: will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever.'-'And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me.'- Who makes thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Much more may be produced, from which it is evident that Christ is the author and finisher of our faith: and that the certainty of the salvation of his elect, doth lie more on his undertaking and resolution infallibly to accomplish their. salvation, than upon our wisdom, or the stability of our mutable free-wills; and that thus we are better in the hands of the second Adam, than we were in the hands of the first. given him.'-'All that the Father giveth me, shall | minds, and write them in their hearts.'—' And I come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.' And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.'-' But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and none shall take them out of my hands: my Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hands. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved.''Being predestinated according to the purpose of him that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.' 6 If faith, and repentance, and the right disposition of the will itself, be his resolved gift to his elect, and not things left merely to our uncertain wills, then the case is past all question. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.'' By grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.' The fruit of the Spirit is love, faith.' 'To you it is given on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe. As many as were ordained to eternal life believed.'' And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.' 'And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new Spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances and do them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.' - A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and give you an heart of flesh, and I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.' See also in Hebrews, where this is called the new and better covenant. I will put my laws in their 14. To conclude; vindictive justice will be doubly honoured upon them that are final rejecters of this grace. Though conscience would have had matter enough to work upon for the torment of the sinner, and the justifying of God, upon the mere violation of the law of nature or works, yet nothing to what it now will have on them that are the despisers of this great salvation. For of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, that hath trodden under foot the Son of God? When it is wilful impenitency, against most excellent means and mercies, that is to be charged upon sinners, and when they perish because they would not be saved, justice will be most fully glorified before all, and in the conscience of the sinner himself. All this considered, you may see that, besides what reasons of the counsel of God are unknown to us, there is abundant reason open to our sight, from the great advantages of this way, why God would rather save us by a Redeemer, than in a way of innocency, as our mere Creator. But, for the answering of all objections against this, I must now desire you to observe these two things following. 1. That we here sup pose man a terrestrial inhabitant clothed with flesh: otherwise it is confessed that if he were perfect in heaven, where he had the beatific vision to confirm him, many of these forementioned advantages to him would be none. 2. And it is supposed that God will work ou man by moral means; and where he never so infallibly produces the good of man, he doth it in a way agreeable to his nature and present state; and his work of grace is wise, magnifying the contrivance and conduct of his wisdom, as well as his power: otherwise indeed God might have done all without these or any other means. 3. The knowledge of God in Christ as our Redeemer, must imprint upon the soul those holy | us so far, that unfeigned love to him may be the predominant affection of our souls. And being affections, which the design and nature of our redemption bespeak, and answer these forementioned ends. As, 1. It must keep the soul in a sense of the odiousness of sin, that must have such a remedy to pardon and destroy it. 2. It must raise us to most high and honourable thoughts of our Redeemer, the Captain of our salvation, that bringeth back lost sinners unto God and we must study to advance the glory of our Lord, whom the Father hath advanced and set over all. 3. It must drive us out of ourselves, and bring us to be nothing in our own eyes, and cause us to have humble, penitent, self-condemning thoughts, as men that have been our own undoers, and deserved so ill of God and man. 4. It must drive us to a full and constant dependence on Christ our Redeemer, and on the Father by him as our life is now in the Son as its root and fountain, so in him must be our faith and confidence, and to him we must daily have recourse, and seek to him, and to the Father in his name, for all that we need, for daily pardon, strength, protection, provision and consolation. 5. It must cause us the more to admire the holiness of God, which is so admirably declared in our redemption; and still be sensible how he hates sin and loves purity. 6 6. It must invite and encourage us to draw near to God, who hath condescended to come so near to us; and as sons we must cry Abba, Father,' and though with reverence, yet with holy confidence, must set ourselves continually before him. 7. It must cause us to make it our daily employment to study the riches of the love of God, and his abundant mercy manifested in Christ; so that above all themes in the world, we should most diligently and delightfully peruse the Son of God incarnate, and in him behold the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Father: and with Paul we should desire to know nothing but Christ crucified;' and 'all things should be counted but loss and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.'