The Saints Qualification, Sermon 4
CERTAINE SERMONS VPONUPON THE NEW CREATVRE.
2 COR. 5.17.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, let him be a new Creature.
OVR businesse now shall be to shew what a New Creature is, and to apply it as we go along, that you may know upon good grounds whether you be New Creatures or no, that so you may have comfort if you be, or else that you may seeke it, if you be not.A New Creature, what.
To be a New Creature is nothing else but to have a heart new moulded by the infusion of a new quality of grace, and by the destruction of the old. There are three things to be marked:Three things in it.
First, the heart must be new moulded.
Secondly, it must be done by the infusion of a new quality.
And thirdly, there must be a mortification of the old man. Let us goe thorow these three distinctly, and apply them as we goe.
1The heart must be new moulded, or cast into a new frame.First, the heart must be new moulded, or cast into a new frame. You may see this by comparing it with the old man, wee shall know the one by the other: You shall finde that when Adams nature was corrupted, there was a disorder in all the faculties. As for example, in the Ruine of a Palace, there are the materials left still, onelyonly the order is taken away; so in the corruption of nature, there are the same naturall operations, but all is disordered and turned up-side downe; thus was the confusion of man after the fall. But the New Creature doth worke the contrary, it sets up the house againe, and restores us unto our first state in Adam. When a man is made a New Creature, his Soule is put in joynt againe, so that the face of every faculty looks towards God, whereas before it looked towards the World, Sinne and Hell, the Soule is quite altered, as a man that turnes his face from East to West, whereas a man before had his backe, now he hath his face turned to heaven; therefore it is called Turning to the Lord. Observe here two things:
First, when we say, you must be cast into a new frame, it is not enough to have the actions of the Soule changed, but the whole bent of the Soule.
In a regenerate man,1Principally, his inclination is changed. the turning of the actions is nothing, for even when hee doth that which is evill, the bent or positure of his Soule stands to God, although it be transported to doe evill, and it is true on the other-side, although an evill man doth good actions, yet the bent of his Soule looks another way, for therein stands the alteration of the New Creature, even in the bent of the faculties, which is to turne us from Satan unto God.
Aristotle hath an observation; It is one thing, saith he, to doe an Act of Art, and another thing to do it like an Artist; It is one thing to doe an Act of musike, and another thing to doe it Artist-like: If one doth a thing, and have no Art in the doing of it, he deserves no commendation; so there is a great difference between doing any Act of goodnesse, and having the actions of the Soule well habited; for when you only doe the act without the bent of your Soules, that way, God regards it not at your hands, but when the inward frame of the heart is set right, whereas it was contrary before, it is a signe of a New Creature: Apply this to your selves.
But how shall we know whether the frame of our Soules be thus altered or no?Quest.
You shall know it by this:Answ. If there be such an alteration of the inward faculties, you shall finde your selves ready to every good worke. When a man hath no naturall inclination unto goodnesse,How this alteration of the inclination may bee knowne. without forcing himselfe, it doth undoe the action, but when a mans heart is sanctified and made new, he presently falls upon good workes, He is ready to every good worke, for every good worke, and stands ready for it; hee doth what he doth readily, without much adoe; for when the heart is changed in a man that is a New Creature, hee is like a Conduit, doe but turne the cock, and there needs no forcing of the water out; so when a man is become a New Creature, he is ready to every good worke (like a good wife that is ready to bring forth fruits unto her husband) whereas before he brought forth fruit unto sinne and death.
Againe, you shall finde that you doe good things with facility and delight, and that is a signe that thy heart is turned another way. It is the property of a good man to delight in the Lord his God; and what he delights in, he makes his owne, what he doth, he doth with facility; The Commandements of God are not burthensome to him, the yoke of Christ is easie: therefore, if thou art new, thou art easie in thy obedience, whereas another man that hath no such change wrought in him, doth delight in nothing but to doe evill, to doe well he hath no pleasure, Gods Commandements are burthensome to him; therfore the Laws of God are too strait for him, that he cannot march in them, as David could not march in Sauls Armour, for it was too heavie for him. A man that is a New Creature doth things with facility and delight.
