Precious Faith Considered, Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Of the ſecond part of Precious Faith, the belief of the Teſtimony of God in the Scriptures: What manner of belief it is, and the conſequents of it, in order to an holy ſelf-reſignation.
THUS far of the firſt thing in Faith, ſupernatural illumination. I now proceed to the ſecond, A belief of the teſtimony of God in the Scriptures: and here I need uſe no words to prove this belief an ingredient in Faith, for faith in the Grammatical notion of it, is nothing elſe but a belief of a Teſtimony; and, being applied to God, it is a belief of his Teſtimony in Scripture. Only I ſhall open two things; firſt, what manner of belief of the divine teſtimony in Scriptures this is: and then, what the conſequents of it are in order to reſignation.
Firſt, What manner of belief this is. And this I ſhall explain in theſe particulars.
Firſt, This belief is divine, and congruous to the divine teſtimony. Such as the teſtimony is, ſuch muſt be the ratio credendi: the Scriptures being a divine teſtimony, muſt be believed for themſelves, becauſe of the divine authority ſtamped upon them. Thus the Theſſalonians received the word, not as the word of man, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, 1 Theſſ. 2.13. they lodged the divine truth in a divine faith, which was a ſuitable entertainment. Humana omnia dicta teſtibus egent, Dei autem ſermo ipſe ſibi teſt is eſt, ſaith Salvian, humane words want witneſs, but divine carry their own teſtimony in themſelves. To believe the Scriptures becauſe God ſpeaks in them, is a divine faith, but to believe them upon any other account, is below their divine authority, and but an humane faith. For example, to believe the Scriptures for the ſaying of the woman, for the Churches teſtimony, is but an humane faith, for it ſtands on no higher fulciment then an humane teſtimony, and therefore can be but an humane faith. Here the ſubtile Jeſuite would help out the Papiſt at a dead lift: that faith (ſaith he) which is reſolved into the Churches authority is neque purè divina, neque purè humana, ſed quaſi media inferioris cujuſdam ordinis; but what ſaith the learned Pemble to him, Juſt ſo men uſe to ſpeak when they cannot tell what to ſay; It is Quaſi, and Aliquomodo, and Alicujus generis, it is ſomewhat, if they could tell what, thus he. 'Tis undoubtedly clear, that that faith which calls any man Maſter on earth, and centers on an humane teſtimony, ſuch as that of the Church, made up of men, muſt needs be, can be no other then humane. Indeed the Churches teſtimony may be inter motiva fidei, but (if the faith be divine) it cannot be inter formales rationes ſidei. A man in the dark labyrinth of nature may be led out by the Churches lamp, but when he is out, he ſees the Sun by its own light, he believes the Scriptures for their own divinity, though per miniſterium Eccleſiae, yet not propter authoritatem Eccleſiae. Divine faith hath its Maſter in heaven, and its record on high.
Secondly, Which follows on the other, this belief is a firm and ſtable thing, becauſe built on the divine authority of Scripture; we believe and are ſure, ſaith Peter, Joh. 6.69. Nothing on earth can ſo aſcertain things unto us, as faith in the divine teſtimony. Julian the Apoſtate glorying in the Pagan learning, jeered at the Chriſtians, becauſe all their wiſdom was but in that one word Credo, I believe: but divine faith for all his prophane taunt, hath more firmneſs and real certainty in it then all the Sciences in the world; for it ſees things in lumine veritatis primae, in the light of the firſt truth, and ſits even in the infallible chair; ſo that non poteſt ſubeſſe falſum, a lye cannot ſit under it, and glues the heart to the truth in that manner,Eonav. l. 3 diſi. 23. quest. 4. that (as the Schoolman hath it) true believers, nec per argumenta, nec per tormenta, nec per blandimenta inclinari poſſunt, ut veritatem ſaltem ore tenus negent, nothing could turn them away from the truth. So ſtrong a thing is faith, when it is ſet upon the rock, the teſtimony of God; but if it have an humane bottom only, ſuch as the Churches authority, it is weak and wavering, more like a fluctuating opinion then a faith. Durandus aſſerts, that Science is more certain than faith, and to that ſtrong objection, that the divine authority by which we believe, is more certain then any humane reaſon by which we know; he anſwers thus, Divina autoritas, propter quam credimus, licet ſit certiſſima in ſe, non tamen nobis, qualitèr enim certi ſimus, L. 3. diſt. 23. queſt. 7.quod Deus dicat ea quae credimus, non niſi quia ſic tenet Eccleſia? Obſerve, how this great Scholar abates the certainty of faith, becauſe he takes up the divinity of Scriptures upon truſt from the ſaying of the Church; thoſe who build their faith purely on the divine word, ſpeak after another rate. Junius reading the firſt chapter of St. John, cried out in a kind of amazement, Divinitatem argumenti & authoritatem ſentio: and Reverend Calvin, putting the queſtion how we ſhall be perſwaded that the Scriptures did flow forth from God; anſwers as roundly as a man doth touching that which is obvious and before his ſenſes,Inſtit. l. 1. c. 7. perinde eſt (ſaith he) ac ſi quis roget, unde diſcemus lucem diſcernere à tenebris, the Scripture reveals it ſelf as the light doth, and to the pure eye of faith it appears divine from its own innate excellency, and ſo eſtabliſhes the heart in its holy truth. To conclude this point, faith is a ſtable and firm thing; but, by the eſtimates and lives of men, there ſeems to be but a very little of it in the world. Did men, as they profeſs, firmly believe the Scriptures, could they vilifie the commands of the great God as they do? The injunctions of earthly Princes are not ſerved ſo. Would they ſlight that wonderful charter of grace and glory in the Goſpel? a Patent of petty dignities and poſſeſſions here below will be highly valued by them: durſt they ſin as they do, in the face of hell and wrath flaſhing out of the divine threatnings? a Princes ſword or Gibbet would caſt them into a fit of trembling. O how ſoon would the things of God caſt the ballance in the heart, and outweigh all the world, if the Scriptures were indeed believed: but there being in men only levis opinatio, a light opinion rather then a ſolid faith touching the ſame, there neceſſarily enſues a monſtrous diſproportion between their faith and their life.
Thirdly, This belief muſt be explicite as to the fundamentals of Religion. A meer implicite faith, as to believe in the lump, that all things contained in the holy Scriptures are true, will not ſerve the turn.In Coloſſ. 2. v. 2. Non eſt divina ſed belluina fides, quae nuliam habet conceptionem five comprehenſionem illarum rerum, quae creduntur, ſaith the excellent Davenant. A meer implicite faith without underſtanding is a bruitiſh thing; an explicite faith as to fundamentals is required: this will appear by theſe enſuing conſiderations.
