TORONTO
A
SHERATON
MEMORIAL LIBRARY
EASTER, 1906
Shelf No.
N
i
THE
WORKS OF THOMAS MANTON, D.D.
VOL. XIV.
COUNCIL OF PUBLICATION.
W. LINDSAY ALEXANDER, D.D., Professor of Theology, Congregational
Union, Edinburgh.
JAMES BEGQ, D.D., Minister of Newington Free Church, Edinburgh.
THOMAS J. CRAWFORD, D.D., S.T.P., Professor of Divinity, University,
Edinburgh.
D. T. K. DRUMMOND, M.A., Minister of St Thomas's Episcopal Church,
Edinburgh.
WILLIAM H. GOOLD, D.D., Professor of Biblical Literature and Church
History, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Edinburgh.
ANDREW THOMSON, D.D., Minister of Broughton Place United Presby
terian Church, Edinburgh. /
4Tbitor.
REV. THOMAS SMITH, D.D., EDINBURGH.
THE COMPLETE WORKS
OF
THOMAS MANTON, D.D.
VOLUME XIV.
CONTAINING
SEVERAL SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL
LONDON:
JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
1873.
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
CONTENTS.
SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL Continued.
SERMON XVIII. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more
excellent sacrifice than Cain," c., ver. 4, . 3
XIX. " By which he obtained witness that he was
righteous, God testifying of his gifts," ver. 4, 12
XX. " By which he obtained witness that he was
righteous, God testifying of his gifts," ver. 4, 22
XXI. " By faith Enoch was translated that lie should
not see death," &c., ver. 5, . . . 33
XXII. " By faith Enoch was translated that he should
not see death," &c., ver. 5, . . . 48
XXIII. " For before his translation he had this testi
mony, that he pleased God," ver. 5, . 62
XXIV. " But without faith it is impossible to please
him," &c., ver. 6, . . . .72
XXV. " But without faith it is impossible to please
him," &c., ver. 6, . . . .81
XXVI. "But without faith it is impossible to please
God," ver. 6, . . . . 90
XXVII. " But without faith it is impossible to please
him," ver. 6, .... 97
XXVIII. " But without faith it is impossible to please
him," ver. 6, .... 106
., XXIX. "For he that cometh to God must believe
that he is," &c., ver. 6, . .114
VOL. xiv. 6
yj CONTENTS.
MOT
SERMON XXX. " For he that cometh to God must ibelieve
that he is," &c., ver. 6, . 128
w XXXI. "For he that cometh to God must believe
that he is," &c., ver. 6, , - . . 133
XXXII. "For he that cometh to God must believe
that he is," &c., ver. 6, ... 142
XXXIII. "And that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him," ver. 6, . .153
7 , XXXIV. "And that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him," ver. 6, . 162
XXXV. "By faith Noah, being warned of God of
things not seen as yet," &c., ver. 7, . 173
XXXVI. " By faith Noah, being warned of God of
things not seen as yet," ver. 7, . . 183
XXXVII. " By faith Noah, being warned of God of
things not seen as yet," ver. 7, . . 191
XXXVIII. Prepared an ark," ver. 7, . . . 201
XXXIX. "By the which he condemned the world,
and became heir," &c., ver. 7, . . 213
XL. " By faith Abraham, when he was called to go
out into a place," &c., ver. 8, . . 224
XLI. " By faith Abraham, when he was called to
go out into a place," &c., ver. 8, . . 237
XLII. " By faith he sojourned in the land of promise,
as in a strange country," &c., vers. 9, 10, . 248
XLIII. " By faith he sojourned in the land of promise,
as in a strange country," &c., vers.<9, 10, . 260
XLIV. "Through faith also Sara herself received
strength to conceive seed," &c., ver. 11, . 272
n XLV. " These all died in faith, not having received
the promises," &c., ver. 13, . . . 280
* XL VI. " These all died in faith, not having received
the promises," &c., ver. 13, . . . 293
XLVn. These all died in faith, not having received
the promises," &c., ver. 13, . 305
CONTENTS. Vil
PAGE
SERMON XL VIII. " These all died in faith, not having received
the promises," &c., ver. 13, . . . 315
XLIX. " For they that say such things declare plainly
that they seek a country," &c., vers. 14-16, 328
L. " Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called
their God," &c., ver. 16, . .338
LI. "By faith Abraham, when he was tried,
offered up Isaac," &c., vers. 17-19, . . 352
LIT. "By faith Abraham, when he was tried,
offered up Isaac," &c., vers. 17-19, . . 360
LIII. " Accounting that God was able to raise him
up, even from the dead," &c., ver. 19, . 369
LIV. " By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau con
cerning things to come," ver. 20, . . 380
LV. " By faith Jacob, when he was a-dying, blessed
both the sons of Joseph," &c., ver. 21, . 395
LVI. " By faith Joseph, when he died, made men
tion of the departing," &c., ver. 22, . 406
LVII. " By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid
three months of his parents," ver. 23, . 419
LVIII. " By faith Moses, when he was come to years,"
&c., ver. 24, .... 427
LIX. " By faith Moses, when he was come to years,"
&c., ver. 24, .... 437
LX. " Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the
people of God," &c., ver. 25, , . 449
LXI. "Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater
riches than the treasures of Egypt," ver. 26, 459
LXII. " Through faith he kept the passover and the
sprinkling of blood," &c., ver. 28, t . 473
SERMONS
UPON THE
ELEVENTH CHAPTER OF THE HEBREWS.
VOL. XIV.
SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI.
SEKMON XVIII.
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain,
by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying
of his gifts: and by it he, being dead, yet speaketh. HEB. xi. 4.
Secondly, The second general means is to apply yourselves to the
righteousness of Christ. There are many steps and progresses of the
soul in this work desire it, seek it, wait for it, take Christ upon any
special offer, then upon the act of faith consider your privileges and
make your claim ; and that your claim may he warranted, there must
be a care of holiness.
1. Desire it earnestly. Grace is wrought by knowledge, but it is
first known by desire and spiritual esteem. Appetite follows life ; so
when God begins to infuse life in the soul, it is first discerned by
desire : Mat. v. 5, ' Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after
righteousness.' How passionately doth Paul speak, Phil. iii. 9, ' That
I might be found in him, not having mine own righteousness.' All
things else he accounted dung, dog's-meat, loss rather than gain.
2. You must seek it. Lazy wishes are only the fruits of conviction.
Men could wish they were interested in so great comfort. But now
serious desires will put you upon endeavours : Mat. vi. 33, ' Seek ye
first the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof.' The great
design and work of Christians should be to get a part in Christ, in God's
kingdom, and God's righteousness, as the way to it ; seek it first, above
all things, and above all pursuits. Men make it not their work, but
their by-work, and regard it now and then in some pang of conscience.
Oh, then for a garment to cover them, then for a righteousness to shelter
them from wrath ! but this should be the first thing ; it is a worthy
pursuit, and it will make amends for all the pains you are at in seeking
it,
3. Wait for it. Grace is not at the creature's beck. Before ever
God will show mercy, he will first declare his sovereignty : Isa t xxvi.
8, ' In the way of thy judgments have we waited for thee/ Though
they meet with nothing but rough answers though God seems to hide
himself, yet in the midst of his judicial dispensations you should con
tinue waiting. Nothing declares the creature's subjection to Gotl so
much as tarrying of his leisure ; alas ! otherwise it is a sign we ascribe
4 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [&ER. XVIII.
to ourselves, when we prescribe to God, when we would have him come
in at our time and pleasure. Eemember the righteousness of Christ is a
great blessing, and God doth not owe it you ; God may give it to whom
he will, and when lie will. Impatience always shows there is some confi
dence in your own righteousness. You should say as the church doth :
Lam. i. 16, ' My comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me ; '
'but I have rebelled against him,' ver. 18. God suspends comfort, but it is
not my due ; but I have rather merited the contrary. Thoughts of merit
beget murmuring. When the soul is possessed of its own guilt, it
will tarry the Lord's leisure. Consider, God hath waited long ere you.
came to this, to look up to him for the righteousness of Christ ; there
fore you have good cause to wait upon him for his good pleasure.
4. When there is any special offer in the word, do not delay, but take
Christ ; do not draw back the hand of faith. I know a guilty creature
will be full of suspicions; and the truth is, the grace of the gospel is
so rich that we know not how to credit it. But when there is a fail-
offer, do not let suspicion take in the hand of faith, but receive Christ
when he is tendered in the promises of the word. Sometimes God doth,
as it were, call you by name : John x. 3, ' He calleth his own sheep by
name ;' he doth, as it were, point to you when he speaks to men in
your case and condition. Oh ! consider, these are fair seasons of grace,
and you must not let them slip : 2 Cor. vi. 1, 2, ' We beseech you
that you receive not the grace of God in vain ;" for I have heard thee
in an acceptable time. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of
salvation/ There are certain beautiful seasons wherein God will befound,
when you see yourselves to be as it were pointed at. Look, as wicked
men neglect seasons of conviction, so do believers many times dispute
away seasons of grace, those that are in the way of faith. Poor lost
creatures are apt to be suspicious ; but when the offer of grace is full
and express to your case, do not neglect it ; as Benhadad's servants
watched for the word 'brother,' so should you be asking for these gospel
seasons. Jesus Christ will sometimes give a glimpse of his counten
ance, and look through the lattice.
5. Upon the act of faith consider your privileges, and humbly make
your claim. Whenever you have taken Christ upon those seasonable
offers, consider what a great privilege you enjoy : John v. 24, ' He that
believeth in me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condem
nation, but is passed from death to life.' Christians are wanting in
their improving their spiritual interest ; they are willing to prize Christ,
but do not consider what they have in him. If you cannot feel sen
sible consolation, yet act spiritual reason and discourse. Consider, such
an act gives interest in Christ ; why then should I not have Christ,
and in Christ righteousness? Isa. xlv. 24: The church is brought in,
speaking, Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and
strength, even to him shall men come/ This is glorying, or rejoicing
in hope, Heb. iii. 6 ; that is, a reckoning upon our pVivilege, what we
shall have and enjoy in Christ. Whosoever takes Christ, he puts him
on ; then he is interested and invested with all tluit is Christ's : Gal.
iii. 27, ^ As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on
Christ/ By the internal baptism we have an interest not only in his
person, but in his righteousness, life, spirit, dignities, and merits ;
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 5
it is good to ampliate our thoughts according to the extent of our
privileges.
6. That your claim may be warranted the more, there must be a
care of holiness. Works are not the condition of justification, yet they
are the evidence of it. Faith justifies, and works justify : James ii. 24,
' Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith
only.' By the righteousness of faith we are acquitted from sin, and by
the righteousness of works we are acquitted from guile and hypocrisy ;
therefore this is the evidence that will make all sure: 1 John iii. 21,
22, ' If our hearts condemn us not, then we have confidence towards
God. And whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his
commandments/ &c. This will increase the confidence of faith, when
there is a train of graces. Though works have nothing to do in the
court of heaven in matter of justification, yet they have a voice and
testimony in the court of conscience. Seldom do we receive any solemn
assurance but upon the evidence of sanctification. Faith gives us a
title to Christ's righteousness, but works give an evidence of it. Our
comfort indeed is founded upon Christ's righteousness and his satisfac
tion, but it is found in Christ's way ; therefore consider how the
promises are diversified : Mat. xi. 28, ' Come unto me,' saith Christ,
'all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest' ; but
then, ver. 29, ' Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I am
meek and lowly in heart : arid you shall find rest for your souls.' The
act of faith gives us an interest ; but that we may have the comfort of
it, we must abide under his discipline. This is God's course ; first he
pours in the oil of grace, then the oil of gladness, when our sanctifica
tion is evidenced unto us. The apostle gathereth it out of the type of
Melchisedec: Heb. vii. 2, 'First being, by interpretation, king of
righteousness, and after that also king of Salem ; that is, king of
peace/ First he sanctifieth and disposeth the heart to righteousness,
then gives peace of conscience and comfort ; that is the order, he recon-
cileth us to God by his own righteousness, and then gives peace in our
souls by woiking our hearts to a holy disposition.
Use 2. To condemn them that seek righteousness in themselves.
Nature is prone to this, and none more apt than those that have least
reason. Former duties do not discover weakness, and so are more apt
to puff up. Give me leave a little to speak of this ; partly because it
is so natural to us, and partly because many decry resting in duties
so far, that they decry the very performance of them, and instead of
Papists turn Familists. This resting in our own righteousness is
sometimes more gross and open, when men makeit their plea; sometimes
more secret and imperceptible ; we may discover it by observing the
disposition of the soul with reference to sins, mercies, duties, and comforts.
1. By observing the frame of the heart with reference to sin. Usually
when men rest in duties, they make the performance of them to be the
ground of an indulgence to sin, and take the more liberty to sin, out of
a hope to make amends by their duties.
[1.] This indulgence is sometimes antedated before the performance,
as when men allow themselves in present carnal practices by the pur
pose of an after-repentance. It is as if men should distemper the body
by excess, and then think to mend all by giving themselves a vomit ; or
contract a sickness by drunkenness, hoping to cure all by physic.
6 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XVIII.
Tune demum a peccatis desistam, cum baptizatus ero. Conviction
would not let men sin so freely if they did not make fair promises of
reformation : this is making a Christ of your repentance and prayers.
So some men moil in the world, and dream of a devout retirement
hereafter ; thus rich they will be, and then they will live privately,
and mind religion.
[2.] Sometimes the indulgence is post-dated, which is most grossly
done hy them that perform duties with an aim either to excuse or to
promote sin : Prov. xxi. 27, ' The sacrifice of the wicked is abomina
tion : how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind ? ' as
Balaam's altars were built, and sacrifices made with this intent, that
he might curse Israel, Num. xxiii. ; or more closely, by others who
would redeem their negligence in one duty by the frequent perform
ance of another, and please God by what doth not displease themselves ;
as the Jews hoped to repair their want of mercy by the multitude of
their sacrifices. The Pharisees tithed mint and cummin to excuse
themselves from the weighty things of the law, Mat. xxiii. 23. Con
science, like the stomach, will be craving ; and a man must do something
to keep it quiet, as by a moral course, or some formal acts of piety.
By others it is done yet more closely, that grow vain and wanton after
some solemn duty: JBzek. xxxiii. 13, ' If he trust to his own righteous
ness, and commit iniquity,' &c. Many times we find that the heart
groweth loose, licentious, vain, wanton, and proud after solemn duties,
which argueth a secret confidence in what we have done ; thus Josiah's
breach with God was ' after his preparing the temple,' 2 Chron. xxxv. 20.
2. With respect to mercies ; and so observe the frame of your hearts
in the want of mercies, or in the enjoyment of them.
[1.] In the want of mercies. Men expect blessings out of a conceit
of some worth that is in themselves, and ascribe too much to their own
duties. We all disclaim it ; but it may be known by this, if we
murmur when God doth not come in at our times and seasons. Those
that prescribe to God do ascribe to themselves : Isa. Iviii. 3, ' Where
fore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not ? wherefore have
we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge ? ' Luke
xviii. 11, 12, ' I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican : I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all
that I possess.' Because we do not break out into such bold challenges,
we think ourselves innocent ; but murmuring argueth some thought of
desert. Where nothing is due, we cannot complain if nothing be given.
The plea of works may be plainly read in our discontents ; if God be
not a debtor, why do we then complain ?
[2.] In the enjoyment of mercies, men secretly ascribe to themselves,
as if God did see more in them than others : Deut. ix. 4, ' Speak not
in thy heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from
before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in
to possess this land.' It rather manifests itself in thoughts than words.
Now because these thoughts are not always impressed on conscience,
men evade it; but here you will discern it again by some disdain at
providence. Spiritual pride, or conceit of our own worth, entertaineth
crosses with anger, and blessings with disdain ; discontent or disdain
will discover it to you : Mai. i. 2, ' I have loved you, saith the Lord :
yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us ? ' By a gracious, humble
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 7
heart all mercies are received with admiration. Where sin is great
nothing can be little, nothing is theirs but sin; therefore they wonder
that anything should be theirs but punishment: Luke. i. 43, ' And
whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me ? '
so 2 Sam. vii. 18, ' Who am I, Lord God ? and what is my house,
that thou hast brought me hitherto ? ' Not, Wherefore have we fasted ?
but whence is it ? and what am I that God should do thus and thus
for me ? Do but compare Mat. vii. 22, ' Many will say to me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? and in thy
name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful
works?' they plead their gifts and employments in the church with
Mat. xxv. 38, 39, 'Lord, when sawwethee an hungered, and fedthee?
or thirsty, and gave thee drink ? when saw we thee a stranger, and took
thee in ? or naked, and clothed thee ? or when saw we thee sick, or in
prison, and came unto thee ? ' The one wonder God should reject them,
who had done him so much service ; the other wonder Christ should
take notice of such worthless services, though none perform duties with
more care, none overlook them with more self-denial.
3. With respect to duties. Here also are two notes.
[1.] When men are not actually sensible of their own weakness,
unprofitableness, and defects in duties. Men set a high value on their
actions, and therefore reckon of the merit of. them. The elder brother
pleaded : Luke xv. 29, 'Lo. these many years do I serve thee; neither
at any time transgressed I thy commandment.' We rest upon that of
which we are conceited. Formal men have least cause, and yet are
most apt, to rest in duties, because they go on in a dead course, with
out feeling their defects, or being sensible of their needing the supplies
of the Spirit; as painted fire needeth no fuel. But the children of God
perform them with more feeling of their own weakness and wretched
ness ; and so their hearts are kept humble and thankful, both which
check merit. Thankful : 1 Chron. xxix. 14, ' Of thine own have we given
thee.' Humble, for there may be a show of thankfulness, and yet the
heart may be conceited : Luke xviii. 11, ' God, I thank thee I am not
as other men are ; ' but ' all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,' Isa.
Ixiv. 6. Now we must have actual distinct thoughts of this, or else it
is impossible that such a proud creature as man should go out of him
self. Christ requireth it in every duty : Luke xvii. 10, ' When ye
shall have done all those things that are commanded you, say, We are
unprofitable servants ;' therefore you do not discern this secret vein of
guilt by gross thoughts of merit, but by high thoughts of duty. When
a man is not always sensible of the imperfections of his services, he is
apt to build upon them. How do you come off from duty ? You
have more cause to be humble than to be lifted up ; for what is God's
be thankful, for what is your own be humbled, arid pray, God be
merciful to me!
[2.] When men are more careful of the work wrought than of the
interest of the person ; when we would have the person accepted tor
the work's sake rather than for Christ's sake, they lay the foundation
of their comfort within themselves. Now this is not only by common
people, who hope to be accepted for their prayers and their good mean
ings, but in those that are careless to get an interest in Christ : James
8 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XVIII.
v. 16, ' The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Most'men look to the qualification of the duty, not of the person ; but
the person must be righteous, as well as the prayer fervent. It is not
duty that worketh out your atonement with God ; our acceptation with
God doth not depend upon the worth and merit of works. Do not
think duties will serve the turn: 2 Cor xiii. 5, 'Know ye not your
own selves, how that Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? ' The
word a&oKi/jioi, reprobate, is there taken in a mollified sense for those
that are not in Christ ; and therefore, before duties, your great care
should be not only to raise the heart, but to examine the state.
4. With respect to peace and comfort, take these notes.
[1.] If you were never driven to change your copy and tenure. Alt
Adam's posterity is under a covenant of works, and seek to bd saved
by doing. Those that never saw they rested in works, and were never
driven to settle their comfort upon gospel terms, are in a dangeious case.
The voice of nature is, What shall we do? and till we are frighted out
of ourselves we never look farther. When the Israelites heard the
thunderings, they were affrighted. Nature is put to flight: Heb. v>.
18, 'Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us;'
Phil. iii. 9, 'And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the
righteousness which is of God by faith ;' Gal. ii. 19, 'For I through
the law am dead to the law, that I might live to God.' A man goes
not 10 chancery till he is cast at common law.
[2.] When conscience is awakened, if men fetch their comfort from
their duties. The law leaveth men wounded and raw, and they lick them
selves whole again by some offers of obedience. Carnal men are careful
of worship only upon some gripes ; they use their duties as men do
strong waters in a pang; duties should be a thank-offering, and they
make them a sin-offering a sleeping sop to allay conscience. As when
men have offended their superiors for a while they become more pliant
and obsequious. It is good in gripes of conscience to observe whence
you fetch your comfort, and how it groweth upon you ; the trial is most
sensible: Ps. xciv. 19, 'In the multitude of my thoughts within me
thy comforts delight my soul.' Though every child of God hath not
peace of conscience, yet it would much undeceive our hearts if we did
observe how we come to be satisfied with our estate, and from whence
that peace which we have doth arise.
[3.J Upon what terms do you constantly maintain your life and peace
with God ; upon the foundation of works, or through the merits of
Christ ? I confess works are a good encouragement, by way of evidence
and assurance; but still the foundation must be Christ: 1 Cor. iii.
11, ' For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which
is Jesus Christ.' The believing soul will never be diverted and taken
off from Christ, but will still cry, What would become of me were it not
for free grace ? Neh. ix. 31, ' Nevertheless, for thy great mercies' sake
thou didst not utterly consume them and forsake them, for thou art a
gracious and merciful Cod;' 1 Cr. iv. 4, ' For I know nothing by
myself, yet am I not thereby justified ; but he that judgeth me is the
Lord.' Christ must still lie as a bundle of myrrh with us : Cant. L
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 9
13, ' A bundle cf myrrh is my well-beloved unto me ; he'shall lie all
night betwixt my breasts.'
Use 3. Information ; to direct us how to understand this great truth.
For your better information, and because I will not perplex these
discourses with disputes, I shall lay down several propositions ; take
them all together
1. That to justify is to account or accept as righteous.
2. None are accounted or accepted as righteous but those that indeed
are so.
3. Every righteousness will not serve the turn, but such as will
satisfy God's justice.
4. God's justice will never be satisfied till the law be satisfied.
5. The law will never be satisfied but by active and passive obedience.
6. This satisfaction is only to be had in Christ.
7. There is no having this righteousness in Christ but by imputation.
8. There is no imputation but by union.
9. There is no union but by faith.
[1.] To justify is not to make righteous, but to account or accept as
righteous. This is the use and force of the word in scripture : Rom.
ii. 13, ' Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of
the law shall be justified.' It cannot be taken for the infusion of
righteousness, because the doers of the law are therefore righteous in
themselves because they do the law ; but the meaning is, are accounted
just. It is opposed to condemnation and accusation, therefore it must
be taken for accounting righteous ; as Rom. viii. 33, ' Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth, who
is he that condemneth?' That which is opposed to accusation is
justification ; and that it is meant of an accepting in court is clear by
Ps. cxliii. 2, 'Enter not into judgment with thy servant, Lord, for
in thy sight no man living shall be justified ; ' that is, in thy righteous
and strict judgment none can be accepted as righteous.
[2.] None is accounted righteous before God but he that indeed is
so ; for otherwise the rule standeth good : Exodus xxxiv. 7, ' He will
by no means clear the guilty.' It is part of God's name that he pro
claimed before Moses : it must be such a righteousness as will endure
God's sight ; so that when God casts his eye upon it, he cannot choose
but account you righteous, which cannot be by a fiction or an imaginary
righteousness ' For the judgment of God is according to truth,' Rom.
ii. 2, be it in mercy or in judgment. And it is a thing God hates in
Aian: Prov. xvii. 15, 'To condemn the just, and justify the wicked,
are both an abomination to the Lord.' Therefore there must be such
a righteousness as, God looking upon it, he must needs account you
righteous.
[3.] Every righteousness will not serve the turn, but such only as
will satisfy God's justice, because by the work of redemption the Lord
is to suffer no loss; the repute of his justice is still to be kept up-,
otherwise the notions of the deity would be violated. In the work of
redemption he is not unrighteous ; therefore the apostle is very zealous :
Rom. iii. 4, ' Yea, let God be true, and every man a liar ; as it is
written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and mightest
overcome when thou art judged/ &c ; God is necessarily just as well
10 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SEB. XVIII.
as necessarily merciful. Now both attributes must shine with equal
glory. If he did altogether spare, where were his justice ? and it he
did accept men upon ordinary terms, and did altogether save, where
were his mercy? God's infinite wisdom hath determined the con
troversy, and the apostle gives us an account of it : Horn. iii. 24,
25, ' Him hath God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins;' and it is
again repeated 'To declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness, that
he may be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.' God
would not only glorify grace, but he would be just in justification;
therefore, 1 John i. 9, ' If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ; ' and
again, chap. ii. 1, ' We have an advocate with the Father, even Jes-us
Christ the righteous.' God would not forgive sins, but so as that it-
might stand with his justice, for mercy and justice are to shine with
an equal glory.
[4.] God's justice can never be satisfied till the law be satisfied.
Why ? because it is the outward rule of his justice, and the visible
measure of his dealing with man ; and therefore the satisfaction of his
justice must be carried on according to the tenor and terms of the law ;
therefore was Christ made under the law. Now this was the great
controversy how to salve the authority, power, and worth of the law.
Christ professeth he came to fulfil it: Mat. v. 17, 18, ' Think not that
I am come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil,' &c. And the apostle shows plainly the doctrine
of justification doth not make void the law : Rom. iii. 3J , ' Do we then
make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish
the law ; ' therefore legal and gospel righteousness differ, because
the one is not inherent in us, the other is ; and in the manner of
receiving it.
[5.] The law can never be satisfied, as for fallen man, but by an
active and passive obedience that is, by suffering what is imposed, or
by doing what is commanded by the law ; for in the law there were two
things, the precept and the sanction, the duty and the penalty. The
law doth not only say, Do, and live ; but, Sin, and die. To Adam it
was proposed in the primitive form, Gen. ii. 17. Now the law must be
fulfilled in the threatening and precept, that there may be a freedom
from the curse, and a right to eternal life. And indeed Jesus Christ,
by being made under the law, by sustaining the penalty and perform
ing the obedience of it, hath done both : 1 Thes. i. 10, there is one
part 'Even Jesus, who delivered us from the wrath to come;' and
Ephes. i. 6, there is the other part ' We are accepted in the beloved.'
God freeth none from hell but those Christ suffered for ; and accepts
none to life but those Christ hath performed obedience for.
[6.] This satisfaction can be performed by none but Jesus Christ;
for, ala,s ! we could neither bear the penalty nor discharge the duty ;
not bear the penalty, for we should have always been satisfying,
always paying, but never could be said to have satisfied ; and we could
never discharge the duty of it, for the law is ' become weak through the
flesh,' Rom.viii 3; that is, as the case stands now with man fallen. 'Those
works that need pardon themselves can never satisfy : Acts iv. 12,
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 11
* Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.'
[7.] There is no having of this righteousness from Christ but by
imputation. I know here some boggle and say, Imputation is nowhere
found in scripture. I answer, We do not stand upon words and
syllables ; but this is most proper, and it may be well gathered, for
Christ is said ' to be made righteousness/ 1 Cor. i. 30 ; righteousness
is said ' to be imputed without works/ Rom. iv. 6 ; and ' faith is im
puted for righteousness/ Rom. iv. 22. To clear the proposition, it
must needs be by imputation (1.) Because this righteousness must be
in justificato, in the justified person. This righteousness, one way or
other, must belong to the person justified, otherwise the Lord cannot
look upon us as righteous. The man was cast out ' that had not on
him the wedding garment/ Mat. xxii. 11-13. Now by infusion it can
not be, all inherent righteousness being imperfect ; therefore it must
be by imputation. (2.) Consider what imputation is. To impute is
to reckon a thing to our score and account; and those things are said
to be imputed to us which are accounted ours to all intents and pur
poses, as if they were our own. Now in this sense our sins were
imputed to Christ, and Christ's righteousness is imputed to us. The
apostle makes the parallel : 2 Cor. v. 21, ' For he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might be made the righteous
ness of God in him/ Look, as Christ was so dealt with as if he had
been a sinner, so we are as if we were righteous. Our iniquities were
not infused into Christ, but imputed and laid upon him : Isa. liii. 6,
' The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all ; ' so is h ; s righteous
ness upon all them that believe. And the apostle useth another com
parison ; as Adam's guilt is laid upon us, so is Christ's righteousness ;
'As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners; so by the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous/ Rom. v. 19. In short,
the apostle saith, 1 Cor. i. 30, that Christ is 'made unto us of God
righteousness ; ' and the whole righteousness is imputed to satisfy the
obligation of the law, and to repair Adam's loss ; for we were guilty of
death, and we came short of glory : Gal. iv. 4-6. ' When the fulness
of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law/ &c.
[8.] There is no imputation but by union. All interest is founded
in union : Gal. iii. 27, ' As many of you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ;' all his merits and satisfaction are theirs,
as if performed in their own persons : 1 Cor. i. 30, ' Of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness,
a.nd sa notification, and redemption/' We are interested in all, as we
are in him ; by being one with Christ we put him on.
[9.] There is no union but by faith ; then God receives us into grace :
Rom. x. 10, ' With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.' It is
the ordination of God that this grace should unite us to Christ, and
so give us a right to all that is in Christ ; indeed it is the fittest grace
to receive the fruits of union. I confess there is a moral union by
love that gives comfort ; but faith begins the mystical union, and so
gives safety.
]2 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XIX.
SERMON XIX.
By tvhich he obtained witness that he ivas righteous, God testifying of
his gifts HEB. xi. 4.
Now I come to the second doctrine. AC 979, 'by which' may be referred
to 8v<ria or irlffTt^ ; and I referred the righteousness to faith, and the
testimony to the sacrifice. For the clearing of which you may remem
ber, I observed that in this duty of sacrifice the two brethren did appeal
to God, and put it to trial, whom the Lord would choose and design
to be head of the blessed seed and race ; and the Lord by fire from
heaven, which was the then visible teslimony of acceptance, determined
the matter on Abel's side ; besides, the apostle proveth that the solemn
testimony of his righteousness was first given to him by God's witness
ing of his girts. Whence I observe
Doct. 2. That upon the raised operations of faith with other graces
in solemn duties, we usually receive the testimony of righteousness in
Christ, or acceptance with God.
Abel's testimony was extraordinary, by fire from heaven ; but still
God is not wanting to witness concerning the services of his people:
all is not left in the dark, and to the decision and revelation of the last
day. Instead of those outward dispensations, we now receive an inward
testimony of the Spirit, and upon the exercise of grace God giveth us
this testimony. Now there are two special seasons of the exercise of
grace on our part, and so of the manifestations of comfort on God's
part ; there is the season of afflictions and the season of duties ; and in
both God's people receive from him the solemn witness and seal of the
Holy Ghost. In afflictions when we need comfort, and in duties when
we seek comfort, we have the sweetest experiences of the testimony of
the Spirit. Upon afflictions, you have it set down : Heb. xii. 11, ' After
ward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that
are exercised thereby/ The sweet and last fruit and issue of it is
peace of conscience ; so Rom. v. 3-5, ' Tribulation worketh patience,
and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not
ashamed;' upon what ground? 'Because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.' Affliction puts us upon the
exercise of grace, and the exercise of grace occasioneth sweet experiences
of God in our souls, by which hope is more and more kindled ; and this
is ratified by the confirmation of the Spirit.
But we are to speak of experiences in solemn duties, wherein God
is wont to open himself to his people, and all jealousies and misunder
standings between him and his servants are cleared up ; and there he
breaks in upon them sensibly for the furtherance of their joy.
I shall prove this is God's wonted course (1.) By the experiences
of the saints ; (2 ) By the promises of God ; (3.) By several arguments
and reasons.
1. By the experiences of the saints. When the scriptures were
written, God's ways were extraordinary, and therefore most of the
instances are extraordinary ; but however, we do not urge the manner,
bat the thing itself. The leading instance shall be that of Joshua the
VEK. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 13
high priest. When he was ministering before the Lord, it is said. Zech.
iii. 3, 4, ' Joshua was clothed witli filthy garments, and stood before the
angel ; and he answered, and spake unto those that stood before him,
saying, Take away the filthy garments from him ;' and God gave this
testimony to him, ' I have caused thine iniquity to pass from tliee, and
I will clothe thee with change of raiment.' I know that visional type
doth mainly respect the restoration of the church of the Jews, the
church of the Jews being represented in Joshua, who was the
chief-officer of the church ; however, there is something moral
in it. In the time of his ministration his filthy garments were
taken away, which is the usual emblem of sin in scripture, and
change of raiment is put on him, which is an emblem of the
righteousness of Christ applied and put on by faith, as it is ex
plained by the Spirit of God himself. So Cornelius, Acts x. 3, it
is said an angel came about the ninth hour to assure him God had
taken notice of his graces and duties : ver. 4, ' Thy prayers and thine
alms are come up for a memorial before God." Note the circumstance
of 'the ninth hour/ which was one of the hours of prayer : Acts iii. 1,
'Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of
prayer, being the ninth hour,' which this proselyte observes ; and
therefore about the ninth hour, in the middle of his prayers and devo
tions, an angel comes to him and assures him what acceptance he had
found. So the prophet Daniel : chap. ix. 20, 21, 'And while I was
speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin,' &c.; 'yea, whilst I was
speaking in prayer, the angel Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision
at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the
time of the evening-oblation.' The Spirit of God placeth a great deal
of emphasis upon this circumstance. At the very instant of prayer,
when he was earnestly pleading with God, God answers his request,
and an angel is despatched to come and certify to him his acceptance ;
God overtakes his duty by a speedy return of mercy. That way of
assurance is extraordinary ; but God's wonted course is many times to
give in a solemn assurance of his favour in the very time of our prayers;
so Acts iv. 31, ' When they had prayed, the place was shaken where
they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost.' Mark, in the very rime and act of their prayer there is a mira
culous descent of the Holy Ghost upon them ; the instances are
singular and extraordinary, yet there is some analogy and proportion
between them and ordinary cases. Though God's dispensations be
now more spiritual, yet they are very sensible still ; though we cannot
expect voices, raptures, shakings, oracles, and angels, yet we may expect
to hear the trumpet of the assemblies, which the psalmist expressesby the
* joyful sound,' Ps. Ixxxix. 15 : that is, the testimony of the Holy Ghost
and spiritual experiences, as will appear more fully by the next head.
2. By the promises of God. God hath promised to meet his people
with sensible comforts, to talk and confer with them in their duties ;
the very aim of all duties is more immediate communion with God.
See God's promises to his old church, while grace was more sparingly
dispensed : Exod. xxix. 42, ' At the door of the tabernacle of the con
gregation, there will 1 meet with you, and speak there unto you.' It
is meant of God's gracious and social presence with his people in duties
14 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XIX.
of worship ; there he will meet, and speak, and confer with them for
their comfort and satisfaction : Isa. Iviii. 9, ' Thou slialt call, and the
Lord shall answer ; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here am I.' Mark,
when complaints are heightened into cries, then God's answer will be
more sensible ; when we come in an affectionate manner, not only call,
but cry. Sometimes God plainly discovereth himself in the very time
of the duty ; he meets with them in such and such ordinances, as if he
should say, Poor soul, what would you have ? here am I to satisfy thee.
He communeth, talketh with them, and tells them their sins are par
doned, and they are accepted in Christ : Ps. xxxvi. 7-9, 'Thou shalt
abundantly satisfy them with the fatness of thine house, and make
them to drink of the rivers of thy pleasures ; ' there comforts are dis
pensed, there flow the rivers of spiritual pleasure and chaste delights
of the gospel.
Obj. But you will say, This is not always so ; there are many wait
upon God long, and feel no comfort. I answer, It is true. Such dis
pensations are free, they are not at the creature's beck : God will be
master of his own mercies ; we have deserved nothing, and we cannot
murmur if we receive nothing ; yet if ever they find spiritual consola
tion, it will be in God's house. This is the established means ; if ever
you taste the fatness and sweetness of grace, it will be by waiting upon
him there. Earnest and affectionate duties are seldom without comfort
and profit. And again I answer, that delight, which is a duty, makes
way for delight which is a dispensation : Cant. ii. 3, ' I sat down under
his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.'
When you delight in God, then the Lord will give in sensible consola
tion. Delights are mutual and sensible ; God delights in us, and we
in God. When we delight in him, in the word, in prayer, or in the
supper, by way of return God sends us secret consolation : Isa. Ixiv. 5,
' Thou meetest him that rejoiceth, and worketh righteousness, those that
remember thee in thy ways.' Those that delight in God's company, that
do good with a willing heart, are bountifully entertained, sweetly
refreshed, and sent away with a feast of loves. In our affectionate and
spiritual duties, Christ will come and say, ' Well done, good and faithful
servant, enter into thy master's joy ! ' The present returns and recom
penses, when we come before the throne of grace, carry some proportion
with the entertainment we shall find with God hereafter when we come
to be seated upon the throne of glory. I say, in earnest prayer, though
we can prescribe nothing, but this is his wonted course, his answer is
sensible in his ordinances. Saith Luther, Utinam eodem ardore, &c.
Would to God that I could always pray with the like fervency and
earnestness ! Why ? for I sensibly receive this answer, Thy desires are
granted, Fiat quod velisBe it unto thee as thou wilt. When we rejoice
to converse with God in the ways of righteousness, then his dispensa
tions of grace are full of sweetness.
3. The reasons why God observeth this course ; to exhibit and give
out more sensible manifestations of his grace in the time of ordinances,
when our graces are raised and drawn out to the height. The question
consisteth of two parts.
[1.] Why grace or sanctification is necessary to the receiving of the
testimony of the Spirit ?
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 15
[2.] Why upon the raised operations of grace God is wont to give
it into his people?
First, Why grace is necessary by way of evidence, though not by
way of merit and cause ?
Ans. 1. Because this is the most sensible effect of God's spiritual
bounty, for it is a work of God within us, and so more apt to give us
an evidence. Election, that is in heaven, a secret which lies hid in the
bosom of the Father ; redemption, that is without us, upon the cross ;
justification is God's judiciary act, a sentence of the judge without
us ; but sanctification is a work upon our heart, therefore it is called
the ' earnest of the Spirit,' 2 Cor. i. 22, and ' the first-fruits of the
Spirit,' Rom. viii. 23. Grace is an earnest to show how sure, and the
first-fruits to show how good heaven is ; by grace God gives us a taste
to show how sweet, and a pledge to show how sure all the privileges
of Christianity are made over to our souls.
2. Because it is the best way to prevent delusion ; immediate revela
tion would be more uncertain and liable to suspicion, and we may lie
down in sorrow, notwithstanding flashes of comfort. There is no way to
discern the operation of the Spirit from counterfeit ravishments, but by
sanctification and grace. There is a great deal of deceit in flash y joys,
but this is a solid witness and evidence : 1 John iii. 19, 'Hereby we know
that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him; ' that is,
without fear of presumption and hypocrisy, we may come and plead our
interest before God. Acts of comfort are sweet and delightful when
felt, but yet are but transient acts ; they soon pass away, they come
and go, they are acts of God's royalty and magnificence, and you know
every day is not a feast-day, God doth not always feast us with sensible
consolation ; but grace is a solid and abiding evidence : 1 John ii. 27,
' The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you ; ' and 1
John iii. 8, ' His seed remaineth in him.' Lively acts of joy and comfort
are but like those motions of the Spirit upon Samson ; it is said the
Spirit came upon him ' at times,' Judges xiii. 25, heightening of his-
strength and courage ; so these come upon us but at times. Therefore
standing evidences which are drawn from grace are far more certain
than sensible consolation.
3. Because the Spirit s witness is seldom single, but given in con
junction with water and blood : 1 John v. 8, ' There are three that
bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood;' not
only the blood of Christ, which witnesseth their redemption, but the
water of sanctification, which witnesseth their interest in that redemp
tion ; and then the Spirit comes and seals it in the heart of a believer.
The Spirit's testimony is made to be subsequent, and follows the testi
mony of our renewed conscience, Rom. viii. 16 ; for the Spirit's witness
is nothing but his owning of grace in the heart, which is his own
impress and seal, and assuring the soul. This is a stamp and fruit of
mine ; it is the ratifying of his own work to believers.
4. Because grace giveth most clearness, calmness, and serenity of
mind, so that we are most able to judge of those experiences. Where-
ever there is purity, there is a witness, for it brings in light and comfort
into the soul. Lusts are the clouds of the mind, which darken the
judgment and distress the conscience ; and therefore the apostle saith,
1C SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XIX.
2 Peter i. 9, that when men neglect to grow in grace, 'they are blind, and
cannot see afar off ;' they have no spiritual discerning, and are not
ahle to judge of spiritual" matters. An impure soul is always in the
dark, full of doubts and fears ; certainly the more grace, the more con
fidence, for there is more clearness of discerning. Guilt begets a servile
fear and awe. Shame and fear entered into the world with sin ; it
weakens confidence. Compare Gen. ii. 25, with Gen. iii. 10 ; in the
former place it is said, ' The man and the woman were both naked,
and were not ashamed ; ' why ? because they were in a state of inno-
cency ; but in the other place, ' I was afraid, because I was naked.'
As soon as sin came into the world there was fear upon the conscience
of the guilty creature.
5. Because of the inseparable connection, that is, by the ordination
and appointment of God, between grace and comfort: Eph. i 13, ' In
whom, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of
promise/ In the original it is, TOJ Trvev/juari TT)S e7rayye\.tas rw dyta)
Ye were sealed by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of promise.
There are three articles ; he seals as the Spirit of God, and as the Holy
Spirit ; he will not seal to a blank, but where there is holiness and
grace wrought in the heart. The apostle proves this is the method of
God out of the names of Melchisedec : Heb. vii. 2, ' First being by
interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem ;
that is, king of peace.' First he bestows grace, and then gladness ;
first he disposeth the heart to righteousness, then works peace in the
eoul : Ps. cxix. 165, ' Great peace have they that love thy law ; ' they
maintain and keep their comfort without interruption. Acts ix. 31,
there is such another connection ' The churches walked in the fear of
the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost: ' the more grace,
the greater comfort and satisfaction. This is the way which God hath
-appointed.
Secondly, Why these graces must be exercised in holy duties.
1. Because thereby God would endear duty to the creature, by mak
ing it the means of comfort. This is the best course to maintain the
traffic and commerce that is between God and the creature. Look, as
there is commerce between two distant places by trading, so between
us and heaven, by exchange of duties and comforts ; our prayers come up
before him, God's blessings come down to us. Who can expect gold
from the Indies, but those that trade there in ships ? Who can expect
these rich dispensations of God, but those that trade with him in holy
service ? It is true, every time we bring our wares to God we do not
make such a good market, because God rather gives than sells, and he
gives at pleasure, though usually there is some defect in us, but this is
God's established course. Or look, as the earth and the air maintain a
commerce one with another : the sea and land send up vapours and
exhalations into the air, and the air sends down sweet showers and sweet
dews for the refreshing of the earth ; unless the earth sendeth up vapours,
the air sendeth down nothing ; and so, unless we come and converse
with God in holy duties, there are no dews and refreshments that come
down from above for the watering of a parched heart ; and without the
religious ascent of prayers and graces we have no influences from heaven.
This is God's established order.
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 17
2. Because when our graces are exercised, then there is most rational
likelihood that we shall receive this testimony from God. Consider it
with respect to either witness that must concur to the settling your peace :
for look, as under the law everything was to be established in the mouth
of two or three witnesses, so it is in the great matters of our peace like
wise. There is the Spirit and the renewed conscience, by which our
peace is established ; and if we consider either, we shall find we are
most likely to receive this testimony when grace is exercised. Look
upon it
[1.] On the Spirit's part. Those raised operations of grace are the
special fruits of the Holy Ghost ; he not only works grace at first, but
he gives actual help for the exercising of it ; and therefore when he
hath moved and stirred us most, he is most like to seal. It is the con
stant method of the Spirit first to work grace, and then to seal it ; the
more conspicuous the work, the more of 'this sealing may we
expect.
[2.] It is more rational upon our part ; for the more our graces are
exercised, the more they are in view of conscience. Grace exercised
and drawn out into action is more apparent and sensible to the soul ;
acts are more liable to feeling than habits. Fire in a flint is neither seen
nor felt, but when knocked against a steel, then you may discern it ;
so when we draw out that which lies hid in the soul, then conscience
can take the more notice of it. Hoots under ground in winter are not
observed till they shoot forth in the spring ; the stream is seen when
the fountain is hid ; the apples, leaves, blossoms, and buds are visible
when the life and the sap is not seen ; EO acts are taken notice of by
conscience when useless habits lie out of sight ; or if they be drawn
out by imperfect operations, when our motions are faint and weak, they
are like the waters of Siloah that run slowly a man can hardly discern
whether it be living water or a standing pool. No wonder our comfort
is so weak, when sanctification runs so slow, and is scarce to be dis
cerned. By experience we find that raised operations bring comfort
and peace with them ; we feel a great calmness and serenity in our
consciences after some solemn duty, because conscience can sweetly
reflect upon the exercises of grace, and quiet itself with the discharge
of its own duty ; then there is a peace and contentment within the
soul.
3. I prove it by the rule of proportion. Look, as great sins destroy
our comfort, so also the raised exercise of graces in duty increase our
comfort. Scandalous sins, like a blot upon our evidences, do obscure
them, waste conscience, and eclipse our comfort ; and when we return to
folly, we smart for it : Ps. Ixxxv. 8, ' The Lord will speak peace to his
people ; but let them not return to folly,' implying they hazard all their
comfort when they give way to great corruptions : so on the contrary
side, when we exercise our graces, they administer comfort. All that
can be objected against this is, that there is no merit in duties as there
is in sins ; but though duty do not merit comfort, yet it is the measure
of it, for hereby the heart is prepared for peace, and usually according
to the preparation of the heart ; so God comes in with the supplies of
comfort : Ps. x. 17, ' Thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine
ear to hear.' When the heart is mightily drawn out in duty, answerable
VOL. XIV. B
IS SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SEE. XIX.
are the returns of God's grace. Vessels thus prepared are of a larger
size, and can receive more of the bounty of God: Jer. xxix. 13, 'Ye
shall seek roe and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your
heart.' God's answers of grace are according to the excitations of grace.
4. Because it is the best way to bring us to improve comfort. That
which cometh from God and in God's way leadeth us again to God.
There is nothing which raiseth the soul to such a degree of reverence
and to such a wonder of grace as the experiences of duty do ; then the
heart is full of joy and the mouth full of praise, and God hath all the
honour : these are the lasting experiences that both endear God and
endear the ways of God to us. (1.) They endear God : Ps. cxvi. 1, 2,
' I will love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my suppli
cation ; because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call
upon him as long as I live.' (2.) They endear the ways of God to us.
Comforts received in the way of duty come double to us : Ps. cxix. 93,
' I will never forget thy precepts, for by them thou hast quickened me ; '
I will never forget such a sermon and such an ordinance wherein I
have received such quipkenings and such sweet enlargements from the
Lord. The myrrh which Christ had left upon the handle of the lock
made the spouse more earnest after Christ. What made David pant
after God ? the sweet experiences of duty : Ps. Ixiii. 2, ' To see thy
power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary/ Look,
as when the springs are low, a little water cast into a pump brings up
a great deal more ; so when God hath cast a few experiences into the
soul, it breeds more affection, more love, and more joy. Now it is no
wonder vain spirits question duties when God never ministered comfort
to them that way ; they are full of satanical illusions and fanatic joys
and conceits of comfort in the neglect of ordinances, but they never
received the solid comfort of ordinances.
Use 1. It serves to inform us what little reason they have to complain
of the want of comfort that are not diligent in the exercise of grace.
Usually we lie upon the bed of ease, and expect God should drop
comfort into us out of the clouds : 2 Peter i. 5, compared with ver. 10 ;
' Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue,' &c ; then ver. 10,
' Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure.' We must
be much in the exercise of grace before ever the Lord gives us comfort.
Whatever he may do for some out of the prerogative of free grace we
cannot tell ; yet usually after much waiting and diligence, we receive
this testimony from God. We find the Israelites in the wilderness
were fed with manna from heaven, but the standing rule is 'In the
sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat thy bread/ Gen. iii. 19 ; ' And he
that will not work, let him not eat,' 2 Thes. iii. 10. Comfort is the
recompense of industry and the encouragement of faith and obedience.
If we should gain assurance by neglecting the means, we should soon
lose it again ; the Spirit would not speak so clearly as before. Comfort
is a free dispensation, but always given in the use of means. The clock
runs upon its own wheels; however, there must be weights hung- on,
and we must draw them up at the appointed times. So God's dispensa
tions run upon their own wheels ; they are free, but they have their
proper weights ; and unless we pull up the weights by faith and prayer,
the clock of mercy will stand still ; certainly it will speak no comfort
VEIL 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 19
nor sound peace to our souls. A fond expectation it is to look for
comfort, and yet to live in sin, or else content ourselves with the low
and faint operations of grace. Alas ! they that look for a full joy and
yet walk in darkness, John will tell them plainly they lie, 1 John i. 6 ;
and so men, distracted with the din and hurry of worldly cares and
businesses, choke conscience, and so can never hear the voice of the
Spirit. The children of God are to blame also ; their sane tin" cation is
low ; and scarce to be discerned, therefore no wonder their comfort is but
low. Grace, if any way exercised, is seldom without a witness. Never
expect comfort either in the neglect or decay of holiness ; there will
always be a doubting of the truth and a jarring between your
consciences and desires.
Use 2. To press you to three things to be much in duties, to draw
out your graces to a high degree, and to observe your experiences.
1. To be much in duty. There are sweet comforts to be dispensed,
there is marrow and fatness, and all you can desire ; comforts that differ
only from the joys of heaven in the degree and in the manner of fruition ;
rivers of pleasure that flow from God's house ; therefore be frequent
in holy duties. Solomon saith, Prov. xxvii. 18, ' He that keeps the
fig-tree 'shall eat the fruit thereof/ Certainly God is not a hard
master ; if you keep close to Christ in duty, you shall taste of the fruit
thereof ; but alas ! otherwise, if you neglect duties of religion, where
will you have comfort ? He that is a stranger to God is and must
necessarily be a stranger to the joys of the Spirit: Job xxii. 21,
' Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace.' Usually we have
peace and satisfaction after long acquaintance and familiarity with God,
but those that are seldom or cold and customary in duties can never
expect any solid joy.
2. To draw out your graces to some raised and high degree ' Then
thou shalt call, and the Lord shall answer ; thou shalt cry, and he shall
say, Here am I,' Isa Iviii. 9. It will be sweet to hear Christ say,
' Well done, good and faithful servant.' Look into the sphere of nature
or sphere of grace, all excellent things are obtained with difficulty,
and they will cost us much labour and sweat ; so will all ravishing
sweet comforts cost us much pains in the duties of religion : Acts xxvi.
7, it is said, ' The twelve tribes served God instantly day and night.' In
the original it is / eVrez/ei'a, with the utmost of their strength, with
their extended abilities. You should seek God. and raise your graces
to a vigorous degree and height ; then the Lord will come in : Jer.
xxix. 13, 'You shall seek me and find me, when you shall search for
me with all your hearts.' Alas ! many vainly accuse mercy when
they themselves are idle, and do not seek God with all their hearts.
3. To observe experiences. It is good to listen to the softer whispers
and suggestions of the Holy Ghost. Still be looking for God's answer
and God's return ; as the psalmist saith, Ps. Ixxxv. 8, ' I will hear
what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people.'
Ah ! hearken and wait still, when God will drop out a word of peace
and comfort, that you may be able to know the purposes of his grace.
If the oracle be silent, beg the more: Ps. Ixxxvi. 17, 'Show me a
token for good.' So go to God for some comfortable experiences of
his grace, especially after great sins, deep distress, and strong desire :
2Q SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SZB, XIX.
Ps li 8 ' Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones that thou
liast broken may rejoice ; ' his conscience was troubled, and he begs
peace in his conscience.
Use 3 To put us on the trial, how shall we discern the testimony
God giveth us in duties? I answer, Two ways: by impressions and
by expressions, for God writeth and speaketh.
1. By impressions, which are left to be managed by our reason and
discourse. By impressions I mean two things ^
[I.] Those gracious experiences we have of quickening enlargement
and actual excitation in the duty ; these are tokens for good : Ps. x.
17. ' Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble, thou wilt prepare
their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear.' Fire from heaven was
the visible testimony of old ; that which answers it now is fire in the
affections ; there is a communion with God in grace, though not in
comfort; the motions of your hearts towards God 'are discovered by
the enlargement of your desires ; unutterable groans are a fruit of the
Spirit's presence as well as unutterable joys ; he is not only called 'the
Comforter/ John xiv. 26, but ' the spirit of grace and supplication,'
Zech. xii. 10.
[2.] The frame of the spirit after duty. Peace, as well as joy, is a
fruit of the Holy Ghost : Eom. xiv. 17, ' The kingdom of God is not
meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy
Ghost.' God giveth you a rest from the accusations from conscience,
though not sensible consolations ; as when a man cometh from a prince
cheerful because of his hopes, though he hath not received an actual
answer to his request. Suavities and joys are mere dispensations : 2
Cor. iii. 17, < Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.' Many
of his children God keepeth in the lower way, and usually, though they
have less of comfort, they have more of grace ; there is an impression
of confidence and support is given, though not ravishment. By con
versing with God Christians learn to rejoice in their hopes, though
they have not enjoyment: Heb. iii. 6, 'Whose house are we if we
hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the
end.' It is a great matter to have impressions of confidence and
encouragement in waiting.
2. By expressions ; when God doth, as it were, speak to us, and we
are comfortably persuaded by the Spirit of God that we are accepted
with him. Heretofore God spake to the ear audibly and by oracle :
Gen. xv. 1, ' The word of the Lord came unto Abrarn in a vision, say
ing, Fear not, Abram,' &c ; but now he speaks by his Spirit, not by
voices and oracles ; such things are the dotages of distempered persons.
A voice there is : Psa. li. 8, ' Make me to hear joy and gladness,' &c. ;
David prayeth for it : Ps. xxxv. 3, ' Say unto my soul, I am thy salva
tion ; ' but this voice is inward and secret, not to our ears, but to our
hearts : 1 John v. 10, ' He that believeth in the Son of God hath the
witness in himself ; ' Eom. v. 5, ' The love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.' God speaks
to us by our own thoughts, which may be discerned to be the voice of the
Spirit by the certainty and sweetness of it. The Spirit's voice can hardly
be discerned from the voice of renewed conscience, because it insinu-
ateth itself with our discourse and reason: Kom. ix. 1, 'I speak the truth
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 21
in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy
Ghost.' It can only be distinguished by its certainty and overpower
ing light : Lam. iii. 24, ' The Lord is my portion, saith my soul ; ' and
the Spirit assureth us it is true. Now the Spirit's witness is sometimes
more sensible, and accompanied with sweetness ; but at all times certain,
and accompanied with peace. The Spirit's witness concerning us must
be understood with analogy to his witness concerning the word ; some
times it is more high and sensible ; we cry, as the centurion, Mat. xxvii.
54, ' Truly this was the Son of God ; ' it is he, and it can be no other.
At other times there is a more temperate confidence ; so here con
science witnesseth we can be no other but the sons of God, and then it
leaveth a marvellous sweetness upon the soul, and a reverence of grace.
At other times confidence is more deliberate and temperate , and though
there be not such a lively sweetness and strong consolation, that is, the
effect of solemn duties, raised meditation, fervent prayer, and the like,
yet there is serenity and calmness of mind, which is the same which I
called peace of conscience before, but only that it is not built upon
future hopes, but a present interest.
Use 4. To direct us how we should behave ourselves with reference
to this matter.
1. If God giveth snstentation and support, we must be contented,
though we feel no sweetness and sensible consolation. For
[1.] God is not a debtor, and may do with his own what he pleaseth
in dispensations of comfort, as well as dispensations of grace : Phil. ii.
13, ' For it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his
good pleasure.' And
[2.] We may want it without sin ; it is a preferment, and we must
tarry till the master of the feast do bid us sit higher. We sin if they
be despised : Job xv. 11, ' Are the consolations of God small with
thee ? ' not if they be enjoyed ; it is not the want of comfort, but the
contempt of it that is culpable. Such things as are mere dispensations
and proposed as rewards are different from duties. To want grace,
though it be God's gift, is a sin, because the creature is under an obli
gation ; but not to want comfort, because that is merely given, not
required.
2. When God speaketh comfort, you must hear ; you grieve the Spirit
by resisting his witness, as well as his work. It is the duty of the crea
ture to listen : Ps. Ixxxv. 8, 'I will hear what God the Lord will speak;
for he will speak peace unto his people and to his saints ; ' it is irreve
rence and contempt when God speaketh, and we will not hear. A friend
would take himself to be affronted at such a carriage ; if we are to wait,
certainly we are to hearken. Now because persons of much fancy and
great affection are wont to be full of scruples, and to underrate their
own spiritual estate, and to suspect all that maketh for their comfort,
let me tell you when comfort ought not to be suspected.
[1.] If it come in God's way, in duty, and upon the raised operations
of grace, which note will distinguish it from delusions. Comforts
and ravishments in the neglect of ordinances, as in fanatical persons, are
always deceitful. God hath promised to talk with his people at the sanctu
ary door, and to meet them that remember him in his ways : Isa. Ixiv. 5,
' Thou meetest him that rejoiceth, and. worketh righteousness, those
22 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiB. XX.
that remember thee in thy ways. And so it is also distinguished from
that confidence that Is in ignorant persons, which is nothing but a blind
presumption, which would vanish if it did come to the light : John iii.
20, ' For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither coineth he
to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.' If in prayer or deep
meditation God giveth in strong consolation, never suspect it.
[2.] If it lead us to God. Carnal security and presumption never
urgeth to thankfulness, nor to a rejoicing in God ; they do not taste the
sweetness of grace, and therefore have no reverence, no wonder at it :
1 Peter ii. 9, 'But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.' Fana
tical joys put men upon pride, and a contempt of ordinances ; but in
solid joys the soul is filled with reverence as well as sweetness : Ps.
cxvi. 12, ' What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards
me?'
SERMON XX.
By which lie obtained ivitness that lie ivas righteous, God testifying of
his gifts. HEB. xi. 4.
Doct. 3. That only the works of persons who are righteous are accepted
with God.
It is clear from the apostle's argument He obtained witness that lie
was righteous. Why? God testified of his gifts. If God accept of his
gift, he was a righteous person ; for God accepts the services of none
but those that are righteous. First God accepts the person, and then
the performance ; so Gen. iv. 4, ' God had 'respect to Abel, and to his
offering ; ' first to Abel, and then to his offering. The person pleased
him in Christ, and then his sacrifice. It is said, Judges xiii. 23, by
Manoah's wife to him, ' If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would
not have received a burnt-offering, nor a meat-offering at our hands.'
She builds the acceptance of the person upon the acceptance of the
service ; for God accepts the gifts arid offerings of none but those whose
persons please him in Christ. So the Lord himself says, Mai. i. 10, ' I
have no pleasure in you/ no delight in their persons ; then it follows
presently, ' I will not accept of an offering at your hand.' Before the
person pleaseth God, the work cannot, for these reasons
1. Because this is the method of the covenant of grace, not to accept
the person for the work's sake, but to accept of the work for the person's
sake. God doth not accept us for our prayers and good duties ; that
was the tenor of the first covenant, whereby our justification depended
upon the worth and value of our works. It is not now, Do and live,
but, Believe and live ; it is not according to the work that we are accepted,
but according to our interest in Christ, Eph. i. G, ' He hath made us
accepted in the beloved.' Ala.s ! when a man is out of Christ, it is not
VEK. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 23
enough for him to do his best ; the law is not relaxed ; it requires
duty without abatement, or else it enforceth punishment without any
mitigation. Do and live, sin and die. It doth not accept of our prayers,
our tears, and our best, for the least failing renders us guilty of trans
gressing the whole law ; so that, upon that supposition, ' if it were
possible to keep the whole law, and offend in one point, he is guilty of
all,' James ii. 10. That rule brooks no exception, until we change
our copy ; till we be in Christ, one failing is enough to provoke God's
disi >leusure. If a natural man could be supposed to keep the whole law
and break but in one point, he is undone.
2. Because otherwise our duties receive defilement from our persons ;
like precious liquor in a tainted and unsavoury vessel, or like that
jewel put into a dead man's mouth, that loseth all its virtue : Prov. xxi.
27, ' The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord ; ' mark,
' how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind ? ' When it
is represented to God with all the advantages imaginable, yet it is
abominable because it is a wicked man's prayer ; but usually there is
some foul defect, that their very persons taint tbeir services.
Obj. 1. Is not God then a respecter of persons? will not this infringe
the justice of God ? I might answer thus If he should, he is under no
rule ; the moral law is a rule to us, but not to God ; and he may do
with his own creature as pleaseth him, and with his own grace as
pleaseth him ; Mat. xx. 15, ' Is it not lawful for me to do what I will
with my own ? '
But I answer rather, Respecting of persons, when it is sinful, is this,
when in any cause we give more or less than is meet to any other
person, because of something that hath no relation to the cause, as in
judgment. When we wink at moral excesses, and acquit a man from
the sentence of the law for his greatness, or when we deny right to a
poor man because of his poverty. Now such a respect of persons can
not be imagined in God ; for
[1.] There is a cause why God should accept the services of justified
persons, because he hath received a satisfaction in Jesus Christ. We
are made comely in his comeliness ; Christ hath paid down a valuable
consideration why all your persons and services should be accepted,
though accompanied with weakness : Heb. x. 19, ' Having therefore
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus ; ' this accept
ance is purchased for us by the blood of Jesus. It was God's bargain
with Christ, that he would love, bless, and justify all his seed, if he
would lay down his soul as an offering for sin, Isa. liii. 10. There is
the solemn bargain, ' When thou shalt make his soul an offering for
sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hand.'
[2.] There is great reason why God should refuse the services of
wicked men, because besides the state of their persons, there are gross
defects in their services ; if he sacrifice, it is ' with an evil mind/ Frov.
xxi. 27. For the principle, it is not out of obedience but custom ; for
the manner, it is not with the affection of a child but with bondage ;
for the end, it is not for God's glory but to promote secular interest.
So that, a posteriori, these circumstances clear the justice of God; their
most devotional aim is to please God, that they may the better quiet
24 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [$ER. XX.
themselves in their vanity and excess ; but the reason why they are
not accepted is because they have no interest in Christ.
Obj. 2. Will it not open a gap to looseness ? If wicked men be not
accepted, why do they pray and hear ? had they not as good do nothing ?
I answer, No.
[1.] Because this would be a way to increase their sin, wholly to
neglect them. There is no reason why God should lose his right be
cause we have lost our power. Inky water will never wash the hands
clean, and our sinftilness doth not take off our obligation ; God hath
required it, and a wicked man is still under an obligation ; a drunken
servant is not exempted from obedience though he be disabled for work.
The command of God is absolute and peremptory, that all the sons of
men should worship and fear him ; therefore to leave off duty would
make the state more sinful. One sin cannot cuce another ; there is
more sin in the total defect than in the bare performance of duty.
[2.] Because duties are the means God hath appointed to break off
their sin, and come out of this miserable condition. If none of their
works can please God, yet it is good to stand in the road of mercy, and
to lie at the pool, John v. 7 ; though God doth not accept us for these
things, yet these are the means God hath appointed for us to use.
Simon Magus was bid ' to pray, if perhaps the thoughts of his heart
might be forgiven him,' Acts viii. 22 ; but the man that neglects the
means cuts off himself from all hope, he reprobates himself and becomes
his own judge ; he doth as it were say, I will never be saved. When
men give over praying, and hearing, and reading, as the apostle saith,
' you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life,' Acts xiii. 46.
Obj. 3. From experience God doth reward many wicked men, there
fore how can it be said their duties are not accepted ? 1 Kings xxi. 29,
Aliab's humiliation kept off the judgment, and Nebuchadnezzar had
the land of Egypt for his service against Tyre, Ezek. xxix. 18-20 ;
that is nothing but a prophetical prediction. He did not think of
accomplishing God's decrees, and the expression ' of giving him the
land of Egypt for his labour' is taken from the manner of men ; when
a servant doth his work, he hath his reward. But for God's rewarding
of wicked men, I answer
[1.] This is ex largitate donantis, out of the overflow of his own love
and mercy ; they can claim and look for nothing : James i. 7, ' Let not
that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.' Though
something may be given him, yet there is nothing theirs by way of
promise ; all the promises being made and made good in Christ ; that
is to them that have an interest in him : 2 Cor. i. 20, ' For all the pro
mises of God in him are yea, and in him, amen.'
[2.] These mercies are not given for their sakes, but to give the
world a document of God's bounty. Saith Calvin, Deus scepe rependit
mercedem umbris virtutum, ut ostendat sibi placer e virtutes ipsos God
doth often reward the shadow of virtue that he might show that
grace itself is very pleasing arid acceptable to him ; when Ahab doth
but counterfeitly humble himself, God will suspend the judgment to
show how he prizeth true repentance.
[3.] All the blessings that wicked men have are but temporal, and
salted with a curse ; there is nothing of acceptance to life! Abab's
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 25
humiliation gained but a delay of wrath, and that increased his sin.
Children have the bread of life, dogs have but the crumbs and offals of
providence. Wicked men do not serve God with all their heart, there
fore their mercies are defective as well as their duties.
Use 1. It serves for terror to wicked men. A natural man is in
a wretched estate ; his most glorious acts, his very prayers, that are
dressed up with a fair pretence of devotion, are abominable before God:
Prov. xv. 8, ' The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord '
not only his sins, but his duties. It is the greatest despite that can
be done to a man, that when he hath set himself to please, yet he is still
hated. So it is with wicked men ; though they may preach, pray, and
prophesy in Christ's name, yet nothing is well taken from them. Cain
was punished for his murder, but was not accepted for his sacrifice.
'E-)(dp>v Soapa a8(apa the gifts of enemies are giftless gifts ; wicked
men are God's enemies, and so nothing is pleasing that comes from them.
It is true, Jesus Christ saith, Isa. xlix. 4, ' I have laboured in vain, I
have spent my strength for nought and in vain ; ' but this was his com
fort, 'his judgment was with the Lord, and his work with his God.'
But with wicked men it is otherwise ; they labour and toil, but all in
vain. It may be they may have their penny of profit in the world, and
that their gifts may be useful in the church, and they may have
temporal reward, but it is salted with a curse ; their sacrifice is but
carrion, their prayer but babbling, and their table of the Lord is but
the table of devils : Titus i. 15, ' To the pure all things are pure ; but
unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure ; but even
their mind and conscience is defiled.'
Use 2. To represent the privilege of persons justified: their persons
please God, and so do all their works. You may improve it for comfort
and thankfulness.
1. For comfort. When you are discouraged with your infirmities,
your many failings in every duty, Christ will accept you : Ps. xxxiv.
15, ' The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open
to their cry.' Consider, thou art troubled about the imperfection of
thy works ; they cannot be worse than thy person when God took thee into
grace. God that pitied thee when thou wert in thy blood and perfectly
evil, he will accept and love thee when thou art in thy person sanctified ;
though there be abundance of dross, he can see there is some gold ;
though abundance of wax, yet there is some honey : Cant. v. 1, ' I have
eaten my honeycomb with my honey.'
2. For thankfulness. Oh ! what a mercy is this, that God should
testify concerning our gifts, such worthless duties so tainted and defiled
by the adherency of corruption ! There are many considerations to stir
up our thankfulness.
[1.] That which is good is rather his own than ours, yet God will put
it upon our account : 1 Chron. xxix. 14, ' Who am I, and what is my
people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort ? for
all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.' When
you come to God with the best enlargement and quickness of affection,
it is the Lord that made us thus willing ; yet God counts them as our
duties, though they may be fruits of his own Spirit. Then
[2.] They are mingled with a great deal of weakness and defilement
26 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SliR. XX.
Partus sequitur ventrem ; our duties have more of us than of the
Spirit, therefore they are filthy and defiled. Observe the practice of
the saints, their remarkable blemishes : Jacob seeks the blessing with a
lie ; Eahab entertains the spies, but makes a lie about dismissing them ;
Sarah calls her husband ' lord/ but her words are full of discontent and
murmuring and distrust of God's promise. Moses smote the rock twice ;
once in obedience and once in indignation. Who would think of such
weak services, that God should accept of them ? nay, not only accept of
them, but delight in them : Prov. xv. 8, ' The prayer of the upright is
his delight ; ' that the holy God should delight in such creatures as we
are ! We have imperfect conceits of God's holiness, otherwise we would
wonder that he should accept of our faulty performances ; that the
holy and pure God should not only accept, but delight in the prayer of
a worthless creature. Then
[3.] There is no profit redounds to God for all this, the advantage
is ours : Prov. ix. 12, ' If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself ; '
1's. xvi. 2, ' My goodness extendeth not to thee/ God is blessed for
ever, sufficiently happy without the service of the creature. Job xxii.
2, there is a question propounded, 'Can a man be profitable to God,
as he that is wise may be profitable to himself? ' God is eternally and
everlastingly happy ; he is incapable of improvement ; all the comfort
and profit is ours, yet that he should delight in them !
Use 3. Direction to teach us what to do in our preparation to duties
and holy exercises. If God accept the person and then the performance,
look to your state, as well as to the frame of your hearts. Many men
heap up duties upon duties, go round in a circle of religious exercises,
as if they would work out their salvation that way, but do not regard
the interest of their persons. Consider, examination is one of the
preparative duties, as well as purgation of sin and excitation of the
affections : 2 Cor. xiii. 5, ' Examine yourselves whether you be in the
faith.' We must prove our state still, otherwise we shall be disallowed.
It is not necessary only to examine ourselves before the Lord's supper,
but before other solemn ordinances. God would fain draw the creatures
to a certainty, therefore he hath required often trial to look into their
state. This is the method of God's acceptance ; first the Lord cleanseth,
fits, and consecrates the person to be a spiritual priest, and then he is
to offer: Mai. iii. 3, 4, 'He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge
them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering
in righteousness.' Where God speaks of worship in the times of the
gospel, first we must be purified and set apart for the priesthood,
then offer up our gift; first there is a ' purging of the conscience from
dead works,' then we are meet ' to serve the living God/ Heb. ix. 14 ;
first we are ' washed from our sins in his blood ; ' and then ' made kings
and priests to God/ Kev. i. 5, 6. There must be an interest founded,
and a ground of acceptance for our persons. God will accept nothing
at the hands of an enemy ; duties are but varnished sins. This should
stir you up to the trial of yourselves, whether you are justified and
reconciled to God.
But you will say, What shall men do that have no assurance, that
cannot discern the interest of their persons in Christ ?
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 27
I answer, by distinguishing The case concerneth either persons
that have lost assurance, or those that have never gained it.
1. To those that have lost assurance by turning to folly, or tasting
of the forbidden fruit of sin. By scandalous falls conscience is
weakened, and prayer is interrupted ; as the apostle speaketh of
family jars : 1 Peter iii. 7, ' Likewise ye husbands, dwell with them
according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife as unto the
weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that
your prayers be not hindered/ By allowance of passion, and wrath,
and domestical disorder, the heart is .discomposed, and we cannot with
such a holy boldness and confidence call God father. The like may bo
said of many foul falls, by which conscience is wounded, and men have
lost the peace and calmness of their spirits. Now, in such a case, men
are not to come reeking from their sins and rush upon duty ; that
would argue little reverence of God, and will find little acceptance
with him,: Isa. i. 15, 16, 'When ye spread forth your hands, I will
hide mine eyes from you : yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not
hear : your hands are full of blood. Wash ye, make you clean, put
;i w;iy the evil of your doings from before mine eyes,' &c. Neither are they
wholly to decline worship and restrain prayer ; that would increase
the distemper, and add sin to sin. David got nothing by his silence:
Ps. xxxii. 3, ' When I kept silence, my bones waxed old, through my
roaring all the day long ; ' Ps. li. 3, ' I acknowledge my transgression,
and my sin is ever before me.' However, the main care of the next duty
must be to get the person reconciled by these solemn acts.
[1.] There must be serious acknowledgment of sin with shame and
sorrow. This is God's. established way for fallen saints : 1 John i. 9,
' If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' This is the saint's prac
tice : Ps. li. 3, ' I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever
before me ; ' and this is the most rational course. It is impossible it
should be otherwise, either on God's part or ours. We are under a
sequestration till we make suit to God : Num. xii. 14, ' If her father
had spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days?' Tender
hearts will melt and mourn.
[2.] They must run to the old fountain opened for their uncleanness.
There is no reconciling ourselves to God, but by Christ : Mat. iii. 17,
' This is my beloved Son. in whom I am well pleased.' We must
come with Christ in our arms : 1 John ii. 1, ' If any man sin, we have
an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous.' Duties are
not our atonement, but Christ's intercession, which is the renewed
application of his merit.
[3.] They must earnestly sue out their former estate, and the wonted
effects of his favour: Ps. xxv. 6, 'Kemember, Lord, thy tender
mercies, and thy loving-kindnesses, for they have been ever of old;'
Ps. li. 12, ' Ptestore unto me the joy of thy salvation.' Christ doth not
only intercede, but the believer must also, the earnest motions of the
Spirit being the copy of his intercession.
2. It concerneth those that never got assurance. To those, I answer
in several propositions :
[1.] Assurance is very necessary and comfortable in our approaches
28 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. [SfiR. XX.
to God ; such addresses do most become his grace. Christ hath taught
us to begin our prayers with ' Our Father ; ' Heb. x. 21, 22, ' Having
an high priest over the house of God ; let us draw near with a true
heart, in full assurance of faith, having our heart sprinkled from an
evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water/ Having such
free offers, such an abundant merit, such sweet experiences, God
looketh that we should draw nigh in the assurance of faith : 1 Tim. ii.
8, ' I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands
without wrath and doubting/
[2.] Every suppliant cannot sail with such full sails into the haven
of grace, nor all persons at all times ; there is a weak faith as well as
the faith of Abraham, and yet a weak faith is faith. David and
Heman, two choice spirits, sometimes wanted comforts, and it is God's
usual course still with many of his dear children ;, they have less peace,
that they may have more grace ; and God withholdeth comfort out of
wise dispensation to engage them in the more duty : every one hath
not an abundant entrance into heaven, 2 Peter i. 11.
[3.] When we cannot reflect upon our actual interest, the direct
and dutiful acts of faith must be more solemnly exerted and put
forth.
(1.) You must disclaim earnestly your own personal righteousness.
This complieth with God's end ; for therefore do his respects begin
with the person, that the work may not be the ground of acceptance :
Dan. ix. 18, ' We do not present our supplications before thee for our
righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies/ Every one cannot go to
the highway of comfort; there is safety in going the low way of
humiliation, and in the sense of your own unworthiness for all
acceptance with God in Christ.
(2.) You must adhere to God in Christ the more closely; faith
giveth safety, though assurance giveth comfort. There may be a
dependence and renewing of confidence, and a waiting with hope, in
every duty ; and a Christian, though he be without comfort, yet he is
not without encouragement ; there are invitations to wait upon God,
and they cast themselves upon God in this hope : Ps. xxii. 8, ' He
trusted on the Lord, that he would deliver him/ It is good when
you can refer yourselves to God's acceptance upon the hopes of the
gospel.
(3.) There must be consecration when you cannot make application.
It is sweet when we can say, mutually ' I am my beloved's, and my
beloved^is mine,' Cant. ii. 16 ; but it is safe to say, 'I am my beloved's/
and he is mine by choice, though I cannot say he is mine by gift. A
Christian resigneth up himself to God : Ps. cxix. 94, ' I am thine, save
me/ David pleadeth his choice ; he taketh Christ as a Lord, though
he cannot apply him as a saviour.
(4.) These direct acts may be pleaded to God in prayer: Phil. iii.
9, 'And be found in him, not having my own righteousness/ &c.,
and so casting ourselves upon God: Ps. cxix. 49, ' Kemember
thy word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to
hope/
Secondly, ' By it he, being dead, yet speaketh/
The words are enigmatical, a holy riddle ; and they include a
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 29
seeming contradiction, that a man should speak, and yet dead ; there
fore the words, as all dark places, are liable to several construc
tions.
In the general, we are certain it must be some privilege and con
sequent of his faith ; for the apostle saith, ' By it.' Some take the
word's speaking, o-fi/e/co^<w?, for living, as if it intimated the resur
rection ; though slain by Cain, he yet speaketh, converseth with the
glorious saints above, to the praise and glory of the Lamb for evermore,
upon whom he had pitched his faith. Certain it is that the Jewish
doctors make it to be one of the great arguments of life after death,
the crying of Abel's blood. Again, some translate AaXemu, passively ;
he is yet spoken of, as if it implied nothing but his name living ; yet
in the church that is the usual recompense of faith. God perpetuates
the names of the godly when the names of the wicked shall rot ; but
this the apostle had spoken of already, ' By which he obtained witness
that he was righteous ; ' he is famous for his righteousness through
all ages. Again, others take it as a metaphor, ' speaks ; ' that is,
doth as it were speak, and it may be by way of exhortation or clamour.
1. By way of exhortation: though he be dead, yet still by his
example, he preacheth to the church. Thus dead persons may be said
to speak by their example ; and voice is often in scripture given to
inanimate things ; the creature is said ' to groan/ Bom. viii. 22, and the
heavens 'to declare the glory of God,' Ps. xix. 1, 2. Abel, the first
martyr that died for the service of God, is a speaking instance and
example for all ages. He speaks several lessons (1.) That duty is
not to be declined though we get hatred by it. (2.) That we must be
obedient even to the death ; and when we are called to it, we must seal
our faith and profession with our blood. (3.) That the rage of the
wicked against the righteous is very great. (4.) That God will call
wicked men to an account for our blood, as he did Cain for Abel's blood.
But this cannot be the meaning, because this is no peculiar privilege of
faith. All examples have a voice, the creation hath a voice ;
but
2. I suppose another speaking is intended ; the crying of his blood,
a clamorous speaking for vengeance upon Cain. Two reasons for
this
[1.] Because it suits best with the expression of Moses : Gen. iv. 10,
'The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.'
Now the apostle's design is to abridge the history in Genesis.
[2.] Because it suits with the other expression of the apostle. Abel's
speaking is mentioned : Heb. xii. 24, ' The blood of sprinkling speak
eth better things than the blood of Abel ; ' the blood of Abel speaketh
after he was dead punishment, but the blood of Christ speaketh
pardon.
Obj. An objection may be framed against this in the text ' He being
dead, yet speaketh ; ' ert, yet, or to this day.
I may answer, The present tense is put for the preterperfect
tense change of tenses is usual in scripture ; or ' yet,' that is, after
his death, though not till the apostle's days. But I rather pitch upon
another answer, because there is a special emphasis in the expression,
Abel's blood is still crying. There are Cains alive to this day: some
30 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [&ER. XX.
that walk in the way of Cain, as Jude speaks, ver. 11 ; he was the
patriarch of persecutors, therefore Abel's blood is not fully revenged to
this day, but cries for vengeance still. Those that inherit the rage of
former persecutors do always inherit their guilt ; for imitation is a kind
of consent, as if we had been by and consented to the fact : Mat. xxiii.
35, ' That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the
earth, from, the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zecharias, the
son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.'
The blood of Abel was revenged upon the Jews that killed Christ.
These two are mentioned because of two remarkable circumstances at
their death. Of Abel it is said, Gen. iv. 10, ' His blood cried from
the ground.' Zecharias, when he died, said, 2 Chron. xxiv. 22, ' The
Lord look upon it, and require it.' All the martyrs join in one common
cry against the persecutors of all ages : Kev. vi. 9, 10, ' I saw under the
altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the
testimony that they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying,
How long, Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our
blood on them that dwell on the earth ? ' That is to be understood
metaphorically. Passions of revenge being not proper to the glorified
saints, the meaning is, their blood is as it were newly shed, and cries
to God afresh, requiring vengeance ; so that Abel and all the saints still
cry, though some succession of ages are passed since their blood was
shed. Many things notable are implied in this clause. I shall despatch
all in some brief hints.
First, Let us take notice of his dying ' He being dead.' The
history is in Genesis. There were probably two causes of the
murder; one plainly expressed in scripture, the envy of Cain;
the other implied that is, indignation against the reproof of
Abel.
First, One cause is plainly expressed. God accepted Abel ; he had
a better offering, and therefore Cain slew him : 1 John iii. 12, ' Not as
Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother ; and where
fore slew he him ? because his own works were evil, a-nd his brother's
righteous/ The note is this
Doct. 1. Persecution usually ariseth from envy.
Men malign what they will not imitate ; when others are holier than
their interest and vile affections will give them leave, therefore they
hate them. Our Lord himself was delivered for envy : Mat. xxvii. 18,
' Pilate knew that for envy they had delivered him ; ' his disciples sold
him out of covetousness, and his enemies persecuted him out of
envy.
To apply this let us hate this sin with the more indignation. Alas !
we are apt to envy each other's gifts, esteem sancity, and grace ; from
thence arise contentions and quarrels, and they end in blood. The first
man that ever died in the world was slain and murdered by envy.
Pride gave us the first merit of death, and envy the first instance of it :
Gen. xxxvii. 11, 'His brethren envied him ;' they envied Joseph, and
then conspired his death. Envy may be impeached as the cause of
most of the blood that hath been spilt in the world; that is the
reason why envying and murder are so often joined together, Gal. iv. 21 .
Secondly, The second cause is implied viz., indignation at reproof :
VER. 4.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 31
Gen. iv. 8, * And Cain talked with Abel his brother ;' what their talk
was we find not. The hint is
Doct. 2. Another cause of persecution is indignation at reproofs.
The world would lain sleep quietly in sin, and complain that these
bawling preachers trouble their sinful rest. When a man holds out
the testimony of Jesus, he torments and troubles them : Rev. xi. 10,
' The witnesses tormented the dwellers upon earth ; ' their testimony
was the world's torment.
Use 1. It teacheth us to bear it the more patiently: James v. 10,
' Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the
Lord, for an example of suffering affliction and of patience.' Did you
ever hear of any that spake in the name of the Lord, and the
world not hate them ? The cross is very kindly to our rank and order ;
Abel, that is but now a priest, presently is made a martyr.
Use 2. Bear reproof patiently. Storming at reproof is the cause
of that hatred that is against the ministry: Jer. vi. 10, ' The word of
the Lord is unto them a reproach; when he came to reprove, they
thought he had railed.'
From the murder itself ' He slew his brother.'
Doct. 1. Hatred of the power of godliness began betimes.
There is an old prediction : Gen. iii. 15, ' I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.' There are
two parties that will never be reconciled. And here are two brothers, one
of them the seed of the woman, and the other the seed of the serpent ;
though they were brothers, came of the same womb, and brothers of
the same birth as is conceived. The apostle speaks of two other brothers
of the same father, one persecuted the other : Gal. iv. 29, ' As then, he
that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the
spirit, so it is now.' And in all ages of the world we may say, ' So it
is now ; ' and so it will be for ever : this is the old hatred.
Then consider Abel's death, not only as the death of a saint, but as
the death of a brother. The note will be
Doct. 2. The strife of brethren usually ends in blood, or in sad and
dreadful accidents.
Solomon saith, Prov. xviii. 19, 'A brother offended is harder to be
won than a strong city ; and their contentions are like the bars of a
castle.' You may as soon surprise a strong city barred, as gain an
offended brother. It is a hint useful to those families where discord
ariseth by reason of difference in religion. Difference in brothers is
like a rent made in the whole cloth ; a seam may easily be sewn, but
a rent in the whole cloth cannot ; the nearer the union, usually the
greater rent. A Spanish preacher that embraced the .Reformation was
slain by his own brother. Some may be restrained by the severity of
laws ; but in times of public tumult there have been many such sad
instances among nearest relations.
It followeth, ' yet speaketh.' Consider it under a twofold regard, as
the common murder of a man, or as the murder of a saint.
First, As the murder of a man ; this was a murder done in secret,
yet Abel's blood speaks to God, that is, God took notice of the fact
though past human cognisance. The note is
Doct. 3. That murder is a crying sin.
?,2 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XX.
It will out one way or other, God cannot want witnesses. We have
seen in providence strange ways for the discovering of murder. Ke-
rnember that is God's office, to be inquisitive for blood : Ps. ix. 12,
' When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them.'
Use 1. It is terror to them that are secretly guilty of murder.
Many times wicked men act at a distance, nobody can tell who hath
done the harm, yet God will find them out. Or if men should occasion
public changes or confusions merely to promote their private interest,
to build up a name to themselves, ' the stone out of the wall shall cry,
and the beam out of the timber shall answer it/ Hab. ii. 11. Or if a
man hath plotted the death of any merely to enrich himself, the Lord
takes notice of it.
Secondly, Or look upon it as holy blood that was shed, as the blood
of a martyr. The note is
Doct. 4. The blood of a martyr hath a loud voice in the ears of God.