But this is not all; If thy Soule be fashioned and cast into a new mould, thou wilt not onelyonly doe good things readily, but well and handsomely (to use our common terme) when as other men bungle at good workes, and know not how to turne their hand unto them: They doe them indeed, but as the Wiseman saith, Prov. 26.7. As the legs of the lame are not equall, so is a Parable in a fooles mouth: When they come to doe any good Actions, it is like a Parable in a fooles mouth, the Parable is not fit for his mouth; as when a man hath one legge longer than another, he is lame▪ so a Parable in a fools mouth is not equall to his mouth, the action may be good, yet he do…h it but lamely, it is beyond his reach, hee doth not doe actions as hee should, but an holy man doth them as a workeman. I speake not of doing of them before men, but before God, who judgeth righteously, when he comes to performe an holy duty, hee doth it as it is meet, hee prayes fervently, and consecrates himselfe unto the Lord with delight, Hee shewes mercy with cheerefulnesse, and every grace hath his peculiar property, wherein the goodnesse of it consists, as Faith, Love, and Hope, are the concomitants of his actions, wherein their excellencie consists, whereas other men doe the same duties, but not with that affection that they should, and they doe it but with a dead heart, they are workes of vertue, and have the lineaments of true ones, but they are dead workes, because life is not in them.
Therefore consider how thou doest things; the matter is not so much what thou doest, as how thou doest them.
Againe, if thou bee a New Creature, thou shalt know it, by thy doing of good constantly, as a man that doth it naturally. In Nature, you know, the habites and inclinations are close and neere unto us, and growing in us; therefore, if thou doe good in thy constant practice, it is a signe thy heart is changed. This is the first thing, there is a new frame, all the bent of the faculties are changed, and by this you may know it, if you doe good readily with facillity and delight, and constantly.
2This change is in his whole Conversation.One thing more observe in this new Frame, there is not onelyonly a bending of the Soule to a contrary point (as it were) but moreover all must be changed; as for example, Cast any thing into a new mould, there is not only one part altered, but all; so, if you be New Creatures, you must finde this in your selves, that you doe not make choice in the duties of godlinesse, but take all, and omit nothing; You must bee holy in all manner of conversation; those words are added, in all manner of conversation, and they are much to be observed, that is, in all the turnings of a mans life: As, if he be a Magistrate, hee must be exact in hearing of Causes, neither to feare any mans face, nor to be moved by any mans favour: if hee be an husband, his speeches and actions must be holy, his speeches must be gratious: If thou be a Subject in reverence to the King, and respective to others, thou must bee holy in all manner of conversation, otherwise the frame is not altered, this must be of necessity; for that which God requires of us, is the keep…ng of the whole Law, as Iames saith, Iam. 2.20. where hee speakes of keeping the Law Evangelically, For whosoever shall keepe the whole Law, and yet faile in one point, he is guilty of all.
Goe thorow the whole Latitude of our obedience; if in one part thou wilt favour thy selfe, thou art guilty of all. In the same Epistle, Iam. 1.26. If any man among you seemeth to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceives his owne heart, that mans Religion is in vaine. That which is here said of the tongue, may be said of any thing else: Doest thou doe thus and thus, doest thou sanctifie the Sabbath, doest thou goe to God in prayer, goe to all particular duties, I know not what to name unto you, and yet in any of these dost faile; consider that the Apostle might as well have said unto thee, for that thy Religion is in vaine (hee speakes of keeping the Law in an Evangelicall manner) a man must set himselfe to keepe every Commandement, and if he doe but take liberty in any, he is guilty of the whole.
Take this for a sure rule, what God requires of us in the Gospell, he gives us strength to performe, but if our hear…s were not altogether new moulded, the worke would be more than our strength; therefore, of necessity, the heart must be altogether new moulded. Therefore the Apostle saith, (and what he saith is common to all the Saints) I can doe all things through Christ that strengthneth mee. Every man that hath this new frame wrought in him may say so: If thou be in Christ, thou hast a new frame in thy heart, which makes thee able to doe all things through Christ.