Firſt, A meer implicite faith, if at any time might have paſſed for currant, in the days before Chriſts Incarnation, whileſt religion was wrapt up in vails and ſhadows; but even then faith in holy men was explicite according to the meaſure of divine light imparted unto them: all along they looked to the Meſſiah, the promiſed ſeed, and probably in an obſcure manner to his future ſufferings. Whileſt Adam was in Innocency, there was no promiſe of a Meſſiah, no footſtep of a ſacrifice; but as ſoon as man was fallen, out came that firſt Goſpel, the ſeed of the woman ſhall bruiſe the ſerpents head, Gen. 3.15. and ſacrifices were ſet up: without doubt not without Gods appointment, for God had reſpect to Abels ſacrifice; which, had it been a piece of will-worſhip, could not have been, and Abol offered it up by faith, Heb. 11.4. which, without a divine word, moves not in the leaſt meaſure. Theſe ſacrifices were as it were viſible Commentaries on that firſt Goſpel, and types of a ſuffering Meſſiah. And if ſo and ſo by Gods own inſtitution, it is not at all probable that God ſhould hide the ſacred meaning thereof totally from the faith of the firſt believers. Adam then, as I conceive, by the eyes of Faith ſaw the Meſſiah in that firſt Goſpel, and withall ſome glimmering of his ſufferings in the ſacrifices: And if he ſaw it, no doubt he did preach and reveal it to others,Schola ſaerif. Disp. 4 and probably (as Franzius conceives) in a ſolemn manner at the ſacrifices. Abel (ſaith the Apoſtle) by faith offered up a ſacrifice to God, not only by ſuch a faith as did it in obedience to Gods command, but by ſuch a faith, as through his own ſacrifice did pierce to the antitype, the great ſacrifice of the Meſſiah. De ſatiſfact. Chriſti l. 1. ſect. 5.Thus the learned Eſſenius, cum ſacrificia Veteris Teſtamenti fuerint typi ſacrificii Chriſti, ea ſides intelligenda eſt, quâ ſacrificium illud refertur ad ſuum antitypum, ſuch a faith was proper to his ſacrifice. In Noahs ſacrifice the Lord ſmelled a ſweet ſavour, or a ſavour of reſt, ſuch as did (ſaith one of the Rabbins) make him ab irâ ſuâ quieſcere, reſt from his anger, Gen. 8.21. and therefore ſurely there was more in it then meer beaſts and fowls. Noahs faith fetched in him, who was to give himſelf an offering and ſacrifice to God for a ſweet-ſmelling ſavour. Abraham ſaw Chriſts day, that is, his coming and ſuffering in the fleſh, John 8.56. a very great ſight at that diſtance: and no doubt the faithful Seer did not conceal it, but tell his children and ſervants thereof for the glory of the Meſſiah: his joy was too great to hold it in privately to himſelf, and his zeal too hot to hide ſo much of heavenly glory. Under the Levitical Law the Iſraelites were to lay their hands on the head of the ſacrifice, as it were to disburden themſelves of ſin, and lay it off upon the ſacrifice; and by the offering up thereof, they were to make an atonement or expiation. The unbelievers among them underſtood the outward rite of the ſacrifice; and did the faithful ones ſee no more in it? Could or did they imagine that a poor ſilly beaſt could ſtand under the weight of ſin, or that the blood of bulls or goats could take it away? No ſurely, their faith looked through the outward ſacrifice to the Meſſiah for atonement and reconciliation. In David the Evangelical day broke out more clearly; O how much of Chriſt is there in the 110th Pſalm? there's his kingdom and eternal prieſthood; there's his paſſion in drinking of the brook in the way; there's his aſcenſion in lifting up the head; there's his interceſſion in ſitting at Gods right hand; there's his Church Catholick, a willing people, made ſo by the power of his grace. This was Symbolum Davidicum, Davids Creed (as a learned man hath it) reaching in a manner as far as ours: Moreover, the Saints of old by their faith kenned a reſurrection and life eternal. Jobs faith looked through worms and duſt to the viſion of God, Job 19.26. Abrahams faith travelled beyond Canaan unto the heavenly city and country, Heb. 11.10. David is in a rapture at the full joys and right-hand pleaſures with God, Pſal. 16.11. When Cain talked with Abel his brother, Gen. 4.8. the Hebrew text ſets not down what he ſaid, but it hath an extraordinary pawſe, implying further matter; the Jeruſalem Targum ſays, Cain aſſerted that there was no judgment, no judge, no world to come, no rewards of evil or good; but believing Abel ſaid there were all theſe, and then his brother ſlew him: It ſeems the firſt fall out was about the future world. Wiſdom cauſes her lovers to inherit ſubſtance, Quid eſt foreign? niſi futurum ſaeculum.or eſſence (as the original word imports) Prov. 8.21. and this ſubſtance or eſſence is (as ſome Jews affirm) no other then eternal life in the world to come. Now to make my inference from all this; If faith were in a meaſure explicite in thoſe early Saints, who had but the twilight of the holy types, and cock-crowing of the Prophets; how much more ſhould it be ſo in us, who live in the noon-day of the Goſpel, and as it were directly under the Sun of righteouſneſs, in ſuch a Church-ſtate, wherein the leaſt is greater then John Baptiſt, we ſhould expand and ſpread abroad the fails of our faith to take in the larger gales and effuſions of the holy ſpirit.
Secondly, Faith, unleſs explicite, cannot arrive at thoſe ends for which it is ordained; viz. to raiſe up the heart to a reliance on the free grace of God in Chriſt, to inſlame the heart with the love of God and holy things, to ſanctifie the heart through the truth, and to overcome the world with its luſts: A meer implicite faith cannot reach theſe, it cannot raiſe the heart up to a reliance on Gods grace in Chriſt: to that reliance is prerequired not only a belief that God is true in the Scriptures in general, but alſo a belief that God is true in the precious promiſes in ſpecial: We are like Jacob, not believing in the mercies of God till we ſee the chariots, the gracious promiſes, which he hath ſent down from heaven to carry up our faith to himſelf. They that know thy name, will put their truſt in thee, Pſal. 9.10. they and they only. Neither can it inflame the heart with the love of God and holy things: light and heat ever go together: Implicite faith is a dark and cold thing, affording no ſpiritual warmth at all; he that hath no more, is but a Nabal, a fool in religion, and his heart as dead and cold as a ſtone within him, till the love of God in the explicite notion of it ſhine into the ſoul; it will not, like the diſciples at Emmaus, burn within us with love to God and his ways: neither can it ſanctifie the heart through the truth, the word did not profit them not being mixed or tempered with faith ſaith the Apoſtle, Heb. 4.2. Where there is only an implicite faith, the word lies upon the heart all in a lump, whole and undigeſted, affording no blood or ſpirits of ſanctity to the ſoul: it is explicite faith only which breaks the truth in the heart, and mixes and tempers every holy particle therewith, from whence the ſoul comes to be changed and aſſimulated into the truth, receiving a divine likeneſs from it, according to the meaſure of its faith, more or leſs digeſting the ſame truth in the heart; neither can it laſtly overcome the world and the luſts thereof, this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith, ſaith the Apoſtle, 1 Joh. 5.4. And this Faith doth, by putting a right eſtimate of things into the heart: whereby it manifeſtly appears, that heavenly things do infinitely outweigh earthly in themſelves, and ſhould do ſo in the minds of men. A man of a meer implicite faith, is a man without a ballance or judgment, he knows not how to eſtimate or weigh the excellent things of God, and therefore is ever poized down by the world and the luſts thereof. It is the explicite faith only which is in the ſoul as the ballance of the Sanctuary, rightly determining the true weight of things, and thereby giving heavenly things the victory above earthly in the heart. Oh! where this is, what a feather, a vanity, a nothing is the world? what in it can weigh againſt God, or Chriſt, or the exceeding eternal weight of glory? ſurely nothing; wherefore the followers of faith become conquerors of the world.
Fourthly, This belief muſt be total and abſolute, without any ſalvoes or limitations. The Goſpel muſt captivate foreign, all the intellect, or every thought to the obedience of Chriſt, 2 Cor. 10.5. The Reaſon muſt not go at large or random, but be kept in ſafe cuſtody under the Goſpel and the divine myſteries thereof; it is not to be truſted to, never ſince the fall put an enmity into it againſt God. The Socinians believe the Scriptures only ſo far forth as they are congruous to reaſon; thus Socinus profeſſes, that if this propoſition (that Jeſus Chriſt ſatisfied God for our ſins) were once and again extant in the ſacred monuments, yet non ideirco, he would not therefore believe the thing to be ſo as we ordinarily conceive of it: And another laies down this for a rule, Nihil credi poteſt, quod à ratione capi & intelligi nequeat, that cannot be believed by faith, which cannot be comprehended by reaſon. It ſeems they will truſt God no further then they can ſee him, and depend more on their blear-eyed reaſon, then the divine oracle. Touching this Socinian faith, I ſhall endeavour to ſhew, firſt the inrationality of it, and then the nullity.