It implies two things God's love to his oppressed children, and a
certainty of vengeance to the oppressors.
1. God's love to his oppressed children. Vengeance is quick-sighted
on their behalf. Though the children of God are dumb, like sheep
before their shearers, yet their blood cries. Christ spake no words of
revenge, but rather prayed for his enemies; yet for shedding his blood,
'Wrath came to the uttermost upon the Jews,' 1 Thes. ii. 16 ; Gen. iv.
10, it is, 'The voice of thy brother's blood cries unto me.' Every drop
was precious, and every wound hath a mouth open to God : Ps. cxvi. 15,
' Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.' God hath
a precious account of them after death. God's love lasteth after death.
He is in covenant with their blood and with their dust when it is in
their grave, therefore he will know what is become of them. Nay, he
doth not only take notice of their blood but of their tears : Ps. Ivi. 8,
' Thou tellest my wanderings ; put thou my tears into thy bottle : are
they not in thy book ? ' Men may burn their bodies, but they cannot blot
their blood and tears out of God's register.
Use, This is comfort to the children of God. He doth not only take
notice after their death of the cry of their blood, to avenge it on
their enemies, but to recompense the innocent, to reward them ; for that
is one effect of its crying. God doth not only take notice of Cain, but
vindicates innocent Abel ; therefore is he slain, that he may live for ever ;
slain, that God may bestow upon him a happy life. When your blood
is shed for the testimony of God, treasure up this comfort ; God will not
be wanting to reward it. The two first martyrs in the old testament and
the new were Abel and Stephen. What doth Abel signify, but vanity
and mourning ? and Stephen signifies a crown. Your mourning in the
world doth but make way for a crown of glory : James i. 12 ; ' Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he shall
receive the crown of life.'
2. It implies certainty of vengeance to the oppressors; when the
parents did not accuse, yet the blood cried. The children of God may
not know who harms them, yet their wrongs cry loud in the ears of God.
Abel's blood did not only cry in God's ears, Gen. iv. 10, but cried in
Cain's conscience, ver. 13. How many cries are there ? The affliction
itself that cries ; God hath an ear for affliction. He heard the affliction
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 33
of Hagar, Gen. xvi. 11. Then your tears have a voice: Lam. ii. 18,
' Their heart cried unto the Lord, Let tears run down like a river day
and night : give thyself no rest ; let not the apple of thine eye cease.'
Then the prayers of saints have a voice : Luke xviii. 7, ' Shall not God
avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him ? ' The
martyrs under the altar cry : Rev. vi. 9, ' The souls under the altar
cried with a loud voice, How long, Lord, holy and true, dost thou not
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? ' Per
secutors' consciences, they cry, thou bloody Julian ! thou hast mur
dered the children of God, and hast been guilty of oppression ! As is
storied of the king of France, that was author of that bloody massacre,
he could never sleep afterward, but was haunted with terrors in his
conscience, and at his death blood issued out at all the pores of his
body.
Use. What terror and astonishment should this be to the enemies
of the church, be they secret or open ! Oppressed innocency will cry
aloud ; they may forgive, but the Lord forgets not. The Lord will not
only take notice of their blood, but bottle their tears : Ps. Ivi. 8, ' Thou
tellest my wanderings ; put thou my tears into thy bottle : are they not
in thy book ? ' God kept a register of David's sufferings ; every weary
step was recorded in God's book ; it is but folly and madness to think
to hide your practices, or to escape punishment.
SERMON XXI.
By faith Enoch ivas translated that he should not see death ; and iuas
not found, because God had translated him : for 'before his trans
lation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. HEB. xi. 5.
THE apostle makes it his chief scope in this chapter to convince the
Hebrews of the nature, and worth, and efficacy of saving faith. To that
purpose he layeth down the acts of sanctifying faith, ver. 1, and through
out the chapter he treats of the effects, fruits, and consequences of faith.
Here we meet with a consequent or fruit of faith in the instance and
example of Enoch, who, among the rest of -those glorious lights where
with this chapter is adorned, shineth forth like a star of the first
magnitude. Let me inquire why the apostle mentioned Enoch next
to Abel, Seth and other holy patriarchs of the blessed line and race
being passed by ? I answer, Though the Spirit of God is not bound to
give an account of his method, and therefore is not to be vexed with
the bold and daring inquiries of human reason, yet because all things
in the scripture are ordered with good advice, a few humble inquiries
are lawful and profitable.
1. Enoch was the next solemn type of Christ ; Abel was a type of
Christ's death, and Enoch next proposed as a type of his ascension.
Ton from un dedtcavit, the dedicated, or the dedicator, (Christ), ' hath
consecrated for us a new and living way through the veil, that is to say,
VOL. xiv. c
34 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SEE. XXI.
his flesh,' Heb. x. 20; therefore he is called p%^705 <sn;?, ' the prince
of life,' Acts iii. 15, and he said, John xiv. 3, ' I go to prepare a place
for you.' Tertullian calleth Enoch, Candidatum ceternitatis ; and
others have called him Obsidem et testem vitce ceternce, the pledge and
witness of eternal life ; so was Christ dedicated to this purpose, that he
might be the captain of life and salvation to the church, and he is gone
to heaven as a pledge of our eternal glory.
2. Because between these two instances there is a fit proportion :
Abel was an instance of the efficacy of faith, and Enoch of the conse
quent and reward of faith ; Abel, he suffered for righteousness, and the
instance of Enoch shows what is the fruits of suffering faith that faith
which doth engage us in suffering doth interest us in the reward.
In Abel's death the holy patriarchs saw what they might expect in the
world; and in Enoch's translation they saw what they should receive
from God. The Lord would give them this perfect document both of
the present operation of faith and the future reward of faith.
3. Because he was an eminent saint, the next that is taken notice of
in the history of Moses. The apostle mentions not all the saints in
the blessed line, but only the choicest. Now Enoch is many ways
eminent and notable ; for his birth we find, Jude 14, ' He was the
seventh from Adam ; ' usually that is the number of perfection. Some
that would turn all things into an allegory descant thus : That as there
were six from the creation that died, and the seventh was translated
alive from earth into heaven ; so for six thousand years death shall
reign, but in the seventh millenary it shall cease, and eternal life shall
succeed. But this is but a fond conjecture ; they are more pious that
observe that the seventh man was dedicated to God, and God takes
him for his special servant, as he takes the seventh day for his special
day ; but, chiefly, he is notable for his life and conversation : Gen. v.
24, ' Enoch walked with God ; ' that is, wholly dedicated himself to the
service of the Lord a phrase given to those that by express profession
were set apart for the Lord, either as prophets, priests, or kings, for
special service by office and ministration. But usually it is applied to
persons employed in the exercises of piety and holiness : walking with
God in the old testament, and well pleasing to God in the new, are
synonymous terms. Another thing is notable in his life, that he lived
as many years just as there are days in the year three hundred and
sixty-five years, Gen. v. 21, 22. Enoch was translated next after Adam's
death, as will easily appear by chronology ; as soon as Adam died
Enoch was translated. God in Adam would give the world a pledge
of the fruit of sin, which was death ; in Enoch, a pledge of the fruit
of holiness, which is immortality and eternal life.
In the words there is a proposition, and the confirmation of it.
1. The proposition or assertion of the apostle is, that b?j faith Enoch
was translated that he should not see death. The proposition implies
two things the blessing, and the means of obtaining it : the blessing
' He was translated ; ' the means ' By faith.'
2. The confirmation, which respecteth both the blessing and the
means. He proves that Enoch was translated, out of that phrase of
Moses ; for saith he, He was not found, because God had translated him.
And then he proves that it was by faith in the latter part of the text
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 35
For before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
In which reasoning there is a perfect syllogism : whosoever is translated
on or after his pleasing God is translated by faith. Enoch was trans
lated on or after his pleasing God, therefore he was translated by faith.
The major is proved by the sixth verse ' Without faith it is impos
sible to please God ; ' the minor by the history of Moses ' For before
his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.'
Let me illustrate the words.
' By faith ; ' that is, by faith in the being of God, and in the promise
of the Messiah and of the world to come. Now the reason why his
translation is attributed to faith is given by the apostle ' For before
his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.' His faith
was the fountain of his godliness, and his godliness was the pledge of
glory ; his faith respected his pleasing God, and his pleasing God was
an evidence of his interest in eternal life.
' Enoch.' We read of two Enochs one of the race of Cain,
another of the line of Seth ; the hypocritical church imitating the true
church, as in outward rites, so in having the same names : the Enoch
here meant was of the family of Seth.
' Was translated,' transplanted /jiereredr) : the apostle useth this
word to note his transportation to heaven.
There are many questions for the opening of this translation ; as
(1.) Whether he were translated in soul and body ? (2.) Whether he
died in the translation ? (3.) To what place he was translated, whether
to heaven or some earthly paradise ?
1. Whether he were translated in soul and body ? Some think he
was translated in soul only, and not in body, as if there were nothing
extraordinary in the history of Enoch, and his body was left on the
earth. This is altogether improbable. The phrases imply something
more than ordinary : Gen. v. 24, ' And Enoch walked with God, and
was not ; for God took him.' Why should there be such special
phrases, ' he was not,' and ' God took him/ if an ordinary thing were
intended ? So the apostle here ' That he should not see death.' It
might have been enough to have said he died, as of all the rest ;
therefore there was somewhat of miracle in it. for he was gathered by
God into glory, both in soul and body.
2. Whether he died in the translation or no ? I answer, No, but
was only changed ; for the apostle saith ' that he should not see death.'
The Chaldee paraphrase renders it, and ' he was not,' Quid non mori
eum fecit Deus Onkelos, Non occidit eum Deus. Probably, as those
that live at the last day, the apostle saith, ' We shall not all die, but
we shall all be changed/ 1 Cor. xv. 51. He was transported to heaven
in a moment, without the pains and horrors of a natural death ; and
being purified in soul, and purged from corruption in his body, was
presently clothed with a glorified body. As Elijah was carried alive
soul and body into heaven, 2 Kings ii. 11 ; so those that live at the
Lord's coming ' shall be caught up alive into the clouds, to meet the
Lord in the air/ 1 Thes. iv. 7. And when the apostle himself would
express his own desires, that he might go to heaven in this manner (for
"le first believers thought the day of judgment was at hand), he saith,
Cor. v. 2, ' In this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon
36 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXI.
with our house which is from heaven ; ' and ver. 4, ' Not that we
would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed
up of life ; ' that is,. he desired that glory might come on him without
dissolution, without the trouble and pain of sickness and diseases ' Not
that I might be unclothed/ and put off the body, but ' clothed upon/
invested with the qualities of a glorified body.
3. Whither he was translated, to what place ? Some say to the
earthly paradise, others to the heavenly paradise.
[1.] Some say to the earthly paradise ; so Haimo and others, there to
stand in a happy condition until the last act of the world shall be brought
on the stage, and then to fight with their imaginary antichrist. But
that was defaced by the universal deluge and flood in Noah's time
'The highest hills that were under the whole heaven were covered/ Gen.
vii. 19, and the custody of the seraphims and flaming- sword was
removed when the beauty and pleasure of it was gone ; and the most
probable opinion is, that paradise was in Armenia. Now Armenia was
covered, and Noah's ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, or Armenia,
Gen. viii. 4.
[2.] Some say to a heavenly paradise, by which they understand
not the heaven of heavens, but some third place, which is called in
scripture paradise, and Abraham's bosom, in which the souls of some
rest until the last day, not fully perfected and blessed. Tertullian,
Austin, and many of the fathers, were of opinion that the souls of
martyrs did straightways flit hence into the presence of God, but the
souls of common Christians went to paradise, by which they understood
secreta animarum receptacula, sedesque in quibus requiescunt some
unknown place, where they did enjoy happiness, congruous and con
venient to their condition : and in such a place they would place Enoch.
But all these things being devised without warrant and leave from the
scriptures, little heed is to be given to them. Briefly, an earthly para
dise it cannot be, that is defaced ; a third place it cannot be, that being
devised without warrant from the scriptures. Heaven only remaineth,
whither God translated him both in body and soul, there to enjoy the
comforts of his presence ; it would have been an infringement of his
happiness to separate him from his God, with whom he had walked
here in spiritual communion. So the Targums, or expositions of the
Jews, Jonathan, Translatus fuit, et ascendit in ccchim, &c ; Josephus
calls it ava^coprjcri^ Trpos rov Oeov ; the Arabic version, Translatus est
in paradisum.
That ' he should not see death ; ' that is, that he might not die a
natural death by a dissolution of the body, but undergo a sudden
change of qualities.
But you will say, How can this stand with the general curse of God
pronounced upon all mankind in Gen. ii. 17, ' In the day thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die/ thou and all thine ? and Gen. iii. 19,
' Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return ; ' or that eternal decree,
Heb. ix. 27, ' It is appointed for all men once to die.'
I answer, This was an extraordinary instance, that doth not cross
the rule ; it was a special dispensation that the Lord might give the
patriarchs a document and instance of eternal life, and the sudden
change of qualities was something analogical to death ; and were it
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 37
not for this special dispensation of God, he was under that obligation,
but the Lord was pleased to privilege him for the great purposes of his
glory.
'And he was not found.' The words relate to what is said, Gen. v.
24, ' And he was not,' The phrase is used, Jer. xxxi. 15, ' Rachel weep
ing for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they
were not.' This phrase is often put for those that are dead : Gen. xlii.
36,' Joseph is not, and Simeon is not ; ' he supposed them dead, or knew
not what was become of them, but it is taken for any disappearance.
' For before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased
God.' Some make it to be an inward testimony in his conscience ;
others, some visible and public honour that was done to him before
the world, the story of which is not now extant. Most probable, it is
the testimony that is given him in scripture : Gen. v. 24, ' And Enoch
walked with God,' which the Septuagint renders evrjpeo-rrja-e rw 0ea>, in
that and other places, which we shall hereafter explain.
But you will say, How can this be said to be before his translation,
for the testimony of Moses was long after the translation of Enoch ?
I answer, The apostle is to be understood thus: Enoch had this
testimony in scripture, so that before his translation the scripture
witnessed he pleased God ; not before his translation he received this
testimony ; and that is the order of Moses : GCD. v. 24, ' Enoch walked
with God, and he was not, for God took him.'
A few hints from what hath been spoken before I begin the two
main and principal points.
Obs. 1. There is a life everlasting prepared for God's children. The
instance God would give the fathers was in the translation of Enoch ;
the instance God would give believers in the times of the gospel was
in the ascension of Christ. As soon as Adam died Enoch was trans
lated. In Adam God would give the world a pledge of the fruit of
sin, which is death ; and in Enoch God would give a pledge of the
fruit of holiness ; and that is immortality and eternal life. Enoch
was not merely translated for his own benefit and comfort, but for the
comfort of other patriarchs against the fear of daily crosses in this life,
and against the terrors of death ; they saw there was now like to be
violence in the world. There was one martyr Abel was slain. Now
that they might have, comfort against this, God translated Enoch.
The great instance God gives in the times of the gospel was the ascension
of Jesus Christ ; when the human nature was carried into heaven,
that was a pledge of our glorification. He carried our flesh into heaven,
and he left his Spirit with us; he took our flesh into heaven that
he might prepare a place for us, to receive heaven in our right,
and he left his Spirit with us, that we might be prepared for heaven.
Heaven is not only prepared for believers by Christ's ascension ' I go
to prepare a place for you,' John xiv. 2, but believers are prepared for
heaven ' vessels of mercy prepared unto glory,' Eom. ix. 23. Look,
as in all contracts pledges are mutually taken and given, so Christ
would take a pledge from us. even our nature, and give a pledge to us
his Spirit ; therefore we are as sure as ever Enoch was to be trans
lated to bliss if we have an interest in Christ: John viii. 51, 'Verily,
verily I say unto you, If any man keep my saying, he shall not see
38 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXI.
death.' Enoch was translated that he should not see death ; and
Christ, under a deep asseveration, makes the same privilege to every
believer. Death, since the death of Christ, will not be deadly to them ;
in death itself they see life. It is true, Enoch was translated in body and
soul ; yet, however, we are presently with the Lord in soul as soon as
we are dissolved.
Use 1. Is to reprove believers for minding the present life as much
as they do. We busy ourselves too much in the world, and toil in
gathering sticks to our nests, when to-morrow we must be gone and flit
away. Here we ' dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the
dust, which are crushed before the moth,' Job iv. 19, and we are con
sumed by the blast of his nostrils. Man is but a little enlivened dust,
and we are, like potsherds, soon broken. Hereafter we live, now we
are dying every day, saith Austin, Nescio an vita mortalis, an vitalis
mors nominanda est ; I do not know whether I should call this life a
living death or a dying life.
Use 2. Is comfort to believers in the hour of death : John xi. 25,
' He that belie veth in me, though he were dead, yet he shall live/
When you go down to the grave, you may go down with this assur
ance, that you shall live ; though you look upon your flesh as morsels
for the worms, yet you may look upon it also as parcels of the resur
rection. God is in covenant with a believer's dust ; the body, thai
seems most to suffer, shall be raised up again.
Obs. 2. That life everlasting cannot be obtained but by some change,
by flitting and removing out of this present life. Enoch died not, yet,
however, he was changed ; God took him : \ Cor. xv. 50, 51, ' We shall
not all die, but we shall all be changed. Flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God ; ' that is, as now invested with these
qualities.
Use. This may comfort believers against the terrors of death. The
only use of death is to put off the old earthly qualities, that we may
put on the new and heavenly ; death doth only pluck off the rotten
garment. Christ will call the grave to an account : Kev. xx. 13, ' The
grave gave up her dead ; ' as Joseph left his coat in his mistress's hand
and fled away, so we leave the upper garment of the flesh in death's
hands, but we fly away ; and Christ, at last, will say, Grave ! where 'is
my Abraham, my Isaac, and my Jacob's dust ?
Obs. 3. That the body is a partaker with the soul in life eternal ;
Enoch was translated both body and soul. It is a comfort we can say
with Job, ' With these eyes we shall see God,' Job xix. 26, though our
body be eaten up with worms. This body, as if he did knock upon his
breast, ; This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality,' 1 Cor. xv. 53 ; so Phil. iii. 21, ' Who shall
change our vile body,' &c. Look, as the world, when consumed with
fire, it is the same world for substance, it shall be only a purging fire ;
so this corruptible body is the same body for substance, though God
doth away the corruptible properties of it.
Use. This is a great comfort against the difficulties and inconveni
ences of the holy life. The same eyes that have been lifted up to God
in prayer, those eyes shall see Christ upon his white throne, and those
spirits that are now spent and wasted in holy exercises shall be
VEIL 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 39
recruited. A body wasted in sin is a sad prognostic of the devouring
burning, but a body wasted in duty shall be restored and repaired
again ; so it is comfort against the inconveniences of the common life.
Many indeed have a vile body, because subject to diseases, humbled
with pains and aches, racked with the stone and the gout ; this vile
diseased body shall be a glorious body. Christ's body was first vile,
then glorious ; first scourged, mangled with whips, then crowned with
honour and glory ; and he sat down with God. Oh ! let us bear all
these ; they will be full of nimbleness, vigour, beauty, and glory, like
Christ's glorious body.
Obs. 4. Heaven is but a translation to a better place. When you
die, you are but translated. Enoch walked with God here ; but when
he was translated, he lived with God in an uninterrupted glory. Many
times Christ comes into his garden to gather lilies ; and they are cropped
here, that they may be transplanted from the winter to the summer
gardens, from the church and lower dispensation of the ordinances to
paradise, that we may read divinity in the face of the Lamb for ever
more, as scholars that are sent from the grammar-school to the uni
versity.
Use. Let it not be irksome to us to be loosed from the body that
we may be present with the Lord and joined to Jesus Christ ; it is
but a removal and preferment, therefore it teacheth Christians to grow
weary of the world. The world is the place of your pilgrimage, the
place of sorrow and sin : certainly we have little reason to love the-
world. (1.) It is Satan's circuit; when God calls Satan to an account,
Job i. 7, ' Whence comest thou ? ' Satan answered, ' From walking to
and fro in the earth.' (2.) It is sin's house of office, a place of defile
ment : Isa. xxiv. 5, ' The earth is defiled under the inhabitants there
of/ (3.) It is a common inn for all sorts of men, for bastards as well
as sons: Ps. cxv. 16, ' The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's:
but the earth hath he given to the children of men/ Wicked men
have a creature-right, it is given to them, they have a right by provi
dence ; nay, here we are not only fellow-commoners with wicked men,
but fellow-commoners with beasts ; they have a creature-right too, as
well as we. (4.) It is the shambles of the saints : Kev. xviii. 24, ' In
her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were
slain upon earth ; ' there they are grieved, vexed, and slain. Now, who
would grieve to be transplanted to a higher and happier region, where
nothing that defiles grows, nothing troubleth in those holy, blessed,
and quiet mansions ? Death is a preferment.
Obs. 5. That some are carried to heaven by a special and privileged
dispensation. The entrance into glory is very different. God is not
bound to the ordinary course of nature. Enoch and Elijah were both
transported in soul and body ; Elijah was sent to heaven in a fiery
chariot. And so shall those that live at the last day ' be caught up in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air/ 1 Thes. iv. 17. Look, as
God took away Enoch without the pain of sickness and trouble, so he
carries many more joyful and singing to heaven. And therefore, in
giving grace and glory, God will use a liberty and the prerogative of
free grace. Some seem to be rapt up into heaven by a fiery chariot,
by strong elevation of comfort and joy in the Holy Ghost, but others are
40 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. [SfiR. XXI.
carried in the lower and darker way of sorrow, trouble, and soul-sick
ness.
Use. It is the duty of believers to be doing what is required, and to
refer mere dispensations to God's good pleasure. Free grace is dis
pensed in a different way.
Obs. 6. That the persons which are honoured in this extraordinary
way were Enoch and Elijah ; and what were they ? They were two
that shined like stars in a corrupt age, those that contested with the
corruptions of their own times. The note is this viz., God's heart is
especially set to honour them that are zealous for his glory in corrupt
times. In the days of Enoch men were very corrupt, therefore the
flood was threatened. Now Enoch kept a constant counter-motion to
the times ; he did not only walk with God, but reproved the vices of
others : Gen. v. 24, ' He walked with God/ an$ he reproved the
ungodly men of his age, Jude 14, 15. It is a standing rule, God will
honour those that honour him. Public and zealous instruments are
carried on by a mighty hand of providence, and sent to heaven in a
glorious way.
Use. Oh then, learn first ' to have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness,' and then ' to reprove them,' Eph. v. 11 ; contest
zealously for God. God will put honour upon them in the eyes of the
world ; not only give them glory in heaven, but public and visible
honour here, that all might take notice of them.
I come to the points, which are two
1. The right and interest of believers in the happiness of the eternal
state.
2. The necessity of pleasing God, or walking with God, before we
coine to the full enjoyment of him. Which two points afford two doc
trines.
Dcct. 1. That the end and the great privilege of faith is to be trans
lated out of the world into the happiness of the eternal state.
1. I shall prove the point by scripture : 1 Peter i. 9, ' Receiving
the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.' Heaven is there
proposed as the chief end and reward of faith ; all that we do, all that
we suffer, all that we believe, it is with an aim at the hope of the sal
vation of our souls. The last article of our creed is everlasting life.
We begin with belief in God, and we end with life everlasting ; there
is the sum and result of faith, eternal life and glory: John xx. 31,
' These things are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might have life through
his name.' The end of the word is faith, and the end of faith is eternal
life ; all the duty part of the word may be reduced to faith, and all
the promissory part to life. It is also the great privilege of faith : Eph.
ii. 8, ' By grace ye are saved, through faith.' The foundation of glory
is laid in mercy on God's part, and it is received by faith on our part :
it is given of grace, not sold for works ; and received by faith, not
purchased by desert.
2. I shall by a few reasons prove the interest of believers in eternal
life, and why faith gives a title to glory.
[1.] Because by faith we are made sons ; all our right and title is
by adoption. Children may expect a child's portion, as in natural
VJEK. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 41
things : the title follows the birth, natural or legal. We hold heaven
as co-heirs with Christ: 1 John iii. 2, ' Now we are the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; ' that gives us a right.
Now faith in a juridical sense makes us sons : John i. 12, ' To as many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God ; '
he gave them fgovo-iav, as a right to the inheritance and sonship. So
also in a real, though spiritual sense : 1 Peter i. 3, ' He hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled/
&c. The new birth is by the infusion of faith ; all relations to God
are built on that change : our hope depends upon our new birth.
[2.] These are the terms of the eternal covenant between God and
Christ, that believers should have a right to heaven by Christ's death ;
therefore, whenever the Father's love, and Christ's purchase are men
tioned, faith is the solemn condition. The Father hath meant to
dispose of heaven to a sort of men, but upon what condition : John iii.
16, 'God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten son,'
what to do ? and upon what terms ? ' that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life;' so again, John vi. 40, ' This
is the will of my Father that sent me, that every one which seeth the
Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life ; and I will raise
him up at the last day ; ' upon that condition Christ bargained with
God, and God with Christ. So for the purchase of Christ : Heb. ix.
15, ' He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death,
for the redemption of transgressions that were under the first testament,
they which are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheri
tance/ When Christ died, as the mediator and testator, he made
believers his heirs. There is no other name expressed in his will and
testament, but they that believe, and they that are called, which are
all one ; therefore they are called, Heb. vi. 17, ' heirs of promise.' Our
inheritance was dearly purchased, Christ was to be a mediator by
means of death, but it is made over to believers by will and testament.
[3.] Because faith is the mother of obedience, which is the way to
eternal life ; faith gives a title, and works give an evidence. This is
the drift of the apostle here Enoch pleased God before he was tran
slated, therefore by faith he was translated; for 'without faith it is
impossible to please God.' God hath no respect to works without
faith ; the way to be made happy is first to be made holy, and all the
influences of grace are received and improved by faith. Faith is the
mother of grace, and grace the pledge of glory. All your works are
not evidences of eternal life, but as they come from faith. It is faith
that kindles love and inflames zeal, and quickens obedience.
[4.] By faith that life is begun which shall only be consummated
and perfected in glory. The life of glory and the life of grace are the
same in substance, but not in degree. Here faith takes Christ, and
then life is begun, though in glory it is perfected : 1 John v. 12, ' He
that hath the Son, hath life ; ' it is begun in him already. When the
soul is changed by grace, there is a foundation laid for the changing
of body and soul by glory: the Spirit will not leave his mansion and
dwelling-place. When Christ hath once taken up his residence in
the heart, and begun life there, he will not depart. Believers are said
to be raised up at the last day by the spirit of holiness dwelling in
42 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [$ER. XXI.
them, Horn. viii. 11 ; and Eom. v. 2, ' By whom also we have access
by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the
glory of God.' Faith anticipates heaven, and begins the life of glory
by hope and the joys of the Holy Ghost.
Use 1. To press you to get faith upon this ground and motive, it
will give you an interest in heaven. Heaven is the portion of believers.
Dogs, and they that are without, cannot have the children's portion.
Unbelievers are strangers to the comforts of religion for the present,
therefore much more hereafter, when the definitive sentence is passed
upon them. Oh, who would not labour for faith upon this ground ?
Faith must needs be an excellent grace, that bringeth such a salvation-,
it giveth you an interest in Christ and heaven. Faith ennobles the
blood ; no birth like it ; it entitles us to the highest inheritance that
is in the world. No dignity like that to be a son of the king of heaven,
to be of kindred with all the saints, to be of the royal and noble blood.
See how the apostle compares one birth with another : John i. ] 2, 13,
' Who are born, not of flesh, nor of blood, nor of the will of man, but
of God ; ' that is, not in that unclean lustful way that the children of
the highest nobles and potentates of the earth are begotten. Faith
can make the poorest beggar to be richer than the greatest monarch :
James ii. 5, ' Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith,
and heirs of the kingdom ? ' the sons of the potentates of the world
cannot show the like ; to be an heir-apparent of heaven is better than
to be possessor of the whole world. Oh, do but consider the inheritance !
the birth is noble, but the estate exceeding large. If you would have
me express it to you, I must tell you the best commendation of heaven
is silence, when the great voice saith, Come up and see, then we shall
know what heaven is ; but now our ear hath received a little thereof in
the promises ; therefore I shall speak something of it.
[1.] Consider the evil we are delivered from. We are freed from
hell ' They shall not perish,' John iii. 16, and ' shall not come into
condemnation,' John v. 24. Consider wicked men, their change is
terrible. Wicked men grow upon the bank of hell, and when they are
cut down they slip in, and there is their portion. When the inhabi
tants of hell are described, those that hold hell by tenure, Eev. xxi. 8,
' The fearful and unbelievers/ are in the front. Hell is the portion of
unbelievers that never would own the faith, and the portion of apos
tates that have renounced the faith, and the portion of hypocrites that
do but counterfeit faith.
[2.] Consider the good that is prepared for us, the excellency of the
reward that God hath prepared for believers ; it is life, and a crown of
life ; there is more in the accomplishment than in the promise. The
word doth but speak of it in part, prophecy is but in part; the word is
suited to our present estate ; we have not affections and apprehensions
large enough for such an excellent glory ; God is ever better to his
people than his word. The incomparable privileges a believer hath in
this life, those pledges and first-fruits they here enjoy, do show the
heavenly life must needs be glorious and excellent. The joy of the
Holy Ghost is ' unspeakable and glorious,' 2 Peter i. 8 ; heaven there
fore must needs be more excellent and glorious. Let me instance in
two things. (1.) The perfection of your nature. In heaven there is
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 43
no want and no weakness ; the body remains in an eternal spring of
youth, the blossoms of paradise are always green and the soul is rilled
up with God ; every faculty finds a satisfaction. We see what we now
believe, and possess what we now love. Alas ! here, though we know
indeed that God is, yet we do not know what he is completely. The
knowledge of God and the love of God shall be our sole employment,
and we shall have constant communion with God, without weakness,
weariness, and diversion, and God will be always fresh to us ; as the
angels that have beheld his face for these thousand years, yet still delight
in God ; we shall never be cloyed, because satisfied. And the perfection
of heaven shall be so great, that, besides the personal glory of Christ
there shall be a great deal of happiness redound by the glory of his
saints ; Christ will so set forth the riches of his goodness that he will
be ' admired in all them that believe,' 2 Thes. i. 10 ; that is, in the
glory that he puts upon the saints. (2.) The communion and company
you shall there have. As soon as the soul departs out of the body yon
shall be carried by angels in triumph to Christ. Believers have the
same entertainment which Christ had. Christ was welcomed to heaven
with acclamations : Dan. vii. 13, it is said, ' One like the Son of man
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and
they brought him near before him.' He was ' brought,' that is, by a
train of angels, and there conducted and welcomed to heaven with a
Well done, and well suffered for the souls of men ! So shall your
souls be carried by angels into Abraham's bosom, Luke xvi. 22. Why
into Abraham's bosom ? Christ himself was not ascended, therefore
it is said into Abraham's bosom ; but you shall be carried into Christ's
bosom. Look, as God did as it were take Christ by the hand when he
ascended, therefore it is said, Acts ii. 33, ' Being by the right hand of
God exalted.' It principally notes the power of the divine majesty ;
but it is an allusion to the entertainment we give to a friend or guest
we would welcome, we take them by the hand ; so will Christ entertain
you. How sweet will it be when Christ shall give us the right hand
of fellowship ? The eye that cannot now endure to look upon the sun
.shall see the clarity and brightness of the divine essence beaming forth
in Christ ; we shall see Christ himself upon his white throne, and see all
the holy ones of God : Mat. viii. 11, ' We shall sit down with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven,' and remain ever in his
presence. It is sweet now to meet with the servants of God in an
ordinance to praise God ; what will it then be when we shall praise
God for ever in the great assemblies of the spirits of just men made
perfect ? Consider, all this is made over by faith ; we have the right
and title in this world, but the inheritance is in our Father's keeping,
it is reserved in the heavens, therefore get and keep faith.
Use 2. It serves to direct you how to exercise and act faith in order
to the everlasting state. Five duties believers must perform.
[1.] The first work and foundation of all is to accept of Christ in
the offers of the gospel ; there is the foundation of a glorious estate.
God excludes none from heaven that receive Christ into their heart.
The first gospel commission that Christ signed and sent into the world
contained this article ' He that believeth shall be saved,' Mark xvi.
16. And when the jailer said in his trouble, ' What shall I do to be
44 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXI.
saved ? ' it is answered, ' Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be
saved,' Acts xvi. 31 ; receive Christ into your heart, and he will receive
you into heaven. Let us bring our beloved into our beloved's house,
into our hearts, and he will then bring you into those mansions that
are in his father's house. The primary office of faith is to close with
Christ. There the foundation is laid rightly to receive Christ ; and
when the union is begun there is a pledge of glory : Col. i. 21, ' Christ
in you the hope of glory.' The great work of a Christian should be to
get Christ in him ; there is the beginning of heaven.
[2.] It directs you to exercise your faith, to believe the promise of
heaven which God hath made. Certainly faith is very weak in this
particular, else we should have more ravishment and enlargement of affec
tion. And the reason of this weakness of faith is, partly because it is
wholly future, and the promise seems to be checked and defeated by
death, and partly, because of our great tmworthiness compared with the
largeness of the recompense. Guilty sinners have low thoughts of the
grace of God ; therefore it is a mistake of Christians to think they
only doubt of their own interest, they doubt of the main promise : Heb.
xi. 6, ' He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is
a rewarder/ &c ; it is one of the fundamental truths never closely and
surely enough laid up in your souls. A guilty creature is apt to
straiten the divine mercy ; and we cannot believe God will do all this.
Consider the riches of God's mercy, and the sufficiency of Christ's
merit, God's mercy is one relief ; it is rich enough and full enough
to give us heaven and glory. When God gives, he will give
like himself. The two great perfections of the godhead are im
mensity and eternity ; he will give, with reference to his immensity,
' an exceeding weight of glory ; ' and, with reference to his eternity,
' an eternal weight of glory ; ' the apostle mentions both in 2 Cor. iv.
17, &c. This is a benefit fit for God to give. Then ruminate in your
thoughts upon the abundant merit of Christ Jesus ; it is a high dignity,
but remember it is purchased with a great price. Consider the
humiliation of Jesus Christ, that you may believe your own exaltation.
Certainly if God can abase himself, we may expect that the creature
may be advanced and glorified ; and if Christ is clothed with our flesh,
we may the better wait to be appareled with his glory. Consider, if
Christ's glory could not hinder him from dying for us, certainly our
misery cannot hinder us from reigning with Christ ; the giving of
Christ makes all more credible : Rom. viii. 32, ' He that spared not
his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with
him also freely give us all things ? ' These things will facilitate the
belief of heaven.
[3.] Get your own title confirmed ; lay claim to your inheritance ;
seize upon heaven as your right and your portion, so as not only to
believe heaven is possible and credible, but that it is your right, and
made over to you in the testament of Jesus Christ : 1 Tim. vi. 19,
' That you may lay hold of eternal life.' A Christian should possess
and enter upon it as his own inheritance This is mine. It was sweet
when God said to Abraham, Gen. xv. 1, ' I am thy shield, and thy
exceeding great reward.' Consider the grace that is wrought in you ;
it is the earnest and the pledge of glory, it is the bud of glory ; there-
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 45
fore let us ' rejoice in hope of the glory of God/ when we have ' access
to his grace by faith/ Rom. v. 2. A Christian should look upon his
present standing as a pledge of glory. Heaven, the apostle calls it ' the
prize of our high calling/ Phil. iii. 14 ; he that hath given me Christ,
and called me, can glorify me. God hath called me to grace that I may
wait upon him for glory ; therefore rest upon the promise till you come
to enjoy it, and until God measures the performance into your bosoms.
[4.] Let us often renew our hopes by serious and distinct thoughts.
This is the way to anticipate heaven, by musing upon it : Heb. xi. 1,
' Faith is the substance of things hoped for/ &c. Wherever there is
faith it will send out some spies to look within the veil, and see the
glory that is there. We should always be thinking and ruminating
upon it. If a man were adopted to the succession of a crown, he would
always be pleasing himself with the supposition of the glory ; so when
poor creatures are called to such hopes, they should be creating sup
positions and images. Worldly men feast their spirits with worldly
hopes ; they are thinking of the increase of their trade and promoting
their gain: James iv. 13, ' To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a
city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain ; ' so a
believer will be sending out spies, and feasting himself with his glorious
hopes. A child of God doth translate himself by degrees, and weans
himself from the world more and more, and is putting his heart into
heaven before his person is there ; he is ' seeking things that are above/
Col. iii. 1, and seriously musing upon them ; his heart is in heaven
before his body ' Our conversation is in heaven/ saith the apostle,
Phil. iii. 2Q : all the business of their lives is laid so that they may
look heavenward. As a man beyond the seas, when he hath gotten
an estate there, will be forming his business so that he may draw it
home ; so a Christian is compassing this in the whole course of his life,
that he may get home, and return to his country. It is a hard matter
to get the heart to the study of heavenly things ; the children of God
should do so. The sabbath-day is the image of heaven, and the com
munion we have with God in the ordinances is the pledge of that
communion we shall have with God in heaven : God hath appointed
that day on purpose for our help.
[5.] Another work of faith is earnestly to desire and long after the
full accomplishment of glory. Faith bewrayeth itself by desires, as
well as thoughts. All things hasten to their centre. Heaven is our
home, and we should be hastening thither, not only in thoughts but
desires. The world to a Christian is but libera custodia, a larger prison,
where his soul is kept under a restraint, and from the full enjoyment
of Christ ; therefore a Christian's life is spent in desires and groans :
Bom. viii. 23, ' We that have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of our body.' Mark, ' we that have.' A man that once
hath tasted of the clusters of Canaan, he is weary of the wilderness ;
so a Christian is groaning for home, and for heaven, and for the full
enjoyment of Christ, as the apostle saith, 2 Tim. iv. 8, ' They love his
appearing.' Their hearts are always drawing towards Christ ; if Christ
doth but say, I come, he echoes again, ' Come, Lord Jesus Christ,
come quickly/ Rev. xxii. 20.
46 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XXI.
Use 3. To exalt the mercy of God to believers ; once sinners, and
by grace made believers. Observe tlie wonderful love and grace of God
in three steps
[1.] That he hath provided such an estate for believers. What a miracle
of mercy is this that God should think of taking poor despicable dust and
jishes, and planting them in the upper paradise, that they should be
carried into heaven and made companions of the angels. How would
we wonder if God should take a clod of earth and place it among the
stars, that it may shine there ! And how much more may we wonder
when the Lord is pleased to take us out of the grave, and out of the
earth, and lift us up above all heavens ! when a man that is made of
the dust of the earth is i:rdyye~\,os, equal to the angels.
[2.] That this state is provided freely, and upon such gracious terms.
The terms are faith, and not merit ; that is the tenor of the new cove
nant. Believe and live, not do and live ; but work's serve to evidence
that interest. The Lord hath said, John in. 36, ' He that believes in
the Son of God hath everlasting life ; ' he hath it, as sure as if he were
possessed of it. God will exclude none that will but accept of the offer ;
therefore if thou dost but rely upon Christ by a true and proper faith,
thou art in a safe condition : John v. 24, ' Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath ever
lasting life/ Amen, amen. Will you believe Christ upon a double
oath, when he plighteth his truth ? Let us not straiten the promises ;
all that believe shall partake of that marvellous glory all the difficult
work was done by Christ ' He was taken from prison and judgment/
Isa. liii. 10, that we might not come into condemnation.
[3.] That God should send up and down the world to offer this sal
vation to men. The prophet saith, ' The salvation of the Lord is gone
forth,' Isa. li. 5 ; and ' Wisdom hath sent forth her maidens,' Prov. ix.
3. And God hath sent forth his ministers, given us commission to open
the grace of the gospel ; and yet how is it scorned by men as if heaven
were not worth the taking. If we did believe that there were such a
glory, and that our eyes should behold it, how would it raise our hearts
in thankfulness to God.
Use 4. Comfort to God's children against wants, and against troubles
and persecutions, and against death itself,
[1.] Against wants. Let us be content with any condition in the
world, since we are so well provided for in a better. Alas ! after a short
time we shall have no need of these things : Luke xii. 32, ' Fear not,
little flock, it is your father's good pleasure to give you a kingdom.'
Oh, you need not distract yourselves with worldly cares, there is a king
dom provided ! It is grievous, I confess, to see wicked men abound
with ease and plenty, and the children of God humbled with wants ;
but consider, if you have not so much money and means as others have,
yet you have a better portion in Christ. God hath given you faith,
and you are rich enough in Christ : James ii. 5, ' Hearken, my beloved
brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and
heirs of the kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him ?'
Alas ! wicked men that have large possessions, yet they may perish,
notwithstanding their outward enjoyments.
[2.] It is great comfort against troubles and persecutions. Let us
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 47
continue in the faith. There is comfort enough provided for us in the
reward of faith : 1 Thes. iv. 18, ' Comfort one another with these words.'
What words ? why, that Jesus Christ will come in the clouds and meet
believers, and they shall be for ever with the Lord. We pitch too
much upon a carnal hope, and we think that this way and that way
deliverance will come from something we fancy in the world, but we do
not look after the glory of the everlasting state. There is an eye of
flesh, when there is no arm of flesh suppositions of worldly help. God
will whip us for this vain confidence. We should comfort ourselves
that there is an everlasting portion. When the Lord would comfort
the patriarchs concerning the murder of Abel, there was the translation
of Enoch ; so when the apostle St Peter writes to the distressed
Hebrews (he had much ado to wean those godly Hebrews from carnal
thoughts of a temporal salvation and a temporal Messiah, from the
pomp and splendour of an outward deliverer), he proposes this to keep
up their joy : 1 Peter i. 9, ' Receiving the end of your faith, the salva
tion of your souls.' The encouragements of the world run in another
strain, looking for supplies in this and that corner of the world.
St. Paul continued in steadfastness, not only under the difficulties but
dangers of Christianity : 2 Tim. iv. 8, ' I have fought a good fight, I
have finished my course, I have kept the faith.' Why ? ' For hence
forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness/ &c ; that is,
that he was thinking of what comfort it would be when he should sit
in heaven among the glorified saints with his crown of righteousness
upon his head. The Christian's life is not only a race but a warfare.
We must not only run, but fight; therefore the apostle saith, Heb. xii.
1, ' Eun with patience the race that is set before you.' Now that which
should keep us up is a garland of immortality and glory which Christ
hath wreathed for us. The primitive Christians, when they were under
deep and dreadful persecutions, how did they comfort themselves with
the kingdom that is above ? The heathens suspected them as if they
intended to change the government. When you hear us talking of a
kingdom, you vainly and without reason suppose it is a human and
earthly kingdom ; no, we profess to hope not for an earthly but heavenly
kingdom.
[3.] It is a comfort against death itself. There is a glorious state
provided for believers. It is the end and privilege of faith to be tran
slated out of the animal and corruptible life into that which is heavenly
and immortal. Death to the godly is but a sleep, and the grave but
a chamber of rest. Indeed the grave to wicked men is a prison, where
their bodies are kept, that they may not infect and corrupt the church ;
but to the godly their life is not extinguished, but hidden, Col. iii. 3 ;
and when Christ, who is their life, appears, then the veil is taken off,
and they shall appear with him in glory. Death to them is a transla
tion ; life is not taken away, but changed changed from a miserable
and corruptible life to that which is blessed and eternal. It is true,
death takes away the life of the body, which consists in the union of the
body and the soul, and this it doth but for a while ; but it doth not
take away the life of the soul, for that is immortal : it feedeth on your
dust, but the soul is in paradise in Abraham's bosom, and it hath
nothing to do with the spiritual life ; still it is united to Christ. Look,
48 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SEE. XXL
as when Jesus Christ died (and Christ and a believer run parallel), the
personal union did not cease ; so when we die, the union with Christ
doth not cease ; we die as creatures, as members of the first Adam, but
we are sure to live as members of Christ; Jesus Christ is our head in
the grave. The death of the wicked is an execution ; it is indeed an act
of vengeance. God orders death to be a trap-door to let them into hell ;
but death to a godly man is an act of your Kedeemer to translate you,
and bestow upon you the happiness of eternal glory.
SERMON XXII.
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death ; and ivas
not found, because God had translated him : for before his transla
tion he had this testimony, that he pleased God. HEB. xi. 5.
THE second general point is the necessity of the holy life.
Doct. 2. Those that would live with God hereafter must learn to
please God ere they depart hence.
In the prsuance of this point I shall examine
1. What it is to please God.
2. The necessity of pleasing God ere we depart hence. Where (1.)
The necessity of the thing itself ; and there I shall show what respect
and ordination the holy life hath to eternal glory. (2.) The necessity
of the time, or the necessity of pleasing God, ere we flit out of the pre
sent life.
First, What it is to please God ' He had this testimony, that he
pleased God.' It is a phrase by which the apostle interprets that place
in Genesis, chap. v. 24, ' And Enoch walked with God.' In the Sep-
tuagint it is evrjpea-Tija-e ra> #eo>, Enoch ' well pleased God;' so that to
please God is to walk with God. The only difference between them is
that the one relates to God, the other to ourselves. Pleasing of God
implies his gracious acceptation, and walking with God implies our
duty. Elsewhere the phrases of pleasing God and walking with God
are joined in scripture ; as Col. i. 10, ' That you may walk worthy of
the Lord unto all well-pleasing.' Walking notes the fixing and the
holding of a settled course in our lives, that our intention and main
scope must be to please God ; so 1 Thes. iv. 1, ' We beseech you,' saith
the apostle, ' as ye have received of us how you ought to walk, and to
please God, so you would abound more and more.' Walking notes the
course of life, and pleasing on our part notes the aim of the believer ;
all his care is to approve himself to God. On our part, it notes our
endeavours ; on God's part, the success of our endeavours, his gracious
acceptation. By this collation of places, we find that pleasing of God is
all one with walking with God ; but because I intend to handle the
phrase in the full latitude of it, I must make it yet more comprehensive ;
for by the context you will find that it not only implies ' walking with
God,' but, which is another distinct phrase of scripture, ' coming to God,'
- 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI.
49
as you may see ver. 6 for after he had said, ' Enoch had this testimony
that he pleased God, he adds, 'For he that cometh to God ' &c as if
pleasing- God and coming to God were all one. So that the whole duty
ot man m the present life is comprised in this phrase of ' pleasino- God
and it is explained by these two parts by ' corning to God ' and when
we are come, ' to walk with God.' I shall inquire
1. What it is to ' come to God ? '
2. What it is to ' walk with God ? '
First, What it is to ' come to God ? ' It is a usual phrase by which
faith is set out m scripture. Coming and believing are all one : John
yi. 65, He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth
m me shall never thirst,' where coming and believing are put as terms
of the same import and signification. Now this coming to God implies
several acts of the soul, which must be explained with analogy and
respect to outward motion. In every motion there are two bounds
stages from which we come, and to which Terminus a quo, et ad
1. That which we come from is the curse and misery of our natural
condition, or else w-e can never please God; as the apostle proveth,
Bom viii. 8, They that are m the flesh cannot please God/ Mark
the distinctness of the phrase/ eV <rap K l 6We 9 , they that 'are in the
n ; they that grow upon the old root, and are in their unregenerate
state and condition. There is a great deal of difference between bein-
in the flesh, and having the flesh in us. The children of God, as Ion-
as they live in the world, have a mixed principle, they have flesh i
them ; but they are not so properly said to be in the flesh, for that
s an absolute immersion in the carnal state, as being in the faith
notes a state of believing: 2 Cor. xiii. 5, 'Examine yourselves whether
you be in the faith ; so being in the flesh notes a corrupt and carnal
state. JNow they that are thus in the flesh can never please God that
is, can never be accepted with him ; so that out of this state we must
3me if we would perform this great duty. Now this coming out of
the flesh is done by several acts, several progresses and tendencies,
by which the soul comes from the curse and misery of the carnal
state.
[1.] By a sensibleness of our distance from God in such a condition
inere is no coming but presupposeth a sense of absence. Guilty
creatures are at a vast distance from God. There is a great ralch
between us and heaven, an impassable gulph; therefore the natural
state is expressed by the prodigal's ' going into a far country,' Luke xv.
13. There is a distance and departure from God ; therefore it is said,
%? M T'r U - we , re sometimes afar off, but now are made nigh by
the blood of Christ ; afar off, not only out of the church, but Sit of
the state of grace. Naturally we are all at a great distance in our
minds and affections from God, and God is at a great distance from
is; heaven is closed up against the access of a guilty creature. Arnono-
other things this is one of the fruits of Adam's fall and disobedience"
Adam did not only lose the image of God, but the fellowship of God '
therefore ever since, the soul and God are at great distance and
elongation. So the psalmist expresseth it : Ps. Iviii. 3 ' The wicked
are estranged from the womb, they go astray as soon as they be born
VOL. XIV. J
50
SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXII.
speakino- lies.' There is a strangeness between us and God, and we
cannot come mutually to converse together. Now actual sins make
the breach wider and greater: Isa. lix. 2, 'Your iniquities have
separated between you and your God;' they make us careless of
communion with God, and they make God resolved against any
fellowship, or having any communion with us Fallen man at length,
is not only come to be like the beasts, but like the devils ; he puts on
not only the brutish disposition of the irrational creatures but
disposition of Satan himself ; for the devils cannot endure the thoughts
O f G d 'The devils believe and tremble,' James n. 19. Ihey hate
their own thoughts of God ; therefore they cannot endure the pr<
of Christ, but c"y out, Mat. viii. 29, ' Jesus, thou Son of God, art thou
come to torment us before the time ?' This was the language of
devils- the presence of God was a bondage and a torment to them.
So it is with guilty sinners ; they cannot endure' the presence of bod,
they speak just like the devil, Job xxi. 14, 'Depart from us ^for we
desire not the knowledge of thy ways.' Carnal men hate the thoughts
of God. Now the first work of the Holy Ghost is to make the soul to
be sensible of this distance and alienation from God.
[21 There must be also a sense of the misery of such a condition.
Men care not for God till they are sore pinched and urged with their
own wants. When the prodigal was in a far country (by which tl
state of nature is represented), there with riot he spent his substance;
but 'when he began to be in want,' then he thinks of returning to his
father Luke xv. 14. Men do not desire to recover their commiimo:
with God till they are thoroughly bitten with a serious remorse ; God
sends his hornet and stings their consciences, then they think
runnin- to God. All the addresses to Christ m the days of his flesh
beo-an Fn the want of the creatures ; the blind and lame and deaf, some
possessed with devils, their maladies and miseries brought them to
Christ else there would not have been so great resort to him. b
here ; men never come to Christ till they are displeased with their
natural state. Look, as Joab neglected to give Absalom a visit till he
burned his cornfield, 2 Sam. xiv. 30, 31. Joab had never come if he
had not set his barleyfield on fire ; so the Lord lets m some sensible
displeasure into the soul, and they begin to see the misery of a state
of distance and alienation from God ; and then they think of returning
to God, and cry out, Oh, that they might be united to God!
as it is with believers in point of heaven, where there is the nearest
communion with God ; we are apt to neglect breathing and panting
after heaven when it is well with us in the world ; but when the world
is crucified to us, a dead and useless thing, oh, then, woe is me that my
pilo-rimage is prolonged! as David, when he was driven from his own
palace, and was forced to wander up and down, then he says Woe is
me that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar ! ft
cxx 5 ._ so also it is with sinners in point of communion with God
grace; 'they do not think of returning to God and making up the
breaches and removing the distance between God and them, till
hath made them weary of their carnal state, by letting some sense ot
his displeasure light upon their consciences.
[3.] There must be a sense of our inability to return and come i
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 51
him. Man is a proud creature, and loth to be beholden ; he would be
happy and sufficient to himself; we would eat our own bread, and
wear our own apparel ; and if we could heal our own wounds we
would never return to God. Conviction usually endeth in hypocrisy,
when the soul is not wrought off from its own strength. If men can
heal conscience, and dress up a form of religion, there they rest ; men
stay in themselves till this be done. We are all by nature absent from
God, and the scripture showeth us our inability to return. The state
of fallen man is resembled by the wandering of sheep : Isa. liii. 6, ' All
we like sheep have gone astray/ Of all creatures, sheep are most apt
to stray, and most unable to return. Swine and dogs know the way
home again, but sheep do not : so it is with the soul. Saith Austin,
Domine, errareper me potui, redire non potui Lord, I could go astray,
and wander by myself, but I knew not how to return. It is Christ's
office to bring us to God ; God hath set up a mediator to make up
our distance from God. It is Jesus Christ alone that must carry the
strayed lamb home upon his own shoulder, as the Holy Ghost alludes
to that similitude, Luke xv. 5. We can never go to God upon our
own feet, but we must be carried home upon the shoulders of Christ ;
therefore conviction will never be successful till it brings the creature
to come and lie down at God's feet as utterly undone, and to say, Jer.
xxxi. 18, ' Turn us, Lord, and then we shall be turned.'
2. The next bound and stage in this motion is, to whom we do
return, and that is to God ; to God, through Jesus Christ, for other
wise he can never be well pleased with us. He hath proclaimed from
heaven he will never be pleased with his creatures till they become one
with Christ : Mat. iii. 17, ' This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased/ And Christ himself, when he professeth the quality of his
offices, saith, John xiv. 6, ' I am the way, the truth, and the life/
Now the several tendencies of the soul towards God are a serious
purpose to come to God, an earnest desire, and a constant waiting.
[1.] A serious purpose and practical decree issued forth in the soul.
As the prodigal, when he was humbled with want, resolves, Luke xv.
18, ' I will arise, and go to my father ; ' so there is a resolution, I will
arise, and go to God. All grace is founded in this practical decree.
So David professeth his own shyness, that for a long time he kept off
from God, and there was a distance between him and God ; but at
length he took up a serious purpose and determination that he would
go and humble himself to God : Ps. xxxii. 5, ' I said, I will confess
my transgressions unto the Lord/ &c. The soul, being inclined by
grace, resolves to come to God through Christ. The scripture ascribeth
much to this Trpodeats, and settled resolution, that ' with full purpose
of heart they would cleave unto the Lord/ Acts xi. 23. Our own
wants and needs will make us full of anxious traverses, but the
resolution and decree of the soul comes from grace ; for herein lies the
formal essence of faith, a resolved casting of the soul upon Christ,
which is the issue and result of all those anxious and serious debates
that were wont to be in the soul, by which, in the prophet's language,
Jer. xxx. 21, ' The heart is engaged to approach to God ; ' when there
is a charge laid upon the soul, by which the soul is engaged to come
into his presence.
52 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [Sfill. XXII.
[2.] There is an earnest desire of enjoying communion with God in
Christ: Ps. Ixiii. 8, 'My soul followeth hard' or maketh hard
pursuit ' after God;' and the pursuance of the soul is by desires ;
they are evidenced to be gracious, because they are not only after ease and
comfort. Such desires may arise from self-love, but after a constant
communion with God : Ps. xlii. 1, ' As the hart panteth after the
water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, God ; ' not only after
the sweetness and refreshment of grace, but after intimate converse
with God: Ps. xxvii. 4, ' One thing have I desired of the^Lord, that
will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord,' <fcc. And
they are after grace as well as after comfort : Ps. cxix. 5, ' Oh that my
ways were directed to keep thy statutes ! ' All the endeavours of a
natural man are to go away from God ; but when a soul is touched
with grace, it can never have enough holiness, and enough grace, and
enough communion with God.
[3.] Constant and industrious waiting. Many times God makes the
soul wait long ; he hath waited long upon us, and therefore he makes
us to wait long ere we receive the sensible effects of grace. Therefore
this coming to God is described by an industrious and constant waiting ;
as Benhadad's servants watched the king of Israel for the word ' brother,
1 Kings xx. 33, so the soul waits upon God for one glimpse of his love.'
David expresseth this earnest waiting by the waiting of a sentinel or
watchman for the dawning of the day : Ps. cxxx. 6, ' My soul waiteth
for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning ; I say, more
than they that watch for the morning.' Look, as the weary sentinel
that is stiff and wet with the dews of the night waits for the dawning
of the morning, when he may be taken off from his charge and duty ;
so doth the poor soul wait for the first dawning and breaking out of
the rays of grace upon the soul. Now this is not only done by a Chris
tian at his first conversion, but after coming and renewing his accesses
to God by Christ.
Secondly, What it is to ' walk with God ? ' That is the original
expression, from whence this of pleasing God is taken, Gen. v. 22. Now,
what is the meaning of that ? Some read it, Vacavit Deo he seques
tered himself, to converse with God from the distraction of worldly
affairs ; others render it, A inbulavit in timore Dei, he walked in the
fear of God ; the Targum of Jerusalem, He served, or laboured in the
truth before the Lord. Others apply it to public office and service in
the church, as if it were proper to those that were employed in the
function of the priesthood : certainly in such a restrained sense it is
taken, 2 Sam. xxx. 35. But this would be a sense too restrained,
especially since it is here explained by the apostle by pleasing God.
Therefore it notes any solemn profession of religion, or consecration and
dedication to God's service ; for I find this phrase applied to persons
that were of eminent and great holiness, especially in an evil and cor
rupt age, as here to Enoch, when men degenerated, and a flood was
threatened. So it is applied to Noah ' Noah was a just man, and per
fect in his generation ; and Noah walked with God,' Gen. vi. 9, con
trary to the corruptions and manners of his age. So it is applied to
Levi ; when the Lord speaks of the privileges of the house of Levi,
he saith, Mai. ii. 6, ' He walked with me in peace and equity, and did
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 53
turn many from iniquity ; ' that is, he held on God's side against the re
volt and rebellion of the other tribes that had gone away after the calves
in Dan and Bethel. It noteth a consecration of our lives to God's
service, and special communion with him. The metaphor seems to be
taken from two friends that agree and resolve to go a long journey,
that they will keep the same way and course, as the Lord himself
explains his similitude, Amos iii. 3, ' Can two walk together except
they be agreed?' In the context God threatens the alienation and
estrangement of his presence from them ; for, saith God, You and I
have gone hand in hand together ; but now, if you take different courses,
we must needs part : as two travellers, whose journey is not the same,
cannot long travel together ; so saith God, If you will take that path,
I must break off communion with you, and withdraw my presence.
Thus you find that he that by solemn vow and agreement with God
hath set up his resolution to sequester and consecrate himself to the
service of the Lord, is said to walk with God.
Now there are many parallel expressions, that differ only in sound ;
as, walking before God ; so saith God to Abraham, Gen. xvii. I/ Walk
before rne, and be thou perfect.' It notes the very same thing. Thus
Hezekiah, Isa. xxxviii. 3, ' I have walked before thee with a perfect
heart.' The parallel phrases in the new testament are ' walking
in Christ,' Col. ii. 6 ; and ' walking in the truth,' 2 John 4. In
the general it notes special strictness and communion with God in the
course of our lives ; more particularly, I shall show you negatively what
it doth not imply ; then positively, what it doth imply.
1. Negatively, what it doth not imply.
[1.] Not such a strictness as to abridge ourselves of the holy use of
the necessary comforts of this life. I ground this upon that place,
Gen. v. 22, ' Enoch walked with God, and begat sous and daughters/
The holy and pure use of the creatures may stand with the strictest
rules of profession. There may be a walking with God without monkery,
and a sequestration of ourselves from worldly affairs. Enoch had a
body as others had, and he needed the refreshment and support of
meat, drink, and sleep, and the modest use of conjugal society, and yet
walked with God ; that is, in all these comforts he enjoyed God.
[2.] It doth not imply such a strictness and exactness as is wholly
exempt from infirmities ; for we read in scripture that Noah was one
that walked with God, yet Noah was overcome with drink, Gen. ix. 21.
Alas ! in our journey many times carnal affections creep upon us, and
bewray themselves by some indecent and impure actions, yet the Lord
pardons them out of grace ; though he be displeased with our sins, yet
he accepts of our company still, accepts of our persons with % Christ. On
God's part the society and fellowship is not broken off, because they
are interested in Christ ; and on the believer's part the godly do not
break off communion with God, because they recover themselves by
repentance ; there is a vigilant custody over their ways, but treacherous
nature will be tripping now and then, and draw us to inconveniences.
Alas ! what then ? The people of God are restless till they rise again,
and recover the sense of God's favour ; and when they stumble, they do
not lie in the mire of sin, but endeavour to rise and keep on their journey ;
their constant purpose is to walk in a constant communion with
God.
54 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXII.
2. Positively, what is walking with God? There are two terms
in the scripture ; there is ' walking ; ' and then walking ' with God.'
[1.] Walking, that doth imply a way, and some motion in that way.
(1.) There must be a way. If we walk with God, it must be in his
own ways. Now there are several ways of God ; there are ways in which
God walks to us, as Ps. xxv. 10, ' All the ways of the Lord are mercy
and truth.' It is meant of the ways of his providence and dispensations
to us ; they are all stamped with the character of mercy and truth.
And then there are ways in which we walk to God, and with God, and
those are spoken of: Isa. ii. 3, ' He will teach us his ways.' And what
is that way ? that is his revealed will in the word. All our steps are
but acts of obedience, conformed to the will of God ; our whole course is
a declining of evil and doing of good. We walk alone when we go
out of the broad path and road of duty : Ps. cxxv. 5, ' They that turn
aside to crooked ways shall be led forth with the workers of iniquity/
When they are in any crooked deviations of spirit, which are constant
and allowed, they are none of those that God will keep company with.
God holds communion with us in all his ways. It is a mistake to think
our communion with God is only when we are practising duties of the first
table, in the exercises of religion; then we do more intimately converse
with him in meditation, prayer, and hearing. This is indeed the heaven
of a Christian ; but God holds communion with us also in the necessary
duties of our calling in the shop, as well as in the closet. A man walks
with God, it is true, as travellers sometimes may sit down and refresh
themselves, but all the day they keep company. That is somewhat like
communion with God in ordinances ; but all the day we should keep
God company. It is the dotage of foolish men to think all the world
must be turned into a cloister, or we can have no company with God.
We are indeed to sequester ourselves from the distractions of the world,
but not from the employment of the world. There must be an even
hand, that we may converse with God in worship, and in the duties of our
calling : piety must not make us lazy, nor yet frugal diligence profane.
(2.) Walking doth not only imply choice of a way, but motion. In
this motion there are two things diligence and progress. (1.) An
active diligence. Speculation doth not make us Christians ; no, nor a
naked profession. We have a race to run ; God cannot endure idlers, and
those that merely dress up a profession. Deeds speak louder than words
in God's ear ; therefore there must be much spiritual diligence to pre
vent what is displeasing to God, and to practise what is acceptable.
Treacherous nature is always apt to draw back and fly out, therefore
we had need make a solemn covenant with our mind, will, and senses ;
with our mind, that we may not think evil, and provoke God with our
thoughts ; and with our wills, that we do not consent to evil ; with our
senses, that they may not be inlets to a temptation all must be under
the coercion of a severe discipline: Prov. iv. 23, 'Keep thy heart with all
diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.' Christianity was never
made for idle ones and lazy persons ; as a bird in the air must always be
moving on the wing, so we must be always in our flight and motion.
There must be a constant diligence to guard the heart, to bring it to
a serious performance of the duties of religion, and to keep it upright in.
duty. (2.) A progress. .He that walks makes more steps than one ; so
a Christian is in a continual journey, and God is in his company. Now
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 55
we must make a continual progress. It is said, Ps. Ixxxiv. 7, ' They
shall go from strength to strength, till they appear before God in Zion.'
The original word is, they shall go on from troop to troop ; for it is an
allusion to the solemn journey to the temple thrice a year. This was
their ambition, who should outreach one another. When they had
overtaken one troop, they strove to overtake the other troop ; so in
their solemn journey to heaven they shall gather new strength and
courage, till they come to the triumphant church, and appear before
God in Zion. A Christian in his journey is like a man going up a sandy
hill, if he doth not go forward, he goes backward ; so we go backward
when we do not make effectual progress ; or like a man rowing against
the tide, if he do not ply the oar, he goes backward if there be not an
effectual progress, there will be a sensible decay.
[2.] I come to show what this term ' with God ' implies.
(1.) The company and presence of God. He must needs be present
with us that walks with us. How can God be absent from any ? The
apostle saith, Acts xvii. 27, ' He is not far from every one of us.' We
are not so near to ourselves as God is to us. Who can keep his breath
in his body for a moment if God were not there ? God is present with
us ; but the meaning is this, that we must be present with God.
Usually, we are at too great a distance in our minds and affections ;
therefore walking with God implies actual thoughts of his presence ;
he must be represented as the beholder of all our thoughts, words, and
actions. The world is a great theatre, and the spectators are God and
angels. I confess we little think of it ; there is a fond levity in our minds.
As to us, the world is like a hill of ants ; you stand by, and they run
up and down, and do not think of your presence and being there ; so
the Lord stands by and observes all our motions, and we run up and
down like busy ants, and do not think of God's presence ; there is a
great hurry and clutter of business, and few thoughts of God. It is a
description of carnal men : Ps. Ixxxvi. 14, ' They have not set thee
before them.' There are some have never any thoughts of God ; they
have nothing before their eyes but the world and worldly business. As
it is storied of the panther, when she is hunted she hides her head,
and when she doth not see the hunters, she thinks she is not seen by
them ; so we do not think of God, and therefore vainly imagine that
he doth not think of us. In heaven, indeed a man doth nothing else
but think of God ; the divine essence is impressed there upon our minds,
it is a part of our glory : Ps. xvii. 15, ' When I awake, I shall be satis
fied with thy likeness ; ' we shall endlessly lose ourselves in the con
templation of the divine perfections. Now for the present faith serves
instead of vision. God must be acknowledged as present with us, as
certainly present as those outward objects with which we do converse,
or as a man is whom we see with our bodily eyes. The soul hath its
object and its senses as well as the body. There is a commerce
between spirits ; they see and hear, and converse with one another ;
so must our souls with God and holy angels. A Christian can never
be alone; by thoughts his soul converseth with God; they see him
whom the world cannot see. We see that according to the different
ranks of beings they have different objects : the beasts have eyes and
senses to see external objects, and they judge by sight according to the
form and outward appearance of things. Men have reason ; that is
56 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SlSR. XXII.
higher than sight. Keason corrects sense in many things ; as a star
to^sense seems but like a spark or spangle, reason can judge it to be
greater as big as the world. Christians have a higher light ; they
have faith to see him that is altogether invisible. Now this is the great
advantage of religion ; to see God by us, with us, and in us ; nothing
makes a man more holy than this. It is said, 3 John 11, 'He that doth
evil hath not seen God ; ' that is, he doth not think of God's presence ; he
is as if he had no God to see him. Now, because it is impossible in the
present life to have perpetual actual thoughts and considerations of God's
majesty and goodness, there must be set times to represent the truth
and glory of his being to the soul, till at length it be habituated to us ;
and when it is habituated upon every temptation, there will be actual
discourses about his presence, especially when you are tempted to secret
sins ; as Job speaks of his unclean glances, chap. xxxi. 4, ' Doth he not
see my ways, and count all my steps ? ' When 1 there is an inward
impure thought arising in the heart, it will be checked by this, Is not
this liable to God's eye ? as Joseph, when he was tempted to sin
by the advantage of privacy, Gen. xxxix. 9, ' How can I do this
wickedness, and sin against God ? ' Is any place private to God ? The
majesty of God will always run upon the thoughts, upon every temptation.
(2.) Familiarity. A beggar may be in the presence of a prince, but
cannot be said to walk with him, for that noteth a social communion ;
a servant may be in company with his master, but he waits upon him,
doth not walk with him. But now God hath taken all his saints into
the honour of his friends ; he is ours in covenant ', we do not walk with
him as with a stranger, at a distance, and with wary reservation, as with
another man's God, but with our friend with our God, with our con
federate in Christ, one that is in covenant with us. There is abundance
of intimate converse and familiarity between God and believers : 1 John
i. 3, ' Truly,' saith the apostle, ' our fellowship is with the Father, and
with his Son Jesus Christ.' How ? by walking in the light : ver. 7,
' If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, then have we fellowship
one with another ; ' that is, we with God, and God with us, as two
friends and companions would walk together. There is the familiarity
of discourse. It is not a mute, silent walk, but such as is full of sweet
and interchangeable discourses, many sweet dialogues between God and
us. Sometimes God, and sometimes we begin the conference ; some
times God speaks to the soul, and the heart answers God. God speaks
to us by the injection of holy thoughts, by the motions and actual
excitations of his grace ; and the soul again speaks to God by prayer,
meditation, and pious addresses: Ps. xxvii. 8, 'When thou saidest, Seek
ye my face ;^ my heart said, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.' The heart,
.-noyed and inspired by the spirit, gives God an answer. Sometimes,
again, we begin the conference ; we ask counsel of God in doubtful
matters, when the soul is engaged with many anxious traverses, and
knows not what to do. Now God answers us by the whispers of his
Spirit ; as the Israelites, Judges i. 1, ' Who shall go up for us against
the^Canaanites? ' In all difficult and uncertain matters they make God
their counsellor ; and then the Lord leads them by his Spirit, and gives
them an answer by casting powerful and overswaying considerations
into their minds ; as David saith, Ps. xvi. 7, ' My reins instruct me in
the night-season.' In the silence of the night, when we are free from
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 57
the hurry of distractions, then God inwardly speaks to us by our own
hearts and by our own consciences, and sometimes we crave his help as
well as his counsel. There is not a day passeth but there is some
occasion offered to confer with God for Christians that mind their work
and their souls. Carnal men feel no impulses to prayer ; they are not
only strangers to God, but to their own souls. God and they are un
acquainted, and they and themselves are unacquainted; for if men
did not converse 1 with themselves, and mind the state of their souls,
they would find there are many doubts need to be assailed, many
wants to be supplied, many corruptions to be weakened and morti
fied. But when they leave off conference with themselves, no won
der they are so careless of holding conference and communion
with God; when they and themselves are brought together, they
will not be quiet till they and God are brought together. David
speaks of sevenfold addresses in one day : Ps. cxix. 164, ' Seven
times a day do I praise thee.' Oh, what a spirit are they of that
can pass whole days and whole weeks and never speak a word to
God, never give God a visit ! Can these be said to walk with him ?
Now all our communion and speaking with God does not lie in prayer
only ; for look, as wants put us upon prayer, so blessings upon praises.
The vapours and showers do maintain a mutual commerce between
the earth and the air ; the earth sends up vapours, and the air sends
down showers ; so it is here blessings and praises maintain a mutual
communion between God and us ; God sends down the shower of
blessing, and then we send up the vapour of praise, so that the soul
lives in a holy sweet way of communion with him.
(3.) The fear of God. There must be a humble reverence if we
keep God company. We are in the presence of the ' great king/
as the prophet calls him, Mai. i. 14 ; it is his pleasure to hold famili
arity with us, but we must never forget our distance ; there must be a
constant fear and a reverend respect to God. It is a profanation to
think of him without reverence, as well as to speak of him without
reverence. Our familiarity with God must not be rude and careless,
but such as becomes the distance that is between God and us : Micah
vi. 8, ' What doth the Lord require of thee, but to walk humbly with
thy God?' When we converse with God, we must not forget ourselves ;
we must remember the distance between infinite purity and a poor
spotted creature. The angels and blessed spirits that enjoy the highest
way of communion with God, they stand in dread of his presence.
Fear is a grace in heaven as well as love ; the angels clap their wings
and cover their faces, and cry, ' Holy, holy, holy,' &c., Isa. vi. 2, 3.
Those immaculate spirits are abashed at the glory of his holiness, and
do not only praise, but fear him ; for fear is an essential respect that is
due from the creature to the godhead. It is true, faith is a grace
which suits with our present estate, therefore it vanisheth in heaven,
where we have full enjoyment ; but fear is a necessary respect of the
creature to the supreme majesty ; there is a reverent and aweful, but a
delightful dread in the angels ; they have higher apprehensions of his
holiness than we have, therefore reverence him the more. We have
but low thoughts of that which is his chiefest glory, his holiness, there
fore we do not reverence him as the angels do. Now if the angels are
1 Qu. ' Did converse ? ' ED.
58 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXII.
abashed at his presence, despicable dust and ashes have more cause to
fear. Why ? because we have sin in us, and are not out of danger of
punishment. But angels are out of danger of punishments ; they do
not fear God for his commutative justice, but only reverence him for
his holiness; but here we have sin in us, and can never have an
absolute assurance of God's favour, therefore we have more cause to
stand in dread. We may sadly reflect upon this, because we are
guilty of such a negligent security, and we converse with God rather
as an idol of our own fancy than a king of glory ; there is not a reve
rent respect upon the soul. Oh, consider, there is practical atheism
in irreverence ! It is hard to say which is worse, to deny God, or not
to fear him; an atheist makes him nothing, and a careless person
makes him an idol Malo de me did nullum esse Plutarclmm, quam
malum esse Pluiarclium ; and in the issue it is all one to deny his being
and not to acknowledge his perfection, and to behave ourselves suitably.
It is worse to behave ourselves to God as if he were a weak God, than
absolutely to deny his being; but, alas ! we never tremble but when he
thunders, and when God shows himself terrible in some instance of
judgment and vengeance. Alas ! it is much for us, in our prayers and
supplications, to be aweful in our special addresses to God, and yet fear
is a grace that is never out of season and exercise : Prov. xxviii. 14,
' Happy is the man that feareth always ;' not that perplexeth himself
with scruples and terrors that is a torment, not a blessedness but
that bears a constant reverent respect to God's presence. So again,
Prov. xxiii. 17, ' Be thou in the fear of God all the day long.' In
secret and in company, in the shop and in the closet thou art still in
God's company, and still God is to be feared. But you will say, This
is very hard, to keep the soul under an actual awe and trembling, and
in the fear of God ; therefore there must at least be a habitual awe ;
that is, a reverent and serious constitution of spirit, so that a man
would not do anything that is unseemly in God's sight.
(4.) A care of obedience, or a holy ambition to please God and
approve ourselves to him. Now in this pleasing of God there must be
1st. An avoiding of whatever is grievous and displeasing to him.
He that seeth God to be always present certainly he will be afraid to
displease him ; he will be always reasoning and discoursing thus in his
soul, How will God like this with whom I am present, and before
whom I am ? You know the question of Ahasuerus concerning Haman,
when he threw himself upon the queen's bed, Esther vii. 8, * Will he
force the queen before my face ? ' so, should I go about to grieve God
before his face? to betray his cause, and comply with his enemies
when he looks on ? It is impudence to sin before any looker-on,
before a man, or before a child ; but this in the presence of the just,
powerful, and avenging God. Would a man ease himself, or void
his excrements, before a prince ? The comparison is not too homely,
for this is the type which God gave his ancient church. There was a
law, that if they went aside to ease themselves, they should cover
their filth with a paddle, ' for the Lord walketh in the midst of the
camp,' Deut. xxiii. 12-14. God would teach them by this similitude
to avoid whatever is unseemly in his presence. There must be con
stantly manifested a respect to his presence ; so Joseph : Gen. xxxix.
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 59
9, ' How shall I do this wickedness, and sin against God ? ' Sin is. on
our part, a departure and a going out of God's presence ; and as to
God, it makes him to break off the journey ' Can two walk together
except they be agreed ? ' Amos iii. 3. He cannot walk with us, and
draw nigh to us, if we turn aside to those crooked paths.
2c%. There must be a constant care of those things God likes of,
not only a declining of evil, but a doing of good. Take one disposi
tion that is very pleasing to God. When your hearts are carried out
wholly to spiritual things, then God delights to hold company and
communion with such. When Solomon desired wisdom, and passed
by riches and honour, it is said, ' The thing exceedingly pleased God/
1 Kings iii. 10 ; so when the bent and strength of your desires are
carried after spiritual blessings, that you may be wise to salvation, the
thing is very pleasing to God.
3dly. This pleasing of God implies the uprightness of our aim, that
the man is as good as the action. The main intent of the soul must
be to please God, as his will must be the rule of your life ; so his glory
must be the end of your lives : Gen. xvii. 1, ' Walk before me, and be
thou perfect.' God can look into the bottom of the heart ; he weighs
the spirits, and knows what are the inward propensions, the inward
inclinations, the proposal we make to ourselves ; so Hezekiah : Isa.
xxxviii. 3, 'I have walked before thee with a perfect heart.' The
heart must be sincere and rightly set, the aim must be to please God ;
negatively, it must not be to please ourselves, or to gratify the flesh in
the conveniences of the present life, in outward profits and delights :
Rom. viii. 12, ' We are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.'
A man that walks with God must dissolve the natural contract and
agreement that is between him and the flesh ; we are come under the
bond of the new contract to please God. Look, as Jesus Christ, when
he came to purchase this communion and this society with God, it is
said, Rom. xv. 3, ' He pleased not himself ; ' so when we come to enjoy
this communion, we are not to please ourselves, and so also our aims
must not be to please men. He is nothing in Christianity that doth not
count the judgment of man a small thing, 1 Cor. iv. 3. When we
give up ourselves to walk with God, we must remember we are not to
seek for the humour of men : 1 Peter iv. 3, ' That he no longer should
live the rest of his time in the flesh, to the lusts of men, but to the
will of God/ Men of sociable, sweet dispositions are loth to displease
those with whom they do converse ; and so they are mightily prone to
carnal compliance. The apostle disclaims this, Gal. i. 10, ' If I yet
pleased men, I should not be the servant of Jesus Christ.' The
Pharisees were angry when Paul revolted from their confederacy, when
he that was their prime instrument turned preacher of the gospel.
Company and humouring of men many times is a mighty snare to
sordid spirits, but if it be done out of worldliness, it is worse ; many
men would please God so as they may not infringe their secular in
terest. Oh, consider, God will never walk with us as long as mammon
is in company, when the bent of the heart is set that way : the world
is to be our servant, not our fellow. When we walk with God we
must have no other companion but God alone. Walking with God is
usually a counter-motion to the times. Enoch, and Noah, and Levi,
($0 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXII.
walked contrary to the times ; it is an owning of God when others
forsake him. But then, affirmatively, the great aim must he pleasing
God alone ; he is our companion. This must be the aim and scope^of
our lives, to please God; we must study to please him, and give him
content in all things.
Quest. But if you will ask, Whether an actual intention of pleasing
God in every good action be always necessary ?
Ans. It is very convenient, but not absolutely necessary. A son is
careful to please his father, though he doth not always actually think
of it ; there is a general and habitual intention, though in every act
of duty the thought be not continued. Many good actions may pro
ceed from the force of the habitual intention, when the actual inten
tion or thought ceaseth ; as an arrow from the aim of the archer, when
his eye is taken off from the mark ; or rather, a man that journeys to
such a place doth not always think of his journey's end ; but we
should retain it in our thoughts as much as we can, that the heart
may be more upright, and for the prevention of evil and carnal reflec
tions : Rom. vii. 21, ' When I would do good, evil is present with me.'
In short, a purpose of humouring the world or displeasing God cannot
stand with grace.
(5.) A continual dependence upon God and a confidence of his
assistance : Gen. xvii. 1, ' Walk before me ; ' it is different from the
phrase of Enoch walking with God ; that is, maintain a courage and
confidence becoming my presence. A man may trust himself in God's
company and defence. They that are always in the king's presence
are sure of his favour and defence if they be in distress ; God is at hand,
and they may cast themselves into the bosom of providence in all
dangers and troubles, and wait for the divine help. Usually we tor
ment ourselves with unnecessary cares and fears about the event and
success of things : a man that is in God's presence may refer himself
to his care and protection. That this is plainly intended in this exposi
tion, is clear by what is said in Acts ii. 25, ' I foresaw the Lord always
before my face, for here he is at my right hand, that I should not be
moved.' When a man walks with God, whenever he enters into the
combat and list, God will be his second, ready to fight for us, in us,
and by us. To open that expression, ' He is at my right hand.' When
a man is at the right hand of God, that notes honour and glory put
upon the creature ; but when God is at the right hand of man, that
notes help and aid. If the world offers foul play in our Christian
course, it is in God's presence ; our second will come to our rescue.
He that walks with God walks safely ; when the devil is at our right
hand, God is there to check the devil. The way to heaven is a danger
ous journey, it lies through a howling wilderness ; we shall meet with
wolves and bears in the shape of men, and therefore woe be to him
that is alone ; but now when we have such good company, we may
adventure freely, when God himself is our guide and leader.
(6.) Contentation. You must give up yourselves to God's disposal
to shorten or lengthen out the journey as he shall see cause ; for you
walk with God, and follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes ; so as,
wherever God leads you, you must follow. Heaven is the place of
rest, but for the time of our translation we must not be our own carvers.
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 61
It is good to groan and long for home, but still we must wait God's
leisure ; it is he that appoints the way and the stages of the journey.
It is said of David, Acts xiii. 36, ' After he had served his own gene
ration by the will of God, he fell asleep.' The will of God doth
determine how long David was to serve him. We have a wise com
panion, and he knows the way to glory better than we, and he knows
by what methods to bring us to glory. When God hath no further
work to do by us, then he will give us our wages : Job xiv. 14, ' All
the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come ; ' our
time is appointed, therefore we must wait. The walk in paradise is
more pleasant than in the garden of the church ; but the time of change
is appointed ; if it comes sooner than we expect, it is no loss ; if it
comes later, we must be contented. They that walk with God in earth
cannot be separated from him in heaven, therefore it is no loss ; for
if you change place, you shall not change your company ; you shall be
nearer to him, and have sweeter communion with him, and you shall
walk with him in a more glorious way. The heavenly state is de
scribed thus, Rev. iii. 4, ' They shall walk \vith me in white ; ' that is,
in perfect joy and innocency, without sin and without temptation. Our
garments here are often defiled, black, and spotted ; but there ' they shall
walk with me in white.' When we walk with God in the upper garden
of paradise, there we shall have the same company in a better way ;
or, suppose the Lord should leave you to be harassed and worn out
with the troubles of the world, if it come later, yet we must wait. The
wise God knows when we are fittest for glory, and when glory is fittest
for us : Job xiv. 5, ' His days are determined, and the number of his
months are with thee ; thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot
pass ; ' days and months to a precise time, all are defined by God. We
live not at our own pleasure, nor at the pleasure of any creature ;
therefore though your pilgrimage be prolonged, you must be contented.
Consider the precedent, Gen. v. 22, ' Enoch walked with God three
hundred years : ' he spent three hundred years in communing with
God a long age, and, as matters then went, very degenerate. But
consider, the way should not be very tedious when we are in God's
company ; therefore when in trouble, we must refer ourselves to our
guide, and with meekness, quietness, and contentation, we must follow
him.
Use, Let me exhort you to come to God, and to walk with him ;
you have all the encouragement in the world to do both.
1. Come to God. You may come, and you must come ; you may
come, you are invited ' Come to me/ saith Christ, Mat. xi. 28. Though
you are poor, guilty sinners, harassed and worn-out with your own fears
and dissatisfactions, you may come, and you must come ; either you
must come to Christ, or lose eternal life : and it is very sweet to come
to Christ. All good is in the chiefest good ; the nearer we are to
God, the nearer to the centre of rest and happiness ; therefore every
day and in every duty make nearer accesses and approaches to God
by Christ.
2. When you are come to God, walk with him. Consider what
encouragement you have : God is our companion, the Son is our
saviour, and heaven is our patrimony ; the way is safe, and the end
62 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXIII.
is glorious. It is a great honour when a great man will take you
into his company and walk with you. The Lord hath put this
honour upon all his saints, that they shall walk with him in a way
of federal communion.
SERMON XXIII.
For before his translation he had this testimony, that lieyleased God.
HEB. xi. 5.
Secondly, Now I come to the other branch, to confirm the point "by
showing (1.) The necessity of pleasing God; (2.) The necessity of
pleasing God in the present life.
First, The necessity of pleasing God ; for whosoever will live happily
with the Lord in glory must have a care to please him in the present life.
1. Because this is the means and condition without which we shall
never come to enjoy God ; it is the way to fit the sons of God for glory,
though not the cause of glory : Heb. xii. 14, ' Follow peace with all
men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.' The
apostle presseth there peace and holiness ; but mark what he saith
of holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. He
presseth them to follow both ; but observe the difference : we must
follow peace, that we may walk with men ; and holiness, that we may
walk with God. They that prefer peace before holiness may gain favour
with men, but they lose fellowship and communion with God. God's
stipulation with mankind is not made up together of promises ; he
promiseth much, but he requireth. something ; as he giveth many bless
ings, so he requireth many duties ; not for which, but without which
we shall never be blessed ; it implies not a condignity of merit, but an
ordinability to the reward. It is required of all those that will be
saved : holiness is appointed by God as the way, heaven as the end of
the journey. Wherever the scripture speaks either of the decrees of
God, or those ordinances of judgment and justice by which he will
govern the world, or the covenant of God, there is a duty left upon
man. Thus the apostle, Eph. ii. 10, ' We are created in Christ Jesus
to good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk
therein.' They are not the cause of our salvation, or the merit by
which we acquire a right, but they are the way and path by which we
get to it. There is a great deal of dispute about the necessity of
walks ; x there is necessitas prcesentice though not efficiencies. Observe
the constitutions of heaven, this is the order : he will appoint first
holiness, then happiness ; there is no causality, but order. God's decrees
have put salvation into this way and course first faith, then works,
then glory : Eph. i. 4, ' He hath chosen us, that we should be holy.'
