One-Hundred Forty-Five Sermons Upon John 17

but of this we have already treated, and shall say more before we come to the end of the Chapter, it being often repeated.

2. From the term from which, they are given out of the world, They are given to Christ out of the world.

The Scripture in this Chapter makes a distinction of being in the world, and of the world; The people of God, even as Christ himself and his Kingdom are in the world, but they are not of the world; As a Stranger in a foreign Country, he is in that Country but not of it; he hath not the nature, the Language, nor doth he accustom himself to the fashion of that place, Thus it is with the godly, Though they are born and so live in the world, yet their natures and affections, and conversations are not worldly; As the Fowls that were at first created out of the water yet did not continue there but flew up to heaven and continue for the most part there; As clouds though of the earth, yet are carried about after the motions of the heavens; They are not then given out of the world, so as if every good man were presently upon his godliness removed out of this earth to heaven; but in respect of their nature, affections, and conversation; localiter they are not but in respect of heart and affections, in which sense Paul said he was crucified to the world and the world to him, Gal. 6.14. Now you must know that the word world hath several significations in Scriptures, Est mundus cujus Deus est creator, est mundus cujus Deus est redemptor, est mundus cujus Satan est seductor ; Sometimes it is taken for the whole Fabric and Universe, with the parts thereof, as when the world is said to be made by God, and Christ a Lamb slain from the beginning of the world, Rev. 13.8. Sometimes it's taken for the greater part of the world, as they said all the world did run after Christ, or the world said to be taxed by Augustus, Luk. 2.1. Sometimes for the power, riches, pleasures and glory of the world, but then most commonly fought the wicked men of the world ; Thus often by John, The world hath not known thee, if ye were of the world the world would love you, and now wicked men are called the world because their whole heart and desires are fixed on worldly things; No worms, no Moles delighting more in earthly things then they do, and therefore they are the Serpents seed which live on the dust of the earth: And then they are called the world, because they are the far greater visible and more flourishing part of the world; Alas take these that are godly and they are but a despicable and contemptible handful to those that ruffle it in the world.

Obs. That the people of God they are called out of the world ; He that is truly godly is no more a man of this world, as we say of a dying man, he is not for this world, his heart, his thoughts, his desires are quite taken off; Thus the godly are said to be dead and crucified to the world, Gal. 6.14. They have not those carnal worldly affections and dispositions as formerly, and from hence the people of God are called Ecclesia, the Church, as much as persons called out of the world, not bodily but in respect of their souls, and hence the world and the Church is opposed, 1 Cor. 5.10. The Fornicators of this world, in opposition to the Church, so that by this we see there is none in the Church of God, but they should have renounced the ways, customs, and sins of the world; To be a Christian and yet of the world is a contradiction, as if we should say a black Sun; yet how is the garden of God made a Wilderness? how is the Church become the world? So much profaneness, wickedness, and carnal living as there is, so much of the world there is; Oh that men did consider what an holy obligation their Christianity brings upon them, Art thou a Christian, and yet the drunkard of the world? the fornicator of the world, the proud, the earthly of the world, this ought not to be, no more then the Angel a worm, no more then a Star a clod of earth; The Apostle calls those of the world without, What have we to do to judge those that are without? 1 Cor. 5, ult. but those of the Church within; Oh but how many •• e • within, according to Christ's Rule ought to be turned out of Christ's sheepfold.

To illustrate this necessary Truth let us observe those demonstrations or discoveries whereby it may appear that the godly are not of the world.

[ I] And first, This makes it manifest because they have not the Spirit of the world but of God, 1 Cor. 2.12.

Now what is the Spirit of the world, even a judgment and wisdom to discern only worldly things, to see the necessity of them, the excellency of them; To be wholly affected with them, To meditate on them day and night; But the godly they have received the Spirit of God whereby they savor and discern spiritual things; They have hearts always depending upon God, and they have hearts wholly fixed and placed upon God, They see incomparable excellency in heavenly things above all earthly; They say with David, My soul breaketh for the longing it hath to God at all times, Psa. 119.20. They cry out, As the Hart panteth after the water-brooks, so do our souls after thee O God, Psa. 41.1. Thus when God calleth a man out of the world he giveth him another Spirit, even an heavenly heart, he was a beast before, now he is like an Angel; He did formerly no more understand or discern spiritual things then the deaf ear doth melodious sounds; They were a wearisomeness, a burden to him, but now they are his delight.

[ II] Secondly, They are not of this world because they walk not after the rudiments or elements of the world, Col. 2.8, 20. The Apostle there showeth how inconsistent such a life is with an heavenly life, When we are risen with Christ ; Now what are those Elements of the world, Even all such principles of Religion as men by human and carnal wisdom take up to worship God by ; He calls them Elements or principles, because the Jews made their traditional worship, the very foundation and beginning of all, as if godliness were not able to consist it, and Elements of the world, because men by human wisdom without the Scripture do press them and do not walk by the light of God's Word; This then is an excellent discovery that we are not of the world, when in the matters of Religion especially in our worship of God, and the way of our justification, we are not carried by the principles of a worldly Religion but by divine direction, when we do not worship God according to custom, to universality and such rudiments of the world as most do; The Pagan, the Papist discovers a very worldly Spirit in his Religion, being able to say no more for it then Heathens have done, and so in the matters of justification; They say but very little more then Aristotle and the Philosophers of the world have done about righteousness, whereas the righteousness and grace of the Gospel is wholly different from such principles, manifest then by thy adoration of the fullness of the Scripture, and sufficiency thereof, that thy religion, thy worship, thy hopes of salvation are not merely upon worldly principles, and not supernatural.

[ III] Thirdly, The godly man is discovered not to be of the world, by his constant life and conversation ; He doth not live as one that takes this world for his home, They declare by their words and actions they seek for another Country, Heb. 11. As the Israelites were to manifest the Wilderness was not a place for them to abide in but Canaan : Hence Rom. 12.1. They are not conformed to the fashion of this world, They are as Pilgrims and Strangers, They are in the world as bright Stars in a dark night, so that this doth necessarily imply a singularity and exactness in the godly man's life comparatively to the world; Men of the world are proud, earthly, brutish, running into all pleasures, and following all excess of riot, but they dare not do so, so that there cannot be a surer symptom that thou art still of the world then by speaking, doing, and living as most in the world do, 2 Pet. 3.6, Even those that have but a common bare profession of the Christian faith are said to escape the pollutions of the world ; Though Godliness should not have a deep impression on you, though it should not go to the root and bottom, yet if it hath made any impression at all, if it hath gone but to the skin, if you have heard of it but by the ear only, it should make thee avoid such pollutions, Jam. 1.17. What saith the Apostle James, Pure Religion is to keep a man unspotted from the world; Pure Religion ; There is a generation of devils rather then men that mock and deride at purity; Thus the Apostle saith there must be a pure Religion, and this pure Religion is to keep us unspotted from the world; That doth imply the world to be some loathsome noisome dunghill, that a man cannot be in it, but he is ready to get soil and filth upon him; how many trust to sin, come and do as we do, will you be so pure? but whether will you believe the Word of God or the devil tempting by such beastly Instruments?

[ IV,] Fourthly, He is discovered not to be off the world because he is principally taken up with heavenly privileges, Jam. 4.4. The friendship of this world is enmity against God ; and 1 Joh. 2.15. If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him ; It's as impossible a man that is godly should be of the world in this sense, as it is for Doves to be Moles, they cannot live by digging into the earth; Hence the godly man is said to be born of God, he is said to be heavenly, to be from above, to he risen with Christ, to sit in heavenly places, to have his Conversation in heaven ; These are the noble descriptions of the godly man, so that though they use the world, and discharge their Relations therein, yet they are not overcome by the world; They have the world, the world hath not them; Oh how close may this discovery be, for there are many who escape the pollutions of the world, and yet are worldly: The third kind of hearers did not only cast off all profaneness, but made some great progress in obedience to the Word, but the love of the world and the cares about it choked all; Did not Judas appear as eminently for Christ as any at first? but the love of the world discovered his rottenness; Did not Demas get approbation, and that by Paul himself? yet at last he did cleave to this present world, so that not only profaneness but immoderate, earthly and worldly affections; These are inconsistent with the power of grace; The world is not only the profaneness thereof, but the immoderate and excessive affections to the lawful things of the world; Our Savior doth not say, He that loveth his sins or his lusts more then me, but he that loveth his Father, wife, or life itself more then me is not worthy of me, Mat. 10.37. See then the difficulty of grace and tremble under it, Thou hast with much ado quit thy former sins, but do not the inordinate affections about lawful things still ensnare thee? Dost thou buy as if thou boughtst not? Dost thou marry as if thou marriedst not? 1 Cor. 7. Art thou rich as if thou wert not? That is, thou usest these things as comforts against thy necessities, not as Masters over thy affections.

[ V] Fifthly, In this it's apparent they are not of the world because the world hateth them, and is wholly opposite to them, Joh 17.14. Because they are not of the world therefore that hateth them, If they were of the world the world would love his own ; and 1 Joh. 4.5. They that are of the world speak of the world, and the world heareth them ; There cannot be a better discovery then this, The world knoweth his own, Let a man be a wise worldly man that matters not religion, that regards not the power of godliness, nor strictness; Such a man this world adoreth; But if a man be never so wise, so excellent, yet if powerfully godly will not conform to the evil ways of the world, this marreth all; This makes him envied and hated; Who art thou then that hast some desires to walk in the way to heaven, but the opposition, the hatred and violence that is used against that way makes thee draw back? Oh foolish and deluded wretch, was it not thus with Christ, with his Apostles? Were they not told they should be hated of all men for his Names sake? There cannot be a more comfortable sign of thy grace then to have all the wicked men where thou livest, either thy hypocritical Friends, or thy open enemies; Jerome thanked God that he was worthy to be such an one whom the world would hate; The Serpents Seed cannot love the Woman's; Ishmael will persecute Isaac, glory therefore and boast in this, if the malicious wicked man hath his mouth always open against thee, If he be always censuring and backbiting; For if thou wouldest be profane, dissolute, if thou wouldst be a Minister to prostitute the Ordinances of God to every profane man, thou wouldst be as good as any in the world but now it's not for thy infirmities but thy graces they malice thee.

[ VI] Sixthly, They are not of this world because they are members of Christ and incorporated into him ; Now Christ himself was not of this world, nor was his Kingdom of this world, Joh. 18.36. he came not with any earthly, worldly advantages; Now the godly they are to be wholly conformed unto Christ; As Christ was so are they, They bear the Image of the heavenly, so that what life, what actions were by Christ the same they are exercised in, so that if we would follow the example of Christ, make him our pattern, as our Christianity obligeth us, then should we overcome the world, not only in the persecuting part of it, but the enticing part of it: The heart that is united to Christ finds more excellency and sweetness in him then in all the pleasures of the world, as we see by Paul.

[ VII] Lastly, They are discovered not to be of the world because their life is a life of faith; The Just shall live by Faith, Rom. 1.17. We walk by faith and not by sense, 2 Cor. 5.7. Now a worldly life is only by sense and carnal reason; It moveth only upon sensible grounds, coming as far short of faith as a beast doth of reason, but the godly man, he looketh into the Word of God, he seeth the promises and embraceth them; This life of faith is a mystery, it is a Riddle, yea, it's a madness to the world, To part with all present advantages upon faith for eternal, that are to come; this is to them extreme folly, and truly herein a godly man is discovered exceedingly, Doth he not live by his sensible props but by the Promises? Doth he overlook all creatures, and fix his heart upon God, this is more then the world doth?

If you ask the grounds why the people of God are out of the world though in it; There are three pregnant Reasons in one verse, Gal. 1.4. Who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world : Observe first, it's an evil wicked world, The whole world lieth in wickedness saith John, 1 Joh. 5.19. There is nothing but the works of sin, and the devil in it, therefore the devil is called the Prince of this world, Joh. 16.11. because he reigneth in every man's heart; Now how can those whose natures are made holy, who will and love what God wills and loveth, come to agree with sin? how can they who are sanctified by the Spirit of God be where the devil ruleth? 2. It's the present world ; It's but for the present, the profits are present profits, the pleasures are present pleasures, whereas the godly man looketh to Eternity; D • mas cleaveth to the present world, 2 Tim. 4.10. but Paul to the eternal world, the world to come. 2. Christ died that we might be delivered from it, This is a pregnant reason, one main reason of the death of Christ was that thou shouldst not be as the world is, if the shortness and vanity of these things and their fading nature do not move thee, let the blood and death of Christ prevail with thee; He was crucified that thou shouldst be crucified to the world, he died that thou shouldst be dead to the world.

Use of Exhortation, To come out of the world in respect of your affections and conversations, you cannot abide there no more then Lot in Sodom, and be saved, yet, are not the greatest part of men, of the Church, thus of the world? Oh how unworthy is this, that whereas thy Christianity, thy Religion engageth thee not to be of the world, thy conversation proveth thou art; Well, as thou art of this world, so shalt thou perish with the judgments of the world; That lieth in darkness, and will be cast in utter darkness, this will be thy Portion, and know thou must go out of the place of the world though thou wilt not out of the wickedness of the world, the world cannot, will not hold thee always.

SERMON XXXII. Of the peculiar Propriety God's People have in him and he in them.

THE former part of this Verse related Christ's care and work to his Disciple, This latter part giveth a description of them, and all particulars therein are very argumentative to prevail, that God should hear prayer for them:

Now here is a threefold description of them, wherein indeed is laid down divinely the Cause of man's Salvation, with the effects flowing from it.

The two Causes are these,

1. The Eternal Election and absolute purpose of God to save such, Thine they were.

2. The meritorious cause in and by which all the mercies they are elected to, are obtained, and that is Christ, Thou hast given them me, viz. as a Mediator.

3. The blessed effects of these causes, that are hidden, or at least everyone may pretend to them, but this is a discovering sign that excludeth many, They have kept thy Word.

At this time I shall treat only of the first cause, which indeed may be called causa causae, the cause of all causes of our Salvation, and that is God's Election or gracious purpose to take some out of mankind, and to make them his in a peculiar manner.

For a people may be said to be God's divers ways,

1. By right of Creation and dominion which he hath thereby, and so all things are his, Psa. 69.11. Both the reprobate and the godly are his in this sense, it's impossible but that every creature should be his because he cannot alienate his dominion and property

2. A people may be said to be his by an outward dispensation of the Covenant of grace, Thus the people of the Jews are all of them called his people, because they were under an outward administration of grace, when other Nations of the world were not so.

Lastly, A people are his by Election and the gracious effects thereof, and so only those that are the true Disciples of Christ are his, and in this sense it's said, Thine they are and they have kept thy Word, which cannot be understood of Judas, for he perfidiously forsook Christ.

Doct. That the truly godly are God's people in a peculiar manner ; They have an endeared propriety in God, They may say with David, Psa. 119.94. I am thine, save me ; This propriety is the ground of all comfort, of all boldness at the Throne of grace; I am thine, pardon me; I am thine, sanctify me; I am thine, leave me not.

[ I] To open this Consider the distinction before premised, That we may be said to be the Lord's, either generally by right of Creation and his absolute Sovereignty; or 2. Peculiarly in a gracious manner: In the former sense all mankind is said to be in God's hand as the clay in the hand of the Potter. so that if God from wise and most righteous ends have chosen some and left others in their damnable estate, if we cannot say that all are by God's Election and Christ's by the execution of it, yet we have no cause to grudge or repine, because all are God's, to dispose of at his pleasure; For although his holy and righteous nature is the cause that he cannot do anything that is evil or unjust, yet the dominion and sovereignty he hath may make him dispose of all things as he pleaseth, and if the Apostle in matters of Election and Reprobation doth urge this to stifle man's presumption, how much more may it hold in inferior things, if God deny thee this or that mercy and giveth it to others, who art thou (O man) that arguest against God? We are his to be disposed of as he pleaseth:

But 2. That which we are now to, speak to is the propriety and right God hath in some more then in others by his grace and mere love; Alas the former propriety argueth no comfort, the damned in hell, yea, the very devils may plead the former; Lord, we are thine by creation and dominion, but that is no ground of comfort, only this latter is an unanswerable argument, God himself cannot deny this, when we can pray, Lord, we are thine by thy peculiar grace and purpose of love, We did not of ourselves become thus, it was thy goodness to make us thy own; It was free for thee to have done with us as thou pleasest, but now we are thine, it belongs to thee to save thy own.

[ II] Secondly, This right and propriety is mutually reciprocal ; God is theirs and they are God's, only God's propriety in them is the cause of their propriety in God, You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, saith Christ, Joh. 15.16. So that this is very comfortable to observe, that this right is mutual, God is their God, and they are his people, God challengeth them as his, and they may claim God as theirs▪ as you see the Covenant of grace runneth reciprocally, I will be their God and they shall be my people, Jer. 31.33. this is expressed under those similitudes of a Vine and a branch, of an husband and a Wife ; The wife hath power over and right to her husband as well as the Husband to the Wife, The Vine hath a relation to the branches as well as the branches to the Vine, only as the good of the branch lieth in being in the Vine, but the Vine doth not fetch succor from the branch; So it's here, we are the Lord's and the Lord is ours, only the Lord hath no advantage, nor hath he any good in that we are his, but the cause of our happiness is that he is ours, so then let the people of God know, that the ground and rise of all their spiritual advantage is because God hath a propriety in them, not so much because they have a propriety in God; It's because God loveth them, God will not loose what is his, that they are preserved from sin and hell; Indeed till we be actually God's by believing, though we be his by Election, yet we cannot make use of our Interest; That is hidden and secret; Paul though he was the Lord's by Election before the foundations of the world, yet till brought home, till believing, he cannot say, the Lord is his, Therefore till God be ours both by Election and the saving effects of it, we cannot say, I am my Beloveds, and my Beloved is mine, Cant. 2.16.

[ III] Therefore Thirdly, Our comfort and joy lieth in the discovery of our propriety and interest in God ; for though we be his, yet if we believe it not, it is as if we did not belong to him; It's said, David encouraged himself in his God, 1 Sam. 30.6. The evidence of his propriety was his encouragement, and Paul acknowledgeth an appropriation, when speaking of Christ, he said, Who loved me and gave himself for me, Gal. 2.20. Hence it is that our Savior upon his departure out of the world doth so fully inform his Disciples, that he will be theirs still though he bodily leaveth them; That the propriety and interest they have in him is not taken away; Hence also it is that an elected man while unconverted, can take no more comfort from God or his promise then a reprobate, because as yet his propriety is not evidenced; As yet there is no ground of any claim or holy boldness at the Throne of grace, Therefore it's a main duty of the people of God to study this Point above all, viz. their propriety in God, Am I the Lord's or no? It's not impossible to find out the truth of this, though Satan and our hearts are very much tempting to the contrary; there are few that can escape the storms and tempests that arise in this matter, and quietly anchor their souls on God.

[ IV,] Fourthly, There are two special and eminent causes of our being the Lord's treasure and peculiar people ; The one is the Lord's power and might, the other his infinite grace and love; That which is the Sun and giveth heat and warmth more especially, is the mercy and love of God, for we by sin though we could not make ourselves no creatures of his, so that he should not destroy or damn us, yet we made ourselves no children of his, we cast ourselves out of his favor, of a loving Father we made him an enraged enemy. and so accordingly we pulled down all vengeance upon our heads, we forfeited every mercy we know not the least drop of comfort that belongs unto us, but all the curses of God threatened in his Law, this and no other could we expect, we ere no more the Lord's then the devils and damned in hell; Therefore it was the mere goodness of God not to cast us off, but to make us his a second time upon better Covenants of mercy, so that if any soul comes to know this, that he is now the Lord's, he hath cause with astonishment and amazement to fall down and admit the grace of God, we did not make ourselves his, we could not become his people of our own strength.

2. There was the power of God also greatly discovered, for seeing by sin we become the devils, and he had a right to us, he is the god of the world, and he rules in the hearts of those that are disobedient, Eph. 2. seeing I say he is their Father and they are of him, and his works they do, it's impossible we should be recovered out of his hands, till God who is stronger then he sets us free; As our Savior implieth in that Parable, when a strong man keepeth the house all things are quiet, till a stronger then he cometh, Luk. 11.22. It was not then in the power of Man or Angels to expedite himself out of that bondage and slavery, till God did wonderfully show his power, and as it was not in their power, so neither in their will or heart; Though it be such an unspeakable happ • nesse to be the Lord's, yet no man naturally is willing to this, he had rather be the devils and sins then the Lord's, such cursed wickedness is in every man's heart, and such enemies are we to ourselves.

[ V] Fifthly; Though this expression be short [ Thine they are ] yet it comprehends very many precious and excellent particulars; For we are the Lord's upon several and various titles, therefore are we sure to continue his; It's good the godly man should know how many ways he is the Lord's, that his heart may be enlarged upon every particular.

[ 1] For 1. He is the Lord's by Election from all Eternity ; Thou wast the Lord's before thou wast born, before thou hadst a being, when thou couldst have no thoughts of thyself, he had thoughts of thee: The Scripture doth often Eph. 1. Rom. 9. comfort the people of God, and quicken up their hearts with this particular, and certainly it's a deep and overwhelming Meditation, Who am I Lord when in the womb of nothing, or when born, yet wallowing in my blood, thinking, speaking, and living against thee, and thou didst from all Eternity know this, yet didst choose me to eternal life? Oh how many thousands are past by and I am chosen! Was it not enough Lord not to have created me? It might have been mercy not to have created me, that so I might not have been damned, but positively to appoint me before the foundation of the world to such unspeakable glory, this is that which astonisheth me; Oh my Soul and heart is too narrow if I had the hearts of all the men in the world, they would be too little to conceive of this goodness.