Firſt, The Irrationality of it will evidently appear, if we diſtinguiſh between the two ſtates of reaſon, before the fall of man, and ſince. Reaſon before the fall was a pure and virgin light without any ſpot in it, afterwards it was deſtoured and overſhadowed with the fall, and by that means all that is in the mind of man in his lapſed eſtate is not reaſon, the blinds and dark ſhades there are not ſo, but only that which is the relique of the pure primitive light, and congruous thereunto, the blemiſh in the eye is not the light, the ruſt in the gold is not the pure metal, neither is all that is in lapſed reaſon to be reckoned reaſon. If then in this caſe we would know what is rational, we muſt conſider what reaſon, ſo far as it is pure and right, doth dictate to us in this point: and what is that, but that God as the firſt unerrable truth, muſt be believed in his words for himſelf, and above all other things, even above reaſon it ſelf?Ronand. l. 3. diſt. 23. Juſtum eſt (ſaith the Schoolman) ut intellecius noſter ita captivetur, & ſubjacoat ſummae veritati, ſicut affectus noſter debet ſubjacere ſummae bonitati, nec poteſt eſſe anima recta niſi intellectus ſumme, veritati propter ſe, & ſuper omnia aſſentiat, & affectus ſummae bonitati adhaereat: It's juſt and purely rational, as to love the ſupream goodneſs, ſo to aſſent to the ſupream truth for it ſelf and above all; that is, without any ſalvocs or exceptions at all; the authority being infallible, the belief ſhould in all reaſon be abſolute. Reaſon ſays, that God ſhould be believed as a God, one that cannot lye, no more then ceaſe to be; and if as a God, then for himſelf and above all. That in the Socinian, which adds a ſalvo to his belief of the holy Scriptures, is not his reaſon, but the ruſt and proud fleſh and ſpiritual corruption of it; and to believe ſuch ſtuff before the truth of God, and make it the allay and ſupream ruler of our faith, is deſperately and monſtrouſly irrational. How this ruſt grew upon our reaſon at firſt, is evident in the fall of man, the Serpent creeps in upon the woman, with an yea, hath God ſaid? Gen. 3.1. his plot was to weaken the authority of Gods word, and when ſhe began to waver about it, and diminiſh the peremptory threatning of death, with a leaſt ye dye, v. 3. her reaſon began to corrupt and become dreggy, which, while pure, could not but aſſert the truth and veracity of God. Hence the Apoſtle ſpeaking to the Corinthian Church as a chaſt virgin eſpouſed to Chriſt, adds this caution, leaſt as the Serpent beguiled Eve, ſo your minds ſhould be corrupted from the ſimplicity that is in Chriſt, 2 Cor. 11.2. & 3. ver. That is, take heed of falling off from the pure doctrine of the Goſpel, the head of every man is Chriſt, ſo much adherence and ſubjection as reaſon hath unto him and his holy truth, ſo much chaſtity and virginity it hath;Virginitae mentis est integraſides. Auſt. in Joh. but as ſoon as it elapes, it becomes an adultereſs, and ſhould not be ſuffered to ſpeak in holy things. Morcover, the irrationality of it will further appear, if we conſider that the ſphear of reaſon and the ſphear of revelation are two diſtinct things. The ſphear of reaſon is filled with natural notions, the elements of mans ſpirit; but the ſphear of revelation is filled with ſupernatural truths, the dictates of God; Reaſon, ſo far as it is reaſon, is a divine ſpark, a petty Prince in its own dominions; but when it leaves theſe, and paſſes over into the ſupernatural region, and there, inſtead of ſitting down at Gods ſeet to be taught and inlightned, aſſumes the magiſterial chair, and falls a judging divine myſteries, it is no longer reaſon, but a fool and a brute, and ſpeaks as ſimply in matters of Religion, as a beaſt, if it could ſpeak would do in matters of reaſon. Thus when our Saviour diſcourſed Nicodemus about regeneration, reaſon prattled after a ſtrange rate, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the ſecond time into his mothers womb and be born? So ſooliſhly and abſurdly doth carnal reaſon carry it ſelf in ſupernatural things. To make this more plain, let us compare the weakneſs of reaſon with the ſublimity of holy myſteries, and then the fallibility of reaſon with the certainty of them.
Firſt, Let us compare the weakneſs of reaſon with the ſublimity of holy Myſteries. Reaſon, having a bruiſe in the fall, is weak even in its own ſphear: With how much toil doth it creep from letters to words, and from words to Arts and Sciences? And when it is there, how little doth it know? Can it ſpan the heavens, or meaſure the vaſt back-ſide thereof, or number thoſe golden letters, the ſtars therein, or underſtand the Sun, which to have done, Eudoxus would willingly have been burnt up by it, or in one of its beams: tell what light is, touching which there are no leſs then ſeven opinions in one of the Schoolmen, which verifies the old ſaying, Non conſtat ex lumine naturae quid ſit natura luminis? To come lower, can it enter into the treaſures of the ſnow, or ride a circuit with the winds, or take a rational turn with the flux and reflux of the ſea, or tell how the maſſie earth hangs upon nothing, or unkennel an occult quality and draw it out to an open view, or unriddle a loadſtone; in which a late Philoſopher would have the atomes of both Poles to meet and incorporate? Nay, in a common ſtone, can it dive into the form or nature thereof, dic mihi, quid eſt lapiditas, ſaid a Learned man; can it ſtrip the meaneſt creature of the inveſting accidents, and look upon the pure naked eſſence thereof? can it comprehend a drop or a duſt, in which (ſaith the profound Bradwardine) there are infinite figures and numbers,De Cauſâ Dei. l. 1. c. 1. pars 32. and conſequently infinite Geometrical and Arithmetical concluſions, following one another in order, and having a mutual dependance between themſelves, ſuch as no Philoſophers can ever reach unto, becauſe being capable only of finite concluſions, they leave behind them infinite unknown? Or, if it look about its own manſion-houſe, the brain, can it tell where the cells of memory, or the play-houſe of fancy, or the ſhop of the animal ſpirits are ſcituate, or whether all theſe live together in a family? thouſands of ſuch things there are, which may make every one cry out with Socrates, Hoc unum ſcio, quod nihil ſcio. And ſhall ſuch a weakling as this, dunced and poſed in every atome within its own ſphear, uſurp the crown, and rule over ſacred myſteries, and pure revelations, which come out of the boſom of God, to be the wonder of Angels and faith of men, and are in a tranſcendent exceſs infinitely above and beyond the capacity of both of them? ſhall it take up the ocean in a little ſhell, meaſure the ſacred Trinity in its ſhallow underſtanding: And, if it will not lye in ſo narrow a room, caſt it away as no article of Faith, as a thing inter impoſſibilia mentis, not conſiſtent with reaſon? ſhall its dim eyes pry into the Ark, I mean, into that great myſtery, God in the fleſh; and there, becauſe it cannot ſee how two ſuch natures as mortal and immortal, temporal and eternal, mutable and immutable can come together into one perſon, throw it away, as Smalcius doth, with this, rationi ſanae repugnat, it is repugnant to right reaſon? When reaſon thus exalts it ſelf in the things of God, it ſinks below it ſelf into brutiſh irrationality.
