By his rai&s;ing of him&s;elf from the dead;</HI> As he is &s;aid to be rai&s;ed by the Father, &s;o he is &s;aid to be rai&s;ed from his own power, <HI>John</HI> 2.20, 21, <HI>De&s;troy, &s;aith he, this temple</HI> (&s;peaking of his Body) <HI>and I will rai&s;e it up in three days.</HI></P>
<P>To the&s;e might be added many other demon|&s;trations, as that all the Notes and Characters of the <HI>Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> mentioned in the <HI>Old Te&s;tament,</HI> were fulfilled and accompli&s;hed in him. More|over, every believer hath the witne&s;s in him&s;elf, that Je&s;us is the Son of God, 1 <HI>John</HI> 5.20. Their faith is not a meer hi&s;torical faith, or grounded upon what is commonly owned and profe&s;&s;ed where they live; but the Spirit bear|eth witne&s;s to their hearts, that Je&s;us of <HI>Naza|reth</HI> is the Son of God, the true <HI>Me&s;&s;iah</HI> that was to come into the World.</P>
<P N="3">3. The next thing is, to &s;hew you <HI>wherefore God &s;ent his Son into the world.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The great bu&s;ine&s;s</HI> that Chri&s;t was &s;ent into the world for, was <HI>to &s;ave his people from their &s;ins,</HI> to &s;ave them that were given to him of the Fa|ther. There were &s;ome particular per&s;ons given to Chri&s;t by name, to be his people, to be his &s;heep, that he &s;hould take care of, to bring to eternal life. <HI>John</HI> 17.2. <HI>Thou ha&s;t given me power over all fle&s;h, that I &s;hould give eternal life to as many as thou ha&s;t given me.</HI> 1 John 4.14. <HI>And we have &s;een, and do te&s;tifie,
<PB N="6" REF="8"> that the Father &s;ent the Son to be the Saviour of the world,</HI> that is, his Elect of the world of mankind: And &s;o it was Prophe&s;ied of Chri&s;t, <HI>Dan.</HI> 9.24. that he &s;hould <HI>make an end of &s;in, and make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in an everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> There was not one man in the world that was able to make re|conciliation for his iniquity; Chri&s;t was &s;ent to do that. There was none righteous, no not one. Chri&s;t was &s;ent to bring in an everla&s;ting righteou&s;ne&s;s, to make his people righteous be|fore God; Chri&s;t was &s;ent to fulfill the Law for his people, by his Active and Pa&s;&s;ive obedience: He came to do, and procure all that is required, to the compleat and perfect &s;alvation of his people.</P>
<P>In a word, Je&s;us Chri&s;t was &s;ent into the World, not meerly as a Prophet, to teach the Mind and Will of God, or to be an example of holine&s;s; but he was &s;ent to be <HI>a Prie&s;t,</HI> in a proper &s;en&s;e, to make atonement and &s;ati&s;|faction for the &s;ins of his people, and to obtain eternal redemption for them.</P>
<P><HI>Application.</HI></P>
<P>U&s;e 1. <HI>We may &s;ee here, that the work of Re|demption was a great work:</HI> Not the highe&s;t Angel of Heaven, nor all of them put together were able to perform this; but God &s;ent his Son about this work.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. <HI>We may &s;ee here, that the heart of God the Father was in this great work of redeeming
<PB N="7" REF="8"> and &s;aving the elect.</HI> The Father him&s;elf loved them, for he &s;ent his Son, he gave his only be|gotten Son, that they might live through him.</P>
<P>U&s;e 3. <HI>We may &s;ee here the love of Chri&s;t unto tho&s;e that the Father had given him,</HI> That he was willing to be their Mediator; for as he is often &s;aid to be &s;ent of the Father, &s;o he is &s;aid to come, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.7. <HI>Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.</HI> Chri&s;t was &s;o &s;ent, as that he came freely, came with alacrity and chearfulne&s;s; for his delight was with the Sons of men, his heart was in this work.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, <HI>Let this encourage &s;inners to come to Chri&s;t to venture their &s;ouls upon him.</HI> Do not que&s;tion whether God will accept of you by ano|thers righteou&s;ne&s;s, di&s;charge you by a payment made by a Surety, deliver you from going down to the Pit upon a ran&s;om given by another; for all this was the contrivement of the Lord him&s;elf, to glorifie both his Ju&s;tice, and his Mercy for ever. Therefore let &s;inners ca&s;t them&s;elves upon Chri&s;t and fear not, this Rock will never fail that Soul that is built upon it.</P>
<P>I come now to the next words, where it is &s;aid, that Chri&s;t <HI>&s;peaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the &s;pirit by mea&s;ure unto him.</HI></P>
<P>Doct. 2. <HI>That Je&s;us Christ, our Mediator, hath the &s;pirit given him by the Father without mea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<PB N="8" REF="9">
<P>This is a great and glorious truth, and very &s;weet and comfortable to the Saints, that the Lord Je&s;us their Mediator hath a fulne&s;s of the &s;pirit. P&s;al. 45.7. <HI>Anointed with the oyl of gladne&s;s above his fellows.</HI> Chri&s;t hath the &s;pirit above what any of the Saints have; and &s;ee <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 61.1. I&s;a. 2.11. <HI>And the &s;pirit of the Lord &s;hall re&s;t upon him, the &s;pirit of wi&s;dom and under|&s;tanding, the &s;pirit of council and might, the &s;pi|rit of knowledg and of the fear of the Lord.</HI> And you have a vi&s;ible fulfilling of tho&s;e Prophecies, John 1.32. <HI>And John bare record, &s;aying, I &s;aw the &s;pirit de&s;cending from Heaven like a Dove, and it abode upon him.</HI> And &s;o Acts 10.3. <HI>God anointed Je&s;us of Nazareth with the Holy Gho&s;t and with power, who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppre&s;&s;ed with the Devil, for God was with him.</HI> And in another place, <HI>It plea&s;ed the Father, that in him &s;hould all fulne&s;s dwell.</HI> All fullne&s;s of the Spirit, all fullne&s;s of Grace dwells in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Three Things for the opening of this point.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>What is here meant by the Spirit.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>How the Spirit is &s;aid to be given to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;eeing he is God.</HI> How can any gift be &s;aid to be conferred upon him, &s;eeing he is God, and infinite in him&s;elf?</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>How it may be &s;aid, that the &s;pirit is given unto him without mea&s;ure.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>What is here meant by the &s;pirit.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>The Gifts and Graces of the Spirit,</HI> the&s;e are given to Chri&s;t, not by mea&s;ure, but with|out mea&s;ure.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="9" REF="9">2. <HI>The Spirit it &s;elf,</HI> Luke 4.14. <HI>And Je&s;us returned in the power of the &s;pirit full of the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Believers have not only the Gifts and Graces of the Spirit, but the Spirit it &s;elf, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.9. <HI>If any man have not the Spirit of Chri&s;t, he is none of his:</HI> and the Spirit of him that rai&s;ed up Je&s;us from the dead dwells in you, <HI>v.</HI> 11. And if the Spirit be in Believers, and dwells in them, much more in Chri&s;t him&s;elf.</P>
<P N="2">2dly. <HI>How can Chri&s;t, who is God, and &s;o infi|nite, and uncapable of addition, be &s;aid to have the &s;pirit given unto him?</HI></P>
<P>I an&s;wer briefly in a word or two. It is true, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as God, is infinite, and as God he is not capable of having the &s;pirit given unto him; but the &s;pirit was given unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t as man, the &s;pirit was given to his humane nature which he took upon him.</P>
<P N="3">3dly. <HI>If the &s;pirit was given to the humane na|ture of Chri&s;t, how can the humane nature hold the fullne&s;s of the &s;pirit? the humane nature is finite, how can it receive an infinite? how then is it &s;aid, that God hath not given the &s;pirit by mea|&s;ure unto him?</HI></P>
<P>I an&s;wer, The expre&s;&s;ion in the Text is not to be under&s;tood without any limitation, as if the Spirit were given to the humane nature of Chri&s;t in an infinite manner, and as if the hu|mane nature were of an infinite capacity; the Divine nature of Chri&s;t is infinite, but though the Divine and humane nature in Chri&s;t are eternally united, yet they are not confounded.
<PB N="10" REF="10"> This then I &s;ay, that the &s;pirit was given to the humane nature of Chri&s;t, beyond all com|pari&s;on, beyond all the Saints on Earth or in Heaven, and above all the Angels put them all together. The &s;pirit is given to Chri&s;t as man incomparatively, and tran&s;cendently beyond what ever men or Angels have had, or &s;hall have. <HI>It plea&s;ed the Father, that in him all fullne&s;s &s;hould dwell;</HI> which cannot be &s;aid of any other.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>It is &s;aid, that Je&s;us increa&s;ed in wi&s;dom, and &s;tature, and in favour with God and man,</HI> Luk. 2.52. <HI>How had he &s;uch a full|ne&s;s of the Spirit, and yet is &s;aid to increa&s;e in Wi&s;dom?</HI></P>
<P>I An&s;wer, The Word being made Fle&s;h, he was full of Grace, full of the Spirit from his ve|ry birth; but he is &s;aid to increa&s;e in Wi&s;dom, in re&s;pect of the effects and opperations, ex|pre&s;&s;ions and declarations of his Wi&s;dom.</P>
<P>One Que&s;tion more, <HI>How comes it to be &s;o, that the Lord Je&s;us is &s;o filled with the &s;pirit in his humane nature?</HI></P>
<P>An&s;wer 1. <HI>One rea&s;on is taken from the near|ne&s;s of his humane nature to the Divine.</HI> Bre|thren. Je&s;us Chri&s;t is the Son of God, the na|tural Son of God, he hath the very e&s;&s;ence of God, the nature of God, and the humane na|ture of Chri&s;t is brought very near to the God-head: It is brought as near as our Bodies to
<PB N="11" REF="10"> our Souls, and therefore it is &s;aid, that in him dwells the fullne&s;s of the Godhead bodily, that is per&s;onally. The Sun is the Fountain of light, and the nearer we come to the Sun, the more we partake of light; &s;o the humane nature of Chri&s;t being brought &s;o near to the God-head, as to be taken into per&s;onal union with the God-head, the humane nature partakes of Grace and Gifts to its utmo&s;t capacity.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>It was nece&s;&s;ary that Chri&s;t &s;hould be filled with the &s;pirit in our nature, that &s;o he might be able to manage his work and office,</HI> to perform his active and pa&s;&s;ive obedience, and to be a Store|hou&s;e and trea&s;ury of grace and con&s;olation to his people, that they may be &s;upplied from him, and of his fullne&s;s receive, and grace for grace.</P>
<P><HI>Application.</HI></P>
<P>U&s;e 1. <HI>Learn whence it is that a per&s;on may be enabled to &s;peak holily and graciou&s;ly: It is &s;aid here, that Chri&s;t &s;pake the words of God, and he brings in this for a rea&s;on, for he recei|ved not the &s;pirit by mea&s;ure.</HI> The more we have of the Spirit of God, the more we &s;hall &s;peak the Words of God; and though we can never have &s;o much of the &s;pirit as Je&s;us Chri&s;t had, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">or &s;pake the Words of God as he did; yet &s;et us <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ray that we may have the &s;pirit, and more and more of the &s;pirit, that we may in our mea&s;ure <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">peak the Words of God. What is the rea&s;on <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hat our words are no more &s;avory and &s;piritual, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ut unprofitable and vain too often? 'Tis be|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u&s;e we have but a little of the &s;pirit, if we
<PB N="12" REF="11"> have the &s;pirit at all in a &s;anctifying way. And for tho&s;e who&s;e words are altogether carnal and vain, nothing but prophane, &s;currilous, unclean &s;peeches come from them; &s;uch may well think that they have not the Spirit of God. He that hath the Spirit of God, will endeavour in &s;ome mea&s;ure to &s;peak the Word<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> of God; for where the Spirit of God is given in a &s;aving manner, he &s;anctifies the heart, and &s;anctifies the tongue, and &s;o cau&s;es their words to be gracious and &s;pi|ritual in &s;ome mea&s;ure. Therefore as we de&s;ire that our &s;peech may be with grace, holy and edifying, pray for the &s;pirit to be given unto us. It is &s;aid of Chri&s;t, that they wondered at the gracious words that proceeded from him; he was full of the &s;pirit, and he &s;pake the words of God. O let us be much in prayer for the &s;pirit, to give us a mouth, and wi&s;dom upon all occa&s;ions; pray that we may have the &s;pirit to fill our hearts with holy thoughts, and to fill our mouths with holy di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. <HI>Learn from h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nce, that when God calls to any work or &s;ervice, he is wont to give abiliti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> and &s;trength for that work.</HI> Our Lord Je&s;u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> was called to a great work to be performed i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> our humane nature, and you &s;ee here how h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> was filled with the &s;pirit and fitted for tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> work. When God calls us to any work or &s;er+vice, let us not look at the greatne&s;s of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> work to di&s;courage us; no, but look principall at Gods calling you to it; and if it be &s;o, tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> God calls us to the work, he will give us of h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="13" REF="11"> Spirit in &s;ome mea&s;ure to &s;trengthen us and help us. When <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> died, and <HI>Jo&s;huah</HI> &s;ucceeded him, he had great difficulties to go through in the work he was called to: But &s;aith the Lord, fear not, be not di&s;couraged, I will not fail thee nor for&s;ake thee. Therefore if you be a&s;&s;ured that the Lord calls you to the work and &s;ervice you are employed in, fear not, tru&s;t in the Lord, keep in his way, and he will give you &s;trength, he will &s;tand by you, and will not fail you nor for&s;ake you. Follow the Lord in your places, and if &s;ufferings come towards you, the Lord will either put them by, or he will &s;upport you and &s;trengthen you with might by his &s;pirit in the inward man.</P>
<P>U&s;e 3. <HI>Learn from hence the excellency of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, in that he is filled with the &s;pirit.</HI> Be&s;ides his infinite Glory as God, you may &s;ee here what excellency is in him even as to his hu|mane nature, in that the Spirit is not given by mea&s;ure unto him, but beyond what is given to any other, men or Angels. Take a Saint, and the Spirit and Grace of God in him, adorns him in the eyes of others; you will &s;ay there is &s;uch a one, how full of love, of wi&s;dom, of humility is he! this makes him beautiful indeed! But then how glorious &s;hould Chri&s;t be in our eyes, both as to his God-head, and as to the wi&s;dom, purity, holine&s;s and fullne&s;s of the &s;pi|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">it in his humane nature? In which re&s;pect, even <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s the Son of man, he is fairer then all the Chil|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ren of men, and then all the Angels in Heaven.
<PB N="12" REF="12">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="13" REF="12">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="14" REF="13"> Suppo&s;e all the grace that is in all the Saints and Angels were ab&s;tracted and put all into one, yet this is nothing to the fullne&s;s and grace that is in Chri&s;t. There is wi&s;dom, love, meekne&s;s, and every grace in Chri&s;t (that is compatible to his pure and holy nature) without mea&s;ure.</P>
<P>U&s;e 4. <HI>Learn from hence to go to Chri&s;t for the &s;pirit and grace in all our times of need.</HI> He is filled with the &s;pirit in our nature; and as the <HI>Egyptians</HI> when they were ready to &s;tarve in the Famine and came to <HI>Pharoah,</HI> he &s;ent them to <HI>Jo&s;eph, go to</HI> Jo&s;eph: So go to Je&s;us, there you may be &s;upplied, go to Je&s;us for the &s;pirit to mortify our corruptions, to quicken our gra|ces, to help us in all our duties and &s;ufferings. As <HI>Jacob</HI> &s;aid to his Sons, <HI>Why &s;tand ye looking one upon another, there is Corn in Egypt, go and fetch from thence that we may not peri&s;h:</HI> So let believers go to Je&s;us Chri&s;t and fetch &s;upplies of grace from him; go to him, as one that is able and willing to help his people in all their times of need.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, <HI>We may learn from hence the igno|rance and bla&s;phemy of tho&s;e that make a mock of the &s;pirit, and deride others as prizing the &s;pi|rit:</HI> whereas the excellency of Chri&s;t is &s;et forth among&s;t other things by this, that he was filled with the &s;pirit. 'Tis true, many may pretend to the &s;pirit that have him not; but therefore to make a mock of having the &s;pirit&punc; is no le&s;s than bla&s;phemy. The Spirit is given
<PB N="15" REF="13"> to all Believers, and he that hath not the Spi|rit of Chri&s;t is none of his, not yet of his called ones; The Believer is called the Spiritual man, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.15. Some may pretend to be made partakers of Chri&s;t, and yet be mi&s;taken; but he that &s;hall mock people, and u&s;e it as a Re|proach to them, that they believe in Chri&s;t, and are Chri&s;tians, is a Bla&s;phemer; And &s;o is he that &s;hall u&s;e it as a Reproach to any, That this is one that hath the Spirit.</P>
<P>Now I come to ver&s;. 35. <HI>The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e words &s;eem to hold forth the Rea&s;on of the former; he had &s;aid before, that God giveth not the Spirit by mea&s;ure unto him, that is, Chri&s;t. And why &s;o? <HI>For the Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.</HI></P>
<P>The Father loves the Elect Angels, and loves Elect men; but the Father loves the Son above all others. There is an <HI>Empha&s;is</HI> in the words, <HI>The Father loveth the Son;</HI> that is, He loves him mo&s;t eminently, tran&s;cendently.</P>
<P><HI>And hath given all things into his hand.]</HI> He hath made him the great Commander and Go|vernour of the World.</P>
<P>By <HI>the Son,</HI> here we are not to under&s;tand Chri&s;t as God, as the Second Per&s;on in the Tri|nity; but as God-man, Mediator. Indeed the Father loved the Son, as he was God equal with him, of the &s;ame Sub&s;tance and Eternity: But when it is &s;aid, that the Father hath given all things into his hand, we mu&s;t under&s;tand it of Chri&s;t, as God-man, Mediator: For con&s;i|der
<PB N="16" REF="14"> Chri&s;t as God, he had all things in his hand, as the Father had; but it is as he is God|man, Mediator, that the Father hath put all things into his hand.</P>
<P>Doct. 1. <HI>That Je&s;us Chri&s;t is beloved of the Father above all Creatures, above Men or Angels.</HI></P>
<P>It may be &s;ome may think there is no great matter in this point; but truly it is of great concernment to us, that we may more confi|dently look to Chri&s;t for our acceptance with God through him. Mat. 3.17. <HI>This is my Be|loved Son, in whom I am well plea&s;ed. Paul</HI> &s;peaking of him, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 1.6. &s;aith, that God <HI>hath made us accepted in the Beloved.</HI> Others are beloved, but Chri&s;t is the Beloved. And again, Colo&s;. 1.13. <HI>Who hath delivered us from the Power of Darkne&s;s, and hath tran&s;lated us in|to the Kingdom of his dear Son.</HI> Chri&s;t him&s;elf often makes mention of the Fathers love to him, Joh. 10.17. <HI>Therefore doth my Father love me, becau&s;e I lay down my life.</HI> Joh. 15.9. <HI>As the Father hath loved me, &s;o have I, loved you.</HI> Joh. 17.24. <HI>Father, I will, that they al&s;o whom thou ha&s;t given me, may be with me where I am, that they may behold my Glory which thou ha&s;t given me; for thou loved&s;t me before the founda|tion of the world.</HI> 'Tis &s;aid indeed, ver&s;. 23. <HI>I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; that the world may know, that thou ha&s;t &s;ent me; and that thou ha&s;t loved them, as thou ha&s;t loved me.</HI> It is true, the Father loves the Elect people as really and truely as he loveth Chri&s;t; but he doth not love them &s;o
<PB N="17" REF="14"> abundantly, not in the &s;ame degree; neither can they be loved with that kind of Love e|very way, that the Father loveth the Son, as will appear in the opening of the Point.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Let us enquire wherein the Love of the Father towards Chri&s;t doth tran&s;cend and exceed his Love to all other Creatures, Men or Angels.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>The Father loveth Chri&s;t, as he is the only be|gotten Son of the &s;ame Divine E&s;&s;ence with him|&s;elf.</HI> Believers are the Sons of God by Ado|ption, but Chri&s;t is the Son of God by an Eternal and Unutterable Generation: Joh. 3.16. <HI>God &s;o loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.</HI> Therefore mu&s;t the Father needs love Chri&s;t above Men or Angels, becau&s;e he is the only begotten Son; and though they be two di&s;tinct Per&s;ons, and &s;o they are &s;poken of in the Text, <HI>the Father and the Son,</HI> yet they are one E&s;&s;ence. And though the Son hath now taken upon him our Nature, yet he is God &s;till, and &s;o continues for ever, and is an ad|equate, and every way fit object of the Fa|thers Love, in the highe&s;t degree, to Eternity.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>The Father loveth Chri&s;t above all other creatures, Men or Angels, upon the account of his being the Redeemer and Saviour of the Elect peo|ple, whom he hath given him to bring to Glory.</HI> The glory of God's Grace, Wi&s;dom and Ju|&s;tice, is made known in &s;uch a wonderful manner by the Lord Je&s;us as Mediator, that the Father loves him upon that account; Joh. 10.17. <HI>Therefore doth my Father love me, be|cau&s;e I lay down my Life.</HI> Ver&s;. 18. <HI>This Com|mandment
<PB N="18" REF="15"> have I received of my Father.</HI> That the Son con&s;ented to be Mediator, and to take upon him the Nature of man, and to dye and &s;uffer, to &s;atisfie Ju&s;tice for Sin, this is highly plea&s;ing to the Father; Heb. 10.5, 6, 7. <HI>Where|fore when he cometh into the world, he &s;aith, Sacri|fice and Offering thou would&s;t not, but a body ha&s;t thou prepared me; in Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices for Sin thou ha&s;t had no plea&s;ure. Then &s;aid, Lo I come (in the Volume of thy Book it is written of me) to do thy Will O God.</HI> The Fa|ther loveth Chri&s;t, not only as his Eternal Son, but as he conde&s;cended to be Mediator for his People, Phil. 2.6, 7, 8, 9. <HI>Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made him&s;elf of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a Servant, and was made in the likene&s;s of men; and being found in fa&s;hion as a man, he humbled him&s;elf and became obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Cro&s;s. Where|fore God hath al&s;o highly exalted him.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The Father delights in Chri&s;t, not only as he is the Eternal Son, but as he is his Elected one, Elected to be the Head and Saviour of his Body the Church.</HI> I&s;ai. 42.1. <HI>Behold my Servant whom I uphold, mine Elect in whom my Soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him, he &s;hall bring forth Judgment to the Gentiles.</HI> That the Son took upon him the form of a Servant, that the Glo|ry of God might be made manife&s;t in him, and that he &s;hould bring back and lead the Elect people to God, makes the Father to love him, and delight in him as Mediator. He freely un|dertook
<PB N="19" REF="15"> the work, and has faithfully di&s;charged it, Joh. 17.4, 5. <HI>I have glorified thee on the earth, I have fini&s;hed the work which thou gave&s;t me to do. And now, Father, glorifie thou me with thine own &s;elf, with the Glory which I had with thee be|fore the world was.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Let us enquire wherein the Father hath &s;hewn and expre&s;&s;ed &s;uch a great and tran|&s;cendent Love to Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>The Father had an un&s;peakable complacency and delight in Chri&s;t from Eternity, and that not only as his Eternal Son, and God equal with him; but as he had con&s;ented &amp; agreed to be Mediator for them whom he had appointed to be Heirs of Salva|tion.</HI> Prov. 8.23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29. <HI>I was &s;et up from everla&s;ting, from the beginning, before ever the Earth was. &mdash;Then was I by him, as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoycing always before him.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>There is the mo&s;t intimate Fellow&s;hip and Communion between the Father and him, in all that the Father doth.</HI> As to the works of Creation, <HI>All things were created by him and for him,</HI> Col. 1.16. <HI>All things were made by him, and with|out him was not any thing made that was made,</HI> Joh. 1.3. And as to the work of Redempti|on, he was the great In&s;trument of the Fa|ther; tis &s;aid, <HI>God was in Chri&s;t, reconciling the world to him&s;elf,</HI> 2 Cor. 5.19. <HI>That in the di|pen&s;ation of the fulne&s;s of times, he might gather together all things in Chri&s;t, both which are in Heaven, and which are on Earth, even in him,</HI> Ephe&s;. 1.10.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="20" REF="16">3. <HI>The Father hath &s;hewn all the Benevolence or Beneficence to Chri&s;t, as Mediator, as po&s;&s;ibly could be.</HI> He hath filled him with the Spirit in our Nature, as full as the Humane Nature can hold; and as he is God manife&s;t in the Fle&s;h hath given all into his hand, and hath put &s;uch honour upon him as Mediator, that what&s;o|ever his People ask in his Name, it &s;hall be gi|ven them; and when he comes at the la&s;t Day to judge the World in our humane Nature, he &s;hall come in all the Glory of the Father, with all his holy Angels.</P>
<P>Objection. <HI>How did the Father love Chri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> with &s;uch an un&s;peakable, tran&s;cendent Love, &s;eein<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> it is &s;aid,</HI> He &s;pared not his own Son, but deli|vered him up to Death for us all? <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> And it plea&s;ed the Lord to brui&s;e him, he hat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> put him to grief? <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 53.10. <HI>It &s;hould &s;eem <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> this, that he loved the Elect people more than Chri&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;eeing he laid their Iniquities upon Chri&s;t, and a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+pointed him to &s;uffer for Sins, the Ju&s;t for the u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ju&s;t, that he might bring them to God.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer</HI> fir&s;t, In general, Take notice, Tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>the Go&s;pel, our Redemption by Chri&s;t is &s;uch a M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+&s;tery, that except we be taught of God, we &s;h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;tumble and cavil at it without end.</HI></P>
<P>More particularly; 1. <HI>Con&s;ider that all th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Chri&s;t &s;uffered, it was only in his humane Natur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> His Godhead could not &s;uffer the lea&s;t thing.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>His Godhead backed and &s;upported his H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">+mane Nature, to endure the Cro&s;s, and de&s;pi&s;e t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> Shame.</HI></P>
<P N="3"><PB N="21" REF="16">3. <HI>It was but for a &s;hort time that the Humane Nature of Chri&s;t &s;uffered.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>It was with his own Con&s;ent.</HI> Lo, I come to do thy Will, O God, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.7.</P>
<P N="5">5. <HI>The Father had no Controver&s;ie with Chri&s;t, he had done no evil, neither was any guile found in his mouth; all that Chri&s;t &s;uffered, was as a Surety.</HI></P>
<P N="6">6. <HI>The De&s;igne of God in not &s;paring his Son, was not merely the Salvation of his People; but to make known the Riches of the glory of his Wi&s;dom, Ju&s;tice and Grace, and &s;o all this would well con|&s;i&s;t with his Love to the per&s;on of Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P N="7">7. <HI>As a con&s;equent of his Sufferings, the humane Nature of Chri&s;t (in which Nature only he Suf|fered) is highly exalted; and he in our Nature &s;hall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">udge the world, and be adored for ever.</HI></P>
<P>Application.</P>
<P>U&s;e 1. <HI>Seeing that Chri&s;t was &s;o beloved of the Father, and yet he &s;uffered &s;o much; it may teach <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, that great Sufferings and Afflictions may con|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t with the Love of God; &s;o long as there was no <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n inherently in Chri&s;t, and that it was for the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lory of God, and was but for a time, a &s;hort time, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ll this might con&s;i&s;t with the Love of God.</HI> There|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ore let this comfort Believers under all their Afflictions and Sorrows in this Life.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>May &s;ome poor Believer &s;ay, If the Lord <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ved me, would he &s;uffer me to be &s;candalized and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">proached as I am? I am evil-&s;poken of by many, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd am the Song of the Drunkard, I &s;carce know <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">w to bear it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I pray con&s;ider how Chri&s;t <HI>endured <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e contradiction of Sinners:</HI> They &s;aid, He was a
<PB N="22" REF="17"> Deceiver and was mad; they &s;aid he was a Glutton and a Winebibber; they &s;aid he had a Devil; yet &s;till he was infinitely beloved of the Father.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>Ay, If I was afflicted but now and then, I might hope that God might love me notwith|&s;tanding; but I am &s;eldom free of one Affliction or another.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer.</HI> So it was with Chri&s;t while he was here in this world, <HI>He was a man Sorrows,</HI> I&s;a. 53.3. yet beloved of the Father, and &s;o may you.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>Ay, But it is not only outward Afflicti|ons that I bear, but inward bitterne&s;s, inward Sor|row.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Chri&s;t went through that too, Mat. 26.38. <HI>My Soul</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>is exceeding &s;orrow|ful, even unto death.</HI></P>
<P>Object. <HI>Ay, But this is that which makes me fear that I am none of the Lords, becau&s;e he hides his face from me at times, that I have not &s;en&s;ible communion with him; but in that re&s;pect he doth as it were for&s;ake me.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> So it was with Chri&s;t for a time, <HI>He cried out, my God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for|&s;aken me,</HI> Mat. 27.46.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>Ay, But I am followed with hi|deous temptations of the Devil, &s;uch as I am afraid and a&s;hamed to utter; as to take away mine own Life, and the like.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who was beloved of the Father above all, <HI>He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without Sin,</HI> Heb. 4.15. <HI>Then the
<PB N="23" REF="17"> Devil taketh him up, and &s;etteth him upon a Pi|nacle of the Temple, and &s;aith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, ca&s;t thy &s;elf down,</HI> Mat. 4.5, 6.</P>
<P>Now as Chri&s;t was a Conqueror over all his Sufferings of every kind, and lifted up his Head after all; &s;o &s;hall Believers through him. Chri&s;t after a &s;hort time &s;orrowed no more, was tempted no more, &s;uffer'd no more in any kind, and &s;o it &s;hall be with his people after a little time; For the Lamb which is in the mid&s;t of the Throne &s;hall feed them, and &s;hall lead them unto living Fountains of waters, and God &s;hall wipe away all tears from their eyes, <HI>Rev.</HI> 1.17.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 2. Seeing God the Father loveth Je&s;us Chri&s;t with &s;uch a tran&s;cendent Love, <HI>This may teach us what manner of Love the Father hath &s;hewn, in giving of his Son to be a Redeemer of his people.</HI> 1 Joh. 4.9. <HI>In this was manife&s;ted the Love of God towards us, becau&s;e that God &s;ent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.</HI></P>
<P>Therefore you that are partakers of this Grace, why &s;hould you fear the want of any thing what&s;oever that the Lord &s;eeth conve|nient for you? <HI>He that &s;pared not his own Son, but delivered him up to Death for us all; how &s;hall he not with him al&s;o freely give us all things?</HI> Rom. 8.32. Therefore tru&s;t in the Lord for the &s;up|ply of all your inward and &s;piritual wants, and tru&s;t in the Lord for outward Mercies too; Do not put forth your hands to any unrighteous ways for your &s;ub&s;i&s;tence, but tru&s;t in the Lord
<PB N="24" REF="18"> that he will perform all things for you, &s;eeing he hath not &s;pared his own Son, but given him to dye for you. All other Gifts are &s;mall in compari&s;on of his giving his Son to be made a Cur&s;e for us.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 3. Seeing the Father loveth the Son in &s;uch a wonderful manner, <HI>Then wo be to tho&s;e that hate him.</HI> 1 Cor. 16.22. <HI>If any man love not the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, let him be Anathema Maranatha.</HI> If any man love him not as he is the Son of God, if any man love him not as Mediator, if any man hearing this Je&s;us preach|ed unto him, doth not approve of this way of Salvation by Chri&s;t, and doth deliberately reject him and put him away, let him be cur&s;ed till the Lord come; let him &s;till remain under the cur&s;e of the Law, and let him be cur&s;ed when the Lord cometh; let him be put among&s;t tho&s;e to whom Chri&s;t will &s;ay, <HI>Depart from me ye cur&s;ed.</HI></P>
<P>I fear there may be &s;ome among&s;t us, that will be found haters of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t. If your hearts continue to ri&s;e again&s;t the way of Salvation by Chri&s;t, you will be found ha|ters of him. If you love your &s;ins, and hold them fa&s;t, and will not have Chri&s;t to reign o|ver you, then you will be found haters of Chri&s;t: If you hate the Di&s;ciples of Chri&s;t, be|cau&s;e of his Image and Grace in them, then you will be found haters of Chri&s;t. But if you believe in him, and your hearts cleave unto him, and you are troubled that you love him no more, that he is no more precious to you, then go in peace.</P>
<PB N="25" REF="18">
<P>U&s;e 4. <HI>Seeing the Father loveth the Son in &s;uch a wonderful manner, let this &s;tir us up to love Je|&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> Let us love him as God, and love him him as God-man, Mediator: You &s;ee he is an object fit for the Love of God the Father, and then he is an object worthy of our love. And as God the Father loves him with a tran|&s;cendent Love, &s;o let us do likewi&s;e. Read what Chri&s;t &s;aith, Joh. 14.21. <HI>If any man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and I will love him, and will manife&s;t my &s;elf unto him.</HI> And &s;ee ver&s;e 23. You will ne|ver loo&s;e any thing by loving Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Ephe&s;. 6.24. <HI>Grace be with all them that love our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t in &s;incerity,</HI> Amen.</P>
<P>It follows, <HI>And hath put all things into his hand.]</HI> Before I come to rai&s;e the Doctrine from the&s;e words, let me briefly &s;hew you the meaning of this expre&s;&s;ion. <HI>And hath put all things into his hand.</HI> The meaning is, that he hath put all Power and Authority into his hand, he hath made him Supreme Head and Gover|nour over all things; the Father hath made him Ruler and Di&s;po&s;er of all; the great King, Lord and Potentate over all.</P>
<P>And further, take notice, that this is &s;poken of Je&s;us as God-man, Mediator; Chri&s;t is made the Lord of Heaven and Earth in our Nature. As Chri&s;t is the Son of God, &s;o he is equal with the Father; &s;o it cannot be properly &s;aid, that the Father hath given all things into his hand; for he had all things originally in his hand as God, but as God-man, Mediator, &s;o
<PB N="26" REF="19"> the Father hath given all things into his hand, that now in our nature, in our fle&s;h, he is the great Potentate of the world, and hath all things committed to him of the Father.</P>
<P>Doctrine. <HI>That God the Father hath given unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t in our Nature, full Power and Autho|rity over all things, both in Heaven and in Earth, he hath put all things into his hand.</HI></P>
<P>This is a Point of great Concernment, and for the great comfort and e&s;tabli&s;hing of Be|lievers in evil times, that all things are given into the hand of our great Mediator. You &s;ee <HI>John Bapti&s;t</HI> here gives a full te&s;timony to this truth; will you hear what Chri&s;t &s;aith in his own per&s;on, <HI>All things are delivered unto me of my Father,</HI> Mat. 11.27. And Je&s;us came and &s;pake unto them, &s;aying, <HI>All Power is given un|to me in Heaven and in Earth.</HI> Joh. 13.3. <HI>Je&s;us knowing that the Father had given all things into his hand</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>To &s;hew you how all things are put into the hand of Chri&s;t,</HI> given into his hand.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>All men are given into Chri&s;t</HI>'s <HI>hand.</HI> But here we mu&s;t di&s;tingui&s;h, There are &s;ome given to Chri&s;t in a &s;pecial manner, and for their eter|nal Salvation: There are &s;ome given to Chri&s;t to that very end and purpo&s;e, that he &s;hould give them Eternal Life. Joh. 17.2. <HI>As thou ha&s;t given him power over all fle&s;h, that he &s;hould give eternal Life to as many as thou ha&s;t given him.</HI> You &s;ee that &s;ome are &s;o given in|to Chri&s;ts hand, that he by his Office of Medi|ator is engaged and hath undertaken to give
<PB N="27" REF="19"> them Eternal Life. <HI>Other &s;heep I have which are not of this fold, them al&s;o I mu&s;t bring, and they &s;hall hear my voice,</HI> Joh. 10.16. Chri&s;t there calls them whom the Father hath given him in the Covenant of Redemption, his &s;heep, though they are not yet converted, and &s;aith, he mu&s;t bring them in, and they &s;hall hear his voice. Joh. 17. <HI>I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou ha&s;t given me, for they are thine;</HI> and yet he prayed as Mediator, not only for them that were then Believers and converted, but for them that &s;hould afterwards believe unto everla&s;ting Life. Ver&s;. 20. <HI>Neither pray I for the&s;e alone, but for them al&s;o which &s;hall believe on me through their word.</HI> Ver&s;. 24. <HI>Fa|ther, I will, that they al&s;o whom thou ha&s;t given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my Glory.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>The re&s;t of men are put into Chri&s;ts hand, even tho&s;e that peri&s;h; &s;o as that Chri&s;t hath full power to over-rule them and their actings; &s;o as that they &s;hall not quite root out his Church, &s;o as that he &s;hall have Glory in carrying on his work, &s;o far as he plea&s;es, against all their oppo&s;ition; pu|ni&s;h them &s;o far as he thinks fit in this Life, and pa&s;s &s;entence of everla&s;ting Damnation again&s;t them at the La&s;t Day.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee all men are given into Chri&s;t's hand, Elect and non-Elect; the Elect to re|deem and &s;ave, and the re&s;t to order them and di&s;po&s;e of them as he plea&s;es in this World, a d to judge them at the La&s;t Day.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>All the Angels are given into Chri&s;ts hands.</HI>
<PB N="28" REF="20"> The Elect Angels are given into his hand to confirm them, as &s;ome think, and to make u&s;e of them in his Mediatory Kingdom, as he plea&s;es. The fallen Angels are given into his hand, &s;o as that he hath Power to check them and re&s;train them, and &s;et bounds to them, that they &s;hall not Devour and Prevail again&s;t any of his redeemed People; and likewi&s;e to &s;it in Judgment upon them, and pa&s;s open Sentence of Condemnation upon them at the La&s;t Day. Ephe&s;. 1.21, 22. 'Tis &s;aid of Chri&s;t, <HI>That he is far above all Principality, and Power, and Might, and Dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but al&s;o in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be Head over all things to the Church.</HI> Luk. 10.17. <HI>And the &s;eventy returned with joy, &s;aying, Lord, even the Devils are &s;ubject to us through thy Name.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>All Creatures, whether animate or inanimate,</HI> are given into the hand of Chri&s;t as Mediator, God-man.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>All animate Creatures, all rational Creatures.</HI> Phil. 2.9, 10. <HI>Wherefore al&s;o God hath highly ex|alted him, and given him a Name which is above every Name; That at the Name of Je&s;us every knee &s;hould bow, of things in Heaven and things on Earth</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>All inanimate, all irrational Creatures.</HI> P&s;al. 8.5, 6, 7, 8. <HI>For thou ha&s;t made him a little lower than the Angels, (viz.</HI> barely con&s;idered as man, though far above all the Angels, as God-man; Mediator) <HI>and ha&s;t crowned him with Glory and
<PB N="29" REF="20"> Honour. Thou made&s;t him to have dominion over the works of thy hand; thou ha&s;t put all things un|der his feet, all &s;heep and oxen, yea, and the bea&s;ts of the field, the fowl of the air, and the fi&s;h of the Sea.</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>All things that do concern the ordering of the Churches here in this world, are given and com|mitted to Chri&s;t as Mediator.</HI> What Officers &s;hall be in his Churches, what Di&s;cipline, Go|vernment, Cen&s;ures, Ordinances and Wor&s;hip, the&s;e things are not left to mens Inventions, but all mu&s;t be ordered as Chri&s;t hath appointed in the Word, Mat. 28.18, 19, 20. <HI>And Je&s;us came and &s;pake unto them, &s;aying, All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all Nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Gho&s;t: Teaching them to ob&s;erve all things that I have commanded.</HI> The very Apo|&s;tles were limited, that they &s;hould teach no|thing to be ob&s;erved in Spiritual matters, but what Chri&s;t commanded, and then much more all Church-Guides in the&s;e days; for the Fa|ther hath given the Power of making Laws and Orders for his Church into Chri&s;ts hand only. No Power on Earth can add or take away from the Sacraments, Cen&s;ures, Officers and Ordinances that Chri&s;t hath appointed; for the Father hath given all things into his hand.</P>
<P N="5">5. <HI>All Providential Di&s;pen&s;ations in this world are given into the hand of Chri&s;t;</HI> all publick and private concernments; <HI>Thou ha&s;t given him Power over all fle&s;h,</HI> Joh. 17.2. <HI>For the Father
<PB N="30" REF="21"> judgeth no man, but hath committed all Judgment unto the Son,</HI> Joh. 5.22. We mu&s;t not under|&s;tand the&s;e things, as if God the Father had &s;o put things into the hand of Chri&s;t, as if he had not Power and Authority &s;till over all; but the meaning is, that he hath given the manage|ment of all into Chri&s;t's hand, as Mediator, by way of Honour and Tru&s;t, to order all for the Glory of God, and for the Eternal Salvation of tho&s;e, whom he hath given him to be his My&s;tical Body.</P>
<P>And &s;o I come to the Second thing, to &s;hew you, <HI>Why, or to what end the Father hath given all things into Chri&s;t</HI>'s <HI>hands as Mediator:</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>The Father hath done this for his own Glory.</HI> Phil. 2.11, 12. <HI>Wherefore God al&s;o hath highly exalted him, and given him a Name above every name, &mdash;That every tongue &s;hould confe&s;s that Chri&s;t is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.</HI> 'Tis for the Glory of God the Father, that he hath laid help upon &s;uch a mighty One, and &s;et &s;uch a King upon his holy Hill of <HI>Sion.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>The Father hath done this for the Glory of Chri&s;t too: That all men &s;hould honour the Son, as they honour the Father,</HI> Joh. 5.32. <HI>Wherefore when he brings in the fir&s;t begotten into the world, he &s;aith, Let all the Angels of God wor&s;hip him,</HI> Heb. 1.6.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>The Father hath done it for the Churches &s;ake too; for the Elects &s;ake he hath given him to be the head over all things to the Church,</HI> Ephe&s;. 1.22. to order all things for the accompli&s;hing and perfecting their Salvation; and to that end he
<PB N="31" REF="21"> hath the heart of man among&s;t other things gi|ven into his hand, that Chri&s;t hath power as Mediator, to make his people willing to clo&s;e with him. P&s;al. 110.3. <HI>Thy people &s;hall be willing in the day of thy power.</HI> Joh. 6.37. <HI>All that the Father giveth me, &s;hall come unto me.</HI> Joh. 12.32. <HI>And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.</HI></P>
<P>Application.</P>
<P>U&s;e 1. <HI>Seeing the Father hath given all things into Chri&s;t's hand, then let us all come to Chri&s;t, re|ceive him, believe in him:</HI> And this is the very U&s;e that Chri&s;t him&s;elf makes of this point. Mat. 11.27, 28. <HI>All things are delivered unto me of my Father: And no man knoweth the Son but the Father: Neither knoweth any man the Father, but the Son, and he to whom&s;oever he will reveal him. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you re&s;t.</HI> Seeing the Father hath given all into Chri&s;t's hand, come unto him for what&s;oever you want, come to him for Pardon, for Righteou&s;ne&s;s, for peace of Con&s;cience, for Knowledg, for Sanctifica|tion, for all. Joh. 6.27. <HI>Labour not for the meat that peri&s;hes, but for that meat which endureth to everla&s;ting Life, which the Son of man &s;hall give unto you; for him hath God the Father &s;ealed.</HI> He hath Authority and Commi&s;&s;ion from the Fa|ther, all things are given into his hand. Him hath God the Father &s;ealed, therefore come unto him, that you may have the meat that endureth to everla&s;ting Life; He hath the keys
<PB N="32" REF="22"> of Hell and of Death, He is able to &s;ave to the uttermo&s;t, He is able to re&s;cue you from the very jaws of Hell; therefore, I &s;ay, venture your Souls upon him. The Father hath ap|pointed him to be Prophet, Prie&s;t and King; come therefore unto him for all that you &s;tand in need of.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. <HI>Seeing the Father hath given all into Chri&s;ts hand, let all &s;ubmit to Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> P&s;al. 2.12. <HI>Ki&s;s the Son le&s;t he be Angry, and ye peri&s;h from the way.</HI> We are all to do Homage to Chri&s;t, to be &s;ubject to Chri&s;t; and this is called a Ki&s;&s;ing of the Son. You read of tho&s;e that did not bow the knee to <HI>Baal,</HI> nor ki&s;&s;ed him; It is &s;poken of the People of God that would not owne <HI>Baal:</HI> and the Idolaters that wor&s;hip|ed the Sun and the Moon, becau&s;e they could not reach them to ki&s;s them, therefore they ki&s;&s;ed their hand, in token of Homage and Sub|jection to them, as is implyed in <HI>Job</HI>'s words, Chap. 31.26, 27. So that this is one thing that is intended by this Phra&s;e, of Ki&s;&s;ing the Son, that we &s;hould do Homage unto him and be Subject unto him. Therefore &s;eeing all is given into Chri&s;ts hand, and he &s;hall Judge the Quick and the Dead at his appearing and his Kingdom, give dilligence that you may be found of him in Peace, that you may be ac|cepted in him as a Saviour, and accepted of him as a Judge; for we mu&s;t all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>But may &s;ome &s;ay, When we con&s;ider what a great Lord, Je&s;us Chri&s;t is, and that the Fa|ther
<PB N="33" REF="22"> hath made him the Judge of all, and that he &s;hall come in all the Glory of the Father, with all his holy Angels, and all mu&s;t appear before his Judgment-Seat, to give an account, the thoughts of Chri&s;t begin to be terrible to us &s;inful, guilty creatures; we begin to &s;ay in our hearts, <HI>How &s;hall we be able to &s;tand before this great Lord and Judge?</HI></P>
<P>An&s;wer. <HI>Chri&s;t is a Prie&s;t as well as a King, a Saviour as well as a Judge;</HI> So that if you put your tru&s;t in him as a Mediator, and be found in his Righteou&s;ne&s;s, then you may be able to &s;tand before him, el&s;e not. Therefore labour to know Chri&s;t <HI>in his Prie&s;tly Office,</HI> and believe in him, that you may be wa&s;hed and made white in his Blood, and that he may be the Lord your Righteou&s;ne&s;s; then you may have boldne&s;s to &s;tand before him, and not be a|&s;hamed and confounded at his coming. There|fore, I &s;ay, now come to him as a Saviour, be|fore whom at la&s;t you mu&s;t come as a Judge.</P>
<P>U&s;e 3. <HI>Seeing all things are given into Chri&s;t's hand, let not Believers fear the&s;e black &s;torms of Per&s;ecution that may come upon them in this world.</HI> The &s;ame Je&s;us that &s;hed his Blood for his People, he hath the ordering, over-ruling, and di&s;po&s;ing of all things: Know that no|thing can come upon you, but it mu&s;t pa&s;s through the hand of Chri&s;t, therefore fear not: Not only men, but Devils al&s;o are &s;ubject to his Power; yea, he hath Power over our Lu&s;ts and Corruptions, therefore they &s;hall not have dominion over us. And in the wor&s;t times,
<PB N="32" REF="23">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="33" REF="23">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="34" REF="24"> fear not that the People of God will be rooted out; no, Chri&s;t &s;itteth upon the floud, he &s;itteth King for ever.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>But if the ordering of all things is given into Chri&s;t</HI>'s <HI>hand, it &s;eems &s;trange, that he &s;uffers many times his Enemies to be the chief in Power, and his People to be low and per&s;ecuted.</HI></P>
