Christ: The Way, the Truth, and the Life (2024)

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and thelife: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."—JOHN XIV.6.

CONTENTS.

Dedication

The Author to theReader

Recommendation

CHAPTER I.

Introduction, with some general observations from thecohesion.

CHAPTER II.

Of the words themselves in general.

CHAPTER III.

How Christ is the Way in general. "I am the Way."

CHAPTER IV.

How Christ is made use of for Justification as a Way.

CHAPTER V.

How Christ is to be made use of, as the Way, for sanctificationin general.

CHAPTER VI.

How Christ is to be made use of, in reference to the killing andcrucifying of the Old Man.

CHAPTER VII.

How Christ is to be made use of, in reference to growing ingrace.

CHAPTER VIII.

How to make use of Christ for taking the guilt of our dailyout-breakings away.

CHAPTER IX.

How to make use of Christ for cleansing of us from out dailyspots.

CHAPTER X.

Some generals proposed.

CHAPTER XI.

More particularly in what respect Christ is called theTruth.

CHAPTER XII.

Some general uses from this useful truth, that Christ is theTruth.

CHAPTER XIII.

How to make use of Christ as the Truth, for growth inknowledge.

CHAPTER XIV.

How to make use of Christ, as Truth, for comfort, when truth isoppressed and borne down.

CHAPTER XV.

How to make use of Christ for steadfastness, in a time whentruth is oppressed and borne down.

CHAPTER XVI.

How to make use of Christ as the Truth, when error prevaileth,and the spirit of error carrieth many away.

CHAPTER XVII.

How to make use of Christ as the Truth, that we may get our caseand condition cleared up to us.

CHAPTER XVIII.

How we shall make use of Christ as the Truth, that we may win toright and suitable thoughts of God.

CHAPTER XIX.

"And the Life." How Christ is the Life.

CHAPTER XX.

Some general uses.

CHAPTER XXI.

How to make use of Christ as the Life, when the believer is sositten-up in the ways of God, that he can do nothing.

CHAPTER XXII.

How Christ is to be made use of as our Life, in case ofheartlessness and fainting through discouragements.

CHAPTER XXIII.

How to make use of Christ as the Life, when the soul is dead asto duty.

CHAPTER XXIV.

How shall the soul make use of Christ, as the Life, which isunder the prevailing power of unbelief and infidelity.

CHAPTER XXV.

How Christ is made use of as the Life, by one that is so deadand senseless, as he cannot know what to judge of himself, or hisown case, except what is naught.

CHAPTER XXVI.

How is Christ, as the Life, to be applied by a soul that missethGod's favour and countenance.

CHAPTER XXVII.

How shall one make use of Christ as the Life, when wrestlingwith an angry God because of sin?

CHAPTER XXVIII.

No man cometh to the Father but by me.

CHAPTER XXIX.

How should we make use of Christ, in going to the Father, inprayer, and other acts of worship?

DEDICATION.

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE AND RELIGIOUS LADY, THE LADYSTRATHNAVER.

MADAM,

Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone, in whom allthe building fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple inthe Lord; as it ought to be the principal concern of all who havenot sitten down on this side of Jordan to satisfy their souls (oncecreated for, and in their own nature requiring, in order tosatisfaction, spiritual, immortal, and incorruptible substance,)with husks prepared for beasts, to be built in and upon thiscorner-stone, for an habitation of God, through the Spirit; so itought to be the main design and work of such as would be approvenof God as faithful labourers and co-workers with God, to befollowing the example of him who determined not to know anythingamong those he wrote unto, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. O!this noble, heart-ravishing, soul-satisfying mysterious theme,Jesus Christ crucified, the short compend of that uncontrovertiblygreat mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh, justified inthe spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed onin the world, received up into glory, wherein are things the angelsdesire to look unto, or with vehement desire bend, as it were,their necks, and bow down their heads to look and peep into, (asthe word used, I Pet. i. 12, importeth) is a subject for angelicalheads to pry into, for the most indefatigable and industriousspirits to be occupied about. The searching into, and studying ofthis one truth, in reference to a closing with it as our life, isan infallible mark of a soul divinely enlightened, and endued withspiritual and heavenly wisdom; for though it be unto the Jews astumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness, yet unto them whoare called, it is Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God,because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weaknessof God is stronger than men. O what depths of the manifold wisdomof God are there in this mystery! The more it is preached, known,and believed aright, the more it is understood to be beyondunderstanding, and to be what it is—a mystery. Did ever anypreacher or believer get a broad look of this boundless ocean,wherein infinite wisdom, love that passeth all understanding, gracewithout all dimensions, justice that is admirable and tremendous,and God in his glorious properties, condescensions, high and nobledesigns, and in all his perfections and virtues, flow over allbanks; or were they ever admitted to a prospect hereof in the faceof Jesus Christ, and were not made to cry out, O the depth andheight, the breadth and length! O the inconceivable, andincomprehensible boundlessness of all infinitely transcendentperfections! Did ever any with serious diligence, as knowing theirlife lay in it, study this mysterious theme, and were not in fullconviction of soul, made to say, the more they promoved in thisstudy, and the more they descended in their divings into thisdepth, or soared upward in their mounting speculations in thisheight, they found it the more an unsearchable mystery! The studyof other themes (which, alas! many who think it below them to behappy, are too much occupied in) when it hath wasted the spirits,wearied the mind, worn the body, and rarified the brain to the nextdegree unto a distraction, what satisfaction can it give as to whatis attained, or encouragement as to future attainments? And when,as to both these, something is had, and the poor soul puffed upwith an airy and fanciful apprehension of having obtained somegreat thing, but in truth a great nothing, or a nothing pregnantwith vanity and vexation of spirit, foolish twins causing nogladness to the father, "for he that increaseth knowledgeincreaseth sorrow," Eccles. i. 18. What peace can all yield to asoul reflecting on posting away time, now near the last point, andlooking forward to endless eternity? Oh the thoughts of time wastedwith, and fair opportunities of good lost by the vehement pursuingsand huntings after shadows and vanities, will torment the soul byassaulting it with piercing convictions of madness and folly, inforsaking all to overtake nothing; with dreadful andsoul-terrifying discourses of the saddest of disappointments, andwith the horror of an everlasting and irrecoverable loss. And whathath the laborious spirit then reaped of all the travail of hissoul, when he hath lost it? But, on the other hand, O what calmnessof mind, serenity of soul, and peace of conscience, because of thepeace of God which passeth all understanding, will that poor soullook back, when standing on the border of eternity, on the bygonedays or hours it spent in seeking after, praying and using allappointed means for some saving acquaintance with, and interest inthis only soul up-making, and soul-satisfying mystery; and upon itsyielding up itself, through the efficacious operations of theSpirit of grace, wholly, without disputing, unto the powerfulworkings of this mystery within; and in becoming crucified withChrist, and living through a crucified Christ's living in it, byhis Spirit and power. And with what rejoicing of heart, andglorious singing of soul, will it look forward to eternity, and itseverlasting abode in the prepared mansions, remembering that thereits begun study will be everlastingly continued, its capacity tounderstand that unsearchable mystery will be inconceivably greater;and the spiritual, heavenly and glorious joy, which it will have inthat practical reading its divinity without book of ordinances,will be its life and felicity for ever? And what peace and joy inthe Holy Ghost, what inward inexpressible quiet and contentment ofmind will the soul enjoy in dwelling on these thoughts, when itshall have withal the inward and well-grounded persuasion of itsright through Christ, to the full possession of that all which nowit cannot conceive, let be comprehend; the foretastes whereoffilleth it with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and the hope ofshortly landing there, where it shall see and enjoy, and wonder andpraise, and rest in this endless and felicitating work, making itto sing while passing through the valley and shadow of death? O ifthis were believed! O that we were not drunk to a distraction andmadness, with the adulterous-love of vain and airy speculations, tothe postponing, if not utter neglecting, of this main and onlyup-making work, of getting real acquaintance with, and a begunpossession of this mystery in our souls, Christ, the grand mystery,formed within us, living and working within us by his Spirit, andworking us up into a conformity unto, and an heart-closing with Godmanifested in the flesh, that we may find in experience, or atleast in truth and reality, have a true transumpt of that gospelmystery in our souls! Oh, when shall we take pleasure in pursuingafter this happiness that will not flee from us, but is ratherpursuing us! when shall we receive with joy and triumph, this Kingof glory that is courting us daily, and is seeking access and entryinto our souls! Oh, why cry we not out in the height of the passionof spiritual longing and desire, O come Lord Jesus, King of glory,with thine own key, and open the door, and enlarge and dilate thechambers of the soul, that thou may enter and be entertained as theKing of glory, with all thy glorious retinue, to the ennobling ofmy soul, and satisfying of all the desires of that immortal spark?Why do we not covet after this knowledge which hath a true and firmconnexion with all the best and truly divine gifts. O happy soulthat is wasted and worn to a shadow, if that could be, in thisstudy and exercise, which at length will enliven, and, as it were,bring in a new heavenly and spiritual soul into the soul, so thatit shall look no more like a dead dis-spirited thing out of itsnative soil and element, but as a free, elevated, and spiritualizedspirit, expatiating itself and flying abroad in the open air of itsown element and country. O happy day, O happy hour that is reallyand effectually spent in this employment! What would souls,swimming in this ocean of pleasures and delights care for? Yea,with what abhorrency would they look upon the bewitchingallurements of the purest kind of carnal delights, which flow fromthe mind's satisfaction in feeding on the poor apprehensions, andgroundlessly expected comprehensions of objects, suited to itsnatural genius and capacity? O what a more hyperbolical exceedingand glorious satisfaction hath a soul in its very pursuings after(when it misseth and cannot reach) that which is truly desirable!How doth the least glimpse through the smallest cranie, of thisglorious and glorifying knowledge of God in Christ, apprehended byfaith, raise up the soul to that pitch of joy and satisfactionwhich the knowledge of natural things, in its purest perfection,shall never be able to cause; and to what a surmounting measure ofthis joy and contentation will the experiencing and feeling, byspiritual sense, the sweet and relish of this captivating, andtranscendently excellent knowledge raise the soul unto? O must notthis be the very suburbs of heaven to the soul! When the soul thusseeth and apprehendeth God in Christ, and that as its own Godthrough Christ, (for as all saving knowledge draweth out the soulunto an embracing and closing with the object, so it bringeth inthe object to the making up of the reciprocal union and in-being)it cannot but admire with exultation, and exult with admiration, atthat condescendence of free grace that hath made it, in anymeasure, capable of this begun glory, and will further make itmeet, by this begun glory, to be a partaker of the inheritance ofthe saints in light. And what will a soul that hath tasted of thepure delights of this river of gospel manifestations, and hathseen, with soul-ravishing delights, in some measure, the manifoldwisdom of God wrapped up therein; and the complete and perfectsymmetry of all the parts of that noble contexture, and also thepure design of that contrivance to abase man, and to extol theriches of the free grace of God, that the sinner, when possessed ofall designed for him and effectuated in him thereby, may know whoalone should wear the crown and have all the glory; what, I say,will such a soul see in another gospel (calculated to the meridianof the natural, crooked, and corrupt temper of proud men, who issoon made vain of nothing, which, instead of bringing a sinner,fallen from God through pride, back again to the enjoyment of him,through a Mediator, doth but foster that innate plague andrebellion, which and procured his first excommunication from thefavour, and banishment out of the paradise of God,) that shallattract its heart to it, and move it to a compliance with it? Whenthe poor sinner that hath been made to pant after a Saviour, andhath been pursued to the very ports of the city of refuge by theavenger of blood, the justice of God, hath tasted and seen how goodGod is, and felt the sweetness of free love in a crucified Christ,and seen the beauty and glory of the mystery of his free grace,suitably answering and overcoming the mystery of its sin andmisery; O what a complacency hath he therein, and in the way ofgospel salvation, wherein free grace is seen to overflow all banks,to the eternal praise of the God of all grace. How saltless andunsavoury will the most cunningly-devised and patched-together modeof salvation be, that men, studying the perversion of the gospel,and seeking the ruin of souls with all their skill, industry, andlearning, are setting off with forced rhetoric, and the artifice ofwords of man's wisdom, and with the plausible advantages of apretended sanctity, and of strong grounds and motives untodiligence and painfulness, to a very denying and renouncingChristian liberty, when once it is observed, how it entrenchethupon, and darkeneth lustre, or diminisheth the glory of free grace,and hath the least tendency to the setting of the crown on thecreature's head, in whole or in part? The least perception, thathereby the sinner's song, "ascribing blessing, honour, glory, andpower unto him that was slain, and hath redeemed them to God by hisblood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;and hath made them, unto their God, kings and priests," shall bemarred, will be enough to render that device detestable, andconvince the soul, that it is not the gospel of the grace of Godand of Christ, but rather the mystery of iniquity. What a peculiarsavouriness doth the humbled believer find in the doctrine of thetrue gospel-grace, and the more that he be thereby made nothing,and Christ made all; that he in his highest attainments be debased,and Christ exalted; that his most lovely peaco*ck feathers be laid,and the crown flourish on Christ's head; that he be laid flat,without one foot to stand upon, and Christ the only supporter andcarrier of him to glory; that he be as dead without life, andChrist live in him, the more lovely, the more beautiful, the moredesirable and acceptable is it unto him. O what a complacency haththe graced soul in that contrivance of infinite wisdom, wherein themystery of the grace of God is so displayed, that nothing appearethfrom the lowest foundation-stone to the uppermost cope-stone butgrace, grace, free grace making up all the materials, and freegrace with infinite wisdom cementing all? The gracious soul can bewarm under no other covering but what is made of that web, whereingrace, and only grace, is both wooft and warp; and the reason ismanifest, for such an one hath the clearest sight and discovery ofhis own condition, and seeth that nothing suiteth him and his casebut free grace; nothing can make up his wants but free grace;nothing can cover his deformities but free grace; nothing can helphis weaknesses, shortcomings, faintings, sins, and miscarriages butfree grace. Therefore is free grace all his salvation and all hisdesire. It is his glory to be free grace's debtor for evermore; thecrown of glory will have a far more exceeding and eternal weight,and be of an hyperbolically hyperbolic and eternal weight, and yeteasily carried and worn, when he seeth how free grace and love hathlined it, and free grace and free love sets it on and keeps it onfor ever; this makes the glorified saint wear it with ease, bycasting it down at the feet of the gracious and loving purchaserand bestower. His exaltation is the saint's glory, and by freegrace, the saints receiving and holding all of free grace, is heexalted. O what a glory is it to the saint, to set the crown ofglorious free grace with his own hands on the head of such aSaviour, and to say, "Not unto me, not unto me, but unto thee, evenunto thee alone, be the glory for ever and ever." With whatdelight, satisfaction, and complacency will the glorified saint,upon this account, sing the redeemed and ransomed their song? Andif the result and effect of free grace will give such a sweet soundthere, and make the glorified's heaven, in some respects, anotherthing, or at least, in some respect, a more excellent heaven thanAdam's heaven would have been; for Adam could not have sung thesong of the redeemed; Adam's heaven would not have been thepurchase of the blood of God; nor would Adam have sitten withChrist Redeemer on his throne; nor would there have been in hisheaven such rich hangings of free grace, nor such mansions preparedby that gracious and loving husband, Christ, who will come andbring his bought bride home with him. Seeing, I say, heaven, evenupon the account of free grace, will have such a special, lovely,desirable, and glorious lustre, O bow should grace be prized by usnow! How should the gospel of the grace of God be prized by us!What an antipathy to glory, as now prepared and dressed up forsinful man, must they shew, whose whole wits and parts are busiedto darken the glory of that grace, which God would have shining inthe gospel; and who are at so much pains and labour to dress upanother gospel, (though the apostle hath told us, Gal. i. 7, thatthere is not another,) wherein gospel-grace must stand by, andlaw-grace take the throne, that so man may sacrifice to his ownnet, and burn incense to his own drag, and may, at most, be grace'sdebtor in part; and yet no way may the saved man account himselfmore grace's debtor, than the man was who wilfully destroyedhimself in not performing of the conditions; for grace, as the newgospellers, or rather gospel-spillers mean and say, did equally toboth frame the conditions, make known to the contrivance, andtender the conditional peace and salvation. But as to thedifference betwixt Paul and Judas, it was Paul that made himself todiffer, and not the free grace of God determining the heart of Paulby grace to a closing with and accepting of the bargain. It was notgrace that wrought in him both to will and to do. It was he, andnot the grace of God in him; what is more contradictory to thegospel of the grace of God? And yet vain man will not condescend tothe free grace of God. Pelagianism and Arminianism needeth not puta man to much study, and to the reading of many books, to the endit may be learned, (though the patrons hereof labour hot in thevery fires, to make their notions hang together, and to give themsuch a lustre of unsanctified and corrupt reason, as may be takingwith such as know no other conduct in the matters of God,) fornaturally we all are born Pelagians and Arminians. These tenets aredeeply engraven in the heart of every son of fallen Adam. Whatserious servant of God findeth not this, in his dealing with souls,whom he is labouring to bring into the way of the gospel? Yea, whatChristian is there, who hath acquaintance with his own heart, andis observing its biasses, and corrupt inclinations, that is notmade to cry out, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver mefrom these dregs of Pelagianism, Arminianism, and Jesuitism, whichI find yet within my soul? Hence, it may seem no wonderful orstrange thing (though, after so much clear light, it may beastonishing to think, that now, in this age, so many are so openlyand avowedly appearing for this dangerous and deadly error,) to us,to hear and see this infection spreading and gaining ground sofast, there needeth few arguments or motives to work up carnalhearts to an embracing thereof, and to a cheerful acquiescingtherein; little labour will make a spark of fire work upongunpowder. And, methinks, if nothing else will, this one thingshould convince us all of the error of this way, that nature soquickly and readily complieth therewith. For who, that hath an eyeupon, or regard of such things, seeth not what a world of carnalreasonings, objections, prejudices, and scruples, natural men havein readiness against the gospel of Christ; and with whatsatisfaction, peace, and delight they reason and plead themselvesout of the very reach of free grace; and what work there is to geta poor soul, in any measure wakened and convinced of its lostcondition, wrought up to a compliance with the gospel-way ofsalvation? How many other designs, projects, and essays doth itfollow, with a piece of natural vehemency and seriousness, withoutwearying, were it even to the wasting of its body and spirits, letbe its substance and riches, before it be brought to a closing witha crucified Mediator, and to an accounting of all its formerworkings, attainments, and painful labourings and gain, as loss forChrist, and for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and asdung that it may win Christ, and be found in him, not having itsown righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is throughthe faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith,Phil. iii. 7-9. And may it not seem strange, that now, after somany have found, through the grace of God, the sweet experience ofthe gracious workings of the gospel-grace of God upon their hearts,and so are in case, as having this witness within them, to giveverdict against those assertions, yea, more, and many more thanwere in several ages before; yet Satan should become so bold as tovent these desperate opinions, so diametrically opposite to thegrace of God declared in the gospel, and engraven in the hearts ofmany hundreds by the finger of God, confirming, in the mostundoubted manner, the truth of the gospel doctrines. This wouldseem to say, that there are such clear sunshine days of the gospel,and of the Son of Man a-coming (and who can tell how soon thisnight shall be at an end?) that all these doctrines of nature shallreceive a more conspicuous and shameful dash than they havereceived for these many ages. Hithertil when Satan raised up andsent forth his qualified instruments for this desperate work, Godalways prepared carpenters to fright these horns, and thus gospeltruth came forth, as gold out of a furnace, more clear and shining:And who can tell but there may be a dispensation of the pure graceof God, in opposition to these perverting ways of Satan, yet tocome, that, as to the measure of light and power, shall excelwhatever hath been since the apostles' days. Even so, come, LordJesus. However, Madam, the grace of God will be what it is, to allthe chosen and ransomed ones, they will find in it, which will makewhatever cometh in competition therewith or would darken it,contemptible in their eyes: And happy they, of whom in this daywherein darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the people,it may be said, the Lord hath arisen upon them, and his glory hathbeen seen upon them: For whatever others, whose understanding isyet darkened, and they alienated from the life of God through theignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of theirhearts, imagine of the gospel-grace, and however they discernnothing of the heavenly and spiritual glory of the grace of God;yet they, being delivered or cast into the form and mould of thedoctrine of the gospel which they have obeyed from the heart,through the powerful and irresistible efficacy of the mighty graceof God, have seen such an alluring excellency in that graciouscontrivance of infinite wisdom, to set forth the unparallelablenessof the pure grace of God, and are daily seeing more and more of thegraciousness and wisdom of that heavenly invention, in its adequatesuitableness to all their necessities, that as they cannot butadmire and commend the riches of that grace that interlineth everysentence of the gospel, and the greatness of that love that hathmade such a completely broad plaister to cover all their sores andwounds; so the longer they live, and the more they drink of thispure fountain of heavenly nectar; and the more their necessitiespress them to a taking on of new obligations, because of newsupplies from this ocean of grace, the more they are made to admirethe wisdom and goodness of the Author; and the more they are madeto fall in love with to delight, and lose themselves in thethoughts of this incomprehensible grace of God; yea, and to long tobe there, where they shall be in better case to contemplate, andhave more wit to wonder at, and better dexterity to prize, and astronger head to muse upon, and a more enlarged heart to praise forthis boundless and endless treasure of the grace of God, with whichthey are enriched, through Jesus Christ. Sure, if we be not thusenamoured and ravished with it, it is because we are yet standingwithout, or, at most, upon the threshold and border of this grace;were we once got within the jurisdiction of grace, and had yieldedup ourselves unto the power thereof, and were living and breathingin this air, O! how sweet a life might we have! What a kindlyelement would grace be to us! As sin had reigned unto death, evenso grace should reign, through righteousness unto eternal life, byJesus Christ our Lord, Rom. v. 21. Grace reigning within us throughrighteousness, would frame and fit our souls for that eternal lifethat is insured to all who come once under the commanding,enlivening, strengthening, confirming, corroborating, andperfecting power of grace. And seeking grace for grace, and soliving, and walking, and spending upon grace's costs and charges; Ohow lively, and thriving proficients might we be! The more we spendof grace (if it could be spent) the richer should we be in grace. Owhat an enriching trade must it be to trade with free grace, wherethere is no loss, and all is gain, the stock, and gain, and all isinsured; yea, more, labouring in grace's field would bring us inIsaac's blessing an hundred-fold. But, alas! it is one thing totalk of grace, but a far other thing to trade with grace. When weare so great strangers unto the life of grace, through notbreathing in the air of grace, how can the name of the Lord Jesusbe glorified in us, and we in him, according to the grace of ourGod, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Thess. i. 12. Consider we, what anaffront and indignity it is unto the Lord dispensator of grace,that we look so lean and ill-favoured, as if there were not enoughof the fattening bread of the grace of God in our Father's house,or as if the great Steward, who is full of grace and truth, wereunwilling to bestow it upon us, or grudged us of our allowance,when the fault is in ourselves; we will not follow the course thatwise grace and gracious wisdom hath prescribed; we will not openour mouth wide, that he might fill us; nor go to him with ournarrowed or closed mouths, that grace might make way for grace, andwiden the mouth for receiving of more grace; but lie by in ourleanness and weakness. And, alas! we love too well to be so. O butgrace be ill wared on us who carry so unworthily with it as we do;yet it is well with the gracious soul that he is under grace'stutory and care; for grace will care for him when he careth notmuch for it, nor yet seeth well to his own welfare; grace can andwill prevent, yea, must prevent, afterward, as well as at thefirst; that grace may be grace, and appear to be grace, andcontinue unchangeably to be grace, and so free grace. Well is itwith the believer, whom grace has once taken by the heart andbrought within the bond of the covenant of grace; its deadliestcondition is not desperate. When corruption prevaileth to such aheight, that the man is given over for dead, there being no sense,no motion, no warmth, no breath almost to be observed, yet grace,when violently constrained by that strong distemper, to retire to asecret corner of the soul, and there to lurk and lie quiet, willyet at length, through the receiving influences of grace promisedin the covenant, and granted in the Lord's good time, come out ofits prison, take the fields, and recover the empire of the soul;and then the dry and withered stocks, when the God of all gracewill be as dew unto Israel, shall blossom and grow as the lily, andcast forth his roots as Lebanon; his branches shall spread, and hisbeauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon. It isa happy thing either for church or particular soul to be planted ingrace's sappy soil, they lie open to the warm beams of the Sun ofRighteousness; and the winter blasts may be sharp and long; cloudsmay intercept the heat, and nipping frosts may cause a sad decay,and all the sap may return and lie, as it were, dormant in theroot; yet the winter will pass, the rain will be over and gone, andthe flowers will appear on the earth; the time of singing of birdswill come, and the voice of the turtle will be heard in the land;then shall even the wilderness and solitary place be glad, and thedesert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose, it shall blossomabundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory ofLebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel andSharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency ofour God. We wonder that 'tis not always hot summer days, aflourishing and fruitful season, with souls and with churches. Butknow we the thoughts of the Lord; see we to the bottom of the deepcontrivance of infinite wisdom? Know we the usefulness, yea,necessity of long winter nights, stormy blasts, rain, hail, snow,and frost? Consider we, that our state and condition, while here,calleth for those vicissitudes, and requireth the blowing of thenorth as well as of the south winds? If we considered, how gracehad ordered all things for our best, and most for the glory andexaltation of grace, we would sit down and sing under the saddestof dispensations, and living by faith and hope, we would rejoice inthe confident expectation of a gracious outgate; for as long asgrace predomineth (and that will be until glory take the empire)all will run in the channel of grace; and though now sense (whichis oft faith's unfaithful friend) will be always suggesting falsetales of God, and of his grace unto unbelief, and raising therebydiscontents, doubts, fears, jealousies, and many distempers in thesoul, to its prejudice and hurt, yet in end, grace shall be seen tobe grace; and the faithful shall get such a full sight of thismanifold grace, as ordering, tempering, timing, shortening, orcontinuing, of all the sad and dismal days and seasons that havepassed over their own or their mother's head, that they shall see,that grace did order all, yea, every circ*mstance of all thevarious tossings, changes, ups and downs, that they did meet with.And O what a satisfying sight will that be, when the generalassembly and church of the first-born, which are in-rolled inHeaven, and every individual saint, shall come together, and take aview of all their experience, the result of which shall be, gracebegan, grace carried on, and grace hath perfected all, grace was atthe bottom of all? What shoutings, grace, grace unto it, will bethere; when the head-stone shall be brought forth? Whatsoul-satisfying complacency in, and admiration at all that is past,will a back-look thereat yield, when every one shall be made tosay, grace hath done all well, not a pin of all the work of gracein and about me might have been wanted; now I see, that the work ofGod is perfect, grace was glorious grace, and wise grace, whateverI thought of it then. O what a fool have I been, in quarrelling at,and in not being fully satisfied with all that grace was doing withme? O how little is this believed now?

In conscience, madam, that your ladyship (to me no ways known,but by a savoury report) shall accept of this bold address, Irecommend your ladyship, my very noble lord your husband, andoffspring, to the word of his grace, and subscribe myself,

MADAM,

Your and their servant

in the gospel and the grace of God.

JOHN BROWN.

THE AUTHOR TO THE READER.

CHRISTIAN READER,—After the foregoing address, I need notput thee to much more trouble: only I shall say, that he must needsbe a great stranger in our Israel, or sadly smitten with thatepidemic plague of indifferency, which hath infected many of thisgeneration, to a benumbing of them, and rendering them insensibleand unconcerned in the matters of God, and of their own souls, andsunk deep in the gulf of dreadful inconsideration, who seeth not,or taketh no notice of, nor is troubled at the manifest andterrible appearances of the inexpressibly great hazard, our all, asChristians in this life, is this day exposed into. I mean themystery of the gospel of the grace of God, wherein the exceedingriches of his grace, in his kindness towards us, through ChristJesus, hath been shown. We have enjoyed for a considerable time, aclear and powerful dispensation hereof, in great purity and plenty;but, alas! is it not manifest to all, that will not wilfully shuttheir eyes, that this mercy and goodness of God hath been wickedlyabused, and the pure administration of his grace and loveperfidiously sinned away, by this apostate generation. Are ourspots this day the spots of his children? Are their fruitsanswerable to the Lord's pains and labour about us, to be seen evenamongst the greatest of professors? Is there that gospel holiness,tenderness, watchfulness, growing in grace, and in the knowledge ofJesus Christ, that growing up in Christ, in all things thatheavenly mindedness, that fellowship with the Father and with hisSon Christ Jesus, and that conversation in heaven, that thedispensation of grace, we have been favoured with beyond many, andhave been long living under, did call for at our hands? Alas! ourgrapes are but wild and stinking. Wherefore (and who can think itstrange, if it be so?) the Lord seemeth to be about to contend withus, by covering our horizon with Egyptian darkness; many who wouldnot receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved, beingalready given up to strong delusion, that they should believe alie, and many more in hazard to be drawn aside to crooked paths, bymen of corrupt minds, who have been, and are still busy to vent andspread abroad, with no little petulancy and confidence, damnabledoctrines, to the perverting of the doctrine of the gospel of JesusChrist, and to the subverting and overturning of the veryfoundations of our hope and assurance; and that in such a way, andby such means and stratagems, as seem to have wrath written uponthem in legible letters; for the more plausible and taking acorrupt doctrine be, it is the more dangerous and judgment-like,and more are thereby in hazard to be deluded and drawn away.

Nay (which is yet more terrible and dreadful) it is to befeared, that the jealous God, in his holy and righteous judgment,hath given a providential commission (to speak to) unto theseducing spirit, to persuade and prevail; for is not this the clearlanguage of the present holy and righteous dispensations of God,and of the stupendously indifferent frame and disposition of thegenerality of men, called Christians, not only provoking God tospue them out of his mouth, but a disposing them also unto areceiving of whatsoever men, lying in wait to deceive, shallpropose and obtrude?

Alas! the clouds are not now a-gathering, but our horizon iscovered over with blackness, and great drops are a-falling, thatpresage a terrible overflowing deluge of error, and apostacy fromthe truth and profession of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to be athand, if the Lord wonderfully prevent it not. And behold (Owonderful!) the generality of professors are sleeping in security,apprehending no danger. Satan is more cunning now, than to drivemen to Popery by rage and cruelty, (and yet what he may bepermitted to do after this manner, who can tell?) or by openlypleading in his emissaries, for this abomination, (and yet eventhus is he already prevailing with not a few) or to send forth hisagents for Arminianism and Socinianism (though even this way too,he is too much prevailing.) But his main work now seemeth to be, tobring in another gospel, (and yet there is not another) or ratheran antievangelic and antichristian delusory dream, overturning atonce the whole gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and forthis end he employeth the Quakers, on the one hand, men ofdesperate and antievangelic principles, the very sink of allabominations, old and late, (as I shall show, if the Lord willcontinue health and strength, in an examination of their doctrineand principles, lately emitted by one Robert Barcley) and, on theother hand, men, (or moralists, if you will call them so) pleadingfor, and crying up an antievangelic holiness, a mere shadow withoutsubstance or reality; and that in place of Christ himself; and inorder to the carrying on of this desperate design, the old dragonis employing men of seeming different principles and ways, whom,though their faces seem to look to contrary airths, yet he holdethnotwithstanding fast tied by their tails (as Samson's foxes were)that thereby, if the Lord permit it, he may, by the fire of enmityto the pure gospel of the grace of God, burning in their tails,cause a conflagration of that truth, wherein lyeth all our hope:For this new model of religion, that many are so busied about, issuch as Pelagians, Arminians, Papists, Socinians, Quakers, yeaTurks, and moral heathens; yea, and all who are enemies to, and notreconcilable with the true grace of God held forth in the gospel,will willingly admit of, and harmoniously agree in: A way whichcomplyeth so well with proud self, and with the corrupt nature ofman, that it is little wonder, if it have many abettors andadmirers. I shall say no more of this; but only infer,

That sure the consideration of this should move all, in whom isany thing of the zeal of God, and love to souls, their own andothers', to appear in the defence of the gospel of our salvation,by all means incumbent to them, and possible for them; for if thiscitadel and stronghold, wherein our all, and the all of pure andtrue religion, lyeth, be blown up, we are gone; and indeed no lessis intended by this antichristian and antievangelic enemy, than theutter subversion of true Christian religion. Who would not then behereby alarmed, and upon their guard, when matters are at thispass? Should not all, who have any love to their own souls, anyzeal for the glory of Christ, anointed of the Father to be ourprophet, priest, and king; my desire to see the crown flourishingupon his head, and to have the gospel preserved pure anduncorrupted, be pleading with God by prayer, in the behalf of hisSon's kingdom, crown, and glory; and wrestling with him till hewere pleased to dispel these clouds, and prevent this black day:especially should they not be labouring to be acquainted, in truthand reality, with the gospel of Jesus Christ, that having themysterious truths thereof imprinted on their souls, and theirhearts cast into its mould, they may be preserved from the hurt ofthis deadly poison; for this, with a constant dependence upon, anduse-making of Christ in all his offices, will prove the bestpreservative against this infection.

The persuasion whereof did induce me to publish the followingheads of some sermons, after they have been translated into Dutch,and published here: Knowing that they might be of no less use tothe people of God in Britain and Ireland. I know not a moreeffectual mean to unstable souls from siding with and embracingevery new notion; and from being carried about with every wind ofdoctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, wherebythey lye in wait to deceive; than to put them upon the realexercise of gospel godliness, and to the daily practice of the mainand fundamental gospel work, of living by faith in Jesus Christ,and of growing up into him, in all things, who is the head, fromwhom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted, by thatwhich every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working inthe measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto theedifying of itself in love. Such, I am sure, as have thus learnedthe truth, as it is in Jesus, and are practising the sameaccordingly, will have an antidote within them against thestrongest poison of these seducers, and a real answer to, andconfutation of, all their subtile sophisms. The soul exercisingitself into gospel godliness, will find work enough to take itwholly up; and find such a solid ground to stand upon; and see sucha satisfying fulness, answering all its necessities and wants, andsuch a sure heart-quieting ground of peace, hope, and consolationin Jesus Christ, as that it will have no leisure, and smalltemptation to listen to seducing perverters, and no inclination toseek after empty cisterns.

I know much may be desiderated in this following treatise, andmany may have exceptions not without ground against it. Some maythink it arrogancy, and too great confidence in me, to attempt thehandling of such a mysterious and necessary part of Christianpractice, wherein few, (if any, so far as I know,) have gonebefore, in direct handling of this matter, at least in this methodand order, I mean that part which is about sanctification. Othersmay be displeased with the mean and low style; with my multiplyingparticulars, which might have been better and more handsomelycouched under fewer heads, and with my unnecessary contracting ofthe whole into such a narrow bound, and other things of that kind;for which, and many other failings of the like nature and import,which may without any diligent search, be found in it, even byordinary and unprejudiced readers; I shall not industriously labourto apologize, knowing that my very apology in this case, will needan apology; only I shall say this, that considering how the snare,which the vigilant and active enemy of our salvation, the devil,was laying by an unholy morality, did nearly concern all, andespecially the meanest (for parts and experience) and less fixedChristians, I thought a discourse on such a subject as I judgedmost necessary at all times, and especially in such a day ofhazard, should be framed to the capacity of one as well as another;the most understanding can receive benefit, by that which iscalculated to the capacity of children, when these can reap littleedification by what is suited to the palate of those; and the lessexperienced, or such as are of lower understanding, will be lessable to draw a general to a particular; or to improve and so fullyto comprehend one particular touched, as to be able thereby tounderstand and take in a like particular not mentioned; than suchas have their senses more exercised, and are thereby in case tomake a better improvement of what is but compendiously declared,when those must have the bread broken to their hand, or they shallreceive but small edification thereby; and yet, I suppose, thejudicious will observe some variety, smaller or greater, even whereparticulars seem to be, at the first view, most unnecessarilymultiplied. I know, and willingly grant, (for it is obvious enough)that a discourse of this subject and matter, might have required afar larger volume; but then how should such have profited thereby,whom poverty might possibly have scared from buying; or thenecessary affairs of their ordinary callings would have keeped froma diligent perusal of it? And I thought that neither of theseshould have been overlooked in this special or general design whichI had before my eyes.

One thing, as my answer to all, I shall but add; if herebyothers whom the Lord hath more enabled with all necessaries forsuch a work, shall be hereby either instigated or encouraged towrite upon this subject, (I mean mainly the last part thereof,touching the use-making of Christ in sanctification; for blessed bethe Lord, many have been employed of the Lord to speak soundly andedifyingly unto the use-making of Christ as to righteousness andjustification,) a full, plain, edifying and satisfying discovery ofthis necessary and important truth, viz. Christ made of God to uswisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And withal,point out plainly and particularly the way how believers in alltheir particular and various exigencies may and should so make useof and apply that all fulness which is treasured up in the Head,for the benefit and advantage of the members of the mystical body,as they may not only theoretically see, but practically alsoexperience this truth, that in him they are complete; and so theymay be helped to understand how through the necessary and constantuse-making of him, as all in all, they may grow up in him in allthings. If this be, I say, done by any to better purpose, I shallthink this my adventure not altogether fruitless, and in part atleast excusable.

As for thee, O Christian, whose instruction, edification, andconfirmation in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the faith whichwas once delivered unto the saints, I mainly intended in thisundertaking, I have a few things to add:

Know then, that there are certain men (as the Apostle Judespeaketh) crept in unawares, who were of old ordained to thiscondemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God intolasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord JesusChrist; for in these last days we see that these perilous times arecome, (of which Paul advertised Timothy, 2 Tim. iii. 1, &c.)wherein men shall be lovers of their ownselves, covetous, boasters,proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, (or makebates) incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than loversof God, having the form of godliness, but denying the powerthereof—for of this sort are they which creep into houses,and lead captive silly women, laden with sins, led away with diverslusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge ofthe truth. And because it is so, he exhorteth to give diligence tomake your calling and election sure, by giving all diligence to addto faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance,and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and togodliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity,for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. As the ApostlePeter assureth us, 2 Peter i. 5, 6, 7-10. For it is the elect whoare secured from full and final defection and apostacy, Matth.xxiv. 24. Mark xii. 22. Rom. xi. 5, 6; ix. 11; viii. 33. Matth.xxiv. 31. Mark xiii. 27. And the promise of salvation is made tosuch as shall endure to the end. The crown is for the overcomers,and such as are faithful to the death, Matth. x. 22; xxiv. 13. Markxiii. 13. Rev. ii. 10, 11, 17, 26, 27, 28; iii. 5, 12, 21. Allwhich, and the like, are set down, that hereby his people might berationally moved to a constant seriousness, in the working out oftheir own salvation, in fear and trembling; and the forewarningsgiven of the great difficulty of the reaching the end of our faith,the salvation of our souls, because of the many active, vigilant,indefatigable, subtile, and insinuating adversaries, who by goodwords and fair speeches, will readily deceive the hearts of thesimple, and to awaken the more his people to be sober and vigilant,because their adversary the devil (who acteth and moveth his underagents, in their several modes, methods and motions, so as he maybest, according to the various tempers, present dispositions,advantages or disadvantages of such as he intendeth to seduce,which he carefully studieth, and plyeth for this end, obtain hisdesigned end, their ruin and destruction) as a roaring lion,walking about seeking whom he may devour. And this calleth them tohaste out their slumber and security, who will be loath to miss hisopportunity, surprise them to their great loss anddisadvantage.

It is, beloved, high time now to awake, to look about us, toconsider where we are, upon what ground we stand, whether the enemyor we have the advantage, how and in what posture we are torencounter with deceivers that seek to cheat us out of all oursouls, and of the Lord our Righteousness, and draw us off the pathsof life, that when we come to die (beside the unspeakably greatloss we would thereby be at, even here, in missing the comfortableaccesses to God through Jesus Christ the inflowings of grace andstrength for spiritual duty through the Lord our strength; thesweet communications of peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, theshedding abroad of the love of God in our hearts by the Holy Ghost,which is given unto us, and the full assurance of hope through theLord Jesus our hope) we might be frustrated of all ourexpectations; and find, that all that which men made us grip to,lay hold on, and lean unto, instead of Christ, was but a mereshadow, and a lie in our right hand, to the unexpressible grief,vexation, and sorrow of soul when all should end in a dreadful andhorrible disappointment.

But let us not think that our purposes, firm-like resolutions toadhere to the truth, and our present abhorrence at, and detestationof errors now broached, to the overturning the very foundations oftrue Christianity, will sufficiently guard us from, and make usproof against the shots and assaults of these crafty seducers. Northink, that our learning and knowledge in the theory of the truth;nor our abilities to rencounter sophisters, will secure us from afall; let us not think that the enemies are contemptible, andtherefore we need be the less anxious, nor yet think that formerexperiences and through-bearings, in the like cases, will be apillow, whereby we may now lay ourselves down to sleep. If we do,we shall certainly deceive ourselves, if all our strength andstanding be in ourselves, and through ourselves; and if this be theground of our hope, the righteous Lord in his holy justice, maygive us up to be a prey. Peter's instance should never be forgottenby us; and such as tempt the Lord have no ground to expect his lastissue.

Our strength must be in Christ: to the rock of ages must we fly:to our chambers in him must we retire, and there must we hideourselves: on Christ's lee-side can we only ride safe, and be freeof the hazard of the storm. To him therefore must our recourse bedaily, by new and fresh acts of faith in and through him and hisinfluences, communicated according to the tenor of the covenant ofgrace, through faith eyeing the promiser, the promise, with theprice purchasing, and so drawing and sucking light, direction,strength, stability, and what our present exigent calleth for, mustwe think to stand. And happy they who, conscious to themselves oftheir own weakness, and convinced of the insufficiency of allthings within them, in godly fear hide themselves under the wingsof the Almighty, and get in into this stronghold, resolving thereto abide, and there to be secured from all their adversaries,within or without. These humble fearers may expect a safe and nobleoutgate; when more strong-like and more confident adventurers shall(being left to themselves, because trusting in themselves),shamefully fall, and be triumphed over by the enemy, to the griefof the godly, and for a snare to others.

The best way then, to keep the faith of Christ, which many arenow seeking to shake and to loose us from, is to be exercising thefaith of Christ. The serious and upright practising of the gospelis the only best mean to keep thee firm in the profession of thegospel, when the gospel with thee is not a few fine notions in thebrain; but is heavenly and necessary truth sunk into the heart, andliving and acting there; it will keep thee, and thou wilt own itmore firmly and steadfastly in a day of trial. Thy walking inChrist, and working and living, by him living in thee, will so rootthee in the gospel truth, that enemies will pull in vain, whenseeking to overthrow thee. The gospel of the grace of God receivedand entertained in thy soul in love, and constant suitableimprovement, will fortify thee, and secure itself in thee, so thatvehement blasts shall but contribute to its more fixed abode, andmore fruitful actings in thee. Live up then to the gospel, and sobe sure of it, and be safe in it. I mean, let Christ live in theeas thy all, and cast all thy care and cumber on him; lay all thydifficulties before him; lean all thy weight upon him; draw all thynecessities out of him: and undertake all thy duties in him; bestrong in him, and in the power of his might; let him be thycounsellor, conductor, leader, teacher, captain, commander, light,life, strength, and all, so shall thou stand and have cause toglory, even in thine infirmities, for thou shalt find the power ofChrist resting upon thee, and thou shalt have cause to say,therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, innecessities, in persecution, in distresses for Christ's sake; forwhen I am weak, then am I strong. Remember that great word, Phil.iv. 13, "I can do all things through Christ, which strengthenethme."

It hath been the usual and ordinary question of believers, Howshall we make use of Christ for sanctification? To this great andimportant question, I, (though the meanest and most unfit for sucha work, of all that God hath sent to feed his flock) haveadventured or endeavoured at least, to give such as truly desire tocleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,perfecting holiness in the fear of God, some satisfaction herein,laying before them some plain directions framed to theircapacities, and suited to some of their most ordinary and usualcauses; some whereof are more comprehensive, and others moreparticular, may be looked upon as exemplary instances, serving forother cases of the like nature; for hardly could every particularcirc*mstantiate case be particularly spoken to, and some mightjudge that to be superfluous, if thou, in the light and strength ofChrist, shalt really practise what is here pointed forth, I may beconfident to say, thy labour shall not be in vain in the Lord, andthou shalt attain unto another sort of holiness than that whichproud pretenders boast of, and shalt be far without the reach ofthat snare, which unstable souls are too readily entangled with. Imean, the plausible pretension of more than ordinary sanctity whichyet is but forced, feigned, constrained, mostly external, andframed to cause admiration in beholders, whom they intend to make aprey of. This shall be no temptation to thee, who by experiencefindeth a more safe, satisfying, full, free, easy, pleasant andheartsome way of mortifying lusts, growing in grace, and in theknowledge of Jesus Christ, and so perfecting holiness, by runningimmediately to Christ, and by living in and upon him, who is madeof God to us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.That the Lord may bless the same to thee, for this end, shall be,and is the desire and prayer of him who is,

Thy servant in the work of the gospel,

JOHN BROWN.

RECOMMENDATION.

CHRISTIAN READER,

If thou answer this designation, and art really a partaker ofthe unction, which is the high import of that blessed and gloriousname called upon thee, thine eye must affect thy heart, and a soulswelled with godly sorrow must at last burst and bleed forth at aweeping eye, while thou looks upon most of this licentious andloathsome generation, arrived at that height of prodigiousprofanity as to glory in their shame, and boast of bearing thebadge and black mark of damnation. But, besides this swarm whosavage it to hell, and make such haste hither, as they foamthemselves into everlasting flames, carrying, under the shape andvisage of men, as devils in disguise; the face of the church iscovered with a scum of such, who are so immersed in the concerns ofthis life, and are so intense in the pursuit of the pleasures,gain, and honours thereof, as their way doth manifestly witnessthem to be sunk into the deep oblivion of God, and desperateinconsideration of their precious and immortal souls. But in thethird place, besides these who are hurried into such a distractionwith the cares of this life, that they, as natural brute beastsmade to be destroyed, are never at leisure to consider either thenature and necessity of their noble souls, or to converse with thenotion of a Deity. Thou may perceive a company of self-deceivingspeculatists, who make broad the phylacteries of their garments,and boast of some high attainments in religion; yea, would haveothers look upon them as arrived at the very porch of heaven, andadvanced to a high pitch of proficiency in the ways of God, becausethey can discourse a little of the mysteries of salvation, andwithout ever diving farther into the depth and true nature ofreligion, dream themselves into a consideration of being saints,and conclude themselves candidates for glory.

This is that heart-moving object which presents itself to thyeye and observation this day. This is that deplorable posture,wherein thou mayest perceive most men at the very point ofperishing eternally, who are within the pale of the visible church,some dancing themselves headlong in all haste into the lake of fireand brimstone, some so much concerned in things which have noconnexion with their happiness, as to drop unconcernedly into thepit, out of which there is no redemption; and others dreamingthemselves into endless perdition: and all of them unite in aderiding at, or despising the means used, and essays made, in orderto their recovery.

But if his servants, in following their work closely, seem tohave gained a little ground upon men, and almost persuaded them tobe Christians, Satan, to the end he may make all miscarry, andcounterwork these workers together with God, and poison poor soulsby a perversion of the gospel, beyond the power of an antidote,hath raised up, instigated and set on work a race of proudrationalists, for they are wiser than to class themselves amongstthose poor fools, those base things, those nothings, to whom Christis made all things, to whom Christ is made wisdom that he may berighteousness, sanctification, and redemption to them; nay, theymust be wise men after the flesh, wise above what is written. Acrucified Christ is really unto them foolishness and weakness,though the power of God and the wisdom of God: they will needs goto work another way; they will needs glory in his presence, andhave a heaven of their own band-wind. O my soul, enter not intotheir secrets! and, O sweet Jesus, let thy name be to me, The Lordmy righteousness; thou hast won it,—wear it; and gather notmy soul with such who make mention of any other righteousness butof thine only! to bring in another gospel amongst us than thegospel of the grace of God. As they determine to know some otherthing than Christ and him crucified; so with the enticing words ofman's wisdom they bewitch men into a disobedience to the truth,setting somewhat else before them than a crucified Christ; and thisthey do, that they may remove men from those who call them into thegrace of Christ, unto another gospel. A Christ, it is true; theyspeak of; but it is not the Christ of God, for all they drive at (Ocursed and truly antichristian design!) is, that he may profit themnothing, while they model all religion according to this novelproject of their magnified morality. This is that which gives bothlife and lustre to that image which they adore, to the Dagon afterwhom they would have the world wonder and worship.

That there is such a moralizing or muddizing, if I may be foronce admitted to coin a new word to give these men their due, ofChristianity now introduced and coming in fashion, many of the latepieces in request do evince. Now that Christianity should moralizemen above all things, I both give and grant; for he who is partakerof the divine nature, and hath obtained precious faith, must addvirtue to his faith. But that it should be only conceived andconceited as an elevation of nature to a more clear light, in thematter of morality, wherein our Lord is only respected as anheavenly teacher and perfect pattern proposed for imitation, is buta proud, pleasing fancy of self-conceited, darkened, and deludeddreamers, robbing God of the glory of his mercy and goodness; ourLord Jesus Christ of the glory of his grace and merit. The spiritof the efficacy of his glorious and mighty operations; andthemselves and their pilgrimages, who give them the hand as guides,of the comfort and fruit of all.

It cannot escape thy observation, how busy Satan is this day,upon the one hand, to keep men, under the call of the gospel togive all diligence to make their calling and election sure, idleall the day, so that no persuasion can induce them to engageseriously to fall about a working out their own salvation in fearand trembling; and, on the other, equally diligent and industriousto divert men from trusting in the name of the Lord, and stayingupon their God; setting them on work to go and gather fuel, andkindle a fire, and compass themselves about with sparks, that theymay walk in the light of their own fire, and in the sparks thatthey have kindled, knowing well that they shall this way mostcertainly lose their toil and travel, and have no other reward athis hand of all their labour, but to lie down in everlastingsorrow, while the stout-hearted and far from righteousness andsalvation, shall get their soul for a prey, and be made to rejoicein his salvation, and bless him who hath made them meet to bepartakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

I am neither the fit person for so great an undertaking, nor dothese limits, within which I must bound myself, permit me toexpatiate in many notions about the nature of this excellent andprecious thing, true gospel holiness. Oh! if, in the entry, I couldon my own behalf and others, sob out my alas! from the bottom of mysoul, because, be what it will, it is some other thing than mentake it to be. Few habituate themselves to a thinking upon it, inits high nature, and soul enriching advantages, till their heartsreceive suitable impressions of it, and their lives be the verytransumpt of the law of God written in their heart; the thing,alas! is lost in a noise of words, and heap of notions about it;neither is it a wonder that men fall into mistakes about it, sinceit is only the heart possessed of it that is capable to understandand perceive its true excellency. But if it be asked what it is; wesay, it may be shortly taken up, as the elevation and raising up ofa poor mortal unto a conformity with God. As a participation of thedivine nature, or as the very image of God stamped on the soul,impressed on the thoughts and affections, and expressed in the lifeand conversation; so that the man in whom Christ is formed, and inwhom he dwells, lives, and walks, hath while upon the earth, aconversation in heaven; not only in opposition to those many, whoseend is destruction, whose god is their belly, whose glory is intheir shame, who mind earthly things; but also to those pretendersunto and personaters of religion, who have confidence in the flesh,and worship God with their own spirit, which in the matters of Godis flesh and not spirit, and have somewhat else to rejoice in thanin Christ Jesus, and a being found in him, not having their ownrighteousness.

True gospel holiness, then, consists in some similitude andlikeness to God, and fellowship with him founded upon thatlikeness. There is such an impression of God, his gloriousattributes, his infinite power, majesty, mercy, justice, wisdom,holiness, and grace, &c., as sets him up all alone in the soulwithout any competition, and produceth those real apprehensions ofhim, that he is alone excellent and matchless. O how preferabledoth be appear, when indeed seen, to all things! And how doth thislight of his infinite gloriousness, shining into the soul, darkenand obscure to an invisibleness all other excellencies, even as therising of the sun makes all the lesser lights to disappear. Alas!how is God unknown in his glorious being and attributes! When oncethe Lord enters the soul, and shines into the heart, it is like therising of the sun at midnight: all these things which formerlypretended to some loveliness, and did dazzle with their lustre, areeternally darkened. Now, all natural perfections, and moralvirtues, in their flower and perfections, are at best looked uponas aliquid nihil. What things were formerly accounted gainand godliness, are now counted loss for the excellency of theknowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord, and the soul cannot only sufferthe loss of them all without a sob, but be satisfied to throw themaway as dung, that it may win him, and be found in him. Now, thewonder of a Deity, in his greatness, power, and grace, swallows upthe soul in sweet admiration. O how doth it love to lose itself infinding here what it cannot fathom? And then it begins truly to seethe greatness and evil of sin; then it is looked upon without thecovering of pleasure or profit, and loathed as the leprosy of hell.Now the man is truly like God in the knowledge of good and evil, inthe knowledge of that one infinite good, God; and in the knowledgeof that one almost infinite evil, sin. This is the first point oflikeness to him, to be conformed to him in our understanding, thatas he knows himself to be the only self-being and fountain-good,and all created things in their flower and perfection, with alltheir real or fancied conveniences being compared with him, but asthe drop of a bucket, or nothing; yea, less than nothing, vanity(which is nothing blown up, by the force or forgery of a vainlyworking imagination, to the consistence of an appearance), so for asoul to know indeed and believe in the heart, that there is nothingdeserves the name of good besides God, to have the same superlativeand transcendent thoughts of that great and glorious self-beingGod, and the same diminishing and debasing thoughts of all thingsand beings besides him. And that as the Lord seeth no evil in thecreation but sin, and hates that with a perfect hatred, as contraryto his holy will; so for a soul to aggravate sin in its own sightto an infiniteness of evil, at least till it see it only short ofinfiniteness in this respect, that it can be swallowed up ofinfinite mercy. But whence hath the soul all this light? It owesall this, and owns itself as debtor for it to him, who opens theeyes of the blind. It is he who commands the light to shine out ofdarkness, who hath made these blessed discoveries, and hath giventhe poor benighted soul, the light of the knowledge of the glory ofGod, in the face of Jesus Christ. These irradiations are from theSpirit's illumination; 'tis the Spirit of wisdom and revelationthat hath made day-light in the darkened soul. The man who had theheart of a beast, as to any saving or solid knowledge of God orhimself, hath now got an understanding to know him that is true.Now is Christ become the poor man's wisdom, he is now renewed inknowledge after the image of him that created him; he might wellbabble of spiritual things, but till now he understood nothing ofthe beauty and excellency of God and his ways; nay, he knew notwhat he knew, he was ignorant as a beast of the life and lustre ofthose things which he knew in the letter; nothing seemed moredespicable to him in the world, than true godliness; but now hejudgeth otherwise, because he hath the mind of Christ. The thingswhich in his darkness he did undervalue as trifles to be mocked at,he now can only mind and admire, since he became a child of light;now being delivered from that blindness and brutishness of spirit,which possesseth the world, (and possessed himself till he wastransformed by the renewing of his mind) who esteem basely ofspiritual things, and set them at nought, he prizeth as aloneprecious. The world wonders what pleasure or content can be in theservice of God, because they see not by tasting how good he is; tobe prying into and poring upon invisible things, is to them visiblemadness, but to the enlightened mind, the things that are not seenare only worth seeing, and while they appear not to be, they onlyare; whereas the things that are seen appear but to be, and arenot. Though the surpassing sweetness of spiritual things should bespoke of to them, who cannot favour the things of God, in such amanner as the glorious light of them did surround men; yet they canperceive no such thing; all is to them cunningly devised fables;let be spoke what will, they see no form, no comeliness, no beautyin this glorious object—God in Christ reconciling sinners tohimself. Alas! the mind is blinded; the dungeon is within; and tillChrist open the eyes, as well as reveal his light, the soul abidesin its blindness, and is buried in midnight darkness; but when theSpirit of God opens the man's eyes, and he is translated by an actof omnipotency out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom ofhis dear Son, which is a kingdom of marvellous light, O whatmatchless beauty doth he now see in these things, which appeareddespicable and dark nothings to him, till he got the unction, theeye-salve, which teacheth all things. Now he sees (what nonewithout the Spirit can see) the things which God hath prepared forthem that love him, and are freely given them of God; and these,though seen at a distance, reflect such rays of beauty into hissoul, that he beholds and is ravished, he sees and is swallowed upin wonder.

But then, in the next place, this is not a spiritlessinefficacious speculation about these things, to know no evil butsin and separation from God, and no blessedness but in the fruitionof him; it is not such a knowledge of them as doth not principlemotion to pursue after them. This I grant is part of the image ofGod, when the Sun of Righteousness, by arising upon the man, hathmade day-light in his soul, and by these divine discoveries hathtaught him to make the true parallel betwixt things that differ,and to put a just value upon them according to their intrinsicworth. But this divine illumination doth not consist in a merenotion of such things in the head, nor doth it subsist inenlightening the mind; but in such an impression of God upon thesoul, as transforms and changes the heart into his likeness bylove.' Knowledge is but one line, one draught or lineament of thesoul's likeness to him; that alone doth not make up the image, butknowledge rooted in the heart, and engraven on the soul, hining andshewing itself forth in a gospel-adorning conversation, that makesa comely proportion; when the same hand that touched the eye, andturned the man from darkness to light, and gave an heart to knowhim, that he is the Lord, that doth also circumcise the man's heartto love the Lord his God, with all his heart, and with all hissoul, and with all his mind; and this love manifesting itsliveliness, in its constraining power to live to him and for him.Light without, heat is but wild fire; but light in the mind,begetting heat in the heart, making it burn Godward, Christward,and heavenward; light in the understanding, setting on fire andinflaming the affections, and these shining out in a heavenlyconversation, makes up the lively image of God, both in feature andstature, both in proportion and colour. Faith begins this image,and draws the lineaments; and love bringing forth obediencefinishes, and gives it the lively lustre. The burnings of love inobedience to God is that which illuminates the whole, and makes aman look indeed like him, to whose image he is predestinate to beconform, and then makes him, who is ravished with the charms ofthat beauty, say, as in a manner overcome thereby, "how fair is thylove, my sister, my spouse? How much better is thy love than wine,and the smell of thine ointments than all spices?" But consider,that as these beams, which irradiate the soul, are from the Spiritof Christ, so that spiritual heat and warmth come out of the sameairth, and proceed from the same author, for our fire burns as heblows, our lamp shines as he snuffs and furnisheth oil. Mentherefore should not indulge themselves in this delusion, to think,that that which will pass for pure religion and undefiled beforeGod, consists either in an outward blameless conversation, or inputting on and wearing an external garb of profession. No, as thetop of it reacheth higher, so the root of it lies deeper; it isrooted in the heart, this seed being sown in an honest heart (ormaking the heart honest in which it is sown) takes root downward,and brings forth fruit upward, as trees that grow as far underground as above, so these trees of righteousness, the planting ofthe Lord that he may be glorified, grow as far and as fast underground as above; godliness grows as far downwards in self-emptying,self-denial, and self-abasing, in hungering and thirsting aftermore of righteousness, in the secret engagements of the heart toGod in Christ, in these burstings of heart and bleeding of soul, towhich God alone is witness, because of shortcoming in holiness,because of a body of death within, and because of that law in themembers warring against the law of the mind, and bringing ofteninto captivity to the law of sin, as it grows upward in aprofession. And this is that pure religion and undefiled beforeGod, which is both most pleasant to him, and profitable to thesoul.

But to make the difference betwixt dead morality, in its bestdress, and true godliness, more clear and obvious, that lovelinessof the one may engage men into a loathing of the other, this deadcarion and stinking carcase of rotten morality, which still stinksin the nostrils of God, even when embalmed with the most costlyointments of its miserably misled patrons, we say, that truegodliness, which in quality and kind differs from this much pleadedfor and applauded morality, a black heathen by a mongrel kind ofChristians baptised of late with the name of Christianity, andbrought into the temple of the Lord, concerning which he hathcommanded that it should never in that shape, and for that end itis introduced, enter into his congregation; and the bringers fortheir pains are like to seclude themselves for ever from hispresence. It respects Jesus Christ, 1st, as its principle; 2d, asits pattern; 3d, as its altar; and, 4th, as its end.

1. I say, true holiness, in its being and operation, respectsJesus Christ as its principle; "I live," said that shining saint,"yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." As that which gives religionits first being, is the religation of the soul to God; so thatwhich gives it motion, and draws forth that life into action, isthe same God's working all their works in them and for them, sothat in all they do, they are workers together with God; every actof holiness is an act of the soul made alive unto God through JesusChrist, and quickened to each action by the supervenience of newlife and influence; therefore, says Christ, without me ye can donothing; it is not, being out of me ye can do nothing, for he spokeit to those who were in him, but, if ye leave me out in doing, allye do will be nothing. 'Tis Jesus Christ who gives life and legs,so that our runnings are according to his drawings. "My soulfolloweth hard after thee," said that holy man; but whence is allthis life and vigour? "Thy right hand upholdeth me," Oh! it is theupholdings and helpings of this right hand, enlarging the man'sheart, that makes a running in the ways of his commandments; it ishe who, while the saints work out the work of their own salvation,worketh in them both to will and to do. It is he who giveth powerto the faint, and who, to them that have no might, encreasethstrength, so that the poor lifeless, languishing lie-by is made tomount up with eagles' wings, and surmount all these difficulties,with a holy facility, which were simply insuperable, and pureimpossibilities. Now the man runs and doth not weary, becauseChrist draws; and he walks and doth not faint, because Christ, inwhom dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily, dwells in him, andwalks in him, and dwells in him for that very end, that he may havea completeness and competency of strength for duty. All grace ismade to abound unto him, that he always having all sufficiency inall things, may abound unto every good work. He is able of himselfto do nothing, no, not to think any thing as he ought, but he hatha sufficiency of God, whereby he is thoroughly furnished unto everygood work; so that he may say, I am able for all things: it is morethan "I am able to do all things," as we read it; its just importis, "I am able to do all things, and to endure all things;" andthat which keeps it from vain boasting, is what is added, "throughChrist which strengthened me," or putting power in me, or ratherimpowering me, which is by a supervenient act drawing forth lifeinto a liveliness of exercise, according to the present exigent.There is a power in a saint, because Christ is in him, thatoverpowers all the powers of darkness without, and all the power ofindwelling corruption within, so that when the poor weak creatureis ready to despond; within sight of his duty, and say, because ofdifficulty, what is my strength that I should hope? Christ saith,despond not, my grace is sufficient for thee, and my power shallrest upon thee, to a reviving thee, and raising thee up, andputting thee in case to say, when I am weak, then I am strong; hisstrength, who impowers me, is made perfect in my weakness, so thatI will glory in my infirmities, and be glad in being grace'sdebtor. But what power is that, which raiseth the dead sinner, andcarries the soul in its actings so far without the line, and abovethe sphere of all natural activity, when stretched to its utmost?O, it is an exceeding great power which is to them-ward whobelieve, that must make all things, how difficult soever, easy,when he works in them to will and to do, according to the workingof his mighty power, (or as it is upon the margin, and moreemphatic, of the might of his power,) which he wrought in Christ,when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own righthand, &c.; he that raised up the Lord Jesus from the dead,raiseth up believers also by Jesus; and being raised and revived byhim, to walk in newness of life, the life of Jesus, in itscommunications of strength, is manifest in their mortal flesh,according to that of the same apostle; "the life that I live in theflesh," saith he, "I live by the faith of the Son of God." Faithbrings in Christ in my soul, and Christ being my life, carries outmy soul in all the acts of obedience, wherein, though I be theformal agent, yet the efficiency and the power, by which I operate,is from him; so that I can give no better account of it thanthis,—I—not I. But who then, if not you? The grace ofGod, saith he, which was with me. But this mystery to our bold,because blind moralists, of an indwelling Christ working mightilyin the soul, is plain madness and melancholy; however we understandhis knowledge in the mystery of Christ, who said, "The life I livein the flesh," &c.; and from what we understand of hisknowledge in that mystery, which he had by revelation, weunderstand our moralists to be men of corrupt minds, who concerningthe faith hath made shipwreck; but what is that, "The life I livein the flesh," &c. The import of it seems to be this, if notmore,—while I have in me a soul animating my body, as theprinciple of all my vital and natural actions, I have Jesus Christanimating my soul, and by the impulse and communicate virtue andstrength of an indwelling Christ, I am made to run the ways of hiscommandments, wherein I take so great delight, that I am found ofno duty as of my enemy.

2. The gospel holiness respects Jesus Christ as its pattern. Itproposeth no lower pattern for imitation than to be conform to hisimage, (he that is begotten again into a lively hope, by theresurrection of Christ from the dead, girds up the loins of hismind, which are the affections of his soul, lest by falling flatupon the earth, he be hindered in running the race set before him,as looking to the forerunner his pattern,) in this girdle of hope,that he may be "holy in all manner of conversation," keeping hiseye upon the precept and pattern, that his practice may be conform.It is written, saith he, "be ye holy, for I am holy;" the hope ofseeing God, and being ever with him, imposeth a necessity upon himwho hath it, to look no lower than at him, who is glorious inholiness; and therefore he is said to purify himself even as he ispure; and knowing that this is the end of their being quickenedtogether with Christ, that they may walk even as he walked, they intheir working and walking aim at no less than to be like him; andtherefore never sit down upon any attained measure, as if they werealready perfect. The spotless purity of God expressed in his laws,is that whereto they study assimilation; therefore they are stillin motion towards this mark, and are changed from one of gloriousgrace into another, into the same image, even as by the Spirit ofthe Lord, who never gives over his putting them to cleanse from allfilthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, till that be true in thetruest sense, "Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot inthee." And knowing that perfect fruition of him cannot be withoutthe perfect conformity to him, herein do they exercise themselvesto grow in grace, and to be still advancing towards some morelikeness to his image, forgetting all their attainments, as thingsthat are behind, and by their Teachings forth unto that which isbefore, make it evident that they make every begun degree of graceand conformity to God, a prevenient capacity for a new degree whichyet they have not attained. I know our moralists look uponthemselves as matchless, in talking of following his steps as hehath left us an example; in this they make a flourishing withflanting effrontery, but for all their boasting of wisdom, such apoor simple man as I, am made to wonder at their folly, whoproposing, as they say, the purity of Christ as their pattern, arenot even thence convinced, that in order to a conformity thereto,there is a simple and absolute necessity of the mighty operationsof that Spirit of God, whereby this end can be reached; but whilethey flout at the Spirit's working as a melancholy fancy, wherebythe soul is garnished with the beauty of holiness, and made anhabitation for God, I doubt not to say of these great sayers, thatthey understand neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm;nay, doth not the talking of the one, not only without seeing thenecessity of the other, but speaking against it, say in the heartof every one, who hath not the heart of a beast, that they havenever yet got a sight of the holiness of that pattern, nor of theirown pollutions and impotency; for if they had, they would givethemselves up to Jesus Christ to be washed by him, without whichthey can have no part with him. O there will be a vast difference,at the latter day, betwixt them who have given their black souls toJesus to bleach, when he shall present them without spot, not onlyclothed with wrought gold, but all glorious within, and those whohave never dipped, yea, who have despised to dip their defiledsouls in any other fountain, save in the impure puddle of their ownperformances. This will make them loathsome in his sight, and causehis soul abhor those who have done this despite unto the Spirit ofgrace, as to slight that blessed fountain, opened for sin and foruncleanness, let them pretend as high as they will, to look to himas a pattern; while, because the plague-sore is gone up in theireye, they look not to him as a price, nor to the grace of JesusChrist, as that which can only principle any acceptable performanceof duty, he will plunge them in the ditch, and it will cost themtheir souls, for rejecting the counsel of God against themselves,in not making use of him who came by water as well as by blood.

