The Crown and Glory of Christianity, Uses · Use and exhortation 3 · Objections · Objection 1
Object. Firſt, We have no power to make our ſelves holy, we are as well able to make a world, to command the winds, and to raiſe the dead, as we are able to cleanſe our own hearts, or change our own natures, or ſanctifie our own ſouls; and therefore to what purpoſe ſhould we be ſo ſtrongly preſt to do that which we have no power to do? Now to this objection I ſhall give theſe following anſwers.
Firſt, That thou haſt no power to perform any ſupernatural act, as to believe or love God, or repent, or to change thine own heart, or to ſanctifie, or make thy ſelf holy, muſt be granted; that by nature thou art dead in treſpaſſes and ſins, and haſt loſt all thy ſpiritual ſenſes of ſeeing, hearing, taſting,Eph. 2.1. and feeling, can't be denyed; 'tis certain that thy nature is ſo corrupted that thou canſt not think a good thought,2 Cor. 3.5. Mat. 12.34. Joh. 6.44. 1 Cor. 2.14. nor ſpeak a good word, nor do a good work; thou art not ſick, but dead God-wards, and Chriſt-wards, and heaven-wards, and holineſs-wards, &c. I have read of the Lyoneſs, how that ſhe brings forth her whelps dead, and ſo they remain, till after ſome time by her roaring aloud over them, they come to live; certainly all unholy hearts are ſpiritually dead, and till Chriſt the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah comes to roar over them, by uttering his voice in the Goſpel, they cannot live, John 5.25. 'tis Chriſt onelyonly that can quicken the dead; 'twas never known ſince the creation of the world, that ever a dead man could make himſelf alive.1 King. 8.38. Sin in Dominion is the plague of the heart; now as there is no diſeaſe ſo deadly as the plague, ſo there is no plague ſo deadly as the plague of the heart; O this is a diſeaſe that none can cure, but he who is the Phyſitian of ſouls; an unſanctified perſon is not half dead, as the Pelagians, Arminians, and Papiſts ſay, but as to ſpirituals he is ſtark dead, Col. 2.13. An unſanctified ſoul is dead.
1. Reſpectu operis, In reſpect of working, and therefore his works are called dead works, Heb. 9.14. There is death written upon all he does.
2. Reſpectu honoris, He is dead in reſpect of honor, he is dead to all priviledges, he is not fit to inherit mercy; who will ſet the crown of life upon a deads man head? the crown of life is for the holy Chriſtian, and the holy Chriſtian is for the crown of life, Rev. 2.10. 2 Tim. 4.8. When he in Plutarch had tried all manner of ways to raiſe a dead man, and to make him ſtand upon his feet, and ſaw he could not do it, then he cryed out, there muſt be ſomething within, there muſt be ſomething within. So when men have ſaid and done all they can, there muſt be ſomething within, there muſt be ſomething of the power and Spirit of Chriſt within, that muſt raiſe up ſpiritual life in thoſe that are ſpiritually dead. But,
Secondly, I anſwer, That God gave thee ability and power in Adam to obey him in all his commands,Gen. 1.26. Eccleſ. 7.29. Pſal. 8.4.—ult. and though by Adams fall thou haſt loſt thy power to obey, yet God has not loſt his right and power to command thee to obey. Suppoſe a father ſhould furniſh a Child with moneys, and all other neceſſaries to go a journey, and he ſhould be drawn in by ſome ſtronge temptation to ſpend his money, his time, and his ſtrength, ſo as that now he is not able to go his journey, whoſe fault is this? will you now ſay that the father hath loſt his power to command, becauſe his ſon hath loſt his power to obey? Surely no, 'tis no iniquity in God to require that of us, which once he gave unto us. 'Tis no injuſtice in the creditor to call for his debt, when the debtor is faln into extream poverty through his own default. But,
Thirdly, I anſwer, Though an unſanctified perſon be not able to perform any Theological or ſpiritual action (as to believe or repent, &c.) yet he is able to perform all natural actions, as to eat, drink, work, walk, &c. and he is able to perform all Political actions alſo, as to trade, bargain, buy, ſell, plant, and build, &c. the ſoul even in an unſanctified perſon is not dead, but a living principle; and therefore it is able to underſtand, will, deſire, diſcourſe, reaſon, and to attend the means of grace; though he be not able to work grace in his own heart, yet he is able to attend on the means of grace. An unſanctified perſon may as well go to a Sermon, as to a Tavern, he may as well read the Scriptures, as read Play books and Pamphlets, he may as well aſſociate himſelf with thoſe that fear an oath, as he does with thoſe that delight to blaſpheme that name that all ſhould tremble at, &c. Mans impotency lyes in his obſtinacy, man pretends he cannot believe,Mat. 23.37. Luk. 13.34. Joh. 5.40. Act. 7.5. nor he cannot come to Chriſt, nor he cannot repent, &c. when he is reſolved that he will not believe, nor he will not come to Chriſt, nor he will not repent, &c. Chriſt in the Goſpel comes and offers pardon, and peace, and reconciliation, and thou turneſt thy back upon him; he woes and intreates,2 Cor. 5 18, 19, 20. and beſeeches