Vse.Consider of this, and apply it to your selves, for it is a matter of much moment, (as the Apostle saith) We are not ashamed to write unto you of these things againe, and againe: So it is a point we have touched before, (yet we will speake of it againe and again.) Consider with thy selfe, whether there be such a generall change in thee or no: for the goodnesse of a thing consists in the order, else the whole is dissolved; as in beauty there are two things wherein it consists, the frame and order of it, that we say is beautifull, when the frame is good, and no part is to bee admired above the rest; so it is the frame and order of the Soule wherein its beauty consists, when the whole frame is right, and thou art inabled to doe the whole duties of new obedience.
Observe Gods dealing in this case; when Saul had failed in one thing, God cast him off.
But, you will say, this was an heard judgement, did not David faile many times as well as he?
It is true, but here is the difference, Saul had a naturall heart to doe evill, although his profession was good;Answ. yet when he was put to the triall, whether he would take the fat sheepe and the oxen, he did it; yet, you must know, it was not for that,… new …itie of …odlinesse. that God cast him off, but because the frame of his heart was not good; for hee would have done it againe and againe, an hundred times over; I say, the disposition of his heart was evill. Balaams eye unto the wages of iniquitie marred all, though he kept himselfe aloft and carried the matter fairly, but like the Eagle hee had his eye upon the prey; this secret eye marres all. Doe not thinke that this is but a notion, doe not say, who is it but doth sinne? and we may goe to heaven although we be not so exact, as the Preacher saith we should be. No, it is more than so, we may see good reason for it, if we observe it well: It is a good argument which we have in Philosophie, A cup or a dish that is boared thorow is no dish, yet there is but one hole in it, because it is now of no use, which makes it none, because it is as good as none. Take a dish boared thorow, powre water into it,The new qua…tie, what. it will hold none: so take a mans heart, (for the reason will hold good in that) and let there be but some secret leake in it, or some secret evill disposition, although Saul doth well in every thing else, yet if he harbour any sinne; or although Balaam doth well in all things else, yet if there be respect unto the wages of Iniquity, they are both but like a dish with an duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page hole boared thorow, that take up any thing, there will be an issuing out.
Therefore deceive not thy selfe, thou art no New Creature, except thy heart be perfect in all things: This which wee deliver unto you, take it no otherwise than what with reason you shall finde grounded upon a sure word in Ier. 2. They sought mee not with their whole heart, but fainedly: When a man seekes God, but not with his whole heart, God reckons it but a counterfeit seeking of him.
Therefore, I beseech you, looke unto your selves, see, whether you be holy in all manner of conversation, I cannot goe thorow particulars, but I must leave this to every mans brest, who must reflect upon his owne heart. Consider with thy selfe, if sometimes thou givest libertie to thy selfe in ill, or in the duties of new obedience to performe them slightly, as good never a whit, as never the better: if thou doest any duty, which thou knowest to be a duty, and not truly, know it is not accepted: If you continue in sinne, and will not know it to be a sin, as in your inordinate gaming, and the vanity of your speeches, although thou thinkest them small, yet they are able to kill thee; the biting of a Viper is as small a thing, yet it will bring death with it: so if any sin be allowed in thee, thou art not a New Creature, thou wantest this new moulding, thou art not yet cast into a new frame. So much for the First part.
The second thing which we observed in this description of a New Creature, is that, A man must be cast into a new mould, by the infusion of a new quality of Grace.
A mans heart is not put into a new frame by the transient Acts of the Holy Ghost (as in building of an house,2It must be done by infusion of a new qualitie of godlinesse. there is no more for a man to doe, but with his hands to joyne one thing with another) but it is done by the infusion of a new quality.