—' That we may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and heighth, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fulness of God.' 8. Above all, if we know God as our Redeemer, we must live in the power of holy love and gratitude. His manifested love must prevail with free from the spirit of bondage and slavish fear, we must make love and thankfulness the sum of our religion and think not any thing will prove us Christians, without prevailing love to Christ, nor that any duty is accepted that proceedeth not from it. 9. Redemption must teach us to apply ourselves to the holy laws and example of our Redeemer for the forming and ordering of our hearts and lives. 10. And it must quicken us to love the Lord with a redoubled vigour, and to obey with double resolution and diligence, because we are under a double obligation. What should a people so redeemed esteem too much or too dear for God? 11. Redemption must make us a more heavenly people, as being redeemed to the incorruptible inheritance in heaven: the blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.' 12. Lastly, Redemption must cause us to walk the more carefully, and with a greater care to avoid all sin, and to avoid the threatened wrath of God, because sin against such unspeakable mercy is unspeakably great and condemnation by a Redeemer for despising his grace, will be a double condemnation. CHAP. XII. The third relation in which God is to be known by us, is, as he is our sanctifier and comforter, which is specially ascribed to the Holy Ghost. And doubtless as the dispensation of the Holy Ghost is the perfecting dispensation, without which creation and redemption would not attain their ends; and as the sin against the Holy Ghost, is the great and dangerous sin; so our belief in the Holy Ghost, and knowledge of God as our sanctifier by the Spirit, is not the least or lowest act of our faith or knowledge. It implies or contains these things following. 1. We must hence take notice of the certainty of our common original sin. The necessity of sanctification proves the corruption, as the neces sity of a Redeemer proves the guilt it is not one but all that are baptized, that must be baptized into the name of the Son and Holy Ghost, as well as of the Father: which is an entering own disinclinations, and to concupiscence, must be confessed; and the need of grace to work the cure. It is not ingenuous for us, when God made it so admirable a part of his work in the world, to redeem us, and save us from our sin and misery, that we should hide or deny our have but little need of the physician, and so that the cure is no great matter, and consequently deserves no great praise. I know the church is troubled by men of dark, yet self-conceited minds, that in these points are running all into extremes. One side denying the gracious method, and the other the omnipotent way of God in our recovery. One plainly casting our sin and misery principally on God; and the other as plainly robbing the Redeemer and Holy Spirit of the honour of our recovery. But it is the latter that my subject leads me now to speak of. I beseech you, take heed of any conceit that would draw you to extenuate the honour of our sanctifier. Dare you contend against the Holy Ghost for the integrity of your natures, or the honour of your cure? Surely he that hath felt the power of this renewing grace, and found how little of it was from himself, nay, how much he was an enemy to it, will be less inclined to extenuate the praise of grace than inexperienced men will be. Because the case is very weighty, give me leave, by way of question, to propound these considerations to you. into covenant with the Son as our Redeemer, and with the Holy Ghost as our Sanctifier. So that infants themselves must be sanctified, or be none of the church of Christ, which consists of baptized and sanctified persons. Except a man be born again, even of the Spirit, as well as water, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.'-diseases, and make ourselves believe that we For that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,' and therefore the fleshly birth producing not a spiritual creature, will not save without the spiritual birth; the words are most plain; not only against them that deny original sin, but against them that misunderstanding the nature of redemption, think that all infants are merely, by the price paid, put into a state of salvation, and have the pardon of their original sin in common, attending their natural birth. But these men should consider, 1. That this text and constant experience tell us that the new birth doth not thus commonly to all accompany the natural birth: and yet without the new birth none can be saved, nor without holiness any see God. 2. That pardon of sin is no man's, upon the bare suffering of Jesus Christ; but must be theirs by some covenant or promise conveying to them a right to the benefits of his suffering. And therefore no man can be said to be pardoned or saved, without great arrogancy in the affirmer, that hath not from God a promise of such mercy. But no man can show any promise that gives remission of original sin to all infants. Produce it, or presume not to affirm it, lest you fall under the heavy doom of those that add to his holy word. The promise is to the faithful and their seed. The rest are not the children of the promise, but are under the curse of the violated law; which indeed is dispensable; and therefore we cannot say that God will pardon none of them; but withal, we cannot say that he will, unless he had told us so. All the world stand in need of a sanctifier and therefore most certainly, even since Christ's death, they are naturally corrupted. 