<P>An&s;wer. <HI>Chri&s;t &s;uffers it, yea, orders it &s;o, that he may have the greater Glory in carrying on his work again&s;t &s;o much oppo&s;ition.</HI> The Go&s;pel never prevailed more in the world, than when the Rulers were Heathens and Per&s;ecutors: and Chri&s;t hath Glory too, in puni&s;hing his E|nemies here and hereafter. And as for the People of God, they are the more Spiritual, and Heavenly, and Courageous in times of Per&s;ecution.</P>
<P>U&s;e 4. <HI>Seeing all things are given into Chri&s;t</HI>'s <HI>hand, this may a&s;&s;ure us of the per&s;everance of Be|lievers.</HI> What &s;hould hinder it? Chri&s;t is above Satan, above the corruption of their hearts; and &s;eeing the Father hath given them to him, he will keep them unto the end. Joh. 17.12. <HI>Tho&s;e whom thou gave&s;t me I have kept, and none of them is lo&s;t, &s;ave the Son of Perdition.</HI> And as for <HI>Judas,</HI> called here the Son of Per|dition, he never was a Believer in the &s;en&s;e that the re&s;t were, <HI>Joh.</HI> 6.64. but <HI>a Devil,</HI> ver&s;. 70. Though <HI>Judas</HI> was given to Chri&s;t to be an Apo&s;tle for a time, and given into Chri&s;ts hand, as the very Devils are, &s;o as that
<PB N="35" REF="24"> he &s;hall puni&s;h them for ever; yet <HI>Judas</HI> was never &s;o given to Chri&s;t to redeem, to &s;ave, to bring to Glory, to be a Member of his My|&s;tical Body: For tho&s;e that are &s;o given to Chri&s;t, not one of them can be lo&s;t, &s;eeing Chri&s;t hath taken the charge of their Salvation, and wants neither Wi&s;dom, nor Faithfulne&s;s, nor Love, nor Power, to bring them &s;afe to Heaven.</P>
<P>Now I come to ver&s;. 36. <HI>He that believeth on the Son hath everla&s;ting Life: And he that be|lieveth not the Son, &s;hall not &s;ee Life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.</HI></P>
<P>Here you have the Conclu&s;ion of this Hea|venly Sermon, or Speech of <HI>John</HI> the <HI>Bapti&s;t.</HI> He had &s;et forth Chri&s;t's Glory and Excellency as the Churches Bridegroom, ver&s;. 29. <HI>He that hath the Bride, is the Bridegroom: but the friend of the Bridegroom, which &s;tandeth and heareth him, rejoyceth greatly, becau&s;e of the Bridegrooms voice: This my joy therefore is fulfilled.</HI> He had &s;hewn, how he mu&s;t increa&s;e and be glorious in the eyes of all; that he came from above, from Heaven, and is above all; that the Father &s;ent him, and gave him the Spirit above mea&s;ure; that the Father loved him, and hath given all things into hand.</P>
<P>And now he comes to make the <HI>U&s;e</HI> and <HI>Application</HI> of this, <HI>That men would believe on the Name of the Son of God.</HI> This Duty of Belie|ving
<PB N="36" REF="25"> on Chri&s;t, is pre&s;&s;ed by two &s;trong Argu|ments, or Motives.</P>
<P><HI>The fir&s;t Argument is taken from the great bene|fit that comes by believing on Chri&s;t.</HI> [He that be|lieveth on the Son hath everla&s;ting Life.] This is a great benefit indeed, Life is very de&s;irable, e&s;pecialy everla&s;ting Life; yea, for further en|couragement to believe in Chri&s;t, he &s;aith, <HI>That he that believeth on the Son, hath everla&s;ting Life;</HI> Not only that he &s;hall have it, but he hath it already; he hath everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P><HI>The &s;econd Argument is taken from the contrary;</HI> namely, <HI>The great Danger, the great Evil and Mi|&s;ery that will be the portion of all tho&s;e that do not believe the Son.</HI> And this is &s;et out, not only <HI>Privatively,</HI> he &s;hall not &s;ee Life; but <HI>Po&s;itive|ly,</HI> as an addition to that mi&s;ery, The wrath of God abideth on them.</P>
<P>Doct. 1. <HI>That he that believes on Chri&s;t the Son of God, hath everla&s;ting Life.</HI></P>
<P>Doct. 2. <HI>That he that believeth not the Son, that believeth not in the Lord Je&s;us, &s;hall not &s;ee Life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.</HI></P>
<P>Doct. 1. <HI>That who&s;oever believeth on Chri&s;t the Son of God hath everla&s;ting Life.</HI></P>
<P>This is much &s;poken of, That he that be|lieveth on the Son, is delivered from the wrath to come: Joh. 3.14, 15, 16. <HI>As Mo&s;es lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderne&s;s, &s;o mu&s;t the Son of Man be lifted up; that who&s;oever believeth on him &s;hould not peri&s;h, but have everla&s;ting Life.</HI>
<PB N="37" REF="25"> Joh. 6.40. <HI>This is the will of him that &s;ent me, that every one that &s;eeth the Son, and believeth on him, &s;hould have everla&s;ting Life.</HI> And ver&s;. 47. <HI>Verily, verily I &s;ay unto you, he that believeth on me hath everla&s;ting Life.</HI> He &s;peaks it with an A&s;&s;everation, Verily, verily, he that believeth on me hath everla&s;ting Life. Joh. 20.31. <HI>But the&s;e things are written, that Je&s;us is the Chri&s;t, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have Life through his Name.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. Let us enquire, <HI>what is meant by this ever|la&s;ting Life,</HI> that is, the Portion of every one that believeth in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>What is this believing,</HI> this Faith, upon which a Man or Woman comes to have ever|la&s;ting Life.</P>
<P N="3">3. To give you <HI>&s;ome Demon&s;trations, or Ar|guments, to prove that he that believeth on the Son hath everla&s;ting Life;</HI> Becau&s;e po&s;&s;ibly &s;ome may Que&s;tion it.</P>
<P N="4">4. Shew you <HI>in what Sen&s;e he that believeth on the Son, hath everla&s;ting Life already;</HI> for the Text &s;aith, &s;uch an one hath everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P N="1">1. Let us enquire <HI>what is meant by this ever|la&s;ting Life,</HI> which is the Portion of every be+lieving Soul.</P>
<P><HI>By everla&s;ting Life, here we are not to under|&s;tand that Life that con&s;i&s;ts in the Union of Body and Soul:</HI> No, Brethren, though our Bodies and Souls &s;hould be everla&s;tingly united, and never be &s;eperated by Death, yet that is not the everla&s;ting Life here &s;poken of; yea, and the Damned at the Re&s;urrection &s;hall have
<PB N="38" REF="26"> their Bodies and Souls united together, and &s;hall &s;o continue to Eternity, and yet they ne|ver &s;ee this everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P>This everla&s;ting Life in the Text is the great|e&s;t hapine&s;s that we are capable of; It con&s;i&s;ts in Two things.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Freedom from all &s;in and from all evils what&s;oever,</HI> called, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 5.9. The obtain|ing of Salvation by our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>The enjoyment of all that is Perfectly Good. Grace and Glory,</HI> P&s;al. 84.11. this &s;tate is called the <HI>better Country,</HI> even <HI>an Heavenly,</HI> Heb. 11.16. God is the Believers God, and he hath prepared for them a City; and in enjoying God they enjoy all.</P>
<P>And then, <HI>ob&s;erve, that the Happine&s;s of Be|lievers is for ever;</HI> they are not freed from all evil for a time only, and enjoy all good for a time only; but for ever: And &s;o they have everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P N="2">2. Let us enquire <HI>what is this believing,</HI> what this Faith is, upon which a man or woman comes to have everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P>I an&s;wer, <HI>'Tis not a bare a&s;&s;ent to the Truth of the Go&s;pel; 'Tis not a meer Hi&s;torical Faith: Yea, though</HI> you &s;hould be &s;omewhat affected with it, and hear the Word with Joy, and do many things as <HI>Herod</HI> did.</P>
<P>But this <HI>believing, is a Receiving of Christ him|&s;elf in &s;ome word of Grace, wherby the humbled Sinner doth wholy rely upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t for Life and Salvation.</HI> Although we are to believe all that is Written in the Law and the Prophets,
<PB N="39" REF="26"> and the whole Word of God; yet <HI>Chri&s;t as a Saviour and Mediator is the object of ju&s;tifying Faith,</HI> Gal. 3.2. <HI>Received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of Faith?</HI> Faith is wrought in us by the hearing of the Go&s;pel, by &s;ome word of Grace wherein Chri&s;t is held forth as a Saviour, either Explicitly or Implicitly. The Text &s;aith, <HI>He that believeth on the Son hath everla&s;ting Life.</HI> And <HI>Paul</HI> bids the Jaylor, <HI>believe on the Lord Je&s;us, and thou &s;halt be &s;aved.</HI> So that what&s;oever word the Lord hints to us, to work and beget Faith in our Hearts, yet the Soul doth not &s;tay there, but Ventures and Ca&s;ts it &s;elf wholy upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>as the Saviour and Mediator.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> To give you &s;ome <HI>Demon&s;trations,</HI> or Arguments, to prove, that who&s;oever believeth on the Son hath everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>God the Father promi&s;ed this to Chri&s;t the Mediator, in the behalf of his Ran&s;omed ones:</HI> Tit. 1.2. <HI>In hope of Eternal Life, which God that cannot lie promi&s;ed before the world began.</HI> God promi&s;ed to Chri&s;t no le&s;s than Eternal Life for his Seed. Rom. 6. la&s;t, <HI>The Gift of God is Eternal Life, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</HI> 1 Joh. 2.25. <HI>This is the Promi&s;e which he hath promi&s;ed us, even eternal Life.</HI> This was pro|mi&s;ed to Chri&s;t, that by his Obedience all his People &s;hould be made Righteous, and have Eternal Life.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Chri&s;t, as Mediator, prayed for no le&s;s than Eternal Life for his people,</HI> and the Father al|ways heareth him. Joh. 17.24. <HI>Father, I will,
<PB N="40" REF="27"> that tho&s;e whom thou ha&s;t given me, may be with me where I am, that they may behold my Glory which thou ha&s;t given me</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed Eternal Life for his People:</HI> Hebr. 9.15. <HI>And for this cau&s;e he is the Mediator of the New Te&s;tament, that by means of Death, for the redemption of the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions that were under the fir&s;t Te&s;tament, they which are called, might receive the Promi&s;e of Eternal Inhe|ritance.</HI> Chri&s;t having made Satisfaction for the Sins of his People, and brought in an ever|la&s;ting Righteou&s;ne&s;s for them, What &s;hould now hinder them of Everla&s;ting Life, who be|lieve on his Name.</P>
<P N="4">4. One thing more, to &s;hew you in what &s;en&s;e it is &s;aid in the Text, <HI>That he that believeth on the Son, hath everla&s;ting Life;</HI> not only &s;hall have it, but hath Everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P>Seeing that Believers have Sin dwelling and remaining in them, and are liable to Tempta|tions and Buffetings of Satan, and liable to all kind of outward Sorrows and Afflictions, and have this Earthly Tabernacle yet to put off; How can it be &s;aid, that a Believer now hath everla&s;ting Life?</P>
<P>I an&s;wer, 1. <HI>In regard of the certainty of it.</HI> As when it is &s;aid <HI>Babylon</HI> is fallen; 'Tis as cer|tain that <HI>Babylon</HI> &s;hall fall, as if it were fallen already: So it is as certain, that Believers &s;hall have everla&s;ting Life, as if they had it already. And &s;o it is &s;aid, 2 Tim. 1.9. <HI>Who hath &s;aved us and called us.</HI> We are &s;aved already.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="41" REF="27">2. <HI>In regard that everla&s;ting Life is begun to a Believer:</HI> Every Believer is in a ju&s;tified e&s;tate, his Sins pardoned, and the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t imputed to him, and Holine&s;s and Com|munion with God is begun already in this Life; his Fellow&s;hip is now with the Father and his Son Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>In regard of Christ our head;</HI> Ephe&s;. 2.6, <HI>He hath rai&s;ed us up, and made us &s;it together in Heavenly Places in Christ.</HI> The members of the my&s;tical Body are now in Heaven, though not in their own Per&s;ons, yet in Chri&s;t their Head, Heb. 6.20. <HI>Whither the fore-runner is for us en|tred, even Je&s;us;</HI> He hath taken up Heaven for them, and appears in the pre&s;ence of God for them.</P>
<P><HI>Application.</HI></P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 1. From what is &s;aid here, That he that believeth on the Son hath everla&s;ting Life; and he that beleiveth not on the Son, &s;hall not &s;ee Life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. <HI>Learn that there is an everla&s;ting e&s;tate appointed for every one, either everla&s;ting Life, or everla&s;ting Death. An eternity there is for every one of us, and we are near it, we are upon the brink of it,</HI> we are near Heaven or Hell. The Lord knows that we mind the&s;e pre&s;ent things too much, and eternity very little: But, O! That when we come to dye, to go into eternity, that we may be in Chri&s;t; that &s;o when the Earthly hou&s;e of this Tabernacle &s;hall be di&s;&s;olved, we may have a Building of God, an Hou&s;e not
<PB N="42" REF="28"> made with hands Eternal in the Heavens. O! that we may remember our eternal condition more, that the thoughts of Eternity may be with us in our Callings and Bu&s;ine&s;s all the day long; and that we may make &s;ure of our intere&s;t of Chri&s;t, that we may have everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. <HI>Wonder at the Lord's Grace in Chri&s;t, that he &s;hould give everla&s;ting Life to any of us, fallen, &s;inful men.</HI> God doth not give everla&s;ting Life to any of the Angels that &s;inned; but ca&s;t them all down to Hell. And you that live under the Preaching of the Go&s;pel, ble&s;s God that you hear of the&s;e glad tidings of ever|la&s;ting Life through Chri&s;t; and hearing this way of Life Preached and Declared to you, O! that you may receive Chri&s;t, That you may believe on him, that you may have everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P>U&s;e 3. <HI>Heere is matter of &s;trong con&s;olation to tho&s;e that have believed on the Son; O! Let &s;uch rejoyce in the Grace of God,</HI> the Lord hath a|bounded towards them in his kindne&s;s through Chri&s;t Je&s;us; It is true, you may meet with ma|ny &s;orrows here in this world, but rejoyce in this, that there is no Condemnation to you; becau&s;e you are in Chri&s;t Je&s;us: And not on|ly no Condemnation, but you have everla&s;ting Life. You may lo&s;e E&s;tate, Name, Liberty, and Life in this World, but you can never lo&s;e everla&s;ting Life: for he that believeth on the Son hath everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<PB N="43" REF="28">
<P>U&s;e 4. <HI>Here is Direction to tho&s;e that are con|vinced of their &s;ins, that are weary and heavy la|den, who&s;e con&s;ciences are pre&s;&s;ed with the burden of their &s;ins, as if they had a heavy mountain lay upon them; O! Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sin of the World; believe on the Lord Je&s;us, and you &s;hall be &s;aved and have ever|la&s;ting Life.</HI> You know not what to do, but O flee to Chri&s;t for help, he came into the World to &s;ave &s;inners, and he is able to &s;ave all that come unto God by him, what&s;oever their guilt, what&s;oever their &s;ins are.</P>
<P>The &s;econd Argument, or motive to believe in Chri&s;t, is taken, from the Mi&s;ery, and lo&s;t E&s;tate and Condition of tho&s;e who do not be|lieve on Chri&s;t. <HI>He that believeth not the Son &s;hall not &s;ee Life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.</HI></P>
<P>Doct. 2. <HI>That he that believeth not the Son &s;hall not &s;ee Life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.</HI></P>
<P><HI>He that beliveth not the Son,</HI> that is, he that believeth not on the Son; this is Spoken in Op|po&s;ition to the former part of the Ver&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>He &s;hall not &s;ee Life.]</HI> 'Tis a Metaphorical Ex|pre&s;&s;ion; the meaning is, he &s;hall not enjoy everla&s;ting Life, he &s;hall not enter into it, he hath no part in eternal Life: yea, and for the pre&s;ent, <HI>the wrath of God abideth on him,</HI> as to the State and Condition wherin he is.</P>
<P>Some take the&s;e words to be intended, of
<PB N="44" REF="29"> tho&s;e only; who never to the la&s;t, believe in Chri&s;t, that &s;uch &s;hall not &s;ee Life, <HI>but the wrath of God abideth on them.</HI> This is true, but be|cau&s;e the Apo&s;tle &s;aith even of the Elect, that they <HI>are by Nature Children of Wrath, even as others,</HI> Ephe&s;. 2.3. We may take the words &s;o, that all what&s;oever, whil&s;t unbelievers, &s;hall not &s;ee Life, <HI>but the wrath of God abideth on them.</HI> The Elect, though they are given to Chri&s;t from Eternity, yet they are neither ju&s;tified nor Sanctified till they do believe in Chri&s;t. In|deed, the Lord hath thoughts of Peace to them, which &s;hall be manife&s;ted in due time; but they having &s;inned as well as others, they are under the Cur&s;e of the Law as well as others, until they do believe on Chri&s;t; yet &s;o, as that they &s;hall not any one of them have the Sentence of Condemnation Executed upon them, but &s;hall be delivered from going down to the Pit; Be|cau&s;e the Lord hath &s;ound a Ran&s;om for them. The Decree of Election &s;hall be executed upon them, and the Redemption of Chri&s;t &s;hall be applied to them, to prevent the fall and final Execution of the Cur&s;e of the Law, in their Eternal Damnation.</P>
<P>But as for tho&s;e who never believe one the Son, the Cur&s;e of the Law comes Fully and Eternally upon them, <HI>and &s;o the Wrath of God abideth on them for ever.</HI> All have &s;inned in <HI>Adam,</HI> and &s;o are become guilty before God; All have an inward Rebellion and Oppo&s;ition in their Nature again&s;t God: All when they come to under&s;tanding are Guilty of Actual
<PB N="45" REF="29"> &s;in: So that it cannot be, that ever we &s;hould &s;ee Life, but &s;hould have the wrath of God a|bide upon us, except we be ju&s;tified freely by Grace, through the Redemption which is in Je|&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord; and we receive this Grace by believing on Chri&s;t, <HI>whom God hath &s;et forth to be a Propitiation for &s;ins, through Faith in his Blood,</HI> Rom. 3.25. It is by Faith, that we receive the attonement that Chri&s;t hath made for our &s;ins, and the everla&s;ting Righteou&s;ne&s;s that he hath performed for us.</P>
<P>Now concerning the Wrath of God which the Text &s;peaks of, you mu&s;t not under&s;tand it as if there were &s;uch Pa&s;&s;ions in God as there are in man: but the Scripture &s;peaks of things to our weak capacities. God's Wrath is his afflicting and puni&s;hing, 'tis his revenging Ju&s;tice, and this all men are liable unto for their &s;ins, who do not believe on the Name of the Son of God.</P>
<P><HI>Application.</HI></P>
<P>U&s;e 1. <HI>Learn hence, that it is not incongruous or di&s;agreeing to the Praching of the Go&s;pel, to hold forth threatnings of Wrath.</HI> Here <HI>John</HI> the <HI>Bapti&s;t,</HI> in th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s Evangellical di&s;cour&s;e of Chri&s;t, doth hold forth mo&s;t terrible threatnings unto tho&s;e, that continue in the &s;tate of Unbelief; he &s;aith, <HI>They &s;hall not &s;ee Life, but the Wrath of God abi|deth on them.</HI> And &s;o our Saviour, when he &s;ent out the Apo&s;tles to Preach unto the Gen|tiles, &s;aith he, <HI>He that believeth not, &s;hall be Damned,</HI> Mark. 16.16. Threatnings are a means appointed to awaken us to &s;ee our dan|ger, and are u&s;eful in the Preaching of the Go|&s;pel,
<PB N="46" REF="30"> Hebr. 2.3. <HI>How &s;hall we e&s;cape, if we ne|glect &s;o great Salvation?</HI> Hebr. 12.25. <HI>See that ye refu&s;e not him that &s;peaketh; for if they e&s;caped not, who refu&s;ed him that &s;pake on Earth, much more &s;hall not we e&s;cape, if we turn away from him that &s;peaketh from Heaven.</HI> Therefore both the Terrors of the Law, and the Threatnings for refu&s;ing Chri&s;t the Mediator, are to be &s;et home upon the Con&s;ciences of men.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. <HI>Learn hence what cau&s;e they have to re|joyce and prai&s;e the Lord, who have been drawn to Chri&s;t, to know him and believe in him.</HI> Such are not only delivered from the wrath to come, but they &s;hall &s;ee Life, they &s;hall enjoy everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P>And though Believers have the Death of the Body to encounter with, yet they need not be di&s;|mayed; they may &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle, 1 Cor. 15.55. <HI>O! Death, where is thy &s;ting? O! Grave, where is thy Victory?</HI> He triumphs over Death, as if it were a poor unarmed Captive, Where is thy power and &s;trength? And as to Afflicti|ons, although Believers may have much of the Cro&s;s, yet they have nothing of the Cur&s;e: <HI>Chri&s;t hath delivered us from the Cur&s;e of the Law, being made a Cur&s;e for us,</HI> Gal. 3.13. <HI>And we know that all things &s;hall work for good to them that love God, who are called according to his pur|po&s;e,</HI> Rom. 8.28.</P>
<P>You that are Believers in Chri&s;t, you may have free acce&s;s to God through him; you may ask for your &s;elves, you may ask for your
<PB N="47" REF="30"> Children, that they might live before him; you may ask for the Nation, you may ask for your Friends: Though you be unworthy in your &s;elves, yet coming in his Name, and as tho&s;e that are in him, what&s;oever you ask according to the Will of God, he heareth you: And be|&s;ides all your Mercies and Priviledges here, when your days are expired, you &s;hall have the full enjoyment of Everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 3. Seeing he that believeth on the Son hath everla&s;ting Life, and he that believeth not the Son &s;hall not &s;ee Life, but the wrath of God abideth on him: <HI>This &s;hould put us all upon this great work of believing on Chri&s;t.</HI> This &s;eems to be the very &s;cope of this holy man <HI>John Bapti&s;t,</HI> in what he had &s;aid here; he would have tho&s;e that he &s;pake unto, to believe on Je&s;us Chri&s;t: He &s;hews them it is a matter of great concernment, a matter of Life and Death. Be you per&s;waded of it, that this is a truth that <HI>John Bapti&s;t</HI> here &s;peaks, <HI>That he that believeth not the Son, &s;hall not &s;ee Life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.</HI> And O! Do you think that you are able to grapple with the wrath of God? Can you endure to have the wrath of God to abide upon you?</P>
<P>Let me be&s;eech one thing of you, even for the Lord's &s;ake and for your own Souls &s;ake, that when you come home, that you would re|tire a little, get alone and &s;eriou&s;ly ponder the&s;e words, <HI>He that believeth not the Son, &s;hall not &s;ee Life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.</HI> Ask
<PB N="48" REF="31"> your own hearts, whether you believe what is &s;poken here, and that it &s;hall be fulfilled upon all tho&s;e that reject Chri&s;t? And when you are alone, put it upon your hearts to con&s;ider &s;eriou&s;ly, what it is to have the wrath of God abide upon you; what a mi&s;erable condition that will be.</P>
<P>If you had but a Sentence of Death pa&s;&s;ed upon you by a Judge of A&s;&s;ize, how terrible is it to mo&s;t men! But then, how dreadful will this be to you, when the Lord &s;hall &s;ay, De|part from me ye Cur&s;ed? when the Lord &s;hall &s;ay, that you &s;hall never &s;ee Life, but the wrath of God &s;hall abide on you for ever?</P>
<P>Did you never &s;ee one under a deep &s;en&s;e and apprehen&s;ion of Gods wrath? O how &s;uch an one will cry out! And yet it is but &s;ome drop, or &s;o, that falls upon the Con&s;cience here in this Life, in compari&s;on of Hell. If you have not &s;een any under the &s;en&s;e of God's wrath, con&s;ider what the Scripture &s;aith of <HI>Cain</HI> and <HI>Judas,</HI> what Terrours they were un|der; and read the Story of <HI>Francis Spira,</HI> there you may &s;ee what amazing, a&s;toni&s;hing Expre&s;|&s;ions and Wi&s;hes came from him, under a &s;en&s;e of God's wrath lying upon him; he was &s;o tor|mented, that but he was watched by his Friends, and could not get opportunity, he would have killed him&s;elf.</P>
<P>Yea, and con&s;ider our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who never had any &s;in inherent in him; yet &s;tan|ding in the room of his People, and having
<PB N="49" REF="31"> their &s;ins imputed to him, that by his Suffering in their &s;tead, Ju&s;tice might be &s;atisfied for Sin; How he was filled with A&s;toni&s;hment and Grief under the wrath of God due to our &s;ins, Mat. 26.38. <HI>Then &s;aith he unto them, My Soul is ex|ceeding &s;orrowful, even unto death.</HI> Luk. 22.44. <HI>And being in an Agony he prayed more earne&s;tly, and his &s;weat was as it were great drops of blood fal|ling down to the ground.</HI> And he cried out upon the Cro&s;s, <HI>My God, my God, why ha&s;t thou for|&s;aken me?</HI> We mu&s;t not think that the Captain of our Salvation was thus &s;orrowful, and &s;weat drops of Blood, and cried out &s;o vehemently for the fear and pain of bodily death, which many Martyrs and other men have endured without any great di&s;turbance; but Chri&s;t bare that in his Sufferings, that was ten Thou&s;and times more dreadful; he had the Iniquities of all his people at once laid upon him, and &s;o bare the wrath of God due unto them. Our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, the Mighty One, being God|man, &s;oon made Satisfaction for the &s;ins of his people, and &s;o was acquitted and di&s;charged, and is now in the &s;ame Nature wherein he Suf|fered, at the right hand of God. But I pray con&s;ider, If we bear the wrath of God our &s;elves, what &s;hall we do? You &s;ee it is no light matter, it will be a burden too heavy for us to bear, it will make us wi&s;h again and a|gain, that we had never been born. And truely, if we do not believe on the Son, who hath born wrath for Sinners, and who a|lone delivers from the wrath to come, it mu&s;t
<PB N="50" REF="32"> abide upon us. Think of the&s;e things between the Lord and your own Souls, and let us call to one another, and awaken one another, and tell one another of the danger that we are in. If this hou&s;e where we are were &s;et on fire, and one were a&s;leep here, it were time to awaken them. O! If you have Children, Servants, Ac|quaintance, that are in an ignorant and pro|phane way, call to them and endeavour to convince them of their &s;ins, and draw them to believe in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>But it may be, &s;ome will &s;ay, you pre&s;s this believing in Chri&s;t very much, and what is there in believing, that tho&s;e that believe &s;hould have Everla&s;ting Life?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> There is nothing of Merit of Efficien|cy or Cau&s;ality in our believing, to free us from the wrath of God, and to bring us to everla|&s;ting Life. For everla&s;ting Life is the Gift of God, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord; &s;o that we do not &s;et up Faith to have any part with Chri&s;t in the Glory of our Salvation. But I pray con&s;ider it, that Faith is that Grace, whereby we lo&s;t Sinners, being convinced of our Sins, and having no hope of any help and relief in our &s;elves, do wholy betake our &s;elves to Je&s;us the Mediator for our Salvation. So that Chri&s;t is all, and doth all, and by Faith we receive and embrace Chri&s;t our Ju&s;tifier. And &s;o hath the Lord ordained, that by going out of our &s;elves, and receiving Chri&s;t the Mediator, we have the Gift of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, even the Righteou&s;ne&s;s
<PB N="51" REF="32"> of Chri&s;t imputed to us, to the Ju&s;tification of Life: So that it is not Faith as a Work, but Faith as a Hand or In&s;trument, whereby we receive Chri&s;t the Saviour, that ju&s;tifies us in the &s;ight of God.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>But how &s;hall I come to believe on the Lord Je&s;us?</HI></P>
<P>An&s;w. 1. <HI>You mu&s;t be convinced of Sin.</HI> You mu&s;t &s;ee that you are guilty before God, that you cannot &s;tand before the Holy Lord God. But alas! Mens hearts are &s;o taken up with the Cares and Plea&s;ures of the world, and think &s;o little of Eternity and the Judgment to come, that it is in the thoughts of few, how they &s;hall be di&s;charged from the guilt of their Sins, and have everla&s;ting Life.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>You mu&s;t &s;ee that there is no help for you in your own per&s;onal Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> How can there, when you have &s;inned already? And all the Righteou&s;ne&s;s that you can perform in this Life, is defective and full of Imperfections? You mu&s;t know that there mu&s;t be a perfect Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s to ju&s;tifie you.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>You must know that Chri&s;t is he that is Or|dained of God to be the Saviour:</HI> That you can be &s;aved only by his Blood and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;o ca&s;t your &s;elf wholly upon him. This Faith is the Gift of God. No man can come to Chri&s;t except the Father, which hath &s;ent him, draw him. And though &s;ome may think this believing in Chri&s;t, a notion, a fancy, or however a common or ea&s;y thing; yet as it is a real thing wrought in the hearts of the Elect
<PB N="52" REF="33"> by the Spirit of God; &s;o it is no ea&s;y thing to believe truly on Chri&s;t, when a &s;inner is con|vinced of the Greatne&s;s of God, the Holine&s;s of his Law, the revenging Ju&s;tice of God, and his own guilt and filth, it is a great work of God to fix and &s;tay the heart upon the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t; to deliver &s;uch a one from going down to the pit, and bring the &s;oul to ever|la&s;ting Life.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>I dare not come to Christ, becau&s;e I do not know I am Elected.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer,</HI> You cannot know that you are e|lected, until you believe in Chri&s;t; by this you may know your Election, if the Go&s;pel of the Grace of God come to your heart with &s;uch Power of the Holy Gho&s;t, as to draw and fix your heart to Je&s;us the Mediator. Though God's Eternal Election be a great Truth, which you may find of great u&s;e for your e&s;tabli&s;hing in the Grace of God afterwards&punc; yet that which now concerns the convinced <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">er, is to ca&s;t him&s;elf upon Chri&s;t, to belie<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> Chri&s;t; and when you have received him, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> are in a &s;tate of acceptation with God through him, then you &s;hall know in due time, that this great Love of God towards you is not of ye&s;terday; but that he ordained and appointed you to ob|tain this Salvation through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord, before the Foundation of the World was laid.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 4. This Doctrine concerning believing in
<PB N="53" REF="33"> Chri&s;t, may teach us our great Blindne&s;s and Ignorance of the way of Life and Salvation, until &s;ome Go&s;pel-light &s;hine upon us. Men are more ea&s;ily convinced, that it is their Duty to pray to God, and to live &s;oberly and righ|teou&s;ly, than they are convinced of the nece&s;&s;i|ty of going out of them&s;elves to Chri&s;t, that they may have Everla&s;ting Life by believing on him. The way of the Go&s;pel is new and &s;trange, until the Holy Gho&s;t convinces us of this way of Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Life.</P>
<P>Therefore &s;tudy the Go&s;pel, &s;tudy upon Je|&s;us the Mediator, hear him Preached, and the Lord draw our hearts effectually unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that &s;o believing on the Son, we may have the beginning of Everla&s;ting Life here, and the full enjoyment of it in Heaven.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="2" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="54" REF="34">
<HEAD>SERMON II.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>John V. 25.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Verily, verily, I &s;ay unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead &s;hall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear &s;hall live.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>I Shall &s;pend but a little time in the cohe|rence of the&s;e words, only take notice of two main things in this Chapter:</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>A Narration of a great Miracle that Christ wrought, in healing a man, that had an infirmity thirty and eight years,</HI> ver&s;. 8, 9.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Chri&s;t's Apology that he made for him&s;elf a|gainst the Jews for what he had done.</HI> It being upon the Sabbath-day, that Chri&s;t healed the man, they pretended that Chri&s;t had broaken the Sabbath; Ver&s;. 16. <HI>And therefore did the Jews per&s;ecute Je&s;us, and &s;ought to &s;lay him, be|cau&s;e he had done the&s;e things on the Sabbath-day.</HI> The men of the world will always make &s;ome pretence to per&s;ecute Chri&s;t and his People; but Chri&s;t Ju&s;tifies his Action, in making the
<PB N="55" REF="34"> man whole upon the Sabbath-day: and though he might have Ju&s;tified the act, as being a work of mercy, which may con&s;i&s;t with the mo&s;t &s;trict ob&s;ervation of the Sabbath; yet our Sa|viour vindicates him&s;elf upon a higher Ground and Rea&s;on, namely, by a&s;&s;erting his Divine Na|ture and God-head. Saith he, Ver&s;. 17. <HI>My Fath<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> worketh hitherto, and I work. Therfore the Jews &s;ought the more to kill him, becau&s;e he had not only broken the Sabbath</HI> (as they Ignorantly thought he had done) <HI>but &s;aid al&s;o, that God was his Father, making him&s;elf equal with God.</HI> Our Saviour &s;heweth, that the Father worketh upon the Sabbath-day, in doing good, &s;hewing mer|cy and kindne&s;s; yet with perfect re&s;t in him|&s;elf, and &s;o doth the Son. He &s;heweth how he being the Son of God, and equal with God, doth co-operate with the Father, in all his works, which the Father doth, Ver&s;. 20. yea, and that as Mediator God-man, the Father hath committed all unto him: He rai&s;eth Dead Bodies, and he rai&s;es Dead Souls.</P>
<P><HI>Verily, verily, I &s;ay unto you, the hour is com|ing, and now is, when the dead &s;hall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear &s;hall Live.</HI></P>
<P>In the 28. Ver&s;. Our Saviour &s;peaks of his <HI>rai&s;ing tho&s;e that are dead in their Graves:</HI> But in the Text, he &s;peaks of <HI>rai&s;ing tho&s;e that are dead in their Sins.</HI></P>
<P>You have this great work of Chri&s;t in rai|&s;ing dead &s;ouls, &s;et forth by Four circum|&s;tances.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="56" REF="35">1. By the <HI>Time</HI> when; <HI>The hour is coming, and now is.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. By the <HI>Means and way</HI> by which he would do this great work, of rai&s;ing dead Souls; and that is by his voice: <HI>The dead &s;hall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear &s;hall live.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. By the <HI>Certainty</HI> of it; <HI>I &s;ay unto you,</HI> I that am the Truth.</P>
<P N="4">4. By an <HI>Atte&s;tation</HI> and A&s;&s;everation; <HI>Verily, verily,</HI> It &s;hall be &s;o, I atte&s;t it; <HI>Verily, verily I &s;ay unto you</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P><HI>The Hour is coming, and now is.]</HI> Chri&s;t did always gather, and call, and make alive the E|lect people: But the time was now come, when he would &s;end forth his Apo&s;tles to Preach among&s;t the Gentiles, to gather the E|lect people that were &s;cattered abroad: And therefore he &s;aith, <HI>The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead</HI> (even among&s;t the Gentiles) <HI>&s;hall hear the voice of the Son of God, and live.</HI> And our Saviour &s;peaks to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, Joh. 10.15, 16. <HI>I lay down my Life for the &s;heep. And other &s;heep</HI> I <HI>have, which are not of this fold:</HI> (which are not of the people of the Jews) <HI>them al&s;o I mu&s;t bring, and they &s;hall hear my voice</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That tho&s;e that are &s;piritually dead, dead in tre&s;pa&s;&s;es and &s;ins, by hearing the voice of the Son of God, are made to live.</HI></P>
<P>Ephe&s;. 2.1. <HI>And you hath he quickned, who were dead in tre&s;pa&s;&s;es and &s;ins;</HI> that is the e&s;tate of all men by nature. But Chri&s;t can make
<PB N="57" REF="35"> dead Souls alive: He can do it by a word, and as ea&s;ily as we can &s;peak a word. You read of &s;everal that Chri&s;t rai&s;ed up from bodily Death, when he was here upon the Earth, and he did it by &s;peaking to them, <HI>Mark</HI> 5.41. one was <HI>Jairus</HI> his Daughter, <HI>And he took the Dam|&s;el by the hand, and &s;aid unto her,</HI> Tabitha cumi, <HI>which is being interpreted, Dam&s;el, (I &s;ay unto thee) ari&s;e. And &s;traightway the Dam&s;el aro&s;e.</HI> And the Widows Son, Luk. 7.14, 15. <HI>And he came and touched the Bier (and they that bare him &s;tood &s;till) and he &s;aid, I &s;ay unto thee youngman ari&s;e; and he that was dead &s;ate up and began to &s;peak.</HI> And &s;o <HI>Lazarus, Joh.</HI> 11. when he had been dead four days, ver&s;. 43, 44. <HI>He cried with a loud voice,</HI> Lazarus <HI>come forth; and he that was dead came forth.</HI></P>
<P>And as Chri&s;t rai&s;ed up tho&s;e that were bo|dily dead by his Voice, by his Word: So if he &s;ay the word, if he &s;ay to one that is dead in &s;in, Ri&s;e up, Come forth, the dead Soul &s;hall live. <HI>Verily, verily, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead &s;hall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear &s;hall live.</HI></P>
<P>For the opening the Point.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>That by Nature we are Spiritually dead.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>What that Life is that Chri&s;t gives to dead &s;inners.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>What this Voice of the Son of God is, by which dead &s;inners are made to live.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>What the Lord doth work upon tho&s;e that are dead in &s;in, when he makes them &s;piritually alive.</HI></P>
<P N="5"><PB N="58" REF="36">5. <HI>The Application.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>That by Nature we are &s;piritually dead.</HI> You read of &s;ome that are <HI>dead whil&s;t they live,</HI> 1 Tim. 5.6. And &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>Let the dead bury the dead, but follow thou me.</HI> As the Body without the Soul is dead: So we now being without Chri&s;t, are dead men and women.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>We are dead men in regard of the Sentence of Death and Condemnation pa&s;t upon us by the Law.</HI> Gal. 3.10. <HI>Cur&s;ed is every one that con|tinueth not in every thing that is Written in the Book of the Law to do it.</HI> Rom. 5.12. <HI>By one man &s;in entred into the world, and death by &s;in, for that all have &s;inned.</HI> All our fir&s;t Father <HI>Adam</HI>'s hou&s;e are but dead men before the Lord; we are all guilty before God: Though we are not executed, yet we are under the Sentence of Death by the Law; and the Sentence of the Law will be executed at la&s;t, if we be not par|doned in Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>We are dead men as to the life of Grace and true Holine&s;s.</HI> Our be&s;t works are but <HI>dead works.</HI> Heb. 9.14. <HI>The carnal mind is enmity again&s;t God: for it is not &s;ubject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be.</HI> Though, indeed, be|fore Conver&s;ion we may do things that are good for the matter; yet we do nothing from a right principle, and to a right end, Joh. 15.5. <HI>Without me ye can do nothing.</HI> Except we have Spiritual Sap and Life from Chri&s;t, we can bring forth no true fruit, but are like a dead and withered Branch, that hath no life in it.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="59" REF="36">2. <HI>What that Life is that Chri&s;t gives to dead Sinners.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>The Life of Ju&s;tification.</HI> When we are united to Chri&s;t, the Sentence of Death by the Law is taken off. We u&s;e to &s;ay, that of a Ma|lefactor, when the Sentence of Death is pa&s;&s;ed upon him, that he is a dead man: But if once a Pardon come, that makes him a living man, then he cannot be executed. Rom. 8.1. <HI>There is therefore now no Condemnation to them who are in Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI> There was a heavy Sentence of Condemnation pa&s;&s;ed upon us by the Law; but now we are in Chri&s;t, we are pardoned in Chri&s;t, and now there is no Condemnation. Now as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, Gal. 2.20. <HI>I live, yet not I, but Chri&s;t liveth in me.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>We have from Chri&s;t the Life of Sanctifica|tion, the life of Grace and Holine&s;s too,</HI> whereby the Soul hath a Spiritual Inclination and Di&s;po|&s;ition to act towards God; according to that, Hebr. 8.10. <HI>I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.</HI> Ezek. 36.26, 27. <HI>A new heart al&s;o will I give you, and a new &s;pirit will I put within you, and I will take the heart of &s;tone out of your fle&s;h, and give you an heart of fle&s;h. And I will put my &s;pirit within you, and cau&s;e you to walk in my &s;tatutes.</HI></P>
<P>The Preaching of the Life that Chri&s;t giveth, is to them that peri&s;h fooli&s;hne&s;s. Some are fit to make a mock at Life and Ju&s;tification by the Blood and Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t: And &s;o likewi&s;e at Conver&s;ion, at the infu&s;ing of Grace into the heart, wherby we come to live unto
<PB N="60" REF="37"> God. But as the&s;e things are plainly revealed in the Scripture; &s;o to them that believe, the&s;e things are precious.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Let us enquire what we are to under&s;tand here, by the Voice of the Son of God.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>The Go&s;pel may be called the voice of the Son of God, as it is an In&s;trumental means to make dead Souls to live.</HI> The Go&s;pel is called, <HI>The Word of Grace,</HI> Acts 20.32. <HI>The Word of Chri&s;t,</HI> Col. 3.16. <HI>The Word of Life,</HI> Phil. 2.16. By the Di&s;pen&s;ation and Preaching of the Go&s;pel, Chri&s;t conveyeth him&s;elf into our Souls. <HI>The Letter, the Law killeth;</HI> &s;eeing we are &s;inners, the Law is <HI>the mini&s;tration of death to us,</HI> 2 Cor. 6.7. It tells us we are dead men, cur&s;ed men, it re|vealeth the wrath of God due to us for our &s;ins. The Law, through our default, cannot give us Life; becau&s;e we have not a Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s that the Law requires in our &s;elves: But it is the Go&s;pel that reveals to us <HI>the new way to Life,</HI> that &s;hews us an Attonement and Righteou&s;ne&s;s in another. We can neither be ju&s;tified by the Law, nor be &s;anctified by it. We cannot be ju&s;tified by it, becau&s;e we cannot ful|fil it. We cannot be &s;anctified by it, becau&s;e it only commands us to obey, but giveth no new &s;trength; now we have lo&s;t the Holine&s;s we had in <HI>Adam.</HI> 'Tis the Go&s;pel that reveals to us how we may be ju&s;tified before God, and may have the Image of God renewed upon us.</P>
<P>But to make us &s;piritually alive, there mu&s;t be more than a bare Declaration of the Go&s;pel;
<PB N="61" REF="37"> many hear the Go&s;pel Preached many years, and yet never hear the voice of the Son of God and Live: Therefore here is more to be under|&s;tood.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>By the voice of the Son of God, is meant the Secret Efficacy and Power of the Spirit of Chri&s;t &s;o put forth as to turn the heart to the Lord.</HI> As the Lord Je&s;us did &s;ay to <HI>Lazarus,</HI> when he was Dead, <HI>Lazarus</HI> come forth, and at the &s;ame time put Life into him: So when the &s;et time is come for the conver&s;ion of any of the Elect people, there goes forth &s;uch a Power of Chri&s;t, as to put Spiritual Life into them. Mini|&s;ters may &s;peak and &s;pend their &s;trength in calling to dead Souls to come forth, but except the Lord put in with them, &s;o as to effect the work, men will &s;till abide in death.</P>
<P>Object. <HI>Hearing pre&s;uppo&s;eth Life, Therefore how is it &s;aid, That they that hear the voice of the Son of God &s;hall live? Can they hear before they live?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer,</HI> This hearing the voice of the Son of God, and living Spiritually, are both at the &s;ame time. As <HI>Lazarus,</HI> when Chri&s;t bad him come forth, he heard and lived at the &s;ame time. Chri&s;t &s;peaking to the heart with &s;uch Power, as to turn the heart to him&s;elf; goes before Spiritual Life, in order of Nature, but not in order of Time. Conver&s;ion is a work of Spiritual Creation, and &s;o is not like other things: The Lord &s;aith live, and the Soul li|veth.</P>
<P N="4"><PB N="62" REF="38">4. <HI>Let us enquire what the Lord works upon a man dead in tre&s;pa&s;&s;es and &s;ins, to make him live Spi|ritually.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall not &s;tand to &s;peak of what the Lord doth by way of <HI>Preparation</HI> for the Souls re|ceiving Chri&s;t; this mu&s;t be <HI>&s;uppo&s;ed,</HI> that the Lord doth &s;et our &s;ins in order before us, con|vince us of Sin and of Judgment to come: But the very thing by which we are tran&s;lated from Death to Life, is the Lords <HI>giving us his Spirit to unite us to Chri&s;t,</HI> whereby we receive the Life of Ju&s;tification and Sanctification from him. The Lord gives <HI>the Spirit of Wi&s;dom and Revelation,</HI> Ephe&s;. 1.17. <HI>God who commanded Light to &s;hine out of Darkne&s;s, hath &s;hined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledg of the Glory of God, in the face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Cor. 4.6. The Sinner was convinced of his lo&s;t e&s;tate before, and now there comes a power|ful Light into the heart to reveal Chri&s;t, &s;o as to enable the Soul to &s;ee Chri&s;t held forth in the Promi&s;es, and to receive him. The Apo|&s;tle &s;aith, 1 Tim. 1.15. <HI>This is a faithful &s;aying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t came into the world to &s;ave &s;inners.</HI> Now the Soul &s;aith, It is &s;o indeed; 'tis worthy of all acceptation: the Soul now is wrought by the Spirit to approve, and like this way of Salva|tion, and heartily clo&s;e with it. Now the Un|der&s;tanding is enlightned, and the Will recti|fied, and brought to embrace Chri&s;t. It is the Lord that makes this change, <HI>He worketh in us to will and to do,</HI> Phil. 2.13. Every one that
<PB N="63" REF="38"> is converted receives Chri&s;t, Joh. 1.12. <HI>But to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believed on his Name.</HI> Though it may be, that the Souls receiving Chri&s;t at fir&s;t is &s;carce di&s;cerned; but afterwards by renewing acts of Faith upon Chri&s;t, and by the effects of Union with Chri&s;t, we may come to &s;ee that we have received Chri&s;t, and are made partakers of Spiritual Life. There is a certain <HI>moment of time,</HI> when a man hath Spiritual Life put into him; he heareth the voice of the Son of God and li|veth: But the work is &s;o &s;ecret and my&s;terious, that it is hard for us to &s;ay, that ju&s;t &s;uch a day, &s;uch an hour, we heard the voice of the Son of God and lived. Though &s;ome may be able to know the time, yet not all that are made alive by Chri&s;t. But we find by de|grees the acts and effects of Spiritual Life; whereby we may know, that we have heard the voice of the Son of God and live.</P>
<P>When we receive Chri&s;t, then we are made alive indeed: for wheras we were under the &s;entence of death, by the Law; now we are forgiven all tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, and have the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t imputed to us: And tho&s;e that receive this gift of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, are not only freed from Hell, but &s;hall reign in life by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.17.</P>
<P>When we truly receive Chri&s;t, we are &s;ancti|fied al&s;o. Together with the Faith that the Lord gives us to receive Chri&s;t for our Ju&s;tifica|tion, he al&s;o gives his Spirit to work in us a Principle of Holine&s;s, and new obedience, that
<PB N="64" REF="39"> we may be both in repect of Ju&s;tification and Sanctification alive from the Dead.</P>
<P><HI>Application.</HI></P>
<P>U&s;e 1. <HI>Here we may &s;ee the mi&s;erable e&s;tate that every man and woman is in, that hath not heard the voice of Christ.</HI> Brethren and beloved, do you believe this, that dead &s;inners are made alive by hearing the voice of the Son of God? Then tho&s;e that never yet heard the voice of the Son of God, they are yet dead in Tre&s;|pa&s;&s;es and Sins.</P>
<P>If you never yet heard the voice of Chri&s;t, then you are dead men; all your &s;ins are upon you, you are under the &s;entence of death by the Law; and if you never come to hear the voice of the Son of God, this &s;entence of Death will be upon you for ever.</P>
<P>And if you never yet heard the voice of Chri&s;t, to put &s;piritual life into you, then you are dead al&s;o as to any Life of Grace and Ho|line&s;s. Tho&s;e works that you are ready to be proud of, and glory in, they are all but dead works; and you do not truly &s;erve the living God.</P>
<P>But you will &s;ay, we hope we have heard the voice of Chri&s;t, we have heard many able Mini&s;ters, many good Sermons, we have had the Word opened to us.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer,</HI> This is a Priviledg indeed, to have the Word Preached to you; but it is not the voice of a man, no nor of the Angels of Hea|ven, if they &s;hould &s;peak to you, that can put
<PB N="65" REF="39"> Spiritual Life into you, except withal you hear the voice of the Son of God.</P>
<P>Therefore, If you never yet heard the voice of Chri&s;t, to make the Preaching of the Go|&s;pel effectual to your Souls; I &s;ay unto every &s;uch per&s;on, as God &s;aid to <HI>Abimilech,</HI> Gen. 20.3. <HI>Thou art but a dead man,</HI> thou art a Sinner, and the wages of Sin is Death; thou art a con|demned man, and thou ha&s;t no Life of Holi|ne&s;s neither; Therefore con&s;ider your ca&s;e and condition.</P>
<P>Examine your &s;elves, Whether the Word Preached hath had that power upon your hearts to draw you to Chri&s;t, and to turn you from your Iniquities.</P>
<P>Objection. <HI>If that we hear the Word Preached by men, yet you &s;ay, that except we hear the voice of the Son of God, we cannot live: then to what purpo&s;e &s;hould we attend upon the Preaching of the Go&s;pel?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer,</HI> It is your <HI>Duty</HI> to hear what God the Lord &s;peaketh by his Servants and Mini|&s;ters; and though the Word Preached cannot Convert you, without the Voice and Power of Chri&s;t; yet it may plea&s;e the Lord, at one time or other, to make the Preaching of the Word effectual upon your hearts, as he hath done to others.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. <HI>See the exceeding greatne&s;s of Chri&s;t's Power.</HI> He is able to make dead Souls to live; he is able to quicken tho&s;e who are dead in Tre&s;pa&s;&s;es and Sins; a work which neither Men nor Angels can do: Yea, know and take