3. This gospel holiness respects Christ as the altar. It is inhim, and for him, that his soul is well pleased with ourperformance—this is the altar upon which thou must lay thygift, and leave it, without which thy labour is lost, andwhatsoever thou dost is loathed, as a corrupt thing. As believersdraw all their strength from him, so they expect acceptance onlythrough him, and for him. They do not look for it, but in theBeloved; they dare not draw near to God in duty, but by him. Thisis the new and living way which is consecrate for them; and ifsuch, who offer to come to God, do not enter in hereat, instead ofbeing admitted to a familiar converse with God, they shall find hima consuming fire. When the saints have greatest liberty in prayer,and so of all other performances, when their hearts are most liftedup in the ways of the Lord, they abhor at thinking their prayer canany otherways be set forth before him as incense, or the lifting upof their hands as the evening sacrifice, but as presented by thegreat intercessor, and perfumed by the merit of his oblation. Ifthey could weep out the marrow of their bones, and the moisture oftheir body, in mourning over sin; yet they durst not think ofhaving what comes from so impure a spring, and runs through sopolluted a channel, presented to God, but by Jesus Christ, in orderto acceptation; for, as they look to the exalted Saviour, to gettheir repentance from him, so when by the pourings out upon them ofthe spirit of grace and supplication, he hath made them pour outtheir hearts before him, and hath melted them into true tenderness,so that their mourning is a great mourning, they carry back thesetears to be washen and bathed in his blood, as knowing without thisof how little worth and value with God their salt water is; butwhen they are thus washed he puts them in his bottle, and thenpours them out again to them in the wine of strong consolation.Thus are they made glad in his house of prayer, and their sighs andgroans come up with acceptance upon his altar. O blessed altar,that sanctifies the gold! this is that altar, whereto the mockingmoralist hath no right. It is by him that the poor believer offersup his sacrifice to God continually; whatever he doth in word ordeed, he desires to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. As heknows, he lives to make intercession, and to appear in the presenceof God for his poor people, both to procure influences for duty,and plead for acceptation: so he depends upon him for both, asknowing he can never otherways hear nor have it said unto him,"well done thou good and faithful servant." It may be he can dolittle, he hath but a mite to offer; but he puts it in theMediator's hand to be presented to God. He hath not gold, norsilver, nor purple to bring; he can do no great things; he hath butgoats' hair or rams' skins, but he gives them the right tincture,he makes them red in the blood of Christ, and so they are abeautiful incarnation.

But let us, on the other hand, take a short view of what ourmoralists substitute in its place, as in their account, both morebeautiful in the eye, and more beneficial to the souls of men,wherein I intend to be brief. I might comprehend the account to begiven shortly, and give it most exactly, yet truly in these fewwords. As the most undoubted deviation from, and perfect oppositionunto the whole contrivance of salvation, and the conveyance of itinto the souls of men, as revealed in this gospel which brings lifeand immortality to light, that fighters against the grace of God inits value and virtue can forge, stretching their blind reason tothe overthrow of true religion, and ruin of the souls of men. Forto this height these masters of reason have, in their blind rage,risen up against the Lord and against his anointed; this is thedreadful period of that path, wherein we are persuaded to walk, yeahectored, if we would not forfeit the repute of men by these grandsophies, who arrogate to themselves the name and thing ofknowledge, as if wisdom were to die with them. The deep mysteriesof salvation, which angels desire to look into, and only satisfythemselves with admiration at, must appear as respondents at theirbar; and if they decline the judge and court, as incompetent, theyflee out and flout at subjecting this blind mole, man's reason, tothe revelation of faith in a mystery. The manifold wisdom of God,and the manifold grace of God, must either condescend to theirunfoldings, and be content to speak in their dialect, or else thesewits, these Athenian dictators, will give the deep things of God,because beyond their divings, the same entertainment which thatgreat gospel preacher, Paul, met with from men of the same mould,kidney, and complexion, because he preached unto them Jesus, Whatwould the babbler say, said they. The Spirit of wisdom andrevelation they know not, they have not, they acknowledge not; nay,they despise him in his saving and soul-ascertaining illuminations;and the workings of that mighty power to them-ward who believe, isto the men of this new mould (because they have not found it) aninsufferable fancy, to be exploded with a disdain and indignation,which discovers what spirit actuates them in this opposition.

But I would recommend to you, who can neither purchase norperuse what is more voluminous (how worthy soever) the seriousperusal, as of the whole of that savoury and grace-breathing peace,the fulfilling of the Scriptures; so therein that short but sweetdigression, against black-mouthed Parker, wherein the graciousauthor takes out his own soul, and sets before thine eye, the imageof God impressed thereon; for while he deals with that desperado byclear and convincing reason, flowing natively from the purefountain of divine revelation, he hath the advantage of most men,and writers too, in silencing that proud blasphemer of the goodways of God, with arguments taken from what he hath found actedupon his own soul. And likewise I would recommend, as a sovereignantidote against this poison, the diligent perusing and ponderingof what is shortly hinted against the hellish belchings of the sameunhallowed author (in the Preface to that piece of great Mr.Durham, upon the Commands) by a disciple, who, besides his naturalacuteness and sub-actness of judgment in the depth of the gospelmysteries, is known, by all who know him (and for myself, I knownone now alive his equal) to have most frequent access to lean hishead on his Master's bosom, and so in best case to tell hisfellow-disciples and brethren, what is breathed into his own soul,while he lives in these embraces, and under the sheddings abroad ofthat love of God in his soul, which drew and did dictate theselines, against that flouter at all such fruitions. Nor can I hereomit to observe, how, when the devil raised up Parker, thatmonster, to bark and blaspheme, the Lord raised up a Merveil tofight him at his own weapon, who did so cudgel and quell thatboasting bravo, as I know not if he be dead of his wound, but forany thing I know, he hath laid his speech.

It was not the author's design in this piece, (levelled only atthis mark, to teach thee how to make use of the strength and gracethat is in Christ Jesus, and find the promised ease in performanceof duties; in handling of which argument, he hath been remarkablyassisted, and thou canst not read with attention, but thou mustbear him witness, and bless the Lord on his behalf, that he hathhit the mark at which he aimed) to engage in a formal debate withthese audacious moralists, who would boast and bogle us out of thegood old way, wherein, if men walk, they must find rest to theirsouls. Yet if by the doctrine he hath here explained and pressed,as the only way of life, they do not find what a mortal wound hehath given their morality, all the lovers of the truth will see it;and it may be, the Lord sparing life, and continuing the samegracious and great assistance, he hath had in engaging with manyand great adversaries to the truth at home and abroad, they may seesomewhat from his pen, which may make the lovers of our Lord JesusChrist in sincerity, and of the operations of his Spirit, sing overthese successors to Sisera, who with their jumping chariots andrattling wheels, assault the truth, at his feet they bowed, theyfell, they lay down at his feet, they bowed, they fell where theybowed, there they fell down dead; so let all the enemies of thytruth perish, O Lord! How to make the whole more useful for thee,for whose advantage 'tis mainly intended, I leave to the author'sown direction; only this I must say, his method and mould, whereinhe casts his sweet matter, and his way of handling this soseasonable a subject, is so accommodate to each case, and broughthome to the conscience, and down to the capacity of the meanestChristian, which was his aim, that the feeble, in this day, mightbe as David; that howbeit many worthy men have not only hinted, butenlarged upon the same matter, yet thou canst not but see someheart-endearing singularity in his way of improving and handlingthis great gospel truth. Next, I must tell thee, that as I myselfread it with much satisfaction (though, alas! I dare not say, Ihave by reading reaped the designed advantage), so that thou mayestbe blushed into a perusal thereof, and profiting thereby, I mustlikewise tell thee, I say, it hath been turned into Dutch, and thatit hath not only met with great acceptation amongst all the seriousand godly in these parts, who have seen it, but is much soughtafter; and they profess themselves singularly thereby edified, andset a-going after God, by its efficacious persuasiveness, with asinging alacrity; and if it have not the same effect upon thee andme, they and it will arise up against us in judgment.

Up, therefore, Christians, and be doing: Listen to such ateacher, who, lest thou tire in thy race, or turn back, teacheththee a certain and sweet way of singular proficiency and progressin the ways of God. It may be, it is not thy work, nor mine, towrite both against these soul-murdering, however magnified, methodsof taking men off Jesus Christ; but our penury of parts for that,should first put us to seek plenty of tears, that we may weep, tosee our master so wounded by the piercing pens of those who, topatronise their mock religion, wrest the Scriptures, and withwicked hands wring the word of the Lord, till it weep blood: this,I say, should provoke thee and me to weep upon him, till he appear,and beat the pens of such deceivers out of their hand by a blow ofhis; 2d, It should provoke us to know the truth, that we maycontend earnestly for the faith delivered to the saints, and tohave these contradicted truths so impressed in their life upon oursouls, that the pen of the most subtle pleader for this perversionof the gospel may neither delete these, nor be able to stagger us,but we may, from the efficacious working of these, have the witnessin ourselves, and know the men who teach otherways not to be ofGod; 3d, It should be our ambition, when the all of religion iscried down, and a painted shadow, a putrid, however perfumed,nothing put in its place, to make it appear, by our practice, thatreligion is an elevation of the soul above the sphere and activityof dead morality; and that it is no less or lower principle thatacts us, than Christ dwelling in us, and walking in us. How can thelove of God, and of Christ, and of the Spirit be in us, if theseperverse praters against the power of godliness, provoke us not toemit a practical declaration to the world, and extort a testimonyto his grace by our way, from the enemies thereof? Improve,therefore, this his special help to that purpose, which in a mostseasonable time is brought to thy hand.

But to sum up all shortly, there are but three things which makereligion an heavy burden; 1st, The blindness of the mind; and herethou art taught to make use of that eye-salve, whereby the eyes ofthe blind see out of obscurity, and out of darkness; he whoformerly erred in spirit, by the light held forth in these lines,may see a surpassing beauty in the ways of God; 2d, That aversionand unwillingness which is in the mind, whereby the sweet and easyyoke of his commands is spurned at as heavy; in order to theremoving thereof, and that thou mayest be among his willing people,here thou hast Christ held forth in his conquering beauty,displaying his banner of love over souls, so that thou canst notlook upon him as held forth, but faith will bow thy neck to take onhis yoke, because it sees it is lined with the love of Christ, andthen this love that lines the yoke, shed abroad in the heart, willconstrain to a bearing of it; but, 3d, When the spirit is willing,there remains yet much weakness; love kindled in the heart conquersthe mind into a compliance with his will, and a complacency in hiscommands, but its greatest strength is often to weep over awithered hand. Now that thy hands which fall down may be madestrong for labour, and thou mayest be girded with strength, andhave grace for grace, yea, all grace to make thee abound unto everygood word and work, the author leads thee up unto the full fountainof all gospel furniture, and strength; and teacheth thee how tomake use of Christ, as thy sufficiency, for working all thy worksin thee and for thee. I say, therefore, again unto thee, takeheart, let not thine hands fall down, essay nothing thou would havewell done or easily done, in thine own strength; but yet howdifficult soever the duty be, approach it as having no confidencein the flesh, but with an eye to thy stock, that rich store-houseof all furniture, and it shall be with thee as it was with thepriests, before whom Jordan recoiled, so soon as their foot enteredwithin the brink; God shall make thy difficulties evanish; and bythe illapses of the Spirit of power and might from Jesus Christdepended upon, shall so strengthen thee, that thy duty is made easyto admiration, and becomes the delight of thy soul. Pray for thecontinuance of the life of the author, who, by his assiduousworking for Christ, hath been often near unto death, not regardinghis own life, to supply the lack of other men's service, to theinterest and Church of God; and let him be comforted for this pieceof travel undertaken for thy soul's interest, by hearing thou dostimprove it to thy advantage, for which it is so exactly calculate:And with all I beg thy fervent and earnest intercessions for grace,and more grace, to him who is thy poor, yet soul's well-wisher andservant, for Christ's sake,

R. M. W.

CHRIST

THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.

JOHN XIV. 6—JESUS SAITH UNTO THEM, I AM THE WAY, AND THETRUTH, AND THE LIFE; NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER BUT BY ME.

CHAPTER I.

THE INTRODUCTION, WITH SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS FROM THECOHESION.

Doubtless it is always useful, yea, necessary, for the childrenof God to know the right way of making use of Christ, who is madeall things to them which they need, even "wisdom, righteousness,sanctification, and redemption," 1 Cor. i. 30. But it is never morenecessary for believers to be clear and distinct in this matter,than when Satan, by all means, is seeking to pervert the right waysof the Lord, and, one way or other, to lead souls away, and drawthem off Christ; knowing that, if he prevail here, he hath gainedhis point. And therefore he endeavoureth not only to darken it byerror, either more gross or more subtle, but also to darken it bymistakes and prejudices: whence it cometh to pass, that not onlystrangers are made to wander out of the way, but oftentimes many ofhis own people are walking in darkness of ignorance and mistakes,and remain lean through want of the real exercise of the life offaith, which would make them fat and flourishing; because it wouldmake them "strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, andto grow up in Christ in all things."

The clearing up then of this truth cannot but be most seasonablenow, when Satan is prevailing with many, whom he cannot get temptedto looseness and profanity, to sit down upon something which is notChrist, and to rest upon something with themselves, distinct fromhim, both in the matter of justification and sanctification. Thissubtle adversary is now setting some a-work, to cry up, bypreaching, speaking, and printing, a way to heaven which is notChrist; a kind of morality, civility, and outward holiness,whereupon the soul is to rest. And this holiness, not wrought andeffectuated through the strength of Jesus, by faith sucking lifeand furniture from him; but through our own art and skill, which ineffect is nothing but an extract of refined Popery, Socinianism,and Arminianism, devised and broached of purpose to draw the souloff Christ, that he may stand upon his own legs, and walk by hisown power, and thank himself, at least in part, for the crown atlength.

Further, through the great goodness of God, the true way of asoul's justification is admirably cleared up; and many are, atleast theoretically, acquainted therewith; and many alsopractically, to the quieting of their wakened consciences, andstopping the mouth of their accusers, and obtaining of peace, joy,and the lively hope of the everlasting crown; yet many gracioussouls profess their unacquaintedness with the solid and thrivingway of use-making of Christ for growth in grace and truesanctification. Therefore some discovery of the truth here cannotbut be useful, seasonable, yea, and acceptable unto them. If he,who is the Truth, would give grace to understand, and to unfoldthis so necessary and always advantageous a truth, and would helpto write of and explain this truth by faith in him who is here saidto be the Truth, then should we have cause to bless and magnify hisname. But if he, because of sin, shall hide himself, and not letout these beams of light, whereby we might discover light, we shallbut darken counsel with words without our knowledge, and leave thematter as unclear as ever. Therefore is it necessary, there be bothin him that writeth, and in such as read, a single dependence onhim, who "is for a leader," Isa. lv. 5, and hath promised to "bringthe blind by a way which they know not, and to lead them in pathsthey had not known, and to make darkness light before them, andcrooked things straight," Isa. xlii. 16, that thus by acting faithon him we may find, in so far, the truth of this verified, viz.that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Now, for clearing upof this matter, we would know, that our Lord Jesus, from thebeginning of this chapter, is laying down some grounds ofconsolation, sufficient to comfort his disciples against the sadnews of his departure and death; and to encourage them against thefears they had of much evil to befall them when their Lord andMaster should be taken from them; which is a sufficient proof ofthe tender heart of Jesus, who alloweth all his followers strongconsolation against all fears, hazards, troubles, and perplexitieswhich they can meet with in their way. He will not leave themcomfortless, and therefore he layeth down strong grounds ofconsolation to support their drooping and fainting hearts; asloving to see his followers always rejoicing in the Lord, andsinging in the ways of Zion: that the world may see and beconvinced of a reality in Christianity, and of the preferablenessof that life, notwithstanding of all the troubles that attend it,unto any other, how sweet and desirable soever it may appear toflesh and blood.

In prosecution of which design, he told them, verse 4, that they"knew whether he went," and the way also which he was to take, andby which he was to bring them to the Father, to the mansion spokenof, and so to life eternal. But Thomas rashly and incredulously (astoo usually he did, chap. xi. 16; xx. 25,) venteth himself, andlittle less than contradicteth his Master, saying, verse 5, "Weknow not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?" whereinwe have an emblem of many a believer, who may have more grace andknowledge of God and of Christ than they will be able to see, oracknowledge that they have; what through temptations, inwarddistempers, sense of their many defects, and great ignorance,strong desires of high measures, clearer discoveries of thevastness of the object, mistakes about the true nature of grace,despising the day of small things, and indistinctness as to theactings of grace, or want of understanding and right uptaking ofgrace in its various outgoings and actings under various notions,and the like.

Whereupon Christ, after his usual manner, taketh occasion toclear up that ground of consolation further unto them; and to letthem see the true way of coming to the Father, that thereby theymight be helped to see that they were not such strangers unto theway as they supposed; and withal, he amplifieth and layeth out theproperties and excellencies of this way, as being the only true andliving way; and that in such a manner, as they might both see theway to be perfect, full, safe, saving, and satisfying; and alsolearn their duty of improving this way always, and in all things,until they come home at length to the Father, saying, "I am theway, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father butby me."

Christ then saying, that he not only is the way to the Father,even the true way, but that he is so the true way, as that he isalso truth itself in the abstract, and so the living way, that heis life itself in the abstract, giveth us ground to consider, afterwhat manner it is that he is the Truth and the Life, as well as theWay; and that for clearing up and discovering of his being anabsolutely perfect, transcendently excellent, incomparablypreferable and fully satisfying way, useful to believers in allcases, all exigents, all distresses, all difficulties, all trials,all temptations, all doubts, all perplexities, and in all causes oroccasions of distempers, fears, faintings, discouragements, &c.which they may meet with in their way to heaven. And this will leadus to clear up the duty of believers, on the other hand, and toshow how they should, in all their various cases and difficulties,make use of Christ as the only all-sufficient way to the Father,and as truth and life in the way, and so we will be led to speak ofChrist's being to his people all that is requisite for them here inthe way, whether for justification or sanctification; and howpeople are to make use of him as being all, or, as being made of"God to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,"1 Cor. i. 30.

Ere we come to the words in particular, we would look upon themas having relation to Thomas his words in the preceding verse,wherein he did little less than contradict what Christ had said inthe 4th verse, and learn several very comfortable points ofdoctrine, as,

I. That Jesus Christ is very tender of his followers, and willnot cast them off, nor upbraid them for every escape whereby theymay provoke him to anger and grieve his Spirit; but gently passethby many of their failings, when he findeth they are not obstinatein their mistake, nor perverse in their way. For how gently andmeekly doth he here pass over Thomas his unhandsome expression,finding that Thomas spake here, not out of obstinacy andpertinaciousness, but out of ignorance and a mistake. And thereason is, because, 1. Christ knoweth our infirmity and weakness,and is of a tender heart, and therefore will not "break the bruisedreed," Isa. xlii. Well knoweth he that rough and untender handlingwould crush us, and break us all in pieces. And, 2. He is full ofbowels of mercy, and can "have compassion on them that are out ofthe way, and can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,"Heb. iv. 15. v. 2.

Which truth, as upon the one hand, it should encourage all tochoose him for their leader, and give up themselves unto him, whois so tender of his followers; so, upon the other hand, it shouldrebuke such as are ready to entertain evil and hard thoughts ofhim, as if he were an hard master, and ill to be followed, and putall from entertaining the least thought of his untenderness andwant of compassion. But, moreover,

II. We see, that weaknesses and corruptions breaking out inbelievers, when they are honestly and ingenuously laid open beforethe Lord, will not fear him away, but rather engage him the more tohelp and succour. Much of Thomas his weakness and corruptionappeared in what he said; yet the same being honestly andingenuously laid open to Christ, not out of a spirit ofcontradiction, but out of a desire to learn, Christ is so far fromthrusting him away, that he rather condescendeth the more, out oflove and tenderness, to instruct him better, and clear the way morefully. And that, because, 1. He knoweth our mould and fashion, howf*ckless and frail we are, and that if he should deal with usaccording to our folly, we should quickly be destroyed. 2. He isnot as a man, hasty, rash, proud; but gentle, loving, tender, andfull of compassion. 3. It is his office and proper work to be aninstructor to the ignorant, and a helper of our infirmities andweaknesses, a physician to bind up and cure our sores andwounds.

Who would not then willingly give up themselves to such ateacher that will not thrust them to the door, nor give them up tothemselves always, when their corruptions would provoke himthereunto? And what a madness is this in many, to stand a-back fromChrist, because of their infirmities; and to scar at him, becauseof their weakness, when the more corruption we find the more weshould run to him? and it is soon enough to depart from Christ whenhe thrusts us away, and saith, he will have no more to do with us;yea, he will allow us to stay after we are thrice thrust away.Only, let us take heed that we approve not ourselves in our evils,that we hide them not as unwilling to part with them, that weobstinately maintain them not, nor ourselves in them; but that welie open before him, and deal with him, with honesty,ingenuousness, and plainness.

III. We see, further, That ignorance ingenuously acknowledgedand laid open before Christ, puts the soul in a fair way to getmore instruction. Thomas having candidly, according as he thought,in the simplicity of his heart, professed his ignorance, is in afair way now to get instruction. For this is Christ's work, toinstruct the ignorant, to open the eyes of the blind.

Why then are we so foolish as to conceal our ignorance from him,and to hide our case and condition from him; and why doth not thiscommend Christ's school to us so much the more? why do we not carryas ingenious scholars, really desirous to learn? But,

IV. We may learn, That our ill condition and distempers put intoChrist's hand will have remarkable out-gates, and an advantageousissue; seeing Christ taketh occasion here from Thomas his layingopen his condition, not without some mixture of corruption, toclear up the truth more fully and plainly than it was before; forhereby, 1. Christ giveth an open declaration of the glory of hispower, mercy, goodness, wisdom, &c. 2. He hath occasion to givea proof of his divine art and glorious skill of healing diseasedsouls, and of making broken bones stronger than ever they were. 3.Thus he effectually accomplished his noble designs, and perfectethhis work, in a way tending to abase man, by discovering hisinfirmities and failings; and to glorify himself in his goodnessand love. 4. Thus he triumpheth more over Satan, and in a moreremarkable and glorious manner destroyeth his works. 5. Thus hedeclareth how wonderfully he can make all things work together forgood to his chosen ones that love him and follow him. 6. Yea, thushe engageth souls to wonder more at his divine wisdom and power; todespair less in time coming, when cases would seem hard; toacknowledge his great and wonderful grace, and his infinite powerand wisdom, that can bring life out of death; and also to be moresensible of the mercy, and thankful for it.

O believer, what manner of joy is here! how happy art thou thathath given up thyself to him! Thy worst condition can turn to thyadvantage. He can make thy ignorance, vented with a mixture ofcorruption, turn to the increase of thy knowledge. Bless him forthis; and, with joy and satisfaction, abide thou under his tutoryand at his school. And withal, be not discouraged, be thy case ofignorance and corruption what it will, lay it before him withsincerity and singleness of heart, and then "thou mayest glory inthine infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on thee," 2Cor. xii. 9; for thou shalt see, in due time, what advantageinfinite love and wisdom can bring to thy soul thereby.

May not this be a strong motive to induce strangers to give upthemselves to him, who will sweetly take occasion, at theirfailings and shortcomings, to help them forward in the way? Andwhat excuse can they have who sit the call of the gospel, and say,in effect, they will not go to Christ because their case is notgood. And O that believers were not sometimes led away with thiserror of scaring at Christ, because of infirmities seen anddiscovered!

V. It is remarkable, that, as the disciples did ofttimes ventmuch of their carnal conceptions of the kingdom of Christ, asapprehending it to be some carnal, outward, pompous, stately, and,upon that account, desirable condition; so there might be much ofthis carnal apprehension lurking under this acknowledgment andquestion of Thomas; and the Lord, who knew their thoughts, dothhere wisely draw them off those notions, and sets them aboutanother study, to tell us, that it is best and most useful andprofitable for us, to be much taken up in the study and search ofnecessary fundamental truths, and, particularly, of the way to theFather. For, 1. Here is the substantial food of the soul; othernotions are but vain, and oftentimes they make the case of the soulworse; but the study of this is always edifying. 2. The rightunderstanding of this and other fundamental truths will not puffup, but keep the soul humble, and will make the soul active anddiligent in duty. 3. The fruit of this study is profitable andlasting. 4. And the right uptaking of these truths will discoverthe vanity of other sciences, falsely so called, and the folly ofspending our time about other things. 5. The right understanding ofthis fundamental will help us to understand other truths thebetter. 6. A mistake in this, and such like fundamentals, or theignorance of them, is more dangerous than the ignorance of ormistake in other things.

Oh! if this were teaching us all, in humility, to be much in thestudy of such fundamental necessary truths as this is; and to guardagainst a piece of vanity in affecting knowledge, the effect ofwhich is nothing but a puffing of us up with pride and conceit!

VI. We may here take notice of what may serve to discover Thomashis mistake, and what is the ground of Christ's assertion, verse 4,which Thomas doth little less than contradict, verse 5, viz. thatsuch as had any acquaintance with Christ did, according to themeasure of their knowledge of him, both know heaven and the way toit; whence we see these truths,

1. Persons may have some real acquaintance with Christ, and yetbe, for a time, very indistinct in their notions about him, andapprehensions of him. They may know Christ in some measure, and yetlook upon themselves as great strangers to the knowledge of heaven,and be oft complaining of their ignorance of the right way toheaven.

2. Where there is the least measure of true acquaintance withChrist, with love to him, and a desire to know more of him, Christwill take notice thereof, though it be covered over with a heap ofmistakes, and accompanied with much ignorance, weakness, andindistinctness. He seeth not as man seeth, which is good news tosome that are weak in knowledge, and unable to give any goodaccount of any knowledge they have; yet one thing they can say,that he who knoweth all things, knoweth that they love him.

3. Various are the dispensations of God's grace unto his own. Tosome he giveth a greater, to others a lesser measure of knowledgeof the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; and to one and the sameperson, more at one time than at another. Various are hismanifestations and out-lettings of grace and love. Small beginningsmay come to much at length. Thomas, and the rest of the disciples,had but little clear and distinct apprehensions of the way ofsalvation through Jesus Christ; and yet, ere all was done, theyattained to such a measure of understanding in the mysteries ofGod, as that we are said to be "built upon the foundation of theapostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone," Eph.ii. 20. This should teach the best much sobriety, and not to judgeof all by themselves; or to think, that God's way with them must bea standard or a rule whereby to judge of all the rest; as if hisway of dealing were one and the same with all.

4. The knowledge of Christ is all. Know him, and we know heavenand the way to it; for upon this ground doth Christ make good whathe said, touching their knowing whither he went, and the way; andanswereth the objection that Thomas did propose, viz. because hewas the way, &c., and they being acquaint with him, (which hereis presupposed,) were not ignorant of the place whither he wasgoing, nor of the way leading thither. The knowledge then of JesusChrist is a true and full compend of all saving knowledge. Hence it"is life eternal to know him," John xvii. 3. "They that know him,know the Father," John xiv. 9. and viii. 19. "They that see him,see the Father also," John xiv. 9. "He is in the Father, and theFather in him," John xiv. 10, 11. and x. 38. and xvii. 21. And soknowing him they know heaven; for what is heaven else but thepresence and glorious manifestations of the Father; for when Christspeaks of his going to heaven, he saith, "He was going to theFather." So knowing him, they know the way, both how Christ was togo to heaven as our cautioner, head, and attorney, and how we mustfollow.

Let then a man have never so much knowledge, and be acquaintedwith the mysteries of all arts and sciences, and with the depths ofnature, and intrigues of states, and all the theory of religion; ifhe be unacquainted with Jesus, he knoweth nothing as he ought toknow.

And upon the other hand, let a poor soul that is honest, andhath some knowledge of, and acquaintance with him, be satisfied,though it cannot discourse nor dispute, nor speak to cases ofconscience, as some others; if we know him, it matters not thoughwe be ignorant of many things, and thereby become less esteemed ofby others. Here is the true test, by which we may take a rightestimate of our own, or of others' knowledge. The true rule to tryknowledge by, is not fine notions, clear and distinct expressions,but heart-acquaintance with him; "in whom are hid all the treasuresof wisdom and knowledge," Col. ii. 3.

O sad! that we are not more taken up in this study, which wouldbe a compendious way for us to know all? Why spend we our money forthat which is not bread, and our labour for that which will notprofit us? Why waste we our time and spirits in learning thisscience, and that art; when, alas! after we, with much labour andtoil, have attained to the yondmost pitch there, we are never onewhit the nearer heaven and happiness? yea, it were well, if we werenot further off! Oh! if we were wise at length, and could thinkmore of this one thing necessary; and could be stirred up to learnmore of him, and to make this the subject of all our study andlabour.

CHAPTER II.

OF THE WORDS THEMSELVES IN GENERAL.

We come now to the words themselves, wherein Christ asserts thathe is, 1, "the way;" 2, "the truth;" 3, "the life;" and, 4, "thatno man cometh to the Father but by him."

In them we learn these two things in general.

First, The misery of wretched man by nature. This cannotbe in a few words expressed.

These words will point out those particulars thereof, which wewill but mention.

1. That he is born an enemy to, and living at a distance fromGod, by virtue of the curse of the broken covenant of life madewith Adam.

2. That he neither can nor will return to God, of himself. Hisway is not in himself; he hath need of another to be his way.

3. That he is a blind, wandering creature, ready to by-ways andto wander; yea, he loveth to wander. He goeth astray as soon as heis born, speaking lies.

4. He cannot discern the true way, but is blinded with prejudicethereat, and full of mistakes. He is nothing but a lump oferror.

5. He is dead legally and really: how can he then come home? Howcan he walk in the way, though it were pointed out to him?

6. He, even when he entereth into the way, is subject to so manyfaintings, swoonings, upsittings, &c. that except he get newquickening, he must lie by the way and perish.

In a word, his misery is such as cannot be expressed; for aslittle as it is believed, and laid to heart; or seen and mournedfor, and lamented.

Now, for a ground to our following discourse, I would press thesolid, thorough and sensible apprehension of this, without whichthere will be no use-making or application of Christ; "for thewhole need not the physician, but the sick;" and Christ is "notcome to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance," Matt. ix.12. Mark ii. 17. Yea, believers themselves would live within thesight of this, and not forget their frailty; for though there be achange wrought in them, yet they are not perfect, but will haveneed of Christ as the way, the truth, and the life, till he bringthem in, and set them down upon the throne, and crown them with thecrown of life. And, O happy they, who must not walk on foot withoutthis guide leading them by the hand, or rather carrying them in hisarms. Let all them who would make use of Christ remember what theywere, and what they are, and keep the sense of their frailty andmisery fresh; that seeing their need of him, they may be in bettercase to look out to him for help and supply, and be more distinctin their application of him.

The second general is, that Christ is a completemediator, thoroughly furnished for all our necessities. Are we at adistance from the Father? He is a way to bring us together. Are wewandered out of the way? He is the way to us. Are we blind andignorant? He is the truth. Are we dead? He is the life. Concerningthis fulness and completeness of his, we would mark thesethings:

1. That he is thoroughly furnished with all things we stand inneed of; the way, the truth, and the life. He hath eye-salve,clothing, gold tried in the fire, &c. "For the Spirit of theLord is upon him, and hath anointed him," Isa. lxi. 1.

2. He is suitably qualified, not only having a fulness, and anall-fulness, so that whatever we need is to be had in him, but alsoa suitable fulness answering our case to the life. Are we out ofthe way? He is the way. Are we dead? He is life, &c.

3. He is richly qualified with this suitable good. He hath notonly "wisdom and knowledge," but "treasures of it," yea, "all thetreasures" thereof, Col. ii. 3. There is fulness in him; yea, "ithath pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell," Col.i. 19. Yea, "the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth in him bodily,"Col. ii. 9.

4. Hence this is an up-making completeness and fulness; for weare said to be "complete in him," Col. ii. 10. And he is said to"be all in all," Col. iv. 11. "He filleth all in all," Eph. i.23.

5. It is also a satisfying completeness. The eye is notsatisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. The avaricious manis not satisfied with gold, nor the ambitious man with honour; butstill they are crying with the loch leech, give, give! But the manwho getteth Christ is full; he sitteth down and cryeth, enough,enough! And no wonder, for he hath all; he can desire no more; hecan seek no more; for what can the man want that is complete inhim?

6. There is here that which will answer all the objections of asoul; and these sometimes are not few. If they say they cannot knowthe way to the Father, then he is the truth to instruct and teachthem that, and so to enter them into it. And if they say theycannot walk in that way, nor advance in it one step, but will faintand sit up, succumb and fall by; he answereth that he is the life,to put life and keep life in them, and to cause them to walk, byputting a new principle of life in them, and breathing of new onthat principle.

O thrice happy they who have fled to him for refuge! It is easyfor them to answer all objections and cavils of Satan, and of afalse heart. It is easy for them to put Christ to answer all. And,on the other hand, who can tell the misery of such as are strangersto Jesus? How shall their wants be made up? How shall they answerchallenges, accusations, temptations, doubts, fears, objections,and discouragements, cast up in their way?

Oh! should not this endear the way of the gospel to us, and makeChrist precious unto us! Is it not a wonder that such anall-sufficient mediator, who is able to save to the uttermost allthat come to God through him, should be so little regarded andsought unto; and that there should be so few that embrace him, andtake him as he is offered in the gospel.

How can this be answered in the day of accounts? What excuse canunbelievers now have? Is not all to be found in Christ that theircase calleth for? Is he not a complete mediator, thoroughlyfurnished with all necessaries? Is not the riches of his fulnesswritten on all his dispensations? The mouths, then, of unbelievers,must be for ever stopped.

CHAPTER III.

HOW CHRIST IS THE WAY IN GENERAL, "I AM THE WAY."

We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and,first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at theway of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, anddifficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly topoint out the way how believers should make use of Christ in alltheir particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk inhim, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him.It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ inreference to unbelievers, as occasion offereth, because this willhelp to clear the other.

Before we can clear up how any can make use of Christ, we mustspeak something of their necessity of him, and of his beingfurnished fitly, fully, richly, and satisfyingly for their case;and this will make the way of use-making of Christ more plain.

While Christ then says, "I am the Way," he points out thosethings to us:

1. That man is now estranged from the Lord, and in a wanderingcondition: He hath departed from God, he is revolted and gone."They are all gone out of the way," Rom. iii. 12. "They go astrayas soon as they are born, speaking lies," Psal. lviii. 3.

2. Nay, not only so, but we love naturally to wander and to runaway from God, as Jeremiah complaineth of that wicked people, Jer.xiv. 10. Naturally, with "the dromedary, we traverse our ways,"Jer. ii. 23, and run hither and thither, but never look towardshim. Nay, we are like those spoken of, Job xxi. 14. "We desire notthe knowledge of his ways, we will have none of him," Psalm lxxxi.11; nor "of his reproofs," Prov. i. 30.

Oh, how sad is this! And yet how is it more sad, that this isnot believed, nor once considered. And that it is not believed, ismanifest; for,

1. How rare is it to meet with persons that are not very wellpleased and satisfied with themselves and their condition? Theythank the Lord it was aye well with them. They have no complaints.They see no wants nor necessities. They wonder what makes folkcomplain of their condition, of their evil heart, or of theirhazard and danger. They understand not these matters.

2. Do we not find people very quiet and at rest, though theyremain in the congregation of the dead, Prov. xxi. 16. They sleepin a sound skin, because they see no hazard. The thoughts of theircondition never bereave them of one night's rest: No challengeshave they; all is at peace with them, for the strong man keeps thehouse.

3. How rare is it to find people exercised about this matter,and busied with it in their thoughts, either while alone, or whilein company with others; or once seriously thinking and consideringof it, yea, or so much as suspecting the matter?

4. How rare is it to see any soul broken in heart, and humbledbecause of this; who is walking under this as under a load; whosesoul is bleeding under the consideration of this! Is there anymourning for this?

5. Where is that to be heard, "Men and brethren, what shall wedo to be saved?" How shall we enter into the right way? Where isthat good old way, that we may walk in it? Few such questions andcases troubling consciences; and no wonder, for a deep sleep isupon them.

6. How cometh it then, that the pointing forth of the way is solittle hearkened unto? Sure were this natural condition perceived,a report of the sure and safe way would be much more welcome thanit is: Christ by his messengers would not be put to cry so often invain, "This is the way, turn in hither."

Here is enough to convince of this ignorance and insensibleness;but it is his Spirit, which "convinceth the world of sin," Johnxvi. that must bear home this conviction.

Secondly, It pointeth out to us this, that "the way ofman is not in himself," Jer. x. 23, that is, that nothing, he cando can or will prove a way to him to the Father: For Christ is theWay, as excluding all other means and ways. And that man can donothing to help himself into the way, is clear; for,

1. "His way is darkness," Prov. iv. 14. He knoweth no better, heis satisfied therewith; there he sleepeth and resteth.

2. He cannot nor doth not desire to return. He hateth to bereformed.

3. Yea, he thinketh himself safe; no man can convince him of thecontrary: The way he is in "seemeth right to him, though the endthereof be death;" Prov. xiv. 12, and xvi. 25.

4. Every man hath his own particular way to which he turneth,Isaiah liii, 6; some one thing or other that he is pleased with,and that he thinks will abundantly carry him through, and thereresteth he; and what these ordinarily are, we shall hearpresently.

5. In this his way, which yet is a false way, "he trusteth,"Hosea x. 13, he leaneth upon it, little knowing that it will failhim at length, and that he and his hope and confidence shallperish.

Is it not strange then to see men and women "gading about toseek their way," as it is said, Jer. ii. 36. as if they could findit out; or as if they could of themselves fall upon the way. What alamentable sight is it, to see people "wearying themselves withvery lies," Ezek. xxiv. 12; "and wearied in the multitude of theirown counsels," Isaiah xlvii. 15.

But what are those false and lying ways which men wearythemselves in, and all in vain; and which they chuse and trustunto, and yet are not the way which will prove safe and sure?

Ans. It will not be easy to reckon them all up, we shallname some that are principal and most ordinary; such as,

1. Good purposes and resolutions, with which many deceivethemselves, supposing that to be all which is required: And, alas!all their purposes are like to Ephraim's goodness,—like theearly cloud and morning dew that soon evanisheth; their purposesare soon broken off, and soon disappointed, because made withoutcounsel, Prov. xv. 22. Many foolishly rest here, that they have agood mind to do better, and to amend their ways, and they purposeafter such a time or such time, they shall begin a new manner oflife; but their purposes never come to any effect, and so at lengththey and their purposes both perish.

2. Some convictions and inward challenges. The word now and thenpierceth them so far, and sore and sharp dispensations from theLord so far affect their heart, that they see it is not well withthem; and they are made, with Saul, to cry out, "I have sinned," 1Sam. xv. 24, and they advance no further; those convictions eitherdie out again, or work no further change: And, poor souls, theythink, because at such a sermon, or such a communion, they had somesuch convictions and sharp challenges, therefore they imagine allis well with them; when a Judas may have convictions, sharper thanever they had, and a Felix, Acts xxiv. 25.

3. Convictions followed with some sort of amendment. Some maydreadfully deceive themselves with this, and conclude that all isright with them, and that the way they are in is safe and sure;because they have had convictions, which have been so effectual asto cause them to amend many things, and become, as to many things,changed men and women, when, alas, their way is but a way ofdarkness still; it is not Christ; they have never come to him.Herod hearing John Baptist, had his own convictions and amendments;for "he did many things," Mark vi. 20.

4. Many rest upon their outward civility and morality, ornegative holiness. They cannot be challenged for gross faults, andthat is all the way they have to rest in: Alas! could not a wickedPharisee say as much as they, viz. "That he was no extortioner,unjust person, or an adulterer, nor such as the publican was," Lukexviii. 11. How many heathens, as to this, shall outstrip such asprofess themselves Christians? and yet they lived and diedstrangers to the right way to happiness. See what that poor youngman said, Luke xviii. 21.

5. Some may win to more than civility, and attain unto a kind ofoutward holiness, and outward performance of the duties ofreligion, such as hearing, reading, prayer, communicating, and restthere, and yet perish: For that is but their own way, it is not theright way. Had not the foolish virgins lamps? and did they not waitwith the rest, Matth. xxv.; and will not many say, in that day, "Wehave eaten and drunken in thy presence, and thou hast taught in ourstreets:" to whom Christ shall answer, "I know not whence you are,depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity?" Luke xiii. 26, 27.Were not the Jews much in duties and outward ordinances? and yetsee how the Lord rejected them all, Isaiah i. 11-15, and lxvi.3.

6. Much knowledge doth deceive many. They think because they cantalk of religion, speak to cases of conscience, handle places ofScripture, and the like, that therefore all is right with them;when alas, that is but a slippery ground to stand upon. ThePharisees sat in Moses' seat, and taught sometimes sound doctrine;and yet were heart-enemies to Jesus, Matth. xxiii. And will notmany think to plead themselves into heaven, by saying, that they"have prophesied in his name," Matth. vii. 22. There is "aknowledge that puffeth up," 1 Cor. xiii. 2. Some there are whoseknowledge seemeth to be operative and practical, and not merelyspeculative. Some may "escape the pollutions of the world throughthe knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," and yet againbecome entangled therein and overcome; so that "their latter end isworse than the beginning;" see 2 Peter ii. 20, 21, 22. Knowledge, Igrant, is good, but it is not Christ, and so it is not the way tothe Father; and many, alas! lean to it, and are deceived atlast.

7. A kind of seeming seriousness in the performance of duties,and in seeking of God, deceiveth many. They think, because they arenot conscious to their own dissembling, but they look uponthemselves as earnest in what they do, that therefore all is well.Sayeth not Christ, that not "every one that saith, Lord, Lord,shall enter into the kingdom of God?" Matth. vii. 21; that is, notevery one that reneweth their suits, and ingeminateth theirdesires, cry, and cry over again, and, as it were, will not give itover; and yet they come short of their expectation. Did not thefoolish virgins seem earnest and serious, when they continuedwaiting with the rest, and at length cried "Lord, Lord, open untous;" and yet they are kept at the door. Many consider not thatthere is a secret and close hypocrisy, that some may be under andnot know it, as well as a gross hypocrisy and dissimulation, whichmay be easily observed; "Will not many seek to enter in that shallnot be able?" Matth. vii. 13. Luke xiii. 24.

8. Many deceive themselves with this, that they are looked on byother godly, discerning persons and ministers, as good seriousChristians, and that they carry so handsomely and so fair, that noman can judge otherways of them, than that they are good seriousseekers of God. But, alas! the day is coming which will discovermany things, and many one will be deceived both of themselves andof others. "Not he who commendeth himself is approved, but whom Godapproveth," 2 Cor. x. 18. Therefore, Paul exhorts Timothy, "tostudy to show himself approved unto God," 2 Tim. ii. 15. Men lookonly on the outside, and cannot see into the heart; but Godsearcheth the heart; and it is an easy matter to deceive men, butGod will not be deceived.

9. Some may suppose themselves in a safe and sure way, if theyoutstrip others in religious duties, and be much in extraordinaryduties, when, alas! for all that, the heart may be rotten. "ThePharisee fasted twice a-week," Luke xviii. 12, and yet was but anenemy to Christ. O how deceitful is the heart of man!

10. Inward peace and quietness of conscience may deceive some;and they may suppose that all is right with them; because they donothing over the belly of their conscience. Their heart doth notaccuse them of falsehood and dissimulation in their way with God orman, but they do all things according to their light. No doubt thatyoung man (Luke xviii. 21,) spoke according to his judgment andlight, when he said, "All these things have I kept from my youth."And Paul saith of himself (Acts xxiii. 1,) "that he had lived inall good conscience before God till that very day;" meaning, thateven while he was a Pharisee unconverted, he had not tortured hisconscience, nor done anything directly against it, but had alwayswalked according to his light. See Acts xxvi. 9.

11. A way of zeal may deceive many who may think their caseunquestionable, because they are zealous for their way, and, asthey think, their zeal is pure for God. Was not Paul, while aPharisee, very zealous, when, out of zeal to his way, he persecutedthe church, Philip. iii. 6. See my zeal for the Lord, could I thussay, 2 Kings x. 16; and the Jews had a zeal of God, but notaccording to knowledge, Rom. x. 2; and Christ tells us, that suchas should persecute the Apostles unto death, would think they didGod good service, John xvi. 2.

12. Some also may put it beyond question, that they are in theright way, because they are more strict in all their ways thanothers, and will not so much as keep fellowship or company withthem; saying, with those, (Isaiah lxv. 5) "Stand by, I am holierthan thou, come not near to me," who yet are but a smoke in God'snose, and a fire that burneth all the day.

13. Some may rest on, and deceive themselves with their greatattainments, and more than ordinary experiences, when, alas! we seeto what a height some may come, and yet prove nothing. Let suchsouls read with trembling that word of Paul, Heb. vi 4, 5, where wesee some may come to be enlightened, to taste of the heavenly gift,to be made partakers of the Holy Ghost, to taste the good word ofGod, and the powers of the world to come, and yet prove cast-aways;taking these expressions as pointing forth something distinct fromreal grace.

Many such false ways, wherein men please themselves, might bementioned; by these every one may see cause of searching and tryingover and over again. It is a dreadful thing to be deceived here,and it is best to put it to a trial, when there is a possibility ofgetting the matter helped. And many may fear and tremble when theysee they are not yet come the length of many such as sit downwithout Christ, and lose all their labour. Oh, if this could putpeople to a serious examination and trial of themselves, and of thenature of that way wherein they are, and rest at present!

Thirdly, We might here observe, that this true and livingway is but one for all. There is but "one Mediator between God andman," 1 Tim. ii. 5. One Mediator for both Old and New Testament,the seed of the woman. Howbeit the Lord's dispensations with hispeople, in that one way, may be various, as his way with his peopleunder the law is different from his way with his people under thegospel; and his dispensations with individual believers, whetherunder the law or under the gospel, is not the same in allthings.

And this should teach us to relinquish our own ways, and toenter into this one only way; and it should move such as are inthis way to study unity and agreement among themselves; and yet notinfer or suppose, that God's way with them must be in all thingsalike. Yea, though the Lord's way with them be different from hisway with others, and more dark, disconsolate, and bitter, yet letthem be quiet and silent before the Lord, and acknowledge hisgoodness that hath brought them into the one only way, JesusChrist, and keepeth them there.

But, fourthly, The main thing here, and which is obvious,is this, that Jesus Christ is the way to the Father, the one andonly way, the sovereign and excellent way, and he alone is the way.There is not another. "Neither is there salvation in any other; forthere is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby wemust be saved," Acts iv. 12.

For clearing of this, we shall speak a little to those fourthings, and shew,

1. What is our case, and what need we have of a way.

2. How Christ answereth this our case and necessity, and is afit way for us.

3. How he alone is the way, and answereth this our case.

4. What are the rare advantages and specialities of thisway.

And this will make way for our clearing up, how Christ is madeuse of as a way by poor sinners.

For the first of these, our present case and necessity,something was spoken to it before; we shall reduce all those to twoheads. The first is, our state of guilt, and separation from Godbecause of sin and guilt; the next is, our state of wickedness andenmity against God.

As to the first, we may take notice of those things:

1. That sin, original and actual, hath separated us from God,and cast us out of his favour, and out of that station of favourand friendship which once we were advanced to in Adam.

2. That we are under God's curse and wrath, and excommunicatedfrom the presence of the Lord, by a sad, yet just, sentenceaccording to law, and so are under death.

As to the next thing, we may take notice of thoseparticulars:

1. That we are impure and polluted with sin and dailyiniquity.

2. That we are ignorant of the right way of returning intofavour with God, seeking out to ourselves many inventions.

3. That we are impotent for any good work or commanded duty.

That not only so, but we are unwilling to do any thing that isgood, or to enter into the way when pointed out unto us; yea, weare enemies to God by wicked works, and have an innate hatred toall his ways.

5. We desire not to be out of the condition whereinto we are;there we love to lie and sleep, and desire not to be roused up orawakened.

6. We are under the power and command of Satan, who leadeth usout of the way, yea, and driveth us forward in the wrong way, toour perdition.

These things are plain and undeniable, and need no furtherconfirmation; though, alas! it is little believed or laid to heartby many.

For the second, how Christ answereth this our case andnecessity. He is a way to us to help us out of both these, both outof our state of guilt and separation, and out of our state ofwickedness and enmity.

And, first, he helpeth us out of our state of guilt andseparation:

1. By taking away our guilt and sin; "being made sin for us, whoknew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God inhim," 2 Cor. v. 21. He hath filled the great gap betwixt God andus, with his body, and hath made of it, as it were, a bridge, bywhich they may go over to the Father: "We enter now into theholiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which hehath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, hisflesh," Heb. x. 19, 20; "we are now brought near by his blood,"Eph. ii. 13, so that through him we are restored again tofriendship with God, and made one with him; for Christ the Mediatorhath "made both one, reconciling Jews and Gentiles both unto God,in one body, by the cross, having slain the enmity," Eph. ii.16.

2. By taking away the curse and wrath that was due to us, being"made a curse for us," Gal iii. 13. So that he is become our peace,and "through him we have access by one spirit unto the Father, andare no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with thesaints, and of the household of God," Eph. ii. 14, 18, 19. "He isset forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood," Rom.iii. 25. 1 John ii. 2, and iv. 10. "By him have we now receivedatonement," Rom. v. 11.

Next, he helpeth us out of our state of wickedness andenmity,

1. By taking away our impurity and uncleanness, "by washing usand cleansing us in his blood," Ezek. xvi. 6-9. Col. i. 22, "havingpurchased grace for us," Eph. v. 1, 3, "we are blessed with allspiritual blessings in him." He applieth his merits, and layeth thefoundation of grace and holiness in the soul, and carrieth on thework of mortification and vivification; and so killing the old manby his Spirit, both meritoriously and efficiently, he cleanseth andwasheth. Hence, we are said to be baptised with him in his death,and buried with him by baptism into death, that we should walk innewness of life. And so our old man is crucified with him, that thebody of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not servesin, Rom. vi. 3, 4, 6. And for our daily infirmities and escapes,whereby we pollute ourselves, his blood "is a fountain opened tothe house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin andfor uncleanness," Zech. xiii. 1; and to this fountain he bringethby the spirit of repentance, which he, as an exalted prince,bestoweth, Acts. v. 31, and by faith. So 1 John ii. 1, "if any mansin, we have an advocate with the Father," &c.

2. As for our ignorance and blindness, he taketh that away,being given for a light to the Gentiles, Isa. xlii. 6, and xlix. 6.Luke ii. 32. He is sent to open the blind eyes, Isa. xlii. 7; tobring out the prisoners from their dark prisons, Isa. xlii. 7, andlxi. 1. Yea, he is anointed for this end, so that such as walk indarkness see a great light, and they that dwell in the land of theshadow of death, upon them the light hath shined, Isa. ix. 2.Matth. iv. 15; and he hath eye-salve to give, Rev. iii. 18.

3. He is qualified for taking away our impotency, so thatthrough him we can do all things, Philip, iv. 13; "when we areweak, we are strong in him who is our strength, and liveth in us,"2 Cor. xii. 10. Gal. ii. 20. Hence, "he worketh in us both to willand to do of his own good pleasure," Philip. ii. 13.

4. He also taketh away our natural averseness, unwillingness,wickedness, and hatred of his ways, making his people "willing inthe day of his power," Psal. cx. So he taketh away "the enmity thatis in us," Col. ii. 20, and reconcileth us to God and to his ways,that our hearts do sweetly comply with them, and we become mostwilling and glad to walk in them, yea, and "to run the way of hiscommandments through his enlarging of our hearts," Psal. cxix.22.

5. He likewise taketh away that desire and willingness, which wehave, to lie still in our natural condition, by convincing us ofthe dreadful hazard thereof, through the spirit of conviction,whereby he convinceth the world of it, John xvi. 8, andcircumciseth their ears to hear, and maketh them willing to hearkento the counsel of God.

6. As for the power and dominion of Satan, he breaketh that, by"leading captivity captive," Eph. iv. 8; Psal. lxviii. 18; "andspoiling the strongman's house; for he is come to destroy the worksof the devil," 1 John iii. 8; "and he spoileth principalities andpowers," Col. ii. 15. Thus, as a captain of salvation, he leadeththem out as a conqueror; having paid the price, he delivereth alsoby power and authority from the hand of this jailor.

And thus we see how he answereth our case and necessity, and isa fit way for us; and though this be not questioned, yet little isit believed and considered, and less put in practice.

And as for the third particular, that he alone is this way, andanswereth our case herein, it needeth not be much spoken to, sinceit is clear and manifest, confirmed by the experience of allgenerations, and the disappointments of fools who have been seekingother ways. Angels in heaven cannot do our business, they cannotsatisfy justice for us, nor have they any power over our heart toturn it as they will; nay, they are not acquainted with our secretthoughts, that cabinet is kept close from them, and reserved as thepeculiar privilege of God alone. The blood of bulls and of goatscannot do it; for the apostle tells us, that it is impossible forthat to take away sin, Heb. x. 4. That blood shed according to thelaw did cleanse ceremonially, but it is only the blood of Jesus,typified by that, which cleanseth really; so that we are sanctifiedthrough the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, Heb.x. 10. No pains or labour of ours can avail here. The Lord will notbe pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of riversof oil. "He will not take our first-born for our transgression, northe son of our body for the sin of our soul," Micah vi. 7.Ordinance and means will not do it, nor any invention of our own:"no man can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God aransom for him; for the redemption of the soul is precious, and itceaseth for ever," Psal. xlix. 7, 8. He alone hath laid down theprice; all our sufferings, prayers, tears, labours, penances, andthe like, signify nothing here; they cannot satisfy justice for onesin.

As to the fourth particular, viz., the singularity of this way,those things make it manifest and apparent:

1. This is such a way as can discover itself, and make itselfknown unto the erring traveller. Christ Jesus is such a way as cansay to the wandering soul, "this is the way, walk ye in it," Isa.xxx. 25. No way can do this. This is comfortable.

2. This way can not only discover itself to the wanderingtraveller, but also it can bring folk into it. Christ can bringsouls unto himself, when they are running on in their wanderingcondition. He can move their hearts to turn into the right way, putgrace in their soul for this end, begin resolutions in them, andsow the seed of faith; and so stay their course which they wereviolently pursuing, and make them look about and consider what theyare doing. As the former was good news to poor, blind, and witlesscreatures that were wandering and knew not whither they were going;so this is good news to poor souls that find their heart incliningto wander, and loving to go astray.

3. This way can cause us walk in it. If we be rebellious andobstinate, he can command with authority; for he is given for aleader and commander, Isa. lv. 4. How sweet should this be to thesoul that is weighted with a stubborn, untractable, andunpersuadable heart, that he, as a king, governor, and commander,can with authority draw or drive, and cause us follow and run?

4. This way is truth, as well as the way; so that the soul thatonce entereth in here is safe for ever; no wandering here. "Thewayfaring men, though fools, shall not err in this way," Isa. xxxv.8. "He will bring the blind by a way that they knew not, and leadthem in paths that they have not known; he will make darkness lightbefore them, and crooked things straight; those things will he dounto them, and not forsake them," Isa. xlii. 16.

5. This way is also life, and so can revive the faint and wearytraveller. "He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have nomight he increaseth strength; yea, he renews their strength, andmakes them mount up with wings as eagles, and run and not be weary,and walk and not be faint," Isa. xl. 29, 31; "and so he giveth legsto the traveller, yea, he carrieth the lambs in his bosom," Isa.xl. 11. Oh! who would not walk in this way? what can discourage theman that walketh here? what can he fear? No way can quicken andrefresh the weary man. This way can do it; yea, it can quicken onethat is as dead, and cause him march on with fresh alacrity andvigour.

6. From all these it followeth, that this way is a mostpleasant, heartsome, desirable and comfortable way. The man is safehere, and he may "sing in the ways of the Lord," Psalm cxxxviii. 5."For wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths arepeace," Prov. iii. 17. He is a way that is food, physic, cordials,and all that the poor traveller standeth in need of till he comehence.

From all which, ere we come to particulars, we shall in generalpoint out those duties, which natively result thence, by way ofuse.

1. O what cause is there here for all of us to fall a wondering,both that God should ever have condescended to have appointed a wayhow sinners and rebels, that had wickedly departed from him, anddeserved to be cast out of his presence and favour for ever, mightcome back again, and enjoy happiness and felicity in the friendshipand favour of that God that could have got the glory of his justicein our destruction, and stood in no need of us, or of any thing wecould do: as also, that he appointed such a way, that Jesus Christhis only Son, should, to speak so, lie as a bridge betwixt God andsinful rebels, and as a highway, that they might return to thegreat God upon him. Let all the creation of God wonder at thiswonderful condescending love of God, that appointed such a way; andof Christ, that was content to lout so low as to become this way tous, this new and living way; and that for this end he should havetaken on flesh, and become Emmanuel, God with us, and tabernacledwith us, that through this vail of his flesh, he might consecrate away to us. Let angels wonder at this condescendency.

2. Hence we may see ground of being convinced of those things:(1.) That naturally we are out of the way to peace and favour withGod, and in a way that leadeth to death, and so that our misery andwretchedness, so long as it is so, cannot be expressed. (2.) Thatwe can do nothing for ourselves; set all our wits a-work, we cannotfall upon a way that will bring us home. (3.) That it is madnessfor us to seek out another way, and to vex ourselves in vain, torun to this and to that mean or invention of our own, and be foundfools in the end. (4.) That our madness is so much the greater inthis, that we will turn to our own ways that will fail us, whenthere is such a noble and excellent, and every way satisfying wayprepared to our hand. (5.) That our wickedness is so desperate,that the way which is pointed out to us doth not please us, andthat we will not enter into it, nor walk in it. (6.) That this way,which is also the truth and the life, is only worth the embracing,and is only safe and sure; we should be convinced and persuaded ofthe worth, sufficiency, and desirableness of this way. Reason, withordinary light from the word, may teach these things; but grace canonly carry them into the heart, and make them take rootingthere.

3. We may read here our obligation to those particulars: (1.) Toturn our back upon all other false and deceitful ways, and not restthere. (2.) To enter into this way, though "the gate be narrow andstrait," Matt vii. 13. Luke xiii. 24, yet "to strive to enter in."(3.) To resolve to abide in that way as acquiescing in it, restingsatisfied with it, and thus to be "rooted in him," Col. ii. 7, and"to dwell in him," 1 John iii. 24, and "to live in him," or"through him," 1 John iv. 9. (4.) To "walk in this way," Col. ii.6. that is, to make constant use of him, and to make progress inthe way in and through him; to go from strength to strength in him,drawing all our furniture from him, by faith, according to thecovenant; and that the soul should guard against, 1. stepping asideout of this good and pleasant way; 2. backsliding; 3. sitting up,and fainting by the way.

In a word, this pointeth out our duty, to make use of Christ asour way to the Father, and only of Christ; and this leads us to theparticulars we shall speak a little to.

There are two main things which stand in our way, and hinder usfrom approaching to the Father. 1. Unrighteousness and guilt,whereby we are legally banished, because of the broken covenant,and the righteous sentence of God according to that covenant. And,2. Wickedness, impurity, and unholiness, which is, as a physicalbar, lying in our way; because nothing that is unclean can dwelland abide with him, who is of purer eyes than he can beholdiniquity; and nothing that is unclean can enter in there where heis. So then there must be an use-making of Christ, as a way throughboth these impediments; we need justification and pardon for theone, and sanctification and cleansing for the other. Now Christbeing the way to the Father, both as to justification, in takingaway the enmity, in changing our state, and removing ourunrighteousness and guilt, whereby we were lying under the sentenceof the law, adjudging such sinners as we are to hell; and as tosanctification, in cleansing us from all our pollutions, renewingour souls, washing away our spots and defilements, &c. He mustbe made use of in reference to both.

In speaking to the first, we shall be the shorter,because through God's great mercy, the gospel's pure way ofjustification by faith in Christ is richly and abundantly clearedup by many worthy authors, of late, both as concerning thetheoretical and practical part.

CHAPTER IV.

HOW CHRIST IS MADE USE OF FOR JUSTIFICATION AS A WAY.

What Christ hath done to purchase, procure, and bring about ourjustification before God, is mentioned already, viz. That he stoodin the room of sinners, engaging for them as their cautioner,undertaking, and at length paying down the ransom; becoming sin, ora sacrifice for sin, and a curse for them, and so laying down hislife a ransom to satisfy divine justice; and this he hath madeknown in the gospel, calling sinners to an accepting of him astheir only Mediator, and to a resting upon him for life andsalvation; and withal, working up such, as belong to the electionof grace, to an actual closing with him upon the conditions of thecovenant, and to an accepting of him, believing in him, and restingupon him, as satisfied with, and acquiescing in that sovereign wayof salvation and justification through a crucified Mediator.

Now, for such as would make use of Christ as the way to theFather in the point of justification, those things are requisite;to which we shall only premise this word of caution, That we judgenot the want of these requisites a ground to exempt any, thatheareth the gospel, from the obligation to believe and rest uponChrist as he is offered in the gospel.

1. There must be a conviction of sin and misery. A conviction oforiginal guilt, whereby we are banished out of God's presence andfavour, and are in a state of enmity and death, are come short ofthe glory of God, Rom. iii. 23; becoming dead or under the sentenceof death, through the offence of one, Rom. v. 15; being madesinners by one man's disobedience, verse 19, and therefore underthe reigning power of death, verse 17, and under that judgment thatcame upon all men to condemnation, verse 18. And of original innatewickedness, whereby the heart is filled with enmity against God,and is a hater of him and all his ways, standing in full oppositionto him and to his holy laws; loving to contradict and resist him inall his actings; despising and undervaluing all his condescensionsof love; obstinately refusing his goodness and offers of mercy; andperemptorily persisting in rebellion and heart-opposition; not onlynot accepting his kindness and offers of mercy, but contemningthem, trampling them under foot as embittered against him. As also,there must be a conviction of our actual transgressions, whereby wehave corrupted our ways yet more, run farther away from God,brought on more wrath upon our souls, according to that sentence ofthe law, "Cursed is everyone that abideth not in all things thatare written in the law to do them," Deut. xxvii. 26. Gal. iii. 10.What way this conviction is begun and carried on in the soul, andto what measure it must come, I cannot now stand to explain; only,in short, know, That upon whatever occasion it be begun, whether bya word carried home to the heart by the finger of God, or by somesharp and crossing dispensation, fear of approaching death, someheinous out-breaking, or the like, it is a real thing, aheart-reaching conviction, not general and notional, butparticular, plain, and pinching, affecting the heart with fear andterror, making the soul seriously and really to mind this matter,to be taken up with the thoughts of it, and anxiously and earnestlyto cry out, "What shall I do to be saved?" and finally, will makethe soul willing to hearken and hear what hopes of mercy there isin the gospel, and to embrace the way of salvation which is therelaid down. And the reason of this is, because Christ himself tellsus, "The whole needeth not the physician, but the sick," Matt. ix.12. "He is not come to call the righteous," that is, such as arerighteous in their own eyes, "but sinners," that is, such as arenow no more whole at the heart, as seeing no evil, no hazard ordanger, but pricked and pierced with the sense of their lostcondition, being under the heavy wrath and vengeance of the greatGod, because of sin; and seeing their own vileness, cursedness,wickedness and desperate madness. Because naturally we hate God andChrist, John xv. 23-25, and have a strong and natural antipathy atthe way of salvation through Jesus, therefore nothing but strongand inevitable necessity will drive us to a compliance with thisgospel device of love.

2. There must be some measure of humiliation. Under thisconviction the man is bowed down, and made mute before God; no moreboasting of his goodness and of his happy condition; no high orgreat thoughts of his righteousness; for all are looked on now as"filthy rags," Isa. lxv. 6. "What things were as gain before to thesoul, must now be counted loss, yea, and as dung," Philip, iii. 7,8. The man must be cast down in himself, and far from high andconceity thoughts of himself, or of any thing he ever did or cando. "For the Lord resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to thehumble," James iv. 6; 1 Pet. v. 5. "He reviveth the spirit of thehumble," Isa. lvii. 15. "He that humbleth himself shall beexalted," Matt. xviii. 4, and xxiii. 12; Luke xiv. 11, and xviii.14.

3. There must be a despairing of getting help or relief out ofthis condition, by ourselves, or any thing we can do; a convictionof the unprofitableness of all things under the sun for our relief.No expectation of help from our supposed good heart, good purposes,good deeds, works of charity, many prayers, commendations ofothers, sober and harmless walking, or anything else within us orwithout us that is not Christ. For, so long as we have the leasthope or expectation of doing our own business without Christ, wewill not come to him. Our heart hangeth so after the old way ofsalvation through works, that we cannot endure to hear of anyother, nor can we yield to any other. Could we but have heaven bythe way of works, we would spare no pains, no cost, no labour, noexpenses; nay, we would put ourselves to much pain and torment bywhippings, cuttings, fastings, watchings, and the like; we wouldspare our first-born; nay, we would dig our graves in a rock withour nails, and cut our own days, could we but get heaven by thismeans; such is our antipathy at the way of salvation through acrucified Christ, that we would choose any way but that, cost whatit would; therefore, before we can heartily close with Christ andaccept of him, we must be put from those refuges of lies, and seethat there is nothing but a disappointment written on them all,that all our prayers, fastings, cries, duties, reformations,sufferings, good wishes, good deeds, &c. are nothing in hiseyes, but so many provocations to the eyes of his jealousy, and so,further causes of our misery.

4. There must be a rational, deliberate, and resoluterelinquishing of all those things in ourselves, on which our heartis ready to dote. The man being convinced of the vanity of allthings by which he hath been hoping for salvation, must now purposeto lose his grips of them, to turn his back upon them, to quit themwith purpose of heart, and to say to them, get you hence, as Isa.xxx. 22. This is to deny ourselves, which we must do ere we becomehis disciples, Matt. xvi. 24. This is to forsake our father'shouse, Psalm xlv. 10, and to pluck out our right eye, and to cutoff our right arm, Matth. v. 29, 30. This abandoning of all ourfalse propes and subterfuges must be resolute, over the belly ofmuch opposition within, from the carnal and natural inclinations ofthe heart; and of much opposition without, from Satan's ensnaringsuggestions and deceitful temptations: It must be a real, rationalact of the soul, upon solid and thorough conviction of theirunprofitableness, yea, of their dangerousness anddestructiveness.

5. There must be some knowledge of the nature of the gospelcovenant, and of the way which now God hath chosen whereby toglorify his grace in the salvation of poor sinners. That God,Father, Son, and Holy Ghost thought good, for the glory of freegrace and wisdom, in a way of justice and mercy, to send JesusChrist to assume man's nature, and so become God and man in twodistinct natures, and one person, for ever; and to become under thelaw, to undergo the curse thereof, and to die the cursed death ofthe cross, to satisfy justice, and pay the ransom for theredemption of the elect. In which undertaking our Lord was aservant, Isa. xlii. 1, and xlix. 6, and lii. 13, and liii. 11.Zech. iii. 8. Matt. xii. 18; and had furniture from God for all hisundertaking, Isa. xlii. 1, and lxi. 1, 2. Matt. xii. 18; and had apromise of seeing his seed, and of prolonging his days, &c.Isa. xliii. 10, 11. Thus there was a covenant of redemption betwixtGod and the Mediator; and the Mediator undertaking, was obliged toperform all that he undertook, and accordingly did so. For, as theLord laid on him, or caused to meet together on him, "the iniquityof us all," Isa. liii. 6, so in due time "he bare our griefs, andcarried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions, andbruised for our iniquities, the chastisem*nt of our peace was uponhim. He was cut off out of the land of the living, and stricken forthe transgression of his people; he made his soul an offering forsin, and bare the iniquities of his people. Pouring out his soulunto death he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for thetransgressors," Isa. liii. 4, 5, 10, 11, 12. So "that what the lawcould not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sendinghis own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, for sin (or by asacrifice for sin) condemned sin in the flesh," Rom. viii. 3, "thatthe righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us," verse 4.Thus "he made him sin (or a sacrifice for sin) that we might becomerighteous," 2 Cor. v. 20; and "he was once offered to bear the sinsof many," Heb. ix. 28; and "he, through the eternal Spirit, offeredhimself without spot to God," verse 14, and "his own self bare oursins in his own body on the tree," 1 Pet. ii. 24. There must, Isay, be some knowledge of, and acquaintance with this great mysteryof the gospel, wherein is declared "the manifold wisdom of God,"Eph. iii. 10, and with the noble design of God, in sending his Son,after this manner, to die the death, that condemned sinners mightlive, and return to the bosom of God; as redeemed "not with gold orsilver, or corruptible things but with the precious blood ofChrist, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot," 1 Pet. i.18. And being "so redeemed by blood, to become kings and priestsunto God," 1 Pet. ii. 2. Rev. v. 9, 10. The man must not beignorant of this, else all will be in vain. I do not determine howdistinct and full this knowledge must be; but sure there must be somuch knowledge of it, as will give the soul ground of hope, and, inexpectation of salvation by this way, cause it turn its back uponall other ways, and account itself happy if it could once winhere.