thee by his Ambaſſadors, but thou wilt not hear, &c. he ſets life and death, heaven and hell, mercy and miſery before thee, but thou ſlighteſt all; Chriſt brings a cordial in one hand to ſtrengthen thee, and a remedy in the other hand to cure thee,Rev. 3.18. but thou diſpifeſt both; Chriſt offers tried gold to inrich thee, and white raiment to cloath thee, and precious eye-ſalve to enlighten thee, and thou ſhutteſt up thy heart againſt all his offers. Well ſirs, remember this,Hoſea 13.9. in the great Day all unſanctified perſons will be damn'd, not for can-nots, but for will-nots, tis neither men nor devils; 'tis neither the greatneſs of thy ſins, nor the numberleſs number of thy ſins that can damn thee, were it not for thy wilfulneſs in ſin. O ſinners, ſinners,Prov. 28. t3. 1 Joh. 1.9. Luk. 19.41, 42. if you are but heartily willing to forſake your ſins, and to accept of Chriſt as your Lord and King, and to reſign up your ſelves to him to be really his, to be wholly his, to be onelyonly his, and to be eternally his, he will certainly change you, and ſanctifie you, and ſave you; but if you will not be holy, if you will not be happy, if you will not be ſanctified, if you will not be ſaved, if you will not go to heaven, but are reſolved upon going to hell, what can be more juſt with God, then that you ſhould be Satans bond ſlaves, and fire-brands of hell, and veſſels of wrath to all eternity? But,
Fourthly, I anſwer, If thou doeſt but ſtir up thy ſelf to obey the command as well as thou canſt, thou doſt not know but that a power may go forth with the command, that may inable thee to act ſutable to the command. In that Mat. 9.1.—9. Chriſt bid the Palſie man riſe and walk, take up thy bed, and go unto thine houſe; the Palſie man might have objected, Alas, I am carried by four, I am not able to ſtir a limb, muchleſs to riſe, but leaſt of all to take up my bed and walk, &c. Oh but he puts forth himſelf as well as he could, and a power went forth with the command, that enabled him to do what was commanded. So in that Mat. 12.10.—14. There was a poor man that had a withered hand, & Chriſt commands him to ſtretch forth his hand; he might have objected, my hand is withered, and if I might have a thouſand worlds to ſtretch it forth, I could not ſtretch it forth, yea, if my life, if my ſalvation did lye upon ſtretching forth my withered arm, I could not ſtretch it forth; Oh but he throws by all objections, and complies as well as he could, and a power went forth and healed his hand. God commanded Moſes to go and deliver his people out of Egypt; Moſes might have objected his old age, the power of Pharoah, and his want of an Army to force their way, &c. But he turns his back upon theſe objections, and addreſſes himſelf to the work, and ſuch a mighty power went along with him as did effect it;Joſh. 6. he commanded the Iſraelites to take Rams horns, and with them to go and blow down the walls of Jericho; they might have ſaid, Lord theſe are weak and contemptible means, yea Lord, if we may ſpeak after the manner of men, they are ſuch ridiculous means as will expoſe us to ſcorn and laughter; but they paſs over theſe things, and apply themſelves to thoſe weak and deſpicable means that God had appointed, and ſuch a divine and glorious power went along with the means as made the walls of Jericho, not onelyonly to tremble, but to tumble down before them. Chriſt commanded Lazarus to come out of the grave, and there went a Divine power and vertue with that call of Chriſt, which made him to riſe. The means are the Spirits triumphing Chariot, in which he pleaſes to ride conquering and to conquer the ſouls of men;2 Cor. 2.14. Acts 10.44. Whilſt Peter yet ſpake, the holy Ghoſt fell on all them that heard the word. O man, thou canſt not tell but that whilſt thou art in the uſe of Divine helps, a ſecret power of the Spirit may break in upon thee, and make the means effectual to thy converſion and ſalvation; many thouſands have found it ſo, and therefore addreſs thy ſelf to the uſe of the meanes, and waite at the pool, thou canſt not tell how ſoone the Spirit may come and move upon thy ſoul, it may be this day, this houre, yea this very moment wherein I am thus ſpeaking to thee. But,
Fifthly, I anſwer, that the ſenſe of thine own inability,5. Iſa. 26.3, 4. inſufficiency, & impotency, ſhould provoke thee to run to Chriſt, and to lay hold on his everlaſting ſtrength, and to ply the throne of grace, and to give God no reſt till he has renewed and ſanctified thy ſoul,Acts 26.18. till he has effectually turned thee from darkneſs to light, till he has beſpangled thy ſoul with grace, and fill'd thee with his Spirit,Heb. 12.10. and made thee partakers of his holineſs. 'Twas a good ſaying of One (Da quod Jubes, Auguſtine.