<PB N="66" REF="40"> notice, That it is no labour, no difficulty to Chri&s;t to make dead Souls live: He can do it ea&s;ily and &s;uddenly, He can do it with a word, He can do it as ea&s;ily as you or I can &s;peak a word. The Text &s;aith, <HI>That the dead &s;hall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear &s;hall live.</HI></P>
<P>U&s;e 3. <HI>Of Direction to tho&s;e that have heard the voice of the Son of God,</HI> and are now quick|ned, and are made alive.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Ble&s;s and prai&s;e the Lord;</HI> &s;tand and won|der at what the Lord hath done for you. If any of you had been dead, and in the Grave, and Chri&s;t had &s;aid to you as he did to <HI>Laza|rus,</HI> come forth, and &s;o you had been rai&s;ed but from a bodily death, to live again, this had been a great wonder: But this is a far great|er wonder. O! therefore ble&s;s the Lord, &s;ay this, my Soul was Dead and is alive. I was under the Sentence of Death for the Breach of the Law, and now I am pardoned. I was with|out any life of holine&s;s, and now the Lord hath given me a new Heart, a new Spirit. Thus when I lay in my Blood, the Lord &s;aid unto me, Live.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Love the Lord Je&s;us</HI> who hath delivered your Soul from Death. Love him becau&s;e he fir&s;t loved you, and &s;aid to you, when you lay in your Blood, Live. Love him, and love the word of his Grace by which he quickened you. Never forget his Word, the Word of his
<PB N="67" REF="40"> Grace, by which he hath quickned your Souls. Love his Word and Ordinances, wherein he hath put forth the Power of his Grace to you<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Souls.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Trust in the Lord to perform all things for you.</HI> If you have heard the voice of the Son of God and Live, then you have had experience of the Power of Chri&s;t indeed. Therefore tru&s;t in the Lord in all difficulties. Say as <HI>David,</HI> P&s;al. 62.1. <HI>Truly my Soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my Salvation.</HI> Ver&s;. 2. <HI>My Soul wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him.</HI> You can &s;peak it by experience, that Power belongeth unto God, and that al&s;o unto the Lord belongeth Mercy. You have had experience of both, in his calling you out of darkne&s;s into his marvellous light; therefore wait upon him, and tru&s;t in him to perfect all that doth concern you both for Soul and Body.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, <HI>Be willing to do or &s;uffer any thing for Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Be willing to live to him.</HI> The Apo&s;tle &s;hews that it is but rea&s;onable that we &s;hould live unto the Lord, not only as we are Crea|tures; but al&s;o upon the account of Grace. 2 Cor. 14.15. <HI>Becau&s;e we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; and that he died for all, that they which live &s;hould not henceforth live unto them&s;elves, but unto him that died for them and ro&s;e again.</HI> Tho&s;e that live by Chri&s;t, it is but rea&s;onable that they &s;hould live to him. We mu&s;t not of all others, live to our &s;elves; be&s;ides, our old obligation to obedience,
<PB N="68" REF="41"> which we owe to God, as our Creator and Soveraign Lord: Grace lays a further obliga|tion upon us to live to him.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Be willing to dye for him, if he call us to it. Paul</HI> had heard the voice of Chri&s;t &s;peaking from Heaven to him (as all that are called do, though not in &s;uch a manner as Chri&s;t &s;pake to him) and &s;o he was made alive; and now how precious was Chri&s;t to him? he was wil|ling to &s;uffer any thing for his Name and Glory, Act. 21.13. <HI>I am ready, not only to be bound, but to dye at Jeru&s;alem for the Name of the Lord Je|&s;us.</HI> He was &s;en&s;ible that Chri&s;t had given him &s;piritual Life, and therfore thought it a &s;mall matter, to lay down his bodily Life, in a way of bearing witne&s;s to his Name.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="3" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="69" REF="41">
<HEAD>SERMON III.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>John III. 33.</HI></BIBL>
<P>He that hath Received his Te&s;timony, hath &s;et to his Seal that God is True.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe words before going, <HI>John</HI> &s;ays, <HI>No Man received his Te&s;timony, though he te&s;tifie nothing but what he had &s;een and heard in Heaven: and no man received his Te&s;timony: and yet here immediately it follows,</HI> that <HI>He that hath received his Te&s;timony &s;ays,</HI> that <HI>God is True. He that hath;</HI> implying, there was &s;ome that did receive it; that is none, few or none: None in compari&s;on of tho&s;e that did not receive it; &s;ome few there were that did receive it. And here in this Ver&s;e, <HI>John</HI> doth declare the Commendation of tho&s;e that did receive Chri&s;t, and what matter of encou|ragement to tho&s;e that do receive Chri&s;ts Te&s;ti|mony: Why, he &s;ays, they do exceedingly Honour and Glorifie God; they do &s;ub&s;cribe as it were with their Hand, and &s;et their Seal
<PB N="70" REF="42"> to the Truth of God; that what the Lord &s;peaks, and Chri&s;t &s;peaks, and what God the Father &s;peaks, is Truth; and in doing this, they Honour and Glorifie God by &s;ub&s;cribing and &s;etting to their Seal, <HI>that God is True.</HI> As he &s;ays, <HI>he that &s;et to his Seal that God is true, doth Te&s;tify of what is Truth.</HI> But how doth it appear that the Spirit is given unto tho&s;e that Te&s;tify of him? You may &s;ee it cleared in the opening of the Propo&s;ition. So that the pro|po&s;ition is this; taking up the words of the Text.</P>
<P>Propo&s;. <HI>Who&s;oever he be that doth receive the Te&s;timony of Chri&s;t, doth &s;et to his Seal that God it True.</HI></P>
<P>You heard before in the opening of the for|mer clau&s;e, what we are to under&s;tand by the Te&s;timony of Chri&s;t, and then what we are to under&s;tand of the receiving the Te&s;timony of Chri&s;t. By the Te&s;timony of Chri&s;t we are to un|der&s;tand the Go&s;pel of Life and Salvation held forth to poor Sinners: that you heard cleared from Scripture; and for the receiving of it, what is it to receive it? it is not only a receiving it into the under&s;tandings, and al&s;o into the af|fections, and receiving it with &s;ome kind of Joy and Gladne&s;s; but al&s;o a receiving it into the Heart and Soul in a way of Faith and Believing. Believing is receiving the Te&s;timony of Chri&s;t. I &s;hall not &s;tand to &s;peak of the&s;e things, but &s;hall now &s;hew you, that that Te&s;timony that every believing Soul doth give of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, doth &s;et to his Seal, <HI>that God is true.</HI></P>
<PB N="71" REF="42">
<P>Fir&s;t, To &s;hew that God is Truth. Secondly, what we are to under&s;tand by this &s;etting to the Seal that God is true. Thirdly, To &s;hew by what, and wherein, and how it doth appear that e|very believing &s;oul that doth receive the Te|&s;timony of Chri&s;t, doth believe that God is True.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>To &s;hew you that God is Tru<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> that God is true and faithful in his Word, in what|&s;oever he &s;peaks in his Go&s;pel: as that which the Evangeli&s;ts in the Go&s;pel &s;peaks of in the Te&s;timony of Chri&s;t is true. When God pro|claimed his name by <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> he &s;ays of him, <HI>He is abundant in goodne&s;s and in truth;</HI> he is as abundant in his truth (every way) as in his goodne&s;s. And in another place its &s;aid, <HI>God is not as Man, that he &s;hould lye: hath he &s;poken it, and &s;hall he not do it?</HI> And &s;o I might multiply Scriptures to that purpo&s;e; the Truth of God is from ever|la&s;ting to everla&s;ting: what&s;oever he &s;peaks, it &s;hall be; what he hath &s;poken with his mouth, he will fulfil. <HI>Every man,</HI> &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, <HI>are Lyars: Let God be true and every man a Lyar:</HI> in re&s;pect of God it is even &s;o. And &s;o in the <HI>New-Te&s;tament, God is a God that cannot Lye.</HI> It can|not &s;tand with his infinite Nature; He cannot Lye; yet it is impo&s;&s;ible for God to Lye. He mu&s;t cea&s;e to be God, were it ever &s;o.</P>
<P>But it mu&s;t needs be &s;o, Brethren, that God is a God of Truth: for God is the Author of all truth; He is the Fountain of Truth, and you know a Fountain cannot contain &s;weet waters and bitter; He is Light, and in him is no dark|ne&s;s
<PB N="72" REF="43"> at all; He is Truth it &s;elf, and no Lye there can be no fal&s;hood at all in him; He is the Author of Truth; the Devil is the Author of Lyes, and the founder of them: the Devil is the Father of Lyes, and therefore God cannot be the Father of them, but he is the Author of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"></P>
<P>But <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gain, it cannot be that God &s;hould &s;peak that which is not truth, which he doth not intend; for God is an unalterable God, an unchangeable God: He don't &s;peak and un|&s;peak again, but he is Immutable and un|changeable, the &s;ame to day, and forever, with|out any &s;haddow of turning. In our &s;peaking there's change, and &s;haddow of turning; but there is no &s;haddow of change or turnings in God: He &s;ays not one thing, and intends another. If God &s;hould promi&s;e Life and Salvation unto all tho&s;e that lay hold of Righteou&s;ne&s;s and Life, and then they fall &s;hort of it, here were change and &s;haddow of turning; but there's no &s;haddow nor turnings in God.</P>
<P>Again, God mu&s;t needs be a God of Truth, becau&s;e he loves Truth; <HI>Thou love&s;t Truth in the inward parts.</HI> God loves truth in the Heart, and God loves Truth in the Lips too. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed is the man in who&s;e Lips is no guile.</HI> See how God threatens to puni&s;h a Lyar: <HI>there &s;hall in no wi&s;e enter into the Holy place, any thing that defileth, or any thing that makes a Lye.</HI> And &s;o in another place, <HI>without are Dogs, Idolaters, and Adulterers, and Lyars.</HI> See how the Lord al&s;o doth threaten the King of <HI>Judah,</HI> that
<PB N="73" REF="43"> had made a Covenant with the King of <HI>Baby|lon,</HI> in <HI>Ezekiel.</HI> 17.13.15, 16. <HI>Shall he pro&s;per? &s;hall he e&s;cape that doth &s;uch things? &amp;c. As I live, &s;aith the Lord God, &s;urely in the place where the King dwelleth that made him King, who&s;e Oath he de&s;pi&s;ed, and who&s;e Cove|nant he brake, even with him in the mid&s;t of Babylon, he &s;hall die for it.</HI> And it's a remark|able &s;tory of the King of <HI>Hungaria,</HI> King of the <HI>Romans:</HI> he entered into a &s;olemn Co|venant with the <HI>Turks,</HI> whereupon, a while af|ter, the Pope by one of his Cardinals, per|&s;waded that King of <HI>Hungaria</HI> to break his Covenant, and to come into his Country with an Army; and the <HI>Turk</HI> &s;eeing his Army, with the Banner of Chri&s;ts Name upon it; he cried out, <HI>O Chri&s;t, come and take Judgement on him that hath thus broken Covenant with the Lord;</HI> and the Lord did give Victory to the <HI>Turk,</HI> and he took the King and cut off his Head; and this for breach of Covenant. And &s;o in other in&s;tan|ces, &s;ays God, <HI>your Carca&s;&s;es &s;hall lye down in the Wilderne&s;s;</HI> and &s;o in 1 <HI>Samuel</HI> 2.30. and Chapt. 3.13. See what cour&s;e the Lord will take with the Hou&s;e of <HI>Eli, Wherefore I the Lord God of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>I &s;aid indeed, that thy Hou&s;e, and the Hou&s;e of thy Father &s;hould walk before me for ever:</HI> But now the Lord &s;aith, <HI>be it far from me: for them that honour me, I will honour; and they that de&s;pi&s;e me, &s;hall be lightly e&s;teemed,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Why, then it &s;eems the Lord is not &s;o faithful in his Word: for &s;ometimes the
<PB N="74" REF="44"> Lord doth not make good his Pro|mi&s;es. <HI>How then is he true and faithful in what he doth?</HI> tho' this is not the bu&s;ine&s;s I principally intend; yet for an&s;wer, in a word:</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The Promi&s;es that God makes unto particular per&s;ons or people, e&s;pecially unto Temporal good things and Ble&s;&s;ings, they are made conditionally, <HI>viz. If they don't walk &s;o and &s;o: Or if they don't repent.</HI> As now for example, That threatning made to <HI>Niniveh;</HI> it's &s;aid, <HI>ex|cept Niniveh doth return,</HI> that is the meaning of it; Tho' its not always expre&s;t, yet it's al|ways implied, That if they do not repent, they &s;hall dye, or they &s;hall be de&s;troyed. So now, God promi&s;ed the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> they &s;hould have the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> that is conditionally, to take heed how they walk before him, and commit no Idolatry; but now they con|tinuing in Idolatry, the Lord fails them; why? becau&s;e they did not walk uprightly before him, but &s;inned again&s;t him with their Idola|try. And al&s;o his Promi&s;e is, if they did put a difference between the precious and the vile, then I would do &s;o and &s;o; But now thou ha&s;t done &s;o and &s;o; and tho' I have &s;aid &s;o, be|cau&s;e you have not done &s;o and &s;o, you &s;hall not enjoy the mercies I have promi&s;ed. They are not always performed, becau&s;e they are conditional; but God is true and faithful in what he promi&s;es.</P>
<P><HI>But what are we to under&s;tand of the &s;etting to the Seal? What is this &s;ame &s;etting of the &s;eal to it, that God is true?</HI></P>
<PB N="75" REF="44">
<P>Breifly, It &s;ignifies thus much, namely, a bringing, or giving a &s;trong Witne&s;s that God is True; for the &s;etting to the Seal, is not on|ly a promi&s;e by word &s;ub&s;cribing, but al&s;o by &s;etting of the Seal to thing. See <HI>Ni|hemiah</HI> 9. la&s;t Ver&s;e. <HI>E&s;ther.</HI> 8.8. The King is making impre&s;&s;ion with his Seal upon the writing, for the enlargement of the <HI>Jews,</HI> and it's &s;aid, the Kings Seal no man may pluck off. You know it is ordinary, the Sealing to a thing is the confirming of a thing: Circumci&s;ion was as a Sign or Seal of &s;trong Confirmation, that Righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;hould be had in a way of faith and beleiving: And &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Are not you the Seal of my Apo&s;tle&s;hip?</HI> That is, yea are my Witne&s;s and &s;trong Te&s;timony, to evi|dence and clear, that I am an Apo&s;tle &s;ent of God, becau&s;e of the effects of that Mini&s;try you &s;ee and find by me. And &s;o in another place, <HI>The Lord knoweth them that are his, having this Seal, that every one that Na|meth the name of Chri&s;t &s;hould depart from ini|quity.</HI> Here is a double Seal, here is the Seal of Gods election, chu&s;ing from Eternity, <HI>the Lord knows who are his;</HI> but al&s;o more &s;ecret, <HI>Let him that receiveth the name of Chri&s;t depart from iniquity.</HI> But how is this an evi|dent demon&s;tration that God is true? why thus, in receiving of the Te&s;timony of God, there's a &s;trong evidence that God is True.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, In that he doth now deny him&s;elf; every Man and Woman that doth receive Chri&s;t by Faith, doth deny them&s;elves; all a
<PB N="76" REF="45"> mans own Righteou&s;ne&s;s, his own Services, or performances: He doth not look ever to be accepted of the Lord for any thing that he doth or can do: not that he neglects Duty, and Services, and performances; but when he hath done all, yet all his hopes and expectations for any thing of what&s;oever he hath done, he de|&s;ires nothing but acceptance in Chri&s;ts Righ|teou&s;ne&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">: <HI>for if a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> man will come after me,</HI> &s;aith Chri&s;t, <HI>he mu&s;t deny him&s;elf and follow me.</HI> He mu&s;t renounce all, look for no accep|tance with God for all that ever he &s;uffers, or can &s;uffer for the Name of God: The Soul will deny all, deny it &s;elf, its own Liberty, its name and credit, its Life and all. Again,</P>
<P>Secondly, A man that doth receive the Te&s;ti|mony of Chri&s;t, as he doth deny all, &s;o now he doth give up him&s;elf, and lay the weight of his eternal condition upon Chri&s;t. Says the Apo&s;tle, <HI>I know in whom I have believed: and I am per&s;waded; and know that he is &s;ufficient to keep what&s;oever is needful for me. I have ventur|ed my eternity for it, and upon it, and my Soul mu&s;t &s;ink if Chri&s;t don't take care of me, and &s;ave me for ever.</HI> He renounces all his own righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, and lays the weight of his Soul upon Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Thirdly, A man that doth receive the Te&s;ti|mony of Chri&s;t, hath &s;et to his Seal, that God is true. He did &s;et to his Seal that Chri&s;t is true, but how doth he &s;et to his Seal that God is true? yes, for he whom God hath &s;ent, &s;peak|eth the word unto you; Chri&s;t is &s;ent of God,
<PB N="77" REF="45"> and he &s;peaks nothing but what he had from God. Briefly by way of Application:</P>
<P>U&s;e. 1. If God be a God of Truth, it doth concern every one of us to endeavour to be like unto God. God is a God of Truth, and what he &s;peaks is Truth. God is a God of Truth that cannot lye, it's impo&s;&s;ible for God to Lye.</P>
<P>U&s;e 2. It's a word of encouragement to every one of us this day that are before the Lord, to receive the Te&s;timony that God gives us, to beleive what Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth &s;peak, becau&s;e what he &s;peaks is the Word of the Fa|ther, the Word of the God of Truth, and is that whereby you do exceedingly Honour and Glorify God. It's &s;aid of <HI>Abraham,</HI> He belie|ved, and gave glory unto God. Who is there that would not &s;ay, he is willing to glorify God, Honour him; you would be willing to te&s;tifie to this truth, that God is truth; and if you had a Hundred Seals, or if it were to &s;et a Thou&s;and &s;eals to it that God is Truth, you would do it. O receive the Go&s;pel in its ten|ders, you that have not yet received it, and lay the weight of your Souls, your everla&s;t|ing hopes, upon Chri&s;t and his Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and expect Salvation, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and Life, meerly for that the Lord hath called you hereunto; and here is encouragement, becau&s;e you cannot Honour and Glorifie God more than in believing.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="4" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="78" REF="46">
<HEAD>SERMON IV.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Hebrews XI. 6. The beginning of the</HI> Ver&s;e.</BIBL>
<P>But without Faith it is Impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e him.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>HAving &s;poken &s;omewhat largely concer|ning the Doctrine of Faith, from another Scripture, I &s;hall de&s;ire a little to go on to back it. And Oh that the Lord would back it by his Spirit; and therefore I have cho&s;en this portion of Scripture.</P>
<P>Briefly a little for the Coherence.</P>
<P>The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> (for mo&s;t probably he was the Pen-man of this Epi&s;tle) having in the former Chapter exhorted the&s;e <HI>Jews,</HI> or <HI>Hebrews,</HI> to whom he wrote, to per&s;evere, and to be con&s;tant in the Faith, taking an Ar|gument from the danger of the contrary, in the latter end of the Chapter, <HI>If any man draw back, or do not per&s;evere, my Soul &s;hall have no plea&s;ure in him.</HI> Now I &s;ay, having exhorted them to per&s;evere in the Faith, both in the Doctrine of Faith, and in the Grace of
<PB N="79" REF="46"> Faith, he comes in this Chapter to commend the Grace of Faith to them. And that,</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, By laying down a de&s;cription of it; for &s;ays he, <HI>This grace of Faith doth make tho&s;e things that are ab&s;ent (whether pa&s;t or future) as if they were pre&s;ent; if we look by faith back upon the creation of the World, and &s;ee how the World was made out of nothing, Faith will help us to look upon it as pre&s;ent; and &s;o we may look upon tho&s;e things that are to come; and faith is the &s;ub|&s;tance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not &s;een, whether pa&s;t or to come.</HI></P>
<P>But then, Secondly, he commends Faith by the excellent effects of it, that have been found in the Faithful in all Ages, from the beginning of the World until the coming of Chri&s;t; for if you ob&s;erve it, look upon the Chapter, and you will find that he gives in&s;tances and exam|ples, both of tho&s;e faithful that were before the Flood, and al&s;o of &s;uch as were after the Flood, to the giving of the Law; and then al&s;o of tho&s;e faithful ones that lived after the Law until the Capivity; and then of tho&s;e that lived after the Captivity until the coming of Chri&s;t: all the&s;e he in&s;tances in this Chapter. Now fir&s;t, for the&s;e Faithful ones that lived be|fore the Flood, and the effects of Faith in them; here he does lay down and mention three examples e&s;pecially:</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, He does in&s;tance in the example of <HI>A|bel,</HI> and of the effects of Faith in him.</P>
<P>Secondly, He doth in&s;tance al&s;o in faithful <HI>E|noch,</HI> and the Effects of his Faith.</P>
<PB N="80" REF="47">
<P>And Thirdly, The example of <HI>Noah,</HI> and the effects of his Faith. And what was the ge|neral effect of their Faith? Why, the great and General effect of all their Faith was, that by their Faith they plea&s;ed God. Says he, fir&s;t for <HI>A|bel,</HI> at the 4th Ver&s;e, <HI>Abel he offered up a Sacri|fice by Faith that plea&s;ed God;</HI> by Faith <HI>Abel</HI> of|fered unto God a more excellent &s;acrifice than <HI>Cain,</HI> or a more plea&s;ing Sacrifice than <HI>Cain;</HI> it was by Faith that his offering was plea&s;ing unto God. And again, he in&s;tances in <HI>Enoch, By Faith Enoch walked with God; and plea&s;ed God:</HI> for &s;o he &s;ays expre&s;ly at the latter end of the 5th <HI>Ver&s;e,</HI> that he had this Te&s;timony, <HI>that he plea&s;ed God.</HI> And then for <HI>Noah,</HI> he al&s;o by his Faith plea&s;ed God. How does that appear? why, he found Grace and Favour with God; God in&s;tructed him to build an Ark, whereby he and his Family might be pre&s;erved in the time of the General Flood. He found Fa|vour with God, and that was by Faith; for &s;o the Apo&s;tle expre&s;&s;es it, <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 7. <HI>By faith No|ah being warned of God of things not &s;een, as yet moved with fear prepared an Ark,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>But now this Scripture that I have read unto you, it is from the commendation of the Faith of <HI>Enoch, Enoch by Faith he plea&s;ed God;</HI> for &s;o &s;aies the Apo&s;tle at the latter end of the 5. <HI>Ver&s;e,</HI> ju&s;t before the Text, <HI>before his tran&s;la|tion he had this Te&s;timony, that he plea&s;ed God.</HI> He had this Te&s;timony, where had he this Te&s;ti|mony? And where &s;hall we find this Te&s;timo|ny concerning <HI>Enoch?</HI> The place to which the
<PB N="81" REF="47"> Apo&s;tle does here refer and relate to, is that in the 5 of <HI>Gene&s;is,</HI> the 22, 23, 24. Ver&s;es. If you con&s;ult the place, you will find never a word &s;poken that <HI>Enoch</HI> plea&s;ed God, not ex|pre&s;ly; it is &s;aid <HI>Enoch walked with God, after he begat Methu&s;alah, three Hundred Years, and be|gat Sons and Daughters: and all the days of E|noch were three hundred Sixty and Five Years; and Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.</HI> Where is here any word expre&s;&s;ed that <HI>Enoch</HI> plea&s;ed God? Yet &s;aies the Apo&s;tle in this place, <HI>He had this Te&s;timony, that he plea&s;ed God?</HI> why, it mu&s;t be in this place or no where; there|fore it is no where expre&s;ly &s;aid that he plea&s;ed God. How then could the Apo&s;tle &s;ay here, that <HI>he had a Te&s;timony that he plea&s;ed God?</HI> For an&s;wer, though it be not &s;aid in expre&s;s terms that <HI>Enoch</HI> plea&s;ed God, yet here is that &s;poken for the &s;ub&s;tance of it, that is equivolent to it; for in that it is &s;aid, <HI>He walked with God,</HI> it holds forth that he plea&s;ed God; for can two walk together if they be not agreed, if they be not plea&s;ing one to ano|ther? can <HI>Enoch</HI> walk with God, if God was not plea&s;ed with him? the very expre&s;&s;ing of it again and again, that <HI>Enoch walked with God,</HI> it holds forth this Te&s;timony, that <HI>Enoch</HI> plea&s;|ed God. And again, the Lords taking of him to him&s;elf, in a more than ordinary way and manner, is a plain Te&s;timony that he plea&s;ed God. Now &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>He had this Te&s;timo|ny before his Tran&s;lation, that he plea&s;ed God; he walked with God, and God took him.</HI> Here
<PB N="82" REF="48"> was a plain Te&s;timony that he plea&s;ed God: Now this was by Faith, that <HI>Enoch</HI> plea&s;ed God; &s;o the Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>By faith Enoch was tran|&s;lated that he &s;hould not &s;ee Death;</HI> and <HI>He had this Te&s;timony, that he plea&s;ed God.</HI> And &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>This Faith is that whereby a Soul comes to plea&s;e God;</HI> and not only &s;o, <HI>but is that where|by God is only plea&s;ed; by Faith only God is plea&s;|ed with a per&s;on, and without Faith it is impo&s;&s;i|ble to plea&s;e God.</HI> The Apo&s;tle does not &s;ay here, that no man ever did yet plea&s;e God without Faith; he does not only &s;ay, that no man a|live does plea&s;e God without Faith, nor no man that ever &s;hall live in the World &s;hall plea&s;e God without Faith; no, but he &s;peaks a greater word, <HI>It is impo&s;&s;ible that ever any man or Woman in the World &s;hould plea&s;e God without Faith; without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e him.</HI></P>
<P>The words are a plain Propo&s;ition, and I &s;hall take them as the Apo&s;tle lays them down: Namely,</P>
<P><HI>Doctrine,</HI> That <HI>it is impo&s;&s;ible for any Man or Woman ever to plea&s;e God without Faith.</HI></P>
<P>It does imply, indeed, that by Faith a Man or Woman does come to plea&s;e God; for when he &s;aies, <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God,</HI> he does imply, that by Faith a man or Woman does plea&s;e him; but it is only by Faith that a Man or Woman can plea&s;e God.</P>
<P>Friends, this point may be of greater con|cernment than po&s;&s;ibly &s;ome of you are aware
<PB N="83" REF="48"> of; hereby the general mi&s;take of many (if not of mo&s;t) Chri&s;tians, may be di&s;covered, many, and the generality of Chri&s;tians are ready to think that they plea&s;e God with the performance of their Duties day by day; they call upon the Name of God, and they are frequently attending upon the Word of God; and they do de&s;ire al&s;o to live uprightly, and to walk con&s;cienciou&s;ly in their callings, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And this is the way whereby they think to plea&s;e God: I do not &s;peak again&s;t the&s;e things; but I &s;ay, if this be the way to plea&s;e God, then why doth the Apo&s;tle &s;ay here, that <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e him?</HI> then it is not po&s;|&s;ible by my Prayers, nor by all the Duties and Services that I can perform, nor by all my up|right and clo&s;e walking in my conver&s;ation; no &s;aies he, <HI>when you have done all you can, if you fall &s;hort of this Faith, you cannot plea&s;e God; with|out Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e him.</HI> Hereby, I &s;ay, Chri&s;tians may &s;ee their general mi&s;take whereby they may be mi&s;taken, and it is about a matter of very great concernment, about plea&s;ing or di&s;plea&s;ing God; and again, it is of concernment al&s;o to direct us and &s;et us in a right way, whereby we may come to plea&s;e God indeed; well then, to enter upon the point (through the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance) I &s;hall de&s;ire for the pro&s;ecution of it, to &s;peak to the&s;e four or five particulars:</P>
<P N="1">1. To &s;hew you what it is that the Apo&s;tle here means by plea&s;ing God, when he &s;aies, that without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="84" REF="49">2. That this plea&s;ing of God is a matter of very great concernment, that the Apo&s;tle in|timates, when he &s;peaks of it &s;o as he does, that it is a mo&s;t de&s;irable thing for a Man or Woman to plea&s;e God.</P>
<P N="3">3. What is that Faith without which it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God, and by which a man or woman doth come to plea&s;e God? That is worth the inquiring after.</P>
<P N="4">4. Shew you, that by Faith (though a Man or Woman may have many failings) yet by Faith, he comes to plea&s;e God.</P>
<P N="5">5. And La&s;tly, To &s;hew you, That <HI>without Faith it is utterly impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God;</HI> whatever Man or Woman doth in this world be&s;ides, yet if he fall &s;hort of this Faith he cannot plea&s;e God.</P>
<P N="1">1&s;t. Then, <HI>What is this &s;ame plea&s;ing of God that the Apo&s;tle here &s;peaks of?</HI></P>
<P>I An&s;wer, By plea&s;ing of God, we are not to under&s;tand meerly God's approving a thing; God doth approve of the Creatures that he hath made, and approves of them for good; the Creatures that came out of Gods hand, for the &s;ub&s;tance of them, they are good; when God had made the World, he looked back and did review all the creatures that he had made, and he did declare and pronounce that they were all very good; this is an appro|bation of the creatures that he had made: but this is not &s;uch a plea&s;ing of God as the Apo|&s;tle here &s;peaks of; the &s;ub&s;tance of all the creatures in them&s;elves are good, the very De|vils
<PB N="85" REF="49"> in the &s;ub&s;tance of them are good in them|&s;elves. And again, the actions and works that Men and Women do, they may &s;ometimes be good for the &s;ub&s;tance of them, and yet notwith|&s;tanding God may not be plea&s;ed with them. <HI>He hath &s;hewed thee, Oh man (Micah</HI> 6.8.) <HI>what is good, to do ju&s;tly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.</HI> The &s;ub&s;tance of tho&s;e Actions, God doth approve of them, and yet notwith&s;tanding for the manner of doing them, God may not be plea&s;ed. Well, then po|&s;itively,</P>
<P>You will &s;ay, What is this &s;ame plea&s;ing of God by what we do? or when may God be &s;aid to be plea&s;ed with the things that a Man or Woman doth? Namely, in &s;hort, for I mu&s;t not inlarge; When as the Lord hath a Gracious re&s;pect unto the things that a per&s;on doth, when he have a gracious re&s;pect to his Duties and Services, and al&s;o doth graciou&s;ly accept of them, and take a kind of complacency and de|light in them, then is he well plea&s;ed with them. As now for example, you read of <HI>A|bel</HI> in <HI>Gene&s;is</HI> 4.4, 5. He went and offered a Sa|crifie unto God, and &s;o did <HI>Cain</HI> too; but &s;aies the Holy-Gho&s;t, <HI>The Lord had re&s;pect to Abel and to his Offering, but he had no re&s;pect to Cain and to his Offering.</HI> God &s;aw what <HI>Cain</HI> did too, in offering, and the offering might be good and acceptable in it &s;elf, but being offer|ed up by <HI>Cain,</HI> God had not re&s;pect to <HI>Cain</HI> nor to his offering; he did not accept of it as performed and done by him; &s;o when God
<PB N="86" REF="50"> hath not only a gracious re&s;pect to the duties and &s;ervices a man per&s;orms, but does graciou&s;|ly accept of them, with a kind of complacency, he &s;mells a &s;weet &s;avour in them, then he is plea&s;ed with them: As it it is &s;aid concerning <HI>Noah</HI>'s Offering, in <HI>Gene&s;is</HI> 7.21. <HI>Noah,</HI> after he came out of the Ark, he offered a Sacrifice to God of the clean Bea&s;ts that he had in the Ark with him; and its &s;aid, God &s;melled a &s;weet &s;avour of re&s;t in his No&s;trils from that Sacrifice; God had not only a gracious re&s;pect to it, and looked with a gracious a&s;pect upon it, but God did take a kind of delight, and &s;avour, and reli&s;h in it; as a man doth de|light in that he &s;mells a &s;weet &s;avour in; it is &s;aid, the Lord &s;mell'd a &s;weet &s;avour of Re&s;t, a &s;weet &s;mell came up into his No&s;trils from <HI>Noah</HI>'s &s;acrifice; The Truth is (Brethren) a Man or Woman may &s;ometimes do tho&s;e very things that God requires, (I pray mark it) I &s;ay, a Man or Woman may perform tho&s;e very duties that God requires, and yet God may not &s;mell a &s;weet &s;avour in them, take no delight nor complacency in them, nor have no re&s;pect to them: As now for example, you know the Lord anointed <HI>Jehu</HI> to be King over <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> 2 <HI>Kings</HI> 9. You &s;hall find when the Lord anointed him by his Prophet, it was for this very end and purpo&s;e, that he &s;hould go and De&s;troy all the Hou&s;e of <HI>Ahab,</HI> and cut them all off; well, <HI>Jehu</HI> went and performed the work; one would think this was plea&s;ing to God<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, for he did the very thing that God
<PB N="87" REF="50"> required; and yet I pray look into <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 1.4. You &s;hall &s;ee what a Te&s;timony the Holy Gho&s;t gives of <HI>Jehu</HI> concerning the Work he did, <HI>And the Lord &s;aid unto the Prophet, call his Name Jezreel: for yet a little while, and I will avenge the Blood of Jezreel upon the Hou&s;e of Jehu, &amp;c.</HI> I will be avenged, &s;aies God, for that Blood; why, did not <HI>Jehu</HI> do that which God did expre&s;ly require of him, in cutting off the Hou&s;e of <HI>Ahab?</HI> And yet &s;aies the Lord, I will be avenged for that Murder that <HI>Jehu</HI> Committed. Why &s;o? Truly <HI>Jehu</HI> did not do it in that manner that was plea&s;ing unto God, for <HI>Jehu</HI> had his own ends in what he did; he made account of cutting off the Hou&s;e of <HI>Ahab,</HI> that his own Kingdom might be better e&s;ta|bli&s;hed, and therefore he &s;till maintained the Calves that <HI>Jeroboam</HI> had &s;et up; and there|fore &s;aith the Lord, <HI>I will avenge the Blood of Jezreel upon the Hou&s;e of Jehu.</HI> And &s;aies the Lord, in <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 1.13, 14. When he &s;peaks concerning the Sacrifices, Offerings, and Ser|vices which he him&s;elf had apppointed, <HI>Bring no more vain Oblations; Incen&s;e is an Abomina|tion to me; your new Mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">is and Sabbaths, and &s;olemn A&s;&s;emblies I cannot away with.</HI> Why, had not God expre&s;ly appointed the&s;e things? yes; yet &s;aies God, <HI>Your new Moons and ap|pointed Fea&s;ts my Soul hateth, they are a trouble to me, I am weary to bear them; and when you &s;pread forth your hands, &s;aies God, I will hide my Eyes; and when you make many prayers, I will not hear you.</HI> Why, were not the&s;e the things that God
<PB N="88" REF="51"> had required and commanded? yet you &s;ee God was not plea&s;ed with them; but now when the Lord doth look with a gracious re&s;pect upon a mans Services and performances, and al&s;o doth graciou&s;ly accept them with complacency and delight, this is now to plea&s;e the Lord by what we do. Well, this is the fir&s;t thing; you &s;ee what is meant by plea&s;ing of God.</P>
<P N="2">2. Now then to come to the &s;econd, That this plea&s;ing of God is a very de&s;irable thing; it is of great concernment for a Man or Woman to plea&s;e God.</P>
<P>What can a man or woman de&s;ire to do more in this World, than to plea&s;e God? this indeed is implyed here in the Text, he &s;peaks of it as a thing very de&s;irable, <HI>Without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> To do that which is &s;o de&s;irable; if it were not de&s;irable, what &s;hould a man or woman need to care whether he plea&s;e God or no? but the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of it as a great thing, <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> Brethren, when a man or woman doth perform a Duty or Service, when he hath done it, if he do not plea&s;e God in it, this is matter of very great &s;adne&s;s to &s;uch a Soul, or it &s;hould be &s;o; you know how <HI>Cain</HI> took it, he brought an Offering, <HI>Gene&s;is</HI> 4. of the fruits of the Ground, unto God, but God was not plea&s;ed with it; <HI>God had re&s;pect to Abel, and to his Offering; but to Cain and his Offering God had not re&s;pect.</HI> Well how did <HI>Cain</HI> take it? He was not able to bear it, his counte|nance
<PB N="89" REF="51"> fell: Gods accepting of <HI>Abels</HI> offering and not <HI>Cains,</HI> it went to the Heart of him, his Countenance fell, and thereupon he grew ma|licious again&s;t his Brother, and at la&s;t he &s;lew him; it was &s;uch a dreadful thing to him, that God &s;hould not accept of his Sacrifice as well as his Brothers. And you &s;hall &s;ee King <HI>Saul,</HI> though but a wicked man, yet when God did refu&s;e to hear his Prayers, and was not plea|&s;ed with them, &s;aies he, <HI>I am &s;ore di&s;tre&s;&s;ed,</HI> in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 28.15. And he goes to a Witch, who rai&s;ed up (as he thought) <HI>Samuel</HI> to him, and <HI>Saul</HI> an&s;wered, <HI>I am &s;orely di&s;tre&s;&s;ed, the Phili|&s;tines make War again&s;t me, and God is departed from me; and he an&s;wereth me no more, neither by Prophets, nor by Dreams,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>I am &s;orely di|&s;tre&s;&s;ed.</HI> And Brethren, what is that which the people of God do &s;o much de&s;ire in this world, that they are Ambitious of it, as the main thing of their de&s;ire in the World? It is, that they may plea&s;e God, &s;ee the A|po&s;tles expre&s;&s;ion, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.9. <HI>Wherefore we Labour,</HI> &s;aies he, the word &s;ignifies we are Am|bitious, it is an emphatical word, we de&s;ire ambitiou&s;ly, we do earne&s;tly endeavour, as an ambitious man doth after Honour; <HI>where|fore we Labour:</HI> But the word is a &s;tronger word, we labour with might and main, we make it our very ambition that we may be accepted of him, or that we may plea&s;e God; it is the highe&s;t degree of the de&s;ire of our Souls, we are ambitious for that, that we may plea&s;e God, and that God may be plea&s;ed with us, and accept of our &s;ervices.</P>
<PB N="90" REF="52">
<P>But more particularly, to &s;hew you in &s;ome particulars what a de&s;irable thing it is to be found plea&s;ing of God; and to have our &s;ervices accepted of him. As</P>
<P N="1">1. Is it not a de&s;irable thing for a Man or Woman to be reconciled to God, and to have God reconciled to them, and &s;o to have peace with God? Now, when God comes to ac|cept of a mans duties and &s;ervices, it is an Argument that God is reconciled to him, and at peace with him; for before reconciliation, every Man and Woman in the World is an enemy un|to God. Now, if any one &s;hould come and offer Service to you, and you know he hath enmity in his mind again&s;t you, you will not ac|cept of any thing he does, though he pretend never &s;o fairly. Now when God comes really to accept of a Mans &s;ervices and performan|ces, it is an Argument God is at peace with him, and is not that a mo&s;t de&s;irabe thing?</P>
<P N="2">2. Is it not a de&s;irable thing for a man or woman to have libetty to make u&s;e of the creatures that God gives him, with joyfulne&s;s of Heart, that he may rejoice in what he doth make u&s;e of, and partake of? Now, when a Man or Woman comes to know that his Servi|ces are accepted of God, and that he hath plea&s;ed God in what he hath done, truly then he may go his way, as I remember <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;peaks to that purpo&s;e, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 9.7. <HI>Go thy way, eat thy Bread with joy, and Drink thy drink with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy Work, God is plea&s;ed with what you do.</HI> Ay, now you
<PB N="91" REF="52"> have cau&s;e to go and rejoyce in what you do enjoy, now you may go and eat and drink with gladne&s;s, with a merry heart; it's true, the men of the World can be jovial in their Cups, eating and drinking, and carou&s;ing, and none &s;eem to be &s;o merry and jovial as they are, but they have no cau&s;e for it; it is ju&s;t like a Condemned per&s;on, that may be jovial, and eat|ing and drinking, and he know not how &s;oon he may be called to Execution, this is the ca&s;e of every Man and Woman in the World, if God do not accept of their Works: But now &s;aies <HI>Solomon, Go thy way, eat thy Bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Is it not a de&s;irable thing to have the Creatures ready to be &s;erviceable and officious to a man or woman? that there is never a Crea|ture in the World but is ready to be Officious and Serviceable to him; though po&s;&s;iby they may &s;eem to be aver&s;e, and contrary, and cro&s;s to him, yet they are all Serviceable and Officious to him; to have every thing turn to good to a Man or Woman, whatever any Creature do to him, it turns all to his good, though the Creature may intend otherwi&s;e. The wicked men may intend to per&s;ecute, and per&s;ecute them as Enemies, but when a man or woman plea&s;e God, and his ways plea&s;e God, all his Enemies &s;hall be made his Friends, <HI>Proverbs</HI> 16.7. <HI>When a Mans ways plea&s;e the Lord, he maketh his Enemies to be at peace with him.</HI> They &s;hall be Friends to him, they
<PB N="92" REF="53"> &s;hall do Offices and &s;ervices of Friend&s;hip and kindne&s;s to him, though po&s;&s;ibly again&s;t their wills; all the creatures &s;hall be officious and &s;er|viceable to them, and they &s;hall not be able to do them any hurt: what a de&s;irable thing is this?</P>
<P N="4">4. Is it not a de&s;irable thing for a man or woman to have an audience of all their prayers in Heaven? for God to be ready to hear our reque&s;ts and petitions that we put up to him? is not this a de&s;irable thing? You will &s;ay, Oh that I were but &s;ure that God did but hear any one Prayer that ever I made, what a de&s;irable thing is this! now tho&s;e who&s;e ways are plea&s;ing to the Lord God, do hear their prayers, <HI>They have acce&s;s to the Throne of Grace with boldne&s;s, to find grace and mercy to help in the time of need, Heb.</HI> 4.16. and mark the Apo|&s;tles expre&s;&s;ion, in 1 <HI>John</HI> 3.22. <HI>And what&s;oever we ask, we receive of him.</HI> Why &s;o? <HI>becau&s;e we keep his Commandments, and do tho&s;e things that are plea|&s;ing in his &s;ight.</HI> If we be &s;ure we do tho&s;e things that are plea&s;ing to God; Now, &s;aies the Apo|&s;tle, we know that what&s;oever we ask, we re|ceive of him, we have now an audience of our prayers and petitions in Heaven; Oh! what a de&s;irable thing is this!</P>
<P N="5">5. Is it not a de&s;irable thing for a man or woman to be a Favourite in the Court of Heaven? to be in &s;pecial favour with the King of Heaven? you count it no &s;mall matter to be a Favourite in the Kings Court, to be in fa|vour with the King; you count it a very de&s;ira|ble
<PB N="93" REF="53"> thing; Truly to be a favourite in the Court of Heaven is much more de&s;irable; to be in favour with the great King of kings; I tell you the favour of God in Heaven, is as Life to a mans Soul; <HI>David</HI> could &s;ay it, that knew it by experience, in <HI>P&s;alm.</HI> 30.5. <HI>In thy favour is Life;</HI> nay, he adds a greater word than that, in <HI>P&s;alm.</HI> 63.3. <HI>Thy loving kindne&s;s is better than life.</HI> There is nothing in the world to a Man better than life; but to know that a man or Woman is in favour with God, he hath that which is better than life. Brethren and Friends, there are but two great things that a Man or Woman &s;hould de&s;ire in this World, which are the general and comprehen&s;ive of all things to be de&s;ired; one is, to enjoy peace with God, and the favour of God here; and the other is to enjoy the favour, and &s;ee the face of God in Heaven hereafter: What can a man de&s;ire more than to be at peace with God, and have the favour of God whil&s;t he live, and then to know that he &s;hall &s;ee and enjoy the face and pre|&s;ence of God for ever in Glory? Here is as much as can be de&s;ired; and the&s;e two things we &s;hould look after: Now here is one of them, To know that God is well plea&s;ed with a poor Creature; now &s;uch a per&s;on is a Fa|vourite of Heaven, and he may be &s;ure of it; if he be in favour with God here, then he &s;hall &s;ee the face of God, and enjoy the pre&s;ence of God hereafter: That is the 5th.</P>
<P N="6">6. And La&s;tly, to add but that, Is it not a de&s;irable thing for a Man or Woman to be a|ble
<PB N="94" REF="54"> to look Death in the face with comfort, when Death comes to &s;tare him in the face? when he &s;hall have a &s;entence of Death pa&s;t upon him? What would you then de&s;ire above all the things in this World? what? not a great E&s;tate; not this and that that you can think of in the World; but Oh that I might have the Favour of God! and that I might know that God is well plea&s;ed with me, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Then a Man or Woman may look Death in the face, and may draw near to God with a ho|ly Boldne&s;s; as I remember <HI>Hezekiah,</HI> when he had the &s;entence of death upon him, in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 38.3. <HI>Lord,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>Remember how I have walked before thee in Truth, and with a perfect heart.</HI> He could appeal to God, that his ways were plea&s;ing to him, and now he could re|&s;ign up his Soul to him, though he was trou|bled that he had not fini&s;hed the Work that he had to do in the World; and &s;o he could have de&s;ired to live longer; and upon his prayer the Lord did rever&s;e the &s;entence of Death that was upon him; yet when he had the Sen|tence, &s;ee how he took it, <HI>Lord,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>re|member how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart;</HI> that is, the things that he had been doing, had been plea&s;ing to the Lord: So a Man or Woman who&s;e ways plea|&s;ed God whil&s;t he lived in the World, when he comes to die he may look Death in the face with comfort. What a de&s;irable thing then is it for a man or woman to plea&s;e God in what he doth? That is the Second thing propounded,
<PB N="95" REF="54"> That to plea&s;e God is a mo&s;t De&s;irable thing.</P>
<P N="3">3. But in the Third place, you will, &s;ay, what is that Faith whereby a man or woman comes to plea&s;e God?</P>
<P>Truly it is Faith that is the principle, and ground, and Foundation, whence a man, and his Works, and Services, and Performances come to be plea&s;ing to God. A Man or Woman may be diligent in the performance of Duties and Services, and yet God may not be plea|&s;ed with them: As for example, take two per|&s;ons that come and joyn together in prayer, they pray the &s;ame Prayer, or two Per&s;ons that give Alms, they perform the very &s;ame Duty, the one gives as much alms as the o|ther, and yet what the one doth may be ac|cepted with God, and plea&s;ing to him, and the other not; whence comes the difference? One doth it in Faith, and the other not. <HI>Abel</HI> and <HI>Cain</HI> brought their offerings to God, God had re&s;pect to <HI>Abel</HI> and his Offering, and God had not re&s;pect to <HI>Cain</HI> and his Offering; what was the ground of the difference? &s;aies the A|po&s;tle, <HI>By Faith Abel offered a more acceptable Sacrifice than Cain.</HI> Well, but what Faith is it then whereby a Soul, and his Duties, and Ser|vices come to be plea&s;ing unto God?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Brethren, do not mi&s;take your &s;elves, it is not that Faith whereby a man or Woman gives his con&s;ent to, and believes all that is written in the Scriptures, all that is revealed in the Go&s;pel concerning Chri&s;t; a man or
<PB N="96" REF="55"> woman may believe all this, and yet this is not the Faith whereby he comes to be accepted; as you know, the Devils believe all this, and yet are not accepted; So a man or Woman may believe all that is revealed in the Go&s;pel, and yet never plea&s;e God. But what Faith is it whereby a Man, and his Duties and perfor|mances come to plea&s;e God? and without which it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God? Briefly, there is a three-fold Faith required, for the accep|tance of a mans &s;ervices and performances with God, that God may be plea&s;ed with them. Mind it, I pray, for it is a thing of great concern|ment, and po&s;&s;ibly that which very few have con&s;idered.</P>
<P N="1">1&s;t, There is required &s;aving Faith in Chri&s;t, that which we call ju&s;tifying Faith; &s;uch a believing in Chri&s;t whereby a Soul comes to be in Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t in the Soul; whereby Chri&s;t becomes the life of the Soul, the very principle of Life in the Soul; a ju&s;tifying &s;a|ving Faith in the habit, the principle of Faith, the grace of Faith infu&s;ed into the heart, where|by a Soul comes really to be united to Chri&s;t, and have an Intere&s;t in him; to be in Chri&s;t, as you know the Scripture frequently &s;peaks; I &s;hall not &s;tand to give you Scriptures for that; you &s;ee, Brethren, here, how <HI>Abel</HI> and how <HI>Enoch</HI> came to plea&s;e God, it was by Faith. What Faith? It was this true Ju&s;tifying Faith, this Faith in Chri&s;t that was to come; for it was by their Faith in Chri&s;t that they came to be accepted, and their Offering was accep|ted
<PB N="97" REF="55"> and plea&s;ing unto God; by Faith <HI>Abel</HI> was accepted, and his Offering and Sacri|fice was accepted: <HI>Cain</HI> he offered his Sacri|fice, but it was not accepted, becau&s;e he had not this ju&s;tifying Faith. <HI>Enoch</HI> he plea&s;ed God, and whence was it? It was by his Faith; and &s;aies the Apo&s;tle thereupon, <HI>he had his Te&s;timo|ny that he plea&s;ed God;</HI> it was by his Faith, his ju&s;tifying Faith in Chri&s;t, whereby he came to be accepted; his per&s;on was accepted of God, and con&s;equently his &s;ervices came to be ac|cepted of God; a man or woman mu&s;t fir&s;t have a principle of Life, before he can live a Spiritual Life; now Chri&s;t is a Chri&s;tians life, and how comes Chri&s;t to be the Life of a Chri|&s;tian? Namely, by his Faith, when he comes to believe in Chri&s;t, then Chri&s;t is his Life, the principle of his life; the Spirit of Chri&s;t now is in the Soul: that is a plain word, which the Apo&s;tle hath, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.9. <HI>If any man have not the &s;pirit of Chri&s;t, he is none of his.</HI> And &s;aies Chri&s;t, in <HI>John</HI> 15.5. <HI>As the branch cannot bring forth Fruit of it &s;elf except it abide in the Vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. And without me</HI> (mark) <HI>without me ye can do nothing.</HI> No|thing that is plea&s;ing to God; the word <HI>with|out me,</HI> holds forth, not &s;o much without Strength from Chri&s;t, though that is true too; but the word &s;ignifies properly in the Original, without me, that is &s;eparated from me, not united to me; that is the word in the <HI>Greek,</HI> ju&s;t as when a Branch is cut off from the Vine, the Branch cannot bring forth Fruit without