Secondly, Let us compare the fallibility of Reaſon, with the infallibility of Scripture. When the Papiſts lift up the Pope as ſupream judge in matters of Religion, it is a ſufficient anſwer to tell them, the firſt Clement held the Platonical community of all things, even of wives. Marcellinus ſacrificed to Idols. Liberius ſubſcribed to Arianiſm. Innocent the firſt taught that little ones could not be ſaved without the Euchariſt. Vigilius was an Eutychian. Honorius a Monothelite. Hildebrand a brand of hell, and impiouſly diabolical. John the 23th was accuſed in the Council of Conſtance of this opinion, That the ſouls of men dye with their bodies, even as the ſouls of brutes; and ſhould ſuch be judges in matters of Religion? When the Socinian, by ſubjecting articles of Faith unto Reaſon, makes not one, but as many Popes as men, we need ſay no more to him, but humanum eſt errare, reaſon is a fallible thing. The Philoſophers were the Patriarchs of heretiques; Platonical Philoſophy in the Fathers, and Ariſtotelical in the Schoolmen, hath much debaſed the truths of God, ſaith a great Divine. All the errors and hereſies which have ſwarmed abroad in all ages, have been the progeny of corrupt Reaſon: upon this the devil begets all the black monſtrous opinions which crawl within doors in the Church, or without in the Pagan world. And ſhould ſuch a thing as this come and ſit in judgment on the pure words of God, which are ſurer then the voice of Angels, and ſtand faſter then the pillars of heaven and earth, which in ſo many ſucceſſions of Ages never contracted the leaſt ſpeck of falſhood, or ſhed a leaf in the fall of the leaſt tittle or iota thereof? Surely, when reaſon thus forgets it ſelf and its own fallibility, it degrades it ſelf and becomes unreaſonable. Thus far of the irrationality of the Socinian faith. But,
Secondly, The nullity of it is conſiderable, it is a nullity in its foundation, and at laſt it proves a nullity in the conſequence. It is a nullity in its foundation; the Socinian believes the Scriptures not as a divine teſtimony, but as congruous to reaſon, and ſo truſts not in God, but in himſelf and his own heart. Thus Socinus expreſſes himſelf, Non generalem comprobandi rationem quaerimus, quod eam, qui dixit, ejuſmodi eſſe appareat, ut nullâ in re mentiri poſſet, ſed ſingularem quandam, quâ id nominatim, quod comprobandum eſt, per cauſas & effecia propria ita ſe babere demonſtratur, adeò ut non modò quia Deum ipſum dixiſſe appareat, id verum eſſe conſtet, ſed etiam quia verum eſſe appareat, id Deum dixiſſe nobis certò perſuadeamus. Qaomodo poterat clariùs prodere foreign ſuam, ſaith a Learned man? how could he more clearly betray his infidelity? he would not have us only believe a thing true, becauſe God ſays ſo, but believe alſo that God ſays ſo, becauſe it appears true to our own reaſon, where this is the foundation, faith is a meer nullity, and that which is a nullity in the foundation, at laſt proves a nullity in the conſequence. Reaſon, corrupting it ſelf in its own pride, caſts away the found principles of the Goſpel, and theſe being gone putrifies in abominable errors, like Herod aſſuming a Deity to himſelf, it is ſpiritually ſmitten of God, and eaten up of worms: I mean, thoſe errors which are but the putrefactions of reaſon. How do the Socinians Paganize in worſhipping a creature, a Chriſt whom they deny to be God; Mahometize in denying the ſacred Trinity; Judaize in ſtanding for an interpreting Meſſiah only, and not a ſatisfying one; Manicheize in undervaluing the old Teſtament; Arianize in denying the Deity of Chriſt; Pelagianize in denying original ſin; Anabaptize in denying baptiſm to infants? how do ſome of them Divelaze in horrid blaſphemies, calling the ſacred Trinity tricipitem Cerberum; and to thoſe who aſſert Jeſus Chriſt to be Gods ſon; asking, An Deus habuit uxorem? Whether God had a wiſe? and ſuch like helliſh ſtuff, in which much of the devil appears. After all this fearful ſhipwiack of faith, what remains? too too little to denominate them Chriſtians. Ignatius called the Ebionites, becauſe they denied Chriſts Deity, men-worſhippers; the antiont Church ſtyled the Samoſatenians upon the ſame account God-killers; and a great Divine paſſed this cenſure on the Socinians, that they were a company of baptized Turks: indeed their corrupted reaſon diſſolves their faith into little or nothing.
Fifthly, This belief muſt be ſuch as owns the holy Scriptures for the rule of faith; To the Law and to the teſtimony, ſaith the Prophet, If they ſpeak not according to this word, it is becauſe, here is no light in them, Iſa. 8.20. As ſoon as the morning of faith breaks in the heart, the word is owned as the rule. Enthuſiaſts going oft from the Scriptures, take the ſpirit for their rule. Swenckfield was altogether for the ſpirit and the internal word, and little or nothing at all for the external. Henry Nicholas boaſting of the holy anointing, looked on the Scripture as a literal fleſhly elementiſh thing. John Valdeſſo ſaith, that Chriſtians may at firſt ſerve themſelves with Scripture as an Alphabet, but afterwards leaving it to beginners, they attend to their proper Maſter the ſpirit of God: Others ſay, the Scripture is but a dead letter, a thing of paper and ink, and we muſt not try the living by the dead, the holy ſpirit by the Scripture. Such as theſe, bragging of their own revelations, call all other Chriſtians Vocaliſts and Literaliſts, becauſe of their adherence to the Scriptures. Mr. Saltmarſh makes three ſphears of adminiſtration, the Law or meer letter, the Goſpel which hath duty and grace in it, and the ſpirit, the pure ſpirit, which is the third heaven, higher then Scriptures and ordinances. The Weigelians talk of a ſeculum Spiritus Sancti, in which there ſhall be higher diſpenſations then before, and we ſhall be wiſer then Apoſtles. The Quakers make the light within, that is, as I take it, natural conſcience the ſtandard of all their actings. All theſe, though clothed in various words, agree together to crucifie the Scriptures, as if they had ſomewhat more noble. Unto them I ſhall offer ſome conſiderations.
Firſt, The Apoſtles direction is, Try the ſpirits whether they are of God, 1 Joh. 4.1. in the original foreign, try them, as Goldſmiths try metals by the touchſtone, or by the fire, or as Magiſtrates queſtion offenders, or examine thoſe that ſtand for an office, uſe all manner of ways to find out whether the ſpirits be right or not: upon this as a ſufficient warrant, I ſhall put ſome interrogatories to the Enthuſiaſt.
Thou ſayeſt the ſpirit of God is in thy heart, and is it not in the Scriptures too? and whereever it is, is it not congruous and harmonious to it ſelf? And what doth it ſay in the Scripture? doth it not ſay, that the Scripture is the rule? To the Law and to the teſtimony, ſaith the Prophet, Iſa. 8.20. the Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the ſoul, the teſtimony of the Lord is ſure, making wiſe the ſimple, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 19.7. The Scripture is able to make us wiſe to ſalvation, and perfect, throughly furniſhed unto all good works, ſaith the Apoſtle, 2 Tim. 3.15. & 17. Nay, ſuch a rule it is, that nothing muſt be added to it, nor diminiſhed from it, Dent. 4.2. no not by an Angel. If an Angel from heaven preach any other Goſpel to you, let him be accurſed, Gal. 1.8. And can the ſpirit in the heart contradict the ſpirit in the Scripture? can it be contrary to it ſelf, and depart from its own oracles? no ſurely, defectible creatures may be off and on, yea and nay in their words, but the holy ſpirit cannot be ſo. The war between Conſtantius and Magnentius was looked upon as very portentous, becauſe therein firſt croſs was carried againſt croſs, and Chriſtians engaged againſt fellow-Chriſtians; but that the holy ſpirit ſhould make war upon it ſelf, is a portentous contradiction; which, if allowed, would leave no being to Gods veracity, nor ſtanding unto mans faith: But as portentous as it is, the Enthuſiaſt muſt maintain it, unleſs he will confeſs that the ſpirit in him, which denies the Scripture to be the rule, is not of God.