[ 2] 2. We are the Lord's or Christ's, for I make this all one, by way of redemption and conquest ; We are bought with no less a price then the precious blood of Christ, and, as the Apostle urgeth, are therefore no more our own, 1 Cor. 6.20. Oh then consider how great a matter goeth to make thee the Lord's ere this propriety could be attained, how dear did it cost Christ? he therefore became man and did undergo all those evils and reproaches, that we might be his; It cost him more to redeem us then to create us, so that it's no wonder if the people of God may look upon themselves as the Lord's peculiar, for there is a good reason, They are bought at an high rate, Neither sin, or the devil, or the world have done so much for thee; Oh then what shameful ingratitude is it to live to them and not to God.

[ 3] 3. We are his new creature and a spiritual Creation ; Thus he is said to create us, and we are said to be his Children born of him; We are Gal. 2.10. called his • orkmanship created to good works, so that in this particular the people of God are remarkably his, They have his Image put upon them, They have a divi •• nature bestowed upon them, It's he that hath made us not we ourselves, even 〈◊〉 this sense Lev. 20.26. That ye should be mine severed from all other, oh then know if there be no more in thee then what is in the world, or what thou hast by nature, thou art not yet the Lord's; Doth thy nature, thy frame of heart discover an interest in God, then thou mayest take comfort, there are many who desire to be the Lord's by Redemption but not by Sanctification; They would have Christ's blood theirs, but not his Spirit.

[ 4] 4. We are the Lord's by Covenant and by Promise ; and this is no mean foundation of our propriety in him, The Promise runneth, I will be their God and they shall be my people, Jer. 31.33. We have God's Word as well as his work causing us to be his, and in this sense God is said to be the God of Abraham, and the God of his Faithful Seed, viz. by a gracious promise; This is that which may bear up the heart, how often do we by our sins and infirmities break off our propriety and lose our interest as much as lieth in us, If there were no gracious promise of God, that for his Names sake and words sake we shall be his, then all those uncomfortable Arminian Positions would take place, that we may be the Lord's people today and the devils slaves tomorrow; Thus our propriety would be mutable every hour, and as our lives so our hopes and comforts would be like a vapor and a bubble, but we are children of the promise, Gal. 3. And as that gave Isaac life when the barren womb had no power, so it's the promise of God begins and continueth our spiritual life; It's for his truths sake that sin and Satan shall not quite overwhelm us, and how comfortable is this to plead, Lord, we are thine, not by any merits of our own, not by any gracious works of ours, but by thy promise; We do not believe, love thee, or persevere, and therefore are thine, but because we are thine therefore we believe and persevere.

[ 5] 5. We are the Lord's by several peculiar relations, all which administer their peculiar comfort; We are the Lord's house in which he continually dwells and is present; We are his Temple in a peculiar manner consecrated to him; We are his branches and that denoteth our intimate Union with him, as also our supply from him; We are his Servants, we are his Children, we are his Wife, we are the members of Christ's body ; Oh these similitudes are full of worth, they demonstrate not only the dignity but the blessedness of his people, and the rich supply of comfort and grace from him; By these is signified that we are the Lord's in his most endeared affections, That no Father to a child, no husband to a Wife is as God to us, Isa. 43.1. I have called thee by Name, thou art mine.

[Use 1] The practical Improvement of this is very great,

First, It informeth us that besides the general acts of faith a Christian ought to have particular applicative ones ; It's not enough to believe in the general, God is the God of those that fear him, that trust in him, but also in particular with Thomas to say, My Lord, My God, John. 20.28. Hence are those expressions frequent, I am thy God, and the Lord your God ; The child that walketh in darkness, having no light, is exhorted to trust in his God, Isa. 50.10. Oh it cannot be well with thee while thou art in generals only, if God be a stranger to thee, if apprehended to be none of thy God, or if doubted of, all this while thou art in a wilderness, not in the Land of Canaan, thou art but in the porch not taken into the presence-chamber; It's a great sin of the godly that they are not more particularly here, In other things you take no delight unless it be yours, a pleasant garden if not yours, health if not yours, makes no comfort, Propriety is the cause of joy; Oh then let not Satan, nor the black doubts of thy own heart make thee keep at a distance from God, Let not Popish or Arminian Doctrines that press no more then a general faith any ways move thee, but as God is thine, so labor to believe and know he is thine.

[Use 2] Use 2. Is God the godly man's God? May he say I am thine Lord, then what a comfortable support is here? what enlargement of heart may this make several ways.

1. It should cause holy boldness and earnest fervency in prayer; Thou art not praying to God that is an adversary, a stranger, or unknown to thee; It may be he will hear, it may be not; Oh such diffidence is very sinful, it's very pleasing to God to pray to him in this propriety, because hereby thy hope to speed will be greater, Thy thankfulness will be more, Thy delight and joy in him will increase and flourish, and tormenting fears will be overcome.

2. It will uphold against all temptations within, in desertions, in blackness of soul, yet if thou trustest on God as thy God, though thou dost not feel him to be so, this is good; O Lord, thou dost but seem to withdraw thyself; O Christ, thou art my brother Joseph though thou speakest thus roughly.

3. In opposition from the world; O Lord, though all the world hate me, yet I rejoice because I am thine; And why do the devils and wicked men hate me? Is it not because I am thine▪ If I were one of theirs they would love me; Lord, am I not thy treasure, thy Jewell, and if the devil or the world destroy me, is it not thy loss as well as mine?

4, Contentation in every condition; Is God thy God? what needest thou more? If a man have the Sun, doth he need the Stars? Oh our froward hearts in this particular, If God deny not himself, will he deny other things necessary?

5. Here is a great argument to duty; If God be thine and thou his, Oh then live to him, why is not thy heart God's, thy tongue God's? Wouldst thou be the Lord's in counsel and not in duty? Oh think all I have is not mine but God's.

Lastly, It's terror to wicked men, this is the Fountain of all their calamity and ruin, God is not their God, and then mercy is not their mercy, pardon is not their pardon, heaven is not their heaven; Oh it's a beggarly thing to boast in the wealth thou hast, in the pleasures thou hast, but as for God he is none of thine: That Cripples case was miserable, who when the Pool stirred had no man to help him; Oh but thine is more miserable, that hast no God to pity thee, no God to pardon thee; The God you will cry to, the God you will pray to at death, the God you must appear before is none of your God.

SERMON XXXIII. The truly Godly man only is obedient to God's Word: Or, The Great Character of a Christian.

WE pass over the second description which is God's giving of some of mankind to Christ as a Mediator, so that they are his trust, and it lieth upon his faithfulness to procure salvation for them, Only it's good to consider that within six Verses he doth thrice use this expression, They are given him by the Father, for this layeth the Axe to the very root of Arminianism; It's not their free-will, nor their good improvement of the means of grace, but God's gracious giving of them to Christ that makes them have an Interest in salvation, and the phrase doth imply that there is a stint number and defined of such; There cannot be more or less, so that the Arminian Dagon must needs fall before this Ark, but this is spoken to already:

I therefore pass on to the effect of both these divine causes of our Salvation; There was you heard the efficient cause God's Election, the meritorious cause Christ, and now we have the effect of these, which is by way of sign to describe who they are that are the Lord's, and thus given to Christ, for they being hidden causes, and everyone apt to pretend to them; This is the differencing and evidencing mark, They keep the Word of God, So that by this we see who are truly and indeed given of God to Christ, even such as keep his Word ; He doth not say, that heareth it or remembers it, or that understands it, but that keeps it ; The Scripture hath equivalent expressions to this, sometimes John 8.31. it's called continuing in his Word, because it's not enough for a while to cleave to it unless we persevere; The Scripture giveth sad Instances of many that did not only hear but with joy for a season did receive Christ's Word, yet they did not hold it fast to the end, they did not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 as it is Mat. 13. against all opposition whatsoever; The contrary to this is in the same Chapter, v. 37. My Word hath no place in you ; Our Savior speaks it there as the cause of all the wickedness that the Jews committed, because his Word had no room in their hearts, You seek to kill me because my Word hath no place in you ; This expression seemeth to denote such as are hardened and given up to a reprobate sense, for the godly sometimes may not understand or delight, and receive the Word, but that the Word should at no time find any place in a man's heart, that is the mark of an hardened sinner, look to it then and tremble all you who have many years lived under the Word preached, and yet to this day it hath had no place in your hearts, This is the dreadful condition of many thousand hearers, sometimes this keeping of the Word is called hearing of the Word, as in the same Chapter, v. 43. Ye cannot hear my Word because ye are not of God, where hearing the Antecedent is put for the consequent obedience, and the reason is because Faith and Obedience comes by hearing, and those that delight and are swift to hear are commonly such as are ready to obey: Again that which is here called keeping of the Word is in other places called keeping the Commandments, only this is more sweet and kindly, for Word doth properly relate to him that is a Doctor or Teacher, Commandment to him that is a Law-giver; Now there is a great difference between the Imperious Sovereignty of a Law-giver and the benign condescension of a Teacher, but here we take it largely for all that God hath revealed to us, and our Savior saith, they have kept the Fathers Word, not his, because they looked upon Christ as the Mediator sent from God, and so received not his Word as the word of a man but as of God through and by him.

Obs. That those only can plead a propriety and interest in God and Christ, who are careful to keep his Word ; All others do but cry Peace, Peace to themselves, when damnation is at hand; So that this truth will do for the present as Christ will do at the day of judgment, set the Goats on the left hand, and the sheep on the right, It will be like the Fan in Christ's hand, it will winnow the chaff from the wheat; Let us therefore consider how much is comprehended in this phrase, to keep the Word of God.

What are the Ingredients of this duty?

And first, In that it's indefinitely spoken, They have kept thy Word, It's implied,

1. They had a diligent respect to the Whole Word of God, he doth not say, they have kept part or some particulars, but thy Word ; Now the word of God hath these parts:

• 1. It's a word of doctrine to be understood and believed.
• 2. It's a word of commands to be obeyed.
• 3. It's a word of threatening to be humbled at.

And lastly, It's a word of promise and consolation to be rejoiced in, so that he who keeps the Word of God keeps all these parts of it.

1. There is the word of Doctrine to be understood and believed, and so to keep his word, is to abhor all errors, all false doctrines, all unsound opinions, Those that are Christ's Disciples are as tender about God's truths as about his commands, as they would not willingly transgress a command, so neither err about the Truths of God; Hence Joh. 10. our Savior doth at large show the true character of his Sheep, They will not hear a strangers voice, They will flee from a stranger, now who is a stranger? any one, though an Angel from heaven, that shall bring anything that is contrary to the Scripture, whosoever shall obtrude that to be believed as a truth which is not in the word of God, this man is a stranger, his doctrine is strange doctrine, the sheep of Christ will not hear it; Oh then let the Disciples of Christ show their truth and solidity of grace in this, that they dare not receive errors or heresies; Oh what pity is it that thou who art tender about the commands of God wouldst not commit a sin for a world, sh • u • d • t be large and wanton in thy understanding about the Truths of God, Remember it's his word, and so thou art to keep sound doctrine by a pure faith as well as his Commandments by upright obedience, and the reason is plain partly because the same God commands both, There is his authority upon truths to be revealed as well as precepts to be obeyed; God commands the captivity of your understanding as well as of your affections, and partly because the true doctrine of God only is instrumental to holiness, a man will never be godly by believing any error, Joh. 19. Sanctify them by thy Truth thy Word is Truth, so that as in the use of Superstitious customs, Popish Sacraments, a man can never receive true grace because God's promise and his efficacy will go only together, thus, the more errors thou believest, the more carnal thou wilt grow, God will never bless a lie, chaff and poison shall never be true and good nourishing meat.

2. There is the Word of his Commandments, and often the Scripture saith if ye love me keep my Commandments, and neither may there be any doubt, but a true disciple of Christ will be careful herein, for how can he show his Discipleship otherwise then by obedience to God's precepts; It's a plain mocking of God outwardly to profess that we take him for our God, that we acknowledge subjection to him, and yet disobey his commands, so that this particular cuts off most hearers from being as yet at least in the number of those who can truly plead a propriety in God, for doth not their constant course of life proclaim an open hostility against God; Is profaneness, pride, lusts, and rioting the command of God? Hath the Lord commanded thee to lie, swear, and curse? Are they not rather the lusts of the devil? Oh that men should be so foolish and senseless as to talk of God and Christ, and yet live in open disobedience to them, D • dst thou belong to God, such would be thy love to him, yea, such an heavenly nature wouldst thou have, that God's Law and thy heart would have a sweet proportion and suitableness to one another, as David professeth often, it was sweeter then the honey and the honey comb; and Paul delighted in the Law of God; The Law of sin in the unregenerate man doth not more please him then the Law of God doth the regenerate man; There is not a grievous burden in it; The holiness and spirituality of God's command is that which doth exceedingly assure him.

3. There is the word of th • eatning, and although in one sense we are not to keep that, yet in another respect we are with trembling and fear to observe it; Thus whatsoever God doth forbid, threatening it either with temporal or eternal judgments the godly have an holy awe of; They dare not displease God, How can I do this and sin against God? saith Joseph ; Thus Josiah when the Law was read his heart did melt and tremble, and therefore how graciously did God take notice of that tender disposition in him; It's a vain and erroneous conceit to think the threatenings do not belong to the godly, or that they must not with fear make use of them; For if so, why doth the Scripture propound threatenings even to the godly, and that very often, and who is there so godly that hath not the remainder of corruption in him, who needeth not fear, as a bridle to curb sin in him, especially when we see Adam though in the state of Integrity, was yet threatened by God, if he did eat of the forbidden fruit? so that even then a threatening had its proper use to Adam though altogether holy.

Lastly, There is the word of consolation or promise, and that is worthy of all acceptation, as when a man takes a thing with both his hands; It's called embracing the Promises, Heb. 11. as gladly and cheerfully as we do a dear Friend; Oh it's not enough in a dull cold manner to think and hear of the promise, but thou art to run and embrace it as one overjoyed, as Simeon did Christ in his arms, and then to think, thou even hast enough; This is fiducial recumbency on Christ, a holy boldness in God as a Father, and herein the people of God are many times to be blamed, you receive the true doctrine of God to believe it, his Commandments to obey them, his threatenings you tremble under, but the promises by strong acts of faith you do not embrace, you do not take him for your Mediator on whom you trust in the midst of all your infirmities and weaknesses, yea, you rather doubt whether you may or no lay hold on the promise, you say of it as Peter to Christ, Depart from me for I am a sinner ; you think Christ would be angry with you as that woman thought If you touch the promise; Oh remember that the godly will keep the word of promise, receive that as well as the command; They know it's a sin of an high nature to refuse God comforting as well as commanding, yea in some respects it's worse, for when you sin against the command of God, you sin against his Sovereignty, but when against his promises you sin against his love and goodness; That wherein he intends to get himself the greatest glory by, oh then when Satan tempts and thy heart is cloudy, Thou puts off the promise, think how can I do this and sin against God? If it were a command I could not refuse it, and doth not the same God urge faith to the promise.

2. To keep his word doth suppose that we keep it because it's his Word, Because that God commands it; For no actions are holy till the motive be holy that draweth them out, and this we told you, is the reason why our Savior saith, They have kept thy Word, and not mine; They look upon him as the Mediator sent by God; Thus the Thessalonians are commended because they received the Word preached, Not as the word of man but as of God ; This was the reason why God would not take the wise men of the world, but contemptible Instruments, by whom he wrought wonderful miracles, that so our faith might not be built on the abilities or the wisdom of men; and hence it is that the Disciples Matthew and others, who left all and followed Christ, did gloriously manifest their obedience to God as God; It may fall out that the same things which God commands we may do, as we see in Jehu, Judas, and others, but then not upon the grounds, that God commands them; The Pharisee was commanded to fast and pray, but not for vain-glory and human applause; Oh then if thou keep God's Word look it be because it's God's Word, Let not any sinful or corrupt ingredients of thy own mingle themselves, who would not have thought that Judas for a long while kept God's Word when he left all, wrought Miracles, and preached in the Name of Christ, but he had an eye to the bag always▪ and that proved his undoing, This will be a good touchstone to try thee.

3. He keeps God's Word that receiveth it with his whole heart and soul ; That thinketh it not enough to hear it, to remember it, to write it or repeat it, but to have it implanted in his heart, and thereby to turn all his heart and affections into it; That he may be a living Bible, or the Word of God in lively practice, as the Apostle saith the Corinthians were his Epistle to be read and seen of all men, 2 Cor. 3.2. so should you be the Bible to be read and seen of all men; This is powerfully to be pressed on you; That you be even the Bible of God to be read and seen of men; This is the good and honest heart that retaineth the Word, for if the Word be superficially received only, it will nor transform the whole man into its likeness; The fire must have time, and then it will make even the hardest, coldest Iron like it; This is represented by the Parable of the Leven, Mat. 13.33. hid in three pecks of meal, There must be time ere the Leven can diffuse it's power; David expressed this well when he aid, He had hid the Word of God in his heart, Psa. 119.11. Oh then if thou wouldst have this propriety in God, see how close and inward this Word is received into thee; If it be the bread of life it's not enough to have it in the mouth, no, nor stomach, but it must be digested, and so made the very flesh and blood of a man.

4. They keep the Word of God who make it a rule for their lives, that order their conversation accordingly, for to hide it in the heart, unless it be with David, that you may not transgress in your lives, is not yet to attain to the due end; If ye know these things happy are ye if ye do them ; Many have Scripture in their hearts and memory but not in their lives; David made this use of it, when he said, It was a Lamp and light to his feet, and then he exhorts the young man so to attend it, Psa. 119 9. and thereby to cleanse his ways : The Apostle James calls it a glass, Jam. 1.23. and then you make use of it aright▪ when you thereby wash out all those spots that are in thy life, and curest all thy wrinkles and deformities, look then to this, Doth the Word of God in thy mind and heart break out into thy life? Doth it take away the Leprosy there? certainly there is no other effectual means but this; It's the Word if anything will forewarn thee of sin, neither mercies or afflictions, nor thy own resolves and purposes, but the Word of God set home on the heart that can make an holy change and alteration.

5. Then we keep the word of God when we have an high and choice esteem of it, when we can take more delight in that because of the spiritual effects of it, then in any worldly pleasures or contents, as David doth so often profess and Job likewise, more then the honey or honeycomb, more then their appointed food; Now the choice esteem of it must be.

1. For the spiritual effects of it, as David did, because it did enlighten his mind, forewarn him of sin, quicken him up to his duty, There may be a sinister and corrupt end made of God's Word, when we make it an argument only of dispute, when we are diligent in it only to maintain opinions, in which sense Luther said, it was the Heretics book, or when men read it only for the History of it, or thereby to make notions, and to draw out some pleasing things to fancy; Alas the Word of God was not given for this, no more then Manna was given to satisfy curiosity, but to feed and nourish; Oh then take heed of spiritual wantonness and luxury, to make the Bible the argument of thy opinions or notions, thereby to get applause and esteem, No, thou are to prize it for the spiritual effects of it; That it cureth thee of thy blindness, spiritualizeth thee against thy carnality quickens thee against thy formality.

2. We are to prize it for the necessity of it, because that containeth the words of eternal life, we cannot think a thought, or step a step, without the guidance of it; This is able to make thee wise to salvation, 2 Tim. 3.15. A man cannot have any wise thought or purpose towards heaven, but by this; This made Job as you heard prize it more then his necessary food, for the soul needeth this bread of life as much as the body doth material bread; If we set up any other principle to walk by but this, we run ourselves into the mouth of hell.

3. For the usefulness of it, The Scripture is profitable for instruction, exhortation, and to make a man perfect for every good work, 2 Tim. 3. There is no sin to be avoided, no duty to be done, but the Word of God will direct thee therein; There is no temptation so subtle but this will discover it; If at any time thou art unprepared and indisposed for such or such a duty, thou hast no heart to pray, no spirit to believe on the promise; Come to this and it will quicken thee, for it's eyesalve to thy blindness; It's an hammer against thy corruptions, It's fire to consume thy dross, It's oil for thy wounds, It's a Catholicon, an universal Shop of all spiritual medicines; The rich man, the poor man, the husband, the wife, all may learn from hence what to do.

4. The preciousness and dignity of it ; The Word of God is full of heavenly and supernatural excellency, especially the Gospel, or the will of God revealed for the salvation of man, Oh how welcome must these glad tidings be to the troubled sinner that hath received the sentence of condemnation upon his soul, Christ with his benefits discovered are the only treasure to a tender broken heart; The Scriptures they are the Mine wherein this treasure is to be found; They are the Field wherein this pearl is hid, To you that believe Christ is precious, 1 Pet. 2.7. and it must needs be so, for he is the Mediator between God and them, he hath fullness for all their wants and necessities; He is made wisdom, righteousness and sanctification, 1 Cor. 1. It's not what they are but what Christ is.

Lastly, They keep the Word who persevere in it notwithstanding all the temptations and difficulties ; It's both against the flesh and the devil for any man to keep Christ's Word, and how many have begun well but at last have given over to their great destruction, Therefore John saith, If ye continue in my word, and Mat. 13. The good ground is said to hold fast the Word, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the word signifieth so to hold as that many are striving to take it out of our hearts again, and they are said to bring forth fruit in patience, because there is great contrariety and opposition unto God's Word, if possible, the fowls of the air will take away this seed as soon as it is sown; The Apostle James speaks of a forgetful hearer, Jam. 1.24. and therefore would have us abide looking into the glass of the Word ; Oh take we heed that we be not in the number of those whose latter end is worse then the beginning; Take heed it be not said, They are turned out or gone from us, because they were not of us.

