The Promises, Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Shewing the priuiledges of the godly aboue all other people.
THe first sort of promises, or comfortable places of Scripture, are such as in general shew the happinesse of the godly in all estates of life; these I call priuiledges. These are such comforts as are not restrained vntounto some certaine time, but are such as he is inriched with all at all times: These we ought to know as the foundation of all the rest, and wee should striue to hauehave them perfectly in our memories, so as any time we could number them if need were.
EueryEvery godly Christian hath twelue priuiledges, 12 Priuiledges of the godly.wherein hee excels all the men of this world.
1 The first is, the louelove and fauour of God, the especiall The louelove of God.grace of God toward him; this is the foundation of all his happinesse: and if Eze. 36. 28 Ioh. 14. 21.hee could order his owne heart aright, hee could easily see that hee could not be miserable, so long as he was in fauor with his God. If the fauour of great persons be so much accounted of; what reckoning is to be made of Gods fauour, who is Lord of Lords? yea King of all Kings, and the more should a Christian fill his heart with ioying in this prerogatiue, if hee consider three properties 3 Properties in Gods louelove.in the louelove of God. For first, it is a free louelove, hee 1. It is free.stands not vponupon desert: he is gracious, looking vponupon his owne goodnesse, and not on ours, Hosea 14. 4. Secondly, it is an eternall 2. It is eternall.louelove, and vnchangeable, God will neuer bee weary of louing him, Ierem. 31. 3. His louing kindnesse is better then life; for it lasts vntounto all eternity, without alteration: The fauour of man in this world is mutable; Kings may extremely loath, whom they yerwhile loued with their intirest affection; but in God there is no shadow of changing, hee loues with an euerlasting louelove. Thirdly, 3 It is infinite.it is infinitely immense, and great, no affection in any, or in all the creatures in this world, if they could be fastned vponupon one man, can reach to the thousand part of Gods louelove to vsus, Ephes. 2. 47. Esay 49. 15. 16. This light of Gods countenance shining vponupon vsus, makes vsus at all times more rich then they, that are encreased most in corne and wine, and oyle, Psal. 4. 7. 8.
2 The second is, the The second priuiledge is the giuing of Christ to them.donation of Christ; Christ is his, God hath giuen him Christ, Rom. 8. 32. so as all Christ is his proper portion: and how is Christ his? euen in all dearenesse of relation. He is his Prince, his Priest, and Redeemer, his Father, his Lord, his Master, his Friend, his Brother, &c. All these titles are giuen to Christ, to signifie, he is all that, which those things could shaddow out. No father, brother, friend, could so louelove their childe, brother, or friend, as Christ loues the Christian. No Lord, Master, Prince, can so prefer, prouide, or care for their seruants or subiects, as Christ cares for the Christian. Look what the fauor or power of any of those, or al those could doe, Christ is, & wil become much more vntounto the godly Christian.
3 The third priuiledge is Deliuerance, & the Christians The third is deliuerance … things.deliuerāce is exceeding great, if hee consider seriously how he is deliuered from the Kingdome of darkenes, from this present euill world, frō the dominion of sin, from the handwriting of ordinances, that was against him, from the rigour and curse of the Law, and from condemnation.
The fourth is free pardon of all his sins past, his soule The fourth is, for giuenes of all sinnes.being washed in the bloud of Christ from all his sins, so as now they were as white as snow, though they had beene redde like scarlet, 1. Ioh. 1. 7. Esay 1. 18. What rest & peace would this breed in our hearts, if we did daily thinke of it in our owne particulars, that wee had obtained pardon and remission of all our sinnes.