The eternal counsel of God respecteth both the end and the means.
Holiness is a necessary effect of election, and it must have a room ; it
is necessary, not as a cause, but as a condition. We are not chosen
because we were holy, but that we might be holy : Rom. viii. 29,
1 Qu. Works ? 'Eo.
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xt. 63
' Whom he did foreknow he did also predestinate, to be conformed to
the image of his Son.' This was the solemn appointment of God, that
those whom he had marked out hy his own choice and eternal counsel
to be heirs of the grace of life should be conformed to his Son, first in
holiness, then in glory. God hath bound himself by promise to deal
this way with the creatures, that whosoever shall embrace the agree
ment of the new covenant shall be saved.
2. There is a necessity of it by way of sign, and as a pledge of out
living with God hereafter ' Before his translation he had this testi
mony, that he pleased God.' This is that testimony which witnesseth
to us our interest in the everlasting state. When holiness is our care,
it is a token that heaven is our portion ; God will not own us for his
own, neither can we take this honour upon ourselves unless we have
this mark. The merit of Christ, apprehended by faith, gives us our
right and title ; but holiness doth evidence and confirm our right and
title ; we can have no assurance till then. Good works are eternce
felicitatis prcesagia, the necessary forerunners and presages of eternal
happiness. Never can there be a sound hope towards God where there
is not a religious and conscionable desire of walking before God in all
well-pleasing ; otherwise men do but confute their hopes, and live down
their own expectations. In establishing assurance there is a double
witness the spirit and conscience : both have a voice ; the Spirit hath
a voice, but none can hear it but holy persons. The person must be
qualified first to receive the testimony of the Spirit ; for the Spirit when
he comes to witness to us, doth not reveal to us so much the purposes
of God as the gifts of God : 1 Cor. ii. 11, ' For what man knoweth
the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? ' The
Spirit's testimony is always subsequent to that of the renewed con
science ; for the Spirit's testimony is nothing but the evidencing and
owning of its own work ; and the testimony that we have from the Holy
Ghost is not intuitive, but discoursive ; the Spirit doth not comport
at first with such a report as this is, that mercy is prepared for thee
from all eternity ; but thou art holy, and therefore thou art in a state
of grace and favour. Then conscience hath a voice. Now the testi
mony of conscience ariseth from comparing our actions with the rule,
the conversation of men with the stipulation of God. By a single
apprehension it looks up to what God requires, then by reflection how
we answer it ; and so gives sentence : Heb. xiii. 18, ' We trust we have
a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly ; ' 1 John ii. 3,
' Hereby we know that we know him, because we keep his command
ments.' The soul is persuaded that it hath an interest in God because
it keeps his commandments ; there is some ground and warrant for
the report of conscience. General hopes are but a deceit, and fond
credulity without ground.'
3. It is necessary by way of preparation. Those that walk with God
are meet to live with God ; they change their place, but not their com
pany ; here they walk with God, and there they live with him for ever.
The vessels of glory are first seasoned and prepared with grace ; God's
qualifying grace makes way for his rewarding grace : Col. i. 12, ' Who
hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in
light.' Alas ! what should carnal and sensual persons do in heaven ?
64 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXIII.
those blessed mansions that are above would be to them as melancholy
and obscure shades. How can they endure the perpetual presence of
God, that now cannot endure the thoughts of God ? or IIOAV can they
delight in the communion of saints to whom now good company and
holy conference is as a prison ? how can men leap from the lap of
delight into the bosom of Abraham so suddenly ? what should swine
anddogs do with such a holy place in the upper paradise ? Heaven
is an intimate familiarity with God, and therefore it as not for mere
strangers ; heaven is said to be prepared for us, and we are said to be
prepared for heaven. Christ is gone in person to heaven to prepare a
place for us, and hath left his Spirit upon earth to prepare us for
heaven ; and this is the reason of those expressions so often used in
scripture, of being ' worthy of eternal life,' and walking ' worthy of
the high prize of our calling,' and ' worthy of God : ' the meaning is,
beseeming and becoming. We are put into a holy rneetness and fitness
for such holy rewards : Kev. iii. 4, ' They shall walk with me in white,
for they are worthy ; ' that is, fittingly disposed and prepared ; as in
another case, Mat. x. 11, ' Into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter,
inquire who in it is worthy ; ' that is, prepared by the Holy Ghost to re
ceive the doctrine of life, and to entertain God's messengers ; inquire
who hath a good report and are lovers of religion, ready to entertain the
word and the messengers of the word. So here they are ' worthy ; ' that
is, fittingly disposed, meet to receive such a portion in glory. It is not
any equality of worth that is implied there ; but that which is meet,
convenient, and becoming. God works in the hearts of believers an
aptitude for blessing, then he bestows them upon them ; first, he gives
the heavenly mind, then the heavenly state ; the new creature for the
new heavens and the new earth. Wicked men have a portion suiting to
them, and becoming their affections ; sensual pleasures for a sensual
heart ; so God's children, before they have their portion, they are suited
to it, that they may have a portion suited to their heart. This is the
great mercy of God, that he will never advance our condition till he
hath changed our hearts. A king may advance a slave to a high place
of trust, but he cannot give him gifts and fitness ; he may change his
state, but he cannot change his nature; but God, before he gives
heaven, he gives a heavenly inclination; and before he gives com
munion with himself in glory, there is communion with himself in grace.
Secondly, The necessity of pleasing God in the present life ' For
before his translation,' it is said, ' he had this testimony, that he pleased
God.' There is a time for all things, and the time of pleasing God is
in the present life.
1. Because this is the time of grace. Here we are invited to walk
with God : now we have the means, then we have the recompenses ;
here Christ saith, Mat. xi. 28, ' Come to me,' in a way of choice com
munion ; then, Mat. xxv. 34, ' Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom.' Now we come to receive grace, then we come to him to
receive glory ; here God makes an offer, and there he makes it good.
Upon gospel terms he holds out the golden sceptre, therefore here is
the time to please God. When the angels came with a song to publish
the tidings of salvation, mark the burden of their song : Luke ii. 14,
' Peace upon earth, and good-will towards men.' Now the Lord offers
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 65
to bo reconciled : the church is the seminary of heaven, and here we
are trained up for glory. We shall never have such golden seasons
again ; you shall hear of no gospel afterward ; there shall be no more
tenders and offers of grace. Zanchy speaketh of some that had a fancy
that the gospel should be preached in the other world to those that
never heard of Christ in this world to children, Turks and pagans,
alleging that place, 1 Peter iii. 19, ' By which he went and preached
to the spirits in prison ; ' but this is as a fancy and nothing to thy
case. Now only doth Christ say, ' Come ! ' If you refuse him now, he
will hereafter say, 'Depart ! ' This is the season of grace.
2. This is the time of our exercise and trial. As death leaves us, so
j udgment finds us ; our everlasting woe or weal hangs upon the present
moment. Hereafter is not the time of labour, but of rewards and
punishment. Then there will be no more room for repentance, though
we should seek the blessing with tears, Heb. xii. 17 ; therefore here is,
the time of our exercise and of our work ; we are now put to our
choice. There is no triumph without warfare ' They are not crowned
except they strive lawfully,' saith the apostle ; that is, according to the
laws of the race, 2 Tim. ii. 5 ; so we cannot expect our crown till we
have been exercised in the duties of holiness. They that live in the
Lord die in the Lord, and they shall hereafter reign with the Lord.
It is said of ungodly men, ' their iniquities shall find them out/ Num.
xxxii. 23 ; and of the godly ' their works follow them,' Kev. xiv. 13 :
they reap the fruit of their works in the other world. We may
observe, many live as if they never thought to die ; therefore when
they come to die they die as if they never thought to live. Oh consider,
your works do not die when you die ; they are kept in a safe register,
and they will find you out : Eccles. xi. 3, ' If the tree fall toward
the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth there
it shall lie.' As we live, so we die, and so we shall arise and come to
judgment. Here is the time of our trial and exercise. Look, as the
Jews upon the sixth day were to provide for the sabbath, and there
fore they were to gather two omers of manna then ; the present life
is our sixth day, here we are to make provision ; they that did not pro
vide on the sixth day had nothing on the sabbath ; so we shall have
nothing to do with the everlasting sabbath unless we make provision
in the present life. Here we are in via, then in termino. Death will
at length cut us down and deprive us of further opportunity : Eccles.
ix. 10, ' Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for
there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave
whither thou goest.' When this life is ended, all opportunity of doing
good ends with it. The next life is not sceculum operis, but mercedis.
Therefore now we must be making out our qualification : Gal. vi. 10,
' As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men.'
Opportunities are passing, and being passed will not return ; they are
confined within the narrow precincts of the present life. Afterwards,
the time of our trial and exercise is past : John ix. 4, ' I must work
the works of him that sent me while it is day : the night conieth, when
no man can work.'
3. The sooner we begin the better.
[1.] Because you make a necessary work sure, and put it out of
VOL. XIV. E
(Jg SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SfiR. XXIII.
doubt and hazard. The time of this life is uncertain : James iv. 14,
' Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow ; for what is your
life ? it is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away.' And a work of necessity should not be left on per-
adventures; therefore we must bestir ourselves without delay. We
know not how soon opportunity will be over ; it cannot be done too
soon, it may be too late, and therefore it is good to be of the surer side.
Ludovicus Capellus telleth us, out of Rabbi Jonah's book of the
mystery of repentance, that when a disciple came to his teacher to know
what was the fittest time to repent in, he answered, ' One day before
death/ meaning presently ; for we have not assurance of another day :
Prov.'xxvii. 1, ' Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.' Our
greatest works, and of most absolute necessity should be done first, and
have the quickest despatch, lest it be too late before we go about them.
Oh, woe to us, if God should call us off before we fcave minded coming
to him, and walking with him !
[2.] In point of obedience, God presseth to ' now.' God doth not
only command us to please him, but to do it presently : Heb. iii. 7, 8,
' To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.' God standeth
on his authority, and will have a present answer. If he say, ' To-day,'
it is flat disobedience for you to say, ' To-morrow : ' 2 Cor. vi. 2, ' Now
is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.' At this instant you
are charged in his name, as you will answer the contrary, You say,
no ; I will please the flesh a little longer. It were just with God, if
you refuse him, never to call you more.
[3.] In point of ingenuity. We receive a plenteous recompense for
a small service. When a man thinketh what God hath provided for
them that love him and serve him, he should be ashamed that he should
receive so much and do so little ; and therefore he should redeem all
the time that he can, that he may answer his expectations from God.
Shall we adjourn and put off God to our decrepit time, when he hath
provided for us eternal happiness ? Can a man, which hath any
ingenuity in his breast, be content to dishonour God longer, and grieve
his Spirit longer, provided that at length he may be saved ? Those
that have any due sense of God's kindness, or their own duty, will think
God hath been too long kept out of his right, and that all the time that
remaineth is too little to express our love and thankfulness to him : 1
Peter iv. 3, ' For the time past of our life may suffice us to have
wrought the will of the gentiles.' Men that delay, do in effect say,
Let me despise thy commands and abuse thy mercies a little longer ;
but then, when my lusts are satisfied and youthful heats are spent, I
will see what I can do to be saved. What baseness of spirit is this !
[4.] It is our advantage to begin betimes, both here and hereafter.
(1.) Here. The sooner you begin to please God, the sooner you have
an evidence of your interest in his favour, more experience of his love,
more hopes of being with him in heaven ; and these are not slight things.
When once you taste the comfort of them, you will be sorry that you
had begun no sooner ; as Paul complaineth, ' that he was born out of
due time,' 1 Cor. xv. 8. He lost the advantage of seeing Christ in the
flesh, and personal conference with him, and so you will lose many sweet
visits of love arid experiences of grace that otherwise might fall to your
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 67
share : Horn. xvi. 7, ' Who were in Christ before me. } An early
acquaintance with Christ bringeth many benefits with it of peace, and
comfort, and joy, and hope, which others that set forth later want.
The consolations of God should not be vile and cheap with us ; if you
were acquainted with them, you would leave your husks for bread in
your Father's house.
(2.) The sooner you begin with God, the greater will your glory be
hereafter ; for the more we improve our talents here, the greater will
be our reward in heaven : Luke xix. 16-19, ' Then came the first, say
ing, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds ; and he said, Well, thou
good servant ; because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have
thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord,
thy pound hath gained five pounds ; and he said likewise to him, Be
thou over five cities.' See Christ's answer, Mat. xx. 23, ' To sit on my
right hand and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to
them for whom it is prepared of my Father.' There are degrees of
glory set forth, by sitting on the right hand to some, and left hand to
others ; as in hell, there is a hotter and cooler judgment : certainly,
they that have long pleased God and made it the whole business of
their lives shall have larger measures of happiness.
Use 1. If there be such a necessity of pleasing God, and giving up
ourselves to the severities of religion, then it serves for reproof of divers
sorts of persons ; as
1. Those that, though they live as they list ; as if they were sent
into the world for no other purpose but to gratify their carnal desires,
yet lay as bold a claim and title to heaven as the best ; they doubt not
but glory belongs to them, though they cannot make good their title.
It is true, here in this world is the time of God's patience, and God
keeps on open house ; here the wicked, as well as the godly, have some
taste and some experience of God's bounty. The world is a common
inn for sons and bastards, but heaven is a pure place ; no unclean thing
enters there. There are no swine in the upper paradise. At the great
assembly and congregation, God will make a separation : Ps. i. 5, ' The
ungodly shall not stand in the judgment ; nor sinners in the congrega
tion of the righteous.' Wicked men shall not be able to look Christ
in the face, they shall not mingle themselves with that glorious assembly
of saints ' The place of dogs is without,' Eev. xx. 15. There is no
point more pressed in religion than the separation God will then make,
and no point less granted ; for we all flatter ourselves with general
and deceitful hopes of mercy : ' Know ye not/ says the apostle, 1 Cor.
6, 10, ' that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven ?
Be not deceived/ &c. We are all apt to deceive ourselves with a gen
eral loose hope. Universal salvation is written in the heart by nature ;
that is the reason why we are so prone to hearken to the doctrine of
universal grace. Men are apt to deceive themselves with such a lying
hope. Our desires do by degrees settle into opinions. Careless people
would fain have it so ; they would have God guide and govern the
world after another manner ; they would have heaven, and they would
not be at the pains of strictness to conquer lusts and subdue unruly
affections ; they would not be at the trouble to dedicate and give up
themselves to the will of God ; and by little and little their desires
68 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXIII.
grow into hopes. Men will never be persuaded that God will ever damn
his own creature; therefore, as ignorant people, they say, He that made
me will save me, though there be express words to the contrary, Isa.
xxvii. 11 ; and therefore they please themselves with a naked hope of
mercy, without making good their own interest. Consider, you have
no liberty to sin by Christ's death. Christ died to gain you to please
the Lord, and walk before him in all holiness : 1 Peter i. 18, 'Foras
much as you were redeemed not with corruptible things, from your
vain conversation,' &c.
2. It reproves them that think that every slight profession of the
name of God will serve the turn ; no, you must walk with God and
please God. We are mistaken in the business of pleasing God ; it
leaves a great burden of duty upon the creature ; it notes a universal
constant care to please God at all times and in all things ; it is resig
nation and giving up yourselves to the will of God: Eom. xii. 1, ' I
beseech you, brethren, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service/ Now
wordly men that have not God in all their thoughts, or else wholly
devote themselves to humour their own lusts, to please themselves and
to please the flesh, not to please the Lord, yet, because of some slight
acts of duty, they will foster and cherish great hopes in their bosoms.
Oh, consider, you that please the flesh and deny yourselves in no car
nal delight, you must look for your reward from the flesh. If you
have lived as those that would gratify yourselves in all your carnal
desires, you are not meet for heaven. Or else men will rest in this ;
they will please God where they do not displease themselves, or wrong
or endanger their own interest. Alas ! this is man-pleasing and walk
ing with mammon, not with God ; they mind duty only, as it lies in
mammon's road. Consider, walking with God is not a step or two
practising duty now and then ; but a ' walking worthy of the Lord,'
as the apostle saith, ' unto all well-pleasing,' Col. i. 10. It requires
much severity of life and solemn sequestration from the distractions
and pleasures of the world, a great deal of self-denial, and still wait
ing upon God in holy services. Now, men that are only varnished
over with the general name of Christians are far from this. Oh, consider,
what God is, and what you expect from him, and what in reason is
suitable hereunto ! God will not be put off with anything ; you are
'to walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and
glory,' 1 Thes. ii. 12. Oh, but we cannot endure to hear of such strict
ness, and think it is rank puritanism. But do you know that God is
a great king, and will not be served with what costs you nought,
you that wipe your mouths, and think sins are but petty slips and
small escapes ; that God's patience will suffer all and his grace pardon
all ; that no man can be perfect ; that the purest saints have fallen into
as great faults ; and that you shall do well enough, though you be not
so strict and so nice ? Oh no, it cannot be ; these are vain thoughts
spider's webs, sorry fig-leaves, sandy foundations ; all these notions
the scripture useth in this case. Our presumption of the end is upheld
by our presumption of the means ; it is not presumption simply to
think you shall be saved, but to make every slight act a ground of hope,
have no solid grounds of assurance, but usually make up in the
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 6D
strength of persuasion what is wanting in the grounds and warrant of
it, as if bold-faced confidence would serve instead of duty.
3. It reproves those that would please God, but with a limitation
and reservation so far as they may not displease men, or displease the
flesh. Oh, if you please God, it requireth a solemn sequestration for
his use, much self-denial. ' to be followers of them, who through faith
and patience inherit the promises,' Heb. vi. 12. There is none went
to heaven but one time or another they were sorely put to it ; and God
will try whose interest is greater in us ; the fleshly interest or his
interest, whether sensible things have a greater hand and power over
us, or his promises : the best have need to look how they acquit them
selves upon trial.
4. It reproves those that adjourn and put off' the work of religion
from time to time, till they have lost all time ; that use to put off God
to the troubles of sickness or the aches of old age. It is Satan's great
artifice to cheat men of the present season by future promises. Oh,
consider, the work is great, and life is short ! If we did live as many
years as days, or as many years as there be days in the year, as Enoch
did, yet there would be enough to take up our time. The journey to
heaven is long, and we have but little time ; we can never outgrow our
duty ; still there would be room for abounding in the work of the Lord.
Consider again, no season can be fitter than the present time. But
still we want something ; in youth we want wisdom ; and in age we
want vigour and strength ; and, besides, it is very uncertain whether
God will give us another opportunity. We have not a lease of to
morrow ; if we had, it is doubtful whether ever we shall have a heart
to make use of it. We cannot presume of our own hearts, because
grace is not in our own power ; we cannot presume on God's mercy,
for he hath made no absolute promise ; we cannot presume of any
singular efficacy that will be in old age or in death, because moral
means do not work without special grace. Although we see we are
declining every day, yet we are as the bad thief who had one foot in
hell ; yet he mocks and scoffs at Jesus Christ, and dies blaspheming;
nay, we have shrewd presumptions of the contrary, because there will
be a greater disability either in respect of ourselves or grace and use
makes our hearts readier to sin ; and by long continuance the habit of dis
pleasing God will be strengthened. Satan is never more busy than when
life draweth to an end, and thou hast never less strength to resist him.
Long use makes your hearts obdurate, and long resistance will grieve
the Spirit of God, and sins of an unregenerate life will make death
more terrible : and therefore do not adjourn and put off God. Certainly
when a man is unfit for every common secular employment, he is much
more for spiritual ; the trouble of pains and aches, and decay of spirit,
and the diversion of business, and the importunity of Satan's tempta
tions, these things should put us upon taking hold of the present
season. It is to be suspected, when we will not leave our sins till we
leave our lives, how shall we then distinguish nature from grace ? or
that it is more than natural affrightment, arising from the sense of
disease and pain, or natural desires of happiness ? And besides, the
invitations of scripture call for a present obedience, a yielding up
ourselves, not upon force, as when we come to die ; but they call for
7() SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXIII.
willing and ready obedience : Heb. iii. 13, 'While it is called to-day;'
and Eccles. xii. 1, ' Kemember thy Creator in the days of thy youth : '
in thy young and flowery age, when thou mayest more glorify G-od.
And then we do not know how long the day of grace will continue ;
the day of grace is not always as long as a man's life: the Lord
may pass the sentence of obduration and final hardness upon us.
Alas ! corruptions will grow upon us, and carnal desires grow up
with us, and our affections grow more stiff and hardened every
day, as letters in. the bark of a tree. Consider, a man cannot
come soon enough into the arms of mercy, nor soon enough out
of Satan's power ; a man can never too soon begin his journey
towards heaven. If you did but mind your salvation in earnest, you
would be more in haste. The heirs of promise are described to be
' those that fly for refuge, to lay hold upon the hope set before them,'
Heb. vi. 18 ; there is an avenger of blood at their heels, they see wrath
pursues after them ; therefore they fly for refuge. And consider again,
there is little love of God showed in this, that you repent only when
you can sin no longer; when you can be content God should be dis
honoured for a long time, provided that at length you should be saved.
Oh, do but consider what an ill requital you make to the Lord for his
purposes of grace towards you ! he thought of us before there was
hill or mountain. As long as God is God, he is the God of the elect:
Ps. ciii. 17, ' From everlasting to everlasting thy loving-kindness is to
them that fear thee.' If God hath loved us from one eternity to another,
what ingratitude is this to confine him to the odd corner of our lives,
to the aches and phlegm of old age ! Again, it is a great honour to seek
the Lord betimes. Mnasori is famous for this in scripture, because he was
' an old disciple : ' and the apostle speaks of Andronicus and Junia,
* who were in Christ before me,' Eom. xvi. 7 sooner than me in grace.
It is a mighty privilege to be in Christ before others.
Use 2. If there be no hope of living with God without pleasing
God, oh, then make it the aim and scope of your lives to please the
Lord I You that have already given up yourselves to the will of God
had need to be quickened again and again to make good your resolu
tion. See how earnestly the apostle speaks : 1 Thes. iv. 1, 'We beseech
and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us, how
you ought to walk, and to please God, so ye would abound more and
more.' This is the work and business of your lives, to keep company
with God, to enjoy him in a gracious communion. Take a direction
or two what you shall do ; take the commandment for your rule ; take
the promises for your encouragement ; and make the glory of God your
great aim. Look to the commands that you do not err ; look to the
promises that you may not be disconsolate ; look to the glory of God
that you may be sincere, and keep on in an even course of holiness.
1. Look to the commandments as your rule : Micah vi. 8, ' He
hath showed thee, man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord
require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with thy God?' God hath told you what will please him. Because
the characters that are engraven upon your hearts are blurred, and a
man can hardly read them ; therefore God hath given us his word, and
there are his decrees and ordinances of judgment and justice recorded
VER. 5.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 71
how lie governs the world. A man is pleased when we do his will ;
God's will is in his word. God will accept of nothing but what he hath
required, otherwise we walk at random. I shall not unravel the
decalogue ; a short summary is useful to us. It is good to have all
Christian obedience summed up into brief heads. Sometimes the will
of God is summed up in one word, sometimes in two, sometimes in
three ; the apostle sums it up in one word :. 1 Thes. iv. 3, ' This is the
will of God, even your sanctification,' that you should grow more holy
and holy every day ; so Gal. v. 14, ' The law is fulfilled in one word,
even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' Sometimes the
scripture doth sum up all Christian obedience into two heads, as all sins
by the apostle are referred unto two heads : Rom. i. 18, there are the
breaches of God's will, ' unrighteousness and ungodliness;' so the great
things required are holiness, or godliness and righteousness, the exercise
of religion, and a civil honest conversation : Luke i. 74, 75, ' That we
should serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before
him, all the days of our life.' Sometimes the Spirit of God abridgeth
all duty into three heads. Titus ii. 12, would you please God and
walk with God ; there is the sum of all ; to live ' soberly ' with respect
to ourselves, ' righteously ' in respect of others, and ' godly ' with
respect to the Lord himself: 'soberly 'in opposition to the lusts of
the flesh. You should make straight steps to your feet ; there is need
of a great deal of severity ; all your affections should be under a
prudent coercion and restraint. There is too great a wantonness in
professors. Men justify sensuality, and call it living to the height of
the creature ; the apostle taxeth such, Jude 19, ' Sensual, having not
the Spirit.' They pretend to a special singularity of having the Spirit,
yet walk to the utmost of Christian liberty, yea, and many times exceed
their bounds, burden their souls with excesses ; therefore you should
walk soberly, take all the creatures with thanksgiving, and use them
as medicines to repair nature when it is tired with services, not as fuel
to brutish lusts. Then the will of God is, that you should walk
* righteously.' Oh, the sadness of the fraud, oppression, and seeking to
aspire and domineer by faction that is among professors ! Now you
are to walk righteously ; that is, not only not to snatch from others, but
to give of your own, to give and forgive. As you are not to take from
others by hooking-in their estates by violent oppressions, so you should
also lay out yourselves and part with your worldly comforts for the
glory of God and necessities of the saints ; you should walk with holy
meekness and patience, not returning injury for injury. The next is
'godliness; ' you should give God his portion, and bewail it that you
have so often denied it him. If our bodies be but defrauded of a
night's sleep, we are troubled and complain ; if we feel the pain of
hunger, we complain. Oh, do not neglect God and your precious souls 1
I remember St Bernard hath a pretty note of Martha's complaining
of Mary, that she sat at Jesus' feet, while herself was employed in all
the business of the family. Oh, saith St Bernard, ' That is a happy
family where Martha complains of Mary ! ' Oh, how few families do
thus complain ! The world eats up our time, our care, and our
thoughts, and God hath but little share, little worship, and little
reverence.
72 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXIV.
2. Let the promises of God be your encouragement. All the
sweet thoughts of a Christian arise from the ample and gracious thoughts
of God, expressed in the promises : Ps. xciv. 19, ' In the multitude of
my thoughts within me (saith David) thy comforts delight my soul ; '
when his thoughts were interwoven and intricated like the boughs of
a tree. It is good to see that you fetch all your comforts and encour
agements from God's promises, and not from carnal hopes : 2 Cor. v.
7, ' We walk by faith, not by sight.' This is to live by faith, to have
recourse to the promises of a better life, when we have any burden
upon us. A Christian's comforts all lie within the veil ; they are not
taken from visible enjoyments or carnal hopes ; the promises of God
are his enjoyment.
3. You should make the glory of God your chiefest end, or you
will be very irregular, and cannot keep pace with God in a constant
course of duty. Look, as a man that hath a nail In his foot may walk
in soft ground, but when he comes to hard ground he is soon turned
out of the way, so when a man hath a perverse aim, he will soon be
discouraged with the inconveniences that will trouble him in religion.
The spiritual life is called 'a living to God,' Gal. ii. 19. The end
must be right, otherwise the conversation will be but a vain pretence,
that will please men, but not God : Prov. xvi. 2, ' All the ways of a
man are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits.' The
chiefest thing God puts into the balance is the temper of the mind,
the bent of the heart ; what you are moved by, and what sways you.
Therefore your chiefest care must be to set the heart right in all actions,
those that are of the most trivial concernment ; in the use of our Chris
tian liberty, the necessary actions of our life ; in our duties : 1 Cor. x.
31, ' Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory
of God.' This must be the bias upon the Christian spirit, that he
may be led on with a constant respect to the Lord's glory ; as we act
from him, so we should act for him and more to him a by-end will
make you eccentrical in your motions.
SERMON XXIV.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh
to God must believe that he is, and that he is a reivarder of them
that diligently seek him. HEB. xi. 6.
THE Apostle had spoken of Enoch's translation as a consequent of his
pleasing God, and upon the supposition of his pleasing God he proves
his faith. The reason is rendered in this verse, because ' Without faith,
it is impossible to please God ; for he that cometh to God/ &c. In the
words there are two general parts
1. A i proposition Without faith it is impossible to please God.
e 2. I he reason of it For he that cometh to God must believe that God
is, and that he is a reiuarder of them that diligently seek him.
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 73
To begin with the proposition ' Without faith it is impossible to
please God.' which, being a formal doctrine of itself, I shall use this
method
1. Explain the words.
2. Give the necessary inferences and corollaries, both doctrinal and
practical, that may be gathered hence.
First, For the explication, ' without faith ; ' that is, without saving
and justifying faith, without faith in the Messiah. I prove it, because
that is the faith spoken of in the context ; it is the drift of the apostle
to prove that the elders, the fathers of the old testament, were saved by
the same faith that we are. Again, this kind of faith is expressed in
the following words in ' coming' and ' seeking ; ' he that ' cometh to
God,' and that diligently ' seeks him/ Again, we cannot conceive God
to be a rewarder out of Christ : guilty nature presageth nothing but
evil. The apostle speaks of the gentiles, Rom. i. 32, ' That they know
the judgment of God, that they that commit such things are worthy of
death.' You can look for nothing but death by God's justice without
a Christ and a mediator ; but because this is a weighty matter, and the
apostle seemeth to make the catechism or summary of necessary points
very short ; for he mentions only two articles God's being and God's
bounty his essence and his reward, without any mention of Christ, as
if this were enough to please God, or enough for acceptance to salva
tion ; therefore I shall discuss and examine the matter. Many in
these last times of the gospel are weary of the Christian profession, and
are ready to revolt into libertinism and atheism, as if nothing was neces
sary to please God but a general faith in his being ; and therefore I shall
1. Prove that this general faith is not enough.
2. Show what is the scope of the apostle, and why he mentions only
God's being and bounty.
3. Show how the place is to be explained.
1. That this general faith is not enough ; for two reasons
[1.] Partly because more is elsewhere required : John xvii. 3, ' This
is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent.' This and nothing else is eternal life ; that is, the
means or way to life eternal.
The knowledge of Christ is every way made as necessary to salvation
as the knowledge of God, for indeed without Christ we can never come
to enjoy God. There is a great gulf betwixt him and us ; all gracious
commerce is broken off between God and the fallen creature, and there
fore, John xiv. 6, ' No man can come to the Father but by me.' In the
fallen estate of man there is need of a mediator. Man in. innocency
might immediately converse with God ; God loved his own image in
Adam ; and what could a just and holy man fear from a just and holy
God ? But now of God's creatures we are made his prisoners; we can
expect nothing from his mercy, because he is just ; and therefore if the
creature would have comfort, another principle must be taken in ; we
must not only know God to be the true God, but Jesus Christ whom
he hath sent. The great inquiry of the whole world is, wherewith shall
I please God ? Micah vi. 8, ' Wherewith shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before the high God ?' How shall he give his justice
content and satisfaction ? Solomon saith, that when man had lost his
74 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXIV.
innocency, he was full of inventions : Eccl. vii. 29, ' God hath made man
upright, but they have sought out many inventions.' Man at first had
wisdom and light enough to guide him to happiness, but ever since we
have been given to roving and fond counsels, and we seek here and there
how to return to that happiness we had lost. But among all the inven
tions of man he never found out a sufficient ransom to expiate sin, to
reconcile us to God, to sanctify human nature, that we may again hold
commerce with heaven ; so that there is somewhat more required than
a sight of a divine essence, and a general belief of his rewards ; even
the knowledge of Christ, without whom there is no salvation.
[2.] Partly because many that never pleased God may go so far ; as
the devils that are condemned to everlasting chains of darkness, and
the heathens that are altogether ignorant of Christ, and carnal chris-
tiansthat never felt the saving efficacy of his grace. The devils believe
God's essence and his everlasting recompenses. His essence : James ii.
19, ' Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well ; the devils
also believe and tremble.' The devils themselves are under the awe and
dread of this truth. There may be atheists in the world, but there are
none in hell ; the devils believe there is a God, and they could never
exempt and free themselves from the horror and thought of it. So
they believe his recompenses: Mat. viii. 29, 'What have we to do with
thee, Jesus, thou son of God ? art thou come hither to torment us before
the time ? ' The devils have some sense of the day of judgment, though
they cannot hope for any release, and can look for nothing but an increase
of torment ; yet they know there is a time coming, and they tremble
for the present at the thought of it. So for heathens ; they believe
that God is, and that there are some rewards ; though their belief of these
things be very weak and imperfect, and mingled with falsities and absurd
conceits of their own, yet they had some knowledge of the reward of
virtue. Epictetus requireth two things that are necessary to piety
opdas v7ro\ij^lfL^ irepl Qewv e^eiv, &><? OVTCOV, Kal &IKOVVTWV ra o\a ica-
Aw? teal SiKato)? That we should conceive of the gods, first as being, then
as guiding all things with goodness and justice. So Julian saith, That the
very barbarians did affirm that there was a God, and that he had a care of
all human affairs, to reward what was good, and to punish what was
evil. And Seneca Primus est deorum cultus deos credere, deinde
reddere illis majestatem suam, et reddere bonitatem, sine qua nulla
majeslas. The first thing that we must do is to believe there are gods,
then acknowledge their majesty and power, then their goodness,
without which all religion would perish. And Plutarch ov yap
addvarov jcal p,aKdpiov povov d\\a KOI 4>iXdvOpo)7rov real ax]>e\ifj,ov
dvayvaxTKeiv xprj TOV cbv. It is necessary ,if we would begodly, that we
should not only believe there is a God, immortal and happy, but that he is
a lover of men, if we exercise ourselves in virtuous things. I might produce
many instances in this kind ; but I forbear, lest it should seem to savour
of affectation and blustering in an unknown language. So for carnal
men, where the sound of the gospel hath come, those that have not
a dram of grace, they have this general faith, that God is, and that God
s a rewarder ; therefore this cannot be enough to please God, and to be
accepted to salvation to have such apprehensions. A man is not saved
l>y holding a right opinion of God. A man may be a Christian in opinion,
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBKEWS XL 75
and a pagan in life and practice ; we must make a particular applica
tion of those things, that so our own interest may be sure. When a
man is ready to perish and drown, it is not enough to see land, but he
must reach to it, and stand upon it, if he would be safe ; so we must
get an interest in God. The apostle requires 'coming and seeking' in
this place ; ' coming ' implies desire of communion with him, and ' seek
ing/ a diligent use of the means that we may enjoy him. There must
be an application of those things to a practical end, else the general
notion and opinion will do us no good.
2. The scope of the apostle is not to set down the whole object of
faith, but the first foundation namely, what faith is absolutely neces
sary, and previous either to the seeking of the favour of God or any
act of obedience ; for unless we do believe that there is a divine power,
and that there are recompenses appointed to encourage the duty of the
creature, all religion would be but a dead custom, and would be soon
abolished. Therefore, I suppose, the apostle, to prove his argument
with more advantage, proceedeth, ex concessis, from things that common
reason will grant to be necessary to every good action. He instanceth
in the principal radical truths, which are the foundation of all religion,
that there is a God, and that this God will reward all virtue ; there is
a God all-sufficient, and he will be good to the creature.
3. These two articles must be enlarged and explained according
to the analogy of faith and the declaration which God luith made of
his will in the gospel ; all breviates, wherein religion is reduced to a
few heads, must still be explained according to the extent of the rule
of faith. Look, as in the commandments, where all moral duties are
reduced to ten words; so in the summaries of the gospel, those things
must be explained by the extent of the rule of faith ; for instance, in
the first article, ' He that cometh to God must believe that he is; ' that
is, he is as he hath revealed himself, one in three persons ; for otherwise
we worship an idol, and not that which is God. We form an idol
when we think of God out of the trinity ; therefore we must believe
that he is in that manner as he hath revealed himself in the scripture.
So for the other article, ' That God is a rewarder ; ' that is in the way
that God hath revealed himself according to the tenor of the covenant
of grace ; that he is a rewarder in and through Christ as mediator ;
that he will give us all the blessings of the covenant, justification and
remission of sins, as the pawn of glory, and sanctification as the beginning
of glory ; and then glory itself as the perfection of all ; and all these
things in and through Christ. It is true, in innocency there were but
two things to be believed ; that God is, and that God is a rewarder.
But now, after the fall, both before and after the law, the catechism
was enlarged, and we have to look not only to our creator, but to our
saviour, the mediator ; but after Christ's coming the will of God is
more explained, and our belief is required to be more explicit.
' It is impossible ; ' not in regard of the absolute dominion and sove
reignty of God he might have taken another course of salvation but
in regard to his will, and the course into which our salvation is stated
and disposed. God can save a man without faith, as, saith Mr Perkins,
he can enlighten the world without the sun ; but this is the way which,
in wisdom and justice, he hath found out. God's will is the supreme
76 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XXIV.
rule ; and as God hath ordered the way by which he will bring creatures
to happiness, so ex hypothesi, it is impossible ever to be accepted of
God without Christ.
' To please God ; ' what is that ? In the former verse I told yon
what is in Gen. v. 24, ' Enoch walked with God ; ' it is in the Septuagint,
Enoch pleased God. Walking with God notes obedience, and pleasing
of God the success of obedience. To please God here is to be accepted
in any act of duty and obedience ; to be accepted to life as conformable
to God's will. Now it is impossible we should be thus accepted with
out faith in Jesus Christ. Thus I have opened the propositions.
Secondly, I come to the inferences that may be drawn from hence ;
some are doctrinal, some of practical consideration.
First, It is impossible to be saved without true faith in Jesus Christ ;
or, that there is no religion but that which teacheth rightly to believe
in Christ, that can be looked upon as a way of salvation. Jews and
Turks and infidels can never please God, nor be accepted to life,
because they have no faith. There are many that say that every.man shall
be saved in his own religion Turks, Jews, heathens if they be true
to their principles and devout in their own religion. Syinmachus, a
wicked heathen pleading for paganism against the Christians, and for
the ancient worship of the gods, saith thus, ^Equum est quicquid omnes
colunt, unwnpatetur, eadem spectamus astra, commune ccelum est, idem
nos mundus involvat; quid interest quod quisque sua prudentia verum
inquirat ? Uno itinere non potest perveniri ad tarn grande secretum.
It is but equal, that though we take several ways, yet we should live
together, as those that agree in the same worship. We behold the
same stars, and we hope for the same heaven, and we live upon the
same earth, what matter in what kind of way we seek out the truth.
This opinion layeth a foundation for atheism and libertinism, and doth
much take off from our thankfulness that we owe to God for that
excellent treasure which he hath opened to the church in the scriptures ;
so that they which plead for the heathens had need look to themselves,
lest they themselves are not found Christians. Clear it is, if we will
hearken to what is revealed, that there is no salvation in any other but
in Christ, Acts iv. 12. God hath acquainted the creature with no
other way how we may come to life. Now, the heathens had no know
ledge of Christ ; they had only some general knowledge of a divine
power, they had TO ^vwcrrov 0eou 'That which may be known of God/
Rom. i. 19 : some general notice of a divine being, which served to
leave them without excuse, but not to save them. It is true, they
might by the creation understand God's eternity and power attributes
that are obvious, but more terrible than comfortable to sinners but
for any knowledge of Christ, they could have none. Sun and moon
could not preach Christ, though they might preach a God ; but the
way of salvation by Christ, the very angels come to know by the church :
Eph. iii. 10, ' To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers
in heavenly places, might be known by the church, the manifold
wisdom of God.' Christ, then, they knew not ; and without Christ
there is no salvation.
Many objections are against this
Obj. 1. Say they, it is true ; they cannot be saved without Christ ;
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 77
but they are saved by Christ, though they have no knowledge of him ;
as Peter was delivered by the angel out of prison before he wist who
it was, Acts xii. 9. 10 ; so they feel themselves to be saved before they
know their saviour.
Ans. The apostle saith, ' Without faith it is impossible to please
God.' He doth not only say without Christ, but without faith ; so
that not only the benefit of Christ is established in this doctrine, but
the necessity of faith : so John xvii. 3, ' This is life eternal to know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
As none can be saved without Christ, so none can have benefit by
Christ, but those that know him, and that believe in him.
Obj. 2. But say they, by some extraordinary ways God might reveal
himself and discover Jesus Christ to them.
Ans. This we cannot judge ; we are to keep to the rule. Only let
me hint that the ground of this conceit is naught ; that because the
heathens had many moral virtues, therefore they think God was bound
to reveal Christ to them, they having so far improved nature. This is
again a falsehood, because those things which do not come from faith,
and were not done for the glory of God, were not accepted with God ;
they were but sins set off with the fairer lustre and varnish ; and the
only privilege they could have by that was ut mitius ardeant, that
they may have a cooler hell.
Obj. 3. It is said of divers, they were persons devout and feared God
before ever they had any knowledge of Christ ; as Acts xvi. 14, ' A
certain woman which worshipped God, heard us ; ' so it is said, Acts
ii. 5, ' There were dwelling at Jerusalem devout men, out of every
nation under heaven,' that were not as yet Christians ; but they repented,
and were converted by the sermon of Peter. So Acts x. 2, ' Cornelius
was a devout man that feared God with all his house ; and ver. 34,
35, it is said, ' God is not a respecter of persons, but in every nation
he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with
him/
Ans. These places do either speak of a natural devotion, which may
arise merely from the instinct of conscience, therefore our translation
useth the expression ' devout,' not ' religious ; ' or, they speak of prose
lytes that did actually profess the Jewish worship, or were acquainted
with it, though they did not join with them, as many of the Romans
did, though they were not actually circumcised. In Acts, chap, xvi.,
where Lydia is said ' to worship God/ it is meant only out of blind
instinct of conscience ; in the second of the Acts, it is spoken there of
Jewish proselytes that came up to Jerusalem to worship at the feast.
Concerning Cornelius, though he were not a professed proselyte, yet
he was acquainted with the doctrine of the Jews, and had some know
ledge of God. Such an one was the eunuch, Acts viii. They knew and
feared the true and living God, and had faith in the Messiah to come,
though they had not faith concerning the person of Christ ; they
expected the redemption of Israel, upon which faith, being drawn out
into acts of obedience, they were accepted of God, as the patriarchs
were that did believe in the Messiah to come. As to Cornelius, it is
clear he was exactly religious ; he was already converted by being
acquainted with the Jewish doctrine concerning God and the Messiah ;
his prayers and alms came up before God. Now God heareth not sin-
78 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXIV.
ners ; and for that general conclusion in Acts x. 34, ' Whosoever fear-
eth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him.' I answer,
righteousness is there taken for any conformity to the will of God,
revealed either in the law or gospel. He that renounceth his own
righteousness, and casteth himself upon the merits of Christ in the
sense of the gospel, is a worker of righteousness, a.nd God will accept
of him of whatever nation he be. The expression showeth that all
distinctions are taken away, and the pale of grace is enlarged.
Obj. 4. If God will not accept the gentiles without faith in Christ,
then he requires that which is impossible ; there being no revelation
of Christ made to them, and they having in Adam not so much as a
power to believe in Christ ; for if he had not sinned he had no need of
a mediator ; and, therefore, how can the Lord require faith of them
for their acceptation to life ?
Ans. 1. At the last day the gentiles shall not be responsible for
want of faith in Christ, but for not keeping the moral law which was
written upon their hearts, and for not obeying the dictates of their own
consciences, as the apostle proves at large : Rom. ii. 12.-14, ' As many
as have sinned without law. shall also perish without law,' &c ; for
God deals with men according to the measure of their light, and in
the process of the last day he will call the heathens to an account for
not living according to the dictates of reason and conscience : God
will exact no more than he gives. It is true, he doth not give them
further means ; but that is not their sin, but their infelicity and punish
ment for their sin, though they can never be accepted without Christ.
2. For what we received in Adam, I answer, Though Adam was not
bound to believe in Christ, yet he had a power of believing all that
was revealed of God, as he that is fallen blind had a power of seeing
the house afterward built.
Use. To apply this first inference. If there be no way of life, no
doctrine of salvation but only the Christian religion, that which holds
forth God in Christ, then
1. It presseth us to bless God for the knowledge of the gospel.
Oh, how many thousands in the world are there that are as sheep,
whom no man taketh up, but are spilt upon the great common of the
world, and left to the process of divine justice. Let us bless God for
our privileges, that we have such fair advantages ; certainly if we look
to the hole of the pit out of which we were digged, we were as bad as
others. The old Britons worshipped the most monstrous and mis
shapen idols ; this was our original in the day that God looked upon
us. If we abuse our privileges, and be unthankful for the light of the
gospel, he may return us again to our old barbarism. The Lord
threatened Israel : Hosea ii. 3, ' I will strip her naked, and set her as
in the day that she was born.' The Lord may strip us naked, and
take away all our spiritual favours ; and while we run after new lights,
the Lord may remove the old light from us. We are afraid of popery ;
this is not altogether so bad as atheism ; therefore let us be thankful
and careful to improve those advantages God hath put into our hands.
We cannot be thankful enough for the knowledge of God in Jesus
Christ, it is a great mystery, not only pleasing to the thoughts, but
healing to the soul. The Lord is angry with the gentiles, and hath
brought many judgments on them for putting the finger in nature's
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 70
eye. Oh, what will be our misery for quenching or slighting the light
of the gospel, and the excellent revelation God hath made to us of
Christ. The heathens had some obscure knowledge of God, but we
have the revelation of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
By their own consciences they knew the moral law ; God offered terms
of duty to them, but he offers terms of salvation and grace to us.
2. It presseth us to prize orthodoxism, and, above all things, look
to this, to be right in point of belief. Every man shall not be saved
in every persuasion, nay, though they do in general acknowledge
Christ. There are a sort of libertines risen up, that think the differ
ences and controversies in Christendom with Socinians and Arminians
are but vain and frivolous, and that a loose belief of God and Christ is
enough. If this general faith be enough, then why hath God revealed
so many things to us, and given us a more ample rule, if with safety
to salvation we may be ignorant of them ? Why hath he appointed
us to contend for the faith of the saints, and for the truth that is
revealed in the scripture ? as whether you are redeemed with a satis
faction, or whether you are justified by his righteousness or works ? It
is no matter, say they, for these lesser explications. Such men seem to
tax the scriptures, that they have redundancies and superfluous doc
trines, and they seem to tax the holy apostles of rash zeal, when they
disputed so earnestly for the faith of the saints ; as Paul against jus
ticiaries for the righteousness of faith, and James against antinomians
and libertines for care of good works. And they tax the holy mar
tyrs of folly, that they would shed their blood for less concerning articles ;
so all be resolved into Christ. Men think this is enough. Men need
not inquire into the manner of the application of his righteousness, the
efficacy of his price, the merit of his passion, as if it were enough to
hold a few generals, and the more implicit our faith is the better ;
whereas, the Lord would have us to abound in knowledge, and to have
the word dwell in us richly.
What articles are absolutely necessary to salvation will be hard to
define and determine, and what that measure of faith is without which
we cannot please God. And I know not by what rule to proceed ; if
we should make it too large, it would be a ground of ignorance and
laziness ; if we make it too strict, it would be aground of uncharitable-
ness to them that labour under invincible prejudices. Only that you.
may not be loose in this matter, take a few rules.
[1.] The foundations of religion are God and Christ, and they must
be held with great certainty : John xvii. 3, ' This is life eternal to know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.' We
cannot be saved unless we hold one God in three persons, and Jesus
Christ as mediator. These are the supreme truths that are clearly
revealed and propounded to our faith. But now for practical truths ;
for the way of enjoying God and Christ, they are revealed in other
texts : John xvi. 8, ' When the comforter shall come, he shall convince
the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.' This is the doc
trine the Spirit teacheth in the church, to convince of sin, and the
curse that remains upon man while he is under the power of nature ;
of ' righteousness/ of the sufficient satisfaction of the Lord Jesus
Christ, of judgment and holiness. It is very dangerous to hearken to
80 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SlCR. XXIV.
those that lessen the misery of nature, or the merit and satisfaction of
Christ, or the care of good works ; all such opinions are irreconcileable
to the covenant of grace, and overturn the main pillars upon which
salvation stands. When men advance nature or depress Christ, or
decry good works, as long as they live according to their principles,
they can never be saved.
[2.] We must be earnest concerning the particular explication
of those truths, as they are delivered in scripture. Every piece
and parcel of truth is precious, and a little leaven of error is danger
ous. The apostle, speaking of error, saith, Gal. v. 9, 'A little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump.' He speaks there of errors in matters
of justification, which of all matters of religion is most nice and
delicate; error fretteth like a gangrene, till it eateth out the heart
of religion. Men think it is enough to be careful of fundamentals
and that all other knowledge is scientia oblectans ; only a know
ledge for delight, and not safety. Oh ! consider it is very dangerous
to err in the particular explication of those doctrines ; to stain
the understanding, though we do not wound it. I confess there
are some truths of lesser importance ; there are maculce et vulnera
intellectus the spots of the understanding as well as the wounds of it.
Now it is dangerous to be wanton in opinions that seem to be of a
smaller concernment. Men that play with truth, they run themselves
into a snare ; and though they err but in a small matter, yet they are
liable to more insinuations. Some say fundamentals are few ; believe
them and live well, and then you shall be saved. This is as if a man
in a building should be only careful to lay a good foundation, no mat
ter for the roof, windows, or walls. If a man should come and untile
your house, and tell you Friend, I have left the foundation standing,
the main buttresses are safe ; you would not take it well. Why should
we be more careless in spiritual things ?
[3.] No lesser error, be it never so small, is to be held and kept up
out of interest, and against the conviction of conscience, because we
can plead there is salvation in that way. This is some men's first
inquiry, Is there salvation in such a way ? therefore let us not stay in
lesser errors. If they are held up against conscience, they are dam
nable ; for then they come under the notion of allowed known sins. To
hold up any lesser way merely out of interest, and not out of conscience,
it is very dangerous ; and it is an argument of an unsubdued will, or
that the heart is wedded to secular interest ; and it is a preferring the
favour of men before the favour of God, as our Lord saith, John xii.
43, ' They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God ; ' for
though there may be salvation in both those ways, yet you are to own
God in all his truths. Phil. iii. 15, the apostle speaks in the case of
circumcision and uncircumcision -' Let us therefore, as many as be
perfect, be thus minded ; and if in anything ye be otherwise minded,
God shall reveal even this unto you.' Circumcision and uncircum
cision are nothing in themselves, but much if they are held up for the
preservation of our interest, and merely that we may cleave to such a
party. And mark, it is all one whether there be a plenary conviction or
a secret fear or suspicion ; and we do not search, as many men are
afraid to search, lest truth should make against their interest. These
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 81
are those that Christ describes : John iii. 20. ' They will not come to
the light, lest their deeds should be reproved ; ' and ' they are willingly
ignorant,' 2 Peter iii. 5 ; when men labour for distinctions to daub over
the matter, and to hide the truth from conscience ; or when they are
unwilling to search, being afraid lest they should find it too soon. As
in practicals, a man is not willing to be informed what he should do
for good uses, and how strict he should be in his conversation, that he
may please himself in his carelessness ; this is a sign of an unsubdued
heart ; so in these cases, a man is willing to be ignorant ; they are
loath to be informed, and will not sift truth to the bottom, lest it may
intrench on his worldly conveniences ; usually in truths of the present
age, interests make the heart thus doubtful and suspensive. This is
the first instance which concerned heathens and aliens from the com
monwealth of Israel. You have seen there is no salvation in any way,
but only in that way which holds forth faith in Jesus Christ.
SERMON XXV.
But without faith, it is impossible to please him ; for he that cometfi
to God must believe that he is. and that he is a reiuarder of them
that diligently seek him. HEB. xi. 6.
SECONDLY. The second inference concerneth the children of believing
parents. If without faith it be impossible to please God, then children
must have some kind of faith, else they can never be accepted to life.
1 know that the apostle doth principally speak of adult or grown per
sons, men of age, such as come to God, and seek him: but though,
however, the rule is general, there is no salvation but by Christ, and
there is no way of salvation by Christ but by faith ; and by the analogy
of faith it concerns all that are accepted to salvation ; so that infants
come under the rule, therefore some kind of faith they must have. It
were uncharitable and contrary to the rich grace of the covenant to
deny salvation and eternal glory to infants. The scripture showeth,
that ' they are holy/ and dedicated to God, 1 Cor. vii. 14 ; and Christ
says, ' of such is the kingdom of God,' Mat. xix. 14. Now this faith of
infants is a matter very intricate and difficult. Several opinions there
have been about it. Origen held that infants were saved by virtue of
those good works, the faith and obedience which they yielded to God
in the bodies of other men before they were born, when their souls ani
mated other bodies. The Pelagians, against whom Austin disputes
hard, that infants were saved out of the foresight of those good works
which they would have performed, if God had suffered them to continue
in the world. Against this Austin disputes, proving every man is to be
judged, not according to what he would do, or might have done, but
' According to what he hath done in the body, whether good or bad/
2 Cor. v. 10. And if this pretence were allowable, and a ground of
salvation, then the men of Tyre and Sidon would be in a capacity of
VOL. XIV. F
82 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXY.
life -without repentance ; for if they had had the means, saith Christ,
' They would have repented long since,' Mat. xi. 21. Ambrose saith,
They" are saved by the faith of the church : Mark ii. 5, when Jesus saw
' their faith,' that is, the faith of the sick man that was healed of the
palsy, and of those that brought him. But that seemeth improper by
their being in the church ; they have a right to visible ordinances ; but
grace is God's gift, and must be dispensed in his way. Beza saith, They
are saved by the faith of their parents imputed to them. As they were
infected by the sin of Adam by natural generation ; so by virtue qf the
covenant of grace they are saved by the faith of their parents, but the
child is not concerned in the acts of the father.
It is true, the faith of the parents makes way for the interest of the
children in the covenant ; but every one is saved by his own faith
' The just shall live by his own faith,' Eom. i. 17- It is not in the power
of another to damn or save me; for the immediate parents are not
representatives and common persons, as Adam was. Though Adam
be a means to transfuse and bring sin, yet the faith of the parents could
not involve and put into a state of salvation and acceptance with God.
The Lutherans, they say, that children have an actual faith, though, say
they, the act be to us unconceivable. But this were to offer violence
not only to our reason, but our very senses. Children are everywhere
described to be those in scripture that ' Know not their right hand from
their left,' Jonah iv. ult. We see they have not the use of reason, there
fore they have no knowledge of Christ and the mysteries of religion, and
cannot have such an actual faith.
What faith, then, is left for infants, by virtue of which we may
establish their acceptation with God ? Some think that this question
is altogether unnecessary, and say, that the scriptures are so sparing
in this matter, that grown persons may be more careful of their own
faith rather than of the faith of infants, who must be left, say they, to
the free grace and pleasure of God. For my part I should think so
too, and should not start this controversy were it not already agitated ;
and were not the comfort of parents very much concerned in it, I
should leave them to the grace of God. But upon those reasons, I
think it necessary to be determined ; and I doubt not but it will make
much for the glory of God and your own consolation. What is then
to be said in this matter ?
1. Let it be premised, that the question is concerning the infants of
believing parents; as for others, we leave them to the judgment of
God. Some indeed think that all infants, as they perished in Adam,
without knowledge of him, so they are redeemed by Christ without
knowledge of Christ. As the Arminians say, that of infants there is
neither election nor reprobation, and that no infant can be condemned
for original_ sin ; both which assertions are false. For we find that the
predestination of God hath plainly made a difference between infant
and infant: Eom. ix. 11-13, 'The children being not yet born, and
having done neither good nor evil, that the purpose of God according
to election might stand, it was said, the elder shall serve the younger,
as it is said, Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated.' Jacob in
his mother's womb was in a state of election ; and it is notable, that
in many other places the scripture speaks as if God's decrees were
VER. 6.J SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. 83
dated from the womb and from the conception ; as Jer. i. 5, ' Before I
formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou earnest forth
out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and ordained thee a prophet to the
nations ; ' partly, because to sense that was the first time of our exist
ence ; and partly, because God's decrees do then begin to operate and
to bring forth. God doth, as it were, then say, This is a birth I must
look after ; this is an instrument whom I have pre-ordained to make
use of for special purpose. Man's ordination is at grown years, but
God's from all eternity. And because of the special care of providence,
it is said to begin then when the child is in the womb, Gal. i. 15, 16,
' When it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb, and
called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach
him among the heathen ; immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood.' The apostle mentions three things as the ground of his min
istry: God's pleasure, or everlasting counsel, his separation from his
mother's womb and actual calling. First. God determines from ever
lasting, and then the decree begins to break forth ; and there is a
special care of God about the birth, and afterward there is actual
calling. All this is brought to prove that even children before they
are born do not only fall under the care of providence, but under the
special notice of God's decrees ; and that other opinion, that none is
condemned for original sin, is also groundless and contrary to the
scripture ; for we read, Bph. ii. 3, ' That we were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others.' It is mercy, that God will say to any that
are in their blood and filthiness, Live. Who can quarrel with his
justice that he should damn any, though he see nothing but original
pollution in them ? Among men we crush the serpent's eggs before
the serpents be grown ; and might not God destroy us for our birth-
sin ? I confess some among the orthodox think, that all infants that
die in infancy belong to God's election ; so Junius, and so Mr Fox,
upon Eev. vii. 9, where there is a distinction between the sealed and
unsealed, which he applies to unbaptized infants both in or out of the
church. But I answer, as for those that are born out of the church,
we have no warrant to judge them, as the apostle saith, in somewhat a
like case, 1 Cor. v. 12, 'AVhat have I to do to judge them that are
without ? ' So what have we to do with them that are without ? God's
judgments are to be adored rather than curiously searched into ; yet
this is manifest by the whole current and drift of scripture, that there
is a great deal of difference between those that are born in and those
that are born out of the covenant. It is said to believing parents,
'The promise is unto you, and unto your children,' Acts ii. 39. I
cannot apply that comfort to infidels. And those that are born within
the pale are called ' children of the covenant,' Acts iii. 25. Those that
are born without the pale of grace, are counted unclean ; but others,
holy, dedicated to God : 1 Cor. vii. 14, ' Else were your children unclean,
but now are they holy ; ' so that there is a difference between infant
and infant, The children of unbelieving parents are plainly asserted
by the apostle to be unclean ; we cannot have such comfortable hopes of
them, and cannot say they are saved ; therefore we must leave them to
God's judgment. The question at present is of the children of the cove
nant, and those that are born within the pale of grace. And therefore
8-1
SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SfiB, XXV.
2 Of those children dying in infancy, I assert, that they have faith
not actual faith, but the 'seed of faith, by virtue of Gods election and
his grace issuing out to them through Christ in the covenant which I
shaff confirm by showing-(L) That it may be so ; (2.) 1 ha tit m ust
be so- (3) That it is even so ; (4.) How it is so, or what kind ot iaitn
they have : which things being cleared, the way to application will be
/}O QV"
fl 1 That it may be so, because the only prejudice against this
opinion seemeth to arise from the impossibility of the thing ; and the
Socinians that bring down all things to the line and rule of corrupt
reason, count the faith of infants a thing so impossible, that they say it
is a greater dotage than the dream of a man in a fever ; therefore my
first work is to prove that they are capable of faith. Certainly, totally
incapable they are not, like stocks and stones, and things without life;
and yet out of these God can raise up children to Abraham. Nor
altogether as incapable as the younglings of beasts, because the per
fection of their life is only sense and natural instinct, whereas children
have reason. Now reason is in a nearer propinquity to grace than
sense, therefore utterly incapable they are not, as stones, or as brute
creatures are.
But to come more closely. The only reason why they are said to be
incapable of faith is, because they cannot exercise it. Now, that they
nre not incapable of faith, though they cannot exercise _ it, I shall
prove by several instances. This supposition will seem to infer that it
may be so. If infants had been born of Adam in innocency, they had
been capable of original purity and of the principle and root of all
faith, and assent to the word of God would, naturally have been in
them, which in time, and according to the degrees of age, would have
put forth itself. Infants in their measure should have been as Christ
was. As soon as he was born, he was rilled with the Holy Ghost, yet
he grew in wisdom and knowledge, Luke ii. 40-52, The graces of
the Holy Ghost did exert and put forth them selves in Christ by degrees.
Now this, according to their measure, would have been the condition
of infants born of Adam, if he had stood in innocency ; therefore there
is no repugnancy, but that by a supernatural work the seed and root of
grace may be in them. I say, it is no more inconceivable than the
original purity of infants, if they had stood in Adam. And I shall
show you by another instance. Take nature as it is now corrupted ; if
they are capable of sin by nature, why not of grace, by a work of the
Spirit of God above nature ? Now we see that they are capable of the
root of sin, which lies hid in infants, and bewrayeth itself in time ; and
if they are capable of sin, which is one habit, why are they not capable
of grace, if the Spirit of God will work it, which is another habit ?
They are sinners not by any act of their own, but by an hereditary
habit, or vicious nature received from Adam, though not exerting and
putting forth itself by any act. So they may have grace, though not
exerting and discovering itself by any acts yet lying hid and shut up
in the habitual principle of grace. As they are defiled by the sin of
Adam, though they be not capable to understand it, so they may be
sanctified by the Spirit of Christ, though they be not sensible of the
merit of Christ, nor capable of understanding the way and the work
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 85
of redemption. To take off the prejudice of incapacity, take some
resemblances of it in common things. We see that infants are capable
of reason, though not of discourse; they are rational creatures. In
fants have reason and understanding, though it lie hid for a while.
The whelp of the wolf has a principle of rapacity, which discovers it
self afterward. The vital and vegetative force in any plant lies hid in
the seed and root, which to appearance is dead and dry, and afterwards
plainly discovers and puts it forth ; so infants, though they have no
actual sense and knowledge of the redemption of Christ, yet they may
have some impressions of the divine image upon their souls, which in
time shows itself by light in the understanding, by purity in the heart,
and by conformity in the life to the law of God. Again, that it is not
impossible appears by those expressions in scripture, where some are
said to be sanctified from the womb ; as of John Baptist, it is said,
' He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb/
Luke i. 15. Grant it to be a peculiar privilege of John, but it is not
so in all elect infants; yet it may be so. So those expressions of
trusting God from the mother's womb, David speaks it of his own
person, as a type of Christ : Ps. xxii. 9, ' Thou didst make me hope
when I was upon my mother's breasts ; ' and Job saith, chap. xxxi. 18,
'From my youth he was brought up with me as with a father, and I
have guided her from my mother's womb ; ' meaning, he had an
indoles, or disposition of pity, put into him at his nativity. So also,
why may not a principle of faith be put into us in the womb, if God
will work it ?
2. I shall prove that it must be so ; how else should infants be
saved ? There is no salvation without the. covenant, and in the cov
enant there is no salvation but by faith in Christ. By their natural
birth, all children are children of wrath, enemies to God, guilty before
God. As we read it, the word is uTroSt/co?, liable to the process of
divine justice : Rom. iii. 19, ' All the world is become guilty before
God/ and so are infants ; there is no reason to exempt them. They
are all dead in sin ; and the scripture saith expressly, ' He that belie veth
not, is condemned already/ John iii. 18 ; that is, liable to the sentence
of condemnation ; so that believers they must be, or else they must be
damned ; and regenerate they must be, or else we know there is no
way of entering into the kingdom of God. Let any one show us any
way or pleasing God without faith, or of entering into heaven without
regeneration. John iii. 3, Christ hath expressly said, ' Except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' In the first com
mission of the apostles, when they went forth to preach the word
of life, this was the tenor of the gospel : Mark xvi. 16, ' He that believ-
cth shall be saved ; and he that believeth not shall be damned/ Let
men show any ground in scripture of a middle sort of men, between
believers and unbelievers, or any other way of salvation but by Christ ;
and in Christ, but by faith in Christ. If men say, All those places
belong to grown persons, or those that are of age ; by this shift you
may elude any scripture ; and where then shall we have a rule whereby
to judge of infants ? which, how comfortless it will be to parents, and
how derogatory to the grace of the covenant, anyone cannot choose
but see.
86 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SEE. XXY.
[3.] That it is so I shall prove from the promise of God ; for God
being faithful and true, his promise is as good as a positive assertion :
God promiseth grace and glory to infants. Grace, Isa. xliv. 3, ' I will
pour out my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring.'
In the original, upon thy ' buds;' where the Spirit is promised to be
poured out upon infants, not only on their seed in general, as implying
persons of age, but on their ' buds,' ere they come to grow up to stalk
and flower. Then for glory, Christ saith, Mat. xix 14, ' Suffer little
children to come to me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom
of heaven ; ' heaven is theirs by grant and promise. Elect infants in
general have^ws ad rein, a right to heaven ; but there is no jus in re,
no actual right or interest, but by faith. But what need we argue,
when we have a plain assertion ? Luke xviii. 17, ' Whosoever shall not
receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter
therein ; ' they have not only a right to the kingdom of God, but they
receive the kingdom of God 'as a little child receiveth it.' The sense
carrieth it so ; that is, receiveth it by faith, accompanied with humility.
But more plainly yet : Mat. xviii. 6, ' Whosoever shall offend one of
these little ones which believe in me,' &c ; there is the very word
' which believe in me ; these little ones/ Christ speaks not meta
phorically, but literally ; ' these/ such as were then before him, and
of them he saith, ' which believe in me/ Some make exception
against this, and say, The child to which Christ alluded was then
grown. I answer, that cannot be : for in Luke it is called ySpe'^o?, an
' infant,' Luke xviii. 15 ; in Matthew irailiov, a ' little child ; ' and Mark
ix. 36, it is said, 'Christ took him in his arms/ And besides, in chil
dren that are more grown, pride, fierceness, and other ill qualities are
bewrayed ; therefore such an one would not have been so fit for Christ's
purpose to be propounded to the apostles for a pattern of meekness
and humility. As they are called rational before they had the use of
reason, so we have found that infants may, must, and have a principle
of faith, from whence they may be said to be believers.
[4.] How is it so. What is the faith which children have ? I proved
before that actual faith they have not, which begins in knowledge and
ends in affiance. It remains therefore that they have the seed of faith,
or some principle of grace conveyed into their souls by the hidden
operation of the Spirit of God, which gives them an interest in Christ,
and so a right to his merit for their salvation. I confess among the
orthodox there are different expressions about this matter, but they all
agree in the thing. Some call it a habit of faith, some a prin
ciple, some an inclination, some the first-fruits of the Spirit, others the
gift of the Spirit, which answers to actual faith. All agree in this,
that it is some work of the Holy Ghost, which gives them a relation to
Christ, and by virtue of this relation, they have an interest in his merit
for the remission of sins and acceptance with God. The more usual
terms are principle and habit. Some dislike the word habit, because
the word is not scriptural, and because it seems more proper to faith
that is grown and actually exercised, and because the habit of grace is
not the condition of the covenant. More properly, it may be called
the principle, or the seed of faith ; for so the work of the Holy Ghost
is expressed, 1 John iii. 9, ' Whosoever is born of God doth riot commit
VER. G.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 87
sin ; for his seed remaineth in him : and he cannot sin, because he is
born of God ; ' where the grace of regeneration is called the seed of
God, which is cast into their hearts by the Spirit of God in a way
unknown to us. In short, it is the work of grace, whereby the heart
is quickened with spiritual life, and made a sanctified vessel to receive
Christ. By the sanctifying Spirit all outward means are supplied, and
infants are enabled unto that, which Dr Ames calls 'a passive reception/
by which they are in Christ, and united to him. It is not altogether
without act, though it be such an act as is proper to their age.
Obj. But you will say, Do all elect infants receive this sancti
fying work of the Holy Ghost, or seed of faith ? We see many
infants of believers, whom in charity we judge to be elect, because
the promise is made to them and their seed ; yet, when they are
grown up we see they show themselves to be never regenerated in their
infancy.
I answer, in this case we do not speak universally, but indefinitely ;
we do not say that all infants do believe in Christ, but infants and
in the judgment of charity we presume it of all infants, that die in
their infancy. We must leave God to the liberty of his counsels, lest
the freedom of grace should seem to be prejudiced by the merit of any
family. God will take one and leave another, take Jacob and leave
Esau ; only we say this in the general, that we have more cause to
hope well of all the children, of believing parents. Why ? because the
grace of election runs and flows most kindly in the channel of the cov
enant, and therefore there is greater hope of such. Rom. xi. 24, the
apostle calls them, ' The natural branches,' so as that they were more
easily grafted in. The apostle puts a ' how much more,' upon them ;
' How much more shall the natural branches be grafted into their own
olive tree ? ' God may suffer the branches of the covenant to grow
wild, and may graft in a strange slip, but it is most kindly to the nat
ural branches ; they have a greater sufficiency of means, an external
right, as soon as born. Certainly it is a great advantage to be born
of parents within the covenant ; they have an excellent inheritance, till
they disinherit themselves by their own unthankfulness and rebellion.
Look, as we judge of the graft by the stock from whence it is taken,
until it bring fortli other fruit, by which it may be discerned ; so for
children, we judge of them by their parents until they come to years
of discretion and choose their own way, and so do actually choose or
refuse the grace of God.
Use. 1. To press parents to bless God for the rich grace of the cov
enant. Ah, consider not only your persons are accepted with God,
but also your seed, by virtue of which the merit of Christ is applied,
and the Spirit of Christ infused into them, leaving God to the liberty
of his counsel. Oh, how greatly doth the Lord love those that fear him !
He cannot satisfy himself in doing good, only to other persons, but will
do good to their children and posterity for their sakes. So that though
they are broken off by their positive unbelief and apostasy, yet as the
Jews were hated for their own sake, yet they are beloved for their
fathers' sake, and therefore they shall be again grafted into the stock ;
so they are under the care of providence until they are converted. Oh,
how should we entertain the grace of the covenant with humility and
reverence, and stand and wonder that God should not only accept our
88 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXV.
worthless persons, but also graft our seed into the stock of grace. When
God came to tender the covenant to Abraham, Gen. xvii. 3, it is said,
' Abraham fell upon his face,' a posture of humble reverence, as won
dering at the large and diffusive mercy of God ; and David, 2 Sam. vii.
18, 19, when God had taken him into covenant and his children, 'O
Lord God, what am I ? and what is my father's house, that thou hast
brought me hitherto ? ' that thou hast heaped so many privileges
upon me. ' And yet this was a small matter in thy sight, Lord God ;
for thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to
come, and is this the manner of man ? ' He stands wondering at
grace. Natural love like a river is descending : it runs downward.
All our care next to our souls is for our children ; for in them our life
is multiplied and continued in the world. Children are the parent mul
tiplied; therefore one saith of children, They are 'a knotty eternity ;'
when the thread of life is run out, there is a knot 'knit, and it is con
tinued in the child. Therefore what a mercy is it that God hath not
only provided from eternity for our souls, but hath spoken a good
word concerning our house for a great while yet to come, that he will
continue his grace in our line.
Use 2. It should encourage parents to found a covenant interest in
their own persons. Oh, lay the foundation of it in yourselves ! Ps. ciii.
17, ' The mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting upon them
that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children.' Oh, it
is much that it is from everlasting to everlasting ; that we may go
from one eternity to another ; that we may look backward and see
purposes of eternal grace, and look forwards to see possessions of eternal
glory. But this is not all his righteousness unto children's children !
Learn to fear God ; that is the best way of providing for your children.
We all seek the welfare of our children. You may heap up riches and
honour upon them, and leave a curse with it ; you may entail them an
estate, and wrath with it ; but leave them a covenant interest, that is an
excellent inheritance. Wicked parents do as it were stop the way of
God's mercy from descending upon their posterity ; at least, they do
not open a passage and channel, that grace may run down freely and
with an uninterrupted course. God often threatens, that ' The posterity
of the wicked shall be cut off,' Ps. cix. 13. You may not only injure
your own souls, but your posterity. Oh, for your poor babes' sake, learn
to fear God, that you may not leave them to the wrath and displeasure
of God! It is said to Cain, Gen. iv. 10, 'Thy brother's blood crieth
to me from the ground.' Some commentators infer that Cain was
accountable not only for the murder of Abel himself, but for the
murder of all the holy seed that should come of his loins. God will
require not only the neglect of your own souls at your hands, but visit
you for neglecting your children ; that you have not taken a course to
open a passage, that grace may descend to them.
Use 3. Here is comfort to believing parents concerning their children
dying in infancy. We should not doubt of their salvation, unless we
should wrong the covenant of grace. To what end doth God say, I
am your God, and the God of your seed ? Consider, Jesus Christ
himself \yas the advocate of children, and would plead their right
against his own apostles, when they thought Christ would have nothing
to do with children : Mat. xix. 14, ' Suffer little children to come unto
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 89
me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven' suffer
them to come ; I have provided heaven for them, as well as for others.
And Christ that hath said, ' Of such is the kingdom of heaven,' certainly
will find out a way how to settle the title upon them, and to enstate
them into the kingdom, of heaven. David, when his child died,
comforted himself in this : 2 Sam. xii. 23, ' But now he is dead, where
fore should I fast ? Can I bring him back again ? I shall go to him,
but he shall not return to me.' It is not only meant of the state of
the dead, that were a brutish argument, but ' I shall go to him ; ' the
meaning is, to the glory of the everlasting state ; nay, though they die
without the seal of the covenant. The Hebrew children were murdered
as soon as born, Exod. i. 22; and Mat. ii. 16. The children of Beth
lehem shed their blood by martyrdom, before they shed their blood
by circumcision, and therefore leave them in Christ's arms.
Use 4. To teach us confidence in the power of divine grace. God
can shine into the dark hearts of children, therefore certainly there is
no heart so dark but God can enlighten it. Our trouble at our first
conversion doth not arise out of the doubting of God's love, so much
as of his power. This hard heart will never be softened ; these rebellious
affections will never be subdued to the discipline of the Spirit ; this
blind mind will never be enlightened. If once they could glorify the
power of his converting grace, comfort would sooner be settled in
their heart. Aye, but the Lord can shine into the hearts of infants,
therefore do not doubt of it. You see what he can do in those that
have not the use of reason. God can give the principle of grace : Isa.
Ixv. 20, ' The child shall die an hundred years old, but a sinner, being
an hundred years old, shall be accursed ;' speaking of the grace of the
gospel. There are many expositions of that place. Some carry it this
way, that a child in the Christian state shall be as perfect and as ripe
for heaven as if he were a hundred years old. This is the power of
divine grace, therefore wait upon God.
Use 5. Here is encouragement to the neglected duty of education.
Many times we neglect our little children, think we can do no good
upon them. Oh, water the seed of grace, for aught you know they
may be sanctified from the womb. It is said of John the Baptist,
Luke i. 15, ' He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's
womb.' Oh, this will make them exert and put forth those hidden
operations of grace which God worketh upon their souls ; therefore
water the seed of grace with the dew of education. God will call you
to account for the education of your children : Ezek. xvi. 20, ' More
over, thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast
born unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured :
is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my
children ? ' that is, dedicated to me by circumcision. Consider, they
are God's children, and you are only entrusted with them that you
may bring them up. Let us, that have been instruments to convey
an evil nature to them, assist them in the work of grace. Many have
been converted by private education before they have been called by the
ministry of the gospel. You cannot do your children worse hurt than
to let them run wild. Consider they are the natural branches of the
covenant, and you should bestow culture upon them. Dionysius, the
90 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XXVI.
tyrant, to be revenged of his adversary, brought up his child to riot
and wantonness. You cannot do yourselves a worse injury, nor your
selves a greater revenge, than to let your children run wild.
SERMON XXVI.
.But without faith it is impossible to please God. HEB. xi. 6.
THIRDLY. The third inference is concerning carnal and unregenerate
men. 'Without faith,' the apostle saith, ' it is impossible to please
God ; ' therefore, certainly a man in his natural condition can do
nothing that may be accepted with God. I shall confirm this with other
places of scripture : Horn. viii. 8, ' They that are in the flesh cannot
please God ; ' 'in the flesh,' that is, in a carnal state ; it is opposed to
' them that are in Christ,' ver. 1. There is an utter impossibility that
anything of theirs should be accepted with the Lord ; which ariseth
partly from the state of the person, and partly from the quality of the
service which natural men perform.
1. From the state of the person. Unregenerate men are enemies to
God, and therefore he will not accept of a gift at their hands. There
is no reconciliation till an interest in Christ ; for God will not be
appeased with duties; the honour of appeasing and satisfying his
justice is left alone for Jesus Christ. So it is proclaimed from heaven,
Mat. iii. 17, ' This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased ; ' so
Eph. i. 6, ' He hath made us accepted in the beloved/ Jesus Christ
is the favourite of heaven ; he must mediate for us. As, when ' Herod
was displeased with the men of Tyre and Sidon, they made Blastus
the king's chamberlain their friend, and desired peace/ Acts xii. 20 ;
so if ever we would find acceptance with God, we must have a friend
and favourite in heaven that must plead our cause. Now, till you have
an interest in his merit and intercession, God will not accept an offer
ing at your hands ; and therefore you shall find it is God's method in
the covenant of grace, to begin first with the interest of the person,
and then to accept of the work. See with what scorn God rejects the
offering and the best services of wicked men, however accommodated :
Frov. xv. 8, 9, ' The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the
Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. The way of the
wicked is an abomination unto the Lord, but he loveth him that fol-
loweth after righteousness/ Many things are notable in these two
verses. First, he saith, The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination ;
God is so far from accepting their choicest duties that he hates them.
It is grievous that God should not accept : ay, but he doth abominate
them. And mark the antithesis ' The sacrifice of the wicked/ and the
' prayer of the upright/ Sacrifice was the more outward and costly part
of worship. Wicked men may do more in the outward rite than the
godly themselves, to recompense the defects of inward piety; but
though they come with sacrifices, yet the single prayer of the upright
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 91
is more accepted with the Lord. And mark, he saith, ver. 6, ' The
way of the wicked is an abomination/ not only their sacrifice or their
exercises f religion, which may be counterfeited, but their way, their
second-table duties, which, because of the benefit that men receive by
them, are more pleasing and plausible ; yet their way, that is an
abomination. They may do much , they may build colleges, promote
learning, relieve the poor ; yet all is an abomination, because the person
is wicked. Solomon doth not say their adultery is an abomination, but
their charity, their civility. But saith he, ' They that follow after right
eousness,' that is, that make it their sincere aim, though they cannot
always be masters of their own desires and perform their intentions,
yet God loves them that follow after righteousness, their hearts are set
right. But the wicked, those that are in an unjustified estate, do what
ever they will, they are an abomination to the Lord; they are
punished for their sins, and are not accepted for their duties. Now, lest
you should think that all this doth arise from some gross defect that is
in the service itself, you shall see that it is from the hatred God bears
to their persons, until they be reconciled to him in Christ. I shall
prove that out of Prov. xxi. 27, ' The sacrifice of the wicked is an
abomination ; how much more when he bringeth itwith a wicked mind ? '
Suppose a wicked man should do his best, yet the person is not recon
ciled to God ; and so at best it is but a wicked man's offering ;
therefore till we change our copy this will be our case ; it will be an
abomination to the Lord. Thus you see, from the interest and quality
f the person, they are in an unjustified and unreconciled estate, there
fore nothing of theirs can please God.
2. Consider the defect of the service. A natural man can never do
or perform an act of pure obedience. It is true, his works are materially
good : but it is not the matter which makes a work good. Velvet is
good matter to make a garment of, yet it may be marred in the cutting :
pieces of timber are good matter for a house, but it must be judici
ously framed ; so these actions are for the matter good in themselves,
yet they are not pleasing to God, because they are faulty in the most
necessary circumstances. Whatsoever is well done must come from a
principle of faith and love ; and it must be done to God's glory, other
wise it is not reckoned among duties, but sins. Now here a wicked
man is always culpable ; he can neither act out of faith, which he hath
not ; rior to God's glory, he cannot make that his aim, therefore still
he sins. It is true, he sins more in things that are evil in themselves ;
as in theft and in lying, than in sacrifice ; in adultery than in prayer,
because the act itself is sinful ; but in those duties that he doth per
form, the matter of them is conducible to the good of human society.
But it is all one as to their acceptance with God ; for it is not enough
that a thing be good in itself, but it must be done to a good end ; that
is a necessary circumstance, in which a wicked man is defective. Prov.
xxi. 27, ' The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination : how much
more (saith the Spirit of God) when he bringeth it with an evil mind ? '
Usually wicked men have an evil mind in all that they do ; they have
a carnal, or a natural, or, at best but a legal end.
[1.] A carnal end. Usually they make a market of religion, and
their righteousness is set to sale. Whatever they do, they do it to please
men rather than God ; and how can they expect their reward of God ?
92 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXVI.
So our Saviour, when he speaks of the hypocrisy of those that pray,
fast, and give alms, he saith, Mat. vi. 2 -16, ' They have their reward ; '
they give God an acquittance and a discharge, for all that they do is to
please men and not to please God ; therefore they have their reward,
that is, that they look after. By a vile submission, they ^ make the
service of God to stoop to their secular interests. Mat. xxiii. 14, the
Pharisees ' made long prayers to devour widows' houses ; ' that is, to
get a fame and a repute to themselves, that they might be entrusted
with widow's estates. Thus the apostle speaks of some, Phil. i. 15,
' That preached Christ out of envy and strife, not of good will.' They
may preach and pray to show their gifts ; and the end is carnal, to pro
vide for their secular interest. Now this is a vile scorn put upon God,
when religion is made a cover for an unclean intent ; it is as if you
should take a cup of gold, made for the king to drink in, and make it
a vessel to hold dung and excrements. Or else 1
[2.] Their end in all they do is natural. It is grace that sublimates
the intentions of the creature. A carnal man can go no higher than
self, as water cannot ascend beyond its fountain. All that a carnal man
do this for self-interest. If they eat and drink it is for self, to gratify
appetite, not that they might be more cheerful in the service of God.
If they pray, it is for self : Hosea vii. 14, ' They have not cried unto
me with their heart (saith the Lord) when they howled upon their beds ;
they assemble themselves for corn and wine.' All their prayers do arise
from a brutish instinct after their own ease and welfare ; ' Not unto
me,' saith the Lord ; God is neither at the beginning nor at the end of
the action. If they spend their strength in holy services, as a wicked
man may do, it is but to feed their own bellies ; it is still to make a
god of themselves, and they lay aside the Lord, Phil. iii. 19. The
apostle speaks there of false teachers, who spent their strength in the
work of the gospel, out of a selfish principle, to flow in an abundance
of wealth and worldly pleasures ; therefore he saith, ' Their god is
their belly.' Always observe, a man makes a god of that which he
makes his utmost end, and accounts to be his chiefest good. Thus do
all natural men set up self instead of God. Now, how can God accept
an action, when his majesty is laid aside and self is set up in his
stead ? ,
[3.] Take wicked men at the best, it is but a legal end. When
wicked men are most devout, it is but to quiet conscience and to satisfy
God for their sins by their duties. They would fain buy out their peace
with heaven at any rate ; as appears by the inquiry mentioned by the
prophet : Micah vi. 6-8, ' Wherewith shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before the high God ? Shall I come before him with
burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old ; will the Lord be pleased with
thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give
my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of
my soul ? ' What shall I give for the sin of my soul ? and wherewith
will God be appeased ? If peace of conscience were to be purchased
with money, men would part with anything rather than their sins, for
nothing is dearer to men than their sins ; not their children, not their
estate, not their first-born. Thus carnal men, by an excess of charity,
seek to expiate the offences of a carnal life, and would be liberal, so
they may be sinful. Now this is that which makes men hated and
VEIL 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 93
more abominable to God ; while they think to purchase their own par
don, and hire God to be gracious ; when they do things that carry a
fair show in the world, they think God is bound to forgive them their
sins ; and so they cause the Lord to hate them so much the more,
since they neglect Christ, ' In whom alone he is well pleased.'
Use 1. This serves to represent to us the misery of natural men.
This should amaze them to think that all they do is abominable in
God's sight. They are debtors to the whole law, and yet they can do
nothing that can be pleasing to God. Their duties cannot quit old
scores, if they perform them never so exactly ; they can never come up
to such a pitch of duty and such a pure act of obedience as God requires ;
there is a vast debt upon them, and they are not able to pay one farthing.
To enforce the consideration, reflect upon your own misery and the
opposite happiness of the children of God.
1. Your own misery. Of all men, you are in a miserable condition,
and God will take nothing in good part from you. How will you do to
please him ? No condition, no duty of yours, no enjoyment of yours,
can render you acceptable to God ; no outward condition can endear
you to God. Wealth and authority in the world will nothing avail you
against the process of divine justice. Men are taken with pomp and
high places. We are apt to favour the rich in their cause, but divine
justice will not be bribed ; all those things are but fuel to kindle the
fire of hell. As a stone that falls from a high place is the more bruised
and broken, so the greater your advantages are in the world of authority
and place, the greater the judgment ; the mighty shall be mightily tor
mented ; no excellency of gifts, learning, wit, and such like things.