Use of Instruction, what they may judge of themselves who though living long under the means of grace find the Word hath no place in their hearts, their lives, their conversation proclaim to all, that they care not for God's Word, Oh what a sad Symptom is this of thy obstinate incurable condition, oh men to be mourned over as dead and buried in the grave of sin! If ye were of God you would hear his Word; It's said of many, they did not hear the Word of God because it was of the Lord to destroy them; O take heed this be not true of thee.

Use of Exhortation to the godly, keep close to God's Word, let your thoughts, your affections, your actions be according to that, you never wound your consciences, you never bring woe to yourselves, you never are at a distance from God but when you go astray from this rule; Keep to this as in an Ark, be in all your relations by it, live by it, die by it, you are like a tree planted by the water-side, while attending to this, and if you keep the Word of God God's Word will keep you. 1. In the hour of temptation that you sin not. 2. At the hour of death that you sink not; It will be a tree of life to you, that we through the Scriptures might have consolation, The Word that was your rule will now be your comfort, it will speak nothing but consolation to thee, It will be more then all friends, all comforters whatsoever. 3. It is everlasting, it will abide forever, the consolations of it will be eternal.

SERMON XXXIV. Of Growth in Grace, The Duty, Necessity, and Glory of it.

OUR Savior doth still relate those commendable considerations that were in his Disciples, that thereby God should hear his prayer for them; It was not for worldly wicked sinners but such as knew and obeyed him that he prayed for; This is the more to endear them to God.

Now as before he had commended them for their obedience, so here for their faith in him as a Mediator, and this faith is necessary to all Christian obedience ; For without it a man by his Legal righteousness becomes a confident presumer trusting in his works that he doth, or else despaireth; Seeing it impossible that ever he should attain to such a righteousness that is required: Therefore when we have done all, and got up to the very pinnacle of grace, we are in matter of Justification to leave our obedience and fly to faith, so then we have the disciples Faith in Christ as a Mediator described and commended.

1. By one main particular act which doth synecdochically contain the whole, They have known ; By the next Verse it appeareth that believing and knowing are all one.

2. There is the Object of their faith, which is twofold,

1. All things that the Father had given Christ.

2. That they were of him, the sense is, They knew whatsoever Christ had it was given him of the Father, and that he had these things from him to be a Mediator : Here then you see what an acceptable thing it is to God to believe in Christ as sent by him; The poor humbled sinner he trembleth and doubteth whether he may come to this Mediator or no; But you see it is a most pleasing thing to God, for which he commends his disciples as much as their obedience, that they did thus receive him.

In the next place consider the circumstance of time when this is affirmed of them, Now they have known, &c. What is the sense of that? Did they not know and believe in Christ before? Yes, but he speaks here of their proficiency and growth; Now they have known and believed more assuredly then ever ; So that it's not simply their faith but their growth and increase in faith, that our Savior takes notice of; From whence observe,

That it's not enough for the people of God to have grace, but they are to thrive and grow in it ; To be as the Disciples more assuredly believing, so as if they did not at all believe before. Thou art so far to exceed thyself over what thou wast once, that thou mayest say my faith, my heavenly-mindedness, my love to God was none at all comparatively to what it is now. This is a necessary Subject to preach on, when you see so many withered Trees, so many sick of a consumption in grace; Alas of how many may you say the contrary; They did once believe, they were once zealous, but now you may say they have none of these respectively to what they had; God is not satisfied with the truth of grace unless there be also growth in grace; If thou have received a Talent, and canst not say, Thy five hath gained a ten, there is a fearful curse against thee as an unprofitable Servant, Joh. 15.2. See what quick work God makes, and how it is growth he looks at, Every branch in him that bringeth not forth fruit he taketh away ; God loves not slothfulness and unprofitableness no more then profaneness; He doth not say, If it bring forth poisonous fruit or wild grapes, but if it bring forth no good fruit, and if any doth fructify, then he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit ; See here the Husbandmans care is still for more fruit; If thou art no better then thou wast, if thy faith, thy love have not an increase God's expectations are not answered; Hence Heb 6. those that are babes in Christ are severely reproved, and they are to be carried on to perfection; Not to grow is a kind of barrenness, yea, it's a degree to Apostatize; Therefore the Apostle in that place threatens such Non proficience with that dreadful sin of Apostasy, 2 Cor. 7.1. Let us perfect holiness in the fear of God ; It's not enough to have holiness but we are to perfect it, and he that hath any fear of God will thus endeavor, and certainly if the rich man would have more wealth, the great man more greatness, how much rather the godly man, more godliness.

To open this let us consider how many ways the graces of God's people are to grow and thrive,

And first In respect of their degrees and measure, The weak faith is to grow a strong faith, their strong faith a stronger, and thus of their love of God; Therefore love is required with all the soul and all the might ; Mat. 22. The duty of growth in grace is required of the highest Giant as well as the lowest dwarf in grace, Phil 3. See how Paul stretcheth out himself to run as if he were but a new beginner; There is not in the growth of grace as in nature a term or stint, then they go no further; No, but as they say of the Crocodile he groweth as long as he liveth, and when he ceaseth to grow, he ceaseth to live; Thus it is in the work of grace, There is a necessity of growing while any Christian life is in thee; Thy grace may be made better and more confirmed grace; That man knoweth not what godliness is, that can say, Soul, take thy ease, thou hast godliness enough, No, they cry out, Their leanness, their poverty, they are climbing up the hill, but cannot get to the top; Let then the man that feareth God study the improvement of his graces; Oh say, There is a greater measure and further degrees yet to be had, I am ashamed to see how short I come of what • ought to be; I stagger and reel through doubts and unbelief, My heart is divided between God and the creature; Oh how often is my heart even as cold as a stone: There are no burning affections, 〈◊〉 hot zeal, I see a better way; Oh that I could attain unto it.

Secondly, Their growth ought to be in depth and rooting of their graces ; As the Apostle speaks of the dimensions of God's love, it hath a depth, and a breath, Eph. 1. Thus the love of the godly and all their graces have their spiritual dimensions, and as before we spake of their growth in height, so now of growth downwards, in a better setl • ng and deeper radicating of their holiness within them; Our Savior speaks of a foolish builder, who did not dig deep enough, nor build on a rock, Mat. 7.26. and the three sort of hearers did all miscarry upon this Point; There was not root rnough; What makes the backsliding Demas, the apostate Judas, but neglect of rooting? Oh then look every day that thy Repentance root itself more in the heart, That thy faith be more deeply implanted in thee, otherwise when a temptation or storm ariseth, thou wilt be plucked up by the roots, and certainly we may see this is the root of all evil to professors; They measure their graces by the boughs and branches thereof, not by the rooting; whereas we see in all trees the deeper the rooting is the better they are enabled to spread abroad, sear then lest thy graces be not got to the bottom of thy heart, fear lest something lie closer and deeper in thy heart then grace doth.

Thirdly, They may grow in the extension and kinds of all graces ; It's the Apostle bids them add virtue to temperance, and so chains graces together, 1 Pet. 1. The people of God they sometimes are careful to avoid such and such sins, but then there are others either that they are not convinced of or do not attend unto, and there they sail frequently, but the god • y man is to grow in extension, he is to avoid one sin as well as another; He is to perform one duty as well as another; Oh then remember the work of grace is an exact and circumspect thing; There go many things to make a man godly, we may leave out many necessary ingredients and then mar the whole box of ointment; David prayed to be cleansed from secret sins, Psa. 19.13. such as he did not understand to be sins; Oh it's happy when the godly are thus growing that they leave off many foolish customs they once practiced; That they set upon many duties they once wholly omitted; These disciples how hardly were they drawn off from many doctrines that they had been brought up in.

Fourthly, They are to grow not only in their graces but in the means and instrument of their graces ; Thus prayer, hearing the Word, these are the means of growing in grace, Receive the engrafted Word of God that ye may grow thereby ; They are to pray better, to hear better, to sanctify the Sabbaths more spiritually, never think of growing in grace, if thou art not more careful in the use of them, for upon these depend thy spiritual increase, as upon good digestion bodily growth; Wonder not then at thy leanness and barrenness if thou art not better in performing of duties; Here begins the consumption; Hence are thy languishings and decays, Heb. 10. The Apostle speaking of those who willingly sin by a • otal Apostasy, layeth the foundation of this in that they forsook the Assemblies ; The way then to keep up the life and increase of grace is to keep up duties in their power and vigor, formality and customariness in them will make thee quickly like a withered branch; but oh the deep wounds and blows that even the godly get in their consciences hereby; They pray no more fervently, They hear no more affectionately, and accordingly in their lives they are so many dry bones.

Fifthly, The people of God may grow by exciting and stirring up others to grow ; And indeed it's a special means to quicken ourselves by quickening up others, 2 Thes. 1.3. They are commended in that their faith did grow exceedingly, which was not only true in the parts of their faith, but that also it did diffuse itself to others; They brought on many others also to believe, Eph. 2.21. The godly are said to grow up to an holy Temple, that implieth, they do not only grow singly in themselves but in an united manner; As live coals laid together grow hotter by one another, so that this growth of grace respects the Church of God as a community, as a Society, grace groweth by heavenly and holy communion; As the members of the body grow by a mutual assistance and a member separated from the body cannot grow, so it's here; There is no such admirable speedy way of growth as when the people of God speak often and exhort one another, when they provoke one another, and certainly herein lieth a great fault; The sheep of God are scattered from one another what by difference of opinions, and what by carnal suspicions, that thereby they cannot say, I have been an helper to such a man's faith, to such a man's repentance; Thy tongue hath not been a Tree of life, as it should be; Thy light did not so shine, that others might glorify God for thee; Oh then let the people of God put themselves on this way of growth.

Sixthly, The people of God are to grow in the solidity and fortitude of their graces, That thereby they may overcome such temptations which the babes of Christ cannot; This solidity is seen in two things: 1. The soundness of their Judgment. 2. The fortitude and heavenly hardship of their hearts: The soundness of judgment, This is a special matter, for we see Rom. 14. and Act. 15. what sad rents and dissensions the weak judgments of some brethren made in the Church, insomuch that the Apostle giveth many directions therein; Those that are new Converts and have felt the power and guilt of sin, and the sweetness of God's favor have many times strong affections, but weak judgments and upon such the devil with his heretical instruments doth commonly prevail; A • at first he began with Eve to beguile her, and by her to seduce her husband: Oh then let the Children of God look to themselves in the day of their espousals to Christ, when all is honey and ravishment; It's hard for them to consolidate and settle their judgments; Hence the Apostle blameth those that were children, and had not their senses exercised to discern between good and evil, Heb 5.14. Oh then account it an especial matter in Religion, to grow in a sound mind, to be more solid in judgment; This will make thee discern between good and evil, between what is of God and what is of the devil: 2. In fortitude of spirit; The Apostle 2 Tim. 2.3. bids Timothy endure hardship as a Soldier of Christ, and in the Revelation c. 3. The promise is made to him that overcometh, and our Savior saith, Blessed is he that endureth to the end, Mat. 26. many begin in the Spirit, and end in the flesh ; Oh it's an admirable matter to grow hardy in Religion, to be able to endure scoffs, reproaches, and the loss of all dear comforts, as the Apostle said, You have not yet resisted to blood, Heb. 12.4. The people of God are to account all conflicts and encounters light till they come to blood itself, and even then to remember that he who would have his life shall lose it ; Our Savior did train up his Disciples at the very beginning in this hard service; Hence it is that Christianity is compared to a warfare, to running in a race, to fighting not only with flesh and blood but even Principalities in high places, so that thou art not to expect a Bed of Roses in the way to heaven.

Now the grounds and motives why the people of God are not to be contented with the foundation and principles of grace, but still to proceed in it.

[ 1] 1. Because God accounts non-improvement an unprofitableness, He that hid his talent though he did not embezzle it, yet is called an unprofitable servant, Mat. 25.30. and he is to be cast into utter darkness ; Oh this is terrible to consider, that God is not only angry with thy sins, with thy profaneness, but thy barrenness, thy impotent graces, That thou art not got to a higher form: Is not the Father angry with his child though he diligently go to School, if he thrive not, and be always in the same Lesson, Shall he be at all that cost for no more, and thus shall God so patiently bear with thee? give thee all opportunities and means of grace, and yet thou move on the same hinge; Oh ye that are the Children of God, you would fain have comfort, you would have assurance, How can it be when there is no growth? Is not God angry for those weak graces, that still thou art a babe? Did he not tell the Church Rev. 2. he had something against her, because her works were not perfect, were not filled up? Oh here were many empty holes, oh what godly man may not tremble at this, who hath not much emptiness that needs to be filled up?

[ 2] 2. The end of the Ministry to the godly is for their growth and increase, Eph. 4.15. 1 Pet. 2.2. Alas, we preach not to thee for thy conversion, we come not to persuade thee to come out of Egypt, that is done already; Now then consider why hath God appointed a Ministry and daily preaching, and that even to the godly as well as others; Is it not to increase thy spiritual life and heat? Is it not to be a goad in thy side to prick thee forward; You cannot give a good account of any Sermon unless it hath made thee grow; Every Sabbath day will be a dreadful witness against thee unless it make thee grow; Thy work is not to have grace but to grow in it, and for this end we preach, and you hear.

[ 3] 3. The end of all God's afflictions and chastisements upon thee are to make thee grow, Joh. 15. He purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit ; Thou wonderest why God's hand is so sore and continuing upon thee: Thou sayest what is the sin? and oh that I could find it out; Is not thy slothfulness, thy unprofitableness, an apparent sin? Doth not God plainly aim at this to have thy heart more heavenly, thy affections more quickened and enlivened, Is not this fire to get out thy dross? Hence in heaven there shall be no Ministry, no afflictions, because the godly are then come to the full measure of their graces.

[ 4] 4. We are to grow because of the excellency and preciousness that is in grace : The more we eat of this honey we cannot but desire to have more of it; If thou hast known what an excellent comfortable thing it is to walk holily; Oh how unsatisfied will thy heart be to have still more and more of it, so that it's a dishonor to God and his way when thou art negligent and slothful, what evil hast thou found? What hurt is there in godliness? What distaste doth it give thee? Oh what a shame is it that the rich man shall desire more wealth, still he hath not enough, but as riches increase, his affections increase, when yet they are not able to make happy in a solid manner; and that thy heart should be thus narrow and empty towards God!

Use, The woeful estate of those who instead of growing more holy, grow more wicked and ungodly; They add sin to sin daily, once they had some tremblings, some terrors of conscience, but now they are past all feeling, These grow as the calves of the Stall grow, to destruction and damnation; and this is the case of many that live under the Ministry, they grow more blind, more obstinate, more wicked, This is a dreadful speech, Let him that is wicked be wicked still, yea more wicked.

SERMON XXXV. Of Faith in Christ the Mediator sent of God, With the Ingredients or Concomitant Acts, of it.

THE circumstance of time being dispatched which declared the Disciples growth and proficiency.

We proceed to the Object of their faith and knowledge, That Christ had all things from the Father ; and so was the Messias sent by him; The excellency and dignity of this Faith is to be handled in the next verse.

We shall here take notice of the nature of it;

In the 2 ^d verse of this Chapter it was made Eternal life to know Jesus Christ as sent by the Father, and here our Savior affirmeth that his Disciples had this knowledge, viz. That he was the true Messias in whom alone salvation is to be expected: That he was no false Prophet or Impostor, as his adversaries accused, but they knew he came from God, and acknowledged everything he had to be of God, so that this expression may be paralleled with that confession Peter made in the Name of the disciples, Joh. 6.69. We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ the Son of the living God; Therefore they would not leave him because he only had the words of eternal life.

Obs. It's our special duty to know and believe in Christ, as the only Mediator sent by God ; We are to know Christ is of God appointed to be our Savior; This is the Faith so often required in the Gospel, and which is so powerful that he who believeth shall be saved, but he that doth not the anger of God abideth on him ; and indeed how can he deserve the Title and Name of a Christian that doth not thus know or believe, but upon search it will appear that there are few do thus know Christ.

To open this Point, the Doctrine hath three particulars;

First implied, That whatsoever Christ had as Mediator he had it not for himself but in reference to us.

2. That this was wholly of God's will and appointment that he should have for us.

3. That it's our duty to believe in and receive him thus appointed by God, And all these particulars will be accounted sweeter then the honeycomb to the empty hungry soul, that finds itself undone without Christ; Though to those who are full of their sins or their own righteousness this very honeycomb is loathsome; Oh then that this Truth might overtake you that hear it, as David did the poor fainting famished Amalekite, to whom those clusters of Raisins he gave were so reviving, if with Jonathan you taste but a little of this honey, your eyes will be enlightened.

First, The implied Truth is, That whatsoever Christ had or was, was not for himself but for us ; His fullness was for our emptiness, his atonement for our sins; Even as the full breasts are for suck to the child, or as the efficacy and virtue of the head is for the parts of the body, and as the fullness of the Fountain is for the streams; Thus Isa. 9. To us a Son is born, to us a child is given, All that Christ had and was it was ours, it was for our advantage; Therefore he was called Emmanuel, God with us, and 1 Cor. 1.30. Christ is made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification, So that it's plain Christ was not a Messias, a Mediator, in reference to himself, that is impossible, but to us: For if we take the main particulars in Christ, we shall see how they all tend to believers, that had it not been for their good, such things had never been.

1. His Incarnation and becoming man, This was of God for us, To us a child is born, as you heard, not to Angels, nor for any other end, There had not been such a truth in the Word as God to become man, but for the godly man's necessity and salvation; This is more then to say, The world and all the Creatures were made for man, and yet if the Psalmist was so affected that all things in the earth were for man, how much more then that the Word is made flesh for man, oh what an encouragement have the true Disciples of Christ from this, was not such a glorious mystery performed for my sake, was it not for me that God was made man? For this you must know, that if there had been but one man of all mankind to be saved, Christ would have died, as Paul said, Who gave himself for me, Gal. 2.20. and it was not the multitude of believers which made Christ become man, for alas they are but gleanings in respect of all mankind, but it was because such were given to him as a Mediator, and so he would be faithful for one as well as for many.

2. All that Christ did it was not in reference to himself but for us ; All the Miracles he wrought it was for Believers, he did them not for his glory and honor, as he speaks about Lazarus his being dead, Joh. 11. I was glad for your sakes, because that Miracles might tend to their Confirmation in the Faith.

Thus Christ became obedient to the Law, and fulfilled the righteousness thereof for our sakes, Oh what an admirable overwhelming Point is this, that all the labor and obedience which Christ performed, of which he said, It was meat and drink to do his Fathers will, Joh. 4. That all this should not be for himself, but in reference to us; How may this fill our hearts and mouths with joy and confidence at the Throne of grace; O Lord, why did Christ fulfill all righteousness? why did he perfectly obey the Law, So that no fault should be found in him? Was not all this for me? Did he need this himself?

3. His sufferings and rendering up himself as an atonement and Sacrifice upon the Cross, This also was wholly of God for us; The Prophet Isaiah is affected with it, He laid upon him the iniquities of us all, and by his stripes we are healed, Isa. 53.5. Thus everywhere his death is said to be for us, he died for us, he gave himself for us, and it must needs be so, for in him was found nothing worthy of death; There was no sin or guile found in him, he was not under that Sentence pronounced upon Adam and his posterity: And here again, the people of God may lift up their heads wiih joy, Christ died, he became a Sacrifice to the justice of God not because of himself but of us; Hence it's said, His blood speaks better things then that of Abel Heb. 12.24. Abel's blood cried for vengeance, this for mercy, and if Abel though dead speaketh, how much more must Christ who though dead is risen again: May not this be an Axe laid to the root of all thy unbelief? Shall the godly heart be anymore bowed down when he shall remember all those Agonies which Christ did undergo were for us; Shall thy sins be accounted great, and Christ's death not greater? Go thou troubled and grieved Soul, we will give thee leave to aggravate thy sins to the highest; Let them be never so bloody, yea, hadst thou committed more then thou hast done, yea, all that all the wicked men of the world have done, Were all their sins thine? yet here is the Red Sea to drown that great Egyptian host; Oh that men could have as good cause to judge that they are engrafted in Christ, and are such to whom Christ belongs, as they may conclude that if such, Christ's death doth overcome all their sins; It was nothing In Christ but in thee that made him a Curse upon the Cross.

4. The fruits and benefits of Christ's Mediation did not redound to him but to thee; Justification and remission of sins, Sanctification of our natures, Victory over lusts, assurance of God's favor, all these come by Christ, but to those only for whom he was appointed a Savior, he needed none of these privileges, no more then the heavens where the Sun and Stars are do need rain; Oh then set open the gates of thy Soul wide through faith, that thou mayest be satisfied and made happy with these mercies; In this dead Lion thou mayest find much honey for thyself; Oh Lord, why are all these privileges annexed to thy death? Is it because thou hast any want, or thou hast any need of them? No, but that my emptiness may be filled, my dark heart enlightened, my naked soul covered: Thus you see what is implied.

