Heavens Treasury Opened, Principle 4
The fourth Principle. A ſinner of an humble and contrite ſpirit apprehends Chriſt by faith, and ſo is juſtified and ſanctified.
Here are two things;
1. A preparation.
2. The Benefit.
Queſt. WHat is contrition?
A. When a ſinner is brought to ſuch a ſight of ſinne, that being enforced to feele the burthen thereof, hee comes to bee ſequeſtred from it.
Q. How many things are here conſiderable?
A. Three:
1. A ſinner muſt be brought to a ſight of his ſinne.
2. Hee muſt bee enforced to feele it.
3. He muſt come to be ſequeſtred from it.
Q. Why doe you ſay, Brought to a ſight of his ſinne?
A. Becauſe of himſelfe he neither will nor can ſee his ſinne.
Q. What doe you meane by ſight?
A. A cleare and convicting ſight of ſinne.
Q. What is it to have cleare ſight of ſinne.
A. When a man ſees ſinne as it is in its colours.
Q. What is it to ſee ſinne convictingly?
A. When a ſinner is perſwaded in his conſcience that that ſinne which the Miniſter and the Word of God ſpeakes of, is his own ſinne.
Q. What is meant by ſinne?
A. In ſinne there are two branches, the evill of it, and the puniſhment of it.
Q. Which is worſe of theſe two?
A. The evill of ſinne, for
1. that which deprives a man of the chiefeſt good, muſt needs be the greateſt evill, but ſinne deprives the ſoule of God the chiefeſt good.
2. We ſee Chriſt could ſuffer puniſhment, but not be ſinfull.
3. And God is oft the Author of puniſhment, but not of ſinne.
Q. What is the ſecond thing in the definition?
Anſw. Hee is inforced to feele it, men would bee flying off from the meditation of this ſinne.
Q. How may a man feele his ſinne as he ſhould doe?
Anſ. By meditation and application.
Q. How by meditation?
Anſw. 1. By conſidering what a GOD hee hath offended, how great mercy abuſed, and juſtice provoked, not onelyonly in time of ignorance, but ſince wee knew him: Secondly, A ſerious meditation of the vile and filthy nature of ſinne.
Q. How doth the vileneſſe of ſin appeare?
A. It ſeparates us from Gods preſence, and procureth eternall miſery.
Q. How by application?
Anſw.
1. By convincing the heart of its loathſome conditon.
2. By dogging the heart when there is any occaſion of ſinne, and ſtill telling it of Gods judgement.
Q. Can any man of himſelfe doe this?
A. No, it muſt be Gods humbling hand.
Q. What doe you meane by ſequeſtred?
Anſ. When a mans hearts deſire and hungring, is to get out of ſinne, though hee cannot, ſaying with himſelfe, there is no reaſon why I ſhould be thus ruled by baſe luſts.
Q. What is humiliation?
Anſw. When the heart of a poore ſinner comes to deſpaire of all hope and helpe, either in himſelfe or any creature, and is contented to bee at Gods diſpoſing.
Q. How many things are to be conſidered in this definition?
Anſw. Hee deſpaireth of all hope in himſelfe, or in the creatures, and is content to be at Gods diſpoſing.
Q. When doth a man come to this deſpaire?
A. When he ſeeketh to the world for ſuccour, and findes none.
Q. When is a man content to bee at Gods diſpoſe?
A. When he acknowledgeth he hath no good in himſelfe, and confeſſes (if at any time God afflict him) that it is juſt with God ſo to doe, reſolving what ever trouble lyes upon him, ſtill to truſt and call upon God. Contrition and humiliation are two graces which muſt be wrought in the ſoul before faith can enter in.
1. Becauſe every naturall man hath ſinne to be his God, now there cannot be two Gods in any mans heart.
2. Becauſe by faith we goe unto Chriſt to receive good at his hands; now one cannot goe to Chriſt before he goe out of himſelfe; before we can get the pearle, we muſt ſell all that we have; now Chriſt is the pearle; wee muſt ſell all our corruptions to enjoy him.