& jube quod vis) Give what thou commandeſt, and command what thou wilt. O goe to God and tell him, that what he has commanded in ſome Scriptures, he has promiſed to give in other Scriptures, and therefore preſs him to make good his promiſes, that ſo you may obey his precepts; O tell him, that if he will but ſprinkle clean water upon thee, and put his Spirit within thee, Ezek. 36.25, 26, 27, 28.and give a new heart unto thee, according to his promiſe, that then thou wilt walke in his Statutes, and keep his Judgments, and doe them; O tell him, that if he will but put his feare into thy heart, according to his promiſe,Jer. 32.40. that then thou wilt never depart from him; O tell him,Phil. 1.29. James 5.17. that he has commanded thee to believe, and that he has alſo promiſed to give thee faith, and therefore if he will but make good his promiſe, thou ſhalt be ſure to obey his precepts; O tell him, that he has frequently commanded thee to repent, Acts 5.31. 2 Tim. 2.25.and that he has alſo graciouſly promiſed to give repentance, and therefore if he will but performe his promiſe, thou ſhalt not faile to obey his precepts, &c. O tell him, that thou haſt no mind to be damn'd, tell him, that thou trembleſt at the thoughts of hell, tell him that thou canſt not without much horror think of dwelling with a devouring fire, of dwelling with everlaſting burnings; O tell him,Iſa. 33.14. 2 Theſ. 1.7, 8, 9, 10. that thou dreadeſt an eternall ſeparation from him, and therefore earneſtly beſeech him, for his Sons ſake, and for his glory ſake, and his promiſe ſake, and thy ſouls ſake, that he would renew thy nature, and ſanctifie thy ſoul, that ſo thou mayeſt not periſh to all eternity. But,
Sixthly, and laſtly, What diſ-ingenuity, yea what injuſtice and unrighteouſneſs is this, that thou ſhouldeſt lye complaining of the want of power, when thou doeſt not uſe and improve the power thou haſt; without the power and aſſiſtance of ſpecial grace, thou haſt power to attend religious duties and ſervices, thou haſt power to turne thy back upon the infectious and dangerous ſociety of wicked and ungodly men, thou haſt power to keep at a diſtance from the Harlots door, Prov. 7.thou haſt power to keep thy mouth of blaſphemy ſhut, thou haſt power to keep thy hands from ſtealing,James 3.10. Ephe. 4.28. Rom. 3.15. and thy feete from being ſwift to ſhed innocent blood; thou haſt power to bring thy body to an Ordinance, though thou haſt not power to bring thy ſoul to the Ordinance; the Noble Bereans brought their bodies to the Ordinance,Acts 17.11, 12. and they took the heads of the Apoſtles Sermon, and compared them with the Scripture, and yet they were in an unrenewed and unſanctified eſtate. O Sirs, you have power to come to publick Ordinances, and to ſet your ſelves under the droppings of a Goſpel powerful Miniſtry, you have power to lie at the poole of Betheſda, and there to waite till the cure be wrought; but where is the unſanctified ſoul that improves the power he has? Tell me, O vaine man, why ſhould God truſt thee with a greater power, when thou makeſt no conſcience of improving that power thou haſt? Why ſhould God truſt thee with Ten Tallents, when thou haſt no heart to improve the two that he has already truſted thee withall? What wiſe Father or Maſter will truſt that child or ſervant with hundreds or thouſands, who makes no conſcience of improving far leſſer ſums to the honour and advantage of the Father or the Maſter? how doeſt thou know, O man, but that upon the faithfull improvement of that power thou haſt, God may adde a greater power to thee? if thou wilt but goe that two miles thou canſt, God may ſtrike in with thee, and inable thee to goe Ten. 'Tis a dangerous thing to neglect the doing of that which thou canſt doe, becauſe that thou canſt not doe every thing that thou ſhouldeſt doe. Suppoſe a Father or a Maſter ſhould ſay to his Son or ſervant, take ſuch and ſuch wares and commodities, and carry them to ſuch and ſuch places, for ſuch and ſuch Chapmen, and the Son or ſervant ſhould ſay, well, though there be ſome ſmall light burthens that I can well enough carry, yet there are many heavie burthens that I cannot carry, and therefore I will carry none at all; may not the Father of ſuch a Son, or the Maſter of ſuch a ſervant in much Juſtice and righteouſneſs ſeverely puniſh ſuch a Son or ſervant? doubtleſs yes; Why this is the very caſe of all unſanctified ſouls; God commands them to believe and repent, and to love him with all their hearts, and to ſet him up as the object of their feare, and to give him the preheminence in all things, &c. But theſe are ſupernaturall acts beyond their power; And he commands them to attend on the meanes of grace, and to waire at Wiſdoms door; he commands them to apply themſelves to publike ordinances, and to keep cloſe to family duties, and to turne their backs upon ſuch and ſuch vicious ſocieties, &c. and theſe are things they can doe; and yet becauſe they cannot doe the former, they wilfully and wickedly refuſe to doe the latter; becauſe they cannot bare the heavieſt burthen, they are reſolved they will bare none at all; and becauſe they cannot doe every thing they ſhould, they will doe nothing at all, except it be to complaine that God is a hard Maſter, and expects to reape where he do's not ſowe; now how juſt and righteous a thing it is with God to deale ſeverely with ſuch, I will leave you to judge. And let this ſuffice for anſwer to the firſt objection.