<GAP DESC="missing" EXTENT="2 pages">
<PB N="100" REF="56"> <HI>ful di&s;putations; for one believeth that he may eat all things, another who is weak eateth Herbs, Let not him that eateth de&s;pi&s;e him that eateth not; and let not him that eateth not, judge him that eateth, for God hath received him.</HI> And again, at <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 5. <HI>One man e&s;teemeth one day above ano|ther, another e&s;teemeth every day alike.</HI> What then? Let every Man be fully per&s;waded in his own mind, if he do venture to eat any kind of Meats, let him be fully and clearly per|&s;waded in his own mind that he may do it, and then he eats in Faith; and if he do not ob&s;erve tho&s;e days, if he be fully per&s;waded in his own mind, then he doth it in Faith; in the two la&s;t <HI>Ver&s;es</HI> he calls this Faith. <HI>Ha&s;t thou Faith? Have it to thy &s;elf before God. Ha&s;t thou Faith?</HI> that is, ha&s;t thou a per&s;wa&s;ion that it is lawful for thee to eat any kind of meats, or it is Lawful for thee to forbear the Ob&s;er|vation of tho&s;e Days? <HI>Ha&s;t thou Faith? have it to thy &s;elf.</HI> But mark, <HI>Happy is he that condem|neth not him&s;elf in that thing that he alloweth, and he that doubteth is damned if he eat, becau&s;e he eateth not of Faith. He that doubteth,</HI> that is, he that que&s;tioneth whether it be lawful for him to eat this kind of meat or no; he that doubteth whether he &s;hall do well to ob&s;erve this day or no; <HI>He that doubteth is damned if he eat, becau&s;e he eateth not of Faith.</HI> That is, he is not fully per&s;waded in his own mind; for what&s;oever is not of Faith is Sin, what&s;oever is not of that per&s;wa&s;io<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> that it is according to the Will of God&punc; o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> not contra|ry
<PB N="101" REF="56"> to the Will of God, if he do it with|out that per&s;wa&s;ion, then it is not of Faith, and &s;o is a damnable &s;in; though the thing be Lawful in it &s;elf, yet if he doth the &s;ame thing doubtingly, it is a damnable &s;in that he com|mits; without this Faith, this per&s;wa&s;ion in his Mind, that what he doth is according to the Will of God: and this Faith is requi&s;ite to the plea&s;ing of God. So here in the in&s;tance before us in <HI>Abel,</HI> and al&s;o in <HI>Enoch; Abel</HI> plea&s;ed God by offering up a Sacrifice, he had this Faith, not only a Ju&s;tifying Faith, but he had this Faith, he was per&s;waded that what he did of|fer up in Sacrifice, was according to the Will of God; and &s;o <HI>Enoch</HI> he walked with God, and had this Te&s;timony, <HI>that he plea&s;ed God;</HI> that in the cour&s;e of his Li&s;e, the &s;teps of his Life was according to the Will of God; he walked with God; the actions that he did he was per|&s;waded was according to the Will of God, and thus he plea&s;ed God, and this is a Second Faith that is required to the plea&s;ing of God.</P>
<P N="3">3dly. There is another Faith that is required further to the plea&s;ing of God, without which, though I be a Believer, and have a ju&s;tifying Faith, and though I be per&s;waded that what I do is according to the Will of God, yet I may not plea&s;e God in what I do, except there be another Faith, which is this, Namely, an actual Exerci&s;e of the principle and habit of Faith in the Duties that we perform; all our Du|ties mu&s;t be done with an act of Faith; it is not &s;ufficient that a man or woman be a be|liever,
<PB N="102" REF="57"> and do go about this thing and that thing, and run away with this Notion, that he plea&s;es God in what he doth; but it is required that he mu&s;t actually exerci&s;e Faith in what he doth. As for example, for Prayer, a man or woman that is a believer goes to prayer, and he is per&s;waded in his con&s;cience that what he prays for is according to the Will of God, but this is not enough; but if his prayer plea&s;e God, he mu&s;t put forth a fre&s;h act of Faith in his Prayer; what he asks for he mu&s;t ask in Faith; <HI>What&s;oever ye &s;hall ask in Prayer,</HI> believing, &s;aies Chri&s;t, <HI>ye &s;hall receive,</HI> Tho' a man be a believer yet he mu&s;t believe &s;til and in <HI>Jam.</HI> 1.5, 6. <HI>If any man lack Wi&s;dom, let him ask it of God, &amp;c. But let him ask it in Faith;</HI> though he be a believer, yet let him ask in Faith, for if he ask without acting his Faith it is nothing, it is not plea&s;ing to God; he mu&s;t act Faith in his Prayer: and &s;o for hearing the Word, a believer comes to hear the Word, and what he hears he is per|&s;waded it is according to the Will of God; well, but is this enough? no, he mu&s;t act Faith in hear|ing the Word, or el&s;e it will be unprofitable to him; &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, in <HI>Hebrews</HI> 4.2. <HI>The word Preached did not profit them, not being mixt with Faith in them that heard it.</HI> There mu&s;t be an act of Faith in hearing the Word; we mu&s;t mix Faith in hearing the Word, we mu&s;t act Faith in all our duties &amp; performances. So far as we are wanting in acting &amp; exerci&s;ing of Faith in what we do (the Lord help us to mind the&s;e things) &s;o far forth our Services are defective
<PB N="103" REF="57"> in plea&s;ing of God; and &s;o I might in&s;tance in other things, as in giving of Alms, and other things; and &s;o, if you ob&s;erve it, <HI>Abel</HI> was not only a Believer, and had the Faith al&s;o of per|&s;wa&s;ion that what he did offer was according to the Will of God, ay, but <HI>Abel</HI> went further al&s;o, when he plea&s;ed God in his Sacrifices; in all his Sacrifices that he offered up, he did act Faith; and &s;o by his acting of Faith, being a believer, his Offerings and Sacrifices were ac|ceptable to God; and <HI>Enoch,</HI> our pre&s;ent ex|ample before us, he was a believer, and was per&s;waded that what he did was according to to the mind of God; but he walked with God, that is, he did act Faith in all his &s;ervices that he did, in the &s;teps of his Walking. He plea&s;ed God in his Walking, which mu&s;t be by Faith, by acting of Faith in his Duties and Services, and walking with God, by that means he came to plea&s;e God. It is not enough, Brethren, that I have a principle of Faith in me, that I do believe in Chri&s;t, and that what I do I am per&s;waded is according to the Will of God, this is not enough to plea&s;e God in the Duties and Services that I perform; but I mu&s;t exer|ci&s;e Faith in the duties and &s;ervices that God requires of me. Says the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> in <HI>Gal.</HI> 7.2, 20. <HI>I am crucified with Chri&s;t.</HI> How did he know that? &s;aies he, <HI>Chri&s;t lives in me:</HI> there was a principle of Life; and &s;aies he, <HI>the life that I live in the Fle&s;h, I live by the Faith of the Son of God. Paul</HI> had not only Chri&s;t in him as
<PB N="104" REF="58"> a principle of Life, but <HI>Paul</HI> did al&s;o act from that principle of Life; <HI>The Life that I now live in the Fle&s;h, I live by the Faith of the Son of God.</HI> As for example, a natural man that hath a Soul in his Body, hath a principle of natu|ral Life; but this is not enough; but now to every natural action of Life that he puts forth, there mu&s;t be an influence from that princi|ple of Life, or el&s;e he cannot act; &s;o though Chri&s;t be a principle of &s;piritual life in us, yet notwith&s;tanding a Man or Woman mu&s;t act &s;piritually, he mu&s;t derive Strength, and Ver|tue, and influence from Chri&s;t, to every duty and &s;ervice that he performs, to make it ac|ceptable to God; it is not el&s;e a Spiritual A|ction.</P>
<P>This is now the Faith that is required in e|very Man and Woman in the World that would plea&s;e God; and without this Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God. I pray mind it, though I cannot come to the Application now, yet remember it, and ob&s;erve it, po&s;&s;ibly you may think your &s;elves what may be reduced from it; I &s;ay, without this Faith it is impo|&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God: but now with this Faith, though our performances and &s;ervices be de|fective, yet we come to plea&s;e God in doing of them.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> You will &s;ay, how &s;hall we be &s;ure of that, that what&s;oever I do, being a belie|ver, and acting Faith in it; how may I be &s;ure
<PB N="105" REF="58"> that I plea&s;e God in what I do? po&s;&s;ibly here may be a great Temptation that &s;ome may be exerci&s;ed with; Whether may I venture up|on it, and be per&s;waded in my Soul that I plea&s;e God in what I do, acting and exerci&s;ing Faith in it? &s;hall I &s;peak briefly to that which is the 4th. thing propounded, Namely,</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 4th. That by Faith (though a Man or Woman have many failings) yet by Faith they do plea&s;e God, though it be impo&s;&s;ible without Faith to plea&s;e him. How doth this appear? briefly in three or four words:</P>
<P N="1">1. From the example of all the believers that ever have been in the World; all the faithful that have been in the World have plea|&s;ed God by their Faith; there was never any one Believer in the World that did act Faith, but did plea&s;e God in it; and if &s;o, then we may be confident of it, that it is a &s;ure and cer|tain thing, that by Faith we come to plea&s;e God. Look into the Catalogue of Believers, the Faithful in all Ages, read over the 11th of the <HI>Hebrews</HI> at your lea&s;ure, and you &s;hall &s;ee that all of them did plea&s;e God by their Faith. <HI>Abel</HI> he plea&s;ed God by his Faith, <HI>Enoch</HI> plea&s;ed God by Faith, and <HI>Noah</HI> plea&s;ed God by Faith, the&s;e were before the flood; after|ward <HI>Abraham</HI> by Faith plea&s;ed God, for he was the Friend of God; <HI>I&s;aac</HI> and <HI>Jacob</HI> were faithful, and they plea&s;ed God; they might have their failings, and infirmities, and weak|ne&s;&s;es, as <HI>Noah</HI> had, he was overtaken with drinking of Wine; and &s;o the re&s;t had their
<PB N="106" REF="59"> weakne&s;&s;es; but for all that, they plea&s;ed God by their Faith, God overlook't their in|firmities; and <HI>Abraham</HI> though he was a faith|ful Man, yet he had &s;ometimes a tang of un|belief; as when he went a great while with|out a Son; but yet God overlookt that, and he was plea&s;ed with <HI>Abraham</HI> &s;till. So by Faith <HI>Sarah</HI> conceived, it plea&s;ed God to give her conception when &s;he was 90 Years old; &s;he had her infirmities and weakne&s;&s;es, &s;he told a Lye in the hearing of the Angel; but yet for all that &s;he plea&s;ed God; and &s;o I might in|&s;tance in others <HI>David</HI> plea&s;ed God; by Faith; <HI>David</HI> had his failings, and did &s;ometimes di&s;plea&s;e God; but yet by his Faith he did plea&s;e God: And &s;o look upon all tho&s;e that have been believers, by their acting and exerci|&s;ing of of Faith, they have all of them come to plea&s;e God; and therefore we may take it up for a general conclu&s;ion, and may be confi|dent of it, that by Faith we &s;hall plea&s;e God.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Holy-Gho&s;t doth te&s;tifie in the Scrip|ture again and again, that a man or woman by Faith doth live; What Life? not a natural, but a Spiritual life. Now to live, is not only to have the life of Ju&s;tification, and the life of Sancti|fication; but to live, is to have the favour of God, to have God plea&s;ed with a per&s;on, that is to live; &s;aies <HI>Abraham</HI> to God in the 17th of <HI>Gene&s;is, Oh that I&s;hmael might live in thy Sight;</HI> what did he mean by that? what, that his Life might be lengthned out? No, but that he might find favour in thy Sight; and
<PB N="107" REF="59"> &s;aies the Prophet, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 30.5. <HI>In thy favour is life.</HI> And &s;o in <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 6.55. <HI>Hearken unto me, and your Soul &s;hall live;</HI> that is, you &s;hall plea&s;e God, and be accepted of God. Now then, this is frequent in Scripture, that all that are Believers do live: <HI>The ju&s;t &s;hall live by Faith,</HI> both the <HI>Old Te&s;tament</HI> and <HI>New-Te&s;tament</HI> bear witne&s;s to it; the &s;ame thing is in the <HI>Old-Te&s;tament, Habakkuk</HI> 2.4. and repeated again in the new, <HI>Hebrews</HI> 10.38. <HI>The ju&s;t &s;hall live by Faith;</HI> therefore it is out of doubt and Que&s;tion.</P>
<P N="3">3dly, By Faith a Soul comes to have the guilt of &s;in taken away; I pray, what is that where|by a Man or Woman doth di&s;plea&s;e God? Namely, by his Sin; guilt doth di&s;plea&s;e God. Now then, Faith is a means and in&s;trument to take away that which is di&s;plea&s;ing to God, to take away the guilt of Sin. In <HI>Acts</HI> 10.43. &s;aies <HI>Peter</HI> there to <HI>Cornelius, To him give all the Prophets witne&s;s, that through his name, who&s;oever beleiveth on him &s;hall receive remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins.</HI> And &s;o in Chapter 13.38, 39. <HI>Be it known unto you, therefore, men and Brethren, that through this man is preached unto you forgivene&s;s of &s;ins, and by him all that beleived are ju&s;tified from all things from which ye could not be ju&s;ti|fied by the Law of Mo&s;es.</HI> By believing on him, we come to receive remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins. And &s;o in <HI>Acts</HI> 26.18. <HI>That they might receive for|givene&s;s of &s;ins, and an inheritance among them which are &s;anctified through Faith which is in me.</HI> Now then, if &s;o be that all believers, all
<PB N="108" REF="60"> that have Faith in Chri&s;t, and do exerci&s;e their Faith in Chri&s;t, be ju&s;tified from the guilt of &s;in, then they are freed from all that makes them di&s;plea&s;ing to God; then by Faith they come to plea&s;e God, becau&s;e by Faith the guilt of &s;in is removed, which is the matter of Gods di&s;plea&s;ure.</P>
<P N="4">4thly and La&s;tly, to have done: By Faith a Man or Woman comes to plea&s;e God, be|cau&s;e by Faith, now, the very heart, which is a fountain of uncleanne&s;s, comes to be made clean; this is the only way to have our hearts purified and clean&s;ed: <HI>Purifying their hearts by Faith,</HI> &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Acts</HI> 15.9. &s;o in 1 <HI>Timothy</HI> 1.5. &s;aies the Apo&s;tle there, <HI>Out of a pure Heart, and a good Con&s;cience, and Faith unfeigned.</HI> Faith unfeigned is the means whereby the Con&s;cience and the Heart is pu|rified; and truly hence it is that believers are called clean; all that have Faith in Chri&s;t, and do exerci&s;e their Faith in Chri&s;t, they are all pure, and every thing is clean to them, <HI>Titus</HI> 1.15. <HI>To the pure all things are pure;</HI> Who doth he mean by pure? mark now by the contrary, <HI>But unto them that are defiled and unbelieving, is nothing pure, but their very con&s;cince is defiled.</HI> By Faith now, a mans heart comes to be pure, which is the Fountain of all his actions, all that he performs and does, it mu&s;t come from the Heart; if the heart be clean, if the Fountain be clean, then the water that flows from the Fountain is clean: &s;o now, the Heart being purified by Faith, now the Acti|ons
<PB N="109" REF="60"> come to be pure in the &s;ight of God, through Chri&s;t. <HI>To a believer every thing is pure,</HI> all that he meddles with and undertakes, if he doth act Faith in it, he plea&s;eth God: So now, you have &s;een the 4th thing opened, how we may be &s;ure that by Faith we come to plea&s;e God.</P>
<P>Now there is a further que&s;tion remaining, But may not a Man or Woman plea&s;e God without Faith, by doing the thing that God hath commanded? as now to pray, and perform duties, to walk uprightly, <HI>&amp;c?</HI> As the generali|ty of the World do think that this is the way and means to plea&s;e God. I do not deny but we &s;hould do tho&s;e things, and the things them&s;elves as to the &s;ub&s;tance of them, are plea&s;ing to God; but yet &s;till, <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> How that appears, fol|lows to be &s;poken to in the next place, and then come to the Application.</P>
<TRAILER>But thus much &s;hall &s;uffice for the pre&s;ent.</TRAILER>
<PB N="108" REF="61">
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<DIV1 N="5" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="110" REF="62">
<HEAD>SERMON V.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Hebrews XI. 6.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e Him.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>YOU have heard the dependance of the&s;e Words upon the foregoing; we came directly to open the Propo&s;ition as it lay be|fore us in the Words.</P>
<P><HI>Doct. That without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible for any Man or Woman alive ever to plea&s;e God.</HI> We have &s;hewn you fir&s;t what it is for a Man or Woman to plea&s;e God. Secondly, we have proved to you, that this plea&s;ing of God is a matter of very great concernment; it is a thing very de&s;irable for a Man or Woman to be found plea&s;ing God. And then in the third place, we came to enquire what Faith that is without which it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God. And then fourthly, we came to clear it up to you, that by Faith a Soul doth plea&s;e God. Thus far we have gone.</P>
<P N="5">5. Now we come in the fifth place to give
<PB N="111" REF="62"> you &s;ome demon&s;trations, to make it evident to you (if the Lord plea&s;e to &s;et in with it) that it is impo&s;&s;ible for any Man or Woman ever to plea&s;e God without Faith: It is not only &s;aid here, that without Faith a man hath not plea|&s;ed God, or without Faith no man ever &s;hall plea&s;e God, but he &s;peaks a greater word, <HI>with|out faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> This is &s;uch a thing, that it will hardly enter into the hearts of men and women to be per&s;waded of it. What! not plea&s;e God by doing what God requires! why, if I be diligent and faith|ful in my calling, doth not that plea&s;e God! if I perform the Duties that God requires doth not that plea&s;e God! if I give much in a way of charity, perform good works, and be given to Alms-deeds in relieving the poor Saints of Chri&s;t, is not this plea&s;ing unto God! if I &s;uffer for the Truths &s;ake, doth not this plea&s;e God! why, do but ob&s;erve and con&s;i|der what the Apo&s;tle here &s;aith, <HI>without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> And con&s;ider al&s;o what the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13.3. &s;ays he, <HI>Though I give all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, yet all is nothing without charity;</HI> without Love: and whence comes this Love, but from Faith? it is Faith that worketh Love. Now if the Apo&s;tle &s;ay, it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God without Faith, then certainly this is a Truth, whether we can believe it or no; it is a Truth notwith&s;tanding all that can be objected again&s;t it. It is im|po&s;&s;ible, mark the word, when he &s;aies impo&s;|&s;ible,
<PB N="112" REF="63"> he doth not mean, that it is a very hard and difficult thing, that which may come to pa&s;s with a great deal of difficulty, as &s;ometimes that is meant by impo&s;&s;ible in Scripture-phra&s;e, as in <HI>Mark</HI> 10.27. &s;ays Chri&s;t to them, <HI>With men it is impo&s;&s;ible.</HI> Impo&s;&s;ible, that is, very hard, very difficult; but now to plea&s;e God without Faith, is not only impo&s;&s;ible with &s;uch an im|po&s;&s;ibility, but it is impo&s;&s;ible &s;o as it oppo&s;es God in his determinate Coun&s;el, <HI>Without faith it is ab&s;olutely impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God:</HI> Such an impo&s;&s;ibility as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of in <HI>Heb.</HI> 6.4. <HI>For it is impo&s;&s;ible for tho&s;e who were once inlightned, and have ta&s;ted of the heavenly gift,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance:</HI> It is ab&s;olutely impo&s;&s;ible, it is be|yond Gods determination. So in <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.4. <HI>It is impo&s;&s;ible that the blood of Bulls and of Goats &s;hould take away &s;in:</HI> It is impo&s;&s;ible that all the blood of all the creatures under Heaven &s;hould take away the guilt of &s;in. So here, without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible for a man or wo|man to plea&s;e God, ab&s;olutely impo&s;&s;ible. Let me now give you two or three demon&s;trati|ons to make it evident and apparent in every mans Con&s;cience, I hope, through the a&s;&s;i&s;t|ance of the Spirit of God: And O that the Lord would per&s;wade us of the truth of this, That it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God without Faith.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Becau&s;e all that ever an unbelieving man or woman doth or can do, is all for &s;elf, and not for God; and is it po&s;&s;ible then to
<PB N="113" REF="63"> plea&s;e God, when he does nothing at all, not one thing for God, but all for &s;elf, every thing for &s;elf? every duty that he performs is all for &s;elf; every unbeliever is ju&s;t <HI>Judas</HI> like, in <HI>John</HI> 12.6. <HI>Judas</HI> was a Thief, and had the Bag, and bare what was put therein; he had Chri&s;ts Bag, and the Di&s;ciples Bag, ay, but he had another Bag of his own; &s;o every unbe|liever hath a Bag, he &s;eems to have a Bag for God and for Chri&s;t, but he hath a Bag for &s;elf, and he puts all into that Bag: He may &s;eem to do a great deal for God, he may pray much, and frequently and earne&s;tly; he may read the Word very much, and attend very often upon the Word Preached, he may be frequent in the ordinary duties of the Wor|&s;hip and Service of God, nay, let me &s;ay fur|ther, he may be taken up in extraordinary duties too, as Fa&s;ting, and Prayer, and the like, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">t &s;till all for &s;elf, and nothing at all for God. Look into <HI>Zach.</HI> 7.5, 6. &s;aith the Lord there, <HI>Speak unto all the people of the Land, and to the Prie&s;ts, &s;aying, when ye fa&s;ted and mourned in the fifth and &s;eventh month, even tho&s;e &s;eventy years, did ye at all fa&s;t unto me, even unto me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did ye not eat for your &s;elves, and drink for your &s;elves?</HI> All for &s;elf. Thus it is with every un|believer, whatever he doth he doth for &s;elf, he is compa&s;&s;ed about in the Circle of &s;elf, and cannot get a hairs breadth beyond it; and do you think that we can plea&s;e God in any duty or &s;ervice that we perform, when the
<PB N="114" REF="64"> Lord &s;ees and knows that we do all for &s;elf? do you think that God can accept of that Service? Make it your own ca&s;e, &s;uppo&s;e now you had a Servant, you give him Meat, and Drink, and Wages, and he Works, and La|bours, and Toyls, but all is for him&s;elf; now, though he labour and work, yet is it plea&s;ing to you? is it acceptable to you? Or &s;uppo&s;e you have a Factor, and you &s;end him to Trade for you, you tru&s;t him with your Stock, and he is diligent in his Trade, and fol|lows his bu&s;ine&s;s, but all his Trade is for him|&s;elf, would you accept of this? is this plea&s;ing to you? no, you will &s;ay, he is a very unfaith|ful wretched Servant, and you cannot be plea|&s;ed with him. Why, this is the very ca&s;e, God hath &s;ent us into the World to Trade for him, and to act for him, now all that ever we do whil&s;t we are in a &s;tate of unbelief, is for &s;elf; we do every thing for &s;elf; truly, until <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> Soul comes to believe on Chri&s;t, all that he doth is for him&s;elf, he cannot get out of the circle of &s;elf; but now, when a Soul comes to receive Chri&s;t by Faith, then he comes to act for Chri&s;t, and to deny &s;elf, never can de|ny him&s;elf before; as it was with the Apo|&s;tle <HI>Paul, Paul</HI> before his Conver&s;ion he did ve|ry much, but yet all was for &s;elf; he was very zealous for the Law, and he was very upright, but all was for &s;elf; but now when he comes to believe on Chri&s;t, &s;elf is laid a&s;ide, <HI>Now,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>I am nothing,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.11. <HI>Though I be nothing; Paul</HI> an Apo&s;tle, an emi|nent
<PB N="115" REF="64"> Saint of Chri&s;t, and yet he is nothing! <HI>Now,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>I am nothing, I can do nothing, I cannot pray, I know not how to pray, nor do no-nothing as I ought to do it; I cannot &s;o much as think a good thought,</HI> &s;aies he; now &s;elf is aba|&s;ed, &s;elf is put down; but now, mark, Chri&s;t is lifted up, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.10. <HI>I laboured more a|bundantly than they all, yet not I, but the Grace of God which was with me; not I, &s;aies he, but the grace of God with me, or in me;</HI> &s;o &s;aies he in <HI>Philip.</HI> 4.12, 13. <HI>I know how to abound, and how to want; I have learned in all &s;tates and conditions therewith to be content; I can do all things,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>through Chri&s;t that &s;trengthens me.</HI> Thus, when he comes to believe, he exalts Chri&s;t, and aba&s;es &s;elf; Faith is a &s;elf-emptying Grace, it makes the Soul to be little or nothing, and makes Chri&s;t to be all; it hath no &s;trength in its &s;elf, but doth all in the &s;trength of Chri&s;t; and till the Soul comes to believe on Chri&s;t, &s;elf is the cheif agent in all that he doth, and therefore now it is impo&s;&s;ible for a man or woman ever to plea&s;e God, by all that he can do, till he comes to believe. You know what is &s;aid in the parable of the Talents, in <HI>Matt.</HI> 25. He that had one Talent, and improved it not, but hid it, he came and brought his Talent; but did he plea&s;e his Lord with the Talent? He had not improved his Talent for his Lord; and &s;aies his Lord to him, <HI>Thou wicked and &s;loath|ful Servant, take away the Talent from him.</HI> Now what would his Lord have &s;aid to him if he had improved it for him&s;elf? he did not
<PB N="116" REF="65"> improve it for his Lord nor for him&s;elf neither, and was this di&s;plea&s;ing to his Lord? how much more di&s;plea&s;ing would it have been if he had improved it for him&s;elf? Certainly, whatever a man or woman doth, if he do it not for God, but for him&s;elf, he cannot plea&s;e God in it: Then a man cannot plea&s;e God without Faith, becau&s;e without Faith he cannot go beyond &s;elf. <HI>Ephraim is an empty Vine, he bringeth forth Fruit to him&s;elf, Ho|&s;ea</HI> 10.1. And &s;o God &s;peaks of every unbe|liever, &s;uch a man or woman is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit to him&s;elf; he doth not, he cannot plea&s;e God in any thing that he doth; This is the fir&s;t demon&s;tration.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly, Without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God;</HI> becau&s;e till a man or womans per&s;on be accepted and plea&s;ing to God, all that ever he doth cannot plea&s;e God; and that cannot be without Faith. It is &s;aid in <HI>Gene&s;is</HI> 4.4, 5. that God had re&s;pect to <HI>Abel</HI> and to his Of|fering, he had not re&s;pect to <HI>Cain</HI> and his Sa|crifice; but he had re&s;pect to <HI>Abel's</HI> Sacrifice. why? becau&s;e he had fir&s;t re&s;pect to <HI>Abels</HI> per&s;on. By Faith his per&s;on was accepted, and then his Sacrifice was accepted; God had no re&s;pect to <HI>Cains</HI> Sacrifice, becau&s;e his per&s;on was not accepted; and his per&s;on was not accepted, becau&s;e he was not a Believer. When a Soul comes to believe on Chri&s;t, then, and not till then his per&s;on is accepted; be|cau&s;e that which made God di&s;plea&s;ed with him is removed, and his Sin is pardoned, and
<PB N="117" REF="65"> now the Soul doth appear Righteous in the &s;ight of God; but till a per&s;on comes to be|lieve on Chri&s;t, it is impo&s;&s;ible that ever this per|&s;on &s;hould plea&s;e God; becau&s;e his per&s;on is not accepted, then whatever comes from him is not accepted. It is a full word that the Apo&s;tle hath to this purpo&s;e, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.8. <HI>So then</HI> (he brings it in by way of conclu&s;ion) <HI>So then, they that are in the Fle&s;h cannot plea&s;e God.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> That are in the fle&s;h, you will &s;ay, what is that? was not <HI>Paul</HI> in the Fle&s;h? when he &s;aies in <HI>Gal.</HI> 2.20. <HI>The life that I now live in the Fle&s;h, I live by the Faith of the Son of God? Paul</HI> was in the Fle&s;h, and did not <HI>Paul</HI> plea&s;e God? all the believers that are upon the face of the Earth are in the Fle&s;h, and yet the Apo|&s;tle &s;aies here, <HI>tho&s;e that are in the Fle&s;h cannot plea&s;e God:</HI> But I pray ob&s;erve, what the Apo|&s;tle means by being in the fle&s;h, there is a dou|acceptation of the Word, one is to live this life here in the Body, but that is not the Apo&s;tles meaning, when he &s;ays <HI>tho&s;e that are in the fle&s;h cannot plea&s;e God,</HI> for then never a Believer in the World can plea&s;e God. But then 2dly, there is another meaning of the Word, according to the Scripture; to be in the fle&s;h, is to be in a fle&s;hly carnal State, a corrupt State, an un|changed State, an unbelieving State and con|dition; they that are thus in the fle&s;h, cannot plea&s;e God; and this is the &s;ence of the Holy-Gho&s;t in <HI>Rom.</HI> 7.5. <HI>For when we were in the Fle&s;h,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> why, he was in the Fle&s;h in one &s;ence, but he was not in the Fle&s;h in ano|ther &s;ence; <HI>when we were in the Fle&s;h,</HI> that is,
<PB N="118" REF="66"> when we were unbelievers, in a fle&s;hly carnal &s;tate, when we were &s;o in the fle&s;h, we could not plea&s;e God, and no man that is in the Fle&s;h in that &s;ence can plea&s;e God. But why is it not po&s;&s;ible for a man or woman that is an Unbeliever to plea&s;e God? Why &s;o? why, look but into the former ver&s;e, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.7. there he gives you the rea&s;on of it, why tho&s;e that are Unbelievers cannot plea&s;e God; becau&s;e <HI>the carnal mind is enmity again&s;t God,</HI> it is not &s;ubject to the Law of God, nether indeed can be; and then he brings in this conclu&s;ion, <HI>So then they that are in the Fle&s;h,</HI> they that have a carnal mind, they that are altogther unbe|lievers, <HI>cannot plea&s;e God;</HI> becau&s;e they are Enemies to God, enemies in the highe&s;t de|gree; for mark the expre&s;&s;ion, he doth not &s;ay the carnal mind is an enemy to God, but he puts it in the ab&s;tract, <HI>the Carnal mind is enmity again&s;t God;</HI> Enmity it &s;elf; it is irre|concileable to God, it is not &s;ubject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be, till God change it. Now &s;ee the force of the demon&s;tration, e|very unbeliever is an Enemy to God, and e|very thing he doth comes from a principle of enmity again&s;t God; and do you think that can plea&s;e God? though he &s;eems to do much for God, he prays much, and reads much, and is much in thank&s;giving, and much in confe&s;&s;ing of &s;in, but all this comes from a principle of enmity again&s;t God, and what can this plea&s;e God? Suppo&s;e now you &s;hould have an ene|my, and he &s;hould come and &s;eem to &s;peak you fair, and you know that he hath a heart full of
<PB N="119" REF="66"> hatred and enmity again&s;t you; po&s;&s;ibly; he comes and confe&s;&s;es he hath done you wrong, and he is &s;orry for it, but he hopes he &s;hall do &s;o no more; if you know he comes and &s;peaks this with a &s;pirit of Enmity, and that he doth maintain his enmity as fully in his heart and mind as ever, are you plea&s;ed with the&s;e con|fe&s;&s;ions? no, you abhor him the more, be|cau&s;e he comes in a di&s;&s;embling hipocritical way. Now, God &s;ees and knows our Hearts, po&s;&s;ibly we may be taken with &s;ome &s;uch ex|pre&s;&s;ions of an enemy, and think he means as he &s;ays, and take it in good part; but a Man cannot deceive God. So when an Unbeliever comes and confe&s;&s;es his Sins to God, the Lord &s;ees he doth it with a &s;pirit of enmity, he comes with his humble petitions and &s;upplica|tions, and the Heart is full of Enmity and hatred again&s;t God; Will the Lord now ac|cept of this? He comes and gives thanks to God, but the Lord looks upon all as hypocri|tical and flattering; and can this be plea&s;ing to God? in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 78.34 <HI>When he &s;lew them, then they &s;ought him, and they returned and in|quired early after God.</HI> Ver&s;e 35. <HI>And they re|membred that God was their Rock, and the High God their Redeemer.</HI> Now, they challenge ac|quaintance with God, and claim intere&s;t in God; well, but what doth the Holy-Gho&s;t &s;ay of this their inquiring after God? Ver&s;e 36. <HI>Ne|verthele&s;s, they Flattered him with their Mouth, and they Lyed unto him with their Tongues.</HI> And could God be plea&s;ed with this? I pray con|&s;ider, this is the very ca&s;e, every Unbeliever is
<PB N="120" REF="67"> an Enemy to God, is in a State of enmity till &s;uch time as he comes to believe on Chri&s;t; then indeed the enmity is taken away, but till he come to believe on Chri&s;t, he is an enemy to God, and he hates God in his Soul, and whatever he doth he doth but di&s;&s;emble; if he comes and confe&s;s his &s;ins, and give thanks to God, and make petitions and &s;upplica|tions to God, all this doth not plea&s;e God, he doth but Flatter, and play the Hypo|crite, and Lye to God; to his Face. How then can a Man or Woman plea&s;e God without Faith? that is the Second demon&s;tra|tion. Take one more.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly, Without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God;</HI> why? becau&s;e all that ever a man or Woman doth that is an unbeliever; is all but dead works, all is Stinking, Dead; a dead Service, and a dead Sacrifice, whatever he brings to God, it is dead, his Prayers and Thank&s;|givings are dead, and his Supplications and Pe|titions are all dead, his Reading and Hearing the Word is all dead, all that he doth is dead. Now, do you think that the living God can or will be plea&s;ed with dead &s;ervices? can this be plea&s;ing to him? all is dead, becau&s;e it comes from a dead principle, every unbelieving man and woman in the World is &s;piritually dead, and therefore all that comes from him mu&s;t be dead; they are all dead works, as the Apo|&s;tle calls them, in <HI>Hebrews</HI> 6.1. <HI>Leaving the Principles of Repentance from dead works,</HI> &s;aies he, and &s;o in <HI>Hebrews</HI> 9.14. <HI>How much more,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>&s;hall the Blood of Chri&s;t, who through the eter|nal
<PB N="121" REF="67"> Spirit offered up him&s;elf to God without &s;pot, purge your Concience from dead works, &amp;c.</HI> when the Blood of Chri&s;t comes to be &s;prinkled up|on the Soul by Faith, then he is clean&s;ed from dead works; but before, all is dead, his faith|fulne&s;s in his calling, his thank&s;givings, his prayers, and all, is dead, and how can this plea&s;e a living God? Can a man gather Grapes of Thorns, and Figs of Thi&s;tles? No. So, can any thing that is lively and acceptable to God, come from a dead Heart? No. Can God be plea&s;ed with that which is dead? that which is dead is di&s;plea&s;ing to you; if they give you dead Drink, dead Beer, or dead Wine, doth it plea&s;e you? No, you will &s;ay you had rather drink Water. All the &s;ervices that an unbeliever can perform, they are all but dead in the &s;avour of God, they are all &s;tinking, loath&s;ome things, therefore how can the&s;e things be plea&s;ing un|to God? This is the &s;tate of every unbeliever, he is &s;piritually dead, and all that he doth is dead, nothing that is living or lively can come from a dead thing; a dead thing cannot pro|duce a living action; but now, by Faith, a &s;oul comes to be made alive; when a &s;oul comes to receive Chri&s;t he receives a principle of Life; but every unbeliever is dead, and therefore no|thing that he does can be plea&s;ing unto God. So now you have heard the point demon&s;tra|ted to you, That it is impo&s;&s;ible for any man or woman to plea&s;e God without Faith. We come now in the next place for the further clearing this truth, and for your more di&s;tinct under&s;tand|ing
<PB N="122" REF="68"> of it, to remove &s;ome objections that po&s;&s;ibly may be made again&s;t it; As fir&s;t, what is nothing plea&s;ing to God without Faith? You will &s;ay, did not the Elect plea&s;e God from all Eternity? did not God chu&s;e the Elect, and &s;et his love upon them? did not they plea&s;e God? yet they had no Faith: then it &s;eems it is po&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God without Faith. Indeed, if the <HI>Arminians</HI> were to an&s;wer this, they would ea&s;ily an&s;wer it; for they make electi|on to be upon fore&s;een Faith, that God did fore&s;ee that &s;uch and &s;uch a man would be|lieve, and therefore he elected him; and if &s;o, then the elect cannot plea&s;e God without Faith; but we do not joyn with them in that thing, there was not any thing fore&s;een that did move God to elect one or another. In <HI>Ro|mans</HI> 9.11. the Apo&s;tle there, in&s;tances in the two Children, <HI>Jacob</HI> and <HI>E&s;au, For the Children being not yet born, having done neither good nor evil, God did not con&s;ider them as ha|ving done good or evil, that the purpo&s;e of God, according to election might &s;tand, not of Works but of him that calleth: It was &s;aid unto her the Elder &s;hall &s;erve the Younger.</HI> God doth not con&s;ider that in point of election, for election is not the effect of Faith fore&s;een, but Faith is the con&s;equent of Election; he hath cho&s;en us, that we &s;hould be Holy, that we &s;hould believe, in <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.4. and in <HI>Acts</HI> 13.48. <HI>And as many as were Ordained to Eternal Life, believed.</HI> Election is antecedent to Faith and believing; God was not plea&s;ed with the
<PB N="123" REF="68"> Elect, becau&s;e of their Faith; no, but they were cho&s;en to Faith: and then, did not they plea&s;e God without Faith? there is the obje|ction &s;till.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> I an&s;wer &s;hortly, That the Elect did not plea&s;e God, but God was plea&s;ed out of his free Grace to &s;et his Love of Benevolence upon them, and thereby did intend in time to &s;hew Love and Friend&s;hip to them; I &s;ay, it was not becau&s;e they plea&s;ed God, that God cho&s;e them, and elected them; but God was plea&s;ed out of his infinite free Grace and Love to ordain them in time, to manife&s;t his love of friend&s;hip to them; &s;o that it was not for Faith nor without Faith, for they did not plea&s;e God.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> But then you will &s;ay, Did not <HI>Adam</HI> in innocency plea&s;e God? if he did, then it is po&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God without Faith, for <HI>Adam</HI> had no Faith in innocency. Now, before the fall <HI>Adam</HI> did plea&s;e God; was there not a &s;weet intercour&s;e between God and <HI>A|dam?</HI> was there not a covenant made be|tween God and <HI>Adam?</HI> Did not God come and &s;peak in a familiar way to <HI>Adam?</HI> Surely <HI>Adam</HI> plea&s;ed God, <HI>Adam</HI> had not Faith; then it is po&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God without Faith. For An&s;wer to this,</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> In a word, <HI>Adam</HI> had a Faith, though not &s;uch a Faith as believers have now, yet <HI>Adam</HI> had a faith of Affiance, of Tru&s;t and Confidence, and Dependance upon God, which was required in the fir&s;t Command|ment; and <HI>Adam</HI> had all the Command|ments
<PB N="124" REF="69"> of the Law written upon his Heart.</P>
<P N="2">2. But <HI>Secondly,</HI> This Truth doth pre&s;uppo&s;e man in a &s;inful fallen &s;tate, <HI>Adam</HI> after his fall, and &s;o all the po&s;terity of <HI>Adam;</HI> now, there is no Son nor Daughter of <HI>Adam</HI> &s;ince the Fall that can ever plea&s;e God without Faith; <HI>Adam</HI> him&s;elf &s;ince the fall, if ever he plea|&s;ed God it was by Faith, for the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks of tho&s;e that are &s;uppo&s;ed to be Sinners and Enemies again&s;t God, That <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible for them to plea&s;e God.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> But you will &s;ay, Have not &s;ome that have been unbelievers, by doing of tho&s;e things that God hath required, plea&s;ed God? Look into the example of <HI>Jehu,</HI> 2 <HI>Kings</HI> 10.30. You know that God com|manded <HI>Jehu</HI> to go and cut off all the Hou&s;e of <HI>Ahab,</HI> that was his Me&s;&s;age; that he &s;hould de&s;troy all the po&s;terity of <HI>Ahab,</HI> and &s;o be did, in <HI>Chapt.</HI> 9. and the fore-part of the 10th <HI>Chapter.</HI> Now then, &s;ee what a Te&s;timony the Lord gives of his own approbation of <HI>Jehu</HI> at the 30 <HI>ver&s;e, And the Lord &s;aid to Jehu, Becau&s;e thou ha&s;t done well in Executing that which is right in mine Eyes, and ha&s;t done unto the Hou&s;e of Ahab according to all that was in mine Heart; thy Children of the Fourth Genera|tion &s;hall &s;it on the Throne of I&s;rael.</HI> Did not <HI>Jehu</HI> plea&s;e God here? and was not <HI>Jehu</HI> an Unbeliever? &s;ee <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 31. <HI>But Jehu took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord God of I&s;rael with all his heart, for he departed not from the &s;ins of Jeroboam, which made I&s;rael to Sin.</HI> And
<PB N="125" REF="69"> &s;o for <HI>Nebuchadnezzar,</HI> he did what God re|quired him to do. Go, &s;ays God, <HI>again&s;t Tyrus, and conquer it,</HI> it co&s;t him a hard bout, but did it not plea&s;e God? Then it &s;eems when men and women do that which God requires, they plea&s;e God in &s;o doing.</P>
<P><HI>For An&s;wer to this in two things.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w. Fir&s;t,</HI> That the thing that God com|mands being done do plea&s;e God for the &s;ub|&s;tance of it, for the matter of it, it is plea|&s;ing to God, and &s;o far plea&s;ing, as God may manife&s;t his Approbation; he may give a te&s;ti|mony that he doth approve of it, by &s;ome outward reward, as he did to <HI>Jehu;</HI> God te&s;ti|fied that what he did plea&s;ed him, and he gave him a reward. And &s;o for <HI>Nebuchadnez|zar</HI>'s Warring again&s;t <HI>Tyrus,</HI> God did approve of it, and &s;hew his acceptation of the thing, being done, by rewarding and recompen&s;ing of <HI>Nebuchadnezzar, Ezekiel</HI> 29.18, 19. and 20. <HI>Son of Man, Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon: hath cau&s;ed his Army to &s;erve a great Service a|gain&s;t Tyrus, &amp;c.</HI> And what &s;hall he have? he &s;hall have a reward; <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 19. <HI>Therefore thus &s;aith the Lord God, behold, I will give the Land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, &amp;c.</HI> That is one An&s;wer, That the thing that God Commands, being done, God doth approve of it for the Sub&s;tance. But,</P>
<P>Now, <HI>Secondly,</HI> Though God do approve of the thing that is done for the &s;ub&s;tance of it, yet being done by &s;uch a per&s;on, in &s;uch a manner, to &s;uch an end, God doth not ac|cept
<PB N="126" REF="70"> it. As now, take both the&s;e In&s;tances a|gain. <HI>Jehu,</HI> God did approve of the thing that he did, and manife&s;ted his approba|tion of it; his cutting off the po&s;terity of <HI>Ahab,</HI> God approved of it; but for the man|ner of <HI>Jehu's</HI> doing of it, it being done in the way of unbelief, God expre&s;&s;es his di&s;plea&s;ure again&s;t it, in <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 1.4. &s;aies God, <HI>yet a little while, and I will avenge the Blood of Jezreel up|on the Hou&s;e of Jehu.</HI> What? would God be revenged for doing that which he required? God Commanded him to cut off the Po&s;terity of <HI>Ahab,</HI> and God approved of it; but for the manner of doing of it, it being done by &s;uch a one in a &s;tate of unbelief, he did not plea&s;e God in it; the thing it &s;elf was acceptable to God; but for the manner of it, God was not plea&s;ed with it. And &s;o for <HI>Nebuchadnezzar,</HI> God calls him his Servant, in <HI>Jeremiah</HI> 25.9. <HI>The break|ing of the Nations by Nebuchadnezzar was a thing that God required: and yet being done by him, God will be revenged on him for it.</HI> Therefore if you look into <HI>Haggai</HI> 2.22. God threatens there to de&s;troy <HI>Nebuchadnezzar</HI>'s Kingdom that had de&s;troyed &s;o many Nations; and yet he had done but that that God had &s;et him about; &s;o that ob&s;erve, and under&s;tand the An&s;wer thus, that the thing done that God requires, for the &s;ub&s;tance of it, God doth allow and approve of it: but being done by one that is an Un|believer, God doth not accept of his per&s;on nor of his Service, God may allow it &s;o far as to manife&s;t his approbation of it, and to
<PB N="127" REF="70"> give &s;ome outward recompence and reward for it, and yet notwith&s;tanding God doth not allow it, &s;o as to accept it with a Gracious acceptation, being done by &s;uch a one.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> 4. But the Fourth Objection is of great|e&s;t Weight and Moment, and a matter of the greate&s;t Temptation, and that is this; you will &s;ay to me, But if it be impo&s;&s;ible for a Man or woman to plea&s;e God without Faith, then it is in vain for any man or woman to endea|vour to do any thing that is plea&s;ing unto God; for if it be impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God by what we do, then why &s;hould we pray, and hear the Word, and read the Word? here is a Temptation that I &s;uppo&s;e will pre&s;ently come in upon you. If it be impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God without Faith, hath not this a tendency to put people into de&s;pair of ever hoping to plea&s;e God by all that they can do?</P>
<P>But for An&s;wer to it briefly in two things.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> 1. Fir&s;t, Though it be true, that it is impo&s;&s;ible for any Man or Woman to plea&s;e God without Faith, yet notwith&s;tanding, (mark I pray what I &s;ay) yet God may plea&s;e to look towards the prayers and endea|vours of an Unbeliever; God may plea&s;e gra|ciou&s;ly to look towards their de&s;ires and &s;up|plications, when they are in the Lords way, &s;eeking of him; I do not &s;ay God will do it, but I &s;ay God may do it; perhaps God may look towards an unbe|liever, and give ear to the prayers that he makes (I pray mind it:) becau&s;e here is a
<PB N="128" REF="71"> very great Temptation that is ready &s;ecretly to prevail over us upon the hearing of &s;uch a Truth as this, that we cannot plea&s;e God by all that ever we can do. Why, then a Man had as good take his cour&s;e, and Sin, and take his plea&s;ures in the World, he can but di&s;plea&s;e God at la&s;t, and he cannot plea&s;e him by all that he can do: Therefore, I &s;ay, here is the fir&s;t An&s;wer, Though it is true, we cannot &s;ay cer|tainly that God will be plea&s;ed with the pray|ers and endeavours of an Unbeliever, yet God may plea&s;e graciou&s;ly to look towards the prayers and &s;upplications of an unbelieving Soul; I pray el&s;e, why doth the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> put <HI>Simon Magus</HI> upon it to pray to God, in <HI>Acts</HI> 8.22. <HI>Simon Magus</HI> was a Sorcerer, and he li&s;tened and hearkened to what <HI>Philip</HI> Preached, and for&s;ooth he would be a con|vert, and went for a Believer; <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>John</HI> hearing the report what was done by the Go&s;|pel, went to confirm him; but <HI>Peter</HI> pre&s;ently &s;melt out <HI>Simon Magus</HI> what he was, by his offering him Money for the gift of the Holy-Gho&s;t: &s;aies he, <HI>Thy Money perri&s;h with thee: I perceive that thou art in the Gall of bitter|ne&s;s, and in the Bond of iniquity, repent,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>therefore of this thy wickedne&s;s, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee. Peter</HI> put him upon Prayer, he was a wicked Man, an Unbeliever, in the Gall of bitterne&s;s, and in the Bond of iniquity, yet pray to God, &s;aies he, perhaps the thought of thy Heart may be forgiven thee; And &s;o <HI>Paul</HI>
<PB N="129" REF="71"> &s;peaks in 2. <HI>Tim. Ch.</HI> 2. Two la&s;t Ver&s;es, <HI>In meekne&s;s, in&s;tructing tho&s;e that oppo&s;e them&s;elves, if God perad|venture will give them Repentance, to the acknow|ledging of the Truth</HI> God may peradventure give them repentance, though it is a certain Truth, that <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> Yet thus much I may &s;ay, to help to take off this objection, That there is a perhaps, if you be found diligent in &s;eeking God, and humbling your Souls before the Lord, peradventure you may be forgiven, I do not &s;ay you &s;hall certainly be forgiven; and God will certain|ly hear you; but perhaps, as <HI>Peter</HI> &s;aid to <HI>Si|mon Magus,</HI> perhaps, and if peradventure, &s;ays <HI>Paul,</HI> God will give them Repentance; then here is a [perhaps] for tho&s;e that are Unbeliev|ers, that God may graciou&s;ly plea&s;e to have re&s;pect towards them, though God be not plea&s;ed with them not their prayers, and du|ties; therefore let not this Temptation pre|vail over you upon that account, namely, to give over all, becau&s;e you cannot plea&s;e God by what you do peradventure God may, have re&s;pect towards you; but now, if you go on, and ca&s;t off &s;eeking God, and the ways of God, and go on in your &s;inful ways and cour&s;es, there is no perhaps for &s;uch, no; but if Men &s;in willfully (mark the expre&s;&s;ion) in <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.25, 26. If Men &s;in wilfully, and ca&s;t off the means of Grace wilfully, there is no per|haps for &s;uch: He puts an impo&s;&s;ibility upon him&s;elf ever to be recovered therefore, give not way to the Temptation, but &s;ay, Well,
<PB N="130" REF="72"> there is a peradventure, and perhaps for me, though I be an Unbeliever. But,</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> Let me an&s;wer it in another thing; Though it be true, that without Faith it is im|po&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God; Nay, though we do di&s;plea&s;e God by all that we do; make the ob|jection as &s;trong as you can; it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God by all my Prayers, Tears, and Confe&s;&s;ions, in my waitings upon God; yet, notwith&s;tanding, know and under&s;tand it for a Truth, that there are degrees of di&s;plea&s;ing God; a man may di&s;plea&s;e God more or le&s;s. Look into <HI>Zachariah</HI> 1.15. <HI>I am very &s;ore di&s;|plea&s;ed with the Heathen that are at ea&s;e: for I was but a little di&s;plea&s;ed, and they helped forward the affliction.</HI> God may be &s;orely di&s;plea&s;ed, and God may be le&s;s di&s;plea&s;ed with a per|&s;on; as now, if one &s;in doth di&s;plea&s;e God, will not many &s;ins di&s;plea&s;e him much more? if that which we call a &s;mall &s;in will di&s;plea&s;e God, then a greater &s;in will diplea&s;e him much more. So now, if we di&s;plea&s;e God by our Duties and Services, then may we not di&s;plea&s;e God much more by ca&s;ting off duties? Nay, may we not di&s;plea&s;e him mo&s;t of all not on|ly by ca&s;ting of Duties, but by running de&s;perately and Headlong into all, man|ner of Evil. Mark how you conclude, you cannot plea&s;e God by what you do, therefore you will di&s;plea&s;e him more; this is to run headlong and de&s;perately into the low|e&s;t Hell. As there are degrees of glory in Heaven, as one Star differs from another Star