Again, thou ſaieſt thou haſt the revelation of the holy ſpirit, but how or in what manner doth it reveal it ſelf in thee? I ſuppoſe thou doſt not pretend to a Revelation made by viſions or dreams or audible voices, as it was wont to be of old, but to a revelation intellectual; and that is double, the one extraordinary in Prophets and Apoſtles, the other ordinary in all true believers. In the firſt revelation made to Prophets and Apoſtles, the holy ſpirit did immediately infuſe the ſpecies intelligibiles into their minds, and thereby did internally ſpeak, and in a proper ſenſe reveal things unto them. What we tranſlate the beginning of the word of the Lord by Hoſea, Hoſ. 1.2. is in the original the beginning of the ſpeech of Jehovah in Hoſea, pointing out an internal locution to the Prophet. In the ſecond revelation made to believers, there is no ſuch thing as in the firſt, no immediate infuſion of ſpecies, no internal voice or locution, ſaying this or that is ſo, and therefore no revelation properly ſo called; but the holy ſpirit doth enlighten their minds to make them capable, and then they hear what the holy ſpirit in the Scriptures ſpeaks unto them: thus S. Paul on the behalf of the Epheſians prays for the ſpirit of wiſdom and revelation, not that they might have extraordinary inſpirations, but that the eyes of their underſtanding might be inlightned, Eph. 1.17, 18. To know the witneſs of God in the Goſpel, the holy ſpirit doth not ſpeak to their inlightned underſtandings immediately, but in and by the Scripture-medium, which is as it were Epiſtola Dei, Gods letter unto man. In the firſt revelation to the Prophets and Apoſtles, the holy ſpirit did ſo totally and in ſuch an extraordinary way govern them in their ſpeaking and writing, that therein there was nibil ſuum, nothing of their own, not only the matter, but quaevis vocula, every little word was of God: hence S. Peter ſaith, that they were foreign moved or carried upon the wings of the ſpirit above humane frailty, 2 Pet. 1.21. In the ſecond revelation to believers, the holy ſpirit is as an holy anointing to their minds, and thereby puts them into a capacity to hear what God ſpeaks in the Scripture, but it doth not ſo totally carry and rule them, as to make their words purely divine and free from all mixture of their own. The firſt revelation to the Prophets and Apoſtles, being purely immediate and extraordinary, makes authentical Scripture. The ſecond revelation to believers, being but ordinary, doth not make Scripture, but only capacitate their minds to take in the manifeſtations of the ſpirit therein. Theſe things premiſed, I muſt renew my queſtion: Say, O Enthuſiaſt! what is thy revelation? is it a pure immediate internal locution? is it extraordinary and carried by the ſpirit above all humane frailty? may it be added to the Canon and become Scripture? I ſuppoſe thou canſt not, dareſt not ſay ſo; but if thou doſt, read and tremble at the ſealing up of the Canon, Rev. 22.18. If any man ſhall add unto theſe things, God ſhall add unto him the plagues written in this book, and if any man ſhall take away from them, God ſhall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city. Theſe words are as a flaming ſword at the end of the Bible, to keep thee from preſuming to put any thing thereunto: Say then modeſtly, is not thy revelation ordinary? did not the holy ſpirit come to thee in the chariot of the Scripture? and why then doeſt thou ſlight and undervalue it? why doeſt thou call it a dead letter, a fleſhly elementith thing, and the like? God hath ſpoken once, yea, twice, (if I may ſo allude) once in the Old Teſtament, and again in the New, expect not to hear his voice or ſpirit any where elſe but there; if thou doeſt, thou putteſt a cheat upon thy ſelf, and inſtead of a revelation, embraceſt a meer fancy.
Again, the ſpirit is in thy heart, and the ſpirit is in the Scripture, but where is the greateſt meaſure of it? ſay in good earneſt, is there a greater meaſure of the ſpirit in thy heart then in the Scripture? then thou canſt unriddle all the foreign, the difficult knots in Scripture; thou canſt dive down into that divine abyſs, and fetch up all the holy myſteries there; thy holineſs can hold meaſure with the length and breadth of the pure ſpiritual Law; thy faith runs parallel with all the promiſes, and can tell over all that infinite Maſs of free-grace which is couched therein: the helliſh root of bitterneſs once in thy nature, is quite eradicated, and not a ſtring of concupiſcence left behind; thou canſt ſay, I have no ſin, and which is the wonder, thy heart doth not deceive thee in ſaying ſo; there are no ſhades or dark ſpots in thy mind, no cracks or flaws at all in thy obedience, no foreign, nothing lacking in thy faith or other graces: All in thy heart and life is as right as the rule, and as pure as the Chriſtal ſtreams in the Goſpel. If there be a greater meaſure of the ſpirit in thy heart then in the Scripture, thus it is with thee: but I hope thou art not ſo utterly void of the ſpirit and conſcience, as to fall into ſo proud a dream of thy eſtate. If thou ſaieſt thou art clean, that very word pollutes thee, quiſquis ſe inculpatum dixerit, aut ſuperbus aut ſtultus eſt, whoſoever ſaith ſo, is either a fool or a proud man. Say then, as the truth is, there is a greater, incomparably greater meaſure of the ſpirit in the Scripture, then in thy heart; and then tell me, what is fitteſt to be the rule, that which is perfect, or that which is imperfect, that greater meaſure of the ſpirit in the Scripture, or that leſſer, far leſſer meaſure of the ſpirit in thy heart; common ſence will tell thee it belongs to the Scripture.
Moreover, the ſpirit is in thy heart, and the ſpirit is in the Scripture, but where is it plaineſt and moſt obvious? where can it be moſt eaſily diſcerned to be the very ſpirit of God indeed? all that is in the Scripture is indubitably of the holy ſpirit, but all that is in thy heart is not ſo; it may be it is from thy own ſpirit, what thou didſt ſuppoſe to have been from Gods: nay it may be it is from Satan transforming himſelf into an Angel of light. The Diſciples would have called for fire from heaven as Elias, but Chriſt tells them, ye know not of what ſpirit ye are, Luk. 9.55. as if he had ſaid, you think this motion came from an extraordinary ſpirit, ſuch as was in Elias, but alaſs, it is but from your own ſpirit, nay from the gall and bitterneſs of it, that which you take for zeal, is indeed but revenge. When upon our Saviours diſcourſe of his ſufferings Peter ſaid, be it far from thee Lord, this ſhall not be unto thee, no doubt he thought himſelf right in the thing, but our Saviour calls him Satan for it, Mat. 16.23. his meaning was pious, and as he might think, from the ſame holy ſpirit which a little before inſpired him to make a glorious confeſſion of Chriſt; but alaſs, the devil acted ſecretly therein. Of what I find in Scripture, I can immediately and without any more ado pronounce that it is the very voice of the holy ſpirit, but of what I find in my own heart I cannot do ſo. Firſt, the light muſt be divided from the darkneſs, Gods ſpirit muſt be diſtinguiſhed from mans and Satans. And how ſuch a piece of ſpiritual Chymiſtry ſhould be done without the Scripture, I cannot imagine: There may be three different ſpirits in my heart, and unleſs I reduce them in a way of trial to the one pure ſpirit in the Scripture, I may be eaſily cheated by my heart: wherefore the Scripture, in which the characters of the ſpirit are more plain and legible then in my own heart, muſt needs be the rule.
Once more let me ask thee O Enthuſiaſt, who crieſt up the ſpirit, the ſpirit above Scripture, doſt thou ſeek the ſpirit aright, or follow him faithfully? I fear thou doeſt neither. Thou doeſt not ſeek the ſpirit aright, becauſe not in his own way, which now is not in viſions and immediate revelations, but in the Scripture. Thou wouldeſt have the ſpirit, but wilt not ſtay upon the mountains of the Prophets and Apoſtles for him. Thou doeſt like Joſeph and Mary, they ſought Chriſt among their kindred and acquaintance, when he was in the Temple. Thou ſeekeſt the ſpirit among thy own fancies and imaginations, when he is in the Scripture, My ſpirit and my words ſhall not depart out of thy mouth, ſaith God, Iſa. 59.21. Obſerve, the ſpirit and the word are by Gods own ordinance in a ſweet conjunction together, he that ſunders them loſes both of them. For a man to wave the Scripture and ſeek the ſpirit, is as if he ſhould forſake the beams, and ſearch after the Sun in ſome place where it ſhines not. The French Kings uſe to be crowned at Reims, becauſe there is the ſacred oil, which (as they ſay) came down from heaven. If thou wouldeſt be crowned with heavenly wiſdom, be in the Scriptures, there and there only is the holy Unction which will teach thee all things. Neither doſt thou follow the ſpirit as thou oughteſt: the ſpirit, if followed in his own way, will lead thee into all truth, but if thou wilt follow the ſpirit in an extra-ſcriptural way, thou doeſt not follow it indeed, but thy own fancy, and whileſt thou ſeemeſt to ſoar above Scripture, thou art like to fall far below it, into the ditch of error and wickedneſs. In no better place have thy predeceſſors been, after all their high-flying imaginations. Montanus that early Enthuſiaſt called himſelf the Paraclete, and magnified the writings of his two Propheteſſes above the ſacred Goſpel. The Meſſaliani thought they could corporeally ſee the ſacred Trinity, and dance upon devils, and receive the holy ſpirit in a viſible way? Oh Satanical illuſion! John of Leydens viſions teemed out Poligamy and a bloody Rebellion. Into what wild aſſertions did Swenckfield and Henry Nicholas come by their Enthuſiaſtical ſpirit, the firſt ſaying, that the Goſpel is the Eſſence of God; nay, faith in the heart is ſo. The other blaſphemouſly alledging, That the believer is Godded with God, and the ſpirit of love is God incarnate? How did Valdeſſo run into Familiſm and Antinomianiſm? And what elſe did Saltmarſh, in his book called Sparkles of Glory; making as if Chriſt were but a myſtical ſigurative man, and God in the fleſh were only God in his Saints? Oh myſtery of iniquity! whither will not this extra-ſcriptural ſpirit go? what errors will it not broach? what ſacred foundations of truth will it not demoliſh? how little Goſpel or divine rule will it leave to Chriſtians? Leave it then O Enthuſiaſt, or elſe thou canſt not follow the ſpirit of truth. Thus much by way of queſtion to the Enthuſiaſts.