God is not taken with parts ; all those qualities and endowments are
but like a jewel in a toad's head the person is displeasing to God.
What pity is it to see that old complaint verified Surgunt indocti et
rapiunt ccelum, dum nos cum doctrind detrudimur in Gehennam : the
unlearned may arise and take heaven by violence, when you with all
your learning are thrust down to hell. So for moral honesty ; it is but
sin dressed up more handsomely, and set off with a fairer varnish.
Whatever doth not come from a pure fountain of faith and obedience,
and is not done to God's glory, it is but like a spiced carcase it is but
sin and nature perfumed. To instance in things that are more com
mendable liberality to learning, giving of alms, building of churches,
civility of life ; these are good in themselves, and glorious in men's
eyes, but they are abomination before God. Mark the emphasis of our
Saviour's words : Luke xvi. 15, ' That which is highly esteemed among
men is an abomination in the sight of God ; ' not only that which
' pleaseth' men, but is ' highly esteemed ; ' and he saith it is not only
' not accepted/ but it is /3Se\vy/j,a an ' abomination to God ; ' that
which is a rose to us, is a nettle to him. Carnal ends are as odious to
God as gross sins are to men. Nay, go to religious duties ; a wicked
carnal man may pray, but his prayer is turned into sin, as a jewel in
a dead man's mouth. Your prayers, because they come from dead
men, ' men dead in trespasses and sins,' lose all their worth and efficacy,
how good soever the action be in itself ; so that when a man comes to
please God, he grieveth him more. A carnal man may be employed in
the offices of the church : Mat. vii. 22, ' We have prophesied in thy
name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many
1/4 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXVI.
wonderful works;' and yet Christ saith, 'I know you not; depart from
me, ye that work iniquity/ ver. 23. A man may spend his strength
and his spirits in the ministry ; yet after all this may be a castaway.
Christ will not take acquaintance with them that are in such a near
ness of office and ministration ' I know you not.' It is strange that
Christ should not know them, when they can challenge acquaintance
with him by such a good token ; We had such gifts and such offices.
Sorue men have only gif Is for others ; and after they have wasted them
selves and swaled away like a candle in the work of the ministry, they
may go out in a snuff. Gifts and employments are for the body. No
doubt, in Noah's time, some that built an ark for others perished in
the waters , so after we have built an ark for others, and represented
Christ to them, if we do not get an interest in him ourselves, we are
cast away ; or like the clouds that moisten the earth, but are themselves
scattered by the winds, we may moisten and conVey the influences of
heaven to others, but are scattered, as those that Christ refuseth, by the
breath and fury of the Lord ; or like the water of purification, under
the law, that cleansed the leper, but was itself unclean, so men that are
employed as instruments in the cleansing of others, may themselves be
unclean and disallowed by God. They may deserve well of the church,
and yet be unthankful to God and unfaithful to their own souls ; nay,
you may be orthodox, and side with the better part, and yet all this
will not render you acceptable to God : Gal. v. 6, ' In Christ Jesus
neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith
that works by love.' That was the controversy among the believers
of that time, whether circumcision were to be kept up. Christ doth
not love men for their opinion, but for their obedience. Some that are
orthodox may go down to hell. The devils themselves have great skill
in many points of faith ; nay, which is more, men may suffer for religion
for that which they call their conscience, yet all this in vain : 1 Cor,
xiii. 2, 'If I give my body to be burnt, and have not charity, it profiteth
me nothing ; ' without faith all this is nothing. The suffering of a
wicked man, it is but like the cutting off a swine's head, or offering of
a dog in sacrifice : as, under the law, the priest was to make inquiry
if the sacrifice were sound, if it were not scabby or lame. God doth not
love a scabby sacrifice ; and when men are tainted with enormous lives
and conversations, their sufferings will not endear them to God ; nay,
whatever you do in your lawful employment, in your calling, it is all
sin. The whole trade and course of a wicked man's life is nothing but
sin, because all those actions are not elevated by grace to a supernatural
intention : Prov. xxi. 4, ' The ploughing of the wicked is sin ; ' what
ever they do their speaking, eating, drinking, trading all is sin,
because there is no grace. How should this take us off from our vain
confidences ! I have nothing but sin, I can do nothing but sin ; and
how should this bring the soul to lie at God's foot for mercy !
2. Consider the opposite happiness of the children of God, this will
aggravate your misery. The smallest works of a man that is recon
ciled to God in Christ are rewarded. A cup of cold water shall not
want its reward, Mat. x. 42. If a carnal man offers rivers of oil, ten
thousands of sacrifices, yet they are nothing ; whereas the weakest and
poorest services on the other side are accepted. They that are in a
state of grace have liberty of constant access to God, and God hath
\ 7 ER. G.I SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 95
promised to take notice of their persons and prayers : Ps. xxxiv. 15,
' The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to
their cry ; ' God is ready to receive and entertain them whenever they
come to the throne of grace, but, as it follows in the next verse, ' The
face of the Lord is against them that do evil ; ' as by a frown we dis
courage a supplicant. Certainly, it is a great mercy that we have an
access to God, and the liberty to stand before him daily ; nay, the weak
ness of their duties shall be dispensed withal. A child of God is guilty
of many failings, Partus sequitur ventrem, the birth hath more of the
mother in it than of the father ; so, though the Spirit of God help them
in their services, yet there is much of their own weaknesses mixed with
it ; yet God will accept it : Cant. v. 1, ' I have eaten my honey-comb
with my honey ; ' the honeycomb is bitter, but Christ will eat it for the
honey's sake. We serve Christ in our duties as he was served on the
cross, we offer him wine mingled with myrrh, but he will dispense witli
imperfections ; then their sins of life shall be pardoned. It is true, the
children of God have not a dispensation to sin ; yet God will handle
them with much indulgence when they are through the prevalency of
corruption and infirmity drawn to sin. A hireling is soon dismissed when
he doth not give content ; but a child is not cast out of doors for every
offence : saith God, ' I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son
that serveth him,' Mai. iii. 17.
Use 2. To represent to us the necessity of being in a state of faith,
or else neither person nor work can please God ; there must be a change
of our state, as well as doing our duties. It is in vain to persuade
people to change their actions, while their state is unchanged. If the
person be not in favour, the works are hated ; duties may further our
delusion, but cannot further our happiness. Many heap up duty upon
duty, as if they thought to please God that way. I do not blame men
for using means, but for neglecting an interest in Christ. Who will
look for grapes upon thorns ? No man can offer a sacrifice to God till
he be first made a priest ; first, there must be a consecration of their
persons : Mai. iii. 3, ' He shall purify the sons of Levi, then they shall
offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness ; ' Heb. ix. 14, ' How
much more shall the blood of Christ purge your consciences from dead
works, to serve the living God.' First, the Christian must be con
secrated before he can minister before the Lord in holy things : 1
Peter i. 2-5, ' Ye are a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.' Men must be kings and priests
to God before they offer sacrifice to God. A natural man is a bad
priest, and his own evil heart is an ill altar. Our persons must be
reconciled to God, and under grace by Christ, and received into the
number of those God approves, and whom he delights to be worshipped
by. Under the law, the priests, when they went to sacrifice, were
washed in the great laver of water, Exod. xxix. 4 ; so must a Christian
in the laver of regeneration, Tit. iii. 5, and then come and worship ;
they must change their state, then the Lord will accept of their offer
ing in Christ.
Use 3. We learn hence, that the opinion which makes God to bestow
grace upon the preceding works and merit of man is false. We have
not only to do with the Papists here, but Arminians, who establish an
96 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XXVI.
infallible attendance of grace on natural endeavours. They say, if a
man do use well his natural strength and abilities; if he do as much
as he can, God will certainly help him to supernatural grace. ^ If they
stir themselves in good earnest to seek the grace of conversion, they
shall infallibly and without miscarrying find it made good to them ; so
Arminius, Faciunt quod in se est, dantnr a deo infallibiliter, et ex certd
lege auxilia prcevenientis graticc. It is true, we hold that it is the
ordinary practice of free grace. God is seldom wanting to them that
are not wanting to themselves ; but to hold such an infallibility, and
to lay an obligation upon God, this is a falsehood, contrary to the
canon of the apostle ' Without faith it is impossible to please God ; '
without faith all our actions are sins, therefore they cannot oblige God
to give more grace. But say they, Without faith it is impossible to
please him, so as their persons should be accepted to life and salvation ;
but it is not impossible to please him, and so to be accepted as to receive
more grace. But I answer, that the text excludes both ; it is impos
sible to please God in any sense. Besides, pleasing God is all one with
walking with God ; for what is in the original ? ' Enoch walked with
God '- -is in the Septuagint, ' Enoch pleased God ; ' and it signifies an
established communion of comfort and grace between God and the
creature ; it is meant of acceptation to grace as well as glory. But to
handle the argument more fully, I shall show
1. The inconveniency and falsehood of this doctrine.
2. Handle some objections.
First, The inconvenience of this doctrine, that if men would do their
utmost, God will necessarily come in with grace.
1. That never a natural man did his utmost.
2. If they did so, God is not obliged to come in infallibly with supplies
of grace.
[1.] Never a natural man did his utmost. See the character of such
kind of men, that they do not act their abilities ' But what they know
naturally, in those things they corrupt themselves/ Jude ver. 10. It
is but a fancy to suppose that any do improve nature to the uttermost.
The scripture generally sets out natural men as unfaithful. He that
had but one talent hid it in the earth, Mat. xxv. 18 ; and God seems
to plead against them upon this issue, that they are unfaithful in com
mon gifts: Luke xvi. 11, ' If therefore ye have not been faithful in the
unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches ? '
Earnestness in the use of means is the first impression of the efficacy
of the Holy Ghost, and proceeds from the seed of grace, which God
hath cast into the heart.
[2.] If he did do his utmost, yet God is not bound ; for if God be
obliged and bound, it must either be by the merit of the creature, or
by some promise he hath made ; there is no other obligation upon God.
Now, no man can engage the grace of Christ, and there is no promise
on God's part.
(1.) No man can engage God to give him converting grace ; this
would tie grace to works, and then man would make himself to differ ;
and our debt to grace would be taken off, and the difference that is
between us and others did arise from ourselves : this would make men
sacrifice to their own net. Now this is contrary to scripture. No man
VEE. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. 97
can earn anything of God : Eom. ix. 16, 'It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy ; ' not upon
the motion of our will, nor by virtue of our endeavours, but God merely
acts out of the freedom of his own grace ; not by our desires, which is
implied in ' willing ; ' nor by virtue of our endeavours, which is implied
in ' running ; ' so 2 Tim. i. 9, ' Who hath saved us, and called us with
a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began.' God's liberty is not abridged by any act of the creature,
neither is he necessitated to have mercy upon us rather than upon
others. Many inconveniences would follow according to this doctrine ;
as that the creature must bid and buy and engage Christ before they
have an interest in Christ. It is against reason : all those foregoing
endeavours cannot please God, being void of faith and mixed with sins ;
and that which deserves wrath cannot prepare for grace. It is against
experience : many shall endeavour, but not obtain, because all works
that are done in the state of nature cannot make us a whit more accepted
with God. Therefore God, to show that his grace runs freely, and is
not drawn out by our endeavours, saith ' Many shall seek to enter in,
and shall not be able/ Luke xiii. 24. Then again, this would make
the creature to come and to plead with God ; whereas the Lord will
have us to lie at the foot of his sovereignty ; the Lord will be the dis
poser of his own mercy. It crosseth the order of God in the dispensa
tion of his grace, which is to bring the creature upon his knees, to be
willing to refer all to his sovereignty ' Lord, thou hast mercy on whom
thou wilt have mercy, and whom thou wilt thou hardenest.' This
would cross the work of humiliation, by which the Lord would bring the
creature to absolute submission to his own sovereignty. When we have
done all, God is not our debtor ; he oweth us nothing but vengeance.
(2.) There is no shadow of any engagement, by promise on God's
part, whereby he should undertake to any of us ; there is no such pro
mise as this Do this by the strength of nature, and thou shalt have
supernatural grace, but because they urge many things.
Secondly, I shall come to some objections.
SERMON XXVII.
But tvithout faitli, it is impossible to please him. HEB. xi. 6.
Obj. 1. ' For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall
have abundance ; but from him that hath not, shall be taken away
even that which he hath/ Mat. xiii. 13, and Mat. xxv. 29. They say,
God is obliged by promise to him that hath many acts of nature, to
give acts of grace ; but I answer, that place speaks of those that have
grace already. It is the reason Christ assigns, why it was given
to them to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, and the
reason is taken from the course God keeps in dispensation of his grace ;
such as have found grace in God's eyes, they have the fountain gift,
VOL. XIV. G
98 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXVII.
and they shall have others to perfect their salvation. Deus donando
se facit debitoremGod, by giving them grace already, hath made
himself a debtor to them for new influences and all outward means,
whereby they shall increase in grace and strength. In Mark iv. 24, it
is said, ' Take heed what you hear, for with what measure you mete it
shall be measured to you again, and unto you that hear shall more be
given.' I answer, this still implies not a bare use of means while we
are in a state of nature, but faith in hearing, without which the word
never profiteth : so Prov. viii. 34, ' Blessed is the man that heareth me,
watching daily at my gates, waiting at the post of my doors ; ' that is,
that waits in faith ; those that have grace by waiting upon the means,
grace in the same kind shall be increased in them. We must not
invert the method of the covenant. Another place is, Acts x. 34, 35,
'Of a truth I perceive (saith Peter) that God is no respecter of
persons; but in every nation he that feareth' God, and worketh
righteousness, is accepted of him : ' from whence they argue, that if a
man have a natural reverence of God, and do the works of righteous
ness, he shall be accepted of God to further grace.
But I answer, it is clear that the place speaks of God's consequent
love to the work of his own grace ; for it is impossible that ever a man
can fear God and work righteousness until he hath some grace wrought
in him ; those things are not the effect of nature, but of grace. That
place only shows that Peter was convinced of his error ; he thought
none could be saved, but either a Jew, or a proselyte one converted to
the Jewish religion. NGW I see my mistake, that of a truth, wherever
there is real grace in any, God will accept of him. Take the sentence
either in a legal or evangelical sense. It' you take it evangelically, the
sense is whoever worketh righteousness, that obeyeth the gospel, and
renounceth his own righteousness, and seeks the favour of God in
Christ, he shall be accepted with God ; or if you take it in a legal
sense, those things are not the fruits of mere nature, it is to be
expounded by way of evidence whoever thus worketh righteousness
it is a sign he is accepted with God ; and he that fears God, it is a
visible sign and testimony by which the favour of God towards him
may be cleared up.
Obj. 2. Again, Christ is said to love the young man that was of a
civil life : Mark x. 21, ' Jesus, beholding him, loved him.' I answer,
this was but a human affection, which our Lord manifested in all cases
out of respect to human society ; ' Christ loved him,' that is, showed
some outward signs of favour and respect to him ; as we pity a man
that is in a dangerous course : it is pity such courteous persons should
go to hell. Our Saviour ' loved him/ certainly he could not approve
of his hypocrisy, vanity, and self-confidence ; but pitied him as one
that with so much care kept the law, which others did not, and yet
deceived himself with a vain opinion of righteousness. Christ, as man,
was to have all human affections : but as lord and judge of the
creature, so he hated him, as will be manifested at the last day.
Again, they say, God rewards wicked men for their natural actions ;
as Ahab's humiliation was rewarded with a suspension from wrath,
1 Kings xxi. 29, and Jehu's obedience was rewarded with the reign
of his posterity to the fourth generation, 2 Kings x. 30.
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 99
I answer, This God may do out of his own bounty. Wicked men can
look for nothing ; it is his grace to reward wicked men's actions ; and
he may do it to make them, more culpable, and to encourage the godly,
as many times a general will reward the valour of an enemy to
encourage his own soldiers. It is a document of God's bounty to the
world, to prize true grace the better ; and it is notable, all those bless
ings were but temporal, and salted with a curse : clogs may have
temporals, trie offals of providence.
Obj. 3. Again, what ground have we to persuade men to the use of
means, if all their endeavours be in vain, and if God will not accept
them ? I answer
[1.] We have ground to press them to duty, that wicked men may
be more sensible of their own weakness. Men think it is easy to
believe till they put themselves upon the trial, action, and endeavour ;
as the lameness of the arm is found by exercise. Solomon saith, Prov.
ii. 2, 3, ' Apply thine heart to understanding;' then saith he, 'If thou
criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding ;' &c.,
' then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the
knowledge of God.' Certainly, he that seeks knowledge will be driven
to cry for it to free grace; and they that attempt the duties and
exercises of religion, will see the necessity of divine help, and will be
forced to lie at God's feet. Were there no other end but this, that
wicked men may be certainly convinced that all their sufficiency is in
God, to bring them to cry to God, Lord, help me against my unbelief,
this were enough. When we look to towns in a map, we think the
way to them easy, as if our foot were as nimble as our thoughts, but
we are soon discouraged and tired, when we meet with dangerous and
craggy passages, and come to learn the difference between glancing
and serious endeavours. So in matters of religion, he that endeavours
to bring Christ and his soul together, before he hath done, will be forced
to sit down and cry, Lord, help me ! As in the matters of the world,
young men have strong hopes, therefore think it is nothing to live in
the world ; but when they are engaged in the cares of a family, they
are soon crushed. So in the spiritual life ; nothing doth rebuke sudden
and easy hopes so much as trial and experience ; then men find their
hearts are hardly brought to apply themselves to the means whereby
they may draw nigh to God, and see that no man can come to God
without an attractive force, and unless the Father draw him.
[2.] Another reason why we press wicked men to do duty, is that
they may manifest their obedience to God by meeting him in his own
way. This is the way of God's working, by antecedaneous acts to fit
us for grace, therefore the act must be done ; for though we have lost
our power, God hath not lost his right. It is true, we can never do
anything with acceptation, yet still we are bound to be doing ; as a
drunken servant is obliged to do his master's work, though he hath
disabled himself for it. So our nature had a power, though our persons
were never invested with it ; our disability will not disoblige us ; so,
though there be no hope of succeeding, yet we are bound to do. So
Peter, though there were no fish come to hand, yet howbeit at thy
command we will cast out the net. Wait at the pool ; impotency can
be no excuse for neglect.
['3.J That they may manifest their desires, men say usually they
100 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SjER. XXVII
have no power when they have no heart. He that hath a mind to the
pearl of price, he will be doing, though he can do nothing acceptable ;
his desires being the vigorous bent of the soul will put him upon
endeavours. It is a usual way to pretend impotency, as a cover of
laziness ; but now neglect of means shows that the impossibility is
voluntary ; when we do not what we are able, it is a sign that we love
our bondage. A carnal man cannot please God ; why ? because he
minds earthly things ; the heart is carried out that way, and will not
be subject to God, Eom. viii. 7, 8. Men prefer the world before God,
and content themselves with some lazy wishes, and then think to cast
the blame upon God. A wicked man is to be doing to show his desires
are real : Prov. xxi. 25, ' The desire of the slothful killeth him : for his
hands refuse to labour ; ' he hath but some sluggish wishes, that serve
only unprofitably to vex the soul.
[4.] We put wicked men upon doing, because 'our endeavours are
the condition sine qua non ; without this the Lord seldom meets with
the creature : Horn. x. 14, ' How shall they believe in him of whom
they have not heard ? ' If ever I find Christ, I must find him in this
way of hearing and praying. Though the means have no effective
influence, yet without these I cannot come to Christ : Acts xiii. 46,
' Since ye put away the word from you, and judge ourselves unworthy
of eternal life ; ' it is meant there of a refusal and neglect of the means ;
they save God the labour, and pass sentence upon themselves. There
is no having of children but in a state of marriage. Now men marry,
though the rational soul be infused by God ; and so there is no having
of grace but in the use of means, therefore we should use them, though
still grace be the gift of God. We do not say it is in vain to marry,
because man cannot beget the soul ; so it is not in vain to hear and pray,
though these things have no effectual influence : these are the means,
without which God will not give it.
[5.] If men do not do something, they will grow worse and worse ;
standing pools are apt to putrify. Man is of an active nature, never
at a stay, but either growing better or worse ; and when we do not
improve nature, we deprave it ' They corrupt themselves in what they
know,' Jude 10. Voluntary neglects draw on penal hardness ; and so
our natural disability is increased. Much sin and hardness would be
prevented by the use of means ' Thou wicked and slothful servant,'
Mat. xxv. 26. A slothful servant soon becomes an evil servant, and
barren trees will soon become rotten trees, Jude 12 ; where ordinances
are neglected, we draw penal hardness upon ourselves.
[6.] It is good to make trial upon a common hope ; it may be, you
may meet with God. The apostle puts Simon Magus upon prayer out
of a bare probability: Acts viii. 22, 'Pray to God, if perhaps the
thoughts of thy heart may be forgiven thee;' though it be great
uncertainty, a peradventure, and a thousand to one ; yet pray, it is the
safest course. As the lepers, 2 Kings vii. 3, 4, ' They said one to
another, Why sit we here until we die ? If we say, We will enter into
the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there ; and if
we sit, still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to
the host of the Syrians ; if they save us alive we shall live, and if they
kill us we shall but die/ Such reasoning there usually is when God
brings sinners home ; if we do nothing, we are sure to die ; if we pray
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 101
and read and meditate, we can but die ; but there is some common
hope ; it may be we may live. All God's children are thus brought
in ; the soul is willing to acts of obedience, though it knows not what
will come of it ; as Abraham obeyed God, not knowing whither he went.
I am to do what God commands, let God do what he will ; it may be
there may be life ; I cannot do worse, I may do better. All saints are at
first carried on by such a common hope ; the first essay of their faith
is but dark resolution; but blind peradventure, Who knows what God
may do ?
[7.] It is God's usual way to meet those that seek him, and to give
the Spirit to them that ask him : we do not know what importunity
will do. This is the usual practice of God's free grace ; sometimes
he doth, sometimes he doth not ; but it is good to wait at wisdom's
gate. God is not bound, but it is his ordinary practice. Obey the
Lord, and sue out the blessings upon common hope ; when there is no
absolute assurance, those things will prosper. Why should we fall a
disputing ? we are in great danger, and this is God's usual way. We
are to do what we can ; God is wont to meet his people in this way.
Though he hath nowhere said, Do this by the power of nature, and
thou shalt have grace ; yet it is good to wait upon God, for he usually
meets with them that seek him in his way, and blesseth them that are
followers in all Christian endeavours.
[8.] The neglect of means out of a carnal principle, either out of an
averseness to grace, or an ill-conceit of God, proves very pernicious.
Nature is backward and shy, and then we would justify it by wrong
thoughts and groundless jealousies of God : Mat. xxv. 24, ' I knew that
thou wert a hard master, and therefore I hid my talent.' We think
that God hath shut us up under a fatal impossibility, so we pretend we
can do nothing ; as they that heard Christ say ' No man can come to
me except the Father which hath sent me draw him,' John vi. 44
murmured and drew back at that saying ; so we have wrong thoughts
of God, and are jealous without cause. We are loath to use the means,
and then blame God for not giving the power. It is a jealous fancy of
God without warrant ; you are under an obligation, and that must be
regarded.
[9.] This is no small encouragement, that Jesus Christ, that hath
the grant of the elect, is to see the promises to be made good to them.
The new heart, and the infusion of converting grace is a thing promised
to natural men that are elect before they are in Christ, and Christ will
see to the accomplishment. Whatever Christ's intent is towards you,
certainly his will will be no hindrance to our duty ; therefore upon all
these grounds we might press men to wait upon God in the use of
means, that so, if it be his gracious will, they might receive mercy for
their souls.
Fourthly, We may infer hence the necessity and excellency of faith.
1. We may gather from hence the excellency of faith ; he nameth
no other graces. Whatever glorious virtues are found in God's children,
none of them can make them acceptable with God but faith ; how ?
not for any excellency that is in faith itself, because of all graces it hath
least of worth, but in regard of its object. Though faith in itself be
a needy grace, yet it hath a worthy object ; it receiveth Christ and all
the blessings of the covenant. Therefore the apostle calls it ' precious '
102 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXVII.
faith, 2 Peter i. 4, because it is conversant about a precious Christ,
and precious promises, and precious righteousness.
Obj. But you will say, Charity or love is elsewhere preferred before
faith, therefore how can faith be accounted the most excellent grace ? 1
Cor. xiii. 13, 'Now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three; but
the greatest of these is charity/ It is true, before he compares gifts
and graces, but here he compares grace and grace, and he judgeth the
crown and pre-eminence to charity. When extraordinary gifts cease in
the church, these shall be perpetually had in esteem ; these three abide,
and that which is greatest is charity.
Ans. It is true, in some kind of operations other graces may have
the pre-eminence, but in the matter of pleasing of God the pre-eminence
is put upon faith. Love seems to have an advantage of faith in this,
that we give by love, and we receive by faith ; now, it is more blessed
to give than to receive. The chiefest answer is, when extraordinary
gifts cease, these three abide, and the chiefest of these three is charity,
which is most abiding ; for when faith and hope are turned into frui
tion, love then abideth, it is the grace of heaven ; but for matter of
acceptance, it is faith that is the chief grace.
2. The necessity of faith. There is as much necessity of faith as of
Christ. What good will a deep well do us without a bucket ? and an
able saviour, if we have not faith to take hold of him ? Look, as on
God's part, there is need of the intervention of Christ's merit to satisfy
justice ; so on man's part, that the sinner may have an actual interest
herein, there is need of faith : you can neither work without it, nor
please God without it.
Not work without it. There is as great a necessity of faith as of
life' I live by the faith of the Son of God/ Gal. ii. 20. And you
cannot ' please God ' without it ; for always you shall see all the bless
ings of the covenant are granted us upon this condition, Rom. x. 9, ' If
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved ; ' he puts it upon that issue. The gospel is not only a charter of
grace and precious promises, but it is a law of faith ; that is the condi-
lion upon which they are dispensed ; so Acts xvi. 31, ' Believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved :' it is the condition of the
covenant. The Lord neither will nor can save you without faith ; he
cannot, because he will not, as his pleasure is now stated. God cannot
lie, he hath stated the course and order of our salvation. Now, unless
the Lord should reverse the great law and institution of heaven, by
which he will govern the world, we may say he cannot save without
faith. So the scripture speaks : Mark vi. 5, ' He could do no mighty
works there because of their unbelief ; ' he could not, because of God's
settled course, that he will not dispense blessings without faith. There
fore it is notable, that it is the great thing we must preach, and the
great duty you must practise : 1 John iii. 23, ' This is his command
ment that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ.'
And when we receive our commission as ministers of the gospel, this
is the sum of all : ' Mark xvi. 16, ' He that believeth shall be saved, and
he that believeth not shall be damned/ And this is the great work
which you must practise : John vi. 28, 29, ' "What shall we do
that we might work the works of God?' What work shall
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 103
we do ? say they, speaking according to the tenor of the covenant
of works : saith Christ, ' This is the work of God that you
should believe on him whom he hath sent : ' all other things are but
your by-works, but this is your main work, that you bring your hearts
to close with me.
Now if you ask me the reasons why God hath put so much honour
upon this grace, why it is impossible without faith to please him ?
you may as well ask me, Why God will give light to the world by the
sun or water by the fountain ? The Lord's own will and designation
is the supreme reason, both in mature and grace ; but because God is
a God of judgment, and doth all things with advice and wisdom, because
there is a sweet conveniency and congruity in all divine appointments,
therefore I shall give you some reasons why the Lord hath put so much
honour upon the grace of faith. The great design of God is to humble the
creature, but exalt Jesus Christ and promote holiness. Now there is
nothing so serviceable for such uses and purposes as the grace of
faith.
[1.] It is faith that humbles the creature, and sends us out of our
selves to look for all in Christ ; one of God's designs in the way of
salvation is to humble the creature. Now of all graces, faith strips a
man naked of his own worth, and sends him to God's mercy in a medi
ator, so the apostle argueth : Kom. iv. 16, 'It is of faith, that it might
be of grace, that the promise might be sure to all the seed ; ' therefore
God hath stated the way of salvation in the way of faith, that it might
be of grace. Faith is the only virtue that can stand with the free grace
of God ; for it doth not work by procuring and meriting, but by
expecting and receiving what God will bestow upon us ; it brings
nothing to God of our own, and can offer nothing by way of exchange
for the mercy we expect. It receiveth a gift, but it bringeth no price ;
it deals not by way of exchange as with justice, but by way of suppli
cation and reception as with grace. If we were to deal with justice,
then certainly the honour of it would be put upon other graces ; as
love that might give somewhat by way of exchange. All that faith
doth is to send the creature as needy and destitute to the throne of
grace : Eph. ii. 8, ' By grace ye are saved through faith ; ' justice gives
what is due, but mercy gives what is promised ; the original cause is
grace, the means is faith, and the end is salvation. Faith doth not
come to God, as claiming acceptance for what we have done, but comes
with an empty hand to receive what grace and mercy is willing to be
stow upon us in Christ.
[2.] God puts this crown of honour upon the head of faith, because
it unites us to Christ, out of whom there is no pleasing of God. This
reason stands upon two propositions there is no pleasing God out of
Christ and no interest in Christ, but by faith.
(1.) There is no pleasing of God out of Christ. We are all by nature
children of wrath until we are reconciled to God by his Son. God is a
holy and a just God, and so he cannot be at peace with sinners;
as God is a holy God, so he hates us, because of the contrariety
that is between his nature and ours : as he is a just God, so he is
obliged to punish us. God in himself is a consuming fire ; he cannot
endure us, nor we him. God will never gratify the creature, so as to
violate the notions by which his own essence is represented ; therefore
1()4 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SflR. XXVII.
naked mercy can do nothing for us till there be satisfaction to justice.
Holiness awakens justice, and justice awakens wrath, and wrath con
sumes the creature; and therefore unless there be a screen drawn be
twixt us and wrath, what shall we do ? Saith the apostle, Eph. i. 6, ' He
hath made us accepted in the Beloved.' In the original it is e
_ he hath ingratiated us in Christ. As a favourite in court makes
terms for the rebel, and endears him to the king, so we are returned by
grace to Christ. This is that which the Lord hath proclaimed from
heaven, that all creatures should take notice of it : Mat. iii. 17, ' This
is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased,' in him, and in no other.
This voice came from God not only to show his love to Christ but to
give satisfaction to the world to reveal the pleasure of the Lord to the
world, how he will be appeased and satisfied towards us. It is notable,
in the Gospel of Luke, these words are spoken to Christ himself : Luke
iii. 22, ' Thou art my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased.' But in
Matthew they are directed to the world In him you shall be accepted.
God did as it were proclaim to the whole world, if ever you will return
to grace and favour to me it must be by my Son. When God looks
upon men as they are in themselves, he seeth nothing but a mere
abomination : Ps. xiv. 2, 3, ' The Lord looked down from heaven upon
the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and
seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy,
there is none that doeth good, no, not one.' In the original it is, they
are altogether become stinking : God can see nothing but objects
that provoke his hatred and aversation. This is the condition of every
natural man. So the Lord utters that sorrowful speech concerning man,
Gen. vi. 6, ' It repented the Lord that he had made man, and it grieved
him at his heart ; ' he cannot look upon man with any pleasure. But
when he looks upon man in Christ, then he is well pleased ; he doth as
it were say, World, take notice, in him I will be appeased toward you.
I have read of an emperor that had a great emerald, in which he
would view the .bloody fights of the gladiators with pleasure, though
they were cruel and detestable in themselves ; yet, as they were repre
sented and reflected upon the emerald, so they yielded pleasure and
delight. So it is here, God looks upon men in Christ ; though we are
detestable and abominable objects of his loathing and aversation in our
selves, yet in him he will accept us and do us good. It is notable, what
is spoken of Christ, Isa. xlii. 1, ' Behold my servant whom I uphold,
my elect in whom my soul delighteth,' is spoken of the church ; Isa.
Ixii. 4, ' Thou sh^lt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah, for the
Lord delighteth in thee.' God delights in them, because he delights
in Christ : in and through him he is well pleased with our persons, which
otherwise are stinking and abominable.
^(2.) There is no receiving of Christ but by faith, and therefore it is
said, John i. 12, ' To as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.'
Faith is expressed by receiving ; it is the hand of the soul by which we
receive and take home Christ to our own souls : 2 Cor. xiii. 5, ' Examine
yourselves whether you be in the faith ; prove your ownselves, know ye
not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be repro
bates ? ' Mark there, 'in the faith, and Christ in us,' are made parallel
expressions. Our being in the faith is the onlv means of our union
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 105
with Christ, that makes Christ to be in us ; it is the bond that fastens
the soul and Christ together : Eph. iii. 17, ' That Christ may dwell in
your hearts by faith ; ' as a workman makes his house, and then dwells
in it, so by faith the soul is fitted for the reception of Christ. Unbe
lief rejects Christ, and puts him away ; Christ stands at the door and
knocks, and men will not open to him ; but faith is an opening to Christ,
a consent of will to take him for ours.
[3.] Faith, it is the mother of obedience, therefore there is good
reason to exalt it. Now holiness is effectually promoted by no grace
so much as by faith ; partly, because faith receives all supplies from hea
ven. Faith that receiveth Christ, receiveth all his benefits and graces :
Gal. iii. 14, ' That the blessing of Abraham might come on the gentiles
through Jesus Christ : that we might receive the promise of the Spirit
through faith ; ' that is, the Spirit of God, by whose assistance the holy
life is managed and carried on : Gal. ii. 20, ' I live by the faith of the
Son of God.' Faith looks up to Christ as distributing grace ; and so
the strength and power of the inward man is much increased, and
a man is enabled for all the offices of holiness. Partly by its own
effective influence. There are two powerful affections by which the
spiritual life is acted and improved : they are fear and love. Now
faith is the mother of both : no faith, no love nor fear. Fear,
by which we are fenced against the delights of the world ; and
love, by which we are steeled against the difficulties of the world ;
for fear puts on the spectacles of faith, and so seeth him that is
invisible. We fear God because we believe that he is. A carnal man
looks upon God as an idol and fancy, therefore doth not stand in any
awe. So love is strengthened by faith. The apostle saith, ' We love
him because he loved us first/ 1 John iv. 19. Our love to God riseth
according to the proportion of the assurance we have of God's love to
us ; then our love is carried out with a greater height and fervour after
him. Now there is nothing adds such constraint and force to love as
faith : 2 Cor. v. 14, 15, ' The love of Christ constrains us ; because
we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead : and that
he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto
themselves, but unto him that died for them, and rose again.' When
we have apprehended the love of God in Christ, and what great things
God hath done for us, then it puts the soul upon answerable returns.
The more certainty we have of the love of God, the stronger impulses
of love shall we feel in our souls to God again. Shall not I love him
much that hath done so much for me ? that hath forgiven me much ?
that hath been so gracious to me in Christ, and provided such ample
recompenses in heaven ? We find it in outward matters : jealousy
and suspicion is the bane of love. So in divine matters it is true, the
more we doubt of God's love, the more faint, and cold, and weak will
our love be to God. There are no such motives and incentives to duty
as the apprehension of God's love to us in Christ.
106 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXVIII.
SERMON XXVIII.
But without faith it is impossible to please him. HEB. xi. 6.
LET us now inquire what this faith is. There are three acts of it :
knowledge, assent, and affiance. The two former do respect the word,
and the last respects Christ offered in the word. The former acts
respect id quod verum est, that which is true ; the last, id quod ~bonum
est, that which is good. All are necessary ; there is a receiving of the
word, and a receiving of Christ in the word. Sometimes we read of
receiving of the word : Acts ii. 41, ' They received the word gladly ; '
that notes only knowledge and assent. But at other times we read of
receiving of Christ : John i. 12, ' To as many as received him,' the act
of faith is directed to Christ's person.
1. There must be knowledge, for this is a necessary part of faith :
we must see the stay and prop before we rest on it ; there is an
impression of truth upon the understanding. See the expression of the
prophet, Isa. liii. 11, 'By his knowledge shall my righteous servant
justify many.' The first and radical act of faith is there put for the
essence of it ; now without this we can neither please God nor be satis
fied in ourselves. We cannot please God : Prov. xix. 2, ' Also that the
soul be without knowledge, it is not good : ' or, as in the original ' The
heart without knowledge can never be good.' All that we do in an
ignorant state is but superstitious formality, not an act of religion.
Look, as the fruit that hath but little of the sun is never concocted,
and comes not to full maturity and ripeness ; so those acts that are
done in a state of ignorance are outward formalities that God will not
accept. Nor can we be satisfied in ourselves. How shall we be able
to plead with Satan, and answer the doubts of our own consciences,
unless we have a distinct knowledge of the mysteries of salvation, and
of the contrivance of the gospel ? He that is impleaded in a court,
and doth not know the law, how shall he be able to stand in his own
defence ? So how shall we be able to answer Satan and our own fears
without knowledge ? Look, as we fear usually in the dark, so ignorant
souls are always full of doubts and surmises ; and it is a long time ere
the Lord comes and settles the conscience.
Now every kind of knowledge will not serve the turn. There is a
form of knowledge as well as a form of godliness : Eom. ii. 20, ' Which
hast the form of knowledge, and of the truth in the law.' The apostle
means a naked model of truth, to be able to teach others : but they
want a new light put into their hearts by the Spirit of God. It must
not only be a formal apprehension, but a serious and considerate know
ledge. ^ For faith is a spiritual prudence ; it is opposed to folly as well
as to ignorance : Luke xxiv. 25, ' ye fools, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken ! ' avorjroi, ye mindless men.
When men never mind, they do not consider the use and fruit of know
ledge ; when they do not draw out the principle of knowledge for their
private advantage, they are fools. Everything in faith draws to prac
tice ; it is not a speculative knowledge, but a knowledge with consider
ation, a wise light : Eph. i. 17, he calls it ' A spirit of wisdom and
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 107
revelation in the knowledge of him/ It differs from a traditional and
disciplinary knowledge, a literal instruction which we convey from one
to another. By this men may be made knowing, but they are not pru
dent for the advantage of the spiritual life.
2. Next to knowledge there must be assent. Believing is somewhat
more than knowledge ; we may know more than we do believe, and
therefore there must be an assent to the truth of the word : 1 Thes. i.
5, ' For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power,
and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance/ There is some assur
ance that doth not concern the state of a believer but the word of God,
receiving it above the cavils and contradiction of the privy atheism that
is in our own mind. Now, concerning this assent, I shall speak to two
things : it must be to the whole word of God and with the whole heart.
[1.] It must be to the whole word ; it must be a receiving of the
word indefinitely, all that God hath revealed. God prescribeth the condi
tions which he requireth, and offereth promises ; we must consent to the
whole. In the word of God there are doctrines, promises, threaten ings,
precepts all these must be entertained by faith before we come to the
act of affiance. The doctrines of faith concerning God and Christ, the
union of the two natures, the mystery of redemption, we must receive
them as 'faithful sayings/ 1 Tim. i. 15. Usually there is some privy
atheism : we look upon the gospel as a golden dream, and a well-devised
fable. Saith Luther, ' Carnal men hear these things as if the mystery
of the gospel were but like a dream or shower of rubies fallen out of
the clouds ; ' therefore there must be a chief care to settle the heart in
the belief of these things as faithful and true sayings. Christians would
not find the work of their particular faith so irksome if they had but
' the assurance of understanding/ Col. ii. 2 ; if their hearts were rooted
in the truths of the gospel. Then there are threateuings of the word, to
show how abominable the creature is to God in a natural condition,
and to what punishments we are subject and liable. Now these
must be applied with reverence and fear, that we may be roused out
of our carnal estate, and chased like the hart to the refreshing streams
of grace. There must be a firm belief of all the threatenings and curses
of God. Then the promises of the word, these are principally calculated
for faith, and these must be applied to the soul : John iii. 33, ' He that
hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true/ We
must come and set to our seal, and say, Lord, thou wilt never fail thy
creatures, if they should venture their souls upon the warrant of such as
these are. Then there is believing of the commands, not only that they
come from the Lord, that they are laws established and enacted by the
supreme ruler of heaven and earth ; but we must believe they are just,
good, holy and true. So David, Ps. cxix. 66, 'Teach me good judgment
and knowledge, for I have believed thy commandments/ When we
believe the commandments are of divine original, and that they are holy,
and good, and fit to be obeyed, this is that which the apostle calls a ' con
senting to the law, that it is good,' Kom. vii. 16. Such an assent must
there be to the whole word.
[2.] It must be with the whole heart. For this the intellectual assent
ifl not enough, unless it be accompanied with some motion of the heart ;
there is somewhat besides understanding, not only knowledge and
108 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXVIII.
acknowledgment, but there must be consent of the will. We must not
only reflect upon the things that are propounded as true, but as good
and worthy of all acceptation : Acts viii. 37, 'If thou believest with all
thy heart, thou mayest be baptized.' We must assent to the threatenmgs
of the word with trembling and reverence, to the promises of the word
with delight and esteem : Acts ii. 41, ' They received the word gladly,'
to the commandments of the word with some anxious care of strictness
and obedience, to the doctrines of the word with consideration.
3. There is affiance, which is an act which doth immediately respect
the person of Jesus Christ. For we are not saved by giving credence
to any axiom or maxim of religion, but by casting the soul upon Christ.
Faith is thus described by resting upon God, 2 Chron. xiv. 11 ; by stay
ing upon God, Isa, xxvi. 3 ; by trusting in Christ, Mat. xii. 21, Ps. u.
12. There must be some carrying out of the soul to the person of Chnst
himself. The devils may have knowledge ' I know thee who thou
art, the holy one of God,' Luke iv. 34. And the devil may have some
assent too ; there are no atheists in hell. Nay, they assent with some
kind of affection' They believe and tremble,' James, ii. 19. Therefore
there must be an act of faith that carrieth out the soul to Christ him
self. Believing in Christ noteth a recumbency ' Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved/ Acts xvi. 31 ; it is Paul's counsel
to the gaoler. It is an allusion to a man that is ready to fall, that stays
himself by some prop and support ; so it is staying our souls upon Christ
when we are ready to sink under the burden of divine displeasure, or
are overwhelmed with terrors of conscience. Now let us a little consider
this act in its progress and growth.
[1.] This act of affiance must arise from a brokenness of spirit. The
soul must be broken and dejected with a sense of God's wrath, or else
it can never come and lean upon Christ. It is the work of God to
comfort those that are cast down. There is no dependence upon God
for comfort till we are cast down and dejected with the sense of his
wrath. This casting our souls upon Christ doth suppose a being pos
sessed with the fear of death ; then we take hold of the horns of the altar
with Adonijah. Till there be a due sense and conviction of conscience,
it is not faith, but carnal security. It is a great mistake to think God
requires faith immediately of any. He requires faith of none immediately
but those that are broken and contrite, that are dejected with a sense of
their own wretched condition out of Christ. Therefore when Christ
invites persons to grace, still he directs his speech to them that are
thirsty, hungry, weary, because they are in thenext capacity of believing :
Mat. xi. 28, ' Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden,
and ye shall find rest for your souls.' Those are invited to Christ that
groan under the heavy load upon their consciences : Isa. Iv. 1, ' Ho, every
one that thirtieth, come to the waters,' &c. Christ speaks to those
that are dejected with the sense of their natural condition. It is in vain
to boast of peace of conscience when we were never troubled. Believing
is a swimming to the rock. Now he that stands upon the firm land
cannot swim ; that is not a work for him, but for those that are in the
midst of the waves, ready to perish in the tempestuous waters. Men of
an untroubled and unmoved conscience, their next duty is not to believe
in Christ ; but those that are ready to despair, they are called to swim
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 109
to the rock, and run to Christ, the rock of ages, that they may not be
swallowed up of divine displeasure.
[2.] This act is put forth with much difficulty and struggling. It
is a hard matter to bring Christ and the soul together. There is a
great deal of struggle ere we can cast our souls upon Christ. We
must reason with our own fears, plead and dispute with ourselves and
with God, and cry long and loud many times at the throne of grace.
As when the prodigal began to be in want, then he deliberates with
himself In my father's house there is bread enough and to spare.
The case of a soul in coming to Christ is much like the case of Peter in
coming to Christ upon the waves : Mat. xiv. 28-30, Peter, when he
saw Christ, he acknowledged him for his lord and saviour ' Peter said
unto him. Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come on the water. And he
.said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he
walked upon the water to go to Jesus ; but when he saw the wind
boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord,
save me.' Peter left his ship, and resolved to venture on Christ's call ;
but he found difficulty. So it is in our coming to Christ, when by an
undoubted assent to the truth of the word we are convinced in con
science that Christ is the alone saviour, that he is a rock for shelter
in the midst of waves ; by the impulses of grace the soul begins to
make out to Christ. Christ saith, Come, come, and the soul is even
overwhelmed with the tempests of wrath and waves of divine dis
pleasure ; therefore we had need encourage our hearts in God, and cry,
Lord, arise and save us. After we have left the ship of our carnal
confidence, after the soul is in its progress to Christ, there is a
great deal of difficulty to bring God and the soul together. God doth
not meet every soul as the father of the prodigal, half way ; but there
is a long suspension of comfort that may cast us upon difficulties, that
we may struggle with our own unbelieving thoughts.
[3.] Though there be no certainty, yet there is an obstinate purpose
to follow after Christ. It is true, the aim and end of all faith is to
draw the soul to certainty and particular application, to assurance of
pardon, that we may say, My God and My rock. But though the soul
meets with many difficulties, yet there is an obstinate purpose ; the
soul will not let go his hold on Christ. When we can plead with our
own objections and fears, and say, Lord I will not give over ; and with
Jacob, ' I will not let thee go till thou bless me,' Gen. xxxii. 26, and
with Job, ' Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him/ Job xiii. 15.
Whatever displeasure the Lord seems to manifest against them, yet
they will follow on in a way of trust : Phil. iii. 12, ' I follow after, if
that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ
Jesus,' &c. Christ hath touched my heart, and I cannot be quiet till
I have got him. This is a right disposition of heart. When Christ
hath apprehended us, the soul follows on with an obstinate resolution,
until it can apprehend Christ and take hold of the skirt of his garment.
Use 1. To put us upon the trial, Have we true faith? there is no
acceptance with God without it. The great object of trial and search
is faith : 2 Cor. xiii. 5, ' Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith,'
or in a believing state. Conviction mainly respects faith : John xvi. 9,
'He shall convince the world of sin, because they believe not in me/
110 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XXVIII.
without it, we are liable to the power and curse of the law against sin
ners. Faith makes the difference among men before God : Gal. v. 6,
'For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor
uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love/ When God pro-
ceedeth to judgment against sinners, he doth not ask, Is he baptized?
is he civil? but doth he believe? there is the most important question
in Christianity.
Now there are different degrees of faith : Mark xvii. 20, ' If ye have
faith as a grain of mustard seed ; ' Mark viii. 26, ' Why are ye fearful,
ye of little faith ? ' All the trees of God's garden are not of the
same growth and stature, there are cedars and shrubs. The least de
gree of faith is faith, as a drop of dew is water as well as a flood ; and
the lowest measure and grain of saving faith is grace ; the motion of
a child newly formed in the belly is an act of life, as well as the
walking of a man. Some, like John Baptist, can 'only ' spring in the
womb ; ' they have a seed of grace, though they be not grown up into
a tree. In Christ's family there are ' little children,' as well as ' fathers,'
1 John ii. 12-14. Christ himself was once a little stone, though he
grew a great mountain, that filled the whole earth. All plants in
Christ's garden are growing when they are young and weak. We
must not despise the day of small things ; we must look indeed chiefly
after truth, not growth. It is well if we endure the touchstone, though
not the balance : 2 Tim. i. 5, ' When I call to remembrance the un
feigned faith that is in thee ; ' the question will be resolved into that at
last. There is a counterfeit faith that is not profitable. Simon Magus
believed, Acts viii. 13 ; and many believed in Christ's name, to whom
he would not commit himself, John ii. 23. 24. When the devil de
stroy eth men, he doth not forbid them to believe ; he change th himself
into an angel of light. Presumption is rather of means than of end ;
most deceive themselves with a false faith. There is nothing but the
devil can counterfeit it Felix trembled, Esau wept, Ahab humbled
himself, Simon Magus believed, Judas repented, Pharaoh prayed, Saul
confessed, Balaam desired, the Pharisee reformed we had need to
look to ourselves. But how shall we state the marks by which men
may come to the knowledge of their state ? especially, how shall we
discern what is true faith ? In the first times of the gospel the difficulty
lay without ; the gospel was a novel doctrine, opposed by worldly
powers ; bleak winds that blow in our backs blew in their faces. The
gospel, as a novel doctrine, was represented with prejudices, opposed
with scorn and extremity of violence ; there was more in assent than novv-
in affiance. Now the gospel by long prescription and the veneration
of nges hath gotten a just title' to our belief ; there is nothing in a
literal and uneffectual assent. Every man pretendeth to esteem Christ,
and acknowledge Christ for saviour of the world ; how shall we dis
prove them ? The scriptures are rather a treasury of doctrines than a
register of experiences. But yet we are not wholly left in the dark ;
by the light of the Spirit the doctrines of the word may be suited to
all cases. The scripture is not such a dark rule but that it will
discover the thoughts of the heart ; and what is this faith unfeigned,
the minimum quod sic, the least degree of faith, without which we are
not accepted ?
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. Ill
I might answer generally, that the least degree of true faith begin-
neth in contrition, and endeth in a care of obedience. But because
there may be in the wicked some occasional doubtings, such as arise by
starts out of the trouble of an evil conscience and some smooth mora
lities, that may look like gospel reformation, we must go more
particularly to work. I do again return the question, What is the
lowest degree of true saving faith ? ' By way of answer
1. I shall show that the question is necessary to be determined,
partly for the comfort of troubled consciences. God's children are
many times persuaded they have not faith, when indeed they have. It
would be a great settlement if we could clear up the work of Christ :
Mat. xvii. 20, ' If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed,' &c. Though
you have mountains of guilt, it is a great peevishness not to acknow
ledge the crumbs ; we think we are dogs, but we have crumbs. To
deny that you are Christ's is not self-denial, but grace-denial, to belie
God's bounty: Cant. i. 5, 'I am black, but comely;' and ver. 2, 'I sleep,
but my heart waketh ; ' Mark ix. 24, ' Lord, I believe, help thou my
unbelief.' And it is a ground of unthankfulness : Zech. iv. 10, ' Who
hath despised the day of small things ? ' God will be acknowledged
in the low beginnings of grace. Partly as it is a ground of hope : Phil,
i. 6, ' Being confident of this very thing, that he, which hath begun a
good work in you, will also perform it until the day of Jesus Christ ; '
it is the bud of glory, a seed of everlasting life. The Spirit never for-
saketh us, something is to be done till the day of judgment ; the soul
is exactly purified at death, and the body will be raised at the great
day. It is an advantage to be able to urge deliverance from the lion
and bear ; the great Philistine shall also be overcome, only we must
not rest in those beginnings. Initial grace is but counterfeit, unless it
receive growth and access ; things that are nipped in the bud show
that the plant is not right.
2. It is possible to find out the least and lowest degree of faith.
Scriptures show that there is a beginning, upon which we may con
clude an interest in Christ: Heb. iii. 14, 'For we are made partakers
of Christ, if we hold rrjv apxnv TT}? u7rocrTao-e&>?, the beginning of our
confidence, stedfast unto the end/ if we retain the first principles and
encouragements to believe ; if we can hold it out, we are safe. There
are some grains and initials of faith ; and the scripture discovereth
what they are, for it layeth down the essentials of faith, we are not
left in the dark.
Having premised these things, let me come now to show what it is,
because faith is a capacious word, and involveth the whole progress of
the soul to Christ. It is hard to state this matter in one word, unless
it were as ambiguous as the question itself ; therefore I shall take
liberty to dilate and enlarge myself, by showing you what is most
necessary, and what are the lowest and most infant workings of faith.
[1.] There must be out of a deep conviction a removing of our own
righteousness. Affiance beginneth in self-diffidence. Faith implieth
that we are touched in conscience, and that the heart is elevated above
self, utterly abhorring our own merits : Ps. cxlvii. 3, ' He healeth the
broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Faith is a seed of
heaven, not found in unploughed or fallow ground a sound conviction
112 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XXVIII.
of self-nothingness, especially if joined with addresses to grace, is a
good evidence of it. The soul looketh upon all that it hath or can do,
like a ship without a bottom, to be a hindrance, not a gain ; and un
less Christ help they are utterly and eternally lost : Phil. iii. 7-9 ;
' What things were gain to me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea,
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
And be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteous
ness which is of God through faith.' The soul in this condition is
between life and death ; it is a twilight in the soul, neither perfect day
nor perfect night, like a child in the place of breaking forth of children ;
if we be not still-born we are in a fair way of faith ; if we run to mercy,
there is hope. ' The publican, that smote his hand upon his breast,
saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner, went down to his house justi
fied rather than the other,'' Luke xviii. 13, 14. The parable is spoken
against those that trusted in themselves, that they were righteous.
Discovering of an ill condition may be sometimes in the wicked, but
the soul is not purged from carnal confidence and set to work upon the
mere warrant of God's grace.
[2.] An esteem of Christ. In faith there is not only a conviction of
the understanding, but some motion of the will ; all motions of the
will are founded in esteem. This is a low fruit of faith : 1 Peter ii. 7,
' To them that believe he is precious.' To an hungry conscience Christ
is more precious than all the world besides ; he seeth the truth and
preciousness of the rich offers of grace in the Lord Jesus Christ, the
sweetest happiest tidings that ever sounded in his ears, and entertaineth
it with the best and dearest welcomes of his heart, it is better than life.
This is the same with ' tasting the good word of God,' Heb. vi. 5, only
it is more constant. Carnal men may have a vanishing and fleeting
glance, but these are serious and spiritual motions and affections of the
heart towards Christ. Wicked men soon lose their relish and taste,
like those that cheapen things, and taste them, but do not like the
price. This maketh us part with all : Mat. xiii. 44, ' The kingdom of
heaven is like to a treasure hid in a field, the which, when a man hath
found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goethand selleth all that he hath
and buyeth that field/ This esteem begetteth self-denial; estate,
credit, friends, all shall go, so I may enjoy Christ. Wicked men have
some relish ; they prize Christ in pangs of conscience. All apostasy
corneth from a low estimation of Christ after a taste ; it is the highest
profaneness : Heb. xii. 16, ' Profane Esau, for one morsel of meat, sold
his birthright.' Well then, is Christ precious? Dost thou embrace
the reconciliation that he hath purchased with all thy heart ?
There is but one objection against this act and disposition of faith ;
this prizing of Christ seemeth but a natural act. Esteem is pure when
it is drawn forth upon religious reasons ; these acts are not gracious,
because the ground is carnal viz., offers of nature after ease. How
will you do to comfort a troubled conscience that maketh this reply ?
It is but a natural motion after ease ; we look on Christ for comfort ?
I Answer, (1.) By setting before him the indulgence of God. We
YER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. 113
may make use of God's motives ; he suffereth us to begin in the flesh,
that we may end in the spirit : Mat. xi. 28, ' Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' There is faith
when we trust Christ upon his own word. If a prince should offer a
general pardon to rebels, with a promise that he would restore their
blood, and now they lay down their arms and submit to mercy, it is
counted an act of obedience. If Christ maketh proclamation, Come,
and I will ease you, do you think it is a wrong faith to take him at
his word, aod to love him for his condescension ?
(2.) To press him to perfect these acts. It is good to be doing
rather than censuring. Idle complaints do but vex the soul. Those
rebels that submit to a prince because of his pardon may afterwards
enter into an entire friendship. Christ is lovely in himself; by ac
quaintance our affections grow more pure. We first esteem him out
of hope, and then out of gratitude. Love to his person is the fruit of
experience. In a treaty of marriage, the first proposals are estate and
conveniences of life ; conjugal affection groweth by society and com
merce. It is a good advantage to love Christ upon any terms.
(3.) By discovering the mistake. There is some spirituality of
esteem when we can prize a pardon and acceptance with God. Bastard
motives are fame, and ease, and worldly honour, and the sunshine of
worldly countenance. Besides, this esteem of Christ ariseth from a
spiritual reason, because we are unsatisfied in our own righteousness :
Phil. iii. 7, 8, ' What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excel
lency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may
win Christ.' Because we have a low esteem of ourselves, therefore we
have a high esteem of Christ. Now it is an effect of grace to prize
Christ for his righteousness, which is the esteem that groweth out of
sound conviction.
[3.] Another act which ariseth out of this is a resolution to cast our
selves upon Christ ; then faith is budded and formed. Rolling upon
Christ is the formal, vital act of faith ; and a sound purpose of acknow
ledging him for a saviour is the lowest degree of that act. And there
fore if, out of a sight of thy own lost condition and an esteem of Christ,
thou resolvest to cast thyself upon him, thou dost truly believe. Partly
because in this resolution there is a compliance with the decrees of
heaven, of setting up Christ as the alone saviour of the world ; this
decree is ratified in the court of conscience. There is another decree
passed and ratified with the consent of my will, that Christ shall be
my saviour : Ps. Ixxiii. 28, ' It is good for me to draw nigh to God ;
I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.'
There is recumbency or sincere adherence, which is the formal nature
of faith, expressed by a believing on him. This resolution is always
accompanied with a great confidence of the ableness of Christ to do us
good : Mat. ix. 21, ' If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.'
Paul after experience had no more : 2 Tim. i. 12, ' I am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day.' Partly because such an act findeth a sweeter welcome than
it can expect. David received comfort upon it : Ps. xxxii. 5, ' I said,
VOL. XIV. H
114 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXI A.
I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and tliou forgavest the
iniquity of my sin.' ' I will arise and go to my father,' saith the
prodigal, in Luke xv. 18 ; ' but when he was yet a great way off, his
father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck
and kissed him/ ver. 20. Therefore, when a poor soul casts^ himself
upon Christ with a purpose never to forsake him through God's grace,
I do not doubt to pronounce him a believer, though there be much
doubts and uncertainty about the success of such addresses. As a man
falling into a river, espieth a bough of a tree, and catcheth at it with
all his might, as soon as he hath fast hold of it, he is safe, though
troubles and fears do not presently vanish out of his mind ; so the soul,
espying Christ as the only means to save him, and reaching out the
hand to him, is safe, though it be not presently quieted and pacified.
Now this act discovereth itself by three things.
SERMON XXIX.
For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of those that diligently seek him. HEB. xi. 6.
(1.) BY desires, a constant and earnest desire to go to Christ : Mat.
v. 6, ' Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for
they shall be filled.' Now no work of nature hath God made a promise
of grace to. There may be velleities ; Balaam and others had wishes,
but not real desires. In these constant serious desires the soul cannot
be quiet without Christ : Ps. xlii. 1, ' As the hart panteth after the
waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after thee, God.' The soul earnestly
desires to be a partaker of Christ and his merits. These desires are
drawn out in prayer. In the want of an expected good we sally out
after it by passionate desires, earnest sighs and groans.
(2.) By pursuits. Whosoever is moved to make after Christ as the
only means of his acceptation with God, truly believeth ; who make
this their work, John vi. 27, ' Labour not for the meat that perisheth,
but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son
of man shall give unto you.'
(3.) By rejoicing in hope when we have nothing in fruition : Heb.
iii. 6, ' If we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope
firm unto the end.'
To sum up all : the lowest act of faith we have found to be the
resolution of a humbled sinner to cast himself on Christ. Recumbency
is the formal vital act of faith, and a purpose of recumbency the lowest
degree of that act. Well then, if, out of a sight of thy lost condition
and a high esteem of Christ, thou resolvest to cast thy soul upon him,
thou dost truly believe. Now this purpose is bewrayed to be serious
and real by desire, by pursuit, and sometimes as faith receiveth strength
and growth by rejoicing in our future hopes when we have nothing in
actual feeling and fruition.
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 115
Though I suppose nothing of moment can be objected against the
decision of this question, yet because some desire to clear this recum
bency from that leaning on the Lord which is spoken of, Micah iii. 11,
' The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for
hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money ; yet will they lean
upon the Lord and say, Is not the Lord among us ? none evil can come
upon us.' Whence they infer there may be a leaning and recumbency
where there is no grace.
I answer by a Kard^rja-if. Leaning is put for a vain trust ; the
prophet speaketh according to their presumption ; they thought it
leaning or staying on the Lord when it was but a foolish confidence
built upon an ill ground, the presence of God in the outward ordin
ances and services of the temple, as if this would secure them against
all dangers, and God would be for them, though in their persons they
were never so wicked and unreformed.
But to clear it more fully : in all recumbency we must not only
regard the act and the object ; it is not enough that there be confidence
or strength of resolution, and that this confidence be in pretence placed
on God and Christ ; as carnal men will say, I pitch all my hopes on
Christ for salvation. A wicked man may make a bold and daring
adventure, and lean upon the Lord, though at length the Lord will
jostle him off. But there are other circumstances which must be con
sidered, as (1.) The necessary method and order of this recumbence ;
(2.) The warrant or ground of it; (3.) The fruits and effects of it.
ist. The method and order of it. It is the resolution of a humbled
sinner to cast himself upon Christ We still run to Christ out of a
sense of our own misery. The heart must be touched by the word.
When conscience is drowsy, it is but a presumptuous act ; and the
devil, to delude them in an imaginary faith, suffereth them to hold out
Christ in a naked pretence. The end and use of faith is to lift up that
which is cast down ; therefore it is sometimes expressed by a catching
or taking hold of Christ, as those that are ready to perish in the waters
catch hold of a bough; as Adonijah, when guilty of death, took hold
of the horns of the altar : Isa. Ivi. 4, ' Thus saith the Lord unto the
eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me,
and take hold of my covenant.' So the heirs of promise are described
to be those ' who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set
before them,' Heb. vi. 18 ; it is an allusion to those that fly from the
avenger of blood. Wrath maketh pursuit, and the believer runneth
to the city of refuge. Whosoever sets his face to Christ when chased
out of himself by his own fears, and tremblingly flieth to undeserved
grace, whosoever, I say, findeth himself in truth to be thus affected,
need not doubt of his interest in Christ ; he is driven from sin and
wrath, and drawn to Christ to seek salvation alone in him. Certainly
he is an heir of promise, and God hath sworn to him. So in the
metaphor of leaning on Christ, it supposeth a falling unless Christ did
bear us up. This is the sure method of grace ; God comforteth those
that are cast down, Christ hath a napkin for the wet face of sinners.
This is not only true at first conversion, but every time we renew our
access to him, it is either out of new troubles, or out of a constant
tenderness of conscience. Therefore in heaven there is no faith, because
116 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SfiR. XXIX.
there is no contrition, but a perfect oblivion of misery; the soul being
full of joy, faith hath no place and use. Therefore it is in vain to
boast of quiet of conscience and leaning on the Lord, as wicked men
do, when the soul was never troubled. We must consider the method
and order of grace. A wicked man is never reconciled to God, because
he never saw there was need to seek reconciliation, his conscience is
sleepy and drowsy. Here is the constant trial then ; all acts of faith
at first conversion and afterwards begin at conviction, and a sense of
our vileness and nothingness. But you will say, Then a believer's life
must be a bondage ; are we always to put ourselves into scruples and
fears ? And if the terrors of the Lord do still chase us to Christ, this
would prejudice the comfort and assurance of grace. I answer, There
is a great deal of difference between a troubled stormy conscience and
a tender awakened conscience ; the one is a dispensation, the other a
duty. Though there be not a fear that is contrary to faith, a legal
dejection ; yet there is a constant conviction and deep sense of our own
vileness and nothingness. We have all cause to be continually humble
and nothing in our own eyes, as Paul groaned sorely when yet he
blesseth God for Christ : Horn. vii. 24, 25, ' wretched man that I am !
who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord.' He had such a real confidence as produced
thanksgiving. So that this is the necessary order of grace, without
which we shall not prize Christ. This is wanting in carnal men ; a
bare supposition would destroy their peace.
2dly. The warrant or ground of it. He casteth himself upon Christ
that goeth to work considerately, and understanding what he doth ; as
Paul saith, 2 Tim. i. 12, ' I know whom I have believed.' True confi
dence is an advised act, it is built on the offer of God and the ability
of Christ. They go and show God his own handwriting, and modestly
challenge him on his promise: Ps. cxix. 49, 'Kemember thy word
unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.' They
know Christ is so able they may trust in him. 'Now this resolution in
wicked men is but a blind adventure, like a leap in the dark, they do
riot weigh the danger. Look to the ground of your trust. The two
builders, Mat. vii. the wise and the foolish builder, are not commended
or discommended for the structure, but for the foundation the one
built on the rock, the other on the sand. Natural conscience is crafty,
and pretendeth fair ; they say they trust in Christ, as those that leaned
on the Lord but upon an ill warrant, external privileges ; they rest not
on God, but on the temple. Therefore they are said to trust in lying
words : Jer. vii. 4, ' Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple
of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these I '
So carnal men have a few ignorant hopes, and trust in their baptism
and good meanings, and Christ beareth the name ; they are borne up
with the bladders of their own confidence, a few windy, empty hopes.
3e%. The effects and fruits of it. Affiance cannot consist with a
purpose of sinning, with the purpose of casting ourselves on Christ.
There is an unfeigned purpose of obedience ; he that trusteth in the
Lord hateth sin. Can a man be an enemy to him that saveth him ?
.Now, wicked men cast away their souls, and then trust Christ shall
save them ; it is, as if a man should plunge himself in the deep, upon
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 117
presumption that he shall find a bough to take hold of. God in mercy
hath provided faith for the fallen creature as a remedy ; it is an abuse
of it to plunge ourselves again into sin. Look, as it is a vanity to cast
ourselves into straits, and then to see how God will help us ; so here,
we tempt free grace to our loss. Wicked men embrace Christ with
treacherous embraces, like Judas' kiss to betray him ; as Joab took
Abner aside to smite him under the fifth rib : Heb. x. 22, ' Let us draw
nigh (fieTa a\T]dt,vf)^ /capS/a?) with a true heart,in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies
washed with pure water ; ' if not without sin, yet without guile ; there
must be an upright and unfeigned purpose to walk in new obedience.
There is a notable place : Jer. vii. 9, 10, ' Will ye steal, murder, and
commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and
walk after other gods whom ye know not ; and come and stand before
me in the house, which is called by my name, and say, We are
delivered to do all these abominations ? ' we are delivered, all these
are expiated by sacrifice ; Christ died for me as well as you, we shall
do well enough. What ! will ye be worldly, sensual, neglect duty, be
drunk, be careless in the course of your conversations, and say, We
are delivered, Christ died for us ? And will he discharge you from the
guilt of these sins when you turn again to the practice of them ? It
is true, there is a bath for uncleanness, and there will be continual
failings, but certainly they that continue in the constant practice of
iniquity have no comfort and benefit by it : John xiii. 10, ' He that is
washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit.'
There will be some fleshly adherences and failings after we are washed
in the laver of Christ's blood, as a man that goeth from the bath, when
he hath washed his body, may defile his feet ; but when you make it
your constant practice to commit iniquity, it is in vain to pretend to
rest on Christ.
Use 2. Exhortation to press us to faith. It is the commandment
which we must teach : 1 John iii. 23, ' This is his commandment, that
we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ ; ' and it is the
work which you must practise : John vi. 29, ' This is the work of God.
that ye believe on him whom he hath sent ; ' this is your epjov ; it is
but waste time that you spend on pleasures and worldly businesses.
Men think they are only to follow their callings, they make their tem
poral and worldly business their work, and so do not apply their minds
to believe in Christ. Oh, consider, when there was an invitation, business
would not suffer them to regard it ! Mat. xxii. 5, ' They made light of
it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise.'
It is not whoredom, drunkenness, and extortion, but an immoderate
following of their lawful profits and pleasures a farm, a marriage, a
yoke of oxen things plausible in their kind, and one would think
necessary : Luke x. 42, ' Mary hath chosen the better part, which shall
not be taken away from her : ' these things ought not to be undone.
How can men sleep or work till they have cleared up their interest in
Christ ? nay, in spiritual employments, closing with Christ ; the pre
eminent duty is not your work so much as your faith. The disciples
in their converse with Christ bewrayed many weaknesses, but Christ
was never angry with them so much as he was for their want of faith :
SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXIX.
Luke xxiv. 25, ' fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have spoken ! ' and Mat. viii. 26, ' Why are ye so fearful, ye of little
faith? ' Oh, consider. to quicken you, it is the grace that bringethGod most
glory, and doth you most good. Some cry up charity, because they
mistake the nature of faith they depress it, they omit what is chief est
in faith, and they speak of it as if it were nothing worth. And so
others make faith a pendulous hope, and therefore cry up obedience
and love.
1. It bringeth God most glory. It is notable that faith doth that
to God in a way of duty, which God doth to the creature in a way of
grace it justifieth, sanctifieth, glorifieth. It justifieth, and that is a
relative word, against the slanders and contempts of the world. So it
is said, Luke vii. 29, ' And all the people heard him, and the publicans
justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John;' it defendeth
his honour and the truth of his grace. The pharisees said, It was a
foolish doctrine. How a believer justifieth God against the contempt
of the world and the suspicions of his own heart ! Whatever conscience
saith to the contrary, the Lord is just, gracious, merciful. Unbelief
slighteth God and Christ, as if he were not worth the taking; the
truth of the gospel, as if it were not worth credit ; his worth, as if he
did not deserve respect ; his power, as if he were not able to save a
sinking soul ; it putteth a lie upon the whole contrivance of grace.
Oh, how sweet were it if we could justify God against the prejudices
of our own hearts ! they make the blood of Christ a base thing, the
Spirit of Christ a weak instrument. So it sanctifieth God : Num. xr.
12, 'Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the
children of Israel/ To sanctify, is to set apart for special uses and pur
poses ; so we are said to sanctify God when we give him a separate and
distinct excellency from all the powers in the world. He is not a
common help and saviour, none so holy and gracious ; it setteth the
Lord with admiration above all created powers, for trust, fear, and
dependence : Isa. viii. 13, ' Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let
him be your fear, and let him be your dread.' When we see man is
not to be trusted nor feared, but God, we set him on the highest point
of eminency, aloof from the creatures. Is there any like him for pardon,
for power, for holiness ? So it glorifieth God : Kom. iv. 20, ' He was
strong in faith, giving glory to God/ God doth as it were receive a
new being from faith ; though he be infinitely glorious in himself, yet
he counteth himself glorified by the faith of the creature ; he hath a
second heaven in the heart of a believer, there he dwelleth by faith,
and displayeth the pomp of all his excellences. Now unbelief dethroneth
God, it will not let him set up a new heaven or place of residence in
the conscience.
2. It doth you most good ; your life, your peace, your glory, all
hangeth upon it. Your life : Gal. ii. 20, ' I live by the faith of the
Son of God ; ' you may be as well without life as without faith. So
for peace, would not a man be friends with God, and live at amity
with heaven ? Bom. v. 1, ' Being justified by faith we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ ; ' and for glory, 1 Peter i. 9,
' Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul/
Faith beginneth salvation, and heaven is but faith perfect and believing
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 119
turned into fruition. You are in the suburbs of heaven as soon as you
close with Christ ; it putteth you above the clouds, and in the midst
of glory to come. All the blessings of the covenant are made over to
faith. It is God's acquittance which he showeth to Christ ; as when
men are obliged to pay great sums of money, they receive an acquit
tance, as an acknowledgment that the money is received : John iii. 33,
' He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal, that God is
true.' We give it under our hand and seal, that God is as good as
his word.
But how shall we do to get faith ? I answer
[1.] The habit of faith is freely given and wrought by God himself :
Phil. i. 29, ' To you it is given on the behalf of Christ to believe on
him ; ' Eph. ii. 8. ' By grace ye are saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves, it is the gift of God ; ' Heb. xii. 2, ' Looking to Jesus
the author and finisher of our faith.' And therefore the general means
are waiting upon the word and prayer ; commend thy case to God by
prayer, and wait for an answer in the word. Hearing there must be :
Rom. x. 14, ' How shall they believe in him, of whom they have not
heard ? ' God will not infuse faith when asleep ; you must lie under
the authority of the word. God's seasons are not at our beck ; if the
first stroke of the flint doth not bring forth the fire, you must strike
again; it is good to be constant. And then if God suspend the
influences of his grace, pray remember the promise of giving the Holy
Spirit: Luke xi. 13, ' If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ? ' Knock once more ; a
holy importunity argueth some presence of the Spirit, though we are
not sensible of it ; it is good to be earnest, and to follow God with
renewed requests and expectations.
[2.] I answer, Because we are required to believe ; though it be his
gift, God requireth it of the creature. It is good to be doing ; let us use
the means, and leave the blessing to God ; he may come ere we are
aware, and though we can do nothing spiritually, yet it is good to be
doing rationally. It is true, faith is not a work of nature, but this is
the way of God's working. There are secret elapses of the Spirit of
God, as Samuel thought Eli called, when it was the Lord ; there may
be a spiritual work where we think it merely rational : besides, we
are under a law ; God respecteth not what we can do, but what we
ought to do. Three things are to be done (1.) Something to humble
the soul and fit it for faith ; (2.) Something to further the immediate
working and actings of faith towards Christ ; (3.) Something for the
regulating of these actings.
First, To fit the soul for faith, it is good to offer humbling matter.
God was angry with Pharaoh : Exod. x. 3, ' How long wilt thou
refuse to humble thyself before me ? ' Certainly we might do some
thing.
(1.) Reflect on your present condition, and think of changes. It
will not be ever with thee as it is now. I must die, and must come to
judgment. Draw it to a short issue : Markxvi. 16, ' He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be
damned.' Do I believe ? upon what terms do I stand with God ? what
120 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXIX.
assurance have I of his love ? Especially do it, when God giveth thee
a hint in his providence : 1 Kings viii. 47, ' If they shall bethink them
selves in the land, whither they were carried captives, and repent and
make supplication unto thee in the land, of them that carried them
captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have
committed wickedness,' &c. Eetirement gave them an opportunity to
converse with themselves. It is good for us and our consciences to be
together sometimes and enter parley, What am I? how do matters
stand between God and me ? Man has a conscience a power to talk
with himself : Ps. iv. 4, ' Commune with your own heart on your bed,
and be still ; ' he can look inwardly to ask himself what he hath done :
Prov. xx. 27, ' The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching
all the inward parts of the belly:' it is God's deputy, it sets up a
tribunal within a man's self.
(2.) Examine yourselves by the law of God. A daily view of sins
doth much conduce to humbling. Conscience is blind in many cases,
therefore take the law along with you, and look into the purity of it :
Korn. iii. 20, ' By the law is the knowledge of sin ; ' not only quoad
naturam peccati, but quoad inhcerentiam in subjecto. To man fallen,
that is the nature and office of it : Rom. vii. 9, ' For I was alive with
out the law once ; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and
I died.' Paul was never troubled till the law was brought home to his
conscience.
(3.) Aggravate thy sins from the consideration of God's love. Two
things very much humble the soul, light and love. So it was in Saul's
case : 1 Sam. xxiv. 16, 17, ' And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I ; for thou hast
rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.' There is a
natural ingenuity in the sourest nature to make us relent, when we
have done wrong to a kind person. Take the same course with your
souls ; all this is done against a merciful God, and against special offers
of love. Surely you have very hard hearts, if they will not be melted
with offers of grace.
(4.) Do not skin over the wounds of conscience : Jer. vi. 14, ' They
have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, say
ing, Peace, peace, when there is no peace ; ' they put it off, rather
than put it away ; stop the flux of humours, rather than cure the
distemper. Better keep conscience raw than let it fester into an
ulcerate sore : Ps. li. 3, ' I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin
is ever before me.' This must be the disposition of your hearts,
otherwise, your iniquities will find you out ; we must have a care
of quenching the Spirit, when a ray of conviction is darted into our
bosoms.
(5.) Propound the encouragements of a common faith. Observe
that mercy is made an argument to draw men to the highest pungent
afflictive sorrow : Joel ii. 13, 'Bend your hearts, and not your garments,
and turn unto the Lord your God : for he is gracious and mereiful ; ' it
noteth a deep and heightened sorrow upon the motive of God's good
ness. The apostle tells them of a promise, Acts ii. 39 ; after they
were pricked in hearts, ver. 37 ; Mat. iii. 2, ' Repent ye : for the king
dom of heaven is at hand ; ' that is, the whole gracious administration
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 121
of Christ. Partly because else there would be a despondency and
despair, it is a dangerous temptation to say there is no hope . Jer.
xviii. 12, ' And they said, There is no hope ; but we will walk after our
own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil
heart : ' it is the nature of man to be led by hope, much more in a
duty so distasteful to flesh and blood as humiliation is. Partly because
greatness of sins should increase our repentance, but not diminish our
faith. Bend your hearts, be deeply humble, but still remember God is
merciful.
(6.) Compare thy own want with the blessed condition of those that
enjoy grace. As the prodigal : Luke xv. 17, ' How many hired
servants of my father's have bread enough, and to spare, and I perish
with hunger ! ' Christ cannot want a people, but I may want a
saviour : blessed are they that are at peace with God through Christ,
but I am an alien and stranger to those joys. Emulation is a means
to humble us; the meanest of God's family abound in spiritual
comforts.
Secondly, Do something to further the immediate workings and
actings of faith ; that is your work when the heart is humble and
sensible.
1. Consider God's gracious invitation. God hath fully opened his
mind concerning the receiving of sinners that come to Christ. He
prays us to come, makes public proclamation : Isa. Iv. 1, ' Ho, every
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money :
come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money,
and without price.' God by his ministers goes a begging to poor
creatures : 2 Cor. v. 20, ' Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's stead, be
ye reconciled to God.' He pitieth those that do not come to him, Ps.
Ixxxi. 13, 'Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had
walked in my ways ! ' so Luke xix. 41, 42, ' When he was come near
he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even
thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace ! '
He professeth his loathness that any should perish : Ezek. xxxiii. 11,
' As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way and live : turn ye,
turn ye, from your evil ways, for why will you die, house of Israel ? '
he reasoneth with them ' Why will you die ? ' So Ezek. xviii. 31. He
chideth them for not coming, John v. 40, ' Y will not come to me,
that ye might have life.' He proraiseth and offereth to them all the
favour . that may be : John vi. 27, ' Labour not for the meat that
perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life, which the
Son of man shall give unto you ; ' Mat. xi. 28, ' Come uno me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Ye need
not fear an entertainment. Now it is a great advantage to faith to
consider these passionate forms. Show yourselves men by a literal
revolution of the promises ; though it be but an act of understanding
and memory, yet God may bless it. Constant thoughts have a natural
efficacy; when God is in them, and giveth his blessing, they work much.
2. Season the heart with gracious maxims and discourses, such as
these. The more angry you conceive God to be, the more need you
122 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXIX.
have to fly to his mercy. Use a point of gospel logic, and make advan
tage of the temptation. Satan saith, Thou art a grievous sinner, and
conscience can witness the accusation ; though you take the principle,
yet beware of the devil's inferences ; the principle may be true, yet the
inference a lie. I am a dog, yet there are crumbs for dogs : Mat. xv.
27, ' Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs, which fall from their
master's table.' It is an excellent wisdom to turn discouragements
into motives of believing; to make that an argument to draw us to Christ
which would seem to drive us from him. Therefore I ought to come
to Christ. Again, God's mercy is as infinite as his wrath ; I fear his
wrath, why should I not hope in his mercy? Believing is a command
as well as a privilege ; God is worthy to be obeyed, though I be not
worthy to be received to mercy. Sins should not hinder a man from
duty, nor sickness from the remedy : look upon thyself as under an
obligation. Again, presumers are seldom troubled about their estate ;
their peace is broken when it is but suspected ; there is no fear of pre
sumption when the heart is touched : Ps. Ivi. 3, ' What time I am
afraid I will trust in thee : ' it is good to give duties their due time
and season. Again, in this work Christ will help me ; if there be any
thing of faith he will cherish it: Mat. xii. 20, ' A bruised reed shall he
not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench/ He cherisheth not
only the bright torches, but the smoking wick ; he hates unbelief as
much as you do, and will strengthen you against it, for it is the
greatest enemy of his kingdom. God usually appeareth in the creature's
humiliation : Ps. li. 17, ' The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a
broken and a contrite heart, God, thou wilt not despise ; ' if thou
canst say he will not accept thee, he will not despise thee. Humiliation
is a good beginning, a fruit of Christ's purchase ; and Christ did not
only purchase the beginnings of grace, but the perfection and increase :
you have your souls at a good advantage. When Paul was fasting,
God sendeth Ananias, Acts ix. 10 ; and when Cornelius was fasting,
he sendeth him an angel, Acts x. 30, 31, Christ's wounds are like
those of a surgeon, not of an executioner ; when he wounds and
opens the vein, he thinks of binding it up again. Many such reason
ings and discourses may we have within ourselves.
3. Make adventures. Faith at first goeth after Christ with a weak
and trembling foot, it is a mere trial and essay : Joel ii. 14, ' Who
knoweth if he will return, and repent, and leave a blessing behind
him ?' It is a thousand to one but he doth : Amos v. 15, 'It may be
that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of
Joseph ; ' Jonah iii. 9, ' Who can tell if God will turn ; and repent,
and turn away from the fierceness of his anger that we perish not ? '
It is pride and curiosity to pry into God's purposes ; what have you to
do with God's counsels ? But you have a fair offer. Why should I
ascend unto heaven ? the word is near me : Kom. x. 6-8, ' Say not,
Who shall ascend into heaven to know the mind of God ? ' he hath
declared his will in his offer, why should I dispute it? When
Ebedmelech cast a cord to Jeremiah in the dungeon, shall he fall
disputing ; It may be thou dost not intend to pull me up ? It is a
vanity to^ wrong ourselves by affected scruples ; there is pride and
curiosity in the jealousy, but obedience in the adventure.
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 123
4. If, after all, this brings no comfort, run to him, and acknowledge
your misery and impotency. Agnosco debitum, confiteor impotentiam.
' Turn me, Lord, and I shall be turned/ Jer, xxxi. 18. Da quod
jubes, et ju~be quod vis. Lord, thou hast forbidden despair, and com
manded calling for mercy ; I cast myself at thy feet, give me grace.
Our trials are but to show us our weakness, that we may fall down, and
take all at the hands of mercy. If we be not thus affected, we have
no cause to complain of God's rigour, but our own penury and sin :
Kom. xi. 32, ' God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might
have mercy upon all.'
5. Observe the seasons of God's gracious approaches : Ezek. xvi. 8,
1 Thy time was a time of love.' Grace hath its seasons : Isa. Iv. 6,
' Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found ; call ye upon him, while he
is near.' There are seasons of sweet and spiritual refreshings ; as
Benhadad's servant watched for the word, ' brother/ God will be
observed ; it is Satan's sport to see us slip our seasons. Observe the
sweet motions in the heart when the Father draws you.
Thirdly, To regulate faith, that you may not deceive yourselves with
a vain confidence. It is needful to deny ourselves, our interests, or our
lusts. Something is to be forsaken. Put cases Are you come up to
God's terms? What lusts or interests do you stick at? as Christ trieth
the young man, Mat. xix. 20, ' If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that
thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven,
and come and follow me/
SERMON XXX.
For he that comeih to God must believe that Tie is, and that he is
a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. HEB. xi. 6.
for he that cometh to God I opened this in the former verse. Coming
to God principally noteth an aim at communion and fellowship with
him. It is the same with faith : John vi. 35, ' He that cometh to me
shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst ; '
where coming and believing are all one ; it is the lowest degree of
faith ; the next degree is seeking diligently it is walking with God
here, and living with him for ever. The note is this
Doct. That it is the nature of faith to make a man come towards
God, and to get communion with him through Christ.
I shall show
(1.) What it is to come to God ; (2.) That there is no coming to
God but by Christ.
1. What it is to come to God. Coming to God notes three things,
for it is a duty always in progress.
[1.] The first address of faith. To come to God is to desire to be
in his favour and covenant to be partakers of his blessings in this life
and of salvation in the life to come -. Heb. vii. 25, ' He is able to save
them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him/ that is, those that
124 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SEE. XXX.
in and through him desire to enjoy friendship and communion with
God.
[2.] Our constant communion with him in holy duties coming to
him ' as to a living stone,' 1 Peter ii. 4. In all exercises of religion we
renew our access to Christ, and by Christ to God ; in hearing, as a
teacher ; in prayer, as an advocate for necessary help and supply ; in
the Lord's supper, as the master of the feast : Prov. ix. 2, ' Wisdom
hath killed her beasts, she hath mingled her wine, she hath also
furnished her table ; ' if at. xxii. 4, ' I have prepared my dinner, my
oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready.'