6. There must be a persuasion of the sufficiency, completenessand satisfactoriness of the way of salvation through this crucifiedMediator, else the soul will not be induced to leave its othercourses, and betake itself to this alone. He must be sure thatsalvation is only to be had this way, and that undoubtedly it willbe had this way, that so with confidence he may cast himself overon this way, and sweetly sing of a noble outgate. And therefore hemust believe, that Christ is really God as well as man, and a trueman as well as God; that he is fully furnished for the work ofredemption, having the Spirit given to him without measure; andendued fully and richly with all qualifications fitting for all ournecessities, and enabling him to "save to the uttermost all thatcome unto God by him," Heb. vii. 25; that "he is made of God to uswisdom, righteousness, and sanctification," 1 Cor. i. 30; that "allpower in heaven and in earth is given unto him," Matt. xxviii. 18;that "all things are put under his feet;" and that "he is given tobe Head over all things to the church," Eph. i. 22; that "in himdwelleth all fulness," Col. i. 19; that "in him are hid all thetreasures of wisdom and knowledge," Col. ii. 3; yea, "that in himdwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;" so that we are"complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power,"verses 9, 10.

7. The soul must know that he is not only an able andall-sufficient Mediator, but that also he is willing and ready toredeem and save all that will come. For all the precedingparticulars will but increase his sorrow and torment him more, solong as he supposeth, through ignorance and the suggestion ofSatan, that he hath no part in that redemption, no access to it, noground of hope of salvation by it. Therefore it is necessary thatthe soul conceive not only a possibility, but also a probability ofhelp this way, and that the dispensation of the gospel of grace,and the promulgation and offer of these good news to him, speak outso much, that the patience of God waiting long, and his goodnessrenewing the offers, confirmeth this; that his serious pressing,his strong motives, on the one hand, and his sharp threatenings onthe other; his reiterated commands, his ingeminated obtestations;his expressed sorrow and grief over such as would not come to him;his upbraiding and objurations of such as do obstinately refuse,and the like, put his willingness to save such as will come to himout of all question. Yea, his obviating of objections, and takingall excuses out of their mouth, maketh the case plain and manifest,so that such as will not come are left without excuse, and have noimpediment lying in the way but their own unwillingness.

8. The man must know upon what terms and conditions Christoffereth himself in the gospel, viz. upon condition of accepting ofhim, believing in him, and resting upon him; and that no other waywe can be made partakers of the good things purchased by Christ,but by accepting of him as he is offered in the gospel, that is tosay, freely, "without price or money," Isa. lv. 1, absolutelywithout reservation, wholly, and for all ends, &c. For, tillthis be known, there will be no closing with Christ; and till therebe a closing with Christ, there is no advantage to be had by him.The soul must be married to him as an husband, fixed to him as thebranches to the tree, united to him as the members to the head,become one with him, "one spirit," 1 Cor. vi. 17. See John xv. 5.Eph. v. 30. The soul must close with him for all things, adhere tohim upon all hazards, take him and the sharpest cross thatfolloweth him. Now, I say, the soul must be acquainted with theseconditions; for it must act deliberately and rationally here.Covenanting with Christ is a grave business, and requirethdeliberation, posedness of soul, rational resolution, full purposeof heart, and satisfaction of soul, and therefore the man must beacquainted with the conditions of the new covenant.

9. There must be a satisfaction with the terms of the gospel,and the heart must actually close with Christ as he is offered inthe gospel. The heart must open to him, and take him in, Rev. iii.20. The soul must embrace and receive him, John i. 12. The man musttake him as his Lord and Master, King, Priest, and Prophet; mustgive up himself to him as his leader and commander, and resolve tofollow him in all things, and thus close a bargain with him; for,till this be done, there is no union with Christ, and, till therebe an union with Christ, there is no partaking of the fruits of hisredemption as to justification, no pardon, no acceptance, no accessto the favour of God, nor peace nor joy in the Holy Ghost, nogetting of the conscience sprinkled, nor no intimation of love orfavour from God, &c.

10. There must be a leaning to and resting upon him and on hisperfect sacrifice. The soul must sit down here as satisfied, andacquiesce in this complete mediation of his. This is to believe onhim, to rest on him, John iii. 18. 1 Pet. ii. 6, as anall-sufficient help. This is to cast the burden of a brokencovenant, of a guilty conscience, of deserved wrath, of the curseof the law, &c. upon him, that he may bear away those evilsfrom us. This is to put on the Lord Jesus (in part), Rom. xiii. 14;to cover ourselves with his righteousness from the face of justice,to stand in this armour of proof against the accusations of law,Satan, and an evil conscience. This is to flee to him as our cityof refuge, that we may be safe from the avenger of blood. This isto make him our refuge from the storm of God's anger, and a shadowfrom the heat of his wrath, Isa. xxv. 4, and "our hiding-place fromthe wind, and a covert from the tempest," and as the "shadow of agreat rock in a weary land," Isa. xxxii. 2. When we hide ourselvesin him as the complete cautioner that hath fully satisfied justice,and "desire to be found in him alone, not having our ownrighteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through thefaith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith," Phil.iii. 9. This is to lay our hand on the head of the sacrifice, whenwe rest on this sacrifice, and expect salvation through it alone.This is to cast ourselves in Christ's arms, as peremptorilyresolving to go no other way to the Father, and to plead no otherrighteousness before God's bar but Christ's; that is faith, yea,the lively acting of justifying faith.

Thus then is Christ made use of as the way to the Father, in thepoint of justification, when the poor awakened sinner, convinced ofhis sin and misery, of his own inability to help himself, of theinsufficiency of all means beside Christ, of Christ'sall-sufficiency, readiness, and willingness to help, of the equityand reasonableness of the conditions on which he is offered, andlife through him, is now content and fully satisfied with this way,actually renouncing all other ways whatsoever, and doth with heartand hand embrace Jesus Christ, and take him as he is offered in thegospel, to make use of him for all things, to Jean to him, and restupon him in all hazards, and particularly, to refuge itself underhis wings, and to rest there with complacency, satisfaction, anddelight, and hide itself from the wrath of God and allaccusations.

Yet it should be known, that this act of faith, whereby the soulgoeth out to Christ, and accepteth of and leaneth to him, is notalike in all.

1. In some it may be more lively, strong and active, like thecenturion's faith, that could argue syllogistically, Matt. viii. 8,&c, which Christ looked upon as a great faith, a greaterwhereof he had not found, no not in Israel, verse 10; and like thefaith of the woman of Canaan, Matt. xv. 21, &c, that would takeno naysay, but of seeming refusals did make arguments, which Christcommendeth as a great faith, verse 28. But in others it may be moreweak and fainting, not able to reason aright for its own comfortand strength, as Matt, vi. 30, but is mixed with much fear, asMatt. viii. 26, yea, and with much faithfulness, so that the soulmust cry, "Lord, help my unbelief!" Mark ix. 24.

2. In some the acts and actings of this faith may be more clearand discernible, both by themselves, and by spiritual onlookers; inothers, so covered over with a heap of doubts, unbelief, jealousy,and other corruption, that the actings of it can hardly, or not atall, be perceived by themselves or others; so that nothing shall beheard but complaints, fears, doubtings, and objections.

3. In some, this faith may have strong and perceptible actings,wrestling through much discouragement and opposition, and manydifficulties; as in the woman of Canaan, Matt. xv.; running throughwith peremptory resoluteness, saying, with Job, chap. xiii. 15,"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him;" and thus taking thekingdom of heaven with violence. In others it may be so weak, thatthe least opposition or discouragement may be sufficient to makethe soul give over hope, and almost despair of overcoming andwinning through, and be as a bruised reed or a smoking flax.

4. In some, though it appear not strong and violent or wilful(in a manner) in its actings, yet it may be firm, fixed, andresolute in staying upon him, Isa. xxvi. 3, 4, and trusting in him,Psalm cxxv. 1, resolving to hing there, and if it perish, itperisheth; in others weak and bashful.

5. In some it may be yet weaker, going out in strong andvehement hungerings, Matt. v. 6. The man dare not say, that he dothbelieve or that he doth adhere to Christ and stay upon him; yet hedare say, he longeth for him, and panteth after him, as ever "thehart doth after the water-brooks," Psalm xlii. 1, 2; he hungerethand thirsteth for him, and cannot be satisfied with any thingwithout him.

6. In some, it may be so weak, that the soul can only perceivethe heart looking out after him; upon little more ground than amaybe it shall be helped, Isa. xlv. 22. They look to him forsalvation, being convinced that there is no other way; and resolvedto follow no other way, they resolve to lie at his door, waitingand looking for a sight of the king's face, and to lie waiting tillthey die, if no better may be.

7. In some, it may be so weak, that nothing more can beperceived but a satisfaction with the terms of the covenant, awillingness to accept of the bargain, and an heart consentingthereunto, though they dare not say that they actually closetherewith, yea, nor dare say that they shall be welcome, Rev. xxii.17.

8. In some, it may be so weak and low, that they cannot say thatthey have any right hunger or desire after him, nor that theirheart doth rightly and really consent to the covenant of grace; yetthey would fain be at it, and cry out, O for a willing heart! O forardent desires! O for a right hunger! and they are dissatisfied,and cannot be reconciled with their hearts for not desiring more,hungering more, consenting more; so that, if they had this, theywould think themselves happy and up-made. And thus we see theirfaith is so low, that it appeareth in nothing more manifestly, thanin their complainings of the want of it.

So then, the poor weak believer needeth not to be so fardiscouraged as to despair and give over the matter as hopeless andlost; let him hang on, depend and wait. A weak faith to-day maybecome stronger within a short time. He that laid the foundationcan and will finish the building, for all his works are perfect.And a weak faith, when true, will prove saving, and lay hold on asaving strong Mediator.

Moreover, as to the acting of faith on Christ's death andsacrifice for the stopping the mouth of conscience, law, Satan, andfor the opposing to the pursuing justice of God because of sin, itmay sometimes be strong, distinct, clear, and resolute; at othertimes again be weak, mixed, or accompanied with much fear,perplexity, doubting, and distrust, because of their own seenunworthiness, many failings, doubtings of the sincerity of theirrepentance, and the like.

This is a main business, and of great concernment, yet many arenot much troubled about it, nor exercised at the heart hereabout,as they ought, deceiving themselves with foolish imaginations:For,

1. They think they were believers all their days, they neverdoubted of God's grace and good-will, they had always a good heartfor God, though they never knew what awakened conscience, or senseof the wrath of God meant.

2. Or they think, because God is merciful, he will not be sosevere as to stand upon all those things that ministers require;forgetting that he is a just God, and a God of truth, that will doaccording to what he hath said.

3. Or they suppose it is an easy matter to believe, and not sucha difficult thing as it is called; not considering or believing,that no less power than that which raised Christ from the dead,will work up the heart unto faith.

4. Or they resolve, that they will do it afterward, at some moreconvenient season; not perceiving the cunning slight of Satan inthis, nor considering, that faith is not in their power, but thegift of God; and that, if they lay not hold on the call of God, butharden their heart in their day, God may judicially blind them, sothat these things shall be hid from their eyes; and so thatoccasion, they pretend to wait for, never come.

Oh! if such whom this mainly concerneth, could be induced toenter into this way; considering,

1. That except they enter into this way they cannot be safe, thewrath of God will pursue them, the avenger of blood will overtakethem; no salvation but here.

2. That in this way is certain salvation; this way willinfallibly lead to the Father; for he keepeth in the way, andbringeth safe home, Exod. xxiii. 20.

3. 'Tis the old path and the good way, Jer. vi. 16; all thesaints have the experience of this, who are already come to glory.And,

4. It is a highway, and a way of righteousness, wherein, if veryfools walk, they shall not wander, Isa. xxxv. 8, 9, and if the weakwalk in it, they shall not faint, Isa. xl. 31.

5. That except this be done, there is no advantage to be had byhim; his death and all his sufferings, as to those persons thatwill not believe and enter into him as the way to the Father, arein vain.

6. Yea, such as will not believe in him say, in effect, eitherthat Christ hath not died nor consecrated a way through the vail ofhis flesh; or, that all that he hath done and suffered is notsufficient to bring a soul home to God; or that they can do theirown business without him, and that it was a foolish and vain thingfor Christ to die the death for that end; or, lastly, that theycare not for salvation; they are indifferent whether they perish orbe saved.

7. That, as to them, the whole gospel is in vain, all theordinances, all the administration of ordinances, all the pains ofministers, are in vain.

8. That, as to them, all Christ's intreaties, motives,allurements, patience and long-suffering, his standing at the doorand knocking till his locks be wet with the dew, &c. are invain; yea, they are contemptuously rejected, despised, slighted,and undervalued.

9. That all the great promises are by such rejected as untrue,or as not worthy the seeking or having; and that all thethreatenings, on the other hand, are not to be regarded orfeared.

10. In a word, that heaven and the fellowship of God is notworth the seeking, and that hell and the fellowship of devils isnot worth the fearing; or, that there is neither a heaven nor ahell, and that all are but fictions; and that there is no suchthing as the wrath of God against sinners, or that it is not muchto be feared.

If it be asked, what warrant have poor sinners to lay hold onChrist, and grip to him, as made of God righteousness?

I answer, 1. our absolute necessity of him is a ground to pressus to go and seek help and relief: we see we are gone in ourselves,and therefore are we allowed to seek out for help elsewhere.

2. Christ's all-sufficient furniture, whereby he is a qualifiedMediator, fitted with all necessaries for our case and condition,having laid down a price to the satisfaction of justice, is asufficient invitation for us to look toward him for help, and towait at that door.

3. His being appointed of the Father to be Mediator of thecovenant, and particularly, to lay down his life a ransom for sin;and Christ's undertaking all his offices, and performing all theduties thereof, conform to the covenant of redemption, is a strongencouragement to poor sinners to come to him, because he cannotdeny himself, and he will be true to his trust.

4. The Father's offering of him to us in the gospel, andChrist's inviting us who are weary and heavy laden; yea, callingand commanding such to come to him in his own and in his Father'sname, under the pain of his and his Father's wrath and everlastingdispleasure; exhorting further, and requesting upon terms of love,pressing earnestly by many motives, sending out his ambassadors tobeseech in his stead poor sinners to be reconciled, and to turn into him for life and salvation; yea, upbraiding such as will notcome to him. All these are a sufficient warrant for a poornecessitous sinner to lay hold on his offer.

And, further, to encourage poor souls to come unto him, allthings are so well ordered in the gospel, as that nothing occurreththat can in the least prove a stumbling-block or a just ground ofexcuse for their forbearing to believe and to accept of his offers.All objections possible are obviated to such as are but willing;the way is cast up, and all stones of stumbling cast out of it; sothat such as will not come can pretend no excuse. They cannotobject the greatness of their sins: for the greater their sins bethey have the greater need of one who is sent to take away sin, andwhose blood purgeth from all sin, 1 John i. 7. What great sinnerdid he ever refuse that came to him, and was willing to be saved byhim? Is there any clause in all the gospel excluding great sinners?Nor need they object their great unworthiness; for he doth allfreely for the glory of his free grace. None ever got any good ofhim for their worth; for no man ever had any worth. Nor need theyobject their long refusing and resisting many calls; for he willmake such as are willing welcome at the eleventh hour; him thatcometh he will in no case put away, John vi. 37. Nor can theyobject their changeableness, that they will not stand to thebargain, but break and return with the dog to the vomit; for Christhath engaged to bring all through that come unto him; he will raisethem up at the last day, John vi. 40; he will present them tohimself holy and without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, Eph.v. The covenant is fully provided with promises to stop the mouthof that objection. Nor can they object the difficulty orimpossibility of believing; for that is Christ's work also, he "isthe author and finisher of faith," Heb. xii. 1. Can they not withconfidence cast themselves upon him; yet if they can hunger andthirst for him, and look to him, he will accept of that; "look tome," says he, "and be saved," Isa. xlv. 22. If they cannot look tohim, nor hunger and thirst for him, yet if they be willing, all iswell. Are they willing that Christ save them in his way, andtherefore willingly give themselves over to him, and are willingand content that Christ, by his Spirit, work more hunger in them,and a more lively faith, and work both to will and to do accordingto his own good pleasure, it is well.

But it will be said, that the terms and conditions on which heoffereth himself are hard. Answer—I grant the terms are hardto flesh and blood, and to proud unmortified nature; but to such asare willing to be saved, so as God may be most glorified, the termsare easy, most rational and satisfying: for,

1. We are required to take him only for our Mediator, and tojoin none with him, and to mix nothing with him. Corrupt nature isaverse from this, and would at least mix something of self withhim, and not rest on Christ only: corrupt nature would not have theman wholly denying himself, and following Christ only. And hencemany lose themselves, and lose all; because, with the Galatians,they would mix the law and the gospel together; do somethingthemselves for satisfaction of justice, and take Christ for therest that remains. Now, the Lord will have all the glory, as goodreason is, and will have none to share with him; he will give ofhis glory to none. And is not this rational and easy? What can beobjected against this?

2. We are required to take him wholly, that he may be a completeMediator to us; as a prophet to teach, as a king to subdue ourlusts, to cause us to walk in his ways, as well as a priest tosatisfy justice for us, to die and intercede for us. Is it notreason that we take him as God hath made him for us? Is there anything in him to be refused? And is there any thing in him which wehave no need of? Is there not all the reason then in the world forthis, that we take him wholly? And what stumbling-block ishere?

3. We are required to take him freely, "without money andwithout price," Isa. lv. 1, for he will not be bought any manner ofway; that free grace may be free grace, therefore he will give allfreely. True enough it is, corruption would be at buying, though ithave nothing to lay out. Pride will not stoop to a free gift. Butcan any say the terms are hard, when all is offered freely?

4. We are required to take them absolutely, without anyreversion of mental reservation. Some would willingly quit all butone or two lusts they cannot think to twin with; and they woulddeny themselves in many things, but they would still most willinglykeep a back-door open to some beloved lust or other. And who seethnot what double dealing is here? And what reason can plead for thisdouble dealing? Corruption, it is true, will think this hard, butno man can rationally say that this is a just ground ofdiscouragement to any, or a sufficient ground to warrand them tostay away from Christ, seeing they cannot be supposed sincerely todesire redemption from any sin, who would not desire redemptionfrom every sin. He who loveth any known lust, and would notwillingly be delivered therefrom, hath no real hatred at any lust,as such, nor desire to be saved; for one such lust would be hisdeath.

5. It is required, that we accept of him really and cordially,with our heart and soul, and not by a mere external verbalprofession, And is there not all the reason in the world for this?He offereth himself really to us, and shall we not be real inaccepting of him? What, I pray, can be justly excepted againstthis? or, what real discouragement can any gather from this?

6. We are to take him for all necessaries, that is, with aresolution to make use of him as our all-sufficient Mediator. Andis not this most reasonable? Ought we not to take him for all theends and purposes for which God hath appointed him, and set himforth, and offered him to us? What then can any suppose to lie herewhich should scar a soul from laying hold upon him? Nay, should notthis be looked upon as a very great encouragement? And should wenot bless the Lord, that hath provided such a complete andall-sufficient Mediator?

7. We are to take him and all the crosses that may attend ourtaking or following of him; we must take up our cross, be it whatit will that he thinketh good to appoint to us, and follow him,Matt. xvi. 24. Mark viii. 34. "For he that taketh not up his cross,and followeth not after him, is not worthy of him," Matt. x. 38. Iknow flesh and blood will take this for a hard saying; but theythat consider, that Christ will bear the heaviest end of the cross,yea, all of it, and so support them by his Spirit while they areunder it, that they shall have no just cause to complain; and howhe will suffer none to go his errand upon their own charges, butwill be with them when they go through the fire and water, Isa.xliii. 2, so that they shall suffer no loss, neither shall thewaters overflow them, nor the fire kindle upon them; and that hewho loseth his life for Christ's sake and the gospel's, shall saveit, Mark viii. 35; yea, that they shall receive an hundred-fold forall their losses, Matt. xix. 29, and that even with persecution,Mark x. 30, and, in the world to come, eternal life. They, I say,who consider this, will see no discouragement here, nor ground ofcomplaint; nay, they will account it their glory to suffer any lossfor Christ's sake.

8. Hence it followeth, that we are to take him, so as to avouchhim and his cause and interest on all hazards, stand to his truth,and not be ashamed of him in a day of trial. Confession of him mustbe made with the mouth, as with the heart we must believe, Rom. x.9. Let corruption speak against this what it will, because it isalways desirous to keep the skin whole. Yet reason cannot but saythat it is equitable, especially seeing he hath said, that"whosoever confesseth him before men, he will confess them beforehis Father which is in heaven," Matt. x. 32. And that, "If wesuffer with him, we shall also reign with him," 2 Tim. ii. 12. Ishe our Lord and master, and should we not own and avouch him?Should we be ashamed of him for any thing, that can befall us, uponthat account? What master would not take that ill at his servant'shands?

Hence, then, we see, that there is nothing in all the conditionson which he offereth himself to us, that can give the least ground,in reason, why a poor soul should draw back, and be unwilling toaccept of this noble offer, or think that the conditions arehard.

But there is one main objection, which may trouble some, andthat is, they cannot believe; faith being the gift of God, it mustbe wrought in them; how then can they go to God for this, and makeuse of Christ for this end, that their souls may be wrought up to abelieving and consenting to the bargain, and hearty accepting ofthe offer?

To this I would say these things:

1. It is true, that "faith is the gift of God," Eph. ii. 8, andthat it is "he alone who worketh in us, both to will and to do,"Phil. i. 29, "and none cometh to the Son, but whom the Fatherdraweth," John vi. 44; and it is a great matter, and no smalladvancement, to win to the real faith, and through conviction ofthis our impotency. For thereby the soul will be brought to agreater measure of humiliation, and of despairing of salvation initself, which is no small advantage unto a poor soul that would besaved.

2. Though faith be not in our power, yet it is our duty. Ourimpotency to perform our duty, doth not loose our obligation to theduty; so that our not believing is our sin; and for this God mayjustly condemn us. His wrath abideth on all who believe not in hisSon Jesus, and will not accept of the offer of salvation throughthe crucified Mediator. And though faith, as all other acts ofgrace, be efficiently the work of the Spirit, yet it is formallyour work: we do believe; but it is the Spirit that worketh faith inus.

3. The ordinary way of the Spirit's working faith in us, is bypressing home the duty upon us, whereby we are brought to adespairing in ourselves, and to a looking out to him, whose gracealone it is that can work it in the soul, for that necessary helpand breathing, without which the soul will not come.

4. Christ Jesus hath purchased this grace of faith to all theelect, as other graces necessary to their salvation; and it ispromised and covenanted to him, "That he shall see his seed, andshall see of the travail of his soul," Isa. liii. 10; and that bythe knowledge of him, that is, the rational and understanding actof the soul gripping to and laying hold upon him, as he is offeredin the gospel, "many shall be justified," Isa. liii. 10. Hence hesaith, "That all whom the Father hath given to him, shall come untohim," John vi. 37; and the apostle tells us, "that we are blessedwith all spiritual blessings in him," Eph. i. 3.

5. Not only hath Christ purchased this grace of faith, and allother graces necessary for the salvation of the elect, but God hathcommitted to him the administration and actual dispensation, andout-giving of all those graces, which the redeemed stand in needof. Hence "he is a prince exalted to give repentance andforgiveness of sins," Acts v. 31. "All power in heaven and earth iscommitted unto him," Matt, xxviii. 18, 19. Hence he is called, "theauthor and finisher of faith," Heb. xii. 2; and he tells hisdisciples, John xiv. 13, 14, that whatever they shall ask in hisname, he will do it. He is made a Prince and a Saviour, "having alljudgment committed unto him," John v. 22; and "he is Lord of all,"Acts x. 36. Rom. xiv. 9.

6. Hereupon the sinner, being convinced of his lost conditionthrough sin and misery, of an utter impossibility of helpinghimself out of that state of death, of Christ's all-sufficiency andwillingness to save all that will come to him, and of its owninability to believe or come to him for life and salvation, or tolay hold on, and lean to his merits and satisfaction, and sodespairing in himself, is to look out to Jesus, the author ofeternal salvation, the foundation and chief corner-stone, theauthor and finisher of faith; I say, the sinner, being thusconvinced, is thus to look out to Jesus; not that that convictionis any proper qualification prerequisite as necessary, either toprepare, dispose, and fit for faith, or far less to merit anymanner of way, or bring on faith; but because this is Christ'smethod to bring a soul to faith by this conviction, to the glory ofhis grace. The soul naturally being averse from Christ, and utterlyunwilling to accept of that way of salvation, must be redacted tothat strait, that it shall see, that it must either accept of thisoffer or die. As the whole needeth not a physician, so Christ iscome to save only that which is lost; and his method is to convincethe world of sin, in the first place; and then of righteousness,John xvi. 8, 9.

7. This looking out to Jesus for faith, comprehendeth thosethings: (1.) The soul's acknowledgment of the necessity of faith,to the end it may partake of Christ, and of his merits. (2.) Thesoul's satisfaction with that way of partaking of Christ, by aclosing with him, and a resting upon him by faith. (3.) A sense andconviction of the unbelief and stubbornness of the heart, or aseeing of its own impotency, yea, and unwillingness to believe.(4.) A persuasion that Christ can over-master the infidelity andwickedness of the heart, and work up the soul unto a willingconsent unto the bargain. (5.) A hope, or a half-hope (to speak so)that Christ, who is willing to save all poor sinners that come tohim for salvation; and hath said, that he will put none away in anycase that cometh—will have pity upon him at length. (6.) Aresolution to lie at his door, till he come with life, till hequicken, till he unite the soul to himself. (7.) A lying open tothe breathings of his Spirit, by guarding against every thing (sofar as they can) that may grieve or provoke him, and waiting on himin all the ordinances, he hath appointed, for begetting faith; suchas reading the Scriptures, hearing the word, conference with godlypersons, and prayer, &c. (8.) A waiting with patience on himwho never said to the house of Jacob, "seek me in vain," Isa. xlv.19; still crying and looking to him who hath commanded the ends ofthe earth to look to him; and waiting for him who waiteth to begracious, Isa. xxx. 18, remembering that they are all blessed thatwait for him; and that "there is much good prepared for them thatwait for him," Isa. lxiv. 4.

8. The sinner would essay this believing, and closing withChrist, and set about it, as he can, seriously, heartily, andwillingly, yea, and resolutely over the belly of much opposition,and many discouragements, looking to him who must help, yea, andwork the whole work; for God worketh in and with man as a rationalcreature. The soul then would set the willingness it findeth, onwork, and wait for more; and as the Lord is pleased to commend, byhis Spirit, the way of grace more unto the soul, and to warm theheart with love to it, and a desire after it, strike the iron whileit is hot; and, looking to him for help, grip to Christ in thecovenant; and so set to its seal, though with a trembling hand; andsubscribe its name, though with much fear and doubting, remembering"that he who worketh to will, must work the deed also," Phil. ii.13, "and he that beginneth a good work will perfect it," Phil. i.6.

9. The soul essaying thus to believe in Christ's strength, andto creep when it cannot walk or run, would hold fast what it hathattained, and resolve never to recall any consent, or half-consent,it hath given to the bargain, but still look forward, hold on,wrestle against unbelief and unwillingness, entertain every goodmotion of the Spirit for this end, and never admit of any thingthat may quench its lodgings, desires, or expectation.

10. Nay, if the sinner be come this length, that, with the bitwillingness he hath, he consenteth to the bargain, and is notsatisfied with any thing in himself, that draweth back, orconsenteth not, and with the little skill or strength he hath iswriting down his name, and saying, even so I take him; and isholding at this, peremptorily resolving never to go back, or unsaywhat he hath said; but, on the contrary, is firmly purposed toadhere, and as he groweth in strength, to grip more firmly, andadhere to him, he may conclude that the bargain is closed already,and that he hath faith already; for here there is an accepting ofChrist on his own terms, a real consenting unto the covenant ofgrace, though weak, and not so discernible as the soul would wish.The soul dare not say but it loveth the bargain, and is satisfiedwith it, and longeth for it, and desireth nothing more than that itmight partake thereof, and enjoy him whom it loveth, hungereth for,panteth after, or breatheth, as it is able, that it may live inhim, and be saved through him.

But some will say, If I had any evidence of God's approbation ofthis act of my soul, any testimony of his Spirit, I could then withconfidence say, that I had believed and accepted of the covenantand of Christ offered therein; but so long as I perceive nothing ofthis, how can I suppose, that any motion of this kind in my soul isreal faith?

For Answer—1. We would know, that our believing,and God's sealing to our sense, are two distinct acts andseparable, and oft separated. Our believing is one thing, and God'ssealing with the Holy Spirit of promise to our sense, is anotherthing; and this followeth, though not inseparably, the other, Eph.i. 13, "In whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed withthat Holy Spirit of promise."

And so, 2. We would know, that many a man may believe, and yetnot know that he doth believe. He may set to his seal, that God istrue in his offer of life through Jesus, and accept of that offeras a truth, and close with it; and yet live under darkness anddoubtings of his faith, long and many a day; partly through notdiscerning the true nature of faith; partly through the great senseand feeling of his own corruption and unbelief; partly through amistake of the Spirit's operations within, or the want of a clearand distinct uptaking of the motions of his own soul; partlybecause he findeth so much doubting and fear, as if there could beno faith where there was doubting or fear, contrary to Mark ix. 24.Matth. viii. 26, and xiv. 31.; partly, because he hath not thatpersuasion that others have had, as if there were not variousdegrees of faith, as there is of other graces, and the like.

Therefore, 3. We would know, that many may really believe, andyet miss this sensible sealing of the Spirit which they would beat. God may think it not yet seasonable to grant them that, lestthey forget themselves and become too proud; and to train them upmore to the life of faith, whereby he may be glorified; and forother holy ends, he may suspend the giving of this for a time.

4. Yet we would know, that all that believe, have the sealwithin them, 1 John v. 10, "He that believeth on the Son of God,hath the witness in himself," that is, he hath that which really isa seal, though he see it not, nor perceive it not; even the work ofGod's Spirit in his soul, inclining and determining him unto theaccepting of this bargain, and to a liking of and endeavouringafter holiness; and the whole gospel clearing up what faith is, isa seal and confirmation of the business. So that the matter issealed, and confirmed by the word, though the soul want thosesensible breathings of the Spirit, shedding abroad his love in theheart, and filling the soul with a full assurance, by hushing alldoubts and fears to the door; yea, though they should be a strangerunto the Spirit's witnessing thus with their spirits, that they arethe children of God, and clearing up distinctly the real work ofgrace within their soul, and so saying in effect, that they have intruth believed.

But enough of this; seeing all this, and much more is abundantlyheld forth and explained, in that excellent and useful treatise ofMr. Guthrie's, entitled, "The Christian's Great Interest."

CHAPTER V.

HOW CHRIST IS TO BE MADE USE OF, AS THE WAY, FOR SANCTIFICATIONIN GENERAL.

Having shown how a poor soul, lying under the burden of sin andwrath, is to make use of Jesus Christ for righteousness andjustification, and so to make use of him, go out to him, and applyhim, as "he is made of God to us righteousness," 1 Cor. i. 30, andthat but briefly. This whole great business being more fully andsatisfactorily handled, in that forementioned great, though smalltreatise, viz. "The Christian's Great Interest," we shall now comeand show, how a believer or a justified soul shall further make useof Christ for sanctification, this being a particular about whichthey are oftentimes much exercised and perplexed.

That we may therefore, in some weak measure, through the help ofthis light and grace, propose some things to clear up this greatand necessary truth, we shall first speak a little to it in thegeneral, and then come to clear up the matter moreparticularly.

Before we speak of the matter in general, it would beremembered, 1. That the person who only is in case to make use ofChrist for sanctification, is one that hath made use of him alreadyfor righteousness and justification. For one who is a stranger toChrist, and is living in nature, hath no access to Christ forsanctification. He must be a believer, and within the covenant, erehe can make use of the grounds of sanctification laid down in thecovenant. One must first be united to Christ, and justified byfaith in him, before he can draw any virtue from him for perfectingholiness. He must first be in him, before he can grow up in him, orbring forth fruit in him. And therefore the first thing that soulswould go about, should be to get an union made up with Christ, andbe clothed with his righteousness by faith; and then they have aright to all his benefits. First, they should labour to gettheir state changed from enmity to peace and reconciliation withGod, through faith in Jesus.

Yet, next, it would be observed, that when it is said,that one must be a believer before he can go to Christ, and makeuse of him for holiness and sanctification, it is not so understoodand said, that one must know, that indeed he is justified by faith,before he can make any use of Christ for sanctification. One may bejustified, and a believer, yea, and growing in grace through JesusChrist, and so actually improving the grounds of sanctification,and making use of Christ for this end, and allowed thereunto, andyet win to no certainty of his union with Christ, of hisjustification through faith in him, nor of his faith.

But, thirdly, if it be said, How can a soul withconfidence approach to Christ, for use-making of him, in referenceto sanctification, that is, still doubting of his state andregeneration?

I answer, It is true, a clear sight of our interest in Christ byfaith, would be a great encouragement to our confident approachingto, and use-making of him, in all things; and this considerationshould move all to a more earnest search and study of the marks andevidences of their interest; a good help whereunto they will findin the forementioned book. I shall only say this here, That if thesoul have an earnest desire to be sanctified wholly, and to have onthe image of God, that he may glorify him, and panteth afterholiness as for life, that he may look like him that is holy, andmaketh this his work and study; sorrowing at nothing more than athis shortcoming; crying out and longing for the day when he shallbe delivered from a body of death, and have the old man whollycrucified; he needeth not question his interest in Christ, andwarrant to make use of him for every part of sanctification; forthis longing desire after conformity to God's law, and pantingafter this spiritual life, to the end God may be exalted, Christglorified, and others edified, will not be readily found in onethat is yet in nature. It is true, I grant, some who design toestablish their own righteousness, and to be justified by their ownworks and inherent holiness, may wish that they may be more holyand less guilty; and for some other corrupt ends, they may desireto be free of the power of some lust, which they find noxious andtroublesome; and yet retain with love and desire, some otherbeloved lusts, and so have a heart still cleaving to the heart ofsome detestable thing or other. But gracious souls, as they haverespect to all the commands of God, so they have not that design ofbeing justified before God by their works; nor do they studymortification, and sanctification for any such end; nay, they nosooner discover any bias of their false deceitful hearts unto anysuch end, but as soon they disown it, and abhor it. So that hencebelievers may get some discovery of the reality of their faith andinterest in Christ, and of their warrant, yea, and duty to make useof Christ for sanctification.

This premised, we come to speak something, in the general, ofbeliever's use-making of Christ, as made of God to ussanctification. And for this end, we shall only speak a little totwo things. First, We shall show upon what account it isthat Christ is called our sanctification, or, "made of God to ussanctification," as the apostle's phrase is, 1 Cor. i. 30; or, whatChrist hath done as Mediator, to begin, and carry on to perfectionthe work of sanctification in the soul. And, secondly, Howthe soul is to demean itself in this matter, or how the soul is tomake use of, and improve what Christ hath done, for this end, thatit may grow in grace, and perfect holiness in the fear of God.

As to the first, we would know, that though the work ofsanctification be formally ours, yet it is wrought by another hand,as the principal efficient cause, even by the Father, Son, and HolyGhost. The Father is said to purge the branches, that they maybring forth more fruit, John xv. 1. Hence we are said to besanctified by God the Father, Jude 1. The Son is also called theSanctifier, Heb. ii. 21. He sanctifieth and cleanseth the Churchwith the washing of water by the word, Eph. v. 26. The Spirit isalso said to sanctify, 2 Thes. ii. 13. 1 Pet. i. 2. Rom. xv. 16.Hence we are said to be washed and sanctified by the Spirit of God,1 Cor. vi. 11.

But more particularly, we are said to be sanctified in Christ, 1Cor. i. 2; and "he is made of God to us sanctification," 1 Cor. i.30. Let us then see in what sense this may be true. And,

1. He hath by his death and blood procured that this work ofsanctification shall be wrought and carried on. For "he sufferedwithout the gate, that he might sanctify the people with his ownblood," Heb. xiii. 12. "We are saved by the washing ofregeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on usabundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour," Titus iii. 5, 6. "Hegave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, andpurify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works," Tit.ii. 14. Thus our sanctification is the fruit of his death, andpurchased by his blood. "He gave himself for his church, that hemight sanctify it," Eph. v. 25, 26.

2. He dying as a cautioner and public person, believers areaccounted in law to be dead to sin in him. Hence the apostle tellsus, Rom. vi. 3-6, that as many of us as are baptised into JesusChrist, were baptized into his death; and that therefore we areburied with him by baptism into death; and are planted together inthe likeness of his death; yea, and that our old man is crucifiedwith him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforthwe should not serve sin. Whence believers are warranted andcommanded, verse 11, to reckon themselves "to be dead indeed untosin;" and therefore sin should "not reign in their mortal bodies tofulfil the lusts thereof," verse 12. This is a sure ground of hopeand comfort for believers, that Christ died thus as a publicperson; and that by virtue thereof, being now united to Christ byfaith, they are dead to sin by law; and sin cannot challenge adominion over them, as before their conversion it might have done,and did; for the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth,but no longer. Wherefore believing brethren "becoming dead to thelaw by the body of Christ, are married to another, even to him whois raised from the dead, that they should bring forth fruit untoGod," Rom. vii. 1-4.

3. Hence it followeth, that our "old man is crucified withChrist, that the body of sin might be destroyed," Rom. vi. 6. Sothat this old tyrant that oppresseth the people of God, hath gothis death wounds, in the crucifixion of Christ, and shall neverrecover his former vigour and activity, to oppress and bear downthe people of God, as he did. He is now virtually, through thedeath of Jesus, killed and crucified, being in Christ nailed to thecross.

4. His resurrection is a pawn and pledge of this sanctification.For as he died as a public person, so he rose again as a publicperson. "We are buried with him by baptism, that like as Christ wasraised up from the dead, by the glory of the Father, even so wealso should walk in newness of life," Rom. vi. 4; and believers aresaid to be "planted together with him, in the likeness of hisresurrection," verse 5; "and they shall live with him," verse 8;"and therefore they are to reckon themselves alive unto God,through Jesus Christ our Lord," verse 11. "We are raised uptogether," Eph. ii. 6.

5. This sanctification is an article of the covenant ofredemption betwixt the Father and the Son, Isa. lii. 15, "So shallhe sprinkle many nations." Chap. liii. 10, "He shall see his seed,and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." Christ,then, having this promised to him, must see to the accomplishmentthereof, and will have it granted to him; seeing he hath fulfilledall that was engaged to by him—having made his soul anoffering for sin.

6. This sanctification is promised in the covenant of grace,Jer. xxxiii. 8. "And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity."Ezek. xxxvii. 23, "And I will cleanse them." So chap. xxxvi. 25,"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean;from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanseyou." Now all the promises of the covenant of grace are confirmedto us in the Mediator. For, "in him all the promises of thecovenant are yea and amen," 2 Cor. i. 20.

7. He hath purchased and made sure to his own, the new nature,and the heart of flesh, which is also promised, Ezek. xxxvi. 26,and xi. 19. Jer. xxxii. 39. This is the new and lively principle ofgrace, the spring of sanctification, which cannot be idle in thesoul; but must be emitting vital acts natively.

Yea, through him, are believers made partakers of the divinenature, which is a growing thing,—young glory in the soul, 2Pet. i. 3,4, "According as his divine power hath given unto us allthings that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledgeof him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are givenunto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these wemight be made partakers of the divine nature," &c.

8. The Spirit is promised, to cause us walk in his statutes,Ezek. xlvi. 27. Now all these promises are made good to us inChrist, who is the cautioner of the covenant; yea, he hath gottennow the dispensing and giving out of the rich promises of thecovenant, committed unto him; so as he is the great and gloriouscustodier of all purchased blessings.

9. There are new waterings, breathings, and gales of the Spirit,given in Christ, Isa. xxvii. 3. He must water his garden orvineyard every moment. This is the north wind and the south windthat bloweth upon the garden, Cant. iv. 16. He must be as the dewunto Israel, Hos. xiv. 5.

10. Through Christ is the believer brought into such a covenantstate, as giveth great ground of hope of certain victory. He is notnow under the law, but under grace; and hence inferreth theapostle, Rom. vi. 14, "That sin shall not have dominion over them."Being now under that dispensation of grace, whereby all their stockis in the Mediator's hand, and at his disposal; and not in theirown hand and power, as under the covenant of works, there is a sureground laid down for constant supply and furniture in allnecessities.

11. Christ hath prayed for this, John xvii. 17, "Sanctify themthrough thy truth;" where the Lord is praying, that his disciplesmight be more and more sanctified, and so fitted and qualified forthe work of the ministry they were to be employed in. And what heprayed for them, was not for them alone, but also for the elect,proportionably, who are opposed to the world, for which he did notpray, verse 9.

12. He standeth to believers in relation of a vine, or a root,in which they grow as branches, so that by abiding in him, livingby faith in him, and drawing sap from him, they bring forth fruitin him, John xv. 1, 2, 4, 5. Their stock of grace is in him, theroot; and he communicateth sap and life unto his branches, wherebythey grow, flourish, and bring forth fruit to the glory of God.

13. Christ hath taken on him the office of a prophet andteacher, to instruct us in the way wherein we ought to go; for heis that great prophet whom the Lord promised to raise up, and whowas to be heard and obeyed in all things, Deut. xviii. 15. Actsiii. 22, and vii. 37. "He is given for a witness, and a leader,"Isa. lv. 4; and we are commanded to hear him, Matt, xvii. 5. Markx. 7.

14. He hath also taken on him the office of a king, Psal. ii. 6.Matt, xxviii. 5. Isa. ix. 7. Phil. ii. 8-11. and thereby standethengaged to subdue all their spiritual enemies, Satan andcorruption, Psal. cx. He is given for a leader and commander, Isa.lv. 5, and so can cause his people walk in his ways.

15. When we defile ourselves with new transgressions andfailings, he hath provided a fountain for us to wash in; "afountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants ofJerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness," Zech. xiii. 1; and thisfountain is his blood, which cleanseth from all sin, Heb. ix. 14. 1John i. 7. Rev. i. 5.

16. He is set before us as a copy and pattern, that we "shouldwalk even as he walked," 1 John ii. 6. "He left us an example thatwe should follow his steps," 1 Pet. ii. 21. But we should beware toseparate this consideration from the preceding, as antichristianSocinians do, who will have Christ only to be a copy.

17. He hath overcome Satan, our arch enemy, and hath destroyedhis works, 1 John iii. 8. He came to destroy the works of thedevil; and in particular, his works of wickedness in the soul. Thushe is a conqueror and the captain of our salvation.

18. As he hath purchased, so hath he appointed ordinances, forthe laying of the foundation, and carrying on this work ofsanctification; both word and sacraments are appointed for that;the word to convert and to confirm, John xvii. 17. "Sanctify themthrough thy truth, thy word is truth," said Christ. The word isgiven as the rule; and also through the means thereof is life andstrength conveyed to the soul, "to perfect holiness in the fear ofGod," 1 Pet. ii. 2. And the sacraments are given to strengthen andconfirm the soul in the ways of God.

19. As he hath laid down strong encouragements to his followers,to hold on in the way of holiness, many great and preciouspromises, by which they may be made partakers of the divine nature,2 Pet. i. 4; and by which they are encouraged to cleanse themselvesfrom all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, 2 Cor. vii. 1; andmany motives to hold on and continue; so hath he rolleddifficulties out of the way, whether they be within us, or withoutus, and thereby made the way easy and pleasant to such as walk init; so as they may now run the way of his commandments, and walkand not weary, and run and not be faint.

Nay, 20. We would remember for our encouragement and confidence,that in carrying on of this work lieth the satisfaction of thesoul, and the pleasure of the Lord that must prosper in his hand,and thus he seeth his seed, and hath of the travail of his soul,and is satisfied.

These particulars, rightly considered, will discover unto us,what a noble ground for sanctification is in Christ laid down forbelievers, which they may, and must by faith grip to, that they maygrow in grace, and grow up in Christ, and perfect holiness; andwhat a wonderful contrivance of grace this is, wherein all thingsare made so sure for believers, Christ becoming all things to them,and paving a royal and sure way for them; sure for them, andglorious to himself!

As to the second particular, that is, how believers are to carryin this matter, or how they are to make use of Christ, and of thosegrounds of sanctification in Christ, which we have mentioned:

First, There are some things which they should beware of,and guard against; as,

1. They should beware of an heartless despondency, and givingway to discouragement, and hearkening to the language of unbelief,or to the suggestion of Satan, whereby he will labour to persuadethem of the impossibility of getting the work of sanctificationthroughed, or any progress made therein to purpose. Satan and adeceitful heart can soon muster up many difficulties, and allegethat there are many lions, many insuperable difficulties in theway, to discourage them from venturing forward; and if Satanprevail here, he hath gained a great point. Therefore the believershould keep up his head in hope, and beware of multiplyingdiscouragements to himself, or of concluding the matter impossible;for then shall he neither have heart nor hand for the work, but sitdown and wring his hands as overcome with discouragement anddespondency of spirit.

2. They should beware of wilfully rejecting their own mercies,and forbearing to make use of the grounds of hope, of strength andprogress in the matter of sanctification, which Christ hath allowedthem to make use of. There is such an evil among God's children,that they scar at that which Christ out of great love hath providedfor them, and dare not with confidence make use of, nor apply tothemselves the great and comfortable promises, to the end theymight be encouraged; they will not take their allowance, asthinking themselves unworthy; and that it would be presumption inthem to challenge a right to such great things; and they think itcommendable humility in them, to stand a-back, and so wilfullyrefuse the advantages and helps, that make so much for their growthin grace.

3. They should beware of a careless neglect of the meansappointed for advancing in holiness; for, though the means do notwork the effect, yet it is by the means that God hath chosen towork the work of sanctification. Here that is to be seen, "that thehand of the diligent maketh rich; and the field of the slothful issoon grown over with thorns and nettles; so that poverty cometh asone that travaileth, and want as an armed man," Prov. xxiv. 30. Itis a sinful tempting of God, to think to be sanctified another waythan God hath in his deep wisdom condescended upon.

4. Yet they should beware of laying too much weight on the meansand ordinances, as if they could effectuate the business. Thoughthe Lord hath thought fit to work in and by the means, yet hehimself must do the work. Means are but means, and not theprincipal cause; nor can they work, but as the principal agent ispleased to make use of them, and to work by them. When we lean tothe means and to instruments, we prejudge ourselves, by disobligingof God, and provoking him to leave us, that we may wrestle with theordinances alone, and find no advantage. Therefore the soul shouldguard against this.

5. Albeit the means can do nothing unless he breathe, yet weshould beware not only of neglecting, as we said before, but alsoof a slighting way of performing them, without that earnestness anddiligence that is required,—"cursed is he who doth the workof the Lord negligently," Jer. xlviii. 10. Here then is the specialart of Christianity apparent, to be as diligent, earnest andserious in the use of the means, as if they could effectuate thematter we were seeking; and yet to be as much abstracted from them,in our hopes and expectation, and to be as much leaning on the Lordalone, and depending on him for the blessing, as if we were usingno means at all.

6. They should beware of slighting and neglecting the motions ofthe Spirit; for thereby they may lose the best opportunity. Theyshould be always on the wing, ready to embrace the least motion;and they should stand always ready, waiting for the breathings ofhis Spirit, and open at his call; lest afterward, they be put tocall and seek, and not attain what they would be at, as we see inthe spouse, Cant. v. 2, 3, 4, &c.

7. They should also guard against the quenching of the Spirit, 1Thess. v. 12; or grieving of the Spirit, Eph. iv. 30, by theirunchristian and unsuitable carriage; for this will much mar theirsanctification. It is by the Spirit that the work of sanctificationis carried on in the soul; and when this Spirit is disturbed, andput from his work, how can the work go on? When the motions of thisindwelling Spirit are extinguished, his work is marred andretarded; and when he is grieved, he is hindered in his work.Therefore souls must guard against unbelief, despondency,unsuitable and unchristian carriage.

8. Especially they should beware of wasting sins, Psal. li. 10.Sins against light and conscience, such as David calledpresumptuous sins, Psal. xix. 13. They should beware also ofsavouring any unknown corruption, or any thing of that kind, thatmay hinder the work of sanctification.

Secondly, It were useful, and of great advantage for suchas would grow in grace, and advance in the way of holiness, to beliving in the constant conviction,

1. Of the necessity of holiness, "without which no man shall seeGod," Heb. xii. 14. "Nothing entering into the New Jerusalem thatdefileth," Rev. xxi. 7.

2. Of their own inability to do any one act right; how they arenot sufficient of themselves to think any thing as of themselves, 2Cor. iii. 5; and that without Christ they can do nothing, John xv.5.

3. Of the insufficiency of any human help, or means, or waywhich they might think good to choose, to mortify aright onecorruption, or to give strength for the discharge of any one duty;for our sufficiency is of God, 2 Cor. iii. and it is "through theSpirit that we must mortify the deeds of the body," Rom. viii.13.

4. And of the treachery and deceitfulness of the heart, which isbent to follow by-ways, being not only "deceitful above all things,but also desperately wicked," Jer. xvii. 9.

That by this means, the soul may be jealous of itself, anddespair of doing any thing in its own strength, and so be fortifiedagainst that main evil, which is an enemy to all truesanctification, viz. confidence in the flesh.

Thirdly, The soul will keep its eye fixed on thosethings:

1. On Christ's all-sufficiency to help; in all cases that "he isable to save to the uttermost," Heb. vii. 25.

2. On his compassionateness to such as are out of the way; andreadiness to help poor sinners with his grace and strength; andthis will keep up the soul from fainting and despairing.

3. On the commands of holiness; such as those, "cleanse yourhand, and purify your hearts," James iv. 8, and, "be ye holy, for Iam holy," 1 Pet. i. 15, 16, and the like; that the authority of Godand conscience to command may set the soul a-work.

4. On the great recompense of reward that is appointed for suchas wrestle on, and endure to the end; and on the great promises ofgreat things to such as are sanctified, whereof the scriptures arefull; that the soul may be encouraged to run through difficulties,to ride out storms, to endure hardness, as a good soldier, and topersevere in duty.

5. On the other hand, on the many sad threatenings anddenunciations of wrath, against such as transgress his laws, and onall the sad things that such as shake off the fear of God and thestudy of holiness have to look for, of which the scripture is full;that by this means the soul may be kept in awe, and spurred forwardunto duty, and made the more willing to shake off laziness.

6. On the rule, the word of God, by which alone we must regulateall our actions; and this ought to be our meditation day and night,and all our study, as we see it was David's, and other holy men ofGod, their daily work, see Psal. i. and cxix.

Fourthly, In all this study of holiness, and aiming at anhigher measure of grace, the believer would level at a right end,and so would not design holiness for this end, that he might bejustified thereby, or that he might thereby procure and purchase tohimself heaven and God's favour; for the weight of all that mustlie on Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness; and our holinessmust not dethrone him, nor rob him of his glory, which he will notgive to another; but would study holiness, to the end he mightglorify God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and please him whocalleth to holiness, and thereby be "meet to be partakers of theinheritance of the saints in light," Col. i. 10, 12; and be made ameet bride for such a holy bridegroom, and a member to such an holyhead; that hereby others might be edified, Matt. v. 16. 1 Pet. ii.12, and iii. 1, 2; that the soul may look like a temple of the HolyGhost, and like a servant of Christ's bought with a price, 1 Cor.vi. 17-20; and have a clear evidence of his regeneration andjustification, and also that he may express his thankfulness to Godfor all his favours and benefits.

Fifthly, The soul should by faith lay hold on, and gripfast to the ground of sanctification; that is to say, (1.) To whatChrist hath purchased for his people. (2.) To what as a publicperson he hath done for them; and so by faith,

1. Challenge a right to, and lay hold on the promises of grace,strength, victory, and thorough bearing, in their combating withcorruption within, and Satan and a wicked world without.

2. "Reckon themselves dead unto sin, through the death ofChrist; and alive unto God through his resurrection," Rom. vi. 4,11. "And that the old man is crucified with him, that the body ofsin might be destroyed," verse 6. "And that they are now not underthe law, but under grace," verse 14.

That by this means they may be encouraged to continue fightingagainst a vanquished enemy, and not give over, notwithstanding ofdisappointments, discouragements, prevailings of corruption,&c. and the believer may know upon what ground he standeth, andwhat is the ground of his hope and expectation of victory in theend; and so he "may run, not as uncertainly; and so fight, not asone that beateth the air," 1 Cor. ix. 26.

Sixthly, In this work of sanctification, the believershould be much in the lively exercise of faith; fight by faith;advance by faith, grow up, and bring forth fruit by faith; andso,

1. The believer would be oft renewing his grips of Christ,holding him fast by faith; and so abiding in him, that he may bringforth fruit, John xv. 4,5.

2. Not only would he be keeping his union fast with Christ, buthe would also be eyeing Christ by faith, as his store-house, andgeneral Lord dispensator of all the purchased blessings of thecovenant, which he standeth in need of, and looking on Christ, asstanding engaged by office to complete his work of salvation, andto present him with the rest to himself holy, without blemish, yea,and without spot and wrinkle, or any such thing, Eph. v. 27.

3. He would by faith grip to the promises, both of the generalstock of grace, the new heart, and heart of flesh, and the spiritto cause us walk in his statutes, Ezek. xxxvi. 26,27; and of theseveral particular acts of grace that be standeth in need of, suchas that, Jer. xxx. 8, "I will cleanse them from all theiriniquities," &c. So Ezek. xxxvi. 25. Jer. xxxi. 19. As thechurch doth, Micah vii. 9. "He will subdue our iniquities," &c.And so having, or gripping these promises, we are to cleanseourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, "and perfectholiness in the fear of God," 2 Cor. vii. 1.

4. As the believer would by faith draw out of Christ, throughthe conduit of the promises, which are all "yea and amen in him," 2Cor. i. 20. grace, strength, knowledge, courage, or whatever hisfight in this warfare calleth for, to the end he may be strong in"the Lord, and in the power of his might," Eph. vi. 10; so he wouldby faith roll the weight of the whole work upon Christ; and thuscast himself, and his care and burden on him who careth for him, 1Pet. v. 7. Psal. xxxvii. 5, and lv. 22; and so go on in duty,without anxiety, knowing who beareth the weight of all, and whohath undertaken to work both to will and to do, according to hisgood pleasure. Thus should the work be easy and safe, when by faithwe roll the burden on him, who is the chosen one fitted for thatwork, and leave it on him, who is our strength, patiently waitingfor the outgate, in hope.

Thus the believer makes use of Christ, as made of Godsanctification, when in the use of means appointed, eyeing thecovenant of grace, and the promises thereof, and what Christ hathdone to sanctify and cleanse his people, he rolleth the matter onhim, and expecteth help, salvation, and victory through him.

CAUTIONS.

But lest some should be discouraged, and think all this in vain,because they perceive no progress nor growth in grace for all this,but rather corruption as strong and troublesome as ever, I wouldsay a few things to them.

1. Let them search and try, whether their shortcoming anddisappointment doth not much proceed from this, that the matter isnot so cleanly cast over on Christ as it should be; is it not toooft found, that they go forth to the battle in their own strength,lippening to their own stock of grace, to their own knowledge, orto their duties, or the like? How then can they prosper?

2. Let them mourn as they get any discovery of this, and guardagainst that corrupt bias of the heart, which is still incliningthem to an engagement without the Captain of their salvation, and afighting without the armour of God.

3. Let them try and see, if, in studying holiness, they be notled by corrupt ends; and do not more labour after sanctification,that they may be more worthy and the better accepted of God, andthat they may have quietness and peace as to their acceptance withGod, as if this were any cause, matter, or condition of theirrighteousness and justification before God, than that they may shewtheir obedience to the command of God, 1 Thes. iv. 3. Eph. ii. 10.John xv. 16; and express their thankfulness to him, and glorifyGod, Mal. i. 6. Matt. iii. 16. John xvii. 10. Eph. iv. 30; and ifso, they ought to acknowledge God's goodness in thatdisappointment, seeing thereby they see more and more a necessityof laying aside their own righteousness, and of betaking themselvesto the righteousness of Christ, and of resting on that alone forpeace and acceptance with God.

4. They should try and see, if their negligence and carelessnessin watching, and in the discharge of duties, do not occasion theirdisappointments and shortcoming. God sometimes thinks fit to suffera lion of corruption to set on them, that they may look about them,and stand more vigilantly upon their watch-tower, knowing that theyhave to do with a vigilant adversary, the devil, who, as a roaringlion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour, I Pet. v. 8. and that"they fight not against flesh and blood, but againstprincipalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darknessof this world; against spiritual wickedness in high places," Eph.vi. 12. It is not for nought that we are so often commanded towatch, Matt. xxiv. 42, and xxv. 13, and xxvi. 41, and xiv. 38. Lukexxi. 36. Mark xiii. 33-37. 1 Cor. xvi. 13. 1 Thes. v. 6. 1 Pet. iv.7. Col. iv. 2. Through the want of this, we know what befel Davidand Peter.

5. They should try and see, whether there be not too muchself-confidence, which occasioned Peter's foul fall. God may, injustice and mercy, suffer corruption to break loose upon such, at atime, and tread them under foot, to learn them afterward to carrymore soberly; and to "work their salvation with fear andtrembling," Phil. ii. 12, remembering what a jealous, holy God heis, with whom they have to do; what an adversary they have againstthem; and how weak their own strength is.

6. This should be remembered, that one may be growing in grace,and advancing in holiness, when, to his apprehension, he is notgoing forward from strength to strength, but rather going backward.It is one thing to have grace, and another thing to see that wehave grace; so it is one thing to be growing in grace, and anotherthing to see that we are growing in grace. Many may question theirgrowth in grace, when their very questioning of it may evince thecontrary. For they may conclude no growth, but rather a back-going,because they perceive more and more violent, and strongcorruptions, and hidden works of darkness and wickedness, withintheir soul, than ever they did before; while as that greatdiscovery sheweth the increase of their spiritual knowledge, and anincrease in this is an increase in grace; so they may question anddoubt of their growth, upon mistakes, as thinking corruption alwaysstrongest when it makes the greatest stir and noise; or theircomplaints may flow from a vehement desire they have to have muchmore sanctification, which may cause them overlook many degreesthey have advanced. Or some such thing may occasion their darknessand complaints; yea, God may think it fittest for them, to the endthey may be kept humble and diligent, to be in the dark as to theirprogress; whereas if they saw what advancement and progress theyhad made in Christianity, they might grow wanton, secure, andcareless, and so occasion some sad dispensation to humble themagain.

7. It should be remembered, that perfect victory is not to behad here. It is true, in respect of justification through theimputation of the perfect righteousness of Christ, and in respectof their sincerity and gospel simplicity, and in respect also ofthe parts of the new man, believers are said to be perfect; such anone was Noah, Gen. vi. 9, and Job, chap. i. 1, 8. See also Psalmxxxvii. 37, and lxiv. 4. 1 Cor. ii. 6. Heb. v. 14. James iii. 2.And it is true, we are to aim at perfection, and to pray for it, asMatt. v. 48. 2 Cor. xiii. 11. Col. iv. 12. Heb. xiii. 21. James i.4. 1 Pet. v. 10. Heb. vi. 1. Yet as to the degrees of holiness andsanctification, and in respect of the remnant of corruption within,there is no full perfection here, Jer. ix. 20, 21. Phil. iii. 12.For even he who is washed, and, as to justification, is clean everywhit, yet needeth to wash his feet, because contracting filth inhis conversation, Job xiii. 10. So that if the Lord should markiniquity, no man should stand, Psalm cxxx. 3, and cxliii. 2. Therewill still be in the best something, more or less, of that battle,that Paul speaketh of, Rom. vii. 15-23. So that they will stillhave occasion to cry out with him, verse 24, "O wretched man that Iam, who shall deliver me from the body of this death!" And theflesh will still lust against the spirit, and the spirit againstthe flesh, so that they shall not be able to do what they would,Gal. v. 17. The place of perfection is above, where all tears arewiped away, and the weary wrestler is at rest.

8. Let them not mistake and think, that every stirring ofcorruption in the soul, argueth its dominion and prevailing power.Corruption may stir and make a great deal ado, where it cannot getleave to reign; and be as a violent and cruel invader, seeking thethrone, putting the whole kingdom in a combustion, who is resistedwith force of arms.

Corruption may be more quiet and still, when indeed it hath thethrone of the soul; as a conqueror may be more quiet and still,when he hath overcome and is in peaceable possession of thekingdom, than when he was but fighting for it. When the strong mankeeps the house, and is master, then all is quiet and at rest, tilla stronger come and thrust him out, and dispossess him.

9. Sanctification doth not always consist in a man's freedomfrom some corruptions. For there may be some corruptions that onehath no natural inclination to, but, on the contrary, a greataversion for; as some world's wretches may have no inclination toprodigality and ranting, or such like vices, which are contrary totheir humour, or to their constant education; and Satan may nevertempt some man to such evils, knowing he will get more advantage byplying his temper and genius, and so carrying him away to the othercontrary evil; and so, though this man know not so much, as what itis once to be tempted to those vices, yet that will not say, thathe is a sanctified man; far less will it say, that he hath moregrace than another man, whose predominant that evil is, and againstwhich he is daily fighting and wrestling. Whence it appeareth thatwrestling and protesting against even an overcoming corruption, mayevidence more of grace, than freedom from some evils, to which someare not so much tempted, and to which they are naturally lessinclined.

10. Nor should they think, that corruption is always master ofthe soul, and possessing the throne as a full conqueror, when itprevaileth and carrieth the soul headlong at a time, for corruptionmay sometimes come in upon the soul as an inundation withirresistible violence, and, for a time, carry all before it, sothat the soul cannot make any sensible resistance; as when asudden, violent, and unexpected temptation setteth on, so as thepoor man is overwhelmed, and scarce knoweth where he is, or what heis doing, till he be laid on his back. At that time it will be agreat matter, if the soul dare quietly enter a protest against anddissent from what is done, and if there be an honest protestationagainst the violent and tyrannical invasion of corruption, wecannot say, that corruption is in peaceable possession of thethrone. If the spirit be lusting against the flesh, levying all theforces he can against the invader, by prayer and supplication toGod, and calling in all the supply of divine help he can get, and,when he can do no more, is fighting and groaning under that unjustinvasion, resolving never to pay homage to the usurper, nor to obeyhis laws, nor so much as parley with him, or make peace, we cannotsay, that the soul doth consent fully unto this usurpation. Nay, ifthe soul shall do this much, at such a time when Satan sets on withall his force, it will be a greater evidence of the strength ofgrace in the soul, than if the soul should do the same or a littlemore, at a time when the temptation is not so strong.

11. It is not good for them to say, that grace is not growing inthem, because they advance not so far as some do; and because theycome not to the pitch of grace that they see some advanced to. Thatis not a sure rule to measure their growth in grace by. Some mayhave a better natural temper, whereby they are less inclined toseveral vices which these find a strong propension to; they mayhave the advantage of a better education, and the like; so thatthey should rather try themselves this year by what they were thelast year, and that in reference to the lusts to which they havebeen most subject all their days.

12. We must not think that every believer will attain to thesame measure of grace. There is a measure appointed for everymember or joint of this body; and every joint supplieth, accordingto the effectual working in the measure of every part, Eph. iv. 16.God hath more ado with some than with others; there is morestrength required in an arm or leg than in a finger or toe; andevery one should be content with his measure, so far as not to fretor repine against God and his dispensations, that makes them but afinger, and not an arm of the body; and do their duty in theirstation, fighting against sin, according to the measure or gracedispensed to them of the Lord, and that faithfully and constantly;and not quarrel with God, that he maketh us not as free oftemptations and corruptions as some others. For the captain mustnot he blamed for commanding some of his soldiers to this postwhere they never once see the enemy, and others to that post wherethey must continually fight. The soldier is here under command, andtherefore must be quiet, and take his lot; so must the Christianreverence the Lord's dispensations, in ordering matters, so as theyshall never have one hour's quietness, while, as others have morerest and peace, and stand at their post fighting, resolving neverto yield, but rather to cover the ground with their dead bodies,till the commander-in-chief think good to relieve them. Sure I am,as the only wise God hath distributed to every member of the body,as he hath thought good, so it is the duty of every member toendeavour this holy submission to him, as to the measure of grace,considered as his free gift bestowed on them; and to be humbled forthe grudgings of his heart, because God hath not given him moretalents. And sure I am, though this submission make no great noisein the world; yet really this is one of the highest degrees ofgrace attainable here, and such an ornament of a meek and quietspirit, as is in the sight of God of great price. So that whoeverhath attained to this, have the very grace they seem to want, andmore. Yet, lest this should be abused, let me add a word or two ofcaution, to qualify this submission. (1.) There must be with it ahigh prizing even of that degree of grace which they want. (2)There must be a panting after grace, as it is God's image, and aconformity to him, and with so much singleness, as they may be incase to say, without the reproachings of their heart, they do notso much love holiness for heaven, as heaven for holiness. (3.)There must be an unceasingness in using all means, whereby thegrowth of grace may be promoved to this end, that they may beconformed to his image, rather than that they may be comforted.(4.) There must be also a deep humiliation for the want of thatdegree of grace they would have, as it importeth the want of somuch conformity to him to whose image they are predestinated to beconformed, which will very well consist with this submission we arespeaking of.

13. It would be remembered, that there may be a great progress,even when it is not observed; when, (1.) Hereby the man is made tolie in the dust, to loath himself, and cry, behold I am vile! (2.)Hereby his indignation against the body of death is the moreincreased. (3.) Hereby his esteem of a Saviour and of the blessedcontrivance of salvation is the more heightened, that he seeth heis thereby brought to make mention of his righteousness, even ofhis only. (4.) Hereby his longing after immediate fruition isincreased, where all these complaints shall cease. (5.) And herebyhe is put to essay that much slighted duty of holding fast therejoicing of his hope firm unto the end, looking and longing forthe grace that shall be brought unto him at the revelation of JesusChrist, when he shall be presented without spot, and be made meetto be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light.

CHAPTER VI.

HOW CHRIST IS TO BE MADE USE OF, IN REFERENCE TO THE KILLINGAND CRUCIFYING OF THE OLD MAN.

Having thus shortly pointed out some things in general, servingto the clearing and opening up the way of our use-making of Christfor sanctification, we come now more particularly to the clearingup of this business. In sanctification we must consider,first, The renewing and changing of our nature and frame;and, next, The washing and purging away of our dailycontracted spots. The first of these is commonly divided into twoparts, viz. 1st, The mortification, killing, and crucifyingof the old man of sin and corruption which is within; and,2d, The vivification, renewing, quickening, andstrengthening of the new man of grace; and this is a growth ingrace, and in fruitfulness and holiness.

As to the first of these, viz. The mortification or crucifyingof the old man, we would know, that there is such a principle ofwickedness and enmity against God in man by nature, now since thefall, whereby the man is inclined to evil, and only to evil. Thisis called the old man, as being like the body, made of so manyparts, joints, and members, that is, so many lusts and corruptionsand evil inclinations, which, together, make up a-corpus, and theyare fast joined and compacted together, as the members of the body,each useful and serviceable to one another, and all of themconcurring and contributing their utmost to the carrying on of thework of sin, and so it is the man of sin; and it is also called theold man, as having first possession of the soul, before it is bygrace renewed, and it is a dying more and more daily. Thus it iscalled the old man, and the body of sin, Rom. vi. 6. This old manhath his members in our members and faculties, so that none of themare free,—understanding, will, affections, and the members ofour body are all servants of unrighteousness to this body of sin,and old man. So we read of the motions of sin, Rom. vii. 5, whichwork in our members to bring forth fruit unto death; and of thelusts of the flesh, Rom. xiii. 14. Gal. v. 16, 24; and the lusts ofsin, Rom. vi. 12. So we hear of the desires of the flesh and of themind, Eph. ii. 3; and of affections and lusts, Gal. v. 24. And theold man is said to be corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts,Eph. iv. 22; all which lusts and affections are as so many membersof this body of sin, and of this old man. And, further, there isherein a considerable power, force, and efficacy, which this oldman hath in us, to carry us away, and, as it were, command orconstrain us, as by a forcible law. Hence we read of the law of sinand death, Rom. viii. 2, which only the "law of the Spirit of lifein Christ doth make us free from." It is also called a "law in ourmembers warring against the law of our mind," Rom. vii. 23, "andbringing us into captivity to the law of sin which is in ourmembers." So it is said, "to lust against the Spirit, and to war,"Gal. v. 17. All which point out the strength, activity, anddominion of sin in the soul, so that it is as the husband over thewife, Rom. vii. 1; yea, it hath a domineering and constrainingpower, where its horns are not held in by grace. And as its poweris great, so its nature is wicked and malicious; for it is pure"enmity against God," Rom. viii. 7; so that it neither is nor canbe reconciled, and therefore must be put off and abolished, Eph.ii. 15; killed and crucified, Rom. vi. 6. Now herein lieth the workof a believer, to be killing, mortifying, and crucifying thisenemy, or rather enmity; and delivering himself from under thisbondage and slavery, that he may be Christ's free man, and thatthrough the Spirit, Rom. viii. 13.