Secondly, The second particular is, That all this is of God the Father ; It's his will and gracious appointment that Christ should do all these things for his: They have known that all I have is of thee, and thou hast sent me ; So the Apostle, It pleased the Father that in Christ all fullness should dwell, Col. 1.14. And here is admirable ground of hopes and confidence, for it's not against the Fathers will, yea, all this is of his gracious appointment, that Christ should be thus a Mediator for his Children; Doubt not then whether the Father will accept of what Christ hath done or not; Do not question whether he will receive thee in Christ's Name, for the Father hath manifested as great willingness for thy Salvation as the Son; Say then, Oh holy Father, here is sure a wonderful way for my acceptance at the Throne of grace, that I am astonished at it, and it's of thy goodness and grace that such a way is procured; Oh what then can hinder but that I be justified; The Father willing, and the Son willing, yea, the Father loving Christ, because he laid down his life for the Sheep, Joh. 10.17. All this makes for the encouragement of the godly.

The third particular is, That it's the duty of all God's Children to know and believe this fullness in Christ for them, and to look upon Christ with all his benefits as for them : Now faith thus fixed on Christ hath these either ingredient or concomitant acts and effects.

1. There is a knowledge and a sound discovery of this sufficiency in Christ ; You see here knowing and believing put together; Ignorance of this Point that all in Christ is for the believer breedeth much dispondency, and takes off the wheels of thy Chariots: They look upon Christ as a Fountain sealed up, as a garden enclosed, They apprehend it's not for every godly person to go and drink of this fountain, unless attaining to such an high measure of grace; Whereas a true knowledge of the end and use of Christ would quickly dispel all such black thoughts.

2. To believe doth imply a relying and resting of the soul upon this fullness ; Christ with his righteousness is the center of his heart; He trusts and puts his whole confidence in it; He need go out no further to seek, here is enough, he fears no breaking, no shaking, as long as Christ will last and endure, so long shall he; As a man that treads on the firm ground, he fears not as he that walks on slippery Ice; Thus the godly man leaneth on a firm foundation, but he that trusteth in his own righteousness or works, melts as Ice before the Sun.

3. There is a full satisfaction of the soul in this believing ; So that it removeth all cares and fears, Have I enough or no? Is it sufficient to carry me out? He is therefore said to save to the uttermost, Heb. 5. and it's called The riches of grace by Christ, the unsearchable riches ; He therefore that believeth in Christ thus as sent of God, he may say, Return O my soul into thy Rest, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee ; what can satisfy if a Christ with all his benefits cannot; yea, if a godly man were to desire a way for to put him out of all doubts between God and his soul, what better way could he require then this.

4. In believing there is a receiving, and a participation of all that Christ hath, and hence receiving and believing is put for one another; It's also metaphorically expressed by eating and drinking, Joh 6. That as by those actions we receive meat, and it becometh our very substance, so it is here, by believing in him Christ is made ours, even all that he hath is ours; Thus by Faith we are said to be branches partaking of the fatness of the Olive, Rom. 11. Oh then how excellent is this act of Faith, which is the hand to put on all the glorious robes of Christ upon our soul; It being not enough to know there is a Christ so qualified unless he become ours.

5. This believing works an holy confidence and boldness at the Throne of grace ; It makes our prayers and duties full of fervency and alacrity, Eph. 3.12. We come with boldness through Faith ; We see the Scepter is held out, and so we may readily enter in, and Heb. 4.16. Let us come with boldness to the Throne of grace ; Oh how much should the broken hearted sinner live in the Meditation of these things, God opens the way by his grace, and thou shuttest it by thy unbelief; Through Christ the way to heaven is made a broad way, and thy doubtings make it narrow: When Christ calls Peter to come to him, though upon the waters, it's not presumption but disobedience if Peter refuse?

6. This is accompanied with large and vast thoughts of Christ ; This file their hearts and mouths with Christ, as you see the Apostle Paul in every verse almost affectionately mentioning him, Phil. 3. with what disdain doth he renounce and throw away all things in comparison of Christ, The excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and at another time, He would know nothing but Christ crucified, 1 Cor. 2.2. He that doth thus believe in Christ so manifested, cannot but have his soul and all within him taken up this way; Though there be many speak of Christ, and talk of Christ, yet none hath him indeed; and none do truly esteem him but such persons as these; Is then Christ dearer and closer to thy heart then all earthly comforts and delights? Canst thou say, the thoughts of Christ are sweet, the meditations about him are my meat and drink all the day long, this is precious.

Lastly, This purifieth the heart, and makes us an holy, heavenly people; If we be risen with Christ, we set our affections on things above, Col. 3.1, 2. and he that hath this hope purifieth himself as God is pure, 1 Joh. 3.3. Act. 15 9. As the Sun brings heat and light where it is, so where faith is it makes the heat active and operative, as Heb. 11. This is the beholding of God as in a glass, whereby we are transformed into his Image from grace to grace ; Believing gets spiritual strength, even as eating and drinking doth bodily; Therefore while thou abatest in thy faith thou dost not only lose thy comfort but thy spiritual strength If thou cease to believe not only doubts and fears but even lusts and sins will prevail over thee; Thus you see what it is to believe in Christ thus manifested.

Now the grounds why it's the duty of God's people thus to know and believe are,

[ 1] 1. Because Christ would otherwise be in vain, he would not be of that use and improvement God hath appointed him for; If the child will not suck, the breasts are filled in vain; If the Prodigal will not eat, the fatted Calf is in vain provided; The Fountain runneth in vain if none will drink of it; Oh then consider this, if I do not by faith thus receive Christ, I do as much as lieth in me, make Christ of none effect; I do as much as lieth in me make as if there had never been such a person as Christ; If then the Apostle makes those false Teachers in such a dangerous estate, that by corrupt opinions did make Christ to die in vain, and his Cross of none effect, no less provoking must thy sin of unbelief be, It takes Christ out of the world.

[R. 2] 2. We are thus to believe in Christ because in and through him God doth magnify his glory : His attributes of grace, mercy, and unspeakable bounty are exalted through Christ; If then we do not thus receive Christ, we deprive God of all this intended glory; The Creation of the world, and all the merciful wondrous works God hath done for his Church, were not intended to exalt God as Christ in all his benefits, and therefore if it be so great a sin not to give God the glory in them, how inexcusable will it be to fail in this.

[R. 3] 3. The insufficiency of all other things to satisfy the broken and troubled heart, may justly make the godly fly to this ; So the disciples being to acknowledge Christ as the Mediator, they say, Whither should we go, thou hast the words of Eternal life ; If they run to their duties, to their graces, these are too weak to lean upon, They are as Noah's Dove that finds the waters covering all the Mountains and highest Trees; Seeing then we must have something to fix all our hopes and affections upon, and all other things will fail, how unwise are the godly if they keep a moment from Christ.

[R. 4] 4. Our necessity may enforce us ; And this floweth from the forenamed insufficiency in all other things; Doth not thy own heart disquiet thee? Doth not the perfect Law trouble thee? Doth not the devil accuse thee? and shall not all this make thee seek out for that which will answer all; Paul tried all other things but he found nothing like Christ, and thou art the rather to improve this to the full, because there is not the least ability or privilege in Christ, that thou canst spare; Christ is all over bread and food; There is nothing in Christ but is of special use; Oh then what folly is it that thou shouldst bour to know the fullness of any creature for thy wants, and not of Christ; He is an Ocean, and not one drop in him but is of admirable efficacy; He is a Pearl, and so the least of that must be very precious, if thou continuest in fears and lusts, it's because thou dost not improve all of Chrsst; It's not enough to touch the hem of his garment, but thou must receive whole Christ.

Use of Instruction, That all those sinners who love their sins and will not depart from them, are wholly barred from all this comfort, stand aloof off, and bewail thy Leprosy; Christ received not that fullness from his Father for thee abiding and continuing in thy sins; Oh miserable and wretched though they live in ease and pleasures, having all things their carnal appetites desire, one thing is necessary, and that thou wantest: Oh that the Spirit of God would convince such of their danger, their poverty and nakedness, though they think they want nothing; I tell thee this good Samaritan as well as the Priest will pass by thee, Christ as well as the Law speaks no comfort to thee, yea, the blood of Christ speaks more terrible things then the blood of Abel, Thy condemnation will be the greater, because Christ came 〈◊〉 the world, because he was crucified; All thy other sins have not that aggravation, as thy rejecting of grace, of how much sorer punishment saith the Apostle, shall such an one be thought worthy.

Use 2. of direction to the people of God, if thou fittest mourning like Rachel, and refusest to be comforted, blame thy own self; It's thy ignorance and folly, thy unbelief and doubts cause all this; What could God have done more? What could Christ have done more then they have done, yet thou takest no comfort hereby; Oh that thou shouldst only aggravate thy sin and thy unworthiness, and not be as diligent to study and find out all the fullness in Christ, Christ as a Mediator ordained by God should be the Book thou art to read always, not a Page, not a word but thou shouldst be acquainted with it; Oh bewail thyself and say, how many comforts, how many privileges have I bereaved myself of; I have kept myself in the dark, yea, in the Whales belly, and thought of nothing but sin, and hell, and damnation; Oh what little cause I had to wrong myself and Christ so much: Oh think Christ bids thee, as the Prophet did that Woman, bring as many cruses as thou canst, I have Oil enough to fill all, and thou art so froward thou wilt not; Oh think Christ saith to thee, Was it not enough that I lived for thee, I died for thee, but thou wilt as much as lieth in thee make me do all this in vain; Thou sittest complaining and bewailing, and Christ he complains of thee, Learn then at last that heavenly prudence and Evangelical skill to make use of whole Christ and all of Christ for thy spiritual good.

SERMON XXXVI. Of Obedience to all the Commandments of God, Showing, That that only is truly Obedience, And the Property of a Godly man.

OUR Savior in this Verse doth more largely amplify that to which he had in the 7 ^th Verse spoken more briefly, so that he doth still continue in narrating and commending the Disciples Obedience and Faith, which are the Jachin and the Boaz, the two Pillars of practical Christianity; Their obedience is commended in the former part,

1. By their readiness and willingness 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , They have received, as willingly as men do food, or gold and silver; They put forth their hands to take it with all delight, I mean the hands of their soul, viz. their affections which are both the feet and the hands of the soul.

2. There is the Object, Thy words. Where

1. We see, That is only true and proper obedience which God's Word requireth ; Though we be never so diligent and industrious, yet if the Word of God commands not such things; it's no obedience.

2. The Universality, Thy words, that is, collectively and universally, They had an equal respect to all.

3. These words are described by the Original of them, The words thou gavest me, So that Christ though head of the Church, yet did not deliver anything to be believed or obeyed but what he had received of the Father, an excellent President for all the Ministers of the Gospel; We see then every crumb in this bread of life is nourishing, and we will not lose any.

1. Whereas we see that Obedience doth always relate to some Word of God, and that we may not of our own heads choose to do what we please in matters of Religion; We observe,

That that only is proper and acceptable Obedience which hath the Word of God requiring it ; We are apt to make Religion and godliness that which our own humors fancy, yea, and sometimes our lusts do suggest; Hence everyone is apt to judge of another as religious and godly, not by the rule of the Word, but by such principles as he hath taken up for himself; Thus in Popery he is judged a very pious and obedient man, who is most industriously diligent in all that invented worship the Church of Rome abounded with; Though there be not one i •• a or tittle for it in God's Word, but as the Word of God is the rule of faith, so is it of obedience, Faith and the Word must accompany one another, and so must obedience and the word commanding▪ Therefore Christ tells the Pharisees their devotion it was a vain devotion, because Who hath required this at your hands? Mat. 18.9 See a notable expression Isa 66.3. They have chosen their own ways, I also will choose their delusions ▪ You see Let a man have never such godly intentions, never such pious purposes, yet if he choose a way of his own in faith and obedience, God is greatly displeased, and therefore howsoever heresy or an heretic which is as much as a chooser of his own way be by Scripture and Ecclesiastical Writers limited to a way of faith, yet the Word may be extended to any practical obedience, We may say Superstition is heresy, We may say drunkenness, whoredom▪ are heresy, because they are ways chosen of men to walk in contrary to God's Word, so he who would have comfort in his obedience must look to God's command.

The grounds of this are,

First, From the Supremacy and Sovereignty of God, who alone is to prescribe to man his duty; He is our great Lord and Master, so that as it would be very absurd in a Servant to do that work which he thinketh fit, and not what his Master enjoineth, no less is it for men to think that God will accept them in such and such ways, when yet they cannot bring his Superscription and authority stamp • upon it; Hence it is that the Prophets do so often use this expression, Thus saith the Lord ; It's not their counsel, or their commands, but God's: Oh then examine thy actions, thy ways, thou puttest much confidence in them, Thou hast much comfort from them, but are they such as God hath required? Did not our Savior at one word throw to the ground all that glistering golden Piety of the Pharisees? There is no command for it; This is the foundation you must lay, else your building, though never so glorious will have a terrible fall.

Secondly, Obedience must have God's command, else it cannot enjoy God's promise and blessing ; Whatsoever God commands he hath annexed a gracious promise thereto for our encouragement and reward; Therefore it's said. In vain do they worship me ; There is no promise of Gospel-privileges or salvation to such actions; Now how sad a thing is it, when the same Motto which Solomon puts upon all these fading things here below, shall likewise be set upon thy Religion and devotion; Vanity of vanities, all is vanity and vexation of spirit ; It's the promise that a godly man embraceth, that he looketh after, for even in holy actions truly, so it's not thy performance, thy grace, but the promise that bears thee out; Therefore we are all said to be Children of the Promise, Gal. 4.28. and heirs of the Promise, and 2 Cor. 7.1. Having these Promises let us cleanse ourselves ; If then thou art never so zealous, though thou shouldst give thy body to the sire, and have not a promise, it would profit thee nothing; Shouldst thou give away all thou hast, Shouldst thou endure all hardship, yet if thou hast no promise to this action thou art but a tinkling Cymbal; Oh then let the people of God in all their acts of obedience mind the command for the lawfulness of them, and the promise for the encouragement thereunto; if no command then no promise, God will not water that plant, or give increase to it, which he hath not planted; And for this end Austin and others did condemn all those famous moral actions of the heathens as glittering sins, because they had no promise belonging to them of Eternal life: As they did them upon human inferior motived, not supreme and divine, so their recompense was but the cockleshells of this world, not that weight of glory in heaven.

Thirdly, Obedience must have a command because of the great corruption and pollution which is upon man's understanding, so that it's impossible it should ever choose or do that which is acceptable to God, Rom. 8. They that are in the flesh cannot please God, And the Heathens, even those that were judged most learned, yet were darkened in their Imagination, Rom. 1. They became vain, and the Apostle calls it their foolish hearts ; It is therefore a most absurd and insufferable indignity offered unto God for thee to take upon thee how thou wilt worship him, how thou wilt serve him, and for this it is that the Scripture so often complaineth, that they went after the imagination of their own hearts ; So that by this you may judge of what little consequence those excuses are which some make for superstition, That they were done out of pious Intentions, and a fervent zeal, for although such things may in some respects excuse a tanto, yet not a toto. Hence Uzziah though out of a good intention stopping the Ark not according to God's order, is stricken dead; Paul persecuting the Church of God though out of zeal, for he thought he was bound to do what he did, yet was not thereby excused from being a blasphemer, a persecutor, and the greatest of sinners; Nothing is to be added to God's precepts, Etiamsi vel bonum nobis videtur, said Ambrose ; So that the right understanding of our deep pollution, may justly make us afraid of anything which is ours, and hath not God's command; The Apostle Col. 3.2. condemneth even those things, because not of God, which yet had a show of humility and great mortification.

Fourthly, Obedience must have a command, from the fullness and sufficiency of the Scripture ; It's a perfect Rule, Whosoever walketh according to this Rule ; Gal. 6.16. and David commends it for a Lanthorn and Light to his feet, Psal. 119. So that if our obedience might run out in such things where there is no word for it, the Word would not be an adequate Rule, It would be too narrow, and then if once you grant a Rule besides that, you go in infinitum, yea, we fall into manifest contradictions, for how many times doth one man's spirit think that best which is contrary to another man's; How comes that opposition in matter of Religion, but that the word is not made the Rule, but either there are reasons or lusts, or temporal interests, so that it's necessary we have the Word for obedience, else the Enthusiastical Revelations and Popish Traditions they will both plead a good Title for acceptableness with God.

Lastly, An Obedience must have a command, because else we can never bear up our hearts in all the discouragements we meet with in doing God's work ; What hardened the Prophets so that their foreheads were like brass and iron, but only this that they knew God had commended them, and they went upon his message; Shall Absalom use such an argument to the man when he had killed Ammon, Be of good courage I have bid thee ; How much rather then when God commands, 1 Cor. 15. Be steadfast, immovable in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor was not in vain : Let all the world oppose us when we know it's God's command, our hearts need not shrink within us; Thus the Apostles Whether it's better to obey God or man judge ye, Act. 5.29.

Use 1. of Instruction, Of how terrible and dreadful a judgment are they worthy of, who are so far from being obedient to God's command, that they live in open and professed disobedience to it, if the most devotional and Religious actions are refused by God, for want of a command; what shall become of those which are in plain opposition to it; Such are all the works of the flesh, Such are the works of most men, when thou hast been wallowing in the mire of sin, to which of God's commands hast thou been obedient? Nay sin hath its command, the devil hath his commands, and thou givest up thyself a Servant to them; Oh that the eyes of men shall not yet be opened, nor their hearts yet mollified, who is thy Father, thy Master, thy Lord, Is it not the devil? When God commands thee who is the Lord of Hosts, who promiseth heaven and an eternal reward, that God who hath all sharp arrows of vengeance in his quiver to shoot immediately into thy heart; That God though commanding thee thou refusest, and the devil while he bids thee go and fulfill this lust and that lust, immediately thou goest; That devil who deludes and deceiveth thee, who is the known Enemy of thy soul, and will be thy cruel tormentor to all Eternity: Oh then lay it closer to heart, I am under command either of God or the devil, I am an obedient Servant to one or the other, and thy works they quickly manifest it.

[Use 2] Use 2. of Direction to people, That they would be like those noble Bereans, examine the ground of their faith and obedience, Do not offer a Sacrifice without eyes? Blind obedience is contrary to that command, offer up yourselves a reasonable Sacrifice, or a Sacrifice according to the Word, as some expound, Rom. 12 1. There are dangerous Sirens that would in • ice you out of this way, we are apt to judge that a duty that most do, not which God commands, we think a multitude will dispense against a precept, when yet God's express charge is, Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, Exod. 23.2. The very heathen could say, Argumentum pessimi turba : Again, we are apt to judge of duty by our interest and engagements, as our Education, Safety, and Profits lead us; Whereas we should say to our hearts in such cases as Christ to Peter, Get thee behind me Satan.

We come to the second Observation, the object of Obedience is described in the plural number, Thy words thou hast given me, They did not neglect or break any willfully, They looked upon all as precious gold wherein the least O •• e is not to be lost.

Obs. That it's the property of godly men to have a respect to all God's Word, to look to all his commands; Herod's and Pharaohs they will do some things, but David's and Josiah's they only will regard all, and indeed doing many things unless all will not save; There is a leak in the Ship that will overthrow all; This one spark will set all on fire, as David implieth, Psa. 119. Then shall I not be confounded when I have respect to all thy Commandments ; That man who because he hath done many things looketh for heaven, will be in dreadful confusion when he shall see one sin able to shut the door of heaven against him, and mark the expression, when I have respect, he doth not say obey, but have respect, That doth imply besides the outward obedience, an inward awe and reverential eye towards every duty God requireth; Thus James also doth severely reprove this partial mutilated obedience, and pronounceth that heavy doom, He that breaketh one is guilty of all, Jam. 2.11. viz. because of the vinculum formal, the authority of God, which is in one as well as in another:

To improve this consider,

[ I] First, That even the godly through Ignorance upon their minds, or some importunate temptation, may be very diligent in some commands, and yet not observe others, and this may be either from ignorance or provoking temptations, from Ignorance, such may the education of the godly be, or they may live in such dark times wherein error is common, and none make any question of it, and then they may continue in the omission of many duties; So some excuse the Patriarchs in their Polygamy; Though (say they) it was an express sin against the first Institution of Marriage, yet custom and Tradition had taken away the sense of sinning, and so in the time of many good Kings, who made an exact Reformation, yet the high places were not taken away, there was either non -attendance or sinful connivance at that, and in the Infancy of the Christian Church, how many were so weak as not to discern their Christian Liberty, but placed much obedience in the observation of Jewish rites and Ceremonies; And thus also there may be some provoking violent temptations; The Godly though they have an universal Inclination to God's will, yet are hurried aside; David was overtaken with Adultery though his heart was sincere towards all the whole Law of God: We distinguish then between temptations and an habitual custom in any sin ; The godly man may by the former be driven out of his faith, not by the latter, so that even then there remaineth an inward seed that doth virtually contain the commands of God, and therefore is called the Law of God written in their hearts.

[ II] Secondly, In the godly we are again to distinguish between gross sins, such as Tertullian saith waste the conscience ; And those Relics of corruption which Austin saith are of daily incursion upon us; The one is a camel, the other is a gnat comparatively; Now the godly do so keep all God's commands, that they seldom or never, to be sure not willfully and habitually fall into these deep and foul pits; But as for the latter we see by Paul's complaint they have not a full conquest over them, Rom. 7. They may be possessors of Canaan, though they have some Jebusites alive to humble them and keep them low.

[ III] Thirdly, Though the godly have a respect to all God's Commandments, yet they acknowledge an order amongst the commands, they know some are greater, and others less ; And therefore when there cometh an indispensable omission of one, they pass by the least, and the contrary to this is grand hypocrisy, which our Savior doth often condemn in the Pharisees; They omitted the great things of the Law, and Judgment, and Mercy, but were very diligent in the inferior things; Saul lost both a temporal and spiritual Kingdom in this respect; For Samuel tells him, Obedience was better then Sacrifice, 1 Sam. 15.22. and Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft ; There is the great command of loving God with all our heart and soul, to which all others must bow.