[3.] Our entrance into glory : Mat. xxv. 34, ' Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world.' We have not complete communion with Christ till we are
raised from the dead, a-nd by him presented to the Father , then do we
indeed come to God by him.
2. There is no coming to God but by Christ: John x. 9, ' I am the
door ; ' there is no entrance but through him : John xiv. 6, ' I am the
way, the truth, and the life ; no man cometh unto the Father but by
me/ Now we are said to come to God by Christ in a twofold respect,
(1.) By his merit; (2.) By his grace.
[1.] By his merit. As paradise was kept by a flaming sword, so all
access to God is fenced and closed up by his justice and wrath ; there
was no pressing in till Christ opened the way, God became man,
drawing near to us by the veil of his flesh : Heb. x. 19, 20, ' Having
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. By a new and
living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is
to say, his flesh ; ' so by his sufferings : 1 Peter iii. 18, 'For Christ also
hath once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring
us to God.' Now, as in all acts of religion we are coming to God, so
we must still hold on by Christ till we come to our journey's end, and
use him as our continual mediator and advocate, carry our petitions in
all our addresses, and make our moan to him.
[2.] By his grace. Christ carries us home on his shoulders rejoicing ;
as a man when he had found his lost sheep, Luke xv. 5. None can
come to the Father but by him : John vi. 44, ' No man can come to me
except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him ' none can come
without a divine power.
Use. Admire the privilege, that we may come to God. We of our
selves are inclined to stand off. Peter speaketh what is the disposition
of all sinners ' Depart from me ; ' we cannot endure God's company ;
we lost his image and fellowship with him. If we worship, we would
be like the Israelites, every man in his tent-door. But now we have
free leave to come to the throne of grace : Heb. x. 19, ' Having bold
ness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.' Whilst on earth
we have free trade unto heaven ; we need not change place, but affec
tions. When thou art dealing with God in prayer, this liberty was
purchased for thee by the blood of Jesus. None but the high priest
might enter into the sanctum sanctorum ; but this privilege we have,
and it will stand, for it was dearly bought: Heb. iv. 16. 'Let us
therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need.' God hath now laid aside the
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 125
terror and rigour of his justice, that we may open our case to God ; oh,
let us make use of our liberty !
Must believe that lie is, &c. As if the apostle had said, At least, there
must be this faith ; he must be persuaded first of the truth of God's
being ; secondly, of the certainty of his bounty, and doing good unto
those that come to him. Here are two articles mentioned God's
being, and God's bounty ; ' He is,' and ' He is a rewarder,' &c. The
apostle saith that this must be believed if we would please God ; he
doth not say, This is all that must be believed ; but this certainly must
be believed. For these are the general truths which are the foundation
of all that which is called religion in the world that there is a God,
and that he takes notice of human affairs. None would seek the favour
of God unless he did believe his being and bounty ; and no man will
be touched with any care of religion unless he doth assent to these
supreme truths ; yet there is a God, and that he hath such respect to
human affairs, as that he will reward the obedient and revenge the
disobedient. These are principles that are evident by the light of
nature ; and they are mentioned, because therein the faith of the
patriarchs was most exercised, and because these are the foundations
of all religion. The main work of religion is to bring our souls to
God, and the main ground and reason is the truth of his being and
recompenses. If there is a God, there are everlasting recompenses
rewards for the good, punishments for the wicked. Rewards are only
mentioned as suiting more with God's goodness, and as being more
proper objects for faith ; the other, for fear. And therefore he
that would come to God ; that is, he that would maintain friendship
and communion with him, and seek his favour (for he speaks of Enoch's
pleasing God), must firmly believe these things ; or, if you take coming
to God for our address and approaches to God in holy duties, still these
two principles are of use to us. Every time we come to God we must
revive this thought upon our hearts, Surely there is a God, and it
will not be in vain to inquire after him ; for this puts life and strength
and quickening into our duties,
The point I shall now discuss is this
Doct. That the first point of faith, if we would have anything to do
with God, is to believe that there is a God.
This is the primitive and supreme truth, therefore let me discuss it
a little ; the argument is not needless.
1. Partly because the most universal and incurable disease of the
world is atheism ; it is disguised under several shapes, but atheism it
is that lies at the root, and blasts and destroys all practice and good
conscience ; and therefore it is good to deal upon this argument, and to
reflect the light of this truth upon our conscience, and to take all
occasions to batter down that atheism that is in our hearts. I know
to chop logic with a sturdy settled atheist will be to little purpose.
General maxims can hardl} r be proved by truths more clear and evident
than themselves, and it is not good to loosen foundation stones. We
cannot guard them so much by argument, as they are guarded by their
own light and the sense which nature hath of them; and therefore
Aristotle said, That they are rather to be confuted with blows than
arguments that will deny there is a God ; as Gideon taught the men
126 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SEE. XXX.
of Succoth with briars and thorns. Protagoras was banished by the
Athenians for denying this truth. But it is not for their sakes. but
because such kind of surmises are wont to arise in the hearts of men,
where they do not grow into settled atheism, even in the hearts of all
unrenewed men, that there is no God ; therefore it is good to speak to
this argument : Ps. xiv. 1, ' The fool hath said in his heart, There is no
God,' &c ; and it is quoted by Paul, Horn. iii. 10, to prove the degenera
tion of all men. Every natural unrenewed man is a kind of atheist ;
though he dare not lisp out such conceptions, yet he hath it in his
heart ; there is something there that is ever rising up against the being
of God ; nay, such a thought may come by fits and glances into the
hearts of good men. Privy atheism is in the hearts of all men, and
therefore it is good sometimes to settle the belief of this supreme truth,
to stand upon our guard, and in defiance of such thoughts, that the
heart will ever and anon be casting up, to call to the help of reason.
2. Because supreme truths should be laid up with the greatest cer
tainty and assurance. Christians are mistaken very much, if they think
all the difficulty of religion lies in affiance, and taking out their own
comfort, and in clearing up their own particular interest. Oh, no ; a
great deal of it lies in assent ; there is privy atheism at the root, and
therefore doth the work of God go on so untowardly with us therefore
have we such doubtings and so many deformities of life and conversa
tion. If the fire were once well kindled, it would of its own accord
burst out into a flame, and burn clear ; so if assent were firmly rooted,
if we were once settled under the power and dominion of this truth,
confidence would follow of its own accord, and the whole business of
religion, both as to comfort and practice, would be far more easy to us.
All our doubts come from want of a firm assent to the being of God,
and to the word of God. Indeed, at first, while we are learners of re
ligion, it becomes us to drink in these principles and maxims of religion
without discussion ; we take them in as men do pills ; we do not chew
them, but swallow them ; and it is fit it should be so. Oportet discen-
tem credere, a learner must believe, but afterward we must inquire into
the reason of these things ; nay, when a man is first converted, and
begins to be serious in religion, when a man is touched in conscience,
his will is more exercised than his understanding ; he needs Christ,
and all the endeavours and resolutions of the soul are to get an interest
in him. And he doth not so much debate the mystery of religion as
his own particular case ; his heart is carried out after comfort, and he
seems mainly to desire some satisfaction ; but he doth not look into the
grounds from whence this doth arise. As men in a deep thirst swallow
their drink before they know the nature of it, or discern the taste of it ;
so when we are under a great thirst, or under great famishment as to
spiritual comfort, and have great troubles upon us, we take up with the
comfortable notions of Christ and salvation by him, and easily drink
in these and other truths ; we catch at them without looking into the
grounds or reasons of them, but afterwards we see this needs to be the
care and labour of the soul, to strengthen our assent and fortify our
selves against those doubts of mind which shake us, and to settle the
heart in those supreme truths which in our necessity we took in with
out discussion.
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 127
3. I would handle this argument That there is a God, because it is
good to detain the heart a little in the view of this truth, and to revive it
in our souls. There is a double reading of that place : Ps. x. 4, ' God
is not in all his thoughts ; ' or else, all his thoughts are that there is no
God ; the one makes way for the other. It is a great evil, when we
cannot endure to think of God, and to fasten our meditations upon his
being and the perfections of his nature, for by degrees his memory is
defaced and blotted out of our minds ; therefore a forgetf ulness of God
is a kind of denial of him : Ps. ix. 17, ' The wicked shall be turned into
hell, and all the nations that forget God.' Mark, not only they that
deny God, but forget God ; that is the portion of them that do not
mind nor regard him and his judgments; and therefore we should
often meditate of God, and think of him, not by starts and sudden
glances, but have deliberate thoughts of him. And therefore, that you
may have some hints of meditation whereby to enlarge yourselves in
the thoughts of God, and to give us some help to hold our minds in
the view of it, it is of great use in the spiritual life to prosecute this
argument.
Having premised these things concerning the usefulness of such a
discourse, I shall speak to this point, to prove that there is a God.
Here we may appeal not only to scripture, but to nature. We say
that principles can only be demonstrated testimoniis, effectis et absur-
dis : principles, when we would come to demonstrate them, must be
proved by testimonies, by effects, and by showing the absurdities of the
contrary ; and such kind of arguments I shall produce.
[1.] That there is a God may be proved by conscience, which is as
a thousand witnesses. The heathens, which never heard of scripture,
yet had a conscience that did accuse and excuse /jiera^v a\\rj\ja)v by
turns, Born. ii. 15. There is something within men that will chide
them for sin ; yea, for secret sins, to which none are privy but them
selves. Wicked men seek to blot out these feelings of conscience, but
can never wholly extinguish them ' The sinners in Sion are afraid/
Isa. xxxiii. 14. Wicked men are without faith, yet they are never
without fear. There is a conscience in men that appals the stoutest
sinner, after the commitment of any gross evil ; though it be secret
and beyond the cognisance and vengeance of man, yet conscience will
be smiting him, his heart will reproach him for it, therefore surely
there is a God. You shall see the Holy Ghost, when he lays down
the atheism of men, yet he observes this order, Ps. liii. 1, ' The fool
hath said in his heart, There is no God.' Now, how doth he prove,
there is a God ? It follows, ver. 5, ' There were they in great fear
where no fear was ; ' that is, where there was no outward cause of fear,
where none sought to hurt them, yet were they under a fear ; he
speaks of those that live most atheistically. This appears by the in
stance of Joseph's brethren, accusing themselves when none else could
accuse them : Gen. xlii. 21, ' We are verily guilty concerning our
brother's blood ; ' conscience began to accuse them. Though a man
should hide himself from all tho world, he cannot hide himself from
himself; his heart will pursue him, and represent his guilt. Now that
there is such a hidden fear in men's hearts after sinning, that the heart
will smite us for evil when the crime is secret, this argues there is a
128 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XXX
God ; yea, there is a fear to be found in the most obstinate sinners, and
those that are of greatest power and place in the world, that can cany
on their wickedness without control, as the most powerful princes.
Caligula, it is noted of him that he would sometimes counterfeit the
thunder, yet when it thundered indeed, how was he terrified and afraid !
Those that would study to cast away all conceit of God, yet they have
this fear upon them. And it is not a fear that they may be found out
by man, and punished by man ; for sometimes this fear prevails so far,
as they would have counted man's punishment a favour, and therefore
have sought it, or else have laid violent hands upon themselves. What
should be the reason of all this, but that they have a fear of an avenger
and judge that will call them to an account; and therefore they can
not prevent or dissemble their gripes, so greatly have these fears of
conscience been increased upon them ' They know the judgment of
God,' as the apostle speaks of the heathens, Ronu i. 28 ; that is, they
have a sense that there is a just avenger of sin, and that therefore they
are liable to judgment ; yea, those that have been professed atheists,
yet have been smitten with these horrors of conscience. Ajjirmant
interdiu, noctu tamen dubitant, saith Seneca Though they will speak
with confidence against God in the day, yet in the darkness of the
night they are in doubt. Especially, in distress and trouble, then are
these notions revived. As another heathen observes, When it thunders,
then they wax pale and are affrighted. Diagoras, an atheist among
the heathens, denied there was a God ; yet when he was troubled with
a strangury, he acknowledged a deity, Calvin, in his comment upon
the 115th Psalm, gives us a story of a scoffing atheist, a merry fellow,
whom he met with in an inn, that would talk very slightly and con
temptuously of God and of religion, and dropping out his atheism upon
all occasions, and jeering. When Calvin reproved him for it, he
would put him off with this, Ccelum ccdi Domino ' The heavens of
heavens was the Lord's ; ' God must content himself with heaven, ' but
he hath given the earth to the children of men : ' here we may do what
we please ; God was shut up in the heavens, and he had no care nor
sense of things below. But before they parted, this man was exceed
ingly gripped with the colic, and twinged with his pain ; then he
would be crying out Deus, Deus God, God ! Now, saith
Calvin, the heaven of heavens is the Lord's, and the earth belongeth to
the children of men. When God doth awaken conscience by any
sickness or trouble, they are arrested by conscience in the name of the
great God whom they deny. Belshazzar seemed a jovial fellow, and a
man of great confidence and bravery, but when he was besieged by a
great army of Persians, and danger was at his doors, he falls a quaffing
and carousing, as if he would out-laugh his danger ; and not only so,
but bids a defiance to the God of heaven, and he doth it in the vessels
of the temple. But see how soon God takes off the edge of his spirit !
Dan. v. ; a trembling doth seize upon him, and a few letters upon the
wall make his knees smite one against the other for fear. So how
merrily soever these men do carry it for a while, and how much they
may seem to smother their fears while they wallow in their sins ; yet
when the Lord stings them with his hornet, and puts them to pain ;
when he casts them into sickness, or when they are solitary, then there
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 129
is a hidden fear in their heart, and they are haunted with these pangs
of conscience, and are sensible of an avenger and a judge. And this
proves plainly that there is a God; as they say things written \viththe
juice of a lemon appear not till the paper be brought to the fire, then
all is legible ; so such characters of a God are there engraven upon the
hearts of men, that when they are sick and ready to die, when they are
upon the confines of eternity, as they begin to have a sense of the tor
ments of hell for sin, their notions of a God revive, and fear seizeth upon
them, and the most sturdy atheists then have been forced to acknowledge
a God. Thus you have the testimony of conscience to prove it.
[2.] As conscience shows it, so the consent of all nations. There
are none so barbarous, but they worship some God. Aristotle saith,
in his book de Ccelo, ' That all men, how brutish soever they were,
yet have a notion of a deity impressed upon them, which they cannot
wear out.' All nations rather than they would have no God, will have
a false god : some worship the stars, some the stones, some the beasts,
or a piece of wood, anything they met first in the morning. Though
they differed concerning the number and nature of their gods, and the
manner and rites of worship, yet they all agreed in this, that there was
a God, who ought to be worshipped and respected by men. Certainly
there is somewhat in this ; for either this must come from some in
stinct of nature, or from tradition ; both prove the truth we have in
hand. If you refer it to the instinct of nature, that doth not carry us
to falsehood, but truth ; if to tradition, it must have a beginning, and
therefore the very idolatry of the heathens is, saith Calvin, ' A pregnant
instance and apparent evidence of this natural truth, that there is a
God.' There were none so barbarous but they worshipped some god,
as the pagan mariners : Jonah i. 5, 'They cried every one to his god ; '
yea, those that are most estranged from human society, that have lived
in deserts without law or government, yet have been touched with the
sense of a deity, which must needs arise from a natural instinct ; they
would rather worship anything, yea, the very devil, than have no
god, a piece of wood or stone ; as the prophet takes notice of such
brutishness in those that would burn one piece, and make an idol of
the other, and worship it, I*a. xliv. 15-17. Now this general consent
of nations cannot be any deceit or imposition of fancy, by virtue of long
custom or tradition, because it is found in people most barbarous and
free from all traffic and commerce, and because falsehood cannot be so
universal and so long-lived as the conceit of a deity. Besides, though
they do what they can to blot out these notions and instincts of con
science, yet still they remain with them ; an invention so contrary to
nature would long ere this have been worn out of the minds of men,
therefore this general consent of nations proves that ' there is a God.'
[3.] It may be evident also by the book of the creatures. Surely
there is a God, because these things are made in such exactness and
order. There is a description of God, Zech. xii. 1, ' Thus saith the
Lord, that stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of
the earth, and formeth the spirit of a man within him.' Should we
take this method, the heavens, the earth, the souls of men, which are
the work of God, they all proclaim that there is a God ! Man could
never raise such a roof as heaven, nor lay such a floor as earth, nor
VOL. XIV. I
130 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XXX.
form himself. The world and all those things that are made, must be
from some cause; for nothing could make itself, nor can be its own
cause ; and these things, they could not come together by chance,
because of the perfection that is in all things in themselves, and their
mutual subserviency and relation to one another, and their inclination
to certain ends. There is an order in everything for the beauty and
conservation of the whole ; all things are under a law and course ' He
appointeth the moon for seasons, the sun knows his going down/ Ps.
civ. 19. The sun and moon keep at a due distance for the use of the
world, and still observe the just points of the compass, and set and rise
at such an hour ; therefore certainly this was not done by chance, and
it could not be made by man. He could not make great things, for he
cannot make the least ; he cannot make a lily, or a pile of grass, and
therefore certainly he cannot produce such a beautiful fabric as this is.
And, as Tully makes the comparison, a man coming into a house where
there are no living creatures but weasels, rats and mice, and seeth a fair
structure, he could not conceive the house could make itself, or had no
other maker but the creatures he finds there ' Every house is builded
by some man,' as the apostle reasons, Heb. iii. 4 ; ' but he that built
all things is God.' Now when a man considers all things are
managed with wisdom, he must needs conclude there must be
some cause of all these things some wise creator of them. Man
could not make the world ; man cannot form himself ; he doth
not know the number of his muscles and bones ; he cannot restore any
one of his joints which are lost ; and therefore it must be made by God.
This was that which puzzled the heathens to find out Trpwrov ainov
the first cause of the world, and all the order that is therein.
Plutarch disputes it, which could be first, the egg before the hen, or the
hen before the egg ; the acorn before the oak, or the oak before the
acorn. Such an uncertainty will there be in an all debates till we come
to this supreme truth, and to determine upon a first cause, which
Anaxagoras and others were necessitated and driven to acknowledge
at last ; and therefore surely he that looks upon the world, and upon
all the order therein, he will see that ' there is a God.'
The world is sometimes compared to a book, sometimes to a preacher.
To a book ; the book of the creature is a large volume wherein God
would set forth himself ; the diversity of creatures are as so many letters
out of which we may spell his name ; the most excellent creatures are
capital letters, and the lower creatures lesser letters ; so that a man may
plainly see God in all those things that are before his eyes. If you cannot
read yourselves, the very beasts will teach you ; nay, go to the mute fishes,
that can hardly make any sound, yet they have voice enough to pro
claim their creator: Job. xii. 7-9, 'Ask of them and they will tell
thee ; ' that is, go, look upon them ; consider them in their number
and in their variety and different kinds ; their frame and make, and
how they are wonderfully preserved; they all proclaim some wise
creator which made them.
Look upon the glorious bodies that are above, the constancy of their
motion, their admirable beauty, their variety, their regularity ; as to
the general ends of their creation, this cannot be from itself, but there
must be some supreme and infinite cause. Look upon the sun, that
VER. G.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 131
representative of a God, the brightness of whose beams will speak out
an infinite majesty that made it, and the extent of his influence
' Nothing is hid from the heat thereof,' Ps. xix. 6. That will speak him
omnipresent God, and the indefatigableness of his motion, an infinite
God. The sun, moon, and stars in the heavens, they go abroad into all
lands, and speak to every people in their own tongue English to the
English ; to other nations, in their own tongue that there is one infi
nite, eternal power, which made me and all things else. Nay, let man
but look upon himself; let him but consider the flights and traverses
of reason, the wonderful workings of his own soul, the admirable
structure of his body, the symmetry of all the parts, the different faces
that are in several sorts of men, though there be so many millions in
the world, yet not one like another in the compass of the face all
which proclaims a wise creator, who made all things.
And again, look upon nature, and you will find an order, an ascending
proportion still lilting you up to something that is more excellent ; for
there is always a gradation in the creatures.
In the general, there are elements, metals, plants, living creatures,
and then living creatures of a higher and lower rank, still leading to
something that is more perfect.
In metals, there are some more base, and others more noble, to lead
you higher and higher ; there is iron, lead, tin, brass, silver, gold.
In plants, some bear leaves, others flowers, others fruits, others
aromatical gums and spices.
There is a progress in nature in all kinds of creatures, to lead up man
still to something more excellent ; especially in living creatures, there
is an ascending proportion which leads them up to God, and more
especially in man.
Some creatures have only being ; others besides being, have life ;
others, besides life, have sense ; others, besides sense, have reason and
understanding ; and man is in a lower sphere of understanding than
the angels, and the angels than God. And so we may come up to the
most perfect and the highest of all beings ; for instance, a stone hath
not life, that grows not as a plant ; a plant hath life, but feels not as a
beast who hath sense ; a beast who hath sense, discourseth not as a man
who hath reason ; and man's reason is lower than that of the angels,
because it needs the ministry of fancy and imagination ; fancy needs
outward sense, which an angel needeth not ; and an angel he is lower
than God, because angels, that they may know anything, need either the
presence of the object, or some revelation (if it be to come) concerning
it. Therefore they are said to know the wisdom of God by what he hath
revealed to the church : Eph. iii. 10, 'To the intent that now, unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the
church the manifold wisdom of God/ But now, God's understanding
is a pure act, who knoweth all things past, present, and to come ; who
needs nothing without himself ; neither organ, imagination, nor presence
of the object ; he knows all things that may be, or can be, by his own
all-sufficiency, and all things that shall be by his wise purpose and
decree. Thus the creatures discover a God. 1
[4.] As creation, so also providence discovers a God. All natural
1 See this head of the Creation more fully handled in the third verse.
132 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SfiR. XXX.
things work for an end, and therefore they are governed by the counsel
of some wise ruler ; for all things that work for an end, it must either
be by their own choice or by the government of another. Many things
cannot do so by their own choice, because they have no knowledge, yet
they have a clear and certain inclination to some end ; therefore this
bespeaks the wise governor of the world, that sways all things. The
parts of the world being disposed into such an order, and the sweet
harmony and agreement of things, which are of such different and
destructive natures, show there is a wise God that guideth all things
to a certain end ; all would run into disorder and confusion, if it were
not poised with the art and care of providence. Many times, when we
are stupid, and do not mind these things, then God discovers the sway
of his providence more sensibly. God will awaken us by more notable
effects : sometimes by miracles, exceeding the force of all natural
causes ; sometimes by sudden and unexpected strokes in the rescue of
the good and destruction of the wicked, especially of the atheists, few or
none of which have escaped without some remarkable token of divine
vengeance: Ps. ix. 16, 'The Lord is known by the judgment which
he executeth ; the wicked is snared in the works of his own hands ; '
and Ps. Iviii. 10, 11, ' The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the
vengeance ; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that
a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous ; verily,
he is a God that judgeth in the earth.' God doth so sensibly interpose
in the eyes of men to those that discern his dealings, that they are even
forced to say, ' Verily, there is a reward for the righteous,' &c.
[5.] That there is a God, appeareth by several experiences. By
the power of his word breaking in upon the consciences of men : 1 Cor.
xiv. 25, 'And thus are the secrets' of his heart made manifest ; and so,
falling down on his face, he will worship God, and report that God is
in you of a truth.' Surely there is some God guides these men. I
might instance, in the prediction of things to come, which could never
be foreseen by any created mind hundreds of years before they came
to pass. Cyrus was named a hundred years before he was born, Isa.
xlv. 1 ; and hundreds of years before Josiah was born, it was prophesied
of him, 1 Kings xiii. 2, ' Behold a child shall be born unto the house
of David, Josiah by name, and upon thee shall he offer the priests of
the high places/ &c. And the building of Jericho was foretold five
hundred years before it was re-edified, Joshua vi. 26, compared with 1
Kings xvi. 34. There were many prophecies of things long before ever
they came to pass, and they had their certain and effectual accomplish
ment. To instance, in those general prophecies of the rejection and
casting off of the Jews and the calling of the gentiles, which were
prophesied of long before they were brought about ; but all that was
foretold was accomplished. The devils may guess at things, but they
cannot certainly and infallibly know them ; God avoucheth it as his
own prerogative, and he puts his godhead upon the trial: Isa, xli.
21-23, ' Produce your cause, saith the Lord ; bring forth your strong
reasons, saith the king of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and
shew us what shall happen : let them show the former things, what
they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them ;
or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBKEWS XL 133
hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods.' God puts it to the
decision and trial. These predictions certainly were, and, as certainly,
were accomplished, which shows there is a God. There are devils,
and they would undo all things, were they not bound up by the chains
of an irresistble providence. God suffers them now and then to dis-
cvoer their malice, that we may know by whose goodness we subsist.
Plutarch speaketh of some that by seeing of ghosts believed there
was a God. There are virtues and vices, therefore there is a God ; there
is a distinction between good and evil, therefore there is a God. For
good is not by the appointment of man's will, for then every thing
that man wills would be good ; it cannot be out of any eternal reason
which is in the things themselves. What should differ the conjugal
act from adultery, or the process of a magistrate from that of an
assassinate ? No, it is from a proportion and conformity to some
supreme being, that doth interpose by a law that makes those things
good, and these evil. Thus you have the arguments to refresh your
souls, with the reviving of the sense of his being upon your hearts.
SERMON XXXI.
For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
reivarder of those that diligently seek him. HEB. xi. 6.
I NOW come to the improvement of this great truth.
Use 1 . If there be a God, let us charge this truth then upon our
hearts, that we may check those private whispers and suspicions that
do arise too often, the Lord knows against the being and glory of
God. Many times we are apt to think that God is but a fancy, that
religion is but a state-curb, and the gospel a cunningly devised fable
a quaint device to please fond and foolish men ; and all is but invented
to hold men in awe. Oh, but to check these whispers of vanity, con
sider, in such truths as these, we may appeal not only to scripture, but
to nature. You will never be able to recover your consciences out of
this dread of the Lord's being. The devils are under the fear of a
deity ; they believe there is a God, and they tremble at the thought of
it ' Thou believest that there is one God, thou dost well ; the devils
also believe and tremble,' James ii. 19. The devil can never be a flat
atheist in judgment; that will not stand with the state of a damned
angel, because he hath a sense of the wrath of God tormenting him ;
he feels that there is a God, and believes there is a God : there may be
atheists in the church, but there are none in hell. And therefore
charge this truth upon your hearts, that you may more check and
humble yourselves for such atheistical thoughts and suggestions as
these are, for they should not be passed over without humiliation, they
are of so foul a nature. It is irrational to think that there is no God,
the creatures confute us. We cannot look abroad but something offers
itself to our eye to mind us : surely there is an infinite and eternal
134 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SEE. XXXI.
power. Oh, when thoughts rush into your minds, that have a tendency
towards atheism, as denying of providence, let them be abhorred and
rejected. See how David takes up his heart when his thoughts arose,
not against the being of God, but against his providence : Ps. Ixxiii.
22, ' So foolish was I and ignorant ; I was as a beast before thee ; '
when he had ill and unworthy thoughts of the providence of God. So
take up your hearts Oh, how brutish and beastly is this ! When you
go about to ungod God, and put him out of the throne, you do unman
yourselves, you are as beasts ; common sense and reason will teach you
otherwise. Thoughts which strike at the being of God are thoughts
of a dangerous importance ; therefore you should not smother them, or
lightly digest them.
A little to aggravate the sin. Wrath came upon the Jews to the
uttermost for killing Christ in his human nature, but these atheistical
thoughts strike' at God and Christ, and all together. And therefore
look upon these suggestions, when they rush in upon your minds, as
dangerous ; and cry out, what a foul hearb have I, that will cast
forth such mire and dirt 1 Aggravate this sin, and make it odious to
the soul, that we should think of him as nothing, who is so glorious in
in himself, and so gracious to them that know him. Other errors
may in part darken the understanding of man, but this, if given way
to, will prove a total eclipse of all spiritual light ; others may trample
on a precept, but this is to strike at God's very essence and being.
Consider, too, that thoughts are liable to God's judgment; God hath
provided for the safety and majesty of princes : Eccles. x. 20, ' Curse
not the king, no, not in thy thought ; and curse not the rich in thy
bed-chamber ; for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which
hath wings shall tell the matter.' Not only seditious and rebellious
practices, but disloyal thoughts against magistrates, are liable to judg
ment ; how much more, then, are atheistical thoughts, which strike at
the being of God ? There is a language in thoughts, and they are
heard in heaven ; and therefore whenever such thoughts arise in your
minds, make them odious, seriously humble yourselves that your hearts
should cast up dishonourable thoughts of God.
Use 2. It reproves those that either wish down, or live down, this
supreme principle.
1. Some wish it down: Ps. xiv. 1, ' The fool hath said in his heart,
There is no God : ' the heart is the seat of desires ; they are the fool's
wishes and desires, rather than his formal and explicit thoughts. ' The
fool ' that is the unrenewed man, so the apostle explains it ' hath
said in his heart ; ' that is, it is a pleasing thing for him to imagine
and suppose it ; so that they are pleased with the supposition, if there
were no God, none to call them to an account for their sins ; what kind
of lives would they live ? then they might let loose the reins, and be
freed from all those fetters and restraints, and those melancholy and
sad thoughts which religion imposeth upon them. Naturally desires
and thoughts run that way. This argueth enmity and hatred to God,
when we wish that he were not. Look, as it is with a malefactor that
is guilty of treason, it would be pleasing to him to think the court
rolls should be burnt where his crimes are recorded, and the judge
destroyed ; so it would be pleasing to carnal men, who are all become
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 135
guilty before the great God, that all the memorials of God should be
defaced.
2. Some live it down. It is possible there may be some atheists for
a while in opinion ; but they are but few, if any that are directly and
purely so ; but there are more in affection, and most in conversation :
Titus i. 16, ' They profess that they know God, but in works they deny
him.' Your assent to this supreme principle will be judged of by your
lives. There is a real language in your conversation ; that is the best
image and the best copy of your thoughts. Works discover what is in
the heart, what secret principles lurk there, though they be not expli
citly owned. Well then, when a man doth that which manifestly
infers this conclusion, there is no God, then he lives down this
principle ; when he cares not to seek peace with God, to humble him
self by repentance, to sue out for grace by Christ, then he is a practical
atheist : you that should bring God into respect with others, make
others suspect whether there be a God or no. There is not a greater
temptation to atheism than the lives of scandalous professors, those that
talk much of religion, and do not live up to the power of it. When a
heathen had surprised a Christian in an act of filthiness, he came to
him witli this smart question Christiane, cliristiane ! ubi Dens
luus? Christian, Christian! where is thy God? thy God that seeth
all things ? When you profess to believe an omniscient God, and yet
live in filthiness, and allow yourselves in cozenage, oppression, deceit,
fraud, and privy sins, and give up yourselves to a course of sin and
filthy excess ; when you are not ashamed to do that before God which
you would blush to do before men, then you live down this principle.
' The thief is ashamed when he is found/ saith the prophet, Jer. ii. 26.
Why ? we are always found of God ; God's eye is upon us. Now, when
you have no sense of this, and make no reckoning of his eye and pre
sence, so far you live down this truth. The apostle saith in 3 John,
ver. 11, ' He that doth evil hath not seen God/ He that goes on in a
course of sin, certainly his heart was never touched with a true sight
of God ; for if a man thought there were a God to call him to an account
and punish him, how could he thus freely give up himself to what is
contrary to the will of God ?
Use 3. If there be a God, then beware of such opinions and practices
as strike at the being of God.
First, Opinions. The devil is crafty, he assaults us by degrees, he
takes his aim at a distance, he does not directly strike at this, that there
is no God ; he dares not rise up against this truth, which is written
upon the face of all things and upon the heart of man ; but he
approacheth nearer and nearer towards it, and he seeks by degrees to
undermine our assent thereunto. There are many opinions which do
conduce towards atheism, and aim at the undermining this supreme
truth in our hearts. As
1. Libertinism that men of all religions shall be saved. Keligion is
the actual acknowledgment of God, that which preserves and keeps up
his respect in the world ; and therefore to make many doors to heaven,
is to widen the gates of hell ; it is but a pretence to out-face conscience,
when it presseth us to the choice and love of truth. They think if men
can smooth their carriage a little, and live a good life heathens, Turks,
136 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXI.
and men of all religions may be saved. No ; deceive not yourselves ;
there is but ' one faith,' but ' one Lord,' Eph. iv. 5. If you do not
establish one faith, you will soon deny one Lord ; for one doth preserve
and establish the other : Micah iv. 5, ' For all people will walk, every
one in the name of his god ; and we will walk in the name of the
Lord our God for ever and ever.' In these latter times of the gospel,
some grow weary of the Christian religion, and by an excess of charity
would betray their faith, and write and plead for the salvation of
heathens, Turks, infidels, that, provided they go not against their
consciences, they may be saved. The good-fellow gods of the heathens
could brook company and partnership, but the true God will be
acknowledged and owned alone, or else you can have no true happi
ness : Mat. iv. 10, ' Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him
only shalt thou serve.' As the sun drowneth the. light of the lesser
stars, and as there is but one God, so there is but one way to God.
Then there are a sort of libertines that prevail among us, that say, It
is true, there is some danger if a man be a Turk or an infidel ; but
among Christians, it is no great matter whether a man be a papist or a
protestant, of this or that profession, provided he doth act as his country
doth. This is to strike at the being of God. It is no small matter of
what party you cleave to in religion : Eev. xiv. 13, ' Blessed are the
dead that die in the Lord, from henceforth.' The meaning is this, those
that fell under pagan superstition, they all cried up them as happy ;
they were looked upon as saints and martyrs that died by that perse
cution ay, but saith the Spirit ' From henceforth write it ; ' that is,
those Christians which stood up for the honour of God against anti-
christian persecutions they are also happy. Such an indifferency in
religion is not to be allowed.
2. The denying of particular providence, and exempting of human
actions from God's predetermination and dominion. Many think that
the world is but as a great clock, which is set right at first by God,
afterwards it is left to its own motion. The heathens had such a sense
of God that they counted them atheists that denied providence ; and
to deny providence is to exempt the creature from subjection and
dependence upon God. Therefore take heed of those doctrines that
would make God an idle spectator of the world, as if he were shut up
within the heavens, and had nothing to do with the affairs of the world.
But they fall out, as men will. The scriptures tell you there is not a
sparrow that can fall to the ground without your heavenly Father, and
that he looks after the young ravens, and feeds them. It was the
wicked blasphemy of Vorstius to say, God was not at leisure to tell
the gnats, and count the number of your hairs ; to feed the ravens,
and look after every creature, and so would exempt many things from
God's providence ; but exempt anything from providence, and you will
soon run into all manner of libertinism. If Satan and wicked men
may do what they will, and God be only a looker-on, then we may
worship the devil lest he hurt us ; and fear men, though God be
propitious to us. Heathens, though they acknowledged a God, yet,
because they exempted evil actions from the dominion of providence,
they fell into many mistakes in worship this was one. The heathens
had a conceit there were evil powers, which were first to be pacified ;
VER. G.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 137
then good powers, that were afterwards to be invoked first, they
would appease evil powers, sacrifice to evil gods, and then invoke the
good ; therefore it is dangerous to exempt anything from God's provi
dence, for it is God that orders all the evil that falls out in the
world.
3. Denying the immortality of the soul. Besides that, it cuts off the
hopes of the everlasting recompenses, and so destroys the chiefest part
of God's providence, it is a stroke at God's being, who is the supreme
of spirits. There is an order among spirits ; first, the souls of men,
then angels, then God. And look, as God under the law forbade
cruelty to the beasts ; as in that law, that birds were not to be killed
in breeding time ; that they should not seethe a kid in the mother's
milk ; that a good man should be merciful to his beast ; now these laws,
as divines well observe, are a rail and fence about the life of man.
God would have us at such a distance from cruelty, that he would not
have us cruel to our beasts. So say I ; there are orders and degrees
of spirits, which are as it were a fence about the sense we have of the
being and majesty of God ; so that to deny the immortality of the soul
is a stroke at a distance at the eternity and being of God. For one
great argument, to prove the being of God is the immortality of the
soul. If the soul be not extinguished with the body, there must be
some supreme infinite spirit to which it is gathered; and indeed the
sleep of the soul is a step to this opinion. Hearken not to those opin
ions ; it is good to take the little foxes : Cant. ii. 15, ' Take us the
foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines.' It is good to resist errors
when they come with the most modest appearance.
4. Another thing that tends extremely to atheism, is popery ; for
though they have the principles of Christian religion among them, yet
there are so many superadditions, that it is a dangerous inducement
to atheism ; and for matter of experience, this is clear, that where
popery has the most absolute command, there atheism most abounds.
Now how doth popery tend to atheism ? Upon several accounts ; partly,
because it is a pompous formal religion, consisting of many idle and
ridiculous ceremonies, which cannot but beget a secret contempt and
scorn of religion, in the eyes of wise and considering men ; and partly,
because though they have the fundamentals of Christianity amongst
them, yet take the superstructures of popery, and it is a doctrine cal
culated for the present world, and fitted for human policy and for
temporal ends ; and partly, as it is supported by forged miracles, and
lying legends all which are very apt to beget suspicions in the hearts
of men, and make them to question all, when they see religion sup
ported with so many lies and forgeries ; and partly, because these
opinions are so monstrous, as that of transubstantiatiori and others,
which are contrary to the nature and being of God ; and from thence
have a mighty tendency to breed atheism in the hearts of men.
5. The expectation of new light beyond the scripture a conceit
that possesseth the hearts of many now-a-days. I do not speak of de
grees of knowledge for so certainly we are to expect new light every
day ; as long as we are in the world, we grow in knowledge but I
speak of a new revelation. It is possible that future light may disprove
many of our present practices ; but when we expect new revelations
138 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXI.
beyond the word, it leads to atheism. Fundamental truths should be
sure: Deut. xii. 30, 'We should not enquire after their gods.' The
Wigelians, who are the same with our familists, expect seculum
Spiritus sanctithe age of the Holy Ghost ; for they imagine God
the Father had his time, that was the law; God the Son had his time,
that was the gospel ; and the Holy Ghost shall have his time, when
there shall be new revelations given to the world, and we shall be
wiser than the apostles, and have a clearer light. Some expect a time
before the resurrection, when we shall live here in the world without
ordinances. Ay ; but c This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
in all the world, for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the end
come,' Mat, xxiv. 14 ; ' And I am with you alway, even to the end of
the world/ Mat. xxviii. 20. No other revelation is to be expected till
the Lord come. These are but vain devices to, cheat you of your
religion, and to keep the soul from a settlement in the present truth,
and that way of religion that God hath appointed and set up, to keep
up his respects in the world. Thus you need to be skilled in the subtle
enterprises of Satan, that lies in wait to deceive.
Secondly, There are practices, which are most contrary to the essence
and glory of God ; as
1. Hypocrisy, which is an implicit blasphemy : Kev. ii. 9, 'I know
the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and are not ; ' when a
man makes it all his business to hold up a fair pretence in the -world,
and makes a fair show in the flesh ; but he careth not how he be before
God, and cherishes noisome lusts in his heart. Do they walk answer-
ably to the belief of a God that have no regard to the eye of God ?
No, they disbelieve this truth, and it is hereby weakened more and more
in their hearts. Hypocrites are the greatest practical atheists in the
world ; they do in effect say, So we can carry it plausibly and hand
somely before men for worldly ends, we need not stand for the eye of
God.
2. Epicurism and carnal living, whereby men contemn God. When
men are full, and enjoy a great deal of plenty, they spend all their
time in eating, drinking, hunting, hawking, sporting, carding, dicing,
and wholly give up themselves to carnal pleasures and vain delights ;
they do not seek after God : Ps. xiv. 1, ' The fool hath said in his heart,
There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works ; '
and ver. 2, ' The Lord looked down from heaven to see if there were
any that did understand, and seek God.' A dissolute luxury rooted by
custom will soon deface the impression and memory of a God. Who
would sin if they thought there was a God who knew all, and would
punish the sinner ? 3 John 11, 'He that doth evil hath not seen God.'
When men wallow in all manner of sensual delights and filthiness, this
raiseth steams and vapours in the soul. The smoking of fleshly lusts
mightily clouds the mind, so that the awe and feelings of conscience
are by degrees worn out : Prov. xxx. 9, ' Lest I be full, and deny thee,
and say, Who is the Lord ? ' When men live at ease, and have wholly
given up themselves to vain pleasures, and are inordinately set upon
liberty, they grow impatient of restraint and strong desires, as men in
high places are impatient of contradiction ; and because conscience is
clamouring, and religion will be interposing and awakening their hearts,
YKK. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 139
therefore they question the truth and being of God, else they cannot
keep all quiet in their souls. Men believe what they desire ; none so
apt to deny God as those that would be glad if there were no God.
When men are willing to sin, and loath to seek quiet in repentance,
they seek it in atheism and unbelief first, they wish there could be
no religion : and by little and little they wear out the feelings of it,
and silence all the checks they have in their consciences.
3. Scoffers. Scoffing at matters of religion is both an effect and
cause of atheism. Apostates are always great scoffers, because they
seek to deface and blot out the reverence of those truths and that
religion they have forsaken, which otherwise would put them to trouble
and horror. Thus Julian the apostate, when he revolted from the
Christian faith, was a mighty scoffer. Men of a vicious life and frothy
wit are of a fit temper for the devil to make atheists of. Every man
is under the awe of some religion more or less ; they have too much
knowledge to be idolaters, and too little grace to be religious ; therefore
they fall a mocking and scoffing at all things that are sacred ; and so
they deface the knowledge of God in their souls : 2 Peter iii. 3, ' There
shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts.' And
Calvin, in his comment, takes notice of such ; that there are certain
men of Lucian's spirit, under colour of declaiming against superstition
and the fond conceits of popery ; they abhor all religion, and cry down
all that is holy and sacred. The rabbis have a conceit upon those
words Diis non maledices, ' Thou shalt not speak evil of the gods.'
Though they are out in the exposition for it is meant of magistrates
yet they expound it, they should not scoff at the gods of the gentiles,
lest, say they, we provoke them to scoff at the true God, and so our
reverence and respect to religion be weakened. Many men get a vein
at jesting at sermons, and applying scripture to every profane and
common matter ; they make it as sauce to their meals, and make the
word of God and holy things to lackey to their sports and profane mirth;
so that by a custom of scoffing at holy matters, and by venting the
superfluities of their frothy wit, they blot out a reverence of God, and
exceedingly weaken the awe of religion ; and this conduceth to eclipse
the light that is in our minds concerning this supreme truth that
there is a God.
Use 4. If he that cometh to God must believe that God is. It directs
us what to do in fierce and boisterous temptations. It is not good to
leave the dispute then, in a time of temptation, to the uncertain tra
verses and debates of reason : foundation-stones must not be loosened.
When our hearts are under the cloud of a temptation, the devil will
be too hard for us in matter of argument ; we must believe that God
is. It is a matter not only of science, but of faith ; it is revealed in
scripture, and therefore say, Though I could not make it good against
all those fiery darts the devil casts into my soul, yet I will believe it.
Though it be good to see upon what firm footing we stand at other
times, yet in a time of temptation it is confutation enough to say to
Satan, Thou liest ; and hold fast that principle he would wrest from us.
In principles, sometimes we must answer Satan with resolution ; the
world shows, and the creature shows, there is a God ; but if the world
did not, it is enough that the word of God saith it. And therefore,
1 40 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXXT.
though the devil should puzzle reason and put the thoughts to a non-
phisyet whatever he should allege to the contrary, say, This is a
maxim of God's word, and I will, and do, and must believe it. Doubts,
which strike at first principles, are not to be scanned and examined ;
for when you think to conquer atheism by your own wit and reasoning,
the devil will be too subtle for you. Satan is a better disputant than
many a poor Christian ; therefore believe it, though you cannot dispute
it out. I commend this, because it hath always been the practice of
the saints, that when they have been sorely shaken and assaulted, yet
they were resolved to stick to principles, and in the hour of temptation
they fixed their resolutions and would not be removed from them. As
David, Ps. Ixxiii. 1, he was under an atheistical temptation, and had
brutish thoughts that there was no providence, because the wicked
were exalted, and it went ill with the righteous ; yet he holds fast this
principle ' Truly God is good to Israel ; ' I will never be brought off
from this. So Jer. xii. 1 , ' Kighteous art thou, Lord, when I plead
with thee;' he would lay up this principle, this truth, with great
assurance at that time, I take this for a principle that God is righteous,
though I cannot answer all my thoughts about his administrations in
the world.
Use 5. If this be the first point of faith, to believe that there is a
God, then it shows with what care we should maintain this principle.
There are certain seasons when it is most assaulted.
1. There is a general season, and that is in the latter times. Atheism
will then more abound, though it be more disguised. Mundus senescens
patitur pliantasias the world, when it grows old, begins to dote, as
old men come to dotage. There are many dreams and delusions the
old world is subject to ; many errors then are set a-foot. Well then, there
being a secret cognation and link between truth and truth, therefore all
errors do more or less shake the primitive and supreme truth ; and
also, we had need to fortify ourselves because of the many divisions
which are in the church. Divisions in the church breed atheism in the
world, therefore Christ prays, John xvii. 21, ' That they all may be
one in us : that the world may believe that thou hast sent me;' that is,
that the carnal world may know that I am no impostor. When there
are divisions in religion it makes men suspect all, and then they will
not believe Christ is the true Messiah. I remember, one observes, that
when there is but one main division, that adds zeal of both sides ; but
when we are crumbled into many divisions and fractions, then religion
is exceedingly weakened; and men grow cold and indifferent, and
begin to lose all awe of religion and all sense of God ; therefore you
had need to stand your ground, and be fortified against atheistical
thoughts because of the scandals of religion. We are told, 2 Tim. iii.
1, 2, 'In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters,' &c. ' Having a form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof,' ver. 5. Now when they see
the professors of religion so scandalous, unrighteous, turbulent, and
self-seeking, and wallowing in filthy delights, and yet pretend to strict
ness in religion, and all this is carried on under a form of godliness,
men will think that religion itself is nothing else but an empty pretence,
or a cover for unclean intents and evil practices, and so cast off all.
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 141
And they will be strengthened herein by the world's continuance ; so
the apostle Peter : 2 Peter iii. 4, ' All things continue as they were
from the beginning of the creation.' There are no preparations
towards the accomplishment of the Christian's great hopes and Christ's
coming to judgment ; therefore it is the most needful point that can
be pressed to fortify your hearts against atheism. These are the
general, seasons.
2. There are certain particular seasons when we are most in danger
of atheism ; usually when the soul is under a passion and pet
against providence, and we cavil at God and repine at his dispen
sations ; for all grievances breed passions, and passions exceedingly
cloud the soul, and then we are in danger. There are several seasons
when this is like to befall us.
[1.] When we see the holy and pure worshippers of God to be in
the worst case, then we fall into a distrust of all religion ; and if there
be a God, that he doth neglect his duty to the world. When mischief
falls upon the good, it is a shrewd temptation to atheism; indeed
nothing should be out of order to faith, and providence should not
work thus on us, but thus it doth. This hath been a wind that hath
shaken not only shrubs and reeds, but the tallest cedars in Lebanon ;
as David, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and the holy men of God, they have
been questioning, Why doth the way of the wicked prosper ? This
hath been their great temptation. God's children must be put to sore
trials that their graces may appear ; they will not understand that this
is the place of exercise, nor of recompenses, and therefore they take
offence against God.
[2.] When our own prayers are not heard, when we have been
solicitous at the throne of grace with much earnestness and impor
tunity, and yet speed not, we are apt to be so partial to our own desires,
that we fall a questioning the being of God himself, as if we would take
a kind of revenge upon him, because he hath not heard our prayers.
Fond creatures would have grace at their own beck and command,
and if we be disappointed, and God do not come in when we will, then
we storm. And thus the devil hath a great advantage against many
poor trembling souls that have lain under the terrors of the Lord ;
they have been calling for mercy and quietness of conscience, and yet
their fears increase. Now the devil abuseth their discontent, and seeks
to draw them to atheism. Exod. xvii. 7, when Israel wanted water,
then they said ' Is the Lord among us or not ? ' and the prophet,
Hab. i. 2, ' Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear !
even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save ! ' He had
been calling upon God, and the Lord seemed not to answer. How did
this work ? it brought him to this temptation, to question the being
of God ; but see how he corrects himself : ver. 12, ' Art not thou from
everlasting, Lord my God, mine holy one? Lord, thou hast
ordained them for judgment.' Thus he doth expostulate with himself,
Why should I have these dreadful thoughts ? God is God still ; and
then he begins to recover out of the temptation. Pettish desires, that
are earnest and solicitious, and finally crossed, do always put us upon mur
muring, and murmuring upon doubts and discontent; and then the
devil hath a great advantage, for he works exceedingly .upon spleen
142 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXII.
and stomach. Therefore when men are in a pet, angry with God,
and have not their heart's desire, they are liable to this sin.
[3.] When oppression goes unrevenged, men pervert judgment, and
others forswear themselves ; and our innocence doth not prevail, but
we perish in it ; the devil works upon this, and takes advantage of our
discontent. Diagoras, a notable atheist among the heathens, became
so upon this occasion ; he saw a man deeply forswearing himself, and
because he was not smitten suddenly with a thunderbolt, he turned
atheist, and falls a questioning whether there was a God or no. When
we see such oppression, it is a sore temptation, and we cry out, Is there
a God ? See how the Holy Ghost prevents such kind of thoughts as
these are : Eccles. iii. 16, 17, ' I saw under the sun the place of judg
ment, that wickedness was there ; and the place of righteousness, that
iniquity was there.' What then ? He interposeth timely, for fear lest
a temptation should prevent him 'I said in my heart, God shall
judge the righteous and the wicked : for there is a time there for every
purpose, and for every work ; ' ver. 18, ' I said in my heart concerning
the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that
they might see that they themselves are beasts.' God will have a
time to judge this matter ; he doth recover this great principle out of
the hands of the temptation. So Eccles. v. 8, ' If thou seest the oppres
sion of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a
province, marvel not at the matter.' A man's heart is apt to rise upon
such an occasion ; he stands trembling What ! is there any divine
power, any God that takes notice of human affairs ? The Holy Ghost
interposeth seasonably ' For he that is higher than the highest
regardeth, and there be higher than they.' There is a God. A man
is apt to unravel all religion in his thoughts, and to think that there
is none to take cognisance of the matter ; therefore when it goes ill
with the best, when your prayers are not answered, when oppression
goes unrevenged, you should guard your heart with this consideration,
There is a higher than the highest.
SEKMON XXXII.
For he that cometh to God, must believe that lie is, and that he is
a reivarder of those that diligently seek him. HEB. xi. 6.
Use 6. Here is a direction to us in our addresses to God. Fix our
thoughts on the consideration of his being ' He that cometh to God,
must believe that God is ' say, I do not go now to speak to an idol,
but to the living God. Every one that comes to God should by actual
thoughts revive this principle upon his memory and affections, for this
will be of great advantage to him Why ?
1. To avoid customariness ; for otherwise we shall be perfunctory
and customary. It was the saying of a wretch, speaking of public
worship Eamus ad communem errorem Let us go to the common
error. If men do not say so, or think so in opinion, yet this is the
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 143
language of their practice ; they do not act as unto a God. The God
of a carnal customary worshipper is but an idol. In the duty of prayer,
many a man comes and makes a large confession to God, but feels no
grief and shame. Let him but speak half so much against himself to
his guilty fellow-creature, one that is but despicable dust and ashes,
the man \vould blush and be ashamed ; yet he can speak it to God,
and have no remorse. If they are put upon examination before a
magistrate, and make such a confession, how would they tremble ! yet
they are not humbled at the remembrance of God. Alas ! man hath
but a drop of indignation against sin ; the best are made up of mixed
principles ; man cannot be so severe as the holy God. Man hates evil,
because it is against his interest ; but God hates evil, because it is
against his nature. And therefore what is the reason we have not this
remorse, shame, and lively sorrow, when we are repeating the sad story
of our lives to God ? It cannot be from confidence of God's mercy ;
for when conscience is awakened and scourged for those sins, it is the
most difficult thing in the world then to get comfort ; but we are cus
tomary and careless, and do not weigh the matter ; so for supplication,
we do but tell a fair tale, and make it but a matter of talk, and do but
fill up a little time with words, and consider not that we are speaking
to the living God ; if we did, we would be more reverent and serious
when we make mention of him. Put it in a temporal case : Mai. i. 8,
' If ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil ? and if ye offer the
lame and sick, is it not evil ? offer it now unto thy governor ; will he
be pleased with thee, or accept thy person ? ' . If I were admitted into
the presence of a great king, and were to make my requests in a matter
of great concernment, would I not look after them, and observe how
my requests are granted ? But, alas ! we throw away our prayers, as
children shoot away their arrows, and never look after them. So for
thanksgiving, we would have a more warm sense of the courtesies of
men, if a man had but done half so much for us ; but we give the Lord
but cold and drowsy thanks.
2. To avoid irreverence. The angels are said to have six wings ' And
with twain they covered their faces, and with twain they covered
their feet/ &c. Isa. vi. 3. They fear not commutative justice,
and are assured of the favour of God ; yet they clap their wings,
and cover their faces. Fear is a duty compatible with the blessed
estate; we have more cause, but they have more grace; we do
not see him that is invisible, and visible objects only work upon us.
3. To avoid deadness. I am speaking to the living God, Heb. ix. 14,
' To serve the living God.' Worship must be proportionable to the
object of worship. The heathens offered a flying horse to the sun as
most suitable, because of the swiftness of his motion. Dead service
may become a dead idol, but not a living God. I should raise up my
self and deal in good earnest with him.
4. To beget a confidence. God is not a vain help that cannot save
us, ' We trust in the living God/ 1 Tim. vi. 18. Baal's priests may
draw blood from themselves, but could not get a word of answer from
their idol : but we speak to a God that is at the other end of causes,
that hath influence upon all things, one that needs but speak the word,
and we shall be whole.
144 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXII.
But what thoughts are fittest to fix our hearts on the being of God
when we are in prayer ? or so to keep our hearts under a sense of God's
being in that duty, as that we may conceive of him aright ? I shall
handle this case
[1.] For the necessity of it ; it is not a curious business, as those
requests, Exod. xxxiii. 18, ' Lord, show me thy glory ;' and John xiv. 8,
' Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us ; ' but it is necessary, for with
out it our services are profane, customary, irreligious. John iv. 22,
' Ye worship ye know not what ; we know what we worship.' Our
cogitations do fleet and vanish without some determinate and com
prehensible object, whereon to fix and fasten them. As a ball struck
in the open air never comes to hand again, so are our thoughts lost and
scattered, except we determine and settle them on some notions of God
that may be expressive of his being.
[2.] Because it is difficult to determine it for two reasons:
(1.) Because of the infiniteness and mcomprehensibleness of God's
essence. God is said sometimes to dwell in light, and sometimes to
dwell in darkness. He is said to dwell in light, to show the greatness of
his majesty: 1 Tim. vi. 16, ' Who only hath immortality, dwelling in
the light, which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen,
nor can see.' And he is said to dwell in darkness, to show our weakness
and incapacity to apprehend him : Ps. xviii. 11, ' He made darkness
his secret place, his pavilion round about him were dark waters, and
thick clouds of the sky.' When we come to discourse of God, we are as
a man that is born blind, who knows there is light in the world, though
he cannot conceive what a kind of thing it is. So reason and conscience
will tell us that there is a God ; but what God is, and how to form proper
thonghts of him, that we cannot tell.
(2.) Because of the danger of erring, lest while we go about to esta
blish a right notion of God, we make way for atheism. Prying too far
into his majesty may prove a temptation. We cannot search out the
Almighty to perfection : Judges xiii. 18, ' Why askest thou thus after
my name, seeing it is secret ? ' It is impossible for man to comprehend
God.
Now I shall answer the case in some propositions :
First, That you may conceive aright of the nature of God, above
all things, you must renew and revive the act of your faith in God's
essence and presence ; that he is, and that he is present with us, when
we pray to him.
1. That he is. So it is in the text ' He that cometh to God must
believe that he is.' Though we cannot conceive what he is, yet we
must be sure to fix our hearts in this, that he is. This is the great
principle and ground-work of all, and it must be laid as a foundation
of our worship and approaches to God. The work of faith is to give
us a sight of him that is invisible. When Moses asked God's name.
God answereth him' I am,' Exod. iii. 14, ' I am hath sent me unto you.'
God would give him no other name than this ' I am,' which deciphereth
his essence. Certainly acts of worship would be managed with more
awe and reverence, if this principle were firmly laid up in the heart,
that God is. Reason shows that he is, though we know not what
he is ; faith can only show what he is to us. Vision will show us what
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. 145
he is in himself ; that is, our happiness and glory in heaven : 1 John
iii. 2, ' When he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see
him as he is/ Now we must actually revive this faith, that God is ;
we must see him that is invisible : Heb. xi. 27, ' By faith Moses for
sook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king ; for he endured, as seeing
him that is invisible.' It is a great work of faith to believe that God
is that there is an invisible God, that so you may adore a spiritual
majesty, which you know to be, though you cannot comprehend him,
how he is, and what he is, nor search out the almighty to perfection.
2. That God is present with you in the worship that you are about
to perform, that he is an all-seeing Spirit, and that he is intimately
acquainted with all the workings of your hearts : John iv. 24, ' God is
a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in
truth.' He sees how your spirits and hearts work in all your approaches
to his majesty, and you should so regard him as if you did see him with
your bodily eyes. All duties are expressed in scripture by drawing
nigh to God, for they bring the soul into God's presence. Prayer is
but our conference with God : Gen. xviii. 27, ' I have taken upon me
to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes.' Now all speech
is to them that are present, and hearken to us : if we speak to God,
we must conceive him to be really present, hearkening to us. And
hearing is God's conference with us : Acts x. 33, ' We are all here pre
sent before the Lord to hear all things that are commanded thee of
God ; ' and therefore when you come to pray, say, I have not to do with
men, but with God ; when you come to hear, say, I have not to do with
the preacher only, but with God : Heb. iv. 12, ' All things are naked
and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to deal.' Certainly,
God is, whom I worship this day. I am going to confer with the true
God, and to hear him speaking to me ; he is present with me, and there
fore to be thought of, as if I could see him with my bodily eyes : Acts
xvii. 27, ' God is not far from every one of us/ When we come to
worship God, he is not only near us, but within us, more intimately
present with us >than we are with ourselves. You could not keep your
breath in your bodies, nor speak a word, if he were not there ; as, if the
sun should withdraw his light, all would be darkness. This is the
first thing, if you would rightly conceive of God ; when you come to him
you must fix your heart in the apprehension of his essence and presence.
Secondly, You must conceive of him aright, and according as he
hath revealed himself ; lest in worshipping God you worship an idol. It
is a high contempt of his majesty if we do not conceive of him accor
ding to his excellent glory. Now for the conceiving of him aright,,
which was the difficulty propounded, take these two rules
1. There must be no carnal conceit and representation in your minds.
Though we cannot conceive of him as he is, yet Ave must take heed that
we do not conceive of him as he is not. We are all born idolators, and
are naturally prone to fashion God according to some form of our own
to turn the glory of God into the fashion of a corruptible thing.
Look, as some have an external idol, so we have a mental idol, when
we are transforming the essence of God into fleshly conceits of our own.
We must conceive of God, purely, simply, spiritually, as of a spiritual
being, without form and without matter ; and as of an infinite being,
VOL, XIV. K
146 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SfiR. XXXII.
without all limits and bounds. It was the saying of a heathen, Those
that made images and pictures of God, took away fear and established
error. Pictures to represent God do debase the nature of God, and
make him contemptible ; and images of God are so natural to us, that
we can hardly dispossess our minds of them. Imaginations are as bad
as images ; he that forbiddeth images in the church, doth also forbid
them in our mind. A picture or corporeal resemblance of the divine
essence is worse in the mind than in the glass windows. By pictures
and resemblances of the divine essence, heathen idolatry began : Kom.
i. 21, ' They were vain in their imaginations; ' and then it follows, ver.
23, ' They changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds and fburfooted beasts, and
creeping things ; ' and ver. 25, ' Who changed the glory of God into a
lie, and worshipped the creature more than the creator, who is blessed
forever.' We that converse altogether with material and sensible beings,
are very prone to conceive of God according to those things about which
we are conversant. And that is the reason why there are so many
cautions in the word everywhere against it : Deut. iv. 15, 16, ' Take
good heed unto yourselves ; for ye saw no manner of similitude in the
day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire ;
lest you corrupt yourselves and make you a graven image, the similitude
of any figure, the likeness of male or female.' When God discovered
himself to his people, there was no image, no outward figure ; there was
only a voice. Though common awe may restrain us from making an
outward image, yet we are very prone to frame inward images, and
draw representations of God in our minds. There are secret atheistical
thoughts within us, by which we are apt to debase the nature of God
to the common likeness, and fancy him according to the shape and fashion
of visible substances. Therefore the Lord saith, Isa. xl. 18, ' To whom
will you liken God ? or what likeness will you compare unto him ? '
We are apt to liken God to some outward and visible being ; but in all
your addresses to God, you must conceive of him as a Spirit, without
figure and shape. It is true, the scripture doth often use words that
are of a corporeal sense and signification concerning God, but that is
for the infirmity and weakness of our apprehensions. God lispeth to
us in our own dialect ; but whatsoever is spoken to us after the manner
of men must be understood after the manner of God. Serapion, dwel
ling too much on these carnal expressions, fell into the error of the
Anthropomorphites, who believed God to have a human shape. Sen
sible things indeed are of use to us in prayer, but then they should be
used by way of argument rather than representation. When we argue
a minori ad majus, from the lesser to the greater, it is good. As when
we would advance God, and exalt his love and care in our thoughts,
we may argue from sensible things, and reason from the wisdom of a
father, or from the bowels of a mother : Isa. xlix. 15, ' Can a woman
forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son
of her womb ? yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee ; ' and Mat.
vii. 11, ' If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more will your father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him ? ' There is no father or mother like God ;
no father so wise, no mother so tender as God is. Again, when we would
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 147
shame ourselves when we are but coldly affected with our approaches
to God, we may reason If I were to accuse myself as thus guilty
before a common judge, would I not tremble ? If I should come in
such a cold manner to man, would he regard me ? Mai. i. 8, ' Offer it
to thy governor ; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person ? '
You must take heed that you conceive of God purely, simply, spiritually.
2. We must conceive of God according to his praises in the word.
Hereafter we shall see him as he is, which is our happiness in heaven ;
now we can only see him as he is pleased to reveal himself to us. This
way is most easy and of greatest profit and safety ; for though these
representations are imperfect notions and conceptions, that are not every
way proportionable to the nature and infiniteness of God, yet they are
enough to beget reverence. Therefore it is observable, when Moses
desired to see God's glory, the Lord pardoned what was of curiosity in
the request, and answered him in what was necessary ; and what doth
God do ? He only proclaims his name : Exod. xxxiv. 6, ' The Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and gracious,' &c. These are the conceptions
we must have of God. And so, when we would form a proper notion
of God in our addresses to him: 1 Tim. i. 17, 'Now unto the king
eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory
forever and ever. Amen.' Thus must we conceive of God as a spirit
ual essence, as the great governor of the world most wise, most holy,
infinitely and eternally good ; I might heap up for this many places of
scripture. These are names which are given to those things, which we
would most magnify and commend ; and so, when they are conceived
in a spiritual mind, they are most fit to stir up worship and religious
affection to God ; whereas we draw a snare upon ourselves when we
would go higher and see his essence. Face to face is the dispensation
of another world, when we shall have other eyes and other hearts ; now
all we can do, and as much as we can aspire to, is to look upon his back
parts, and to consider those praises which the scripture puts upon him.
(Ecolampadius, when he was preaching a sermon to young men, said,
If you would know what God is, you must first know what goodness is,
what justice, mercy, bounty, loving-kindness, and truth is; then you
shall know God, for God is mercy, goodness, loving-kindness, and truth
itself. And you must know that these attributes are in God in an
infinite manner, of which finite creatures are no competent judges;
and then look upon all these perfections as shining forth, and discov
ering themselves in the human nature of Christ. He that cannot look
upon the sunbeams in its strength at noon-day, may take view of it in
the water, or when the moon is at full ; so we that cannot behold the
glory of the divine majesty as he is in himself, may safely behold his
perfections as they shone forth in the man Christ Jesus. This is the
way of knowing God, by fixing our minds upon him as the first cause,
the creator and governor of all things.
Thirdly, There must be such a representation of God as may make
the spirit aweful, but not servile ; we must have such thoughts of God
as may increase our reverence, not weaken our delight ; the spirit begets
aweful, but yet ingenuous thoughts of God. This is a rule, that our
affections in our services must be suited to the nature of God. Now,
in all the scriptual descriptions of God, there is a mixture and corn-
148 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SEE. XXXII.
position of God's attributes, to show that there should be a like mixture
in our affections. As in God, there is a mixture of justice and mercy,
and of power and love ; so in us, there should be a mixture of hope and
fear, of joy, delight, and reverence, that the excesses of one affection
may be corrected by the mixture and exercise of another. That there
is such a mixture in God's attributes is clear : Deut. vii. 7-10, ' The
Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, keeping covenant and mercy
to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments, and
repay eth them that hate him.' So Exod. xxxiv. 6, ' The Lord, the Lord
God, merciful and gracious/ &c. ; but then it is added, ver. 7, ' He will
by no means clear the guilty.' So Jer. ix. 24, ' I am the Lord, which
exercise loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth;'
and Daniel ix. 4, ' Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping covenant
and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his command
ments ' a dreadful God, and yet full of mercy and sweetness. The
like mixture should there be in our affections, when we come to address
ourselves to God : Ps. ii. 11, ' Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with
trembling.' There must be joy, but mixed with a holy trembling : so
1 Peter i. 17, ' If ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons
judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning
here in fear.' There is a mixture in God's appellations and our affec
tions. In God's appellations he is a father and yet a judge ; and there
must be the like mixture in our affections, and in the temper and
disposition of our spirits, ' to call him father,' and yet ' serve him
with fear ; ' there must be a child-like reverence and a child-like
confidence. Now, because this is the exact temper of spirit that is fit
for duty, I shall a little examine what considerations are most proper
and likely to keep the spirit aweful, and what considerations are most
likely to keep the spirit cheerful in a way of hope and filial confidence.
1. The considerations that are like to keep the spirit aweful.
[1.] Consider his wonderful purity and holiness. There is no
attribute that drives a,, creature to astonishment and self-abhorrency
so much as God's holiness. We dread him for his wrath, power, and
justice ; but all these are rooted in his holiness : 1 Sam. vi. 20, ' Who
is able to stand before this holy Lord God ? ' This is that which makes
the guilty tremble, and the purest creatures are abashed at the presence
of God. It is said of the cherubim : Isa. vi. 2, 3, ' they covered their
faces, and ' Cried one to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts.' This awed the angels God's holiness, his immaculate and
unspotted glory, and they covered their faces as if they were ashamed of
those seeds of folly that are in the angelical nature, the changeableness
of their nature. Though the angels do not fear the strokes of God's
j ustice, yet they tremble at the purity of his presence. And the children
of God dread him for his holiness ; 'so the prophet cries out : Isa. vi. 5,
' Wo is me ! for I am undone ; because I am a man of polluted lips,
and mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' This is that
attribute in which the creatures are most defective, and in which God
doth most excel ; and therefore it renders God most awful, and affects
the creature with shame. Joshua xxiv. 19, ' You cannot serve the
Lord, for he is an holy God.' It is his holiness awakens his justice,
which makes him take notice of our failings.
VER. G.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 149
[2.] Eeflect upon the majesty of God and the glory of his attendants.
Whenever we come to worship him, we worship him in the presence of
angels and archangels. The children of God find by experience that not
only the presence of God, but the presence of angels is a very moving con
sideration. We are more apt to conceive of finite essences than of that
which is infinite, as coming nearest and bordering more upon our own
manner of being, and because we can more securely and without danger
form a representation of them. Therefore consider you are standing be
fore God and all his holy angels : Ps. cxxxviii. 1, ' Before the gods will I
sing praise unto thee.' The Septuagint reads it 'Before the angels.'
The angels are present in the assemblies of the saints, which was deci
phered by the pictures of the cherubim which were in the temple ; and
upon this account, the apostle urgeth reverence in the worship of God,
that the women should cover their heads, ' because of the angels,' 1
Cor. xi. 10. They are conscious to all those impurities and indecencies
in worship that we are guilty of ; and therefore to greaten our reverence
of God, it is good to consider that we worship him in the presence of
his holy angels. The saints in the old testament trembled at the
appearance of an angel. If we should come before an earthly prince
sitting on his throne, environed with his nobles, how should we be afraid !
Consider, thou standest before God, who is encompassed with cheru
bim, seraphim, thrones, dominions, angels, archangels : Dan. vii. 10,
' Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before him.'
[3.] Compare the divine glory and our own vileness : Gen. xviii. 27,
' I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and
ashes.' We should think of the frailty of our constitution, and the
impurity of our hearts : Eccles. v. 2, ' Be not rash with thy mouth , and
let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God : for God is
in heaven, and thou upon earth/ There is not so great a distance
between heaven and earth as beween God and you. The prophet useth
an expression, Isa. xl. 15, ' All nations before thee are but as a drop
of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance.' If you
should put a great weight in one scale, arid nothing but dust in the other,
this is a small resemblance of the disproportion between God and us.
I confess our expressions are many times humble, but the tongue
prescribes to the heart, rather than the heart to the tongue ; and so they
are but a vanity of speech, which the Lord abhors, vain compliments,
that do not arise from a deep and inward sense of God's excellences.
2. The considerations that are likely to keep the heart cheerful. There
is not only fear required, but such a fear as is consistent with a holy
ingenuity and confidence, that is becoming the sweetness of religion.
Worship is not the task of slaves, but the duty of children ; and God
would have you come with an ingenuous liberty and freedom into his
presence. To this end
[1.] Consider the sweet representations that are made of God's mercy
in scripture. Luther said, It is the intent of the whole scripture to
represent God to be merciful to sinners. This is the attribute he most
delights in. See how God proclaimed his name, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7,
' The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiv-
150 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [$ER. XXXII.
ing iniquity, and transgression and sin, and that will by no means
clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children,
and the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generations.'
There is more of mercy ; and God begins with mercy, because it is his
chiefest attribute ; so Micah vii. 18, ' Mercy pleaseth him.' It is the
delightful act of God to exercise mercy ; the expectation of it is not
more pleasing to you than the exercise of it is to God ; it is like live
honey, that drops of its own accord. Justice and all punitive acts are
said to be extorted from him. Though God is necessarily just, as well
as necessarily merciful, and vindictive justice be part of his essence,
yet that which God delighteth in is mercy, James ii. 13, ' Mercy re-
joiceth against judgment.' When in the conflict of the attributes,
mercy can be exercised and gets the upper hand, there is a triumph
and rejoicing in heaven. Gracious dispensations come freely, but judicial
and penal acts are expressed in scripture as if they were forced and
drawn from God : Isa. xxviii. 21, ' That he may do his work, his strange
work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act/ and Lam. iii. 33,
' He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.' When
there is a rod in his hand, there are tears in his eyes. This is the
whole design of the scriptures to represent God so, as that we may
pitch upon God as merciful, gracious, and willing to do good to the
creature.
[2.] Look upon God as he hath revealed himself in Jesus Christ.
The gospel is the image of Christ, and Christ is the image of God.
There is the likeness and picture of Christ in the gospel, but Jesus
Christ is the lively image : 2 Cor. iv. 4, ' Lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them ; '
that is, lest they know the mercifulness of God's heart in Jesus Christ :
the gospel shows how full of mercy Christ is, and Christ shows how
full of mercy God is ; and ver. 6, 'To give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' God hath stamped
his image on the gospel, as Caesar's image is on the coin ; but Christ is
the image of God, as Csesar's image is on his son: Col. i. 15, 'Who is
the image of the invisible God.' Look into the gospel, and there you
read of the condescension of Christ, how he went about doing good,
image and picture ; he shows what God is : John i. 14, ' The word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.' There
were many emissions and beamings forth of the divine glory in the life
of Christ, but that which chiefly shone out was the divine mercy:
Acts x. 38, 'He went about doing good, and healing all that were
oppressed of the devil.' You should study God in Christ. When
Philip said to Christ' Show us the Father, and it sufnceth us,' Christ
chides him upon this account ' Have I been so long with thee, and
hast thou not known me ? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father,'
John xiv. 7-9 ; you need no other discovery than my person. God is
best known in Christ, wherein, as in a glass, we may find his wisdom,
power, goodness, and mercy ; wherein God displays his glory, without
VEK. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 151
overwhelming the creature. In Christ's transfiguration, the disciples
fell down like dead men, Mat. xvii. ; they could not contain themselves.
But they that cannot look upon the sun may look upon his image in
the water ; so they that cannot look upon God in himself, may look
upon God in Christ : the divine perfections working through the
human nature of Christ are more intelligible.
Fourthly, We must in prayer form proper thoughts of God, accord
ing to those requests that we put up to him. We cannot without
great distraction run through all the divine attributes at once ; it is
impossible your thoughts can be fixed on so many subjects, and there
fore you should single out such thoughts and considerations as will
suit with your particular requests to God. Holy men of God every
where do this ; as the apostle Paul, when he prays for peace, gives
God a suitable appellation : 2 Thes. iii. 16, ' The Lord of peace himself
give you peace always by all means.' So when he prays for patience
to bear with the infirmities and differences of others, he gives God a
suitable appellation : Rom. xv. 5, ' The God of patience and consolation
grant you to be like-minded one toward another ; ' God, that hath
abundance of patience, bestows it on you, that you may carry it thus.
So when he speaks of the comfort that he received in his affliction, he
styles God, 2 Cor. vii. 6, 'God that comforteth those that are cast
down/ It is a commendable policy, and a great help to our thoughts
in prayer, when we pitch upon an attribute that suiteth with our present
wants, or doth imply an ability and disposition in God to do us good.
When you come to be humbled in the presence of God, you must look
upon Christ as a judge; when you come to have your sins mortified,
you must look upon Christ as a physician. In your closet-addresses
to God, suit the descriptions of God according to your exigencies and
wants. When David begs defence, then God is his 'fortress' and
munition of rocks ;' when he begs success against enemies, then God is
the ' horn of his salvation ; ' in a time of peace, God is his ' habitation ; '
in a time of war, he is his ' refuge : ' Ps. xci. 9, ' Because thou hast
made the Lord, which is thy refuge, even the most high thy habitation.'
alluding to the time of peace and the time of trouble.
Fifthly, Frame fit notions concerning the trinity, that there are three
persons in one godhead. Now to direct you, herein take these rules
1. This mystery is to be believed, not disputed, and committed to
the anxious traverses of our own reason. Silence reason, by what is
revealed ; anxious inquiries do but distract the mind. We shall never
know the full of this mystery till we come to heaven : John xiv. 20,
' At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me,
and I in you.' But though we know not how it is, it is enough for us
to know that it is so.
2. The real and practical honour of the trinity is best. Then do
we honour the trinity in unity, not when we conceive of the mystery,
but when we make a religious use of this high advantage to come to
God, in the name of Christ, by the Spirit, and look for all from God
in Christ through the Holy Ghost. Direct your prayers to God the
Father ; Christ prayed to the Father, Mat. xi. 25, ' I thank thee,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth,' &c. So the saints in their ad
dresses : Eph. iii. 14, ' For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father
152 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXXII.
of our Lord Jesus Christ.' In the name of Christ, John xiv. 13,
'Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do.' By the Spirit,
Jude 20, 'Praying in the Holy Ghost;' Horn. viii. 26, 27, 'Likewise
the Spirit itself also helpeth our infirmities/ &c., 'because he maketh
intercession for the saints according to the will of God.' Christians
need not puzzle themselves about conceiving of three in one, and one
in three ; let them in this manner come to God, and it sufficeth ;
make God the object, and Christ the means of access, and look for help
from the Spirit.
3. If the thoughts be coldly and frigidly affected to any of the
persons, you must use a cure. Many times there are many secret
thoughts of atheism, which arise in us about the divine essence and
subsistences ; and you must seek help against them, for when they are
smothered they beget a rooted hypocrisy. Thus ignorant persons
think altogether of God the Father ; they worship God Almighty with
out distinct reflections on the personal operations of Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, or the contrivance of salvation. Fond persons honour
the Son, but neglect the Father ; they carry all their respects to the
person of Jesus Christ. Most neglect to glorify the Spirit. In times
of knowledge, God would have our thoughts more distinct and explicit.
All persons are interested in the work of grace ; the love of the Father
maketh way for the glory of the Son, and the glory of the Son for the
power of the Spirit. No man cometh to the Son but by the Father :
John vi. 44, ' No man can come to me, except the Father which hath
sent me draw him/ No man can come to the Father but by the Son :
John xiv, 6, ' I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh
to the Father but by me/ And no man is united to the Son, but by
the Holy Ghost: 2 Thes. ii. 13, ' God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation, through the sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of
the truth/ The inchoation is by the Father, the dispensation by the
Sou, and the consummation by the Holy Ghost ; it is God's choice,
Christ's purchase, and the Spirit's application. More particularly, it'
you are coldly affected towards God the Father, consider he spared
not his own Son : John iii. 16, 'For God so loved the world, that h
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should
not perish, but have everlasting life/ His love brought Christ to you,
and you to Christ, the Father's pure elective love : John xvii. 6,
' Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy
word/ His love keepeth you in Christ: John xvi. 27, 'For the
Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have be
lieved that I came out from God/ If you are coldly affected towards
Christ, think that ' he loved you, and gave himself for you/ Gal. ii. 20 ;
if towards the Spirit, consider that it is God the Spirit that exhibits,
applies, and seals all to us : Eph. iv. 30, ' Grieve not the Holy Spirit
of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption/ The
persons in the trinity glorify one another : John xvi. 14, ' He shall
glorify me ; for he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you ; '
there is the Spirit's glorifying Christ. John xiv. 13, ' Whatsoever ye
shall ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified
in the Son ; there is Christ's glorifying the Father. Phil. ii. 9, 10,
' God hath exalted him, and given him a name above every name : that
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 153
at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the
Father ; ' there is the Father's glorifying Christ and an honour and
and glory thence redounding to the Father.
SERMON XXXIII.
And that Tie is a rewarder of them that diligently seel: him.
HEB. xi. 6.
Two principles are necessary to be firmly believed of all that would
entertain communion with God God's being, and God's bounty ; God's
being ' That he is,' and God's bounty ' That he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him.' Both these principles give life to all our
duties and services ; and therefore a man that would please God, and
live in his favour and friendship, or that would come to God, that
would have anything to do with him in prayer, praise, or any other
service, he must be firmly persuaded of these two things.
1. Of the being of God that God is; otherwise why should we be
touched with any sense and care of religion, unless we believe that
there were a God to whom this religion is tendered ; that God is not
a fancy, a nothing, but a true and real being, and that the God whom
we serve is he. Without this all worship would be but a foolish custom
and empty formality, and a compliance with a common error, for why
should we go to him whom we conceive not to be ? And therefore he
that would have anything to do with God must fix his heart in a
belief of this principle, that God whom I now serve is that infinite, that
eternal power that made me and all things.
2. The bounty of God ' He is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him,' where observe (1.) The notion by which his bounty is
expressed 'He is a rewarder,' or a giver of rewards, f^iadaTroSoTij^. (2.)
The objects or persons to whom ' Of those that diligently seek him.'
Where again we may take notice of the act, 'they seek him/ and the
manner ' diligently.' Both are folded up in one word in the original,
Tot9 eK&Tovcriv ; the word tflrdv signifies to seek, and the compound
eK&reLv, to seek out till one find. Now God must be sought out ; we
must do our uttermost to seek him till we find him ; therefore our
translators fitly render the word by two, 'that diligently seek him.'
Now this qualification is to be understood both inclusively and
exclusively. [1.] Inclusively : to involve all that would give up
themselves in his holy word to inquire after God. The Lord takes a
charge upon himself impartially to reward all that seek him : whether
rich or poor, bond or free, he is a rewarder to them ; indefinitely to all
them that seek him. [2.] Exclusively : he rewardeth none but those ;
they and they only do find and enjoy him. The point of doctrine will
be this
154 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXXIII.
Doct. That the fountain of all obedience, gratitude, and service to
God is a firm belief of his being a rewarder of all them that diligently
seek him.
I shall (1.) Explain the proposition that is to be believed, and give
the sense of it that God is a rewarder of such ; (2.) Inquire into the
nature of this faith, and show how this is to be believed ; (3.) Tell you
what influence it has upon our obedience and service to God.
First, Here is the proposition that is to be believed ' God is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him/ The proposition intimateth
somewhat to be expected on God's part, and something to be done on
our part.
First, on God's part. He is ^ladaTToSor^, a re ward-giver, which implies
these four propositions (1.) That not only his essence, but his provi
dence is to be believed by us. (2.) In his providence the gracious
recompense is only mentioned ; it is not said he ig a revenger, which
is a notable part of his providence, but he is a rewarder. (3.) To show
how fitly this grace is expressed by the term 'reward.' (4.) This
reward is principally in the next life.
1. We are bound to believe not only his essence, but his providence.
For here are two principles that God is, and that he is a rewarder ; by
which last his providence is intimated, namely, that he regardeth human
affairs, and will judge accordingly, blessing the good and punishing
the evil. It was the conceit of Epicurus and his followers that it
wonld not stand with the happiness of God to trouble himself with the
affairs of the world ; and practical atheists, and sinful, secure persons
are of his mind ; they think that the heavens are drawn as a curtain
between us and God, and that he is not at leisure to mind the affairs
of this lower world ; so they are brought in speaking, Job xxii. 12-14,
' Is not God in the height of heaven ? and behold the height of the
stars, how high are they ? And thou sayest, How can God know ? can
he judge through the dark clouds ? Thick clouds are a covering to
him, that he seeth not, and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.' Our
eyes and perspectives are too short for us to look above the clouds and
mists of this lower world, and to understand the affairs of the world
above us ; and therefore we muse of God according to the manner of
us finite creatures, as if God could not see us, and judge of the state of
things here below, because of the great distance between him and us ;
or at least that he hath other things to do than to mind the affairs of
mankind, or to trouble himself with our actions. Thus vainly do we
deceive ourselves, like that foolish creature, the panther ; when it is
hunted, it hides its head, and then thinks itself safe, not seen, because it
sees not. The clouds and darkness that are about God may hinder
our sight of him, but they do not hinder his sight of us. Oh no ; Prov.
xv. 3, 'The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the good and
the evil.' Nothing can be done without his providential assistance, and
therefore nothing can be done without his privity and knowledge. He
is nearer to us than we are to ourselves, and knows our very thoughts,
not only our meaning before we speak, but our thoughts before they
are conceived : Ps. cxxxix. 2, ' Thou understandest my thoughts afar
off.' The mischief is, we do that which we would not have to be seen,
and then would fain believe that God doth not see us. This conceit,
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 155
that God doth not mind the affairs of the world, will destroy all worship
of God and respect to him. If there be no providence, then no worship,
no prayer, no praise. The two first motives that ordinarily induce
men to worship are fear and hope ; fear that God will avenge their
misdeeds, and hope of relief when they lie under straits and necessities.
But now if God were mindless of the affairs of this lower world, and
had left all things to their own way, we should have nothing to fear
and nothing to hope for from his providence, and so God would not be
regarded by us. The Epicureans indeed say that God is to be
worshipped for the eminency of his dignity, and the excellency and
greatness of his nature ; but alas! that would breed a faint respect, for
who regards those in whom they are not concerned? Here in the
world we hear of mighty kings and potentates, but we regard them not
unless they govern and protect us ; then our peace and safety depends
upon them. I say we hear of great emperors and kings abroad in India
and China ; what doth the interest of their courts, or the vastness of
their armies move us ? Every mean gentleman that is able to do us
either a good or bad turn is more respected than those mighty
monarchs. And so God would not be respected if he should only shut
up himself within the heavens, and not regard the affairs here below.