Now, if it be asked, How shall a believer make use of Christ, tothe end this old man may be gotten crucified? or, how should abeliever mortify this old man, and the lusts thereof, throughChrist, or by the Spirit of Jesus? We shall propose those things,which may help to clear this:

1. The believer should have his eye on this old man as hisarch-enemy, as a deadly cut-throat lying within his bosom. It is anenemy lodging within him, in his soul, mind, heart, and affections,so that there is no part free; and therefore is acquaint with allthe motions of the soul, and is always opposing and hindering everything that is good. It is an enemy that will never be reconciled toGod, and therefore will not be reconciled with the believer assuch; for it is called enmity itself, and so it is always activelyseeking to promove the ruin of the soul, what by prompting,inclining, moving, and forcibly drawing or driving, sometimes withviolence and rage, to evil; what by with standing, resisting,opposing, counter-working, and contradicting what is good; so thatthe believer cannot get that done which he would do, and is made todo that which he would not. Therefore this being such an enemy, andso dangerous an enemy, so constant and implacable an enemy, soactive and close an enemy, so deadly and destructive, it is thebeliever's part to guard against this enemy, to have a vigilant eyeupon it, to carry as an irreconcilable enemy thereunto; andtherefore never to come in terms of capitulation or agreementtherewith, never once to parley, let be make peace. And thebeliever would not have his vigilant eye upon this or that memberof this body of death, so much as upon the body itself, or theprinciple of wickedness and rebellion against God; the head, life,spirit, or law, of this body of death; for there lieth its greatestwickedness and activity; and this is always opposing us, though notin every joint and member; but sometimes in one, sometimes inanother.

2. Though the believer should have a main eye upon the body,this innate, strong, and forcible law of sin and death, yet shouldhe have friendship and familiarity with no part, member, or lust ofall this body. All the deeds of the body should be mortified, Rom.viii. 13; the old man with his deeds should be mortified, Col. iii.6; and we should "mortify our members which are upon the earth,"verse 5; for all of them are against us, and the least of themcountenanced, entertained, and embraced, will work our ruin, andcut our soul's throat; therefore should the believer look on eachof them, and on all of them, as his deadly enemies.

3. He should consider, that, as it is a very unseemly thing forhim to be a slave to that old tyrant, and to yield his members asso many servants to iniquity, so it is dangerous and deadly. Hislife lieth at the stake; either he must get it mortified, killed,and subdued, or it will kill him; his life will go for its life; ifthis enemy escape, he is a gone man. The consideration of thisshould cause the believer to act here in earnestness andseriousness, with care and diligence, and set about this work ofmortification with labour and pains.

4. Much more must it be against all reason and Christianity, forthe believer to be making "provision for the flesh, to fulfil thelusts thereof," Rom. xiii. 14. To be strengthening the hands of,and laying provision to this enemy, which is set and sworn againstus, can stand with no reason. And here is much of the Christian'sprudence and spiritual wisdom required, to discern what may makefor fostering of this or that corruption, or member of the body ofsin and death, and to withdraw that, as we will labour to take awayprovision of any kind from an enemy that is coming against us. Paulacted herein as a wise gamester and combatant, when he kept underhis body, and brought it into subjection, 1 Cor. ix. 27. It werebut to mock God, and to preach forth our own folly, to be lookingto Christ for help against such an enemy, and, in the meantime, tobe underhand strengthening the hands of the enemy; this would bedouble dealing, and treachery against ourselves.

5. To the end, their opposition unto this enemy may be thestronger and more resolute, they should consider, that this body ofsin is wholly set against God, and his interest in the soul, beingvery enmity itself against God, Rom. viii. 7; and always lustingand fighting against the work of God in the soul, Gal. v. 17; andagainst every thing that is good, so that it will not suffer, sofar as it can hinder the soul to do anything that is good, at leastin a right manner, and for a right end. Nay, with its lustings, itdriveth constantly to that which is evil, raiseth evil motions andinclinations in the soul, ere the believer be aware; sideth withany temptation that is offered, to the end that it may destroy thesoul, like a traitor within; as we see it did in David, when hefell into adultery; and with Asaph, Psalm lxxiii. 2; yea, itselfopposeth and tempteth, James i. 14, by setting mind, will, andaffections on wrong courses; and thus it driveth the soul to acourse of rebellion against God, or diverts it, and draws it back,that it cannot get God served aright; yea, sometimes it sets a firein the soul, entangling all the faculties, filling the mind withdarkness or prejudice, misleading or preventing the affections, andso miscarrying the will, and leading it captive, Rom. vii. 23; sothat the thing is done which the unregenerate soul would not do,and the duty is left undone which the soul would fain have done;yea, and that sometimes notwithstanding of the soul's watching andstriving against this; so strong is its force.

6. The believer should remember, that this enemy is not for himto fight against alone, and that his own strength and skill willmake but a slender opposition unto it. It will laugh at the shakingof his spear; it can easily insinuate itself, on all occasions,because it lieth so near and close to the soul, always residingthere, and is at the believer's right hand whatever he be doing,and is always openly or closely opposing, and that with greatfacility; for it easily besetteth, Heb. xii. 1, because it liethwithin the soul, and in all the faculties of it—in the heart,mind, will, conscience, and affections; so that upon this account,the deceitfulness of the heart is great, and passeth the search ofman, Jer. xvii. 9. Man cannot know all the windings and turnings,all the drifts and designs, all the lurking and retiring places,all the falsehoods and double dealings, all the dissimulations,lies, and subterfuges, all the plausible and deceitful pretexts andinsinuations of his heart acted and spirited by this law of sin anddeath. And besides this slight and cunning, it hath strength andpower to draw by lusts into destruction and perdition, 1 Tim. iv.9, and to carry the soul headlong; so that it makes the man's casemiserable, Rom. vii. 24. All which would say, that the believershould call in other help than his own, and remember, that "throughthe Spirit he must mortify the deeds of the body," Rom. viii.13.

7. And therefore the believer must lay aside all his carnalweapons, in dealing with his adversary, and look out for divinehelp and assistance, even for the promised Spirit, through whichalone he can be instructed and enabled for this great work; for ofhimself he can do nothing, not so much as think a good thought asof himself, 2 Cor. iii. 5, far less will he be able to oppose sucha mighty adversary, that hath so great and many advantages; andtherefore all his carnal means, purposes, vows, and fightings inhimself, will but render himself weaker, and a readier prey untothis adversary, which gaineth ground while he is so opposed. It isChrist alone and his Spirit, that can destroy the works of thedevil, and kill or crucify this enmity.

8. So that the believer must have his recourse for help andsuccour here, unto Jesus the Captain of salvation, and must followhim, and fight under his banners, make use of his weapons, whichare spiritual; fight according to his counsel and conduct, takinghim as a Leader and Commander, and lying open for his orders andinstructions, waiting for the motions of his Spirit, and followingthem; and thus oppose and fight against this deadly enemy, with aneye always on Christ by faith, depending on him for light to themind, resolution to the will, and grace to the whole soul to standin the battle, and to withstand all assaults, and never engage in adispute with this enemy, or any lust or member of this body withoutChrist the principal, that is, the soul would despair in itself,and be strong in him, and in the power of his might, by faithgriping to him, as Head, Captain, and Commander-in-chief, resolvingto fight in his strength, and to oppose through the help of hisSpirit.

9. And for this cause, the believer would eye the covenant ofredemption, the basis of all our hope and consolation, whereinfinal and full victory is promised to Christ, as Head of the elect,viz. "that he shall bruise the serpent's head;" and so that in him,all his followers and members of his mystical body shall lift upthe head, and get full victory at length over both sin and death.Now it is "God that giveth us the victory, through our Lord JesusChrist," 1 Cor. xv. 57. The believer would also eye by faith thecovenant of grace, wherein particularly this same victory ispromised to the believer, in and through Jesus, Rom. xvi. 20. "Andthe God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly; andsin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law,but under grace," Rom. vi. 14. The believer, I say, would look outby faith unto, and lay hold on these and the like promises, andthereby get strength conveyed to himself, whereby he may strivelawfully, and fight valiantly, and oppose with courage andresolution.

10. Further, the believer would eye Christ as a fountain offurniture, as a full and complete magazine, standing open, andready for every one of his honest soldiers to run to for newsupplies of what they want; so that whatever they find wanting intheir Christian armour, they must run away to the open magazine,Christ's fulness, that standeth ready for them, and by faith takeand put on what they want and stand in need of in their warfare. Iftheir girdle of truth be slacked, loosed, or weakened, and they bemeeting with temptations anent their hypocrisy, and Satan objectingto them their double dealing, of purpose to discourage them, and tomake them faint and give over the fight; they must away to him whois the truth, that he may bind on that girdle better, and maketheir hearts more upright before God in all they do. And if theirbreastplate of righteousness be weakened, and Satan there seem toget advantage, by casting up to them their unrighteous dealingstowards God or men, they must flee to him, who only can help here,and beg pardon through his blood for their failings, and set toagain afresh to the battle. If their resolution, which isunderstood by the preparation of the gospel of peace, grow weak, itmust be renewed in Christ's armoury, and the feet of new be shodtherewith. If their shield of faith begin to fail them, away mustthey get to him who "is the Author and Finisher of faith," Heb.xii. 2. And if their helmet of hope begin to fail them, in thisarmoury alone can that be supplied. And if their sword be bluntedin their hand, or they unable to wield it aright, the Spirit ofJesus can only teach their hands to fight, and instruct them how tomanage that useful weapon with advantage. Thus must the believer"be strong in him, and in the power of his might," Eph. vi. 10. "Heis their God that girdeth them with strength, and maketh their wayperfect. He maketh their feet like hind's feet, and setteth themupon their high places. He teacheth their hands to war, so that abow of steel is broken by their arms. He giveth them the shield ofsalvation. His right hand upholdeth them. He girdeth with strengthunto the battle," &c. Psalm xviii. 32, &c.

11. For the further strengthening of their hope, faith, andconfidence, believers would eye Christ, as hanging on the cross,and overcoming by death, death, and him that hath the power ofdeath, the devil; and so as meritoriously purchasing thisredemption from the slavery of sin and Satan, and particularly fromthe slavery of that body of death, and of the law of sin and death;for the apostle tells us, Rom. viii. 2, "That the law of the Spiritof life in Christ Jesus doth make us free from the law of sin anddeath," and that because, as he saith further, ver. 3, 4, "what thelaw could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, Godsending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sincondemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law mightbe fulfilled in us." So that the believer may now look upon thatenemy, how fearful soever it may appear, as condemned and killed inthe death, of Christ; he having laid down the price of redemption,hath bought this freedom from the chains and fetters with which hewas held in captivity. Faith, then, on the death of Jesussatisfying justice for the poor captive, may, and should supportand strengthen the hope and confidence of the believer, that heshall obtain the victory at length.

12. And it will further confirm the hope and faith of thebeliever, to look to Christ hanging on the cross, and therevanquishing and overcoming this arch-enemy, as a public person,representing the elect who died in him, and virtually and legallydid in him overcome that jailor, and break his fetters; and thesoul now believing, may, yea, should reckon itself in Christ dying,as it were, upon the cross, and there overcoming all thosespiritual enemies. "Likewise," saith the apostle, Rom. vi. 11,"Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin." From hence,even while fighting, the believer may account himself a conqueror,yea, "more than a conqueror, through him that loved him," Rom.viii. 37. Now faith acting thus on Christ, as a public person,dying and overcoming death and sin, the believer may not only inferthe certainty of victory, knowing that our old man is crucifiedwith Christ, Rom. vi. 6; but also from the cross of Christ drawstrength to stand and fight against the strugglings of thisvanquished and killed enemy. "They that are Christ's have crucifiedthe flesh with the affections and lusts," Gal. v. 24. But how? Evenby the cross of Christ. "For thereby is the world crucified untome," saith the apostle, Gal. vi. 14, "and I unto the world." "Yourold man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might bedestroyed," Rom. vi. 6.

13. The believer being dead indeed unto sin, through the crossof Christ, is to look upon himself as legally freed from that yokeof bondage under sin and death. "The law hath dominion over a manas long as he liveth," Rom. vii. 1. "But by the body of Christbelievers are become dead to the law," ver. 4. That law of sin anddeath which hath dominion over a man that liveth still in nature,and is not yet by faith planted in the likeness of Christ's death,nor buried with him by baptism into death, Rom. vi. 4, 5, hath notthat dominion over believers it had once—"For the law of theSpirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made them free from the law ofsin and death," Rom. viii. 2; so that now the believer, is freefrom that tyranny; and that tyrant can exercise no lawfuljurisdiction or authority over him; and therefore he may with thegreater courage repel the insolencies of that tyrant, that contraryto all right and equity seeketh to lord it over him still. They areno lawful subjects to that cruel and raging prince, or to thatspiritual wickedness.

14. So that the believer, renouncing that jurisdiction underwhich he was formerly, and being under a new husband, and under anew law, even the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, is tolook upon all the motions of sin as illegal, and as treasonableacts of a tyrant. "The old man being crucified with Christ, thatthe body of sin might be destroyed, the believer is not any more toserve sin," Rom. vi. 6; "and being now dead, they are freed fromsin," ver. 7; "and are married to another, even to him who israised from the dead, and so they should not serve sin, but bringforth fruit unto God," Rom. vii. 4; and therefore, look upon allmotions of the flesh, and all the inclinations and stirrings of theold law of sin, as acts of treachery and rebellion against theright and jurisdiction of the believer's new Lord and husband; andare therefore obliged to lay hold on this old man, this body ofdeath, and all the members of it, as traitors to the rightful kingand husband, and to take them prisoners to the king, that he maygive out sentence, and execute the same against them, as enemies tohis kingdom and interest in the soul;—they being now no more"servants of sin, but of righteousness, they ought no more to yieldtheir members servants to uncleanness, and iniquity unto iniquity,"Rom. vi. 18, 19; "and being debtors no more to the flesh, to liveafter the flesh," Rom. vii. 12; "they are to mortify the deeds ofthe body through the spirit," ver. 13; "and to crucify the fleshwith the affections and lusts," Gal. v. 24; that is, by bringingthem to the cross of Christ, where first they were condemned andcrucified, in their full body and power; that a new sentence, as itwere, may go out against them, as parts of that condemned tyrant,and as belonging to that crucified body.

15. So that the believer that would carry faithfully in thismatter, and fight lawfully in this warfare, and hope to obtain thevictory through Jesus Christ, must bring these traitors that appearin their sinful motions and lusts in the soul, working rebellionagainst the just authority and equitable laws of the lawful princeJesus, before the tribunal of him who hath now got "all power andauthority in heaven and in earth," Matt, xxviii. 18; "and hath alljudgment committed to him," John v. 22; "and to this end, bothdied, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the deadand living," Rom. xvi. 9; that he may execute justice upon thetraitor, head, and members; that he may trample these devils under,and bruise the head of these serpents within us. The believer thenis by faith in prayer, to carry these open enemies to Christ, anddeclare and witness against them as traitors, by what mischief theyhave done in the soul, by their hindering the righteous laws of theking to be obeyed; and constraining and forcing, what by argumentsand allurements, and what by forcible inclinations and pousings, toa disobedience and a counteracting of Christ; and he should urgeand plead upon the fundamental laws of the land, viz. the articlesof agreement betwixt the Father and the Son, and the faithfulpromises of the covenant of grace; and upon Christ's office as kingand governor, and his undertaking as Mediator; upon the merits ofhis death and sufferings; upon his dying as a common person; uponthe constitution of the gospel, whereby they are in law repute asdying in him, and so free from the law of sin and death; and upontheir relation to him as their new Lord, Head, Husband, King,Commander, &c. Upon these arguments, I say, to plead forjustice against the rebel that is now brought to the bar, and so byfaith leave the prisoner in his hand, that he may, in his own timeand way, give a second blow unto the neck of this implacable andraging enemy, that he may not rise up to disturb the peace of thesoul as before; or to trouble, impede, and molest the soul inpaying the homage and obedience due to his lawful master andsovereign king, JESUS.

CAUTIONS AND DIRECTIONS.

For further clearing of the premises, I would propose a fewparticulars, for caution and direction, as,—

1. This work of laying the burden of this business on Christ byfaith, would be gone about with much singleness of heart, aiming atthe glory of God, and the carrying on of his work in the soul; andnot for self-ends, and carnal by-respects, lest thereby we marall.

2. It would be carried on, without partiality, against all andevery one of the lusts and motions of the old man. For if there bea compliance with and a sparing of any one known lust, the wholework may be marred; they may meet with a disappointment as to theparticular lust they are desiring victory over;—and the lustthey are harbouring, though it may seem little, may open a door tomany stronger, and so occasion sad days to the man, ere he beaware.

3. As they would bring the particular lust, or lusts, untoChrist, as chief Lord Justice; so they would always lay the axe tothe root of the tree, and crave justice against the main body, thatyet lieth within the soul; and these particular corruptions andaffections, that are as members of that body of sin, should putthem in mind of the old man, for they should "crucify the fleshwith the affections and lusts thereof," Gal. v. 24; the body andthe members. These lusts are the lusts of sin, or of that head-sin,which hath a law, or the force and impulse of a law in the soul;and therefore their main design would be against this root, wherelieth the strength and body of the enemy, and which acteth in thosemembers; this is the capital enmity, and should be mainly opposed.And the following of this course would prove more successful thanthat which many time we take: our nibbling at, or wrestling againstthis or that member of the body of death, is but of littleadvantage, so long as the main body of sin, the bitter root ofwickedness, the carnal mind, this innate enmity is miskent, and notopposed; but on the contrary, strike at this, we strike at all.

4. This would be the believer's constant work, to be "crucifyingthe flesh, with the lusts thereof; to be mortifying their members,"wherein the members of the old man quarter and lodge, Col. iii. 5;"to be spiritually minded, and to mind the things of the Spirit,"Rom. viii. 5, 6. "For the carnal mind is enmity, against God," Rom.viii. 7; "and so is not subject to the law of God, neither indeedcan be." It is not only an enemy which may be reconciled, butenmity in the abstract, which never can be reconciled. And thisenmity will never be idle; for it cannot till it be fully andfinally destroyed; "the flesh is always lusting against thespirit,'" Gal. v. 17; "for they are contrary one to the other." Sothat though, to our sense, it may sometimes appear as sleeping, inregard that it doth not by some particular lust so molest andperplex the soul as formerly it did: yet it is restless, and may bemore active in another lust, and so by changing weapons on us,deceive us. Here then is much spiritual wisdom and vigilancyrequired. When they think they have gotten one lust subdued, theymust not think the war is at an end; but after all their particularvictories, watch and pray, that they enter not into temptation.

5. This way of laying the weight of the matter on Christ, shouldand will keep them humble, and teach them not to ascribe the gloryof any good that is done unto themselves, but to give him all theglory, who is jealous of his glory, and will not give it toanother, that the crown may alone flourish on his head, who is thecaptain of their salvation, and who by his Spirit worketh all theirworks in them.

6. Nor would this way of carrying the matter to Christ, andputting it over on him, cause the believer become negligent incommanded duties, reading, hearing prayer, &c; for it is therehe must expect to meet with Christ; there must he seek him, andthere must he wait for him, and his Spirit to do the work desired.For though he hath not limited himself to these means, so, as hecannot, or will not any other way help, yet he hath bound us tothem; and it is our duty to wait there, where he hath commanded usto wait, though he should sometime think good to come another way,for the manifestation of the sovereignty of his grace.

7. Yet while we are about the means, we would guard against aleaning to them, lest, instead of getting victory over corruption,we be brought more in bondage thereunto another way. We must notthink that our prayers, or our hearing, or reading, &c. willbring down the body of death, or subdue any one corruption; forthat were but an yielding to corruption, and opening a back door tothe carnal mind, and to another deadly lust, and a beatingcorruption with a sword of straw. This is not to mortify the deedsof the body through the Spirit, but through the flesh; and afleshly weapon will never draw blood of this spiritual wickednessor old man, or of any corrupt lust or affection thereof; and yethow many times doth our deceitful heart bias us this way? Our workwould be, as is said, to use the ordinances as means, whereby wemay get the business laid on Christ, and help from Christ to do thebusiness. We must go to the means with our prisoner to find Christthere at his court and assizes, that he may take course with thetraitor.

8. In all this there would be a looking to, and dependence onChrist for help and grace; because of ourselves, as of ourselves,we cannot do this much; we cannot complain aright of corruptions,nor take them away to Christ, nor ask for justice against them. Asconstables and other officers must carry malefactors to the courtsof justice, upon public charges; so Christ will not have us doingor attempting this much on our own charges, for he giveth nobleallowance.

9. In following of this course, we would not think always tocome speed at the first. Sometimes the Lord, for the encouragementof his children, may give them a speedy hearing, and deliver themfrom the tyranny of some particular lust or other that hathtroubled them; so that for some time at least, it shall not sotrouble them as it did. Yet he will not do so always, but may thinkit good to keep them waiting on him, and hanging on his courts forsome considerable time, that he may thereby exercise their faith,patience, desire, zeal, and diligence. So that it should not seemstrange to us, if we be not admitted at the first, and get not ouranswer at the first cry.

10. When the Lord thinketh good to delay the answer to ourdesires, and the execution of justice on the malefactor andtraitor, or to deliver us from his tyranny and trouble, we wouldbeware of thinking to capitulate with the enemy for our peace andquiet, or to enter into a cessation of arms with him; that is, ourenmity against him should never abate; nor should our desire afterthe mortification and crucifixion of this lust grow less; norshould we be at quiet and at peace, though it should seem to grow alittle more calm and still, or not to rage as formerly; for thislooks but like a covenant or confederacy with lust, which will notstand.

11. We would also know, that what Christ said of devils, holdethgood of these lusts, viz. "that some of them do not go out but byfasting and prayer;" that is, by Christ sought unto and found inthese means. There are some lusts that will not be so easily killedand mortified as others, but will cost us more pains and labour, asbeing corruptions which possibly have some greater advantage of ournatural temper and constitution of body, or of long continuance anda cursed habit, or the like. We must not then think it strange, ifsome such lust be not subdued so easily as some others to which wehave fewer and weaker, and not so frequent temptations.

12. As we cannot expect a full conquest of the body of death, solong as we are here, as was shown above, neither can we expect afull and final victory over any one lust, which ever we have beentroubled with. It is true, believers may be kept from some grossout-breaking of a corruption, which sometime prevailed, as Peterwas from relapsing into an open and downright denying his Master;yet that same corruption did afterward stir, though not soviolently as to carry him to such an height of sin; yet so far asto cause him do that which was a partial denying of his Master,when Paul withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamedfor withdrawing from the Gentiles, for fear of them of thecircumcision, &c. Gal. ii. 11, 12.: So, though a particularlust may be so far subdued through grace, as that for someconsiderable time a man may not find it so violent as it was; yetbe cannot say that it is totally killed, because it may stirthereafter in some weaker measure; yea, he cannot tell, but ere hecome to die, that same corruption may rise to be as violent asever, and that Satan may again think to enter the soul at that samebreach which once he entered at; yea, and who can tell, whether Godmay not suffer that corruption, which lay long as dead, to reviveagain for a time, and for a time drive the soul as violently asever, and prevail for a time? And this should teach all to walksoberly, watchfully, and in fear, and to have a vigilant eye, evenupon such lusts and carnal affections, as they may suppose theyhave got the victory of.

13. We would not think that we gain no ground upon corruption,because we still perceive it stirring, less or more; for ascorruption is not always strongest, as was said above, nor hath thedeepest footing in the soul, when its motions and stirrings aremost felt; so neither must we think that there is no ground gainedupon a lust, because we are still troubled and molested with itsstirrings; for it is a great advantage to be more sensible of themotions of this enemy; and our more faithful and active wrestlingagainst it may make its least stirrings more sensible to us; as themotions and trouble which a malefactor, while in grips and inprison, maketh, may be thought more of than his greater ragingsbefore he was apprehended; yet he may be sure in fetters for allthat. A beast that hath gotten death's blow may get out of grips,and run more mad than ever, and yet will die at length of the sameblow.

14. Though we should find present ease and quiet by ourfollowing this way, yet we should think it much, if the Lord helpus to stand, when we have done all we can, though we meet not withthe hoped for success presently; if he give us grace to continuewithout wearying or fainting, and to be resolved never to giveover, we have reason to bless him; if we be kept still in theconflict with pursuit of the enemy, it is our great advantage; thevictory shall come in God's own time. If our opposition socontinue, that we are resolved never to take nor give quarter,though our trouble and exercise should be the greater, and our easeand quiet the less, we ought to bless him, yea, and rejoice in hopeof what he shall yet do for us; for he that will come, shall come,and will not tarry. Let us wait for him, in doing our duty, andfaithfully keeping our post.

15. Yea, if we get quietness or ease from the violence of raginglusts for any little time, and be not continually driven andcarried headlong therewith, we ought to be thankful for this, andto walk humbly before him; lest he be provoked by ourunthankfulness and pride, and let these furious dogs loose upon usagain.

16. When we are bending our strength and all our forces againstsome one corruption or other, which possibly hath been mosttroublesome to us, we would not be secure as to all others, orthink that we are in hazard only on this side; for Satan may make afeint here, and really intend an assault at another place, by someother corrupt affection. O what need have we of spiritual wisdomthat we may be better acquainted with his stratagems and wiles ILet us so then fight against one member of this body of death, asto have our eye upon others, lest when we think to keep out Satanat the fore-door, he enter in at the back-door. He can make use ofextremities, and play his game with both; yea, and gain his point,if we be not aware.

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

It will not be amiss, for further explaining of the matter, toremove a scruple or two. Some may say, that they cannot perceivethat all their pains in this matter come to any good issue; forthey never found corruption stir more, and act more lively andincessantly, than since they began to fight against it in goodearnest; so that this would seem not to be the right way.

I answer, Though from what is said before, particularly cautions9th and 13th, a resolution of this doubt maybe had; yet I shallpropose those things, for further clearing of the matter:

1. May not much of this flow from thy not laying the whole workso wholly off thyself, and upon Christ, as thou oughtest to do? Tryand see.

2. May not the devil rage most, when he thinks ere long to beejected? May he not labour to create most trouble to the soul, whenhe seeth that he is like to be put from some of his strengths?

3. May not the devil be doing this of purpose to drive thee todespair of ever getting corruption subdued and mortified; or to afainting and sitting up in the pursuit, and to a despondency ofspirit; that so instead of fighting or standing, thou may cede andturn thee back? And should we comply with him in his designs?

4. May not the Lord give way to this for a time, to try thyseriousness, patience, submission and faith, and to sharpen thydiligence, and kindle up thy zeal? And should we not submit to hiswise dispensations?

5. How can thou say that thou gainest no advantage, as long asthou art not made to lay aside the matter wholly, as hopeless ofany good issue; but, on the contrary, art helped to stand, and toresist sin, to cry out against it, to fight as thou canst, and atleast not to yield?

6. What if God see it for thy advantage, that thou be kept so inexercise for a time, to the end thou may be kept humble, watchful,and diligent? He may see more of thee, than thou canst see ofthyself, and so may know what is best for thee; and should thou notcondescend to be disposed of by him as he will, and to let him makeof thee, and do with thee what he will?

7. What if God be about to chasten thee thus for thy formernegligence, security, and unwatchfulness, and giving too muchadvantage to those lusts, which now, after his awakening of thee,thou would be delivered from? Should thou not bear the indignationof the Lord, because thou hast sinned against him, as the Churchresolved to do, Micah vii. 9?

8. Is it not thy duty the more that corruption stirs, to runwith it the oftener to Christ, that he may subdue it and put it tosilence? May not thou improve this to thy advantage, by making manyerrands to him?

9. May it not come in a day, that hath not come in a year? Artthou sure, that all thy pains shall be in vain? Or thinkest thouthat all his children have got victory alike soon over their lusts?What cause is there then to complain thus?

10. May not all this convince thee, that it is thy duty to waiton him, in the use of his appointed means, and to be patient,standing fast to thy post, resolving, when thou hast done all, yetto stand?

11. May not this satisfy thee, that God through grace accepteththy labour and wrestling, as thy duty, and accounteth it service tohim, and obedience?

But again, it may possibly be objected thus: so long as I am inthis condition, kept under with my lusts, I cannot get Godglorified and served as he ought to be.

I answer, though so long as it is so with thee, thou cannotglorify and serve him, in such a particular manner as others, whohave got more victory over those evils under which thou artgroaning, yet God can get glory and service of thee another way;as,

1. By thy submission, with calmness of spirit, to his wisedispensations, when thou dare not speak against him, and say, withRebecca, in another case, if it be so, why am I thus? But sweetlyand willingly cast thyself down at his feet, saying, good is thewill of the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good, &c.

2. By thy patient on-waiting, when thou art not wearying norfainting, but saying, why should I not wait upon the great King'sleisure? Is he not free to come when he will? Dare I set limits tothe Holy One of Israel?

3. By thy humility, when thou blessest him, for keeping thee solong out of hell, and thinkest much of his giving thee grace to seeand observe the stirrings of corruption, which carnal wretchesnever perceive; and helping thee to withstand and complain ofcorruption, which they sweetly comply with.

4. By thy hatred of sin, when all that Satan can do cannot makethee comply with those lusts, or sweetly embrace those vipers, orlie down in peace with those rotten members of the old man, asothers do.

5. By thy watchfulness, when all thy disappointments cause theethe more earnestly watch against that enemy.

6. By thy acting faith, when still thou art carrying sin in itslusts to Christ to kill and subdue, as believing the tenor of thegospel and new covenant.

7. By thy hope, which appeareth by thy not despairing, andgiving over the matter as a hopeless business, and turning aside towicked courses.

8. By thy praying, when thou criest to him continually for help,who only can help.

9. By thy wrestling and standing against all opposition, forthereby is his strength made perfect in thy weakness, 2 Cor. xii.9.

10. By thine obedience; for it is his command that thou standand fight this good fight of faith.

So that if thou hast a desire to glorify him, thou wants notoccasion to do it, even in this condition wherein thou complainestthat thou cannot get him glorified. And if those grounds do notsatisfy thee, it is to be feared that it is not so much a desire toglorify him, that moveth thee to cry so earnestly for actualdelivery from the trouble of the flesh and the lusts thereof, assomething else, which thou may search after and find out; such aslove to ease, quietness, applause and commendation of others, orthe like.

But, in the third place, it may be objected, is it notpromised that sin shall not have dominion over us, as "not beingunder the law, but under grace," Rom. vi. 14. How can we then butbe troubled, when we find not this promise made good?

I answer, 1st, Sin is not always victorious and domineering,when it seemeth to rage and stir most. Your opposition thereunto,fighting and wrestling against it, sheweth that it hath not fulldominion. So long as an invading usurper is opposed, he hath notfull dominion, not having peaceable possession of what he isseeking; and thus the promise is in part accomplished.

2. Victory and a full conquest over the flesh, and luststhereof, is not promised to any believer, at his first appearing inthe fields to fight; nor granted to all in any measure, at theirfirst putting on their armour.

3. Therefore it is thy part to fight on, and wait for that fullvictory, viz. that sin shall not have dominion over thee, for itshall come in due time.

4. God hath his own time and seasons wherein he accomplishethhis promises; and we must leave him a latitude, both as to the timewhen, and as to the manner how, and as to the degree in which heshall make good his promises; and he is wise in hisdispensations.

Therefore, though the promise as yet appeareth not to beaccomplished, there is no true cause of trouble of mind, because itshall be afterward fully accomplished; and the wrestling againstsin, saith that it is in great measure accomplished already;because where it hath a full dominion, it suppresseth allopposition or contradiction, except some faint resistance, which anatural conscience, for carnal ends, on carnal principles andgrounds, may, now or then, make against this or that particularcorruption, which occasioneth shame, disgrace, loss, challenges ofa carnal conscience, and disquietness that way, when yet it is nothated nor wrestled against as sin, or as a member of the old man,and the body of death. The objector would consider, that havingsubjected his consent to Christ, he is delivered really from thatnatural state of bondage under sin as a lawful lord, howbeit theold tyrant, now wanting a title, is making new invasions, totrouble the peace and quiet of the soul.

Fourthly, It may be said, but what can then, in the meantime, keep up the heart of a poor soul from sinking?

Ans. Several things, if rightly considered, might help tosupport the soul in this case, as,

1. That they are helped to wrestle against this body of death,in all the members of it, so soon as they discover themselves, wereit their right eye and right hand.

2. That these lusts gain not ground upon them; or if they doseem to gain ground, yet they attain not to a full dominion, notgaining their consent.

3. That God is faithful, and therefore the promised victoryshall be had in due time, and Satan's head shall certainly bebruised.

4. That the wrestling soul is about his duty, carrying as a goodsoldier of Jesus Christ, fighting the battles of the Lord, andwaiting on him in faith and hope.

But further, fifthly, some may say, If I were kept fromyielding, my wrestling and standing would yield me some comfort;but when lust so stirreth, as that it conceiveth and bringeth forthsin, (James i. 15,) what can support or comfort me then?

Ans. 1. Corruption cannot stir in us, but therein we sin,for the very first rise, the motus primo-primi, as they arecalled, are sinful, being contrary to the holy law of God; and thevery in-being of that old man is our sin; for it is sinful, andrebellious against God, yea it is very enmity and rebellion itself.When Satan cometh with a temptation from without, he findeth alwaysmuch in us to entertain the temptation. So that the very stirringof corruption, which is occasioned by the temptation from without,is our guilt.

2. It is true it is our duty, to set against the first risingsand motions of corruption, when it first enticeth, before it hathconceived or brought forth sin; and it will argue grace in life andin action, to be able to hinder the motions of lust so far, that itshall not conceive and bring forth sin. Yet we may not say, thatthere is no grace in the soul, or no measure of mortificationattained, where lust sometimes not only enticeth, but conceivethand bringeth forth sin. The sad experience of many of God'sworthies, registrated in the word, cleareth this abundantly. Wemust not say, such an one is fallen, therefore he is dead. Paulreasoneth otherways, Rom. vii.

3. Yet even then, when lust conceiveth and bringeth forth sin,this may comfort and bear up the heart of a poor believer. (1.)That though corruption prevail so far, as to bear down allopposition, and run down all that standeth in its way, yet itgetteth not the full consent of the soul: there is still a partyfor God in the soul, that opposeth so far as to protest against it,or at least to dissent from it, and not to will that which yet isdone, and positively to will that which cannot be gotteneffectuated, (2.) And further, this may bear up the poor soul, thatthere is a party within, which, though for a time, during theviolent overrunning of corruption, can do little more than sigh andgroan in a corner, yet is waiting and longing for an opportunitywhen it may appear more for God, and against that wicked usurper.(3.)So also this may comfort the poor soul, that as it perceivethcorruption stirring, and the old man moving one member or other, itrunneth away to the king; and when it is not able to apprehend thetraitor, and take him captive to the court of justice, doth therediscover the traitor, and tell the king that there is such or sucha traitor acting such and such rebellion against him and his laws,and complain and seek help to take the rebel prisoner, and bringhim bound hand and foot to the king, that he may give out sentenceagainst him; that is, when he can do no more against that ragingenemy, maketh his complaint to the Lord, and lieth before him,sighing and groaning for help and strength to withstand and opposemore this enemy.

Lastly, Some may yet object, and say, If it were notworse with me than it is with others, I could then be satisfied;but I see some mightily prevailing over corruption, and I am stillat under, and can get no victory; and can I choose but be sad atthis?

I answer, 1. Dost thou know for a certainty, that those personswhose condition thou judgest happy, are altogether free of theinward stirrings of those lusts that thou art brought under by? Ordost thou know for a certainty that they are not under the power ofsome other corruption, as thou thinkest thyself under the power ofthat corruption whereof thou complainest? What knowest thou, then,but they may be as much complaining on other accounts as thou doston that?

2. But be it so as thou supposeth, that there is a differencebetwixt thy condition and the condition of others, knowest thounot, that all the members of the body are not alike great andstrong, as not being equally to be employed in work requiringstrength. Are there not some young strong men in Christ's family,and some that are but babes? May not a captain send some of hissoldiers to one post, where they shall possibly not see the enemyall the day long, and some others to another post, where they shallhave no rest all the day? And why, I pray, may not God dispose ofhis soldiers as he will? He knoweth what he is doing: It is notsafe that every one of the soldiers know what are the designs ofthe commander or general; nor is it always fit for us to know or toinquire what may be the designs of God with us, and what he may beabout to do. He may intend to employ one in greater works thananother, and so exercise them otherways for that warfare and work.It may suffice that the prevailing of others may encourage thee tohope, that at last thy strong corruptions shall also fall by thehand of the grace of God.

3. If thy sadness savour not of envy and fretting, thou shouldbless him that hereby thou art put to the exercise of spiritualsorrow.

4. It is well if this bring thee to bless God for the success ofothers, because hereby his grace is glorified, 1 Cor. xii. 26.

Therefore, 5. Let this satisfy us, That he is the Lord, whodoeth what he will in heaven and in earth, and may dispose of us ashe will, and make of us what he will, for his own glory. And thatwe are to mind our duty, and be faithful at our post, standing andfighting in the strength of the Lord, resolving never to complywith the enemy, and to rejoice in this, that the enemy is alreadyconquered by the captain, and that we share in his victory, andthat the very God of peace shall quickly bruise Satan under ourfeet, Rom. xvi. 20.

CHAPTER VII.

HOW CHRIST IS TO BE MADE USE OF, IN REFERENCE TO GROWING INGRACE.

I come now to speak a little to the other part ofsanctification, which concerneth the change of our nature andframe, and is called vivification, or quickening of the new man ofgrace; which is called the new man, as having all its severalmembers and parts, as well as the old man; and called new, becauseposterior to the other; and after regeneration is upon the growinghand, this duty of growing in grace, as it is called, 2 Pet. iii.&c. is variously expressed and held forth to us in Scripture;for it is called "an abiding and bringing forth fruit in Christ,"John xv. 5; "adding to faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge," 2Pet. i. 5, 6, 7; "a going on to perfection," Heb. vii. 1; "agrowing up in Christ in all things," Eph. iv. 15; "a working outour salvation," Phil. ii. 12; "a perfecting of holiness," 2 Cor.vii. 1; "a walking in newness of life," Rom. vi. 4; "a yielding ofourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and our members asinstruments of righteousness unto God," Rom. vi. 13, 18; "abringing forth fruit unto God," Rom, vii. 4; "a serving in newnessof spirit," Rom. vii. 6; "a being renewed in the spirit of ourminds, and a putting on the new man, which after God is created inrighteousness and true holiness," Eph. iv. 23,24. Col. iii. 10, andthe like: some whereof do more immediately express the nature ofthis change, as to the root, and some as to the fruit and effectsthereof, and some the progress and advancement that is made or tobe made therein. And all of them point out a special piece of work,which lieth on all that would see the face of God, viz. to be holy,gracious, and growing in grace.

This, then, being a special piece of the exercise and daily workof a Christian, and it being certain, as some of the places nowcited do also affirm, that without Christ they cannot get this workeither begun or carried on, the main difficulty and question is,How they are to make use of Christ for this end?

For answer whereunto, though by what we have said in our formerdiscourse, it may be easy to gather what is to be said here; yet Ishall briefly put the reader in mind of those things, as usefulhere.

1. The believer would consider what an ornament this is to thesoul, to have on this new man, which is created after the image ofGod, Eph. iv. 23. What an excellency lieth here, to recover thatlost glory, holiness and the image of God? and what advantage thesoul reapeth hereby, when it "is made meet to be a partaker of theinheritance of the saints in light," Col. i. 12; "and walkingworthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every goodwork, and increasing in the knowledge of God," Col. i. 10; "andstrengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, untoall patience and long-suffering, with joyfulness," ver. 11; andwhen the abounding of the graces of the Spirit maketh them "thatthey shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of ourLord Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. i. 8; "and to be a vessel unto honour,sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto everywork," 2 Tim. ii. 21. What glory and peace is here, to be foundobedient unto the many commands given to be holy: what hazard is inthe want of holiness, when without it we cannot see God, Heb. xii.14: how unanswerable it is unto our profession, who are members tosuch a holy head, to be unholy: what profit, joy, and satisfactionthere is, in being temples of the Holy Ghost, in walking after theSpirit, in bringing forth fruit unto the glory of the Father,&c. The consideration of these and other motives unto thisstudy of sanctification, would arm the soul with resolution, andharden it against opposition.

2. It would be remembered, that this work, though it be laidupon us, as our duty, and we be called thereunto of God, yet it isbeyond our hand and power. It is true, at conversion, the seed ofgrace is cast into the soul, new habits are infused, a newprinciple of life is given, the stony heart is changed into anheart of flesh; yet these principles and habits cannot act inthemselves, or be brought into act, by any thing that a believer,considered in himself, and without divine help, can do. But thiswork of sanctification and growth in grace must be carried on bydivine help, by the Spirit of Jesus dwelling and working within;and therefore it is called the sanctification of the Spirit, 2Thess. ii. 13. 1 Pet. i. 2. The God of peace must sanctify us, IThess. v. 23. We are said to be sanctified by God the Father, Jude1.; and by the Holy Ghost, Rom. xv. 16; see also 1 Cor. vi. 11. "Wewould remember that of ourselves we can do nothing," 2 Cor. iii. 5,and "that he must work in us both to will and to do of his own goodpleasure," Phil. ii. 13. Albeit no believer will question the truthof this; yet it may be, it shall be found after trial, that onemain cause of their not growing in grace, and making progress inthis work, is their not acting as believing this, but setting aboutthe work, as if it were a work which they themselves could masterand do without special divine help. Therefore the believer wouldabide, live, and act, in the faith of this truth.

3. Therefore believers would not, in going about this work,either trust to their own strength, to the habits of grace, totheir former experiences, to their knowledge and parts, or thelike; nor yet would they trust to any external mean, which they areto go about; because the wisdom, strength, and help, which theircase calleth for, is not to be found in them; yet they should notthink of laying these means and duties aside, for then should theysin against God; they should prejudge themselves of the help,strength, and supply, which God useth to convey to the soul, in andby the use of the means. And withal, they should tempt the Lord, byprescribing another way to him than he hath thought good to take.The believer, then, would use the means and duties prescribed, andthat diligently, seriously, and constantly; and yet would lean aslittle to them, and expect help and relief as little from them, asif he were not using them at all, as we said above. And indeed thiswould be a right way; yea, the most advantageous and profitableway, of going about duties, to be diligent in the use of them,because of God's command, and yet to place our hope and expectationin God alone, and to look above the ordinances for our help.

4. Albeit it be true that the power and grace of God alone, dothbegin and carry on this work of sanctification in the soul: yetthough he might, did he but see it for his glory, carry on andfinish this work in the soul, without the intervention of secondcauses or means, he hath notwithstanding thought it fit, for theglory of his name, to work this work by means, and particularly bybelievers setting about the work. He worketh not in man as if hewere a block or a stone, but useth him as a rational creature,endued with a rational soul, having useful and necessary faculties,and a body fired by organs to be subservient to the soul in itsactions. Therefore the believer must not think to lie by and donothing, for he is commanded to work out his own salvation, andthat because it is God that worketh in him both to will and to do.Because God worketh all, therefore he should work; so reasoneth theapostle. So that God's working is an argument and motive to the manto work, and not an argument to him to lie by idle and do nothing.And here is the holy art and divine skill requisite in thisbusiness, to wit, for the believer to be as diligent and active asif he could bring forth fruit in his own strength, and by his ownworking; and yet to be as abstracted from himself, his own grace,ability, knowledge, experience, in his working, as if he were lyingby like a mere block, and only moving as moved by externalforce.

5. The soul that would make progress in Christianity, and growin grace, would remember that Christ is proposed to us as a copy,which we are to imitate, and that therefore we should set Christcontinually before us as our pattern, that we may follow his steps,1 Pet. i. 15, and ii. 21. But withal it would be remembered, thathe is not like other ensamples or copies, that can help the manthat imitateth them in no other way than by their objectiveprospect; for looking by faith on this copy, will bring virtue tothe man that studieth to imitate, whereby he shall be enabled tofollow his copy better. O! if we knew in experience what this were,to take a look of Christ's love, patience, long-suffering,meekness, hatred of sin, zeal, &c, and by faith to pore in,till, by virtue proceeding from that copy, we found our hearts insome measure framed into the same disposition, or at least moreinclined to be cast into the same mould!

6. The believer would act faith on Christ, as the head of thebody, and as the stock in which the branches are ingrafted, andthereby suck sap, and life, and strength from him, that he maywork, walk, and grow, as becometh a Christian. The believer mustgrow up in him, being a branch in him, and must bring forth fruitin him, as the forementioned places clear. Now, Christ himselftells us, that the branches cannot bring forth fruit, except theyabide in the vine; and that no more can his disciples bring forth,except they abide in him, John xv. Therefore, as it is by faiththat the soul, as a branch, is united to Christ, as the vine; andas it is by faith that they abide in him; so it is by faith thatthey must bring forth fruit; and this faith must grip Christ as thevine, and the stock or root from which cometh sap, life, andstrength. Faith, then, must look to Christ as the fountain offurniture—as the head from whence cometh all the influencesof strength and motion. Christ hath strength and life enough togive out, for "the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth in him bodily;"and he is also willing enough to communicate of his fulness, as therelations he hath taken on do witness. The head will not grudge togive to the members of the body, spirits for action and motion; norwill a vine grudge to give sap into the branches. Nay, life,strength, and furniture will, as it were, natively flow out ofChrist unto believers, except they, through unbelief, and otherdistempers, cause obstructions; as life and sap doth natively andkindly flow from the root to the branches, or from the head to themembers, unless obstructions stop the passage. It is necessary,therefore, that believers eye Christ under these and the likerelations, and look upon him as standing, (so to speak,) obliged byhis place and relation, to grant strength and influences of life,whereby they may become fruitful in every good work; and so withholy, humble, and allowed boldness, press in faith for newcommunications of grace, virtue, strength, courage, activity, andwhat else they need; for, from the head, all the body, by jointsand bands, having nourishment ministered, increaseth with theincrease of God. Col. ii. 19. Eph. iv. 16.

7. For this cause believers would lie open to the influences ofChrist, and guard against the putting of obstructions in the way,through grieving of the Spirit, by which he conveyeth andcommunicateth those influences unto the soul; and throughquestioning and misbelieving Christ's faithfulness and unchangeablewillingness, which as a violent humour stoppeth the passage. Sothen believers would lie open by looking and waiting, drawing,seeking from him what they need, and by guarding against everything that may provoke the Lord to anger, whether in omission orcommission. Here is requisite, an holy, humble, sober, and watchfulwalk; an earnest, serious, and hungry looking out to him, and apatient waiting for supply and furniture from him. This is to openthe mouth wide that he may fill it; to lie before the Sun ofRighteousness, that the beams thereof may beat upon them, and warmand revive them; and to wait as a beggar at this King's gate, tillhe give the alms.

8. For the strengthening their hope and faith in this, theywould lay hold upon Christ dying, and by his death purchasing allthose influences of life and strength which are requisite forcarrying on the work of grace and sanctification in the soul. Forwe must be "blessed in Christ with all spiritual blessings," Eph.i. 3. The believer, then, would look upon these influences, aspurchased at a dear rate, by the blood of Jesus Christ; so that thedivine power giveth unto us all things that pertain unto life andgodliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us toglory and virtue, 2 Peter i. 3. And this will encourage the soul towait on, and expect the flowing down of influences, and spiritualblessings and showers of grace, to cause the soul to flourish andbecome fruitful, and to urge and press more earnestly by faith thebestowing of the purchased benefits.

9. Moreover, the believer would look on Jesus as standingengaged and obliged to carry on this work, both receiving them asfor this end, from the Father. Hence we are said "to be chosen inhim before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy,"&c. Eph. i. 4; and as dying for them. For he gave himself forthe church, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, that he mightpresent it to himself a glorious church, that it should be holy,Eph. v. 25-27. He hath reconciled them, in the body of his flesh,through death, to present them holy, Col. i. 2, 22. So that thenoble covenant of redemption may found the certain hope andexpectation of the believer, upon a double account: (1.) Upon theaccount of the Father's faithfulness, who promised a seed to Jesus,viz. such as should be his children, and so be sanctified throughhim, and that the pleasure of the Lord, which in part is the workof sanctification, should prosper in his hand. And, (2.) Upon theaccount of Christ's undertaking and engaging, as is said, to bringhis sons and daughters to glory, which must be thoughtsanctification; for without holiness no man shall see God. And theymust look like himself, who is a holy head, a holy husband, a holycaptain; and therefore they must be holy members, a holy spouse,and holy soldiers. So that he standeth engaged to sanctify them byhis Spirit and word, and therefore is called the sanctifier, Heb.ii. 11; "for both he that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified,are all one." Yea, their union with Christ layeth the foundation ofthis; for "being joined to the Lord, they become one Spirit," 1Cor. vi. 17, and are animated and quickened by one and the sameSpirit of life and grace, and therefore must be sanctified by thatSpirit.

10. The believer likewise would act faith upon the promises ofthe new covenant, of grace, strength, life, &c, whereby theyshall walk in his ways, have God's laws put into their minds, andwrote in their hearts, Heb. viii. 10. Jer. xxxi. 33; and of the newheart, and new spirit, and the heart of flesh, and the Spiritwithin them, to cause them walk in his ways or statutes, and keephis judgments, and do them, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, and the like,wherewith the Scripture aboundeth; because these are all given overto the believer by way of testament and legacy, Christ becoming theMediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for theredemption of the transgressions that were under the firsttestament, they which are called might receive the promise ofeternal inheritance, Heb. ix. 15. Now, Christ, by his death, hathconfirmed this testament; "for where a testament is, there mustalso of necessity be the death of the testator; for a testament isof force after men are dead," vers. 16, 17. Christ, then, dying tomake the testament of force, hath made the legacy of the promisessure unto the believer; so that now all the "promises are yea andamen in Christ," 2 Cor. i. 20. "He was made a minister ofcircumcision to confirm the promises made to the fathers," Rom. xv.8. That the eyeing of these promises by faith is a noble mean tosanctification, is clear, by what the apostle saith, 2 Cor. vii. 1,"Having therefore these promises, let us cleanse ourselves;perfecting holiness in the fear of God." And it is by faith thatthose promises must be received, Heb. xi. 33: So that the believerthat would grow in grace, would eye Christ, the fundamentalpromise, the testator establishing the testament, and the executoror dispensator of the covenant, and expect the good things throughhim, and from him, through the conduit and channel of thepromises.

11. Yet further, believers would eye Christ in his resurrection,as a public person, and so look on themselves, and reckonthemselves as rising virtually in and with him, and take theresurrection of Christ as a certain pawn and pledge of theirsanctification; for so reasoneth the apostle, Rom. vi. 4, 5, 11,13. "We are buried," says he, "with him by baptism unto death; thatlike as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of theFather, even so we also should walk in newness of life:For—we shall be also planted in the likeness of hisresurrection; and if we be dead with Christ, we believe that weshall also live with him:—therefore reckon ye also yourselvesto be—alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, andyield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead,and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." Theright improving of this ground would be of noble advantage to thestudent of holiness: for then he might with strong confidenceconclude, that the work of sanctification should prosper in hishand; for he may now look upon himself as "quickened together withChrist," Eph. ii. 5. Christ dying and rising, as a public person,and he by faith being now joined with him, and united to him.

12. Moreover this resurrection of Christ may yield us anotherground of hope and confidence in this work; for there is mentionmade of the power of his resurrection, Phil. iii. 10. So that byfaith we may draw strength and virtue from Christ, as an arisen andquickened head, whereby we also may live unto God, and bring forthfruit unto him, and serve no more in the oldness of the letter,"but in the newness of the Spirit," Rom. vii. 4, 6. He wasquickened as a head, and when the head is quickened, the memberscannot but look for some communication of life therefrom, and tolive in the strength of the life of the head: see Col. iii. 1,2.

13. Faith may and should also look to Christ, as an intercessorwith the Father. For this particular, John xvii. 17, "Sanctify themthrough thy truth, thy Word is truth:" and this will add to theirconfidence, that the work shall go on; for Christ was always heardof the Father, John xi. 41, 42, and so will be in his prayer, whichwas not put up for the few disciples alone.

The believer then would eye Christ as engaging to the Father tobegin and perfect this work; as dying to purchase the good thingspromised, and to confirm the same; as quickened, and rising as headand public person, to ensure this work, and to bestow and actuallyconfer the graces requisite; and as praying also for the Father'sconcurrence, and cast the burden of the work on him by faith,knowing that he standeth obliged, by his place and relation to hispeople, to bear all their burthens, to work all their works inthem, to perfect his own work that he hath begun in them, topresent them to himself at last a holy bride, to give them theSpirit "to dwell in them," Rom. viii. 9, 11 "and to quicken theirmortal bodies," ver. 11, "and to lead them," ver. 14; "till atlength they be crowned, and brought forward to glory." This is tolive by faith, when Christ liveth, acteth, and worketh in us by hisSpirit, Gal. ii. 20. Thus Christ dwelleth in the heart by faith;and by this his people become rooted and grounded in love, which isa cardinal grace; and knowing the love of Christ, which passethknowledge, they become filled with all the fulness of God, Eph.iii. 17, 19. So that the believer is to commit by faith the work toChrist, and leave the stress of all the business on him who istheir life. Yet the believer must not think he is to do nothing, orto lay aside the means of ordinances, but using these diligently,would in them commit the matter to Christ, and by faith roll thewhole work on him, expecting, upon the ground of his relations,engagements, promises, beginnings, &c., that he will certainlyperfect the work, (Phil. i. 6,) and take it well off their hands,and be well pleased with them for putting the work in his hands,and leaving it on him "who is made of God to ussanctification."

CAUTIONS.

As in the former part, so here it will not be amiss to give afew words of caution, for preventing of mistakes.

1. We would beware of thinking that perfection can be attainedhere: the perfect man and measure of the stature of the fulness ofChrist is but coming, and till then the body will be a perfectingand edifying, through the work of the ministry, Eph. iv. 12, 13.Believers must not think of sitting down on any measure of gracewhich they attain to here; but they must be growing in grace, goingfrom strength to strength, till they appear in the upper Zion withthe apostle, Phil. iii. 13. "Forgetting those things that arebehind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, theymust press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling ofGod in Christ Jesus." It must then be a dreadful delusion for anyto think that they can reach to such a degree of perfection here,as not to stand in need of the ordinance any more. Let allbelievers live in the constant conviction of their shortcoming, andbe humbled, and so work out their salvation with fear andtrembling.

2. Nor should every believer expect one and the same measure ofholiness, nor can it be expected with reason that all shall advancehere to the same height of sanctity; for every part of the bodyhath its own measure, and an effectual working in that measure: andso every joint of the body supplieth less or more, according to itsproportion, and contributeth to the increase of the body, and tothe edifying of itself in love, as the apostle clearly sheweth,Eph. iv. 16. As in the natural body the diversity of functions anduses of the members requireth diversity of furniture and strength,so in the mystical body of Christ the members have not all alikemeasure, but each hath his proper distinct measure, according tohis place and usefulness in the body. Believers then would learnmuch sobriety here and submission, knowing that God may dispensehis graces as he will, and give them to each member in what measurehe thinketh good: only they would take heed, that their poverty andleanness be not occasioned through their own carelessness andnegligence, in not plying the means of grace with that faithfulnessand single dependence on Christ that they ought.

3. It would be remembered, that there may be some progress madein the way of holiness, when yet the believer may apprehend no suchthing; not only because the measure of the growth may be so smalland indiscernible, but also because even where the growth in itselfis discernible, the Lord may think it good, for wise ends, to hideit from their eyes, that they may be kept humble and diligent;whereas, if they saw how matters stood indeed with them, they might(without a new degree of grace) swell and be puffed up, yea, evenforget God, and misken themselves and others too. Likewise this mayproceed from such an earnest desire after more, that they forgetany measure they have gotten, and so despise the day of smallthings.

4. There may be a great progress in holiness, though not in thatparticular which the believer is most eyeing to his sense andapprehension: for when he thinks he is not growing in love to andzeal for God, &c, he may be growing in humility, which is alsoa member of the new man of grace; and when he can perceive nogrowth in knowledge, there may be a growth in affection andtenderness. And if the work be carried on in any joint or member,it decayeth in none, though it may be better apprehended in onethan another.

5. There may be much holiness, where the believer is complainingof the want of fruits, when under that dispensation of the Lordtowards him, he is made to stoop before the Most High, to put hismouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope, and pleasantly tosubmit to God's wise ordering, without grudging or quarrelling withGod for what he doth, and to accept sweetly the punishment of hisiniquity, if he see guilt lying at the root of this dispensation.Where there is a silent submission to the sovereign and only wisedisposing hand of God, and the man is saying, if he will not haveme to be a fruitful tree in his garden, nor to grow and flourish asthe palm-tree, let me be a shrub, only let me be kept within theprecincts of his garden, that his eye may be upon me for good; letme abide within his courts, that I may behold his countenance,there is grace, and no small measure of grace. To be an hiredservant is much, Luke xv. 19.

6. But withal, it would be observed, that this gracious frame ofsoul, that is silent before God, under several disappointments, isaccompanied with much singleness of heart, in panting after moreholiness, and with seriousness and diligence in all commandedduties, waiting upon the Lord, who is their hope and theirsalvation in each of them, and with mourning for their own sinfulaccession to that shortcoming in their expectations.

7. We would not think that there is no progress in Christianity,or growth in grace, because it cometh not our way, or by theinstruments and means that we must expect it by. Possibly we aretoo fond on some instruments and means that we prefer to others;and we think, if ever we get good, it must be that way, and by thatmeans, be it private or public: and God may give a proof of hissovereignty, and check us for our folly, by taking another way. Hewould not be found of the bride, neither by her seeking of himsecretly on her bed by night; nor more publicly, by going about thecity, in the streets and broad ways; nor by the means of thewatchmen, Cant. iii. 1, 2, 3.

8. Nor would we think that there is no growth in the work ofgrace, because it cometh not at such or such prelimited or fore-settime; nor would we think the matter desperate, because of ourlooking long, and waiting, and asking, and labouring, and yetseeing no sensible advantage. Such and such a believer, saith thesoul, made great progress in a short time, but I come no speed, foras long as I have been at this school. O! we should beware oflimiting the Holy One of Israel. Let us be at duty, and commit theevent to him.

9. It is not a fit time to take the measure of our graces, as totheir sensible growth and fruitfulness, when devils are brokenloose upon us; temptations are multiplied, corruptions make a greatnoise, and we are meeting with a horrible tempest shaking us on allhands: for it will be strong grace that will much appear then; itwill be strong faith that will say, Though he kill me, yet will Itrust in him. At such a time it will be much if the man keep theground he hath gained, though he make no progress. It will be muchfor a tree to stand, and not to be blown out of the ground, in thetime of a strong and vehement storm, of wind, though it keep notit* flourishes and yield not fruit The trees, which in a coldwinter day bear neither leaves nor fruit, must not be said to goback, nor not to grow; because when the spring cometh again, theymay revive and be as fruitful as ever.

10. We would not always measure our graces by what appearethoutwardly; for there may be some accidental occurrence that mayhinder that, and yet grace be at work within doors, which few ornone can observe. The believer may be in a sweet and graciousframe, blushing before the Lord, yea, melting in love, or taken upwith spiritual meditations and wondering, when as to some externalduties, it can find no present disposition, through some accidentalimpediment or other, so that to some, who judge most by outwardappearance, no such things as the active working of grace in lifecan appear.

11. We would think it no small measure or degree of holiness, tobe with singleness of heart pursuing it, even though it should seemto flee from us; to be earnestly panting after it, and hungeringand thirsting for it. Nehemiah thought this no small thing, when hesaid, Neh. i. 11, "O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear beattentive to the prayer of thy servants who desire to fear thyname."

12. Whatever measure of holiness the believer win to, he wouldtake special heed that he place no part of his confidence of hisbeing accepted and justified before God in it, as if that couldcome in any part of the price to satisfy justice: but when he hathdone all, let him call and account himself an unprofitable servant.Though believers will not be so gross as to speak thus, yet suretheir justifying of their holding a-back from God, because theyfind not such a measure of grace and holiness as they would have,looketh too much this way, and saith, that they lean too muchhereunto in the matter of the acceptance of their persons beforeGod. Now this should be specially guarded against, lest theirlabour be in vain.

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

An objection or two must here also be removed. And 1. Some maysay, that though they have been labouring, and striving, andworking now for some long time, yet they can perceive noadvancement; they are as far short as ever.

Ans. Hath it not been found, that some have complainedwithout cause? Have not some complained of their unfruitfulness andwant of growth, that other good Christians would have thoughtthemselves very happy, if they had but advanced half so far as theysaw them to have done?

But be it so, as it is alleged, what if the fault be their own?What if the cause of this be, that they attempt things in their ownstrength, leaning to their own understanding, or habits of grace,or means, &c., and that they do not go about duties with thatsingle dependence on Christ that is requisite, nor do they sucklife, strength, and sap from him, by faith through the promises,nor give themselves up to him by faith, that he may work in themboth to will and to do. Should not this be seen, mourned for, andhelped?

3. If all this shortcoming and disappointment cause them lie inthe dust, and humble themselves more and more before the Lord, thegrace of humiliation is growing, and that is no small advantage, tobe growing downward.

4. Withal, they would do well to hold on in duty, looking toChrist for help, and rolling all difficulties on him, givethemselves away to him, as their head and Lord, and so continuetheir life of faith, or their consenting to let Christ live in themby faith, or work in them by his Spirit what is well-pleasing inhis sight, and wait for the blessing and fruit in God's owntime.

Next, It will be objected, Though we might wait thus, yethow unedifying are we unto others, when there appeareth no fruit ofthe spirit of grace in us.

Ans. A Christian behaviour and deportment under the senseof fruitlessness, expressing an holy submission of soul unto God,as sovereign, much humility of mind before him, justifying of God,and taking guilt to themselves, with a firm resolution, to wait onpatiently in the use of means appointed, cannot but be edifying toChristian souls; such exercises being really the works and fruit ofthe spirit of grace working within.

But, thirdly, some may say, How then are the promises ofthe covenant made good?

Ans. 1. The same measure of sanctification and holinessis not promised to all.

2. No great measure is promised to any absolutely. So muchindeed is secured to all believers as shall carry them to heaven,as without which they cannot see God. But much as to the degreedepends on our performing through faith the conditions requisite,to wit, on condition of our abiding in the vine, of our actingfaith on him, &c.; and when these and the like conditions arenot faithfully performed by us, what can we expect? So the Lordhath appointed a way wherein he will be found, and will have us towait for strength and influence from him; and if we neglect thesemeans which he hath appointed, how can we expect the good which hehath promised in the use of these means?

3. The Lord has his own time of making good all his promises,and we must not limit him to a day.

4. Hereby the Lord may be trying and exercising thy faith,patience, hope, dependence, submission, diligence, &c., and "ifthese be in thee, and abound, they shall make that thou shaltneither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord JesusChrist," 2 Pet. i. 11.

But lastly, It will be inquired, what can support thebelieving soul in this case?

Ans. 1. The consideration and faith of the covenant ofredemption, wherein both the Father's engagement of the Son, andthe Son's engagement to the Father, secureth grace and holiness,and salvation to the believer. And whatever we be, they will betrue to each other,—our unbelief will not make the faith ofGod of none effect.

2. The consideration of the noble and faithful promisescontained in the covenant of grace, which shall all be made good indue time.

3. If we be humbled under the sense of our failings andshortcomings, and made to mourn before the Lord, stirred up to morediligence and seriousness, that may yield comfort to our soul. Ifwe be growing in humility, godly sorrow, repentance, diligence, andbe gripping faster by faith to the root, we want not ground of joyand support; for if that be, we cannot want fruit.

4. It should be matter of joy and thanksgiving, that thebeliever is kept from turning his back on the way of God, and keptwith his face still Zion-ward. Though he make but little progress,yet he is still looking forward, and creeping as he may, waiting atGod's door, begging and asking, studying, labouring, andendeavouring for strength to go faster.

5. It is no small matter of peace and comfort, if we be keptfrom fretting, grudging and repining at the Lord's dispensationswith us, and be taught to sit silent in the dust, adoring hissovereignty, and ascribing no iniquity to our Maker.

CHAPTER VIII.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF CHRIST FOR TAKING THE GUILT OF OUR DAILYOUT-BREAKINGS AWAY.

The next part of our sanctification is in reference to our dailyfailings and transgressions, committed partly through the violenceof temptations, as we see in David and Peter, and other eminent menof God; partly through daily infirmities, because of our weaknessand imperfections; for, "in many things we offend all," James iii.2; and, "if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and thetruth is not in us," 1 John i. 8; "a righteous man falleth seventimes," Prov. xxiv. 16; "there is not a just man upon earth, thatdoeth good and sinneth not," Eccl. vii. 20; and Solomon furthersaith, 1 Kings viii. 46, "That there is no man that sinneth not."This being so, the question is, how Christ is to be made use of,for taking these away.

For satisfaction to this, it would be considered, that in thosedaily out breakings there are two things to be noticed.First, There is the guilt which is commonly called reatuspaenae, whereby the transgressor is liable to the sentence ofthe law, or to the penalty annexed to the breach thereof, which isno less than God's curse; for "cursed is every one that abideth notin all things, which are in the law to do them," Gal. iii. 10.Next, There is the stain or blot, which is called reatusculpae, whereby the soul is defiled, and made in so farincapable of glory, (for nothing entereth in there which defileth,)and of communion and fellowship with God, who is of purer eyes thanhe can behold iniquity. So that it is manifest, how necessary it isthat both these be taken away, that they may not stand in our wayto the Father. And as to both, we must make use of Christ, who isthe only way to the Father.

And this we shall now clear. And, first, speak of thetaking away of the guilt that is contracted by every sin. And forthis cause we shall speak briefly to two things. (1.) Shew whatChrist hath done as Mediator, for this end, that the guiltcontracted by our daily failings and out-breakings, might be takenaway. (2.) Shew what the believer should do for the guilt takenaway in Christ; or how he should make use of Christ forreconciliation with God after transgressions; or, for the takingaway of the guilt that he lieth under, because of his violation ofthe law.

As to the first, we say, Christ, for taking away of guiltcontracted daily, hath done these things:

1. Christ laid down his life a ransom for all the sins of theelect; both such as were past before they believed, and such aswere to be committed after. His blood was shed for the remission ofsins indefinitely, and without distinction, Matt. xxvi. 28.

2. And this was done according to the tenor of the covenant ofredemption, wherein the Father "caused all our sins to meettogether on him," Isa. liii. 6; and made him sin, or a sacrificefor sin, indefinitely, 2 Cor. v. 21; and so did not except the sinscommitted after conversion.

3. Having satisfied justice, and being risen from the dead as aconqueror, he is now exalted to "be a prince, to give repentanceand remission of sins," Acts v. 31. Now repentance and remission ofsins his people have need of, after conversion as well as beforeconversion.

4. There are promises of pardon and remission of sins in the newcovenant of grace, all which are sealed and confirmed in the bloodof Jesus, Jer. xxxi. 34, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and Iwill remember their sin no more." And chap, xxxiii. 8, "And I willcleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinnedagainst me; and I will pardon all their iniquities whereby theyhave sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me." Isa.xliii. 25, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressionsfor mine own sake; and will not remember thy sins."