[ IV] Fourthly, We must always distinguish between the Integrity of parts of our obedience, and the intension of degrees ; The godly though they reach to the former yet not to the latter: It's true by what reason we do any command in the integrity of it, we are bound to the perfection of it; But God giveth not such a measure of grace in this life; It's said of David and Zacharias with his Wife, that they walked in all the Commandments of God: Yet that cannot be understood perfectly, for how often did David fail and Zacharias for his unbelief was stricken dumb; There is no such thing as a Popish perfection; The Fathers abhorred it, our perfection is to acknowledge our imperfection, and then the Commandments are by God's grace accounted done, when what is not done is forgiven and pardoned; These things premised let us consider why the godly are obedient to God's commands, they dare not omit known duties, or commit known sins.

[Reasons. 1] First, Because the principle of Regeneration and seed of grace is universal, It doth seminally contain all kinds and parts of grace in it; As all seeds, even of an Oak, or the tallest Trees, though never so little, yet virtually contain all those great branches, and let them have time to grow, they will diffuse themselves into a vast compass; Grace is the Image of God, and that inferreth a resemblance in lineaments and parts, an hand, or a foot is not an Image, So then seeing that in Regeneration there is infused the habit or principles of all grace, no wonder if there be an Inclination to all, yet not so, but that they may be carried out more readily and willingly to some rather then other, even as though all men by reason of original corruption have a Fountain of all wickedness, yet one may be carried out more propensely to one sin rather then another; The Sea may break out of one bank sooner then in another.

[Reasons. 2] Secondly, There is the same authority forbidding or commanding in all ; As the Apostle James argueth, Jam. 2. He that said Thou shalt not do thus, said also Thou shalt not do thus : If therefore the same God put forth his authority in every Command, Who are thou that darest omit one and not another?

[Reasons. 3] Thirdly, The motive is the same ; For every sin because it's sin and a dishonor to God, draweth him out to hate it, and in duties good because it's good, doth move him; Now the least sin is sin, and we kill young Serpents as well as old ones, and the least good is acceptable to God, and he will reward it.

[Reasons. 4] Lastly, In respect of the privative part, of the punishment of sin, all are equal, which is the loss of God and Heaven ; The least sin depriveth of the happy Vision of God as well as the greatest, so that in this sense we may say there is no little sin, no more then there is a little God, and so likewise for the good of any duty; The least shall have heaven as well as the greatest, though not such degrees; Even a cup of cold water doth not lose its reward, Mat. 10.42.

Use, To discover that Hypocrisy and falsehood in many men, some sins they avoid, others again they embrace; Is not all sin poison? Is there any good sin? Were thy heart sound, those beloved and customary sins of thine could have no more welcome in thy heart then toads in thy bosom.

SERMON XXXVII. Showeth, That God's People are ready and willing in Obedience, Whence it is that they are so; Tending to rouse men up from dullness and Formality in God's service.

THere remaineth two things more considerable in the description of the Disciples Obedience.

The next thing to be considered is their readiness and willingness implied in the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , They did not cavil or dispute, They did not draw back or maliciously oppose, but they were like melted wax ready to receive any impression, like white paper whereon God's Will and Law might be immediately written, and indeed if you observe the Disciples all along from their first call to this present time there appeared much readiness in them; Christ did no sooner speak the word commanding them to follow him, but immediately they leave all and obey, though it was so much to their outward disadvantage, though it was to fall in the Whales mouth, yet they readily resign themselves, and although sometimes they shown dullness to believe, and unwillingness in his service, yet our Savior excuseth it saying, The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, and certainly had there not been a ready free spirit in the Disciples to take Christ above all, and to cleave to him only, they could never have devoured these troubles with so much patience as they did.

Obs. That it's a sure character and property of the children of God to be a willing ready people in obedience ; They are not as hypocrites kept from sin by constraint, merely from a principle of fear within, but Psa. 110. They are willingnesses in the day of God's power.

To explain this a little,

First, There may be the presence of dullness and unwillingness sometimes in the Children of God, but this is not reigning, nor is it habitually consented to, but resisted and with much agony prayed against ; There is no garden but hath some of this weed in it; No gold but some of this dross; No godly man but now and then hath wearisomeness and unwillingness to holy duties seizing upon him; Thus we read the Church when Christ knocked at the door, though he had stood all night, and his locks were wet with the dew, yet the Church out of a dull sluggish humor doth refuse to open to him, Cant. 5.2, 3. So Rev. 2. There the Church is reproved for suffering her graces to decay, and that her duties were not filled up with fervency and solidity; yea, we may read of the Church complaining of this slothfulness and coldness, when she said, Draw us and we will run after thee, Cant. 1.4. And at another time, Why hast thou hardened our hearts from thy fear? Isa 63.17. So that it's too manifest the people of God have much coldness and negligence in them; What is that which fills their hearts with so many complaints but this, what makes them so full of fears and doubts about their spiritual condition, Is it not want of life, vigor, and willingness? Oh they find their hearts can take delight and be willingly drawn out in earthly affairs, but they are like so many lumps of earth in heavenly things, when yet there is far more excellency, worth, and dignity in holy things then in all the whole world to draw out the heart▪ so then let the godly for their comfort distinguish between the presence of unwillingness and the power of it ; Between unwillingness in the command and power over the soul, and the reluctancy and striving against it; The Apostle speaketh generally of sin, Let it not reign in your mortal bodies ; Rom. 7. Non dixit, non sit, sed ne regret.

This stumbling-block removed let us consider why the people of God must needs be so willing and ready in their obedience.

And first, The sense of their guilt and all the misery sin hath brought upon them puts them into a melting yielding frame ; while men's hearts are hardened and they are not apprehensive of the damnable estate they are in, while they are not in the fire of God's displeasure, they are stubborn and intractable, but when they are kindly humbled for sin then they will do anything; Thus Paul, He that was mad in his oppositions against Christ, no sooner did the Lord touch his heart with the sense of his sins but he crieth out, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Thus David, when the Lord had humbled him, and used afflictions for his sin, see how humbly and obediently he speaks, If he say, he hath no delight in me, behold, here I am let him do what he pleaseth, 2 Sam. 15.26. and the Church Mic. 7. I will hear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him ; Nothing then will so humble and mollify the heart to make a man do and be anything, as a deep sense of sin; Thus the cold, hard Iron is put into the fire, and it may be beaten into any shape.

Secondly, As the sense of sin, so the sense of God's goodness and grace in being reconciled, notwithstanding all our provocations, doth much more enlarge the heart to thankfulness and obedience; The love of Christ (saith Paul) constraineth us, We cannot hold, we cannot keep in, as you may see David upon the apprehension of God's goodness to him, resolving to take the cup of salvation, and to praise God in the great Congregation, Psa 116.13. Gospel grace doth not in a filial spirit harden and make wanton, but doth more soften and enflame to an active obedience; This made Paul run like the Sun in the Firmament; You see it's the grace of God which lieth kindling and warming of him: This is like the Spirit in Ezekiel's wheels, the dejected unbelieving soul is not so readily obedient; An Evangelical frame of heart assured of God's love, carrieth out to filial fruitful obedience; Nothing is too much, too great, too dear to part with for so gracious a God; This breedeth love, and we know love is an active fire, it cannot lie still, but kindleth all that it cometh near.

Thirdly, They are active and willing because of that sanctified renewed nature which they are partakers of ; They are said to have the divine Nature, 1 Pet. 1.4. The Seed of God is said to abide in them, 1 Joh. 1.3. And by this means they are carried out voluntarily to divine actions, Thus in nature saith Aristotle, which is the inward principle of motion or rest; How readily do sparks fly upward? The stones descend downward? And thus it is here; Those inward principles of Sanctification they do so new mold a man that now the will of God is his delight, the Law of God is written in the inward man; Nothing is so connatural and suitable to him as those things that are also pleasing to God; Indeed for the unregenerated man it's no wonder he must be hailed and constrained to what he doth, That he like the Mill cannot move any longer then the waters of affliction fall upon him, for there wants a principle within, but it is otherwise with those that are born again; Their proper food, their proper delight, their all in all is to be doing the will of God, as Christ professed, Joh. 4. and David doth often acknowledge those endeared affections he had to the Word of God above Kingdoms and all other earthly advantages.

Fourthly, They are a willing people because in their former time of unregeneracy they were so willing and ready to serve sin and Satan, and were constantly obedient thereunto ; Now saith the Apostle, As they had given themselves servants to sin, so now to righteousness, Rom. 6.19. They readily set themselves, as the word signifieth, whensoever lust bad them go, they did go; Whatsoever was commanded, there was ready obedience; This by way of an holy revenge, and to make a godly satisfaction, They are the more serviceable to God, They grudge the devil had so much time, that so much of their choicest and best affections were lessened in time; They therefore strive to redeem the time, to recover all for God, They shame themselves saying, What, was I willing and glad to do the works of the devil, and shall I not do the Will of God?

Fifthly, They are willing because they know no Obedience is accepted of with God, unless it be willing ; It's not thy faith, thy humiliation, thy zeal, unless there be willingness and delight in it, that God accepts of, Isa. 1.29. If ye be willing and obedient, so God accepts of a willing mind: Woe be to me (saith Paul) if I preach the Gospel, and not willingly but of constraint, 1 Cor. 9.6. Though he did preach it yet if not willingly there is a Woe to him; Oh then it's no wonder if the people of God are so glad and cheerful within them in the work of the Lord, otherwise their work would lose their reward, and they the Crown of Glory; Think of this then when you find the wheels of your Chariots move heavily, Thou art happily thinking how to put off truth or duty, or thou wishest it over, say this unwillingness marreth all, God will not aceept of a Sacrifice unless offered in fire: Say upon all thy dead and formal duties, these are not duties, God looks not upon them as so: Non operari & non esse are all one before God in some respects.

Sixthly, They must needs be a willing obedient people because of that eternal glorious reward which is promised to every holy duty ; What will put Wings to the soul if not this? To think that God will assuredly put upon thee Robes of Immortality and glory, for a duty though never so little, for a cup of cold water, who may not admire the vast disproportion that is between our work and God's reward; If the Apostle spake of the most extreme sufferings that could be in this life, they were not worthy to be compared to that eternal weight of glory, 2 Cor. 4, 17. How much more is it true of those good works we do, which are but little in quantity, and defiled in quality; Well therefore may they rejoice and work righteousness, Well may the godly labor even in the heat of the day, with much gladness of heart, for the recompense of thy reward doth exceed all proportion; If the Kingdoms of the world should be given to a man for lifting up a straw, it would not be so great a matter as when God and Heaven became thy reward for every holy duty: No wonder if they are best when they are thus doing; for how can they be better; There is no such profitable and comfortable wotk as to be doing that of the Lord's.

Lastly, Even in the very duty itself though there were no heaven hereafter, yet there is so much present comfort and joy attending it, that it's both work, and meat, and drink also, Therefore we see how David was joyfully affected herein, Who are we that we should be able to offer thus willingly ; He that doth God's service willingly and fervently, he hath present pay in hand; The very sense and feeling that he doth it so readily, doth afford great comfort to him, Virtus est sibi ipsi premium ; A godly duty is accompanied with honey and manna, he would not do otherwise for all the world; Oh then that wicked men who though they have some pleasure in sin, yet find many wounds and torments within them, would make an exchange, instead of drunkenness put on temperance, instead of riot and wantonness live in all chastity, Thou wouldest find an heaven for a hell immediately: Oh how wouldest thou bewail thy time, that thou didst not leave these husks no sooner! Oh what an enemy was I to my own soul, when I lived in such lusts, and neglected such holiness! Taste and see the difference: while you have this sinful distempered palate upon you, it's no wonder if you love the Egyptian garlic above the heavenly Manna.

Use of Instruction, How loathsome and unacceptable all that Obedience is to God, which comes from any other principle then a renewed spirit; It's the free and principal spirit David prayed for, Psa. 51. he saw all obedience if constrained, if forced by the judgments of God, was condemned as hypocrisy: Thus the Prophets complained of the Jews that in the time of their distress and calamity they would pray to God. They would fast and humble themselves, but saith God, Oh that there were such a heart within them, Deut. 5.29. And hence it is that Repentance and contrition extorted by the fear of death, and the judgments of God are not acceptable; Whatsoever is done is by force, and this m • y be even death to many that hear it, for when art thou for any good duty, When is thy heart or mouth for it but when some great judgments of God are abroads, or when some eminent calamity comes near unto thee, Then thou criest out of sin, then thou speakest well of godliness, but all this is forced, It's a Land-flood, It's a Morning dew, why didst thou not in thy prosperity show forth willing affections to God.

Use 2. of Direction, To humble the people of God that though there be so eminent and pregnant Reasons for their willing obedience, yet they should be so dead, so heartless, so full of excuses as they are, Oh is not this the sin of every godly man? May he not cry out of his slothfulness and barrenness? Are the things of God and Heaven as operative and lively upon thee as the things of the earth? Oh how hard is thy heart many times like the Mountains of Gilboa whereon no dew falls; Oh how often do they keep the door shut even when Christ knocketh; so that if you ask wherein may the people of God fear their ruin most? It may be said, In their unwillingness, in their deadness and coldness; Oh how many times are we not so much as capable of that excuse our Savior gave the Disciples, The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, for how often is thy flesh weak and thy Spirit unwilling also; For these things God's children have cause to have poverty and shame of spirit within them.

We come to the fourth and last observable particular, viz. That these words are such as the Father gave Christ to communicate to his Disciples : so that Christ himself did not take upon him any other doctrine, or preach any other matter then what he had received: Hence he did so often say, The doctrine was not his but his Fathers, Joh. 7.16. Neither did he speak of himself but what he heard the Father.

Obs. That the Ministers of the Gospel are to preach that and only that, which they have out of God's Word ; As Paul said, That which I have received of the Lord, that I delivered unto you ; And the Prophets Introduction is commonly Thus saith the Lord ; If Pythagoras Disciples were satisfied with nothing but ipse dixit, how much rather must the believer whose Faith in the very nature of it doth relate to some word or Testimony; Hence it is that they are called the Ambassadors of God, 2 Cor. 4. And such must not go a word from their Commission, We are to be Conduits not Fountains; The Word of God must exire per te non a te, as Bernard ; It's the good thing committed to our trust, 2 Tim. 1.14. We must therefore give the same that is committed unto us, we have received gold, we must not deliver copper; Thou art not author but custos Religions, not Res ingenii but doctrinae.

To open this Consider,

It's first Their duty, So that they will be found guilty of high crimes if they do otherwise; To mint false coin, or to forge a man's will are heinous faults amongst men; Thine is greater for thou counterfeitest God's Truth, yea, thou putst a lie upon God, thou attributest that to him which belongeth to thy folly: The Apostle saith, If it be a man's will, or Covenant, none may add to it or disannul it, Gal. 3.15. how much rather should this be so in God's Word? Oh then consider, thou wilt be found guilty of high Treason against God, if thou speakest anything but his Truth.

2. As it's our duty, so it's our glory ; It's the greatest honor we are capable of, to have such divine Mysteries committed to us, the Truths of God have only Majesty in them, they only convince the Conscience and awe it; They only breed reverence and admiration, so that although human Learning and parts have a subservient excellency, yet if the Word of God and the Truth of God be not principal, there is no mastering of the Conscience and captivating of it: Hence are those commands, to attend to their doctrine, 1 Tim. 3.13, 15, 16. and to give themselves to reading, that so they may deliver only God's will as it is revealed in God's Word. It's their glory as well as their duty, for the glory of a thing lieth in the excellency of its due and proper perfection; The glory of a King is a higher thing then the glory of a Peasant, and in another nature; All arts and Offices have their peculiar Glory; Logic in disputing well, Rhetoric in speaking well, and the Glory of Divinity lieth in divine Arguments and Motives, so that those who preach only human or moral matter, they go below the Majesty of Divinity; Those that study words and fancy-fall things that may tickle the ear, these regard not the gravity of their office, nor of their employment; But as in the Ecclesiastical History, the Heathen said all the while a Christian argued with reason he could answer him, but when he brought forth the Authority of the Word, Thus saith the Lord, then he had no more to reply, Thus it's here, all the while thou hast strains of wit, and preachest like an human Orator, not as one speaking the Oracles of God; Men will hear thee and applaud thee, but they will retain their lusts still, they th • nk thou art not in earnest, That thou lookest more to an expression that may please, then to an Argument that may wound the heart and conscience; It's therefore the glory of a Minister to be potent in divine Scripture Truths.

3. It's his comfort and safety as well as his glory ; His comfort because his own heart tells him he hath not dealt deceitfully, he hath not purloined, he hath not corrupted or mixed the Word of God, to serve men's lusts and pleasures; He did not like the False Prophet daub with untempered mortar; Paul found this a great Testimony of Conscience to himself, 2 Cor. 3.17. Thou wilt have more comfort in Preaching God's Word powerfully, then in all the applause of hearers, for thine own subtle Inventions: Now as it's their comfort so its their safety; They are sure not to do hurt to their flock when they always break of the Bread of Life, they may be sure this will nourish, but thy own thoughts are many times poison and destruction.

Lastly, It's most useful and profitable, For they are the Scriptures only that are able to make us wise to Salvation, 1 Tim. 3. From this Brook we can only get stones that will kill the Goliath, The Word of God is an Hammer, and a Fire, and a two-edged Sword, so that although to the swelling proud fancy of the world it may seem dullness and plain simplicity, yet to the good and honest heart it's the power and wisdom of God.

Use of Instruction To the Ministers of God, how narrowly they are to look to their Commission: To preach Scripture-Truths such as will endure a fiery Trial ; For the Apostle saith, Every man's work must be tried, and he that builds hay and stubble shall suffer loss, and he himself with much ado shall be saved.

Use of Admonition To hearers; for many times a vain people make vain unprofitable Preaching; They have such wanton stomachs that they love nothing that is solid and sound, give them words, rattles, and baby-clouts, these things please them, but to convince the Conscience, to command the heart, to make it tremble for sin, that they cannot abide.

SERMON XXXVIII. Of the Excellency and Necessity of Believing in Christ as a Mediator; That it is acceptable to God as well as Obedience to a Command; Yet withal showeth the difficulty of it, and whence it comes to pass that the Children of God, sensible of their sins. are so hardly brought to believe; As also why ungodly men think it so easy a thing.

OUR Savior commended their Obedience in the former part of this Verse; Now he doth the like for their Faith ; For Obedience without faith is but a maimed and lame Sacrifice; yea, there cannot be any acceptation of our Obedience because of the imperfection of it, unless Faith cover it in Christ, and this our Savior now undertakes, that the Disciples were not as the Pharisees and Jews who trusted in the righteousness of their Obedience, but when they had done all looked out for a Mediator to stand between God's perfection, the Laws perfection, and thine Imperfection: Their Faith is commended by our Savior,

• 1. In the Acts.
• 2. The quality.
• 3. The object of it.

The Acts are one of them large and comprehensive, They have believed.

2. More narrow and particular, They have known ; Here you see that Faith is not a blind ignorant assent, but accompanied with a true and sure knowledge of that we believe.

Secondly, There is the quality of their Faith, They have known surely, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , which may be opposed either to hypocrisy or false ends; They did unfeignedly upon true grounds believe, not like those that are said to believe, yet our Savior would not commit himself to them because they sought the glory of men more then of God, Joh. 2. or else it may be opposed to doubting and staggering, as our Translators seem to go; They did surely, overcoming all unbelief, and doubts that might oppose them.

Lastly, Here is the object of their Faith, viz. That Christ came from the Father, as sent to be a Mediator, working salvation for those that did receive him; They looked upon him, not only in respect of his person, God and man, but also in relation to his office, that he was the Jesus, and the anointed one to save his people from their sins ; Whereas then we see our Savior in many words commending this faith of theirs as a most special consideration in them, and which would be very acceptable to God, we may observe,

That Faith in Christ as a Mediator is acceptable and well pleasing as well as Obedience to a command ; It's not God's will that a child of his should be always either thinking of sin or obedience, but also of believing or resting the soul upon Christ, as in whom all fullness is, and though when God only becomes well-pleased with us, Joh. 6.29. when the people asked, What they should do that they might do the works of God ; Christ answers, This is the work of God that ye believe in him ; Faith is here called the work of God,

1. Because it's wrought by him; We are not able of ourselves to believe, but in this sense it's not meant here.

2. By work of God is meant that which in a most eminent manner is acceptable to him, that which he seemeth to delight in more then any other, and that is faith, and indeed the people of God they are hardly persuaded of this; They doubt rather whether it be a duty at all; Oh how long are they kept in the uncertain wilderness of tears and dejections, ere they come to know the way of believing; They still hope by something they do to be accepted, so that to the humbled sinner there seemeth nothing more paradoxal and difficult▪ Whereas we would think thus to believe in Christ and receive him as a Mediator would be very easy for all; None would keep off; For it is to come and take comfort and ease, and who will refuse this? But it's certain that the Children of God sensible of their sins are a long while ere they are fully directed into this way of believing; They do not presently understand how well-pleasing it is to God that they should cast off their burden on Christ; That they should cover themselves with his robes, and so come and appear before God.