Well then, God sees. The accurateness of his providence, of his seeing
all things, is described to us by many metaphors in scripture. The
most solemn and notable is that of a record. He so sees and regards
all things as to write them in books to keep them upon record : Mai.
iii. 16, ' The Lord hearkened and heard, and a book of remembrance
was written before him.' God hath his registers and books of record,
the counterpart of which is our conscience, where all things are written
that we do think and say ; but this book is in our keeping, and there
fore it is often blurred and defaced ; but all is clear and legible in the
book of God's remembrance. Certainly we would be more advised in
our speeches and actions if we knew that there was a secret spy about
us to write down all that we do : so Ps. Ivi. 8, ' Thou tellest my
wanderings: put thou my tears in thy bottle: are they not in thy
book ? ' God hath a bottle for all the tears of his people, they are not
as water spilt upon the ground, and he has a book wherein he records
all their sorrows. Many times books are written in their defence, and
the memorials of their innocency here in the world are destroyed ; but
all is entered in the records and rolls of heaven. Thus does God take
notice of all the actions and affairs of the world. You must not think
of him as of the Persian monarch living in ease and pleasure, and
leaving the care of provinces to his satrapce, his deputies and
vicegerents. No, his eyes run to and fro through the whole earth ;
he observeth all, noteth all that is done here in the world. And
which is the other part of his providence- he judgeth accordingly. He
is called : Jer. li. 56, ' The Lord God of recompenses/ because he does
reward his friends, and punish his enemies. I say, God is not an idle
spectator. Providence doth many times interpose notably now. We
find sometimes obedience laden with blessings; and vengeance treadeth
upon the heels of sin, especially for some notable excess and disorder :
Ps. Iviii, 11, ' So that a man may say, Verily there is a reward for the
righteous ; verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.' Many that
156 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXIII.
knew not what to think of God's providence before, that were at a loss,
yet when it is all brought about, they may see there is a reward for
the righteous. We often, like ignorant and impatient spectators, will
not tarry till the last act of the tragedy, till the way of God hath its
course ; for if we did, we should soon find that all things are in the
hands of a righteous judge. Now and then God will give the world a
taste of his recompenses, as he did in the prosperity of Abraham and
punishment of Cain, to show there is a providence. But at other times
the wicked are prosperous, the godly are afflicted, to show that the last
act of providence is yet behind, and that there is a judgment to come.
As in the parable of Dives, he was happy till his death, and lived in
luxury and, pleasure, whilst Lazarus was humbled with poverty, and
rough-cast with sores. But the great and solemn day is to come when
God will call all the world to an account and general audit, and justice
and mercy shall both have their solemn triumph ; and as our work hath
been, so shall our wages be ; that which is good shall be found to
praise and honour, and that which is evil lie under its own shame.
Well then, he that cometh to God must believe that God is a rewarder,
it implies his providence ; the Lord takes notice of human actions, and
that he will judge accordingly.
2. Among the recompenses of God, that which comes from grace is
only mentioned. The great God in recompenses is not only a rewarder
of them that seek him, but a revenger of them that hate him ; but his
vengeance and punishment is not propounded as so necessary to our
first faith, to him that comes to God so much as his reward. Why
does he instance in this part of providence? Partly, because God
delights to manifest himself to the world in acts of grace rather than
in acts of judgment ' Mercy pleaseth him/ Micah. vii. 18. Goodness
and grace are natural to God. Anger, and wrath, and vindictive justice
suppose our sin-; they are extorted from him. And therefore if we
would have a right notion of God, next to the being of God we must
believe his goodness. From the beginning of time until now the usual
acts of God's providence are the effluxes and emanations of his good
ness. What hath the world been but a great theatre, upon which
mercy hath been acting a part almost these six thousand years ? His
mercy is over all his works, and therefore God is called the ' Father of
mercies,' 2 Cor. i. 3, not the Father of justice. When he proclaimeth
his name, we hear first of his mercy, and still more of his mercy : Exod.
xxxiv. 6, 7, ' The Lord, the Lord God, gracious and merciful, long-
suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,' and justice is brought
in to prevent the abuse of mercy, and to invite men to take hold of it.
And then, partly, because this is an encouragement to bring in them to
God who else would run away from him because of his terrors and his
own natural bondage, as Adam ran into the bushes. Though there be
amiable excellences in the nature of God, yet the naked contemplation
of these cannot allay our natural fears, nor quench our natural enmity
against God, but rather increase them. As good qualities in a judge
will never draw the prisoner's heart to affect him ; to tell the prisoner
that his judge is a grave, comely person, of profound knowledge, of
excellent speech, a strict observer of the law ; but he is a judge, and
so his heart stands off from him. And so it is between us and God :
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 157
though we should tell men of the perfections of God's nature, yet as long
as the guilty sinner reflects upon him as his judge, he stands aloof from
God. The wrath of God is like a flaming sword ready drawn and bran
dished to keep us from him ; his justice makes us stand at a distance :
Kom. i. 32, ' Knowing the judgment of God, that they that do such
things are worthy of death ;' but his goodness, and readiness to reward,
that is the motive to draw in our hearts to him. Christians, all this
is spoken that we might have a right notion of God in himself. GEcolam-
padius, when he was preaching to children, first he tells them, There is
a God, and then saith he, If you, would know what God is, you must not
conceive of him by pictures that you have seen. Do you know what
mercy, lenity, patience, bountifulness, goodness is ? that is God. You
must believe there is a God, and then you must see what he is ; he is
a God merciful, gracious, ready to reward and do good. This doth
draw in the heart of a creature to him. As Luther saith, this is the
whole design of the scripture, to represent God in such a manner, as
bountiful and ready to do good to his creatures that come to him.
3. This grace is expressed by the word ' reward.' It is a metaphor
taken from hired servants : Mat. xx. 8, ' Call the labourers, and give
them fuadbv their hire.' Now some go upon this word as if here they
had a clear foundation for the merit of the creature from the two
words /uo-#o<?and aTroSocri?, of which the word in the text is compounded,
but vainly ; for work and reward are relatives indeed, but not merit
and reward. God is a rewarder, but how ? out of his own bounty, and
the liberality of his grace, not out of our merit and desert. You shall
see the word is taken in scripture sometimes for any fruit and issue of
our pains, so it be grateful to us, though no way deserved by us, as
that vainglory men seek for in the world : Mat. vi. 2, it is said, ' They
have their reward/ No man can say they deserve it, but it was the
reward aimed at and chosen by them. Anything we look at as the
fruit of our pains is called the reward. And sometimes any fruit of
the divine grace : as Ps. cxxvii. 3, ' Lo, children are an heritage from
the Lord ; and the fruit of the womb is his reward/ that is, his gracious
gift ; and so /uo-0o? and ^dpis, reward and grace, are all one, and pro
miscuously used ; as Mat. v. 46, what is there, ' What reward have
you ? ' in Luke vi. 32, it is %apt9, ' What grace, or what thank have
you ? ' So God is said to reward those whom he remembers out of
mere mercy and bounty ; his reward is worth the seeking after ; not that
our work is meritorious and worthy of that reward. Well then, the re
ward of grace is understood ; fjuaOos hath more relation to God's promise
than the work. Indeed it stands upon two feet, upon God's promise
and upon Christ's merit. We have a reward, which by virtue of
Christ's merit, and God's promise we may expect ; but as to us, it is
freely bestowed upon us. The apostle plainly shows this distinction
of a reward of debt and a reward of grace : Rom. iv. 4, ' To him that
worketh,' that is, he that will establish his own righteousness or works
for justification to him ' is the reward reckoned, not of grace, but of
debt/ He intimates plainly there is a reward Kara %dpiv, according
to grace. Once more it is called, Col. iii. 24, ' The reward of the
inheritance ; such as proceedeth not from the worth of the work, but
from God's free grace. If the reward be a servile work, the inheritance
158 SERMONS UPON HEBKEWS XI. [SEK. XXXIII.
is for children. But briefly : the recompenses of God's justice and
mercy are called rewards, partly to note the persons to whom it is
given ; a reward is not given but to those that labour. Heaven is not
for idlers and loiterers ; it is a reward, it is given after labour ; not as
if any did deserve it by their work, as a labourer is worthy of his hire.
Among men, he that hires has benefit by the labour of him that is
hired ; but ' we are unprofitable servants,' Luke xvii. 10 ; and ordinarily
there is a due proportion between the work and the wages ; but here
there can be none at all, for eternal life, which is that reward, consists
in the vision and fruition of God himself ; yea, it is God himself,
united and conjoined to us by this vision and fruition : Gen. xv. 1, ' I
am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.' Now no works of
men can bear a proportion to such a reward. This argument seems of
such weight that Vasquez denies this uncreated reward to fall sub
condignis meritis Christi, to be deserved even by 'Christ's obedience.
But that is false, for the obedience of Christ is of infinite value. Well
then, a reward it is, because it is a consequent of labour Posito opere
recte colligimus certitudinem secuturce mercedis ; by the gracious con
stitution and ordination of God, who hath appointed that our good
works should have such an issue and event. Again, a reward it is
called, because it is not given till our work be ended : 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8,
' I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept
the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.' When
we have done our work, then we shall receive our wages. Again,
reward it is called to note the sureness of it. God in condescension
calleth it a reward. We may expect it as a labourer doth his hire at
night, for the Lord hath made himself a debtor by his own promise :
James i. 12, ' He shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.'
4. This reward is principally in the next life. That suits with
Enoch's instance, his translation to heaven, to a place of blessedness ;
and that is called tear e%ox>iv, the reward in scripture : 1 Cor. iii. 14,
'If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall
receive a reward ; ' Kev. xi. 18, ' The time is come that thou shouidst
give reward unto thy servants the prophets.' Now is the time of God's
patience, and hereafter of his recompenses. Now is the time of our
exercise and service, hereafter of our enjoyment. Alas ! all that we
have here, it is not our wages, it is but our vales, the overplus and
additional supply that God gives in upon the better portion that we
expect from him : as Mat. vi. 33, ' All other things shall be added
unto you.' Other things are cast in over and above the bargain. A
Christian does not count this his reward ; he does not give God a dis
charge, though God should bless him with comfort and with increase in
this life, that is the spirit of an hypocrite to give God his acquittance
for other things. So it is said of the hypocrites,a7re^of ai /j,icr6bv ' They
have their reward,' Mat. vi. 2. The word signifies they give God their
discharge. A man loseth nothing by God in the world ; God may
cast in outward things to commend our portion, and to make it more
amiable to us, because we consist of body as well as soul, and have the
interest of both to mind ; he may add these ciphers to the figure, give
YER. 6.} SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 159
in those things as appurtenances to heaven, but it is heaven they take
for their portion. He may increase worldly things upon them as he
thinks fit, but they that take up. with this as their portion and reward,
the honours, pleasures, and treasures of this life, are bastards, not sons ;
as bastards have means to live upon, though they do not inherit. The
scripture everywhere condemns us for fastening upon the world as our
portion : Ps. xvii. 14, ' Which have their portion in this life ; ' and
Luke xvi. 25, ' Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy
good things ;' and Jer. xvii. 13, ' They that depart from me shall be
written in the earth.' Oh, to be condemned to this happiness is the
greatest misery, to expect nothing else but this ; therefore we must
protest against this kind of reward ; as Luther tells us, Valde protes-
tatus sum, me nolle sic a Deo satiari, I earnestly protested to God
that he should not put me off with gold, riches, and the transitory things
of the present life We that are heirs according to the hope of eternal
life expect better things in a better state, or else God would not answer
the magnificent expressions wherein he hath spoken to us in his cove
nant. He hath told us, I will be your God, and that he himself, and
all that is his, shall be ours. Certainly the magnificence of this ex
pression is not verified and made good unless he hath better things to
bestow upon us than what this world yields. Therefore the apostle
tells us : Heb. xi. 16, ' He is not ashamed to be called our God, because
he hath provided for us a city.' Now that God hath a city and a
heavenly inheritance to bestow upon us, he may with honour take that
title upon himself to be the God of his people. Neither would it answer
the desires of his people, who look after a more perfect enjoyment of
God than this life will permit. Therefore whatever here we have in
temporal things, and what we have in spiritual tilings, it is not our
reward. These are magnificent, as remission of sins, adoption, right
eousness, grace, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost ; these are
but the beginnings and presignifications of a more blessed estate, these
are but the suburbs of heaven ; our advance-money before our pay comes ;
but our great reward is hereafter. Certainly it cannot be otherwise if
you consider the being of God as infinite and eternal ; God will give
like himself. As it was said of Araunah, 2 Sam. xxiii. 24, ' All these
things did Araunah as a king give to the king ' he was of the blood-
royal of the Jebusites, and he carried it becoming his extraction ; so
there will be a time when God will give like himself. It does not
become a mighty emperor to give pence and shillings, or brass farthings,
it is below his greatness ; so there will come a time when the Lord, as
he is an infinite and eternal being, will give us ' a. far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory,' 2 Cor. iv 17. Now it is very little God
discovereth. God doth communicate and discover himself to the
rational creature as he is able to bear ; Job xxvi. 14, ' Lo, these are
part of his ways ; but how little a portion is heard of him ! ' There
is a time coming when the Lord will communicate himself to reason
able creatures in a fuller latitude than now he doth ; therefore there
is a more exceeding weight of glory we expect from him. Again, if
you consider the largeness of Christ's merit and condescension. No
wise man will lay a broad foundation unless he means to build an
answerable structure thereupon. Well then, when God hath laid such
a notable foundation as the blood of Christ, the death of the Son of
1GO SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXXIII.
God, I say, certainly he hath some notable worthy blessing to bestow
upon us. There was price enough laid down, the blood of God ; God
would not be at such expense for nothing. What will not that pur
chase for us ? In short, godliness must have a better recompense than
is to be had here in the world. Take away rewards and take away
religion, these things we enjoy here are but the offals of providence,
enjoyed by God's enemies ; they have the greatest share of worldly
things : Ps. xvii. 14, ' Whose belly thou fillest with thy good treasures.'
The more wise any are, the more they contemn these things. And
would God put a spirit into a man to contemn his rewards ? Would
he give us wisdom and grace that we might slight that which he hath
appointed for our reward ? Therefore certainly this is not the reward.
The afflictions of men good and upright show that ' if we had our
hopes only in this life, we were of all men most miserable/ 1 Cor. xv. 19 ;
for here many times the best go to the wall. And therefore out of
all we may conclude that there is a reward for the children of God
hereafter. Thus I have gone through the first thing that is implied in
this proposition, that that is to be believed and embraced by us. If
we would have life put into our services if we would have zeal for
God, and delight in communion with him, look upon God as one that
takes notice of human affairs, that delights in acts of mercy, that hath
by his promise established a sure course of recompenses, and that the
full of what is provided for us is in the world to come.
Secondly, There is something to be done on our part. God is a
rewarder, but to whom ? ' To them that diligently seek him/ and to
none but them. Here (1.) What it is diligently to seek God ? (2.)
Why is this clause put here, that he is a rewarder of such ?
1. What it is to seek God ? Sometimes it is taken in a more par
ticular and limited sense for prayer and invocation, for seeking his
counsel, help, and blessing ; as in Isa. Iv. 6, ' Seek ye the Lord while
he may be found ; call ye upon him while he is near/ Seeking the
Lord and calling upon him are made parallel expressions. So Exod.
xxxiii. 7, ' Every one that sought the Lord/ that is, that went to ask
his counsel, ' went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation.' ' More
largely, it is taken for the whole worship of God, and that duty and
obedience we owe to him ; as 2 Chron. xiv. 4, ' Asa commanded
Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and
the commandment ; ' that is, to worship and obey him ; so in 2 Chron.
xxxiv. 3, it is said of Josiah. when yet young, that ' he began to seek
after the Lord God of his father David/ Obedience is called a seek
ing of God, because it is a means to further our communion with him.
But a little to open the formality of the expression.
[1.] Seeking implies some loss or some want, for that which we have
we seek not for. Now God may be considered either as to his essence
and omnipresence, or as to his favour. As to his essence, so God can
never be lost nor found, for he is everywhere present, in heaven, in earth,
in hell: Acts xvii. 27, 'He is not far from every one of us;' he
is within us, without us, round about us, in the effects of his power
and goodness. But with respect to his favour and grace, so we are
said to seek after God : Ps. cv. 4, ' Seek the Lord and his strength,
seek his face evermore ; ' that is, his powerful and favourable presence,
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 161
comforting, quickening, and strengthening our hearts. This is that
we want, and this is that we seek after.
[2.] Seeking implies that this must be our aim and scope, and the
business of our lives and actions, to enjoy more of God till we come
fully to enjoy him in heaven. The whole course of a 'Christian must
be a seeking after God, a getting more of God into his heart : Ps. Ixiii.
8, ' My soul follows hard after thee.' It is not a slight motion or a
cold wish, such as will easily be put off or blunted with discouragement,
or satisfied with other things ; but such as engages us to an earnest
pursuit of him till we find him, and till we enjoy him in the complet-
est way of fruition. Wicked men in a pang would have the favour of
God, but they are soon put out of the humour, and take up with other
things. Therefore this must be the scope of our whole lives, especially
in the nobler actions of our lives. The noblest actions of our lives are
our engaging in duties of worship in the ordinances of God ; now there
we must not only serve God but seek him. What is it to seek God
in ordinances ? In a word, it is this to make God net only the object,
but the end of the worship ; not only to come to God, but to come to
God for God, so as to resolve that we will not go from him without
him, abs te absque te non recedam. As Jacob said : Gen. xxxii. 26,
' I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.' And therefore seeking
God notes our scope ; when we make this the great aim of our lives,
especially in the duties of religion, in acts of worship, we desire to
meet with him.
[3.] It implies a seeking of him in Christ. For without a mediator
guilty creatures cannot enjoy God. We cannot immediately converse
with God, there must be a mediator between God arid us : John xiv.
6, ' I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no man cometh to the
Father but by me.' There is no getting to God but by Christ. God
in our nature is more familiar with us, and more especially found of
us : Hos. iii. 5, ' They shall seek the Lord their God and David their
king,' that is, Christ. There is no seeking or finding of God- but in
and by Christ. Saith Luther, Horribile est de Deo extra Christum
cogitare It is a terrible thing to think of God out of Christ. As
Themistocles, when he sought the favour of Admetus, which had been
formerly his enemy, the historian tells us he snatched up his child, and
so begged entertainment of him. We are enemies to God ; if we go to
him we must carry Christ with us. It is Christ's great work to bring
us to God. He died for ' that end, that he might bring us to God/ 1
Peter iii. 18 ; and it is the great duty of a Christian ; he ought to come
to God by him ' He is able to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him.' Heb. vii. 25. And therefore since we have lost the
favour of God, we shall never find him but in Christ.
[4.] This seeking is stirred up in us by the secret impressions of
God's grace, and the help of his Spirit. All the persons are concerned
in it, ' For through him we have an access to the Father by one Spirit,'
Eph. ii. 18. Natural men are well enough pleased without God or
they have but faint desires after him. Take men as they are in them
selves, and the psalmist tells us, Ps. xiv. 2, ' No man understandeth
and seeketh after God ; ' they have no affection, no desire of communion
with him. So Ps. x. 4, ' The wicked, through the pride of his counte-
VOL. xiv. L
162 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXIV.
nance, will not seek after God ; God is not in all their thoughts/
Wicked men cast God out of their minds, never care whether he be
pleased or displeased, whether he be enjoyed or hide himself from us.
Ay, but the Spirit of God works this work in us. How so ? The
spirit of bondage brings us to God as a judge ; God as a judge sends
us to Christ as mediator ; and Christ as mediator, by the spirit of
adoption, brings us back to God again as a father ; and so we come to
enjoy God. The divine persons make way for the operations of one an
other. Saith Bernard, Nemo te qucererepotest, nisi qui prius invenerit;
tu igitur invenire ut quceraris, quaere ut inveniaris, potest quidem in-
veniri, non tamen prceveniri None can be beforehand with God ; we
cannot seek him till we find him ; he will be found that he may be
sought, and he will be sought that he may be found ; his preventing
grace makes us restless in the means, and puts, us upon those first
motions and earnest addresses towards God.
SERMON XXXIV.
And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
HEB. xi. 6.
[5.] THIS seeking must be our e/ryo-y, our business, as well as our scope ; a
thing that we would not mind by the by, but as the great work we are
to do in our lives here in the world : Dent. iv. 29, ' Thou shalt find
him if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul ; ' and
Jer. xxix. 13, 'Ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for
me with all your heart ; ' and 2 Chron. xv. 15, ' They sought him with
all their hearts, and their whole desire, and he was found of them.
Many are convinced that they cannot be happy without the favour of
God ; their consciences tell them they must seek after God, but their
affections carry them to the world. Oh, but when your whole hearts
are in this, when you make it your great business, then shall you find
him. If you content yourselves to look after God by the by only, and
as a recreation, and with a few slight endeavours, and do not make
this the great employment of your lives, you will never find him.
Certainly we were made for God, it was the end of our creation ; there
fore this must be the business of your lives. God made us for himself,
and we can never be happy without himself. And as it was the end
of our creation, so it is the end of his gracious forbearance and indul
gence in the course of his providence. Wherefore doth God forbear with
sinning man, when he punished the apostate angels presently ? ' That
they might seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him and
find him,' Acts xvii. 27. We do not live to live, but we live to seek
God. When we had lost God by Adam's apostasy, God might have
cut off all hope that ever we should find him again ; as the angels,
when they lost their chief est good, could never recover their first estate.
But it is God's indulgence to deal with us upon more gracious terms,
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 163
that we might seek after him. God needed not seek the creatures, he
had happiness enough in himself ; but we needed such a creator. He
that hides himself from the sun impairs not the light thereof. We
derogate nothing from God, but it is a loss of benefit to us that we seek
him not, for the present and for the future. If you seek him, you shall
be "happy for the present ; for the God of Jacob hath pawned his word
to you that none shall seek him.in vain : ' Isa. xlv. 19, ' I said not to the
seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain ; and Ps. xxii. 26, ' They shall praise
the Lord that seek him.' You will have cause to bless God ere the
search be over. And for the future : Amos v. 6, ' Seek the Lord, and
ye shall live well then/ Here is the great work and business of your
lives, diligently to seek after God. Though it may be at first you do
not find him, yet comfort thyself that thou art in the seeking way, still
in pursuit of him. Better be a seeker than a wanderer : Ps. xxiv. 6,
' This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face,
Jacob.' Though thou dost not presently feel the love of God, and hast
no assurance of thy pardon, nor sensible comfort from his Spirit, yet
continue seeking ; here is your business, here is your work.
2. Why is this put here, ' He that cometh to God must believe that
he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him'? (1.) It is put
exclusively. Privileges in scripture are propounded with their neces
sary limitation ; we disjoint the frame of religion, if we would sever
the reward from the duty. God is a rewarder, but to whom ? To
the careless, to the negligent ? Oh, no ! he will be an avenger to them :
Ps. ix. 17, ' The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations
that forget God ; ' not only they that deny God, but they that forget God,
that do not seek after him. As they cast God out of their mind and
affections, so God will cast them out of his presence. (2.) It is put
inclusively : God will impartially reward every one that seeks him,
without any distinction. The door of grace stands open for all comers.
Every one that seeketh God finds entertainment, not only in regard of
the answers of grace for the present, but as to eternal recompenses
hereafter.
[1.] For the present. Oh, do not conceive of God after a carnal
manner! It was the corrupt theology of the gentiles, Dii magna
curant, parva negligunt, that the gods did look after great things, but
small and petty things they left to others, as if the great God did act
according to the advice of Jethro to Moses: Exod. xviii. 21, 22, ' Thou
shalt appoint rulers of thousands, hundreds, and fifties, and tens, and
let them judge the people at all seasons : and it shall be, that every
great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they
shall judge/ But the Lord's providence here in the world extends to
every one that seeketh him, and he hearkens to the prayers of the
poorest beggar as well as the greatest monarch ; persons despicable in
the world may find audience and acceptance with God : Ps. xxxiv. 6,
' This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him ; ' David speaks it of
himself, when he was a ruddy youth following the ewes great with
young. There is none among the sons of men that hath cause to say as
Isa. xl. 27, ' My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed
over from my God ;' that is, God hath so much to do in the world that he
forgets me, he doth not mind my case ; for the Lord hath a providence.
1G4 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SliR. XXXI Y.
[2.] Hereafter they will find in him a re warder. There is none so
poor but he will find God makes good his promise. There is a notable
expression, Eph. vi. 8, ' Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man
doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.'
He speaks to encourage servants (who at that time were slaves) in
singleness of heart to go about their duty. Even the basest drudgery
of servants is a doing good, and comes within the compass of those
good works which God will take notice of. God does not look to the
external splendour of the work but to the honesty and sincerity of it,
though it be of a poor drudge and slave that is faithful in his calling.
Nay, God will rather forget princes, lords, and mighty men of the
earth, vain and sinful potentates, than pass by a poor servant that fears
him. You find that God gave the angels charge over Lazarus' soul,
Luke xvi. 22, ' The beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom.' The beggar's soul is thus conducted in state to
heaven. Whoever seeks him will be sure to find him a rewarder.
Secondly, I come to the nature of this faith. You have seen the
thing that is to be believed ; but how is it to be believed ?
1. It must be a firm and certain persuasion. The reward is sure
on God's part. Men may be ignorant, forgetful, unthankful, as
Pharaoh's butler forgat Joseph, Gen. xl. 23; but the Lord is righteous,
and will not forget your labour of love : Prov. xi. 18, ' To him that
soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.' It may be the work you
do for God is like ploughing or sowing, difficult and hard work, but
we are sure of an excellent crop. When we feel nothing but trouble
and inconvenience, sense will make lies of God, and we are apt to say,
'I have cleansed my heart in vain/ Ps. Ixxiii. 13. But the Lord will
not forget this service you do for him. Under the law God would
not have the hireling defrauded of his wages because he hath lifted up
his soul to it. The man comforted himself with this thought: he
should have his recompense at night. So when thou hast lifted up thy
soul to look for those great things promised, God looks upon himself
as bound ; therefore this must be entertained with a strong faith, and
without doubting. We read in scripture of a threefold assurance ; an
' assurance of understanding,' Col. ii. 2 ; an ' assurance of faith,' Heb.
x. 22; and an 'assurance of hope,' Heb. vi. 11. All this represents
the firmness of that assent by which we should receive the promises.
2. It must not be a naked assent, but a lively and operative faith,
urging and encouraging us to seek after God upon those hopes. There
are many that are able to dispute for the truth of the rewards of
religion, but yet do not feel the virtue of them. This is not enough, to
have notions and opinions that God is a rewarder, but we must have a
lively operative faith : Phil. iii. 14, ' I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.' That is a due appre
hension of the reward, when we are engaged thereby to the duties
which the reward calls for : Heb. xi. 13, ' They were persuaded of
them, and embraced them ; ' when it ravishes the affections and en-
gageth the heart; when it keeps us from fainting under the cross,
2 Cor. iv. 16 ; when it abates the eagerness of our pursuit after worldly
things ; when we are more contented with a little here, because we
are persuaded we shall have enough with God. A rich man that
VER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. 165
hath a vast inheritance of his own, to see him among the poor that
glean up the ears of corn that were scattered, this were an uncomely
thing. Oh ! do we look for so great blessedness, and are we scraping
so much in the world, ' We that are begotten to a lively hope ' ? 1
Peter i. 3. Such a faith produceth sobriety and moderation to worldly
things ; 1 Peter i. 13, 'Be sober, and hope to the end for the grace
that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.' In
short, we that look for such things should give diligence to be found
of him; and what manner of persons ought we to be ?' 2 Peter iii. 11.
If it be not a dead and a naked opinion only, to dispute about the
rewards of religion, but a well-grounded confidence, it will quicken
our endeavours, moderate our desires, allay the bitterness of the cross r
and help us on in the way to heaven.
3. It is an applicative faith. We must believe God is not only a>
rewarder, but say with Paul, This he will be to me ; for so we have the
expression, 2 Tim. iv. 8, ' Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of righteousness,' &c. ; this is proposed and made over to me for my
comfort and my quickening. Salvation in general hath no such an
efficacy : 1 Cor. ix. 26, ' I run, not as uncertain/ In the Isthmic
games, to which the apostle alludes, held near Corinth, a man might
run, but he was not certain whether he should have the goal or no ;
but I run not as uncertain, as one that hath the prize in view, and am
comfortably assured I shall obtain it. This quickeneth us to a com
fortable, willing industry.
Tliirdly, The influence that it hath upon our obedience and service
to God.
1. To keep the heart free and ingenuous. We are apt to look upon
God as a Pharaoh, harsh and austere, as if he had required work where
he will not give wages. But think of his mercy and kindness, and
readiness to reward the services of his people, that you may come to
him with an ingenuous confidence. Our obligations to God are
absolute ; we are bound to serve him, though nothing should come of
it. Ay, but he is pleased to move us by rewards, ' to draw us with
the cords of a man, and with the bands of love,' Hos. xi. 4. When be
might rule us with a rod of iron, and require duty out of mere power
and sovereignty, he will govern us rationally, by precepts and rewards.
Men do not use to enter into covenant with a slave, yet God is pleased
to indent with us ; he would have us to look upon him as a rewarder.
In all our services we are to remember that God is, that we may be
aweful ; and ' he is a rewarder,' that we may be ingenuous.
2. To keep the heart sincere and upright. Oh, there is nothing
makes the heart so sincere as to make God our paymaster, and to look
for our reward from him only. Carnal affections will draw us to seek
praise and honour of men, some present profit, some reward here : Mat.
vi. 2, ' They have their reward,' and give God a discharge ; but a man's
sincerity is to look for all his reward from God : Col. iii. 23, ' Knowing
that of the Lord yc shall receive the reward of the inheritance.' You
have a master good enough, and need not look for your pay elsewhere.
3. To quicken us in our duty, and make us vigorous and cheerful
and diligent in our service : 1 Cor xv. 58, ' Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of
166 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXIV.
the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labour shall not be in vain
in the Lord.' Idols can do nothing for their worshippers ; these will
deceive you, but God will not be served for nought ; your duty that
you do to him will return into your bosoms, and will bring a blessing ;
not like a ball struck into the air, that returns not again to you, but
like a ball struck against a wall, that returns to your hand again. Let
us who are bred up in the belief of this principle, bless God
[1.] That there is a reward. He might have cut off all hopes and
left us under the despair of the first covenant, and then our guilty fears
would represent God under no other notion but that of an avenger ; and
our punishment might have begun with our sin, as the fallen angels were
held in chains of darkness, under an everlasting horrible despair of
mending their condition. When once we had lost God, we might
never have found him more ; his language to the fallen creature
might have been only thunder and wrath. Or if he would quit us
from what is past, and release our punishment for the future, he might
only have ruled us with a rod of iron, and imposed laws upon us out of
mere sovereignly, and say, Thus and thus shall ye do, 'I am the
Lord ; ' or, at least, have held us in bondage, and suspended the pub
lication of a new and better covenant, and kept it in his own breast,
that we might wholly stand to his arbitrary will, whether he would
reward yea, or no. Thus the Lord might have done with us ; but he
will rather draw us by the cords of a man, hold us to our duty by the
sense of our own interest, and give us leave to encourage ourselves with
the thoughts of his bounty. There are many in the world that think
it unsafe to use God's motives, and destroy his grace, for which we
have cause to bless God. They say, God is to be worshipped, though
we had no benefit by him, merely for the excellency of his being ; but
this is but a fancy and an airy religion ; to abstract religion from re
wards is to frame a religion in conceit. The two first notions of God
are his being and his bounty, and we must reflect upon both. It is a
description of the people of God, Horn. ii. 7, ' That by patient con
tinuance in well doing, they seek for honour, and glory, and immor
tality.' We may seek honour from God ; and a great part of our sin
cerity lies in this, to make God our paymaster ; and therefore let us
bless God that there is a reward.
[2.] That there is so great a reward : Mat. v. 12, ' Kejoice and be
exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven ; such as we may
admire rather than conceive ; and 2 Cor. iv. 17, ' Our light affliction,
that is but for a moment, worketh for us Ka6 > vTreppo\r)v ek vTrepjBoXrjv,
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory/ Heaven
will not admit of a hyperbole. In other things, fancy may easily
overreach, the garment may be too big for the body ; but all our
thoughts come short of heaven. God himself will be our reward : Gen.
xv. 1, ' Fear not, Abraham ; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great
reward.' When he would encourage us to well-doing, he goes to the
utmost ; he hath no greater encouragement to propound to us. As the
apostle said, Heb. vi. 13, ' When God made promise to Abraham, be
cause he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself.' God hath
no greater thing to give us, and therefore saith, ' I will be your reward ;'
though he does not for the present make out himself in 'that latitude
YER. 6.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 167
to us, that he will hereafter when God is all in all. There is enough
to counterbalance all the inconveniences of religion ; when you sit
down and count the charges, you will be no losers. The difficulties
of obedience, the sorrows of the cross, shall all be made up to you in
this reward ; and therefore let not your hearts be faint, nor your hands
shake, but ' Press on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus/ Phil. iii. 14. If it be a painful race, remem
ber what is the crown; we run for the everlasting enjoyment
of the blessed God. As we Christians have the noblest work,
so we have the highest motives ; there is a reward, and a great
reward.
[3.] That this reward is so freely dispensed, and upon terms of
grace ^dpLa-^a ' The grace of God is eternal life/ Horn. vi. 23.
Such are the riches of his grace to lost sinners, that we can hardly
believe, especially with application, what is told us of this readiness of
God to do good to the creature, and to reward our slender services.
But then how should this encourage us to draw nigh to the fountain
of rich grace, for pardon, life, and glory, when so much is so freely pre
pared for such unworthy ones : Ps. xxxvi. 7, ' How excellent is thy
loving-kindness, God ! therefore the children of men put their trust
under the shadow of thy wings/
[4.] That all this is made known to us, and that we are not left to
uncertain guesses and conjectures. The heathens were sensible of the
recompenses of another world ; they had some dreams of elyeian fields,
and fancies about noisome rivers, and obscure grottoes, and dismal
caverns in the earth, as places of punishment ; but they knew not
whether this were a fable or a certain truth. As men that see a spire
at a distance in travelling ; sometimes they have a sight of it, and
sometimes they have lost it, and cannot tell whether they saw it or no.
Thus it was with the heathens : saith Lactantius Virtutis vim non
sentiunt, cujus prcemium ignorant they were ignorant of the power of
godliness, because they knew not the rewards of godliness. But all is
clear and open to us, and established upon certain terms : 2 Tim. i.
10, ' Jesus Christ hath brought life and immortality to light by the
gospel/ Well then, if these be the thoughts that enliven all our
duties, how clearly may we take God under these notions ' That God
is, and that he is a re warder.'
[5.] That it is so surely made known unto us. God foresaw that in
this lower world, where God is unseen, where our trials are so great,
where our hopes are to come, where the flesh is so importunate to be
pleased and gratified with present satisfactions, God foresaw, I say,
that we would be liable to much doubting and unbelief ; and therefore
he hath not only passed his word that there shall be a reward, but
hath given us a pawn and earnest of it in our heart, to assure us of it :
2 Cor. i. 22, ' Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the
Spirit in our hearts.' The comforts that we have in well-doing in this
world are not only dona, gifts of God, but arrha, an assurance that
God will give us more ; they are a taste how good, and a pledge how
sure our reward shall be.
[6.] That we have hopes and encouragements to put in for a share,
and come and take hold of eternal life upon these terms ; that we can-
168 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [&ER. XXXIV.
not only say in general, ' God is a re warder/ but he will be so ' to me,'
2 Tim. iv. 8, ' Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of glory.' This
was not peculiar to Paul only, for he saith ' And not only for me, but
for all that love his appearing.' All those that do believe the rewards
of the Christian religion, and act upon this encouragement, and serve
God faithfully, all that prepare for it, may say, ' For me,' there is a
crown of life ; this I expect from God's hand. Oh, then blessed be his
name that hath given us ' so good hope through grace,' 2 Thes. ii. 16.
That is cause of rejoicing and thanksgiving indeed : Luke x. 20,
' Kejoice that your names are written in heaven.' When we can see our
names in Christ's testament, look upon ourselves as concerned in this
reward, that we have a title to it ; or if we have not a title, the door
is open, the promise is sure, the way is plain, the helps are many, and
we may have a title if we will. And therefore let us bless God that
there is a reward, a great reward, a reward so freely dispensed, and
this made known and assured to us by the joys of the Spirit, and that
we have hopes and encouragement to go on in well-doing upon this
ground.
Use 2. If God be a rewarder of them that diligently seek him,
then here is a reproof, because so few seek after God. Paul charges it
upon all natural men : Rom. iii. 11, ' There is none that seeketh after
the Lord ; ' we all at first go wandering after our own fancies, and
never think of returning to God, as our chief good, till we have tried
ourselves with a thousand disappointments, and are scourged home to
him ; yea, it were well if we would seek him at the last or were
brought to God upon any terms. But, alas ! some seek him not at
all; others do not seek him diligently, but in a slight and overly
fashion.
1. Some do not seek him at all. Alas! there are many that run
away from God, and are never better than when they can get out of
his eye and presence ' God is not in all their thoughts,' Ps. x. 4. As
the prodigal went from his father into a far country, so a carnal man
is ever running from God. He runs from his own conscience, and can
not endure to commune and hold a little parley with his own heart,
because he finds God there. He shuns the presence of holy men,
because they have God's image they put him in mind of God ; slights
the ordinances of worship, lest they revive a sense of God in his heart,
and he meet with God in them. The word brings God too near him,
and awakens his fears. Prayer he slights, because it engageth him to
speak to God. He shuns the thoughts of death, because then the spirit
must return to God that gave it. If the Holy Ghost stirs up any
thoughts of God in his heart, he will not cherish them ; he abhors his
own thoughts of God, and is ready to say as Satan, Mat. viii. 29,
' What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God ? Art thou
come hither to torment us before the time ? ' Thoughts of God and
Christ and heavenly things are a torment to him.
2. There are others that do not seek him diligently, and with their
whole hearts. Oh, to what a sorry use do the most of us put our lives !
We are hunting after the profits of the world and the pleasures of our
senses, but we do not inquire after God. Most of us have cause to
blush and to be ashamed, How little is our delight in God ? how
VER. 6.J SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 1G9
seldom do we think or speak of him ? how cold is our affections to
him ? how dead and careless are our prayers that we make ? our
thoughts are taken up with trifles, and God finds no room there. If
any speak of God in our company, or mention his great love to sinners,
we frown upon the motion, and think it unseasonable for those meet
ings and hours that we have consecrated to mirth and carnal sports, as
if our thoughts of God were like gall and wormwood to embitter the
pleasure we affect. We had rather have anything than God, his gifts
than himself, yea, the worser sort of them, than his favour and grace ;
and then we offend him, we do not take such care to please him, and
reconcile ourselves to him by the means he hath appointed. They that
do indeed love God, and seek after God, they are with him morning,
noon, and night ; nay, they do carry God along with them in all their
businesses and occasions : Ps. xvi. 8, ' I have set the Lord always before
me ; ' and Ps. cxxxix. 18, ' When I awake, I am still with thee.' We
that seldom think or speak of God, do we seek after God ? surely no.
Use 3. To exhort us to seek God, and to seek him out till we find
him.
1. To seek God. Motives
[1.] To enjoy God, who is the centre of our rest, and the fountain
of our blessedness, is the chief end for which we were made. Man was
made to use the creatures, and to enjoy God. All things were made
to glorify God, but some creatures to enjoy him, as men and angels.
We sin against the law of our creation, and swerve from the great end
of our lives and actions, if this be not all our hope and all our desire :
Ps. Ixxiii. 25, ' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none
on earth that I desire besides thee.' Nothing but God can make us
happy.
[2.] It is our business to seek him, as well as our happiness to enjoy
him- Since the fall, God is lost, and out of the indulgence of his grace
offereth himself to be found again, and inviteth us to communion with
himself, that we may have everlasting blessedness : Amos v. 5, ' Seek
ye the Lord, and ye shall live.' Now, for us to despise this grace and
turn our backs upon this offer, not to regard it in our thoughts,
not to pursue it with earnest endeavours, it is a slighting of God's
mercy : Ps. Ixxxi, 11, ' But my people would not hearken to my voice ;
and Israel would none of me.' He offereth himself, and we make little
reckoning of it.
[3.J Because we are sluggish and backward, all external providences
tend to quicken us to this duty. Mercies : Acts xvii. 27, ' That they
should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him.'
God refresh eth our sense and taste with his goodness with new experi
ences every day, that set us a-work anew in seeking after him.
Afflictions : Hos. v. 15, ' I will go, and return to my place, till they
acknowledge their offence, and seek my face : in their affliction they
will seek me early.' This is the right use of all our troubles to drive
us home to God, to quicken us to look after communion with him,
and to make up our former negligence with double diligence herein,
to set an edge upon our affections. God knows want is a spur to a
lazy soul.
[4.] All ordinances are appointed for this end and purpose, that we
170 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. -XXXIV.
might seek after God and find him : Exod. xx. 24, ' In all places where
I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee ; ' Mat.
xviii. 20, ' Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them ; ' there he cometh most sensibly to mani
fest himself to us ; Eev. ii. 1, ' These things saith he that holdeth the
seven stars in his right hand, that walketh in the midst of the seven
golden candlesticks.' His special presence is in his church. If we
find him not in the time we seek him, we shall soon after : 2 Sam. vii.
4, ' And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came
unto Nathan ; ' Cant. v. 5, 'I rose up to open to my beloved, and
my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet-smelling
myrrh upon the handles of the lock ; ' some impression was left that
worketh afterward.
[5.] It is the end of the Spirit's motion : Ps. xxvii. 8, ' When
thou saidst, Seek ye my face ; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord,
will I seek.' God speaks to us by the injection of holy thoughts and
the inspiration of his grace, and we should, like a quick echo, take hold
of this.
[6.] Let me press you, because all the pretences that keep you from
seeking God are in vain ; as (1.) That there is no need of seeking
God ; or (2.) That it is in vain to seek God.
(1.) That there is no need of seeking God. We should always be
seeking of God, till our loss by the fall be fully made up in heaven ;
we should still seek God, till we enjoy him among his holy ones. We
seek God on earth, but we find him in heaven : Ps. cv. 4, ' Seek the
Lord, and his strength, seek his face evermore.' We need him every
hour for direction, protection, strength, and comfort ; we are in danger
to lose him, if we do not continue the search : all the while we are in
the world this work must be plied close.
(2.) As the devil saith to the secure, There is no need ; so to the fear
ful and troubled sinner, that it is in vain to seek God, especially when
former endeavours sucoeed not there is no hope for him. Oh, but seek
him ! the God of Jacob hath not said, ' Seek ye me in vain,' Isa. xlv.
19. He hath engaged himself plainly, openly, and perspicuously, not
in obscure and ambiguous terms, such as may bear contrary senses,
that their fraud and ignorance may not be discerned ; and he perform-
eth what he promised : Ps. xxii. 26, ' They shall praise the Lord that
seek him : your heart shall live for ever.' Neminem tristtm dimisit,
He never sent any away sad, but will comfort them. Wisdom is light
and knowledge to the soul : Prov. xxviii. 5, ' They that seek the Lord
understand all things' the meaning of all his providences. And it is
comfort to the soul ; Ps. Ixix. 32, ' Your heart shall live that seek God ;'
and protection, Ezra viii. 22, ' The hand of our God is upon all them
for good that seek him, but his power and his wrath is against all them
that forsake him.' So that we shall have cause to praise God before the
search be over : Mat. vi. 33, ' Seek ye first the kingdom of God and the
righteousness thereof, and all these things shall be added to you.' But
besides this, if there were nothing in hand, there is much in hope ; it
bringeth an everlasting reward : Amos v. 6, ' Seek ye the Lord and ye
shall live ; ' and in the text, ' He is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him.' They that do not seek his face shall never see his face ;
\ T ER. C.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 171
however, if we do not sensibly find him, yet we may comfort ourselves,
that we are in a seeking way, and still in the pursuit : Ps. xxiv. 6,
' This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face,
Jacob. Selah.' This is the mark of God's chosen people, and we
should be still wrestling through disappointments. Better be a seeker
than a wanderer. But the wicked are described by this that ' They
are all gone out of the way,' Ps. xiv. 3.
2. For the manner seek him out.
[1.] Seek him early, whilst you have strength to serve him, and
whilst you have means to find him. This is a work that must not be put
off: Isa. Iv. 6, ' Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found, call ye upon
him while he is near.' God will not always put up with your frequent
denials. There is a time when God will be gone, and seeking will be to
no purpose : compare Prov. i. 28, ' Then shall they call upon me, but
I will not answer ; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find
me ; ' with chap. viii. 17, ' I love them that love me ; and they that seek
me early shall find me.' There is a seeking out of self-love, and a seeking
out of love to God. When death cometh and their day is past, many
at last may seek God ; and their straits may drive them to him, who
were never put to it by any sense of sin. While hot and eager in sin
ning, they are not sensible of it ; as Samson knew not that God was
withdrawn while he slept in Delilah's bosom, till he knew the Philistines
were upon him ; a-nd then it was too late. The greatest contemners
and despisers of God do at last see that there is no happiness but in
God ; but then miss the blessing, as Esau did, though he sought it with
tears. Therefore will you despise grace to the uttermost, and weary it
out to the last gasp ? It may be by thy lamentations on thy death-bed,
God will learn others to take heed of trifling with him. Oh then, if they
could but call time back again ! What, Lord ! not give me one hour, or
one day more ? There is no place without examples of this kind, of those
that lament their time is out and opportunities lost, when God hath
offered grace to them. Some instances there are, whom God sets forth
to be terrors to the secure world, who are as good as men risen from
the dead, to tell others of the vanity of their sinful courses ; who, look
ing upon time past, see it is irrecoverably lost, and gone away as a
dream and a shadow. Upon time present they feel their souls naked,
their accounts not made up, an end come to all their hopes and comforts
here ; body sick, conscience trembling, heart hard, God departed, and
the grave opened for their filthy carcases, and devils waiting for their
secure souls, and for time to come think of nothing but hell and horror
and judgment to come ; and so they lie complaining, that they had
not improved their time. But much time is lost, wishing others to
take warning by them, and saying to them, Oh, do not cast away mercy,
nor let the precious blood of Christ, which is worthy to be gathered up by
angels, run a wasting ; now I see the end of my joys, and the beginning of
my torments ! Oh, then, seek God out of love to God : 1 Peter iv. 3,
' For the time past of our lives may suffice us, to have wrought the will of
the gentiles ; ' Hos. x. 12, ' For it is time to seek the Lord/ Misspent
time in neglecting or refusing to seek the Lord ought to be redeemed,
and will be so in all that are sensible of their own case. When God
maketh an offer, we should be so far from delaying or putting off our
172 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SEE. XXXIV.
seeking after him, that we should look back upon the time already
spent out of communion with God as very long, too long for the good
of our souls. It should be a grief of heart to us to think of pleasing
the flesh, or living in a state of estrangement any longer. Otherwise,
we do in effect say, We have not taken time enough to dishonour God
and destroy our own souls : Luke xiii. 25, ' When once the master of
the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door and ye begin to stand
without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us ;
he shall answer and say unto you, I know ye not, whence ye are ; '
John vii. 34, ' Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me/ Most men
think Christ a thorn in their side, and that it will never be well till he
be gone ; but then they shall seek him, and shall not find him, though
they would have him. Though they put away Christ and his truth,
yet in ensuing calamities they as earnestly beg for their Messias. So
Hos. v. 6, ' They shall go with their flocks and with 'their herds to seek
the Lord ; but they shall not find him ; he hath withdrawn himself
from them/ Men contemn the offered grace. The foolish virgins
sought when it was too late : Mat. xxv. 11, ' Lord, Lord, open to us.'
Therefore early, while God stretcheth out his arms, let us not receive
his grace in vain.
[2.] Seek him with all the heart, not with a double heart, or a
divided heart : James i. 8, ' A double-minded man is unstable in all
his ways ; ' their hearts hang between two objects God and the world ;
the conscience is for God, and the heart for the world : Ps. cxix 10,
' With my whole heart have I sought thee : ' when the pre valency
of our affections carrieth us to God, and we seek him for him
self.
[3.] Seek him earnestly. Carnal men will now and then throw away
a prayer. Our affections are strong for earthly things, why not for
God ? Ps. xxvii. 4, ' One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will
I seek after ; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his tem
ple : ' this is our great business.
[4.] Seek him constantly and imweariedly ; do not give over till you
enjoy God. You must not be discouraged with every disappointment.
When God seemeth to put us off : Luke xi. ' Because of his impor
tunity, 8, 8ia rrjv curaiSetav, he will rise and give him as many as he
needeth.' God hideth himself many times, that we may the more
earnestly seek after him ; as Cant. iii. 1, 3, ' By night on my bed I
sought him whom my soul loveth ; I sought him but I found him not.
I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad
ways, I will seek him whom my soul loveth ; I sought him, but I found
him not/ &c. The woman of Canaan that came to Christ would not be
put off ; the lord may be hidden to influence our desires ; the children
of God are never satisfied while they are in the world : 2 Cor. v. 6,
' Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord : '
we cannot have complete fruition till we be where God is.
VEB. 7.] SEKMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 173
SERMON XXXV.
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved
with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house ; by the
which he condemned the ivorld, and became heir of the righteous
ness which is by faith. HEB. xi. 7.
IN the history of faith the apostle passeth from Enoch to Noah. He
is fitly subjoined as being the next person of eminency in the line of
the church. Enoch was famous for walking with (rod, and so was
Noah : Gen. vi. 9, ' Noah was a just man, and perfect in his 'generation ;
and Noah walked with God.' Enoch received a testimony that he
pleased God, and so did Noah ; he is said, ' to find grace in the eyes of
the Lord/ Gen. vi. 8. And therefore Noah is the fittest instance
that could be mentioned, next to Enoch, as being the inheritor and
successor of his graces and privileges Besides, the former verse spoke
of the respects of faith to the rewards of religion, ver. 6, ' He is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.' Therefore now the apostle
would bring an instance of the respects of faith to the threatening and
commination of the word ' By faith Noah/ &c. The person then
whose faith we are now to consider is Noah, the true Janus, with a
double face, looking forward and backward ; the last of the patriarchs
of the old world, and the first of the new. In the commendation of
his faith we may take notice of many circumstances
1. The ground of his faith Noah being warned of God.
2. The strength of it, intimated in the object of things not seen as
yet, or of things that by no means could be seen.
3. The consequents and the fruits of his faith, and they are four
(1.) He was moved ivithfear, or out of a religious respect to God (so
the word signifies) ; (2.) He prepared an ark ; (3.) He condemned the
world ; (4.) He became an heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
I shall open each part in this order and method proposed.
But before I discuss the parts, let me premise somewhat. That
we have not only to do with a private instance and example of faith,
but such as is of public use and accommodation. God's dealing with
Noah, and the world in his time, was a pledge and a type of his dealing
with the world in all after ages. To amplify this
[1.] It was a pledge, or a public evident testimony of future dispensa
tions ; this was a document God would give to the world. In the
destruction of the old world he would show his displeasure against sin,
and in the preservation of Noah the privileges of the godly.
(1.) The destruction of the old world was a pledge of his vengeance
and recompense upon sinners in all ages. It is notable that in the book
of Job, those that denied providence, that God took notice of human
affairs, they are called to look upon this instance, the example of the
old world : Job xxii. 15, 16, ' Hast thou marked the old way which
wicked men have trodden ? which were cut down out of time, whose
foundation was overthrown with a flood.' God's first dispensations
were visible pledges and testimonies : his dispensation to Sodom was
174 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXV.
a pledge of hell-fire ; and his drowning of the world, it being a more
universal instance of his displeasure, was a pledge of the general judg
ment. Here we may read several things : the severity of his justice,
the verity of his threatenings, and the greatness of his power and majesty.
The severity of his justice : oh, what a dreadful instance was this of
God's displeasure against sin and sinners ! Luther saith, Moses vix sine
lachrymis scripsit, et nos esse saxeos, si siccis oculis ista legere possmnus
Moses could not write it without tears, and we have stony hearts if
we can read it with dry eyes. The whole world perished in the deluge
of water which sin vomited out ; men, women, infants, beasts, and all
things in the world perished. For forty days together nothing but
rain, rain, rain ; and the great deep opened its mouth, and sent forth
floods. It would have melted a heart of stone to hear the cries and
shrieks of parents, women, and children. God now had rained 'a
horrible tempest' upon sinners, Ps. xi. 6 ; the whole world was become
now as one .great river, and all things in the world were now afloat.
Again, we have a pledge of the verity of the threatenings, what would
come of their carnal course. The foolish world thought this was but
a dream of the good old man, but see how the Lord made good Noah's
word. It is said, Hos. vii. 12, ' I will chastise them as their congrega
tion hath heard.' God would have us mark not only his justice, but
his truth in all his dispensations ; he will not only chastise them as
they had deserved, but as their congregation had heard. There is a
double conviction, and such as may keep the soul in more awe and
obedience. And then it is an evidence of the power and majesty of
God, that he cannot want instruments of vengeance ; fire and water
are at his beck and command. He that punished the old world with
water to quench their heat of lusts, can punish the new world with fire
because of the coldness of love that shall be in the latter days.
Whenever the Lord Avill dissolve the confederacies of nature, what can
poor creatures do? Oh, let us regard the power and majesty of God,
and the rather because we are kept by a continual miracle : the water
is above the earth, as may be proved by undoubted arguments, and the
whole world would become but as one great pool were it not for the
restraint of providence.
(2.) The preservation of Noah was a pledge of God's mercy in the
preservation of his people. In general and common judgments God
can make a distinction. In the primitive times the Christians were
troubled how God should punish those seducers by whom religion was
scandalised and yet save the godly ; and what doth the apostle say to
this ? 2 Peter ii. 9, ' The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out
of temptation, and reserve the unjust to the day of judgment to be
punished.' The Lord knows he is versed in the art, it hath been his prac
tice for many thousands of years ; and there he brings the instance of Lot,
how he was delivered out of Sodom, ver. 7 ; howthe good angels were pre
served when the bad were tumbled down into the place of darkness, ver.
4 ; and he brings the instance of the old world, how God could rescue
Noah, and avenge the disobedience of the old world, ver. 5. Especially
this is a pledge of the different recompenses that shall be made at the
last day, when all the ungodly world shall perish, but the elect shall
be taken into glory. You shall see vengeance executed upon the ungodly.
Christ will have it done not only in his own sight : Luke xix. 27, ' Those
VEH. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 175
mine enemies that would not that I should reign over them, bring- hither
and slay them before me/ Christ will see execution done himself in his
own person ; but it shall be done in the sight of the godly. The wicked
are first punished in the sight of the godly, before the godly are taken
into glory : Mat. xxv. 46, ' These shall go away into everlasting punish
ment,' and then 'the righteous into life eternal.' You shall first see the
wicked have their doom, then you shall receive your privilege. Thus
you see it was a pledge of God's general dispensations both to the godly
and the wicked.
[2.] It was a type, too ; for all things happened to the fathers by
way of type and symbol, and so did this.
(1.) There is a great similitude between the day of judgment and
the drowning of the world in several cases. It is good, I know, to be
wary in allegories, yet we find in scripture the flood is mystically
applied. There is a resemblance between the destruction of the old
world , and the day of judgment when Christ shall come in glory.
And that is the reason why the days of Noah and the day of the
general judgment are often compared together ; the flood was to them
as the general judgment is to us : 2 Peter iii. 6, ' Whereby the world
that then was, being overflowed with water, perished ; ' so Mat. xxiv.
37-39, ' As in the days of Noah they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, and knew not until the flood came,
and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the Son of man
be; ' and in Luke xvii. 26, 27, the like comparison is made. The
comparison holds true in several cases. Those that lived in Noah's
time a little before the flood, were extremely secure ; their ears were
sealed up with their bellies, they nourished their heart with pleasure ;
they ate and they drank, they married, they gave in marriage ; as if
they had said, Come let us eat, $rink, and enjoy the pleasures of the
flesh while we may ; if this scrupulous fellow's words be true, we shall
surely die; they looked upon him as an old doting man that dreamed
of destruction. Just such kind of men shall there be at the last
day, men of a secure luxury, that shall scoff at the ministers of the
gospel when they press strictness and holiness, and propound the
threatenings of God. It is said of the men in Noah's time: Mat. xxiv.
39, 'They knew not till the flood came, and took them all away.'
They knew it well enough ; Noah gave them warning ; but they took
no notice of any such threatenings ; they behaved themselves as if they
had known no such matter, though they knew there was such a thing
threatened. The scripture measures our thoughts by our practice.
So carnal men, the day of the Lord comes upon them, and they know
not till the judgment takes them away ; they do not believe in the great
day of accounts, for they live as if there were no such day when they
securely give themselves up to secular business, and neglect their poor
souls. And look, as it was with sinners at the coming of the flood, so
will it be with those carnal wretches at the judgment day ; when the
great deep had opened its mouth, and all the world was like a deep
river swiftly flowing, the waters prevailed and increased greatly.
They that did not fear before, how did they run to and fro from the
lower rooms to the higher, from the floors to the tops of the houses,
from the houses to the trees, from the valleys to the hills, and yet still
the waters increased upon them. Some possibly might swim towards
176 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SfiR. XXXV.
the ark, and desire that refuge which before they despised ; but still
the waters prevailed over them, and so they were drowned. Such
will be the consternation of the wicked in the great day. The hypo
crites in Zion shall be afraid, and they shall cry, Who shall hide us ?
and, Where shall we go from the wrath of the Lamb : Kev. vi. 15-17,
'And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and
the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and
every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the
mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide
us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath
of the Lamb ; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be
able to stand ? ' Then they shall cry out, Oh, that I had accepted
Christ, and that I had gotten into the ark! All the wolves shall
tremble then at the presence of the glorious Lamb, when he shall come
in majesty and power.
(2.) In the preservation of Noah and his family there was a type.
Noah and those that >rere of his household were under the oath and
covenant that they should be safe: Gen. vi. 18, 'With thee will I
establish my covenant ; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou and
thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.' God had passed
his word. God made two covenants with Noah ; one when he went
into the ark, that he should be safe ; and another, when he came out of
the ark, that the waters should no more return : Gen. viii. 21, ' I will
not again curse the ground any more for man's sake,' &c. This may
be spiritually applied of God's oath to believers as soon as they close
with Christ. See how the Spirit of the Lord applies it : Isa. liv. 9,
' As I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the
earth ; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor
rebuke thee ; ' it is an allusion to the later covenant. God invites us
by his promise and covenant to come to Christ, and we shall have
security there ; then he plighteth his oath that a deluge of wrath shall
never return more ; they shall be safe for the present, and happy here
after. Again, as there was no safety but in the ark, the only means
of salvation was the ark, and then the ark must not only be looked
upon, but entered into ; so there is no safety but in Jesus Christ ; and
it is not enough to know Christ, and to have a naked contemplation of
his sufficiency to save sinners, but our safety by Christ is by virtue of
our union with him : Rom. viii. 1 , ' There is no condemnation to them
that are in Christ Jesus.' As they that were in the ark were safe, so
those that are in Christ, united to him, are secured. Again, look
upon the ark as an instituted means, which preserved them in the midst
of the deluge. God, by his absolute power, could have preserved Noah
upon the waters or in the waters as well as in the ark, as he saved the
fishes in the water ; yet he is pleased to prescribe some probable and
likely means of safety, and the means prescribed must be used. So if we
would be saved, we must use the means of salvation, however derided,
as baptism and the word. For the word : 1 Cor. i. 21, ' It pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.' Though
the world opposeth and despiseth it, yet this is the way and means.
So also for baptism, for so the apostle applies it, 1 Peter iii. 20, 21,
' Which sometimes were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of
God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing.
V r ER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 177
wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. The like figure
whereunto even baptism doth also now save us.' Look, as those eight
souls that were in the ark were saved, the ark being borne up by the
water ; so God hath appointed the water of baptism, and other means,
to be the means of our salvation. Again, the carpenters that made
the ark had no entertainment in the ark ; for they wrought as Noah's
workmen for their hire, not as the servants of providence for the ends
of God. And so there may be some men that are employed and
minister in holy things, that may build up an ark wherein others
may enter and be safe, but after preaching to others themselves may
be cast away, as the apostle seems to imply, 1 Cor. ix. 2^ ' Lest that
by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway.'
Now I come to the words themselves { By faith Noah, being
warned of God of things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an
ark,' &c.
First, I shall take notice of the ground of his faith ' He was warned
of God.' In the original it is x/^/iartcrtfei?, warned by an oracle ; the
word is proper to those dispensations which God used in the primitive
times in the planting of the church. It is said of the wise men
Xp7)fj,aTia-6evTe<; /caT'6Vap,Mat. ii. 12,' Being warned of God in a dream;'
so of St Paul, Acts x. 22, %pr}/j,aTia-6r] VTT ayye\ov aylov, ' Being warned
from God by a holy angel.' Now in this warning of God I shall
observe several things.
First, I observe God's condescension, in that he would be pleased to
give warning. He acquainted Noah with his purpose that he might
acquaint the world. Oh, what a slow progress doth God make in his
judgments ! Though the pace of mercy be swift and earnest, yet judg
ment walketh with leaden feet. When God comes to refresh a sinner,
he comes ' skipping over the mountains,' Cant. ii. 8, as if he never could
be soon enough. And the father ' ran to meet his son,' Luke xv. 20.
But yet now in the progress of his judgments God's motion is slow,
and he comes on by degrees. The apostle takes notice of this, 2 Peter
iii. 20, ' The long-suffering of God waited as in the days of Noah,
while the ark was preparing/ God waited long, and Noah gives warn
ing ; there were one hundred and twenty years respite for repentance,
and all the while Noah is building the ark, and he is preaching of
righteousness to the ungodly, to see if he could move them to repentance.
Nay, when the time was expired, God allows seven days more, Gen.
vii. 4 ; and when those seven days were expired, the heavens did not
pour out of a sudden, but the rain was increasing till it came to the
height forty days and forty nights. When God would discover his
goodness and power, he did it in a small time ; he perfectly made the
world in six days : but now, to show his pity a-nd patience when he
^ ould destroy the world, he allows forty days, to see if any of them
would then repent ; though they were drowned, yet they might be
saved eternally hereafter. Thus still is God wont to give his people
warning of their approaching dangers. Judgment seldom takes the
world by surprise ; but first there is notice given. It was the law of
arms which God established among the Israelites ; when they came
before any city to assault it, they were first to offer terms of peace :
VOL. XIV. M
178 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SEE. XXXV.
Deut. xx. 10, ' When thou comest nigh unto any city to fight against
it, then proclaim peace unto it ; ' so still the Lord observes the same
course. God first summons a parley, and would fain capitulate with
sinners ; gives warning of his purpose, that they might prevent their
ruin by repentance: Jer. xviii. 11, ' Behold I frame evil against you,
and devise a device against you ; return ye now every one from his
evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.' God would fain
be prevented, Behold, I tell you what I am doing ; if you be wise,
repent. If God threatens, it is that he may not punish ; and when he
punisheth, it is that he may not punish for ever. God is still giving
warning. But you will say, How doth he give warning now oracles
are ceased ? Why, by the threatenings of the word ; and this should
be as forcible a warning as if the Lord had given you a solemn pre
diction. Certainly, there is a great deal of keenness in Elisha's sword :
1 Kings xix. 17, ' Those that escape from the sword of Jehu shall
Elisha slay.' The prophets, they have a sword : Hos vi. 5, ' I have
hewed them by the prophets : I have slain them by the words of my
mouth.' It is true, we do not speak by oracle, and so sensible an in
spiration as the old prophets did ; but when the practice is threatened
in scripture, and condemned by the word, it is as much as if we had a
particular oracle : the constitutions of heaven will not be violated.
To apply this hint.
Use 1. Take notice of the rich mercy and patience of God, and
aggravate it by his great hatred of sin. Though God hates sin exceed
ingly, yet how long doth he bear with sinners ? how long doth he
protract his wrath ? and how many courses doth he take to reclaim you
from the evil of your ways ? You may sooner reconcile fire and water
than God and sin : Ps. 1. 21, ' These things hast thou done, and I kept
silence ; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself :
but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes/ He
is no favourer of your sins, but only gracious. Under the law, the
mercy-seat was the cover of the ark ; and there was the book of the
law, where all God's curses were kept, that was put into the ark :
Exod. xxv. 21 , ' And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the
ark, and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee
to show that mercy hath the moderation of all threatenings ; and
therefore is it that we are not consumed. Mercy suspends the execu
tion of his just revenge : we wrest destruction out of God's hand?,
judgment is called his strange work.
Use 2. Again, whenever you are warned of the evil of your ways,
lay it to heart. We cannot determine the actual events ; God hath
put times and seasons in his own hands. We may show you the merits
of the fact, a storm in the black cloud, and then you should tremble ;
and therefore do not think slightly of reproof and threatening. When
Lot told them of the wrath of God against Sodom, ' He seemed to his
sons-in-law as one that mocked,' Gen. xix. 14 ; so men think we work
ourselves into a passion and rage. But when warning is neglected,
wrath is exasperated. This will be your great torment in hell, to think
you were warned of the evil of your courses, and you would not regard
it. Look, as Reuben said to his brethren, Gen. xlii. 22, ' Did not I
warn you to do nothing against the child ? ' So will the Lord say
VER. 7.] SEBMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 179
when you are under torment, Did not I warn you ? Your own heart
will return upon you, as the heart of him that dreamt he was boiling
in a kettle of scalding lead, and his heart cried to him, It is I that
have been the cause of all this ; so your hearts, when in torment, will
upbraid you with the frequent warnings you have had.
Secondly, I observe again, that this warning was immediately made
to Noah, who was a prophet and a righteous man, and by him it was
delivered to the world at second-hand. God usually revealed himself
to holy and righteous persons ; they are his familiars, and you know it
is a part of friendship to communicate secrets ; and therefore the Lord
will communicate his secret to them that fear him : Ps. xxv. 14, ' The
secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them
his covenant ; ' Gen. xviii. 17, ' Shall I hide from Abraham the thing
which I do ? ' God looks upon it as a violation of friendship to Abraham
to conceal this matter from him ; and so to his prophets, as it is
expressly said : Amos iii. 7, ' Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but
he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets,' God's messengers
are as his heralds, to offer terms of peace, and to proclaim war to the
world ; and he gives them commission to go of his errand. It is true
there is no necessity laid upon God that he should do it always ; but
this is the course which he usually takes, and this was the way he often
used in the old testament, oftener than in the new. What should be the
reason of this ? not because his grace is straitened : it is more enlarged
in the gospel, for the defect of prophecy is recompensed by the clear
ness of saving truths. God opened his mind to them about particular
events and successes, because evangelical truths were not so open and
clear as they now are, and the eternal recompenses were more darkly
delivered to the patriarchs. But now, God having opened his good
treasure to us, we have higher arguments of piety, a larger measure of
gifts, clearer discerning and understanding of the truths of the word,
therefore prophecy ceaseth. Yet now, in the times of the gospel, he
doth not altogether fail his people ; for though they can have no certain
knowledge of future contingencies, yet he begets some strong instinct
in the mind of his children, puts it into their hearts to avoid this and
avoid that : we have no infallibility of the event, yet we may discern
much of the providence of God.
To apply this hint.
Use 1. When the generality of holy men are apprehensive of judg
ments, it is a sad omen ; when they have ill thoughts of the times, it
is a sad presage. When the prophet was making up his stuff, it
was a prognostic of ruin to Jerusalem, Ezek. xii. 3-7. When you
see them ready to depart, it is a sad thing, for God ie wont to com
municate his secret to them that fear him. Then again
Use 2. It presseth us, if we would know the secret of the Lord,
be holy. Grace opens the eyes, and a man discerns things more clearly.
A holy man hath a greater insight into truth than a carnal man, for
lusts are the clouds of the mind. He that is encumbered with lusts
is blind : 2 Peter i. 9, 'He that lacketh these things is blind, and
cannot see afar off.' Grace will be an advantage to you in point of
knowledge.
Thirdly, I observe, in Noah being warned by God that this warning
180 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XXXV.
was by oracle and special revelation ; from whence I note that revela
tion is the ground of faith ; for faith relates to some divine testimony.
What we know by reason is knowledge or opinion, but not faith, which
supposes a revelation and a testimony. Now divine revelations can
only be the object of faith, because they are certain infallible truths,
and cannot deceive us, and such whereunto men absolutely give credit.
But you will say What revelations have we now oracles are ceased ? I
answer, It is true, these are God's ancient ways. Of old time, God
spake 7roX,v/Ltepw9 KOI TroXfTpoTrw? ' at sundry times and in divers
manners ' to his people, Heb. i. 1. Sometimes he spake to them by
voice, sometimes by vision, sometimes by dream, sometimes by mira
culous inspiration, or by urim and thummim, or by a sign from heaven,
or by an angel ; now God speaks to us by his Son. God's mind is fully
revealed and disposed into a settled course. Enthusiasts may delude
themselves with their own imaginations. Christians how have but two
revelations ; the one is ancient, and the other is new, and happens
every day : there is the light of the word and the light of the Spirit.
1. The light of the word ; this is our oracle, and therefore it is
called, ' The oracles of God,' Kom. iii. 2. This is our urim and thum
mim, God tries us by that ; the standing rule of justice is settled in
the word, and this is more sure and less liable to deceit than an oracle,
voice, or angel ; for the devil may transform himself into an angel of
light. Saith the apostle : 2 Peter i. 19, ' We have a more sure word
of prophecy ; whereunto ye do well to take heed, as unto a light shin
ing in a dark place ' more sure than what ? He speaks of the voice
upon the holy mount, the voice that came from the excellent glory,
that said, ' This is my well-beloved Son,' Mat. xvii. 5. Oracles and
voices as to us are more liable to deceit. The apostle doth not say,
We have a more true word, but a more sure word. The oracle was
true, because it came from God ; but a standing rule is not so liable
to deceit and mistake as a transient voice.
2. We have the light of the Spirit in our hearts, by which our
understandings are opened ; we cannot be able to understand the word
without this inward revelation of the Spirit. When we are reading
and hearing the word, we cannot discern it with any favour, till the
Spirit opens our eyes. As Christ, when he came to his disciples
first he opened the scripture, then he opened their understandings,
Luke xxiv. 44, 45. And it is the Spirit that gives us a constant
revelation, that reveals the secrets of God to us all his purposes of
grace concerning our souls : Eom. viii. 15, ' Ye have not received the
spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.' The Spirit of God,
by inward suggestions, tells us God is our Father. By this voice God
saith,! am thy salvation, as David prays, Ps. xxxv. 3, ' Say unto my soul,
I am thy salvation.' It is the Spirit that comes and reveals to us when
it is a fit season to come and call upon God ; and when the arms of
mercy are ready and open to receive us ; and what are the answers of
our prayers ? 1 John v. 6, ' It is the Spirit that beareth witness,
because the Spirit is truth.'
Use, Learn hence whereon to bottom faith upon the word of God.
Let us be contented with this dispensation. Foolish creatures would
give laws to heaven, and we would indent with God upon our own
VER. 7.J SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 181
terras and conditions. Look, as the devil comes and indents with Christ :
Mat. iv. 3, ' If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be
made bread ; ' he would have him do a miracle, else he would not
believe him. And the Jews would indent with Christ : Mat. xxvii.
40, ' If thou be Christ, come down from the cross and we will believe.'
So carnal men indent with God. We think if God did speak by
miraculous inspiration, then things would not be so doubtful. Oh, let-
us be contented with our light ! the Lord hath stated our salvation in>.
an excellent way. Chrysostom saith, The saints do never complain-
of the darkness of the word, but of the darkness of their own heart :
Ps. cxix. 18, ' Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things^
out of thy law : ' David doth not say, Lord make a plainer law ; but,
Lord, open mine eyes. If things be dark to you, do not accuse the-
scriptures, as if they were an uncertain rule, but desire the Lord to*
open your eyes that you may look into them. We would have Christ
speak to us from heaven, as he did to Paul. Men that neglect ordi
nances require miracles ; they would have all things decided by voice,
oracles, and miracles, because they would save the pains of study, prayer,
and discourse. If men were not drowned in lusts and pleasures, all
would be clear. When the church was destitute of outward helps, God
used the way of miracles and oracles; but that dispensation is not
continued, because we have a better way : providence, the Spirit, and
the word, take them all together, do exceedingly open the mind of God
to us. We have the advantage of the revelations and miracles of
former ages, and we have a supply by ordinary and standing means.
Instead of new miracles, we have the testimony of the church, who hath
had experience of the power and force of the word for many ages, and
invites us to believe. Observe, every age of the church hath sufficient
means so proportioned to the diversity of times that no age could have
better than the present; but we affect the extraordinary signs and
revelations of former generations. In this case, it is all as God will ;
and God's wisdom knows what is best for us. When miracles were
most rife, they were not exercised at the will of man. The apostle
saith : Heb. ii. 4, ' God bearing them witness with signs and wonders,
and diverse miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own
will ; ' it was not as the apostles would. The Lord is a wise God,
and he knows what dispensation is fit for every age. There are a great
many reasons why God should use the way of miracle and oracle then ;
as that there might be some external motive to draw the world to
hearken to the doctrine of the gospel. The apostles' work was to lay
the canon and foundation, but we do but explain it. Saith St Paul,
1 Cor. iii. 10, ' As a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation, and
another buildeth thereupon/ We only explain what the apostles had
laid down ; our duty is only to build upon the apostles' foundation.
Now we know explication and inference need the confirmation of
reason and discourse rather than of miracle. It is true, for the apostles '
part of their work was to explain the old testament ; but that was
somewhat obscure, and that was not acknowledged of all nations, only
received among the Jews ; therefore there was need of miracle to make
their interpretation authentic, and that they might lay a clear founda
tion of faith for all nations ; and besides, the church then was not armed
132 SEIIMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXV.
with magistracy, and therefore much of the coercive discipline which
God then used was by miracle. Ananias was struck dead with a miracle :
Acts v. 5, ' And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up
the ghost.' But now, when magistrates should be nursing-fathers, the
dispensation ceaseth. Besides, this should be a consideration to content
us. Those that had miracles were not merely converted. by the miracle,
but by the hearing of the word ; the miracle was only the occasion,
not the cause of conversion. The bells may call the people together
to hear the word, but the word converts. Miracles were as bells to
draw the heart to hearken to the doctrine of Christ. The fowler's pipe
may allure the birds, but they are caught by the net. Let it suffice,
then, that you have the word of God confirmed by miracle, sealed by
the blood of so many martyrs, manifested to your consciences by such
divine force. All the miracles we have now are either inward and
spiritual; they are miracles of grace in changing 'the heart. The
children of God have testimony enough within themselves ; they feel
the force and power of the word upon their consciences : John viii.
32, ' You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'
When the word doth help to disentangle us from lust, we cannot have
a more clear revelation and warrant from God concerning the truth
of it : John xvii. 17, ' Sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth.'
When God sanctifies the heart by the word, then we know it is truth,
or else outward miracles ; God's wonderful providence in maintaining
the church by suffering and martyrdom, not by the power of an out
ward sword. This is the finger of God : Neh. vi. 16, ' It came to
pass, when all our enemies heard thereof , they were much cast down in
their own eyes ; for they perceived that the work was wrought by our
God/ These are the miracles and oracles we are to expect.
Here is an objection. It is said : Acts ii. 17, ' It shall come to pass,
that in the last days I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh : and
your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall
see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams,' &c ; so that it
seems God would still continue the dispensation in the last days, that
he will give us visions, dreams, and oracles again.
I answer, These are but figurative expressions, to signify the gifts
of the Holy Ghost, which we receive by virtue of Christ's ascension,
abundance of knowledge, faith, and holiness , for mark, the words are
quoted out of a prophet. Now the prophet speaks according to the
dispensation of his own age, or else how should he be understood by
the men of his time. Dreams and visions were the ordinary means
whereby God then revealed himself to his prophets, and therefore the
prophet useth words calculated to the Jewish dispensation. In the
prophetical writings, whenever they spake of the worship in the new
testament, they used words suited to the then present worship ; as
altars, sacrifices, incense, and the like, which are words proper to the
legal rites; so when they speak of the gifts of the new testament,
then they use the words prophecy, vision, and dreams. All the
meaning is, God in the latter days would give them abundance of light
and knowledge, for, take the words literally, they were not made good
in the case to which he applyeth the prophecy. The apostle applies
it to take oil the reproach of the people that said they were filled with
YER. 7.] SERMONS UPON" HEBREWS xi. 183
new wine. Now they could not be said then to see visions and dream
dreams ; but the words set out the excellent gifts of the Spirit in the
new testament. But if you would more particularly know why the
Spirit of God should use these words of prophecy, visions, and dreams ;
that sons and daughters should prophesy, &c., I answer then, By pro
phecy you may understand the gifts of illumination ; by vision, gifts
of consolation ; and by dreams, the gifts of sanctification.
1. By prophecy, the gifts of illumination, or a clear understanding
of God's will in Christ, which should be in the new testament above
the old testament ' Your sons and daughters shall prophesy ; ' that is,
the little boy and girl shall be able to understand the mysteries of
salvation in scripture ; they need not run to the prophet for the mean
ing of such a ceremony and rite.
2. Then by vision understand a more intimate apprehension of
the truth, or a manifestation of things to the conscience, gifts of
consolation. We have a kind of vision here, when we have a lively
sense of divine grace : here we see as in a glass ; hereafter we shall
see face to face.
3. Then by dreams you. may understand the more inward instincts
and motions of the Holy Ghost, by which the soul, being severed from
worldly desires and objects, is raised to the contemplation of heaven
and spiritual things ; as dreams are the thoughts and commotions of
the soul, which are framed when the outward senses are shut up.
When a man neither seeth, heareth, smelleth, toucheth, nor tasteth,
then the soul worketh on things at the greatest distance ; so, possibly,
it signifies those spiritual instincts, those sanctifying motions, by which
the soul is raised up to the contemplation of heavenly mysteries : then
there is such a distribution of the persons to amplify the clause that
went before 'I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh.' 'Old men,' to
show that no condition is excluded from the communion of the Spirit,
your ' sons and daughters,' that is, your children, they shall have their
memory sanctified to retain prophecy ; your ' young men ' shall have
visions, their consciences sanctified, to feel the force of what is in their
heads ; and your ' old men' shall dream dreams ; they who are deadened
to the world shall have their affections raised to heaven, and God will
clearly manifest himself to them.
By faith Noah, being ivarned of God of things not seen as yet.
HEB. xi. 7.
FOURTHLY, I observe that this warning was of a judgment to come
' Being warned of things not seen as yet ; ' that is, of the horror of the
flood. From whence I note that the threatening as well as the
promise is the object of faith ; not only the mercy of God in the
promise, but the judgment of God in the threatening, is to be applied
bv ftiith. I shall confirm the doctrine in hand with some reasons.
184 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXXVI.
1. Because every part of divine truth is worthy of belief and
reverence, because it is the word of the same God ; and that is the
reason why we read of faith in the promises, faith in the command,
faith in the threatening. There is faith in the promises: Ps. cxix.
49, ' Kemember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast
caused me to hope ; ' there is faith in the commandment : Ps. cxix. 6<6,
'Teach me good judgment and knowledge; for I have believed thy
commandments ; ' that is, I have believed them to be of divine
authority, and to be just, equal, and good; and there is faith in the
threatening, ' By faith Noah, being warned of God,' &&. It is true,
belief in the threatening is not so much pressed in scripture, because
guilty nature of itself is presagious of evil : Bom. i. 31, ' Knowing the
judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of
'death.'
2. Because faith is but a loose presumption, if it be not carried out
to the threatenings as well as the promises. In all right belief there is
mixture. Men that look altogether to be honeyed and oiled with grace,
to be fed with the promises and feasted with love, they mistake the
nature of God and the state of his economy, and the manner of his
dealing with the world ; they mistake the nature of God, for God is
just as well as merciful. And in such a mixed dispensation hath he
revealed himself to the creature : Ps. cxvi. 5, ' Gracious is the Lord,
and righteous ; yea, our God is merciful ; ' gracious, and yet righteous.
And they mistake the ordinances of God and the state of his dispensa
tions ; for he will be known in his judgments, as well as in his mercies.
God hath always delighted to deal with men in the way of a covenant.
Now the right covenant form is a precept invested with a promise and
a threatening ; therefore we are bound to believe that God will condemn
the obstinate as well as save the penitent. In the covenant which God
made with man in innocency, it is notable the only memorial we have
is of the curse ; nothing but that is mentioned : Gen. ii. 17, ' In the day
thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death/ The promise is but
implied ; if thou forbearest eating, thou shalt live ; but the threatening
is expressed, What was the reason ? Partly because the effect of that
covenant was only to oblige the guilty creature to death ; and partly
because God would show us that man's nature doth always need a
bridle. In the state of innocency, when we were most holy, as there
was use of a law for the exercise of obedience, so there was use of a
threatening to keep him from sin, because of the changeableness of his
nature ; therefore it is much more needful now in our degenerate
estate. Though the new nature needs no other argument but love and
sweetness, yet the old nature needs a curb and restraint. Therefore
men that would only hear of promises and arguments of grace, sin
against God's ordination and the wisdom by which he will govern the
world ; they would have God yield to them and speak them fair, else
they will be none of his ; so that the faith they cry up is rather a fond
delicacy, or carnal presumption, than a serious respect to God.
3. Because it is necessary and profitable. There is no part of
scripture without use and profit. Man may write a book, but there
may be a great deal of waste in it ; but when God hath written a
volume or book, there is nothing in it but what is of profit: Kom. xv.
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 185
4, ' Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might
have hope.' It is true, it is the aim of the whole scripture to beget
hope ; ay, but there are some things, in order to hope, that are first to
work upon fear ; something to bridle the flesh as well as to comfort the
spirit, though all endeth in hope. There is nothing in the word of
God superfluous, and the threatenings are a considerable part of the
word.
But more particularly I shall show you how the threatenings are
necessary.
[1.] To beget humiliation for sins past. In the threatenings we see
the desert of sin, therefore after grievous offences it is good to wound
the heart this way with the more remorse. Josiah's heart was tender
and made soft by what ? by the threatening : 2 Kings xxii. 19,
' Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before
the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and
against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation
and a curse/ &c. Certainly there is great advantage by the com-
mination. You will never understand how displeasing things are to
God till you look upon the flying roll, and read the curses ; then the
soul will say, Oh, what have I done ? I have done that which makes
me guilty of all the curses of the law ; and this will make you earnest
after pardon, nay, it will make the pardon more welcome when it comes ;
We have deserved to be cast into hell, but grace hath saved us. Then
will your hearts be enlarged in praises and thanksgivings to God, and
you will exalt him to the highest heaven who hath delivered you from
the lowest hell. Daniel, when he was in the den, had more cause to
bless God than if he had been kept out of the den ; to be in the midst
of lions, and to see their mouths muzzled. So when we think of the
evil of sin, and the terrible consequents of sin, and all this taken away
by Christ, how will this commend our portion ? how will we bless God
for Jesus Christ ? This is the fruit of sin, but ' there is no condemnation
to them that are in Christ,' Kom. viii. 1.
[2.] The consideration of the threatening will be an advantage to us
to make us vigilant and watchful ; when we see the danger we shall
not be so secure. This is the argument by which Christ himself would
convert Paul : Acts ix. 5, ' It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.'
It is a metaphor taken from a husbandman's goad or prick ; wanton
oxen, when they run against the goad, they do not hurt the goad, but
themselves. So it will be dangerous for you, God's wrath will gore the
soul. We should have this goad and prick before our eyes; and this
will make us watchful. Solomon saith, Prov. i. 17, ' Surely in vain the
net is spread in the sight of any bird.' Birds, when they see the snare,
will not venture upon the bait ; and so, when we see the danger and
consider the sad consequences of sin, it will make the soul to be the
more careful ; we will not dally with sin, and grow so bold with God
and his cause.
[3.] It is an excellent means to strengthen us against carnal fear.
The fear of man is apt to prove a snare, Prov. xxv. 24. Solomon
spake it, and many of the servants of God have found it so. It was
fear that made Abraham deny his wife, and it was fear that made
186 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XXXVI.
Peter deny his master. Now there is no way to cure the fear of man
but by presenting the fear of God. Look, as Aaron's rod devoured
the rods of the magicians, and as the stronger nail drives out the weaker,
so doth the fear of God drive out the fear of man. What is the ground
of all carnal compliance? We fear man's power, and presume of God's
mercy ; a slight belief is given to the threatenings of God, and we think
the wrath of man is more to be feared than the wrath of God. The
only cure will be to consider that there are no terrors to those which
faith represents ; therefore holy persons always used this remedy to
drive out the fear of man by the fear of God. It is said ' The mid-
wives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them/
Exod. i. 17 ; and the Holy Ghost prescribeth this remedy, Isa. viii.
12. 13, ' Fear not their fear, nor be afraid, but sanctify the Lord God of
hosts in your hearts, and make him your fear and .your dread.' The
prophet speaks against those that would cry up a confederacy with
them that cry up a confederacy; that would yoke themselves in com
bination with the public enemies of God. Oh, think of the terrors of
the Lord, and that will quell and allay all the terrors of men. So our
Saviour : Luke xii. 4, ' Be not afraid of them that can but kill the body.