2. And as our belief in the Holy Ghost, as sanctifier, engages us to acknowledge our original sin and misery, so doth it engage us to magnify his renewing work of grace, and be convinced of the necessity of it, and to confess the insufficiency of corrupted nature to its own renovation. As no man must dishonour the work of our Creator; and therefore our faculties of reason and natural free-will are not to be denied or reproached: so must we be as careful that we dishonour not the works of our Redeemer or Sanctifier; and therefore the viciousness of these faculties, and the thraldom of our wills to their Quest. 1. Why is it, think you, that all must be baptized into the name of the Son and Holy Ghost, as well as of the Father? Doth it not imply that all have need of a sanctifier, and must be engaged to that end in covenant with the sanctifier? I suppose you know that it is not to a bare profession of our belief of the trinity of persons, that we are baptized. It is the covenant entrance into our happy relation to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, that is then celebrated. And therefore as infants and all must be thus engaged to the sanctifier; so all must acknowledge their necessity of this mercy, and the excellency of it. It is essential to our Christianity, that we value it, desire it, and receive it. Therefore an error inconsistent with it proves us indeed no Christians. Quest. 2. Why is it, think you, that the Holy Ghost and this renewing work, are so much magnified in the scripture? Is not the glory of it answerable to those high expressions; undoubtedly it is. I have already told you elsewhere of the eulogies of this work. It is that by which Christ dwells in them, and they are made a habitation of God by the Spirit. They are made 6 number the several excellent effects of the sanctifying work of the Spirit upon the soul, and to recite the eulogies of it in the scripture. Surely it is no low or needless thing which all these expressions intend. Quest. 3. If you think it a most heinous sin to vilify the Creator and his work, and the Redeemer and his work, why should not you think so of the vilifying of the Sanctifier and his work, when God hath so magnified it, and will be glo ing work, that makes the purchased benefits of redemption to be ours, and forms our Father's image on us. Quest. 4. Do we not doctrinally commit too much of that sin, if we undervalue the Spirit's sanctifying work, as a common thing, which the ungodly world manifest in practice, when they speak and live in a contempt or low esteem of grace? And which is more injurious to God-for a profane person to jest at the Spirit's work, or for a Christian, or minister, deliberately to extenuate it; especially when the preaching of grace is a minister's chief work, surely we should much fear partaking in so great a sin? by it 'the temples of the Holy Ghost.' It is the divine power, which is no other than omnipotency, that giveth us all things pertaining unto life and godliness.' Think not, I beseech you, any lower of this work than is consistent with these expressions. It is the opening of the blind eyes of our understanding, and turning us from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, and bringing us into his marvellous light. It is an inward teaching of us by God, an effectual teaching and anointing, and 'arified in it; and when it is the applying, perfectwriting the laws in our hearts, and putting them in our inward parts.' I purposely forbear any exposition of these texts, lest I seem to distort them; and because I would only lay the naked word of God before your own impartial considerations. It is God's work by the Spirit, and not our own, as ours, that is here so much magnified. And can all this signify no more but a common, bare proposal of truth and good to the intellect and will; even such as ignorant and wicked men have? Doth God do as much to illuminate, teach, and sanctify them, that never are illuminated, or taught, and sanctified, as them that are? This work of the Holy Ghost is called a quickening, or making men that were dead, alive; it is called a new begetting or new birth,' without which none can enter into heaven; a 'renewing us,' and making us new men,' and 'new creatures,' so far as that old things are past away, and all become new; it is a new creating us after the image of God;' it makes us holy as God is holy;' yea, it makes us partakers of the divine nature.' It gives us repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, that we may recover ourselves out of the snare of the devil, who were taken captive by him at his will.' It gives us that love by which God dwelleth in us, and we in God.' We are 'redeemed by Christ from all iniquity, and therefore it is that he gave himself for us, to purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.' It is an 'abundant shedding of the Holy Ghost' on us for our renovation, and by it a shedding the love of God abroad in our hearts.' It is this Holy Spirit, given to believers, by which they pray, and by which they mortify the flesh.' By this Spirit we live, walk, and rejoice. Our joy, peace, and hope is through the power of the Holy Ghost. It gives us a spiritual mind, and takes away the carnal mind that is enmity against God, and neither is nor can be subject to his law. By this Spirit that is given to us, we must know that we are God's children. For if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, the same is none of his.' All holy graces are the fruits of the Spirit. It would be too long to 6 6 Quest. 