<PB N="131" REF="72"> in Glory; &s;o there are degrees of Torment in Hell. It &s;hall be more tollerable for <HI>Sodom</HI> and <HI>Gommorah</HI> at the day of Judgement, than for tho&s;e that have the Go&s;pel and do not im|prove it. <HI>As &s;he hath fared deliciou&s;ly,</HI> &s;aies God, <HI>&s;o much the more Torment give her,</HI> &s;aies God, in <HI>Revelations</HI> 18.7. So now, becau&s;e we do di&s;|plea&s;e God by what we do in our duties and &s;ervices, therefore &s;hall we run further on to di&s;plea&s;e God more and more? Is it not e|nough to di&s;plea&s;e God by doing things irregularly and unbelievingly, but &s;hall we therefore run headlong upon wickedne&s;s, and care not how much we di&s;plea&s;e God? O! therefore let us have a care of this Temptati|on, for it is very great and dangerous; becau&s;e we cannot plea&s;e God by doing what we can, therefore we will run headlong on to di&s;plea&s;e him all that we can: So now I have fini&s;hed the explication of this Truth, <HI>That without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> I cannot now come to that Application which I chiefly intend.</P>
<P><HI>Appli.</HI> But in a word, becau&s;e I would not leave you wholy without &s;ome word of Application:</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e.</HI> Here then, let all tho&s;e that are Unbe|lievers under&s;tand and know this day from the Lord, what a dangerous &s;tate and condition they are in; it is &s;uch a &s;tate and condition as is not to be re&s;ted quietly in, becau&s;e that they cannot po&s;&s;ibly plea&s;e God by all that they can do, I would not &s;peak any thing to di&s;courage and ca&s;t down any, but to awaken poor Souls: Under&s;tand and know this day
<PB N="132" REF="73"> from the Lord, that you never yet did plea&s;e God by all that ever you have done; you have made po&s;&s;ibly many Hundred prayers and petitions to God, you have been exerci|&s;ed in holy Duties and Services all along from day to day; yet you have not plea&s;ed God in any thing that you have done; Nay, without Faith you cannot plea&s;e God in whatever you &s;hall do, it is impo&s;&s;ible. What &s;hould I &s;ay more, read but the Text, &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> The Apo&s;tle doth not only &s;peak of &s;uch as live in open known &s;ins of Uncleanne&s;s, and Drunk|ene&s;s, and Swearing, and Lying, that they do not plea&s;e God, that is plain enough; every one will &s;ay that the&s;e men do not plea&s;e God, and that it is impo&s;&s;ible they &s;hould plea&s;e God. And tho&s;e that live in &s;ecret Sins, in &s;e|cret covetou&s;ne&s;s of heart, in &s;ecret oppre&s;|&s;ion, &s;ecret omi&s;ion and neglect of duty, Fa|mily or Clo&s;et-prayer, do the&s;e things plea&s;e God think you? not that I &s;peak to &s;uch as the&s;e are, but to tho&s;e that are profe&s;&s;ors, and that are careful to walk &s;trictly and con&s;ci|enciou&s;ly in their places, as far as ever they have light and under&s;tanding; you are careful po&s;&s;ibly to deal righteou&s;ly in your Callings and Trade, you de&s;ire to make Con&s;cience of your ways in buying and &s;elling, and trading and con|ver&s;ing with the World, to walk uprightly to|wards all men, and what, doth not this plea&s;e God, you will &s;ay? do not I plea&s;e God in this? I pray mark, is this Faith or no? The Apo&s;tle
<PB N="133" REF="73"> &s;aies here, <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God;</HI> &s;uppo&s;e you perform duties, wait upon God in his Wor&s;hip and Ordinances, are very diligent in attending upon the Word Preach|ed, and very dilligent in reading the Scrip|tures daily, day by day, and you are very di|ligent al&s;o in private duties, &s;uch as I menti|oned before doth not this plea&s;e God, you will &s;ay? why, I pray &s;till do but have recour&s;e to the Apo&s;tles words, <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;|&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> Can you &s;ay that the&s;e things are Faith? <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God:</HI> But if a Man or Woman be &s;o Charitable that they are ready upon all oc|ca&s;ions to relieve the Bowels of the Saints, doth not this plea&s;e God? why, &s;aies the A|po&s;tle, <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> Do you believe that this is a Truth that this Text holds forth? our Charity and good works, they are not Faith, and <HI>without Faith it is im|po&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> Reckon what you can reckon, and &s;ay what you can for your &s;elves, yet con&s;ider, is this Faith or no? If it be not Faith, it cannot plea&s;e God. Po&s;&s;ibly you may de&s;ire and endeavour to walk in the &s;tricte&s;t way of profe&s;&s;ion, and wor&s;hip God in the clo&s;e&s;t way; &s;uppo&s;e you do &s;o, you de&s;ire to walk in Church-fellow&s;hip with the Saints, but this is not Faith &s;till, and <HI>without Faith is is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> I pray con&s;ider the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> &s;aies <HI>Paul,</HI> before he was converted, and was brought to believe on Chri&s;t, in <HI>Acts</HI> 16.5. &s;ays he, <HI>After the mo&s;t
<PB N="134" REF="74"> &s;traite&s;t &s;ect of our Religion, I lived a Phari&s;ee.</HI> And &s;ays he in another place, in <HI>Phil.</HI> 3.7, 8, 9. <HI>As concerning the righteou&s;ne&s;s which is in the law, I was blamele&s;s,</HI> &s;ays he at <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 6. But now mark, &s;ays he, <HI>this was not faith;</HI> though when he comes to believe on Chri&s;t, <HI>Now,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>I look at all that ever I did as nothing, and I count all but dung that I may win Chri&s;t.</HI> Brethren, whatever we do, <HI>without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible for us to plea&s;e God.</HI></P>
<P>But po&s;&s;ibly you will &s;ay to me, I hope I do believe: If you do, it is well; But, I pray, do you know what it is to believe? ask this que&s;tion to your own hearts, Do you know what it is to believe? It is not to believe that every thing that is &s;poken in the Go&s;pel is true; no, no, this Faith whereby we come to plea&s;e God, is another manner of Faith.</P>
<P>But &s;uppo&s;e now that you do believe in|deed and in truth, I pray have you done all that ever you have done in a way of Faith and believing? truly without Faith you &s;ee it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God; even you that are Believers, without acting of Faith in what you do, you cannot plea&s;e God.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But you will &s;ay to me then, <HI>How &s;hall a Chri&s;tian man or woman &s;o perform duties in Faith, &s;o as they may be plea&s;ing unto God?</HI> As &s;uppo&s;e now the duty of Prayer, How &s;hall we perform the duty of prayer, &s;o as it may be plea&s;ing unto God? or for hearing the Word, How &s;hall we &s;o hear the Word in Faith that it may be plea&s;ing unto God? and
<PB N="135" REF="74"> how &s;hall we partake of the Lords-Table in Faith &s;o as to plea&s;e God?</P>
<P>I cannot come to an&s;wer this now; but po&s;&s;ibly if the Lord plea&s;e, I may &s;peak &s;omething to that at &s;ome other time; all that I have to &s;ay for the pre&s;ent is this:</P>
<P>You &s;ee, Friends, Brethren and Beloved, what cau&s;e we have all of us, I &s;peak not on|ly to unbelievers, but to tho&s;e that are be|lievers; as for unbelievers, what cau&s;e have they to go home and bewail and bemoan their condition before the Lord? Look back upon all that you have done throughout your whole lives, and you may write this upon it all, you have di&s;plea&s;ed God; you have made many Prayers, and confe&s;&s;ed many Sins, and given thanks to God often; you have read and heard the Word, and have done this and that, and yet in all that you have done you have never plea&s;ed God, becau&s;e <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God:</HI> Go and bewail it be|fore the Lord, that you have led &s;uch a cour&s;e of life, that you have done nothing that hath been plea&s;ing unto God. And you that are Be|lievers, have you done all that you have done in Faith? have you prayed in faith? have you heard the word in faith, and have you partaked in other Ordinances in a way of faith? we have all cau&s;e to go home, and in private fal down before the Lord, and acknowledge that we have di&s;plea&s;|ed God in every duty and &s;ervice that we have performed.</P>
<TRAILER>But thus much &s;hall &s;uffice for this time.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="6" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="136" REF="75">
<HEAD>SERMON VI.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Hebrews XI. 6.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e Him.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe words as you have heard, are an intire Propo&s;ition.</P>
<P>Doct. <HI>That without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible for any Man or Woman, by all that ever they can do, to plea&s;e God.</HI> You have heard it opened at large, we came the la&s;t day to touch upon a word of Application, and that was to &s;hew what a &s;ad and uncomfortable condition every unbe|lieving per&s;on was in; that nothing that ever he hath done, or can do, or &s;hall do whil&s;t he is in this &s;tate, can be plea&s;ing unto God; For <HI>Without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e Him.</HI> Whatever Duties we perform, whatever Ordi|nances we partake in, if all be not done in Faith, it cannot be plea&s;ing unto God.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> You will &s;ay unto me then, <HI>How &s;hall we &s;o act in Faith in the performance of all Duties,
<PB N="137" REF="75"> and in the partaking of all Ordinances, that &s;o we may plea&s;e God in what we do.</HI></P>
<P>This is a great Que&s;tion, and I &s;hall de&s;ire through the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance to &s;peak &s;ome|thing to this at this time. And, O Brethren, this is a matter of very great concernment, to do all that we do in Faith, to pray every Prayer in Faith, and every time we hear the Word, to hear it in Faith; and if we partake of the Lords-Table, every time to partake in Faith; or el&s;e we do not plea&s;e God in any of the&s;e Duties. Let me therefore a little &s;tir you up to it, that you may be provoked, if po&s;&s;ible, to do all that you do in Faith.</P>
<P>Briefly, Let me hint <HI>three</HI> or <HI>four</HI> words that way, to &s;hew you, that it is of very great con|cernment, for every one of us to perform e|very Duty, and to partake of every Ordinance, in a way of Faith. For fir&s;t of all, el&s;e all that ever we do, all our labour, all our endea|vours, all our pains in our duties and perfor|mances, will be all in vain. And would a wi&s;e man be willing to do any thing in vain? to take pains and all in vain? <HI>Have ye &s;uffered &s;o many things</HI> (&s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3, 4.) <HI>in vain?</HI> Truly, &s;o may we &s;ay to tho&s;e that do not exerci&s;e Faith in their duties and per|formances, have you done &s;o many things in vain? Would any of you take pains in your Callings willingly in vain, and loo&s;e all your labour? Are you willing that all your labour, and travel, and pains from day to day &s;hould be lo&s;t, and all in vain? You would count it
<PB N="138" REF="76"> a very grievous and uncomfortable thing, if any of you &s;hould take any great Voyage by Sea, and all your Voyage and Hazard &s;hould be in vain? or if you &s;hould take any great Jour|ney by Land, in heat and cold, in wet and dry, through thick and thin, and all your Journey &s;hould be in vain, and nothing at all come of it, what a grief and vexation would it be to your hearts? Now Brethren, I pray Con&s;ider of it, if we perform duties, take pains in duties day by day, perform Duties in our Families, and in our Clo&s;ets every day, pre&s;enting our Prayers and Supplications before the Lord, and frequently in &s;ea&s;on and out of &s;ea&s;on atrending upon the Word of God Preached, and go on thus week after week, month after month, and year af|ter year, labouring and taking pains in your duties, and yet when all comes to all it is all in vain; Truly, thus it will be, if it be not done in Faith; you have prayed &s;o many times in a Week, and &s;o many times in a year, po&s;|&s;ibly a thou&s;and times in your Life, yet all is in vain; for you &s;ee you cannot plea&s;e God, and therefore it is in vain. You de&s;ire to plea&s;e God in your Duties, and in your attendances upon the Lord, but all is in vain; What a &s;ad and uncomfortable thing is this? Therefore certainly it is of great concernment to look to that, that we do not perform Duties in vain, that we do not Pray, and Read, and Hear without Faith, for then all will be in vain.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> Con&s;ider a little further, What an uncomfortable thing is it for a man to meet
<PB N="139" REF="76"> with a di&s;appointment in his great expectation? When a man hath great expectations of a bu|&s;ine&s;s, and meets with a di&s;appointment in the conclu&s;ion, that his expectation is fru&s;trated; you know what <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;aith, in Prov. 13.12. <HI>Hope deferred makes the heart &s;ick.</HI> If a man have hopes of a thing, and his hopes be only put off and deferred, though it may be accompli&s;h|ed at la&s;t, yet if it be deferred beyond the time, it makes his heart &s;ick. Ay, but when a mans expectations be not only deferred, but altogether fru&s;trated, that he meets with no|thing but di&s;appointments, What an uncom|fortable thing is this? and the greater the ex|pectation of a man is, or the greater the thing is his expectation is about the greater, and &s;adder will his di&s;appointment be. You know how it fared with <HI>Haman,</HI> in <HI>E&s;th.</HI> 6. When the King propounded that Que&s;tion to him, <HI>What &s;hall be done unto the man whom the King delighteth to honour?</HI> Why, thought he, whom the King delights to honour, is none but my &s;elf; Surely I am the man: here was his hope and expectation; but now to be fru&s;trated of this great expectation of being honoured and ad|vanced, and for the King to &s;ay, Go take the Kings Hor&s;e, and the Royal apparrel, and go and &s;et <HI>Mordecai</HI> thereon (his great Enemy) go and proclaim before him, <HI>thus it &s;hall be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honour;</HI> thus was his expectation fru&s;trated, and it came to nothing. And how did it make his heart &s;ick? He went home to his Wife and
<PB N="140" REF="77"> company, and he was even &s;ick at the very heart. Truly, Brethren, when a mans ex|pectations are rai&s;ed from his Duties and Per|formances, that he hath gone on in a way of Prayer all his Life-long, and attending upon God in the way of his Ordinances all his Life-long, and his expectation is great, he thinks he hath been plea&s;ing God all his life-long; and when all comes to all, at la&s;t he &s;hall &s;ee that he wanted Faith, and &s;o never plea&s;ed God in all his Life, by all the Duties and Services that ever he performed. Here now will his expe|ctations be fru&s;trated; and when he comes to lie upon his Death-bed, he thinks he hath been plea&s;ing God in performing Duties, and atten|ding upon God in his way, he &s;hall meet with nothing but Di&s;appointments; He hath not plea&s;ed God by all that he hath done all his life-long.</P>
<P N="3">3. Nay, Let me add <HI>Thirdly,</HI> If our Duties be not done in Faith, truly, then in&s;tead of be|ing the better for them, we &s;hall certainly be the wor&s;e for all the Duties that ever we per|formed. Now, what an uncomfortable thing is it for a man to labour and take pains, and all for lo&s;s? You that trade in the World, that take a great deal of pains, are up early and down late; why, if &s;o be that you go back|ward in your e&s;tates, for all your pains-taking, and labour, and toyl: and travel, this will be very uncomfortable to you; to labour and toyl night and day, as it were, and all for lo&s;s. Suppo&s;e now a great Merchant, he trades and
<PB N="141" REF="77"> trafficks abroad at Sea, and trades at home by Land; and when he comes to ca&s;t up his ac|counts, he hath done all for lo&s;s, he is not the richer, but a great deal the poorer, What an uncomfortable thing will this be to him, that he hath been labouring, and travelling, and toyling, and &s;pending his &s;trength, and his time, and his pains, and all for lo&s;s? He is the wor&s;e, and not the better, as 'tis &s;aid of the woman that had the bloody I&s;&s;ue, &s;he went to the Phy|&s;icians and u&s;ed the means, and &s;till &s;he was not the better, but the wor&s;e. You would count this a very uncomfortable thing, if any of your Children or Relations &s;hould be &s;ick, and you call for the help of the Phy&s;itian, and he applies means, and &s;till all the Phy&s;ick that is taken tends to the hurt of the Party, he is never the better, but the wor&s;e for all the means that is u&s;ed, truly it would make your hearts ake: Truely thus it is when a man hath been taking pains all his life-long, exerci&s;ing of him&s;elf in holy Duties and Ordinances, wor|&s;hipping and &s;erving God, and endeavouring to plea&s;e God, as he thinks; but now in&s;tead of plea&s;ing God by what he hath done, he hath rather di&s;plea&s;ed God. For certainly, we are either the better or the wor&s;e for every Ordinance that we partake in; when we come to hear a Sermon, if we do not go away bet|ter, we go away wor&s;e; for the Word will work one way or other: And &s;o far Prayer, if we be not the better, we are the wor&s;e; when our Duties and Services have not been
<PB N="142" REF="78"> done in Faith, they have not been plea&s;ing to the Lord. And when a man comes to ca&s;t up his accounts, he will find him&s;elf the wor&s;e for all the Services that ever he performed; becau&s;e they have not been done in Faith.</P>
<P N="4">4. And let me add one word more, If our Duties and Services be not done in Faith, then I pray what have we been doing of all this time, but cheating and deceiving our own Souls; going on and taking pains, and all to delude and deceive our own Souls? We have been &s;teering a wrong cou&s;e; in&s;tead of making Chri&s;t our Righteou&s;ne&s;s, we have been making a Chri&s;t of our Duties and Services, and &s;o deceive our own Souls; if we do not act Faith in the performance of Duties, then we make a Chri&s;t of them, and &s;o deceive our own Souls: for if we do not lean upon Chri&s;t, we lean upon them. A man or woman that doth not act Faith in their Duties and Services, they do but &s;teer a wrong Cour&s;e all their life-long. Suppo&s;e now a man &s;hould &s;teer his cour&s;e at Sea by a Compa&s;s that is fal&s;e, he may go on and &s;ail amain Night and Day be|fore the Wind, he may go on in his Cour&s;e; but all the way that he makes he doth but de|ceive him&s;elf, he will never come to the Ha|ven he aims at, and de&s;ires to come to: He doth but deceive and delude him&s;elf. Why? Becau&s;e he &s;ails by a fal&s;e Compa&s;s, and &s;o &s;teers his Cour&s;e wrong. Truly thus it is with many Profe&s;&s;ors, they perform Duties, they go on with full &s;ail in Duties, they per|form
<PB N="143" REF="78"> Duties every day, and they attend upon the Lord, as they have opportunity, to hear the Word, and read the Word daily, they go on amain. Ay, but &s;till they &s;teer a wrong Cour&s;e, they &s;ail by a fal&s;e Compa&s;s, and cer|tainly they will never come to the Haven of Re&s;t, but will run upon their own ruine at la&s;t. Therefore ob&s;erve it, the Devil will al|low a Profe&s;&s;or to go on in a cour&s;e of Duties, to pray every day in his Family and Clo&s;et; he will allow him to go on in a cour&s;e of Or|dinances, attending upon God daily, &s;o long as his Duties and Services are not touched with the Load&s;tone, if they be not done in Faith, he knows what will be the I&s;&s;ue of them; he lets him alone, becau&s;e he knows he doth but deceive him&s;elf and delude his own Soul: he looks to come to &s;uch a Haven, but he will peri&s;h and mi&s;carry for ever. Therefore, Bre|thren, I pray con&s;ider, whether it be not a matter of very great concernment for every one of us to look to it, and be careful that all our Duties and Services be done in Faith, or el&s;e we can never plea&s;e God.</P>
<P><HI>Well,</HI> This is the Que&s;tion, <HI>How &s;hall we &s;o perform our Duties and Services in Faith, as they may be plea&s;ing unto God?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> In an&s;wer to it, there are &s;ome Di|rections that I &s;hall lay down, that may be of general Concernment, and reach all the Du|ties that we are to perform, and &s;hew you how we &s;hall perform them in Faith, that they may be plea&s;ing unto God. And then after|ward
<PB N="144" REF="79"> we &s;hall come to lay down more parti|cular Directions, how we may perform every Duty; as Prayer in Faith, and hearing the Word in Faith, and partaking of the Lords-Supper in Faith; how we may perform every Duty in Faith, that &s;o we may plea&s;e God in what we do.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Then for the General Rules that we may make u&s;e of in all Duties, for the per|forming of them in Faith, that &s;o they may be plea&s;ing unto God.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Fir&s;t</HI> then, take this for a general Rule that may be of concernment for every Duty, Let us look e&s;pecially that we be Believers, that we have a Faith in Chri&s;t; for if we be not Believers, we can never perform any Duty in Faith; we mu&s;t fir&s;t believe in Chri&s;t, before we can perform any duty in Faith: There|fore I &s;ay, Let us be &s;ure of that, that the work of Faith be wrought effectually in our hearts, that we do really and truely believe on Chri&s;t; be &s;ure of that, lay that for a foun|dation, and the more clear that is, the more &s;ure we are of that, that there is a real work of Faith wrought in our hearts, we may be the more ea&s;ily per&s;waded that what we do, we do in Faith; though that alone is not enough nei|ther: But without that, it is impo&s;&s;ible for us to do any thing in Faith, &s;o as to plea&s;e God; it is by Faith that our per&s;ons come to be ac|cepted, without Faith our per&s;ons are not plea&s;|ing unto God: No; <HI>It is through the beloved, that we mu&s;t be accepted in our per&s;ons,</HI> Ephe&s;. 1.6.
<PB N="145" REF="79"> And if our per&s;ons be not accepted, nothing that we do can be accepted; No, we may pray day by day, and cry aloud, and we may perform extraordinary Duties too, and none of the&s;e accepted, if our per&s;ons be not ac|cepted through Faith in Chri&s;t; there mu&s;t be the foundation of all: For, Brethren, it is by Faith that our hearts are purified and made holy; now if &s;o be that we be not holy, we can|not plea&s;e God by any thing that we can do; for he is a holy God, and what&s;oever is plea&s;ing to God, mu&s;t be holy. Now it <HI>is by Faith that our hearts come to be purified,</HI> Act. 15.9. By Faith we come to have an habitual Holine&s;s wrought in us, though there may be, and there is &s;till a body of &s;in; but &s;till there is a Prin|ciple of Holine&s;s, by Faith, wrought in the heart, whereby we come to be made holy in Gods account. For if &s;o be that we be not made holy through Faith, then all that ever we do is unclean, all that comes from us is unclean; look as the Fountain or Spring is, &s;o is all that i&s;&s;ues from it; every drop of water that comes from it, is accordingly. Can you bring forth a clean thing out of an unclean? None can do it. Does a bitter fountain &s;end forth &s;weet water? No it cannot be: The foun|tain mu&s;t fir&s;t be made clean and &s;weet, or el&s;e all the &s;treams will be according as the fountain is. A corrupt Tree cannot bring forth good fruit; make the Tree good, or the fruit cannot be good. All that comes from a man or woman that is in a &s;tate of unbelief, is
<PB N="146" REF="80"> unclean; and whatever Duties or Ordinances he touches, is unclean and polluted, and there|fore cannot plea&s;e God. Look, as it was under the Law, if one that was Legally or Ceremoni|ally unclean, touched any thing, it was unclean, Hag. 2.12, 13. <HI>If one bear holy fle&s;h in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oyl, or any meat, &s;hall it be holy? And the Prie&s;ts an&s;wered and &s;aid, no, it &s;hall be unclean.</HI> So now, whatever Duties be performed under the <HI>New-Te&s;tament,</HI> if we be not Believers, if our hearts be not purified by Faith, truly then all that we touch is impure and unclean to us, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Tit.</HI> 1.15. <HI>Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled</HI> (Who are tho&s;e? he ex|plains it in the very next words) <HI>and unbelieving, is nothing pure:</HI> They can do nothing that the Infinite, Holy and Pure God can be plea&s;ed with. Now there is no way for a Soul to be made clean, to lave an habitual Holi|ne&s;s, but through Faith wrought by the Spirit of Chri&s;t, and the application and &s;prinkling of the Vertue of the Blood of Chri&s;t upon the Con&s;cience; So a man or woman comes to be made clean: In <HI>Heb.</HI> 9.13. &s;aies the Apo&s;tle there, <HI>For if the blood of bulls, and goats, and the A&s;hes of an heifer &s;prinkling the unclean, &s;anctifie to the purifying of the fle&s;h;</HI> that is, The Holy Water under the Law, that being &s;prinkled upon the unclean did purifie him, and make him clean: and if the &s;prinkling of that water did purifie from Ceremonial Uncleanne&s;s, <HI>How
<PB N="147" REF="80"> much more &s;hall the blood of Chri&s;t,</HI> ver&s;e. 14. <HI>Who through the eternal Spirit offered up him&s;elf to God, purge your Con&s;eiences from dead works, to &s;erve the living God?</HI> Two things the Apo&s;tle doth plainly hint to us in this Scripture;</P>
<P>Namely, (1.) That all our Works that we perform before we be clean&s;ed by the Blood of Chri&s;t, they are all but dead works, unholy and unclean. And then (2.) it implies thus much, That we come to be clean&s;ed from our dead works, by the &s;prinkling of the Blood of Chri&s;t upon us, and that by the Eternal Spirit, the Spirit of God. This is the way, and the on|ly way whereby a man or woman comes to be habitually clean and holy, by Faith in Chri&s;t, whereby the Soul is not only ju&s;tified from the Guilt of &s;in; but there is the Spirit of Chri&s;t conveyed and communicated to the &s;oul, whereby there is a principle of Holine&s;s, of Habitual Holine&s;s put upon the Soul. Well, this is now the fir&s;t general Rule, and there|fore I &s;ay, Brethren and Friends, it is of great concernment to us to look to that; if we would act Faith in our Duties, &s;o as to plea&s;e God, we mu&s;t fir&s;t of all look that there be a work of Faith wrought in our hearts, that we do truly believe on Chri&s;t; and to that end we &s;hould be venturing to lean the weight of our Souls upon Chri&s;t, and upon his Blood and Righteou&s;ne&s;s, as it is tendred and held forth to us in the Go&s;pel: and to this end al&s;o, let us wra&s;tle with the Lord, and beg for the Spi|rit of Faith to be given out to us. Chri&s;t hath
<PB N="148" REF="81"> promi&s;ed that our Heavenly Father will give the Holy Gho&s;t to them that ask him: This is the fir&s;t Rule, to look that we be true Believers.</P>
<P N="2">(2.) Secondly, As Faith does po&s;&s;e&s;s the Soul with Habitual Holine&s;s; &s;o it is by Faith al&s;o that a Soul comes to be clean&s;ed from actual Guilt; Therefore the Second Rule, to act in Faith, in our Duties and Performances, is to put away all Guilt, all &s;inful Uncleanne&s;s from us, when we come to perform any Service, or offer up any Sacrifice to the Lord; If a Man or Woman come before the Lord in the guilt of any known &s;in that he lives in, if he do not put that away, it makes all his Du|ties unclean, and not plea&s;ing to God. A man cannot act in Faith, &s;o long as he comes know|ingly with any guilt upon his Con&s;cience, living in the neglect of any known Duty, or living in the commi&s;&s;ion of any known &s;in; if he live in it, he cannot act in Faith: Faith will purge and clean&s;e the Soul from &s;in, that he will put away all guilt when he comes to draw near to God. See what is &s;aid in <HI>Job</HI> 11.13, 14, 15. <HI>If thou prepare thine heart, and &s;tretch out thine hands towards him: If Iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedne&s;s dwell in thy tabernacle, for then &s;halt thou lift up thy face without &s;pot,</HI> &amp;c. When you come to &s;tretch out your hands towards God in Prayer, or when you come to draw near to him in any Duty, Then, &s;aies he, <HI>if there be Iniquity in your hand, put it far away;</HI> Do not come to God in Prayer, or in any Ordinance, in any
<PB N="149" REF="81"> known Sin that you do allow your &s;elves in; for if you do, you cannot perform tho&s;e Du|ties in Faith, and &s;o they cannot be plea&s;ing un|to God: Therefore be &s;ure that you put a|way all evil from you. As now for Example, (to &s;hew you the Application of this Rule, that you may know how to make u&s;e of it for eve|ry Duty) &s;uppo&s;e now you go to prayer, if you would pray in Faith, &s;o as to plea&s;e God, you mu&s;t not allow your &s;elves in any known &s;in; <HI>No,</HI> &s;ays <HI>David,</HI> in P&s;al. 66.18. <HI>If I regard Iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:</HI> I cannot make a Prayer in Faith; If you have made a thou&s;and Prayers, though you be a Believer in the main, yet all tho&s;e Prayers that you have put up in &s;uch a way, with the guilt of any known &s;in upon you, that you allow your &s;elf in, and go on in, your Prayers have not been put up in Faith, and &s;o God will not regard them: Therefore be &s;ure of that, when you come to pray, &s;ee that you do not allow your &s;elf in any known &s;in. So if you come to hear the Word, if you would hear in Faith, &s;o as to plea&s;e God in it, you mu&s;t put away all evil out of your hands; In <HI>Jam</HI> 1.21. &s;ays the Apo&s;tle there, <HI>Lay a&s;ide all filthine&s;s, and &s;uper|fluity of naughtine&s;s, and receive with meekne&s;s the ingrafted word, which is able to &s;ave your &s;ouls.</HI> Do you de&s;ire to hear the Word in Faith, &s;o as it may be a &s;aving Word to your Souls? Then <HI>Lay a&s;ide all Filthine&s;s and Superfluity of naughtine&s;s;</HI> Allow your &s;elf in no known &s;in, when you come to draw near to God in any
<PB N="150" REF="82"> Ordinance. So the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> 1 Pet. 2, 1, 2. &s;aies the Apo&s;tle there, <HI>Laying a&s;ide all ma|lice, and guile, and hypocri&s;ie, and envy, and evil-&s;peaking, as new-born babes, de&s;ire the &s;incere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.</HI> Do you de&s;ire to hear the Word, &s;o as you may plea&s;e God in your hearing? Then let there be no Envy, nor Malice, nor Hypocri&s;ie allowed in your hearts; for el&s;e you cannot receive the Word, &s;o as to be milk to your Souls, &s;o as to grow and profit by it. And &s;o al&s;o, if you come to any other Ordinance, as to the Lords-Sup|per, you mu&s;t come in Faith to it, and partake in Faith, or el&s;e we cannot plea&s;e God by it. Now this is one way whereby we come to par|take in Faith, namely, by clean&s;ing our &s;elves: Saies the Apo&s;tle, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.7, 8. &s;peaking by way of Allu&s;ion to the Pa&s;&s;over, <HI>Chri&s;t our Pa&s;&s;over is &s;acrificed for us, let us therefore keep the Fea&s;t, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedne&s;s, but with the unleavened bread of &s;in|cerity and truth.</HI> If we draw near to God in this Ordinance, we mu&s;t clean&s;e our &s;elves, in <HI>Jam.</HI> 4.8. <HI>Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you.</HI> And how &s;hall we draw near to God, &s;o as God may draw near to us? Mark what follows, <HI>Clean&s;e your hands, ye &s;inners; and purifie your hearts, ye double-minded.</HI> Here is the way for us to draw near to God in a way of Faith; for it is properly the work of Faith to purge the Heart, and to purge the Hands: That is the &s;econd Direction, that may &s;erve as a General Direction, to help us to draw near
<PB N="151" REF="82"> to God, in any Duty or Ordinance, &s;o as to plea&s;e God.</P>
<P N="3">3. The <HI>Third</HI> way to perform Duties, &s;o as to plea&s;e God, is this; It is the proper work of Faith to empty the Soul of it &s;elf. Now if you will draw near to God in any Duty or Ordi|nance, &s;o as to plea&s;e God, then come with Self-emptyings; for Faith is a &s;elf-emptying Grace; that is the proper work of Faith, to empty the Soul of it &s;elf. Now there are two things that Faith does empty the Soul of in the performance of holy Duties; The one is, It empties the Soul of the &s;en&s;e of its own Suf|ficiency and Ability to perform holy Duties; and al&s;o it empties the Soul of the &s;en&s;e of its own worthine&s;s, to receive any Mercy from the Lord, in any Duty or Ordinance: The&s;e two things Faith doth empty the Soul of, and &s;o you &s;hall find it, that where Faith hath been acted and exerci&s;ed, there hath been Self-emptyings. The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> was a man that did live much in the excerci&s;e of Faith, and he profe&s;&s;es it, <HI>Gal.</HI> 2.20. That he <HI>Lived by the Faith of the Son of God;</HI> and you may ob&s;erve how the Apo&s;tle emptied him&s;elf of Self-&s;uf|ficiency and Self-worthine&s;s; for Self-&s;uffici|ency, &s;ays he, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 8.26. <HI>We know not how to pray, nor what to pray for as we ought.</HI> The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> that was &s;uch a great proficient in the School of Chri&s;t, &s;uch an eminent per|&s;on, yet &s;aies he, <HI>We know not how to pray,</HI> he was empty of Self-&s;ufficiency, and, &s;aies he, in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 3.5. <HI>Not that we are &s;ufficient of our &s;elves
<PB N="152" REF="83"> to think any thing as of our &s;elves; but our &s;uffi|ciency is of God.</HI> Saies he, <HI>I am &s;o in&s;ufficient that I cannot &s;o much as think a good thought.</HI> What was he &s;ufficient for then? <HI>And,</HI> &s;aies he in another place, <HI>I cannot &s;o much as will or de&s;ire any thing that is good. It is God,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>that worketh in us both to will and to do, of his own good plea&s;ure. And,</HI> &s;aies he in 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.11. <HI>though I be nothing;</HI> What a word is this? The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul,</HI> that was one of the eminente&s;t Saints that lived upon the face of the earth in his days, yet &s;ays he, <HI>I am nothing! Paul</HI> living by Faith, was emptied of the &s;en&s;e of his own &s;ufficiency; and truly &s;o al&s;o he was emptied of Self-worthine&s;s of receiving any Mercy from God: For all his Duties and Services, &s;aies he, <HI>I am le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all Saints;</HI> and <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 3.8. <HI>To me, who am le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all Saints, is this Grace given,</HI> &amp;c. And in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.9. &s;aies he, <HI>I am the lea&s;t of the A|po&s;tles, that am not worthy to be called an Apo&s;tle.</HI> So, if you ob&s;erve it, you may find it in all tho&s;e that lived in the exerci&s;e of Faith, how they have been emptied of the &s;en&s;e of their own worthine&s;s; <HI>Abraham</HI> the Father of the Faithful, &s;ee how he lay low, and even crept in the du&s;t before the Lord, and acknowledged him&s;elf not worthy to &s;peak to the Lord in Prayer for <HI>Sodom,</HI> that he was fain to Apolo|gize for him&s;elf at every turn, <HI>Let not the Lord be angry, that I who am but du&s;t and a&s;hes have undertaken to &s;peak unto the Lord, Gen.</HI> 18.27, 30, 32. I am unworthy, &s;aies he, to &s;peak un|to
<PB N="153" REF="83"> the Lord for any Mercy either for my &s;elf or <HI>Sodom.</HI> And &s;o <HI>Jacob, Lord,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>I am le&s;s than the lea&s;t of all thy Mercies, Gen.</HI> 32.10. <HI>I am not worthy of the lea&s;t Mercy from thee.</HI> Thus Faith does empty the Soul, both of &s;elf-&s;ufficiency, and al&s;o of &s;elf-worthine&s;s. Now then, to &s;hew you how you &s;hould make u&s;e of this Rule, It will &s;erve for every Duty that we perform; when we come to pray, we &s;hould draw near to God with this &s;en&s;e of our in&s;uf|ficiency, to lift up a Prayer unto God; we &s;hould come to God with a &s;en&s;e upon our hearts of our inability to perform the work; and al&s;o with a &s;ence of our own unworthine&s;s, that God &s;hould hear our Prayers; when we have prayed never &s;o well, as others may judge, yet we mu&s;t come with &s;elf-aba&s;ing, and &s;elf-emptying: So if we go to hear the Word, if we would hear in Faith, we &s;hould make u&s;e of this Rule, Lord I am unworthy to be ad|mitted to hear thy Word; I am unworthy that thou &s;hould&s;t &s;peak to me; and I am in&s;uffici|ent to hear thy Word as I ought to hear it: Thus come with &s;elf-emptying, and &s;elf-aba&s;e|ment. So when we come to the Lords-Supper, Lord, I have no &s;trength now to partake of this Ordinance, as I ought to do; I cannot prepare my &s;elf for it; I have no &s;trength to partake of it; I have no &s;ufficiency at all to partake of this or any other Ordinance, as I ought to do; and I am unworthy that the Lord &s;hould draw near to me, to let me have
<PB N="154" REF="84"> any Fellow&s;hip or Communion with him&s;elf: This is the Third general Rule.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> If we would perform all Duties, and partake in all Ordinances in Faith, &s;o as we may plea&s;e God in what we do, Then let us do all that we do in the Name of Chri&s;t; for there is all our worthine&s;s and all our accept|ance. You know the Apo&s;tle gives us this Rule, i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Col.</HI> 3.17. <HI>Whatever ye do in word or in d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed, do all in the Name of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> For if, we do not what we do in his Name, it is not accepted. Look as it was under the Law, if a man under the Law were to bring a &s;acri|fice, he was to bring it to the Prie&s;t, or el&s;e it was not accepted, but it was to be an Abomi|nation; in <HI>Levit.</HI> 17.3, 4. <HI>What&s;oever man of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael there be that killeth an O<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, or Liamb,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>And bringeth it not unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation,</HI> unto the Prie&s;t, <HI>that &s;oul hath &s;hed blood, and &s;hall be out off from among his People.</HI> Though he brought never &s;o good a &s;acrifice in it &s;elf, yet it mu&s;t be brought unto the Prie&s;t; And &s;o they were to bring their &s;acrifices, and have them laid upon the Altar, or el&s;e they were an Abomination and not acceptable to God. Now, Brethren, Je&s;us Chri&s;t is our great High-Prie&s;t, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t is our Altar too, by whom, and upon <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">m all our &s;ervices and &s;acrifices mu&s;t be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">ered, or el&s;e they are not accepted of God; therefore whatever you do, whatever Prayer you make, whatever Ordinance you partake <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">, do all in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; or el&s;e
<PB N="155" REF="84"> you do not do it in Faith, and it will not be plea&s;ing unto God.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>You will &s;ay, What is it to perform a Duty in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;o as it may be acceptable and plea&s;ing to God?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For an&s;wer; Brethren, It is not e|nough for us to make mention of the Name of Chri&s;t in our Prayers, and to &s;ay, Through Je|&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord, as you commonly con|clude your Prayers (I do not blame you for this;) But it is not the naming of the Name of Chri&s;t, that is this doing of it in the Name of Chri&s;t. What is it then, you will &s;ay, for me to pray, or hear the Word, or partake of any Ordinance in the Name of Chri&s;t? Briefly, (for I would not inlarge) there are the&s;e Three things implied in it.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> That we do look for our acce&s;s into the pre&s;ence of God through Chri&s;t, and for his &s;ake; &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, in <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 2.18. <HI>For through him we both have an acce&s;s by one Spirit unto the Father.</HI> Through him we both, that is, both Jews and Gentiles, have acce&s;s by one Spirit unto the Father; we have acce&s;s in|to the pre&s;ence of the Father through Chri&s;t. You know, Brethren, after <HI>Adam</HI> fell and tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed, he was driven out from the pre|&s;ence of God. Before, indeed, he had commu|nion with God, and acce&s;s into the pre&s;ence of God: but after he had broken the Covenant that God had made with him, he was driven out from the pre&s;ence of God; and there was a Flaming Sword that &s;tood to keep him from
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<PB N="156" REF="86"> coming near to God. And &s;o all his po&s;terity are now driven from the pre&s;ence of God, and cannot have acce&s;s into the pre&s;ence of God, but through Chri&s;t; and through him we may have acce&s;s with boldne&s;s, as in <HI>Heb.</HI> 4.16. <HI>Let us come therefore boldly unto the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need.</HI> Through him we may come and have acce&s;s into the pre&s;ence of God, with boldne&s;s and confidence; that is one thing that is implyed by performing any Duty in the Name of Chri&s;t, to look for our acce&s;s into the pre&s;ence of God through him.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> To do it in the Name of Chri&s;t, is to look for &s;trength and a&s;&s;i&s;tance to perform our Duties from Chri&s;t: for as you heard be|fore, we are altogether in&s;ufficient of our &s;elves to do any thing, or think any thing that is good; not only as we are in a &s;tate of nature before Conver&s;ion, or before we be brought to believe in Chri&s;t; for that is a &s;tate and con|dition that the Apo&s;tle de&s;cribes to be without &s;trength, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.6. But this is not only the condition of Unbelievers, but even Believers them&s;elves are in&s;ufficient of them&s;elves to do any thing that is plea&s;ing to God; as you may &s;ee in tho&s;e Scriptures that I mentioned to you even now. You cannot pray, no nor think a good thought; you cannot will, nor de&s;ire a|ny thing; &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>I am nothing, and I can do nothing;</HI> and yet &s;aies the Apo&s;tle in <HI>Phil.</HI> 4.13. <HI>I can do all things through Chri&s;t that &s;trengtheneth me.</HI> Through the help and &s;trength
<PB N="157" REF="86"> of Chri&s;t I can pray, and I can hear the Word, and I can partake of the Lords-Supper in a way of Faith through Chri&s;t, and have com|muninion with Chri&s;t in it, when there is Grace and &s;trength communicated from Chri&s;t. This is the Second thing implied, To do every thing in the Name of Chri&s;t, is to be looking for all our help from Chri&s;t and him alone.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> There is this further implied in it, when we perform any Duty in the Name of Chri&s;t, we look for all our acceptance of what we have done and performed only for Chri&s;t's &s;ake, and through Chri&s;t, that the Lord &s;hould do this or that for us for Chri&s;t's &s;ake, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, in, Pet. 2.5. <HI>Ye are,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>a holy Prie&s;thood to offer up Spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> You come and offer up your Sacrifices, your Prayers to God, your Duties and Services; But how &s;hall they be acceptable to God? How? only by Je&s;us Chri&s;t; this is to perform a Duty in the Name of Chri&s;t; namely, when we look for acce&s;s into the pre&s;ence of God, to &s;tand with a holy boldne&s;s in the pre&s;ence of God with our Services through his being plea&s;ing to the Father, and when we look for all our help and &s;trength to the performance of our Duties from Chri&s;t, and when we expect all our ac|ceptance of our Duties and Services through Chri&s;t. Now that you may &s;ee how to apply this Rule, and make u&s;e of it; &s;uppo&s;e now you are to pray, you would pray in Faith, &s;o as to plea&s;e God, come then in the Name of
<PB N="158" REF="87"> Je&s;us Chri&s;t. How? When I pray, I am to look to have acce&s;s into the pre&s;ence of God with my Prayers through him, and I am to expect a&s;&s;i&s;tance and &s;trength from Je&s;us Chri&s;t to enable me to do it: And I am to look for a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ance and acceptance of my Prayers that I have performed, only through Je&s;us Chri&s;t. And &s;o I might &s;hew you for hearing the Word: 'Tis a general Rule, we are to hear in Faith. How? Namely, to hear the Word in the Name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t: How is that? Thus to come and pre&s;ent our &s;elves in pre&s;ence of God through Chri&s;t, in Obedience to his Will, that we may have acce&s;s and &s;tand in his pre&s;ence in that Duty and Service through Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and to expect Grace and Strength from Chri&s;t, to in|able me to attend unto the Word as I ought to do; without him I cannot hear as I &s;hould: but in hearing I &s;hall not hear, if I have not &s;trength from Chri&s;t to enable me; and when we have done, to look for acceptance through Chri&s;t, of the &s;ervice that I have done. And &s;o for partaking of the Lords-Supper, we &s;hould do all in the Name of Chri&s;t; look for acce&s;s into the pre&s;ence of God in that Ordinance through Chri&s;t; look to have a&s;&s;i&s;tance to be carried on in the participation of that Ordi|nance by &s;trength from Chri&s;t; and &s;o look for acceptance of our participation of the Or|dinance through Je&s;us Chri&s;t. That is the Forth General Rule.</P>
<P N="5">5. Take one more; Would we &s;o act Faith in our duties and Services, that they may be
<PB N="159" REF="87"> plea&s;ing unto God, the Rule is this; namely, to come with a re&s;ting and relying upon Chri&s;t, with expectation to have that given out unto us by the Ordinance, for which the Ordi|nance was in&s;tituted and appointed, and there|fore <HI>Re&s;ting upon God,</HI> and <HI>Waiting upon God,</HI> are frequently called <HI>Faith</HI> in Scripture: &s;aies <HI>David,</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 62.5. All my expectation is from God; <HI>My Soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him.</HI> Therefore will I re&s;t upon him for the giving out of what I do expect from him. And &s;o in <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 26.4. <HI>Tru&s;t ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Je|hovah is everla&s;ting &s;trength:</HI> Tru&s;t in him for ever. Whenever you come to any Duty or Ordinance, &s;till act in Faith, re&s;ting upon God with an expectation to receive that from God, that he hath appointed the Ordinance for: As now, Suppo&s;e for Prayer; When we come to wait upon God in Prayer, we &s;hould come re&s;ting upon God, with an expection to re|ceive that from God which the Duty is ap|pointed for. To pray in Faith, is not for a Man or Woman to believe, and be per&s;waded that he &s;hall receive the particular thing that he prays for; No, we do but deceive our &s;elves, if we think this be to pray in Faith. For we may pray in Faith, and yet not have the particular thing given that we pray for, as I could in&s;tance in &s;everal examples: But that &s;hall not be my bu&s;ine&s;s now. But to pray in Faith, is only this, namely, to rely upon God, he being a God hearing prayer, that he would hear my
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<PB N="160" REF="89"> Prayer, and grant my Petitions &s;o far as they are according to his Will, at his own time and lea&s;ure; <HI>O thou that heare&s;t Prayer,</HI> P&s;al. 65.2. <HI>to thee &s;hall all fle&s;h come.</HI> His Faith was built upon that, that God was a God hearing Pray|er; and he relied upon God, and expected that God would an&s;wer his Prayer in his own time. And remember this, for it is a daily Duty that we are to perfom; Though we may be Believers, and have an Habit of Holine&s;s in us, yet if we do not act Faith in Prayer, our Prayer is not acceptable and plea&s;ing unto God becau&s;e it is not done in Faith; it mu&s;t be a Prayer of Faith, as the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> calls it, &s;o to pray as to be per&s;waded to believe and re&s;t upon God, that &s;o far as my Prayer is ac|cording to his Will, he will hear and an&s;wer in his own time, and in his own way. And &s;o for hearing of the Word, you may make u&s;e of this Rule, namely, to re&s;t and wait upon the Lord, and expect &s;omething to be given out from the Lord in that very Ordinance, for which the Ordinance was appointed, namely, to hear &s;omething &s;poken from God to me, that I may be further acquainted withal: In <HI>Acts.</HI> 10.33. &s;ee what <HI>Cornelius</HI> &s;peaks to <HI>Peter: Peter</HI> was &s;ent from God to &s;peak to him; &s;aies he, <HI>We are all here pre&s;ent before God, to hear what God &s;hall &s;peak:</HI> We are all here pre&s;ent be|fore the Lord, expecting to have &s;omething &s;poken from the Lord. It is the Lords Or|dinance, and we are to wait upon God in it, with an expectation to have &s;omething from
<PB N="161" REF="89"> God. Alas! we come to hear the Word, and we may go away as we come, if we do not hear in Faith; we &s;hould come with an ex|pectation to hear &s;omething from God. I will hearken to hear what God the Lord will &s;peak to me; it is his Ordinance, and the way and means which God hath appointed to com|municate of him&s;elf to us: and &s;o we mu&s;t re&s;t and rely upon the Lord by Faith for &s;ome|thing to be &s;poken, that may be of concern|ment to us. And &s;o for receiving the Lords-Supper, this general Rule will help you in that; Come to that Ordinance, re&s;ting upon God in a way of Faith, expecting &s;omething from the Lord to be given out in that Ordinance, for which the Ordinance e&s;pecially was appoint|ed. And what is that? To have communion with Chri&s;t, and a communication and parti|cipation of the Ble&s;&s;ings of Chri&s;t, of the Grace and Spirit of Chri&s;t. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.16. &s;aies the Apo&s;tle there, <HI>The bread which we break, is it not the Communion of the Body of Chri&s;t?</HI> It was procured and purcha&s;ed by Chri&s;t's Death and Blood&s;hed. Now then, I &s;ay, here is the Rule, When we come to a Duty and Ordinance, come in a way of re&s;ting and expectation to have &s;omething communicated to us from the Lord of the Ordinance, &s;omething of that which God hath appointed the Ordinance and Duty for. So now, you &s;ee here are five General Rules that may help us in the per|formance of Spiritual Duties, in a way of Faith, &s;o as we may plea&s;e God in them.