Secondly, I ſhall in a word ſay ſomewhat to their Allegations: they ſay, That the Scriptures are but the Chriſtians Alphabet, and for beginners only. But let us remember, the ſpirit which is in believers in an ordinary way, was in the Penmen of Scripture in an extraordinary; I was in the ſpirit, ſaith St. John, Rev. 1.10. he ſaith not, the ſpirit was in me, but I was in the ſpirit, as a veſſel in the ſea, every way ſurrounded and overruled by it. And who can believe that the ſpirit in its ordinary way ſhould exceed it ſelf in its extraordinary; that in believers it ſhould utter high myſteries, which in Prophets and Apoſtles gave out only an Alphabet? If it be no more, I dare ſay, no man, no not the moſt perfect Diſciple of God on earth ever throughly underſtood his Alphabet, no mans knowledge ever dived into the bottom of Scripture, no mans holineſs was ever parallel to its precepts, nor no mans faith ever traced the unſearchable riches of grace there unto the uttermoſt, and ſhall we ſay, it is only an Alphabet for beginners? Is it not the wiſdom of God in a myſtery? is it not able to make the man of God perfect? hath St. Paul milk only and not ſtrong meat? was St. Peter to ſeed the lambs only, and not to feed them into ſheep, and when they were ſuch? doth St. John write only to the little children, and not to the young men and fathers alſo? He writes to them all, plainly ſhewing, that no man, of what ſtature ſoever in grace, did ever outgrow the Scripture.
Again they ſay, the Scriptures are but a dead letter, and we muſt not try the living by the dead. The holy Martyr Stephen long ſince ſtiled them lively oracles, Act. 7.38. and if they are now but a dead letter, who hath murdered them? who ſo much as the Enthuſiaſt? who goes about to ſeparate the ſpirit from them. If the Law come to a man in the convincing ſpirit, and ſlay him with his own guilt, and ſet his conſcience on fire with ſome taſts of hell, he may with the Apoſtle call it a killing letter, but he will hardly call it a dead one. If the Goſpel come to him in the converting ſpirit, and open the glories of free-grace, and bring in a new creation into his heart, he muſt confeſs, that it is the very ſavour of life unto life, and the power and arm of God to ſalvation; and as the firſt life of grace is breathed through it into the dead ſinner, ſo all the after-gales of the ſpirit come from it upon the new creature: Wherefore, whileſt the ſpirit is in the word, it cannot be a dead letter; and where the ſpirit is in the heart, it will not be called ſo. The Enthuſiaſt for all his ſwelling words of vanity, by calling the Scripture a dead letter, proves only the deadneſs of his own heart; and the true believer, who owns the Scripture for his rule, doth not try the living by the dead, but the leſſer meaſure of the ſpirit in his heart, by the greater meaſure of it in the word.
Again, they ſay there is a ſeculum ſpiritus ſancti, an adminiſtration of all-ſpirit, which is much above all Scriptures and Ordinances; but that there ſhould be ſuch a Church-ſtate on earth is a vain dream. There are two manifeſtations of God unto men, the one dark and through the glaſs of ordinances, the other by pure and immediate viſion, as it were face to face. There are two ſtates of believers, the one a ſtate of weak and imperfect graces, the other a ſtate of perfect holineſs and purity. There are alſo two places, the one is earth, a vale of tears and death; the other is heaven, a region of all bleſſedneſs and life eternal. The manifeſtation by ordinances is congruous to weak graces, and ſuch a place as earth. The manifeſtation by pure viſion is congruous to perfect holineſs, and ſuch a place as heaven. Thus hath the wiſdom of God ordered things. Methinks the Enthuſiaſt ſhould bluſh to ſay that he is above Scriptures and Ordinances here. What? above the glaſs, and yet below the bliſs-making viſion; above the channels and methods of grace, and yet below a ſtate of perfection; above the heavenly mediums, and yet on earth? Oh ſtrange imagination! What ſaith our Saviour? Go, teach and baptize, loe I am with you always to the end of the world, Mat. 28.19, 20. Ordinances run parallel with this world, and the ſtate which is above them, is only in the next. What ſaith St. Paul? Apoſtles, Prophets, Teachers, Paſtors, are all for the perfecting of the Saints, for the edifying of the body of Chriſt, Eph. 4.11, 12. Ordinances muſt continue as long as weakneſſes and imperfections, and cannot be ſpared till the top-ſtone of holineſs and perfection be laid in heaven. What ſaith St. John, ſpeaking of the heavenly City? And I ſaw no Temple therein, Rev. 21.22. No Temple, no Ordinances, is only for heaven, earth muſt alwaies want and have them. O my ſoul, enter not into their ſecret, which cry up the ſpirit, and deſpiſe propheſyings; be thou where Gods honour dwelleth; in the Temple of Ordinances thou mayeſt ſee his power and glory.
Laſtly, the Quakers talk altogether of the light within; which, being as they ſay, common to all men, can be no other then natural conſcience: this is the candle of the Lord, and much magnified by Heathen Philoſophers; this is every mans Daemon, ſaith one: nay, it is the God in us, ſaith another. And it is ſo in ſuch a ſenſe as Moſes was a God to Pharaoh, preaching the will of God to him; and for non-obedience, urging him with dreadful plagues: For it magiſterially dictates the will of God, even in the Monarchs of the world; and in caſe they rebel, it hath inward ſtings and ſcorpions for them. Quid aliud voces animam quàm Deum in humano corpore hoſpitantem, ſaith Seneca. Were a Quaker to Engliſh it, he would go near to do it thus, The light within is God manifeſt in the fleſh, for in plain terms he will call it Chriſt, as if the candle could becom a Sun of Righteouſneſs. In the mean time the devil hath a fetch, under the praiſes of inward light, to explode the Scriptures: But we muſt remember, that Conſcience which is above man, is yet below God; and though it be a light and a rule, yet it muſt truckle under the greater light and rule in the Scriptures. Take conſcience before converſion, it is clouded and overſhadowed with the Fall, dark and blind in ſpiritual things; and ſhall the blind lead the blind, till both fall into the ditch? muſt it not go & be new-lighted at the Scripture? Take heed unto the word as unto a light ſhining in a dark place, ſaith St. Peter, 2 Pet. 1.19. The heart of man is but a dark place, till the divine word ſhine into it; it is intoxicated with the love of ſin, and by it, as the devils Opium, it ſleeps at the top of the maſt, in the ocean of lowdangers, and muſt it not be rouzed up? ought not the ſilver trumpet of the word to be ſounded in its ears, to prevent an eternal ſleep, and awaken it unto righteouſneſs? ſhould it not go and waſh in the pure ſtreams of free-grace, and redeeming blood in the Goſpel? it may be it is infected with errors, and by theſe Satan hath taken ſanctuary in the intellectual tower, and utters his own dictates as from God; and muſt it be left in ſuch a caſe? ſhould not Satan and all his lying wares be caſt out by the word and ſpirit? but becauſe conſcience is now at the worſt, take it after converſion, are there then no reliques of darkneſs which call for more light? are there no fits of ſpiritual drowſineſs, which need freſh alarums? are there no dregs of corruption, which want a new purgation? are there no ſpots of error, which ought to be wiped out? he that preſumes a freedom from theſe, hath great reaſon to doubt whether there be any ſuch thing as converſion found in him; and he that confeſſes them, hath as great reaſon to run to the Scripture to have them rectified: But becauſe the Quaker dreams of perfection, I will go higher. Suppoſe a man abſolutely perfect, every wheel in his ſoul in right motion, and his conſcience a pure Chryſtal without any flaw in it, yet muſt the man be under God, and his conſcience under the word; for his very perfection ſtands in that ſubjection, and is forfeited as ſoon as it departs from it. Conſcience is a rule, but a ſubordinate one, it binds and looſes, but in the power and authority of the word; take away that, and conſcience is no more conſcience, the inward Eccleiaſtes is ſilenced, and hath nothing to ſay. My conſcience beareth witneſs in the holy Ghoſt, ſaith the Apoſtle, Rom. 9.1. Obſerve, it beareth witneſs in the holy Ghoſt; Spiritu Sancto duce ac moderatore, ſaith Beza on the place. Conſcience is no ſupream thing, the holy Spirit muſt command and moderate in it, if not in an immediate way, as in Prophets and Apoſtles, yet in and by the ſacred Scriptures as in ordinary Chriſtians. To conclude with that of an ancient, Scripturis non loquentibus, quis loquetur? the Scripture being ſilent, none can ſpeak, no not conſcience it ſelf in a regular way; wherefore our ſupream rule muſt be ſought no wher elſe but there.