As in Adam there was not onelyonly a defect of weaknesse, but of wickednesse, so there must be a new quality infused into thy heart, else thou art no New Creature. In all things in the world that have actions, there is a quality; as the fire moves upward, and there is a quality of heat in it; as our Saviour Christ saith of the tree, it must be good before it can bring forth good fruit, and as in the Heb. 12.28. Wherefore seeing we receive a Kingdome that cannot be shaken, let us have grace whereby wee may so serve God, that wee may please him with reverence and feare; that is, there must bee a new quality wrought in the heart, whereby we may be enabled to serve the Lord with reverence and feare.
The question,The new qualitie, what. you will aske me, will be, what is that new quality? Not to stand upon generals, for it is not that which profits, but to pitch upon it, I will shew you what it is by two places of Scripture, Gal. 6.15. For in Christ Iesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing, nor Vncircumcision; but a New Creature: Compare this with Gal. 5.6. For in Christ Iesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing, nor Vncircumcision, but Faith which worketh by love: Would you know what this new quality which is infused, is? It is faith and love, that is, when this is once wrought in thy heart, that thy heart is humble and broken, which makes thee to know what sin is, and what the wrath of God is for sinne, and thou desirest Christ, and thou hast thy heart calmed againe through beleeving; thou doest beleeve that God offers his Son unto thee, and thou art willing to take him, not as a Saviour only, but as a Lord also to obey him, not as a Priest only, but as a King to bee subject to him, not as a friend only, but as an husband, if this be done, it is properly faith.
Againe, consider whether it be done out of love or out of fear, lest thy Creditours should come upon thee, and cast thee into that eternall prison, where thou shalt pay every farthing, this is not out of love.
Againe, doest thou take him for his kingdom and his wealth only? That is the disposition of an harlot, who takes her husband for his wealth, and not because shee loves him, but thou must take him for love; The Virgins love thee, Cant. 1.2. The harlots doe not so, but the Virgins love thy goodly person.
Againe, thou must not take him in a good mood, but till death doe part you, thou must love him for ever: No man loves a man truely, but he is rooted and grounded in his love; when thou doest find thy heart so humbled, that thou doest reckon sinne the greatest evill, and doest hunger after Christ, and doest keepe him as thy life, when thou doest all this from a love unto him, thou art a New Creatures, when thou takest Christ with love, and such an one as is a working love, now be assured that thou art a New Creature, for this is that wherein it consists.
I observe this by the way, for those that thinke they never have beene humbled enough; the New Creature, consists not in that, but in faith and love: Hast thou faith and love? Then thou hast the thing it selfe, and if thou hast that, thou hast the preparation. That is the first expression. Another is in Ephes. 4.22, 23, 24. That yee cast off, concerning the conversation in times past, the old man which is corrupt through deceiveable lusts, and be renued in the Spirit of your minde, and put on the new man, which after God is created in Righteousnesse and holinesse proceeding from truth.
There you have the thing named, what it is to be a New Creature, and what it is to be the old man still.
To be the old Creature, or the old man, is nothing else but to bee guided by lust, which comes from errour in judgement and understanding. But wherein consists the new man? The new man consists in holinesse wrought in the will, which proceeds from truth revealed unto the understanding; so when the understanding and the judgement is rectified, thou art made a New Creature. Againe, when the will is corrupt by lusts, proceeding from errour in the understanding, thou art in state of an old Creature. The old man stands properly in lusts; therefore, saith Peter, 2 Pet. 1.4. Fly the corruption which is in the world through lust: All the corruption of mankind stands in these inordinate lusts. Others wee may looke on as the fruit, but this as the Root. What are those lusts? Iohn shewes them by three heads, 1 Ioh. 2.16. The lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life. The old man stands in these three. Take the first Lust, even the lust of the Eye. A man lookes upon wealth to make him happie in this life, (I meane no otherwise) and looking upon this, he lusts after it: Doe but rectifie his judgement, and let wealth be presented to him (as it is in it selfe, and hee will come to be affected with it, as Paul was, who accounted all but drosse and dung, hee will say then, why should I set my heart upon that which is nothing but vanity? I say, when the understanding is rectified, you will looke upon wealth aright, and as you shall see it at the day of death; for then wee are as a man awakened out of a dreame, we will looke on it then, as it is Iam. 1.10. Let the Rich-man rejoyce that hee is made low, for as a flower of the grasse so shall he vanish: The meaning of this is, when a man is made a New Creature, he is brought downe in his conceit, whereas before hee thought himselfe a great man, because of his wealth: Now Religion comes, and that makes him low, and let him be glad of it; Why? What reason hath a man to be glad of it? Indeed if wealth were a thing of moment, it were another matter, but he was deceived. Riches are but as the flower of grasse. A wise man lookes on Riches as flowers of the Garden with children, and the weakest doe much magnifie. Indeed, if they were of great moment, he lost by it, but, as Iames saith, They are but as flowers of the grasse worth little?