<PB N="162" REF="90"> And, O Brethren and Friends! &s;hould any of us be willing to perform Duties and enjoy Ordinances in vain from day to day Why, as you have heard, if we go on not to act Faith in what we do, all will be in vain. And are you willing to be the wor&s;e for the Duties that you perform, and the Ordinances that you enjoy? Truly, if we do not act Faith in them, we &s;hall in&s;tead of being the better be the wor&s;e for them; we cannot plea&s;e God, but &s;hall di&s;plea&s;e him more and more. And &s;o, are we willing to meet with di&s;|appointments at la&s;t? when we come to lie down upon our Sick-bed and Death-bed, and expect that we have been plea&s;ing God by what we have done; and we &s;hall meet with a Di&s;appointment, becau&s;e we have done nothing in Faith, and &s;o have not plea&s;|ed God, but di&s;plea&s;ed him? And are you willing to deceive your own Souls, as you have heard? We may go on in the perfor|mance of Duties and Services, and &s;teer a wrong Cour&s;e, mi&s;&s;ing of Chri&s;t, if our Du|ties and Services be not touched with the Load&s;tone of Faith. Therefore, I &s;ay, Bre|thren, it is of concernment to us to con&s;ider the&s;e general Rules that have been given, to direct us how to perform Duties and enjoy Ordinances in a way of Faith, that &s;o they may be plea&s;ing unto God. There are particular Rules that I &s;hall de&s;ire, if the Lord plea&s;e, to lay down, How we may &s;o pray in Faith that our Prayers
<PB N="163" REF="90"> may be plea&s;ing unto God; and then &s;hew you, how we may hear the Word in Faith, that thereby we may plea&s;e God, and profit our own Souls: And &s;o come afterward to &s;ome other things, as the Lord gives opportunity.</P>
<TRAILER>But thus much for this time.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="7" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="164" REF="91">
<HEAD>SERMON VII.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Hebrews XI. 6.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e him.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P><HI>Doct.</HI> THis is the truth and propo&s;ition be|fore us <HI>That it is impo&s;&s;ible for any Soul to plea&s;e God without Faith.</HI></P>
<P>The la&s;t time we came to enter upon &s;ome directions how we might &s;o exerci&s;e Faith in the performance of Duties, and in the en|joyment of Ordinances, that &s;o what we do might plea&s;e God; &s;ome general Directions were laid down that may &s;erve for all Duties; I &s;hall now go on through the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and give you &s;ome more particular directions, how we may perform particular duties in Faith, that &s;o they may be plea&s;ing unto God.</P>
<P N="1">1. And in the fir&s;t place, we &s;hall begin with the duty of Prayer, and &s;hew you how we may &s;o pray in Faith, as we may plea&s;e God, for that is the Prayer that God doth ac|cept;
<PB N="165" REF="91"> That is, a prayer of Faith: Therefore it is &s;aid; in <HI>James</HI> 5.15. That <HI>the prayer of faith &s;hall &s;ave the &s;ick;</HI> That is, there mu&s;t be Faith exerci&s;ed in our prayers, or el&s;e our prayers are not true prayers, &s;uch as God ac|cepts. Suppo&s;e a man be a Believer, and have a habit of Faith, he prays, yet if he do not exerci&s;e Faith in his prayer, he prays not the prayer of Faith, and it will not avail. <HI>James</HI> 1.6, <HI>If any man lack wi&s;dom, let him ask it of God.</HI> He mu&s;t pray to God for it; but &s;ays he, <HI>Let him pray in faith, for el&s;e if he do not pray in faith, his prayer will not avail.</HI> And he &s;peaks to tho&s;e that are faithful, for he writes to the Twelve Tribes, among&s;t whom were many faithful and believers; <HI>If any of you lack wi&s;dom, let him ask it of God; but let him ask it in faith, nothing wavering;</HI> for el&s;e his prayer is not plea&s;ing to God; as the Apo&s;tle &s;ays in another ca&s;e, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.19, <HI>I had rather &s;peak five words with my under&s;tanding, than ten thou|&s;and words in an unknown tongue.</HI> So I may &s;ay in this Ca&s;e, a man had better put up five prayers in Faith, than Ten thou&s;and prayers without Faith; and though we &s;peak but a few Words in prayer, if it be mixed with Faith, it is more available than if we &s;peak never &s;o many words never &s;o largely with|out Faith.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> Well, you will &s;ay, <HI>How &s;hall we &s;o act faith in prayer, that our prayers may be plea|&s;ing unto God?</HI></P>
<PB N="166" REF="92">
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For An&s;wer, Be&s;ides what was pre|&s;uppo&s;ed before, that the per&s;on mu&s;t be a Believer, and al&s;o pa&s;&s;ing by tho&s;e general Rules of direction laid down before, I &s;hall give you four or five particular directions, how we &s;hould &s;o pray in Faith, that our prayers may be plea&s;ing unto God. Namely,</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> We &s;hould be &s;ure of this, that what|&s;oever we do pray for, be according to the Will of God, be &s;ure of that, be per&s;waded of that; you mu&s;t not doubt nor que&s;tion that, for if you do you cannot pray in Faith: And tho' the thing you pray for be according to the Will of God, yet if you do not know and be per&s;wa|ded that it is according to the Will of God, you cannot pray in Faith; therefore we mu&s;t be &s;ure of that, that the thing we pray for be according to the Will of God, as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith concerning eating, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 14. <HI>v.</HI> la&s;t, <HI>He that doubteth is damned if he eateth;</HI> That is, he committeth a damnable &s;in becau&s;e he belie|veth not; for what&s;oever is not of Faith is &s;in. So he that prays doubtingly, whether the thing he prays for be according to the Will of God or no, he &s;ins in prayer, whatever he pray for, if it be not in Faith, with a per|&s;wa&s;ion that what he prays for is according to the Will of God, this man cannot pray in Faith. Suppo&s;e now a man or woman pray for this or that, that he cannot certainly conclude is according to the Will of God, as now for ex|ample, &s;uppo&s;e a man have an earne&s;t de&s;ire to encrea&s;e his e&s;tate in the World, that he
<PB N="167" REF="92"> may live bravely at his ea&s;e and plea&s;ure, and to that end he de&s;ires to be diligent in his bu|&s;ine&s;s, and to that end al&s;o he begs of the Lord in prayer, that the Lord would ble&s;s his la|bours and endeavours, that he might gain a great e&s;tate in the world, and do what he li&s;t, and live at his ea&s;e and plea&s;ure; now, this man cannot pray with a certain a&s;&s;urance and per&s;wa&s;io<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> that this thing is according to the Will of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">; <HI>Ye ask and have not,</HI> &s;ays the Apo&s;tle <HI>James, becau&s;e ye ask ami&s;s, to &s;pend upon your lu&s;ts, James</HI> 4.3. It is not accor|ding to the Will of God, and therefore you cannot pray in Faith. Or &s;uppo&s;e now that a man or woman intend to take a Journey upon plea&s;ure, to have a Ramble abroad, he would be glad to be pre&s;erved, and po&s;&s;ibly he prays that the Lord would keep him in his way; now if a per&s;on in this ca&s;e do que&s;tion whe|ther his Journey be according to the Will of God, he cannot pray in Faith, and &s;o his prayer is not plea&s;ing to the Lord: Or &s;up|po&s;e a man be gaming for money, and he would be glad to win, po&s;&s;ibly he prays that the Lord would ble&s;s him in his underta|king, that he might win, he cannot be per|&s;waded this is according to the Will of God, and if &s;o, he cannot pray in Faith, and &s;o his prayer is not plea&s;ing unto God: So that, I &s;ay, this is the particular direction in this ca&s;e, That what&s;oever we pray for, we mu&s;t be &s;ure of that, that it is according to the Will of God; and this is a good help to pray in
<PB N="168" REF="93"> Faith; &s;ays the Apo&s;tle <HI>John,</HI> in 1 <HI>John</HI> 5.14, <HI>This is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will he hear|eth us.</HI> You mu&s;t be &s;ure of that, that it is according to the Will of God, and then we may believe that he will hear us. Now, I pray con&s;ider this, a thing may be agreeable to the revealed Will of God, and yet not ac|cording to his &s;ecret Will and Purpo&s;e; and though the purpo&s;e of God be again&s;t what we pray for, yet if it be according to the re|vealed Will of God, we may lawfully pray in Faith for it. As now, &s;uppo&s;e a man or woman pray for the life of &s;uch a Relation, a Husband, or a Wife, or a Child, or a Friend, he prays earne&s;tly for their life; well, God in his &s;ecret purpo&s;e hath determined other|wi&s;e, the &s;ecret Will of God is contrary, yet this being lawful according to the revealed Will of God, to pray for the wellfare of the &s;ick, he may pray in Faith, though it be con|trary to the &s;ecret Purpo&s;e and Coun&s;el of God. You know this was <HI>David</HI>'s ca&s;e, he prayed earne&s;tly for his &s;ick Child, the Lord had a &s;ecret purpo&s;e that the Child &s;hould dye, yet he prayed earne&s;tly for the life of the Child, and he did not &s;in in praying, be|cau&s;e it was according to the revealed Will of God; and though it was contrary to the &s;e|cret Will of God, yet notwith&s;tanding, he might pray in Faith for the life of the Child, though God had intended otherwi&s;e. You know it was the ca&s;e of Chri&s;t him&s;elf, he
<PB N="169" REF="93"> prayed that the Cup might pa&s;s from him; it was the determinate Purpo&s;e and Coun&s;el of God that the Cup &s;hould not pa&s;s from him, but he &s;hould drink it. Now, did Chri&s;t &s;in in praying for that which was contrary to the &s;ecret Will and Purpo&s;e of God? No. Be|cau&s;e now this is certain, that it is a thing that is lawful, and according to the Will of God, for a Man or Woman to pray again&s;t that which is dangerous and hurtful to his nature; he may pray lawfully to be delivered from evil. Now Chri&s;t prayed to be delivered from evil, from drinking the Cup of Gods Wrath, though it was the &s;ecret Coun&s;el of God he &s;hould drink it, yet notwith&s;tanding he did not &s;in, becau&s;e he prayed for that which he knew was according to the revealed Will of God. Well, this is the fir&s;t Direction, and I pray mind it, That if you would pray in Faith for any mercy, let us be &s;ure of that, that what we pray for be according to the Will of God.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> The &s;econd Direction, To pray in Faith, &s;o as that we may plea&s;e God, is to pray in obedience to the Will of God; do it in obedience to the Will and Command of God as our Duty. Brethren, it is the Will and Command of God, and our Duty, that we &s;hould pray always, in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 105.4. <HI>Seek the Lord and his &s;trength, &s;eek his face ever|more.</HI> So, you know, in <HI>Luke</HI> 18.1. he pro|pounded a Parable to his Di&s;ciples, to the end, that Men &s;hould always pray and not
<PB N="170" REF="94"> faint. It is the Will of God that we &s;hould pray always; now to help us to pray in Faith, it is good to be Eying our Duty and the Lords Command; it is the Lords Command that we &s;hould pray, notwith&s;tanding we may meet with di&s;couragements, objections, and temptations from the Fle&s;h and from Satan, to take us off from the Duty; as now, the Fle&s;h and Satan will be ready to &s;ugge&s;t and di&s;courage, thus, why, What benefit have you by all the Prayers that ever you have made? What have you found in a way of an&s;wer to your Prayer? and again, do you not &s;ee that others that do not pray at all, fare even as well as you, for all your praying? and again, can we change the Mind and Will of God by all our Prayers? It is &s;aid in <HI>Job,</HI> that God is of one mind, and who can turn him? Can all the prayers of all the Saints and Angels in Heaven and Earth change the Mind and Will of God? But now, Faith will help a Soul to go over all the&s;e Objections; it is my Duty, and I will do it in Obedience to the Will of God, notwith&s;tand|ing this, or that, or the other Temptation, God hath commanded me to pray evermore, and Pray without cea&s;ing; and that I &s;hould pray and not faint; po&s;&s;ibly Satan will come with his Temptations and Objections, Do you not &s;ee that God &s;eems to be angry, and offended with your Prayers? God &s;eems to an&s;wer you contrary to your Prayers? then to what end is it for you to pray? Yet Faith will help a
<PB N="171" REF="94" MS="y"> Soul to an&s;wer all, with this, It is my Duty, it is Gods command, and therefore I will do it. For Faith does carry a Soul beyond Diffi|culties and Objections; As you &s;ee it was with <HI>Abraham,</HI> his Faith carried him beyond all his carnal rea&s;onings and objections: As when God called him to go out of his Native Coun|try into a place that he knew not, and it may be &s;carce ever heard of in all his Life, Fle&s;h and Blood now, and the Devil, would be ready to make Objections, What! &s;hall a Man venture to go he knows not whither? But now Faith help|ed him to go on, therefore it is &s;aid in <HI>Hebrews</HI> 11.8. <HI>By Faith, Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he &s;hould afterward receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and went out, not knowing whither he went.</HI> He went, becau&s;e of the Command of God, in obedience to the call of God. So when <HI>Abraham</HI> was call|ed to a hard piece of Service, to offer up <HI>I|&s;aac,</HI> here might have been a Temptation, What, &s;hall I go and cut the Throat of him in whom all the promi&s;es are to be performed? From <HI>I&s;aac</HI> Chri&s;t was to come; and God had told <HI>Abraham,</HI> that in him all the Families of the Earth &s;hould be ble&s;&s;ed; yet go, &s;aies God, and &s;acrifice your Son. Here was the com|mand, <HI>Abraham</HI> goes, notwith&s;tanding all the Cavils and objections of carnal rea&s;on, <HI>A|braham</HI> goes about it in obedience to the com|mand of God. Brethren, take this as another direction to help us to pray in Faith, not|with&s;tanding the objections and Temptations
<PB N="172" REF="95"> that may take us off; it is our duty, here is the Command of God for it, and out of obe|dience to Gods Command I will do it, what|ever come of it. You read in the 5th of <HI>Luke,</HI> the beginning, that <HI>Peter</HI> had been Fi&s;hing all Night, and had Caught nothing; in the Morning Chri&s;t &s;tood upon the &s;hore and called to him; &s;aies he, <HI>Ca&s;t your Net on the Right &s;ide of the Ship:</HI> Sir, &s;aies he, we have been labouring and toyling all Night, and have caught nothing, it is but a vain thing: But yet he did recollect him&s;elf, neverthele&s;s at thy Command we will do it; and thereupon ca&s;t|ing out the Net upon Chri&s;t's command, they had a very great Draught, in &s;o much that they were Amazed. Well, this is the &s;econd direction to help us to pray in Faith, to pray in Obedience to the Lords Will.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> The third Direction is this; name|ly, to be eying of the Lords Promi&s;e, and to pray by vertue of &s;ome promi&s;e or other, and this will mightily &s;trengthen and help Faith in Prayer: If a Soul have but a promi&s;e to encourage him in Prayer, by this means the Soul will come to &s;ee, as through a Cre|vice, the Willingne&s;s of God to hear him, and an&s;wer him.</P>
<P>The Soul may, po&s;&s;ibly, &s;cruple and Que&s;ti|on, But if I pray, will the Lord hear me? But if the Soul comes in the vertue of a pro|mi&s;e, he comes with a great encouragement and per&s;wa&s;ion that God will hear him. Now, Brethren, for your help in this thing, in pray|ing
<PB N="173" REF="95"> by vertue of &s;ome promi&s;e, under&s;tand and know, that there are two &s;orts of promi|&s;es, there are &s;ome more general promi&s;es concerning Gods hearing Prayer, and then there are &s;ome more particular promi&s;es con|cerning &s;ome particular Mercy or Ble&s;&s;ing that we pray for. Now, as for the general promi|&s;es, the Scripture is full of them, that God is a God hearing prayer, in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 65.2. <HI>O thou that heare&s;t Prayer, unto thee &s;hall all Fle&s;h come.</HI> God is a God hearing Prayer, for the encou|ragement of all Fle&s;h to come unto him. So in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 86.4, 5. <HI>Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my Soul, for thou, Lord, art good, and rea|dy to forgive, and Plenteous in Mercy unto all them that call upon thee.</HI> Here is a general pro|mi&s;e; &s;o in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 102.17. <HI>He will regard the Prayer of the De&s;titute, and not de&s;pi&s;e their Pray|er.</HI> And in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 145.8. <HI>The Lord is nigh un|to all that call upon him, that call upon him in Truth; He is nigh them to hear their Prayer.</HI> So in the <HI>New-Te&s;tament,</HI> &s;aies Chri&s;t, in <HI>Matt.</HI> 7.7, 8. <HI>Ask, and it &s;hall be given you, &s;eek and ye &s;hall find, knock and it &s;hall be opened unto you; for every one that asketh receiveth, &amp;c.</HI> And &s;o you have &s;uch expre&s;&s;ions frequently up and down in the Scripture, that are general pro|mi&s;es to encourage the Soul in Prayer; as the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.12. <HI>The &s;ame Lord over all, is Rich unto all that call upon him.</HI> Such general promi&s;es you have frequently in the Scripture; and then there are &s;ome more par|ticular promi&s;es about Gods hearing Pray|er,
<PB N="174" REF="96"> as now, for &s;ome particular Mercy or Ble&s;&s;ing that a Man or Woman may &s;tand in need of, there are &s;ome particular promi&s;es that &s;uits them more particularly. As you know, <HI>Jacob</HI> he makes u&s;e of that, <HI>Lord,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>Thou ha&s;t &s;aid that thou would'&s;t do me good.</HI> When he was in danger by his Brother <HI>E&s;au,</HI> in <HI>Gen.</HI> 32.9, 10, 11. <HI>Lord,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>Thou ha&s;t &s;aid that thou would'&s;t do me good.</HI> God had promi&s;ed to ble&s;s him, and he makes u&s;e of that promi&s;e, and &s;trengthens his Faith in his Prayer by that Argument. And &s;o <HI>David,</HI> in 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 7. there you may read how the Lord made a gracious promi&s;e to <HI>David</HI> and his Hou&s;e, to e&s;tabli&s;h the Throne to him and his po&s;terity, that his Po&s;terity &s;hould &s;ucceed him in his Throne; <HI>David</HI> would have built God a Hou&s;e, <HI>Well,</HI> &s;aies God, <HI>wilt thou build me a Hou&s;e; I will build thy Hou&s;e for thee.</HI> There was a Gracious promi&s;e; well, <HI>David</HI> makes u&s;e of this promi&s;e in the latter end of the Chapter, ver&s;e, 27 <HI>For thou, Oh Lord of Ho&s;ts, God of I&s;rael, ha&s;t revealed unto thy Servant, &s;aying, I will build thee an Hou&s;e, therefore hath thy Servant found in his Heart to pray this Prayer unto thee, &amp;c.</HI> So <HI>Jeho&s;haphat,</HI> in 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 20. having his Land invaded by a Foreign Enemy, he goes to God in Prayer; but mark how he eyes a promi&s;e in his Prayer, ver&s;. 8, 9. <HI>And have built thee a Sanctua|ry therein for thy name, &s;aying, If when evil com|eth upon us, as the Sword, Judgement, or Pe&s;ti|lence, or Famine, we &s;tand before this Hou&s;e, and
<PB N="175" REF="96"> in thy pre&s;ence (for thy Name is in this Hou&s;e) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help, &amp;c.</HI> He takes hold of the promi&s;e of God, and pleads that in his Pray|er, and &s;o prevails. So I might in&s;tance in o|thers, &s;ometimes God ca&s;ts in a promi&s;e, gives &s;ome &s;ecret hint of a promi&s;e in Prayer: As <HI>Paul,</HI> he had that promi&s;e, when he was afflict|ed with the Thorn in the Fle&s;h, and a Me&s;&s;enger of Satan to buffet him, God told him, that <HI>his Grace &s;hould be &s;ufficient for him,</HI> 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.9. And he makes u&s;e of that, and gathers &s;trength from it. But Suppo&s;e, now, a man or wo|man have no particular promi&s;e to &s;trengthen his Faith in Prayer, then let him eye &s;ome general promi&s;e or other, and this will be a mighty encouragement and &s;trengthning, and help to Faith in prayer, to encline the Heart to be per&s;waded that God is willing, becau&s;e of &s;uch general promi&s;es: Or &s;uppo&s;e that a|ny Man or Woman have no promi&s;e to lay hold upon, or to act Faith in Prayer upon, then,</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> In the Fourth place, take a fourth direction, and that is, to eye the Name of God; the Attributes of God they are called the Name of God, thereby God doth di&s;cover him&s;elf and his nature to us, and plead by vertue of &s;ome attribute of God, the Name of God; for &s;ometimes a Believer may be in the dark, and may not have the light of &s;o much as any one promi&s;e to make u&s;e of. Now, you know what the Holy-Gho&s;t &s;aith in <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 5.10.
<PB N="176" REF="97"> Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his Servant, that walketh in Darkne&s;s, and &s;ees no light, not the light of any Promi&s;e, let him tru&s;t in the Name of the Lord, and &s;tay upon h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s God; let him make u&s;e of the Name of God to &s;trengthen his Faith. The Saints and People of God have been wont to plead for the Name of God, and the Glory of Gods Name; that you find frequently in the Scripture, in <HI>Jere|miah</HI> 14.7. <HI>O Lord, though our iniquities te&s;ti|fy again&s;t us, do thou it for thy Names-&s;ake.</HI> So in the <HI>P&s;alms</HI> frequently, in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 25.11. <HI>For thy Name-&s;ake, Oh Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.</HI> But more particularly, eye &s;ome Attribute of God, &s;ome particular Name of God, as I may &s;o call it, for God is made known and di&s;covered to us by his attributes, and the properties of his Name; now let us eye &s;ome Attribute of God that may be help|ful to us in Prayer, as now the Power of God, it is very u&s;eful to eye the Power of God in Prayer; and &s;o you will find the Saints have made u&s;e of the power of God, that was put forth in the Creation of the World; I re|member <HI>Jeremiah</HI> Chapter 32. when the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were to go into Captivity for &s;eventy years, the Lord bad <HI>Jeremiah</HI> to buy the Field of his Uncle, for an evidence that God would bring his people back again. <HI>Je|remiah,</HI> when he had done, he would fall to Prayer, and he makes u&s;e of the power of God at the 17th ver&s;e, <HI>Ah Lord God, behold, thou ha&s;t
<PB N="177" REF="97"> made the Heavens and Earth by thy great Power, and &s;tretched out Arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.</HI> It is a hard thing for Fle&s;h and Blood to believe that I and my po&s;terity &s;hall have this Land again; but there is nothing too hard for thee, God can ea&s;ily bring them back a|gain from their long Captivity: &s;o you may &s;ee how <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> did eye the Power of God, in <HI>Numbers</HI> 14.17, 18. <HI>And now, I be&s;eech thee, let the Power of my Lord be great according as thou ha&s;t &s;poken, &amp;c.</HI> He urges the greatne&s;s of Gods Power; and &s;o <HI>Jeho&s;haphat,</HI> in that Pray|er of his, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 20.6. <HI>Oh Lord,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>art not thou God in Heaven, and rule&s;t not thou over all the Kingdoms of the Heathen, and in thine Hand is there not power and might, &s;o that none is able to with&s;tand thee?</HI> And &s;o <HI>A&s;a,</HI> when he al&s;o was in the like di&s;tre&s;s, when his Land was invaded, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 14.11. he cried to the Lord, and mark how he eyed the Power of God; And he &s;aid, <HI>Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with a many, or with them that have no power; help us, O Lord, our God, for we re&s;t on thee, and in thy Name we go again&s;t this Multi|tude.</HI> And &s;o, if you ob&s;erve, when Chri&s;t gives us directions to pray, in that which is called the Lords Prayer, &s;till in our prayer we are to eye the Power of God, <HI>For thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory.</HI> Still eye the Glory of Gods Power, and this is more helpful to Faith than we are aware of; you know, when many came to Chri&s;t in their di&s;tre&s;&s;es, when he was here upon Earth, for help, the poor Leper,
<PB N="178" REF="98"> when he came to Chri&s;t, he came with this, <HI>Lord if thou wilt, thou can&s;t make me clean, Mat.</HI> 8.2. And &s;aies Chri&s;t to the Father of the Child that was po&s;&s;e&s;t, when he came to him to ca&s;t out the Devil, <HI>Can&s;t thou believe,</HI> &s;aies Chri&s;t, <HI>that I am able to do this?</HI> becau&s;e he que&s;tioned the Power of Chri&s;t, <HI>Mark</HI> 9.22. <HI>Lord if thou can&s;t do any thing, have compa&s;&s;ion on us and help us,</HI> (&s;aies Chri&s;t) <HI>if thou can&s;t believe, all things are po&s;&s;ible to him that believeth, Ver&s;e</HI> 23. He would have him to eye his Power, and the eying of the Power of God doth wonderfully &s;trengthen Faith, and enable us to pray in Faith. And &s;o again, eye the mercy, and goodne&s;s, and kindne&s;s, and grace, and compa&s;&s;ion of God in Prayer, and that will help us in our prayers, &s;trengthen Faith in the Mercy of God. You read of it frequently in the <HI>P&s;alms,</HI> how <HI>Da|vid</HI> made u&s;e of that in his Prayer, <HI>For thy mer|cy &s;ake deliver me, and have mercy upon me, ac|cording to the multitude of thy tender Mercies, P&s;al.</HI> 51.1. So <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in <HI>Numb.</HI> 14.17, 18. He argues the Cau&s;e with God in his Prayer, upon the account of his Mercy, <HI>Let the Power of my Lord be great, according as thou ha&s;t &s;poken, &s;ay|ing, the Lord is long &s;uffering, and of great Mercy, forgiving iniquity, &amp;c.</HI> Ver&s;e 19. <HI>Pardon, I be&s;eech thee, the iniquity of this People, according to the greatne&s;s of thy Mercy.</HI> This is now the fourth direction to help us to pray in Faith, namely, to eye the Name of God, the Glory of his Name, &s;ome of his Glorious Attributes, and plead the vertue of them. To name but one more:</P>
<PB N="179" REF="98">
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> To pray in Faith, is to pray with a hope and expectation of an audience of our prayers; there is much lies in this, many pray, and pray, and never look after their Prayers; they pray without any hope or expectation of Gods hearing and an&s;we|ring their Prayers. Now, I &s;ay, we &s;hould pray with hope and expectation, waiting for an an&s;wer of our Prayers from the Lord one way or other, in the Lords own way; for &s;ometimes the Lord may an&s;wer us in a way that we could not expect, not in that particular thing that we pray for: As <HI>David</HI> &s;aies, in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 35.13. <HI>But as for me, when they were &s;ick, my cloath|ing was Sackcloth, I humbled my Soul with fa&s;t|ing, and my Prayer returned into mine own Bo&s;om.</HI> There was an an&s;wer, but not a particular an|&s;wer to what he Prayed for; yet he had an an&s;wer: &s;o God may an&s;wer our Prayer, and we &s;hould pray, hoping and waiting, and ex|pecting an an&s;wer; for Faith doth help us &s;o to act, to look up and wait. In <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 5.3. &s;aies <HI>David, My voice &s;halt thou hear, in the morning, Oh Lord, in the Morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.</HI> I will look after it, &s;ays he, and wait for &s;ome an&s;wer or other; There are many that commonly put up their Pray|ers Morning and Evening, and turn their Backs, and never mind what an&s;wer God will give them; this is not to pray in Faith; Faith doth help a Soul to look up, and wait for an an&s;wer one way or other, at one time or another. In <HI>Habakkuk</HI> 2.1. He had been making his Prayer
<PB N="180" REF="99"> unto God in the former Chapter, and now &s;aies he, <HI>I will &s;tand upon my watch, and &s;et me upon the Tower, and will watch to &s;ee what he will &s;ay unto me, and what I &s;hall an&s;wer when I be re|proved; and then</HI> ver&s;e 3 <HI>For the vi&s;ion is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it &s;hall &s;peak and not lye, though it tarry: wait for it.</HI> Ah! Bre|thren, there is more in this than we are aware of, namely, to wait in hope and expectati|on of an an&s;wer of our Prayers one way or other in the Lords time, this we may expect. God having revealed and made known him&s;elf to be a God hearing Prayer, and he hath not &s;aid to the &s;eed of <HI>Jacob,</HI> &s;eek ye me in vain. Now, the Soul may draw near to God in Pray|er, with hopes and expectations that God be|ing a God hearing prayer, will one way or o|ther hear and an&s;wer my Prayers; look for it and expect it.</P>
<P>And, Brethren, this waiting and expecting an Audience and an&s;wer of our Prayers from God, doth, as it were, lay an ingagement upon God to an&s;wer our Prayers. As now, if a man knows that another tru&s;ts in him for a thing, it does lay an ingagement upon him to be the more careful to do it; So now, when a Soul doth tru&s;t in the Lord, and rely upon him, expecting Audience, becau&s;e he hath declared him&s;elf to be a God hearing Prayer, now God is ingaged as it were to an&s;wer thee; &s;aies <HI>Da|vid,</HI> in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 9, 10. <HI>Thou Lord, ha&s;t not for&s;aken them that &s;eek thee.</HI> The Lord will not for&s;ake them that &s;eek; we may for&s;ake our Prayers
<PB N="181" REF="99"> when we have made them, but the Lord will not for&s;ake them that &s;eek him; as he &s;aies a|gain, in <HI>P&s;alm</HI> 34. the la&s;t Ver&s;e, <HI>None of them that tru&s;t in him &s;hall be de&s;olate.</HI> God is a God hearing Prayer, therefore none that tru&s;t in him &s;hall be de&s;olate; thus we are to wait for, and expect an an&s;wer of our Prayers, and God will hear us. And thus now you have had &s;ome few Directions given and laid down to help us to pray in Faith; and Bre|thren, by thus Praying in Faith we &s;hall avail much, this is the prevailing Prayer, and with|out Faith we cannot expect to prevail.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But you will &s;ay to me, The Truth is, I hope I have Prayed in Faith, I have been per&s;waded that what I have Prayed for hath been according to the Will of God, and I have Prayed out of Obedience to the Command of God, and I have had an eye to the promi&s;e, &amp;c. And yet I do not find any an&s;wer of my Prayer, and therefore I have cau&s;e to que&s;tion whether ever I have Prayed in Faith or no: <HI>How &s;hall I know whether my Prayer have been a Prayer of Faith or no?</HI> This que&s;tion is of very great con|cernment; I &s;hall briefly &s;peak &s;omething to it:</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Negatively, To pray in Faith, is not for a Soul to be per&s;waded and a&s;&s;ured that the particular thing that I pray for I &s;hall have, though many do mi&s;-apprehend it, and think this is to pray in Faith, to pray with an a&s;&s;u|rance that I &s;hall have the particular thing I pray for; no, there may be a great delu&s;ion in this: as I knew a profe&s;&s;or once, a Woman, and
<PB N="182" REF="100"> I hope a godly Woman, &s;he was carried away with this delu&s;ion and conceit, <HI>I know,</HI> &s;aies &s;he, <HI>that I &s;hall have this thing, and the other thing; I know I &s;hall have my Father and Mother come to me from another Country; why, &s;aid the Party to her? why,</HI> &s;aid &s;he, <HI>the promi&s;e is, that what|&s;oever I ask in Prayer, believing, I &s;hall receive, and,</HI> &s;ays &s;he, <HI>I have Prayed for it, and I do be|lieve I &s;hall have it.</HI> They per&s;waded her it was but a deceit; <HI>no, no,</HI> &s;aies &s;he, <HI>I am con|fident of it.</HI> But a &s;hort time after &s;he fell in|to a frenzy and madne&s;s; but yet &s;he recover|ed again afterward, and I hope &s;he was a godly woman, po&s;&s;ibly yet living; but I &s;peak of it for this, to &s;hew you that this is not to pray in Faith, to be a&s;&s;ured that what I pray for &s;hall be given me; a Man or Woman po&s;|&s;ibly may not have the thing they pray for, or may not have a per&s;wa&s;ion of the thing to be granted, and yet may pray in Faith. I pray did not our Lord Chri&s;t him&s;elf pray that the Cup might pa&s;s from him? And did not he pray in Faith? and was not he heard? <HI>Father I thank thee,</HI> &s;aies he, <HI>that thou heare&s;t me always, John</HI> 11.46. He prayed that the Cup might pa&s;s from him, he had not the particular thing that he Prayed for, and yet he was heard, and did pray in Faith for all that; &s;o that, I &s;ay, people may delude them&s;elves, and think this is to pray in Faith, when we are per&s;waded that we &s;hall have the paritcular thing granted we pray for; no, this is not to pray in Faith; a man may pray in Faith, though
<PB N="183" REF="100"> the thing be not granted at pre&s;ent; nay, though it never be granted. You will &s;ay then, How &s;hall I know whether I pray in Faith or no, though the thing be never granted that I pray for? I &s;hall briefly &s;peak three or four things to this, and &s;o wind up all.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t</HI> of all, Ob&s;erve I pray, when the Heart is brought to be &s;ubject to the Will of God, and to &s;ubmit to his di&s;po&s;e; when the Heart is brought after Prayer, or upon Prayer, to &s;ub|mit to the Will of God, po&s;&s;ibly the Soul hath met with &s;ome great Cro&s;s and affliction, or &s;ome great lo&s;s, po&s;&s;ibly of a near and dear Relation, the Soul it may be is mightily trou|bled about it, and now goes to God in Prayer, and commits its &s;elf and its ca&s;e to God by Prayer, and po&s;&s;ibly now the Soul is made to &s;ubmit to the Will of God, the Soul comes to argue and rea&s;on thus: The Lord is wi&s;er than I, and the Lord hath an ab&s;olute power over me, and he may do every thing, and it is fit that his Will &s;hould be done, and hereby the Heart comes to be quiet and made &s;ubmi&s;&s;ive to the Will of God; this argues now, that the Soul hath been praying in Faith, and God hath heard his Prayer, though he give him not the particular thing he prays for; yet he is made to &s;ubmit to the Will of God. This was ju&s;t the ca&s;e of Chri&s;t, Chri&s;t prayed that the Cup might pa&s;s from him, the Cup did not pa&s;s from him, yet in his Prayer he was brought to &s;ubmit to the Will of God, <HI>Neverthele&s;s, not my will, but thy will be done.</HI> So
<PB N="184" REF="101"> po&s;&s;ibly the Soul could not be &s;atisfied with the di&s;pen&s;ation of God, he comes and commends him&s;elf and his ca&s;e to the Lord, and upon Prayer the Soul is brought to &s;ubmit to the Will of God, and to &s;ay, <HI>not my will, but thy will be done.</HI> This is the fir&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> When the Soul is brought into a compo&s;ed frame upon Prayer, po&s;&s;ibly the Soul was all in a hurry and royl, before it met with &s;omething that was matter of af|fliction and perplexity, and it was like the ra|ging Sea, the Soul could not re&s;t night nor day; well, when this Soul comes and com|mits its &s;elf, and ca&s;e, and condition to the Lord in Prayer, and now there is a great calm and quiet in the heart, and all is allayed on a &s;udden; here is now the Power of Faith, the &s;pirit of Faith hath prevailed, and God hath come in and an&s;wered that Prayer, tho' not in the &s;ame kind and way that the Soul de&s;ired; yet it is a &s;ign it is a Prayer of Faith, and God hath an&s;wered it, becau&s;e now the heart is quieted and compo&s;ed after &s;uch a &s;torm. This was the ca&s;e of <HI>Hannah, Hannah</HI> was in a royle at fir&s;t, when &s;he was upbraid|ed for barrenne&s;s; &s;he goes and commends her Ca&s;e to the Lord; before &s;he told <HI>Ely,</HI> &s;he was a woman of a troubled &s;pirit, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 1.15, <HI>I have drunk neither wine nor &s;trong drink, but have poured out my &s;oul before the Lord.</HI> And when &s;he had gone before the Ark, and commended her &s;elf and ca&s;e to the Lord by Prayer, it is &s;aid, at <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 18. That
<PB N="185" REF="101"> <HI>&s;he went her way, and did eat, and her counte|nance was no more &s;ad.</HI> And &s;o likewi&s;e this was <HI>David</HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s ca&s;e, <HI>David</HI> was exceedingly troubled, and perplexed, and di&s;quieted, be|cau&s;e of the &s;ickne&s;s of his Child, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 12. He fa&s;ted and prayed earne&s;tly a long time; and though the Child died, yet <HI>David</HI>'s &s;pirit was calm and compo&s;ed; and when he heard the Child was dead, then he anointed him|&s;elf, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 20. and went into the Hou&s;e of the Lord and wor&s;hipped, and he went al&s;o into his own Hou&s;e, and did eat and drink as he u&s;ed to do, to the wonderment of his Ser|vants about him; God had compo&s;ed his heart, and though he had not the thing he prayed for, yet he had his Prayer an&s;wered, and his Prayer was a prayer of Faith.</P>
<P>Object. But you will &s;ay, <HI>May not another that hath no faith at all, pray and find his &s;pirit quiet? how is this then the work of faith? one that never had any faith at all, po&s;&s;ibly he may pray and have his &s;pirit quiet, and is never trou|bled at all; wherein lies the difference?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Mark, I pray, &s;uch a one that is not at all troubled about his condition, he is after Prayer ju&s;t as he was before.</P>
<P>Now, I &s;ay, this is an evidence that Faith hath been at work upon the heart, namely, when the &s;pirit was all in a royle and com|motion like the raging Sea, and then upon Prayer it is calmed and quieted, this is an ar|gument that this Prayer is a prayer of Faith.</P>
<PB N="186" REF="102">
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> It is an argument that a Soul prays in Faith, when as the Soul is made to per&s;e|vere in Prayer, notwith&s;tanding the di&s;cou|ragements and difficulties it meets withal: for this is the proper work and effect of Faith, to go on again&s;t di&s;couragements; and not to be taken off by difficulties. As now, the wo|man that had the bloody I&s;&s;ue, &s;he would fain have come to Chri&s;t, but &s;he met with impe|diments, there was a great throng about him that &s;he could not tell how to get near him; but her Faith did carry her on again&s;t all the di&s;couragements and impediments that &s;he met withal; &s;he would pre&s;s into the throng, and if &s;he could but touch the Garment of Chri&s;t, &s;he would be &s;atisfied; the throng &s;hould not keep her from Chri&s;t, <HI>Mark</HI> 5.28. And &s;o the blind man, in <HI>Mark</HI> 10.46, &amp;c. that &s;ate by the way-&s;ide begging, he heard that Je&s;us was pa&s;&s;ing by, and he cryed out, <HI>Je&s;us, thou &s;on of David, have mercy on me;</HI> and he made &s;uch a noi&s;e that the people were offended at him, and charged him to hold his peace; and it is &s;aid, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 18. That he cried out a great deal more, and Chri&s;t took notice of his Prayer, and called him to him, and &s;aid, <HI>What wilt thou, that I &s;hould do to thee?</HI> ver&s;e 51. <HI>Lord,</HI> &s;aid he, <HI>that I might receive my &s;ight. Go thy way,</HI> &s;ays Chri&s;t, <HI>thy faith hath made thee whole.</HI> It was a prayer of Faith, and Chri&s;t did hear it, and he was kept on praying again&s;t di&s;couragements and impe|diments that he met with. And &s;o the woman
<PB N="187" REF="102"> of <HI>Cannaan</HI> came to Chri&s;t for her Daughter, <HI>Matt.</HI> 15. &s;he intreats Chri&s;t to have Mercy upon her, Chri&s;t turns a deaf ear to her, and and an&s;wers her never a word; &s;he goes on &s;till, and Chri&s;t denies her, <HI>I am not &s;ent,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>but to the lo&s;t &s;heep of the hou&s;e of I&s;rael.</HI> Here was di&s;couragement upon di&s;courage|ment; &s;he goes on &s;till, and &s;ays Chri&s;t, <HI>It is not meet to take the Childrens bread and ca&s;t it to dogs.</HI> Yet &s;he would not be di&s;couraged, but went on till &s;he had obtained the Mercy. So, I &s;ay, when a Soul is drawn out to go on in Prayer, notwith&s;tanding di&s;couragements, and objections, and temptations to the contrary, it is an argument that it is a Prayer of Faith, and God will hear it, and an&s;wer it in his own time.</P>
<P N="4">4. I might have added a fourth, which is this, namely, when a Soul is made to wait upon God &s;till, for an an&s;wer and return of his Prayer, though the Soul have not yet an an&s;wer, and doth not meet with a return, yet notwith&s;tanding, the Soul is made to wait and to go on in waiting, to wait and to per&s;evere in waiting, truly this is an argument that that Prayer is a prayer of Faith; when the Soul is made willing to wait the Lords time, and the Lords way for an an&s;wer of that he prays for and expects, this is an argument of the exer|ci&s;e of Faith. Says <HI>David,</HI> when the Lord had promi&s;ed him to give him the Kingdom; <HI>Saul</HI> was then alive, and he &s;ought <HI>David</HI>'s life; <HI>David</HI> &s;ometimes had <HI>Saul</HI> at an advan|tage,
<PB N="188" REF="103"> as in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 26. and one of his Wor|thies that was with him, &s;aid to him, at <HI>ver.</HI> 8. <HI>God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day; now, therefore, let me &s;mite him, I pray thee with the &s;pear, even to the earth at once,</HI> &amp;c. No, &s;ays <HI>David,</HI> &s;tay the Lords time, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 9.10, 11. <HI>De&s;troy him not. As the Lord liveth the Lord &s;hall &s;mite him, or his day &s;hall come to dye; or he &s;hall de&s;cend into battel and peri&s;h. The Lord forbid that I &s;hould &s;tretch forth mine hand again&s;t the Lords annointed.</HI> And &s;o for a de|liverance out of danger, Faith doth help a Soul to go on, to per&s;evere in waiting for it till the Lords time. Says <HI>David,</HI> in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 40.1, 2. <HI>I waited patiently for the Lord, and he en|clined unto me, and heard my cry; he brought me up al&s;o out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and &s;et my feet upon a rock.</HI> Here was a prayer of Faith, he was willing to wait the Lords time, and the Lord did hear him: And thus now you &s;ee here are &s;ome &s;ymptoms where|by we may di&s;cern whether we pray in Faith or no. Now, Brethren, you have heard this particular thing &s;poken to, namely, how we &s;hould &s;o pray in Faith, that our prayers may be plea&s;ing unto God. What &s;hall we think then of tho&s;e that do not pray at all? Nay, what may they think of them&s;elves? if tho&s;e that pray and do not exerci&s;e Faith do not plea&s;e God, what do tho&s;e do then that neg|lect prayer, that ca&s;t off prayer, and re&s;train prayer? or el&s;e do it by fits and &s;tarts, when they have nothing el&s;e to do? They re&s;train
<PB N="189" REF="103"> Family-Prayer, and Clo&s;et-Prayer, what &s;hall we think of them? do the&s;e plea&s;e God? or do they not go on in a way of di&s;plea&s;ing God from day to day, provoking the Lord to pour out his wrath upon them? If there be any &s;uch here, let them not go on any longer thus to provoke the Lord. But, Bre|thren and beloved, now that we have heard the&s;e directions about praying in Faith, let none of us &s;atisfie our &s;elves with the hearing of the&s;e things, but let us now endeavour to walk according to the Directions pre&s;ented before us. Do you not de&s;ire to plea&s;e God in your praying, or el&s;e what do you pray for? Well, would you not have your Prayers di&s;|plea&s;ing unto God day by day? then be care|ful to pray in Faith; and to that end, re|member the&s;e Directions that I have now laid before you: And thus now I have done with this particular concerning praying in Faith.</P>
<P>It remains that we give you &s;ome Directi|ons about exerci&s;ing Faith in hearing of the Word, and then to &s;hew you how to partake of the Lords-Supper in Faith, and then I may &s;peak &s;omething by way of direction, how we may exerci&s;e Faith in the bu&s;ine&s;&s;es and con|cernments of this life, in the matters of our particular calling; for every thing mu&s;t be done in Faith: <HI>For without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>But thus much &s;hall &s;uffice for this time.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="8" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="190" REF="104">
<HEAD>SERMON VIII.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Hebrews XI. 6.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e him.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>Doct. <HI>IT is impo&s;&s;ible for any Soul to plea&s;e God without Faith.</HI></P>
<P>This is the Subject we have been about, and &s;hall now, through the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance, pro|ceed in. The la&s;t time I gave you &s;ome Di|rections how we &s;hould exerci&s;e Faith in Prayer, &s;o as we may plea&s;e God; I &s;hall now, through the Lords a&s;&s;i&s;tance, proceed, and come to lay down &s;ome directions, how we may come to exerci&s;e Faith in hearing the Word of God, that &s;o we may plea&s;e God: For though we &s;hould hear the Word of the Lord never &s;o often, yet if we do not exer|ci&s;e Faith in our hearing, we do not plea&s;e God in it. It is not enough that a man or woman have Faith in the habit, the Grace of Faith in his heart, while&s;t he is hearing the Word, but it is requi&s;ite unto our plea&s;ing of
<PB N="191" REF="104"> God in hearing his Word, that we act and ex|erci&s;e Faith. Says the Apo&s;tle, in <HI>Heb.</HI> 4.2. <HI>For unto us was the Go&s;pel preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit them.</HI> Why not? why did not the Word Preached profit them? He gives this as the Rea&s;on of it, <HI>not being mixed with faith,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>in them that heard it.</HI> They did not exer|ci&s;e Faith in hearing the Word, there|fore they did not profit by hearing, for want of mixing Faith with it: The word that is tran&s;lated <HI>mixed,</HI> it &s;ignifies an incorporation, or a Compo&s;ition, as it were, as there is in put|ting ingredients into a Potion. As now, &s;up|po&s;e in a Potion, if there want &s;ome &s;pecial ingredient that is requi&s;ite to it, the Potion will do little good, nay, po&s;&s;ibly it may do a great deal of hurt, it may not only not profit, but it may prejudice, it may be very hurtful. Truly, &s;o this Faith is a &s;pecial ingredient to our hearing the Word of God; now, if this be wanting, this acting and exerci&s;ing of Faith in hearing the Word, we may be much pre|judiced; it is of great concernment for people to be acting and exerci&s;ing of Faith in hear|ing the Word. I do not deny, but God may &s;ometimes, and doth ordinarily by the Word work Faith in tho&s;e that were not Believers before; for <HI>Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,</HI> Rom. 10.17. Yet not|with&s;tanding we cannot &s;ay, though God may plea&s;e to work Faith in tho&s;e that have no Faith, by hearing the Word, yet we cannot