The Grounds of such discouragements in God's Children are,

[ 1] 1. The real and bitter sense of their sins in the nature, frequency, and all aggravations of them ; So that while they are thus broken in heart nothing but sin, sin doth present itself in the guilt thereof; See it in David, Psa. 51. His sins were always before him ; His murder, his adultery, these were ever in his eyes, and what a work is it to bring him to a joyful spirit in the mercies of God; The godly therefore being many times attent to their sins, they are careful that their repentance be real, bitter, and deep enough, and withal seeing sins rising up in their hearts after one another, as one wave after another; They grow wholly despondent, and all their thoughts and Meditations are as if there were nothing but sin to be thought upon, Nothing but sin to be meditated on, and this extremity of sorrow makes the ear deaf to Christ, so that it refuseth like Rachel to be comforted; Thus the Incestuous person when he did feel the bitterness of his sin, was in danger of being swallowed up with too much sorrow; He thinketh not only the Priest and the Levite, but even the good Samaritan will also pass him by and pour no Oil in his wounds; When one eye is intent downwards, the other cannot look upwards; When the heart is greatly grieved from one object, it can hardly be prepared to receive comfort from another.

[ 2] 2. There is an innate inbred principle of a Legal Justification or acceptation by works that we do, and this makes Faith in the Mediator as a stranger, as an absurd thing; and indeed this is the main reason why all the godly find it so hard to believe, why they are so loath to be beholding to grace only to resign everything, and to be saved by Christ merely; Even that inbred principle of being justified by what we do; See how all they that come to Christ propound this, What shall we do that we may be saved? They look upon doing not believing, Thus the Jews generally, they sought to establish the righteousness of the Law, and, would not submit to the Righteousness of faith, Rom. 10.3. Oh it is a great matter to humble and empty the heart of a man so as that he will submit to a Righteousness of Faith; yea, we see many of the Christian Teachers and disciples were led away in this, as appeareth by the Epistle to the Romans and Galatians ; What a great task hath the Apostle, to take all off from works and the obedience to the Law, and to give all to Christ? They would give part to Christ and part to their works, but not all to Christ, so that it's a very hard thing to pull this weed out of our breast; We see all Popery and Socinianism goeth this way also; To do something that they may be justified thereby.

[ 3] 3. Thus they cannot think that it's so acceptable to believe in a Mediator, because it's chiefly their comfort and their good thereby; so that they look upon it as self-seeking and immoderately desiring their own good and peace, not as any ways tending to the glory of God : But we shall show you that Faith in the Mediator doth not only bring comfort and joy to us, but admirable glory to God, even more then Martyrdom, or the highest expressions of Obedience; Do not therefore tempt thyself, and be a Satan to thy own peace; What though thy comfort, thy salvation bound up in believing, yet if God will be honored and glorified this way; Thou art rather joyfully to receive his grace then frowardly to dispute against it, so that if this believing be a self-seeking, it's such as God would have thee to do, and as he that will not eat or drink is guilty of bodily murder, so he that will not believe on Christ which is called eating and drinking, is guilty of soul-murder.

[ 4] 4 This is strange and difficult to the godly a long while, because our justification and acceptation by him is wholly of supernatural Revelation ; It's like the doctrine of the Trinity or of Christ's Incarnation; As human reason would never assent to such a Truth were it not for divine Revelation that overpowers all, so that all our sins are pardoned through Faith in Christ's blood, is likewise of mere divine manifestation; For see what nature doth incline us unto in all the heathens when they had sinned, so as their Conscience condemned them, they went to some solemn sacrifice, or other extraordinary work, thinking thereby to pacify the wrath of God: Adam was created in a state of Righteousness, and so by his Obedience of works he was to be justified; And upon his fall it became impossible that any should be justified by what he did, unless sin could justify a man; Therefore when God discovered a Christ, and Justification by faith in him, This is new doctrine from heaven; Neither Men or Angels could have found out such a way, so that it's no wonder if man be thus averse to this Faith in the Promise, because it's a way that neither the state of Integrity or of man fallen was acquainted with, insomuch that a godly man in the sense of his sins, must bring such a faith in the Mediator as he doth in other mysterious supernatural objects of Faith, and his heart saith, It's unlikely such a sinner, such an offender should find mercy, say, O my Soul, Are not the other supernatural Points of Religion that I believe very unlikely also and incredible to flesh and blood?

[ 5] Lastly, Therefore this seemeth hard to the godly broken hearted sinner, because though Faith in a Mediator be a duty, yet it's not to everyone that live, that wallow in their sins ; Christ is not a Mediator whether men repent or not repent; You are not to think that it is all one, godliness or no godliness; If then such only may believe in a Mediator as do truly and sincerely repent of sin; This will be hard to find out, for there are Ahab's tears and Judas 's tears for sin, and indeed upon this depends all; In this the godly are so much plunged, Christ indeed bids those Come that are heavy laden, that hunger and thirst after him, But I have great cause to question myself whether I do thus or not.

In the second place, Why is it so that Profane and ungodly men think it so easy to believe in Christ ? And they say they do it with all their heart, when it's plain by the Scripture they are not such to whom those glorious things of the Gospel do belong.

[ 1] And 1. They think it so easy because they take presumption for faith ; They think they believe when they presume; Now to presume is easy, because it's a work of the flesh, it's suitable to our corruptions that the Jews though they committed all lewdness, yet the Prophet complaineth they would come and lean themselves upon the Lord, and trust in lying words, saying, The Temple of the Lord, &c. That is not faith which most of the world have; It's presumption, it's carnal-confidence, such as those had who said, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy Name, Such as the foolish Virgins had, Mat. 25. Such as Paul had before his Conversion, when he said, He was alive, Rom. 7. Oh then tremble at that security and confidence thou hast, Thou mayest be sure it's a sin, and of the devil, it's so easy, whereas Faith is very difficult.

2. They look upon Faith in Christ as easy, because they divide the Object, they take some things of Christ not whole Christ; They think it's only believing on him as a Savior for pardon of sin; They do not choose him as a Lord to whom in all obedience they resign themselves ; This is indeed the rock that splits many, tell them of believing in Christ, and they think that is only to rest for salvation, They attend not that it's the receiving of Christ for all the ends and purposes God sent him into the world; Now one main end besides our justification and salvation is our Sanctification; To redeem to himself a people zealous of good works, Tit. 2.14. To communicate his Spirit for to make holy as well as his merit to make happy.

Lastly, They think it easy because they never think on any qualifications which are required in those who partake of Christ; It's true, there are the Antecedent Conditions of merit or worth, Let that Popery be abandoned, but yet the Scripture tells who and what kind of persons they are that must claim an Interest in Christ, They are blessed that hunger and thirst, for such shall be satisfied, Mat. 5. Everyone that is athirst is to Come, Rev. 22.17. Repent that your sins may be blotted out, Act. 3.19. Now profane secure people they never think of these qualifications, They say, God is merciful, They say Christ is a Savior, but then they never consider of whom, They think not that many are called but few chosen ; They love not those places, The way to heaven is a narrow and straight way, Not all that say Lord, Lord, shall find the gate of heaven opened to them; If they thought seriously of these things, it would cause an holy trembling in them.

These things premised Let us consider, Why it is so well-pleasing to God that we should believe in Christ our Mediator ; It's accepted of as well as our Repentance or love, or any other obedience.

[ 1] And 1. Because hereby God is exalted and magnified in his glory ; We cannot glorify God more otherwise; Now then if God aimed at his glory in the Creation of the world, but much more in the redemption of his Children; There is not a way to exalt his glory more then by believing; Thus Abraham in that of his concerning a Seed, which did relate to Christ, it's said, he staggered not, but gave glory to God, Rom. 4.20. The glory of his power, of his goodness, he regarded not the dead womb, nor any other difficulties; Thus it is here, when thou seest sin against thee, the Law against thee, Justice against thee, and that everything hath a dead womb, yea, a damned womb for thee, to overlook all in Christ, is an high degree to glorify God; Oh then ckeck thy unbelieving thoughts, Say, Is there any way in the world whereby I can glorify God like to the relying on Christ and leaning upon his grace; So much dishonor as despair casteth on God, so much glory faith attributeth to him, resist then all the buzzing temptations of Satan, and say, What, shall I not glorify God? What, shall I not give God honor?

[ 2] 2. The acceptableness of it doth appear in the frequent and constant commands that Christ giveth about it ; It's true he commands Repentance, Love, Self-denial, but above all he requireth faith. The question he propounded to most that came to him was, Do ye believe? This is so great a duty in Christianity, that the Heathens abhorred our Religion as irrational, saying, It's only believed with them, whereupon they called them in scorn Believers; But this is the grand and primary duty, Heb. 11.1. There is no coming to God without this, and Eternal life is said to be in this, Above all take the Shield of faith, Eph. 6.16. If then we see the Scripture so constantly enjoining this above all, yea, and threatening with damnation if we do not believe; How is it that the godly stand aloof of, and still are not resolved whether they should believe or not; Thou dost not so about Repentance; Thou never questionest whether thou shouldst grieve or mourn for thy sins, Thou wouldst think it high wickedness to do so; Why then shouldst thou doubt whether being burdened with sin thou shouldst seek ease by faith in him, Is not the command as indispensable for one as the other.

[ 3] 3. It's acceptable Because hereby Christ as a Mediator is improved for all these glorious ends he was appointed by God, and thereby Christ is also glorified ; What shall such unsearchable riches of grace as are bound up in Christ be buried? Shall there not be daily acknowledgements of him? Now consider, that if by Faith thou dost not receive him, thou declarest Christ lived in vain, and died in vain, by what reason thou dost not believe; for one effect thou must not for another, and so for all; Thus it will be as if there had never been such a person as Christ; We may in some sense call it thy Antichristian unbelief, He that denieth Christ to be come in the flesh is Antichrist, 2 Joh. 7 Doth not thy unbelief deny him? For the denying of his office is by consequence the denying of his person; Thy unbelief doth that practically which the damnable heresies of Socinians do doctrinally, make as if Christ were not a Mediator, and such who had satisfied the wrath of God for us; Oh then know it's not all thy sins do so immediately oppose Christ as a Mediator as thy unbelief doth, which makes Divines say, that in some sense only unbelief damneth, because that rejecteth the Mediator, refuseth the Savior, so that as we say, It's not the disease but the neglect of the medicine that kills.

[ 4] 4. It's very acceptable to God because It's the most evacuating grace, It emptieth us wholly of ourselves, God he delights in humility, now nothing humbleth us and takes us off all our seeming worth, like faith in Christ, for therefore I wholly trust in him for righteousness, because I have none of my own; If I had any rags that could cover my nakedness, I would not be ashamed, but now being all over impure and unclean, my Faith makes me catch hold on him; Thus Paul he counted all things dung or dross Phil. 3. because of the righteousness which is by Faith in Christ: Seeing then Faith gives all to God and Christ, makes us miserable, wretched and hopeless in ourselves; No wonder if God do so accept of it; Consider therefore how it debaseth thee, and carrieth thee off everything that is thine, and then thou wilt say, this is the grace God loveth, this makes me nothing, and God all in all.

[ 5] 5. Faith in Christ must needs be acceptable, because hereby we bring a righteousness into God's presence which doth best please him, which satisfieth him to the utmost, for Christ is made our Righteousness; and the end of the Law to us, he became sin that we might become the Righteousness of God through him, 2 Cor. 5. ul. Now then if we by Faith can bring the Righteousness of Christ in all our duties and performances, we must needs please him; This is to bring Benjamin with us, Oh what satisfying Reasons doth Faith in the Mediator bring; O Lord, It is not my Righteousness, nor the Righteousness of Adam, nor the Righteousness of Angels but of Christ who is infinite, that I bring before thee; O Lord, doth not Christ please thee better then I can; O Lord is not this obedience better then my Repentance; Oh then that we should not be more solicitous to believe in every duty, in every approach to God, for that brings Christ, that presents not our persons or duties but Christ; Thus Paul, he would be found in Christ not having his own righteousn • sse, Phil. 3.9. Ye know not how righteous God is, nor the Law, nor what God requireth, that do not thus press to believe. Other grounds of this excellent Evangelical Point, I defer and come to the

Use, which is of Direction to the people of God, Oh what joyful, comfortable and blessed lives might you live if acquainted with this Truth; Art thou dejected, filled with unbelieving thoughts, it's from thy ignorance of this Truth; You would be more filial and Evangelical were you possessed with this Truth more; The Devil labors to keep you off, as Saul did Jonathan, and the people from eating honey; whereas if they had not forborne it their enemies had been quite vanquished, he keepeth thee from this honey, he knoweth if thou wert believing no sin or temptation could stand before thee, Heb. 5.13. The babe Christian is said to be unskillful in the word of Righteousness, what is that, he knoweth not Christ and the righteousness by him, Therefore the Spirit of God is said to convince the world of Righteousness, Joh. 16.8. O what Enemies are we to ourselves because ignorant herein.

SERMON XXXIX. Further showeth, How acceptable unto God it is to believe in Christ the Mediator; And setteth forth the dangerous Nature of Trusting in our own Righteousness.

WE are prosecuting this Evangelical Point, That Faith in Christ as a Mediator is acceptable unto God as well as obedience to a command ; That as love is the fulfilling of the Law, so Faith of the Gospel: Several Reasons have already been laid down, we now proceed to give you more.

[ 6] 1. Therefore Faith in Christ as a Mediator is acceptable because of the difficulty of and opposition to it ; When we are seriously sensible of sin, yet to rely on the love of God in Christ is like Esther's venturing into Ahasuerus his presence, If I perish, I perish, or like the Lepers into their enemies the Syrians Camp; Thus saith the afflicted soul, If I lie despairing under the burden of my sin I am sure to be undone, I cannot find any hope within myself, It's therefore venturing on Christ; It's good to go to him, I am like that woman of the bloody Issue, that had spent all she had on Physicians, but yet could not be cured; I have run to every refuge, tried every conclusion, but still my soul cannot have any safe bottom to stand upon: Let me therefore by Faith fly to him as a Mediator; In the midst of these depths and agonies of heart to trust in Christ is an high heroical disposition, like that of Job, Though he kill me, I will trust in him, Job 13.15. Like that of the Canaanitish woman, whose faith Christ so commended, Though she were put off and called dog, and told the bread did not belong to her, Mat. 15.27. the promises of grace and pardon were not her due, yet for all that she will hold upon Christ and not let him go; Oh then consider that if thou like Peter wilt venture to go though upon the waters to him, here is a special discovery of the nobleness of thy Faith; That thou regardest God's command and his promise more then all Satan's temptations, and the sense or suggestions of thy own soul; As it is with love to God when God doth afflict and chastise us, yet to keep up a tender fervent love to God argueth the greatness and purity of thy love, so in the midst of broken bones and trouble for sin to depend upon the grace of God in Christ argueth the excellency of Faith; Our Savior when he said, Blessed are they that believe and see not, showeth, that he who believeth, Joh. 20 9. when he hath the least prop of sense and encouragement from outward things doth put forth the purer and nobler acts of Faith; Now for Abraham to believe though Sarah's womb was a dead womb, argued stronger Faith then if she had been a fruitful woman; Thus the difficulty and opposition in such temptations makes faith the more acceptable.

[ 7] 2, Faith in Christ must be as acceptable as Obedience, because there is great Obedience in Faith ; For although Faith in Christ doth not justify us as it's an Obediential act, for then we should be justified by a work, but as it's an Instrument receiving the Righteousness of Christ, an hand to take that enriching Treasure, yet there is very great Obedience in every act of believing, go over the several acts of it, knowledge, assent, and fiducial application, all these are therefore put forth by a believer, because God saith it; Hence it's called the Obedience of faith, Rom. 10.26. And we are said to captivate our understandings herein, 2 Cor. 10.5. For a man in believing walketh not by sense or human reason, or principles of the world but the mere revealed will of God so that whether we regard the doctrine to be believed, or the promises to be embraced, we must conclude that faith is a spiritual Martyrdom; It's not reason but God's Word moveth thee, as we told you in the Jews, They went about to establish their own righteousness, and would not submit themselves to the Righteousness by Christ, Rom. 10.3. You see by that expression how a man must be much humbled and captivated ere he can yield up himself to Christ's Righteousness; Oh then think not that Faith is not an high degree of Obedience; It's a renouncing of all human thoughts, apprehensions, and whatsoever seeming worth or righteousness may be in us: Oh how deeply was Paul humbled ere Phil. 3. he would come to account all things dung and dross, and to be found not having his own righteousness, but that which is by Faith in Christ ; So that although Faith as it is a work doth not justify, yet it's a great work and that of pure and mere obedience; For whereas in all other moral duties, Love and Patience, there is some engrafted notions within that convince of that; In believing there is nothing but the command of God and his promise, that inviteth to this duty.

[ 8] 3. Faith must needs be acceptable to God because that only of all graces hath a relative fitness to receive Christ and his benefits, Rom. 3.23. and in many other places, Remission of sin, and so the Spirit of promise, and also Justification is still said to be by Faith, not by Love or Zeal, or any other grace, because they are of an active nature, and go out to God, This of a passive nature, and receiveth Christ, so that the Scripture useth a peculiar phrase to express the nature of Faith, making it a supernatural Instrument or organon to receive Christ, as the hand of all parts of the body taketh a Treasure when given, and thereby a man is enriched: It's true it's not for the dignity or merit of Faith that we are justified, Therefore the Learned observe well, that it's never said 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , not for Faith as a cause, but by Faith as an Instrument, so that it's not properly Faith in Christ that justifieth, but Christ apprehended by Faith, as it is not the hand but the treasure taken by the hand that enricheth, or as the Scripture excellently describeth it; It was not the bare seeing of the brazen Serpent, or any excellency in the eye, but the brazen Serpent that did heal: Seeing that Faith hath that aptitude of all other graces to apply Christ, and God makes use of it, and appoints it for this end, no wonder if that be so well-pleasing to him.

[ 9] 4. Faith in Christ as a Mediator is well-pleasing, because by this we also are enabled to all obedience, to all duties of mortification and holiness, so that this Faith which receiveth Christ as a Mediator▪ receiveth him in his fullness of grace as an head, and thereby we have strength and ability to everything that is holy, Act. 15. purifying their hearts by Faith ; That implieth both our Justification and our Sanctification; Hence we are said to be in the Olive Tree, viz. Christ. and to receive of the fatness thereof by Faith, Rom. 11. Thus all Believers they are branches in Christ the Vine, Joh. 15. So that you see there is great reason why Faith in Christ as a Mediator should be preserved, because that enableth to all lively and active Obedience, Heb. 11. You see it was Faith that put all those Worthies upon such notable Obedience; And when Christ prayed for Peter, he prayed that his Faith might not fail him, Luk. 22.32. why not his courage and boldness, but because Faith is the root of all; So that in Christianity we by Faith in Christ come to be holy and then believe in Christ, Per fidem venitur ad opera, non per opera, ad fidem ; Insomuch that it's a gross mistake in the people of God when they think to attain to such a degree of Repentance and mortification, and then they would believe in Christ, whereas by Faith in Christ and coming to him they would have strength to such duties; Thou dost as if the branch separated from the Vine should think thereby to grow and flourish.

[ 10] 5. Faith in Christ is so well pleasing to Christ, because that only will put us upon such a life and conversation as is acceptable to him, which is joy and thankfulness ; It's very pleasing to God that those who are his would walk cheerfully and thankfully, that all the world may see it's better to serve the Lord then sin; Hence you see the Psalmist so often calling upon the Righteous, to rejoice and be glad; yea, to shout for joy, and in the New Testament▪ Rejoice, and again I say rejoice ; Hence it's called Joy unspeakable and full of glory ; And for thankfulness we should have our hearts and mouths filled with praises; Praise is comely for the upright, Psa. 33.1. It is very fit, that he who is full of God's love and his mercies should also be full of Thanks-giving, In all things give thanks, 1 Thes. 5.18. So that you see joy and thankfulness should be the constant life of a Christian, he cannot honor Christ or the Gospel more, but how can these be unless there be faith in Christ, Being justified by Faith we have peace with God, Rom. 5.1. where there is no peace, there is no joy, no thankfulness, and indeed all those bitter briars and thorns which the godly have, arise from that bitter root of unbelief; Why is it that they go bowed down, and none seem farther from comfort and thankfulness then they do, but because they exercise not this faith in Christ; It's more pleasing to God to be filled with heavenly joy, then tormenting doubts, and this joy is the daughter of faith; If then all these things be duly considered by the godly Convert he may be awakened, and wonder how he indulged himself in such doubting, fearing, and unbelieving thoughts, he may cry out, what glory have I robbed Christ and the Gospel of? What heretics and Papists with their corrupt doctrines have done against Christ the same did my perplexing, inflaming fears do; I lived not as if I had received the Spirit of Adoption, but of bondage and fear: Thou wilt then find the dark Cloud with Lightning and Thunder to pass away, and the clear Sunshine to appear; Thou that wast like the Disciples afraid of Christ, as if he had been some formidable Spirit, wilt then know what Christ is, and how ready and willing to receive afflicted sinners; Thou wilt then stand and wonder, how could I be so injurious by my low and narrow thoughts of Christ? Was it for a light matter that Christ should leave all his heavenly glory and come to endure all that reproach and misery for our sakes.

