The Trial and Triumph of Faith, Sermon 2
SERMON II. And he went into a house, and would that no man should know it.
THis will, according to which it is said, He would that no man should know it, was his humane will, according to which the Lord Iesus was a man as we are,Two, wills in Christ. yet without sin; which was not alway fulfilled; for his Divine will, being backed with omnipotency, can never be resisted: It overcometh all, and can be resisted by none. Consider what a Christ we have, one who as God, hath a standing will that cannot fall,Christ took a humane will to stoop to God in al things. Esa. 14.24. He doth all his pleasure: His pleasure and his work are commensurable, Esa. 46.10, 11. Psal. 135.6. Psal. 115.3. Yet this Lord did stoop so low as to take to himself mans will to submit to God and Law. And see how Christ for our instruction is content, that God should break his will and lay it below providence, Mat. 26.39. O so little and low as great Iesus Christ is, all is come to this, O my father, remove the cup; Neverthelesse, not as I will, but as thou wilt: Christ and his Father, hath but one will between them both, Ioh. 5.30. I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father that sent me, Rom. 15.3. For even Christ pleased not himself. Its a signe of conformity with Christ, when we have a will so mortified, as it doth lye levell with Gods providence. Aarons sons are killed, and that by God immediatly from heaven with fire, a judgement very hell-like, Levit. 10.3. And Aaron held his peace, a will lying in the dust under Gods feet, so as I can say (Let his will, whose I am, enact to throw me in Hell, he shall have my vote) is very like the Mother-rule of all sanctified wills, even like Christs plyable will: There is no iron sinew in Christs will, it was easily broken; the top of Gods finger with one touch, broke Christs will, Heb. 10.9. Loe I come to do thy will, O God. O! but there is a hard stone in our will, The strength of corrupt will.the stony heart is the stony will; Hell cannot break the Rock and the Adamant, and the Flint in our will, 1 Sam. 8.19. Nay but we will have a King; Whether God will or no, Jer. 18.12. Gods will standeth in the peoples way, bidding them return, they answer: There is no hope but we will walk after our own divices. Hell, vengeance, omnipotency, crossed Pharaohs will, but it would neither bow nor break, Exod. 9.27 But the Lord hardned Pharaohs heart, that he would not let the people go. There be two things in our will,2. Things in our will, 1. the fram of it, 2. the goodnesse of it. 1. The naturall frame and constitution of it. 2. The goodnesse of it. The will of Angells and of sinlesse Adam, is not essentially good, for then Angells could never have turned Devils; therefore the constitution of the will needeth supervenient goodnesse and confirming grace, even when will is at its best. Grace, Grace now is the only oyl to our Wheeles. Christ hath taken the Castle, both in-works, and out-works, when he hath taken the will, the proudest enemie that Christ hath out of Hell: When Saul renders his will, he renders his weapon; this is mortification. When Christ runneth away with your will; as Christ was like a man that had not a mans will; so Saul, Act. 9.6. Trembling and astonished, said, Lord what wilt thou have me to doe? Its good when the Lord trampleth upon Ephraims fair neck, Hos. 10.11. There is no goodnesse in our will now, but what it hath from Grace, and to turn the will from ill to good, is no more natures work, then we can turn the wind from the East,There's a necessity of renewing the will. to the West: when the wheels of the clock are broken and rusted, it cannot go: When the birds wing is broken it cannot flie: When there is a stone in the sprent, and in-work of the lock, the key cannot open the door. Christ must oyl the wheels of misordered will, and heal them, and remove the stone, and infuse Grace (which is wings to the bird) if not, the motions of will are all hell-ward.