Thus far I have treated touching what manner of belief of Scripture this muſt be. But to proceed on.
Secondly, What are the conſequents of this belief in order to that reſignation, which is the laſt thing in faith? I anſwer, the holy ſpirit having lodged ſuch a belief of Scripture in the heart, doth reflect and turn the Scriptural light inwards, and manage it in order to reſignation, by ſo me ſuch ſteps as theſe following.
Firſt, It ſtrikes in the holy light in that manner, as to work a clear conviction of ſin, and this conviction is manifold.
Firſt, There is a conviction of ſin in its kinds, Actual and Original. I name Actual firſt, as being moſt obvious and firſt in the diſcovery. There is a conviction of Actual ſin; the believed Law comes home to the heart, and gives it a charge as Nathan to David, thou art the man, theſe and thoſe things are ſins againſt the great God, ſaith the holy Law, and ſo and ſo thou haſt done, ſaith the awakened conſcience. God (who before had ſowed and ſealed up his iniquities in a bag, as the phraſe is, Job 14.17.) now opens the bag, and pours out a vaſt ſum of guilts, and exactly tells over all the ſmothered light, and abuſed love, and ſpirit-quenchings, and ſorfeited creatures, and buried talents, and broken promiſes, and horrible preſumptions, in all amounting to wonderful arrearages, and at laſt enforcing the poor ſinner to cry out, Guilty, Guilty. And after this follows a conviction of Original ſin: The ſinner traces up his ſins to the impure fountain, and follows every luſt home to the black neſt in the heart; there, there is the root of bitterneſs, the ſeed-plot and ſpawn of all iniquity. Indeed in every actual ſin we may, if we have our ſpiritual ſenſes about us, hear the ſound of its Maſters feet, even of the reigning corruption within; in every act of rebellion we may cry out of the Pharaoh within, which ſaith who is the Lord? in every act of unbelief we may complain of the Jew in the heart, which will not receive Chriſt; we may taſt Adams apple in every ſenſual ſin, and perceive his imaginary Godhead in every ſpiritual ſelf-excellency; in our lives we have many ſins, but all in our heart; there is a ſtench in vitious actions, but the filthy ſink of all is within. After ſome ſuch way as this doth God fill our faces with ſhame, that we may ſeek him and reſign.
Secondly, There is a conviction of ſin in its guilt: The ſinner comes to ſee that whileſt he is in his ſin, he is but a condemned man; and ſin, unleſs pardoned, will chain him to hell and eternal wrath. God ſeems to ſpeak to him, as once to Abimelech, behold thou art but a dead man, thou cateſt and drinkeſt and ſleepeſt, but all the while under wrath; thou art jolly abroad among the creatures, but fire and brimſtone and an horrible tempeſt hangs over thy head. God makes the ſinner know where he is, as the Syrians, when their eyes were opened, ſaw themſelves in the midſt of Samaria; ſo he, when his mind is inlightned, ſees himſelf at the brink of hell and death; without ſuch a ſenſe of wrath, man is too proud to reſign: he is naturally a Manaſſeh, a forgetter of God, and will not turn till he be in chains. Laiſh-like, he ſits quiet and ſecure, till Dan the judgment come; hell muſt drive him to heaven or elſe he will never come there; the fiery Law muſt melt him, or elſe he will never run into the Goſpel-mould.
Thirdly, There is a conviction of the filthineſs of ſin; the ſoul in every turn from God loſes its light, and in every turn to the creature, gathers ſoil and pollution; the ſinner will never reſign up himſelf to be waſhed in the Evangelical laver, unleſs he firſt ſeo ſin, as it is, mire and dirt, and ſuperfluity of naughtineſs, and find his pretious ſoul lying in a ſordid manner, in a ſink of pleaſure, or a cave of covetouſneſs, or ſome other luſt, which is as an unclean place miſerably defiling it, whileſt it abides therein.
Fourthly, There is a conviction of the power of ſin; ſin is a Baal, a Lording tyrant, and the ſinner a vaſſal to it; in ſenſual ſins he drudges in Sodom and Egypt, and in ſpiritual he is carried away to Babylon: the ſinner is as a captive in his chains, and (which is the great wonder) a willing captive, the iron is entred into his ſoul, the chain is in his very will the Principle of freedom, a vaſſal he is, and loves to be ſo. The more freely he ſins, the more is his ſlavery, the more imperiouſly he ſins, the more is his weakneſs: thus the Prophet, how weak is thy heart, ſeeing thou doeſt the work of an imperiou whoriſh woman? Ezek. 16.30. unleſs God make men in ſome meaſure feel the power of ſin, and go as David over Olivet, weeping, becauſe of the Abſoloms, the rebellious luſts, which come out of their own bowels and make war upon heaven, they will not reſign and take up the yoke of Chriſt as they ought.
Secondly, Upon ſuch a conviction of ſin, enſue great ſtraits and humiliations of ſoul. When the poor ſinner ſees things as they are, an hoſt of ſins round about the ſoul, nay and within it, an hell flaſhing out of the guilt thereof, a defiling filthineſs in it, ſuch as makes him aſhamed to lift up his ſoul to God, and withall, ſuch bonds and fetters therein, as he cannot break by his own power, then he becomes a Magor-miſſabib, terror round about, his heart more or leſs bleeds in tears, & travels in pangs of conſcience, & breaks under a damning Law, and droops and ſwoons away in fits of ſelf-confuſion and ſelf-deſparation, and at laſt is ready to cry out Oh ſin! Oh wrath! what ſhall I do? whither go? can I fly from the Omnipreſent, grapple with the Almighty, or ſtand before the holy One? all's impoſſible: can I endure an hell, abide a never-dying worm, or dwell with conſuming fire? 'tis intolerable. May my time be unravelled, my ſins undone, or my ſelf unborn, it cannot be. Oh! ſinful forlorn creature that I am, wo wo unto me for ever. Such ſtraits as theſe make way for reſignation; all the ſons of God come out of Egypt, out of the ſtraits of ſin, and paſs through a wilderneſs of wants and extremities towards the Land of promiſe; the valley of Achor, trouble and perplexity for the accurſed thing, is a door of hope; husks and hunger make the Prodigal come to himſelf and his father.