But we proceed to some Uses, And

[Use 1] First, Is Faith in Christ as a Mediator so acceptable to God even above all Obedience, so that as he said in some sense he would have Obedience rather then Sacrifice, so may we say in some respects, He will have Faith rather then Obedience. Then let it instruct us in the heinous and dangerous nature of that close, secret and unperceivable sin of trusting in our own Righteousness ; Let there be no secret depending upon thy good heart, thy good life, thy good duties, for if contraries are known by contraries, then as faith renouncing all we are and have to be found in Christ is of so great acceptance; Then to rely upon anything we do, to have inward restings upon our own actions is a sin highly offending God; We can hardly commit a sin worse: The Publican in some respects is better then the Pharisee, as those Diseases which are quickly discerned are more curable then those that are not discovered, Ille morbus vix est sanabilis qui sanitatem imitatur ; Our Savior found this untoward disposition in the Pharisees, as that which was plainly their mortal disease, had not this besotted and benumbed them, they had sooner set open the gates of their soul for the Prince of Glory to come; The Apostle makes this desire and endeavor to set up their own Righteousness to be that which wholly undid them, and our Savior himself looks upon this as the root of all bitterness, and therefore laid the Axe to it, when he told them, They were such as justified themselves, but what was highly esteemed amongst men was abomination before God, Luk 18. So that not only profane and gross sins, but the civil Pharisaical man who stands on his own bottom, and feeleth not the absolute necessity of faith in Christ, is in a perishing condition; And because this undoeth thousands as well as gross wickedness, Let us see whether we can pierce the Scales of this Leviathan, whether we may remove this Mountain and throw it into the Sea of Repentance and humiliation; The greatness therefore of this sin is seen in the unperceivableness of it ; A man may with 〈◊〉 whole might trust in himself, and yet think the clean contrary; Paul said 〈…〉 alive once, he was at hearts ease, Rom 7. judged himself in a secure safe condition because of his spiritual estate, but when his eyes were opened, and he awakened by grace, those things that were once a gain and a privilege he accounted dung and dross; But Paul while in that Pharisaical Righteousness was as senseless of any such spiritual confidence in himself as any dead man of the greatest burden upon him; Oh then what hopes have we to make such men see the black dungeon they are in, and the cursed opposition they stand in to Christ; For the principium is loesum, Christ came not to call the Righteous but sinners to Repentance, Mat. 9.13. The Righteous are such as the Pharisees who trusted in themselves, thought all well with them, Now such can never hunger and thirst after Christ; They are full of themselves, as they say in Philosophy, the sensible Object put upon the sense hinders all sensation, as in the eye or ear; Thus it is also in Divinity, our own Righteousness, our own good thoughts they cleave so close to us, and so we are not able to put forth any spiritual sense; But as even the Ethiopians think the flattest nose and the blackest color to be the best beauty, and the Persians the contrary, and all because that they are so; It's a National property, So it is here, because our heart is ours, our works ours, our duties ours, therefore we think them good, and so put secret hopes therein, and though in this high bloody sin, yet our Consciences do not, cannot smite us, therefore fear Security more then all despair and trouble of Conscience, for this is felt and discovered, and thereby the better prevented, but the other is a secret Impostume never manifesting itself but when immediately killing.

2. As it is a secret sin hardly perceived, so it's a deep radicated one; It's our very nature and essence almost : You see by these many disputes that Paul had against those who would join the works of the Law with the Lord Christ, that it is not only imbred in us to put confidence in them, but even to plead for it and to justify this doctrine, and this was not only amongst the unbelieving Jews, but even such as did acknowledge Christ also; The danger therefore is, that when we can cast away other sins, yet this will cleave the faster to us; The more we abstain from iniquities, the more trust we are apt to put in ourselves; This our Savior urged when he said, unless a man become like a little child he cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven, Mat. 18.4. And when he spake a Parable to this purpose, that when we had done all, we should say, we were unprofitable Servants ; Oh then take heed of this sweet poison within thee; Do not say within thy heart Such and such sins I have left, I am none of the profane ones of the world, I have a constant care about all holy duties, for if thy heart be hereby confident in these things, it is Idolatry; Though it be more subtle, yet he that falls down before a stock or stone and worshippeth Idols is no greater an Idolater then thou art, for thou makest thyself a Savior, and sayest of thy duties as they did of the golden Calf; These are the God's that brought thee out of Egypt.

3, This trusting in our own Righteousness and not in Christ solely is a Spiritual sin ; It's a sickness not of the body but of the soul, and so the greater sin; All sins that are immediately subjected in the soul, have the greater guilt and defilement, ceteris paribus, more then any bodily sins; As the Schoolmens Rule is, The sins of the Spirit are maioris reatus, but bodily sins maioris infamiae, We see it in the Devils, Their sins are wholly sins of the Spirit, and are therefore called unclean spirits, yet they are more sinful then men; Therefore they are called spiritual wickednesses in high places, Eph. 6. Though then these sins of spiritual pride and secret confidence in ourselves do not make a noise in the world, and bring reproach as bodily sins do, yet in other respects they may be of a crimson color 〈◊〉 • loudy aggravation; They are a corruption of the best and choicest part • hin thee, and therefore look not only to outward but inward heart-sins.

Lastly, The grievousness of this sin doth appear in the immediate contrariety and opposition it hath to Christ and the Gospel of grace ; There is no sin doth so formally and immediately reject Christ as a Mediator, as this selffulness and self-righteousness, as we may see by our Savior and the Pharisees; That which kept them from Christ was their self-justification; They thought they had a Righteousness of their own which made our Savior call them Blessed that did hunger and thirst after Righteousness, That were heavy laden and burdened ; And indeed Reason will tell us that a false Righteousness set up against the true, is more dangerous then open and plain sins, and Christ must needs be more jealous of such a person; Seeing therefore that God requireth a Righteousness there must be a Righteousness procured, and this of Christ's can only be satisfactory, it is an high sin to set up thy Absalom King instead of this David ; Thou dost in effect say, All that Christ did it was needless, it was in vain, for thou hast a Righteousness of thy own works thou wilt trust to, and never think to wash thyself from this sin, because by thy words thou speakest the clean contrary: There is none that professeth Christ will grossly and palpably own his works for Justification, but there is an inward secret tickling of heart and confidence because of them, so that God only can charge this sin upon men, for he knoweth and trieth the hearts and reins of men: But thus you will say, If this Self-righteousness and trusting in what we do be in some sense worse then all the gross sins that are committed, how should we become convinced of it, and so forsake it? Oh that we could tell how to get this Ivy from cleaving thus to us, lest it consume all that is within us: Now the ready and only way for a man to be driven out of this self-righteousness is,

First, Seriously convince and inform thy Judgment of that Original pollution which cleaveth to thee as soon as ever thou hast a Being : Remember those place In iniquity did my Mother conceive me, Psal. 51. The Imaginations of the thoughts of the heart are only evil, and that continually, Gen. 6. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? We are by nature the Children of wrath, Ephes. 2.3. Oh the true apprehension of this loathsome contagion will quickly make us cry out of ourselves and anything that is ours.

Secondly, Remember the purity and perfection of the Law, what it is that requireth even the perfect actings of all grace, so that if there be wanting but one duty, yea, one degree of grace; The Law rejects all, and curseth all: There is no way but Hell and eternal damnation; N •• the knowledge of this must needs make a man cry out of himself because he fails in all things.

Thirdly, Consider the examples of those that have been most holy and godly, how still they would go out of themselves ; They would not have their own life to be the Rule to be justified by: David that is so highly commended, and who breaths out such divine affections to God, 〈◊〉 saith, If thou enter into Judgment with thy Servant who can be Justified: Psal. 133. Oh it's not for us to stand upon our works and duties, when God calls to account, and Job, Though he plead • his Integrity, yet he humbled himself under his imperfections comparatively to God: Paul likewise would not be found in his own Righteousness ; It would be shame to 〈◊〉 •• d guilt to him to be found so.

Fourthly, The relics and remainders of corruption still cleave to us ; Though we be washed yet still we need our feet should be washed; Thus Paul Rom. 7. and Gal. 6. Seeing therefore in every duty there is such a combat and constict between grace and sin; There is dross as well as Gold; It behooveth us to renounce all, and to say, Only Christ, Only Christ.

SERMON XL. Further setteth forth the Excellency and Necessity of pressing the Doctrine of Faith in Christ the Mediator, and of our being affected with it, And invites the greatest Sinners to come unto him for Salvation.

MArvell not if I am the third time upon this Subject, for we see our Savior doth again and again commend this Faith in his Disciples, and certainly this is the Sum of the Gospel, the marrow and quintessence of Christianity; By this we differ from Jews, Pagans, and Turks, yea, by this we are separated from Papists, Socinians, and other Heretics, None of them allowing this imputed Righteousness by a Mediator, which by Faith is to be received.

Therefore I shall proceed in exalting and pressing this Faith in a Mediator, that at last we may come to have a spiritual and sound understanding herein; For here are two great stones to be rolled out of the way.

1. Ignorance or misbelief in this Point; There are very few that have been Orthodox here; There are most in the world that have an erroneous persuasion in this matter, under the guilt of sin they do not fly only to Christ as a Mediator; They say, Lo here is Christ and Lo there is Christ ; They have something else they put a confidence in, and therefore what the Lord saith in another case, is also true here, He will reject their confidence, Jer. 2.37. Never were the people of Israel more prone to lean on Egypt and Assyria for outward help rather then on the Lord only, then we are in a spiritual manner ready to rest upon some spiritual prop besides the Lord Christ, so that ignorant people they know nothing of this, and knowing people are hardly persuaded of the truth of it.

A second stone to be rolled out of the way, is that senselessness and unsavoriness on men's hearts, though it should be granted that they know and rightly believe in this matter, for indeed none can prize or be affected with this Subject, but such a spiritual heart that is sensible of his spiritual disease and the spiritual Remedy; They must be Children of the Adoption, They must be Evangelical hearers, such as have been in a spiritual Transfiguration with Christ on the Mount as it were, That are refreshed with these Truths; It's not every hearer, It's not everyone that cometh to the Assemblies that can say, How welcome are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of the Gospel: Therefore we desire your hearts as well as your heads, your tender affections as well as solid understandings: This is a Truth that must be eaten, you will not feel the sweetness of it till it be in your belly.

Now there are very good grounds why we should be thus insisting upon this Subject.

For 1. It's the main scope and end of the whole Scripture ; If you ask why the Word of God was written, the Answer is, That the chief principal end was, that man being convinced of his sin and of the utter impotency of any righteousness in himself or other Creatures, should fly unto Christ's Righteousness as the only Sanctuary; Thus John, These things are written that believing you might have eternal life, All the Administrations in the Old Testament were Types of Christ, as the Apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, doth at large open their meaning; It was not their Sacrifices but Christ, It was not the blood of Rams and Goats, but Christ's blood ; Hence it's said that Moses and the Prophets bear witness of Christ ; It's true the Scripture hath many other subordinate ends, but the chief is to direct us to Christ, to make us see that nothing in the world can pacify God for our sins but Christ; Oh then how necessary must that be which all the Penmen of the Scripture aimed at, Moses, David, all the Prophets; They looked at this Messias; And the New Testament is wholly spent in describing his person and his Office, or the end of his coming into the world; Oh then whatsoever thou mayest be ignorant of or negligent in, yet give thyself to the studying, meditating, and believing of this Subject.

2. The great work of the Spirit of God in the Ministry is to convince of this Righteousness ; It is to make us see that all human Righteousness, all moral duties, no, nor the graces God bestoweth on his people, are the Righteousness God looks for, Joh. 16.9, 10. The Spirit of God is there said to reprove or convince the world of sin, especially of that great sin of Unbelief, and then of Righteousness, which Christ procureth by going to his Father, Observe that, It's the work of God's Spirit thus to convince, So that all Moral Philosophy and the wisest directions of the most civil men will leave us in a Wilderness; They cannot tell us what is true Righteousness, and how we come to be accepted of by God; Therefore this is revealed by the Gospel only; If we would know what is that Righteousness which we may trust to, which may be as a Screen between God's justice and us; Neither Aristotle nor Plato among the Heathens, no, nor Bellarmine and Suarez among the Papists will inform us rightly; Because in the matter of Justification and the doctrine of Righteousness they have too much consulted with Aristotle, as if the Scripture spake of such a Righteousness as the Heathens do; No, this tells us, It's a Righteousness of Christ imputed to us without works, this it doth again and again; Seeing then all natural reason would never persuade us herein, it must necessarily be the Spirit of God that will convince us in this, and therefore though you hear ten thousand Sermons of this Subject, your hearts will never be convinced of your own sinfulness and Christ's Righteousness till you are overpowered by God's Spirit; Oh then pray to God that he would make thy heart readily to yield to it, yea, and rejoice in it.

3. The end of the Law and the preaching of that is wholly for this end, to discover Christ the Mediator ; Those that would not have the Law preached cannot have Christ preached truly and effectually, for Rom. 10.4. Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness ; Can the end be obtained without the means? It's the Schoolmaster to bring to Christ ; The disease must be discovered are we will seek out for a Physician; The heart must be wounded ere we shall desire oil; The Law then is to be preached in the exact purity of it, and in the condemning power of it; That so when we see ourselves wholly undone in that Court; That there remaineth no hope for us, then we may fly to Christ; The Law saith, Do this and live, Do all things in the highest degree, else you cannot live; Now into what horror and despair doth this put men till we come to hear that voice, Believe in Christ who hath fulfilled the righteousness of the Law ; When therefore we preach the exactness of the Law and the severity of God's Justice, it is not that we should stay here; Alas, who can say It's good to be here? no, They will cry out as the People of Israel did at the giving of the Law, when there was so much terror; But our aim is that by this commotion and trouble upon you, you might lay hold upon Christ; We would burden you that Christ might ease you.

4. This Doctrine is indeed the very essence and marrow of the Gospel ; This is the glad tidings that when we of ourselves were eternally undone, Christ as a Mediator reconcileth the offended God and offending sinner; It was this that the very Angels though it did not so immediately concern them sang for joy, Glory be to God on high, Good will to men, and peace on the Earth, Luk. 2.14. This is that which we find the Apostle Paul so magnifying everywhere, This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, 1 Tim. 1.15. Great is the Mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh, 1 Tim. 3 16. Oh then we should never be weary of this Subject, It's eyes to the blind, It's meat to the hungry, Clothes to the naked, mercy to the sinner, grace to the afflicted one; This is the fatted Calf, and the Robe for the distressed Prodigal; Truly as he said he did not love to read, no, not Tully, because he did not find the Name of Christ, so should all Sermons and Subjects be dull and tedious, that do not directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately bring us to him; All other Points are but accessory or preparatory, this is the Substance; It's such an excellent Subject that the Angels desire to be informed more in it, and take infinite delight in the knowledge of it.

5. This is the more to be pressed because the devil in all ages hath labored to obscure this doctrine above others ; Insomuch that Luther called this, Articulus stantis & cadentis Ecclesiae, when the devil could neither overthrow the human or divine nature of Christ by Heretics; Then he labored to overthrow his Office of being a Mediator; That if there must be a Christ, yet he might be a needless and useless one, so that by this Point only we differ not only from Jews and Pagans but all Heretics and Papists; The righteousness of Christ our Mediator imputed to us is the Treasure in the Church only; This Pearl is hid in this Field only, The excellency therefore and dignity of this Point is seen by the devils opposition, and his Instruments raised up to obscure and darken it; And then on the other side God hath raised up choice Instruments in his Church, to vindicate this Truth; Luther of all Points was most affected with this, and God prepared him for it, by laying soul exercises and heart temptations upon him, insomuch that he said he often wished he had never been a man; Oh the trouble and darkness that was upon his soul, and he used all the Remedies prescribed in Popery, to comfort himself, but still his heart was as unquiet as ever, till at last he was by studying in Scripture directed to believe in Christ the Mediator, and in particular to be clothed with Christ's righteousness instead of his own, and thus it is still, the more spiritually tempted and exercised any man either Minister or private Christian is; The more he walketh in darkness and hath no light : The more doth he come to prize and esteem this fullness in Christ; None love this honey-comb but those who hunger after a righteousness that they cannot find in themselves; These particulars discover the necessity of pressing this often and often.

Therefore the second Use is to bring your hearts in relish with this Doctrine; Oh that thou wert such an Auditor, that this Truth might breed a sweet pleasure in thy spiritual appetite; If this be the Gospel, If this be the glad Tidings, If this be the Pearl and the Treasure, be thou in the number of those that will part with all to be partakers of it.

But you will say, How may we fit Subjects for this Truth? how may we come to prize it more then the honey or the honey-comb.

Take these Directions.

[ 1] 1. Feel sin as a burden ; as a weight let it be more to thee then all temporal evils in the world, for so Mat. 11. Come to me ye that are heavy laden and I will ease you; David Psal. 32. when his sin was ready to overwhelm him, then he crieth out, Blessed is he to whom the Lord imputeth no sin ; When Mary Magdalene hath her head and heart a Fountain of water because of her sins, then she is greatly endeared in her affections to Christ; Those love much to whom much is forgiven, as our Savior at large showeth, Luk. 7.46. If then thou art not persuaded of thy debts, or if the thoughts of them do not afflict and grieve thee, never think that Christ will be chief in thy heart; Oh then begin here, lay this for a Foundation, saying, All these precious Truths will be spilled like water upon the ground, until I be of a broken contrite heart for sin; The Prodigal never regarded the bread and Fullness in his Fathers House, till he comes to want even husks themselves: Joab would not come to Absalom, till all his Corn was fired: Neither do we readily and willingly run to Christ, till God hath shot his arrow into us, tiill he hath wounded us at the heart, till we feel sin the greatest burden, and that because God is dishonored and provoked, and indeed this may be a very good motive to Repentance and humiliation, because there is such an excellent Remedy; Thou needest not fear going into the depths of this water because Christ will preserve thee therein; No wonder if a man not believing or acquainted with this Truth be afraid to think of his sins; That with Luther he hates the word Repent, for there is nothing but despair and hopelessness about sin till this Truth be discovered; Oh then be no longer afraid to have thy sins brought to thy mind; Say not, They are a greater burden then can be born; for had Cain believed in Christ, Had Judas believed in Christ, Their sick and wounded Souls had quickly been healed; It's not the greatness nor the multitude of thy sins; It's not the terrible aggravations of them may wholly overwhelm thee if so be thou dost but cast Anchor upon Christ.

[ 2] 2. If you would have an high esteem of this Point labor for a spiritual heavenly heart ; For as Christ in his Mediation is wholly spiritual, all his offices and works are spiritual, so it's only the spiritual and heavenly heart that can close with it; There must be a proportion between the Object and the faculty or Subject; Supernatural will not agree with that which is natural; If therefore thou art carnal, earthly, and wholly minding worldly Comforts, thou wilt prefer every Thistle before this Jewell; To you that believe Christ is precious, saith Peter, 1 Peter 2.7. but to others he is not so; Oh then if thy heart do not leap for Joy within thee, as John did in the womb at the Presence of Christ, it's because thy heart is carnal and sensual; Thou knowest no better good then what pleaseth sense: It's not because the matter is empty, but because thy heart is empty of heaven: What makes Paul desire to know nothing but Christ and him crucified ; Was it not the high spiritual Frame of his heart? and it cannot be otherwise, for Christ is all that an heavenly heart can desire; He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life ; He is the Head, and the Vine, He is the true Bread that came down from Heaven ; He is made of God Wisdom, Righteousness, and Sanctification: If then there were more Paul's, Christ in his Mediatorship would be more magnified, but the general sort of people are like the Gadarenes, they had rather that Christ should depart out of their Country then that they should lose their Swine, Or like unto the Jews, that desire to show more favor to Barabbas then to Jesus.

3. Would you be affected with this Truth? then pray earnestly for the Spirit of Adoption, and an Evangelical Frame of heart : An heart not under the Law in a well-explained sense, but under Grace ; Pray that ye may be led by the Spirit of God, and so be as Sons; For by this means Christ will be all in all: It's our hard, unbelieving, and distrustful thoughts of God that makes us keep at such a distance from Christ, and so neglect him who is the Peace-maker and Reconciler: Whereas an Evangelical disposition would make us draw nigh to God as a Father in Christ; It would remove the great Gulf that is in the way: It takes away the partition Wall; So that the longer we are kept in discouraging Fears, the less Fellowship have we with the Father and the Son, and so the less esteem and respect of him who is to create and work all this.

[ 4] 4. Would you Rejoice in this Truth? Then Acquaint yourselves with the Imperfection of your graces, and the insufficiency that is in you even when you have done the best; For by this means you will find that everything within faileth you, Nothing will stand sure enough, and thereby you will be necessitated to seek for a Mediator without: Thus Paul Rom. 7. when he discovered all that dross within himself, That when he would do good evil was present with him, Yet what doth this drive him to at last; I thank God through Jesus Christ ; And David upon the apprehension of what defects did cleave to him, prayeth That God would not enter into Judgment, for then no flesh should be justified, Psa. 133. Not any one person in the world because he is flesh; Oh there is little cause for any man to bear up his Head, though he did ten Thousand times more then he did, though he were a Giant in Grace, whereas now he is but a Dwarf, because there is so much Imperfection in the best Duty, that it needs pardon; Not only our sins but our Righteousness needs the Righteousness of Christ, as you see Paul acknowledged, and the Church of old complained comparing them to a menstruous Cloth, Isa. 64.6. Oh then if thou wert settled in this, thou wouldest cry out, Christ he is all in all.