5. Though there be no actual pardon of sins, till they becommitted, and repented of, according to the tenor of the gospel,Matt. iii. 2, Luke xiii. 3. Acts ii. 38; and viii. 22; yet whileChrist bare all the sins of his people upon the cross, they wereall then virtually and meritoriously taken away; of which Christ'sresurrection was a certain pledge and evidence; for then got he hisacquitance from all that either law or justice could charge himwith, in behalf of them, for whom he laid down his life a ransom.Rom. viii. 33, 34, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God'select? It is God that justifieth: Who is he that condemneth? It isChrist that died, or rather that is risen again."

6. So that by virtue of Christ's death, there is a way laiddown, in the covenant of grace, how the sins of the elect shall beactually pardoned, viz. that at their conversion and first layinghold on Christ by faith, all the sins, whereof they then standguilty, shall be actually pardoned and forgiven, in theirjustification; and all their after-sins shall also be actuallypardoned, upon their griping to Christ of new by faith, and turningto God by repentance. And this way is agreed to by Father and Son,and revealed in the gospel, for the instruction and encouragementof believers; and all to the glory of his free grace. "In whom wehave redemption, (saith the apostle, Eph. i. 7-9) through hisblood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of hisgrace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom andprudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will,according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed inhimself."

7. Beside Christ's death and resurrection, which give ground ofhope, of pardon, of daily out-breakings, there is likewise hisintercession useful for this end. For, so saith the apostle, 1 Johnii. 1, 2, "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for oursins." This intercession is a special part of his priesthood, whowas the great high priest, Heb. iv. 14, 1; and a completing part,Heb. viii. 4, and ix. 8; and upon this account it is, that "He isable to save to the uttermost, all that come to God through him,because he liveth for ever to make intercession for them," Heb.vii. 25. For by his intercession is the work of redemption carriedon, the purchased benefits applied, and particularly, new grants ofremission are, through his intercession, issued forth: he pleadingand interceding, in a way suitable, to his glorified condition,upon his death and propitiation made, while he was upon the cross,accepted of the Father, and declared to be accepted by hisresurrection, ascension, and sitting at his Father's right hand.And thus, as believers are reconciled to God by Christ's death,they are saved by his life, Rom. v. 10. So that Christ's living tobe an intercessor, makes the salvation sure; and so laying down aground for taking away of daily out-breakings, which, if not takenaway, would hinder and obstruct the believer's salvation.

8. And as for the condition requisite to renewed pardon, viz.faith and repentance, Christ is the worker of both. For he is aprince exalted to give repentance, first and last, Acts iv. 30; andas he is the author of faith, so he is the finisher of it, Heb.xii. 2.

As to the second particular, namely, what believersshould do for getting the guilt of their daily failings andout-breakings taken away by Christ; or how they should make use ofChrist for this end, I shall, for clearing of it, propose thosethings to consideration:

1. We would beware to think, that all our after actualtransgressions are actually pardoned, either when Christ died, orwhen we first believed in Christ, as some suppose; for sin cannotproperly be said to be pardoned before it be committed. David wasput to sue out for pardon, after his actual transgression wascommitted, and not for the mere sense and feeling of the pardon, orthe intimation of it to his spirit, when he cried out, Psalm li. 2,"Blot out my transgressions, wash me," &c; and verse 9, "Hidethy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities;" and verse14, "Deliver me from blood-guiltiness." Sure when he spoke thus, hesought some other thing than intimation of pardon to his sense andconscience; for that he desired also, but in far more clearexpressions, verse 8, "Make me to hear joy and gladness," &c.;and verse 12, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation," &c.Scripture phrases to express remission import this, viz. coveringof sin, pardoning of debts, blotting out of sins, hiding of God'sface from sin, not remembering of them, casting of them behind hisback, casting of them into the sea, removing of sin, Psalm xxxiii.1, 2. These and the like phrases, though many of them bemetaphorical, yet do all of them clearly evince, that sin mustfirst have a being before it can be pardoned. The same is clearlyimported by the gospel conditions requisite before pardon; such asacknowledgment of sin, (1 John i. 9) which we see was practised bythe worthies of old; David, Psalm xxxii. 51. Nehemiah, chap. ix.Ezra, chap. ix. and Daniel, chap. ix. Confessing and forsaking ofit, Prov. xxviii. 13. Sorrowing for it, and repenting of it, andlaying hold on Christ by faith, &c.

The reason why I propose this, is not only to guard against thisAntinomian error, but also to guard the soul from security, towhich this doctrine hath a natural tendency. For if a person oncethink, that all his sins were pardoned, upon his first believing,so that many of them were pardoned before they were committed; heshall never be affected for his after transgressions, nor complainof a body of death, nor account himself miserable upon thataccount, as Paul did, Rom. vii. 24; nor shall he ever pray forremission, though Christ has taught all to do so, in that patternof prayer; nor shall he act faith upon the promise of pardon madein the covenant of grace for after transgressions, or fortransgressions actually committed, Jer. xxxi. 34, and xxxiii. 8.Heb. viii. 12; and so there shall be no use made of Christ for newpardons, or remissions of new sins.

2. The believer would remember, that among other things,antecedently requisite to remission of posterior actualtransgressions, gospel repentance is especially required, (Lukexiii. 3. Matt. iii. 2. Ezek. xviii. 28, 30. Luke xv. 17,18. Hos.ii. 6, 7. Ezek. xiv. 6,) whereby a sinner, through the help of theSpirit, being convinced not only of his hazard by reason of sin,but also of the hatefulness and filthiness of sin; and having asight of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus to sinners, turning fromtheir sin, doth turn from those sins unto God, with a full purposeof heart, in his strength, to follow him, and obey his laws. Andhereby the soul is brought to loathe itself and sin, and is madewilling to desire, seek for, accept of, and prize remissions ofsins. This makes them more wary and careful in time coming; "Forbehold," says the apostle, 2 Cor. vii. 11, "this self same thingthat ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought inyou, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea,what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, whatrevenge," &c. Thus is God glorified in his justice, Psalm li.4; and his mercy is acknowledged, in not entering with us intojudgment, nor casting us into hell, as he might have done injustice.

3. Yet it would be remembered, that though it hath seemed goodin the Lord's eyes to choose this method, and appoint this way ofobtaining pardon of sins daily committed, for the glory of hisgrace and mercy; and likewise for our good, we must not ascribe toomuch unto repentance, in the matter of pardon. We must not make ita cause of our remission, either efficient or meritorious. We mustnot think that it hath any hand in appeasing the wrath of God, orin satisfying justice. Pardon must always be an act of God's freegrace, unmerited at our hands, and procured alone through themerits of Christ. We must not put repentance in Christ's room andplace, nor ascribe any imperfection unto his merits, as if theyneeded any supply from any act of ours. We must beware of leaningto our repentance and godly sorrow, even so far as to think tocommend ourselves to God, thereby that we may obtain pardon.

4. The believer would consider seriously the dreadfulness oftheir condition who are lying under the lash of the law for sin.The law saith, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in allthings written in the law;" and every sin is a transgression of thelaw. So that, according to law and justice, they are in hazard. Forevery sin in itself exposeth the sinner to eternal wrath, sin beingan offence against God, who is a righteous judge, and a breach ofhis law. A right sight and apprehension of this, would serve tohumble the sinner before God, and make him more earnest in seekingout for pardon, that this obligation to punishment might beremoved.

5. The believer would not only consider the sin itself, but alsotake notice of all its aggravations. There are peculiaraggravations of some sins taken from the time, manner, and othercirc*mstances, which, rightly considered, will help forward thework of humiliation. And the sins of believers have thisaggravation above the sins of others, that they are committedagainst more love, and special love, and against more oppositionand contradiction of the grace of God within the soul, against morelight and conviction, &c. And therefore their humiliation uponthis account ought to be singular and serious. So was it withDavid, when he took notice of the special aggravation of his sin,Psalm li. 4, 6, 14, and Ezra, chap ix. and Nehemiah, chap. ix. andDaniel chap. ix. This considering of sin, with its dueaggravations, would help to prize mercies at a high rate, and causethe soul more willingly wait for and more seriously seek afterremission; knowing that God is more angry for great sins, than forsins of infirmity, and may therefore pursue the same with sorerjudgments, as he broke David's bones, withdrew his comforts,&c.

6. The believer would be convinced of an impossibility of doinganything in himself which can procure pardon at the hands of God;should he weep, cry, afflict himself, and pray never so, all willdo nothing by way of merit, for taking away of the least sin thatever he committed; and the conviction of this would drive him todespair in himself, and be a mean to bring him cleanly off himself,and to look out for mere mercy in Christ Jesus. So long as, throughthe deceitfulness of Satan, the false heart inclineth to the oldbias, and hath its eye upon any thing in itself, from whence itdraweth its hopes and expectation of pardon and acceptance, it willnot purely act faith on Christ for this end, and so he will loseall his labour, and in the end be disappointed. Therefore thebeliever would guard against this, and that so much the more, thatthe false deceitful heart is so much inclined thereto; and thatthis deceit can sometime work so cunningly, that it can hardly bediscerned, being covered over with many false glosses and pretexts;and that it is so dishonourable to Jesus, and hurtful andprejudicial to the soul.

7. The believer would act faith on the promises of pardon in thenew covenant, as having a right to them through Jesus Christ, andchallenge with humble boldness, the fulfilling of the same,according to that, 1 John i. 9, "If we confess our sins, he isfaithful and just to forgive us our sins." So that the believer maynot only take hold of mercy and grace in God, as an encouragementand invitation to go to God for pardon; but even of the justice andrighteousness of God, because of his faithful promises; and thebeliever would have here a special eye to Christ, in whom all thepromises are yea and amen; and look for the accomplishment of themthrough him, and for his sake alone.

8. Faith would eye Christ, as hanging upon the cross, andoffering up himself, through the eternal Spirit, a sacrifice tosatisfy divine justice, for all the sins of his own chosen ones; wecannot think, that Christ bare but some of their sins, or onlytheir sins committed before conversion; and if he bare all, as theFather laid all upon him, the believer is to lay hold on him byfaith, as hanging on the cross, as well for taking away of theguilt of sins committed after conversion, as before; his sacrificewas a sacrifice for all, "and he bare our sins (without distinctionor exception,) in his own body on the tree," 1 Pet. ii. 24. Davidhad his eye on this, when he cried out, Psalm li. 7, "Purge me withhyssop;" hyssop being sometimes used in the legal purifications,which typified that purification which Christ really wrought whenhe gave himself a sacrifice for sin, Levit. xiv. 6. Num. xix.18.

9. The believer looking on Christ, dying as a Mediator, topacify the wrath of God, and to make satisfaction to the justice ofGod, for the sins of his people, would renew his consent unto thatgracious and wise contrivance of Heaven, of pardoning sins, througha crucified Mediator, that mercy and justice might kiss each other,and be glorified together; and declare again his full satisfactionwith Christ's satisfying of justice for him, and taking away theguilt of his sins, by that blood that was shed upon the cross, bytaking those sins, whereof now he standeth guilty, and for which heis desirous of pardon, and by faith nailing them to the cross ofChrist, and rolling them on his shoulders, that the guilt of them,as well as of the rest, might be taken away, through the merits ofhis death and satisfaction. Thus the believer consenteth to thenoble act of free grace, whereby the Lord made all our sins to meettogether on Christ, when he taketh those particular sins, wherewithnow he is troubled, and casteth them in into the heap, that Christ,as the true scape-goat, may carry all away. This is to lay ourhands on the head of our sacrifice.

10. The believer hath another ground of comfort to grip to, inthis case, and that is, Christ's eternal priesthood, whereby hemakes intercession for the transgressions of his people, and astheir advocate and attorney with the Father, pleadeth their cause,whereby he is able to save them to the last and uttermost step oftheir journey, and so to save them from the guilt of all casual andemergent sins, that might hinder their salvation. So that thebeliever is to put those sins, that now he would have pardoned,into the hands of Christ, the everlasting Intercessor, andall-sufficient Advocate, that he, by virtue of his death, wouldobtain a new pardon of these their failings and transgressions, anddeliverance from the guilt thereof; and their acceptance with theFather, notwithstanding of these transgressions.

11. Thus believers eyeing Christ as dying, rising again,ascending, and as sitting at the Father's right hand, there to be apriest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec, and to intercedefor his own, and to see to the application of what benefits,pardons, favours, and other things they need, from all which theyhave strong ground of comfort and of hope, yea, and assurance ofpardon, would acquiesce in this way; and having laid thoseparticular sins, under the burden whereof they now groan, on Christthe Mediator, dying on the cross to make satisfaction, and arisingto make application of what was purchased, and having put them inhis hand, who is a faithful high priest, and a noble intercessor,would remember, that "Christ is a prince exalted, to giverepentance and remission of sins;" and so expect the sentence evenfrom him, as a prince now exalted, and as having obtained that ofthe Father, even a power to forgive sins, justice being nowsufficiently satisfied, through his death; yea, and as having allpower in heaven and in earth, as being Lord both of the dead and ofthe living. Sure a right thought of this would much quiet the soul,in hope of obtaining pardon through him; seeing now the pardon isin his own hand, to give out, who loved them so dearly, that hegave himself to the death for them, and shed his heart blood tosatisfy justice for their transgressions. Since he who hathprocured their pardon at so dear a rate, and is their attorney toagent their business at the throne of grace, hath now obtained theprayed-for and looked-for pardon, and hath it in his own hand, theywill not question but he will give it, and so absolve them fromtheir guilt.

12. The believer, having taken this course with his dailyprovocations, and laid them all on him, would aquiesce in this way,and not seek after another, that he may obtain pardon. Here hewould rest, committing the matter by faith in prayer to Christ, andleaving his guilt and sins on him, expect the pardon, yea,conclude, that they are already pardoned; and that for these sins,he shall never be brought unto condemnation, whatever Satan and amisbelieving heart may say or suggest afterward.

Thus should a believer make use of Christ, for the taking awayof the guilt of his daily transgressions; and for further clearingof it, I shall add a few cautions.

CAUTIONS.

1. However the believer is to be much moved at, and affectedwith his sins and provocations, which he committeth after God hathvisited his soul with salvation, and brought him into a covenantwith himself, yet he must not suppose, that his sins afterjustification do mar his state; as if thereby he were brought intoa non-justified state, or to a non-reconciled state. It is true,such sins, especially if gross, whether in themselves, or by reasonof circ*mstances, will darken a man's state, and put him to searchand try his condition over again. But yet we dare not say, thatthey make any alteration in the state of a believer; for once in ajustified state always in a justified state. It is true likewise,that as to those sins, which now he hath committed, he cannot besaid to be acquitted or justified, till this pardon be got out byfaith and repentance, as is said; yet his state remaineth fixed andunchanged; so that though God should seem to deal with such in hisdispensations, as with enemies, yet really his affections changenot; he never accounteth them real enemies; nay, love lieth at thebottom of all his sharpest dispensations. If they forsake his law,and walk not in his judgments; if they break his statutes and keepnot his commandments, he will visit their transgression with therod, and their iniquity with stripes, nevertheless hisloving-kindness will he not utterly take from them, nor suffer hisfaithfulness to fail; his covenant will he not break, nor alter thething that has gone out of his lips, Psalm lxxxix. 30-34. Andagain, though after transgressions may waken challenges for formersins, which have been pardoned and blotted out, and give occasionsto Satan to raise a storm in the soul, and put all in confusion,yet really sins once pardoned cannot become again unpardoned sins.The Lord doth not revoke his sentence, nor alter the thing that isgone out of his mouth. It is true likewise, that a believer, bycommitting of gross sins, may come to miss the effects of God'sfavour and good will, and the intimations of his love and kindness;and so be made to cry with David, Psalm li. 8, "Make me to hear joyand gladness;" and ver. 12, "Restore unto me the joy of thysalvation," &c. Yet that really holdeth true, that whom heloveth he loveth to the end; and he is a God that changeth not; andhis gifts are without repentance. Yea, though grieving of theSpirit may bring souls under sharp throes, and pangs of the spiritof bondage, and the terrors of God, and his sharp errors, thepoison whereof may drink up their spirits, and so be far from theactual witnessings of the Spirit of adoption; yet the Spirit willnever be again really a spirit of bondage unto fear, nor deny hisown work in the soul, or the soul's real right to, or possession ofthat fundamental privilege of adoption,—I say, that the soulis no more a son, nor within the covenant.

2. The course before mentioned is to be taken with all sins,though, (1.) They be never so heinous and gross. (2.) Though theybe accompanied with never such aggravating and crying aggravations.(3.) Though they be sins frequently fallen into; and, (4.) Thoughthey be sins many and heaped together. David's transgression was aheinous sin, and had heinous aggravations, yea, there was an heapand a complication of sins together in that one; yet he followedthis course. We find none of these kind of sins excepted in the newcovenant; and where the law doth not distinguish, we ought not todistinguish; where God's law doth not expressly exclude us, weshould not exclude ourselves. Christ's death is able enough to takeaway all sin. If through it a believer be justified from all histransgressions committed before conversion, why may not also abeliever be, through virtue of it, justified from his gross andmultiplied sins committed after conversion? The blood of Christcleanseth from all sin; Christ hath taught his followers to pray,"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive them that sin against us;" andhe hath told us also, that we must forgive our brother seventytimes seven, Matth. xiii. 22. We would not be discouragedthen from taking this course, because our sins are such and such;nay, rather, we would look on this, as an argument to press us moreunto this way, because the greater our sins be, the greater needhave we of pardon, and to say with David, Psalm xxv. 11, "Pardonmine iniquity, for it is great."

3. We would not think, that upon our taking of this course, weshall be instantly freed from challenges, because of those sins,for pardoning whereof we take this course; nor should we think,that because challenges remain, that therefore there is no pardonhad, or that this is not the way to pardon; for, as we shall showafterward, pardon is one thing, and intimation of pardon is anotherthing. We may be pardoned, and yet suppose that we are notpardoned; challenges will abide till the conscience be sprinkled,and till the Prince of Peace command peace to the conscience, andput the accuser to silence; who, when he can do no more, will marthe peace of a believer, as long as he can, and stop the current ofhis comforts, which made David pray, that "God would restore to himthe joy of his salvation," Psalm li.

4. Nor would we think, that upon our taking of this course forthe pardon of our sins, we shall never thereafter meet with achallenge upon the account of these sins. It is true, when sins arepardoned, they are fully pardoned in God's court, and thatobligation to condemnation is taken away, and the pardoned personis looked upon as no sinner, that is, as no person liable tocondemnation because of these sins; for being pardoned he becomethjust before God; yet we dare not say, but conscience afterward,being alarmed with new transgressions, may mistake, as peoplesuddenly put into a fight are ready to do; nor dare we say, thatGod will not permit Satan to upbraid us with those sins, which havebeen blotted out long ago, as he suffered Shimei, who was but aninstrument of Satan, to cast up to David his blood-guiltiness,which had been pardoned long before. The Lord may think good tosuffer this, that his people may be kept humble, and made moretender and watchful in all their ways.

5. Believers would not misimprove or abuse this greatcondescendency of free grace, and take the great liberty to sin,because there is such a sure, safe, and pleasant way of gettingthose sins blotted out and forgiven. "Shall we sin because we arenot under grace, but under the law? That be far from us," saith theApostle, Rom. vi. 15. This were indeed to turn the grace of Godinto lasciviousness. And it may be a question, if such as havereally repented, and gotten their sins pardoned, will be so readyto make this use of it; sure sense of pardon will work some othereffect, as we see, Ezek. xvi. 62, 63.

6. The believer, in going about this work of nailing his sins tothe cross of Christ, and of improving Christ's death, resurrection,and constant intercession, for the obtaining of pardon, would notthink of going alone, or of doing this in his own strength; for ofhimself he can do nothing. He must look to Christ for grace to helpin this time of need, and must go about this duty with dependenceon him, waiting for the influence of light, counsel, strength, andgrace from him, to repent and believe; for he is a prince exaltedto give repentance, first and last, and he is the author andfinisher of faith; so that without him we can do nothing.

7. Let the believer beware of concluding, that be hath got nopardon, because he hath met with no sensible intimation thereof bythe flowing in of peace and joy in his soul. Pardon is one mercy,and intimation of it to the soul is another distinct mercy, andseparable from it: shall we therefore say, we have not gotten thefirst, because we have not gotten both? The Lord, for wise reasons,can pardon poor sinners, and not give any intimation thereof; viz.that they may watch more against sin afterward, and not be so boldas they have been; and that they may find more in experience, whata bitter thing it is to sin against God, and learn withal to dependon him for less and more; and to carry more humbly; for it may be,God seeth, that if they saw their sins pardoned, they would forgetthemselves, and rush into new sins again.

8. The believer must not think it strange, if he find moretrouble after greater sins, and a greater difficulty to lay hold onChrist for pardon of those, than for pardon of others. For as Godhath been more dishonoured by these, so is his anger more kindledupon that account; and it is suitable for the glory of God'sjustice, that our sorrow for such sins be proportionally greater;and this will likewise increase the difficulty; and ordinarily theeffects of God's fatherly displeasure make deeper wounds in thesoul after such sins, and these are not so easily healed; all whichwill call for suitable and proportionally greater godly sorrow andrepentance, and acts of faith, because faith will meet with moreopposition and discouragement there, and therefore must be the morestrong, to go through these impediments, and to lay hold on hiscross. Yet though this should make all watchful, and to guardagainst gross and crying sins, it should not drive any to despair,nor to say with that despairing wretch, their sin is greater thanit can be forgiven; the ocean of mercy can drown and swallow upgreater as well as lesser sins; Christ is an all-sufficientMediator for the greatest sins as well as the least. "O, for thyname's sake, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great!" will come inseason to a soul ready to sink with the weight of this millstonetied about its neck.

9. As the greater sins should not make us despair of taking thiscourse for remission, so nor should the smallness of sin make us toneglect this way; for the least sin cannot be pardoned but throughJesus Christ; for the law of God is violated thereby, justiceprovoked, God's authority vilified, &c. and therefore cannot benow pardoned, by reason of the threatenings annexed to the law,without a ransom. Death is the wages of sin, lesser and greater,and the curse is due to all sin, greater and smaller. There, thebeliever would not suffer one sin, seen and discovered, to lieunpardoned, but on the first discovery thereof, take it away toChrist, and nail it to the cross.

10. The believer would not conclude, that his sins are notpardoned, because possibly temporal strokes, inflicted because ofthem, are not removed; for though David's sin was pardoned, yetbecause of that sin of his, a temporal stroke attended him and hisfamily, to his dying day; for not only did God cut off the child,(2 Sam. xv. 14.), but told him, that the sword should never departfrom his house, and that he would raise up evil against him out ofhis own house, and give his wives to one that should lie with themin the sight of the sun, vers. 10, 11. So we read, that the Lordtook vengeance on their inventions whose sins he had pardoned,Psalm xcix. 8. God may see this fit and expedient, for his ownglory, and for humbling of them, and causing them to fear the moreto sin against him. Yea, not only may temporal calamities beinflicted, because of sin pardoned, or continued, after sin ispardoned, but even sense of God's displeasure may continue afterpardon, as appeareth by that penitential Psalm (the fifty-first)penned by David, after Nathan had spoken to him concerning hissin.

QUESTIONS OR OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

1. What course shall we take with secret sins? I answer, thissame course must be followed with them. There is an implicitrepentance of sins that have not been distinctly seen and observed,as who can see and observe all their failings? And so there may bean implicit faith acting; that is, the believer being persuadedthat he is guilty of more sins than he hath got a clear sight of,as he would bewail his condition before God because of these, andsorrow for them after a godly manner, so he would take themtogether in a heap, or as a closed bagful, and by faith nail themto the cross of Christ, as if they were all distinctly seen andknown. "Who can understand his errors," said David, Psalm xix. 12:yet says he moreover, "cleanse thou me from secret faults."

2. But what if, after all this, I find no intimation of pardonto my soul? Ans. As this should serve to keep thee humble,so it should excite to more diligence, in this duty of going withthy sins to Christ, and to ply him and his cross more, in andthrough the promises, and keep thy soul constant in this duty ofthe running to Christ, as an all-sufficient Mediator, and as anintercessor with the Father; and thus wait on him waiteth to begracious, even in this particular, of intimating pardon to thysoul,—he knoweth when it is fittest for thee to know that thysins are forgiven.

3. But what can yield me any ground of peace while it is so,that I see no pardon or remission granted to me? Ans. Thismay yield thee peace, that, following this course which hath beenexplained, thou art about thy duty. Thou art not at peace with sin,nor harbouring that viper in thy soul; thou art mourning andsorrowing over it, and running to Christ the prince of pardons,through his blood and intercession, conform to the covenant ofredemption, and after the encouragement given in the many andprecious promises of the covenant of grace; and having thesepromises, and rolling thy guilt on Christ as thy cautioner, conformto the manner expressed in the gospel, thou art allowed to believethat thy sins are pardoned, and that thou art accepted in thebeloved, and so quiet thy soul through faith, God abiding faithfuland true, and his promises being all yea and amen in Christ.

4. But so long as I find no intimation of pardon, I cannot thinkthat I have taken the right gospel way of bringing my sins toChrist. Ans. Though that will not follow, as we clearedabove—for a soul may take the right gospel way of getting theguilt of their sins taken away in Christ, and God may pardonthereupon, and for all that not think it fit to give intimation ofthat pardon as yet, for wise and holy ends—yet the soul mayhumble itself for its shortcoming, and still go about the duty,amending in Christ what it supposeth to be amiss, and renewing itsact of repentance and faith, and beg of Christ understanding in thematter, and so continue carrying sin always to Christ's cross, andeyeing his intercession, and wait for a full clearing of the matterin his good time.

5. But what shall I do with the guilt of my weak repentance, andweak faith? Ans. When with a weak and defective repentanceand faith thou art carrying away thy sins to Christ, and nailingthem, to his cross, let the imperfection of thy faith andrepentance go with the rest, and leave all there.

6. What shall I do with my conscience, that still accuseth me ofguilt, notwithstanding of my taking and following this course?Ans. Despise not the accusation of conscience, but let thesehumble thee the more, and keep thee closer at this duty. Yet know,that conscience is but an under servant, and God's deputy, and mustaccuse according to law, (I speak not here of the irregular,furious, and turbulent motions of Satan, casting in grenades in thesoul and conscience, to raise a combustion and put all in a fire);its mouth, must be stopped by law, and so the soul would stay andanswer the accusations of conscience with this, that he hath fledto Christ, the only Mediator and Cautioner, and cast his burden onhim; and leaneth to his merits alone; and hath put those sins inhis hand, as his advocate and intercessor with the Father; and thatthe gospel requireth no more of him. And if conscience should say,that both faith and repentance are imperfect and defective, andthat guilt is thereby rather increased than taken away,—hemust answer again, true; but I have done with the guilt of my faithand repentance, as with the rest, taken all to Christ, and left allon him; and herein only do I acquiesce,—I look not for pardonfor my imperfect faith and repentance, yea, nor would I look forpardon of my sins, for my faith and repentance, were they never soperfect, but only in and through Jesus Christ, the only Cautioner,Redeemer, and Advocate. But further, this deputy would be broughtto his master, who can only command him to silence; that is to say,the believer would go to Christ with the accusing conscience, anddesire him to command its silence, that he may have peace ofconscience, and freedom from those accusations that are bitter andtroublesome. Remember withal, that if these accusations drive theeto Christ, and endear him more to thy soul, they will do no harm,because they drive thee to thy only resting place, and to the grandpeacemaker. But if otherwise they discourage or for-slow thee inthy motion Christward, then be sure conscience speaketh withoutwarrant, and its accusations ought not, in so far, and as to thatend, to be regarded.

CHAPTER IX.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF CHRIST FOR CLEANSING OF US FROM OUR DAILYSPOTS.

Having spoken of the way of making use of Christ for removingthe guilt of our daily transgressions, we come to speak of the wayof making use of Christ, for taking away the guilt that cleaveth tothe soul, through daily transgressions; "for every sin defileth theman," Matt. xv. 20; and the best are said to have their spots, andto need washing, which presupposeth filthiness and defilement, Eph.v. 27. John xiii. 8-10. Hence we are so oft called to this duty ofwashing and making us clean. Isa. i. 16. Jer. iv. 14. Acts xxii.16. David prays for this washing, Psal. li. 2-7. And it is Christ'swork to wash. 1 Cor. vi. 11. Rev. i. 5. Eph. v. 26. See Tit. iii.5. Now, in speaking to this, we shall observe the same method; andfirst shew, what Christ has done to take away this filth; and next,what way we are to make use of him, for this end, to get our spotsand filthiness taken away, that we may be holy.

As to the first, for the purging away of the filth of ourdaily failings and transgressions, Christ has done thesethings:

1. He hath died that he may procure this benefit and advantageto us; and thus he hath washed us meritoriously in his own bloodwhich he shed upon the cross. Thus he "loved us, and washed us fromour sins, in his own blood," Rev. i. 5; and this is from all sins,as well such as are committed after, as such as are committedbefore conversion. Thus, "he by himself purged our sins," Heb. i.3, viz. by offering up of himself as an expiatory sacrifice to makean atonement, and so procure this liberty. So also it is said, Eph.v. 25-27, that Christ gave himself for his church, "that he mightsanctify and cleanse it—that he might present it to himself aglorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, butthat it should be holy and without blemish." So, Tit. ii. 14, "Hegave himself for us, that he might purify to himself a peculiarpeople, zealous of good works." Here then is the foundation andground of all cleansing and purification—Christ's deathprocuring it.

2. As he hath procured, so he sendeth the Spirit to effectuatethis, and to work this washing and sanctification in us. Hence, itis said, 1 Cor. vi. 11, "that we are sanctified and washed, in thename of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." We are saidto be saved "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of theHoly Ghost, which he hath shed upon us abundantly through JesusChrist our Saviour," Tit. iii. 5, 6. The sending then, or sheddingof the holy and sanctifying Spirit upon us, whereby we aresanctified, and consequently purified and purged from our filth, isa fruit of Christ's death and mediation, being purchased thereby,and is an effect of his resurrection, and glorification, andintercession in glory.

3. He hath made a fountain of his blood for this end, that wemay go to it daily, and wash and be clean. Thus his "bloodcleanseth from all sin," 1 John i. 7-9. This is the "fountainopened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalemfor sin and for uncleanness," Zech. xiii. 1.

4. He hath purchased and provided the external means, wherebythis cleansing and sanctification is brought about, viz. thepreaching of the gospel, which he himself preached, and therebysanctified, John xv. 3, "Now are ye clean through the word that Ihave spoken unto you." Eph. v. 26, the church is "sanctified andcleansed with the washing of water, by the word."

5. So hath he procured, and worketh in the soul those gracesthat promove and carry on this work of sanctification andpurifying; such as faith, which purifieth the heart, Acts xv. 9;whereof he is the author and finisher, Heb. xii.; and hope, whichwhosoever hath, "purifieth himself, even as he is pure," 1 Johniii. 3.

6. He hath confirmed and ratified all the promises of thecovenant, which are ample and large, touching this cleansing andwashing, Jer. xxxv. 8, "And I will cleanse them from all theiriniquity, whereby they have sinned against me." Ezek. xxxvi. 25,"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be cleanfrom all your filthiness." So Ezek. xxxvii. 23, "and I will cleansethem." And all the other promises of the covenant, apprehended byfaith, have no small influence on our cleansing; 2 Cor. vii. 1."Having therefore these promises, let us cleanse ourselves,"&c.; all which promises are yea and amen in Christ, 2 Cor. i.20.

Thus Christ made all sure, for the cleansing and washing of hispeople, conform to that article of the covenant of redemption, "soshall he sprinkle many nations," Isa. lii. 15.

Secondly, As to the way of our use-making of Christ forthe purging away of our filth and daily pollutions, believers wouldtake this course:

1. They would remember and live in the conviction of theexceeding abominableness and filthiness of sin, which is comparedto the vomit of a dog, and to the mire wherein the sow walloweth, 2Pet. ii. 22; filthy rags, Isa. lxiv. 6; to a menstruous cloth, Isa.xxx. 22, and the like, that this may move them to seek with greatercare and diligence, to have that filth taken away.

2. They would remember also how abominable sin makes them in theeyes of an holy God, "who cannot behold iniquity," being a God ofpurer eyes than to behold it, Hab. i. 13; nor can he look on it;and how therefore no thing can enter into the New Jerusalem, norany thing that defileth. And this will make them so much the moreto abhor it, and to seek to be washed from it.

3. They would look by faith on the blood of Christ that is shedfor this end, to wash filthy souls into; and run to it as afountain opened for this end, that they might come to it, and washand be clean.

4. For their encouragement, they would grip by faith to thepromises of the new covenant, which are large and full.

5. And remember the end of Christ's death, viz., to purchase tohimself a holy people, zealous of good works, to present them tohimself holy, and without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; andthis will be further ground of encouragement.

6. They would put the work by faith in his hand, who hath bestskill to wash a foul soul, and to purge away all their spots; andby faith pray for and expect the Spirit to sanctify and cleansethem from all their filthiness; that is, they would make known andspread forth their abominations before the Lord, and eyeing Christas the only great High Priest, whose blood is a fountain to washin, would lay the work on him, and by faith put him to wash awaythat filth, and to purify their souls by his Spirit, pardoningtheir bygone iniquities and renewing them in the Spirit of theirminds by grace, that they may walk before him in fear. Thus theywould roll the work on him, and leave it there.

CAUTIONS AND DIRECTIONS.

First, The believer would in all this work be kept in theexercise of these graces following:

1. Of humility; seeing what a vile, filthy wretch he is, thatstands in need of washing and purging daily, because of his dailypollutions and transgressions.

2. Of love; considering with what a loving God he hath to do,that hath provided so liberally all things for him, andparticularly hath provided a fountain, and such a fountain, wheretohe not only may, but is commanded to resort daily.

3. Of thankfulness; remembering how great this mercy is, howunworthy he is, on whom it is bestowed, and who he is that dothgrant it.

4. Of fear; lest God's goodness be abused, and he provoked whois so gracious to us.

5. Of sincerity, and godly ingenuity, avoiding all hypocrisy andformality, knowing that we have to do with him, who will not bemocked.

6. Of holy hatred; loathing and abhorrence of sin, which makesus so filthy and odious in the eyes of the Lord.

Secondly, This course would be followed for the purgingaway of the least sins; for till they be purged away, we remain inour filth, and cannot expect God's favourable countenance, nor hiswarm embracements, nor the hearty intimations of his love andkindness. And a small inconsiderable like spot may grow greater,and provoke God to let the accuser of the brethren, Satan, whoalways waits for his opportunity, loose upon us, and a consciencewakened may make much of a little defilement to keep the soul fromapproaching to God.

3. This course would be followed with every sin, quickly withoutdelay; for the longer those spots continue, it will be the moredifficult to get them taken away. The soul will after some time,become the less troubled about them, and possibly forget them, andso they will remain; and this may occasion at last a sad distance,and provoke God to hide his face, which will cause more bitternessand sorrow. It were good, then, to keep up a spirit of tendernessand fear.

4. Let this be our daily work and exercise; for we are dailycontracting new filth. Yesterday's cleansing will not save us fromnew filth to-day; nor will our running to the fountain to-day,serve to take away new spots to-morrow; new spots call for newwashing, so that this must be our very life and exercise, to bedaily and continually running to the fountain with our souls; andgiving Christ, the great purger, much to do.

5. We must not think to be perfectly washed, so long as we arehere; for we will be contracting new filth daily, our feet willstill be to wash, John xiii. 10. We will not be without spot orwrinkle, till we come home to that place, wherein entereth nothingthat defileth.

6. Let the believer's recourse in this matter be wholly to JesusChrist and his blood, and lay no weight on their sorrow,repentance, or tears, or on any outward means which they arecommanded to use; yet would they not lay aside these means, but gothrough them to the fountain, to Jesus, there, and there only to becleansed.

7. They should not be discouraged or despair when their spotsappear great, and not like the spots of his children; for Christ'sblood can purge from all sin, and wash away all their filth, of howdeep soever a dye it be. Christ's blood is so deep an ocean, that amountain will be sunk out of sight in it, as well as a small pebblestone.

8. Though Christ's blood be strong enough to purge from all sin,even the greatest, yet they should know, that scandalous spots, ora deep stain, may cost them more frequent running to the fountain,through humiliation, godly sorrow, prayer, and supplication.David's scandalous blot cost him more trouble and pains, before hegot it purged away, than many others, as we see, Psalm li.

9. When all this is done, we must think of having on anotherrighteousness, as our clothing and covering, in the day of ourappearance before our Judge—even the righteousness of JesusChrist, which only is perfect, and able to save us from the wrathof God. Let us be never so washed in the matter of sanctification,and cleansed from our spots, we cannot for all that be accountedrighteous before God; nor will that satisfy justice, or take awaythe guilt so much as of one transgression before God. Christ'srighteousness will be our upper garment for all eternity. This isthe fine linen wherewith his bride is busked in heaven.

10. At every time we run to the fountain with our dailycontracted filth, we would not forget to carry along with us themother corruption, which is the sink and puddle of all filthiness;I mean our natural corrupted rottenness and pollution, from whenceflow all our other actual pollutions. We would do well to carrymother and daughter both together to the fountain. David prayed tobe washed and purged, as well from his original filthiness, whereinhe was conceived and born, as from his blood-guiltiness. Psalm li.5, 7.

11. Let not this occasion our carelessness in watching againstsin; for that would be, to turn his grace into wantonness; butrather let it sharpen our diligence in watching against alloccasions of sin, lest we again defile our soul.

12. Not only must we have our bodies, or our outwardconversation washed, but our soul within, the frame of our heart,our understanding, will, affections, and conscience, sprinkled withthat blood. The blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit"offered himself without spot to God," must purge our Consciencesfrom dead works, to serve the living God, Heb. ix. 14. and we must"have our hearts, sprinkled from an evil conscience," Heb. x.22.

Finally, If the believer fear that he shall not be ableto remember all these particular duties, let him remember this,viz. to put a foul soul, defiled with original and actualpollutions, in Christ's hand daily, and leave it to him to wash byhis blood and Spirit; and yet remember to lay the weight of hisacceptance before God, upon the imputed righteousness of JesusChrist, and not upon his own cleanness, when thus sanctified andwashen, which is but imperfect.

QUESTIONS OR OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

But, alas! some may object, and say, that their very faith,which must carry the rest of their filth to the fountain ofChrist's blood, is defiled. How, then, can they expect to be madeclean? Answer. The blood of Jesus Christ is sufficientlyable to wash all our filth away; and the filth of faith, as well asof other actions. Therefore, when faith, as a hand, is carrying thefilth of the soul away to Christ to be washed in his blood, let thefoul hand go with the foul handful; give Christ faith and all towash.

2. But what shall I do, when, notwithstanding of all this, myconscience shall still accuse me of uncleanness, and cry outagainst me as filthy and abominable? Answer. Take it awayalso to the blood of Jesus, that there it may be purged, Heb. ix.14; and here alone will we "get our hearts sprinkled from an evilconscience," Heb. x. 22. The conscience must be steeped, so tospeak, in the blood of Jesus, and so it shall be clean. And takingour filthy hearts to this cleansing fountain to be washed, we willget them delivered and sprinkled from an evil conscience, that itshall no more have ground of accusation against us. When we have itto say, that we have put our filthy souls in the hand of the greatcleanser, Jesus Christ, and brought all our pollutions to hisblood, what can conscience say to us? The Lord, it is true, maysuffer our conscience still to bark upon us, and cast up ourfilthiness to us, that we may be the more humbled, and be put tolie more constantly at the fountain; yet when we have fled toChrist, and taken our filthiness to the open and appointedfountain, we can answer the accusations of conscience in law, andhave peace.

3. But I am apt to think, will some say, that if I had oncetaken the right way to get my sins and filthiness purged away, myconscience would trouble me no more; but now, so long as it doggethme thus, I cannot think that the way which I have taken is theright way. Answer. Though the Lord may think good to sufferconscience to trouble a man for a time, though he hath taken theright way, as is said, for a further exercise and trial to him; yetthe believer will have no less disadvantage by examining his way,and trying whether he hath laid the matter cleanly over on Christ,or whether he hath laid too much weight on his own humiliation,sorrow, and pains; and whether he be leaving the matter on Jesus,and expecting to be washed alone in his blood, or looking intohimself, and expecting some help in the matter from self; and aftertrial, would mourn for any failing he gets discovered, and still beabout that work of running with filth to the fountain. But withalthey would go to Christ for help, because without him they cannotcome to him; they cannot come or carry their soul to the fountainopened for sin and for uncleanness; so that in all this work, therewould be a single dependence on Christ for understanding andstrength to go about this work aright.

Thus have we endeavoured to clear up Christ being the way to theFather, first and last; and how all believers or unbelievers are tomake use of him as the way to the Father, whatever their conditionbe: from all which we may see,

1. That such are in a wretched and forlorn condition who arestill strangers to Christ, and will not lay hold on him, nor cometo him, and walk in him, and make use of him. They are unrighteousand unholy, and daily contracting more guilt and more filth; andthey know no way either for justification or sanctification, but away of self, which will prove like the brooks, which run dry insummer, and disappoint the weary traveller when he hath most need.They are without Christ, and so without the way, the only way, thesafe and sure way to the Father. And, oh! if all that is herespoken could induce them to think once of the misery of theircondition, and to seek out for relief, that they might not only besaved from their state of sin and misery, but brought into a stateof salvation through Jesus Christ, so that they might be justifiedbefore God, from all that justice, the devil, the law, orconscience could lay against them, and thoroughly sanctified, andso at length brought home to the Father, fair and spotless.

2. Upon the other hand, we see the noble advantage of believers,who, through grace, are entered in this way; for it is a full andcomplete way that shall carry them safe home. They shall find thathe is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God throughhim. And, oh! if they were sensible of this, how would it excitethem to thankfulness! How would it encourage them to run throughdifficulties great and many!

3. We see what a special duty lieth upon believers to makespecial use of Christ in all things, as the way to the Father, andso march to heaven in him, as the only way; march in his hands, orrather be carried in his arms and bosom. This were to go fromstrength to strength, till at length they appeared in Zion, andlanded in that pleasant place of rest, where the weary are at rest,and yet rest not day nor night, but sing praises to "him that hathredeemed them by his blood, out of every kindred and tongue, andpeople and nation, saying, blessing, honour, glory, and power, beunto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for everand ever," Rev. v. 9, 13.

4. Hence we may see the cause of the leanness of believers, oftheir wanderings, of their shortcomings, of their many defilements,&c. viz. their not constant making use of Christ as the way inall things, according to the tenor of the gospel. Oh I if this werelaid to heart and mourned for, and if grace were sought to helpit!

This one point of truth, that Christ is the way, well understoodand rightly put into practice, would do all our business, both asto justification and sanctification, and were poor sinners onceentered into this way, and had they grace from this way to walk init, it would prove their life and salvation: For it is the marrowand substance of the whole gospel. So that there needeth littlemore to be said: Yet we shall speak a little to the otherparticulars in the text.

CHAPTER X.

"THE TRUTH." SOME GENERALS PROPOSED.

That what we are to speak to for the clearing and improving thisnoble piece of truth, that Christ is the Truth, may be the moreclearly understood and edifying, we shall first take notice of somegenerals, and then show particularly how or in what respects Christis called the Truth; and finally speak to some cases wherein we areto make use of Christ as the Truth.

As to the first. There are four general things here to benoticed.

1. This supposeth what our case by nature is, and what we areall without Christ, who is the Truth: as,

First. It supposeth that without Christ we are indarkness, mistakes, errors: yea, we are said to be darkness itself.Eph. v. 8, "Ye were sometimes darkness," &c. John i. 5, and ofdarkness; 1 Thess. v. 5, yea, under the "power of darkness;" Col.i. 13. John xii. 35. 1 John ii. 11, "walking in darkness;" 1 Johni. 6, and "abiding in darkness." 1 Pet. ii. 9. 1 Thess. v. 4. Johnxii. 46, "We wander and go astray as soon as we are born, speakinglies," Psal. lviii. 3. Yea, we "go astray in the greatness of ourfolly," Prov. v. 22. We are "all gone astray," Isa. liii. 6. Psal.cxix. 67-176; so far are we from any knowledge of, or acquaintancewith truth, or with the way of truth.

Secondly. It supposeth that we cannot turn into the rightway. A spirit of error and untruth leadeth us continually wrong;like the sheep we wander still, and we weary ourselves in ourwandering; and so spend all our labour and pains in vain. Beingunder the power of untruth and error, we cannot walk one stepright.

Thirdly. Though all other ways, beside him who only isthe way and the truth, be false ways and by-ways, leading us awayfrom the true resting-place, and from that way which is the truth;yet we are prone and ready to cleave to those false and erroneousways, and grip to shadows, and to lean to them, as if they were theways of truth: Such as,

1. A good heart, which many may imagine they have, when theyhave nothing less.

2. Good intentions and purposes for time to come, which such, aswere not under the power of error and untruth, would never deceivethemselves withal.

3. An harmless life, without scandalous out-breakings to thereproach of Christianity, a foundation on which no wise man, led bytruth, would build his salvation, or hopes of eternalhappiness.

4. An outward, moral, civil and discreet carriage, which no mancan blame, and wherein a heathen can outstrip many calledChristians; so that it must be a poor ground to found our hopesupon; and yet many are so blinded, that they lean all their weightupon such a rotten staff.

5. Outward exercise of religious duties, wherein a Pharisee mayoutstrip many; and yet, O how many build all their hopes of heavenupon this sandy foundation, which none but blinded persons woulddo!

6. The commendation and applause of ministers and Christians, isthat which many rest upon, which is a sad proof of the blindness oftheir hearts.

7. The way of good works and alms-deeds blindfoldeth many, andsheweth that they were never led by truth, or taught of Christ, whois the truth.

8. Some pinching grief and sorrow for sin, is another way whichpeople, strangers to the truth, deceive themselves withal.

9. A common sort of repentance, backed with some kind ofamendment and outward reformation, is a way that many rest securein, though it lead to destruction.

10. Freedom from challenges of conscience deceiveth many.

Though these and such like ways be dangerous, yea, deadly, yethow many are there to be found among Christians, that have nobetter ground of their hope of salvation, and will cleave to themso fast, as no preaching will make them so much as once questionthe matter, or suspect that these ways will in the end deceivethem; so strong is their inclination to the way of error, thoughnot as the way of error.

Fourthly. It presupposeth also an inclinableness in us bynature to wander out of the way; for being nothing but a mass oferror, made up of darkness, ignorance, and mistakes, we have astrong bias to error, which agreeth best with our natural,corrupted temper. Hence it is, that we have such a strongpropension to errors and mistakes: Whether,

1. Concerning God, and his way of dealing with his church, orwith ourselves. O how ready are our hearts by nature, to hatch andfoment wrong, unseemly, untrue, yea, unchristian, if notblasphemous thoughts and conceptions of his nature, attributes,word, and works? And how ready and prone are we to receive andentertain wrong apprehensions of all his ways and dealings with hischurch and people? And as for his works in and about ourselves, O!what unsuitable, erroneous, false, ungodly, absurd, and abominableopinions do we with greediness drink in and foster; yea, feed uponwith delight? Who is able to recount all the errors and mistakeswhich our heart by nature is ready to admit and foster withcomplacency? Are we not by nature ready to say, that there is not aGod,—as the fool, Psal. xiv. 1. Or, that he is not such a Godas his word and works declare him to be—a holy, just,righteous, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God, &c. Or thathe is a changeable God, and actually changed, not being the samenow which sometime he was. That he hath forgotten to be gracious,and remembereth not his people in adversity; and so is not tenderand merciful. That he hath forgotten his promises, and so is notfaithful and true. That he approveth of sin, because he suffereththe way of the wicked to prosper, and so is not a holy God, &c.Yea, do not ofttimes such thoughts as these lodge within the heartof the truly godly? All which sheweth how prone we are to receiveand entertain erroneous and false thoughts of God.

2. Concerning ourselves. Supposing ourselves to be born againand reconciled to God, when yet we are living in black nature: Andwho so bold and confident that they are right, as they that arefurthest out of the way? Or, on the other hand, supposing ourselvesto be in a bad state, and in nature and darkness, when the day-starfrom on high hath visited us, and brought our souls from death untolife. And who more ready to complain than such as have least cause?Or supposing ourselves in a good condition; lively, active,diligent, watchful, &c, when it is just otherwise with us: Or,on the contrary, complaining of deadness, formality, upsitting,fainting, heartlessness in the ways of God, when it is not so. Or,in questioned matters, taking truth to be error, and error to betruth.

3. Concerning others. How ready are we to run either to the oneextremity or the other in judging their persons and actions?

Oh! where is the faith of this natural condition? where is thereal conviction of it? Sure there is but little real believing ofthis when,

(1.) There are so many that never so much as suspect themselvesor question either their state or condition, at one time or other;never once imagine that their blinded hearts may deceive them;never once dream of a possibility of mistaking, and of dying with alie in their right hand.

(2.) And so many that are not lamenting and bewailing this theircondition, nor crying out and complaining of a false, deceitful,and desperately wicked heart.

(3.) And so few that are indeed humbled under the sense of this,and made therefore to walk more watchfully and soberly with an eyealways upon their treacherous and deceiving hearts.

(4.) And so few, crying for help from God against this deceitfuladversary, through daily experience of the atheism, hypocrisy,ignorance, misconceptions of God and of his ways, and deceitfulnessof our hearts, might sufficiently put it out of doubt with us.

Next, How miserable must their condition be, who are yetstrangers to Christ; for they are living in darkness, lying indarkness, walking in darkness, yea, very darkness itself, a mass oferror, mistakes, ignorance, and misconceptions of all things thatare good; and still wandering out of the way.

Finally, Should not this preach out to, and convince usall of a necessity of having more acquaintance with truth, withJesus Christ, who is the truth, that we may be delivered from thiswoful and wretched condition; for truth only can set us freetherefrom.

II. The second general thing to be noticed here is, thatall other ways and courses, which we can take or follow, that wemay obtain life, beside Christ, are but lies, false and deceitfulways,—there is no truth in them: For he only is the truth; noother whatsoever can bear this epithet: For,

1. He only can satisfy the soul in all points otherways;whatever we can imagine and dream can yield no true satisfaction inthis matter.

2. He only can secure the soul from destructive ruinous courses,which will undo the soul. All other ways will fail here; none ofthem can give the least security to the soul, that they shall notbring him, in end, to destruction and everlasting perdition.

3. He only can bring the soul safe through all opposition anddifficulties in the way. No other way can do this; but will leaveus in the mire, ere ever we come to the end of our journey.

4. He will not deceive nor disappoint the soul. All other waysin end will prove treacherous, and give the traveller a doleful andsad disappointment.

O what a warning should this be to us all, to take heed that weembrace not a lie, instead of him who is the truth; and sit notdown with a shadow instead of the substance. How ready are we toput other things in his place? But whatever it be that gets hisroom in the soul, though good and worthy in itself, will prove alie. Even, (1.) All our outward holiness and duties. Yea, (2.) Allour experiences and great attainments. Yea, (3.) All our gifts andendowments. Aye, (4.) Our very graces. None of these are Christ's;and if we place that hope and confidence in them, which we shouldplace on him, they will not prove the truth to us,—he aloneis the truth.

How sure then should we labour to be, that we do not die with alie in our right hand. And how carefully should we guard againstthe trusting in, or leaning to any thing that is not Christ, andwhole Christ, and only Christ, and Christ as offered in the gospel;seeing this way is only the truth, and no other way will be foundso in end, though at present we may find in it,

(1.) Some inward peace and quietness of heart, as if all wereright.

(2.) Some satisfaction of mind, things being right, as weapprehend, but falsely, through the deceitfulness of the heart.

(3.) Something like assurance and confidence, that all will beright with us.

(4.) And hope founded thereupon, which may help to ride throughsome storms, and yet fail us at length.

III. The third general is this, Christ Jesus is not onlythe truth in himself, but also in reference to us. The scope of theplace cleareth this, as he is the way and the life for our use, sohe is the truth. Not only as God equal with the Father, but also asMediator, and our Immanuel.

As God, he is, 1. Essentially truth, being God equal with theFather in power and glory.

2. In respect of veracity, he is the God of truth, Deut. xxxii.4; faithful in all his sayings, Ps. xxxi. 5; keeping truth forever, Ps. cxlvi. 6.

3. He is the fountain and spring-head of all created truth, forhe is the first truth.

As Mediator, and in reference to us, "he is full of grace andtruth," John i. 14; "he received not the Spirit in measure," Johniii. 34; and this Spirit is a Spirit of truth. But of this more,when we come to shew more particularly, how and in what respects heis called the truth, as Mediator.

IV. The fourth general, which is here observable, is,that he is not only called "Truth," but "the Truth," as he is theway and the life; and not only true, but truth in the abstract.Which saith,

1. That he is every way Truth, however we consider him, as God,or as Mediator.

2. That all truth is in him; all truth of salvation for us is tobe found in him.

3. That all that is in him is truth, his natures, offices,performances, words, works, &c, all are true.

4. That he is pure and unmixed truth; no lie in him, no error ormistake there.

5. That truth in him is in its perfection and excellency. In thetruest of men it is very imperfect.

O what an excellent one must he be! How completely fitted andfurnished for us! Oh! if our souls could love him, and close withhim, and rest upon him as all-sufficient!

CHAPTER XI.

MORE PARTICULARLY, IN WHAT RESPECT CHRIST IS CALLED THETRUTH.

But for further explaining of this matter, we would see moreparticularly, in what respects it is, that he is called the truth;and this will make way to our use-making of him. So,

First, He is the Truth, in opposition to the shadows andtypes of him, under the law. Hence, as "the law," the wholeLevitical and typical dispensation, "came by Moses, so grace andtruth came by Jesus Christ," John i. 17. They were all shadows ofhim, and he is the substance and body of them all, Col. ii. 17; andthis is true in these respects:

1. All these shadows and types pointed at him, and directed, aswith a finger, the Israelites, who were under that dispensation, tolook to Christ, the promised Messiah, and to rest, and to lay alltheir weight on him. So that the law was a shadow of good things tocome, Heb. x. 1. Col. ii. 17.

2. They all terminate in him, he putting an end, by his comingand performing his work, to all those types which only related tohim, and to what he was to do; the body being come, there is nomore need of the shadow and the thing typified existing, there isno more need or use of the type.

3. They are all fulfilled in him; he answereth them all fully,so that whatever was shadowed forth by them is completely to befound in him. This the apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews,abundantly evinceth. And Paul to the Colossians, tells us, "we arecomplete in him," and therefore need no more follow theshadows.

Secondly, He is the Truth in reference to the propheciesof old; all which did principally point at him and hisconcernments, his person, nature, offices, work, kingdom, &c.;and whatever was foretold in these prophecies is perfectlyfulfilled in him, or done by him, or shall in due time beeffectuated by him. He is that great prophet spoken of, Deut xviii.15, 18, 19. So said the Jews themselves, John vi. 14. All theprophets from Samuel spoke of him and of his days, Acts iii. 22-24."And to him gave all the prophets witness," Acts x. 43. Andwhatever they prophesied or witnessed of him, was, or is in duetime to be fulfilled in him. Hence, we find the evangelists andapostles frequently applying the sayings and prophecies of the OldTestament unto him. And Luke (chap. iv. 18,) himself said theprophecy of Isaiah lxi. 1, &c., was fulfilled in him. See 1Pet. x. 11, 12. And himself expounded to the two disciples going toEmmaus, in all the Scriptures, beginning at Moses and all theprophets, all the things concerning himself, Luke xxiv. 27. Andthus is he the Truth of all the prophecies.

Thirdly, He is the Truth, in reference to his undertakingwith the Father in that glorious covenant of redemption; forwhatever the Father laid on him to do, that he did fully andfaithfully. "He was to bear our griefs, to carry our sorrows;" andthat he did. "He was to be wounded for our transgressions, andbruised for our iniquities; the chastisem*nt of our peace was uponhim, and by his stripes we were to be healed," Isa. liii. 5; and soit was, Rom. iv. 25. 1 Cor. xv. 3. 1 Pet. ii. 23. "His soul was tobe made an offering for sin," Isa. liii. 10, and so it was; for heoffered up himself a sacrifice for sin. Yea, all that he was to do,by virtue of that covenant, he did it perfectly, so as he criedout, while hanging on the cross, "It is finished," John xix. 30;and, in his prayer, John xvii., he told his Father, verse 4, thathe had glorified him on earth, and had finished the work which hegave him to do; so that the Father was well pleased with him, Matt.iii. 17; xii. 18; and xvii. 5. Mark i. 11. Luke iii. 22.

Fourthly, He is the Truth, in respect of his officeswhich he took upon him for our good; for all the duties of theseoffices which he was to do, and what remaineth to be done, he willperfect in due time. Did he take upon him the office of a prophet?He did fully execute the same, in revealing mediately andimmediately the whole counsel of God, John i. 18; and xv. 15. Eph.iv. 11, 12, 13. Acts xx. 32. 1 Pet. 10, 11, 12. Heb. i. 2. Did hetake upon him the office of a priest? So did he fulfil the same,offering up himself an expiatory sacrifice to God, Heb. ix. 28; andii. 17; and becoming a priest, and living for ever to makeintercession for us, Heb. vii. 25. And did he take on the officeand function of a King? So doth he execute the same, calling apeople to himself out of the world by his word andSpirit—Acts xv. 14, 15, 16. Isa. lv. 4, 5. Psalm cx.3—erecting a visible church, a company of visible professorsto profess and declare his name; which, as his kingdom, he rulethwith his own officers, laws and penalties, or censures; so that thegovernment is on his shoulders, Isaiah ix. 6, 7, who is the head ofthe body, the church, Eph. i. 22, 23. Col. i. 18; and this hiskingdom he ruleth, in a visible manner, by his own officers,&c. Ephes. iv. 11, 12. 1 Cor. xii. 28. Isaiah xxxiii. 22. Matt.xviii. 17, 18. 1 Cor. v. 4, 5; and further, he executes this officeby effectually calling the elect, giving them grace, Acts v. 3;rewarding the obedient, Rev. xxii. 12; ii. 10; chastising thedisobedient, Rev. iii. 19; bringing his own home at length, throughall their temptations, afflictions, and overcoming all theirenemies, 1 Cor. xv. 25. Psalm cx.; and at length he shall do thepart of a king, when he shall judge quick and dead at the last day,2 Thess. i. 8, 9. Acts xvii. 31. 2 Tim. iv. 1.

Fifthly, He is the Truth in this regard, that he fullyanswers all the titles and names which he had got. As he was calledJesus, so did he save his people from their sins, Matt. i. 21. Ashe was called Christ, so was he anointed with the Spirit withoutmeasure, John iii. 34. Psalm xlv. 7; and separated for his work,and endued with all power for that effect, Job vi. 27. Matt.xxviii. 18, 19, 20; and established to be a prophet, Acts iii. 21,22. Luke iv. 18, 21; a priest, Heb. v. 5, 6, 7; iv. 14, 15; and aking, Psalm ii. 6. Isaiah ix. 6, 7. Matt. xxi. 5. Phil. ii. 8-11.Was he called "Immanuel," Isaiah vii. 14? So was he indeed God withus, being God and man in one person for ever. Was he called"Wonderful," Isaiah ix. 6? So was he indeed in his two distinctnatures in one person; at which the angels may wonder, Eph. iii.10, 11. 1 Pet. i. 12. 1 Tim. iii. 16. Was he called "Counsellor?"So was he indeed, coming out from the Father's bosom, with thewhole counsel of God concerning our salvation, John i. 14, 18; iii.13; v. 20, and xv. 15. Was he called the "mighty God?" So was heindeed, Psalm cx. 1. Matt. xxii. 44. Heb. i. 13. Psalm xlv. 6. Heb.i. 8. Jer. xxiii. 6, and xxxiii. 16. Mal. iii. 1. Matt. xi. 10.Psalm lxxxiii. 18. Luke i. 76. John i. 1; xiv. 1. John v. 20. Tit.ii. 13. Rom. ix. 5. Was he called the "everlasting Father?" So ishe the Father of eternity, being (as some interpret the word) theauthor of eternal life, which he giveth to all that believe in him,John vi. 39, 40, 47, 51; viii. 51; x. 28; xi. 25, 26. Heb. v. 9,and vii. 25. Was he called the "Prince of Peace?" So is he thePrince of Peace indeed, being our peace, Mic. v. 5. Eph. ii. 14;making up peace between God and us, Isaiah liii. 5, and liii. 19.Eph. ii. 17. Col. i. 20. Hence his gospel is the gospel of peace,and his ministers ambassadors of peace, Isaiah lii. 7. Rom. x. 15.2 Cor. v. 19, 20. Eph. vi. 15. And he giveth peace to all his,Zech. ix. 10. John xiv. 27; xvii. 33. Rom. v. 1; viii. 16, and xiv.17. 2 Thes. iii. 17. Was he called the "Lord our Righteousness?"Jer. xxiii. 6; so is he the same indeed, bringing in everlastingrighteousness, Dan. ix. 24; and "being made of God to usrighteousness," 1 Cor. i. 30; and making us righteous, 2 Cor. v.21.

Sixthly, He is the Truth in reference to the promises,which,

1. Centre all in him, and lead to him as the great promise.

2. Are founded all upon him, who is the only Mediator of thecovenant of promises.

3. Are confirmed all by him, and made yea and amen in him, 2Cor. i. 20. He confirmed the promises made to the fathers, Rev. xv.8.

4. Are all dispensed and given out by him, who is the executorof his own testament, and the great dispensator of all that weneed; so that what we ask of the Father he giveth it himself, Johnxiv. 13, 14.

Seventhly, He is the Truth, in that he fully answerethall the hopes and expectations of his people. He shall not be founda liar unto them, whatever Satan may suggest unto them, or amisbelieving heart may prompt them to conceive, and their jealousymay make them apprehend; and whatever his dispensations may nowseem to say. In end they shall all find, that he is the truth,fully satisfying all their desires; and granting all that ever theycould hope for, or expect from him. They shall at length besatisfied with his likeness, Psalm xvii. 15; yea, abundantlysatisfied with the fatness of his house, Psalm xxxvi. 8; and withhis goodness, Psalm lxv. 4; and that as with marrow and fatness,Psalm lxiii. 5. One sight of his glory will fully satisfy, andcause them to cry out, enough! Jeremiah is now saying, as once hedid in the bitterness of his soul, through the power of corruptionand temptation, (chap. xv. 18.) "wilt thou be altogether unto me asa liar, and as waters that fail?"

Eighthly, He is the Truth, in opposition to all otherways of salvation: for,

1. There is no salvation now by the law of works, that covenantbeing once broken cannot any more save; the law cannot now do it,in that it is weak through the flesh, Rom. viii. 3.

2. There is no salvation now by the law of Moses without Christ:hence Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, didnot attain to the law of righteousness, because they sought it notby faith, but as it were by the works of the law, Rom. ix. 31, 32.They went about to establish their own righteousness, and did notsubmit themselves unto the righteousness of God, Rom. x. 3.

3. There is no salvation by any thing mixed in with Christ, asthe apostle fully cleareth in his epistle to the Galatians.

4. There is no salvation by any other way or medium, which martcan invent or fall upon, whereof there are not a few, as we shewedabove: "for there is not another name given under heaven, by whichwe can be saved," but the name of Jesus, Acts iv. 12. No religionWill save but this.

So that he is the true salvation, and he only is the truesalvation; and he is the sure and safe salvation: such as make useof him shall not be mistaken nor disappointed, Isaiah xxxv. 8.

Ninthly, He is the Truth, in respect of his leading andguiding his people in the truth: hence he is called "a teacher fromGod," John iii. 2; and one that "teacheth the way of God in truth,"Matt. xxii. 16. "A prophet mighty in deed and word," Luke xxiv. 19.And in this respect he is the truth upon several accounts.

1. Of his personal teaching, God spoke by him, Heb. i. 2. Herevealed the Father's mind, Matt. xi. 27. John i. 18.

2. Of his messengers sent by him, as prophets of old, apostlesand ministers of late, whom he sendeth forth to make disciples,Matt, xxviii. 18; and to open the eyes of the blind, Acts xxvi.18.

3. Of his word, which he hath left as our rule, and which is asure, word of prophecy, more sure than a voice from heaven, 2 Pet.i. 19.

4. Of his ordinances, which he hath established as means toguide us in the way of truth.

5. Of his Spirit, whereby he maketh the word clear, John xiv.26. This Spirit is sent to teach all truth, and to lead and guideus in all truth, John xvii. 13. 1 John ii. 27; and sept by him, andby the Father in his name, John xiv. 26; xv. 16; xvi. 14.

6. Of his dispensations of providence, within us and without us,by which likewise he instructeth in the way of truth.

Tenthly. He, is the Truth, in, respect of his bearingwitness to, the truth; and this he doth,

1. By himself, who was given for a witness, Isaiah lv. 4; andcame to bear witness to the truth, John iii. 11; xviii. 37; and wasa faithful witness, Rev. i. 5; iii. 14,

2. By his ministers, who witness the truth of the gospel bypublishing and proclaiming the same.

3. By his martyrs, who seal the truth with their blood, and sobear witness to it, Rev. ii. 13; xvii. 6. Acts xxii. 20.

4. By his Spirit, sealing the truth of grace in a believer, andhis interest in God through Christ, and his right to all thebenefits of the new covenant, "in whom also, after ye believed, yewere sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnestof our inheritance," Eph. i. 13, 14.

Eleventhly. He is the Truth, in respect that he carriethtowards poor sinners in all things, according to the tenor of thegospel, and the offers thereof; he offers himself to all freely,and promiseth to put none away that come to him; and this he dothin truth: for no man can say, that he had a sincere and true desireto come to Jesus, and that he rejected him and would not look uponhim. He giveth encouragement to all sinners to come, that will becontent to quit their sins; and promiseth to upbraid none thatcometh. And is there any that in their own experience can witnessthe contrary? He offers all freely; and did he ever reject any uponthe want of a price in their hand? Nay, hath not the cause of theirgetting no admittance been, that they thought to commend themselvesto Christ by their worth; and would not take all freely, for theglory of his grace? Let believers and others speak here, out oftheir own experience, in truth and in uprightness; and it shall befound, that he was and is the truth.

Twelfthly. He is the Truth, in that, in all hisdispensations in the gospel, and in all his works and actions inand about his own people, he is true and upright. All his offers,all his promises, all his dispensations, are done in truth anduprightness; yea, all are done out of truth and uprightness oflove, true tenderness and affection to them, whatever thecorruption of jealousy and misbelief think and say to the contrary.He is the truth; and so always the same, unchangeable in his love,whatever his dispensations seem to say; and the believer may restassured hereof, that he being the truth, shall be to him whateverhis word holdeth him forth to be, and that constantly andunchangeably.

CHAPTER XII.

SOME GENERAL USES FROM THIS USEFUL TRUTH, THAT CHRIST IS THETRUTH.

Having thus cleared up this truth, we should come to speak ofthe way of believers making use of him as the truth, in severalcases wherein they will stand in need of him as the truth. But erewe come to the particulars, we shall first propose some generaluses of this useful point.

First. This point of truth serveth to discover unto us,the woful condition of such as are strangers to Christ the truth;and oh, if it were believed! For,

1. They are not yet delivered from that dreadful plague ofblindness, error, ignorance, mistakes under which all are bynature; a condition, that if rightly seen, would cause the soul lielow in the dust.

2. Whatever course they take, till they come to Christ, andwhile they remain in that condition, is a lie, and a false,erroneous, and deceitful way. For still they are turning aside tolies, Psalm xl. 4; and seeking after them, Psalm iv. 2.

3. Whatever hopes and confidence they may have, that their wayshall carry them through, yet in end they will be found to inheritlies, Jer. xvi. 19; and meet with the saddest disappointment thatcan be. For instead of the fellowship of God, Christ, angels, andglorified spirits, they shall take up their lodging with devils anddamned souls; and that because they have made no acquaintance withthe way of truth; and the way wherein they are, is but a lie and afalsehood; and so of necessity must deceive them.

4. All their literal and speculative knowledge shall not availthem, so long as they are strangers unto him who is the truth.Their knowledge is but ignorance, because it is not a knowledge ofhim who is the truth.