For the Lust of the flesh; that is, another thing whereby this old man is seene. A man lookes on outward pleasures or delights, as able to give satisfaction, and as the greatest delights in the world, let his Iudgement be rectified, he looks upon them as Enemies that fight against the Soule, as the workes of darknesse which he abhorres, and so he comes to Lots disposition, Whose righteous Soule was vexed to see the filthinesse of the Sodomites: When his Iudgement is right, hee lookes on them as base and vile things, as Enemies unto his Soule, that will be his destructio….
For the Pride of life: Man lookes on outward things as the onelyonly excellencies, which makes him admire them so, but when his Iudgement is once rectified, hee lookes upon them as the Apostle doth, who accounted them but empty things, as bubbles blowne up by Boyes.
To conclude, when the Iudgement is rectified, in stead of Errour and Deceit, which is the Root of the old man, whence comes these three great Lusts (which are the maine, and from which all the rest will follow) then the lusts are dissolved, and the new man comes from truth, as the other is corrupted, and comes from deceit. So you see; what it is to have this new quality, to have the Iudgement rectified, and the lust dissolved.
And not so onelyonly, but there must be new desires wrought in thee. A carnall man over-values carnall things, and in spirituall things hee comes farre too short, like a man that lookes upon a banquet when his belly is full, he hath no appetite unto it: So a carnall man lookes upon Sinne and forgivenesse. But when a man hath his Iudgement rectified, he comes to have many holy desires, and in this stands the New Creature.
Againe, it comes from knowledge of the Spirit.
Object.But, you will say, we have knowledge, and, if that would doe it, then they that know most are best men?
Answ.But you must know what kinde of knowledge this is; The new man must be renued in knowledge: This is such a knowledge of holinesse, as the Holy Ghost reveales unto us, and except this knowledge be revealed unto you, our revealing is nothing; We preach Wisdome, which the Princes of the world know not, neither can know.
Take Aristotle or others which are the Princes of the world for wisdome; they know not these things, nay, if they were taught them, they could not learne them, for they are revealed by the Spirit; and if wee preach unto you never so oft, if the Spirit doe not reveale them unto you it is nothing: We see that by experiience, that a man that can reason against these and these sinnes, can speake of the vanity of these things, can give twenty better reasons against them than another man, yet hee seekes after them as much as any: The wise-men and strongest wits which can say most against them, yet have not their lusts dissolved, when a poore man that is truly sanctified, although he cannot say the hundreth part against sinne, as another man, yet he doth hunger after Iesus Christ.