Thirdly, Upon this humiliation and ſtrait of ſoul, there enſues a deliberation, a ſtanding (as the King of Babylon did, Ezek. 21.21.) at the parting of the way, to make a true enquiry. Lo! ſaith the afflicted ſoul in a ſelf-parley, here is the way of life, and there of death, this is the way everlaſting, and that's the way of time; If you live after the fleſh, you muſt dye, but if you mortifie the deeds of the body, you ſhall live, if you ſow unto the fleſh, you muſt reap corruption, if unto the ſpirit, life everlaſting. O my ſoul! be not deceived; God and ſin, Chriſt and Belial, heaven and hell, cannot mix together. Say then, O my ſoul, what wilt thou have? the meſs of pottage, or the birthright, the pleaſures of ſin, or thoſe at Gods right hand, the worlds trinity of luſts, or communion with the bleſſed Trinity in heaven? Thus the ſoul ſits down and caſts up the coſt; ſin on and burn in hell for ever, turn to God and ſhine in eternal glory, ſpare thy luſts and damn thy ſoul, ſlay thy luſts and ſave it. Oh! what a fearful cheat is ſin? it proffers a profit or a pleaſure, and asks a ſoul; it holds out a moment or two, and would have eternity in pawn for it; it tickles the ſenſe, and ſtabs the conſcience; it courts and flatters like the ſtrange woman, and leads down to hell and death. Such deliberations as theſe make way for reſignation; an indeliberate reſignation is but a flaſh and away, but a deliberate one is fit to endure.
Fourthly, After all this the holy ſpirit doth ſo far preſs in the holy light, as to work a denial of a mans ſelf and his luſts in ſome meaſure. I ſay, in ſome meaſure, for without ſome meaſure of ſelfdenial, a man will never reſign up himſelf to God and Chriſt. Thus our Saviour, If any man will come after me, let him deny himſelf, Mat. 16.24. firſt deny himſelf, and then go to Chriſt: and again, Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, Mat. 11.28. firſt be weary of ſin, and then go to Chriſt; no man can ſerve two Maſters, he that will follow Chriſt, muſt do as Peter and Andrew did, leave his nets, all the entangling luſts of his heart, and ſo follow him. Whileſt a man ſits at the receit of cuſtome, driving on a trade of ſin, he cannot follow him. Firſt, he muſt with Mathew riſe up from thence, and then he may follow him. Alſo I ſay in ſome meaſure, for the ſelfdenial before precious faith, muſt be diſtinguiſhed from the ſelf-denial after it: ſelf-denial before faith is wrought in us by the holy ſpirit, making impreſſions and darting in light into the heart in a tranſient way: ſelf-denial after faith is wrought in us by the holy ſpirit, dwelling in the heart by faith, and acting therein as an abiding principle of all grace. Before faith, it is in a far leſſer meaſure and degree, after faith it grows up to a full ſtature: before faith it doth in ſome ſort caſt off the ſoveraignty of ſin, the ſoul no longer chuſes to live under its dominion, but looking upon it as cruel bondage, caſts off its allegiance: after faith it ſtrikes at the very life of ſin, in the work of mortification. What is ſaid of the beaſts in Daniel, their dominion was taken away, and yet their lives were prolonged, Dan. 7.12. the ſame may be ſaid of ſin, firſt it loſes its crown and then its life. The holy ſpirit in the firſt meaſure of ſelf-denial, doth as it were dethrone ſin in order to reſignation; and in the after-meaſure thereof, it mortifies and nails it to the croſs, there to dye and expire. Now this meaſure of ſelf-denial, which precedes reſignation, ſtands in divers things.
Firſt, There is a denial of a mans reaſon. Reaſon, as the candle of the Lord is not to be denied; but reaſon, as it is a falſe light, as it pleads for Baal, the lording luſt of the ſoul, as it plays the ſerpent, ſeducing from holy truths, as it ſows pillows under preſumptuous ſinning, as it laughs at holineſs and divine myſteries above its comprehenſion, is ſurely to be denied. We muſt become fools, that we may be wiſe, put out our lamp, that it may be lighted by the ſpirit, and crucifie our why's and wherefores, that we may believe the Goſpel. Abraham having Gods promiſe for a ſeed, conſidered not, Rom. 4.19. and ſtaggered not, or (as in the original) diſcerned not, v. 20. he did not play the critick upon the dead body and dead womb, he laid by his diſcretion, that he might give glory to God by believing.
Secondly, There is a denial of a mans will. This is the forbidden fruit, and womb of concupiſcence, unleſs this be renounced, there is no hope of reſignation; our own will is a thing of Belial, and unleſs ſubdued by grace, will not take Chriſt's yoke: it is an inward Antichriſt, and unleſs conſumed by the divine ſpirit and brightneſs, will exalt it ſelf above the will of God. Saul muſt have a light from heaven, and a fall to the earth, & a fit of trembling, or elſe he will not reſign, and ſay, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Act. 9.6. the will muſt be un-ſelved, and the man become as a little child, without any will of his own, or elſe there can be no reſignation.
Thirdly, There is a denial of a mans carnal affections. Theſe are the camels which cannot go thorough the needles eye, the weights and plummets which preſs down the ſoul from God; unleſs theſe be caſt off, there can be no reſignation; our Saviour is poſitive in it, how can ye believe which receive honour one of another? Joh. 5.44. A ſoul breathed into vain-glorious air, or drowned in ſenſual pleaſures, or laden with the thick clay of the world, cannot reſign; he that will offer up himſelf to God, muſt leave the world behind his back, his affections muſt be gathered in from earth, and Angel-like, aſcend in the flame of faith; the vail of time muſt be put by, and an entry made upon eternity.
Fourthly, There is a denial of a mans own power. Proud perſons, puft up in their fleſhly mind, vainly dream that their Reaſon can ſpan all myſteries, and their Will teem out all graces, no temptations are too ſtrong for them, nor duties too weighty. Alaſs! theſe are ſo far from reſignation, that they are not come to illumination, through prodigious blindneſs they are ſtrong in their impotency, rich in their poverty, free in their chains, and ſomething in their nothingneſs. And what ſhould they go to God for? as yet they are not ſo much as in the way thither; but let the man put off his falſe ornaments, and lay by his proud plumes, and ſenſibly feel a carnal mind, and a ſpiritual Law, a weak heart, and ſtrong corruptions; let him groan and cry out of the blind eyes which cannot unſcale, the iron ſinewed Will which cannot bow, the falſe heart which cannot go true, and the fallen nature, which cannot reach ſo high as an holy thought. Let him be weak in his impotency, till God ſet up Jachin and Boaz in his heart; poor in his poverty, till he have a ſhare in Chriſts riches; a captive in his chains, till God break them off and bid him go free; and nothing in his nothingneſs, that creating grace may paſs upon him, and God be all in all. This is the way to reſignation, ſuch is Gods method to bring light out of darkneſs, perfect power in weakneſs, and call things that are not, as if they were.
Fifthly, There is a denial of a mans own righteouſneſs. Every man naturally would be a ſelfjuſtifier, as the Apoſtle ſaith, Rom. 10.3. he would foreign eſtabliſh, or make to ſtand his own righteouſneſs, though it be but a dead carcaſs, he would ſet it upon its legs; though but a breathleſs image, he would have it ſtand alone; and the reaſon is, becauſe he would be juſtified by ſomewhat within, he would not go out for a righteouſneſs: But alaſs, all this while he doth not, cannot, reſign; thus the Apoſtle in that place, going about to eſtabliſh their own righteouſneſs, they ſubmitted not themſelves to the righteouſneſs of God. A man, whileſt upon his own bottom, will not ſurrender; but take him up into Moriah, into the viſion of God, and ſhew him the purity of Gods nature, and the ſinfulneſs of his own; carry him to Sinai, and let him ſee the neceſſity of a perfect righteouſneſs, and the impoſſibility of an inherent one in himſelf; pluck away his fig-leaves of falſe righteouſneſs, and open his eyes upon his own nakedneſs and poverty: this is the true way to reſignation.
Thus far of the ſecond thing in faith; what manner of belief of Scripture this is, and how in the conſequents of it the holy ſpirit ſtrikes in the holy light upon the heart, and by certain ſteps brings it to the very borders of reſignation: which is the third and laſt thing in faith now to be opened.