The fift priuiledge is, the inhabitation of the Holie The fifth is the inhabitation of the holy Ghost.Ghost. The soule and body of a Christian, is the Temple of the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit of God doth verily and truly dwell within the brest of a Christian, and that not in a naked presence; but the holy Ghost is there, to teach him to guide him into all truth, to tell him when hee is ready to goe out of the way, on the right hand, or on the left, and to comfort him in all distresses, and to seale the promises to his heart, and to anoint him with the oyle of true knowledge and grace, and to bee as a pledge and earnest of his inheritance looked for from heauen, and to teach him to pray, when he knowes not how to pray for himselfe; and many other excellent benefits hee reapeth from this spirit of God, whom the world cannot receiue. Hee hath for this respect a very spring of knowledge, and ioy and grace in his belly.
The sixth priuiledge is, The sixth is the restoring of Gods Image.the Image of God restored in him, by the mighty power of Christs voyce in his first resurrection, being made now a new creature to God, and so partaking of the diuine nature, in respect of the qualities wherin hee doth excellently resemble God.
The seuenth priuiledge The seuenth is, freedome in Gods house.is the freedom to Gods house, and to all the feasts, & Diuine entertainment which God makes there, Psal. 36. 9. and 65. 4. Esay 25. 8. Luk. 14. 17. Reue. 2. The Word and Sacraments are his; he is Gods bidden ghest: he may alwaies come and welcome: The fatnesse and pleasures of Gods house, Oh how sweet are they! Who can tell the excellency of the Manna that is hid?
The eight priuiledge is, The eight is, the hearing of his praier.entrance and accesse, and audience with God in all his suites. He may aske almost what he will of God, hee will not deny him any thing he askes in the name of Christ. And sure he is worthily miserable that will not make himself happy, when hee may hauehave what hee will aske of him, that is able to giuegive what he can aske, Marke 11. 24. Ephes. 2. 19.
The ninth priuiledge is, The ninth is the attendance of Angels.The seruice and attendance of the Angels. The Angels doe pitch their Tents about those that feare God, Psa. 34. and are ministring spirits to eueryevery heire of saluation, Heb. 1. vlt. Oh the dignity and safety of that man, whom the glorious Angels doe guard and attend vponupon! The poorest Christian hath a better guard about him, then the greatest Monarch in the world that is not a Christian.
The tenth priuiledge is, The tenth is the communion of Saints.the Communion of Saints; hee is mystically vnited in one bodie to all the worthies that are in heauen, or earth; and doth effectually enioy the benefit of communion of Saints; too large to be heere reckoned vp. If it were no more, but the profit hee hath by the prayers of the godly all ouer the world: were it not a great fauor? Ephes. 2. 19. and 3. 6. Philip. 1. 5. Colos. 2. 29. besides al the comforts hee hath in the fellowship with the godly.
The eleuenth priuiledge The eleuēth is the inheritance of the earth.is, the inheritance of the Earth, which is restored to him in Christ; so as hee now passeth that which he hath of the earth, by as good a Title as euer Adam held Paradise: yea, so as whatsoeuer in the whole earth is good for him, shal not bee with-held from him, Math. 3. 7. Psal. 84. 12. Outward prosperity hee is sure of, so farre as it is good for him, Iob 8. 7. Psalme 37. 5.
The last priuiledge is that Inheritance immortall, The twelfth is, the inheritance of heauen.incorruptible, and that fadeth not, reserued for him in heauen, which for excellency passeth all that which euer the eye of man saw, or the eare of man heard, or the heart of man can conceiue, 1 Pet. 1. 3, 4.
Now then, to summe vp all this, let a Christian tell his owne soule plainly, and vponupon cleere proofe, by the signes of a child of God, that hee is in fauour with God, and that Christ Note.is his, and that he hath obtained strange deliuerāce, and that all his sinnes are forgiuen, and that the holy Ghost dwells in him, & that the image of God is restored in him, and that he is free to Gods house, and that hee may begge any thing of GOD, and that hee hath Angels to waite vponupon him, and that he is neere of kinne to all the Saints in the World, and that he is Lord of the earth, and that hee shall certainely goe to Heauen when he dieth. Let this, I say, bee told to his soule, can hee be dismaid? will not the Peace of God which passeth all vnderstanding, keepe his heart and minde, and that constantly for euer?