5. Why is it that the scripture speaks so much to take men off from boasting or ascribing any thing to themselves? That every mouth may be stopped;' and why doth not the law of works exclude boasting but only the law of faith? Surely the actions of nature, except so far as it is corrupt, are as truly of God, as the acts of grace. And yet God will not take it well to deny him the glory of redemption, or sanctification, and tell him that we paid it him in another kind, and ascribed all to him as the author of our free-will by natural production. For as nature shall honour the Creator, so grace shall also honour the Redeemer and Sanctifier. God designs the humbling of the sinner, and teaching him to deny himself, and to honour God in such a way as may stand with selfabasement, leaving it to God to honour those by way of reward, that honour him in way of duty, and deny their own honour. Quest. 6. Why is the blaspheming, and sinning against the Holy Ghost made so heinous and dangerous a sin, if the works of the Holy Ghost were not most excellent, and such as God will be most honoured by? Quest. 7. Is it not great ingratitude for the soul that hath been illuminated, converted, renewed, quickened, and saved by the Holy Ghost, to extenuate the mercy, and ascribe it most to his natural will? O what a change was it that sanctification made; what a blessed birth-day was that to our souls, when we entered here upon life eternal! And is this the thanks we give the Lord for so great a mercy ? Quest. 8. What mean those texts, if they confute not this unthankful opinion? It is God that worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure. God hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus: for by grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast; for we are his workmanship created to good works in Christ Jesus.''Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.'— 'Herein is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us.'-' For who maketh thee to differ; and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?' -No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.'' The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,' that is plainly, the fleshly birth produces but flesh and not Spirit; if any mau will have the Spirit, and so be saved, it must be by a spiritual birth by the Holy Ghost. The Lord opened Lydia's heart that she attended to the things that were spoken of Paul,' &c. Was the conversion of Paul, a murdering persecutor, his own work rather than the Lord's, when the means and manner were such as we read of? The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldst know his will, and see that Just One, and hear the voice of his mouth.' He was chosen to the means and to faith, and not only in faith unto salvation. When Christ called his disciples to come and follow him, was there no prevailing inward power that made them leave all and follow him? Was it not the power of the Holy Ghost that converted three thousand Jews at a sermon, of them that by wicked hands had crucified and slain the Lord Jesus? When the preaching and miracles of Christ converted so few, his brethren, and they that saw his miracles believed not on him;' but when the Holy Ghost was given after his ascension, in that plenty which answered the gospel and promise, his words were fulfilled,' And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.' I pass by abundance more of such evidence. 6 Quest. 9. Doth it not tend to bring sin into credit, which holiness is contrary to, and to bring the love of God into discredit, and to hinder men's conversion, and keep them from a holy life, when holiness is taken for so low and natural or common a thing? Quest. 10. And consequently, doth it not tend to the vilifying of the attribute of holiness in God, when the image and effect of it is so extenuated? Quest. 11. And doth it not tend to the contempt of heaven itself, whose state of felicity consists much in perfect holiness? If sanctification be but some common motion, which Cain and Judas had, as well as Paul, surely it is less divine and more inconsiderable than we thought. Quest. 12. Doth it not speak a very dangerous suspicion of a soul that never felt the special work of grace, that can make light of it, and ascribe it most to his own will? Would not sound humiliation do more than arguments to cure this great mistake? I never yet came near a thoroughly humbled soul, but I found them too low and vile in their own eyes to have such undervaluing thoughts of grace, or to think it best for them to leave all the efficacy of grace to their own wills. A broken heart abhors such thoughts. Quest. 13. Dare any wise and sober man desire such a thing of God, or dare you say that you will expect no other grace, but what shall leave it to yourselves to make it effectual or frustrate it? I think he is no friend to his soul that would take up with this. Quest. 14. Do not the constant prayers of all that have but a show of godliness, contradict the doctrine which I am contradicting? Do you not beg of God to melt, soften, and bow your hearts, and to make them more holy, and fill them with light, faith, and love, and hold you close to God and duty? In a word, do you not daily pray for effectual grace, that shall infallibly procure your desired ends? I scarcely ever heard a prayer from a sober man but was orthodox in such points, though their speeches would be heterodox. Quest. 15. Do you not know that there is an enmity in every unrenewed heart against sanctification, till God remove it? Are we not greater enemies to ourselves, and greater resisters of the Holy Ghost, and of our own conversion, sanctification, and salvation, than all the world besides is? Woe to him that feels not this by himself. And is it likely, that we that are enemies to holiness, should do more |