5. They have none to go to for help and light in the day oftheir darkness, confusion, and perplexity; for they are notreconciled unto the truth, which alone can prove steadable andcomfortable in that day.

6. They can do nothing to help themselves out of that state ofdarkness and ignorance; and whatever they do to help themselvesshall but increase their darkness and misery; because there is notruth there, and truth, even the truth alone, can dispel theseclouds of error, mistakes, ignorance, &c.

Secondly. Hence, we see the happy and blessed conditionof believers, who have embraced this truth, and gotten their soulsopened to him who is the truth; for,

1. They are in part delivered from that mass of lies, mistakes,misapprehensions, errors, deceitfulness and ignorance under whichthey lay formerly, and all the unregenerate do yet lie. And thoughthey be not fully delivered therefrom, yet the day is coming whenthat shall be, and the begun work of grace and truth in them is apledge thereof; and at present they have ground to believe, thatthat evil shall not again have dominion over them, they being nowunder grace, and under the guidance of truth.

2. Howbeit they have many perplexing thoughts, doubts and fearsof their state and condition, and think many a time, that theyshall one day or other perish by the way; and all their hopes andconfidence shall evanish; yet having given up themselves to truth,and to the truth, they shall not be disappointed in the end. Thetruth shall land them safe on the other side. The truth shall proveno lie.

3. They have a fast and steadable friend to go to, in a day ofdarkness, clouds, doubts, when falsehood and lies are like toprevail, even the Truth, who alone can help them in that day.

4. Howbeit the knowledge they have of God, and of the mysteriesof the gospel, be but small; yet that small measure being taught byhim, who is the truth, and flowing from truth, shall provesanctifying and saving.

9. They have ground to hope for more freedom from errors anddeceitful lies, than others; for they have chosen the way of truth,and given themselves up to the leading of truth.

Object. But do not even such drink in and receive andplead for errors, as well as others; and is it not sometime found,that they even live and die in some mistakes and errors?

Answ. I grant the Lord may suffer even some of his own tofall into, and to continue for some time in errors, yea, and it maybe all their days, as to some errors, that hereby, all may learn totremble and fear, and to work out their salvation with fear andtrembling. (2.) Some may be tried thereby, Dan. xi. 35. (3.) Othersmay break their neck thereupon. (4.) To punish themselves, for notmaking that use of truth, and of the truth, that they should havedone; yet we would consider these few things:

1. That there are many more unregenerate persons that fall intoerror.

2. If his people fall into error at any time, they do not alwayscontinue therein to the end. God for his own glory maketh, sometimeor other, truth shine in upon their soul, which discovereth thatmistake, and presently, the grace of God in their soul maketh themto abhor the same.

3. Or if some continue in it to their dying day, yet they repentof it, by an implicit repentance, as they do of other unknown andunseen evils that lie in their soul; so that that error doth notdestroy their soul.

4. There are some gross errors, which a regenerate soul cannotreadily embrace, or if, through a mistake, or the power of atemptation, they do embrace them, yet they cannot heartily closewith them, whatever for a time, through corruption and pride, theymay seem outwardly to do; and that because the very daily exerciseof grace will discover them; and so they will be found to beagainst their daily experience; as some opinions of the Papists,Arminians, and Socinians, together with the abominable Quakers,which a gracious soul, when not carried away with the torrent ofcorruption, and with the tempest of a temptation, cannot butobserve to contradict the daily workings of grace in their soul,and the motions of their sanctified soul, in prayer and other holyduties; and so such as they cannot but find to be false by theirown experience.

Thirdly. Here is ground of a sharp reproof of the wicked,who continue in unbelief; and,

1. Will not believe, nor give any credit to his promises;wherewith he seeketh to allure poor souls to come to him forlife.

2. Nor will they believe his threatenings, wherewith he useth toalarm souls, and to urge them forward to their duty.

3. Nor will they believe and receive his offers, as true.

5. Nor will they believe, that he is the true prophet, priest,and king, that must save souls from hell and death, and thereforethey will not give him employment in his offices.

All which cannot but be a high provocation, for in effect it isto say that he is not the truth, nor worthy to be believed. Letthem consider this, and see how they think he shall take this offtheir hands. No man will take it well that another should eithercall or account him a liar; and can they think that Christ shalltake it well at their hands, to be accounted by them a liar? Whatwill they think to be challenged for this in the great day? Now,the truth is, all unbelievers, as they make God a liar, (O horridand abominable crime! Whose hair would not stand on end to hearthis?) 1 John v. 10, 11. "He that believeth not God hath made him aliar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life; andthis life is in his Son." So do they make the Son of God a liar, inall his sayings, in all his offices, and in all his works; and theymake the Holy Ghost a liar, in not believing that truth that hehath sealed as firm truth. They make the covenant of suretishipbetwixt the Father and the Son, a mere lie and a forgery. Odreadful! They make the word of truth a lie, and they make all thesaints liars, and all the officers of Jesus Christ, who declarethis truth, and the saints who believe it, and rest upon it,liars.

Fourthly. Hence is there ground of reproof to the godly,in that,

1. They do not firmly enough believe his sayings, neither hispromises, nor his threatenings, as appeareth too oft upon the onehand, by their faintings and fears, and upon the other hand, bytheir carelessness and loose walk.

2. They make not use of him, in all cases as they ought. Hisoffices lie by and are not improved; nor is he gone to as thetruth, in cases requiring his help, as the truth; that is, in casesof darkness, doubtings, confusion, ignorance of their case andcondition, and the like.

3. They do not approach to him, nor to God through him, heartilyand cordially, as the very truth, and true way.

4. Nor do they rest with confidence upon him in alldifficulties, as being the truth that will not fail them, nordisappoint them.

5. Nor do they rejoice in him, as satisfied with him, who is thetruth, in the want of all other things.

Fifthly. The right consideration of this truth shouldkeep us in mind of several great duties; such as those,

1. Of pitying those places where this truth is not heard of, asamong Turks and heathens; or where it is darkened with superstitionand men's inventions, as among papists; or where it hath beenclearly shining, but now is darkened, as in some churches now underthe prevailing power of corruption; or, lastly, where it is notreceived in its power and lustre, as, alas! it is too littlereceived in the best and purest churches.

2. Of being thankful to him for making this truth known in theworld, and particularly in the place where we were born, or had ourabode; and yet more for that he hath determined our hearts to abelieving of this truth, in some weak measure; to an embracing ofit, and to a giving of ourselves up to be led, ruled, and guidedthereby.

3. Of esteeming highly of every piece of truth for his sake whois the truth; studying it for his sake—loving it for hissake—holding it fast for his sake—witnessing to it, aswe are called, for his sake. We should buy the truth, and not sellit, Prov. xxiii. 23; and we should plead for it, and be valiant forit, Isa. lix. 4, 14. Jer. vii. 28; ix. 3.

4. Of taking part with him and his cause, in all hazards, fortruth is always on his side; and truth shall prevail at length.

5. Of giving him employment in our doubts and difficulties,whether,

(1.) They be about some controverted points of truth, which cometo be debated, or to trouble the church. Or,

(2.) About our own estate and condition, quarrelled at by Satan,or questioned by the false heart. Or,

(3.) About our carriage in our daily walk. In all these, and thelike, we should be employing truth, that we may be led in truth,and taught by truth, to walk in sure paths.

6. Of carrying in all things before him as true; for he istruth, and the truth, and so cannot be deceived; and therefore weshould walk before him in sincerity and singleness of heart,without guile, hypocrisy, or falsehood, that we may look likechildren of the truth; and of the day, and of light, and childrenthat will not lie or dissemble, Isaiah lxiii. 8; not like thesethat lied unto him, Psalm lxxviii. 38. Isaiah lix. 13.

7. Of taking him only for our guide to heaven, by denying ourown wit, skill, and understanding, and looking to and resting uponhim, who alone is the truth, and so acknowledging him in all ourways, depending on him for light and counsel, for singleness ofheart, humility, diligence, and truth, in the inward parts.

8. Of giving up ourselves daily unto him and his guidance, anddenying our own wills, humours, parties, or opinions; for he aloneis truth, and can only guide us aright. And for this cause, wewould acquaint ourselves well with the word, which is our rule, andseek after the Spirit, whom Christ hath promised to lead us intoall truth.

Sixthly. Should not this be a strong inducement to all ofus, to lay hold on and grip to him, who is the truth, and only thetruth? seeing,

1. All other ways which we can take, will prove a lie to us inthe end.

2. He is substance, and no shadow, and all that love him shallinherit substance; for he will fill all their treasures, Prov.viii. 21.

3. Such as embrace him shall not wander, nor be misled; for his"mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to hislips," Prov. viii. 7. "All the words of his mouth are inrighteousness, and there is nothing froward or perverse in them,"verse 8. "He is wisdom, and dwelleth with prudence, and findeth outknowledge of witty inventions," verse 12. "Counsel is his, andsound wisdom; he hath understanding and strength," ver. 14.

4. He will make good all his promises in due time, and give asubsistence and a being to them all; for he is the Truth, and theTruth must stand to his promises, and fulfil them all.

5. He will never, nay, "never leave his people, nor forsakethem," Heb. xiii. 5. He is truth, and cannot deceive; he cannotforsake nor disappoint. He is a spring of water, whose waters failnot, Isaiah lviii. 11. Therefore they cannot be disappointed in theend, and perish, who trust to him.

6. The truth will make them free, John viii. 32, 36, and sodeliver them from their state of sin and misery, wherein they layas captives; and from that spiritual bondage and slavery underwhich they were held.

Seventhly. This, to believers, may be a spring ofconsolation in many cases, as,

1. When error and wickedness seem to prosper and prevail; forthough it prevail for a time, yet truth will be victorious atlength, and the truth will overcome all. He is truth, and willplead for truth.

2. When friends, acquaintances, relations, fail them, and fatherand mother forsake them, truth will take them up. He who is thetruth will answer his name, and never deceive, never forsake.

3. When riches, honours, pleasures, or what else their hearthath being going out after, prove like summer brooks; for the truthwill be the same to them in all generations; there is no shadow ofturning with him. The Truth is always truth, and true.

4. When we fear that either ourselves or others shall fall away,in a day of trial, and turn from the truth. Though all men proveliars and deceivers, truth will abide the same, and stand out allthe blasts of opposition.

5. When unbelief would make us question the truth of thepromises, the faith of his being truth itself, and the truth, eventruth in the abstract, would shame unbelief out of countenance.Shall truth fail? Shall not the Truth be true? What a contradictionwere that?

6. When we know not how to answer the objections of Satan, andof a false treacherous heart; for truth can easily answer allcavils; and he who is the truth can repel all objections againsttruth. Truth is impregnable, and can stand against all.

7. When we cannot know, nor discover the wiles and subtilty ofSatan. Truth can discover the depths of Satan, and make the poorsoul more acquaint with them; so that they shall not any more beignorant of his devices, who look to him.

8. When the thoughts of the deceitfulness of our hearts troubleus, the depth whereof we cannot search. This then may comfort us,that truth may search the heart and the reins, Jer. xvii. 9,10.

9. When we cannot tell what our disease and distemper is, and socannot seek suitable remedies, or help from God, O what a comfortis it, to know and believe, that he is the truth, with whom we haveto do, and so knoweth our distemper perfectly, and all its causesand symptoms,—truth cannot be at a stand in discerning ourdisease; so nor can he be ignorant of the fittest and only safestcures.

10. When we know not what to ask in prayer, as not knowing whatis best for us, it is a comfort to remember that we have to do withthe Truth, who is perfectly acquainted with all that, and knowethwhat is best.

11. When we know not how to answer the calumnies of adversaries,it is comfortable to know that he is the truth, that will heartruth, when men will not, and will own and stand for the truth,when enemies do what they can to darken an honest man's good cause.It is comfortable to know, we have the Truth to appeal to, as Davidhad, Psalm vii. 17.

12. When we think on our own covenant-breaking, and dealingdeceitfully with God, it is comfortable to remember, that though weand all men be liars, and deal deceitfully with him, yet he is thetruth, and will keep covenant for ever; he will not, he cannot denyhimself, 2 Tim. ii. 13.

Eighthly, Hence we may certainly conclude, that truth,which is Christ's cause, shall at length prevail; for he is truth,yea, the truth, and so abideth truth; therefore must he prevail,and all the mouths of liars must be stopped. So then let us remainpersuaded, that truth at length shall be victorious, and that thecause of Christ shall have the victory. Though,

1. The enemies of truth, and the cause of Christ, be multiplied,and many there be that rise up against it.

2. These enemies should prosper, and that for along time, andcarry on their course of error and wickedness with a high hand.

3. There should be few found to befriend truth, and to own it inan evil day.

4. Yea, many of those that did sometime own it, and plead forit, should at length turn their backs upon it, as did Demas.

5. And such as continue constant and faithful, be loaded withreproaches, and pressed under with sore persecution, for adheringto truth, and owning constantly the good cause.

6. Yea, though all things in providence should seem to say, thattruth shall not rise again, but seem, on the contrary, to conspireagainst the same.

Ninthly, May we not hence read, what should be our wayand course, in a time when a spirit of error is gone abroad, andmany are carried off their feet therewith, or when we are doubtfulwhat to do, and what side of the dispute to take. O then is the fittime for us to employ truth, to live near to him who is the truth,to wait on him, and hang upon him, with singleness of heart.

Objection. But many even of his own people do err andstep aside. Ans. That is true: But yet, (1.) That will be noexcuse to thee. Nay,(2.) That should make thee fear and tremblemore. (3.) And it should press thee to lie near to Christ, and towrestle more earnestly with him, for the Spirit of light and oftruth, and to depend more constantly and faithfully upon him, withsingleness of heart, and to give up all thy soul and way to him, asthe God of truth, and as the truth, that thou mayest be led intoall truth.

Tenthly, This should stir us up to go to him, and makeuse of him as the truth in all cases, wherein we may stand in needof truth's hand to help us; and for this cause we should mind thoseparticulars:

1. We should live in the constant conviction of our ignorance,blindness, hypocrisy, readiness to mistake and err. This is clearand manifest, and proved to be truth by daily experience; yet howlittle is it believed, that it is so with us? Do we see and believethe atheism of our hearts? Do we see and believe the hypocrisy ofour hearts? Are we jealous of them, as we ought to be? O that itwere so! Let this then be more minded by us.

2. Let us live in the persuasion of this, that he only, andnothing below him, will be able to clear our doubts, dispel ourclouds, clear up our mistakes, send us light, and manifest truthunto us; not our own study, pains, prayers, duties, learning,understanding; nor ministers, nor professors, and experiencedChristians, and the like.

3. We should be daily giving up ourselves to him, as the truth,in all the forementioned respects, and receiving him into our soulsas such, that we may dwell and abide there: then shall the truthmake us free; and if the Son make us free, we shall be free indeed,John viii. 36.

4. There should be much single dependence on him for light,instruction, direction, and guidance in all our exigencies.

5. Withal, there should be a waiting on him with patience,giving him liberty to take his own way and time, and a leaving ofhim thereunto.

6. We should by all means guard against such things as arehinderances, and will prove obstacles to us in this matter; suchas,

(1.) Prejudices against the truth; for then we will undervaluelight, and reject all the directions and instructions of theSpirit, as not agreeing with our prejudicate opinion.

(2.) A wilful turning away from truth, as these, 2 Tim. iv. 4.Titus i. 14.

(3.) Addictedness to our own judgments and opinions, whichcauseth pertinaciousness, pride, and conceit, as thinking ourselvesso wise, as that we need no information; and this occasioneth aself-confidence.

(4.) Looking too much unto, and hanging too much upon men, whoare but instruments, crying them up as infallible, and receiving,without further examination, all that they say, not like theBereans, Acts xvii. This is a great hinderance to the receiving oftruth, and very prejudicial.

(5.) A neglecting of the use of the means which God hathappointed for this end.

(6.) Or an hanging too much on them, and so misplacing them,giving them his room.

(7.) Leaning too much to our own understanding, wit andknowledge, &c.

(8.) A resisting of the truth, 2 Tim. iii. 8. These and the likehinderances should be guarded against, lest they mar our attainingto the knowledge of truth.

7. There should be much of the exercise of prayer, for this isthe main conduit and mean, through which light is conveyed into thesoul. There should also be a serious and Christian reading andhearing of the word, which is truth, and the word of truth, and theScripture of truth; and those duties should be gone about with,(1.) much self-denial; (2.) with much singleness of heart; (3.)with much humility; (4.) with much willingness and readiness to beinstructed; (5.) with much seriousness and earnestness; and, (6.)with faith and dependence on God for his blessing andbreathing.

8. We should beware of trusting to our own understandings, or tothe judgments of other men; nor should we look to what suiteth mostour own humours, nor to what appeareth most specious and plausible,for that may deceive us.

9. We should lie open to the influences and rays of light, byexercising faith in earnest desires; as also patient waiting forand single looking to him, minding his name and his relations,promises, and engagements, and the strengthening of our faith andconfidence.

10. We should labour to keep fast whatever he teacheth us by hisword and Spirit, and not prove leaking vessels. This the apostleexhorteth to, Heb. ii. 1, "Therefore we ought to give the moreearnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time weshould let them slip;" yea, and we should be established "in thetruth," 2 Pet. i. 12.

11. We should beware of resting on a form of the truth, as thosedid, of whom we read, Rom. ii. 20; and of holding the truth inunrighteousness, as those, Rom. i. 18; and of disobeying it, asthose mentioned in Rom. ii. 8. See also Gal. iii. 1; v. 7.

12. But on the contrary, we should so receive truth, as that itmight rule and be master in us, captivate judgment, will, andaffections, and break out into the practice. And this recommendethseveral duties, such as,

(1.) To have the truth in us; while as, if we practiseotherwise, "the truth is not in us," 1 John i. 8; ii. 4.

(2.) To be of the truth, as belonging to its jurisdiction,power, and command, 1 John iii. 19. John xviii. 37.

(3.) To do the truth, by having true fellowship with him, 1 Johni. 6; and "to walk in the truth," 2 John iv. 3. John iv. Psalmlxxxvi. 11.

(4.) To have the loins girt with truth, Eph. i. 14.

(5.) To receive the love of the truth, 2 Thess. ii. 10.

(6.) To be instructed of him, "as the truth is in Jesus," Eph.iv. 21.

(7.) To purify the soul in obeying the truth, 1 Pet. ii. 22.

This shall suffice for clearing up, and applying in the generalthis excellent truth, that Christ is the truth. We shall now comeand make some more particular use of this precious point, byspeaking to some particular cases (which we shall instance in, bywhich the understanding Christian may be helped to understand howto carry and how to make use of Christ in other the like cases),wherein Christ is to be made use of as the truth, and show howbelievers are to make use of him in these cases as the truth.

CHAPTER XIII.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF CHRIST AS THE TRUTH, FOR GROWTH INKNOWLEDGE.

It is a commanded duty, that we grow in the knowledge of JesusChrist, 2 Pet. iii. 18; and the knowledge of him being lifeeternal, John xvii. 3, and our measure of knowledge of him herebeing but imperfect, for we know but in part, it cannot but be anuseful duty, and a desirable thing, to be growing in thisknowledge. This is to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, tobe increasing in the knowledge of God, Col. i. 10. Knowledge mustbe added to virtue; and it layeth a ground for other Christianvirtues, 2 Pet. i. 5, 6. In this knowledge we must not be barren, 2Pet. i. 2. And this being so necessary, so desirable, so useful,and so advantageous a grace, the believer cannot but desire to havemore and more of it, especially seeing it is a part of the image ofGod, Col. iii. 10.

Now it is the truth that must teach them here, first and last."The light of the knowledge of the glory of God must be had in theface of Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. iv. 6. The question therefore is, howwe should make use of Jesus Christ for this end, that we may attainto more of this excellent knowledge.

First. It is good to live in the constant conviction of anecessity of his teaching us, and this taketh in thoseparticulars:

1. That we should be conscious of our ignorance, even when weknow most, or think we know most, remembering that the best knowethbut in part, 1 Cor. xiii. 9. The more true knowledge we attain to,the more will we see and be convinced of our ignorance; because themore we know, the more will we discover of the vastness andincomprehensibility of that object, which is proposed to ourknowledge.

2. That we should remember, how deceitful our hearts are; andhow ready they are to sit down upon a shadow of knowledge, evenwhere we know nothing as we ought to know, 1 Cor. viii. 2; and thiswill keep us jealous and watchful.

3. And to help forward our jealousy of our own hearts andwatchfulness, we should remember that our hearts naturally areaverse from any true and saving knowledge; whatever desire there benaturally after knowledge of hidden things out of curiosity; and ofthings natural; or of things spiritual, as natural, for theperfection of nature, as might be pretended, whereby in effectthose that increase knowledge, increase sorrow, Eccl. i. 18. Yetthere is no inclination after spiritual and saving knowledge, in usnaturally, but an aversion of heart therefrom.

4. That we should study and know the absolute necessity of thisknowledge. How necessary it is for our Christian communion withGod, and Christian walk with others; how necessary for our rightimproving of dispensations, general and particular; what a nobleornament of a Christian it is, and a necessary piece of the imageof God, which we have lost.

Secondly. Upon these grounds mentioned, we would also beconvinced of this:

1. That of ourselves, and by all our natural parts, endowments,quickness and sagacity, we cannot attain to this saving knowledge,which is a special and saving grace, and so must be wrought in thesoul by a divine hand, even the mighty power of God. By our privatestudy and reading, we may attain to a literal, heady, andspeculative knowledge, that will puff us up, 1 Cor. viii. 1; butthereby shall we never attain to this knowledge, which isspiritual, hearty, and practical, and so saving, we must have theanointing here, which teacheth us all things, 1 John ii. 27. And ofthis we should be persuaded, that we may look to a higher hand forlight and instruction.

Thirdly. There should be an eyeing of Christ's furnitureand fitness for this work of teaching of us, to wit,

1. An eyeing of him as the substantial wisdom of the Father,Prov. viii.

2. An eyeing of him, as one come out of the bosom of the Father,John i. 18; and so sufficiently enabled to acquaint us with themysteries of God for salvation.

3. An eyeing of him as Mediator, fully endued with allnecessaries for this piece of his work, and so having received theSpirit without measure, for this end, John iii. 34; and as havinghid in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, Col. ii. 3;and as having all fullness dwelling in him, Col. i. 19; and alsoIsa. xi. 2; lxi. 1,2.

4. An eyeing of him, as having power to send the Spirit, thatanointing that teacheth us all things, "and is truth and is nolie," 1 John ii. 20-27; not only by way of intercession andentreaty, begging it of the Father, John xv. 16, 17; but alsoauthoritatively, as conjunct with the Father. The Father sendethhim in Christ's name, John xiv. 26; and Christ sendeth him from theFather, John xv. 26; and this Spirit of truth which guideth intoall truth, shall receive of Christ's, and shew it unto us, Johnxvi. 13-15.

Fourthly, There should be an eyeing of Christ'sreadiness, willingness, and engagement to help in this case; andthis will encourage the soul to go forward. And for this cause wewould remember those things:

1. That he standeth obliged to help us with instruction, byvirtue of his office, as a prophet, a witness, a leader, and acommander, Isa. l v. 4.

2. That he is commissioned of the Father for this end, and so isthe Father's servant; and is given for "a light to the Gentiles,"Isa. xlii. 6; xlix. 6; and the Father is said to speak by him, orin him, Heb. i. 1.

3. That he received his gifts and qualifications for this endand purpose, that he might give out and dispense to his membersaccording to their necessity; as is clear from Psalm lxviii. 18,compared with Eph. iv. 8; what he is said to have received in theone place, he is said to have given in the other.

4. That he hath begun this work already by his Spirit in hisfollowers; and therefore standeth engaged to see it perfected; forall his works are perfect works.

5. That he hath a love to his scholars, and a desire to havethem all thriving, and making progress in knowledge; this being hisglory who is their master and teacher.

6. That he laid down ways and means, and a constant course forinstructing of his people: for,

(1.) He hath given his word, and settled and establishedordinances for this end.

(2.) He hath established a ministry for instructing his people,Eph. iv. 8-13.

(3.) He hath gifted persons for this work of the ministry, 1Cor. xii. 4-11.

(4.) He maketh these officers, in the faithful administration oftheir function, and through his blessing and Spirit, maketh theirwork prosperous and effectual in his own, as he seeth fit.

Fifthly. There should be an eyeing of the promises of thecovenant of grace made for this end, whether general or particular,or both; such as those which we have, Isa. ii. 9. Hab. ii. 14, "Theearth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord," or of "theglory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea;" and that, Isa.xxxii. 4, "the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge,"&c.; and Jer. xxxi, 34, "They shall all know me."

Sixthly. There should be a constant, diligent, serious,and single using of the means of knowledge, with a faithfuldependence on Christ by faith, gripping to him in his relations,offices, engagements, and promises, and waiting upon his breathingin hope and patience, Psal. xxv. 5.

Seventhly. There should be a guarding against every thingthat may obstruct this work, and grieve him in it; and therefore wewould beware,

1. To undervalue and have a little esteem of knowledge; for thiswill grieve him; and (to speak so) put him from work.

2. To misimprove any measure of knowledge he giveth.

3. To weary of the means and ordinances whereby he useth toconvey knowledge into the soul.

4. To limit the holy One of Israel to this or that mean, to thisor that time, or to this or that measure, who should have alatitude as to all these.

5. To despise the day of small things, because we get notmore.

6. To be too curious in seeking after the knowledge of hiddenmysteries, the knowledge whereof is not so necessary.

7. To lean too much unto, and to depend too much upon theordinances, or instruments, as if all, or any thing, could comefrom them.

Eighthly. There should be a right improving of anymeasure of knowledge we get to his glory, and to the edification ofothers, with humility and thankfulness, and so a putting of thattalent in use, to gain more to his glory. Whatever measure ofknowledge we get, we should in all haste, put it into practice, andset it to work; so shall it increase, and engage him to givemore.

Ninthly. There should be a lying open to Christ'sinstructions, and to the shinings of the Spirit of light and oftruth, and a ready receiving of what measure he is pleased to grantor infuse. Which includeth those duties, 1. A serious and earnesthungering and thirsting after more spiritual knowledge.

2. A diligent use of every approven mean for this end.

3. A going about the means with much self-denial, spirituality,singleness of heart, and sincerity, looking to and depending uponhim, who must breathe upon the means, and make them useful.

4. A greedy receiving, drinking in, and treasuring up in thesoul what is gotten.

5. A guarding against selfish and bye-ends, with a single eyeingof his glory.

6. A guarding against pride in the heart, and a studying ofhumility and meekness; for the "meek will he guide in judgment, andthe meek will he teach his way," Psal. xxv. 9.

7. A putting of the heart or understanding in his hand, togetherwith the truth, that is heard and received, that he may write thetruth, and cause the heart receive the impression of the truth.

Tenthly. There should be a rolling of the whole matter byfaith on him, as the only teacher, a putting of the ignorant,blockish, averse, and perverse heart, into his hand, that he mayframe it to his own mind, and a leaving of it there, till he by theSpirit, write in it what he thinketh meet, to his own glory and ourgood.

And sure, were this way followed, growth in knowledge would notbe so rare a thing as it is.

CAUTIONS.

For further direction and caution in this matter, the believerwould take notice of these particulars:

1. That he should not sit down upon any measure of knowledge hehath attained to, or can attain to here, as if he had enough, andshould labour for no more; but he should still be minding his dutyof seeking, and pressing for more.

2. Whenever he is about any mean of knowledge, such aspreaching, reading, conference, &c. his heart should be onlyupon Christ. He should be hanging on his lips for a word ofinstruction; and with greediness looking for a word from his mouth;he should be sending many posts to heaven, many ejacul*tory desiresfor light and understanding, and that with singleness andsincerity, and not for base ends, or out of hypocrisy.

3. Let him not think, that there is no growth in knowledge,because possibly he perceiveth it not, or is not satisfied as tothe measure thereof; yea, though possibly he perceive moreignorance, than ever he did before. If he grow in the knowledge ofhis own ignorance, it is a growth of knowledge not to be despised;and in a manner, what can we else know of God, but that he fartranscendeth all our knowledge, and that he is an incomprehensibleone, in all his ways.

4. Let him not think, that there is no growth in knowledge,because he perceiveth not a growth in the knowledge of such or sucha particular, which he desireth most; for if there be a truth inthe knowledge of other particulars, necessary to be known, there isno reason to complain. If one grow not, as he supposeth, in theknowledge of God, and of the mysteries of the gospel; yet if hegrow in the discovery of the treachery and wickedness of his ownheart, he cannot say that he groweth not in knowledge.

5. Let him not measure his growth in knowledge, by his growth inthe faculty of speaking and discoursing of such or such points ofreligion; many measure their knowledge by their tongue, and thinkthey know little, because they can express little; and so theythink they attain to no increase or growth in knowledge, becausethey perceive no increase or growth in this faculty of discoursing,and talking of such or such points of truth. It is safer to measuretheir knowledge by the impression that the truth hath on theirspirits, and the effects of it on all their carriage, than by theirability and skill to talk and dispute of it.

6. Let them beware to imagine, that they shall be able to searchout the Almighty unto perfection, "Canst thou (said Zophar, Job.xi. 7, 8, 9.) by searching find out God? canst thou find out theAlmighty unto perfection? He is as high as heaven, what canst thoudo? deeper than hell, what canst thou know? The measure thereof islonger than the earth, and broader than, the sea." Or that theyshall be able ever to win to the bottom of their own falsedeceitful heart, which, as Jeremiah saith, chap. xvii. 9, "Isdeceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can knowit?" and which it is God's prerogative alone to search and try,ver. 10. Neither let them think, so long as they are here, to winto an exact and perfect knowledge of the mysteries of God, whereinis the manifold wisdom of God, Eph. iii. 10, which veryprincipalities and powers in heavenly places are learning; andwhich the angels are poring and looking into with desire, 1 Pet. i.12. There is no perfection in knowledge to be had here; for herethe best but knoweth in part, and prophesieth in part, 1 Cor. xiii.4.

7. Let them not think that every one shall have the same measureof knowledge; every one hath not the like use for it, or the likecapacity for it. There is a measure proportioned to every one; theyshould not then complain, because they have not such a measure ofknowledge as they perceive in some others. It may be, the Lord hathsome harder piece of service, which calleth for more knowledge, toput others to. Let every one then mind his duty faithfully andconscientiously, and let him not quarrel with God, that heattaineth not to such a measure of knowledge as he seeth othersattain unto.

8. Neither let them think, that the same measure is required ofall. For more is required of some, by reason of their office andcharge in the house of God, being called to teach and instructothers; and so more is required of such, as have larger capacities,and a better faculty of understanding than others, who naturallyare but of a narrow reach, and of a shallow capacity. More also isrequired of such as live under plain, powerful, and livelyordinances, and under a more powerful and spiritual dispensation ofthe grace of God, than of others that want such advantages. Solikewise, more is required of old Christians than of new beginners;old men, of much and long experience, should know more than such asare but babes in Christ and but of yesterday.

9. Let their desires run out after that knowledge, not whichpuffeth up,—for there is a knowledge which puffeth up, 1 Cor.viii. 1,—but which humbleth, and driveth the soul fartherfrom itself and nearer to Christ.

10. They should carefully distinguish betwixt the gift ofknowledge and the grace of knowledge: That ordinarily puffeth up,this humbleth; that bringeth not the soul to Jesus, this doth; thatis but a form, Rom. ii. 20, and doth not retain God, Rom. i. 28,this is a real thing, laying hold on God and holding him fast,having the fear of the Lord for its principle, for this "fear ofthe Lord is the beginning of wisdom," Job. xxviii. 28. Psalm cxi.10. Prov. i. 7, and ix. 10.; that lieth most in the head, andventeth most in discourses, words, yea, and sometimes vanishethinto vain notions, but this goeth down to the heart, and lodgeththere and appeareth in the man's walk and conversation; as thesetwo would be distinguished, so the one would not be measured by theother.

11. When they do not profit indeed, let them beware ofquarrelling with Christ, or of blaming him in any manner of way;but let them lay the blame of their shortcoming on themselves, fornot making more use of him by faith and single dependence upon him.It is true, none will be so bold as in words to quarrel with orblame him; yet the heart is deceitful and tacitly may raise andfoment such thoughts of him and his dispensations, as can passunder no other notion than a quarrelling with him. Now these wouldbe guarded against.

12. Beware of urging for, or expecting immediate revelation, orextraordinary manifestations. For we should not tempt the Lord, norset limits to him, neither should we prescribe means and ways tohim,—we must be satisfied with the ordinary means which hehath appointed, and wait at wisdom's doors, with our ears nailed tohis posts.

13. Whatever point of truth they learn, or whatever measure ofknowledge they get, they would do well to give that back again toChrist, to keep for them against a time of need; and wait on himfor grace to improve it for his glory.

14. Let them beware of minding things too high, Psalm cxxxi. 1.It is better to fear, and to stand in awe, and to seek to lay thefoundations well, to get the saving knowledge of things necessaryto salvation. This will yield most peace and satisfaction.

CHAPTER XIV.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF CHRIST, AS TRUTH, FOR COMFORT, WHEN TRUTH ISOPPRESSED AND BORN DOWN.

There is another difficulty, wherein believing souls will standin need of Christ, as the truth, to help them; and that is, whenhis work is overturned, his cause borne down, truth condemned, andenemies, in their opposition to his work, prospering in all theirwicked attempts. This is a very trying dispensation, as we see itwas to the holy penman of Psalm lxxiii. for it made him to stagger,so that his feet were almost gone, and his steps had well nighslipt; yea he was almost repenting of his being a godly person,saying, ver. 13, "Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, andwashed my hands in innocency." It was something like this, whichmade Jeremiah say, chap. viii. 18, "When I would comfort myselfa*gainst sorrow, my heart is faint in me." The harvest was past, andthe summer was ended, and yet they were not saved, ver. 20; andthey looked for peace, but no good came, and for a time of health,but behold trouble, ver. 15—and this was fainting andvexatious. And what made Baruch, Jeremiah's faithful companion intribulation, say, "Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added grief tomy sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest," Jer. xlv.3, but this, that all things were turning upside down. God wasbreaking down that, which he had built; and plucking up that whichhe had planted. Tribulation and suffering for a good cause, is evenfainting to some; as the Apostle hinteth, Ephes. iii. 13, when hesays, wherefore, "I desire that ye faint not at my tribulation foryou." And that which evinceth the danger of this dispensation, isthe fainting and backsliding of many, in such a time of trial, assad experience too often cleareth.

Now the believer's stay in this case, must be the Rock of Ages,Jesus the Truth. It is he alone who can keep straight and honest insuch a reeling time. So that a sight of Christ as the Truth, inreference to the carrying on of truth in the earth, and advancinghis cause and work, will be the only support of a soul shaken bysuch a piece of trial.

But the question is, how should believers make use of Christ, insuch a time, to the end they may be kept from fainting andsuccumbing in such a storm? To which I answer, that the faith andconsideration of those particulars would help to establishment:

1. That Christ, in all this great work of redemption, and inevery piece of it, is the Father's servant. So is he frequentlycalled, "his servant," Isa. xlii. 1; xlix. 3, 5, 6; lii. 13; andliii. 11. Zech. iii. 8; and therefore this work is a work intrustedto him, and he standeth engaged as a servant, to be faithful to histrust. Moreover add to this, that he hath a commission to perfectthat work; and we need not doubt, but he who is the truth will betrue to his trust. "Him hath God the Father sealed," John vi. 27;and he often tells us himself, that he is "sent of the Father,"John iv. 34; v. 23, 24, 30, 36, 37; vi. 38, 39, 40, 44, 57; viii.16, 18; xii. 44, 45, 49; vii. 16; ix. 4; x. 36; and xi. 42.

2. That while he was upon the earth, he finished that work thatwas committed to him to finish here, having purchased all that wasto be bought by his blood, paying all the price that justice didask, John xvii. 4; xix. 30. By which price he hath purchased apeople to himself, Rev. v. 9. Luke i. 68. So that his work, cause,and interest, is a purchased work bought with his blood.

3. That his resurrection and glorification is an undoubted proofof this, that justice is satisfied, and that the price is fullypaid; and also that his exaltation at the Father's right hand is asure evidence and ground of hope, that he shall at last triumphover all his enemies, and that his work of truth shall prosper. TheFather said to him, Psalm cx. 1, "Sit thou on my right hand, untilI make thine enemies thy footstool." Being highly exalted, he hathgot "a name above every name: that at his name every knee shouldbow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under theearth; and that every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ isLord, to the glory of God the Father," Phil. ii. 9, 10, 11.

4. That the Father standeth engaged to make good to him all thatwas promised, and to give him all that he purchased, Isa. liii. 10,11, 12. Christ, having now fulfilled his undertaking, by making hissoul an offering for sin, and so satisfying justice, which isopenly declared by his resurrection, and admission to glory, as thehead of his elect, is to expect the accomplishment of what wasconditioned unto him. His work, therefore, on the earth mustprosper; and the Father hath undertaken to see it prosper. Surelythe faith of this would much support a poor soul, staggering at thethoughts of the prosperity of the wicked, and of their evilcause.

5. That Christ himself is now thoroughly furnished and enabledfor the carrying on of his work, over the belly of all adversaries,for all power in "Heaven and earth is given to him," Matt. xxviii.18; "and every knee must bow to him," Phil. ii. 10; "all judgmentis committed unto him," John v. 22, 27; "angels, powers, andauthority are made subject unto him," 1 Pet. iii. 22; "yea, allthings are under him," Eph. i. 22. How then can his work miscarry;or who can hinder, that truth should flourish on the earth?

6. That Christ is actually at work, employing this power for thecarrying forward of his design, for the glory of the Father, andfor his own glory, and for the good of his poor people. The Fatherworked by him, and he by the Spirit, which is his great Vicegerent,sent from the Father, and from him, and his work is to glorify theSon, and he shall receive of his, and show it unto us, John xvi.14.

7. That Christ, upon many accounts, standeth engaged to perfectthis work which he hath begun and is about. His honour is engagedto go through, seeing now he is fully furnished for it, and hathall the creation at his command. He must then perfect his work, asto the application, as well as he did perfect it as to thepurchase. His love to his Father's and his own glory, and to hisown people's good and salvation, may assure us, that he will notleave the work unperfected; and his power and furniture may give usfull security, that no stop which his work meeteth with shall beable to hinder it.

8. That hence it is clear and manifest, that his wheel is in themidst of the wheels of men, and that therefore he is ordering alltheir motions and reelings to the best. His wheel keepeth an evenpace, and moveth equally and equitably in the midst of men'scontrary motions.

9. And that, therefore, all the eccentric and irregular motionsof devils and wicked men being in his hand, and ordered by him,cannot hinder, but further his end; so that even enemies, whileopposing and seeking to destroy the cause and interest of Christ,that his name and truth should no more be mentioned, are promovinghis work. His wheel is the great wheel that ordereth all the lesserand subordinate wheels, whatever contrary motions they may have theone to the other, and all or many of them may seem to have to thisgreat wheel; so that, do they what they will, the work of our Lordgoeth on. Their opposition is setting his work forward, though theyintend the contrary; however their faces look, they row to the porthe would be at. This is an undoubted truth, and confirmed in allages, and yet is not firmly believed; and a truth it is, which, ifbelieved, would do much to settle our staggering souls in a stormyday.

10. That at last he shall come "to be glorified in his saints,"2 Thess. i. 10; "when he shall be revealed from heaven with all hismighty angels," verse 7. Then shall it be seen whose counsel shallstand, his or men's; and whose work shall prosper, his orSatan's.

CAUTIONS.

Yet, let me add a few words, for caution and direction here.

1. The consideration of these things mentioned should not makeus slacken our diligence in prayer and other duties; and when theyare aright considered, they will rather prove a spur and a goad inour side to set us forward, than a bridle to hold us back.

2. We would not think that Christ's work and interest is goingbackward always, when it seemeth so to us. Even when he is castingdown what he hath built up, and plucking up what he hath planted,his work is prospering, for all that is in order to the laying of abetter foundation, and to the carrying on of a more glorious work,when he shall lay all the stones with fair colours, and thefoundations with sapphires, and make the windows of crystal,&c. Isa. liv. 11,12.

3. Though his work be always going on, and his truth prospering,yet we would not think that it will always prosper alike in ourapprehensions; many times we judge by rules of our own making, andnot by the rule of truth, and hence it is that we mistakeoftentimes. We walk little by faith, and too much by sense; andhence we judge too much by sense, and so pass a wrong judgment, tohis dishonour, and the saddening of our own hearts.

4. Nor would we think that his truth and interest is ruined andgone, because it is sore oppressed in this or that particular placeof the world; as if his work were not of an universal extent, andin all the churches. If his truth thrive and prosper in some otherplace of the world, shall we not say, that his kingdom is coming?Or shall we limit all his work and interest to one small part ofthe world?

5. We would not think the worse of his work because it iscarried on with so many stops, and doth meet with so manyimpediments in its way. We are not acquainted with the depths ofhis infinite wisdom and counsel; and so we see not what noble endshe hath before him, in suffering those impediments to lie in theway of his chariot. We think he should ride so triumphantly allalong, that none should once dare to cast the least block in hisway. But we judge carnally, as unacquainted with the many noble andglorious designs which he hath in ordering matters. As himself wasfor a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, so will he have theway of the carrying on of his work prove, in his holy and spotlessjustice, a stumbling-stone to many that shall stumble thereat, andfall, and never rise any more.

6. We should beware to think that Christ hath forgotten hiswork, because he seemeth to take no notice of our prayers, which weare putting up now and then for his work. He may be doing thatwhich we are desiring in the general, and yet not let us know thathe is answering our prayers; and that for wise and holy ends, tokeep us humble and diligent. He may seem to disregard our suits,and yet be carrying on his work, and granting us our desires uponthe matter.

7. Hence we should beware of desponding, and growing heartlessand faint, when we see few owning truth, or standing upon Christ'sside; for he needeth not man's help to carry on this work, thoughhe sometimes thinketh good to condescend so far as to honour someto be instrumental in setting of it forward, who yet have nothingbut as he giveth; let us not then think, that his work cannotprosper because great ones and mean ones oppose it, and such asshould stand for it and own it, are few and fainting, withoutstrength, courage, or zeal.

CHAPTER XV.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF CHRIST FOR STEADFASTNESS, IN A TIME WHENTRUTH IS OPPRESSED AND BORNE DOWN.

When enemies are prevailing, and the way of truth is evil spokenof, many faint, and many turn aside, and do not plead for truth,nor stand up for the interest of Christ, in their hour and power ofdarkness: many are overcome with base fear, and either side withthe workers of iniquity, or are not valiant for the truth, butbeing faint-hearted, turn back. Now the thoughts of this may putsome who desire to stand fast, and to own him and his cause in aday of trial, to enquire how they shall make use of Christ, who isthe truth, so as to be enabled to stand in the day of temptation,and keep fast by truth when it is loaded with reproaches, andburied under an heap of obloquy. For satisfaction to this question,I shall shortly point out those directions which, if followed, mayprove helpful to keep the soul from fainting, misbelieving,doubting, quarrelling at the Lord's dispensations, and fromyielding to the temptations in such a day.

1. The believer should live in the conviction of his hazardthrough the sleight of Satan, the strength of temptation, thewickedness and treachery of the heart, the evil example of others,and the want of sanctified courage, zeal, and resolution; and thiswill keep the soul humble, and far from boasting of its ownstrength, which was Peter's fault.

2. They should live in the faith and persuasion of this, that itis Christ alone who is the truth, who can help them to stand fortruth in a day of temptation; and that all their former purposes,vows, resolutions, solemn professions, and the like, will prove butweak cables to hold them fast in a day of a storm; and that onlythe rock of ages must save them; and their being a leeward of him,and partaking of his warm and safe protection, will do theirbusiness. That all their stock of grace and knowledge, and thatconfirmed with resolutions and sincere purposes, will help butlittle in that day; and that new influences of grace and truth,from the fountain, that is full of grace and truth, will only proveestablishing to the soul, and confirm it in the truth in thatday.

3. Therefore they should eye Christ in his offices, particularlyas the great prophet who can teach as never man taught; so teach asto make the soul receive the doctrine, and to hold it fast—toreceive it in love, and lay it up in the heart as a rich andenriching treasure.

4. They should eye him in his relations unto his people, astheir head, husband, brother, leader, commander, captain, &c.;for those give ground of approaching unto him with confidence inthe day of darkness and mists, for light and direction, and forstrength and courage in the day of temptation; and give ground ofhope of help in that day of trial and difficulty.

5. They should eye and act faith upon the promises of assistanceand through-bearing, in the day of calamity; such asthose—Isa. xliii. 2, "When thou passest through the waters, Iwill be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflowthee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt;neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." And Isaiah xli. 13, "ForI the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fearnot, I will help thee." And particularly they would eye thepromises of light in the day of darkness, Isaiah lviii. 8, 10; lx.20. 2 Sam. xxii. 29.

6. They should look on Christ as an exalted conqueror, now risenand glorified; as a victorious captain that hath fought andovercome, that they, as his followers, may be made partakers of hisvictory and conquest, and so reap the fruit of his resurrection andascension, in their establishment in the truth, when it is bornedown and questioned, yea, and condemned by men. He abode steadfastand immoveable in the midst of all the storms that blew in hisface; and as he came to bear witness to the truth, so did hefaithfully and zealously avow truth, even to the death; and indeath got the victory of the arch liar and deceiver. Now thebeliever should eye this, for the strengthening of his faith andhope of victory also, through him; and therefore would waitpatiently for his help, and not make haste; for they who believemake not haste, Isaiah xxviii. 16, knowing that he is true andfaithful, and will not disappoint his followers that trust in him.And moreover it would be of advantage to them in this case, to eyethat gracious and comfortable word, John xiv. 19, "because I live,ye shall live also;" and so by faith conclude, that seeing Christnow liveth as a conqueror over darkness, untruth, reproaches,calumnies, and opposition of liars, yea, of the father of lies,they through him shall also live, and ride out that storm; and thiswill give much courage to the soul to endure temptation, and towait in patience for an outgate.

7. They should study much, and suck at the grand promise of hiscoming again, and of finally dispelling all clouds, and of fullyclearing up his glorious truths, that are now covered over withobloquy, and buried under reproaches; and this will encourage thesoul to stand to truth in the midst of opposition, believing, thatat length, truth, how much soever opposed now, shall bevictorious.

8. They should be single in their dependence on him, forstrength and through-bearing, in that day of trial—notleaning to their own understanding, but acknowledging him in alltheir ways, Prov. iii. 8; and when they see no hope of outgate inthe world, nor appearance of the clearing up of the day, they wouldcomfort themselves, and encourage themselves in the Lord, as Daviddid in a great strait, 1 Sam. xx. 6.

9. Upon the forementioned grounds they would cast all the careof their through-bearing on him, who careth for them, 1 Pet. v.7—rolling all their difficulties on him—consulting onlywith him and his word, and not with flesh and blood; and so theywould commit their ways to him, who disposeth of all things as heseeth good; forbearing to limit the Holy One of Israel, or toquarrel with him for any thing he doth; and patiently wait for hisoutgate and delivery.

10. It were good, in this time of trial, to be remembering theworth of truth, and entertaining high thoughts of the smallestpiece of truth that is questioned, for his sake, who is the truth;that a sight of the glorious worth thereof, may make them accountthe less of all they can lose in the defence and maintenancethereof.

11. So were it good at this time, when truths come to bequestioned, to be lying near to the truth, for light, and to bekeeping fast, what he by his Spirit cleareth up to be truth, thoughthe light should not be so full as to dispel all objections. Thiswere to depend upon him for light, with singleness of heart; and ingodly simplicity and sincerity to follow his direction and torch,though it should not shine so bright as they could wish.

CAUTIONS.

A few words of caution will be useful here also; as,

1. The believer, though taking this course, would not think tobe altogether free of fear of stepping aside, in less or in more.God may think good to let much of this abide, to the end he may bekept watchful, tender, and diligent; for fear maketh the soulcirc*mspect and watchful; and this is a good preservative fromdefection.

2. Nor would the believer think, that hereby he shall be keptaltogether free of fainting. The heart, now and then, through fearand misbelief, may fall into a fit of fainting, and think all isgone; and yet he may carry poor souls through, and make hisstrength perfect in their wickedness, 2 Cor. xii. 9; that when theyare supported and carried through the temptation, they may singpraise to him, and not ascribe any thing tothemselves—remembering how often they were fainting, andalmost giving over the cause as desperate and hopeless.

3. They would not think it strange, if, in the time of theirwrestling with difficulties, the Lord hide his face from them, andgive not them that joyful access unto him in prayer, that sometimesthey have met with; for the Lord may see it fit to put them to thispoint of trial among the rest, to see if the love of his glory andtruth will keep them standing, when they want the encouragementthat might be expected in that way; and if pure conscience to thecommand and authority of God, will keep from siding with an evilway, when the soul is destitute of all sensible encouragement, bothfrom within and from without.

4. In all this business believers should carry singly with aneye to God's glory; and should not be acted with self-ends, ordrawn by carnal and selfish motives. They should not desirestability and through-bearing to be seen of men, or to gainapplause and praise of men; lest God be provoked to leave them tothemselves, and they at length come off with discredit, as didPeter. Therefore they should strive against these carnal motions ofthe heart, and labour for spirituality, singleness of heart, andtruth in the inward parts, which the Lord desireth, Psalm li.6.

CHAPTER XVI.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF CHRIST AS THE TRUTH, WHEN ERROR PREVAILETH,AND THE SPIRIT OF ERROR CARRIETH MANY AWAY.

There is a time when the spirit of error is going abroad, andtruth is questioned, and many are led away with delusions. ForSatan can change himself into an angel of light, and make manygreat and fairlike pretensions to holiness, and under that pretextusher in untruths, and gain the consent of many unto them; so thatin such a time of temptation many are stolen off their feet, andmade to depart from the right ways of God, and to embrace error anddelusions instead of truth. Now the question is, how a poorbeliever shall make use of Christ, who is the truth, for keepinghim steadfast in the truth, in such a day of trial, and fromembracing of error, how plausible soever it may appear. Forsatisfaction to this we shall propose these few things:

1. In such a time, when a spirit of error is let loose andrageth, and carrieth several away, it were good for all who wouldbe kept straight and honest, to be walking in fear. It is not goodto despise such a sly and subtle enemy, especially in the hour andpower of darkness. Then all are called to be on their guard, and tostand upon their watch-tower, and to be jealous of their corrupthearts, that are ready enough of their own accord to drink inerror, and to receive the temptation at any time; and much morethen.

2. They should not think that their knowledge and ability todispute for truth, will keep them steadfast, if there be not more;for if the temptation grow, they may come to reason and disputethemselves out of all their former knowledge and skill. The fatherof lies is a cunning sophister, and knoweth, how to shake theirgrounds and cast all loose.

3. They should renew their covenant grips of Christ, and makesure that main business, viz. their peace and union with God inChrist, and their accepting of Christ for their head and husband.They would labour to have the foundation sure, and to be unitedunto the chief corner-stone, that so blow the storm as it will,they may ride safely; and that hereby they may have access toChrist with boldness, in their difficulty, and may with confidenceseek light from him in the hour of darkness.

4. To the end they may be kept more watchful and circ*mspect,they should remember, that it is a dishonourable thing to Christ,for them to step aside, in the least matter of truth; the denyingof the least point of truth is a consequential denying of him whois the truth; and to loose a foot in the matters of truth is verydangerous; for who can tell when they who once slip a foot shallrecover it again? And who can tell how many, and how dreadfulerrors they may drink in, who have once opened the door to a smallerror? Therefore they should beware of tampering in this matter,and to admit any error, upon the account that it is a small andinconsiderable one. There may be an unseen concatenation betwixtone error and another, and betwixt a small one and a greater one,so as if the little one be admitted and received, the greater shallfollow; and it may be feared that if they once dally with error,and make a gap in their consciences, that God will give them up tojudicial blindness, that, ere all be done, they shall embrace thatopinion which sometime they seemed to hate as death.

5. They should eye the promises suiting that cause; viz. thepromises of God's guiding "the blind by a way which they know not:of making darkness light before them, and crooked things straight,"Isa. xlii. 16; and of "guiding continually," Isa. lviii. 11; seealso Isa. xlix. 10.; lvii. 18.; and they would act faith on theseand the like promises, as now made sure by Jesus.

6. Particularly, they should fix their eye upon that principalpromise, of the Spirit of truth, to guide into all truth, John xvi.13.

7. With singleness of heart they should depend on Christ, andwait for light from him, and beware of prejudice at the truth; withsingleness of heart they should lie open to his instructions, andto the influences of his light and direction, and receive in thebeams of his divine light; and thus go about duties, viz. prayer,conference, preaching, reading, &c. with an eye fixed on him,and with a soul open to him, and free of all sinful pre-engagementand love to error.

8. With singleness of heart, they should give up their souls toChrist, as the truth, that he would write the truth in their souls,and frame their souls unto the truth, and unto that truth which ismost questioned, and by which they are most in hazard to be drawnaway; and urge and press him by prayer and supplication to do theduty of a head, a husband, guide and commander, &c. unto them;and that he would be a light unto them in that day of darkness, andnot suffer them to dishonour him or prove scandalous to others; bydeparting from the truth and embracing error. A serioussingle-hearted dealing with him upon the grounds of the covenantpromises and his relations and engagements, might prove steadablein this case, if accompanied with a lying open to the influences oftruth and to the light of information which he is pleased to sendby the Spirit of truth.

CAUTIONS AND DIRECTIONS.

For further clearing of this matter, we shall hint at somecautions and further directions useful here: such as,

1. They should beware of thinking that God should come to themwith light and instruction in an extraordinary manner, and revealthe truth of the question controverted somewhat immediately: forthis were a manifest tempting and limiting of the Holy One ofIsrael. We must be satisfied with the means of instruction which hehath provided, and run to the law and to the testimony. We have theScriptures, which are able to make the man of God perfect and"thoroughly furnished unto all good works," 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17; andto "make wise unto salvation," ver. 15. There must we see light;and there must we wait for the breathings of his Spirit with life,and coming with light to clear up truth to us: for they are thescriptures of truth, Dan. x. 21; and the law of the Lord, which is"perfect, converting the soul;" and the commandment of the Lord,that is pure, "enlightening the eyes," Psalm xix. 7, 8. We have theministry which God hath also appointed for this end, to make knownunto us his mind; there must we wait for him and his light. Thusmust we wait at the posts of wisdom's doors; and wait for the kingof light in his own way wherein he hath appointed us to wait forhim. And if he think good to come another way more immediate, lethim always be welcome; but let not us limit him nor prescribe waysto him, but follow his directions.

2. When any thing is borne in upon their spirit as a truth to bereceived, or as an error to be rejected, more immediately, theyshould beware of admitting of every such thing without trial andexamination; for we are expressly forbidden to believe everyspirit, and commanded to try them whether they are of God or not, 1John iv. 1. The Lord will not take it ill that even his ownimmediate motions and revelations be tried and examined by theword; because the word is given us for this end, to be our test andstandard of truth. The way of immediate revelation is not theordinary way now of God's manifesting his mind to his people. Hehath now chosen another way, and given us a more sure word ofprophesy than was, "even a voice from heaven," as Peter saith, 2Pet. i. 18, 19. It is commended in the Bereans, Acts xvii. 11, whoupon this account were "more noble than those of Thessalonica, inthat they received the word with all readiness of mind, andsearched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." EvenPaul's words, though he was an authorised and an infallible apostleof Christ's, are here put to the touch-stone of the word. "Manyfalse prophets may go out, and deceive many, and speak greatswelling words of vanity," 1 John iv. 1; 2 Pet. ii. 18; and thedevil can transchange himself into an angel of light, 2 Cor. xi.14; and though an angel out of heaven should preach any other thingthan what is in the written word, we ought not to receive hisdoctrine, but to reject it, and to account him accursed, Gal. i. 8.So that the written word must be much studied by us; and by it mustwe try all motions, all doctrines, all inspirations, allrevelations, and all manifestations.

3. Much more, they should beware of thinking that the dictatesof their conscience obligeth them, so as that always they must ofnecessity follow the same. Conscience, being God's deputy in thesoul, is to be followed no further than it speaketh for God andaccording to truth. An erring conscience, though it bind so far asthat he who doth contrary to the dictates thereof sinneth againstGod, in that, knowing no other than that the dictates of conscienceare right and consonant to the mind of God, yet dare counteract thesame, and thus formally rebel against God's authority; yet it dothnot oblige us to believe and to do what it asserteth to be truthand duty. It will not then be enough for them to say, my conscienceand the light within me speaketh so, and instructeth me so; forthat light may be darkness, and error, and delusion, and so no rulefor them to walk by. "To the law and to the testimony," and iftheir conscience, mind, and light within them "speak not accordingto this word, it is because there is no light in them," Isa. viii.20. I grant, as I said, they cannot without sin counteract thedictates even of an erring conscience, because they know no betterbut that these dictates are according to truth; and thus an erringconscience is a most dangerous thing, and bringeth people under agreat dilemma, that whether they follow it or not, they sin; andthere is no other remedy here, but to lay by the erring conscience,and get a conscience rightly informed by the word; putting it inChrist's hand to be better formed and informed, that so it may doits office better. This then should be especially guarded against,for if once they lay down this for a principle, that whatever theirconscience and mind, or inward light (as some call it) dictate,must be followed, there is no delusion, how false, how abominablesoever it be, but they may be at length in hazard to be drawn awaywith; and so the rule that they will walk by be nothing in effectbut the spirit of lies and of delusion, and the motions anddictates of him who is the father of lies, that is, the devil.

4. Such as pretend to walk so much by conscience, should takeheed that they take not that for the dictate of conscience, whichreally is but the dictates of their own humours, inclinations,pre-occupied minds, and biassed wills. When conscience speaketh, itgroundeth on the authority of God, whether truly or falsely, andproposeth such a thing to be done, or to be refrained from, merelybecause God commandeth that, and forbiddeth this, though sometimesit mistaketh. But though the dictates of men's humours,inclinations, pre-occupied judgments, and wills, may pretend God'sauthority for what they say, yet really some carnal respect,selfish end, and the like, lieth at the bottom, and is the chiefspring of that motion. And also the dictates of humour and biassedwills are usually more violent and fierce than the dictates ofconscience; for wanting the authority of God to back theirassertions and prescriptions, they must make up that with anaddition of preternatural force and strength. Hence, such as arepurely led by conscience, are pliable, humble, and ready to hearand receive information; whereas, others are headstrong andpertinacious, unwilling to receive instruction, or to hear anything contrary to their minds, lest their conscience, receivingmore light, speak with a higher voice against their inclinationsand former ways, and so create more trouble to them; while, as nowthey enjoy more quiet within, so long as the cry of their self-willand biassed judgments is so loud, that they cannot well hear thestill and low voice of conscience.

5. They should labour for much self-denial and sincerity; and tobe free from the snares and power of selfish ends, as credit, aname, and applause, or what of that kind, that may be like "thefear of man that bringeth a snare," Prov. xxix. 25; for that willbe like a gift that blindeth the eyes of the wise, Exod. xxiii. 8.Love to carry on a party, or a design to be seen or accountedsomebody, to maintain their credit and reputation, lest they beaccounted changelings and the like, will prove very dangerous inthis case; for these may forcibly carry the soul away, to embraceone error after another, and one error to strengthen and confirmanother, that it is hard to know where or when they shall stand.And these, by respects, may so forcibly drive the soul forward,that he shall neither hear the voice of conscience within, nor anyinstruction from without.

6. They should study the word of truth without prejudice and anysinful pre-engagement, lest they be made thereby to wire-draw andwrest the word to their own destruction, as some of whom Peterspeaketh, 2 Pet. iii. 16. It is a dangerous thing to study the wordwith a prejudicate opinion; and to bow or wire-draw the word andmake it speak what we would have it speak, for the confirmation ofour opinions and sentiments. For this is but to mock God and hislaw, and to say, let his law speak what it will, I will maintainthis opinion, and so make the word speak as we would have it, orelse lay it by. This is to walk by some other rule than the word,and to make the word serve our lusts and confirm our errors, thanwhich a greater indignity cannot be done to the Spirit of truthspeaking in the word.

7. In reading and studying of the word there should be muchsingle dependence on the Spirit for light; waiting for clearnessfrom him whom Christ hath promised to lead us into all truth. Anearnest wrestling with him for his assistance, enlightening themind with divine light to understand the truth, and inclining thesoul to a ready embracing and receiving of the truth declared inthe word.

8. Though one place of scripture be enough to confirm any pointof truth, and ground sufficient for us to believe what is theresaid, there being nothing in scripture but what is truth; yet, insuch a time of abounding errors, and when many are going abroadspeaking perverse things to lead the simple away, it were spiritualwisdom to be comparing scripture with scripture, and not be lightlyembracing whatever may seem probable, and fairly deducible fromsome one passage or other of scripture, but to be comparing thatwith other passages and see what concord there is; for this iscertain, whatever point contradicteth other clear and manifesttestimonies of scripture cannot be true; however a cunningsophister may make it seem very probably to flow out of such orsuch a passage of scripture. The testimony of the Spirit isuniform, and free from all contradictions; and therefore we mustsee, if such an assertion, that some would draw from such apassage, agree with other plain passages, and if not, be sure thatis not the meaning of the place. When the devil did wrest and abusethat passage of truth, Ps. xci. 11. "He shall give his angelscharge concerning thee," &c, and from thence would infer, thatChrist might cast himself down, Matt. iv. 6, Christ shews that thisinference was bad, because it did not agree with other divinetestimonies, particularly not with that, Deut. vi. 16, "Thou shaltnot tempt the Lord thy God." And thereby he teacheth us to takethis course in times of temptation, and so compare spiritual thingswith spiritual, as Paul speaketh, 1 Cor. ii. 13. Especially theyshould beware of expounding clear scriptures by such as are moredark and mysterious; see 2 Pet. iii. 16. It is always safer toexplain darker passages by such as are more clear.

9. Let them guard against an humour of new-fangledness,nauseating old and solid truths, and seeking after something new,having ears itching after new doctrines, yea, or new modes anddresses of old truths. For this is provoking to God, and provethdangerous; for such turn away their ears from the truth, and areturned into fables, as Paul telleth us, 2 Tim. iv. 3, 4. "For thetime will come," saith he, "when they will not endure sounddoctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselvesteachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their earsfrom the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." This savoureth ofa spirit of levity and inconstancy, which is dangerous.

10. They should labour to have no prejudice at the truth, butreceive it in the love of it; lest, for that cause, God give themup to strong delusions, to believe lies, and to be led with thedeceivableness of unrighteousness, as we see, 2 Thess. ii. 10-12,"And. with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them thatperish, because they received not the love of the truth, that theymight be saved; and for this cause God shall send them strongdelusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might bedamned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure inunrighteousness."

11. So should they beware of stifling the truth, of making it aprisoner, and detaining it in unrighteousness, like those spokenof, Rom. i. 18. "For which cause God them up to uncleanness andvile affections, and they became vain in their imaginations, andtheir foolish heart was darkened, yea, professing themselves to bewise, they became fools," ver. 21, &c. They should let truthhave free liberty and power in the soul; and should yield upthemselves to be ruled and guided by it; and not torture with it,lay chains upon it, or fetter it, and keep it as a prisoner thatcan do nothing.

12. For this cause, they should hold fast the truth which theyhave learned, and have been taught by the Spirit out of the word.When Paul would guard and fortify Timothy against seducers, thatcrept into houses, leading captive silly women, &c., amongother directions gave him this, 2 Tim. iii. 14, 15, "But continuethou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assuredof, knowing of whom thou hast learned; and that from a child thouhast known the Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise untosalvation," &c. So he would have the Colossians walking inChrist, rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith asthey had been taught, Col. ii. 6, 7.

13. Especially they would be holding the groundworkfast,—faith in Christ. It were good in such a time of erringfrom the way of truth, to be gripping Christ faster, and cleavingto him by faith, and living by faith in him. This is to hold thefoundation fast; and then let the tempest of error blow as it will,they will ride at a sure anchor, and be safe, because fixed uponthe Rock of Ages; and further, living near Christ in such adangerous day, would be a noble preservative from the infection oferror. The soul that is dwelling in Christ and gripping to himdaily by faith, and acting love on him, dwelleth in light, willdiscover error sooner than another, because living under the raysof the Sun of Righteousness, which discovereth error.

14. They should labour to learn the truth, as it is in Jesus;and the truths which they have heard of him, and have been taughtby him, as the truth is in him, will abide, when other truths thathave been learned but of men, and heard of men, and as it was inthe preaching of men, and in books, shall soon evanish in a day oftrial. This is to learn Christ, as the apostle speaketh, Eph. iv.20, 21, "But ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that ye haveheard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus."When we learn the truth, as it is in Jesus, it bringeth us alwaysto him, and hath a tendency to fix our hearts on him, and is apiece of the bond that bindeth us to him and his way: we receive itthen as a piece of his doctrine, which we must own, and stand unto.O if we learned all our divinity thus, we would be more constantand steadfast in it than we are!

15. When controversies arise, and they know not which side tochoose—both seemeth to them to be alike well founded on theword—they should exercise their spiritual sagacity, and settheir gift of discerning a work, to see which of the two tendethmost to promote piety and godliness, and the kingdom of Christ, andso see which of the two is the truth, "which is after godliness,"as the apostle speaketh, Tit. i. 1; they must look which of the twois the doctrine which is according to godliness, I Tim. vi. 3. Thatis the truth which is Christ's, and which should be owned andembraced, viz. which floweth from a spirit of godliness, andtendeth to promove godliness, and suiteth with the true principlesof godliness, even gospel godliness, wrought according to the tenorof the covenant of grace; that is, by the strength of the Spirit ofJesus, dwelling and working in us, and not according to the tenorof the covenant of works, that is, wrought by our own strength,&c.

16. Yet withal they should take heed that they mistake not here;for they may look upon some ways and doctrines as having a greatertendency to promove godliness than others; which indeed have not,but only seem so. They should therefore consider well what is theway of godliness laid down in the noble device of the gospel, whichis the way that only glorifieth God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;and see what suiteth most with that, according to the word, and notwhat seemeth most suitable to godliness in their apprehension. Theword is the best judge and test of true godliness; and in the wordwe have the only safest mean of true godliness held forth:therefore we should see what doctrine tendeth most to promotegodliness according to the way held forth in the word, and choosethat.

17. They should guard against pride and self-conceit, asthinking they are wise enough, and understanding enough in thosematters, and so need not take a lesson of any. This may be of greatprejudice; for "it is the meek that God guideth in judgment; and tothe meek will he teach his way," Psalm xxv. 9. Therefore it weregood for his people in such a day, to be meek and humble, willingand ready to learn of any person, how mean soever, that can teachthe ways of God. The Lord may bless a word spoken by a privateperson, when he will not bless the word spoken by a minister; forhis blessings are free. And it is not good to despise any mean.Apollos, though instructed in the way of the Lord, mighty in theScriptures, fervent in spirit, and teaching diligently the thingsof the Lord, Acts xviii. 24, 25, yet was content to learn ofAquila, and of his wife Priscilla, when they expounded unto him theway of God more perfectly, ver. 26.

18. In such a time, it is not unsafe to look to such as havebeen eminent in the ways of God, and lie near to him; for it isprobable they may know much of the mind of God in those questionedmatters. Hence we find the apostle putting Timothy and others tothis duty in a time when false teachers were going abroad, saying,2 Tim. iii. 10, "but thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner oflife;" and 1 Cor. iv. 16, "wherefore I beseech you to be followersof me;" and 1 Cor. xi. 1; and again, Phil. iii. 17, "brethren, befollowers together of me." All which say, that though we shouldcall no man Rabbi, as hanging our faith absolutely on him, yet insuch a time of prevailing error and of false teachers going abroad,some respect should be had to such as have found grace of the Lordto be faithful in times of trial, and have maintained truth, andstood for it, in times of persecution, and have with singleness ofheart followed the Lord; it not being ordinary with God to leavesuch as in sincerity seek him, and desire to follow his way intruth and uprightness, and to give the revelation of his mind andthe manifestation of his Spirit to others, who have not gonethrough such trials.