But he could not be hid, for a certain woman, &c. Christ sometime would be hid, because he hath a spirit above the peoples windy aire, and their Hosanna; its a spirit of straw, naughty and base, that is burnt up with that which hindered Themistocles to sleep. Honour me before the people, was cold comfort to Saul, when the Prophet told him, God had rejected him. But Christ desired not to be hid from this woman, he was seeking her,God hideth himself, faith findeth him out. and yet he flyeth from her: Christ in this is such a flyer as would gladly have a pursuer. 2. Faith findeth Christ out when he is h…d, Esa. 45.15. Verily thou art a God that hidest thy self: But Faith seeth God under his mask, and through the cloud; and therefore Faith addeth, O God of Israel the Saviour: Thou hidest thy self O God from Israel, but Israel findeth thee. ver. 17. Israel shall be saved in the Lord, with an everlasting salvation. God casteth a cloud of anger about himself, he maketh darknesse his Pavilion, and will not look out; yet Iob seeth God, and findeth him out many hundred miles, chap. 19.26. Yet in my flesh I shall see God. 3. Reason, Sense, nay, Angels seeing Christ between two theeves dying, and going out of this world bleeding to death, naked, forsaken of friend and lover, they may wonder and say; O Lord, what dost thou here: Yet the Faith of the Theef found him there, as a King, who had the keys of Paradice, and he said in Faith, Lord, remember me when thou comest to thy Kingdom, Luk 23.42. 4. Faith seeth him as a witnesse, and a record in Heaven, Iob 16. ver. 19.20, even when God cleaveth Jobs reins asunder, and powreth out his gall upon the ground, v. 13. Believe then that Christ glowneth that he may kiss, that he cuts that he may cure, that he maketh the living believers grave before his eyes, and hath no mind to bury him alive: He breatheth the smoak and the heat of the Furnace of Hell on the soul, when Peace, Grace, and Heaven is in his heart, he breaketh the hallow of Iacobs thigh, so as hee must go halting all his dayes; and its his purpose to blesse him. Whereas wee should walk by Faith, we walk much even in our spirituall walk, by feeling and sense; we have these errors in our Faith, we make not the word of promise the rule of our Faith, but only Gods Dispensation:The dispensation of God not Scripture, nor a rule of Faith. Now Gods Dispensation is spotlesse and innocent, and white; yet it is not Scripture to me, nor all that Dispensation and Providence seemeth to speak, the Word of God: Ram-horns speaketh not taking of Towns in an ordinary providence as spear and shield, and a hoast of fighting men doth. Killed all the day long, and estimated as sheep for the slaughter, speaketh not to me that Gods people are more then conquerours through him that loved us, Rom. 8.36, 37. our Faith in reference to Dispensation, is to do two things. To believe in general, though Dispensation be rough, stormy, black; yet Christ is fair, sweet, gracious; and, that Hell and Death are servants to Gods Dispensation, toward the children of God: Abraham must kill Isaack; yet in Isaack as in the promised …ed, all the Nations of the earth are blessed, Israel is foiled, and falleth before the men of Ai; yet, Israel shall be saved by the Lord: Judah shall go into Captivity, but the dead bones shal live again, read the promise in generall, engraved upon the Dispensation of God: garments are roll'd in blood in Scotland and England: The wheels of Christs Chariot, in this Reformation, go with a slow pace; the Prince is averse to Peace, many Worthies are killed, a forraign Nation cometh against us: yet all worketh for the best to those that love God. 2. Hope biddeth us to await the Lords event: We see Gods work, it cometh to our senses, but the event that God bringeth out of his work, lyeth under ground, Dispensation is as a woman travelling in birth, and crying out for pain, but she shall be delivered of two men Children: Mercy to the people of God, Justice to Babylon: wait on while the woman bring forth, though you see not the Children.We trust possession of Christ by sense, more then wee do right and Law through Faith.
2. We trust possession in our part, more then Law and the fidelity of the promise on Gods part; feeling is of more credit to us then Faith, sense is surer to us then the word of Faith; many weak ones beleeve not life Eternall; because they feel it not; Heaven is a thing unseen, and they finde no Consolation and Comfort, and so are disquieted: If we knew that beleeving is a bargaining and a buying, we should see the weaknesse of many; should any buy a field of Land, & refuse to tell down the money, except the party should lay all the Ridges, Acres, Medows, and Mountains on the buyers shoulders, that he might carry them home to his house, he should be incredulously unjust: If any should buy a Ship, and think it no bargain at all, except he might carry away the Ship on his back, should not this make him a ridiculous Merchant? Gods Law of Faith, Christs concluded atonement, is better and surer then your feeling; all that sense and comfort saith, is not Canonick Scripture, it is Adultery to seek a signe; because we cannot rest on our Husbands word.