Q. What is faith?
A. A reſting upon God, grounded upon knowledge, and aſſurance that God is my God in Chriſt.
Q. How many things are included in this knowledge?
A. A ſight of ſinne, and a ſenſe of it, which will produce three things:
1. A prizing and ſeeking for mercy.
2. No content in any thing, till we have obtained mercy.
3. The teſtimony of Gods Spirit, which aſſureth Gods children their ſins are pardoned.
Q. What is meant by reſting upon God?
A. It is diſcovered by two particulars:
1. Caſting our ſelves upon the Promiſe.
2. A perſwaſion that they ſhall be fulfilled to us.
Q. What is luſtification?
A. When a beleeving ſinner is accounted juſt in Gods ſight, through Chriſt, according to the Law.
Q. Why ſay you accounted?
A. Becauſe Juſtification puts nothing into us, nor findes nothing in us.
Q. Doth God justifie wicked men as they are in themſelves?
A. God provided another to be their ſurety, for whoſe ſake he accepts them.
Q. Can one mans wiſedome, underſtanding and holineſſe be accounted to another?
A. Yes, if one mans offence be imputed to another, then may one mans righteouſneſſe; but Adams ſinne was imputed to us, Rom. 5. therefore Chriſts Righteouſneſſe may be accounted ours. If the Law be, that the ſurety may be puniſhed for the debt as well as the debtor, then may the ſureties ſatisfaction be accounted to the debtor, both becauſe the ſurety and the debtor tooke upon them the ſame thing, and ſubjected themſelves to the ſame condition.
Q. What doe we learn out of theſe words, according to the Law?
A. No man can be juſt, except he be in ſome meaſure anſwerable to the rule of juſtice.
Q. What did the Law require?
A. Two things:
1. Dying for ſinne.
2. Doing that wee may live.
Q. Was our ſinne made Christ… by commiſſion?
A. No, onelyonly by imputation, for when Chriſt dyed to ſave us, did we dye alſo? no, onelyonly his death was imputed to us.
Q. What doth Chriſt receive from us?
A. Guilt and puniſhment.
Q. What doe we receive from Chriſt?
A. His merits and obedience.
Q. Doth faith it ſelfe juſtifie a man?
A. We are not juſtified by faith, for its but an inſtrument whereby we lay hold upon Chriſt, and ſo are juſtified.
Q. Muſt juſtification be joyned to ſanctification?
A. Yes, for juſtification goeth, before, and ſanctification followes after.
Q. Wherein lyeth the difference?
A. luſtification putteth nothing into a man, nor findeth any thing in a man: Sanctification puts a new frame of he art into us.
Q. But doth not God put grace into a juſtified ſinner?
A. Yes, but he doth it by ſanctification, not by juſtification. We receive juſtification all at once, and that neither admits of increaſe, or decreaſe, but holineſſe is uſually increaſed, and decreaſeth many times.
Q. What is ſanctification?
A. Its the reſtoring of a juſtified man into the image of God wherein he was created: Not a making new faculties in the ſoule, but putting them into right order; as when a clock falls in pieces (the wheels being not broken) the clock hath not new wheeles ſet into it, but they are new made againe.
Q. How many things be there in ſanctification?
A. Two: Mortification and Vivification.
Q. What is mortification?
A. The firſt part of ſanctification whereby ſinne is killed in us by the power of Chriſts death applied unto us.
Q. Can ſinne be wholly ſubdued in a man?
A. No, but it may be leſſened and filed away.
Q. Wherein lyes the difference between ſin in a wicked, and a godly man?
A. There is the neereſt union that may be, between ſinne, and the ſoule of a wicked man: Sinne beareth greateſt rule here, and the ſoule yeelds greateſt ſubjection unto it: He hath a ſecret reſolution to ſinne in ſpight of God and his Ordinances.
But in a godly man the power of ſinne is looſened, and the union broken, ſinne is not in him as a King, though it may be as a Tyrant,
Q. Can mortification and vivification bee ſevered?
A. No, where God beſtowes Mortification, there hee likewiſe beſtowes vivification.
Q. Which goeth firſt?
A. Mortification, for before we can receive Chriſt, we muſt make roome for him by caſting out all wickedneſſe.
Q. What is meant by this word vivification?
A. It is that part of ſanctification whereby wee are quickned to newneſſe of life by Chriſt his Reſurrection applyed unto us.
Q. How is this wrought by Chriſts Reſurrection?
A. In ſinne wee muſt conceive there is,
1. The guilt.
2. The puniſhment.
3. The power of it; the guilt and puniſhment Chriſt by his Death removed.
Q. But how did he take away the power of them?
A. We having ſinned, Chriſt dyed, and roſe again for us, whereas ſin and Satan would have kept him in ſtill if they could, but hee came out by force.