But I will warn you whom you should fear: Fear him, which after ho
hath killed hath power t6 cast into hell.' The terrors of the Lord, and
the threatenings of the Lord, they are the cure against the terrors ot
men. Better all the world your enemy than God. We live longer
with God than we do with men ; he can kill body and soul.
[4.] The threatenings of the word are necessary to be propounded to
our faith, to check indulgence to carnal pleasure. Pleasure and delight
are dear bought if they cannot be compassed but with the danger of
our souls ; and therefore there is no way to counterbalance delight but
by fear, to consider the wrath of God that shall come upon every
sinner : 2 Peter ii. 10, ' But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in
the lust of uncleanness.' Whoever escape they are sure to be punished ;
there is bitter judgment for these sweet pleasures.
Use 1. Here is counsel to the children of God, not only to take a
view of the land of promise, but it is good sometimes to take a view
of the land of darkness ; they should not only reflect upon the promises,
but the threatening ; it is profitable, though less pleasing.
Quest. Here ariseth a case, Whether or no the children of God, those
especially that have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, and have a
sense of the favour of God, whether they may make use of the threat
ening and terrors of the Lord or no ? I answer to this affirmatively ;
they may, and they must, and shall prove it by several reasons.
1. It is a part of the Spirit's discipline, necessary because of the
remainders of corruption, and the Holy Ghost makes use of every
advantage. There are some corruptions that will bear down all milder
arguments, that will not be restrained by any calm motives. You had
as good discourse with the rough wind as hope to charm the rage of
lusts with the soft and comfortable words of the grace, mercy, and
kindness of God ; therefore it is good to propound terrors. The apostle
Paul, though he were a sanctified and chosen vessel, yet he saw a need
of making use of the terrors of the Lord. It is true, he saith, 2 Cor.
v. 14, the love of Christ constrained him. The great motive of
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 187
obedience was the love of God. But he makes use of the other argu
ment : ver. 10, ' Knowing the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men.' It
was the terror of the Lord which made him so faithful in his work
against all the disadvantages he met withal in the world. Sometimes
it is necessary we should stand in the way of a furious lust with a
flaming sword. The children of God find all methods little enough
to break the force of a boisterous inclination.
2. Because the wrath of God is the proper object of fear, yea, the
highest object. The wrath of man is the object of fear ; therefore
much more the wrath of God. The apostle saith, Rom. xiii, 3, ' That
rulers are a terror to evil-doers ; ' much more should the wrath of God
and destruction from the Almighty be a terror to them ; Ps. xc. 11,
* Who knows the power of thine anger ? according to thy fear, so is
thy wrath.' Affections may lawfully be exercised about their proper
objects without sin. Fear was planted in us for this very purpose ;
and grace doth not abolish nature, but regulate it ; as Joshua made the
Gibeonites to be hewers of wood and drawers of water, so grace serves
our natural affections. Indignation and fear are good for the uses of
the sanctuary, for the expulsion and extermination of sin ; indignation
against ourselves for sins committed, and fear for the prevention of sin.
3. We may make use of the Spirit's argument without sin.
Usually men, instead of being over-spiritual, grow over-carnal. Terrors
and threatenings are propounded to us to drive us from sin, even to
men that are assured of God's love. Though we have an indefeasible
right in the great inheritance, yet we must look upon the Lord ' as a
consuming fire,' Heb. xii. 29. The Lord would help our infirmity
this way. This argument is of most force, because the Spirit of God
argues and discourseth in the heart of believers just as he argues in
the scripture ; now, thus the Spirit argues in the scripture, and there
fore the word of God is called ' The sword of the Spirit,' Eph. vi. 17.
In all your inward combats, or the civil wars of the soul, the renewed
heart makes use of scripture arguments ; and in scripture, as God
encourageth with love, so he aweth with threatening.
4. The threatenings are a part of the object of faith, and therefore
they may be used. They are propounded to be believed as well as
the promises ; and you should as surely consider God will condemn
the wicked and impenitent as save them that believe and repent ; and
as there should be a closing with and loving the promise, so a trem
bling at the threatening ; it is a note of God's children, Isa. Ixvi. 2,
' They tremble at his word.'
5. I prove it from the example of the saints ; and surely they were
not under a lower dispensation than we are. Job bridled and curbed
the excesses of his power and greatness hereby, for saith he, Job xxxi.
23, ' Destruction from God was a terror to me/ Men in great places
have shrewd temptations to oppress : Oh, but, saith he, I dare not,
because of God's terrors. So Noah was warned by God, and out of
fear of the threatening prepared the ark. So Paul, he mortified and
kept down his body, ' Lest/ saith he, ' I should be a cast-away/ 1 Cor.
ix. 27. We cannot pretend to a higher dispensation than Job, Paul,
and other holy persons, as if they were but novices in the school of
Christ. Your undaunted courage is to be suspected. Sin is not less
188 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XXXVI.
rooted in us t&an it was in Paul, or less dangerous to us ; neither are
we more skilful than holy Paul : the devil is as subtle and our corrup
tions are as strong as ever.
6. The promises will be the better relished when we reflect upon
the threatening ; the bitterness of the threatening makes us to relish
the sweetness of the promise. God is therefore the most desirable
friend, because he is the most dreadful adversary. Look, as the sight
of the Ked Sea and the floating Egyptians, when they were drowned
there, moved the Israelites to praise God ; so when we consider the
curse wherewith wicked men are overwhelmed, it is a great argument
to quicken and stir us up to praise. Solomon would have us view the
field of the sluggard. The brambles and briers that grow in the
sluggard's field commend diligence ; and so look upon the portion of
wicked men the snares, and brimstone, and horrible tempest, which
is the portion of their cup : this commends our portion in Christ, and
makes the promises more sweet.
Use 2. Direction how we are to use the threatening.
1. When you consider the threatening, let the punishment of loss
be more terrible to you than the pain ; I mean, let separation from
God work more upon you, than your own misery and distress : ' Depart
from me ' is worse than ' eternal fire.' It is the greatest evil that can
fall upon creatures to be separated for ever from the chief est good. I
press this, partly because nature will reflect upon its own pain, but
grace counts the loss of God the chiefest misery. The wicked will
think this no punishment to depart from God ; they excommunicate,
and cast God out of their company now 'Depart from us, for we
desire not the knowledge of thy ways/ Job xxi. 14. And partly, be
cause such considerations will be of great use ; they that prize communion
with God will be afraid to lose him by their sins ; for they thus argue,
this will work a divorce between me and my God. Look upon the
privative part of the threatening rather than the positive part of it ; 1
Cor. ix. 27, ' I keep under my body,' saith the apostle ' lest I be a cast
away/ The main thing he feared was to be cast out of the favour
of God, and lose the fellowship of God.
2. Consider the threatening, so as to weaken security, not to weaken
faith. There is a great deal of difference between these two ; we are
not to weaken the certainty of faith, but the security of the flesh. It
is good for Christians to observe what is the issue and result of their
fear, and of their reflections upon the threatenings, torment, or caution :
1 John iv. 18, ' Fear hath torment in it ; ' that is, slavish fear ; but
godly fear makes us more wary in our walking with God ; it makes
us more circumspect, but not less comfortable. Though there may be
assurance to escape damnation, yet still there is care to avoid sin : this
is the godly fear. Now to do that, you must consider God's ordination
of punishment is with a supposition ; that is, if I go on in a carnal
course, then my end will be death, and I shall be undone for ever. It
is with an ' if/ propounded to the children of God : Eom. viii. 13, 'If
ye live after the flesh, ye shall die/ If it be possible that a man in
Christ could live after the flesh, it is as possible and safe to conclude
he should die for ever. So the apostle, Gal. vi. 8, ' If ye sow to the
flesh, ye shall of the flesh reap corruption.' Where there is sin in the
VEU. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 189
seed, there will be a curse in the crop ; not as if the children of God
were actually to expect eternal death, but to look upon it as the proper
demerit of sin, and so to depart from it.
3. The children of God should reflect upon the sad consequences of
sin in the present life: 1 Cor. xi. 32, 'When we are judged, we are
chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the
world.' God hath still a bridle upon them. Though you are exempted
from eternal death, yet your pilgrimage may be made very uncomfort
able ; you may feel the anguish of conscience, and be humbled by
spiritual desertion, and lose and forfeit the sense of your joys and
spiritual consolation ; you may stand under a spiritual excommuni
cation ; that is, by being separated from the comfort of the covenant,
and cast out of the actual fruition of God's favour, and be under much
anguish of conscience, which is a spiritual part of discipline. A
disobedient child may be whipped, though he be sure not to be disin
herited ; so God hath sore and bitter afflictions to lay upon you ; he
hath other evils besides damnation to bring on you.
4. The times when you should use this argument are these. When
lusts are boisterous, it is good to oppose these stronger and more terrible
motives of the terrors of the Lord ; and when you are slack and
remiss in the work of the Lord. When oxen do not labour, the
husbandman useth the goad ; when you begin to wax wanton and
careless, it is good to use this spur when we begin to grow deaf, slack,
and cold in the work of God. So in the time of special temptation,
when the fear of man is like to prove a snare, as Solomon saith, Prov.
xxix. 25, say, I know the terrors of the Lord, and what a dangerous
thing it is to please men, and to engage omnipotency against me. So
after grievous offences, the children of God, when they foully sin, do
not only lose their peace but their tenderness ; therefore this will
enforce them to run for their pardon.
Secondly, I come to the strength and force of Noah's faith, inti
mated in these words ' Of things not seen as yet ireplrwv pybeTra) {3\e-
Tro^evcov of things that by no means could be seen ; not any way liable
to the judgment of sense ; by which the apostle means the tidings of
the deluge and the manner of his own preservation in the ark, which
were things strange, full of difficulty to be done, and likely to be
entertained with the scoff and opposition of the world ; yet he prepared
an ark. To instance, either in the flood or ark. For the flood : never
such a thing had been before, therefore it was more difficult to be
believed, there being no precedent ; for the world was but newly created,
and it seemed unlikely to the men of that age that God would destroy
it presently ; besides, this judgment was to come after many years.
By the grant of God himself they had the respite of a hundred and
twenty years, and all others besides Noah were utterly secure ; yet,
though he had but the naked word of God, he believed. Then for his own
gracious preservation, the means was by an ark, which was an impro
bable and incredible way of safety, as the flood was of the world's ruin ;
for the ark was made like a grave, or coffin, or sepulchre, wherein
Noah for some months was to be buried, rather than preserved, with
out the comfort of light or fresh air ; there was he with the cattle and
all kinds of living creatures for many days. And besides, it was of
19U SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SfiR. XXXVI.
that vast frame, that it was one hundred and twenty years a preparing,
as appears by that of the apostle, 1 Peter iii. 20, ' The long-suffering
of God waited all the while that the ark was a preparing.' Certainly
a work of so great receipt must needs be of vast expense and charge,
and take up a great deal of time to fit the matter, and to gather to
gether all the species and kinds of living creatures. And it was a
work that was like to meet with many mocks and scoffs in the world.
Noah seemed to them, as one of our chronicles tells us, of one that out
of a dread of a great flood built a house upon a high hill ; so the wicked
of that age, they looked upon Noah as a vain person, mocked and
laughed at the design every day ; he had a thousand discouragements,
yet, being moved with fear, he prepared an ark. Now these things
being so remote from sense, and only certain in God's word, it shows
the great force and virtue of his faith, to be persuaded of the world's
ruin, and his own preservation.
Doct. That it is the property of faith to be moved by such things as
are not liable to sense.
The reasons are these
1. Because when things are seen and known, there is no room for
faith : Kom. viii. 24, ' Hope that is seen is not hope/ Hope there is
put for the object things hoped for ; they are no more objects of hope
when seen. Faith giveth over its work when we once come to fruition
and view. When the sun is up, we feel the warm influences of it ; we
cannot be said so properly to believe it, as to feel it and know it. If
we were in a dungeon we might believe one that tells us the sun shines,
but when we see the glittering light it is otherwise. The elect, after
the resurrection, cannot properly be said to believe the articles of faith,
because faith and hope then ceaseth, and love only remains. Faith
and sense are opposed, 2 Cor. v. 7, ' We walk by faith, not by sight.'
Here things that are propounded to us, the glory of God in heaven
and the reigning of the saints, they are not matters of sight and pre
sent sense and apprehension. In heaven it is quite contrary ; there we
have sight, but no faith ; but here we walk by faith, and not by sight.
2. There is no trial in things that are seen, for all objects of sense
force an impression upon us ; we cannot choose but fear ; when sense
feels wrath, it is a judicial impression. There is none fears more than
wicked men when wrath comes ; they fear not wrath in the word, and
wrath in the threatening, but wrath in the providence makes them to
tremble : Isa. xxxiii. 14, ' The sinners in Sion are afraid ; fearfulness
surpriseth the hypocrite.' It is no exercise of faith, but a judicial im
pression. So the apostle saith ' The devils believe and tremble,'
James ii. 19 ; because they are under their actual punishment, they
cannot do otherwise. This is the difference between the godly and the
wicked ; the one trembles at the- judgment, the other trembles at the
threatenings ' He trembles at the word/ Isa, Ixvi. 2. Wicked men
do not consider the threatening, till, by all circumstances of providence,
it is ready to be accomplished. The wicked tremble in hell, or at the
hour of death ; but the godly tremble in the church at the word of
God. So did those in Noah's time, when they ran from the bottom of
houses to the top, from thence to trees, from trees to mountains, but
Noah trembled when God did but speak of these things. Feeling is
left for the next life.
VEK. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 191
SERMON XXXVII.
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet.
HEB. xi. 7.
THE use of the foregoing doctrine is to check the security of the
world, both in respect of particular and general judgments.
First, In particular judgments, the prophet saith, Hosea vii. 9, ' Eph-
raim hath gray hairs here and there upon him, and he knows it not.'
Many times a nation is full of gray hairs. As gray hairs are the fore
runners of death and the decay of nature, so many nations have gray
hairs sad intimations of ruin and destruction ; and they do not
tremble at it, especially if it be afar off, and if there be no visible pre
paration : if God be not upon his march, they do not tremble. When
the world was given up to pleasure, when they were marrying and
giving in marriage, who would believe that within a few years the rain
and waters should cover the whole earth ? Many would be ready to
say, as that nobleman, 2 Kings vii. 2, ' If the Lord should make win
dows in heaven, could this be ? ' Oh, consider all things are liable
to change ; and when your mountain seems to stand strong, yet if
there be such sins as are certain prognostics of ruin, there may be a
change, notwithstanding the greatest flourish of outward prosperity ; for
the gray hairs of a nation are not only the beginnings of misery and
declensions of their glory, but their guilt, these are the saddest gray
hairs : then you are liable to great ruin. See what the apostle speaks
to the despisers of the gospel : Acts xiii. 41, ' Behold, ye despisers, and
wonder, and perish : for I work a work in your days, a work which
you shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.' The
horrible devastation of Judea by the Chaldeans, who would believe it,
that the city and temple should be so destroyed ? and yet it came to
pass. If a man should but tell you what God is about to do, you
would think he were mad to mention such things,
Quest. You will say, you press us to believe, and all that you can do
is but to bring conjectures ; you cannot give such infallible warning as
Noah did.
I shall answer to this
1. We may speak to you as the apostle did in Acts xiii, 40, ' Beware
therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets.'
Let me tell you, it is a ruled case the despisers of the gospel shall
surely meet with an unexpected judgment. The credit of every threat
ening stands upon two feet the irresistibleness of God's power, and
the immutableness of his counsel. Now we cannot say God will change
his counsel, though he may his sentence; yet we may say, Take heed
lest this be brought upon you : we know not future contingencies.
God hath taken away that from a gospel ministry, because he hath
given them a more excellent dispensation.
2. It is security and carnal confidence. If you neglect reformation,
and depend merely upon present likelihoods, and say, It is impossible
these things should be : Jer. iv. 14, ' Jerusalem, wash thy heart from
wickedness. How long shall vain thoughts lodge within thee ? ' vain
192 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXVII.
thoughts, that is, reflections upon their present prosperity and great
ness. You know there is much spoken of depending upon an arm of
flesh and creature confidence. Now when men neglect God's means,
and trust to their own, this is a sure note of creature confidence in
their present welfare and prosperity. When we have no other shelter
against judgments but prosperous armies, numerous ships and fortifica
tions, how soon may God blow upon these things ? Who would believe
that which God did twice to the state of the Jews, both by the
Chaldeans and Romans ? who would have believed thirty years ago
what hath happened in Germany ? who would believe what befell the
churches of Asia and Greece, that they should be overrun so ? If we
should speak to you of England being unchurched, a man would think
this were an idle dream that ever Christianity should be banished from
this island, that we should lose our church and our glory ; and if yet
we should look to the spiritual causes of such a judgment, there is
nothing so probable as this. God may in justice remove the old light,
because we have set up so many new ones ; and take away the candle
stick from us, because we are despisers of the gospel.
3. When prophets threaten, it is very likely it will come to pass,
though we cannot absolutely determine future contingencies. Certainly
if a sparrow lights not to the ground without God, the messages of his
servants, and the words that are uttered by them with reverence and
fear, you cannot but acknowledge God in it : Hosea vi. 5, ' I have
hewn them by my prophets, and I have slain them by the words of
my mouth.' Israel was a knotty piece of timber, and therefore God
pursues them with blow after blow. When a prophet falls a-hewing
with blow after blow it is a sad intimation. I do not justify every idle
dictate arid fond suggestion spoken out of passion and discontent ; but
when we make collection upon collection, when we show you the sin
and the judgment out of scripture, it should not seem to you as an idle
tale ; and when we speak to you, we should not seem as Lot to his
sons-in-law, ' as if he had mocked,' Gen. xix.' 14. All that you can
pretend for your safety and security in such a case as this, is either
your present strength or the mercy and free grace of God ; but to
pretend grace and mercy and neglect duty, is but to choke conscience.
Mercy will never be .exercised to the prejudice of God's truth and
justice.
4. This is certain, it is better to believe the threatening than to feel
the stripes and blows. There can be no harm if we should take this
occasion to humble ourselves before God. It is true, in uncertain cases
this is a good rule hope the best ; but yet it is good to prepare for
the worst. Carnal hope such as is lifted up against the threatening in
the word is but a bad nurse to piety. They that do not tremble at the
word, but are left to be taught by sense, are taught in a sharp school
of discipline ; they are taught by briers and thorns. It is better to
learn by the word than by feeling blows and stripes : Prov. xiv. 16, ' A
wise man feareth, and departeth from evil ; but a fool rageth and is
confident.' Usually, when we speak of the evil of the times, men go
away ; and they fret and foam, and think we rail, and the word of
God is to them but as a reproach ; God leaves them to be taught by
briers and thorns, by their own sorrow and fears. So Prov. xxii. 3,
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 193
'A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself here is the
very description of Noah ' but the simple pass on, and are punished :'
carnal men run desperately upon danger, and against warning.
Secondly, With respect to the general judgment, it reproves the
security of the world. We are apt to think it is but a well-devised
fable to keep the world in awe. Oh, consider, if Noah could believe the
flood, we are much more bound to believe the general judgment why ?
Because we have the word of God for it, which is of more force than
an oracle, and we have a pledge already ; and therefore the future
destruction of the world by fire being more credible to us, God looks
for a more active faith from us.
Quest. But you will say, Who doth not believe the day of judg
ment ?
I answer, Flatter not yourselves, for in the latter times men will be
just as they were in the days of Noah ; there will be scoffers at the
day of judgment ; and usually the best of us content ourselves with a
loose and naked belief of things to come ; and therefore, that you may
drive the privy atheism out of the heart, let me propound but two
questions. (1.) Are you affected with these things, as if you saw
them ? (2.) Do you make a careful provision and preparation, as if
this were a matter that you did believe, ' As Noah was moved with
fear, and prepared an ark ? '
1. Are you affected with these things as if they were present ? So
it should be ; for faith is the evidence of things not seen ; it substan
tiates our hopes, and makes them real to our souls ; therefore we should
live as if we did see Christ coming in the clouds with power and great
glory ; as if we heard the blast of the great trump, and the voice of
the archangel, saying, Arise, arid come to judgment. God hath made
a promise, 1 Cor. xi. 31, ' That if we judge ourselves, we shall not be
judged of the Lord.' Now, art thou affected with this promise, as if
the judgment were set, and as if the books were opened ? Consider, in
the process of the great day, when all sinners stand trembling at the
bar, and their faces gather blackness and paleness, if Christ should
single thee out by name, and say to you, If thou judge thyself, thou
shalt not be put to this severe trial ; with what thankfulness would we
receive this offer ? Now, an active faith should make this supposition.
So again Christ saith, Luke xii. 8, 9, ' Whosoever shall confess me
before men, I will confess him before the angels of God ; but he that
denieth me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God.'
When thy heart is tempted to carnal compliance, canst thou represent
by a lively faith the day of judgment ? and say, Would I deny Christ
before his face ? or by compliance betray the truth ? Would I do
this act if I heard Christ say, Father, these are mine, and these are
not mine, when Christ is making a distinction between sheep and goats,
and the two herds were standing before mine eyes ? It is good to make
suppositions and put cases concerning that great day.
Do you do as Noah did ? make serious preparation for things to
come and yet unseen. God doth not look to opinions, but to the dis
position of your heart. Actions have a voice before God. We content
ourselves with a naked and inactive belief, which, if it be searched to
the bottom, will be found to be nothing but uncertain guess and con-
VOL. xiv. N
194 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXVII.
jecture. Do we do as Noah did, venture upon a work of such charge
and such difficulty ? Though the flood was yet a great while to come,
he presently falls about it.
[1.] It was a work of great labour and trouble ; and so is the work
of mortification, strictness, and the spiritual life ; it is a work of labour
and trouble to weaken carnal desires, to subdue your affections to the
just temper of religion ; yet, though it be harsh to nature, can you say,
Heaven will make amends for all ? can you say, It is better to take
pains than suffer pains ? can you say, If I digest the severities of reli
gion, ' if I mortify the deeds of the flesh, I shall live ? ' Kom. viii. 13.
Can you reason as Noah did ?
[2.] It was a work which he should have no use of a long time ; so
can you tarry God's leisure and wait for the season of the promises,
and for the time of accomplishment ? Always between the making of
the promise and the making good of the promise, there is a great deal
of time. The Israelites were long in the wilderness ere they came to
Canaan, and endured a tedious march ; they might have gone over in
forty days, but God kept them in it forty years to exercise them. So
David was anointed king a long time before he reigned, 1 Sam. xvi. 13,
so long, that in the end he despaired of the kingdom ; and therefore he
saith, ' I said in my haste, All men are liars,' Ps. cxvi. 11. So, can
you tarry God's leisure for the accomplishment of his promise, and
during the time of your pilgrimage wait, ' And be followers of them
who through faith and patience inherit the promise ' ? Heb. vi. 12. Sel
dom any go to heaven, but they have a long time to exercise their faith
and patience. Can you be content in your journey to Canaan to tarry
God's leisure, and wait for your deliverance ?
[3.] It was a work that met with many scoffs in the world ; they
looked upon Noah as an old doting man that envied their jollities and
pleasures. And truly, when you fear God and walk strictly, the world
will speak of you with great contempt you will be set up to be as a
sign to be spoken against. You must expect this as your portion :
Gal. iv. 29, ' As then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him
that was born after the Spirit, so it is now.' So it was in the apostle's
time, and so it will be to the end of the world. There will be tongue
persecution at least ; you must endure mocks for a good conscience, to
be counted hypocrites and foolish, and men that are prodigal of their
interests, and humorists and the like. I know not what secure pre
sumptuous men may foster in themselves, and conceive the children of
God should have a dispensation. The carnal seed will always be
mocking. Now, can you endure all this and go on with your work of
strictness, and preciseness, and patience ? They will howl for their
mocking when you shall be safe.
[4.] It was a work which put him upon great charges, to provide*
the kinds of all living creatures, and to build an ark that might be of
so great receipt, to take in the beasts, and fodder for the beasts and
fowls of the air ; so you should consider, At what expense have I been
for Christ ? If I believe eternity and the everlasting recompenses,
what have I done for Christ ? That which you lay out upon the flesh
and outward conveniences is mere prodigality ; for you owe the flesh
nothing ' We are not debtors to the flesh,' but all that you have you
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 195
owe to Christ ; and what have you done for "him ? God hath given yon
a promise, as a bill of exchange ; now he takes it ill if you should pro
test against it. Jesus Christ will not own you at the last day : Luke
xii. 33, ' Sell that you have (saith Christ) and give alms, and you shall
have treasure in heaven.' This is Christ's bargain whatever you lay
out on earth, he will pay it in another country. Now, what have I
ventured upon this promise ? Christ saith, ' Sell that you have,' not to
deny propriety of goods ; but certainly it shows that rather than we
should reserve our estate to purchase lands, and grow great in our
families, we should rather lay them out to purchase an estate in heaven.
Men are all for buying more rather than for selling that which they
have ; therefore Jesus Christ would bend the stick the other way ; as
he saith, John vi. 27, ' Labour not for the meat that perisheth ; ' not
to deny honest labour, but to blunt the edge of our spirits, that we
may labour more for better things. So, ' Sell that you have, and give
alms ; ' rather than by hooking in an estate, you should be laying it
out ; you should look upon your estate as most safe in God's hands.
Noah was at great charge and expense ; no doubt wasted himself and
his all ; but what lost he by it ? Noah and his sons had the possession
of all the world when he came out of the ark. It is the best bargain
that ever we made, when we lay out our estate upon religious uses.
Thus may you try yourselves. It is the most foolish thing in the
world altogether to look to the present. We that are not affected with
things that are not seen, may learn of the creature. Solomon bids us
go learn of the ant, Prov. vi. 6-8 ; so certainly if we did believe there
was an after-reckoning, and that one day we must give an account, we
would make more provision for our souls.
Thirdly, I go on to the fruits and consequences of Noah's faith
' He was moved with fear ' ev\af3r)6els being wary, or piously fear
ing. The same word is used of Jesus Christ, Heb. v. 7. His holy
and innocent fears are expressed by the same word ' He was heard in
that he feared ; ' indeed, it is .always used in a good sense in scripture.
The word is sometimes used for caution and wariness, sometimes for
reverence ; in the latter sense often in scripture : as Acts ii. 5, ' Devout
men in every nation.' In the original it is eu\a/3et?, reverend men ; so
Actsviii. 2, 'Devout men carried Stephen to his burial' eu\a/3a9,
men touched with a reverence of God, and with a sense of religion ; so
was Noah moved with a godly reverence and godly caution. The note
is this
Doct. That godly fear is a fruit and effect of faith.
Faith, as it works upon the promises, begets love and hope ; but as
it works upon the threatening, so it begets fear. Love, fear, and hope,
are not contrary, though they be different ; they may stand together,
and they all proceed from faith.
1. All graces are conjoined, though they seem contrary. See how
they are conjoined in scripture. Ps. cxix. 119, 120, there is fear
and love ' I love thy testimonies ; ' and then presently, ' My flesh
trembleth because of thy judgments ; ' so Ps. cxii. 1, ' Blessed is the man
that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.'
Fear and delight are joined together: so Acts ix. 31, 'They walked
in the fear of the Lord, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost.' There
196 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XXXVII.
was something likely to entice them into a snare, and something likely
to oppress them. That which was likely to draw and entice them out
of the way was the relics of sin, the baits of the world, and the sugges
tions of Satan ; therefore they walked ' in the fear of the Lord.' That
which was likely to oppress them was the burden of their own con
science, and outward crosses ready to overwhelm them ; therefore it is
said, they walked in the ' comforts of the Holy Ghost.' There is need
of a double remedy. They walked with ' fear' to keep them from sin ;
and they walked in the ' comforts of the Holy Ghost' to keep them from
sinking under affliction. On earth we still need this mixture ; in
heaven there is all joy, no fear of punishment. But on earth there is
a mixture of flesh and spirit, something to comfort us, and something
to humble us ; there is no true piety without either. The object of
these affections is often changed. The children of, God can fear him
for his goodness, and love him for his judgments : Hosea iii. 4, ' They
shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days ;' Ps. cxix. 62,
' At midnight I will arise to give thanks unto thee, because of thy
righteous judgments.' Love would grow secure without fear, and fear
would grow slavish without love ; therefore these graces are conjoined,
that there may be a fit temper both of reverence and sweetness.
2. All these graces flow from faith ; for all affection is grounded
upon persuasion. Who would fear the threatening that doth not
believe it ? or fear to offend God that doth not love him, and that doth
not acknowledge there is a God ? The fear of the people of Nineveh
is excited by their faith : Jonah iii. 5, ' The people of Nineveh believed
God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth ;' and the word, which
is the object of faith, is the object of fear. They that feared the word
of the Lord housed their cattle, Exod. ix. 20 ; that is, they that believed
the word.
But now the great question is, what is this godly fear ? There are
three effects by which it ma,y be discerned caution, diligence, and
reverence ; caution respects sin, diligence respects duty, dread and
reverence respects God himself.
[1.] There is caution, or a cautelous prudence a fear lest we should
dash the foot of our faith against the several stumbling blocks that are
in the world. Look, as those that carry precious liquor in a brittle
vessel, are very cautelous ; especially if they walk in the dark or rough
ways, they walk with care lest the vessel be broken and the liquor
spilt. The children of God know what a precious treasure they have
about them, that they have a soul that cannot be valued ; and they
know that the world is a rough passage, and here many stones of
stumbling ; therefore they ' Work out their salvation with fear and
trembling, ' Phil. ii. 12. The main grace that keeps in and maintains
the fire of religion in the soul is a cautelous fear ; they consider their
own hearts, look for direction from the word, and call in the help of
the Spirit : Heb. iv. 1, ' Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left
unto us of entering into his rest, any of us should seem to come short
of it. ' This doth not hinder the assurance of faith, but guard it.
[2.] There is diligence in fear, and that respecteth duty. Every good
fear endeth in duty ; it ariseth from faith, and ends in duty ; it stirs up
the soul to use all the means to prevent the danger. If Noah had not
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 197
believed, he had never feared ; if he had not feared, he had never pre
pared an ark. The fear of the wicked ends in irresolution, perplexity,
and despair ; their terrors differ only in degree and duration from the
pains of hell mere involuntary impressions, whose end is not duty, but
despair and torment ; but the fear of the godly sets them a-work.
Noah, being moved with fear, sets to building the ark. It is said of
Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xx. 3, ' He feared, and set himself to seek the
Lord ; ' so Paul, Acts ix. 6, ' He trembling and astonished said, Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do ? ' As if he had said, Lord, I see my
danger, what is my work ?
[3.] There is in fear a reverence and a dread of God his holiness,
his majesty, his power, his justice, and the like. Now we may dread
God either as creatures or as sinners ; either as our maker, or as our
judge, or as both ; as our maker, so we dread God for himself; as our
judge, so we dread him for our own sakes, because of sin. These two
are distinct ; the one may be where the other is not. As in heaven,
the saints and glorious angels fear God fear being an essential respect
of the creature to God ; in heaven, it is a grace that never cease th.
Now they dread God as full of majesty and goodness, and as the great
creator of the world ; and in paradise there was this fear of reverence.
Adam did not fear God as a judge till he had sinned : Gen. iii. 10,
' I was afraid, therefore 1 hid myself : ' this fear entered into the world
with sin. Adam in innocency only reverenced him for his majesty,
goodness, and holiness, as the saints and angels do in heaven ; and
there may be fear where only God is feared as a judge. The wicked
stand in fear of nothing but hell and wrath ; they fear not God for God,
but for themselves ; not because of the dignity of his majesty, but
because of their own danger.
Quest. If you ask me, then, what fear is lawful ?
I answer, It must be a mixed fear, partly because of his majesty and
holiness ; and partly, because of his justice while we are in the present
state, not wholly exempt from the strokes of God's justice ; and this
is the fear that is in the children of God, and is usually called by the
name of filial fear ; whereas the other in wicked men is called by the
name of servile and slavish fear. The distinction is grounded on
scripture, and so called with allusion to the fear of.'children and servants ;
children fear their loving parents, and servants fear their hard and
cruel masters. The grounds of this distinction are famously known
the spirit of bondage and the spirit of adoption : Eom. viii. 15, ' Ye
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father : ' the
spirit of bondage is the root and ground of servile fear, and the spirit
of adoption is the ground of filial fear. Now, though there may be
some servile fear in the children of God, yet it is more and more wrought
out the more we increase in the apprehension of God's love : 1 John
iv. 18, ' Perfect love casteth out fear.' I take it there for the appre
hension of God's love, not for our love to God.
Now I shall state the differences between these two kinds of fears,
servile and filial.
(1.) Filial fear is always coupled with, love for there is a harmony
between the graces but servile fear with hatred. Filial fear ariseth
from a humble sense of God's goodness, and thereby God is made
198 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXVII.
more amiable and lovely to the soul : Ps. cxxx. 4, ' There is forgiveness
with thee that thou mayest be feared ; ' they are afraid to displease so
good a God as they have found him to be in Christ : Hosea iii. 5,
'And they shall fear the Lord and his goodness.' Mark, it is not the
Lord, and his wrath and -his justice, but his goodness. Filial fear is
rather because of his benefits past, than of his judgments to come;
but now servile fear ariseth merely from a sense of this wrath, and so
causeth hatred of God. Odei*unt dum metuunt, they hate God while
they fear him. Wicked men, it is true, stand in dread of God ; but
they have hard thoughts of God, and they could wish there was no God,
or that he were not such a God ; aut Deum extinctum cupiunt aut
exarmatum either they wish the destruction of his being or of his
glory ; either that there were no God, or that he were a weak or powerless
God ; not such a God, not so holy, just, and powerful. It is a pleasing
thought to a carnal heart if there were no God to punish him. Such
fear there is in the devils themselves : James ii. 19, ' They believe and
tremble ; ' they abhor their own thoughts of God, and their bondage is
increased with their knowledge. So do wicked men hate those characters
of God engraven upon their consciences, they stand in dread of God,
but it is a fear that is accompanied with hatred rather than love.
(2.) Filial fear is accompanied with a shyness of sin, but not with a
shyness of God's presence. Adam, as soon as he had sinned, he bewrayed
this slavish fear ; the more he feared, the more he ran away from God :
Gen. iii. 10, ' I was afraid, because I was naked, and hid myself.' His
guilt makes him run into the bushes. When men feel God's wrath
they cannot endure the presence of his glory. Before man fell, there
was nothing sweeter to him than familiarity with God ; but as soon as
he sinned, ' I was afraid, and hid myself.' Now when fear makes us
to fly from God, it must needs be culpable ; for the aim of all graces is
to preserve a communion and a respect between God and the soul ; and
therefore the proper use of fear is rather to fly from sin than to fly from
God. In short, there is a fear that keepeth us from coming to God,
and that is carnal ; and there is a fear that keepeth us from going
away from God, which preserves the soul in a way of holy acquaint
ance and communion with God, and that is a holy fear : Jer. xxxii.
40, ' I will put my fear into their hearts, that they shall not depart
from me.' Fear is the preserving grace, therefore it is mere bond
age and horror that sets the soul at a distance from God ; yet this
is in all wicked men ; they think they can never banish God far
enough out of their thoughts ; they would, if they could, withdraw
themselves from his government and get out of his sight ; they would
fain run away from God ; they hate his presence in their consciences,
because they carry their hell and their accuser always about them ;
and it were happy for them they think if they should never more see
God. But now a gracious fear makes the heart to cleave the closer
to God. A child of God is troubled, because sin is apt to breed a
strangeness ; and because they cannot more delight in his company,
they are never near enough to God. A godly man is afraid of losing
God, and a carnal man is afraid of finding him. The voice of
slavish fear is ' Hide us from the face of him that sits upon the
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,' Eev. vi. 16 ; but true fear
is afraid lest God should hide himself afraid lest God should
VEIL 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 199
shut up himself in a veil of displeasure. Observe that place : Hosea iii.
5, ' They shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and
they shall fear the Lord and his goodness/ That filial fear which
uriseth from the the goodness of God makes us to seek God and run
after him. It is a blessed fear that drives us to seek the face of God,
and bring us into his presence.
(3.) Servile fear only respecteth the loss and punishment, but true
fear is mixed : it respecteth the punishment, but not only ; it respecteth
both offence and punishment ; only with this difference, they do not
fear judgment so much as sin ; and in the punishment and judgment
itself, to a gracious heart the loss is more horrible than the pain ; they
are afraid lest there should be a divorce between them and God, lest
they should grieve their good God, and cause him to depart from them.
But now wicked men non peccare metuunt sed ardere they are afraid
to burn, but not afraid to sin. When it is merely for the punishment,
then it is slavish fear. See how the apostle speaks of the habitual
bondage that is in the heart of every wicked man : Heb. ii. 15,
' Through fear of death they are all their lifetime subject to bondage.'
Now this kind of fear can never be gracious, partly because there is
more of torment in it than there is of reverence ; and so it wants the
chief and formal reason of fear, which is not the creature's danger, but
God's excellency ; a carnal man fears hell more than God, which is an
act of guilty and corrupt nature, not of religion. And partly, because
it can never produce any genuine piety ; for if a wicked man should
leave off sin out of this fear, it is not out of hatred to sin, but out of
the fear of the punishment, as the bird is kept from the bait by the
scarecrow. And so the sin is not hated, but forborne ; they love the
sin and fear hell ; there is nothing restrained but the act ; servile fear
restraineth the action, but the other mortifieth the affection. Godly
men do not only forbear sin, but abhor sin, and hate it. A wicked
man dares not sin, and a good man would riot sin. Or suppose that
out of this fear he should practise some duties (as a wicked man may
out of the compunction of slavish fear), yet this is but forced from him ;
and forced fruit is never so kindly as that which is naturally ripened.
All the duties of a wicked man are rather a sin-offering, than a thank-
offering ; not done out of any respect to God, or from reasons of religion,
but to appease conscience. And therefore, upon the whole matter, we
see that gracious fear must have another object besides the punishment;
we may fear the punishment, but not only. A godly man doth not
only fear hell, 'but fears an oath,' Eccles. ix. 2 ; that is, to be false to
an oath. ' He fears the commandment,' Prov. xiii. 13. His greatest
fear is lest he should cast off duty, and commit known sins.
(4.) Servile fear is involuntary. The wicked do not fear out of a
voluntary act and exercise of faith, but a judicial impression. The
fear that is in the godly ariseth naturally out of faith and tenderness
of spirit ; but in a wicked man, it is out of guilt of conscience ; there
is bondage impressed and forced upon his heart, which, though it be
not always felt, yet it is soon awakened ' All their lifetime they are
subject to bondage,' Heb. ii. 15 ; and if God do but touch the conscience,
then they are troubled. Belteshazzar seemed to have a brave spirit,
and not to be daunted with the forces with which he was besieged ;
200 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SEE. XXXVII.
but God takes off the edge of his bravery with a few letters upon the
wall ' Then his countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled
him ; so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote
one against another,' Dan. v. 6. God arms- wicked men's thoughts
against them, and it is more than if he should bring the greatest terrors
from without. At that time he was besieged with the Persian forces ;
but that one hand upon the wall works upon him more than all the
forces with which he was beleaguered. So Felix of a sudden trembled,
Acts xxiv. 25. A man would have thought the story should rather
have said that Paul trembled ; but mark, the prisoner makes the judge
to tremble, but sore against his will, because he had the advantage of
his conscience. Paul was discoursing there of temperance, righteous
ness, and judgment to come ; now Felix was notoriously guilty of
bribery and incontinency ; Drusilla, though she was used as his wife,
was but his minion ; he took her from Azizus, king of the Emisenians ;
and when Paul rubs him up with judgment to come, trembling comes
upon him, and he could not withstand it. And such trembling there
is in wicked men in the midst of their revelling and bravery ; guilty
conscience recoils and boggles, and then they are afraid. This fear
is involuntary, as will appear, partly because it is not constant, and
comes but by fits and starts, and is a trouble to them : Prov. xxviii.
14, ' Happy is he that feareth always/ A child of God is under fear,
not by fits and pauses, but he bears a constant respect to God, and
seeth him that is invisible. A godly man looks upon it as a great
blessing when he can work up his thoughts to a sight of God, that he
may not sin in his presence. But now in wicked men it is not a fear
begotten by the exercise of faith ; but now and then enforced upon the
soul by the evidence of a guilty conscience when it is awakened a
mere effect of the spirit of bondage. And it is plain this is involuntary,
partly because wicked men are apt to take all advantages to enlarge
themselves. Their desire is not to please God, but to dissolve the
bonds of conscience, and to allay their fear ; therefore they fly to the
next carnal course. How often may we find that the Spirit is quenched,
without a metaphor, by the excess of wine and the rays of conviction,
when God darts them into the bosom, extinguished by mirth a-nd com
pany. As in Belteshazzar, there was a fit came upon him which sets
him a-trembling, what doth he do ? he sends to the star-gazers and
astrologers, Dan. v. 7. Daniel was famous in the kingdom, and his
skill well known in such cases ; but anything serves, so we may come
out of the stocks of conscience. Felix, when his conscience boggles,
seeks to put it off when he cannot put it away, and foolishly dreams
of a more convenient time.
(5.) Servile fear is a fear without any temperament of hope and
comfort, and so it weakens the certainty of faith, rather than the
security of the flesh. But now the gospel-fear is mixed with hope and
joy : Ps. ii. 10, ' Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.'
Because our affections are apt to degenerate, therefore God wouid have
this mixture. Hope is apt to degenerate to presumptuous boldness,
and joy to grow into a fond boasting ; and therefore God hath required
that we should allay the excess of one affection by the mixture of an
other, that so the spirit may be kept aweful, but not servile ; and there-
VER. 7]. SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 201
fore in the children of God there is always such a mixture ; their fear
it ends in reverence and caution, but not in torment ; for it is over
mastered by the apprehensions of God's love : 1 John iv. 18, ' There
is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath
torment ; he that feareth is not made perfect in love.' The fear of the
godly makes them more circumspect, but not a jot less comfortable ;
the more they fear, the more blessed, the more comfortable ' Blessed
is he that feareth always.' They are more wary and cautious in their
walking with God, more serious in their special converses and confer
ences with God. But now the issue of slavish fear is not love but tor
ment ; it is full of discomfort and dejection, and makes us anxious
rather than cautious ; and therefore it is good to temperate your fear,
that you may be comfortable in the use of holy duties, and your walk
ing with God.
Out of all you see that there is a godly fear, which is the fruit of
faith. There is a fear of reverence, proper to heaven ; a fear in the
church, that is a fear of caution ; and a fear in hell, and that is despair,
or a fearful looking for of the fiery indignation of the Lord.
SEKMON XXXVIII.
Prepared an ark. HEB. xi. 7.
IT follows in the text, ' Prepared an ark.' As his fear was the fruit of
his faith, so this was a fruit of his fear. Faith by the affections hath
an influence upon the practice and conversation. I look upon this act
of Noah in several regards.
1. As an act of great obedience. Though it were a matter of high
difficulty and charge, and likely to be entertained with scoffs in the
world, yet Noah prepared an ark. Observe that God must be obeyed,
whatever it cost us. Though duties cross interest and affections, and
blast our repute in the world, yet God must be obeyed. Noah was now
put to trial, and so in all difficult cases we are put to trial. Now, that
we may not deny and retract our obedience, I shall show you upon
what grounds we are to obey in difficult cases. Partly, because we have
entirely given up ourselves, and all that is ours, to God ; and when we
have given a thing to another, he may do with it what he pleaseth.
When thou art given up to God, thou art the Lord's, Eom. xiv. 7, 8.
At first conversion there was a perfect resignation. God had right in
thee before, but thou then gavest up thyself by the consent of thine
own will. We did not then indent with God to say, Thus far I will
obey, and no farther ; we reserved no part of our will, no interest, and
no concernment of ours. Now unless we will retract our own solemn
vows, and our spiritual resignation, God must be obeyed. Christ bids
us at first to sit down and count the charges ; can you part with all
for him ? And partly, because we have no cause to repent of out
bargain, whether we consult with our experiences or our obligations to
202 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXXVIII.
God. With our experiences, God is not a hard master ; we never lost
anything by God ; we were gainers when we were the greatest losers.
God puts his people to the question : Jer. ii. 5, ' What iniquity have
your fathers found in rne, that they are gone far from me ? ' Have I
broken contract ? Have I been worse than your expectation? So again :
Micah vi. 3, ' my people! what have I done unto you, and wherein
have I wearied you? testify against me.' When Israel was grown
weary of God, and began to stray and go off from God, saith God,
What cause have I given you? Ignatius was an old and ancient
servant of God, and saith he, These eighty-six years have I served God,
and he never did me any harm. Certainly in those persecuting times
that gracious soul met with a great deal of injury in the world, yet
saith he, God never did me harm ; he made it up again with consola
tion. And much more if we consult with our obligations to God.
God doth not repent of the bargain made with Christ, and Christ doth
not repent of the bargain made with God the Father ; and why should
we repent of our part of the covenant ? God doth not repent of the
bargain made with Christ : Ps. ex. 4, ' The Lord hath sworn, and will
not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.'
Though the world abuseth mercy, and puts many affronts upon grace,
and abuseth the doctrine of the gospel, yet saith God, I have sworn,
my word is past, Christ shall yet be a mediator. So Jesus Christ
repented not ; he did not only freely offer himself when the matter was
propounded and broken to him at the first in the eternal treaty between
God and him : Ps. xl. 7, 8, ' Lo, I come ; I delight to do thy will,
my God,' but when he was about to engage in suffering, his love
was hottest : John xiii. 1, ' Jesus therefore having loved his own, he
loved them to the end.' The meaning is to the end of his own
life, though it was exceeding difficult, for then came his tor
ment and agonies for sinners. It is true indeed he said, 'Let this
cup pass,' to show his natural abhorrency ; yet he said, 'Not my will,
but thy will be done/ to show his voluntary submission : Luke xxiv.
42, ' The cup which my Father gave me shall I not drink it,' John
xviii. 11. When he was despitefully used by men, he did not repent
of the bargain ; so we should never repent of our solemn contract made
with God.
2. I look upon this again as an act of obedience, as a means in order
to his own safety; and then the note will be Though a man be
certain of safety, yet he must use the means. God had promised to
save Noah and his household, he had made a covenant with him, Gen.
vi. 18 ; but still Noah was to provide an ark ; the covenant was upon
this condition, that he should use those means. If Noah had made no
ark, he must have taken his lot and share with the ungodly world.
And as Noah had a promise of his own life and the life of his house
hold, so Paul had a promise of the lives of all the men in the ship ;
yet, Acts xxvii. 31, ' Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved ; '
he had told them before, ver. 22, ' Be of good cheer, there shall be no
loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship/ yet ' except these
abide,' &c. not as if the accomplishment of the promise did depend
upon second causes, and hang upon the endeavours of men, but only
thus, he that hath appointed the end hath appointed the means, and
we tempt God by putting that asunder which he hath joined together.
7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI.
This being observed, it will be a check to libertinism ; we cannot be
saved if we live as we list. And assurance is no idle doctrine , though
we be under a sure covenant with God, yet we are to mind our duty.
Elijah, that had foretold rain, yet prays for it as earnestly as if the
thing had been utterly uncertain and unlikely.
3. I observe again, that this means was instituted and appointed by
God, not devised and invented by Noah. He might have been saved
some other way ; but he received a commandment concerning the
matter, the proportion, the measure, and the fashion of the ark. And
it is said, Gen. vi. 22, ' Thus did Noah ; according to all that God
commanded him, so did he.' The ark seemed an unlikely way to
preserve him, being a dark receptacle, likely to be dashed in pieces
against rocks ; yet so did he as God commanded. The note is we
must use the means which God hath instituted in order to salvation,
and that both with faith and obedience.
[1.] Use them in obedience. It is enough that God hath com
manded them. All ordinances are simple in appearance, therefore the
creature is apt to carp at them. In baptism there is but a little
common water ; yet baptism saves. As in the ark eight souls saved by
water ' The like figure whereunto baptism saves/ &c., 1 Peter iii. 20,
21. So in the Lord's supper there is a little morsel of bread and a
small draught of wine, yet they are high and mysterious instruments of
our comfort and peace and grace. And so in the means that seem to
be more rational, and to have some ministerial efficacy, as in the
ordinance of the word : 1 Cor. i. 21, ' It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe.' The world thinks it a foolish
way. Men will say, for substance, We know as much as they can
teach us, and we can bring nothing sublime and new ; and yet this
way the Lord is pleased to work. Though there be no carnal
allurements, yet mere obedience must keep up our respect to the
institutions and ordinances of Jesus Christ.
[2.] We must use them in faith. It is a great part of the life of
faith to live by faith in the use of ordinances ; when we come
to use them, and can refer ourselves to the mercy of God for a blessing,
for edification, and strengthening in comfort and grace ; nay though
we want comfort a great while, yet when we will try again, because it
is an ordinance that God hath appointed. There is more grace in wait
ing upon God, though there be more comfort in receiving. There is a
command to keep up endeavours, and a promise to encourage expec
tation ; and upon the bare command of God we must keep up our
endeavours, though we have been discouraged by former experiences ;
as Peter : Luke v. 5, ' We have toiled all night, and caught nothing ;
yet at thy command we will let down the net ; ' Lord I have come
again and again, and found no profit ; yet I will come once more.
Noah knew this was the instituted means, that he and his should be
saved in the ark ; and therefore he waited in the ark many months,
ere the rain ceased and the flood was dried up.
4. I observe again that the only instituted means was the ark, which
was a type of Christ, by whose resurrection, saith the apostle, we are
saved: 1 Peter iii. 21, ' The like figure whereunto even baptism doth
now save us, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.' All God's dispensa-
204 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XXXVIII.
tions to the fathers happened by way of type : 1 Cor. x. 11, 'All these
things happened unto them rinrot, as ensamples.' Observe, the
i'aith of the fathers and the obedience of the fathers was conversant
about a double object : spiritual good things promised to them, and. in
common to all believers and then particular blessings which were
proper to themselves, and were types of good things yet to come. So
here was a temporal salvation in an ark, which was a figure of our
spiritual deliverance by Christ. There is a great deal of similitude
between Christ and the ark. The ark was the only means of salva
tion, and so is Jesus Christ : Acts iv. 12, ' Neither is there salvation
in any other : for there is no other name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved/ If they had builded towers, and
gone up to the tops of mountains, though they were of a giant-like
stature, they could not escape the flood that overwhelmed them. So all
other things are but vain confidences ; though you. are strict and severe
in life, and practise many duties, yet out of Christ they signify nothing.
So again, all without the ark perished in the waters. Many saw the
ark ; but unless they entered into it, they were not safe. So, though
you hear of Christ, and are of this opinion that there is a Christ, yet
unless you be in Christ it will not avail you anything ; there is salva
tion in no other, and you must be in him before you can have any
benefit by him. Therefore say as the apostle, ' Oh that I might be
found in him/ Phil. iii. 9 ; that I may not only know Christ outwardly,
but that there might be a real union between him and me. And look,
as all that were gathered into the ark, so all that shall be saved shall be
added and gathered to the church : Acts ii. 47, ' The Lord added to
the church daily such as should be saved/ Those that were out of
the ark, though many of them had large possessions and a great deal
of money, yet that would not avail them. So ' riches profit not in the
day of wrath,' Prov. xi. 4. When God comes to take us away in judg
ment, our estates which we idolise will be our greatest burden, and sit
heavy upon our consciences ; they will be a trouble and no profit to us.
Again, those that were once in the ark were sure and safe, and could
not miscarry. So. there is a sure salvation in Christ ; once in Christ,
and salvation for ever ; all the floods of calamity can never overwhelm
them, they will be your safety, and not your ruin. The flood mounted
the ark higher, and made it safe from rocks. There is a notable
expression of the apostle, 1 Peter iii. 20, ' They were saved by water/
the water that drowned others saved them, by hoisting up of the ark
from the hills and mountains ; so all those conditions of life which to
the wicked are a snare, shall be to you a blessing. When floods arise,
this will be a great advantage ; afflictions and outward blessings are all
faithful administrations.
Again, as Noah was buried alive in the ark for a good while, then
had a joyful deliverance ; so we are ' buried with Christ in baptism/
Rom. vi. 4, mortified with affliction ; and we should live as if we were
dead to the pomps of the world, and then the end will be glorious as it
was to Noah. He came out and enjoyed the whole world ; so shall
we when we are delivered from the prison of the body ; when our souls
go forth as Noah out of the ark, we shall reign and triumph with
Christ for evermore. Oh then, get into the ark, get an interest in
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 205
Christ. Noah prepared the ark himself; but the Lord hath prepared
an ark for us ; all things are ready, there wants nothing but our faith.
The ark is built to our hands, and Christ is a complete saviour, fit to
shelter us and save us. Oh, let us enter into this ark !
To go on ' To the saving of his household.' It is meant of a
temporal salvation, though thereby the spiritual salvation was typified
and figured ; for indeed some of Noah's house that were saved in the
;:rk, are represented in the scripture ' as accursed from the Lord : '
Gen. vi. 16, and vii. 1, 'Come thou and all thy house into the ark.'
There was Ham in the ark, as well as Shem and Japhet ; wretched
Ham, in whose line the cursed offspring or malignant race was con
tinued. Hence note
Doct. Bad children of good parents are partakers of some temporal
blessings for their father's sake. Saving grace doth not descend from
parents to their children, yet many temporal blessings may for their
parents' sake. We read that Ishmael was blessed for Abraham's sake :
Gen. xvii. 20, ' I have heard thee for Ishmael ; and behold I have
blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and multiply him exceedingly ;
twelve princes he shall beget, and I will make him a great nation.'
Though he did not continue the blessed line, yet he had much of the
outward part of the covenant ; he lived and had some common
privileges, the principal blessing was settled on Isaac. So when
Solomon had warped and turned aside from God, the Lord tells him,
1 Kings xi. 11, 12, ' I will rend the kingdom from thee, and will give
it to thy servant, nevertheless, in thy days I will not do it for David thy
lather's sake, but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.' There is
mercy to one child for his father's sake, and there is judgment to the
next child for his immediate parent's sake. See how various the dis
pensations of God are to children by reason of their parents ; for that
is the reason given, because of his promise made to David not for
Solomon's merit. The Lord doth not speak of Solomon's building the
temple, and those costly sacrifices that he offered ; no, but for David's
sake. To instance in such a blessing as is parallel to the text of tem
poral deliverance, preservation, and safety : Gen. xix. 12, ' And the
men said unto Lot ' that is, the angels in men's appearance, ' Hast
thou here any besides ? sons-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters,
bring them out of this place.' God would extend mercy for Lot's sake
to all his relations ; not only to his sons and natural children, but to
his sons-in-law ; nay, their relation at that time was exceeding loose,
for Lot's daughters were but espoused, for they are called virgins else
where. Yea, to express the largeness of his grace, God hath saved a
whole nation for their sakes, and therefore they are called ' the chariots
and horsemen of Israel,' 2 Kings ii. 12. And if ten righteous persons
had been found in Sodom, God would have spared all Sodom, Gen. xviii.
32, much more their kindred and their near relations.
To apply this
Use 1. For encouragement to godly parents concerning their
children.
1. Consider the mercy of the covenant, how it overflows ; it is not only
stinted to their persons, but runs over to their children ; they are
beloved for our sake. Oh, fear the Lord not only for your own sakes,
206 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XXXVIII.
but for your children's sake ! this will be the best way to provide for
your children ; not to heap up wealth and honour for them, but to
leave them the honour and wealth and privileges of the covenant.
It is true, the election shall obtain ; sanctification and regeneration
doth not descend from the parents to their children ; yet in outward
mercies they have their share, if they have nothing else. Though you
have nothing to leave them, yet leave them God's love, and that will
be enough. It is a usual observation, many parents go to hell in
getting an estate for them, and their children go to hell afterward in
spending that estate. In Exod. xx. 5, 6, the commandment which
forbids idolatry and compliance with outward false worship, hath a
promise annexed concerning children. What should be the reason of
this ? Because parents are drawn to comply witli things against their
conscience out of an aim to maintain their children and preserve the
interest of their families; therefore God hath ma'de a special pro
vidence ; walk in the fear of the Lord, and the Lord will provide
for them; keep in God's ways and then you will leave them to
his blessings.
2. Instruct your children ; you. have more encouragement to do so
than others, because they are born within the covenant, and by this
means you make way for the blessing : Gen. xviii. 19, ' I know
Abraham, that he will command his children and his household after
him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.' Instruction makes
way for a blessing ; and so saith David to Solomon, 1 Kings ii. 3. 4,
' Keep the charge of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, . . .
that the Lord may continue his good word which he hath spoken con
cerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way to walk
before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there
shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel.' Hereby you open
the dams and obstructions, that grace may have its free passage.
Use 2. If children are beloved for their parents' sake, then it serves
to shame and terrify them that are born of godly parents, yet are
not godly, but by their luxury and riot have forfeited all their bles
sings, their spiritual privileges in the covenant, and many times the
outward blessing too. Or if you have temporal blessings, they do but
harden you to greater torment, especially when you are so wicked to
mock and reproach yonr parents because of their strictness and holy
life. God looks for more from, you than from others ; the natural
branches are more easily grafted into the good olive-tree. You are
natural branches of the covenant, and you might plead the promises
made to your parents with God ; you have had a greater sufficiency of
outward means ; the example of your parents, frequent instruction,
and many prayers have been laid out for you, and you have been more
acquainted with the ways of religion.
Use 3. It may press us to admire the grace of God to his children.
He cannot satisfy himself in doing good to you, but he must do good to
your children too. How should we entertain this with reverence !
When God told Abraham. I am thy God, and the God of thy seed,
'Abraham fell upon his face,' as humbly adoring the goodness of God,
Gen. xvii. 3 ; so David, when God spake concerning his house and his
children : 2 Sam. vii. 18, 19, ' What am I, Lord, and what is my
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 207
house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?' And this was yet a
small thing in thy sight, Lord God ; for thou hast spoken also of
thy servant's house for a great while to come ;' he stands wondering
at this mercy of God.
Use 4. We learn hence that we are to save ourselves, and others
committed to us. Noah prepared an ark ' for the saving of his house
hold-/ 2 Tim. iv. 16, 'In so doing, thou shalt save both thyself and
them that bear thee.' It is good to instruct and teach our families :
Gen xviii. 18, ' I know Abraham, that he will command his children
and his household after him, that they shall keep the way of the Lord.'
And this is to be done morning and evening : Dent. vi. 6, 7, ' And
these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart :
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk
of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by
the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.' All
religion at first was in families, and to this we are bound by all the
bonds of nature and religion.
I go on to another fruit and consequent of Noah's faith ' By which
he condemned the world.' By the world is meant all mankind, except
the family of Noah, But how did Noah condemn the world ? It
may be conceived in two ways : by his preaching, by his obedience.
Let us see which will most suit this place.
1. By his preaching. That Noah was a preacher, it is clear from 2
Peter ii. 5, where he is called 'a preacher of righteousness.' All the
while the ark was preparing he warned the wicked of their approaching
danger, and admonished them to repent in time and turn to God,
seeking the forgiveness of their sins through faith in the promised
Messiah, or else they should perish : which is there meant by ' a
preacher of righteousness.' Thus he might be said to condemn the
world that admonisheth them by pronouncing the sentence of God
upon the wicked world in case they did not repent. From hence I
might observe
Doct. That men receive their first sentence in the ministry of the
word. There they are condemned first : John iii. 18, ' He that be-
lieveth not is condemned already ;' that is. he that after warning and
sufficient light stands out against the gospel, he can expect no other
sentence from God. So John xx. 23, ' Whose soever sins ye remit, they
are remitted : and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.' The
sentence is first pronounced on earth, and then ratified in heaven.
When we go to work according to the doctrine of faith and repent
ance, clave non errante, God will verify and make good that sentence.
So Rom. ii. 16, ' In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men
by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel ;' according as it is declared
in the gospel, so will the process of that day be. Mat. xii. 32, it is
there said concerning the sin against the Holy Ghost, ' It shall never
be forgiven in this world' by the ministry of the word 'nor in the
world to come' by Christ at the last day, when the pardon of the
elect shall be pronounced and ratified before all the world out of Christ's
own mouth ; therefore we have need to regard the present voice of the
gospel. The church is the seminary of heaven. In the angel's song
the word was, ' Peace upon earth,' Luke ii. 14. According as you
208 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXVIII.
make your peace with God upon earth, so it will be with you for ever.
Those that obstinately stand out against the word, and put it away
from them, they condemn themselves by their own fact ; they pass a
sentence upon their own souls, 'and judge themselves unworthy of
everlasting life,' Acts xiii. 46. It is not we that condemn you, but
you yourselves ; you condemn yourselves interpretatively when you do
such actions as will end in certain ruin ; and the ministers of God
condemn declaratively when they declare the mind of Christ ; and
Christ will do it authoritatively in the great and terrible day.
2. He condemned the world by his obedience. This sense is most
proper : the words ' by which ' are to be referred to his preparing the ark,
not to his faith, which is a more remote antecedent. A man is said to
condemn another when he doth by his own actions and obedience declare
what they should do, which they not doing are left inexcusable, and
liable to the greater blame. So it is said. Mat xii.'41, 42, ' The men of
Nineveh shall rise in judgment against this generation, and condemn it :
because they repented at the preaching of Jonas ; and behold a greater
than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment
with this generation, and shall condemn it ; for she came from the
uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold
a greater than Solomon is here/ The pains and diligence of others in
a good course, unless it be imitated, serves but to aggravate men's sins
to a greater judgment ; and therefore it is said, the men of Nineveh
and the queen of the south shall condemn that generation. So Noah
condemned the world ; that is, by his care, and pains, and cost, in pre
paring the ark ; it was a means to aggravate their carelessness and
security, and to leave them liable unto a greater judgment. Noah was
a preacher of righteousness ; but if he had spoken nothing, there had
been sermon enough in his very building the ark to convince, condemn,
and leave them without excuse. I shall prosecute this sense : the point
is this
Doct. Thatthe carelessness and the security of the wicked is aggravated
and condemned by the faith and obedience of God's servants. The pains
which they take in their lives to escape wrath will be an argument by
which your carelessness will be upbraided in the day of judgment.
Indeed God condemned the world ; but divine justice taketh notice of
this argument whereby to make the process against sinners the more
righteous, and by consequence the more dreadful.
To prove this point, the main reason is because we are responsible
for every talent. Now the example of the godly is one of the talents.
They that live among humble and mortified Christians have more
advantage than others have ; they are entrusted with another talent
for which they are to be responsible to God. That you may be sensi
ble of it, I shall show how many advantages you have by the examples
of the godly.
1. It is a means of grace appointed by God, and as all other means,
it hath a ministerial, natural efficacy. The word is a means, and the
word hath a ministerial efficacy. It is a rational way to deal by coun
sel, and the voice hath a natural force to work on the affections. So
the conversation and example of the godly is a means God hath
appointed, and it doth naturally provoke and draw us forth to imitation.
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 209
Saith the apostle, 1 Peter ii. 12, ' Having your conversation honest
among the gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evil-doers,
they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in
the day of visitation.' The first visit that God giveth the soul may be
by their example. It is an ordinance of God that a man should seek
to work upon his neighbours, by an innocent and comely carriage to
draw them to God and religion. There is ajadrj epis, an innocent
emulation planted in our nature, by which we are moved, not only to
imitate others, but to excel them ; therefore God would have us display
the lustre of a godly conversation. So it is an ordinance of God that
a woman should seek to gain an unbelieving husband : 1 Peter iii. 10,
' That if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be
won by the conversation of the wives.' The wife, by lying in the bosom,
and by the intimacy of converse, and as being void of suspicion of par
tiality, hath an excellent advantage to instil the knowledge of God and
a care of religion, or at least to take off his prejudices by her holy con
versation. For the apostle means there by ' winning,' not a formal
conversion, but to gain them to a good liking and better opinion of the
ways to God, that so they may wait upon the word, by way of prepar
ation to receive further manifestations and discoveries of God. We
are provoked by their endeavours ; example hath a natural force
this way ; we love to do as others do, and to follow the track.
2. It confuteth atheism, and those prejudicate and hard thoughts
which men have against religion. Godly men are God's witnesses to
the world that there is a reality in religion ; they give a testimony
to it by the strictness and mortifiedness of their lives. Certainly when
men can abjure and renounce all the pleasantness of their lives, and all
their dear contentments for the interest of religion, there is somewhat
more in it than a mere notion and imagination, or a mere naked pre
tence. As the primitive Christians, when they were so just, temperate,
willing to suffer for the cause of God, the heathens cried out, It is
impossible but that these men must be moved by some reasonable
principle. Isa. xliii. 12, ' Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I
am God.' Now miracles are ceased, God will leave the world no other
confirmation of the truth of religion, but the efficacy of the word upon
the conscience and the conversation of believers : John xvii. 10, ' I am
glorified in them,' and ver. 17, ' Sanctify them by thy truth ; thy word
is truth.' By their innocency, strictness, and sanctification, they dis
cover the truth of the word unto the world ; which certainly should
make Christians very strict in their lives, for the honour and glory of
the Lord Christ lies at stake. There is no such dangerous temptation
to atheism as the scandalous lives of professors. They that pretend to
special nearness to God, when they fall, it makes the world believe that
Christianity was a fancy ; as when one surprised a Christian in a filthy
act, he cried out, Christiane ! ubi Deus tuus ? Christian, Christian !
where is thy God ? And as it confutes the privy atheism of the heart,
so it confutes those devised scandals by which they would blot and
stain the glory of religion. Worldly men cannot endure to be out
shone ; and because they have no mind to be as good as others, they
would fain make others to be as bad and as vile as themselves ; there
fore they are full of hard thoughts and hard speeches against good men.
VOL. xiv. o
210 SERMONS UPON HEBEEWS XI. [SER. XXXVIII.
Now nothing convinceth the world so much as the godly life of profes
sors. As the apostle speaks of the gravity of church-meetings : 1 Cor.
xiv. 25, ' Falling down on his face, he will worship God, and report
that God is in you of a truth.' When he shall see the Christian
assemblies managed with such awe and reverence, and all things dis
posed in a comely manner, it would be a means of conviction, and bring
him to fall down on his face, and say, Surely God is here. So, if
Christians did not let fall the majesty of their conversation, the pre
judices of the world would soon vanish, and those that live about you
would be forced to say, Certainly God is with these men. Of all
apologies, the real apology is the best : 1 Peter ii. 15, ' That with well
doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men ; ' what we
translate ' put to silence/ in the original, is fa/Aovv, that you may
muzzle or bind up the mouth of a wicked man, ;that he cannot bark
against religion. I like apologies well that are made to take off the
prejudices of the world ; as those of Tertullian and Justin Martyr
for Christians, and others for reformed churches. But there is no
apology like your own lives to put an end to all the reproaches of
the world, for works are a visible evidence of our sincerity ; and so
far the world seeth that the ways of God are to be approved and
respected.
3. The examples of God's children are but the word exemplified, the
rule drawn out into practice. The word is the means of conversion,
wherever it is written, preached, or lived, and every Christian is as it
were a walking bible. As it was said of a learned man that he was
[jiovselov TrepiaTTTovv, a walking library ; so a child of God that walks in
innocency and strictness of life is a walking and a living reproof ; there
fore his life must needs convince and condemn the world. There are
some whose special office it is to preach ; but every Christian may live
a sermon. You may be all preachers in this kind : 2 Cor. iii. 3, ' For
asmuch as you are declared to be the epistle of Jesus Christ.' Mark,
Christ doth by his servants, as it were, declare and write his mind to
the world ; they are a living rule. You that are believers are to make
out the glory of Christ, the efficacy of his Spirit, and the strictness of
his doctrine to the world ; you are to show forth ra? aperas ' the
virtues of him that hath called you,' 1 Peter ii. 9, to declare what
manner of person Christ is, and what is his glory ; he sends you out
as so many lively copies and stamps of his image. The gospel is called
the image of God, and a Christian is the image of God too. The gospel
is the glass wherein we behold his glory : 2 Cor. iii. 18, ' We all as in
a glass beholding the glory of the Lord/ &c ; it is the picture which
Jesus Christ hath sent to his bride. As you know there is Caesar's
image upon his coin, and Cesar's image upon his son, he is his living
image ; so the scriptures are the image of God, where he hath displayed
the excellency and perfection of his nature as we are capable to under
stand it ; but Christians who are his sons and children are his living
image that must discover his glory.
4. The example of the godly shows the strictness and severity of
religion is possible ; so that by that means it condemns the world of
their negligence. Men think the rules of the gospel, because they
exceed the power and force of nature, are only calculated for angels.
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 211
But now when men that live in the flesh, that live such a kind of life
as we do, yet live above the flesh, the world is left without excuse,
and their negligence and carelessness is hereby condemned. 1 Peter
iv. 4, ' They think it strange,' saith the apostle, ' that you run not
with them to the same excess of riot.' Carnal men think that there
is such a felicity in their kind of lives that they wonder others are not
as greedy of it as they ; but now they are condemned in their thoughts
when they behold the strictness, the mortification, the self-denial that
is in the lives of Christians. You may do it, it is possible ; for there
are many about you that have done it ; and if you do not, you are left
without excuse : Heb. vi. 12, ' Be not slothful, but followers of them
who through faith and patience inherit the promises.' When the
apostle speaks of resisting of Satan, and maintaining the spiritual life
against the assaults of the powers of darkness, he gives this as one
reason : 1 Peter v. 9, ' Knowing that the same afflictions are accom
plished in your brethren that are in the world.' Your brethren in the
flesh that have bodies as you have, that need the common supports
of life as you do, that have not divested themselves of the interests and
concernments of flesh and blood they can resist a busy devil and a
naughty world, and can wrestle with the corruptions of their own
hearts : they that are of the same lump and nature that you are, they
can do these things.
5. Because the examples of others make conscience work whenever
you see it. Natural conscience doth homage to the image of God
which is stamped upon his children. When they see their works and
their strictness raised to such a height and proportion as nature cannot
reach it, then they tremble ; it makes their conscience to work : 1
Peter iii. 1,2.' They that obey not the word may without the word be
won by the conversation of the wives, while they behold your chaste
conversation, coupled with fear.' The word ' coupled' is not in the
original, and the sense is perfect without it; it may be read thus,
'When they behold your chaste conversation with fear/ A wicked
man cannot look upon a strict Christian without trembling ; when they
behold the strictness and severity of their lives, it makes them to quake.
It is said of Herod, Mark vi. 10, that ' he feared John ; ' not so much
because he was a severe preacher, one that would rub truth upon his
conscience ; he did not only fear him as a prophet, but as a 'just man.'
Innocency and strictness beget fear ; they are objects reviving guilt,
and make conscience return upon itself ; when they see their holy and
godly conversation, it makes them to think of their own carelessness
and sin ; it is like a blow upon a sore, which makes the heart ache.
The presence of God is dreadful to sinners anywhere, be it in eminent
providences or in ordinances ; but in the lives of his children it begets
secret fear and some nips of conscience : Deut. xxviii. 10, ' All the people
of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and
they shall be afraid of thee ; ' when they behold the graciousness of
conversation which the godly hold forth. That is the reason why
wicked men are in prison when they are in good company ; they are
taken with a fit of trembling. How despicable soever the godly are in
their eyes, yet there is one of their judges present that condemns them
for the present, and will pass judgment upon them hereafter. Ignatius.
212 SERMONS UPON HEBR*EWS XI. [SfiR. XXXVIII.
speaking of the bishop of the Trallians, saith, that he was of such
severity of life, that I think the greatest atheist that is would even be
afraid to look upon him. Mortification shines effectually into the con
science of a wicked man. The strictness of God's children darts itself
into their breasts, and begets a veneration and reverence.
Use 1. To press Christians to walk so that they may even preach in
their conversations, that you may condemn the world, not by your
censures, that is not the Christian way, it is forbidden in the gospel
but by your lives, especially ministers to second their doctrine with
practice. It concerns all Christians, especially when we have to do with
them that are without. ' Walk wisely' saith the apostle ' toward them
that are without,' Col. iv. 5. There needs a great deal of wisdom and
care, whenever we are cast upon the company of wicked and carnal
men. Of all things, be careful of your conversations before wicked
men ; you are one of God's witnesses that must reprove and condemn
them ; therefore be careful that thou dost not disparage thy testimony.
That you may do so, take these directions and motives.
First, For the directions.
1. Be sure to show forth those graces which they approve in their
consciences, though they are loth to practise them ; as strictness of life,
which naturally strikes a veneration into the heart of a sinner : Mark
vi. 20, ' Herod feared John, because he was_.a just man, and holy.' A
loose Christian that walks like the men of the multitude is a disgrace
to his profession, and hardens carnal men in their wicked ways. Then
diligence in the means of salvation. Certainly the world will see that
there is somewhat in it when men are so busy and in earnest ; when
they see the children of God, that are wise and discreet, so diligent in
the means of godliness. It is somewhat answerable to that which is
spoken of in the text : Noah's preparing an ark, and providing beasts
to enter therein. So when you work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, the world will think there is somewhat in it, or else you
would not be so busy and careful. So for charity : James i. 27, ' Pure
religion, and undefined before God and the Father, is this, to visit the
fatherless and the widow.' The world is mightily taken with these
things : so that, Horn. v. 7, ' For a good man one would even dare to
die.' A man that is only of a rigid and severe innocency, a sour man,
it may be he may have little love in the world ; but he that is good
and charitable, the world esteems him exceedingly. So also for suffer
ing and constancy in the matters of religion. Venture somewhat upon
your hopes, that the world may know they are worthy hopes. So for
a contempt of the world ; it doth mightily affect a natural conscience,
for they are transported with a greedy desire of earthly things ; there
fore they wonder when they see Christians deny their interests and
overlook their concernments upon just and convenient reasons ; this
hath a marvellous influence upon a natural conscience. I do the rather
instance in this, because worldliness is a corruption that is incident to
men that are serious, and of that kind of temper which is fit for religion.
When you are full of cares, and covetous as the men of the world, you
do exceedingly disparage and stain your profession, and you do not con
demn the world.
2. What you do, do it in such a way as morality cannot reach it.
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 213
There are many corruptions which nature discovers, and we may avoid
them upon such arguments as nature suggests. Now you are ' to show
forth the virtues of Christ/ 1 Peter ii. 9, and the influences of the
Spirit of Christ, and not ' walk only as men/ 1 Cor. iii. 3. When,
men only content themselves with the civil and orderly use of reason r
they may be just and temperate ; this is but to act as men. Your
way should be above the rate of the world ; you should be holy, and
maintain an aweful reverent fear of God ; this is such a way as the-
world cannot reach : Mat. vi. 46, ' If you love them that love you, what
reward have ye ? I)o not even the publicans the same ? ' You should
do somewhat above that which is enforced by the light of nature ; as
in giving, forgiving, and righteous dealing, a Christian should be a
point above others ; so in loving enemies, in providing for the glory of
God, and laying out himself for good uses. A Christian should not be
contented with the proportions of nature, but do somewhat to answer
the self-denial of Christ, who when he was rich in the glory of the
godhead, became poor for our sakes. There is a height becoming
religion, above the size and pitch of morality ; and this you should
aim at.
3. Let all things come from the force of religion, and not from by-
ends. There is nothing amiable but what is genuine and native.
Forced actions lose their lustre and grace, and do not prevail with the
world. It is said of the children of God, that they were altogether
bent for the heavenly recompenses : Heb. xi. 16, ' They declared plainly
that they sought a country.' You should declare plainly you have no
designs but for heaven. Do all things for the love and fear of God ;
by-ends will never hold out. It is said of the hypocrite, Prov. xxv.,
26, ' His wickedness shall be showed before the whole congregation.'
Varnish will off; and whenever it happens, it will be much to the
prejudice and disgrace of religion.
SERMON XXXIX.
By the ivhich he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteous
ness ivliicli is by faith. HEB. xi. 7.
Secondly, FOR the motives to press you to this : to live, so that you
may condemn the world, that you may make them own their guilt
and shame.
1. You may be a means to convert them. All are bound as much
as they can to co-operate to the conversion of men. It is a debt of
charity that we owe to the world, especially if we consider the relation
we sustain as God's witnesses, as Christ's epistles. Now what an honour
would this be to further the good of souls ! What glory would it be
to God, and honour to yourselves : Mat. v. 16, ' Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify
214 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXIX.
your Father which is in heaven/ Oh, how sweet will this be when
men shall come and bless God that ever they were acquainted with
you, when they shall bless God for the lustre of your conversation,
and for the light of holiness that shines forth in your lives 1 Ministers
have a great deal of honour in that they are employed in the conversion
of souls, when they are successful in the work ; they will all have their
crown and rejoicing in the day of Christ. Now God invites you that
are private Christians to the conversion of souls. It may be you for
merly have done hurt by the carelessness of your lives. Nature is
very susceptible of evil ; we easily tal:3 sickness one from another, but
not health ; and therefore you should be the more earnest to lay the
pious holy snares of a godly conversation, that you may be a means to
win them to God.
2. If you do not convert them, you will leave them without excuse ;
you will have further cause to applaud the righteous counsels of God in
the great day, when you shall sit with Christ upon the bench. The
apostle saith, 1 Cor. vi. 2, that ' The saints shall judge the world ;'
then by sentence, now by conversation; then by applauding of the
righteousness of God in their just execution. Now if you look to
judge the world with Christ, begin it for the present, condemn the
world in your conversation.
3. If you do not condemn them, you will justify them. A carnal
profession justifies the world, and a godly Christian condemns the
world. Judah justified Sodom and Samaria: Ezek. xvi. 52, 'Be con
founded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.'
You do justify their prejudices; you put an excuse into their
moulhs, as if religion were as bad as they make it. It will be sad for
the account of hypocrites in the last day, when wicked men shall
come forth as witnesses, and plead, Lord, we never thought these had
been thy servants, because they were so proud, so self-seeking, so full
of aspiring projects, so factious and turbulent. When wicked men
are hardened by carnal professors, at the last day this will impress a
shame upon them. A professor overtaken with sin may do more hurt
than a thousand others ; the Hams of the world will laugh to see a
Noah drunk. The wickedness of some hypocrites crept in among the
church hath always been a great means of hardening the world, and
been a stone of stumbling to them ; and by ' such the way of truth is
evil spoken of,' 2 Peter ii. 2.
4. By condemning the world you will justify the ways of God ;
you will force wicked men whether they will or no, to say that the
ways of God are holy and true, and to say these men are honest, and
that which they profess is religion. It is the duty of every servant of
God to justify his profession from the reproach and scandal of the
world: Mat. xi. 19, 'Wisdom is justified of her children.' Justifica
tion implies condemnation and reproach. So Titus ii. 10, ' That you
may adorn the doctrine of God your saviour/ Look, as men of great
parts, and are carnal, when they take the wrong way, they put a
varnish and ornament upon the devil's cause; so godly and strict
Christians, when they keep up the majesty of their conversation, they
adorn their profession, and are an ornament and credit to Jesus
Christ.
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 215
5. You will lose nothing by it ; then God will not be ashamed of
you as those, whose design was for heaven : Heb. xi. 16, 'God is not
ashamed to be called their God/ God will think it to be no dishonour
to himself that he hath such kind of servants ; he will not be ashamed
to be called your God, and Christ your Christ. But usually it may
be said of most of us, Dicimur christiani in opprobrium Christi ; we
are called Christians to the very disgrace of Jesus Christ, because of
the folly and sinfulness of our lives.
Use 2. To wicked men, to press them to observe and improve the
conversation of those godly and mortified Christians with whom they
do converse. Look to the frame of your hearts whenever you are cast
into their company. How often hath thy heart smote thee when thou
hast heard their gracious discourse, and seen their holy conversation ?
Observe, what hast thou done upon such occasions? Some wicked
men, more touched with a sense of religion, when their consciences
work, when they see the beauty and heavenliness of their lives, they
seek to drive them out, and forget these things. Ah ! consider, this
will be a means not only to harden thee for the present, but to con
demn thee ; when men have had much remorse and smiting of con
science, if they do not observe it, they grow the more obdurate and
hardened in sin, which will be a means of thy utter ruin. God hath a
book of remembrance, and how many witnesses will there be brought
against thee at that day ? Not only ministers that have shaken off
the dust of their feet against thee, but godly men who condemn thee by
their lives. God will remember thee ; those agonies and secret nips of
conscience shall rise up in judgment against thee, .to the confusion of
thy face ; thy rebellion is mightily aggravated and sealed up by it to de
struction, when thou art condemned by the innocency of their lives. But
now others, when they are smitten in conscience by observing the strict
ness and graciousness of God's children, they rage and rail, imagine
scandalous thoughts against them ; or else they hate and persecute
them, as it is the old trick of the world to malign what they have no
mind to imitate, as ' Cain slew his brother because his works were
righteous/ 1 John iii. 10. Few there are that confess the wickedness
of their estate, that give glory to God when they are convinced. If
thou canst not endure the lustre of godliness in a saint, how wilt thou
endure the presence of Jesus Christ in that day ? Noah condemned
the world, and did not a judgment follow ? When you are reproached
in your conscience by the sight of their conversation, take notice of it
that it may be a day of visitation to thy soul.
Use 3. For comfort against the reproaches of the world. They may
condemn you in word, but you condemn them in life. When a man
is running a race, no matter for the judgment of standers-by, or those
that contend with us, all depends upon the master of the sports and
the umpire of the race. So wicked men may scoff at you, standers-by
may mock and slander your godly conversation ; it is no matter, if
God acquit you, and if you have praise with him. As a man that
outruns another is said to cast his adversary ; so you that outrun the
wicked, and outshine them in godliness, you condemn them really, and
the judge of the race will determine of your side. And therefore if the
world reproach you, this is the revenge you should take upon them, to
216 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XXXIX.
be the more strict, to give out the greater lustre of holiness, so you
will be revenged upon wicked men in an innocent way ; if you be more
strict, this will stop their mouths.
Some things might be observed from that expression, 'the world/
viz.
1. Observe, that we must obey God, and walk in innocency and
strictness, though we be alone. As here most of the world were
naught ; there were but a few good, but eight persons, saved in the
ark, and among them a Ham. Sometimes it is safer to go against the
stream than with it.
2. Observe also, that multitudes cannot keep off the strokes of God's
vengeance. God can dissolve all confederacies and combinations against
himself: Prov. xi. 21, 'Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall
not go unpunished.'
3. Observe also, compliance with the multitude doth not lessen the
sin, but rather increase it. When we see men fall into the gulf, it is
more foolish if we will follow after them.
I might clear a doubt which some move, whether all the world that
were drowned in the flood were eternally lost ? Certain we are the
scripture rather doth carry it that they were all eternally lost, for they
are called ' the world of the ungodly/ 2 Peter ii. 5, and the ' spirits
that are now in prison, who sometimes were disobedient/ 1 Peter iii.
19, 20 ; and yet by probable conjectures some exception may be made,
for it is probable that some might have time to call upon God for
mercy, and some of them that perished came of the holy race,
and possibly some might be moved with the approach of the judg
ment.
I come to the last words ' And became/ &c. To make way for the
points, I shall first open the words
' He became ; ' that is, he was then discovered to be so. Noah was
righteous before, and had ' found grace in the eyes of God/ Gen. vi.
8 ; and verse 9, ' Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation ;
and Noah walked with God.' Yet it is said after he built the ark, then
' he became ; ' that is, then he was discovered to be what he was. It
is the fashion of scripture to say that things are done when they
are clearly manifested and discovered. There is a parallel instance :
James ii. 23, ' And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham
believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness ; ' then
it was fulfilled when he offered up Isaac, yet the saying was used of
Abraham long before he offered up his son: Gen. xv. 6, 'And he
believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness ; ' but
the meaning is, then it appeared how truly it was said of him. God
giving him again a solemn testimony : Gen. xxii. 12, ' Now I know
that thou fearest God, seeing then thou hast not withheld thy son, thy
only son, from me.' So it is here ; Noah, after he had prepared an
ark, ' became/ that is, then he was visibly declared to be, an heir of
the covenant of grace ; God dealing with Noah just as he dealt with
Abraham, confirming his faith by a solemn testimony: Gen. vii. 1,
' God said to Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark ; for
thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation ; ' now I have
found thou art righteous before me, that is, by a righteousness of faith ;
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 217
for by the works of the law none can be righteous in his sight : Bom.
iii. 20, ' By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his
sight.' And to that testimony the apostle alludeth here.
'An heir.' The word 'heir' is sometimes put for 'possessor,'
especially if we have a firm right, and if it be such a possession upon
which there depends a further heritage. So Jesus Christ, who is lord
and possessor of all things, is said to be ' the heir of all things,' Heb.
i. 2. All firm and perpetual possession among the Hebrews is expressed
by the term ' heritage ; ' so that to be an heir is nothing else but to
obtain, to be a possessor, to be interested in this righteousness of faith.