Use 3. of Invitation, Even to great and grievous sinners to bewail their Iniquities, and to come in to Christ ; For even your case is not desperate; Seeing we have such a Mediator, if Christ be truly apprehended what he is, all our sins will be no more to him then the Earth to Heaven; It's a long while ere the Law hath its due efficacy upon many sinners; They bless themselves when God curseth them, They acquit themselves when the Law condemneth them; But when once their hearts are mastered, and they feel the wounds of sin whether they will or no; Then it's as hard to direct them to this Mediator; Then they think their sins greater not only then they can bear, but then Christ can or at least will bear; Then the thoughts of the Multitude and bloody aggravations of them are so great that they see no way but Hell and Damnation before them; Oh let such consider what this Mediator is, who is sufficient to save to the uttermost ; That he is more able to justify then the first Adam to condemn; Let them remember how well-pleasing it is to throw ourselves into the Arms of Christ; That he will not in any wise cast out those that come to him, That he will not break the bruised Reed, nor quench the smoking Flax.

But you will say, This Truth if preached publicly will do more hurt then good, For the Profane ungodly Wretch he will go home in the hardness of his heart, and when he can sin no longer, nor live no longer, then he will say, Oh it's good to trust in the Mediator.

But first Consider That there is an Order and Method in our Trusting in Christ; It's not the first Duty we are to set upon; But as he that would get the Fruit of some Tree must first pull away the Briars or thorns that haply hang in the way, So it is here; Before thou art called to believe in him, thou art called to Know thy Self and thy sins, how wretched and damnable thy Estate is; Unto what wrath and vengeance threatened by the Law thou art obnoxious; Thou must be lost in thy own self ere Christ will find thee, and further thou art called to have strong desires even as hunger and thirst is after Christ above all worldly and earthly things, so that none can bid thee believe; and as for thy Repentance or thy love to thy sins that is no matter, Christ will receive you howsoever: And then

Secondly, As you cannot come to Christ but this Preparation must be made, so neither can you keep him as yours, but with a constant, holy, and earnest endeavor to all Godliness, 2 Cor. 5.17. He that is in Christ is a New Creature, and He that is Christ's hath mortified the affections of sin ; Never think the Spirit of Christ will abide with willful and obstinate wickedness.

SERMON XLI. Of Praying both for the Godly and the Wicked, With the Reasons and Motives thereof.

IN this Verse we see the End why Christ so largely commended the Faith and Obedience of his Disciples; It is to show that they were such Subjects for whom his Prayer was proper and peculiar: To have prayed for the Reprobate, and such who did not, nor ever would give themselves up to Obedience had been either to pray that God would alter his eternal purpose, or else the course of his justice, but seeing they were both given to him by the Father; and did really discover the Fruits of this gift in their lives, Therefore they were fit to be recommended in Prayer.

So that the Text doth describe the Subjects of Christ's Prayer; And again, For whom he will not pray: It's like that terrible Separation of the Sheep on the right hand and the Goats on the left ; It's horrenda Sententia, as one Divine calls it. What? not pray for the world, said another? I pray God none of the world hear me:

Though this Text hath some thorns of Controversy especially about Universal Grace and Christ's death for all men, yet it likewise beareth excellent practical matter·

In the words let us Consider,

• 1. The Description of those Christ prayeth for,
• 2. The opposition for whom he will not pray.

Those that he doth not pray for, are the world, who they are and the controversial matter therein is in time to be dispatched.

Those he prayeth for are described,

• 1. By that relative particle Them, I pray for them.
• 2. They are described by their Original descent, Those thou gavest me, for they are thine.

For the first part the Relative particle them, viz, They that have thus obeyed, thus believed; From whence in the general observe,

First, That it's very hopeful and a good encouragement to pray for those that are godly : We may learn it from the example of Christ, They are such and such persons therefore I pray for them.

Observ. 2. That the people of God are under the fruit and benefit of Christ's Prayer.

Of the First.

It's good and comfortable praying for those that discover the signs of Grace in them: Thus Paul, Pray for us, for we trust we have a good Conscience, Heb. 13.18. That he makes an Argument, They should pray for him in his Apostolical work and employment, because he did with all Truth and Faithfulness of Conscience labor therein, and on the contrary when people were come to an high degree of wickedness, The Prophet is forbid to pray for that People, Jeremy 7.16, 17.

To open this Point Consider this particular.

It's not only our duty to pray for ourselves but for others also ; Some are said to Question Whether it be lawful to pray for any one man in particular, because (say they) He that prayeth in the due qualifications of speeding prayer, doth as effectually succeed in that Duty, as if he had been praying for any particular, But this can no ways hold, It's a Duty sometimes to pray in particular for some persons, as the Disciples did for Peter when he was in prison; And Paul many times desireth the prayers of the Church for his own particular: A Prayer poured out for some particular person may have more love, fervency, and faith in it then when for the general, especially their particular necessities are then commended to God, which would not be in the general.

This being cleared we go on to assert that fore-mentioned Position, It's the duty of godly men to pray for others ; Our Savior doth suppose that in his Form of Prayer, Our Father, and he extends this, Mat. 5. even to our very Enemies that are Enemies for our godliness sake, persecuting and reviling us, and that though continuing in their wickedness; Thus Paul is thought to be converted by Stevens Prayer, while he was consenting to the stoning of that first Martyr; Stephen was praying that God would remove the stone from Paul's heart, yea, the Apostle 1 Tim. 2.1. exhorts, that supplications and prayers be put up for all men ; That is, for all sorts of men, as the distribution doth evidence, yet this is no contrariety to Christ's Example who would not pray for the world, for certainly he would not, so neither may we in that sense.

Therefore Secondly, Though it be our duties to pray for others, yet we may not in general pray for those that are reprobated, formality as they say; For that prayer could not be in Faith.

There is a twofold Faith required in our Prayer.

1. That it be according to God's will, a dogmatical Faith.

2. A fiducial Faith, that it be with confidence in God's Promise and Power: Now he that should pray for Reprobates as Reprobates, could not pray in a dogmatical Faith, for he did in effect desire that God would be mutable and changeable; It's as if we should pray that God would not create the world, whenas he hath done it already, yet this must be very warily understood; For

[ 1] 1. We are to pray for any particular man though never so wicked, unless sinning a sin unto death, because we cannot tell who is given by the Father to Christ and who not, So that although to pray for all men that they might be saved is against dogmatical faith in Divinity, yet there is no particular man that we may exclude.

[ 2] 2. The Apostle 1 Joh. 5.16. speaketh of a sin unto death, that we are not to pray for one guilty of that ; This hath much troubled the Learned; The Ancients they thought it was not an absolute prohibition of all to pray for such, but only that eminent men might do it; They thought for an ordinary Christian to pray for such sinners, it would be high presumption; As it's not for everyone in the Court to speak for some heinous offender but a special Favorite; When God said, Though Noah, Job and Daniel Eze. 14.14. should pray for that people he would not hear them ; This implied that they were nearer to God's ear, and might prevail sooner then others; Though this Exposition be old, yet the Text seemeth to be absolutely prohibitive; And so Austin said, that if we knew who had sinned that unpardonable sin against the holy Ghost, we were no more to pray for him, then for one damned in hell: Now whether such a sin as is unto death be ordinarily committed, and what it is, and whether we may know when such do commit it is worth the enquiring into, but is greatly extravagant unto my matter.

[ 3] 3. To speak exactly, God's Decree about Events is not the Rule of our Prayer, but his Word is ; And therefore though it should be revealed that God would not do such or such things, yet it may be our duty to pray for them; As Austin instanceth, If it should be revealed that my Father must die of such a disease, yet I might lawfully, though with submission, pray for his life, because it's my duty to use all means for my Fathers Life; Thus though Nathan the Prophet had told David His Child should die, yet David humbleth himself, and by fasting seeketh to God for his Childes life; So it's lawful to pray that God would wholly mortify sin in us, yet God will not do it in this life; Thus also though Christ told Peter he should deny him, yet Peter was bound to pray for Faith and perseverance.

[ 4] 4. We are to distinguish between a simple affection expressed conditionally in prayer and an absolute petition ; It's lawful even for all men, though reprobated, and formaliter as so, to express our desires and affections with this condition, if it were the Will of God; Even as Christ when he knew that it was God's decree he should suffer, and that he came into the world for that very hour, yet conditionally he expresseth himself, If it be possible let this Cup pass away, Mat. 26.39. So ought we to express such a desire and love to the salvation of all men, that we are to wish it, but with submission to God's Will and his glorious Wisdom: Thus Paul conditionally expressed his desire in reference to the salvation of his Nation, Rom. 9.3.

Thirdly, It's debated, That although it be our duty to pray for others, yet whether we can pray in such Faith for others as for ourselves ; Whether we may with as much confidence pour out our hearts for the necessities of another as for ourselves, Some think not, because we cannot have such certain knowledge of another as of ourselves, but the contrary is true, for seeing the Promise is Universal, Whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name believing, ye shall receive, Matth. 21.22. And this extends to others as well as ourselves; Therefore we may with as much Faith and Hope pray for others as for ourselves, yea, it may be, and it's our duty sometimes to think so, that God heareth our Prayers not so much for our sakes as those we pray for.

These things premised Let us consider why it's so hopeful to pray for those that are godly and belong to Christ.

And first, Because then our prayers are likelier to have a powerful effect ; Now there is no man but heartily desires his Prayers may prosper, he would not have them return empty into his own bosom; These returns of Prayer should be more prized by us then the Merchant doth his Return of Ships, So that the godly man is very careful that he may not do anything to blunt these Tools.

Now there are these Grounds of more probable speed,

[ 1] 1. Because Christ prayeth for them, and how greatly should we be encouraged to pray for those, for whom Christ prayeth; We see his Example in this Verse: Now his Prayer is a Mediatory Prayer, a Prayer that cannot but take effect; for the love of the Father doth not only move him, but Justice also, being he stands in the Relation of a Surety; Oh then let us be more fervent and constant in this duty of praying for others that are holy; Thou mayest think with thyself, What I am doing for him on Earth, Christ is doing for him in Heaven: Shall Christ regard the estate of such an one, and shall I forget him? It's to be feared that the godly do not look upon this, as so necessary a duty, and certainly such are the dissensions and alienations from one another, that I doubt this great duty of prayer for one another is greatly neglected.

[ 2] 2. Therefore it's like to be a speeding prayer because they are such as are within the Promise and Covenant ; Now when we have a promise from God's Word when he hath obliged his fidelity to such, Then we have strong Arguments to plead for such; Oh what a sad disheartening is it in prayer to think, I pray for such an one, but I know no promise to apply to him; It's true God is merciful and his goodness that is a general Encouragement, but yet there must be some more peculiar Encouragements from the Word of God, to be hopeful in prayer: Oh then be not guilty of the neglect of so much help and comfort to the Children of God, as to forget thy prayers for them, Thou mayest urge the promises of God for them as well as for thy own self.

[ 3] 3. Therefore there is hope to speed because they are such Subjects who desire to walk in such a way that they may put no stop to the proceedings of prayer ; One great and sure destruction of all prayer is to regard iniquity, when we pray yet to do also service to sin; If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear my prayers, saith David ; Psal. 66.18. And again, I will wash my hands in innocence so will I compass thy Altar, Psal. 26.6. He that prayeth and yet is given to sin doth benedicere Linguâ, but maledicere Vitâ ; As the strings of an Instrument that are moistened are not fit for any Music, so neither is that man's heart or life which is polluted with any foul and noisome lust; If therefore thou prayest for the godly they are such who labor to keep hearts and lives pure; And therefore the benefit of prayer will find no gulf to stop it: It encourageth the Physician to give Physic to him who by his disorderly diet and Conversation will not go about to mar and destroy all.

4. There is hope to speed in praying for a godly man, because there is a good Foundation already laid by God; God hath begun with many hopeful dispensations to those that are his, and we may not think he will have the reproach of the unwise Builder that began to build and could not make an end; Thus the Apostle encouraged himself, The Lord hath delivered and will deliver from every evil work, 2 Tim. 4.17. Let therefore the gracious workings of God upon those that are his people, be so many strong Invitations to pour out thy prayers for them.

But you will say, May we then only pray for those that are already godly, must we like the Priest and the Levite pass by all wicked men? God forbid; Though there be not such comfort and hope in praying for them, yet it's our duty, 1 Tim. 2.7. to pray for all men : There are no sorts of persons excepted but such as have sinned that sin unto death; Indeed God is angry with Samuel for praying anymore for Saul, and God commands Jeremiah to pray no more for that people, Jerem. 7.6. but that was chiefly in respect of temporal Mercies, Saul to have his Kingdom still; The People of Israel to have their Judgments removed, but that could not be, God had determined otherwise; It's our duty to pray for the wicked though wallowing in their sins, that they may be converted and brought home to God; Thus Christ that would not pray for the world of the Reprobates, yet prayed for wicked men, That God would forgive them for they knew not what they did ; And seeing that Christ was heard in what he prayed for, we may think all those were converted; Those that knew not what they did, that were ignorant in their crucifying Christ, or if not all yet many, for our Savior spake indefinitely not universally: Thus Steven converted Paul by his Prayer at the hour of his Martyrdom; So Monica the Mother of Austin, by her daily prayers was a means of converting Austin, So that we may say of the ungodly as Samuel concerning the people of Israel, though a stubborn and wicked Nation, God forbid I should cease to pray for you, And indeed if it be our duty to admonish and exhort others, and with much patience to endure, if it be possible to bring them out of the snares of sin, no doubt we are to pray that God would bless such Reproofs, That he would prepare the heart to receive them; And again the very miserable and wretched estate they are in through sin makes them fit Objects of prayer: There is never a profane man that walloweth in his lusts, blessing himself in his hearts desire, but he is an Object of great pity, Even as mad men that think themselves Great Persons, when they are bound up in chains; Seeing therefore they lie under such great misery and they feel not this, They pity not, nor pray for themselves; This should make us that can pray to commend their estate to God; And the rather because as Preaching of the Word, so Prayer is appointed as a means of Conversion, but by the Word: Ask, and ye shall receive; So that if I ask for Conversion, If I pray for the Reformation of another, my prayer may be the Execution of God's Election; It's by prayer that God will make good this promise; Oh how comfortable will it be to see thee a Father answered in prayer for the conversion of thy Children, That they are the Fruit of thy Prayers, So likewise what rejoicing is it to a Minister, when not only his preaching but his praying for his people is answered; That it is not all our duty to preach to you but pray for you as Christ did; And what a joy is it if we see God answering our prayers in the conversion and reforming of one man; It's true there are some wicked men so highly profane and so willfully wicked that they greatly cool the heart of a godly man in Prayer: It's said, the Church shut Julian out of her prayers, and there could not a greater and more sorer judgment befall him, for that was futuri judicii prejudicium.

Use 1. Is Prayer thus hopeful in the behalf of the godly? then this should teach the godly to be more fervent and constant in this duty for one another: Paul though so eminent in office and graces, yet again and again desireth the Churches prayers and he promiseth his prayers for them; He informeth Philemon in particular that he makes mention of him in his prayers always; Thus you see what the godly have been used to do, If David Psal. 119.4, when his Enemies reviled him and reproached him, yet he gave himself to Prayer, and humbled himself in Sackcloth for them, what then would he do for those that were godly, Psal. 72. It's made a great blessing unto Solomon, that prayer shall be made for him, and the fervent Prayer of a righteous man prevaileth much, Jam. 5.16. If so, why do we not stir up ourselves more to this duty; The Apostle James biddeth us confess our sins and pray for one another in the same place; Shall Christ pray for all his, and wilt not thou? Do not say It's enough to pray in the general for God's Church, but thou art in particular to pray for others as their conditions and necessities require, be moved hereunto.

First, From the common body and fellowship that ye are in; The Scripture delights to resemble the Communion of the Church under the similitude of a body, to show how near and conjoined they are together; If one member suffer shall not the Tongue pray for it; If any part of thy own body be pained and grieved, how much doth it affect thee, thou shouldst have the same affections to those that are of the body of Christ.

Secondly, Prayers are an instituted help and means to procure the good of others, so that it's a duty you owe, Phil. 1.19 Paul trusted that all the opposition he had would turn to good by their prayers; So then, the afflictions, the mercies that others are under prove good by Prayer: Oh how apt is one to consume another! They are proud under such mercies, They are impatient under such afflictions, but thou that art thus apt to find fault, dost thou or hast thou prayed for them? It may be they are no better because thou hast not done thy duty: Thou little thinkest how near their sins may come to thee, Not that we are bound to mention by Name every godly man, for that is infinite, but as occasion draweth thee out, and thou art desired, making as much Conscience of prayer for others as a debt thou owest, or as a pledge thou art to restore.

Thirdly, Fervent Prayer for one another will take away all differences, all jealousies and suspicions, it will make the Godly of one heart and one mind: Oh who can bewail the divisions of Jacob, Not the garments but the body of Christ is now rent: In former times it was said, Behold, how they love one another, how they call one another Brethren, but now what differences in opinion and other carnal contentions: There is no Love and communion, and there is no greater cause then neglect of this duty, and it's also an excellent remedy against all discontents: Art thou apt to receive unkindnesses, To think this or that hard dealing, Go and pray for that man, Oh how immediately will it quiet those winds and waves.

Use of Admonition To wicked men, to avoid all impiety, if not for other Reasons yet for this, it makes other men's prayers the less effectual; It may be though thou art so vile and naught, thou hast a godly Father, or a godly Friend praying for thee; Though thou art so ungodly, thou hast a godly Minister praying for thee: Oh do not raise so great a gulf between Heaven and their prayers, as thy sins are; When Lazarus was dead and buried in the grave, Mary giveth it over as a desperate case: If thou hadst been here he had not died, saith she: So are we apt to say, Lord, Prayer for such before they come to be thus obstinate, before they have rebelled so much against the Light, might have been hopeful; But now what hope is there? Take heed thou go not so far in sinning that God saith, Pray no more for this man.

SERMON XLII. The Excellency and Efficacy of Christ's Mediatory Prayer; Set forth in many Aggravations of it for the Consolation of the Godly.

THE Subject of Christ's Prayer is here described,

First, By the Relative particle them, and although he speak strictly of his Disciples, yet in the end of this Chapter he joineth all Believers unto them, So that the 2 ^d Observation is,

That all the Children of God are under Christ's Mediatory Prayer ; Now the Children of God which are also called his Sheep are of two sorts.

[ I] 1. Those who for the present are in a state of sin and opposition to Christ, and are called Sheep only in respect of God's purpose and Election, Joh. 10.16. Other Sheep I have that are not of this Fold, Them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice; These are under Christ Mediatory Prayer, for it is by virtue of his Mediation that they are brought home unto him, but then there are others who are actually put into a possession of Christ, having new Natures, and so enjoying a Title and Right to him; These are much more under the Mediatory power of Christ's Prayer, And therefore of such I shall treat.

[ II] Again Consider, That though Christ prayed on Earth as a Mediator, yet still he doth in Heaven make Intercession for his : He ceaseth not praying though the manner be different; His prayer while in his humiliation is accompanied with strong cries and tears, with much humility and debasement, but his prayer in his Exaltation is only a representing of those to God whom he died far, as also their condition and necessity, willing that what he had purchased for them should be actually applied to them; Hence in the Text it is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 ; A Learned man observeth that that word is only applied to the Prayers of Christ in his humiliation, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to his Intercession, which he makes in heaven, so that though Christ be now in heaven, yet we may not think he hath laid aside those compassionate bowels he had toward us, Heb. 4.15. when he was on the earth.

[ III] Thirdly, Take notice that as there was a Typical High Priest in the Old Testament, who offered Sacrifices and prayed for the people, carrying on his Breast the Names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, that thereby they might be in a continual memory as it were before God, So under the New Testament Christ is the substance of that shadow, and he is the real High Priest, who not only once offered up himself a perfect Sacrifice for sin, but was earnest in Prayer for his people;

Now it's comfortable to consider in how many respects Christ is preferred by the Apostle Heb. 7. & alibi above him in the Law.

[ 1] 1. Those High-Priests were mortal, and therefore whatsoever affections they might have and compassions, yet those died with them, but now we have one who is immortal, and therefore v. 25. He everliveth to make intercession for us ; Oh what a strong support is this, That there is an everliving Intercession for us; Though Parents cannot pray always for their Children, nor Ministers for their people, yet Christ's Prayer is eternal for us.

2. All other High Priests had sins of their own to offer for as well as others, v. 27. They were compassed about with infirmities as well as other men, but Christ who prayeth for us is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, so that Christ had no sin of his own to purge away, he offered not up a Sacrifice for any infirmity he had, but it was for the sins of those who are his Children; Therefore the people of God are in a transcendent blessedness by reason of this Mediatory Intercession.

And that our hearts may be fully affected herein Let us consider the aggravations of it, not naming what hath been already said.

[ 1] And 1. This prayer and Intercession of Christ is ready at hand, immediately upon any sin or fall the godly are cast into; We read of David that after his sin committed he himself was a long while dead and stupefied in it, but Christ he is presently sensible of what we have done; Oh how often do the People of God either wholly forget or else not a long time after take notice of their Infirmities; Their hearts do not always immediately strike them, but Christ who prayeth for us he takes notice of every failing, and immediately becomes an Advocate to plead for them, 1 Joh. 1.1. If any man sin, viz. of the godly, for he speaks to them, we have an Advocate with the Father ; Oh what would become of the godly man who falls seven times a day; If our Advocate did not make up our breaches, every hour, every moment, we should be wholly estranged from God. Were it not for Christ's Intercession; Not only great and gross sins but even the very least sins, Millions whereof we are guilty do in their own nature deserve hell, and so might make God abhor us, but it's because of Christ's Intercession, This Communion is not dissolved, It's not any virtue or dignity in our prayer that can re-estate us into God's favor, but it must be Christ's Intercession for us: As Aaron when the wrath of God brake out, presently stood up and offered incense, upon which the plague stayed ; This doth Christ as it were all the day long.

[ 2] 2.