<PB N="192" REF="105"> &s;ay that their hearing the Word that have no Faith, is plea&s;ing unto God, or that they do plea&s;e God in their hearing; no, the Text &s;eems to &s;peak the contrary; the Text &s;ays, that <HI>without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> And truly this may be the great wound, the great &s;ore upon people, the great impediment and hindrance, and rea&s;on why people hear much, and profit &s;o little, for want of exerci|&s;ing Faith in hearing.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> You will &s;ay then, <HI>How &s;hall we &s;o act and exerci&s;e faith in our hearing the word, that our hearing may be plea&s;ing unto God, and profit|able unto us?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> In an&s;wer to this, I &s;hall come di|rectly to lay down &s;ome Directions about hearing the Word of the Lord in a way of Faith, that &s;o our hearing the Word may be plea&s;ing unto God:</P>
<P>And fir&s;t of all, we mu&s;t be &s;ure of this, to be per&s;waded upon good grounds, that tho&s;e that we do hear di&s;pen&s;ing the Word be call|ed and &s;ent by Chri&s;t to Preach, or el&s;e we cannot hear them in Faith; &s;ome may Preach, and yet were never &s;ent, as the Lord &s;aith in <HI>Jer.</HI> 23.21. <HI>I have not &s;ent the&s;e Prophets, yet they ran; I have not &s;poken to them, yet they Pro|phe&s;ied.</HI> A man may come that hath good parts, and Preach the Word, and yet may not be &s;ent by the Lord; and if he be not &s;ent by the Lord, truly then we cannot hear in Faith; and if we be not per&s;waded that he is &s;ent by Chri&s;t, and called by Chri&s;t to
<PB N="193" REF="105"> Preach and di&s;pen&s;e the Go&s;pel, we cannot depend upon it as an Ordinance of God, we cannot expect the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t, we can|not expect the ble&s;&s;ing of Chri&s;t upon his Preaching. There are Two things therefore that we are to attend to here:</P>
<P N="1">1. That tho&s;e that we hear Preach the Go|&s;pel, be &s;ent and called by Chri&s;t to Preach. And</P>
<P N="2">2. We mu&s;t be per&s;waded that they are &s;ent and called by Chri&s;t to Preach, or el&s;e we cannot hear them in Faith; if we be not per|&s;waded that they are called and &s;ent by Chri&s;t. What the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks concerning eating of meats, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 14.23. he would have people per&s;waded in their minds; for &s;ays he, <HI>He that doubteth,</HI> or he that que&s;tions whether it be lawful or no, he <HI>is damned if he eat.</HI> That is, he ventures upon a &s;in that does de&s;erve damnation. So, in this ca&s;e, for hear|ing, if we be not per&s;waded that &s;uch a one that we hear, be &s;ent by Chri&s;t, we cannot hear the Word in Faith. And to this purpo&s;e, I pray con&s;ider that place in <HI>Rom.</HI> 10.14, 15. <HI>How then &s;hall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how &s;hall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? and how &s;hall they hear without a Preacher? and how &s;hall they Preach except they be &s;ent?</HI> Sent by whom? by Chri&s;t, they mu&s;t be called and &s;ent by Chri&s;t. How can we hear them except they be &s;ent? Why, cannot we hear a man except he be &s;ent? No, not lawfully; we cannot
<PB N="194" REF="106"> hear him in Faith, if we be not per&s;waded that he is &s;ent by Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Object. But you will &s;ay, <HI>Suppo&s;e now that one that hath parts and abilities come and Preach the Truth, that which is &s;ound Doctrine, may we not hear him? is it not lawful to hear him? Is it not &s;ufficient if he be a man of abilities, and do Preach &s;ound Doctrine? what &s;hall we need to &s;cruple to hear him?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For an&s;wer, Suppo&s;e now that an Idolatrous Ma&s;s-Prie&s;t &s;hould come and Preach &s;ound Doctrine, Orthodox Truths to a people, do you think now that &s;uch a one is &s;ent by Chri&s;t? do you think that you may &s;tand law|fully, and attend upon his mini&s;try as an or|dinance of Chri&s;t, not being &s;ent by Chri&s;t? Nay, I will &s;ay further, The Devil him&s;elf may Preach the Truth, and yet notwith&s;tand|ing, not being &s;ent by Chri&s;t, we are not to hear him. In <HI>Luke</HI> 4.33, 34. the Devil there he would be Preaching of Chri&s;t, what he &s;aid was Truth, <HI>I know thee who thou art, the Holy one of God.</HI> But Chri&s;t would not &s;uff|er him, in ver&s;. 35. <HI>And Je&s;us rebuked him, &s;aying, hold thy Peace.</HI> He would &s;ilence him, this is that which po&s;&s;ibly very few have minded in former times, but have gone on in hearing one and other without making any Que&s;tion whether they were &s;ent by Chri&s;t or no; but I &s;ay, we cannot act in Faith if we &s;hould go on thus, if we be not per&s;wa|ded that they are called and &s;ent by Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But you will &s;ay further, <HI>How can poor
<PB N="195" REF="106"> weak People, that are weak in under&s;tanding, how can they di&s;cern and under&s;tand whether Mini&s;ters be called and &s;ent by Chri&s;t or no?</HI> Alas! this is a hard thing for us to di&s;cern, and therefore it is &s;omewhat too hard to impo&s;e upon us, that we mu&s;t be per&s;waded that they are &s;ent by Chri&s;t, or el&s;e we cannot lawfully hear them?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Brethren, I &s;uppo&s;e it is not &s;o hard and difficult a thing to know whether a Mi|ni&s;ter be &s;ent by Chri&s;t or no; briefly thus, Chri&s;t he ordinarily &s;ends one of the&s;e two ways, tho&s;e whom he would have to Preach in his name, either</P>
<P N="1">1. In a way of in&s;titution or appointment in the way of his Ordinance; namely thus, when a Church of Chri&s;t following the Rules and Directions that Chri&s;t doth give in his Word, doth chu&s;e and call &s;uch a one that is &s;o and &s;o qualified, and in &s;uch a way, accord|ing to tho&s;e Rules &s;et him a-part for the work of Chri&s;t; this is now according to Chri&s;ts in&s;titution and Ordinance, here is one that is called by Chri&s;t to Preach and di&s;pen&s;e the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P N="2">2. There is another way whereby Chri&s;t may al&s;o call, namely, a providential way, in the way of his Providence, when as a peo|ple finding and di&s;cerning a per&s;on qualified and gifted for &s;uch a work, do thereupon call him and de&s;ire him to Preach to them; here is now a providential call, and Chri&s;t by this Providence doth call him, and &s;end him,
<PB N="196" REF="107"> as we read in <HI>Acts</HI> 13.15. <HI>Paul,</HI> there, <HI>went in|to the &s;ynagogue on the &s;abbath-day, and &s;et down, and after the reading of the Law and of the Prophets, the Rulers of the Synagogue &s;ent unto them, &s;aying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, &s;ay on.</HI> Here was now a providential call, being de|&s;ired by the people. So, &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, in <HI>Acts</HI> 16. when he was doubtful which way to go to Preach, at <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 6.7. they would have gone to this place, and the other, but the &s;pirit hindred them. At la&s;t, at <HI>v.</HI> 9.10. <HI>A vi&s;ion appeared to Paul in the night, and there &s;tood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, &s;ay|ing, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And after he had &s;een the vi&s;ion, immediately we en|deavoured to go into Macedonia, a&s;&s;uredly ga|thering, that the Lord had called us to preach the Go&s;pel unto them.</HI> Why, here was a beck of providence, and here was a call by the peo|ple, and God did di&s;cover it in a Vi&s;ion; &s;o that one of the&s;e two ways God doth ordi|narily now adays call Mini&s;ters to Preach the Go&s;pel. Now, this is ea&s;ie to be di&s;cerned, and therefore we are to be fully per&s;waded in our minds, that &s;uch as we go to hear, are called and &s;ent by Chri&s;t to Preach the Go|&s;pel, or el&s;e we cannot attend upon it as an Ordinance of Chri&s;t, nor expect the ble&s;&s;ing of Chri&s;t upon it.</P>
<P>Object. But you will &s;ay further, <HI>But have not good Chri&s;tians heretofore, godly people, been wont to attend upon &s;uch as did Preach &s;ound Do|ctrine
<PB N="197" REF="107"> without que&s;tioning their call? They never douhted whether they were &s;ent by Chri&s;t or no; but heard them, and the Lord was plea&s;ed al&s;o to ble&s;s their hearing, that they profited by their hear|ing; therefore why &s;hould we need to &s;cruple and que&s;tion whether we may not hear one as well as another?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Brethren, for this, I may &s;ay as the Apo&s;tle &s;aid in another ca&s;e, <HI>Acts</HI> 17.30. The times of this ignorance God winked at, when he &s;uffered them to go on in their erroneus ways: in times of ignorance God winketh at: But now, &s;ays he, he commandeth all men every where to repent and reform. So now, there being a further light, though God might wink at former ignorance, yet now he calls up|on all to con&s;ider and under&s;tand whom they hear, and what they hear, and upon what grounds tho&s;e that come to Preach the Go&s;pel to us, come; we know that in point of wor&s;hip there are many things that were here|tofore practiced by the people of God; and yet notwith&s;tanding their former practi&s;es, do not make tho&s;e things to be lawful to us now; as there were many things about the Govern|ment and Order of the Church that formerly Chri&s;tians have yielded too, and yet we can|not &s;o freely and &s;o &s;afely with a good Con|&s;cience yield to them; and though good Chri&s;ti|ans have formerly yielded to them, yet that doth not make it to be warrantable and lawful for us. But in a word, do we believe? are we per&s;waded that what&s;oever is not of Faith
<PB N="198" REF="108"> is &s;in? If we be not fully per&s;waded of the lawfulne&s;s of a thing, and yet do it, it is &s;in? And do we believe what the Text &s;aith here, That <HI>without faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God?</HI> Then if &s;o be that we have not Faith to per|&s;wade us, that &s;uch as do Preach are &s;ent by Chri&s;t, then I think we cannot act Faith in hearing the Word from them. This is the fir&s;t Direction about hearing in Faith, namely, that we be per&s;waded that tho&s;e that we do hear be called and &s;ent by Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. A &s;econd Direction how to act Faith in hearing the Word, is this, namely, we &s;hould be careful to remove all impediments that may hinder us in our hearing, from enjoying the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t, and our profiting by the Word; for this is the work of Faith, to put us upon the u&s;e of all lawful means to attain an end; Faith will not expect the end but upon the u&s;e of means. And &s;o on the other &s;ide, as it is the work of Faith to put us upon the u&s;e of means for the attaining of the end, &s;o to avoid all the impediments and hindrances that lye in the way to the attaining of the end; when the Lord called <HI>Jacob</HI> to go to <HI>Bethel, Gen.</HI> 35.1, 2, 3. that he might wor|&s;hip God there; now, <HI>Jacob,</HI> that he might enjoy the Pre&s;ence of God, and Communion with God in <HI>Bethel,</HI> in his drawing near to God there, <HI>Jacob</HI> he removes impediments; now he calls upon his hou&s;hold and all that were with him to put away the &s;trange gods from among them, <HI>and be clean,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>and change
<PB N="199" REF="108"> your garments; and let us ari&s;e and go up to Be|thel, and I will make an Alter unto God,</HI> &amp;c. And &s;o at Mount <HI>Sinai,</HI> God gave order to <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> that the people &s;hould be &s;anctified and purified when they &s;hould come to draw near to God, and God &s;hould draw near to them, <HI>Exod.</HI> 19.10, 11. And &s;o now, when we are to draw near to God in the hearing of his Word, we are to be careful to remove all impediments that may hinder our profiting by our hearing; and this is the work of Faith, Faith doth &s;et a Soul a work to endeavour to remove all impediments. Now there are di|vers impediments to be removed, which will certainly hinder our profiting by the Word, I &s;hall name &s;ome few &s;pecial ones which the Scripture hints to us: As,</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> This is one, Malice in the heart; to have the heart po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with Malice towards one or another, this will hinder us from pro|fiting by the Word. The Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> there|fore expre&s;ly calleth upon us, in 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.1, 2. <HI>Wherefore laying a&s;ide all malice,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>As new born babes, de&s;ire the &s;incere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.</HI> As if he &s;hould &s;ay, if you harbor malice in your hearts when you come to hear the Word, you will not grow and profit by it; if you entertain and allow malice in your hearts towards one another, this malice may break out in the envy of the good, and welfare of another; and &s;o the A|po&s;tle brings in that branch of <HI>malice, envy,</HI> and &s;ometimes it breaks out in reviling and
<PB N="200" REF="109"> evil-&s;peaking, and therefore &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Lay a&s;ide all malice, and envy, and evil-&s;peak|ing, and &s;o receive the &s;incere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.</HI> As in Prayer, if I regard iniquity in my heart God will not hear my Prayer; &s;o in this ca&s;e, if we allow any &s;in in our hearts, any malice towards one or another, when we come to hear the Word, God will not li&s;ten to us, and we &s;hall not profit by the Word: this may be one cau&s;e why people hear &s;o much, and profit &s;o little. If &s;o be they do allow malice and envy in their hearts, and allow them&s;elves to &s;peak evil of others, they cannot hear the Word to grow and profit by it; no, we are to exerci&s;e love in our drawing near to God, love to God, and love to the Word, and love to the Saints, and love to one another; for if &s;o be that we do not love them that we have &s;een or do &s;ee, &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, how can we be truly &s;aid to love God whom we have not &s;een? 1 <HI>John</HI> 4.20. Therefore this is one thing, Let us be careful to lay a&s;ide all malice, and envy, and evil-&s;peaking, if we do de&s;ire &s;o to draw near to God in the hearing of the Word, as to pro|fit by it.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> Another impediment that the A|po&s;tle hath in the &s;ame place of <HI>Peter,</HI> is hy|pocri&s;y and guile; this al&s;o mu&s;t be laid a&s;ide, or el&s;e we &s;hall not receive the Word, &s;o as to grow and profit by it; if we come to the hearing of the Word, and do maintain guile and hypocri&s;y in our hearts, and allow of it,
<PB N="201" REF="109"> then we cannot profit or grow by the Word. The Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> doth plainly hold forth, that all guile and hypocri&s;y mu&s;t be laid a|&s;ide, and &s;o receive the Word, as new born babes, that ye may grow thereby. Guile and hypocri&s;y doth hinder our profiting by the Word; for this is now a kind of &s;tumbling-block, we draw near to God, and have a &s;tumbling-block in our hearts; and &s;ays the Lord, in <HI>Ezek.</HI> 14.7. <HI>If any man &s;etteth up Idols in his heart, and putteth the &s;tumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a pro|phet to enquire of him concerning me, I, the Lord, will an&s;wer that man by my &s;elf.</HI> Some do ex|pound that place, the word <HI>&s;tumbling-block,</HI> for the &s;eparating and withdrawing the heart from God. Now there are two kinds of hy|pocri&s;y or guile that are to be laid a&s;ide in hearing the Word, one is in re&s;pect of God, the other is towards man; the guile and hy|pocri&s;y towards God is this, namely, when as a man or woman doth &s;eem to draw near to God in his wor&s;hip, attending upon his Word, and yet notwith&s;tanding the heart is not near God, but afar off from him, here is hypocri&s;y and di&s;&s;imulation towards God; <HI>This people,</HI> &s;ays God, <HI>draw near to me with their mouth and lips, but their heart is far from me,</HI> I&s;a. 29.13. And &s;o Chri&s;t tells the Scribes and Phari&s;ees, in <HI>Matt.</HI> 15.8. when as a man doth pretend to draw near to God, as if he would know the Mind of God, that he may do the Will of God, and have no &s;uch intendment in his
<PB N="202" REF="110"> heart, he comes to hear the Word, what doth this hold forth, but that he intends to do the word which he hears? Now, when the heart is not &s;et to do the Will of God, here is hypo|cri&s;y. I remember <HI>Jeremiah</HI> &s;peaks to that purpo&s;e, in <HI>Jer.</HI> 52.20. <HI>For ye di&s;&s;embled in your hearts,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>when ye &s;ent me unto the Lord your God, &s;aying, pray for us unto the Lord our God, and according to all that the Lord our God &s;hall &s;ay to us, we will do it.</HI> Your heart was not right, &s;ays he, ye pretended, and &s;aid, <HI>whatever the Lord our God &s;hall &s;ay, we will do,</HI> but ye did di&s;&s;emble. This is one kind of hypocri&s;y and guile, when a Soul doth di&s;&s;em|ble with God, and &s;eem to wor&s;hip God, and yet the heart is far from God; pretend to come to know the Mind of God, and yet have not a full purpo&s;e and re&s;olution of heart to do what God &s;hall reveal and make known to be his Will. And then there is another kind of hypocri&s;y and guile, which is towards men; when as a man doth pretend love to his Neighbour, and kindne&s;s and friend&s;hip in Word and Lip, and yet there is no reality at all in the heart. The Apo&s;tle <HI>John</HI> &s;peaks of this very thing, &s;ays he, 1 <HI>Joh.</HI> 3.8. <HI>My little Children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.</HI> It is not a love in deed and in truth, when as our Brother or Neighbour &s;tand in need of &s;upply and help, and we &s;hut up our bowels towards him; here is di&s;&s;embling, we pretend love, and there is no reality. Now, &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, if you
<PB N="203" REF="110"> will hear the Word &s;o as to profit by it, you mu&s;t lay a&s;ide all guile and hypocri&s;y; this may be another great cau&s;e and rea&s;on why people do come and hear much, and profit little, becau&s;e they harbour guile and hypocri|&s;y in their hearts; therefore this you mu&s;t be careful al&s;o to lay a&s;ide.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> Another impediment which the Holy-Gho&s;t al&s;o points at in Scripture, which doth hinder us from profiting by the Word, is this, when we come to hear with our hearts royled with pa&s;&s;ion, and anger, and wrath; when we come to hear, and have our &s;pirits in a &s;torm as it were with pa&s;&s;ion, then we may hear and hear, but &s;hall not profit by our hearing; for now the heart and &s;pirit is like a joynt or bone out of the Socket, now it hath no ability to act its part, to do what lay upon &s;uch a Member to do. So 'tis in this ca&s;e, when the heart and &s;pirit is in a royle, it is put out of joynt and frame by pa&s;&s;ion; and being di&s;turbed, now 'tis unfit to attend up|on God, to hear what God &s;hall &s;peak. Now a mans pa&s;&s;ion may be di&s;turbed one of the&s;e two ways, &s;o as to be put out of frame to at|tend upon God, to hear the Voice of God in his Word.</P>
<P N="1">1. Sometimes by &s;ome pinching Providence of God, &s;ome afflicting Hand of God upon him, which doth pinch and di&s;turb the &s;pirit, and put it into a royle; now a man or wo|man being thus di&s;turbed in his &s;pirit, is unfit to hear what God &s;peaks, though he &s;peak to
<PB N="204" REF="111"> him in a way of mercy and grace; you have an in&s;tance for this, in <HI>Exod.</HI> 6.9. <HI>And Mo&s;es &s;pake &s;o unto the Children of I&s;rael, but they hearkned not unto Mo&s;es.</HI> How did he &s;peak to the Children of <HI>I&s;rael?</HI> See <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 6.7, 8. <HI>Wherefore &s;ay unto the Children of I&s;rael, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from un|der the burden of the Egyptians, and will rid you out of their bondage, and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye &s;hall know that I am the Lord your God, which brought you out from under the burden of the E|gyptians, and I will bring you in unto the land which I did &s;ware to give it to Abraham, to I|&s;aac, and to Jacob, and I will give it you for an heritage; I am the Lord. And Mo&s;es &s;pake &s;o unto the Children of I&s;rael: but they hearkned not unto Mo&s;es, for angui&s;h of &s;pirit, and for cruel bondage.</HI> Through the Providence of God it came to pa&s;s, that they were oppre&s;&s;ed under <HI>Egyptian</HI> power; and when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> came to &s;peak of inlargement and deliverance, they were oppre&s;&s;ed, and their &s;pirits were filled with angui&s;h and trouble; and now let the Lord &s;peak in never &s;uch a gracious manner by his Prophet, they could not attend to him for angui&s;h of &s;pirit.</P>
<P N="2">2. And &s;o &s;ometimes the &s;pirit may be put into a royle and pa&s;&s;ion for &s;ome &s;mall petty cro&s;s, &s;ome kind of vexation which others do occa&s;ion, when they cro&s;s them and vex them, and thereby their &s;pirits are put out of order; and now they are unfit to attend upon God:
<PB N="205" REF="111"> You have an in&s;tance for this, in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 1.6, 7. concerning <HI>Hannah,</HI> it is &s;aid there, that <HI>her adver&s;ary provoked her &s;ore, for to make her fret, becau&s;e the Lord had &s;hut up her womb;</HI> and &s;he went up to the Hou&s;e of the Lord, and &s;he wept and did not eat, &s;he could not tell how to keep the Fea&s;t, to wait upon God in his Ordinances; Why? becau&s;e her &s;pirit was vexed and did fret. So you may ob&s;erve it, if your &s;pirits be put out of order, as &s;ome|times they are upon a &s;mall occa&s;ion, ob&s;erve it, the Devil is wont to take &s;uch opportuni|ties, when you are about to draw near to God in any Ordinance, then to mini&s;ter &s;ome occa&s;ion or other to put you into a fret; po&s;|&s;ibly a little thing out of the way will do it, &s;ometimes the mi&s;placing of a Pin will di&s;turb the &s;pirit, and &s;ometimes the Husband may take &s;ome offence again&s;t the Wife, and the Wife again&s;t the Husband, or again&s;t the Ser|vants or Children, and the Spirit is royled, and now you come to hear, you &s;hall not profit, becau&s;e now your &s;pirits are royled with pa&s;|&s;ion; and this is another impediment, and here may be al&s;o one great rea&s;on why peo|ple come and hear, and hear, and profit little, becau&s;e many times their &s;pirits are royled with pa&s;&s;ion, and this al&s;o mu&s;t be removed.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> Another Impediment that mu&s;t be removed, if you will hear the Word to profit, then take heed that your hearts do not go af|ter covetou&s;ne&s;s, be not inordinately &s;et upon the riches of this world, bent and re&s;olved to
<PB N="206" REF="112"> be rich in the world, truly this will be an im|pediment, and will hinder you from waiting upon God in his Word; this will be like Thorns to choke the Word; for now the Word is that which doth cro&s;s and thwart us in our reach|es after the riches of the world. The Word tells us of other riches that are more true Riches; now, when a mans heart is &s;et upon the riches of the world, he cannot then yield to what is &s;poken; ju&s;t like the rich man we read of in <HI>Matt.</HI> 19. The rich man comes to Chri&s;t to know what good thing he &s;hall do to inherit eternal life; <HI>Go,</HI> &s;ays Chri&s;t, in <HI>ver.</HI> 21.22. <HI>&s;ell that thou ha&s;t, and give to the poor, and thou &s;halt have trea&s;ure in Heaven:</HI> And it is &s;aid, he went away &s;orrowful, becau&s;e this was contrary to his grain; his mind and heart was &s;et upon riches, and he could not yield to this Word of Chri&s;t. And our hearts are ready to &s;corn, and &s;light, and de&s;pi&s;e what is &s;poken, if our hearts be &s;et upon the riches of the world; as you may read in <HI>Luke</HI> 16.14. 'tis &s;aid there, when Chri&s;t was warning them to take heed of the world, <HI>Ye cannot &s;erve God and Mammon.</HI> The Phari&s;ees who were co|vetous, heard all the&s;e things, and they deri|ded him, this was again&s;t the grain, their hearts were covetous, and &s;et upon the riches of the world; and now whatever Chri&s;t &s;peaks, they de&s;pi&s;e and &s;et at nought. This is that which the Holy-Gho&s;t doth warn us again&s;t, and doth &s;hew us that this is the great ground and cau&s;e why people hear the Word and profit
<PB N="207" REF="112"> not, becau&s;e their hearts go after their cove|tou&s;ne&s;s. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 33.31, 32. &s;ays the Lord there, <HI>This people cometh unto thee as the people cometh, and &s;it before thee as my people, and they hear my words, and they &s;eem to be plea&s;ing to them, and they take delight in them, and thou art unto them as a very lovely &s;ong of one that hath a plea&s;ant voice, and they hear thy words, and do them not;</HI> why &s;o? <HI>for with their mouth they &s;hew much love, but their hearts goeth after their covetou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> Their hearts goeth after the world, and therefore whatever is &s;poken will do them no good; and therefore Chri&s;t doth admoni&s;h us and advi&s;e us to take heed and beware of covetou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>Luke</HI> 12.15. Well, this is ano|ther impediment; if we do de&s;ire to hear the Word to profit and edification, let us get our hearts off from the riches of the world.</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> To name no more, Take heed al&s;o of having the heart filled with the cares and matters of this world; if our hearts be filled with the world, there will be no room for the Word to take place: Ju&s;t as if a Room be filled and taken up, there is no room for o|thers to come in. If the world, and bu&s;ine&s;s, and occa&s;ions of the world come and take up the head and the heart, here will be no room for the Word to take place; it is ju&s;t as it is in a great croud, where there is a great noi&s;e; if there be a great noi&s;e in the Street, if one come and &s;peak a word in your ear, you can|not hear him becau&s;e of the noi&s;e; &s;o if our hearts and ears be filled with the cares and the
<PB N="208" REF="113"> bu&s;ine&s;s of the world, it makes &s;uch a noi&s;e as we cannot hear; and therefore Chri&s;t tells us, that the&s;e cares of the world are like Thorns, in <HI>Matt.</HI> 13.22. <HI>He that receiveth &s;eed among thorns, is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world, and the deceitfulne&s;s of riches choak the Word, and he becometh unfruit|ful.</HI> Though we hear much, and there be much Seed &s;own, yet if it &s;pring up among Thorns, it will never come to any maturity; and therefore hence it is, that Chri&s;t by two Parables doth &s;hew us how the occa&s;ions and bu&s;ine&s;&s;es of the world doth hinder people from li&s;tening to the voice of Chri&s;t in his Word, in <HI>Luke</HI> 14. There is one Parable of a great Supper that a great man made, and in|vited many, but they refu&s;ed to come, and made light of it. And the other Parable you have in <HI>Matt.</HI> 22.5. concerning a King which made a Marriage Fea&s;t for his Son, and in|vited his Gue&s;ts, and when the Fea&s;t was pre|pared they made light of it, and would not come; What was the Rea&s;on? One mu&s;t go to his Farm, and another to his Merchandi&s;e; one about this bu&s;ine&s;s, and another about that, and they could not attend to the Lords Voice in his Word. Chri&s;t doth thereby &s;hew us, that the matters and cares of this world, when they fill the head and the heart, they do hinder us from attending upon God in his Word: This is now another impediment which is to be removed, if we would &s;o attend up|on the Word, as to hear it with profit. And
<PB N="209" REF="113"> truly Brethren, to &s;peak plainly, I am afraid that this is one great cau&s;e why many do pro|fit &s;o little by hearing the Word; they come reeking out of the world, and their hands, and heads, and hearts are full of the world, and by that means the Word comes to be un|profitable to them. Oh! that we could there|fore learn to under&s;tand the Lords Will, to under&s;tand what are the impediments that hinder us from hearing the Word with profit, and be careful to get them removed: This is the &s;econd Direction, how to hear the Word in a way of Faith. Faith doth put us upon the removing tho&s;e impediments that do hinder us from profiting by the Word.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> The Third Direction is this; If we would hear the Word in a way of Faith, &s;o as we may profit by it, it is to hear it as the very Word of God, as if God &s;hould &s;peak from Heaven to us immediately; How would we hear the Word if God &s;hould &s;peak to us im|mediately from Heaven? with what reverence and attention would you hear? how would you be careful to &s;wallow up every Word that God &s;hould &s;peak? Brethren, know this, that God out of tenderne&s;s and re&s;pect to us, &s;peaks in another manner and way to us now, in&s;trumentally by man, more mediately, be|cau&s;e we are not able to bear the immediate Voice of God; as they &s;aid at Mount <HI>Sinai, Let not God &s;peak any more to us, for we cannot bear it.</HI> Now, the Lord, out of indulgency to us, becau&s;e we cannot bear his own im|mediate
<PB N="210" REF="114"> voice, the Lord is plea&s;ed to &s;peak to us by means and in&s;truments, by men that are like our &s;elves; now, I &s;ay, it is God that &s;peaks to us by men, it is God that &s;peaks from Heaven to us by men; therefore we are to hear the Word, as if God from Heaven did &s;peak to us, as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, in <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.25. <HI>Take heed that ye refu&s;e not him that &s;peaks from Heaven.</HI> This is the way now to profit by the Word, and to hear it in Faith; you &s;hall find that <HI>Cornelius</HI> he heard in this manner, when <HI>Peter</HI> came to Preach to him, <HI>Cornelius</HI> attended to him, as if God him&s;elf &s;poke to him, in <HI>Acts</HI> 10.33. <HI>Now, therefore are we all here pre&s;ent before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God;</HI> as if we &s;hould hear God him&s;elf &s;peak. And you &s;ee what the advantage and benefit of it was; it is &s;aid in <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 44. that <HI>while Peter yet &s;pake the&s;e words, the Holy-Gho&s;t fell on all them that heard him.</HI> By this means the Word was made profitable and effectual to them, <HI>the Holy Gho&s;t fell on all them that heard it;</HI> as if God him&s;elf had &s;poken to them. And the like you read con|cerning the <HI>The&s;&s;alonians,</HI> in 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 2.13. &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, <HI>For this cau&s;e thank we God without cea&s;ing, becau&s;e when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of man, but (as it is in truth) the word of God, which effectually worketh al&s;o in you that believe.</HI> Ye received it not as the word of man, though it was &s;poken by man; but ye heard it as the very Word of God, as
<PB N="211" REF="114"> if God him&s;elf &s;pake from Heaven to you; and therefore Brethren, mind this, when we come to hear the Word, we &s;hould attend upon it, and hear it as the very Word of God, as if God him&s;elf did &s;peak from Heaven, and &s;o receive it.</P>
<P>Object. But you will &s;ay, <HI>What, &s;hall we receive every thing that is Preached by Mini&s;ters, as the very Word of God? Indeed if they were in|fallible, we might; but men are not infallable in their Preaching, as the Apo&s;tles were; they are but men, and they may err and mi&s;take &s;ometimes; now, are we bound to receive every thing from them as if God him&s;elf did &s;peak it? Mini&s;ters al&s;o</HI> (you will &s;ay) <HI>may differ &s;ometimes in their teaching, one man is of one opinion, and ano|ther man of another opinion, what, are we to re|ceive whatever one and another &s;peak, as the ve|ry Word of God? as if God &s;poke to us? how can this be?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For An&s;wer to this, briefly:</P>
<P N="1">1. I &s;ay, therefore it doth concern Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel to take very great heed, that whatever they &s;peak, it be according to the Mind and Will of God, to &s;peak nothing of their own heads, but what they have warrant for from the Word; and therefore we &s;hould u&s;ually back what we hold forth to the peo|ple, for matter of Doctrine to be believed, or for matter to be practi&s;ed from the Word of God; we &s;hould be very careful of that, &s;o that we may be able to &s;ay, as the Apo&s;tle did, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15.2, 3. <HI>For I delivered unto you
<PB N="212" REF="115"> fir&s;t of all, that which I al&s;o received,</HI> &amp;c. and &s;o &s;hould we do. And let me tell you, I confe&s;s it hath been matter of &s;ome trouble to me, fearing le&s;t I &s;hould &s;ometimes &s;peak what I have not warrant for from the Lords mouth, to hold forth according to his Will; It hath made me &s;ometimes (to tell you plain|ly) to wi&s;h that I were otherwi&s;e imployed, and that the Lord might imploy tho&s;e that might more fully declare, and hold forth his Mind and Coun&s;el to the people, than po&s;&s;ibly I may be able to do; but this is that that lyes incumbent upon Mini&s;ters, to be very careful to hold forth nothing but what they have warrant for from the Word of God. But,</P>
<P N="2">2. Suppo&s;e what is held forth and delivered &s;ometimes by Mini&s;ters be not expre&s;ly back|ed by the Word, yet notwith&s;tanding we &s;hould be very backward and &s;low to reject and de&s;pi&s;e what is held forth, though we do not &s;ee at pre&s;ent what warrant there is for it in the Word; po&s;&s;ibly it may be according to the Mind of Chri&s;t in a con&s;equential way, it may be reduced from the Word. And thus far further we &s;hould do, we &s;hould be &s;earch|ing and inquiring whether tho&s;e things be &s;o or no? like the <HI>Bereans,</HI> in <HI>Acts</HI> 17.11. It is &s;aid, that they were more noble than tho&s;e in <HI>The&s;&s;alonica,</HI> for they received the Word with all readine&s;s of mind, and &s;earched into the Scriptures dayly, to &s;ee whether tho&s;e things were &s;o or no. The <HI>Bereans,</HI> when they heard <HI>Paul</HI> Preach &s;omething po&s;&s;ibly
<PB N="213" REF="115"> that they did not &s;o well apprehend to be grounded upon the Scriptures, they did not thereupon &s;light and de&s;pi&s;e what they heard, but here was matter of further inquiry for them, they &s;earched the Scriptures to &s;ee whe|ther it was according to the Scriptures or no; and they were commended for it: &s;o &s;hould we do, if any thing be held forth that we cannot &s;ee for the pre&s;ent expre&s;s war|rant and ground for in the Scripture, we &s;hould not &s;light it and ca&s;t it off, but be &s;earching into the Scriptures, to &s;ee whether there may not be &s;ome ground and warrant for it; This is the third Direction; if we would hear the Word of God in Faith, we mu&s;t be careful to receive it as the very word of God.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> If we would hear the Word in Faith, &s;o as it may be to profit and edification, we &s;hould &s;o hear it, as to make a particular application of it to our &s;elves, as &s;poken to us in particular; mark it, I pray, here is the direction, we &s;hould not only hear the Word, and receive it as &s;poken by the Lord, as if God him&s;elf &s;hould &s;peak to us, but take it as &s;poken to us particularly from the Lord; every one &s;hould take it to him&s;elf as particularly &s;poken to me, and to me in particular; as they &s;aid to <HI>Job,</HI> in <HI>Job</HI> 5.27. <HI>Lo this, we have &s;earched it, &s;o it is; hear it, and know it thou for thy good;</HI> for thy good in particular. And as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aid, in <HI>Acts</HI> 13.26. <HI>To you is the word of Salvation &s;ent.</HI> So to you, and to every one in particu|lar
<PB N="214" REF="116"> is this word &s;ent, and this is the very proper work of Faith, to make a particular ap|plication of the Word that is &s;poken to its &s;elf. This, I &s;ay, is the proper work of Faith; for you know in Scripture, the word of Com|mand and the word of Promi&s;e lay in gene|ral, now it is the very work and act of Faith, to take the word that lies in common and ge|neral, and apply it particularly to the Heart; this is the very proper work of Faith; or el&s;e Brethren, the word will do us no good; It will be ju&s;t like a Table full of Meat; the Meat will do us no good if it be not taken; &s;o long as it &s;tands upon the Table it will do us no good, if it be not taken and eaten down, and applied particularly to us. So in this Ca&s;e, &s;o long as the Word lies only in the Scripture be|fore us, the word of Command, or the word of Promi&s;e, or whatever word it be, if it lie before us as common and in general, and there be no particular application of it, it doth us no good at all, we &s;hall not profit by it; but now when it comes particularly to be ap|plied, that God &s;peaks this as a word of Com|mand to me, that this is my Duty, and I mu&s;t take it as if God did &s;peak it particu|larly to me, that which I am called to per|form; &s;o if it be a word of Promi&s;e, I &s;hould take it as &s;poken from the Lord to me, the Lord calls me to accept of it and embrace it; and, Brethren, though the Word of the Lord &s;eems to lay in common, yet it hath an eye up|on every per&s;on that hears it, it looks to eve|ry
<PB N="215" REF="116"> one, ju&s;t as a Picture, if it be exact|ly drawn, if there be a Hundred Per&s;ons in the Room, the eye will be upon every one in the Room; &s;o the eye of the Word is up|on every particular per&s;on, that hears it; and know it for your good, that the Lord doth &s;peak to everyone of us in particular, when the Word is Preached, and we &s;hould not &s;ay, Well, here was a word fit for &s;uch a one, ap|plying it to others, and &s;uch a one was met with in the Word: No, no, Brethren, &s;o long as we can apply the Word to others and not to our &s;elves, it will do us no good; but this is our work and bu&s;ine&s;s, when the Word is Preached in the Name of the Lord, and ac|cording to the Will of God, we mu&s;t take it as &s;poken to our &s;elves; and here is now the act of Faith, to make that particular which is &s;poken in general. This is now a Fourth directi|on.</P>
<P>I &s;hall name but one more, and &s;o conclude.</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> If we would hear the Word of God in Faith, &s;o as to profit by it, then we &s;hould act Faith variou&s;ly, according to the &s;everal kinds or parts of the Word, for you know there are divers parts in the Word; as now, there is a Word of Doctrine, and a Word of Promi&s;e; &s;ome are Commands, and &s;ome are Threatnings; now, I &s;ay, we &s;hould act Faith upon the Word variou&s;ly, according to the &s;e|veral parts of it; as now for example, if &s;o be that we meet with a word of Doctrine, as concerning the Creation of the World that
<PB N="216" REF="117"> was made out of nothing, or the Re&s;urrection of the Dead, that every per&s;on &s;hall be rai&s;|ed again; or concerning the Trinity of per&s;ons in the Godhead, or the union of two natures in one per&s;on, or our being ju&s;tified by Faith in the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> The&s;e things are Doctrinal; now, Faith is to be acted here, Namely, by giving our a&s;&s;ent to the truth thereof, by believing of it as faithful and true. <HI>He that receiveth his Te&s;timony, hath &s;et to his &s;eal that God is True, John</HI> 3.33. And by Faith we believe that the World was created out of nothing; this is acting of Faith upon this part of the Word, by giving our a&s;&s;ent to it, and believing of it to be true, becau&s;e the Lord hath &s;poken it; po&s;&s;ibly we cannot un|der&s;tand it, how there &s;hould be three per&s;ons in one e&s;&s;ence, and that the &s;ame Body &s;hall be rai&s;ed again that is mouldered into Du&s;t; we cannot under&s;tand the rea&s;on of it; but be|cau&s;e God hath &s;poken it, we &s;hould believe it. But then there is another part of the Word that contain Promi&s;es; now, how &s;hould Faith act upon the Promi&s;es, namely, by leaning and re&s;ting with expectation upon the Lord for the performance of them, being per&s;waded that God can do it, and that God will perform what he hath &s;poken; ju&s;t like <HI>Abraham, Rom.</HI> 4.20, 21. God had made him a promi&s;e to give him a Son in his old Age, Fle&s;h and Blood would have di&s;puted again&s;t this promi&s;e, but &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>He was &s;trong in Faith, giving Glory unto God;</HI> he be|lieved
<PB N="217" REF="117"> that God would perform what he had &s;poken; it was again&s;t Fle&s;h and Blood, <HI>Sarah</HI> was Old, and he was a Hundred years old or there-about; he might have &s;aid how can the&s;e things be? and refu&s;ed to believe it; no, but he gave Glory to God by believing; Thus we are to act Faith upon that part of the Word. Another part of the Word is Commands; The word of Command; how is Faith to act there? Namely, in a way of Obedience; we &s;hould yeild Obedience to what God Commands, though it may be very hard to us. Ju&s;t as <HI>A|braham</HI> did, God commanded him to go out of his own Country, and to go into a Land he knew not whither; <HI>Abraham,</HI> by Faith, o|beyed and went out, not knowing whither he went; and &s;o God commanded him to offer up his Son <HI>I&s;aac; Abraham</HI> acted Faith in a way of Obedience to the Command. And then another part of the Word is Threatning; and how is Faith to act upon the Threatnings? Namely, thus, in a way of fear, to endea|vour to avoid tho&s;e Judgements that are threatned; in <HI>Hebrews</HI> 11.7. <HI>By Faith, Noah being warned of God of things not &s;een as yet, mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|ed with fear prepared an Ark to the &s;aving of his Hou&s;e,</HI> &amp;c. Truly, thus I &s;ay, Faith is to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;et a work, and to act variou&s;ly according <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o the &s;everal parts of the Word of God. There are &s;everal parts of the Word of Go<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">; now, the whole word of God is the Obje<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> of Faith; but yet notwith&s;tanding, Faith do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> act vari|ou&s;ly, according to the variety o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the parts of
<PB N="218" REF="118"> the Word. Now, it is the wi&s;dom of Chri&s;ti|ans to exerci&s;e Faith &s;utably according to that part of the Word that Faith is exerci&s;ed about. And thus, Brethren, I have briefly given you four or five Directions how we are to exer|ci&s;e Faith in hearing of the Word, that &s;o we may not hear without profit, that &s;o we may plea&s;e God in our hearing; for <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God.</HI> Brethren and Belo|ved, I mu&s;t not enlarge; but in a word, It hath been the complaint of mo&s;t Chri&s;tians, and po&s;&s;ibly &s;ome here pre&s;ent, their want of profiting by the Word; Oh! I hear, and hear, but the Lord knows I do not profit; this is the matter of your complaint; well, now you may go home, and lay your hand upon the Sore, the Lord hath di&s;covered to me this day the great Cau&s;e why I have profited no more under the Word that I have heard &s;o often; I &s;ee now it is for want of the exerci&s;e of Faith, I have heard my duty, but the Lord knows I have exerci&s;ed Faith but little; and therefore, I &s;ay, here is matter of humiliati|on for us, before the Lord, we &s;hould lye low in the pre&s;ence of the Lord for our &s;o little act|ing of Faith, in our hearing the Word of God. And, Oh! therefore for the future, as we do de&s;ire that the Lord may be plea&s;ed with our hearing, &s;o let us be careful to exerci&s;e Faith in our hearing; you have heard the Directions, I &s;hall not need to repeat them, but go home and con&s;ider them, and be careful to put them in practice, that you may be acting and
<PB N="219" REF="118"> exerci&s;ing Faith in hearing the Word, for with|out Faith it will be impo&s;&s;ible for you to plea&s;e God. Though you &s;hould hear Sermons never &s;o often, if you neglect to act and exerci&s;e Faith, you will not profit by them, nor plea&s;e God in your hearing. And &s;o now I have done with this particular, namely, how we are to exer|ci&s;e Faith in hearing the Word; it remains that we &s;hould &s;peak about exerci&s;ing Faith in our partaking of the Lords Table.</P>
<TRAILER>But thus much &s;hall &s;uffice for the pre&s;ent.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="9" TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="220" REF="119">
<HEAD>SERMON IX.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Hebrews XI. 6.</HI></BIBL>
<P>But without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e him.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE words of the Text is a Propo&s;ition: I have &s;pent &s;ome time in the handling of it; we came by way of inference to this, That if it be impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God without Faith, then it doth concern us every one, in all the duties and &s;ervices that we perform, to be acting and exerci&s;ing of Faith; not only without the Grace of Faith, but without the exerci&s;e of Faith we cannot plea&s;e God; and therefore to this end, we came to lay down &s;ome Directions, how we may come to ex|erci&s;e Faith in tho&s;e Duties that we perform, that &s;o we may plea&s;e God; we gave you &s;ome Directions the la&s;t time about the exer|ci&s;e of Faith in hearing of the Word; I come now to lay down &s;ome Directions about our partaking of the Lords-Supper in Faith. That Faith is requi&s;ite and nece&s;&s;ary to our par|taking
<PB N="221" REF="119"> of the Lords-Table, that I think is out of doubt and que&s;tion, not only the habit of Faith that a man or woman be a believer, but al&s;o the very acting and exerci&s;e of Faith is requi&s;ite for our profitable partaking of this Ordinance: The Grace of Faith is nece&s;&s;ary for the giving of us a right to partake of this Ordinance; for a Man mu&s;t have life, or el&s;e meat will do him no good; &s;et the daintie&s;t meat before him that is dead, he will be ne|ver a whit the better for it, the meat cannot nouri&s;h him; &s;o if we have not a principle of &s;piritual life which is infu&s;ed into the heart by Faith in Chri&s;t, if we have not &s;piritual life, &s;piritual food will do us no good; there|fore there mu&s;t be the Grace of Faith.</P>
<P>Again, This Ordinance of the Lords Sup|per, it is a &s;ealing Ordinance, to &s;eal, and confirm, and ratify the Covenant of Grace, and the benefits of the Covenant; now if &s;o be we be not in the Covenant, then this Or|dinance cannot &s;eal to us the ble&s;&s;ings and be|nefits of the Covenant; no, we do but &s;et a &s;eal to a blank, and that &s;ignifies nothing; therefore, I &s;ay, it is nece&s;&s;ary there &s;hould be the Grace of Faith, the habit of Faith, that tho&s;e that do partake of this Ordinance &s;hould be Believers. But this is that which I am to &s;peak to, that though only &s;uch as are Belie|vers are to partake of this Ordinance, yet it is not &s;ufficient for us that we are Believers; but if we would partake of this Ordinance &s;o as to plea&s;e God, we mu&s;t act and exerci&s;e
<PB N="222" REF="120"> Faith al&s;o about it. For, I pray, con|&s;ider,</P>