19. They should also at such a time be much in the sincerepractice of uncontroverted duties, and in putting uncontrovertedand unquestionable and unquestioned truths into practice; and thismay prove a notable mean to keep them right: for then are they inGod's way, and so the devil hath not that advantage of them that hehath of others who are out of the way of duty. David understoodmore than the ancients, because he kept God's precepts, Psal. cxix.100.

20. It were good and suitable at such a time, to be much in thefear of God, remembering what an one he is, and how hazardous it isto sin against him, by drinking in the least point of error. Thepromise is made to such, Psalm xxv. 12, "What man is he thatfeareth the Lord, him shall he teach in the way that he shallchoose."

21. Finally, at such a time they should be much in communionwith Jesus, lying near him; much in prayer to him, studying hisrelations, offices, furniture, readiness to help with light andcounsel; and they should draw near to him with humility, boldness,faith, confidence, love, tenderness, and sincerity; and then theyshall not find that he shall fail them, or disappoint them.

Enough of this. I proceed therefore to another case, whichis:

CHAPTER XVII.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF CHRIST AS THE TRUTH, THAT WE MAY GET OURCASE AND CONDITION CLEARED UP TO US.

The believer is oft complaining of darkness concerning his caseand condition, so as he cannot tell what to say of himself, or whatjudgment to pass on himself, and he knoweth not how to win to adistinct and clear discovery of his state and condition. Now, it istruth alone, and the Truth, that can satisfy them as to this. Thequestion then is, how they shall make use of, and apply themselvesto this truth, to the end they may get the truth of their conditiondiscovered to them. But first let us see what this case may be.Consider, then,

1. That grace may be in the soul, and yet not be seen norobserved. This is manifest by daily experience.

2. Not only so, but a gracious soul that is reconciled With Godin Christ, and hath the spirit of grace dwelling in it, may supposeitself a stranger yet unto this reconciliation, and void of thegrace of God, and so be still in the state of nature.

3. Yea, a soul may not only suppose and conclude itself innature, while it is in a state of grace, but further, may be filledwith terror and apprehensions of God's wrath and indignation; andthat in such a measure, as that thereby it may be as a distractedperson, as we see it was with Heman, Psalm lxxxviii. 15, who said,"while I suffer thy terror, I am distracted." The wrath of God layhard upon him, and he said, that he was afflicted with all God'swaves, ver. 7. Hence he cried out, vers. 16. 17, "thy fierce wrathgoeth over me, thy terrors have cut me off, they came round aboutme daily," or all the day, "like water they compassed me abouttogether." And yet for all this, the first word of his complaintwas faith, ver. 1. Many such complaints hear we out of Job's mouth,to whom God, notwithstanding, was that gracious, that he never cameto question his state before God, or to conclude his hypocrisy, orhis being still in the state of nature. But it is not so with everyone that is so exercised.

4. Yea, further, with those inward strokes upon the soul, theymay have sin and guilt charged upon their consciences; and thiswill make their life yet more bitter, and put a sharper edge uponthe rods. Thus was Job made to possess the sins of his youth, Job.xiii. 26, and made to say, "My transgression is sealed up in a bag,and thou sewest up mine iniquity," Job. xiv. 17.

5. Moreover, they may be in such a condition a long time, andall the while have no light of comfort, as we may see in Job andHeman. They may even walk in darkness, and have no light ofcomfort, Isa. 1. 10.

6. Yea, and also be without the hope of a delivery or outgate.Hence crieth Heman, Psalm lxxxviii. 4-5, "I am counted with themthat go down into the pit, free among the dead, like the slain thatlie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more, and they are cutoff from thine hand." Yea, they may be driven to the very border ofdespair, and conclude that there is no hope, as the church did,Ezek. xxxvii. 11, "Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost, andwe are cut off for our parts;" and as Job, chap. vii. 6, "My daysare swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope;"and chap. xix. 10, "He hath destroyed me on every side, and I amgone: mine hope hath been removed like a tree."

Now, though sometimes, as we see in Job, and in Heman too, asoul may be under such a sad and sharp dispensation, and yet notbrought to question their state, or to conclude themselves childrenof wrath, lying still in black nature, yet it is not so with allwho are so exercised; but many under such a dispensation, may atleast be in the dark as to their state before God; and if they donot positively assert their state to be bad, yet they do muchquestion if they be in the state of grace, and would be comfortedunder all their pressures and afflictions, if they could win to theleast well-grounded apprehension of their interest in Christ.

In such a case as this is, there is ground for a poor soul tomake use of Christ for outgate; and an outgate may be had in God'stime, and as he seeth fit, by a right use-making of and going outto him, who is the Truth. So, then, the soul that would have itsstate and condition cleared up, and a discovery of its beingreconciled to God through Jesus, and in a state of grace, and wouldmake use of Christ as the Truth, for this end, would,

(1.) Look out to Christ, as a feeling High Priest, faithful andmerciful, who, being like us in all things, except sin, dothsympathise with, and succour such as are tempted, Heb. ii. 17, 18.And as a Priest, "that is touched with the feeling of ourinfirmities," Heb. iv. 15. Albeit Christ, in the deepest of hisdarkness, was never made to question his Sonship, but avouched Godto be his God even when he was forsaken, Psalm xxii. 1. Matt,xxvii. 46. Mark xv. 34. Yet he knew what it was to be tempted, toquestion his Sonship, when the devil said unto him, Matt. iv. 3,"If thou be the Son of God;" and he knows what such a distress ashe himself was into, wrestling with an angry God, hiding himselfand forsaking, will work in a poor sinner; and being a merciful andsympathising High Priest, he cannot but pity such as are under sucha distemper, and, as a gracious Head, sympathise with them. Now,the believer would look out to him as such an one, and upon thisground go to him with confidence and boldness, and lay out theircase before him, that he may help and send relief:

(2.) They would also eye Christ as able to save out of thatcondition, and to command light to shine out of darkness; and so,as one "able to save to the uttermost all that come to God throughhim," Heb. vii. 25.

(3.) And not only so, but eye him also as given, sent, andcommissioned of the Father, to be a light to such as sit indarkness; even to the Gentile. Isa. xlii. 6, and xlix. 6. Luke ii.32. Acts xiii. 47; xxvi. 23. John viii. 12; and this will encouragethe poor souls to go out to him with their darkness, when they seethat he is sent as a Light and as the Truth, to clear up poor soulsthat walk in darkness and have no light. When they see that it ishis place and office to help them, and consider that he is true tohis trust, and true and faithful in all that was committed to him,it not only will embolden them to come forward to him, but it willstrengthen their hope, and encourage them to wait on.

(4.) They would stay themselves on him as an all-sufficienthelper, renouncing all other, crying out, that they will have nolight but his light, and that they will seek no where else forlight, but wait at his door, till he, who is the Sun ofRighteousness, shall arise in their soul, and come with healinglight in his wings.

(5.) They would by faith roll and cast their darkened souls,their confused case, their overwhelmed hearts on him, and leavethem there; for he is the only physician; and the blind soul mustbe put in his hand, who can take away the film, and cause thescales fall off, and make light break into the soul and discoverunto it its condition.

(6.) It would be useful and very steadable, in such a time ofdarkness, for the believer to be frequent in acting direct acts offaith on Christ; that is, be frequent in going to him as anall-sufficient Mediator, as the only refuge and shadow for a poor,weary, scorched soul, Isa. iv. 6. "And a man shall be as anhiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, asrivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in aweary land," Isa. xxxii. 2; "as one who is a strength to the needyin his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat,"&c. Isa. xxv, 4. When the soul is thus overwhelmed with clouds,and doubteth of its interest in Christ, it would then put it out ofdoubt, by flying to him for refuge from the storm of God'sindignation, and lay hold on him as he is freely offered in thegospel, and thus renew its grips of him as the offeredall-sufficient Mediator, and frequent direct acts of faith willhelp at length to a reflex act. The soul that is daily running toChrist, according to the covenant, with all its necessities, andlaying hold on him as only able to help, will at length come to seethat it hath believed on him, and is made welcome by him, andaccepted through him. So that reiterated acts of faith on anoffered cautioner and salvation, will dispel at length those cloudsof darkness that trouble the soul.

7. Such souls would beware of making their bands stronger, andtheir darkness greater, by their folly and unwise carriage; forthis cause they would beware,

(1.) To cry out in despondency of spirit as if there were nohope, and to conclude peremptorily, that they are cut off, and itis vain to wait any longer; for this course will but darken themthe more, and multiply the clouds over their head.

(2.) To run away from Christ through unbelief and despair, forthat will make their case yet worse.

(3.) To walk untenderly and not circ*mspectly; for the more sinsappear, the less light will be had. O but souls would be tender inall their conversation at that time, and guard against the leastsin or appearance of evil!

(4.) To fret and repine against God, because of thatdispensation; for that will but entangle the soul more, and wreathethe yoke straiter about its neck, and put itself further out ofcase to be relieved and to receive light.

8. Such would do well not to limit the Holy One of Israel, butto wait with patience till his time come to speak in light to thesoul, knowing that such as wait upon him shall never be ashamed,Isa. xlix. 23, because he waiteth to be gracious; and thereforeblessed are all they that wait upon him, Isa. xxx. 18.

Quest. But what if for all this I get no outgate, but mydistress and darkness rather grow upon my hand? Ans. Thatsuch a thing may be, I grant, the Lord thinking it fit. (1.) Toexercise their faith, dependence, patience, hope, and desire more.(2.) And to discover more unto them their own weakness, faintings,faithfulness. (3.) To shew his absolute power and sovereignty. (4.)To make his grace and mercy more conspicuous and remarkable atlength. And, (5.) to train them up in a way of dependence on him inthe dark, and of leaning to him when walking in darkness, yea, andin a way of believing when they think they have no faith at all,and for other holy ends. Yet the soul would not despond, for thereare several things that may serve to support and bear up the hearteven in that case, as,

1. This is not their case alone, others have been in the likebefore, and many have had the like complaints in all ages, as isknown to such as have been acquainted with exercised souls.

2. It may yield peace and comfort to know that they are aboutduty when looking to him, and depending upon him, and waiting forhis light.

3. The promises made to such as wait for him may support thesoul and yield comfort.

4. The distinct knowledge and uptaking of their condition,though it be comfortable and refreshing, yet it is not absolutelynecessary. A soul may be a saved soul, though those clouds shouldcontinue to its dying day; and though, as long as they lived, theyshould never get a clear discovery of their gracious state, butspend their days in mourning, complaining, and crying out ofdarkness.

5. Such a soul should think that it is much that he is kept outof hell so long; and sure, the thoughts of what he is, and of whathe deserveth, may make him sober, and not to think much, though hereach not so high as to see his name written in the book oflife.

6. They should know that full assurance of hope and of faith isbut rare: and even such as have it do not ordinarily keep it long;so that it should not much trouble them, if, after all their pains,they cannot win at it.

7. If they win to any real ground of hope, how small soever,they should think much of that; for many dear to Christ live long,and never know what so much is.

8. It is no small matter that they are not sinking in the gulfof inconsideration, and plagued with an indifferency in thesematters, but are made to value Christ and an interest in him atsuch a rate.

9. Their going to Christ with all their wants, laying all onhim, and their making that their daily exercise, may keep up theirhearts from fainting, yea, and fill their souls with joy; for thatis really the exercise of faith. And the great and graciouspromises are made to such as believe, and not to such only as knowthey do believe. I grant such as know not that they do believe,cannot draw comfort from these promises; yet it is true that onemay, by reflecting on the actings of his own soul, see and knowthat really he is going out to Christ, forsaking himself, castinghis burden on him, waiting and depending upon him; when yet he willnot say that he doth believe. And when he seeth this working ofsoul towards Christ, he is obliged to believe that he believeth,and thereupon rejoice in hope of the great promises. And howeverthe very sight and knowledge of this acting and motion of soul maygive them some comfort, though they shall not take it for faith,because it is the way of duty, and it is the thing the gospelcalleth for, and because they cannot show an instance of anyonesoul that did so, and perished. But the truth is, the rightunderstanding of the nature of faith would clear many doubts, andprevent many questions.

I come to speak a little to the last case which I shall handle,which is,

CHAPTER XVIII.

HOW WE SHALL MAKE USE OF CHRIST AS THE TRUTH, THAT WE MAY WINTO RIGHT AND SUITABLE THOUGHTS OF GOD.

This is a case that much troubleth the people of God,—theycannot get right and suitable thoughts of God, which they earnestlydesire to have, nor know not how to win at them; and certain it is,he only who is the Truth, and came out of the bosom of the Father,can help here. Therefore for our use-making of him for this end, itwould be remembered,

1. That the mind of man, through the fall, is nothing but a massof ignorance and blindness; that "the understanding is darkened,"Eph. iv. 17, 18; "and naturally we are in darkness," 1 John ii. 9,11; "yea, under the power of darkness," Col. i. 13; and, which ismore, our minds are naturally filled with prejudice against God,and enmity, through wickedness naturally residing there, and whichthe prince of the power of the air, the spirit which worketh in thechildren of disobedience, increaseth and stirreth up.

2. That this evil is not totally taken away, even in the godly,but helped only in part; for they see and know but in part, 1 Cor.xiii. 13.

3. That hence it cometh to pass, that through the working ofcorruption, the soul of a believer can sometimes win to no rightthought of God at all; or at best to some very narrow andunsuitable conceptions of him and his ways; yea, sometimes, all thethoughts they can get of God are vain and idle, if not misshapenand blasphemous.

4. That as we are, we cannot see God; "for no man hath seenhim," Matt. xi. 27. John iv. 46; for he is an invisible God, 1 Tim.i. 17. Heb. xi. 27. "He dwelleth in light which no man can approachunto. Him no man hath seen, nor can see," 1 Tim. vi. 16. 1 John iv.12.

5. That all that knowledge of God which is saving, is to befound in Christ, who is the "brightness of his glory, and theexpress image of his person," Heb. i. 2; "and the image of theinvisible God," Col. i. 15; and is for this end come out from thebosom of the Father, that he might acquaint us with him, and withall his secrets, John i. 18. Matt. xi. 27, so far as is needful forus to know. He is God incarnate, that in him we may see theinvisible. Thus "God is manifest in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii. 16;"and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," John i. 14.

6. That therefore if we would see and know God, we must go toChrist, who is the temple in which God dwelleth and manifesteth hisglory; and in and through him, must we see and conceive of God. Thelight that we get of the knowledge of the glory of God, must be inthe face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 6; that is, in themanifestations that Christ hath made of himself, in his natures,offices, ordinances, works, dispensations of grace, mediate andimmediate, &c. And thus doth God, who commanded the light toshine out of darkness, "cause this light of the knowledge of hisglory shine into our hearts," viz. in the face of Jesus Christ,that is, in the dispensations of grace in the gospel, which is theglorious gospel of Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 4, and, as it were, the faceof Jesus Christ; for as by the face a man is best known anddistinguished from others, so Christ is visibly, and discernibly,and manifestly, seen and known, in and by the gospel dispensations;there are all the lineaments and draughts of the glory of God whichwe would know, lively and clearly to be seen.

So then, if we would make use of Christ for this end, that wemay win to a right sight of God, and suitable conceptions of hisglory, we would consider those things:

1. We would live under the sense and thorough conviction of thegreatness and incomprehensibleness of God, as being every way pastfinding out; and also under the conviction of our own darkness andincapacity to conceive aright of him, even as to what he hathrevealed of himself.

2. We would know, that what the works of creation and providencedeclare and preach forth of God, though it be sufficient to makeheathens and others that do not improve the same to a rightacknowledging of him, inexcusable, as Paul teacheth us, Rom. i. 20;yet all that is short of giving to us that saving knowledge of him,which must be had, and which is life eternal, John xvii. 2.

3. We would know, that what of God is to be found out by theworks of creation and providence, is more distinctly seen in Christand in the gospel. Here is a greater and more glorious discovery ofGod, and of his glorious attributes, his justice, power, wisdom,goodness, holiness, truth, &c. than can be found by the deepestdiving naturalist, and most wise moral observer of Providence, thatis not taught out of the gospel.

4. Yea, there is something of God to be seen in Christ, in thegospel, which can be observed in none of his works of, creation orcommon providence; there is the grace of God that bringethsalvation, that is made to appear only by the gospel, Titus ii. 11;and there is a peculiar kindness and love of God towards man, whichis only discovered by Christ in the gospel, Titus iii. 4. There isthat manifold wisdom of God, that mystery which was hid from thebeginning of the world in God; that principalities and powers inheavenly places, the greatest and wisest of naturalists must learnby the church, wherein that is preached and proclaimed, by thedispensations of the gospel, Eph. iii. 9, 10. His mercy pardoningpoor sinners, justice being satisfied, cannot be cleared by nature.Nature cannot unfold that mystery of justice and mercy, concurringto the salvation of a sinner—only the gospel can clear thatriddle.

5. We would remember, that all the beams of that glory which arenecessary and useful for us to know, are, to speak so, contractedin Christ, and there vailed, to the end that we may more steadilylook upon them. We may go to our Brother, who is flesh of ourflesh, and there, through the vail of his flesh, see and beholdwhat otherwise was invisible. As we can look to the sun bettershining in a pail of water, than by looking up immediately; so canwe behold God and his glory better in Christ, where there is a thinvail (to speak so) drawn over that otherwise blinding, yea, killingglory, than by looking to God without Christ; for, alas! we couldnot endure one glance of an immediate ray of divine glory: it wouldkill us outright.

6. We must then go to Christ, and there see God; for he whoseeth him seeth the Father also, John xiv. 9. Particularly, we mustgo the face of Jesus Christ, that is, that whereby he hath madehimself known, the noble contrivance of the glorious gospel,wherein all things are so carried on, as that God is glorified inhis Son, in the salvation of poor sinners. The whole work ofsalvation is laid on Christ, and the Father is glorified in him,who is his Servant and his Chosen, whom he upholdeth and furnishethfor the work, Isa. xlii. 1,2. He is called the covenant itself. Heis the undertaker in the covenant of redemption and in the covenantof grace; all is founded on him; all the good things of it aregiven out by him; all the grace by which we close with it, andaccept of him according to it, is given by him. Now, in this gospelcontrivance are all the lines of the glorious face of Christ to beseen; and in that face must we see and discern the glory of God,all the rays of which are centered in Christ, and there will we geta noble prospect of that glorious object. So that all such as wouldmake use of Christ for this end, that they might come to have rightand suitable thoughts and apprehensions of God, must be wellacquainted with the whole draught and frame of the gospel; and soacquainted therewith, as to see Christ the substance, ground andall of it, and to see him in every part of it.

7. Whatever we know or learn of God by his works of creation andprovidence, in the world or about ourselves, we would bring it inhere that it may receive a new tincture and a deeper impression.That is done, when we find and learn something of Christ there, andare brought nearer Christ thereby, and made thereby to discoversomething more of the glory of God in the face of Christ; or aremade to understand better something of the revelation that is madeof God in the gospel, or moved thereby to improve it better.

8. In all this matter, we must not go without our guide, lest wewander in this wilderness, and it prove a labyrinth to us. We musttake Christ with us all along; he must teach us to understand hisown face, and to read the glorious characters of that excellentglory which is to be seen in his face. He must be our interpreter,and teach us how to read this book, and how to understand what iswritten therein; he must give the discerning eye, and theunderstanding heart; even the spirit of wisdom and understanding,to take up the mysteries of God.

9. And for this cause, we should by faith lay hold upon thepromises of the Spirit, whereby we may be made spiritual, and haveour understandings enlightened more and more, to understand themysterious characters of divine majesty and glory.

10. In all this exercise we should walk with fear, and carrywith us impressions of the dreadful majesty and glory of God, thatwe may tremble and fear, and stand in awe, and read what we read ofthis glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, this glorious Bible,with reverence and godly fear. And thus we may be helped to win toright and suitable thoughts of God; yet withal we should, for

CAUTIONS,

Consider a few things further; as,

1. That we must not think to "search out the Almighty untoperfection," Job xi. 7.

2. Nor must we think to get any one point of God known andunderstood perfectly; corruption will mix in itself, do our best;and our shortcomings will not easily be reckoned up.

3. We must beware of carnal curiosity, and of unlawful divinginto this depth, lest we drown.

4. We should not dream of a state here, wherein we will not needChrist for this end. Yea, I suppose, in glory, he will be of use tous, as to the seeing of God; for even there, as he is to-day, soshall he for ever abide, God and man in two distinct natures andone person, and that cannot be for nought; and as God will be stillGod invisible and unsearchable, so we, though glorified, willremain finite creatures, and therefore will stand in need ofChrist, that in his glorious face we may see the invisible. He mustbe our lumen gloriae.

5. We should think it no small matter to have the impressions ofthis sight upon our hearts, that we cannot see him; and that we, inthis state of sin, cannot get right and suitable apprehensions ofhim. I say, the impression of this on our spirits, that is, such asight of impossibility to get him seen aright, as will keep theheart in awe, and cause us walk before him in fear and reverence,and to humble ourselves in the dust, and to tremble whenever wemake mention of his name, or begin to meditate on him, knowing howgreat an one he is, and how dangerous it is to think amiss of him,and how difficult to get a right thought of him.

CHAPTER XIX.

"AND THE LIFE." HOW CHRIST IS THE LIFE.

This, as the former, being spoken indefinitely, may beuniversally taken, as relating both to such as are yet in the stateof nature, and to such as are in the state of grace, and so may beconsidered in reference to both, and ground three points of truth,both in reference to the one, and in reference to the other; towit, 1. That our case is such as we stand in need of his help, asbeing the Life. 2. That no other way but by him, can we get thatsupply of life, which we stand in need of, for he only is the Life,excluding all other. 3. That this help is to be had in him fullyand completely, for not only is he able to quicken, but he iscalled the Life; so that the help which he giveth is full,excellent, and complete.

Looking upon the words in reference to such as are in nature,they point out those three truths to us:

I. That all of us by nature are dead, standing in need ofquickening and of life; for this is presupposed, while he is saidto be the Life, and that both legally and really: Legally, beingunder the sentence of death, for Adam's transgression, Rom. v. 15,and for that original corruption of heart we have; and really, thesentence of the law being in part executed, and that both as to thebody and as to the soul. As to the body, it is now subject todeath, and all the forerunners thereof, such as weakness, pains,sickness, fears, torment, trouble, weariness, yea, and in hazard ofhell-fire, and the torments of the second death for ever. As to thesoul, it also is many ways dead; but first in a way that is purelypenal, and next in a way that is also sinful; and both ways, as towhat is present, and as to what is future. For as to that which ispenal and present, it is, (1.) separated from God and his favour,Gen. iii. 8, 10, 24; (2.) is under his curse and wrath, whence itcometh to pass, that by nature we are children of wrath, Eph. ii.2, 5; servants of Satan, 2 Tim. ii. 26; the consequence of which issad and heavy, for hence it is that we cannot please God, do whatwe will. Till we be brought out of that state, our ordinary andcivil actions, even ploughing the ground, is sin, Prov. xxi. 4;yea, our religious actions, whether natural or instituted, areabomination; even our sacrifices, Prov. xv. 8; xxi. 27; andprayers, Prov. xxviii. 9. Psalm x. 7; yea, and all our thoughts andpurposes, Prov. xv. 26; and likewise all our ways, Prov. xv. 9. Asto what is penal and future, it is obnoxious to that everlastingexcommunication from the presence of the Lord, and from the gloryof his power, 2 Thess. i. 8, 9; and to the torments of hell forever, Mark ix. 44, 46, 48. Luke xvi. As to what is not only penalbut also sinful, the soul here is under the stroke of darkness inthe understanding, perverseness and rebelliousness in the will,irregularity and disorder in the affections, whereby the soul isunfit for any thing that is good, Rom. iii. 10-20. Eph. ii. 1, 2,3. Rom. v. 6; viii. 7, 8; whence proceedeth all our actualtransgressions, James i. 14, 15. And moreover sometimes the soul isgiven up to a reprobate mind, Rom. i. 28; to strong delusion, 2Thess. ii. 2; to hardness of heart, Rom. ii. 5; horror ofconscience, Isa. xxxiii. 14; to vile affections, Rom. i. 26, andthe like spiritual plagues, which, though the Lord inflict on someonly, yet all are obnoxious to the same by nature, and can expectno less, if the Lord should enter with them into judgment. Andfinally, as to what is future of this kind, they are, being fuelfor Tophet, obnoxious to that malignant, sinful, blasphemous, anddesperate rebellion against God, in hell for evermore!

O how lamentable, upon this consideration, must the condition ofsuch be, as are yet in the state of nature! Oh, if it were but seenand felt! But, alas! there is this addition to all, that peopleknow not this; they consider it not, they believe it not, they feelit not, they see it not; and hence it cometh to pass, that,

First. They cannot bewail and lament their condition, norbe humbled therefor.

Secondly. They cannot, and will not seek after a remedy;for the whole will not trouble themselves to seek after aphysician.

And sure upon this account, their case calleth for pity andcompassion from all that know what a dreadful thing it is to be insuch a condition, and should stir up all to pray for them, and todo all they can to help them out of that state of sin and misery,which is dreadful to think upon.

Should not the thoughts and consideration of this put us all totry and search, if we be yet translated from death to life, anddelivered out of that dreadful and terrible state, and madepartakers of the first resurrection. It not being my purpose tohandle this point at large, I shall not here insist in givingmarks, whereby this may be known, and which are obvious in Paul'sEpistles, and to be found handled at large in several practicalpieces, chiefly in Mr. Guthrie's Great Interest. I shall onlydesire every one to consider and examine,

1. Whether or not the voice of Christ, which quickeneth thedead, hath been heard and welcomed in their soul. This is effectualcalling.

2. Whether or not there be a thorough change wrought in theirsoul, a change in the whole man, so as all things are become new. 2Cor. v. 17.

3. Whether or not there be a principle of life within? and theybe led by the Spirit.

4. Whether or not there be a living to the glory of the LordRedeemer.

And when by an impartial trial, a discovery is made of thebadness of our condition, should we not be alarmed to look aboutus, and to labour by all means for an outgate? Considering, (1.)How doleful and lamentable this condition is. (2.) How sad anddreadful the consequences of it are. (3.) How happy a thing it isto be delivered from this miserable and sinful condition. And, (4.)How there is a possibility of outgate.

Finally. It may break a heart of stone to think, howpeople that are in such a condition are so unwilling to come out ofit: For,

1. How unwilling are they once to suspect their condition, or tosuppose that it may be bad, and that they may be yetunconverted?

2. How unwilling are they, to sit down seriously to try andexamine the matter, and to lay their case to the touch-stone of theword?

3. Yea, how unwilling are they to hear any thing that may tendto awaken them, or to discover unto them the deadness of theircondition?

4. How ready to stifle challenges of conscience, or any commonmotion of the Spirit, which tendeth to alarm their soul?

5. How great enemies are they to such ordinances as serve toawaken sleeping consciences?

6. And how do they hate such ministers as preach such doctrineas may serve to rouse them up, and set them a-work about their ownsalvation?

II. We learn hence, that without Christ there is no imaginaryway of delivery out of this natural state of death. "No other nameis given under heaven whereby we can be saved," Acts iv. 12; andangels can make no help here, nor can one of us deliver another;the redemption of the soul is more precious than so, Psalm xlix. 7,8. Nor is there any thing we can do for ourselves that will availhere; all our prayers, tears, whippings, fastings, vows,alms-deeds, purposes, promises, resolutions, abstinence from someevils, outward amendments, good morality and civility, outwardreligiousness, yea, and if it were possible, our keeping of thewhole law, will not help us out of this pit. And we may wearyourselves in such exercises in vain; for they will prove but bodilyexercises that profit little. And when in this way we have spentall our time, parts, spirits, and labour, we shall at length seeand say, that we have spent our money for that which is notbread.

This should put all of us to try what it is which we lean to forlife; and what it is, the consideration whereof giveth us peace andquietness when the thoughts of death, judgment, hell, and the wrathof God come upon us and trouble us: For if it be any thing besideChrist that our soul leaneth to, and that we are comforted by, andfound all our hopes upon, we will meet with a lamentable (oh! forever lamentable!) disappointment. Be sure then, that our heartsrenounce all other ways and means of outgate out of this death,besides Jesus, the resurrection and the life, else it will not bewell with us.

III. We see here, that delivery out of this natural state ofdeath is only had by Christ: For he alone is the life, and the lifethat is in him is suitable and excellent. Hence he is called "thebread of life," John vi. 35, 48. "The resurrection and the life,"John xi. 25. "The water of life," Rev. xxi. 6, and xxii. 17. "Thetree of life," Rev. xxii. 2, 14. "The prince of life," Acts iii.15. "Our life," Col. iii. 4. "The word of life, and life itself," 1John i. 1, 2.

And as he is a suitable and excellent life, so is he anall-sufficient and perfect life, able every way to help us and todeliver us from all the parts of our death. For,

1. He delivereth from the sentence of the law, Rom. v. 17, 18,undergoing the curse of the law, and becoming a curse for us, 2Cor. v. 21.

2. He taketh away the curse and sting of all temporal plagues,yea, and of death itself, causing all to work together for good tosuch as love him, Rom. viii. 28. He hath killed him that had thepower of death, that is, the devil, Heb. ii. 14; and through himthe sting of death, which is sin, is taken away, 1 Cor. xv. 56,57.

3. He reconcileth to God, taking away that distance and enmity,2 Cor. v. 20; and so he is our peace and peacemaker, purchasingaccess to us to the Father, Eph. ii. 14, 16; iii. 12.

4. He also delivereth from the power of sin and corruption, Rom.vii. 24.

5. And from all those spiritual strokes; such as blindness,hardness of heart, &c. For he is our light; and hath procured anew heart for us, even a heart of flesh.

6. So delivereth he from hell fire, having satisfied justice,and having brought life and immortality to light; and he givethlife eternal, as we see, Rev. ii. 3.

Oh! it is sad, that Christ is so little made use of, and that somany will forsake the fountain of living waters, and dig tothemselves broken cisterns that can hold no water; and slight,despise, and undervalue the gospel of Christ, which bringeth lifeand immortality to light.

Oh! if the consideration of this could move such as never foundany change in themselves, to run to, and make use of Jesus Christfor life; and would for this end,

(1.) Cry to him, that he would make them sensible of theirdeadness, and waken them out of their deep sleep.

(2.) Cry to him, to set them a-work to renounce all other helpbeside his, as being utterly unable to quicken and put life inthem.

(3.) Cry to him, that he would draw and determine their souls toa closing with him by faith alone, to a hearing of his voice, to anobeying of his call, to a following of his direction, to a givingup of themselves to him, leaning to him, and waiting for all fromhim alone: in a word, to take him for their life in all points, andto lean to him for life, and to expect it from him, through faithin the promises of the gospel.

Next. This being spoken to the disciples, whom we supposeto have been believers, it will give us ground to speak of it, inreference to believers, and so yield three points of truth, whichwe shall briefly touch, and then come to speak of use-making ofChrist as the Life, in some particular cases.

First. It is here clearly presupposed, that evenbelievers have need of Christ to be life unto them; and so havetheir fits of deadness. If it were not so, why would Christ havesaid to believers, that he was life? And daily experience dothabundantly confirm it. For,

1. They are oft so weak and unable to resist temptation, or togo about any commanded duty, as if they were quite dead.

2. They are oft so borne down with discouragement, because ofthe strength of opposition which they meet with on all hands; andbecause of the manifold disappointments which they meet with, thatthey have neither heart nor hand; and they faint and set up in theways of the Lord; and cannot go through difficulties, butoftentimes lie by.

3. Through daily fighting, and seeing no victory, they becomeweary and faint-hearted; so that they lie by as dead, Isa. xl.29.

4. They oft fall sick and decay, and have need of restorationand quickening.

5. The want of the sense of God's favour, and of the comforts ofthe Holy Ghost, maketh them to dwine and droop, and look out asdead.

6. While under soul desertions upon one account or other, theylook upon themselves as free among the dead, that is, as dead men,of the society of the dead, with Heman, Psalm lxxxviii.

7. Yea, many times they are as dead men, led captive in chainsof unbelief and corruptions, as we see David was, when his heartpanted, and his strength failed him, and the light of his eyes weregone from him, Psalm xxxviii. 10.

8. Many times the frequent changes, and ups and downs they meetwith, take all courage and heart from them, that they become likemen tossed at sea, so as they have no more strength.

And many such things befall them, which make them look as dead,and to stand in need of quickening, reviving and strengtheningcordials from him who is the life. And thus the Lord thinketh goodto dispense with his own people,

(1.) That they may be kept humble, and know themselves to beindigent creatures, needing influences of life daily.

(2.) That they may have many errands to him who is the life, andhave much to do with him, and depend upon him continually.

(3.) That he may show himself wonderful, in and about them,giving proof of his skill in quickening the dead, and in bringingsuch through unto everlasting life, who were daily, as it were,giving up the ghost, and at the point of death.

(4.) That heaven may be heaven; that is, a place "where theweary are at rest," Job iii. 17; and the troubled rest, 2 Thes. i.7; and where the inhabitants shall not say they are sick, Isa.xxxiii. 24.

(5.) That they may be taught more the life of faith and ofdependence on him, and trained up in that way.

(6.) That he may be owned, acknowledged, and submitted unto as asovereign God, doing what he will in heaven and in earth.

For all this, there is no cause that any should take up anyprejudice at Christianity: for, for all this their life is sure,and the outgate is sure and safe. Nor would they think it strange,to see believers oft mourning and drooping, seeing their case willoft fall for new supplies of life. Their fits are not known toevery one; nor doth every one know what lieth sometimes at theirheart; nor would they think it such an easy matter to win to heavenas they imagine; and so deceive themselves. The righteous are savedthrough many deaths.

And as for believers, they would not think it strange to meetwith such fits of deadness; nor thence conclude, that all theirformer work was but delusion, and that they are still in the stateof nature. But rather observe the wisdom, faithfulness, and powerof God in bringing their broken ship through so much broken water,yea, and shipwrecks; and his goodness in ordering matters so asthey shall be kept humble, watchful, diligent and constant independence upon him who is and must be their life, first and last.And hence learn a necessity of living always near to Christ, anddepending constantly upon him by faith; for he being their life,they cannot be without him, but they must die and decay.

Second. We hence learn, that under all these fits ofdeadness to which his people are subject, nothing without Christwill help: Not,

1. All their pains in and about ordinary means, prayer, reading,hearing, meditation, conference, &c. They will all cry out,that help is not in them: for he is the life.

2. Nor extraordinary duties, such as fasting and prayer, andvows,—these will never revive and quicken a drooping orfainting sickly soul: for they are not Christ, nor the life.

3. Nor will a stout courageous spirit and resolution of heartavail. If he who is the Life, breathe not, all that will melt awayand evanish.

4. Nor will the stock of habitual grace which remaineth in thesoul, be sufficient to quicken and revive the sick soul, if theLife breathe not on these habits; and if new influences of life andstrength flow not in upon the soul, and new rays come not down fromthis Sun of Righteousness to warm the frozen soul, the habits willlie by as dead.

5. Far less will their great gifts and endowments help them outof that dead condition; all their light and knowledge, without theinfluences of this Life, will prove weak and insufficient for thisend and purpose.

6. Nor will sound, pure and lively-like ordinances work out thiseffect; for till he look down, all these ordinances may prove deadand deadening to them.

It were good if believers were living under the conviction ofthis daily, and by their practice and carriage declaring if theybelieve, that Christ only is the Life, and that they must live inhim, and be quickened and revived through him alone.

Third. We see hence, that Christ is the Life, that is,one that sufficiently, yea, and abundantly can help the believerwhile under those fits of deadness which have been mentioned, andthe like. There is in him a rich supply of things that tend torevive, encourage, strengthen and enliven a soul under spiritualdeadness and fainting. Therefore is he called the Life; as havingin him all that which is necessary for and answerable to soulsunder spiritual sicknesses, distempers, desertions, fainting andswooning fits, &c., for with him "is the fountain of life,"Psalm xxxvi. 9; "and he it is that upholdeth the soul in life,"Psalm lxvi. 9; "and can command the blessing, even life for evermore," Psalm cxxxiii. 3.

For further clearing of this, we would consider thosethings,

1. That he is God, equal with the Father in power and glory, andthereby "hath life in himself," John v. 26; and can "quicken whomhe will," ver. 21. By this he proveth his own Godhead and equalitywith the Father; so, John i. 4, it is said, "that in him was life,"and that life was the light of men, whereby also his Godhead isconfirmed. This should be firmly believed, and rooted in ourhearts, as being the ground of all our hope, comfort, and life:For, were it not so, that our Mediator were the true God, all ourhopes were gone, our comforts could not be long lived, and our lifewere extinct.

2. As Mediator God-man, he is fully and thoroughly furnished toquicken and enliven his members and followers, first and last; andall along their life must be hid with Christ in God; "for in himdwelleth the Fulness of the Godhead bodily," Col. ii. 9; asMediator, he is called "a tree of life," Prov. iii. 18; quickeningand enlivening all that feed upon him; and "the bread of life,"John vi. 35, 48. Yea, because of power and authority to commandlife to the dead soul, he is called "the Prince of life," Acts iii.15; and as a living, quickening stone, he giveth life to all thatare built upon him, 1 Pet. ii. 4. Yea, as being fully fitted andfurnished for this work, he calleth himself "the resurrection andthe life," John xi. 25. This should be riveted in our hearts, as acomfortable and encouraging truth.

3. Of this stock of life and quickening and reviving grace whichhe hath got, and is furnished withal as Mediator and Redeemer ofhis people, he is communicative,—"of his fulness do wereceive, and grace for grace," John i. 16. He got it that he mightgive it out, and that from him as a head it might flow unto hismembers, and therefore he is the bread that came down from heaven,and giveth life to the world, John vi. 35. Yea, he giveth eternallife to all his sheep, John x. 28; and he is come for this end,that his sheep might have life, John x. 10. Therefore hath he takenon such relations, as may give ground of confirmation of this, asof a head, of a stock or root, and the like. This consideration isstrengthening and reviving.

4. He communicateth of this stock of life, and of revivingstrength, which he hath most sweetly and on most easy terms. Sothat,

(1.) Such as seek him shall find life by him, Psalm lxix.32.

(2.) Yea, such as know him shall not miss life, John xvii. 3. 1John v. 20.

(3.) If we will believe on him and rest upon him, we have lifefirst and last, John iii. 15, 16, 36; vi. 40, 47. 1 Tim. i. 16.

(4.) If we will come to him, John v. 40, and cast our dead soulupon him, we shall live.

(5.) If we will hear his voice, Isa. lv. 3, and receive hisinstructions, we shall live; for they are the instructions oflife.

(6.) Nay, if the soul be so dead, that it can neither walk norhear, if it can but look to him, he will give life, Isa. xlv.22.

(7.) And if the soul be so weak, that it cannot look, nor liftup its eyes; yet if it be willing, he will come with life. Rev.xxii. 17.

Oh, if this were believed!

5. As he is communicative of that life which he hath gotten ashead, and that upon easy terms; so he giveth out of that lifeliberally, largely, abundantly, yea, more abundantly, John x. 10.The water of life which he giveth, is "a well of water springing upto everlasting life," John iv. 14. Therefore he alloweth hisfriends to drink abundantly, Cant. v. 1.

6. Yet it would be remembered, that he is Lord and masterthereof, and Prince of this life, and so may dispense it and giveit out, in what measure he seeth fit; and he is wise to measure outbest for his own glory, and to their advantage.

7. All this life is sure in him,—none of his shall bedisappointed thereof. His offices, which he hath taken on; and hiscommission, which he hath of the Father, abundantly clear this; andlove to his, will not suffer him to keep up any thing that is fortheir advantage. He is faithful in his house as a son, and will doall that was committed unto him to do. The whole transaction of thecovenant of redemption, and suretyship, and all the promises of thenew covenant of grace, confirm this to be a sure truth; so thatthey that have him have life, 1 John v. 12. Prov. viii. 35.

8. Yea, all that is in Christ contributeth to this life andquickening. His words and doctrine are the words of eternal life,John vi. 63, 68. Phil. ii. 16. His works and ways are the ways oflife, Acts ii. 28. His natures, offices, sufferings, actings, allhe did as Mediator, concur to the quickening and enlivening of apoor dead soul.

9. This fulness of life which he hath, is fully suited to thebeliever's condition, in all points, as we shall hear.

10. This life is eminently and transcendently in him, andexclusively of all others. It is in him, and in him alone; and itis in him in a most excellent manner: So that he is the life, inthe abstract; not only a living head, and an enlivening head; butlife itself, the life, the "resurrection and the life."

CHAPTER XX.

SOME GENERAL USES.

Before we come to speak of some particular cases of deadness,wherein believers are to make use of Christ as the Life, we shallfirst propose some useful consequences and deductions from whathath been spoken of this life; and,

I. The faith of those things, which have been mentioned, wouldbe of great use and advantage to believers; and therefore theyshould study to have the faith of this truth fixed on their hearts,and a deep impression thereof on their spirits, to the end,that,

1. Be their case and condition what it will, they might be keptfrom despair, and despondency of spirit, from giving over theircase as hopeless; and from looking upon themselves as irremediablygone. The faith of Christ being life, and the life, would keep upthe soul in hope, and cause it say,—how dead soever my casebe, yet life can help me, and he who is the resurrection and thelife, can recover me.

2. Yea, be their case and condition what it will, they wouldhave here some ground of encouragement, to go to him with theirdead soul, and to look to him for help, seeing he is the Life, asMediator, to the end he might enliven and quicken his dead,fainting, swooning members, and to recover them from theirdeadness.

3. They might be freed from many scruples and objections thatscar and discourage them. This one truth believed would clear upthe way so, as that such things, as would have been impediments andobjections before, shall evanish, and be rolled out of the way now:Such as, the objections taken from their own worthlessness, theirlong continuance in that dead condition, and the like.

4. They might hereby likewise be freed from that dreadful plagueand evil of jealousy, whereby the soul is oft kept back from comingto Christ: For they fear he will not make them welcome; they doubtof his love and tenderness, and question his pity and compassion;yea, their jealousy maketh them to doubt of his faithfulness; sothat the faith of this truth would cure this jealousy, and deliverthe soul therefrom, and open a way for the soul to come forwardwith boldness and confidence.

5. They might also be hereby helped to wait with patience, andto be still and quiet under the Lord's various dispensations; so asthey would not fret nor repine against him, knowing that he wouldprove himself to be Life, even the Life, in his own good time; sothat the soul would patiently wait at his door, till he werepleased to look out, and with his look convey life into their deadsoul.

6. They might be preserved hereby from looking out to orexpecting any help from any other quarter: knowing that he alone isthe Life; and so that help can no where else be had. The faith ofthis truth would guard from any sinistrous ways which the soul, ina time of strait, is ready to run to for relief: for hereby wouldit see that neither instruments nor means, nor outwardadministrations, nor any thing of that kind, can quicken their deadsoul; and that he, and he alone must breathe in life into them, asat first, so now again.

II. May we not see and observe here great matter of admirationat the goodness and rich bounty of God towards his people, who hathfound out and condescended upon such a sure, safe, and satisfyingway, whereby he becometh all things to his people which they standin need of; and that notwithstanding,

1. That we are most unworthy of any such dispensation of graceat his hands.

2. That we too oft are too desirous of other guests in ourhearts beside him: O how much corruption, sin and death lodgewithin our souls! and how more desirous are we ofttimes of deaththan of life!

3. That we little improve the noble advantages for life which wehave granted unto us; yea, many a time we abuse them; and this hedid foresee, and yet notwithstanding would condescend unto us.

4. That we do little express our thankfulness for suchmercies.

But not for our sakes hath he done this, but for his own name'ssake: For noble and holy ends hath he resolved on this course;as,

(1.) That he might be "all in all," Col. iii. 11, and theynothing; that he alone might fill all in all, Eph. i. ult., andthey be empty and nothing without him.

(2.) That he might wear the glory of all; "for of him, andthrough him, and to him are all things," Rom. xi. 36, and that noman might share therein.

(3.) That man might be his everlasting debtor, and cast down, intestimony thereof, his crown at his feet, "who sitteth on thethrone," as those did, Rev. iv. 10, and might cry out with thesesame elders, ver. 11, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory,and honour, and power," &c.; and with those, chap. v. 12,"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches,and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and blessing."

(4.) That man's mouth might be stopped for ever, and allboasting excluded; for man is a proud creature, and ready to boastof that which is nothing and vanity. Now God hath chosen this nobleway of the covenant of grace, that no man might boast any more.Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? By the law ofworks? no, but by the law of faith, saith the apostle, Rom. iii.24.

(5.) That all might be sure to the poor chosen believer. TheLord will not have the stock of life, any longer to be in a man'sown hand: for even Adam, in the state of innocency, could not useit well, but made shipwreck thereof, and turned a bankrupt; muchmore would man now do so, in this state of sin, in which he liethat present, therefore hath God, out of love and tenderness to hischosen ones, put all their stock in the hand of Christ, who isbetter able to manage it, to God's glory and man's advantage, beingfaithful in all things, and a trusty servant, "having the fulnessof the Godhead dwelling in him bodily." "Therefore," saith theapostle, Rom. iv. 16. "it is of faith, that it might be by grace;to the end, the promises might be sure to all the seed."

(6.) That believers might have strong consolation,notwithstanding of all the opposition of enemies without andwithin, when they see that now their "life is hid with Christ inGod," Col. iii. 3, and that their life is in their head, they willnot fear so much devils and men without, nor their own dead andcorrupt hearts within.

III. How inexcusable must all such be,

1. Who will not lay hold on this life, on Jesus who is the Life,sure life, yea, everlasting life.

2. Who seek life any other way, than by and through him who isthe Life.

3. Who oppose this way of life, and not only reject the offersof it, but prove enemies to it, and to all that carry it or preachit.

IV. Here is strong encouragement to all that would be at heaven,to enter into this gospel, which is a way of life; such need notfear that their salvation shall not be advanced; let Satan and alltheir adversaries do what they can, all that enter into this wayshall live. For the way itself is life, and nothing but life. Sothat here all objections are obviated; life can answer all. If thebeliever fear, that he shall never win through difficulties, heshall die by the way; or by fainting, succumbing and swooning,dishonour the profession, and at length fall off and apostatize, ordespair and give over all hope; here is that which may answer andobviate all, "I am the life;" and who can perish in the way whichis the way of life, an enlivening way, yea, the way which is lifeitself; yea, the life in a singular and eminent manner?

V. Here is ground of reproof even of believers, who, though theyhave come to Christ, yet do not live in him as they ought, do notwalk in him with that liveliness and activity which is called for;but,

1. Lean too much to their own understanding, gifts or graces;and think thereby to ride out storms, and to wide through alldifficulties, while as, if he who is the Life do not breathe uponus, all that will fail us in the day of trial. Our understandingand parts or gifts may dry up, and our graces may wither and decay,and go backward.

2. Rest too much on duties; when they should in them go to himwho is the Life. For only in him is life to be had; and him shouldthey seek to in the ordinances, that they might have life from himin those outward duties; and this appeareth in their way of goingabout duties, without that dependence on him, and single eyeing ofhim, which is called for. As also by their freting and repining,when duties do not their business, as if life lay all in duties;and concluding all will be right, because they get duties somewhattolerably performed; and, on the contrary, desponding, when dutiesfall heavy on them, and they find themselves indisposed for duty.All which clearly evinceth, that they lay too much weight onduties; while as it would be otherwise with them, if they werepurely depending on Christ, and looking for all from him.

3. Despond too soon, because they get not help and reliefinstantly; or because they are not preserved from every degree offainting.

4. Neglect to make use of him, and to come to him with all theirwants, failings and necessities, as they ought; or come not withthat freedom and boldness which the gospel grounds allow.

VI. This preacheth out the woful misery of such as are strangersto Christ. For being strangers to the Life, they have no life, theyare dead, and death is engraven on all they do; even though,

1. They should be very diligent in external duties, yea, andoutstrip many true believers; as the Pharisees had their faststwice a-week, Luke xviii.

2. They should be eminently gifted, able to instruct others, andto speak of the mysteries of the gospel, to purpose and toedification. For such gifts of knowledge and utterance may be,where the lively operations of the grace of Christ are not, andconsequently where Christ is not, as the Life.

3. They should seem eminent in all their outward carriage, andseem to carry most christianly in all their walk, and appear mostdevout in the matter of worship.

4. And they should have something more than ordinary; even tasteof the heavenly gift, and be made partakers of extraordinary giftsof the Holy Ghost; yea, and taste the good word of God, and thepowers of the world to come, Heb. vi. 4, 5.

VII. This discovereth the noble advantage of such as haveaccepted of Christ for their life. Their condition is happy, sure,desirable, and thriving; for Christ is theirs, and life is theirs;because Christ, who is the Life, is theirs.

Obj. 1. But some wicked persons may say, We see not thathappy and advantageous condition of such as go for believers; forwe observe them to be as little lively ofttimes as others, and asunfit for duties; yea, and sometimes as much subject to sin andcorruption as others.

Ans. 1. However it be with them, either in thine eyes, orpossibly in their own sometimes, yet thou mayest hold thy peace;for in their worst condition, they would not exchange with thee fora world; in their deadest-like condition, they are not void of alllife, as thou art, notwithstanding all thy motions, and seemingactiveness in duty; because all thy motion in and about duty is butlike the moving of children's puppets, caused by external motives,such as a name, applause, peace from a natural conscience, or thelike; and not from any inward principle of grace and life.

2. Howbeit they sometimes seem to be dead, yet they are notalways so; life doth really work sometimes in them; whereas therewas never any true or kindly motion of life in thee.

3. There may be more life in them, yea, life in motion, whenthey seem to be overcome with some lusts or corruption, yea, whenreally they are overcome, than beholders that are strangers to theheart can observe. For when temptation is violent, as having theadvantage of the time and place, of the constitution of the body,and the like, it argueth no small degree of life, and of life inmotion, to make some resistance and opposition thereunto, though atlength he should be overcome thereby. And this opposition andresistance, flowing from a principle of grace, speaketh out life,though corruption, having the advantage, should at that timeoverpower the motion of life, and carry the man away.

4. If it be not otherwise with believers than is objected, theymay blame themselves, for not improving Christ better for life.

Object. But some who are true believers will object thesame, and cry out of themselves as dead; and say, They find notthat liveliness and activity in their souls, that will evidenceChrist, the Life, dwelling and working in them.

Ans. It may be they prejudge themselves of that livelyframe they might enjoy, and so wrong themselves:

1. In not exercising faith on Christ, and drawing life from himand through him. The life which they live should be by faith, Gal.ii. 20. How then can such as do not eat become fat? by faith wefeed on Christ.

2. In not watching, but giving way to security, and therebyencouraging and strengthening the adversary, as we see in David;when they stand not on their watch-tower, they invite Satan to seton; and he is vigilant enough, and knoweth how to take hisadvantage, and to improve his opportunity.

3. In giving way to laziness and not stirring up themselves, aswe see in the bride, Cant. iii. 1; v. 3; when they stir not up thegrace of God which is in them, how can they be lively? If grace belaid by, it will contract rust. The best way to keep grace lively,is to keep it in exercise, how little soever it be.

4. By their rashness, walking without fear, as is to be observedin Peter, when he slipped so foully. When through their want ofcirc*mspection, they precipitate themselves into danger, and castthemselves among their enemies' hands, is it any wonder, that it gonot with them as they would; and that they provoke God to leavethem to themselves; that they may know what they are, and learnafterwards not to tempt the Lord, and to walk morecirc*mspectly?

5. By leaning too much to their attainments, and not looking outfor new influences of grace and life. Hereby they provoke God tolet them know to their expense, that for as great a length as theyare come, they must live by faith, and be quickened by newinfluences from the Spirit of life.

6. So they may wrong themselves through their ignorance ofChrist, and of the way of making use of him; and if they, throughunacquaintedness with Christ and the right way of improving thefulness that is in him, miss the fruit and advantage whichotherwise they might have, they can only blame themselves.

7. They may also prejudge themselves by their self-love,self-esteem, self-seeking, self-pleasing, &c., which piece andpiece will draw them off Christ, and cause them forget the way ofsucking life from him, who is the fountain of life.

8. When they give way to small sins, they open a door togreater; and they lose thereby their tenderness, and so provoke theLord to withdraw; and this is another way, whereby they prejudgethemselves of that benefit of liveliness, which they mightotherwise have.

9. So also by worldly-mindedness, which alienateth their mindfrom God; and,

10. By their impatience, and fretting, and repining against God,and his wise dispensations, they also prejudge and wrongthemselves; for while they are in that mood, they cannot with duecomposedness of Spirit, go to Christ, and draw life from himthrough faith.

Obj. 3. But is there not even some of those who are mosttender, that complain of their deadness and shortcomings?

Ans. 1. It may be that they complain without cause; andthat they have more cause of rejoicing, and of blessing the Lordfor what he hath done to them, than of complaining.

2. Their complaining will not prove the want of life, but ratherthe contrary. For when they complain most, they must be mostsensible if their complaints be real, and not merely for a fashion;and sense is a manifest evidence of life.

3. It would be remembered, that the Lord can make their failingsand shortcomings contribute to the furthering of their life, as wesee it did in Peter.

4. It would also be remembered, that Christ doth not distributeand give out of this life to all his members and followers, in alike measure; but to some more, and to others less, according as heseeth it meet and convenient, both for his own glory and theirgood, He hath more service for some than for others; and some hewill employ in greater and more difficult work, which will call formore life; and others he will employ in common work, which will notcall for such an eminent degree of life.

5. And upon the same account, he may think it good to give tothe same person a larger measure of grace at one time than atanother.

6. And that for wise reasons and noble ends; as,

(1.) That all may see how absolute he is in his dispensations; asovereign that doth with his own what he will, and will not give anaccount of any of his ways or communications to us.

(2.) That we may learn submission, and quietly to stoop beforehim, whatever measure he be pleased to dispense towards us.

(3.) That we may learn to depend upon him more closely allalong; in all our ways to acknowledge him.

(4.) That we may learn to exercise patience, which must have itsperfect work, in waiting upon him as a great king. This is hisglory, and it is the testifying of our homage to him.

(5.) He will train us up so as to be well contented andsatisfied, if he bring us home at length, though not with such aconvoy of the graces of his Spirit as we would wish.

(6.) That we may see and read our daily obligation to Christ ourlife, and the daily need we have of his keeping our life in, byfresh gales of his Spirit, and new heavenly influences.

(7.) And that getting new proofs of his kindness andfaithfulness, we may give him new songs of praise daily, and soexpress our thankfulness to him, which will tend to set forth hisglory.

VIII. This may point out unto believers, several duties to whichthey are called. We shall name some few of many; as,

1. That they should rejoice, and be comforted in the thoughts ofthis, that they have such a complete Mediator, one that isthoroughly furnished, and made all things for them; not only theWay, and the Truth, but the Life also.

2. The thoughts of this should also stir up the wondering at thewisdom, graciousness, and goodness of God; and to thankfulness forproviding such an all-sufficient way for them.

3. This should also encourage them under all temptations,faintings, backsets, and fits of deadness that they fall into, thatthere is one who is the Life; and that he whom their soul hathchosen is the Life, and so fully able to quicken and enliventhem.

4. This should teach them humility, and not to be proud of anything they have or do; for it is he, who is the Life, who keepeththem in life, and helpeth them to any duty; yea, it is life thatworketh all in them.

5. And likewise it should teach them to acknowledge him, to whomthey are obliged for any thing they do, for any life they have, orany acts or fruits of life that appear in them; and to be thankfulto him therefor.

6. And mainly, they should here read their obligation and duty,to improve this advantage, and to draw life out of this fountain,and so live by this life; act and do all in and through this life;and so be quickened by this life, in all their fits of deadness;and for this cause would keep those things in mind:

(1.) That they should live in a constant conviction of their ownweakness, deadness, and inability to do any acts of life ofthemselves; and far less to recover themselves out of any distemperand fit of deadness which they fall into.

(2.) That they should live in the faith of this, that there islife enough in him, who is the Life, to do their business. Theyshould be persuaded of his all-sufficiency.

(3.) That he is not only an all-sufficient deliverer, able todeliver a soul that is, as it were, rotting in the grave, and tocause the dead to hear his voice and live; but also most willingand ready to answer them in all their necessities, according towisdom, and as he seeth it for his glory, and their soul'sadvantage. The faith of this is necessary, and will be veryencouraging.

(4.) That they should go to him, how dead-like soever theircondition be, and by faith roll their dead case upon him, who isthe Life.

(5.) That they should pray upon the promises of grace andinfluence, even out of the belly of hell, or of the grave, withJonah, chap. ii. 2; for he is faithful and true, andtender-hearted, and will hear and give a good answer at length.

(6.) That in the exercise of faith and prayer, they should waitwith patience, till he be pleased to come, and breathe upon the drybones, and till the Sun of Righteousness arise on their souls withhealing in his wings.

But of this more particularly in the following cases, which nowwe come to speak a little unto, of purpose to clear more fully howthe believer is to make use of Christ as the Life, when he is undersome one distemper or other, that calleth for life and quickeningfrom Christ the Life. We cannot handle distinctly all theparticular cases which maybe brought under this head; it willsuffice, for clearing of this great duty, to speak to some few.

CHAPTER XXI.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF CHRIST AS THE LIFE, WHEN THE BELIEVER IS SOSITTEN-UP IN THE WAYS OF GOD, THAT HE CAN DO NOTHING.

Sometimes the believer is under such a distemper of weakness anddeadness, that there is almost no commanded duty that he can goabout; his heart and all is so dead, that he cannot so much asgroan under that deadness. Yea, he may be under such a decay, thatlittle or no difference will be observed betwixt him and othersthat are yet in nature; and be not only unable to go actively andlively about commanded duties, yea, or to wrestle from under thatdeadness; but also be so dead, that he shall scarce have anyeffectual desire or longing to be out of that condition. Now, inspeaking to the use-making of Christ for quickening in this deadcase, we shall do those things:

1. For clearing of the case, we shall show how probably it isbrought on. 2. How Christ is life to the soul in such a case asthis. 3. How the believer is to make use of Christ for the life, inthis case; and, 4. Further clear the matter, by answering aquestion or two.

As to the first, such a distemper as this may be broughtupon the soul,

1. Through some strong and violent temptation from without,meeting with some evil disposition of the heart within, and sosurprising and overpowering the poor soul, as we see in David andPeter.

2. Through the cunning and sleight of Satan, stealing thebeliever, that is not watchful enough, insensibly off his feet, andsinging him asleep by degrees.

3. Through carelessness, in not adverting at first to thebeginnings and first degrees of this deadness and upsitting, whenthe heart beginneth to grow formal and superficial in duties, andto be satisfied with a perfunctorious performance, without life andsense.

4. Through torturing of conscience, in light and smallermatters; for this may provoke God to let conscience fall asleep,and so the soul become more untender, and scruple little, atlength, at great matters; and thus deadness may come to a height,God ordering it so, for a further punishment to them, for theiruntenderness and uncirc*mspectness.

5. Through their not stirring up themselves, and shaking offthat spirit of laziness and drowsiness, when it first seizeth uponthem; but, with the sluggard, yet another slumber, and anothersleep, and a folding of the hands to sleep.

6. Continuing in some known sin, and not repenting of it, maybring on this distemper, as may be observed in David.

As to the second particular, Christ is life to the soulin this case; in that,

1. He keepeth possession of the soul; for the seed remaineth,the root abideth fast in the ground; there is life still at theheart, though the man make no motion, like one in a deep sleep, orin a swoon, yet life is not away.

2. He in due time awakeneth, and rouseth up the soul, and sorecovereth it out of that condition, by some means or other, eitherby some alarm of judgment and terror, as he did David; ordispensation of mercy and tenderness, as he did Peter; and usuallyhe recovereth the soul,

(1.) By discovering something of this condition, by giving somuch sense and knowledge, and sending so much light, as will letthe soul see that it is not well, and that it is under thatdistemper of lifelessness.

(2.) By the discovering the dreadfulness of such a condition,and how hazardous it is to continue therein.

(3.) By putting the soul in mind, that he is the life and theresurrection; and through the stirring up of grace, causing thesoul to look to him for quickening and outgate.

(4.) By raising up the soul at length out of that drowsiness,and sluggish folding of the hands to sleep, and out of that deepsecurity, and putting it into a more lively, vigilant, and activeframe.

As to the third, the believer that would make use ofChrist, for a recovery out of this condition, would mind thoseduties:

1. He would look to Christ, as the light of men, and theenlightener of the blind; to the end, he may get a better and amore thorough discovery of his condition; for it is half healthhere to be sensible of this disease. The soul that is once broughtto sense, is half recovered of this fever and lethargy.

2. He would eye Christ as God, able to cause the dead and drybones to live, as Ezek. chap. xxvii.; and this will keep fromdespondency and despair; yea, it will make the poor believerconceive hope, when he seeth that his physician is God, to whomnothing is impossible.

3. He would look to him also, as head and husband, and life tothe poor soul that adhereth to him; and this will strengthen hishope and expectation; for he will see that Christ is engaged (tospeak so) in point of honour, to quicken a poor dead and lifelessmember; for the life in the head is for the good of the whole body,and of every member of the body, that is not quite cut off. And thegood that is in the husband is forthcoming for the relief of thepoor wife, that hath not yet got a bill of divorce. And Christbeing life and the Life, he must be appointed for the relief, thequickening and recovering from death of such as are given to him,that they may be finally raised up at the last day; he must presentall his members lively in that day.

4. He would by faith wrap himself up in the promises, and liebefore this Sun of Righteousness, till the heat of his beams thawhis frozen heart, and bring warmth into his cold and dead soul, andthus renew his grips of him, accepting of him as the Life, and ashis life. Christ himself tells us, John xi. 40, that this is theFather's will, that hath sent him, that every one that seeth theSon, and believeth on him, might have everlasting life, and he willraise him up at the last day. Faith closing with him, as it was themean of life at first, so it will be the mean of recovery out of adead distemper afterwards.

5. He would mourn for such sins and provocations, as hediscovereth in himself to have caused and brought on thisdistemper. Repentance and godly sorrow for such evils, as havesinned Christ and life away, is a way to bring life back again.

6. He would be sure to harbour no known sin in his soul, but toset himself against every known evil, as an enemy to the life andrecovery which he is seeking.

7. He must wait on Christ his life, in the appointed means; forthat is the will of the Lord, that he should be waited upon there,and sought for there. There is little hopes of recovery for such aslay aside the ordinances. Though the ordinances without him cannotrevive or quicken a poor soul, yet he hath condescended so far asto come with life to his people in and through the ordinances, andhath appointed us to wait for him there; we must be willing toaccept of all his condescensions of love, and seek and wait for himthere, where he hath said he will be found.

8. In going about those ordinances of life, he would beware ofputting them in Christ's room, i.e. he would beware ofthinking that ordinances will do his business; as some ignorantlydo, who think that by praying so often a-day, and reading so much,and hearing so much, they shall recover their lost lively frame,when, alas! all the ordinances, without him, signify nothing. They,without him, are cold and lifeless, and can never bring heat andwarmth to a cold soul. It is he in the ordinances whom we are toseek, and from whom alone life is to be expected, and noneelse.

9. Though life lieth not in the ordinances as separated fromChrist, and life is to be expected from him alone, yet he wouldbeware of going about the ordinances in a careless, superficial,and indifferent manner: for this will argue little desire afterlife, and will bring on more deadness. The ordinances then shouldbe gone about seriously, diligently, and with great carefulness,yea, with such earnestness as if life were not about the ordinancesat all. This is the right way of going about the ordinances.

10. He must in all this wait with patience, without fretting orquarrelling with him for his delaying to come. He must wait withmuch humility. It becometh not him who hath, through his folly,sinned life away, to quarrel now with God, because he restoreth himnot again to life at the first asking. He may be glad if at length,after long seeking, waiting, and much diligence, he come andrestore to him the joy of salvation, and if he be not made to lieas bedrid all his days, for a monument of folly in sinning away hislife, strength, and legs as he did.

11. He must beware of giving way to any thing that may increaseor continue this deadness; such as untenderness in his walk,unwatchfulness, negligence, and carelessness; and especially hemust beware not to provoke God by sinning against light.

12. He would also beware of limiting the Lord to any set measureof life and strength: for it becometh not beggars to be carvers,far less such beggars as through folly have sinned away a goodportion. It was not for the prodigal to seek a new patrimony, afterhe had dilapidated the former; it might suffice him to be made as aservant.

13. He would use well any small measure of life he getteth, forGod and his glory; getteth he but one talent, he should use it thathe may gain thereby: we say, use limbs and have limbs, use strengthand have it. This will be the way to get more.

14. He would be taking on the vows of the Lord, and that in theLord, to walk more watchful in time coming, charging all within andwithout not to stir or provoke the Lord to depart further or toscare him from coming to the soul.

As to the last particular,

If it be inquired, 1. What can that soul do that is not sensibleof this deadness and weakness?

Ans. Though there be not any real sense and feeling ofthis condition, yet there may be a suspicion that all is not right;and if this be, the soul must look out to Christ for the life ofsense and for a sight of the provocations that have brought on thatcondition. He that is the Life must recover the very beginnings oflife; and when the soul winneth to any real apprehension and senseof this deadness, it must follow the course formerly prescribed fora recovery.

2. But it will be asked, how can a soul act faith in such acase? And if it cannot act faith, how can it come to Christ andmake use of him?

Ans. It is true, while the soul is in that case, itcannot act a strong and lively faith; yet it can act a weak and asickly faith; and a weak faith and a sickly faith can lay hold onan enlivening Christ, and so bring in more strength and life to thesoul. If the soul be so weak as that it cannot grip, yet it canlook to him that can quicken the dead and hath helped many a poorsoul before out of a dead condition: or if it cannot do so much aslook, yet it may give an half-look, and lie before him who waitethto be gracious; and sustain itself if it can get no more, with amaybe he shall come.

3. But further, it may be asked, what can the soul do, when,after all this, it findeth no help or supply, but deadnessremaining, yea, and it may be, growing?

Ans. The soul in that case must lie at his door, waitingfor his salvation, and resolving, if no better may be, to die athis door, and leave no approved means or commanded duty unessayed,that it may recover its former vigour, activity and strength. Andwhile the believer is waiting thus, he is at his duty; and this mayyield him peace, and he may be sure that he shall never be ashamed,Psalm xxv. 3; lxix. 6. Isa. 1. 18.

CHAPTER XXII.

HOW CHRIST IS TO BE MADE USE OF AS OUR LIFE, IN CASE OFHEARTLESSNESS AND FAINTING THROUGH DISCOURAGEMENTS.

There is another evil and distemper which believers are subjectto, and that is a case of fainting through manifolddiscouragements, which make them so heartless that they can donothing; yea, and to sit up, as if they were dead. The questionthen is, how such a soul shall make use of Christ as in the end itmay be freed from that fit of fainting, and win over thosediscouragements: for satisfaction to which we shall,

1. Name some of those discouragements which occasion this.

2. Show what Christ hath done to remove all thosediscouragements.

3. Show how the soul should make use of Christ for life in thiscase; and,

4. Add a few words of caution.

As to the first, there are several things which may giveoccasion to this distemper; we shall name those few:

1. The sense of a strong, active, lively, and continuallystirring body of death, and that notwithstanding of means used tobear it down and kill it. This is very discouraging; for it madePaul cry out, "Woe is me, miserable man, who shall deliver me fromthis body of death?" Rom. vii. 24. It is a most discouraging thingto be still fighting, and yet getting no ease, let be victory; tohave to do with an enemy that abides always alike strong, fight andoppose as we will, yea, not only is not weakened, far lessovercome, but that groweth in power, and prevaileth. And this manytimes affecteth the hearts of God's children and causeth them tofaint.

2. It may be the case of some, that they are assaulted withstrange temptations and buffettings of Satan that are not usual.This made Paul cry out thrice, 2 Cor. xii.; and if the Lord had nottold him that his grace was sufficient for him, what would he havedone? Hence some of his cry out in their complaint, was there everany so tempted, so assaulted with the devil, as I am? Sure thisdispensation cannot but be much afflicting, saddening anddiscouraging.

3. The sense of the real weakness of grace under lively means,and notwithstanding of their serious and earnest desires andendeavours after growth in grace, cannot but disquiet anddiscourage them: for they may readily conclude, that all theirpains and labour shall be in vain for any thing they canobserve.