Therefore it must be the worke of the Spirit, 2 Cor. 3. ult. But, we all behold as in a mirrour the glory of the Lord with open face, and are changed into the same Image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord: that is, when wee looke into the Word wee see the Image of God, so may another man too, but he doth not see the glory of it, he doth not looke on it as a desirable thing, as a thing he is in love withall. God shewes Moses his glory; hee never shewed his glory but to the Saints: The greatest request that Moses desired, was to see the glory of the Lord; I will shew thee my glory, saith God, that is, thou shalt see as much as shall be needfull for thee to see in this life. God shewes himselfe unto us in his Word, and when hee will shew a man his glory, he makes him to have a love to it, and then hee is transformed into his Image. Another sees it, but he is not transformed into such a knowledge as convinceth the minde of sinne: when wee teach knowledge, it is as the Sparkes in a darke roome, or as the Starres in a darke night, the roome is darke still; so it is with all knowledge, till the Holy Ghost doth teach it: wee may beget a thousand sparkes in you, but they will not turne the darknesse into light. But when the Holy Ghost comes, it doth not onelyonly appeare there, but it changeth us from darknesse into light.
You must know that when we preach only, it is as when the light shines, the windowes being shut against it, there is none shines into the house; so when men thinke they understand most, yet they want this light to shine into the house, Luke 24.45. Then opened he their understandings, that they might understand the Scriptures. They had heard Christ before, but they understood not his Word; like those which sowed seed on ill ground, and therefore received not the fruit of it, but when the Holy Ghost comes into thy heart, that will convince thee of evill: it will expell darknesse, and set right thy Iudgement: otherwise, though you heard Paul preach, yea, Christ himselfe, were your Iudgements never so good, yet it would not be done till the Holy Ghost teacheth you, you will never know him, never see him aright in his glory, never see him so, as to delight and long after him, so as to desire nothing in the world so much as communion with him.
Thus it is when his Image is renewed in Knowledge and Truth, and where this Knowledge and Truth is, Holinesse instantly followes.
There are many that know and practice not; and there are many which neither know nor practice, but where this Image is, what ever they know they practice.
Well, let us apply this unto our selves briefly.
If to bee a New Creature,Vse. there is required of us this Faith and Love, Truth and Holinesse, Knowledge and Righteousnesse; then let us learne not to bee deceived, to regard nothing else in comparison of this. Doe as the Apostle, Gal. 6.15. For in CHRIST IESVS neither Circumcision availeth any thing, nor Vncircumcision, but a New Creature: that is, it is no matter for any thing in a man, Circumcision is no better than Vncircumcision: Goe thorow all the duties of Religion, you shall finde them nothing till you bee made a New Creature. I know many doe many things, they come to Church, and give almes; well saith the Apostle, Circumcision and Vncircumcision is all one; so say I, Prayer and no Prayer is all one; doing justly and unjustly, it is all one, untill a man bee a New Creature: Therefore, saith Paul, 1 Cor. 13.3. Though I give all my goods to the poore (which is a glorious action; nay, though I could be content to bee a Martyr) though I give my body to bee burned, duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page and have not love, it profiteth nothing: So except you be New Creatures, your labour is lost, for Nature may doe much with the knowledge of the Gospel. As the Earth brings forth grasse of it selfe, and some flowers of the lowest sort, but to bring forth a crop, and flowers of the finest sort, it must be tilled, and there must bee seed put in; Nature, I say, may doe much, but this New Creature must come from an Immortall seed sowen in the heart, by God himselfe.
Therefore, looke whether thou hast that wrought in thee or no. For this is all the comfort we have, when the body is decayed and waxen old; yet, let us not be discouraged, though this outward man decay and perish, there is a new youth springing up.
This is all the comfort we have, that when the old house is going downe, we have a new house setting up in stead of it. Every man is glad to see an old house pulled downe, and a new set up in stead of it; but to see an old house going downe, and no new one to bee set up, the ruine of it is a most miserable Spectacle.
Take an Husband-man, who hath taken great pains in plowing and sowing his ground, when he sees his corne is rotten, he is glad of it, because he knowes new will come up in stead of it; so when we see the body decaying, and our day drawing towards evening, when the Sunne of life is ready to bee set upon us, when we shall grow no more: this presents nothing but confusion, yet here is hope for us; There is light Sowen unto the righteous: All the consolation and all the comfort wee have in these dayes of our vanity, is, that we have a New Creature, that is not subject to vanitie.
The end of the Third Sermon.