<P N="1">1. It is po&s;&s;ible for tho&s;e that are Believers to partake unworthily, to eat and drink un|worthily, &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.29. <HI>He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to him&s;elf.</HI> Who doth he &s;peak to there? He writes to Believers: Believers then may eat and drink unworthily. How comes a Soul then to eat and drink worthily? to par|take worthily of this Ordinance? Truly, by the acting and exerci&s;ing of Faith; for though he have the habit of Faith, he may partake unworthily. What is the rea&s;on that divers Believers come to partake of this Ordinance, &s;ome partake worthily, and &s;ome unworthily? The rea&s;on is, becau&s;e &s;ome partake in the exerci&s;e of Faith, and they partake worthily; and &s;ome partake without the exerci&s;e of Faith, and they partake unworthily. And mark how the Apo&s;tle goes on, &s;ays he, it is requi&s;ite that tho&s;e that partake at the Lords Table, that they &s;hould examine them&s;elves; <HI>Let a man examine him&s;elf,</HI> ver&s;. 28. <HI>and &s;o let him eat.</HI> Examine him&s;elf concerning what? why, among other things, about his Faith. What, whether he be a Believer or no? Yes, that is one thing he mu&s;t examine, whether he do truly believe or no; whether he have the grace of Faith or no; but that is not all; &s;uppo&s;e that be out of doubt and que&s;tion, that he is a Believer, yet he mu&s;t examine him&s;elf &s;till about the acting and exerci&s;ing of Faith in this
<PB N="223" REF="120"> Ordinance, and therefore this Duty of Exami|nation of a mans &s;elf doth imply that there mu&s;t be an actuating and exerci&s;ing of Faith in the partaking of this Ordinance. Further, &s;ays the Apo&s;tle, they that come to this Ordi|nance mu&s;t di&s;cern the Lords Body, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 29. <HI>He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to him&s;elf, not di&s;cerning the Lords body.</HI> (I may &s;peak &s;omething by and by concerning that, to help you to un|der&s;tand that) but for our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, di&s;cerning the Lords body, How &s;hall a man or woman di&s;cern the Lords Body? We do not di&s;cern the Lords Body by our bodily eye, by looking on the Bread and Wine, the outward Elements, but it mu&s;t be by the acting of a &s;piritual eye; and what is that but the eye of Faith? Faith then mu&s;t be acted and exerci&s;ed in this Ordinance, or el&s;e we do not di&s;cern the Lords Body; and if we do not di&s;cern the Lords Body, then we eat and drink unworthily, and &s;o do not plea&s;e God; therefore there is required the exerci&s;e of Faith in the partaking of this Ordinance. I might add further &s;till, that the Ble&s;&s;ings and Benefits that are held forth, and convey|ed by this Ordinance, are all &s;piritual Ble&s;|&s;ings, and therefore they mu&s;t be partaken of by the exerci&s;e of our &s;piritual &s;ences: It is not for a man or woman to come and take the Bread and Wine, and &s;avour it by the ex|erci&s;e of his bodily &s;en&s;e of ta&s;ting, no, but there mu&s;t be the &s;piritual &s;ences exerci&s;ed,
<PB N="224" REF="121"> &s;o as to partake of the &s;piritual ble&s;&s;ings that are held forth and conveyed by it. Well then, it is granted now, that it is requi&s;ite that there mu&s;t be not only the grace of Faith, or the habit of Faith, but there mu&s;t be the actual exerci&s;ing of Faith in the partaking of this Ordinance, or el&s;e we cannot plea&s;e God.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Well then, the great Que&s;tion is, how a Man or Woman &s;hould &s;o exerci&s;e Faith in the partaking of the Lords Table, that &s;o he may plea&s;e God in his partaking of it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> There are four or five Directions that I &s;hall briefly lay down to help you in the partaking of this great Ordinance in Faith; and oh! that we might be &s;erious in attend|ing to them, that we may hear for the time to come.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> The fir&s;t Direction is this; If we would exerci&s;e Faith in our partaking of this Ordi|nance, then we mu&s;t look upon this Ordi|nance as a great Ordinance and In&s;titution of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that he hath appointed as the means of our Communion and fellow&s;hip with him: I pray mind it, I &s;ay, Faith doth help the Soul to look at this Ordinance as a great In&s;titution of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that he hath ap|pointed for the means of our Communion with him. Two things here we are to take notice of:</P>
<P N="1">1. Fir&s;t of all, that we are to look at it as the great Ordinance and In&s;titution of Chri&s;t. People for the mo&s;t part, e&s;pecially tho&s;e that do not act Faith, they look at the outward
<PB N="225" REF="121"> elements, and they come and partake of the Bread and Wine, but they do not look at it as &s;uch an Ordinance of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; now, Faith doth help a Soul to look at it as the great In|&s;titution of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, one of the greate&s;t Ordinances that ever Je&s;us Chri&s;t did in&s;titute and appoint; it was one of the la&s;t things that Chri&s;t did when he was to leave the World, when the time of his &s;uffering did approach and draw near; the &s;ame Night in which he was be|trayed, he did in&s;titute this Ordinance. Certainly it is an Ordinance of very great concernment, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould in&s;titute it, and appoint it when he had &s;uch weighty matters laid upon his Hand, when he was to take his farewel of the World; yet then, a little before he was be|trayed, he did in&s;titute and appoint this Ordi|nance. If People did but rightly con&s;ider this, that this is a great Ordinance and In&s;titution of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, it would make them &s;erious a|bout it, and look at it as a very weighty thing, as a matter of very great Concernment, and &s;o to be very careful about Preparation for it; but now, when People look at it as a &s;mall, light, and ordinary thing, the taking of a little Bread and Wine, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> The&s;e things are of ordinary u&s;e among&s;t us, and &s;o they come in an ordinary manner to it, not acting and exerci&s;ing Faith about it; but now, when a Soul comes to look at it (as Faith doth help a Soul to look at it) as a very great Ordinance of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, which he hath appointed, and thereupon the Soul comes to be &s;erious about
<PB N="226" REF="122"> the participation of it, now, I &s;ay, Faith doth not only inable the Soul to look at it as an Ordinance and In&s;titution of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but withal it doth enable the Soul to look at it as an Ordinance appointed for Communion with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and Fellow&s;hip with him; as you know the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.16. <HI>The Bread which we break, is it not the Commu|nion of the Body of Chri&s;t? and the Cup of ble&s;|&s;ing which we ble&s;s, Is it not the Communion of the Blood of Chri&s;t?</HI> Chri&s;t hath appointed it for this very end, that we &s;hould have Commu|nion and Fellow&s;hip with him in his Death, in his Merits, in his Righteou&s;ne&s;s, in what he hath obtained; it is appointed for that ve|ry end and purpo&s;e, and therefore when peo|ple do not con&s;ider wherefore Chri&s;t hath ap|pointed it, it is made the le&s;&s;er account of, and people are the more carele&s;s in their approach|ing to it; they come and eat a piece of Bread, and drink a Cup of Wine, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> But they do not look at it as a &s;olemn Ordinance appoint|ed by Je&s;us Chri&s;t for that end and purpo&s;e; therefore, I &s;ay, remember this if you would partake in Faith, it &s;hould be our care to look at it as the great In&s;titution and Ordinance of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and appointed for that end and purpo&s;e, that we might have Communion and Fellow&s;hip with Je&s;us Chri&s;t in it: This is the fir&s;t Direction.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> If you would partake of this Or|dinance in Faith, then be careful to look to the right admini&s;tration of it. Faith doth cau&s;e
<PB N="227" REF="122"> us to look to the admini&s;tration of it, that it be according to Chri&s;ts In&s;titution and appoint|ment; for otherwi&s;e we do not partake of it as an Ordinance and In&s;titution of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, if it be not admini&s;tred according to the ap|pointment of Chri&s;t, and that we mu&s;t be per&s;waded of if we would act in Faith; we may look at it as a great Ordinance and In|&s;titution of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, yet notwith&s;tanding, if &s;o be we are not per&s;waded of that, that the admini&s;tration of it is according to the Will of Chri&s;t, to the in&s;titution and appointment of Chri&s;t, truly then we cannot exerci&s;e Faith in it; and therefore there are the&s;e two things to be attended to to this end; if we would act in Faith about the admini&s;tration of it, that it is admini&s;tred according to the In&s;titution of Chri&s;t. Namely,</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> That the per&s;on admini&s;tring it is ap|pointed and called by Chri&s;t to do it: For, now, if &s;o be that another &s;hould come that Chri&s;t hath never called to it, to admini&s;ter it, Chri&s;t will not own it for his own Ordinance and In&s;titution, we cannot then look for the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t, nor for the Ble&s;&s;ing of Chri&s;t. As, now, for example, if there &s;hould come one in the Kings name, that pretends to be &s;ent and authori&s;ed by the King, yet if he be not &s;ent, if he come and Execute &s;uch an Office, if he be not authori&s;ed by the King, all his actings and executions are invaluable, and &s;ignify nothing. So in this ca&s;e, if any come in the Name of Chri&s;t, to admini&s;ter
<PB N="228" REF="123"> the In&s;titution of Chri&s;t, if Chri&s;t have not au|thori&s;ed him, and given him commi&s;&s;ion to do it, this is no Ordinance that Chri&s;t will own; becau&s;e it is not admini&s;tred by &s;uch a per&s;on whom he hath &s;ent and appointed, the admi|ni&s;tration therefore is invaluable and of no ef|fect; therefore, I &s;ay, it doth concern us to look to that, to be per&s;waded of that, that tho&s;e that do admini&s;ter this Ordinance to us, are &s;uch as are authori&s;ed by Chri&s;t to the Work.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But you will &s;ay, <HI>How &s;hall I know that, that I may be per&s;waded of that?</HI> (I know that this hath been little minded in former times, and God might plea&s;e to wink at the former times of Ignorance; but now in the&s;e times of light he doth require that we &s;hould be more exact about his In&s;titutions and ap|pointments.) <HI>How &s;hall we know then,</HI> you will &s;ay, <HI>that we may be per&s;waded that &s;uch as do admini&s;ter this Ordinance, are appointed by Je|&s;us Chri&s;t?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For An&s;wer, Something you may remember was &s;poken the la&s;t time about hearing, that we &s;hould hear tho&s;e that were &s;ent by Chri&s;t, if we would hear in Faith: But briefly for our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, Con&s;ider, I pray, and under&s;tand how Chri&s;t doth call and ordain one to admini&s;ter the&s;e In&s;titu|tions of his, briefly and plainly thus, When a per&s;on is called by a Church of Chri&s;t, accor|ding to the Will of Chri&s;t, by the directions that Chri&s;t hath laid down in his Word, accor|ding
<PB N="229" REF="123"> to the Rules of the Go&s;pel, and &s;et apart accordingly for that work and bu&s;ine&s;s, to teach and admini&s;ter the Holy things of Chri&s;t; when a per&s;on is thus called to Office in the Church, by a Church of Chri&s;t, acting regu|larly according to the Rules that Chri&s;t hath laid down in his Word, now &s;uch a one is call|ed and authori&s;ed by Chri&s;t. And therefore, I &s;ay, con&s;ider, that if we would be per|&s;waded about the right admini&s;tration of this Ordinance, we mu&s;t be &s;atisfied in our &s;pirits, that &s;uch as are the admini&s;trers of it are call|ed and appointed by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to do it in his name, otherwi&s;e Chri&s;t will not own it; and therefore, truly, it is matter of won|derment that women &s;hould be allowed to admini&s;ter any Ordinance; as now Bapti&s;me, in ca&s;e of ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity (as they call it) a Midwife may take Water and Bapti&s;e a Child, this is a per&s;on that Chri&s;t did never in|&s;titute to admini&s;ter that Ordinance, and Chri&s;t will never own that as an Ordinance of his &s;o admini&s;tred: So on the other &s;ide, among&s;t others that profe&s;s higher, namely, to take and &s;et apart one for this time to admini&s;ter the Ordinance, and another for another time, to call out one Brother for to admini&s;ter the Or|dinance one time, and another another time, is this according to the in&s;titution of Chri&s;t? Doth Chri&s;t call out one to be an Officer at one time, and another at another time, and not to have a &s;tanding Officer in the Church? Therefore, I &s;ay, let us be careful to keep o
<PB N="230" REF="124"> the In&s;titution of Chri&s;t, to ob&s;erve Chri&s;ts In|&s;titution, and to be well per&s;waded that the Ordinance is admini&s;tred according to the In|&s;titution and Will of Chri&s;t, otherwi&s;e we cannot act in Faith in the partaking of this Ordinance: That is one thing about the right admini&s;tration of it, to look that the per&s;on that doth admini&s;ter it in Chri&s;ts Name, be called and authori&s;ed by Chri&s;t him&s;elf unto the work.</P>
<P N="2">2. But then another thing that is requi&s;ite for the right admini&s;tration of this Ordinance, is this, namely, for the manner of it, that the manner of the Admini&s;tration of the Ordi|nance be according to the Mind and Will of Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pel; &s;uppo&s;e now there be a per&s;on that Chri&s;t hath called and authori&s;ed to the work, yet if the Ordinance for the manner of it be not admini&s;tred according to Chri&s;ts In&s;titution and Direction, truly Chri&s;t will not own this for an Ordinance of his, be|cau&s;e it is not admini&s;tred according to Chri&s;ts appointment. And it doth concern Chri&s;tians, though in former times Chri&s;tians have little minded the&s;e things about the manner of ad|mini&s;tration, whether it have been according to the In&s;titution of Chri&s;t or no; the Lord may have pa&s;&s;ed by infirmities of that kind, and winked at infirmities and mi&s;carriages therein; but now the Lord hath revealed more light, and therefore now it concerns Chri&s;tians to under&s;tand and know the man|ner of Chri&s;t's in&s;titution and appointment,
<PB N="231" REF="124"> how he will have his Ordinances admini&s;tred; if &s;o be this Ordinance be not admini&s;tred ac|cording to the Mind of Chri&s;t, for the man|ner of it, truly, Brethren, it may be &s;o far from profiting of us, that we may be the wor&s;e for it. As now, about other things commonly among&s;t us, if things be not acted legally according to the tenour and manner of the Law, a Man may do that whereby he may damnify him&s;elf, though it may be (po&s;|&s;ibly) to recover and take what is his own in &s;ome ca&s;es; as you that have skill in the Law know, that in &s;ome ca&s;es a Man taking his own where he finds it, if he doth not take it in a legal way, he may hazzard and damnify him&s;elf. So we think the Ordinances of Chri&s;t are ours, and we partake of them as our own; now, if we take our own not accord|ing to the Mind of Chri&s;t, in&s;tead of profiting by the Ordinance, we may be the wor&s;e for it; Chri&s;t may not own it for his own In&s;titu|tion. Brethren, know this, that the Lord is very exact about the manner of the admini|&s;tration of this Ordinance; you know what it co&s;t King <HI>Saul, Saul</HI> would needs take upon him to offer &s;acrifice, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 13. It did be|long only to the Prie&s;t to offer Sacrifice, it was in a &s;trait, when the <HI>Phili&s;tines</HI> were rea|dy to &s;et upon him, and he calls for &s;acrifice at <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 9. he would offer a burnt offering; but mark what the con&s;equence was, when <HI>Samuel</HI> came and under&s;tood what <HI>Saul</HI> had done, &s;ays <HI>Samuel,</HI> at <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 13. <HI>Thou ha&s;t done
<PB N="232" REF="125"> fooli&s;hly, thou ha&s;t not kept the commandment of the Lord, for now would the Lord have e&s;tabli&s;h|ed thy kingdom upon I&s;rael for ever; but now thy kingdom &s;hall not continue,</HI> &amp;c. And &s;o we read concerning <HI>Uzziah,</HI> 2 Chron. 26. <HI>Uz|ziah</HI> would needs take upon him to burn In|cen&s;e in the Temple, the burning of Incen&s;e did belong to the Prie&s;t; but immediately in the very place, the Lord &s;truck him with a Lepro&s;ie, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 19. the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">epro&s;ie appeared in his fore<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="4 letters">, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> the Prie&s;ts did drive him out, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> al&s;o ha&s;ted to go out, becau&s;e the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ord had &s;mitten him, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 20. I tell you, the Lord is very exact about the admini&s;tration of his Ordinances, and would have his people to be exact about it; you know what <HI>David</HI> him&s;elf &s;aid when the Lord had &s;mitten <HI>Uzza</HI> for laying his hand upon the Ark when they were removing it, and carrying it towards <HI>Jeru&s;alem;</HI> it was car|ried upon a Cart, when it &s;hould have been carried upon the Prie&s;ts &s;houlders; and when the Cart &s;hook the Ark, and <HI>Uzza</HI> out of a de&s;ire to pre&s;erve the Ark from breaking, laid his hand upon it to keep it, God &s;truck him immediately dead in the place; and what was the rea&s;on? &s;ays <HI>David</HI> afterward, in 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 15.13. for becau&s;e ye did it not at the fir&s;t, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we &s;ought him not after the due order according to his In&s;titution; there|fore it is a matter o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> great concernment, if people will act in Faith in the participation of
<PB N="233" REF="125"> the Ordinances of Chri&s;t, to look to the right manner of admini&s;tration of them; Let us be per&s;waded of that, that they are admini&s;tred according to the In&s;titution and appointment of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, both in re&s;pect of the per&s;on admini&s;tring, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;pect of the manner of its admini&s;tration; This is the Second Direction.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> If a Man or Woman will exerci&s;e Faith in this great Ordinance of the Lords-Supper, he mu&s;t then be careful to have &s;ome grounds to per&s;wade him, or to give him hope that the Ordinance doth belong to him, or that he hath a right to it; he mu&s;t act in Faith &s;o far, that he mu&s;t be per&s;waded, or have &s;ome comfortable grounds to hope that he hath a right to this Ordinance, or el<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e he can|not act in Faith. See what the Apo&s;tle &s;aith con|cerning eating of ordinary meat, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 14. and la&s;t <HI>ver&s;e, He that eateth, and doubteth whether it be lawful or no, he is damned if he eat;</HI> though it be but his ordinary meat, he that doubteth is damned if he eat. Much more in this ca&s;e, he that comes to eat at the Lords-Table, and doth eat, not having any ground to hope it belongs to him, or that he hath a|ny right to it, this is now a greater &s;in, and he cannot act in Faith: For, Brethren, it is not for all to partake of the Lords-Table, I &s;uppo&s;e that is out of doubt, it is not for all, one as well as another; no, there is a difference to be put; as now, tho&s;e that are prophane they have no right to it, they will eat and Drink unworthily; we may find this among&s;t the very
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<PB N="234" REF="127"> Heathens, they ob&s;erved rules in their Sacred and Solemn Rites and Ceremonies, it was ob|&s;erved among&s;t them, that prophane per&s;ons mu&s;t not come near them; prophane per&s;ons were to withdraw as unworthy ones: So much more mu&s;t &s;uch withdraw from this Or|dinance, they have no right to it. And again, &s;uch as are Ignorant have no right to it; tho&s;e that cannot di&s;cern the Lords Body in their partaking of it, they have no right to it; tho&s;e that are not able to examine them&s;elves before they eat and drink, they have no right to it; then all per&s;ons have not a right to this Ordi|nance. Nay, I will &s;ay further, that tho&s;e that are unbelievers, though they may be civil otherwi&s;e, yet tho&s;e that are not believers they have no right to this Ordinance. I re|member the Apo&s;tle hath &s;uch an expre&s;&s;iion, <HI>Hebrews</HI> 13.10. Saies he, <HI>We have an Altar whereof they have no right to eat that &s;erve Ta|bernacles.</HI> That is, tho&s;e that were unbelievers, the <HI>Jews</HI> that did not believe that Chri&s;t was come in the Fle&s;h, they were unbelievers, and &s;o had no right to eat. So that, I &s;ay, it is not for every one to come and partake of the Lords-Table: then we mu&s;t have &s;ome grounds to hope and per&s;wade our &s;elves that we have &s;ome right to it, or el&s;e we cannot partake in Faith.</P>
<P><HI>Object.</HI> But you will &s;ay, <HI>This may be a ground of di&s;couragement to many a gracious heart. Many a gracious Soul is exerci&s;ed with &s;cruples of Con|&s;cience, and may Que&s;tion whether they have a
<PB N="235" REF="127"> right or no; and &s;uch by this Direction mu&s;t be forced to with-hold from it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> For An&s;wer briefly, we are to know that every doubt, and &s;cruple, and Que&s;tion that Chri&s;tians may have about their coming to this Ordinance, is not &s;ufficient for them to withdraw from it, or to withhold their pre|&s;ence in it; no, they are not pre&s;ently there|fore to withdraw and withhold from the par|ticipation of it.</P>
<P><HI>What &s;hall they do then?</HI> You will &s;ay.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Briefly, I pray mind it, becau&s;e it may concern &s;ome that are &s;crupulous, and to be exerci&s;ed with Que&s;tions and doubts, whe|ther they have right to it or no; therefore &s;uch are &s;eriou&s;ly to con&s;ider, what the ground of their doubt and &s;cruple is, whether it be &s;uf|ficient and warrantable to cau&s;e a withdraw|ment from this Ordinance; among&s;t others, the grounds of &s;cruple in this ca&s;e may be reduced to three heads.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Po&s;&s;ibly &s;ome do Que&s;tion and &s;cru|ple their coming to this Ordinance, for fear they &s;hould eat and drink unworthily, and &s;o eat and drink their own damnation; that is my fear, &s;aies one, and therefore I dare not come, I fear I may not come. I pray now, there|fore, con&s;ider this briefly, for I may not in|large; but con&s;ider this, whether a mans Que&s;tioning whether he &s;hall eat and drink unworthily, be a &s;ufficient ground and warrant for him to withhold from the Lords-Table? I pray mind and con&s;ider what the Apo&s;tle
<PB N="236" REF="128"> &s;aies, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.27, 28. <HI>Wherefore, who&s;oever &s;hall eat this bread, and drink this Cup of the Lord unworthily, &s;hall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Let a man examine him&s;elf, and &s;o let him eat.</HI> Mark, doth the Apo&s;tle &s;ay, that he that fears that he &s;hall eat and drink unwor|thily &s;hall therefore withhold? no, but let him be the more &s;olicitous and careful to examine him&s;elf, and prepare him&s;elf, that he may not partake unworthily of it; that the Apo&s;tle doth intimate. The Apo&s;tle doth not give a liberty upon it to withhold; Therefore, I &s;ay, that is not a &s;ufficient ground, becau&s;e we fear we &s;hall partake unworthily; but therefore we &s;hould be the more Solicitous and careful to examine our &s;elves, and to be preparing our &s;elves the more to partake of this Ordi|nance.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> Ordinarily &s;ome do fear and doubt whether they may partake of this Ordinance or no, by rea&s;on they find them&s;elves &s;o weak in Grace; Oh! &s;aies one, my Faith is &s;o weak, and my other graces &s;o weak, that I fear I &s;hall but &s;in if I &s;hould come to the Lords-Table. Now, I pray, Con&s;ider whether this be a &s;ufficient &s;cruple or no; for I pray mark, Con&s;ider the end of this Ordinance, and for whom it is appointed; what, is it appointed for tho&s;e that are perfect in grace? for tho&s;e that are perfect in Faith and other graces? Is it not appointed rather to be a means to per|fect and &s;trengthen our graces? therefore the weaker we apprehend our graces to be, the
<PB N="237" REF="128"> more need we have to draw near to Chri&s;t in this Ordinance, for the further Communicati|on of the Spirit and grace to us, that we may be &s;trengthened in our inward man, and have our grace increa&s;ed; That is the &s;econd &s;cru|ple.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> The third &s;cruple may be this, which commonly is the greate&s;t of all; but &s;uppo&s;e that I have no grace at all, as I que&s;tion whe|ther I have any grace in truth or no; upon examination of my &s;elf, I cannot find that I have any Faith; is it for me to come to this Ordinance? Mark, I pray, (in a word briefly) A Soul &s;ometimes under Temptation may be ready to conclude it hath no grace at all; but, I pray, con&s;ider thus much, though a Soul cannot &s;ay that it doth truly believe on Chri&s;t, yet if &s;o be there be a real hungering and thir&s;ting after Chri&s;t, a real de&s;ire after Chri&s;t, in &s;uch a ca&s;e a Soul is to come and partake of this Ordinance; <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that Hunger and Thir&s;t after Righteou&s;ne&s;s, for they &s;hall be filled.</HI> Therefore though you cannot &s;ay certainly that you have Faith really wrought in you, yet notwith&s;tanding, if there be a real hunger, and de&s;ire, and thir&s;t after the enjoyment of Chri&s;t, and communion with Chri&s;t, in &s;uch a ca&s;e a Soul may may come to partake of this Ordi|nance, and &s;uch a Soul hath a right to it. This is now a third direction, how we may come in Faith to this Ordinance; Namely, to have &s;ome grounds to per&s;wade us to hope that we have a right to it, otherwi&s;e we cannot come in Faith.</P>
<PB N="238" REF="129">
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> Take a fourth Direction, which is this, Namely, if we would act and exerci&s;e Faith in this Ordinance, then we mu&s;t be care|ful to be found diligent in tho&s;e things that are required towards our preparation to it. I pray mind it, it is the proper nature of Faith to put a Soul upon diligence, in applying its &s;elf to the means for the obtaining of any end; it is the proper nature of Faith to put a Soul upon the diligent u&s;e of means tending there|unto, this is the proper nature of Faith; in|deed pre&s;umption, if it have any hope of any Ble&s;&s;ing or Mercy, pre&s;umption leads a man to neglect the means, but the proper work and nature of Faith is to lead a Soul to the di|ligent u&s;e of the means, to obtain the Mercy or Ble&s;&s;ing it hopes for; I could give you di|vers in&s;tances in Scripture for this, how Faith doth put a Soul upon the diligent u&s;e of means, that are required for &s;uch an end; I remem+ber 'tis &s;aid in 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 20. concerning <HI>Je|ho&s;haphat,</HI> he was invaded by a foreign<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> ene|my, and thereupon he &s;et him&s;elf to &s;eek the Lord, in wre&s;tling by Prayer; well, the Lord is plea&s;ed to give him a gracious an&s;wer by the Prophet, <HI>in the mid&s;t of the Congregation:</HI> ver&s;. 14, 15. <HI>And he &s;aid, Hearken ye, Ju|dah, and ye Inhabitants of Jeru&s;alem, thus &s;aith the Lord, be not afraid nor di&s;mayed by rea&s;on of this great multitude; for the Battel is not yours, but the Lords.</HI> Ver&s;. 17. <HI>Ye &s;hall not need to fight in the Battel; &s;et your &s;elves, &s;tand ye &s;till, and &s;ee the &s;alvation of the Lord with you, O
<PB N="239" REF="129"> Judah and Jeru&s;alem: fear not, be not di&s;may|ed; to morrow go out again&s;t them, the Lord will be with you.</HI> Now <HI>Jeho&s;haphat</HI> having this pro|mi&s;e, his Faith did carry him out to &s;et him|&s;elf in Battel-aray, as if they were to fight for it; he would not neglect the means that God had appointed. So you read of <HI>Paul,</HI> in <HI>Acts</HI> 27. <HI>Paul</HI> was in danger by Sea, in a great Storm, in danger to be wrecked, and it is &s;aid, the Angel of the Lord came to him, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 23, 24. <HI>For there &s;tood by me this night the Angel of the Lord, who&s;e I am, and whom I &s;erve, &s;ay|ing, Fear not Paul, thou mu&s;t be brought before Ce&s;ar; and Lo, God hath given thee all them that &s;ail with thee. Wherefore, &s;irs, &s;aies Paul, be of good cheer, for I believe God, that it &s;hall he even as he told me. Paul</HI> had a promi&s;e that none that were in the Ship &s;hould be drowned, but that all &s;hould come &s;afe to &s;hore; now, did <HI>Pauls</HI> Faith make him carele&s;s in looking after the means for his pre&s;ervation? no, for mark now, the Mariners and Seamen they thought their ca&s;e was de&s;perate, and they under pretence to make u&s;e of the Boat, did intend to have gotten away. Now <HI>Paul</HI> knew that the ordinary means for their pre&s;ervation was to have the Mariners to &s;tay to look after the Ship; and when they under colour, as though they would have ca&s;t Anchors out of the fore&s;hip, let down the Boat into the Sea, and were about to flee out, &s;aies <HI>Paul to the Centurion, and to the Soldiers,</HI> ver&s;. 31. <HI>Except the&s;e abide in the Ship, ye cannot be &s;aved.</HI> What! had he not a pro|mi&s;e
<PB N="240" REF="130"> that they &s;hould be all &s;aved? Yes, but yet &s;aies <HI>Paul,</HI> if you do not u&s;e the means dilligently and carefully, you cannot look to have the Mercy. Faith puts us upon diligence in the u&s;e of means, whereas pre&s;umption doth take a man off from the u&s;e of means, and make him carele&s;s and &s;lothful about the means; but Faith doth make a man diligent in the u&s;e of the means to attain the end, which is the ble&s;&s;ing that God hath promi&s;ed. So in this ca&s;e, God doth require in order to our right participation of this Ordinance, that we &s;hould prepare our &s;elves before hand for this Ordinance; now, it is the proper work of Faith to &s;et us to work, to be diligent in our preparation for it, in tho&s;e ways and means which God hath appointed; and what are tho&s;e? Briefly, among&s;t others, this is one Namely, &s;elf-examination; &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>Let a man examine him&s;elf, and &s;o let him eat. &amp;c.</HI> Examine him&s;elf about what? Briefly, let a man examine him&s;elf if he will partake worthily, e&s;pecially about three or four things.</P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> What are the &s;pecial ends of this Or|dinance; and this indeed is to di&s;cern the Lords Body; for if &s;o be we do not under|&s;tand wherefore we come to this Ordinance, we do no di&s;cern the Lords Body, that is, we do put no great difference between the Bread and Wine in this Ordinance, and common Bread and Wine; and &s;o we do not di&s;cern the Lords Body; therefore, I &s;ay, this is one thing in the examination of our &s;elves, con&s;i|der
<PB N="241" REF="130"> and examine what are the &s;pecial ends for which Chri&s;t hath appointed this Ordinance. And among&s;t the re&s;t, they are the&s;e:</P>
<P N="1">1&s;t, Chri&s;t hath appointed this great Ordi|nance to have us to keep in remembrance his Death; his laying down of his life for us; his &s;hedding his Blood for us; we are very apt to forget this great kindne&s;s of Chri&s;t, and therefore Chri&s;t hath appointed this Ordinance for this great end among&s;t others, that we may remember his death, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.26. <HI>As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do &s;hew forth the Lords death till he come.</HI> It is a memorial of the Death of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2dly, Another end of it is this, namely, that we might have Communion with Je&s;us Chri&s;t in his Death, and in the merits of his righte|ou&s;ne&s;s. It is appointed for that end, <HI>The Bread which we break,</HI> &s;aies the Apo&s;tle, <HI>is it not the Communion of the Body of Chri&s;t? and the cup of Ble&s;&s;ing which we ble&s;s, is it not the Communion of the Blood of Chri&s;t?</HI> Hereby now we profe&s;s that we have Communion with Chri&s;t, and it is appointed for this end; we mu&s;t under&s;tand this, or el&s;e we do not di|&s;cern the Lords Body: we mu&s;t examine wherefore we come to partake of this Ordinance.</P>
<P N="3">3dly, Another end is for the &s;ealing up of the Covenant of grace to us, it is a Seal of the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Faith, as Bapti&s;me and Circumci&s;ion was, and it &s;eals up that righte|ou&s;ne&s;s to our Faith that is held forth through Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="4"><PB N="242" REF="131">4thly, Another &s;pecial end of this Ordinance, is to profe&s;s our near union with all Believers, our love to, and our union with all Believers. Saies the Apo&s;tle, We are all but one Bread, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10.17. All moulded up into one Body; and Chri&s;tians &s;hould be of one heart and one Soul, when they come to partake of this Ordinance. Now, I &s;ay, if we would come in Faith, we are to prepare for it, by examining our &s;elves concerning the ends for which Chri&s;t hath appointed this Ordinance.</P>
<P N="2">2ly, We are to examine our &s;elves not on|ly about the ends of this Ordinance, but al|&s;o concerning our Faith, whether we do tru|ly believe in Chri&s;t or no; or what grounds we have to hope that we do truly believe in Chri&s;t, or that we have an intere&s;t in Chri&s;t; we are to examine our &s;elves concerning that, and al&s;o about our acting and exerci&s;ing Faith on Chri&s;t: and if &s;o be we find our Faith weak, as I &s;aid, it may be &s;o weak as that there may be nothing &s;ometimes but hungerings, and thir&s;tings, and de&s;ires after Chri&s;t: therefore we &s;hould &s;earch and examine what our Faith is, the weakne&s;s of it, and thereby be the more de&s;irous to come to this Ordinance, that our weak Faith and weak Graces might be &s;trengthened and confirmed. And &s;o,</P>
<P N="3">3dly, Again, We are to examine our &s;elves concerning our repentance, Namely, concern|ing our judging of our &s;elves for former fail|ings and mi&s;carriages; we &s;hould be mour|ning and humbling of our &s;elves for our turn|ings
<PB N="243" REF="131"> a&s;ide, and warping from the Rule and Law of God, and &s;o we &s;hould de&s;ire, and endeavour, and re&s;olve through the &s;trength of Chri&s;t, to walk more clo&s;ely with God, and uprightly, for the time to come; this is the nature of true repentance, as to be humbled for &s;ins pa&s;t, &s;o to re&s;olve, through the &s;trength of Chri&s;t, again&s;t &s;in for the time to come. And then,</P>
<P N="4">4thly, Again, We are to examine our &s;elves concerning our charity and love to all, to con&s;ider wherein our love is defective, and whether we can be truly reconciled and at peace with all; whether we have no grudg|ings, nor no envyings for private and particu|lar offences again&s;t one or another, and that we are ready to go and &s;eek peace and recon|ciliation with them that have offended us; we are to con&s;ider our Love with the weakne&s;s of it, wherein we are defective in it, the&s;e things are required of us, before our coming to the Lords Table, in a way of preparation. Now, therefore, if you would act and exerci&s;e Faith, remember this Direction which Faith will put us upon, namely, to be diligent in the u&s;e of tho&s;e means that are required of us in order to the right participation of it. And if we be not diligent to prepare according as the Rule doth require, we do not act in a way of Faith in it.</P>
<P N="5">5thly, and La&s;tly, If we would exerci&s;e Faith in our participation of this Ordinance, then our Faith &s;hould be imployed about the
<PB N="244" REF="132"> Sacramental objects and actions before us; for this is the nature of Faith, to make a particu|lar application of &s;uch things to our &s;elves. Now then in the things about the Sacra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ent, and the actions in the Sacrament in this Ordinance, Faith is to be found acting and making a par|ticular application; as for example, to help you a little, when we &s;ee the Bread and Wine &s;et in order and readine&s;s for the admi|ni&s;tration; now Faith &s;hould act this way, namely, that God the Father hath prepared a &s;piritual fea&s;t for me, and God hath invited me now to this marriage fea&s;t, as you know we read in <HI>Matthew</HI> 22.4. <HI>He &s;ent out his &s;er|vants, &s;aying, tell them which are bidden, I have prepared my Dinner, my Oxen and my <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">atlings</HI> &amp;c. Thus a Soul &s;hould act in a way of Faith, now God the Father hath called me to this great fea&s;t, I am unworthy that ever I &s;hould partake of it, and yet God the Father hath invited me, and called me, and hath &s;hown me the preparation that he hath made, and the&s;e things God hath called me to, and in|vited me <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">, and hath prepared them for me; and Oh the wonderful rich Grace of God to|wards me. And then again, when you &s;ee the elements prepared, the Bread and Wine be|fore you, here now is occa&s;ion for your Faith to con&s;ider of the Love of God the Father, and the love of the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that God the Father &s;hould prepare Je&s;us Chri&s;t his own Son for me, &s;et out by the&s;e elements; here is the infinite love of the Father to me,
<PB N="245" REF="132"> and here is the wonderful love of the Lord Je|&s;us Chri&s;t to me, that hath prepared the&s;e things for me, that Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould &s;et out him&s;elf as Bread for me. Oh! the Love of the Father, and the Love of the Son that is held forth to me. And again, when we &s;ee how the Bread is &s;anctified, ble&s;&s;ed and broken by him whom Chri&s;t doth appoint to do it accor|ding to his own In&s;titution, &s;aying, <HI>Take, eat, this is my Body which was broken for you:</HI> now Faith &s;hould act as if Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elf did &s;peak to you from Heaven, &s;aying, take, eat, this is my Body broken for thee: For Chri&s;t hath appointed and Ordained him to do it in his Name; and doing it in his Name, and ac|cording to his In&s;titution, it is all one as if Chri&s;t him&s;elf did it. Now then, Faith &s;hould act as if I did hear Chri&s;t &s;peaking from Hea|ven to me, This is my Body broken for you; &s;o al&s;o, when we &s;ee the Cup, or the element of Wine, and hear tho&s;e words al&s;o pronoun|ced, <HI>This Cup is the New-Te&s;tament in my Blood, which was &s;hed for many for the remi&s;&s;ion of Sins;</HI> truly now, we &s;hould take the&s;e words as &s;pok|en from the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elf to us; this is my Blood &s;hed for you for the remi&s;&s;i|on of your Sins, as if Chri&s;t him&s;elf did &s;peak from Heaven to us. And &s;o again, when we do eat the Bread and drink the Wine, take them down into our bodies according to Chri&s;ts In&s;ti|tution, now our Faith &s;hould act particularly, Namely thus, in re&s;ting, and leaning, and rely|ing upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t for acceptance in the &s;ight
<PB N="246" REF="133"> of God, and for remi&s;&s;ion of Sins, and for Salvation; this acting of Faith is eating and drinking, Saies Chri&s;t in <HI>John</HI> 6.56. <HI>He that eateth my Fle&s;h, and drinketh my Blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.</HI> And what is this eating the Fle&s;h of Chri&s;t, and drinking the Blood of Chri&s;t, but acting and exerci&s;ing of Faith in our eating and drinking the outward elements? So that when we eat and drink with our Bo|dies, we &s;hould act Faith with our Souls, and eat with our Souls, leaning and re&s;ting upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t for acceptance in the &s;ight of God, for remi&s;&s;ion of Sins, and for peace with God, and for everla&s;ting Life and Salvation; this is eating and drinking by Faith, this is that which Faith doth. Now, if you would partake of this Ordinance in Faith, then, Brethren, particular|ly apply the Objects and actions of this Or|dinance to your own Souls; and thus now I have given you &s;ome few Directions about exerci&s;ing of Faith in this Ordinance of the Lords Supper, without which, not only with|out the habit and grace of Faith, but without the exerci&s;e of Faith, you cannot partake wor|thily, you cannot partake &s;o as to plea&s;e God; for <HI>without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e God,</HI> e|ven in this Ordinance.</P>
<P>I thought to have &s;pent &s;ome time in &s;peak|ing to another head, namely, how we &s;hould exerci&s;e Faith in our particular Callings, and occa&s;ions, and matters that concern this life; for we mu&s;t act and exerci&s;e Faith in all, or el&s;e we do not plea&s;e God in what we do, e|ven
<PB N="247" REF="133"> in our very outward occa&s;ions and bu&s;i|ne&s;s. I am unwilling to make another di&s;|cour&s;e upon this &s;ubject, and therefore I &s;hall, if you plea&s;e to give me leave, only give you four or five heads of things that might have been further inlarged upon by way of Direction, How to exerci&s;e Faith in our par|ticular callings and &s;everal conditions that we may be in in this life; I will but name them, you may enlarge upon them in your own private Meditations. Briefly then,</P>
<P N="1">1&s;t. In the fir&s;t place, Would we exerci&s;e Faith in our particular Callings, and Stations, and Relations, and condition that we are in, then be careful to eye the hand of God lead|ing and bringing of you into this or that cal|ling, condition and cour&s;e of Life, that we may be able to &s;ay, as <HI>Paul</HI> did, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1.1. <HI>Paul, called to be an Apo&s;tle of Je&s;us Chri&s;t through the Will of God;</HI> It was the Will of God that brought him into that &s;tate and cour&s;e of life; &s;o mu&s;t we be able to &s;ay, or el&s;e we cannot act and exerci&s;e Faith in our particular Callings, Stations and Relations; we mu&s;t be able to &s;ay that God hath led me into this, or that, or the other cour&s;e of life, or into this and that change of Condition, Faith doth not lead a man to make ha&s;te, to be over ha&s;ty for any thing; I have a mind to &s;uch a thing, I have a &s;trong fancy to it, and and therefore I mu&s;t enter into &s;uch a Calling, or enter into &s;uch a change of Condition; but Faith doth put a Soul upon this, Namely, to
<PB N="248" REF="134"> be &s;olicitous to under&s;tand the Mind of God; and therefore ob&s;erve it, Faith will put a Soul upon earne&s;tne&s;s and frequency in Prayer; to &s;eek coun&s;el of the Lord, whether this or that be according to his Will or no? and al&s;o to advi&s;e with Chri&s;tians about it, that &s;o he may under&s;tand the Mind, and Will, and Coun&s;el of God about it: That is the fir&s;t Rule.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> Another Rule is this; we &s;hould be careful to walk with God in that particular place, and &s;tation, and relation wherein God hath &s;et us according to his Will, for other|wi&s;e we do not exerci&s;e Faith in it; and there|fore when a man is led into &s;uch a Calling, &s;uch a way and cour&s;e of life, it is not for him to act and walk according to the example of o|thers, to make the practices of others his rule: No, but we mu&s;t look what the Will of God is, and make that our Rule. As now, if a man or woman be brought into a change of condition, into a Married condition, it is not for that man to &s;ay, Well, I will carry it to|wards my Wife as &s;he carry it to me; or for the woman to &s;ay, I will carry it to my Hu&s;|band as he carry it to me; no, this is not a rule to walk by, the examples of others; but let us look to our own duty, what the Will of God is concerning a Wife or a Husband. Re|member this is a Second rule, To walk in our particular calling, and &s;tation, and relation, ac|cording to the Will of God.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> Another rule and direction is this, if you would act and exerci&s;e Faith in your par|ticular
<PB N="249" REF="134"> callings, then be frequently looking up unto the Lord for his guidance, and help, and a&s;&s;i&s;tance in your occa&s;ions and bu&s;ine&s;s; Let us look up frequently to the Lord, that he would guide us, and a&s;&s;i&s;t us, and help us, for we mu&s;t have Strength, and Wi&s;dom, and Spirit, and Grace from God day by day, to walk with God in our places and &s;tations; we had need therefore be frequent in looking up unto the Lord for guidance, and a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and help in the places and &s;tations wherein he hath &s;et us. And,</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> Look up to the Lord for pardon, through the righteou&s;ne&s;s of Chri&s;t, and the merrits of his Death; for the pardon of our failings and mi&s;carriages in our callings, and places, and &s;tations; we had need to be fre|quently looking up for pardon, that God would pardon our mi&s;carriages, and &s;ailings, and weakne&s;&s;es in our places and &s;tations, that we do not walk &s;o according to the Will of God as we ought to do; we had need look to the Grace and Blood of Chri&s;t to be pardoned. And then,</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly</HI> and La&s;tly, This might al&s;o have been further &s;poken to, namely, to leave the I&s;&s;ue, and event, and &s;ucce&s;s of our endea|vours with the Lord; to leave all wholly with him, all our burthens and cares, leave them all with the Lord; Let us be careful to do our Duty, and to walk with God according to his Will in our places and relations, and leave the event with the Lord. <HI>Ca&s;t your bur|then
<PB N="250" REF="135"> upon the Lord,</HI> P&s;alm. 55.22. <HI>and he &s;hall &s;u&s;tain you.</HI> And &s;o the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5.7. <HI>Ca&s;ting all your care upon the Lord, for he care|eth for you.</HI> So &s;hould you do; and thus walk|ing in our particular Callings, and &s;tations, and places, and relations, we &s;hall come to exerci&s;e Faith, and thereby &s;o walk as to plea&s;e God. O! that now you have heard this point and truth opened, that for the future the Lord would help us to be careful to exerci&s;e Faith in all our Duties; in our praying, in our hear|ing, and in our partaking of the Lords Table, and in our particular Callings and relations, otherwi&s;e we cannot plea&s;e God; for the A|po&s;tle &s;ays here, <HI>Without Faith it is impo&s;&s;ible to plea&s;e Him.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>Thus much for this Text, and this Time.</TRAILER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="135">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