4. The want of sensible incomes of joy and comfort is anotherfainting and discouraging dispensation; as the feeling of these isa heart-strengthening and most encouraging thing, which made Davidso earnestly cry for it, Psal. li. 8, 12; when a poor soul thathath the testimony of his own conscience, that it hath been in somemeasure of singleness of heart and honestly seeking the face of Godfor a good many years, and yet cannot say that ever it knew whatthose incomes of joy and comfort meant which some have tastedlargely of, it cannot choose but be discouraged and much cast down,as not knowing what to say of itself, or how to judge of its owncase.

5. The want of access in their addresses to God, is anotherheart-discouraging thing. They go about the duty of prayer withthat measure of earnestness and uprightness of heart that they canwin at, at least this is their aim and endeavour, and yet they meetwith a fast closed door, when they cry and shout; he shutteth outtheir prayer, as the church complaineth, Lam. iii. 8. This surewill affect them deeply, and cause their hearts sometimes tofaint.

6. The want of freedom and liberty in their addresses to God isanother thing which causeth sorrow and fainting. They go to pray,but their tongue cleaveth to the roof of their mouth: they arestraitened and cannot get their hearts vented.

7. Outward persecution that attendeth the way of godliness, andafflictions that accompany such as live godly, is anotherdiscouraging thing, both to themselves who are under afflictions,and to others who hear it and see it; wherefore the apostledesireth earnestly that the Ephesians should not faint at histribulation, chap. iii. 13.

8. The Lord's sharp and sore dispensations for sin, as towardsDavid, Psal. li., or out of his sovereignty, for trial and otherends, as towards Job, is likewise a discouraging, heart-breakingthing, and that which will make strong giants to roar and faint,and look upon themselves as dead men, as we see in these twoeminent men of God.

As to the second thing, Christ is life to the believer inthis case, in having done that which in reason may support underall these discouragements, and having done so much for removing orweakening of these; yea, and for carrying them over all, which maybe in a word cleared as to each.

1. As for the body of death, let it stir in the believer as fastas it will or can, it is already killed, and all that struggling isbut like the struggling of a man in the pangs of death; for our"old man is crucified with Christ," Rom. vi. 6; and the believer isdead to sin and risen legally with him, Col. ii. 11, 12; iii. 3.But of this I spoke abundantly above.

2. As to Satan's troubling the poor believer, through Christalso he is a vanquished enemy: "He hath overcome him that had thepower of death, even the devil," Heb. ii. 14.

3. As for that felt weakness of grace, that is no ground ofdiscouragement, so long as he liveth who can make the lame to leapas an hart, and can make waters break out in the wilderness, andstreams in the desert, Isa xxxv. 6, 7; "and giveth power to thefaint, and to them that have no might increaseth strength; so thatsuch as wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, and theyshall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not beweary, and they shall walk and not faint," Isa. xl. 29, 31. For "inhim are all the promises yea and amen," 2 Cor. i. 20. So that theyneed not faint upon this account, nor be discouraged: for the workhe hath begun he will finish it, and he will quicken in the way,Psal. cxix. 37.

4. As for the want of sensible incomes of joy and comfort, hehath promised to send the Comforter, in his own good time, Johnxiv. 26; xv. 26. "As one whom his Father comforteth, so will hecomfort his," Isa. lxvi. 13. Joy and gladness is promised in thecovenant, Jer. xxxi. 13. But further, though he keep up theseinfluences of joy and comfort, he supporteth another way. Thelively hope of heaven may bear up the heart under all this want:for there shall the soul have fulness of joy and pleasures forevermore: no tears, no sorrow there, Psal. xvi. 11. Isa. xxxv.10.

5. As for the want of access in their prayers, they may possiblyblame themselves, for he has by his merits opened the door; and isbecome (to speak so) master-usher to the poor soul, to lead himunto the Father, so that "by him we have access," Eph. ii. 18,"yea, boldness and access through faith in him," Eph. iii. 12; "andhe is our advocate," 1 John ii. 1; and, as our attorney, is gone toheaven before us; "and there liveth for ever to make intercession,"Heb. vi. 28; vii. 25. And what is there more to be done to procureus access; or to move and encourage us to "come boldly unto thethrone of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to helpin time of need?" Heb. iv. 14, 16.

6. As to that want of freedom and liberty in prayer; he helpeththat also: For he maketh the dumb to sing, Isa. xxxv. 6, and makeththe tongue of the stammerer to speak elegantly, Isa. xxxii. 4. Hecan enlarge the heart, and help the soul to pour out his heartbefore God.

7. As to outward persecution, he can easily take thatdiscouragement away, by giving the hundred-fold with it; bysupporting under it, and bringing safe through it. When hispresence is with them through fire and water, Isa. xliii. 2, whatcan trouble them? And when he maketh their consolations abound, 2Cor. i. 5, what can discourage them? Have not his sung in the veryfires; and rejoiced in all their afflictions? The resting of theSpirit of God and of glory, which Peter speaketh of, 1 Pet. iv. 14,is comfortable enough.

8. As for all those sharp dispensations mentioned in the lastplace, he having taken the sting of all, even of death away, bytaking away sin, and purchased the blessing and love of the Father,having made reconciliation through his blood, all thosedispensations flow from love, even such as seem sharpest, beinginflicted for sin, as we see, Heb. xii. 6; so that there is nocause here of fainting or of being so discouraged as to give overthe matter. But for help in this case, there should be a use-makingof Jesus, as the Life; and that is

The third thing which we shall speak a little to, viz.How the soul should make use of Christ as the Life, to the end itmay be delivered from this fainting occasioned through manifolddiscouragements.

1. The believer in this case would mind the covenant ofredemption, wherein Christ hath promised and so standeth obligedand engaged to carry on his own through all discouragements to theend; so that if any one believer miscarry, Christ loseth more thanthey lose: for the believer can but lose his soul, but Christ shalllose his glory; and this is more worth than all the souls that everwere created. And, further, not only shall Christ lose his glory asRedeemer, but the Father shall lose his glory in not making goodhis promise to Christ his Son. For by the same covenant he standethengaged to carry through the seed that Christ had died for. And hisappointing Christ to be his servant for this end, and choosing himfrom among all the folk, and his upholding of him, concurring withhim, delighting in him, and promising that he shall bring forthjudgment to the Gentiles, and that to victory, or to truth, speakout his engagement to see all true believers brought home. See Isa.xlii. 1-4. Matt. xii. 17-21. Psalm lxxxix. 19-21, 28, 29, 35-37.Sure the faith of this would support the poor believer under allthose discouragements.

2. They would mind likewise the covenant of grace, wherein allthings are contrived and laid down, so far as that the believer mayhave abundant consolation and comfort in all cases; and whereinthere is enough to take away all cause of fainting anddiscouragement; as might fully be made to appear, if any didquestion it.

3. They would remember how richly Christ is furnished with allqualifications; suiting even that case wherein they are like to beoverwhelmed with discouragements; and could the believer but thinkupon and believe those three things, he might be kept up under alldiscouragements: (1.) That Christ is a compassionate,tender-hearted Mediator, having bowels more tender than the bowelsof any mother; so that "he will not break the bruised reed, norquench the smoking flax," Isa. xl. 2. He had compassion on the verybodies of the multitude that followed him; and would not let themgo away fasting, lest they should faint in the way, Matt. xv. 32.Mark viii. 3; and will he not have compassion on the souls of hisfollowers, when like to faint through spiritual discouragements?(2.) That he hath power and authority to command all things thatcan serve to carry on a poor believer; for all power in heaven andin earth is given unto him; all things are made subject to him.(3.) That he hath a great readiness and willingness upon manyaccounts to help his followers in their necessities. Sure, werethese three firmly believed, the believer could not faint, havingChrist, who is tender and loving, and willing to help, and withalable to do what he will, to look to and to run to for supply.

4. They would take up Christ under all his heart-strengtheningand soul-comforting relations, as a tender brother, a carefulshepherd, a fellow-feeling high priest, a loving husband, asympathizing head, a life-communicating root, an all-sufficientking, &c., any of which is enough to bear up the head, andcomfort the heart of a drooping, discouraged, and fainting soul.Much more may all of them yield strong consolation to support andrevive a soul staggering and fainting through discouragement. Oh!if ye would but rightly improve and dwell upon the thoughts of thecomforting and heart-quickening relations! our hearts would notfail us so much as they do.

5. They would eye him as now in glory, who as head and captainof salvation hath wrestled through and overcome all difficultiesand discouragements that were in his way, and in name and behalf ofall believers that are his followers and members of his body, isnow possessed of glory, and thence draw an heart-comforting, andsoul-strengthening conclusion, thus, Is he entered into glory ashead? then such a poor, faint-hearted, discouraged worm as I am,may at length come there as a little bit of his body, especiallysince he said, that seeing he liveth, all his shall live also, Johnxiv. 19.

6. They would remember how Christ, who was always heard of hisFather, John xi. 41, did supplicate for this, as Mediator andIntercessor for his people, John xvii. 24, saying, "Father, I willthat they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am,"&c. May not the poor faint-hearted believer that is looking toJesus, draw an heart-reviving, and soul-encouraging conclusion outof this, and say, though my prayers be shut out, and when I cry forrelief under my discouragements, I get no hearing; but, on thecontrary, my discouragements grow, and my heart fainteth the more;yet Christ always was heard, and the Father will not say him nay;why then may not I lift up my head in hope, and sing in the hope ofthe glory of God, in the midst of all my discouragements?

7. By faith they would cast all their discouragements,entanglements, and difficulties, as burdens too heavy for theirback, on Christ, and leave them there with him who only can removethem; and withal, resolve never to give over, but to go forward inhis strength, and thus become daily stronger and stronger inresolutions, purposes, desires, and endeavours, when they can do nomore.

8. They would look to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith,and set him before them as a copy of courage, "who for the joy thatwas set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame," andendureth contradiction of sinners against himself, Heb. xii. 2, 3.And this may prove a mean to keep us from wearying and fainting inour minds, as the apostle hinteth there.

9. They would remember, that Christ going before, as the Captainof their salvation, hath broken the ice to them, and the force andstrength of all those discouragements, as we did lately show; sothat now they should be looked upon as broken and powerlessdiscouragements.

10. They would fix their eye by faith on Jesus, as only able todo their business, to bear up their head, to carry them throughdiscouragements, to apply cordials to their fainting hearts, andremain fixed in that posture and resolution, looking forstrengthening and encouraging life from him, and from him alone;and thus declare, that, (1.) They are unable of themselves to standout such storms of discouragements, and to wrestle through suchdifficulties. (2.) They believe he is only able to bear them up,and carry them through, and make them despise all thosediscouragements which the devil and their own evil hearts muster upagainst them. (3.) That come what will come, they will not quit thebargain—they will never recall or take back theirsubscription and consent to the covenant of grace, and to Christ,as theirs, offered therein, though they should die and die again bythe way. (4.) That they would fain be kept on in the way, andhelped forward without failing and fainting by the way. (5.) Thatthey cannot run through hard walls—they cannot doimpossibilities—they cannot break through such mightydiscouragements. (6.) That yet through him they can do all things.(7.) That he must help, or they are gone, and shall never winthrough all these difficulties and discouragements, but shall oneday or other die by the hand of Saul. (8.) That they will wait,earnestly seeking help from him, crying for it, and looking for it,and resolve never to give over, and if they be disappointed theyare disappointed.

Now for the last particular, the word of caution, takethese,

1. They would not think to be altogether free of fainting, forthere is no perfection here, and there is much flesh and corruptionremaining, and that will occasion fainting.

2. Nor would they think to be free of all the causes andoccasions of this fainting, viz. the discouragements formerlymentioned, or the like; for, if the devil can do any thing, he willwork discouragements, both within and without. So that they wouldlay their resolution to meet with discouragements; for few or noneever went to heaven but they had many a storm in their face; andthey must not think to have a way paved for themselves alone.

3. They would not pore too much, or dwell too long and too muchupon the thoughts of those discouragements; for that is Satan'sadvantage, and tendeth to weaken themselves. But it were better tobe looking beyond them, as Christ did, Heb. xii. 2, when he had thecross and the shame to wrestle with, he looked to the joy that wasset before him; and that made him endure the cross and despise theshame; and as Moses did, Heb. xi. 25-27, when he had afflictionsand the wrath of the king to wrestle against; he had respect untothe recompense of the reward, and so he endured as seeing him whois invisible.

4. They would remember that as Christ hath tender bowels, and isfull of compassion, and is both ready and able to help them; so ishe wise, and knoweth how to let out his mercies best. He is notlike a foolish, affectionate mother, that would hazard the life ofthe child, before she put the child to any pain. He seeth what isbest for his own glory, and for their good here and hereafter; andthat he will do with much tenderness and readiness.

5. They would look upon it as no mean mercy, if, notwithstandingof all the discouragements and storms that blow in their face, theyare helped to keep their face up the hill, and are fixed in theirresolution, never willingly to turn their back upon the way of God,but to continue creeping forward as they may, whatever storms theymeet with; yea, upon this account ought they heartily to bless hisname, and to rejoice; for "their hearts shall live that seek him,"Psalm xxii. 26.

6. They would remember, for their encouragement, that as manyhave been helped through all discouragements, and have been broughthome at length, so may they be brought through all those stormswhich now they wrestle with. It is the glory of the Mediator tobring his broken, torn, and sinking vessel, safe to shore.

Now, I come to a third case, and that is,

CHAPTER XXIII.

HOW TO MAKE USE OF CHRIST AS THE LIFE WHEN THE SOUL IS DEAD ASTO DUTY.

Sometimes the believer will be under such a distemper, as thathe will be as unfit and unable for discharging of any commandedduty, as dead men, or one in a swoon, is to work or go a journey.And it were good to know how Christ should be made use of as theLife, to the end the diseased soul may be delivered from this. Forthis cause we shall consider those four things:

1. See what are the several steps and degrees of thisdistemper.

2. Consider whence it cometh, or what are the causes oroccasions thereof.

3. Consider how Christ is life to the soul in such a dead case;and,

4. Point out the way of the soul's use-making of Christ, thatwould be delivered herefrom.

As to the first, this distemper cometh on by severalsteps and degrees. It will be sufficient to mention some of themain and most remarkable steps; such as,

1. There is a falling from our watchfulness and tenderness; andwhen we leave our watch tower, we invite and encourage Satan to setupon us, as was said before.

2. There is going about duty, but in a lazy way, when we loveand seek after carnal ease, and seek out ways of doing the duty, soas maybe least troublesome to the flesh, as the spouse did, Cant.iii. 1, when she sought her beloved upon her bed.

3. There is a lying by, and not stirring up ourselves to anactive way of going about duty, of which the prophet complaineth,Isa. liv. 7, when he saith, there is none that stirreth up himselfto take hold of thee.

4. There is a giving way to spiritual drowsiness, and upsittingin duties, and in the way of God. "I sleep," said the spouse, Cant.v. 2, 3, and "I have put off my coat," &c. She knew she was notright, but was drowsy, and yet she did not shake it off, butcomposed herself for it, took off her coat, and washed her feet,and so lay down to sleep.

5. There is a satisfaction and contentment with his condition,as thinking we are pretty well, at least for that time; and thuswas the spouse in that forementioned place led away; she was so farfrom being dissatisfied with her condition, that she ratherexpressed contentment therewith.

6. There may be such a love to such a condition, and such asatisfaction in it, as that they may shift every thing that hath atendency to rouse them up out of that sluggish laziness, as notloving to be awakened out of their sleep. So we see the brideshifts and putteth off Christ's call and invitation to her, toarise and open to him.

7. Yea, there is a defending of that condition, as at leasttolerable and none of the worst; a justifying of it, or at least apleading for themselves and excusing the matter, and covering overtheir neglect of duty with fair pretexts, as the spouse did whenshe answered Christ's call with this, that she had washed her feetand might not defile them again.

8. Yea, further, there is a pleading for this case, by allegingan impossibility to get it helped as matters now stand; or, atleast, they will muster up insuperable-like difficulties in theirown way of doing duty, as the sluggard will say, that there is alion in the way; and the spouse alleged she could not put on hercoat again.

9. Yea, it may come yet higher, even to a peremptory refusing toset about the duty; for what else can be read out of the bride'scarriage, than that she would not rise and open to her beloved.

10. There is also a desperate laying the duty aside, assupposing it impossible to be got done, and so a resolute laying ofit by as hopeless, and as a business they need not troublethemselves withal, because they will not get through it.

11. And hence floweth an utter indisposition and unfitness forduty.

12. Yea, and in some it may come to this height, that thethoughts of going about any commanded duty, especially of worship,either in public or private; or their minting and attempting to setabout it, shall fill them with terror and affrightment, that theyshall be constrained to forbear; yea, to lay aside all thoughts ofgoing about any such duty.

This is a very dead-like condition,—what can be the causesor occasions thereof?

I answer, (and this is the second particular,) some orall of these things may be considered as having a hand in this:

1. No care to keep up a tender frame of heart, but growingslack, loose, and careless, in going about Christian duties, maybring on such a distemper.

2. Slighting of challenges for omission of duties, or leavingduties over the belly of conscience, may make way for such anevil.

3. Giving way to carnality and formality in duties, is a readymean to usher in this evil. For when the soul turns carnal orformal in the discharge of duties, duties have not that spirituallustre which they had, and the soul becometh the sooner wearied ofthem, as seeing no such desirableness in them, nor advantage bythem.

4. When people drown themselves in cares of the world, theyoccasion this deadness to themselves; for then duties not only arenot gone about heartily, but they are looked on as a burden, andthe man becometh weary of them; and from that he cometh to neglectthem; and by continuing in the neglect of them, he contracteth anaversion of heart for them; and then an utter unfitness andindisposition for discharging of them followeth.

5. Satan hath an active hand here, driving on with his craftsand wiles from one step to another.

6. The hand also of a sovereign God is to be observed here,giving way to this, yea, and ordering matters in his justice andwisdom so, as such persons shall come under such an indisposition,and that for wise and holy ends; as, (1.) That by such adispensation he may humble them, who possibly were puffed upbefore, as thinking themselves fit enough to go about any duty, howdifficult or hazardous soever, as Peter, who boasted so of his ownstrength, as he thought nothing to lay down his life for Christ,and to die with him; and yet at length came to that, that he couldnot, or durst not speak the truth to a damsel. (2.) That he maypunish one spiritual sin with another. (3.) To give warning to allto watch and pray, and to work out their salvation with fear andtrembling, and not to be high-minded, but fear. (4.) That thereby,in his just and righteous judgment, he may lay a stumbling-blockbefore some, to the breaking of their neck, when they shall, forthis cause, reject and mock at all religion. (5.) That he may giveproof at length of his admirable skill in recovering from such adistemper, that no flesh might have ground to despair, in the mostdead condition they can fall into. (6.) And to shew, sometimes,what a sovereign dispensator of life he is, and how free he is inall his favours.

As to the third particular, how Christ is life in thiscase,

We answer, 1. By keeping possession of the believer, even whenhe seemeth to be most dead; and keeping life at the root, whenthere is neither fruit appearing nor flourishes, and hardly manygreen leaves to evidence life.

2. By blowing at the coal of grace in the soul, in his own timeand way, and putting an end to the winter, and sending the time ofthe singing of the birds, a spring time of life.

3. By loosing the bands with which he was held fast formerly,enlarging the heart with desires to go about the duty; so that nowhe willingly riseth up out of his bed of security, and cheerfullyshaketh off his drowsiness and sluggishness, and formerunwillingness; and now with willingness and cheerfulness he settethabout the duty.

4. By sending influences of life and strength into the soul,whereby the wheels of the soul are made to run with ease, beingoiled with those divine influences.

5. And this he doth by touching the heart, and wakening it byhis Spirit; as he raised the spouse out of her bed of security andlaziness, by putting in his hand at the hole of thedoor,—then were her bowels moved for him, Cant. v. 4; andthus he setteth faith on work again, having the key of David toopen the heart, Rev. iii. 7.

6. By giving a discovery of the evil of their former ways andcourses, he worketh up the heart to godly sorrow and remorse forwhat is done, making their bowels move for grief and sorrow, thatthey should so have dishonoured and grieved him.

7. By setting the soul thus on work to do what formerly itneither could nor would do; and thus he maketh the soul strong inthe Lord, and in the power of his might, Eph. vi. 10, and able torun and not be weary, and to walk and not be faint, Isa. xl.

8. By discovering the great recompense of reward that is coming,and the great help they have at hand, in the covenant and promisesthereof, and in Christ their head and Lord. He maketh the burdenlight and the duty easy.

As to the last particular, viz. how a believer, in such acase, should make use of Christ as the Life, that he may bedelivered therefrom.

When the poor believer is any way sensible of this decay, andearnestly desiring to be from under that power of death, and incase to go about commanded duties, he should,

1. Look to Christ for enlightened eyes, that he may get a morethorough discovery of the hazard and wretchedness of such acondition, that hereby being awakened and alarmed, he may morewillingly use the means of recovery, and be more willing to be atsome pains to be delivered.

2. He should run to the blood of Jesus, to get the guilt of hisbygone sinful ways washed away, and blotted out; to the end he mayobtain the favour of God, and get his reconciled face shining uponhim again.

3. He should eye Christ as a prince exalted to give repentance,that so his sorrow for his former sinful courses may be kindly,spiritual, thorough, and affecting the heart. He would cry toChrist, that he would put in his hand by the hole of the door, thathis bowels may become moved for him.

4. He should also look to him as that good shepherd, who willstrengthen that which is sick, Ezek. xxxiv. 16. And take noticealso of his other relations, and of his obligations thereby, and bythe covenant of redemption; and this will strengthen his hope.

5. He should lay hold on Christ as his strength, whereby hisfeet may be made like hinds' feet, and he may be made to walk uponhis high places, Hab. iii. 19; and he would grip to that promise,Isa. xli. 10, "I will strengthen thee;" and lay hold on Christ init.

6. Having done thus, he should set about every commanded duty,in the strength of Jesus, looking to him for help and supply, fromwhom cometh all his strength, and though he should not find thathelp and assistance which he expected, yet he should not bediscouraged, but continue, and when he can do no more, offerhimself as ready and willing to go about the duty, as if he hadstrength.

7. He should lie open to, and be ready to receive the influencesof strength, which he, who is the head, shall think good to give inhis own time, manner, and measure; and this taketh in theseduties:

(1.) That they should carefully guard against the evils formerlymentioned, which brought on this distemper; such as carelessness,untenderness, unwatchfulness, laziness, carnal security, formality,and want of seriousness, &c.

(2.) That they should beware of giving way to dispondency, orconcluding the matter hopeless and irremediable; for that is bothdiscouraging to the soul, and a tempting provocation of God.

(3.) That they should be exercising the grace of patientwaiting.

(4.) That they should be waiting in the use of the appointedmeans, and thereby, as it were, rubbing the dead and cold memberbefore the fire, till it gather warmth.

(5.) That they should be keeping all their sails up, waiting forthe gale of the Spirit, that should make their ship sail.

(6.) That they should be looking to him alone, who hath promisedthat quickening Spirit; and patiently waiting his leisure, notlimiting him to any definite time.

(7.) That they should be cherishing and stirring up any smallbeginnings that are.

(8.) That they should be welcoming most cheerfully every motionof the Spirit, and improving every advantage of that kind, andstriking the iron when it is hot, and hold the wheels of the soula-going, when they are once put in motion, and so be loath togrieve the good and holy Spirit of God, Eph. iv. 30, or to quenchhis motions, 1 Thess. v. 19.

If these duties were honestly minded and gone about, in him, andin his strength, none can tell how soon there may be a changewrought in the soul.

But if it be asked, what such can do, to whom the very thoughtsof the duty, and aiming at it, is matter of terror;

Ans. It may be, something, if not much, of that may flowfrom a bodily distemper, as occasioneth the alteration of the body,upon the thorough apprehension of any thing that is weighty and ofmoment, so as they cannot endure to be much affected with anything. But leaving this to others, I would advise such a soul tothose duties:

1. To be frequently setting to the duty, as, for example, ofprayer, though that should raise the distemper of their body, forthrough time that may wear away, or at least grow less; whileas,their giving way thereto, will still make the duty the more andmore terrible, and so render themselves the more unfit for it, andthus they shall gratify Satan, who, it may be, may have a hand inthat bodily distemper too. When the poor soul is thus accustomed orhabituated to the attempting of the duty, it will at length appearnot so terrible as it did; and so the body may become not so soonaltered thereby as it was.

2. When such an one can do no more, he should keep his love tothe duty, and his desires after it, fresh, and lively, and shouldnot suffer these quite to die out.

3. He should be much in the use of frequent ejacul*tions, and ofshort supplications darted up to God; for these will not make suchan impression on the body, and so will not so occasion the raisingand wakening the bodily distemper, as more solemn addresses to Godin prayer would possibly do.

4. If he cannot go to Christ with confidence, to draw out of himlife and strength, according to his need, yet he may give a look tohim, though it were from afar; and he may think of him, and speakof him frequently, and would narrowly observe every thing thatpointeth him out, or bringeth any thing of him to remembrance.

5. Such souls should not give way to despairing thoughts, as iftheir case were wholly helpless and hopeless; for that is areflecting on the power and skill of Christ, and therefore isprovoking and dishonourable to him.

6. Let Christ, and all that is his, be precious always andlovely unto them. And thus they should keep some room in theirheart open for him, till he should be pleased to come to them withsalvation; and who can tell how soon he may come?

But enough of this. There is a fourth case of deadness tobe spoken to, and that is,

CHAPTER XXIV.

HOW SHALL THE SOUL MAKE USE OF CHRIST, AS THE LIFE, WHICH ISUNDER THE PREVAILING POWER OF UNBELIEF AND INFIDELITY.

That we may help to give some clearing to a poor soul in thiscase, we shall,

1. See what are the several steps and degrees of thisdistemper.

2. Consider what the causes hereof are.

3. Shew how Christ is life to a soul in such a case; and,

4. Give some directions how a soul in that case should make useof Christ as the Life, to the end it may be deliveredtherefrom.

And, first, There are many several steps to, and degreesof this distemper. We shall mention a few; as,

1. When they cannot come with confidence, and draw out of him byfaith, what their soul's case calleth for; they cannot "with joydraw waters out of the wells of salvation," Isa. xii. 3; but keepat a distance, and entertain jealous thoughts of him. This is adegree of unbelief making way for more.

2. When they cannot confidently assert and avow their interestin him, as the church did, Isa. xii. 2, saying, "Behold, God is mysalvation, I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah ismy strength and my song; he also is become my salvation."

3. When they much question, if ever they have indeed laid holdon Christ, and so cannot go to him for the supplies of their wantsand necessities.

4. When, moreover, they question if they be allowed of God, andwarranted to come to him, and lay hold upon him; yea, and theythink they have many arguments whereby to maintain this theirunbelief, and justify their keeping a-back from Christ.

5. Or, when, if they look to him at all, it is with much mixtureof faithless fears that they shall not be the better, or at leastdoubting whether it shall be to their advantage or not.

6. This unbelief will advance further, and they may come tothat, not only to conclude, that they have no part or portion inhim, but also to conclude that their case is desperate andirredeemable; and so say there is no more hope, they are cut offfor their part, as Ezek. xxxvii. 11, and so lie by as dead andforlorn.

7. Yea, they may come higher, and vent some desperate thoughtsand expressions of God, to the great scandal of the godly, and thedishonour of God.

8. And yet more, they may come that length, to question all thepromises, and to cry out with David, in his haste, Psalm c. 11,that "all men are liars."

9. Yea, they may come to this, to scout the whole gospel to benothing but a heap of delusions, and a cunningly-devised fable, orbut mere notions and fancies.

10. And at length come to question, if there be a God thatruleth in the earth.

These are dreadful degrees and steps of this horrible distemper,and enough to make all flesh tremble.

Let us see next whence this cometh. The causes hereof we mayreduce to three heads:

First. The holy Lord hath a holy hand in this, and hathnoble ends and designs before him in this matter; as,

1. The Lord may think good to order matters thus, that he maymagnify his power and grace, in rescuing such as were returned tothe very brink of hell, and seemed to many to be lost andirrecoverably gone.

2. That in punishing them thus, for giving way to the firstmotions of unbelief, he might warn all to guard against such anevil, and not to foster and give way to groundless complaints, norentertain objections, moved against their condition by thedevil.

3. To warn all to walk circ*mspectly, and to work out theirsalvation with fear and trembling, not knowing what may befall themere they die.

4. To teach all to walk humbly, not knowing what advantage Satanmay get of them eve all be done; and to see their daily need ofChrist to strengthen their faith, and to keep their grips of himfast.

5. So the Lord may think good to dispense so with some, that hemay give a full proof of his wonderfully great patience andlong-suffering in bearing with such, and that so long.

6. As also to demonstrate his sovereignty, in measuring out hisdispensations to his own, as he seeth will most glorifyhimself.

Next, Satan hath an active hand in this; for,

1. He raiseth up clouds and mists in the believer, so that hecannot see the work of God within himself, and so is made to cryout, that he hath no grace, and that all was but delusions andimaginations, which he looked upon as grace before.

2. He raiseth up in them jealousies of God, and of all his ways,and puts a false gloss and construction on all which God doth, tothe end he may confirm them in their jealousies, which they havedrunk in of God.

3. Having gained this ground, he worketh then upon theircorruption with very great advantage; and thus driveth them fromevil to worse, and not only to question their perfect interest inChrist, but also to quit all hope for the time to come.

4. This being done, he driveth the soul yet farther, and fillethit with prejudices against God and his glorious truths; and fromthis he can easily bring them to call all in question.

5. Yea, he will represent God as an enemy to them; and when thisis done, how easy it is with him to put them on desperate courses,and cause them to speak wickedly and desperately of God.

6. And when this is done, he can easily darken theunderstanding, that the poor soul shall not see the glory of thegospel, and of the covenant of grace, nor the lustre and beauty ofholiness: yea, and raise prejudices against the same, because thereis no hope of partaking of the benefit thereof; and so bring themon, to a plain questioning of all, as mere delusions.

7. And when he hath gotten them brought this length, he hathfair advantage to make them question if there be a God, and sodrive them forward to atheism. And thus deceitfully he can carrythe soul from one step to another.

But, third, there are many sinful causes of this withinthe man's self; as,

1. Pride and haughtiness of mind, as thinking their mountainstandeth so strong, that it cannot be moved. And this provoketh Godto hide his face, as Psalm xxx.

2. Self-confidence, a concomitant of pride, supposing themselvesto be so well rooted that they cannot be shaken, whereas it werebetter for them to walk in fear.

3. Want of watchfulness over a deceitful heart, and an evilheart of unbelief, that is still departing from the living God,Heb. iii. 12. It is good to be jealous here.

4. Giving way to doubtings and questionings too readily atfirst. It is not good to tempt the Lord by parlying too much andtoo readily with Satan. Eve's practice might be a warningsufficient to us.

5. Not living in the sight of their wants, and of their dailynecessity of Christ, nor acting faith upon him daily, for thesupplying of their wants. And when faith is not used, it maycontract rust and be weakened, and come at length not to bediscerned.

6. Entertaining of jealous thoughts of God, and hearkening tooreadily to any thing that may foster and increase or confirmthese.

7. Not delighting themselves in, and with pleasure dwelling on,the thoughts of Christ, of his offices, of the gospel and promises;so that these come at length to lose their beauty and glory in thesoul, and have not the lustre that once they had; and this dothopen a door to much mischief.

8. In a word, not walking with God according to the gospel,provoking the Lord to give them up to themselves for a time.

We come now to the third particular, which is, to shewhow Christ is Life to the poor soul in this case. And for theclearing of this, consider,

1. That Christ is "the author and finisher of faith," Heb. xii.2; and so, as he did rebuke unbelief at the first, he can rebuke itagain.

2. That he is the great prophet clearing up the gospel, andevery thing that is necessary for us to know, bringing life andimmortality to light by the gospel, 2 Tim. i. 10, and somanifesting the lustre and beauty of the gospel.

3. He bringeth the promises home to the soul, in their reality,excellency, and truth, being the faithful witness and the amen,Rev. iii. 14, and the confirmer of the promises, so that they areall yea and amen in him, 2 Cor. i. 20. And this serveth toestablish the soul in the faith, and to shoot out thoughts ofunbelief.

4. So doth he, by his Spirit, dispel the mists and clouds whichSatan, through unbelief, had raised in the soul.

5. And thereby also rebuketh those mistakes of God, andprejudices at him and his ways, which Satan hath wrought there,through corruption.

6. He discovereth himself to be a ready help in time of trouble,and the hope and anchor of salvation, Heb. vi. 19; and a priestliving for ever to make intercession for poor sinners, Heb. vii.25.

7. And hereby he cleareth up to the poor soul a possibility ofhelp and relief; and thus rebuketh despair or preventeth it.

8. He manifesteth himself to be the marrow and substance of thegospel: and this maketh every line thereof pleasant and beautifulto the soul, and so freeth them from the prejudices that they hadat it.

9. So in manifesting himself in the gospel, he revealeth theFather, that the soul cometh to "the knowledge of the glory of God,in the face of Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. iv. 6. And this saveth thesoul from atheism.

10. When the soul cannot grip him, nor look to him, yet he canlook to the soul, and by his love quicken and revive the soul, andwarm the heart with love to him, and at length move and incline itsweetly to open to him; and thus grip and hold fast a lost sheep,yea, and bring it home again.

But what should a soul do in such a case? To this, (which is thefourth particular to be spoken to), I answer,

1. That they should strive against those evils formerlymentioned, which procured or occasioned this distemper. A stopshould be put to those malignant humours.

2. They should be careful to lay again the foundation of solidknowledge of God, and of his glorious truths revealed in thegospel, and labour for the faith of God's truth and veracity; fortill this be, nothing can be right in the soul.

3. They should be thoroughly convinced of the treachery,deceitfulness, and wickedness of their hearts, that they may see itis not worthy to be trusted, and that they may be jealous of it,and not hearken so readily to it as they have done, especiallyseeing Satan can prompt it to speak for his advantage.

4. They should remember also, that it is divine help that canrecover them, and cause them grip to the promises, and lay hold onthem of new again, as well as at first, and that of themselves theycan do nothing.

5. In using of the means for the recovery of life, they shouldeye Christ, and because this eyeing of Christ is faith, and theirdisease lieth most there, they should do as the Israelites did whowere stung in the eye with the serpents,—they looked to thebrazen serpent with the wounded and stung eye: so should they dowith a sickly and almost dead faith, grip him, and with an eyealmost put out and made blind, look to him, knowing how ready he isto help, and what a tender heart he hath.

6. And to confirm them in this resolution, they should take anew view of all the notable encouragements to believe, wherewiththe whole gospel aboundeth.

7. And withal fix on him, as the only "author and finisher offaith."

8. And, in a word, they should cast a wonderfully unbelievingand atheistical soul on him, who is wonderful in counsel, andexcellent in working, and is wonderful in mercy and grace, and inall his ways. And thus may he at length, in his own time, and inthe way that will most glorify himself, raise up that poor soul outof the grave of infidelity wherein it was stinking; and so provehimself to be indeed "the resurrection and the life, to the praiseof the glory of his grace."

We come now to speak to another case, which is,

CHAPTER XXV.

HOW CHRIST IS MADE USE OF AS THE LIFE, BY ONE THAT IS SO DEADAND SENSELESS, AS HE CANNOT KNOW WHAT TO JUDGE OF HIMSELF, OR HISOWN CASE, EXCEPT WHAT IS NAUGHT.

We spake something to this very case upon the matter, when wespoke of Christ as the Truth. Yet we shall speak a little to ithere, but shall not enlarge particulars formerly mentioned. Andtherefore we shall speak a little to those five particulars; andso,

1. Shew what this distemper is. 2. Shew whence it proceedeth,and how the soul cometh to fall into it. 3. Shew how Christ, as theLife, bringeth about a recovery of it 4. Shew how the soul is to beexercised, that it may obtain a recovery; and, 5. Answer somequestions or objections.

As to the first, Believers many times may be so dead, asnot only not to see and know that they have an interest in Christ,and to be uncertain what to judge of themselves, but also be socarried away with prejudices and mistakes, as that they will judgeno otherwise of themselves than that their case is naught; yea, andnot only will deny or miscall the good that God hath wrought inthem by his Spirit, but also reason themselves to be out of thestate of grace, and a stranger to faith, and to the workings of theSpirit: and hereupon will come to call all delusions, whichsometime they had felt and seen in themselves, which is a saddistemper, and which grace in life would free the soul from.

This proceedeth (which is the second particular) partlyfrom God's hiding of his face, and changing his dispensations aboutthem, and compassing them with clouds, and partly from themselvesand their own mistakes: as,

1. Judging their state, not by the unchangeable rule of truth,but by the outward dispensations of God, which change upon thebest.

2. Judging their state by the observable measure of grace withinthem, and so concluding their state bad, because they observecorruption prevailing now and then, and grace decaying, and theyperceive no victory over temptations, nor growth in grace,&c.

3. Judging also their state by others; and so they suppose thatthey cannot be believers, because they are so unlike to others,whom they judge true believers. This is also to judge by a wrongrule.

4. Judging themselves by themselves, that is, because they lookso unlike to what sometimes they were themselves, they concludethat their state cannot be good, which is also a wrong rule tojudge their state by.

5. Beginning to try and examine their case and state, and comingto no close or issue, so that when they have done, they are asunclear and uncertain what to judge of themselves, as when theybegan; or,

6. Taking little or no pains to try themselves seriously, as inthe sight of God, but resting satisfied with a superficial trial,which can come to no good issue.

7. Trying and examining, but through the sleight of Satan, andbecause pitching upon wrong marks, coming to no good issue, butcondemning themselves without ground.

8. There is another thing which occasioneth this misjudging, towit, the want of distinctness and clearness in covenanting withChrist, and the ignorance of the nature of true saving faith.

As to the third particular, how Christ is Life to thebeliever in this case,

I answer, Christ manifesteth himself to be life to the soul inthis case:

1. By sending the Spirit of life, that enlighteneth, informeth,persuadeth, and sealeth.

2. By actuating grace so in the soul, that it manifestethitself, and evidenceth itself to be there; as the heat and burningof a fire will discover itself without other tokens.

The fourth particular, to wit, how the soul should beexercised, or how it should employ Christ, for an outgate fromthis, hath been abundantly cleared above, where we shewed, thatbelievers in this case should,

1. Be frequent in gripping Christ and closing with him as theirall-sufficient Mediator; and faith thus frequently acting on himmay discover itself at length.

2. Look to Christ that hath eye-salve, and is given for awitness.

3. Keep grips fast of him, though they be in the dark; and walkon gripping to him.

4. Keep love toward him and his working, and in exercise.

5. Beg of him to clear up their state, by his Spirit explainingthe true marks of grace, and discovering the working of grace inthe soul.

But it will be said, and so I come to the lastparticular, what, if after all this, I remain as formerly, asunable to judge aright of my state as ever?

Answer. Yet thou shouldst continue gripping Christ,loving him, looking to him, casting a lost, dead soul with all thywants upon him, and mind this as thy constant work. Yea, thoushouldst labour to be growing in these direct acts of faith; andlearn to submit to God herein, knowing that those reflect acts arenot absolutely necessary; and that thou shouldst think it much ifhe bring thee to heaven at length, though covered with a cloud allthy days.

Obj. 2. But others get much more clearness.

Ans. I grant that; yet know, that every one getteth notclearness, and such as have it, have it not in the same measure.And must God give thee as much as he giveth to another? What ifthou could not make that use of it that others do, but wax proudthereby, and forget thyself? Therefore it will be best to give Godliberty to dispense his favours as he will, and that thou be aboutthy commanded duty, the exercise of faith, love, fear, patience,&c.

Obj. 3. But if at any time I got a sight of my case, itwould be some peace and satisfaction to me.

Ans. I grant that, and what knowest thou; but thou mayestalso get that favour ere thou die. Why then wilt thou not wait hisleisure?

Obj. 4. But the want of it in the mean time maketh me goheartlessly and discouragedly about commanded duties, and makeththat I cannot apply things distinctly to myself.

Ans. Yet the word of command is the same, the offer isthe same, and the encouragement is the same. Why then should thounot be going on, leaning to Christ in the wilderness, even thoughthou want that comfortable sight?

Obj. 5. But it is one thing to want a clear sight of mystate, it is another thing to judge myself, to be yet in the stateof nature; and this is my case.

Ans. I grant, this is the worst of the two; yet, what ifthou misjudge thyself without ground; should thou not suffer forthy own folly; and whom can thou blame but thyself? And if thoujudge so, thou cannot but know that it is thy duty to do the thingthat thou supposeth is not yet done, that is, run away to Christfor life and salvation, and rest on him and abide there; and ifthis were frequently renewed, the grounds of thy former mistakemight be easily removed.

Yet further, I would add these few things:

1. Take no pleasure in debating against your own soul; for thatis but to serve Satan's design.

2. Be not too rash or ready to drink in prejudices against thework of God in your own souls; for that is to conclude with Satanagainst yourselves.

3. Make much of any little light he is pleased to give, were itbut of one mark, and be not ill to please; for one scriptural mark,as love to the brethren, may sufficiently evidence the thing.

4. See how thy soul would like the condition of such as arecarnal, profane, careless in the matters of God; and if thy souldoth really abhor that, and thou would not upon any account chooseto be in such a case, thou may gather something from that to thycomfort. But enough of this case here.

CHAPTER XXVI.

HOW IS CHRIST, AS THE LIFE, TO BE APPLIED BY A SOUL THATMISSETH GOD'S FAVOUR AND COUNTENANCE.

The sixth case, that we shall speak a little to, is a deadness,occasioned by the Lord's hiding of himself, who is their life, and"the fountain of life," Ps. xxxvi. 9, and "whose loving-kindness isbetter than life," Ps. lxiii. 3, and "in whose favour is theirlife," Ps. xxx. 5. A case, which the frequent complaints of thesaints manifest to be rife enough, concerning which we shall,

1. Shew some of the consequences of the Lord's hiding his face,whereby the soul's case will appear. 2. Shew the reasons of thisdispensation. 3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case;and, 4. Point out the soul's duty; or how he is to make use ofChrist for a recovery.

As to the first, we may take notice of thoseparticulars:

1. They complain of God's hiding of himself, and forsaking them,Ps. xxii. 1, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and Ps.xiii. 3, "How long wilt thou forsake me?" &c.

2. They cry out for a blink of his face, and get it not; for hehath withdrawn himself, Ps. xiii. 1, "how long wilt thou hide thyface from me?" Heman, Ps. lxxxviii., cried out night and day, butyet God's face was hid, ver. 1, 9, 14. The spouse seeketh long,Cant. v.; see Ps. xxii. 1, 2.

3. They are looking for an outgate, but get none. And "hopedeferred maketh their heart sick," Prov. xiii. 12.

4. They are in the dark, and cannot tell' why the Lorddispenseth so towards them; "Why," said Heman, Ps. xviii. 14,"castest thou off my soul? why holdest thou thy face from me?" Theycannot understand wherefore it is. So Job cried out, "shew mewherefore thou contendest with me," Job x. 2.

5. They may also be walking, in the mean while, without light orcounsel, so as they shall not know what to do. "How long shall Itake counsel in my soul," Ps. xiii. 2.

6. Moreover, they may have their heart filled with sorrow; as wesee, Ps. xiii. 2, "having sorrow in my heart," said David. He alsosaith, Ps. xxxviii. that his sorrow was continually before him,ver. 17; and Ps. cxvi. 3, "I found trouble and sorrow."

7. They may be so, as the sweet experience of others may yieldthem no supply of comfort at present, Ps. xxii. 4-6, "Our fatherstrusted in thee," said David, "and thou didst deliver them; theycried to thee, and were delivered; they trusted in thee, and werenot confounded." But that gave him no present ease or comfort; forimmediately he addeth, ver. 6, "but I am a worm and no man, areproach of men," &c.

8. Yea, all their own former experiences may yield them littlesolace; as we see in the same place, Ps. xxii. 9, 10, compared withver. 14,15, "Thou art he," says he, ver. 9, "that took me out ofthe womb," &c. And yet he complains, ver. 14, "that he waspoured out like water, and his bones out of joint, that his heartwas melted in the midst of his bowels," &c.

9. They may be brought near to a giving over all in despondency,and be brought, in their sense, to the very dust of death, Psal.xxii. 16.

If it be inquired, why the Lord dispenseth so with his ownpeople?

We answer, and this is the second particular, that hedoeth it for holy and wise reasons, whereof we may name a few;as,

1. To punish their carelessness and negligence; as we see he didwith the spouse, Cant. v.

2. To chastise them for their ill-improving of his favour andkindness when they had it; as the same passage evidenceth.

3. To check them for their security and carnal confidence, as hedid David, Psal. xxx. 6, 7, when he said his mountain stood strong,and he should never be moved. Then did the Lord hide his face, andhe was troubled.

4. To try if their obedience to his commands be pure andconscientious, and not in a sort mercenary, because of his liftingup upon them the light of his countenance; and to see if conscienceto a command driveth them to duty, when they are in the dark, andhave no encouragement.

5. To put the graces of the Spirit to trial and to exercise; astheir faith, patience, hope, love, &c. Psal. xiii. 5, 6, 22,24.

6. To awaken them from their security, and to set them to a morediligent following of duty; as we see in the spouse, Cant. v.

7. To sharpen their desire and hunger after him, as thisinstance cleareth.

Even in such a case as this, Christ is life to the soul, whichis the third particular,

1. By taking away the sinful causes of such a distance, havinglaid down his life and shed his blood for the remission of theirsins, so that such a dispensation is not flowing from pure wrath,but is rather an act of mercy and love.

2. By advocating the poor man's cause in heaven, where he ismaking intercession for his own, and thereby obtaining a deliveryfrom that condition, in God's own time, even the shining again ofhis countenance upon them.

3. By keeping life in, as to habitual grace, and by breathingthereupon, so that it becometh lively, and operative even in such awinter day.

4. By supporting the soul under that dispensation, and keepingit from fainting, through the secret influences of grace, which heconveyeth into the soul; as he did to the poor woman of Canaan,Matth. xv.

5. By setting the soul a-work, to use such means as God hathappointed for a recovery; as, to cry, to plead, to long, to wait,&c. "Their heart shall live that seek him."

6. By teaching the soul to submit to and acquiesce in what Goddoth, acknowledging his righteousness, greatness, and sovereignty;and this quietness of heart is its life.

7. By keeping the heart fast to the covenant of grace; so thatwhatever come, they will never quit that bargain, but they willtrust in him though he should kill them; and they will adhere tothe covenant of grace, though they should be dragged throughhell.

8. At length when he seeth it fit and convenient, he quickenethby drawing back the veil, and filling the soul with joy, in thelight of God's countenance; and causing it to sing, as having theheart lifted up in the ways of the Lord.

As to the last particular, concerning the duty of a soulin such a case; we say,

1. He should humble himself under this dispensation, knowingthat it is the great God with whom he hath to do; and that there isno contending with him; and that all flesh should stoop beforehim.

2. He should justify God in all that he doth, and say withDavid, Psal. xxii. 3. "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitestthe praises of Israel."

3. He should look upon himself as unworthy of the least of thatkind: "I am a worm," said David, Psal. xxii. 6, "and no man."

4. He should search out his provocations, and run away to thefountain, the blood of Christ, that these may be purged away, andhis conscience sprinkled from dead works, and his soul washed inthe fountain opened to the house of David for sin and foruncleanness.

5. He must also employ Christ, to discover to him more and moreof his guiltiness, whereby he hath grieved the Spirit of God; andas sins are discovered to him, he would repent of them, and runaway with them to the blood that cleanseth from all sin. This wasElihu's advice to Job, chap. xxxiv. 31, 32. "Surely it is meet tobe said unto God, I have borne chastisem*nt, I will not offend.That which I see not, teach thou me; if I have done iniquity, Iwill do no more."

6. He should grip to Christ in the covenant, and rest there withjoy and satisfaction; he should hold that fast that he may ride outthe storm in a dark night; "though he make not mine house to grow,"said David, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5; yet this was all his salvation and allhis desire, that he "had made with him an everlasting covenant,ordered in all things and sure." The spouse took this course, whenshe could not get a sight of him whom her soul loved, Cant. vi. 3,and asserted her interest in him; "I am my beloved's, and mybeloved is mine."

7. He should be entertaining high and loving thoughts of God,commending him highly, let his dispensations be what they will. Sodid the spouse, Cant. v. 10, 16.

8. He should earnestly seek after him. The spouse did so, Cant.v. 6. The discouragement she met with at the hands of the watchmen,did not put her off her pursuit, ver. 7, but she continued, yea,was "sick of love;" ver. 8; and her looks had a prevailing powerwith him, as we see, Cant. vi. 5, where the bridegroom uttered thatmost astonishing word, "Turn away thine eyes from me, for they haveovercome me."

9. This new manifestation which he is seeking for, must beexpected in and through Christ, who is the true tabernacle, and hewho was represented by the mercy-seat. He is the onlytrusting-place; in him alone will the Father be seen.

10. He should also look to him for strength and support, in themean time; and for grace, that he may be kept from fainting, andmay be helped to wait till he come, who knoweth the fittest seasonwherein to appear.

But it will be said, what if, after all this, we get no outgate,but he hideth his face still from us?

I answer, such should know, that life is one thing, and comfortis another thing; grace is one thing, and warm blinks of God's faceis another. The one is necessary to the very being of a Christian,the other not, but only necessary to his comfortable being; andtherefore they should be content, if God give them grace, thoughthey miss comfort for a time.

2. They should learn to commit that matter to Christ who knowethhow to give that which is good and best for them.

3. They should be hanging on him for strength and for duty; andin his strength setting about every commanded duty, and beexercising faith, love, patience, hope, desire, &c.

4. Let the well-ordered covenant be all their salvation, and alltheir desire; and though they should not get a comfortable blink ofGod's face, so long as they were here, yet holding fast thiscovenant, they should at length be saved souls, and what would theyhave more? and when they get this, what will they miss?

CHAPTER XXVII.

HOW SHALL ONE MAKE USE OF CHRIST AS THE LIFE, WHEN WRESTLINGWITH AN ANGRY GOD BECAUSE OF SIN?

That we may give some satisfaction to this question, weshall,

1. Shew what are the ingredients in this case, or what useth toconcur in this distemper.

2. Shew some reasons why the Lord is pleased to dispense thuswith his people.

3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case.

4. Shew the believer's duty for a recovery; and,

5. Add a word or two of caution.

As to the first, There may be those parts of, oringredients in this distemper:

1. God presenting their sins unto their view, so as they shallcry out, "Our sin is ever before us," Psal. li. 3, and say, as itis, Psal. xc. 8. "Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, oursecret sins in the light of thy countenance;" and so cause them seethe Lord contending for sin, as the church did, Isa. lix. "We roarall like bears, and mourn sore like doves. We look for judgment butthere is none, for salvation but it is far off from us; for ourtransgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testifyagainst us; for our transgressions are with us; and as for ouriniquities, we know them," &c.

2. Yea, God may bring upon them the iniquities of their youth,as Job speaketh, chap. xiii. 26, and so bring upon them, or sufferconscience to charge them, with their old sins formerly repented ofand pardoned. And this is more terrible: David is made to rememberhis original sin, Psal. li.

3. And, as Job speaketh, chap. xv. 17, God may seem to besealing up all their sins in a bag, that none of them may be lostor fall by, without being taken notice of; and, as it were, begathering them together in a heap.

4. He may pursue sore with signs of wrath and displeasure,because of those sins, as we see in David, Psal. iv.; xxxviii. 51,and in several others of his people, chastened of the Lord becauseof their transgressions; whereof there are many instances inScripture.

5. Yea, and that for a considerable time together, and causethem cry out, with David, Psal. iv. 3, "But thou, O Lord, howlong!"

6. And that not only with outward, but also with inward plaguesand strokes, as David's case cleareth, in the fore-citedPsalms.

7. Yea, and not even themselves, but even their posterity; asDavid's child was smitten with death, and the posterity ofManasses, who found mercy himself, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 13, was carriedinto captivity for his sin, 2 Kings xxiii. 26, 27.

8. Further, the Lord may deprive them of all their former joyand comfort, which made David cry out, Psalm li. 12, "Restore untome the joy of thy salvation, and grant me thy free Spirit."

9. And, which is yet more terrible, write their sin upon theirjudgment, as when he caused the sword and whor*dom follow David'shouse.

10. And, finally, he may cause them fear utter off-casting, asPsalm li. 12, "cast me not away," said he, "from thy presence."

And this the Lord thinketh good to do (that we may speak a wordto the second particular) for those, and the likereasons:

1. To discover to them, and to all the world, how just, holy,and righteous a God he is, that cannot approve of, or bear withsin, even in his own children.

2. To make all fear and tremble before this great and holy God,who is terrible in his judgments, even when they come from aFather's hand that is not pursuing in pure anger and wrath, butchastening in love. Sure all must think that his dispensations withthe wicked will be much more fearful and horrible, seeing they arenot yet reconciled to him through the blood of Jesus.

3. To press believers more earnestly into Christ, that they mayget a new extract of their pardon, and their souls washed in theblood of Jesus.

4. To teach them to walk more circ*mspectly afterwards, and toguard more watchfully against Satan's temptations, and to employChrist more as their strength, light, and guide.

5. To cause them see their great obligation to Jesus Christ, fordelivering them from that state of wrath, wherein they were bynature, as well as others, and would have lain in to all eternity,had he not redeemed them.

6. To exercise their faith, patience, and hope; to see if inhope they will believe against hope, and lay hold on the strengthof the Lord, that they make peace with him, Isaiah xxvii. 5.

7. To give a fresh proof of his wonderful mercy, grace, love,and compassion, upholding the soul in the mean time, and at lengthpardoning them, and speaking peace to their souls through the bloodof Jesus.

But as to the third particular, we may look on Christ asthe Life to the soul in this case, upon those accounts,

1. He hath satisfied justice, and so hath borne the pure wrathof God due for their sins. "He hath trodden the wine press alone,"Isaiah lxiii. 5. "He was wounded for our transgressions, andbruised for our sins," Isaiah liii. 5, 10; and therefore they drinknot of this cup which would make them drunk, and to stagger, andfall, and never rise again.

2. Yea, he hath procured that mercy and love shall accompany allthose sharp dispensations, and that they shall flow from mercy;yea, and that they shall be as a covenanted blessing promised inthe covenant, Psalm lxxxix. 30, &c.

3. And sometimes he is pleased to let them see this cleardifference betwixt the strokes they lie under, and the judgments ofpure wrath which attend the wicked; and this supporteth the soul;for then he seeth that those dispensations, how sharp soever theybe, shall work together for good to him, and come from the hand ofa gracious loving Father, reconciled in the blood of Christ.

4. "He is a Prince, exalted to give repentance and remission ofsins to Israel," Acts v. 31. Yea, he hath procured such a clause inthe covenant, which is well ordered in all things and sure, thatupon their renewing of faith and repentance, their after sins shallbe pardoned; and besides the promises of faith and repentance inthe covenant, his being a Prince exalted to give both, givethassurance of their receiving of both.

5. He cleareth to them their interest in the covenant, and theirright to the promises of the covenant; and through their closingwith Christ by faith, he raiseth up their heart in hope, andcauseth them to expect an outgate, even remission of their sins,and turning away the displeasure in due time through him. And thisis a great part of their life.

6. Being the author and finisher of faith, and a prince to giverepentance, he, by his Spirit, worketh up the soul to a renewing ofits grips of himself by faith, and to a running to the death andblood of Christ for pardon and washing, and worketh godly sorrow inthe heart, whereupon followeth pardon, according to the gospelconstitution, though the believer as yet perceiveth it not; and sinbeing pardoned before God, conform to the tenor of the covenant ofgrace, the man is a living man, whatever fears of death he may bekept under for a time.

7. He helpeth also to a justifying of God, and to a holy,submissive frame of spirit under that dispensation; so that theyare willing to bear the indignation of the Lord, because they havesinned against him, Micah vii. 9; and to wait for an outgate inGod's own time, and to kiss the rod, and to accept of thepunishment of their sin.

8. When he seeth it fit for his own glory, and their advantage,he speaketh peace at length to the soul, and saith, "son (ordaughter) be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee; and then isthe soul restored to life."

As to the fourth particular. The soul that is wrestlingwith an angry God for sin, and would make use of Christ as theLife, should do these things:

1. He should look to Christ as standing under God's curse in ourroom, and as satisfying justice for all the elect, and for alltheir sins.

2. He should eye the covenant wherein new pardon is promised,upon the renewing of faith and repentance.

3. He should eye Christ as the great Lord dispensator of bothfaith and repentance, and hang on him for both, and thus believe,that he may believe and repent, or lay his soul open to him, thathe may work in him both repentance and faith.

4. He should flee to the blood of sprinkling, "that speaksbetter things than the blood of Abel," that he may be washed, andsprinkled with hyssop, as David did, Psalm li. 7.

5. He should eye Christ as a prince to give pardon and remissionof sins, and as exalted for this end, and should fix his eye uponhim, as now exalted in glory for this end.

6. He should close with Christ of new, as his onlyall-sufficient Mediator; and having done this, and repented of hissins, whereby God hath been provoked, he should conclude throughfaith, that a pardon is passed in the court of heaven, conform tothe tenor of the gospel, and wait on Christ until the intimationcome.

As for the cautions which I promised to speak to, in thelast place, take those few:

1. Do not conclude there is no pardon, because there is nointimation thereof made to thy soul as yet. According to thedispensation of grace condescended upon in the gospel, pardon ishad immediately upon a soul's believing and repenting; but theintimation, sense, and feeling of pardon, is a distinct thing, andmay, for several ends, be long kept up from the soul. Sure they gonot always together.

2. Do not conclude there is no pardon, because the rod that wasinflicted for sin is not as yet taken off. God pardoned David'ssin, and did intimate the same to him by Nathan, and yet the sworddid not depart from his house till he died. God can forgive, andyet take vengeance on their inventions, Psalm xcix. 8.

3. Do not upon this ground question God's faithfulness, orconclude that God's covenant doth not stand fast. He is the same,and the covenant abideth fast and firm; but the change is inthee.

4. Do not think that because thou hast once received Christ,that therefore, without any new act of faith on him, or ofrepentance towards God, thou should immediately be pardoned of thysins, as soon as they are committed; for the gospel method must befollowed, and it should satisfy us.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

NO MAN COMETH TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME.

This being added for further confirmation of what was formerlysaid, will point out unto us several necessary truths, as,

I. That it is most necessary to be sound and clear in thisfundamental point of coming to God only in and through Christ.For,

1. It is the whole marrow of the gospel.

2. It is the hinge of our salvation, Christ is "the chief cornerstone," Isa. xxxviii. 16. 1 Pet. i. 5, 6; and,

3. The only ground of all our solid and true peace andcomfort.

4 An error or a mistake here, is most dangerous, hazarding, ifnot ruining all.

5. Satan endeavours mainly against this, raiseth up heresies,errors, and false opinions, and prompteth some to vent perplexingdoubts and objections, and all to darken this cardinal point. Sodoth he muster up all his temptations for this end, at length tokeep poor souls from acquaintance with this way, and from makinguse of it, or entering into it.

6. Our corrupt hearts are most averse from it, and will closewith any way, how troublesome, how expensive and costly soever itmay seem to be, rather than with this.

7. There are a multitude of false ways, as we did shewabove.

All which do clear up this necessity, and should teach us to bevery diligent to win to acquaintance with it, and to make sure thatwe are in it, and to hold it fast, and to keep it pure in ourpractice, without mixing any thing with it, or corrupting ofit.

II. That it is no small difficulty to get this truth believedand practised, that through Christ alone we come to the Father.Therefore is the same thing asserted and inculcated again upon thesame matter; for,

1. Nature will not teach this way; it is far above nature.

2. Yea, our natural inclinations are much against it, opposingit, and fighting against it.

3. This way is altogether contrary to that high esteem whichnaturally all of us have of ourselves.

4. And is opposite to that pride of heart which naturally we aresubject to.

5. Yea, there is nothing in us by nature that will willinglycomply with this way; but, on the contrary, all is oppositethereunto.

6. And therefore it is the Christian's first lesson to denyhimself.

The consideration of which should humble us, and make us veryjealous of our own hearts and inclinations, and of all thosecourses which they are inclinable to and bent upon. And it shouldput us to try if ever we have overcome this difficulty; and havenow all our hopes and comforts founded on him, and on nothing else;and are up and down in our peace and joy according as we win in tohim, or are shut out from him; and in all our approaches to God,upon whatsoever account, are leaning to him and resting upon himalone, expecting access, acceptance, and a hearing, only in him;and are quieted under all our fears and temptations, withthis,—that Christ is our way to the Father.

III. That even believers have need to have this truth inculcatedoften: For,

1. Satan is busy pulling them off this ground by all the wilesand temptations he can.

2. Their own corruption within, and the evil heart of unbelief,is always opposing this way, and drawing them off it.

3. Through the sleight of Satan and the power of corruption,they are oftentimes declining from this pure gospel way.

4. The experience of believers can tell, that when they are attheir best, it is a great work and exercise to them to keep theirhearts right in this matter.

5. Is it not too often seen, that they are the spiritual plagueof formality, which stealeth them off their feet here?

6. And is it not found oftentimes that they are too ready tolean to something beside Christ?

How ought all to be convinced of this, and humbled under thesense of it! And see also how necessary it is to be often preachingon this subject, and to be often thinking upon and studying thisfundamental truth.

IV. It should be a strong motive and incitement to us to makeuse of Christ as the way to the Father, that no man cometh to theFather but by him; for this may be looked upon as an argumentenforcing their use-making of him as the way.

V. It discovereth the ground of that truth, that there are butfew that are saved, for none cometh to the Father but by him; few,in respect of the whole world, once hear of him; and of such ashear of him, few have the true way of employing and applying him,as the way to the Father cleareth up unto them. And again, of suchas have the truth, as it is in Jesus, preached unto them, O how fewgo to him and make use of him according to the truth, and believeand practise the truth!

VI. That in and through Christ alone we must come,

1. To the knowledge of the Father; "for no man knoweth theFather but the Son;" and he alone, who came out of the bosom of theFather, revealeth him.

2. To the favour and friendship of the Father; for he alone isour peace, and in him alone is the Father well pleased.

3. To the kingdom of the Father here; for here only is the door,John x.; and by his Spirit are we effectually called.

4. To the kingdom of the Father above; for he alone hath openedthat door, and is entered into the holiest of all, as ourforerunner, and is gone to prepare a place for us.

5. Through him alone must we address ourselves to the Father inour supplications, John xvi. 23. Rev. viii. 3; in our thanksgiving,Rom. i. 8. Col. iii. 17; and praise, Heb. xiii. 15. Eph. iii.21.

6. Through him alone have we access and an open door to theFather, Eph. ii. 18; iii. 21. Heb. iv. 16.

I shall only speak to one case here, viz.

CHAPTER XXIX.

HOW SHOULD WE MAKE USE OF CHRIST, IN GOING TO THE FATHER, INPRAYER, AND OTHER ACTS OF WORSHIP?

In short, for answering of this question, I shall lay down thoseparticulars:

1. There should be a lively sense of the infinite distance thatis between the great God and us finite creatures, and yet morebetwixt the Holy Ghost and us sinful wretches.

2. There should be an eyeing of Christ as the great peacemaker,through his death and merits having satisfied justice andreconciled sinners unto God; that so we may look on God now no moreas an enemy, but as reconciled in Jesus.

3. There should be, sometimes at least, a more formal andexplicit actual closing with Christ as ours, when we are goingabout such duties, and always an implicit and virtual embracing ofhim as our Mediator, or an habitual hanging upon him and leaning tohim as our Mediator and peacemaker.

4. There should be an eyeing of him as our great High Priest nowliving for ever to make intercession for us, and to keep the doorof heaven open to us: upon which account the apostle presseth theHebrews to "come boldly to the throne of grace," Heb. iv. 14,16.See also Heb. v. 24,25.

5. There should be a gripping to him even in reference to thatparticular act of worship, and a laying hold upon him, to speak so,as our master-usher to bring us by the hand in to the Father,conscious of our own unworthiness.

6. There should be a confident leaning to him in ourapproaching, and so we should approach him without fear anddiffidence; and that notwithstanding that we find not our souls insuch a good frame as we would Wish, yea, and guilt looking us inthe face.

7. Thus should we roll all the difficulties that come in ourway, and all the discouragements which we meet with, on him, thathe may take away the one and the other, and help us over the oneand the other.

8. As we should take an answer to all objections from him alone,and put him to remove all scruples and difficulties, and strengthenourselves against all impediments and discouragements alone, in andthrough him, so there should be the bringing of all our positiveencouragements from him alone, and all our hopes of coming speedwith the Father should be grounded upon him.

9. We should expect all our welcome and acceptance with theFather only in and through Christ, and expect nothing for any thingin ourselves, nor for our graces, good frame, preparation, or anything of that kind. So we should not found our acceptance nor ourpeace and satisfaction on ourselves, nor on any thing we have ordo; nor should we conclude our exclusion or want of acceptance,because we do not apprehend our frame so good as it ought to be; sowe should not found our acceptance on our right performance ofduties, for that is not Christ.

10. We should quiet ourselves on him alone in all ourapproaches, whatever liveliness we find or miss in duty. We are toomuch tickled and fain when duties go well with us, and troubled onthe other hand when it is not so; and the ground of all this is,because we lean too much to our own duties, and do not quietourselves on him alone. And hence it is, that we are often quietedwhen we get the duty done and put by, though we have not met withhim there, nor gotten use made of him as was necessary. All ourcomfort, peace, and quiet should be founded on him alone.

11. We should look to him for the removal of all thediscouragements that Satan casts in our way while we are about thisor that piece of worship, to put us back, or cause us to advanceslowly and faintingly; and casting them all on him, go forward inour duty.

12. We should look for all our returns and answers only in andthrough him, and lay all the weight of our hopes and expectationsof a good answer only on him, 1 John v. 13, 14, 15.

For caution I would add a word or two:

1. I do not think that the believer can explicitly anddistinctly act all these things whenever he is going to God, or candistinctly perceive all these several acts; nor have I specifiedand particularly mentioned them thus, for this end, but to shew atsome length, how Christ is to be employed in those acts of worshipwhich we are called to perform; and that because we oftentimesthink the simple naming of him, and asking of things for his sake,is sufficient, though our hearts lean more to some other thing thanto him; and the conscientious Christian will find his soul, when heis rightly going about the duties of worship, looking towardsChrist thus, sometimes more distinctly and explicitly as to oneparticular, and sometimes more as to another.

2. Though the believer cannot distinctly act faith on Christ allthese ways, when he is going about commanded duties of worship, yethe should be sure to have his heart going out after Christ, as theonly ground of his approaching to and acceptance with and of beingheard by the Father; and to have his heart in such an habitualframe of resting on Christ, that really there may be a relying uponhim all these ways, though not distinctly discerned.

3. Sometimes the believer will be called to be more distinct andexplicit in looking to and resting upon Christ, as to oneparticular, and sometimes more as to another. When Satan isdissuading him to go to God because he is an infinitely holy One,and he himself is but a sinner, then he is called to act faith onChrist as the Mediator making reconciliation between God andsinners; and when Satan is dissuading from approaching to God,because of their want of an interest in God, then should they actfaith on Christ, and embrace him according to the gospel, and restthere, and so approach. And when Satan casts up his unworthinessand former sins, to keep him a-back or to discourage him, then heis called to lay hold on Christ as the great High Priest andAdvocate, and casting that discouragement on him, to go forward. Solikewise, when Satan is discouraging him in his duty, by bringingbefore him his sins, he should take this course; and when, becauseof his sinful way of worshipping God, and calling upon him, andother things, he is made to fear that all is in vain, and thatneither God regardeth him nor his services, and that he shall notcome speed, then should he cast all the burden of his acceptance,and of obtaining what he asketh and desireth, on Christ, and quiethimself there; and so as to the rest. And hence appeareththe usefulness of our branching out of this matter.

4. In all this, there must be an acting in the strength ofJesus; a looking to Christ and resting upon Christ, according tothe present case and necessity, in Christ; that is, by his strengthand grace communicated to us by his Spirit; then do we worship Godin the Spirit, and in the newness of the Spirit, when all is done,in the matter of worship, in and through Jesus.

THE END.