Though possibly the apostle might intend that he succeeded as imme
diate heir in the line of the church, or head of that race among whom
the righteousness of faith is professed.
' Of the righteousness which is by faith/ By faith is meant faith in the
Messiah ; and righteousness is here put for the righteousness of justifica
tion, or rather I conceive for the reward of righteousness acceptance
with God, possession of the whole world, and the enjoyment of the
everlasting recompenses, all which are here called righteousness, because
all these things are built and founded upon the righteousness of Christ
which is possessed by faith ; of which righteousness Noah professed
himself an heir. And this is that righteousness he did press upon men
in his age, inculcating and commending the same hopes to others.
Therefore he is said to be ' a preacher of righteousness,' 2 Peter ii. 5,
because he pressed them to return to God, and seek the forgiveness of
their sins by faith in the Messiah.
The points are three (I.) That there is a righteousness by faith;
(2.) This righteousness is an heritage ; (3.) That our title to this
heritage is evidenced to be right and good by the special operations
of faith.
Doct. 1. That there is a righteousness by faith. This I have largely
spoken of in ver. 4. I shall only now observe two things
1. That this righteousness is a righteousness opposed to the right
eousness of the law, or exact obedience as fulfilled in our own persons.
A clear place for that is Eom. iv. 13, where it is said of Abraham that
' the promise that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham
or to his seed through the law/ mark the opposition, ' but through
the righteousness of faith ; ' where there is a plain distinction and
opposition of the law to the righteousness of faith. The best of God's
children are accepted out of grace, and justified by faith, not works.
Noah was a just and perfect man in his generation ; he was the best
alive in his time, and yet his claim was not of right but of grace ; ' he
found grace ' though he were ' a just man,' Gen. vi. 8, 9. In the children
of God there is a care of holiness and obedience ; but their reception
into God's favour is not built upon their obedience, because that is
imperfect and mixed with sin ; but upon the righteousness which is by
faith.
2. It is a righteousness that is opposed to any act, virtue, and grace
of our own. When the apostle had spoken of his own personal excel
lences, he concludes all thus, Phil. iii. 9, 'That I may be found in
him, not having mine own righteousness ; ' where Paul clearly shows
that it is such a righteousness as we have by being found in Christ ;
218 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XXXIX.
such as doth not arise from any act of ours, but by virtue of our union
with him. Our guilt is so great that when wrath makes inquisition
for sinner*, nothing will cover it but the righteousness of the Son of
God : Rom. iii. 22, ' Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith
of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe ; so that there
is no difference.' He saith it is the righteousness of God, either such
as God hath appointed, or such as is merited by a person that is God ;
for indeed there is a righteousness of God, that essential righteousness
which Christ hath with the Father, which is incommunicable either
to man or angel, no more than God can communicate to the creature
any other of his essential attributes, as omnipotency, eternity, &c ; but it
is the righteousness of Christ who is God-man, his cautionary or surety ;
righteousness, which he performed in our stead, which by virtue of our
union to him is made ours ; and the instrument on, our part to receive
it is faith, and therefore by consequence the objects of it are all
believers without difference.
Doct. 2. That this righteousness is a heritage. So the apostle
intimates when he saith he ' became an heir.' Now it is a heritage in
several respects.
1. Because of the dignity and excellency of the blessing itself, with
all the consequences of it. The blessing itself is a fair portion ; it is
a legacy left us by Jesus Christ. Look, as when Elijah went to heaven
he left Elisha his cloak ; so when Jesus Christ went to heaven he left
us his garment, his own righteousness as a legacy to us, which is a
covering that is not too short to make us accepted with God. The
gospel is called the new testament ; it is the will of Christ, and among
other legacies he hath left us his righteousness. Look, as a father
entails his land upon his children, so Jesus Christ hath left us what
he had. As to the outward state, Christ had nothing to leave us, he
was poor and despicable ; but that which was eminent in Christ was
his righteousness and obedience, and this he hath left to us as the
pledge of his love. Christ's righteousness is an excellent privilege
and heritage, a better heritage than all the world ; he is a rich man
indeed that hath it. All other things are but an additional supply,
that is the main blessing : Mat. vi. 33, ' Seek first the kingdom of God,
and the righteousness thereof, and all other things shall be added to
you.' The great and main blessing that we should seek and look after
in the world is an interest in the righteousness of Christ ; other things
are cast in as paper and packthread into the bargain. This is a jewel
which cost Christ very dear to purchase it for us, and he is a rich man
indeed that hath it. Look, as the wise merchant sold all to purchase
the pearl of great price, Mat. xiii. 46 ; so if we suffer the loss of all, it
will make us amends if we have this pearl of great price ; all else is but
dung and dross. Those in the world that have large revenues, that
join house to house, and field to field, alas ! they have but a spot of
earth, in the map it is nothing ; but he that hath Christ and his
righteousness, he is the rich and great man, greater than the greatest
monarch upon earth if he be carnal ; and he may say with David, Ps.
xvi. 6, ' I have a goodly heritage,' when he had made God his portion,
and hath an interest in the righteousness of Christ.
2. It is called a heritage to note the largeness of our portion and
VEE. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 219
spiritual estate. Let us consider the consequences of this righteous
ness ; it is our title and claim to all other blessings that can be had.
The children of God have the largest patrimony that ever was ' All
things are yours,' saith the apostle, 1 Cor. iii. 21. Though God do
not give us the actual possession, yet we have a general right. And
all things are theirs by way of reduction in the final issue and event ;
all for the good of the heirs of promise, though all be not yours in the
way of actual possession and enjoyment ; that may be hurtful to us. But
to come to particulars, there cannot be two more magnificent words
spoken in the whole creation than heaven and earth, yet they are both
yours by virtue of this righteousness.
[1.] For the earth ; for most difficulty seems to be there. Many a
Christian hath not a foot of land, yet it is true all things are his. It is
said of Abraham, Bom. iv. 13, ' For the promise that he should be the
heir of the world/ &c. And we have the blessing of Abraham, who
through the righteousness of faith was re-established in the right which
Adam had before the fall. Wherever God should cast his portion, he
might look upon it as his, as made over to him in Christ. Both the
comfortable and the sanctified enjoyment of the creature is a part of
our portion, we have it by virtue of this righteousness ; God hath
created all refreshments for believers that they might receive them
with thanksgiving: 1 Tim iv. 3, ' Commanding to abstain from meats,
which God had created to be received with thanksgiving of them which
believe and know the truth.' Believers only have a covenant right to
make use of the good creatures and outward supports and refreshments
of life. I cannot say that wicked men are usurpers of what they
possess, it is their portion : Ps. xvii. 14, ' The men of the world, which
have their portion in this life ; ' yet they have not a covenant- title as
believers have ; they have not these things from a loving father, from
a God in covenant with them ; they do not work for good to their
souls. I say they are not usurpers before God ; they have a general
title and a creature right, but not a covenant right, till interested in
Christ ; this they lost in Adam. The devils themselves have their
being by a creature right, so the young ravens have their food, so
wicked men have a creature right ; but all this is salted with a curse,
and proves a snare to them. But now, whatever a Christian hath, he
hath it from his father from mercy, from a God in covenant with him,
so he is an heir of the world ; whatever of the world falls to his share,
he may look upon it as a blessing of the covenant, as that which will
not hinder but further his salvation. In Christ we have a new right
to the creature, and we have a sanctified use of it, Heb. i. 2. It is
said of Christ, that ' he is heir of all things ; ' we can have no part of
the inheritance but by and through him, for Adam was disinherited,
and he lost his covenant right over the creature by his fall; but in
Christ the title is renewed. If all the world were yours, it would be
no blessing to you if you. could not look upon it as a legacy from Christ,
as a thing that you hold by a covenant right, as that wherein you are
interested by the righteousness of faith.
[2.] As the world is theirs, so heaven is theirs too. You are an
heir-apparent to the kingdom of heaven : James ii. 5, ' Hearken, my
beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in
220 SERMONS LTON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XXXIX.
faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that
love him ? ' He is an heir to a crown, and the fairest crown that ever
was. A poor believer walks up and down in the world in a despicable
appearance, like princes in disguise in a foreign country and strange
land ; they have a royal patrimony and a large estate, though their
appearance be despicable ; the world that looks upon them thinks them
miserable, that all their hopes lie ' in terra incognita,' in an invisible
land, that shall never be found out. But it is not so far but the
children of God may see it through the prospective of faith, which is
the evidence of things not seen. Indeed the children of God are wont
to do so, they go up often to the top of Pisgah, and view the promised
land and with Abraham they walk through it, and do, as it were, hear
God say, All this is made over to thee in Christ ; and they live upon
this reversion. The Lord would not weary us with expectation too
much ; therefore we have somewhat in hand, but the best of our
portion is to come. We are all God's children, ' heirs and co-heirs
with Christ/ Horn. viii. 17. Christ and we do, as it were, divide heaven
betwixt us. We have a share in all his father's goods ; we have one
father, therefore hereafter we shall dwell in one house, and enjoy the
same estate ' I go to prepare a place for you,' John xiv. 3 ; ' I will
that they also may behold my glory,' John xvii. 24. Christ speaks as
if he were not contented with his own heaven without our company.
3. It is called a heritage to show the nature of our tenure. You
know of all tenures, inheritance is the most free, most sure, and the
most honourable ; and indeed in this way do we hold all the blessings
of the covenant.
[1.] It is a free tenure. All that God seeks to magnify in the
covenant is his glorious grace from first to last. In heaven we shall
admire free grace : 2 Thes. i. 10, ' He shall come to be glorified in his
saints, and admired in all them that believe.' Reward and wages are
more servile terms, suited to a covenant made with servants ; but
heritage is for children. Therefore the apostle, speaking to godly
servants, saith, Col. ii. 23-25, 'Servants, obey in all things your masters,
according to the flesh; not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but in
singleness of heart, fearing God . . . knowing that of the Lord ye shall
receive the reward of the inheritance.' Mark how these are coupled :
reward is suited to their outward relation, you will have wages ; but
then 'reward of inheritance,' that is suited to their inward and spiritual
condition ; as they are freemen and children of God, so they have an
inheritance ; and as servants they shall have a reward. When we
come to heaven, it is a question which we shall admire most, grace or
glory. It is a free manner of tenure, that so grace may be exalted. The
heritage is bought before the heir be born many times. So this heritage
was purchased before the children had done either good or evil. There
was a covenant passed betwixt God and Christ, and that was a covenant
of work and wages ; Christ was to be a servant that we might be
children.
[2.] It is honourable. Of all tenures, that of inheritance is best,
better than holding of land by service. Now God hath put this honour
upon us to make us co-heirs with his own Son : Rom. viii. 17, ' Heirs
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.' We do not hold as hired servants,
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 221
but fis children. Christ alone is the natural son ; and we shall have
Christ's own title, and are co-heirs by adoption: John i. 12, 'To as
many as received him, to them gave he, e^ova-iav, power to be called
the sons of God.' God needed us not ; he had a son of his own that
he delighted in before ever there was hill or mountain : Prov. viii. 30,
' Then was I with him as one brought up with him, and I was daily
his delight.' It is the more to be admired by us because we were
strangers and rebels, and could aspire to no other title than that
' Make me as one of thy hired servants,' Luke xv. 19. Though we are
very ambitious, yet conscience is so possessed with the sense of guilt
that we can look for no more. But now he hath put this honour
upon us that we shall have the title of children and hold by an
inheritance.
[3.] It is a sure title, because it is built upon nature. A father may
frown upon his son for his fault, but doth not easily disinherit him ; but
a servant, on his offence, is turned out-of-doors. When Adam held by
the first covenant, he was but an honourable servant ; therefore when
he offended his master, he was turned out-of-doors. But now we have
the title of children by Christ. Though God may chastise us, yet he
will not disinherit us : Ps. Ixxxix. 33, 34, ' My lovingldndness will I
not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail ; ttiy
covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my
lips.' He hath reserved a liberty in the covenant, that he will chastise
us : ver. 32, ' I will visit their transgressions with the rod,' &c., but he
will never alter the purposes of his love and his counsel towards us. A
child may be whipped, but not disinherited. God hath not only pawned
his word to us, but given us earnest that he will not change his purpose ;
the inheritance is past over in court : 2 Cor. i. 22, Who hath sealed us,
and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.' Those that make
the purposes of God to be changeable, they cut the sinews of Christian
comfort ; they make us to walk with God like dancers upon a rope, as
if we were always ready to fall ; but God hath given us earnest that he
will never reverse the purposes of his grace. When we have once an
interest in it, our right is indefeasible, and we cannot lose it. And
mark, it is not only a sure title in regard of God, but also in regard of
men ; for as God will not take our heritage from us, so men cannot.
We may lose goods, livings, lives, but we can never lose our heritage ;
this is sure in Christ, they cannot take away our better portion ' All
things are yours/ even death among the rest, 1 Cor. iii. 22 ; that is a
part of our heritage.
4. To show the condition of our present state, therefore it is called
an heritage. Here we have little in hand like an heir that doth live in
hope ; so it is said : Titus iii. 7, ' That being justified by his grace, we
should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.' We live
altogether upon hope. Servants and mercenaries must have pay in
hand, they covenant from quarter to quarter ; so carnal men that are
hired servants, they must have their reward, secular conveniences : Mat.
vi. 2, '^Tre^ouo-t rbv /juadov avrwv, ' They have their reward/ they give
God a discharge. If he will give them honour, wealth, and riches in
the world, they look for no more. They do not look after heaven ; as
a servant in the family doth not regard the heritage ; he knows the master
222 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XXXIX.
reserves that for his son, but be must have his present wages. But we
live in hope God will make amends for everything ; not a frown or ill
look of the world, but God will recompense it ; as children are content
with their present maintenance and education, they know when the
heritage falls they shall have enough. Only there is this difference
between the earthly and the heavenly heritage ; in. the spiritual heri
tage we possess in our father's lifetime. Men give their estates when
they can possess them no longer ; but Christ and we possess it together,
we are glorified with him. In the outward heritage the father dies to
give place to the son ; but here the son must die that they may covenant
with the father.
Doct. 3. That our title to this heritage is evidenced to be right and
good by the operations of faith. Then ' he became heir of the right
eousness which is by faith ; ' that is, in his own sense and feeling. God
speaks to us by the Spirit, which witnesseth to us that we are heirs and
children. Now this never will be till faith hath produced some good
fruits ; for without this conscience cannot witness, and the Spirit will not.
1. Conscience cannot witness. Habits lie out of sight till they are
drawn out into action, then they come under the view of conscience.
The seed lies hidden in the ground till it spring up into a stalk ; the
sap is an inward thing which you cannot see, it is only discovered by
the blossom and fruit : so the inward habit of grace doth lie out of sight ;
it is discovered to the notice and view of conscience by the operations
of it : 1 John iii. 19, ' Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and
shall assure our hearts before him.' We may come and make good our
claim when once faith appears in the fruits of holiness : 1 John ii. 3,
' Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.'
2. The Spirit will not witness without this. This is God's method.
The testimony of the Spirit is always subsequent to the testimony of a
renewed conscience : Kom. viii. 16, ' The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit, that we are the children of God.' It is God's method,
first to pour in the oil of grace, then the oil of gladness ; first to make
Christ ' a king of righteousness,' and then ' king of peace,' Heb. vii. 2.
And ' after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of
promise,' Eph. i. 13. In the original there are three articles ; ye are
sealed ' by the Spirit,' ' by the Holy Spirit/ and ' by the Spirit of
promise/ The apostle shows how the Spirit comes and seals up grace
to the soul ; as the ' Spirit of promise' upon gospel terms, ' after that ye
believed ; ' and ' as the Holy Spirit/ having wrought holiness in the
heart. We have a title as soon as we believe, but this title is not evid
enced to us till faith be discovered to us in the fruits of holiness.
Use. To press you to examine yourselves. Are you, as Noah was, heir
of the righteousness of faith ? is this your condition ? All depends
upon that, and therefore I will propound two questions : Have you
the title of an heir ? Have you the spirit of an heir.
1. Have you the title of an heir ? Once clear up that, be a child, and
thou shalt be sure of a child's part and portion. Now what can you say
to this ? Have you received the spirit of adoption ? Faith is your title ;
and that faith must be evidenced by holiness. We are apt to mistake
the work of faith, and cry up presumption for faith. Conscience will
still be entering process against us, and citing us before the tribunal of
God, if you cannot produce the fruits of holiness. How will you evidence
VER. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. 223
your faith ? St Paul saitb, ' We are justified by faith/ Horn. iii. 28 ;
St James, that ' we are justified by works, and not by faith only/ James
ii. 24. By faith we are justified from sin before God, and so we have
peace with God ; and by works we are justified from hypocrisy in the
court of conscience, so we have peace with ourselves. This way must
your title be made out to you. Is there a care of duty and a diligent
resistance of sin ?
2. Hast thou the spirit of an heir ? What is the spirit of an heir ?
Then
[1.] Thy main care will be carried out to make the birthright sure.
This will be the first and early design of the soul : Mat. vi. 33, ' Seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof ; ' this is the
great work you drive on in the world. All the children of God cannot
come to assurance, but they all labour after it ; and they make it their
care to seek the kingdom of God, and make out their interest in him.
A carnal man, if he can thrive and prosper in the way of his trade, he
looks for no more, he gives God a discharge. But now an heir cannot
be content till his title to the heritage be sure. Now can you live upon
your reversion ; wait in hope, and be godly without secular encourage
ment ? Servants must have wages, but an heir can live upon the
reversion.
[2.] An heir will not easily part with his inheritance ; and therefore,
have you honourable thoughts of your portion in Christ, and of the con
solation of the Spirit. It is said of Esau, Heb. xii. 16, he was 'a pro
fane person, and for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.' It is the
highest profaneness in the world to have cheap thoughts of the consola
tions of the Holy Ghost : Job xv. 9, ' Are the consolations of God small
with thee ? ' It is not profaneness only to be drunk, whore, and commit
adultery ; but the greatest profaneness is to have cheap thoughts of
spiritual privileges. An heir values his birthright ; he is loath to sell
the joy and comfort of his soul for carnal satisfactions and gratifications
of the flesh. Naboth would not part with his inheritance when the
king comes to bargain with him : 1 Kings xxi. 3, ' The Lord forbid it
me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee/ So if
thou art an heir, thou wilt not part with thy portion in Christ for so
vile a matter as thriving in the world. Never part with the consolations
of God for worldly pleasure.
[3.] An heir is much taken with his heritage, always looking for it
when it will fall into his hands. Therefore men that build their nests
in the world as if they never looked for a better portion, which lavish
out their strength upon the world, and never send any messengers, any
spies into the land of promise, never send a believing thought into
heaven, they have not the spirit of an heir : Horn. viii. 23, ' We ourselves,
who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting
for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies.' He that is a
spiritual heir is always groaning, When shall I be with God and Christ,
and he is feasting and entertaining his thoughts with suppositions of
his future glory, and of the goodly heritage and portion that is made over
to him in Christ ; he is waiting, groaning, and looking for it. If thy
heart be not taken up herewith, so as to favour things above, it is a sign
thou hast not the spirit of an heir.
224 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XL.
SERMON XL.
By faith Abraham, when lie was called to go out into a place which he
should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed ; and he went out.
not knowing whither he went. HEB. xi. 8.
THE scope of the apostle in this chapter is to prove that the doctrine
of faith is an ancient doctrine and that faith hath been always exercised
about things not seen, not liable to the judgment of sense and reason.
He had proved both points by instances of the fathers before the flood,
and now he comes to prove them by the examples of those that were
eminent for faith after the flood. And in the first place he pitcheth
upon Abraham a fit instance ; he was the father of the faithful, and
a person of whom the Hebrews boasted ; his life w l as nothing else but
a continual practice of faith, and therefore he insisteth upon Abraham
longer than upon any other of the patriarchs. The first thing for which
Abraham is commended in scripture is his obedience to God, when he
called him out of his country ; now the apostle shows this was an effect
of faith.
In the words there are these circumstances
1. The ground of Abraham's faith When he was called,
2. The nature of that call To go out into a place which he should
after receive for an inheritance. Wherein there is intimated a command
and a promise : a command to go out of his country into a certain place ;
then a promise that he should afterward receive it for an inheritance.
3. The effect and influence of his faith upon that call He obeyed,
and went out.
4. The excellency and amplification of that obedience Not knowing
whither he went.
[1.] For the ground of his faith 'Abraham, when he was called/
Some read it Trio-ret 6 /caXou/xeyo? ^Aftpaap,, by faith he that was called
Abraham obeyed. Abram's name was changed by special occasion.
Now some of the fathers would make the apostle in this place to
ascribe it to his faith. But this exposition would offer manifest
violence to the words and scope of the apostle, we translate it better
' By faith Abraham, when he was called,' for the apostle alludes to the
call of God, which is set down in the book of Genesis, chap. xii. 1,
' Now the Lord said to Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from
thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land which I shall
show you.' This was God's first call to Abraham, wherein he would
exercise and try his faith. And this calling was not as the ordinary
way of calling is now, by the ministry of man, but by some extra
ordinary vision and oracle, which was God's ancient way ; and there
fore it is said, Acts vii. 2, ' The God of glory appeared to our father
Abraham,' viz., in vision, and then gave him his call.
[2.] The second circumstance in the text is the nature of the call,
where there is a command to go out of his country, and a promise to
come into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance.
(1 .) For the command ' To go out.' In Genesis the words are
more emphatical ' Get thee out of thy country, from thy kindred.
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 225
and from thy father's house.' All which are cutting and killing words
to flesh and blood ; to leave our dearest comforts, our nearest relations,
or native soil. . Go from thy country, saith God to him, a hard saying
to flesh and blood. The soil in which we first drew breath seems to
lay claim to a man's affections ; certainly by long custom it enchants
us into a secret love, so that a homely cottage in our country seems
sweeter than a palace in a strange land. It is very hard to part with
things and places to which we are accustomed. What saith Austin,
Dulcia limina, atque amabilem larem, quern et parentum memoria,
atque ipsius infantice rudimenta conformant ? The sweet air where he
was wont to converse with his father, friends, kinsfolk, must all these
be left ? The smoke of our country seems more bright and comfortable
than fire in a strange place ; yet God saith to Abraham, Go out of thy
country. It is harder to Abraham than to another because of his blood
and birth, and because he had great possessions there. Many may leave
their country out of necessity and inconvenience when it is not well
with them, or so well as they could wish at home ; but to rich Abraham
it is said, Go out of thy country. And it followeth, ' From thy kin
dred, and from thy father's house.' Go thou, or go thyself. Though
he should have no company with him, yet he was to go out of that
idolatrous place. If we must needs leave our native soil, yet it were
some comfort to have some of our friends and companions with us to
solace our exile and erect a new home and country ; but Abraham was
to forsake all his kindred. He did indeed labour all that he could with
his kindred to make them sensible of the oracle and command of God,
but he could not prevail. Some of them he got as far as Charran the
borders of Canaan. For God's command did not exclude them in case
they would follow him, but in case they refused ; then Abraham was
.to go alone. Lot went with him throughout, and Terah his father as
far as Charran, and there died : Gen. xi, 31, ' And Terah took Abrarn
his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarah, his
daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife ; and they went forth with them
from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan ; and they
came unto Haran, and dw.elt there.' And though there be no mention
of Abraham's brother, yet certainly he went as far as Charran too, as
may be collected from other places of scripture. But this is not all, it
follows, ' Unto a land which I shall show th.ee/ Abraham was not
acquainted with the fixed place of his abode, he had no visible, certain
hopes upon his removal. It is irksome to leave our country and father's
house ; but if it were for better conveniences, it might be digested ;
but who would change a certainty for an uncertainty, and leave that
which was in hand for wide and unknown hopes ? But thus it must
be ; we must obey God, and not regard what flesh and blood can say
to the contrary
[2.] For the promise ' Unto a land which he should afterward
receive for an inheritance/ Abraham did not follow God for: nought,
\he was no loser by God, there was an inheritance ; but however, faith
for a great while was to conflict with much difficulty, bef ore : he. should
receive the inheritance. Consider. how, God tried Abraham's faith in
his promise. It was long ere the place of his "inheritance was fixed,
ere God told him Canaan should be the land. The command and the
promise were first made to him in Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia,
VOL. xiv. p
226 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XL.
before he dwelt in Charran, Acts vii. 2. Well Abraham depends upon
this promise, goes towards Canaan from Charran. And when he comes
into Canaan, he had not a foot of land : Acts vii. 5, ' He gave him no
inheritance, no, not so much as to set his foot on : yet he promised that
he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him,
when as yet he had no child.' The promise was to. his posterity ; he
had not one foot himself till he purchased the cave of Machpelah to
bury his dead wife in. Well, if his posterity might enjoy it, this was
a comfort ; but yet, for a great while he had no seed. And when he
had seed, God told him his seed was to be four hundred years in Egypt
under miserable servitude and bondage, and then they should come
and inherit the land, Acts vii. 6. And in the meantime the land was
possessed with mighty kings, giants, men of renown and honour, but
Abraham was a stranger there. All this is said to show that faith is
contented with God's word ; it leaves God to the accomplishment of
the promise, and minds present obedience. He went out, and that
was a great trial ; and what was his encouragement ? the promise that
he should receive it for an inheritance.
[3.] The third circumstance in the text, the effect and influence of
faith upon the call ' He obeyed, and went out ; ' iJKova-rjv teal ej;rj\.6e, he
' obeyed,' that signifies the consent of the mind ; and ' went out/ that
notes his practice and actual obedience ; he obeyed not only in word
but in deed ; there was a promise of obedience with actual performance.
It is easy to speak of these things, as the rebellious son said, Mat. xxi.
30, ' I go, sir, and went not. 7
[4.] The fourth circumstance, the commendation of his obedience
* Not knowing whither he went/ God did not at first tell him of the
place, for the greater trial of his iaith. It is true, God had showed
him in the general how he should take his course and journey ; you
canst not think he was ignorant whether he should go west or east,
towards Canaan or from it, but he did not know whether he went
towards the particular place where this inheritance lay, Gen. xi. 31.
As soon as Abraham received the call, he went towards Canaan. He
"knew not what kind of land the land of promise was, nor when it was
fixed ' The land that I shall show thee ; ' but when he was in Canaan,
then God told him, This is the land I will give to thee ; so Gen. xii.
7, ' Unto thy seed will I give this land/
I shall draw the words thus explained to some doctrinal issue and
conclusion. The main point is faith's ready obedience to the call of
God. Now there is a threefold call, and the text may be applied to
either of them. There is a general call to the obedience of the gospel,
a particular call to some office and course of life wherein we may
glorify God, and a personal call to the exercise of that office.
1. There is vocatio adfw.dus, a general call to the covenant of grace,
by which they are called by the ministry of the word, and the efficacy
of the Spirit, to the faith and obedience of the gospel. It is called
general because it concerns all Christians.
2. There is vocatio ad munus, a calling us to some office and course
of life wherein we may glorify God by exercising the gifts he hath
bestowed upon us, which is called a particular calling because it is not
common to all Christians.
3. There is vocatio ad exercitium muneris, a personal call, by which
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 227
the particular circumstances are determined, and we are directed to the
choice of the place and the people among whom we are to exercise
this office and function to the glory of God. Of all these I shall treat
in order, for to all these the circumstances of the text may be accom
modated. Here was vocatio adfcedus ; when God appeared to Abraham
it was not merely in a prophetical manner, and for some special intent ;
but to call him to grace, for he was an idolater then, and that he
might serve him by the obedience of faith. It is true, the reason was
extraordinary, as all dispensations then were ; but this call was the
means of his conversion, for by this means he was taken out from the
idolatry and other corruptions of life, to which Chaldea was extremely
given, and Abraham among the rest, so that he could not remain there
without great danger. Then there was vocatio ad munus, to an office ;
Abraham was called to a strange country, that God's blessing might
appear in multiplying his seed, and he might be a means to glorify
God in the sight of the Canaanites. Then there was vocatio ad
exercitium muneris, a personal call to Canaan, the fixed place, that
he might take possession of that country by faith and hope, and in
that country typically of heaven, as in the next verse.
First, I shall apply the verse to the general call, and so many
points are notable
1. Observe, that faith, wherever it is, it bringeth forth true obedi-
ience by faith Abraham, being called, obeyed God. Faith and
obedience can never be severed ; as the sun and the light, fire and
heat. Therefore we read of the ' obedience of faith,' Horn. i. 5. Obed
ience is faith's daughter. Faith hath not only to do with the grace of
God, but with the duty of the creature. By apprehending grace, it
works upon duty : Gal. v. 6, ' Faith works by love ; ' it fills the soul
with the apprehensions of God's love, and then makes use of the sweet
ness of love to urge us to more work or obedience. All our obedience
to God comes from love to God, and our love comes from the persuasion
of God's love to us. The argument and discourse that is in a sancti
fied soul is set down, Gal. ii. 20, ' I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.' Wilt not thou do this for
God, that loved thee ? for Jesus Christ, that gave himself for thee ?
Faith, it works towards obedience by commanding the affections of
love, of hope, of fear ; it makes use of love ' Faith works by love,'
fills the soul with apprehensions of God's love ; then what wilt thou
not do for him ? Then it makes use of fear ' Noah, moved with fear,
prepared an ark, for the saving of his household/ Heb. xi. 7. Some
times it makes use of hope, as here, when Abraham hoped and expected
these things of God, then ' he obeyed him, and went forth, not know
ing whither he went.' There are no hopes equal to the reward it
proposeth, no fears comparable to the terror it representeth, no motives
so strong as it urgeth.
2. Observe, the ground of this obedience is God's call. Here are
two instances together : Noah's faith wrought by fear, the ground of
that was oracle ' Being warned of God ; ' and Abraham's faith
wrought by hope, the ground of it was God's call, 'By faith-
Abraham, being called of God ; ' he had the express command and
promise of God. Hence observe, till we have a call we cannot take
228 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [$ER. XL.
the honour of laying claim to the promises ; for no man takes tin's
honour but he that is called of God, and we shall have no warrant for
obedience without a call. It is but will-worship without a call, and
hope would be but a mere fancy. As those which stood idle in the
market-place, when they were asked, Why do not you labour ? they
answered, None hath hired us : we were not called to work. Without
a call the world. would be but a general cell of monks, that leave
kindred and father's house without any warrant.
3. Observe, this call consisteth of a command and a promise : ' Go
thou,' there is the command ' and thou shalt receive the land for thy
inheritance,' there is the promise. The command is the ground of
duty, and the promise is the ground of hope and expectation. And
still God dealeth with us in the same manner 'Believe, and thou
shalt be saved ; ' with all the commands of God there is a promise
annexed. Hence observe, it is God's mercy to propound encourage
ments when he might enforce. God will draw us with the cords of a
man, and allure us into obedience by commands and promises. The
brute-creatures are ruled by mere sovereignty, but God deals with men
as men. We have election and choice ; and therefore there is not only
duty laid before us, but death and life. God said to Abraham, Go ;
it is a hard duty, but thou shalt not lose by it, for thou shalt have the
land of Canaan for thy inheritance.
4. I observe again, this call is brought to men when they are in
their worst estate ; for mark, the call was made to Abraham when he
was at Mesopotamia, Acts vii. 2, in Ur of the Chaldees ; then God
said to him, ' Leave thy country and thy father's house.' Therefore,
when this call is mentioned, Gen. xii. 1, the phrase there is ' the Lord
had said to Abraham ; ' God had spoken to him before he came from
Charran. Now in Ur of the Chaldees they were idolaters : Josh. xxiv.
2, 3, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time,
even Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor, and
they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the
other side of the flood,' &c. Then when he was serving idols, he and
all his kindred, then God comes and enters into a treaty of grace with
him. That is the reason the apostle makes Abraham to believe in
God as 'justifying the ungodly.' Kom. iv. 5. Abraham before grace
was, as we all are, ungodly, a worshipper of idols. Hence observe,
when God comes to call us, he calls us out of mere grace. Consider
this, that you may neither despair of mercy, nor yet ascribe grace to
any merit or good dispositions of your own. Abraham, that was the
father of the faithful, the chiefest of believers, when God came to take
him to grace, he was as vile a sinner as any. The whole land was
open to God, but God took Abraham your father. Was he better
than others ? No ; he and his father served idols, the son could not
be better than the father by whom he was educated ; but God of his
mercy singled him out from the rest. Paul, a persecutor, Abraham, an
idolater, obtained mercy of God : 1 Tim. i. 13, ! Who was before a
blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious, but I obtained mercy.'
5. I observe again, that free grace makes a distinction between them
of .the same line and kindred ; God called him alone, and blessed
him 'Forsake thy country and thy father's house.' None of
VEIL 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 229
Abraham's kindred, but only Lot were called ; the rest were turned
out : Isa. li. 2, 'L0ok unto Abraham your, father, and unto Sarah that
bare you ; for I called him alone, and blessed'him and increased him ; '
that is, though there were more besides him of his race and family.
Thus God can make a difference between brother and brother, and
between brother and sister ; Jacob was loved, and not Esau ; Abel
was accepted, and not Cain. God can come into a town, and pick out
two or three berries on the top of the uppermost branches ' One of a
city, and two of a tribe,' Jer. iii. 14. God may leave the ninety-nine
in the wilderness of the world to seek one sheep. Those that are in
the same bed, in the same employment, feeding at the same meal, one
shall be taken to grace, and the other shall be left to misery and judg
ment. He can put a distinction between husband and wife ; free grace
picks and chooses according to its own pleasure. Remember this, that
thou mayest know who it was that made thee to differ, and admire not
only the kindness, but the freedom of his grace : Rom. ix. 18, ' There
fore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy/
6. In this call I observe that God bids him to leave his country and
his father's house ; hence note
Doct. When God calls us to grace, we are not only to leave sin, but
to leave the world, and all things that are dear to us in the world. ,' .
As soon as God appeared to Abraham, he was to leave Chaldea,
Charran, and all, for Canaan. Faith, where it is rightly planted, turns
the heart not only from sin to God, but from the world to God, from
the creature to the creator, from carnal things to those that are more
excellent and heavenly. Not that we must leave our possessions and
renounce our estates as soon as God calls to grace, without a special
call, as that trial was : Mat. xix. 21, ' If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell
that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven, and come and follow me.' That was a special trial ; but we
must come out from the world in heart and affection : Ps. xlv. 10,
' Forget thy own people, and thy father's house.' We must not be
wedded in our affection to the world, but contracted and wedded to
Christ. Many, if they leave gross sins, they think they are safe; but
in conversion there is a turning from the creature to God, as well as
from sin to God : Mat. xix. 27, ' We have forsaken all and followed
thee.' In vow and affection you must renounce the world, that you
may keep your hearts loyal and chaste to Jesus Christ. You must
sell all for the pearl of great price. And then take heed after conver
sion that you do not retract your vow, for your estate is no longer yours,
but God's ; you must part with your estate upon just and convenient
reasons of religion; when it is not consistent with the conscience of,
our duty to God. Nabal was but a fool to say, ' Shall I take my bread
and my wine,' &c. 1 Sam. xxv. 11, and the prodigal to say, I spend but
my own. When thou art converted, it is not thine, but all is left and
given to God, to be disposed of according to his will and pleasure ; and
when the keeping of an estate is not consistent with our duty to God,
we must part with it. Sometimes Christ and the world will be to
gether ; but when they part, we must not forsake Christ to keep mam
mon company. When we cannot get an estate but we must quit our
conscience, or keep an estate and a good conscience together ; or when
230 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XL.
violence or death divorceth us from our comforts, our heart must not
be overwhelmed with grief or trouble ; let us remember by believing
we forsook the world, and promised to cleave to God.
7. I observe again, that God shows him the worst even at his first
calling. God might have given the call in one word, but it is ampli
fied, Gen. xii. 1. Observe
Doct. When we give up our names to Christ, the Lord would have
us sit down and count the charges, that so we may meet trouble with
the more resolution.
When a virgin was enamoured with that sour philosopher, he showed
her his crooked back ; thus Christ tells us the worst at first, what we
must look for trouble, hazard, inconveniences of the world. Can you
deny yourselves in all this ? Luke xiv 26, ' If any man come to me, and
hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers,
and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.' It is
a general case ; and then he useth the similitude of building, that he
must sit clown and count the charges. When a man hath allotted so
much for building, so long as he keeps within the bounds of his allot
ment he parteth with it freely ; but when that is gone he parts with
every penny after with grudging. It is good to make Christ large
allowance at the first, that we may not grudge our bargain and con
tract.
8. It is said of Abraham, he obeyed and went out ; he obeyed, that
signifies the consent of his mind ; and he went forth, that notes his
actual obedience to that word : he not only promised, but performed.
Observe
Doct. It is the property of faith to subject all our wills and all our
interests to God's pleasure.
Faith, when it takes, it gives ; with one hand it takes Christ ; with
the other hand it resigns and gives up ourselves, our relations, and all
our comforts to the will of Christ. There is a notable expression, and
some understand it of Abraham's obedience, Isa. xli. 2, ' He called the
righteous man from the east, called him to his foot/ When God called
Abraham, he called him to his foot ; and there Abraham would follow
after God according to the pleasure of God. And so it is the property
of faith to make us set foot by foot with God, to go after him where
soever he goes. God's call must be readily executed, whatever comes
on it.
9. He obeyed, and went forth; there was not only a consent of
heart, but he readily performed. Observe
Doct. We must not only give God good words, and make vows at
onr effectual calling, but we must be sensible of the vows of God.
Many are apt to speak good words, as Christ hath a parable of the
formal professor : Mat. xxi. 28-30, ' A certain man had two sons, and
he came to the first, and said, Son, go into the vineyard and work. And
he saith, I will, and did not. And he came to the other, and he said,
I will not; and after he repented, and went ; ' which is the better son ?
It is easier to talk of leaving friends, lands, and our father's house, and
take upon ourselves a voluntary exile for a good conscience, than to do
it. It is easy to talk of these things in the serene times of the gospel,
but this is like him in the parable, ' I go, sir, and went not.' It is said
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 231
of the children of God, Eev. xii. 11, that ' they loved not their lives to
death ; ' that is, they did not only in prodigality and presumption give
up their lives to God, but when it came to performance, when death
was at hand, either they must die or renounce Christ, then they loved
not their lives. So when God puts us to deny every near comfort, to
quit country, parents, every dearest thing when we cannot keep these
things with a good conscience, then faith submits to it.
10. Consider, in the history there was some kind of halting, though
it be said in the general that he obeyed, for he stayed at Charran about
five years. When Terah went out of Ur, he was two hundred years
old ; when he died in Charran, he was two hundred and five years old.
He stays there when he should have gone into Canaan, as may be
gathered out of Gen. xi. 25, but there he stays till he had buried his
father ; and truly I do believe that then he was revived by some new
call, andagain admonished, when he was somewhat slack and negli
gent. Some deny a second call, but it is clear to me by what is said r
Acts vii. 4, ' Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt
in Charran ; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed
him into this land, wherein ye now dwell ; ' that is, by a new persua
sion and excitation God awakened him again, and bid him to go into
Canaan. And' so, Gen. xii. 4, it is said that ' Abraham departed as the
Lord had spoken to him.' Hence observe
Doct. Faith may sometimes make a halt, and grow weary, but it
rouseth itself up again.
So it is with us in our spiritual course ; when we begin to look after
God, we are apt to halt and linger, therefore we had need be roused
again. A ship that is bound for such a harbour, yet by the violence
of the storm may be driven back, but it makes way towards its port
again ; so by temptation we may be driven back for a time, but we
must make way to our port and haven again. Oh, it is well if we can
but make advantage of our falls, as a ball beaten down to the ground
rebounds the higher.
11. I observe again, ' He obeyed/ That hath respect to the encourage
ment the promise gave, and yet how long was it ere the promise was
accomplished. Hence observe
Doct. True faith doth constantly adhere to God, though it presently
finds not what it believes and expects from God.
Abraham left Ur, then Charran, and though he had not a foot in the
land of Canaan, yet still he waits upon God. The famine drove him
out of Canaan into Egypt, Gen. xii. 10 ; afterwards he had wars and con
flicts with the kings of Canaan, they would not allow him a safe abode ;
he was burdened with envy, without children, yet still he waits for the
accomplishment of the promise, and believes in hope against hope.
Well then, we must trust God, though we have nothing of present
feeling. Oh, it is an excellent thing when we can say as the people of
God, Isa. xlv. 24, ' In the Lord my God I shall have righteousness and
strength/ Well, I will wait upon God, though nothing conies to
hand ; though there be nothing in feeling, yet we must wait upon God.
We read, Heb. iii. 6, of Kav^pa r^ eXvrt'So?, ' The rejoicing, or glory
ing of hope/ It is excellent when we can glory in our hopes, and in
what we do expect. There is more of duty in waiting, though there
232 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XL.
is less of comfort ; and when we have nothing in feeling and fruition,
yet then to depend upon God ; this is like an Abraham that built an
altar, and offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving, Gen. xii. 8. Oh, that we
could give thanks, and bless God for our hopes ; and in the midst of
difficulties, yet wait upon God for what we shall have. .
12. I observe, ' He obeyed, not knowing whither he went.'
Doct. Upon a divine call we must obey, though we do not know
what will come of it.
This is of excellent use to Christians that are yet in the twilight of
^race, between grace and nature ; they do not know what will come of
it, yet they venture upon Christ. The master calls ; you are invited
to grace, and you should make an essay. We owe God blind obedience.
Blind men will follow their guides over hills and through dales fearing
nothing ; so should we follow God. Carnal reason will be full of
objections, but in such cases we should not dispute but resolve ; and
let us cleave to Christ, and hang upon Christ, though we do not know
what will come of it ; as the lepers : 2 Kings vii. 4, ' If we say, We will
enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die
there ; and if we sit still here we die also. Now therefore come, and let
us fall into the host of the Syrians ; if they save us alive, we shall live ;
and if they kill us, we shall but die.' So also in discharging our duty ;
when we know not what success we shall have, still we must perform
it ; as the prophet in his public contests with an obstinate people gains
acceptance with God, though not success with men: Isa. xlix. 4, 'I
liave laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in
vain; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with
my God.'
Secondly, I come now to apply the text to a particular calling, to
some office, employment, and course of life wherein to glorify God. And
here I shall inquire
(1.) How we shall know that we are called to such an employment,
now oracles are ceased, and God doth not so immediately speak to us
as he did to Abraham. (2.) How must we behave ourselves in that
calling ; what is the obedience of faith. (3.) I shall handle some
cases incident to this matter.
1. How we shall know that we are called of God. It is a matter
necessary to be known, that we act in faith and obedience. A man
cannot expect God's blessing but in God's way. And the general rule
is, 67TOU 6e, follow God. Now how shall we do to see God in our call
ing, that we may walk with him foot by foot ? It is said, Isa. xli. 2,
' Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his
foot.' By way of answer to this necessary question, I shall lay down
several propositions.
[1.] That every man must have a particular calling. Life was given
us for somewhat ; not merely to fill up the number of the world, or to
grow in stature so life was given to the plants, that they may grow
bulky, and increase in stature ; not merely to taste pleasures, that is
the happiness of beasts, to enjoy pleasures without remorse. God gave
men higher faculties of reason and conscience ; reason to manage some
work and business for the glory of God ; and conscience, that he might
review his work, and mind his soul. The rule is general, that all
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 233
Adam's sons are to eat their bread in the sweat of their brows : Gen.
iii. 19, ' In the sweat of thy face shalt thoueat bread/ I know it doth
not bind in the rigour of the letter ; the priests were not to sweat : Ezek.
xliv. 18, ' They shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth
sweat ; ' yet in the intent it binds to some honest labou-r, the sweat of
the body or of the brain. Adam's two sons were heirs-apparent of the
world, and the one was employed in tillage and the other in pasturage.
The world was never made for a hive for drones, and the word giveth
no privilege to any to be idle. It is true, there is a difference between
employments ; some live more by manual labours, others in more
genteel employments, as the magistrate, the minister, and those that
study for public good. Manual labour is not required of all, because
it is not a thing that is required propter se, as simply good and neces
sary, but propter aliud, as for maintenance and support of life, to ease
the church, to supply the uses of charity. When the ends of labour
cannot otherwise be obtained, then handy labour is required. A
minister is forbidden travail and labour, it being a means of distrac
tion ; but he is to be laborious and diligent in his calling. A gentle
man is to fit himself to do his country service, either in magistracy or
ministry ; if need be in the ministry, it is not beneath them. The
first-born were the priests, that is, the most noble, the most .worthy,
the most potent, ere God settled it in the tribe of Levi. Diligent
they are to be in doing their country good one way or other, and to
spend the more time in spiritual exercises, the less they need handy
labour ; but when their whole life is spent in eating, drinking, sporting,
sleeping, it is bestial. Idleness was one of Sodom's sins : Ezek. xvi.
49, ' Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom ; pride, fulness
of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters.'
It makes you lose your right to the creatures ' If any would not work,
neither let him eat,' 2 Thes. iii. 10. Gentlemen are but robbers that
live idly and without a calling; though they are freed from servile and
handy labour, yet they are not freed from work and business. If
any man. might be allowed to be idle, then one member would be lost
in the body politic. Man is born a member of some society, family,
city, world, and is to seek the good of it ; he is tfiov 7roXm/coi>. We see
in the body natural there is no member, but it hath its function and
use, whereby it becometh serviceable to the whole. All have not the
same office, that would make a confusion ; but all have their use, either
as an eye, or as a hand, or as a leg, and it must be employed. So in
the politic body no member must be useless, they must have one func
tion or another wherein to employ themselves, otherwise they are
but unprofitable burdens of the earth. Again, every man is more or
less intrusted with a gift, which he is to exercise a,nd improve for the
common good, and at the day of judgment he is to give up his accounts ;
Mat. xxv. 19, 'After a long time the Lord of those servants cometh
and reckoneth with them.' If he hath but one talent, it must not be
hidden in a napkin. Well then, if every man hath a gift for which
he is accountable to God. he must have a calling : 1 Cor. vii. 17, ' As
God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one,
so let him walk/ and choose his state of life. Besides, a calling is
necessary to prevent the mischiefs of idleness, and those inconveniences
234 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XL.
that follow men not employed ; standing pools are apt to putrify, but
running waters are sweetest. An idle man is a burden to himself, a
prey to Satan, a grief to the Spirit of God, and a mischief to others.
He is a burden to himself, for he knoweth not what to do with his
time. In the morning he cries, Would to God it were evening, and in
the evening, Would to God it were morning the rnind like a mill, when
it wanteth work, falleth upon itself. He is a prey to Satan ; the devil
findeth the house ' empty, swept, and garnished,' Mat. xii. 44 ; the
devil findeth them at leisure, and then sets them a-work. When David
was idle on the terrace, he fell into a snare. Birds are not taken in
their flight, but when they pitch and rest. He is a grief to God's
Spirit : Eph. iv. 28, ' Let him that stole, steal no more ; but rather let
him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good/ compared
with ver. 30, ' And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.' Idle men
quench the vigour of natural gifts, and lose the ability of nature. He
is a mischief to others, 2 Thes. iii. 11 Mrj&ev pya%o/j,evov<;, a\\a
7repiepyao/j.evovs ' Working not at all, but are busybodies.' They that
nothing will do too much ; no work makes way for ill work. Censure do
and busy inquisition into other men's actions is the native fruit of idle
ness ; and so they prove the fire-brands of contention and unneighbourly
quarrels. There must be a calling then to prevent these mischiefs.
[2.] That this calling must be good and agreeable to the word of
God, which is 'A lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path,' Ps.
cxix. 105. It were not a perfect rule, if it did not direct us in all cases ;
therefore in the choice of our course of life, we must consult with the
word, that we may not settle in a course of sin. Men may tolerate evil
callings, but God never appointed them, and therefore here we are not
called to them , but called off from them. Now if any calling be against
piety, temperance or justice, it is against the word, for the word
' teacheth us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly,
righteously and godly in this present world/ Titus iii. 12. Against
piety, as to be an idolatrous priest, or to make shrines for idols, which
was Demetrius' s calling in Ephesus ; and Tertullian, in his book ' De
Idololatria ' showeth that this was the practice of many Christians to
get their livings by making statues and images and other ornaments,
to sell to heathen idolaters. Against justice, as piracy, brokage, and
other oppressive courses. Against sobriety, as such callings as merely
tend to feed the luxury, pride, and vanity of men, as stage-plays and
the like, it were endless to instance in all. In the general, the calling
must be good and lawful, if we would see God in it.
[3.] This calling must not only be good, but we must see God in it.
Providence ruleth in everything that falleth out, even in the least
matters ; especially hath the Lord a great hand in callings, and in
appointing to everyone his state and condition of life. In paradise,
God set Adam his work as a gardener to dress and prune the trees :
Gen. ii. 15, ' And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the
garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it ; ' and still he doth not only
give the ability and special inclination, but also disposeth of the
education of the parent, and passages of men's lives to bring them to
such a calling; Isa. liv. 16, 'Behold I have created the smith, that
bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 235
his work.' Common trades and crafts are from the Lord. The heathens
had a several god for every several trade, as the papists now have a
tutelar saint ; but they rob God of his honour, he giveth the faculty and
the blessings ; so it is said, Isa. xxviii. 24-29 ad finem, ' Doth the
husbandman plough all day to sow ? doth he open and break the clods
of the ground ?' &c. ' His God doth instruct him to discretion and
doth teach him. For the fitches are not thrashed with a thrashing-
instrument, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin,
&c. This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful
in counsel and excellent in working.' God giveth the skill and
appointeth the work. Your particular estate and condition of life doth
not come by chance, or by the bare will and pleasure of man ; but the
ordination of God, without which a sparrow cannot fall to the ground :
Prov. xx. 24, ' Man's goings are of the Lord ; how can a man then
understand his own way ? '
[4.] In the higher callings of ministry and magistracy, our call from
God must be more solemn, because in these callings God's glory and
the good of human society are more concerned ; and therefore such have
need of a clear call that manage them. In ordinary callings there is
required both fitness and inclination, or a fitness of gifts and inclination,
which are the fruits of God's general providence. Fitness in every
calling is a common gift of the Spirit ; so it is said of Bezaleel, Exod.
xxxi. 3, ' I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, and in
understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.'
An inclination to such a calling is from God's general providence,
depriving them of higher opportunities of advancement, and over
coming their hearts to make choice of such a work. Now the more
weighty the business and affair of life is, the more is providence
concerned in it : and therefore for magistracy and ministry much more
doth God make them fit and willing. Fit : 2 Cor. iii. 6, 'Who hath
made us able ministers of the. new testament ; ' and willing : Mat. ix.
88, ' Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send
forth labourers into the harvest ; ' he thrusteth out labourers into the
harvest. They are God's special gift, sought of God in prayer, and he
giveth them commission. Again, there is an outward rail set about
these callings, that men may enter in by the door, in an external lawful
way, which is not so much required in other callings. Private callings
are at the appointment of parents ; public must be left to a solemn
external call, lest all order be broken both in church and common
wealth ; others serve only for the accommodation, but these are for the
essence and foundation of human society.
[5.] The calling of magistrates must not be undertaken, whatever
abilities and inclinations men have, till they have a fair invitation
from those that have power to call them ; and then it must not be
refused. Men are God's instruments in this kind, and therefore we
must not only have gifts from God but allowance from men ; and
therefore they sin that enter upon the magistrate's office by violence,
or by money and bribery, and do not expect a call and the fair invita
tion of providence ; as Absalom had an itch to be a judge and a ruler,
but he got the office by rebellion. And again they sin, that when they
have a fair call from God and men from God by gifts, and from
23G SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XL.
men by choice and allowance refuse, out of a desire of ease and
privacy, or for want of courage. But I will not meddle with this more
now.
Ministers must expect both an internal and an external call a call
they must have, that they may not run till they are sent. Jesus Christ
took not this honour upon him, till he was called by God. There is much
of God to be observed in this calling, that we may expect a blessing,
and digest the difficulties and inconveniences of it with patience : Acts
xv. 7, ' God made choice among us, that the gentiles by my mouth
should hear the word of the gospel and believe ; ' there was a choice
of Peter among the rest of the apostles ; so Acts. x. 41, 42, 'Not to all
the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did
eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he com
manded us to preach unto the people,' &c. Well then, but when are
we chosen ? Inhere is an internal call from God, and an external call,
from the church. The internal call from God, that is it chiefly which
I am to speak of, though I shall touch on the other also. This is when
a man is made fit and willing. Fit he must be ; if the Spirit of God
fitted Aholiab and Bezaleel for the material work of the temple, then
much more is there a fitness required in the ministers of the gospel :
1 Tim. i. 12, ' I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me,
for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.' There
must be some competent ability. If God ever puts us into the ministry,
he first enableth us ; and that is not all he must be willing : 1 Tim.
iii. 1, 'If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.'
There must be a strong inclination, that if God give a call, we will take
up such a course of life. Well then, he hath not this inward call that
is willing, but not fit, or fit, but not willing, much more he that is
neither fit nor willing, but only is thrust upon such an office by the
carnal importunities of friends ; and he that hath both, hath the call
of the Spirit. But now an internal call is not enough ; there must be
that which is external, as Peter was sent by an angel to Cornelius, and
had an external call from Cornelius too, Acts x. So must we, having
an inward call, wait for the outward call of the church, otherwise we
cannot lawfully be admitted to the exercise of the calling. As in the
old testament, the tribe of Levi was by God appointed to the service of
the altar, yet none could exercise the ministry and calling of a Levite,
till he was anointed and purified by the church : Exod. xxviii. 3, ' And
thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled
with the Spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to con
secrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office ; so Num.
iii. 3, ' These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which
were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.'
Thus the ministers of the gospel, though called by God, must have their
external separation, and setting apart to that work by the church.
The outward call belongs to the church, but it is to be done in order
election by the people, examination of life and doctrine with author
itative mission by the presbytery, confirmation by the magistrate : Acts
vi. 3, ' Wherefore brethren look ye out among ye seven men, of honest
report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over
this business ; ' where election is referred to the body of the church and
YER. 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 237
ordination to the elders : Acts xiv. 23, ' And when they had ordained
them elders in every church, arid had prayed with fasting, they
commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed ; ' Acts xiii. 2, 3,
' The Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work
whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed,
and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.' And the Christian
magistrate hath his share, to see that all things are done orderly ; and
then they are to have his confirmation. 1
[7.] For ordinary callings then we are called by God ; when God
giveth ability and inclination, and openeth a fair passage in his pro
vidence, that is to be looked upon as a call. Inclination there must be,
that we may be fit for our calling, and our calling fit for us ; otherwise
we are like a member out of joint, out of our place and way. If we be
at our own disposal this must be observed ; if not, parents and those
that have the disposal of us, must observe it ; they must consider the
child's inclination, using prayer, calling in the advice of others. It is
the weightiest affair of life ; much is to be known by children's inclin
ations. The Athenians would set before their children, the trowel, the
shovel, a sword, and a book, that they might choose their calling. As
Nazianzen tells us, Athanasius acted the part of a bishop when a boy,
which being observed by Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, he brought
him up for the ministry. And Origen would be often asking his father,
Leonides, concerning such and such places of scripture. Much of God's
pleasure is seen in their inclinations, which if parents observe not,
mischief follows sometimes to the church, sometimes to the children
themselves. And abilities and gifts must be observed both by the
parent and by themselves when we come to maturity, and to choose
our own way : Prov. xvi. 20, ' He that handleth a matter wisely shall
find good.' And then providence is to be observed in the designment
of education, and the advantages which God offereth for the choice of
our course of life. Take all together, and it maketh a call for ordinary
offices of life ; otherwise, as great mischiefs arise, as if a man should
walk with his hands and work with his feet.
SEBMON XL!
By faith Abraham, ivhen lie ivas called to go out into a place which he
should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed and he went out,
not knowing whither he went. HEB. xi. 8.
2. How to behave ourselves in this calling, that we may, as Abraham
did, manifest the obedience of faith.
[1.] Where you see God before you, you must cheerfully follow after.
If you see God calling you to the ministry, magistracy, or any inferior
course of life, therein doth he expect glory from you ; and for that end
did he give you gifts, an account of which you must render at the last
1 See this more fully handled in the sermons on John xvii. IS.
238 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [$ER. XLI
day. We are apt to dispute with God, and to consult with our natural
affections : Exod, iv. 13, ' Send I pray thee, by the hand of him, whom
thou wilt send.' By gifts, by special instinct, by, the invitation of pro
vidence, by the call of the church and state, God hath declared his
pleasure ; and then sit down, count the charges, and put thy hand to
the plough. Though it may be otherwise you might have a more
quiet and a more splendid and plentiful course of life ; yet this is the
way God calleth you to ; as here Abraham obeyed, and went forth.
[2.] Confine your endeavours within this calling, and keep within
the bounds of it. If you do anything that is not within the compass
of your calling, you can have no warrant that it pleaseth God. Christ
would not intermeddle out of his calling : Luke xii. 14, ' Man, who
made me a judge, or a divider over you ? ' Uzziah's putting his hand
to the ark cost him dear. If troubles arise, we cannot suffer them com
fortably ; we are out of God's way. Mischiefs abroad come from
invading callings, as tumults and confusions in nature, when elements
are out of their places. Never do I look for peace and establishment
till all things run in their own proper channels. Pax est tranquillitas
ordinis, is a true description of external peace. Callings are not to be
invaded by the magistrate, or the people. So Acts x, the angel
appeareth to Cornelius ; but he bids him send to Peter, to preach to
him, and settle him in the faith. Why doth he not teach him him
self ? No ; his commission was only to bring a message from God, not
to preach the gospel. The magistrates that are as angels of God
should not usurp spiritual administrations, but leave them to those
that are called of God. When Saul would be doing the priest's office,
God was angry with him, 1 Sam. xiii. 13, 14 ; Uzziah was smitten with
leprosy for taking a censer to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
2 Chron. xvi. 18. The magistrates have enough to do about religion.
Christ hath recommended his spouse to them, that they may give her
house and harbour, and maintain and defend her. Let them do that ;
but it is a sacrilege and usurpation when they intermeddle in the
minister's calling. Nor must it be usurped by the people. God hath
chosen witnesses : Acts x. 40, 41, ' Him God raised up the third day,
and showed him openly ; not to all the people, but unto witnesses
chosen before of God, even to us,' &c. Christ would not appear to the
multitude. It is not everyone's work to preach, but of those that are
chosen by God ; for it is not a work of charity but a duty belonging
to a particular calling. He that cannot say he is a chosen witness,
why should he intermeddle ? Let them increase their knowledge and
instruct their families, taking all occasion of gaining neighbours ;
let them be much in examining their hearts and private meditations ;
they will have far more comfort, and show less of pride and usurpation.
[3.] Humbly wait upon God for his blessing in the use of means.
Men must work, but cast their care upon God : Mat, vi. 31, ' Take no
thought, saying, What shall we eat ? or, What shall we drink ? or.
Wherewithal shall we be clothed ? ' God will not put the trouble of
the event upon us ' Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need
of these things,' ver. 32 ; ' Abraham obeyed, not knowing whither he
went/ As in a pair of compasses, one foot is fixed in the centre, while
another wandereth about in the circumference ; so the work of faith
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 239
is not to abate industry, but to fix the heart. Faith is not idle, but
waiteth ; this is the proper temper of a Christian. Let us do our duty,
and leave our care upon God. Anxiousness about the success and
event is a sin, because then we take God's work out of his hands.
Success is God's work, labour is ours. This life is called, ' The life of
our hands;' God rnaintaineth it. but by our hands. Not to labour is
to tempt providence ; to cark is to distrust it. Miracles are not multi
plied without necessity. When we neglect means, we discharge God
of the obligation of his promise. If you starve for want of industry,
you can blame none. God hath not undertaken that sin shall not be
our ruin, but rather the contrary. But now by a quiet use of means
you enter into God's protection, as the protection of the law is only for
them that travel on the road : Ps. Iv. 22, ' Cast thy burden upon the
Lord, and he shall sustain thee : he shall never suffer the righteous to
be moved.' Business is our work, but care is our burden, that must
we cast on God. It is no more dishonour for God to bear our burden,
than for Christ to bear our sins.
[4.] With patience digest the inconveniences of your calling. Afflic
tion attendeth every state and condition of life ; but we may go through
them cheerfully we are in our way, and in our place. You may
meet with discouragements as a minister, or as a magistrate ; yet go
on whatever men do, God is a good pay-master, and your work is with
the Lord. You may meet with discouragements as a servant, but it is
thy calling, and therein God will be glorified. When troubles over
take us in our calling, we do not rush into them, but fall into them :
James i. 2, ' My brethren, count it all joy, when ye fall into divers
temptations. ' It is matter of rejoicing when ye fall into divers trials,
not when ye draw them upon yourselves, or thrust yourselves into them ;
some run into afflictions, and seek the cross, do not take it up when
it stands in their way.
[5.] Bear up against opposition and difficulty with courage and
boldness. Jonah smarted for declining the duty of his calling, because
of danger. When you meet with unreasonable men ' The Lord is
faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil, ' 2 Thes. iii. 3.
It is good to follow God wherever he leadeth. If to do any work, to
undergo any danger, remember he is faithful ; he is not wont to put an
heavy burden upon weak shoulders : 1 Cor. x. 13, ' There hath no
temptation taken you, but such as is common to man ; but God is faith
ful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be
able to bear it. '
3. There are some cases ; as
[1.] Suppose a man hath entered upon a calling, especially a higher
calling upon carnal grounds, as profit and preferment ; or by carnal
means, as many enter into the ministry ; and being taught better things,
should they leave their office and employment ?
Ans. If he tindeth himself unfit for that calling into which he hath
thrust himself out of an evil aim, or that he wants gifts for the exercise
of it, he must, lay it aside ; for he cannot do faithful service to God in
that calling, and he cumbereth the ground and occupieth the room of
another ; like that barren fig-tree, on which that sentence was passed :
240 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XLI.
Luke xiii. 7, ' Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground ? ' But if there
be hope, that he is able to discharge his duty in some measure, he
must not desert his station ; he may afterwards by his repentance and
faithfulness approve himself to God and the church ; at first, he wanted
not gifts, but uprightness.
[2.] Whether a man may not change his calling ?~
Ans (1.) Negatively. Not out of pride and disdain at the meanness
of it. It is credit enough to do God's work ; if it be a servile calling
to church or commonwealth, you do him service. There is no calling
so mean but a humble heart may do God service in it; you may
adorn the gospel as long as you walk honestly. The apostle exhorts
servants, Tit. ii. 10, ' Not purloining, but showing all good fidelity ;
that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things/
Not out of covetousness ; Heb. xiii. 5, ' Let your conversation be without
covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. ' God will
be sure to cross carnal desires. Not out of envy and ambition, because
others have a better calling than we ; this breedeth mischief arid con
fusion : 2 Sam. xv. 4, ' Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made
judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might
come unto me, and I would do him justice ! ' Not out of distrust
and impatience ; you will meet with like trials in every condition of
life. He that cannot trust God in one calling, doth but trust himself
in another. Not out of fond curiosity and levity of mind, out of incon
stancy and itch of novelty ; they love to make experiments, though to
their own loss and the public disturbance many times. It must not
be done lightly and rashly, but upon weighty causes : 1 Cor. vii. 20,
' Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. '
Every one should be contented with his own place and station,
Though the calling in itself be low, yet to him it is best, and most
expedient for him ; otherwise you tax God's providence, who called
you to such a function.
(2.) Positively. I confess it may be done ; for that place, 1 Cor.
vii. 20, ' Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he is called ; '
the meaning is, the place wherein religion finds us is not to be changed
merely upon receiving religion. It is true, a servant may become free ;
Amos was an herdsman, yet was made a prophet; Christ's disciples
were fishermen. There are cases which may clear up the will of God
to a man's conscience. Private necessity and public good may make a
man change his calling. Private necessity, as when the former calling
ceaseth to be useful, and to minister supply to us, as framing instru
ments of war in a time of peace, or when the course of trading is altered.
Public good, as when a man may be more useful, if by mistake or the
carnal affection of parents he have been diverted to another course of
life.
[3.] Whether a man may offer himself to a calling, being sensible of
his inward call, and after trial of strength of gifts, or should expect
till he be invited by others ?
Ans. He may desire it ; therefore in a modest manner he may
manifest his desire to whom it concerneth: 1 Tim. iii.-l, 'If a man
desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work ; ' if a man be
entrusted with fitting gifts, and set apart by God, he may offer himself
VER. 8] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 241
to a lawful trial, without a presumption of his strength or a haughty
ambition, but out of the conscience of an inward call, to employ his
talent in the service of the Lord. Moses' tergiversation had like to cost
him dear : Exod. iv. 14, ' And the anger of the Lord was kindled
against Moses/
Thirdly, I shall now apply the text to a personal calling, or a call
to such a place, where we may exercise our talents and abilities for
the glory of God, and the good of others.
This case is weighty, and necessary to be resolved
1. Because the place falleth under a call, as well as the office itself.
The apostles had not only a commission, but a passport ; upon every
removal or resting they ever depend on the call of God. Paul was
warned by oracle to tarry in Corinth : Acts xviii. 10, ' I have much
people in this city ; ' and by vision he was called into Macedonia : Acts
xvi. 9, ' And a vision appeared to Paul in the night : there stood a
man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia,
and help us.' Nay, when they purposed to go to one place, out of the
judgment of reason, they were diverted to another by revelation : Acts
xvi. 7, ' After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithyma,
but the Spirit suffered them not.' It is true, we cannot expect oracles,
nor must we expect extraordinary dreams, our removes are not of
such consequence, and these are God's ancient ways ; yet our goings
fall under a providence : Ps. xxxvii. 23, ' The steps of a good man are
ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way.' And it is not
comfortable and safe to shift from place to place till we see God before
us ; as the Israelites moved by the motion of the pillar of cloud by day
and pillar of fire by night. And it is said, Acts xvii. 26, '" He hath
determined the times beforehand, and the bounds of their habitation.'
As their course of life, so also their place and dwelling are ordered by
God.
2. We cannot else expect a blessing. There where God hath set us,
there will he be with us, and bless us. This keepeth up our dependence
upon him : Ezra viii. 21, ' Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river
Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a
right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance ; '
and ver. 31, ' Then we departed from the river Ahava, on the twelfth
day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem ; and the hand of our God
was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of
such as lay in wait by the way.' They went on cheerfully, and found
God in the journey. Here he hath fixed me, and here will I expect
his blessing.
3. It is necessary to still murmurings when we are reduced to straits.
God trieth his people with difficulties and inconveniences ; though we
have God's warrant for our way, we cannot expect an absolute freedom
from them. Now if they light upon us in God's way, and the place
where he hath called us, we may bear them with the more patience.
As suppose poverty, troubles from ill neighbours, or sickness, if we have
not asked God's leave and blessing, conscience will turn upon us, and
sting us with remorse. But when we are persuaded that God hath
called us, faith quiets the heart, and worketh a humble submission.
The disciples were all sent to sea by Christ: Mat. xiv. 21, 'Jesus con-
VOL. xiv. Q
242 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SEE. XLI.
strained his disciples to get into a ship ; ' there was a call, yet they
were tossed with waves. Christ's warrant for the voyage did not
exempt them from trouble and danger ; yet we read of no fear till
Christ appeared on the waves, then ' they thought him a spirit, and
were sore afraid,' ver. 26. But Christ comforts them, and revealeth
himself to them ' Be not afraid, it is I,' ver. 27. So usually it falleth
out, this is a pattern of providence ; there will.be troubles, but in God's
way we need fear no danger.
4. Because it is a piece of atheism not to acknowledge God in every
accident and affair of life. God will have the dominion of his provi
dence acknowledged : James iv. 13-15, ' Go to now, ye that say, To-day
or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year,
and buy and sell, and get a gain, . . . for that ye ought to say, If the
Lord will we shall live, and do this or that/ Such .resolutions shut out
God when conceived without prayer and inquiry of God. Do not first
say, We will go to such a place, but, Lord, shall I ? We are neither
lords of lives nor of actions ; it is a piece of religious manners to ask
God's leave, and wait for his answer, if we expect his blessing : Judges
i. 1, 'The children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up
for us against the Canaanites first to fight against them.' Yea, profane
Ahab : 1 Kings xxii. 6, ' Shall I go against Kamoth-gilead to battle, or
shall I forbear ? '
5. Because many cases are exceeding difficult, as when God calls us
from a place of ease and safety to a place of hazard and danger ; as
when Christ called Peter to leave the ship, and come to him upon the
waters, Mat. xiv. 29 ; so when God calls to forsake our dearest interests
and relations. Now in such cases our call should be cleared up to us,
lest we decline the duty of our calling, as Jonah did ; God called him
to go to Nineveh, and because it was a work of much danger and
difficulty, he fleeth to Tarshish, to his great loss and hazard, for he was,
forced to take up his lodging for a while in the whale's belly. Or
sometimes there is a more urgent call ; God calleth one way, and our
inclinations draw us another, and the question lieth between duty and
interests, and yet interests want not excuses.
Well then, how shall we know the place when God hath called us to
fix the place of our abode ? The question coneerneth either Christians
in general, or else more particularly ministers, whose service is more
weighty, for in ordinary removes there is a greater latitude, or else
gentlemen who travel to get knowledge and experience, or else merchants
for traffic, whose affairs do often call them from country to country.
Now something is to be spoken for their satisfaction, that they may
see God therein.
First, For Christians in general, and so there are two cases
(1.) Concerning the fixing of their abode ; (2.) Concerning flying in
times of persecution.
1. Concerning the fixing of their abode. What rules shall they
observe to guide them in this weighty affair of life ? Particulars are
infinite, the general rules are these
[1.] There is much in the designation of providence, there where
God hath fixed our interests, birth, education, &c. : Acts xvii. 26, ' And
hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face
VER. 8.J SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 243
of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation.' There providence left us, and there
without scruple we may expect to find God. I am sure there we have
most opportunities to serve him, because of the privileges of our birth
and interests ; every man hath a right to the privileges of his native
soil.
[2.] But we are not absolutely confined there, but that upon
convenient reasons we may remove. ' The earth is the Lord's, and the
fulness thereof.' God is not tied to places, nor we. As they laughed
at his folly in Plutarch that said there was a better moon at Athens
than there was at Corinth ; certainly there is not a better God in one
place than in another. God is the same in England, in France, in the
Indies. And as God is not tied, so we are not tied : Ps. cxv. 16, ' The
heaven, even the heavens are the Lord's ; but the earth hath he given
to the children of men/ The earth lieth freely open to all passengers.
What partitions and restraints shall we fix but those that God hath
fixed by providence and property ? As long as we acknowledge
providence in asking his leave, seeking his blessing, observing the way
that he openeth to us, and as long as we do not invade property, and
disturb the first occupants, we may remove.
[3.] This removal must not be out of levity and wantonness, but
upon weighty cause. Some men are never fixed, but flit hither and
thither, though still to their loss and inconvenience. A rolling stone
never gathereth moss. This is to tempt God, as if his providence
should be at our beck. It was the advice of a heathen, Where thou
art well, keep thyself well, lest thinking to meet with better thou findest
worse. Usually these rolling stones carry their curse with them, and
when men will be trying conclusions ; the last conclusion of all is want
and inconvenience.
[4.] The weighty causes upon which we may remove are want of
health, if the places we live in prove hard and barren, and we know
not how to subsist, or want of ordinances, or a lawful calling from state
and church, whereof we are members, as to be ambassadors, or messengers
of the churches, or such like cases determinable by Christian prudence.
And so in conjugal relations : Ps. xlv. 10, ' Forsake thine own people,
and thy father's house.' Only, where the remove is of greater hazard,
the call must be more urgent : Mat. xiv. 22, ' And straightway Jesus '
-rtvayicaa-ev ' constrained his disciples to get into a ship/
[5.] Upon what cause soever we remove, we must consult with God
for his leave : James iv. 1. 5, ' If the Lord will, we shall live, and do
this or that ; ' for his blessing : Gen. xxiv. 12, ' Lord God of my
master Abraham, I pray thee send me good speed this day,' still consult
with the oracle. It was the theology of the gentiles, Dii magna cur-
ant, parva negligunt The gods regard great things, but neglect small
things. This thought is in the heart of many Christians, as if God did
only care for the greater matters. The blind world sets up an idol
called chance or fortune, and lives at perad venture : Prov. iii. 6, ' In all
thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.' The
children of God dare not resolve upon any course till they have asked
counsel of God ; they run to the oracle or ephod. Jacob in his journey
would not go to Laban, nor come from him without a warrant.
244 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [ER. XLI.
Jehoshaphat doth not send for the captains of the army, but the pro
phets of the Lord : 1 Kings xxii. 7, ' Is there not here a prophet of the
Lord, that we may inquire of him ? ' This is a great argument of the
fear of God. The heathens had their sybils, and oracles of Delphi
and Jupiter Ammon.
[6.] God's answer after prayer must be observed, otherwise we do but
mock God, and use it as a ceremony. Many ask God with an idol in
their hearts : Ezek. xiv. 3, ' Every man of the house of Israel that set-
teth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his
iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet ; I the Lord will
answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols.' Men
are resolved, and then pretend to consult God, as Jeremiah said to
Johanan and his company, Jer. xlii. 20, ' Ye dissembled in your hearts
when you sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray for us unto
the Lord our God, and according unto all that the Lord our God shall
say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.' Observe then God's answer,
your comfort and happiness dependeth on it ; as when God in the
course of his providence openeth a way, or by inward instinct directeth
us to such a course, or by powerful and persuading reasons poiseth the
judgment, usually by counsel in the heart : Ps. xvi. 7, ' My reins in
struct me in the night season ; ' or such a fit accommodation of the cir
cumstances and passages of providence, God inviteth and calleth forth
his people to follow him.
[7.] In doubtful cases we must not be swayed with interest but
conscience. All scruples must be determined by principles and reasons
of religion. It is carnal to measure all things by ease, peace, and
temporal welfare ; we must consider where we can have the greatest
capacity of glorfying God ; that is the general rule, even in civil affairs:
1 Cor. x. 31, ' Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glory of God.' This is the great end of our lives. A
Christian doth not altogether look how he may more gratify his own
concernments, but how he maybe more useful, and serve the great end
for which he was sent into the world ; as a traveller, when he cometh
to two ways, and knoweth not which to take, he doth not look which is
fairest or foulest, most smooth or plain, but which is most likely to suit
with the purpose of his journey. The plains of pleasure and profit
may be more grateful to the flesh, but they lie out of our road to heaven.
Means must be chosen with respect to the end ; in all deliberate counsels
reasons of religion must bear sway. Usually we consult with flesh
and blood, and then the conflicts of lusts and knowledge breed scruples
and irresolutions ; conscience saith one thing, and lust and interests
another, and so men are uncertain.
[8.] Whatever we do, we must go there where we have the ordinances,
and enjoy the communion of saints, otherwise we turn our backs upon
God, and that will not be our comfort : 1 Peter ii. 2, ' As newborn
babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.'
True saints cannot be without ordinances. It was Lot's sin to choose
Sodom for the pleasantness of the situation : Ps. Ixxxiv. 10, ' For a day
in thy courts is better than a thousand ; I had rather be a door
keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness/
It is observed of Cain, Gen. iv. 16, ' And Cain went out from the pre-
VSR. 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 245
sence, of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, in the east of Eden.'
How did he go from the presence of the Lord, seeing God is everywhere ?
The meaning is, he went from that part and quarter of the world where
God had his church, the place of his special presence. God's children
have left many conveniences to enjoy ordinances, as Moses left the
honours of Egypt for the company of the people of God. It is a fault
in Christians to turn their hacks upon the church and go to a Sodom,,
where they will be grieved to see and hear God dishonoured.
2. About flying in times of persecution.
[1.] In general, it is lawful in some cases. We have a precept, at
least an allowance for it : Mat. x. 23, ' When they persecute you in this;
city, flee ye to another ' viz., when our life shall serve more for God's
glory and the church's good, than our death can. If God driveth us
out of our place, and provideth another, accept it with thankfulness. I
prove this by example and reason. By example Christ fled into Egypt
when Herod sought his life : Mat. ii. 13, 'And when they were de
parted, behold the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream
saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into
Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word : for Herod will seek
the young child to destroy him.' And Christ hid himself, and went
out of the temple, when the Jews threatened to stone him : John viii.
59, ' Then took they up stones to cast at him ; but Jesus hid himself,
and went out of the temple.' So the prophets and holy men in scripture
Elijah fled to Beersheba when Jezabel sought his life : 1 Kings xix.
3, ' And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to
Beersheba.' Paul was let down by the wall in a basket to escape the
Jews : Acts ix. 25, ' Then the disciples took him by night and let
him down by a wall in a basket.' We are bound to keep our lives
till God requireth them. Life is a treasure he hath lent us, and we
must keep it till the owner demandeth it of us, and to lay it out for
his use ; as when a man delivereth money to you, you must answer for
it to him. To draw danger on ourselves is to tempt God ; when means
of escape are offered, we must use them with thankfulness, and when
God in his providence openeth a fair door. All this showeth that it is
not unlawful in itself.
[2.] Though it be lawful to fly in persecution, yet it is not lawful for
all. Austin saith, In graviori persecutione nee omnes fugere, neque
omnes manure debent ; all should not stay, nor should all Ay, as not
those that are useful to the church . John x. 12, ' He that is an hire
ling and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf
coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth ; and the wolf catcheth them,
and scattereth the sheep.' This is not to avoid persecution, but to
run away from our duty. He that should be an example of fortitude
and constancy should not first manifest fear. Though in a personal
persecution, when pastors are most aimed at, they may fly, as in the
before-mentioned examples of Christ, Elijah and Paul, and the prophets
that were hid by Obadiah by fifty and fifty in a cave, 1 Kings xviii. 13.
Those that by a special instinct of the Spirit of God are called to suffer
and confront the adversaries of the truth must not decline it, ' Paul
went bound in spirit to Jerusalem,' Acts xx. 22 ; and when his suffer
ings were foretold, and the disciples besought him not to go to Jerusalem,
246 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XLI.
he answered : Acts xxi. 13, ' What mean you to weep, and to break my
heart ? I am ready, not to be bound only, but to die at Jerusalem,
for the name of the Lord Jesus.' God had picked him out for a
champion, and he would not draw back. Or when all lawful means
of escape are taken away from us, so that we cannot fly without dis
honesty and disobedience, and scandal, we must go through it. God,
that is Lord of thy life, requireth it of thee : Horn. xiv. 7-9, ' For no
man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself ; for whether we
live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord ;
whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's.' For to this end
Christ both died and rose and revived, that he might be lord both of
dead and living.' By a base flying from suffering you retract your vows
when God challengeth you upon them.
[3.] For a more particular determination general rules cannot be
given, but it is left to every one's particular prudence and faithfulness,
that we act so that we neither wound conscience nor dishonour God ;
and we are not faithful unless we seek wisdom of God, what to do in
this particular. It is most natural to us to fly, and think of starting
holes ; but the best way is to fly to Christ, and make his name our
strong tower. Otherwise we cannot fly from God ; the Jews brought a
tempest with them whithersoever they went.
Secondly, More particularly concerning ministers, whose office is of
public use and influence, what is to be observed in fixing their station
and place of service ? Ministers are to be considered either as altogether
free, or else as already related to some congregation and particular place.
1. If free already, the case is the more easy, these things make a call.
{!.] A fair invitation from those that have power to call ; providence
is to be observed in stirring up the hearts of men. Besides authori
tative mission, there is an election or call from the people, as Christ
had his ordination from God and election from the church ; as Hosea i.
11, ' Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be
gathered together, and appoint themselves one head,' compared with
Eph. i. 22, ' And give him to be the head over all things to the church.'
It is notable that in Paul's vision the call is not managed by God, but
by a man of Macedonia : Acts xvi. 9, ' And a vision appeared to Paul
in the night : there stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying,
Come over into Macedonia and help us.' Only if a people be not in a
capacity to choose, then an authoritative mission is enough, and we
must preach whether they will hear or whether they will forbear ; as
Paul and Barnabas were sent from the elders of Antioch to go to the
gentiles, Acts xiii.
[2.] When there is a universal concurrence of sweet providences
removing all rubs and difficulties, there is a clear call of providence.
Sometimes there is a call from a people, which a man cannot close with
unless he should break through the hedge, and then a serpent will bite
him. Sometimes there may be an inclination, and providence may
hinder : Acts xvi 7, ' They assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit
suffered them not.' God himself may cast some bar in his providence
in our way. Or Satan may hinder : 1 Thes. ii. 18, ' Wherefore we
would have come unto you (even I Paul) once and again, but
Satan hindered us.' Satan hinders by stirring up opposition against
VER. 8.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 247
the ministers of the gospel. Or the greater necessities of other people
may hinder us : Born. xv. 22, ' For which cause ' (speaking of his
preaching the gospel where it had not been preached) ' I have been
much hindered from coming to you.' But then it is not every
inclination of our own hearts which is sufficient, but an inclination
spiritually raised by the instinct of the Holy Ghost, after prayer;
not upon secular encouragements of plentiful revenues, or a fatter
portion in the world. It is upon my heart to live and die with you.
2. About removes from one place to another, take these rules.
[1.] It is not simply unlawful. Ministers are not so fixed, as that
they cannot remove upon no accounts ; if so, raw and inexperienced
persons might happen to supply the greatest places. Churches are
bound to spare to others out of their plenty ; as the elders at Antioch
sent some of their company to preach to the gentiles, Acts xiii. We
are ministers of the catholic church rather than of any great con
gregation ; and where there is greatest necessity, or greatest aptness
and proportion of gifts, there are our pains to be bestowed. Greatest
necessity and opportunity : the good shepherd runneth after the lost
sheep, and leaveth the rest in the fold ; and where greatest measure of
gifts. God fitteth every light to every socket.
[2.] Whenever it is done, it must be with great advice and caution,
and upon an urgent call, by which you may clearly gather that God
hath called you to preach the gospel to them. The call had need be
urgent : whatever concurreth to an ordinary call must be double.
It must be upon much seeking of God, clear evidence, consent of
others, a spirit purged from secular interest, the consent of the church
you leave gained, as much as may be, that they may deny themselves.
[3.] It is most comfortable when driven away by providence rather
than our own choice, as by defect of maintenance that is a negative
or privative persecution, in which case we may fly to a another city ;
or by violence of unreasonable men, that have not faith ; or upon con
tempt : Acts xix. 9, ' When divers were hardened and believed not,
but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from
them ; ' so Mat. xiv. 15, ' This is a desert place, and the time is now
past ; send the multitude away/ You are free of their blood if they will
not hear. Your rule is, Mat. x. 14, ' Whosoever shall not receive you
nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake
off the dust of your feet.'
Thirdly, For gentlemen who travel to get knowledge and experience.
1. It must not be undertaken upon light grounds. It is a great
adventure, and it is a sin to tempt God to protect us by casting our
selves upon great hazards for so small a reason as for mere pleasure and
curiosity, or pride and vain glory, to learn exotic fashions or the like.
2. It must not be to places idolatrous, and where true religion is
under a restraint; you usually then put yourselves upon a snare.
Abraham could not remain in Chaldea because of abominable idolatry
and corruption, and you go into them voluntarily to learn of their ways.
3. If it be in places free from infection, where you may live with
safety and a good conscience, to get more knowledge and experience,
it is commendable ; as the Queen of Sheba came from far to hear the
wisdom of Solomon, 1 Kings x. 1, for which she is commended by
Christ, Mat. xii. 42.
248 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XLII.
Fourthly, For merchants, who remove for traffic, especially into
places where the true religion is not professed, it may be suppressed
with extremity of rigour.
1. It is lawful certainly to pass from country to country for traffic's
sake and to maintain commerce, for there are divers commodities in
divers places.
2. Conversation with heretics and infidels may be allowed, else we
must go out of the world : 1 Cor. v. 9, 10, ' I wrote unto you in an
epistle, not to company with fornicators, yet not altogether with the
fornicators of the world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with
idolaters, for then must ye needs go out of the world.' I speak of a
civil commerce, which may be maintained with these cautions.
[1.] With all our traffic we must take all occasions to propagate re
ligion in the truth and power of it especially when stirred up by impulse
of spirit; Deut. xxxiii. 18, 19, 'And of Zebulun he said, Eejoice,
Zebulun, in thy going out ; and, Issachar, in thy tents. They shall
call the people unto the mountain ; there they shall offer sacrifices of
righteousness, for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas and of
treasures hid in the sand.'
[2.] Traffic must be managed by fit persons, not novices, and persons
ungrounded in religion ; it is very dangerous for such. This is as if
you should turn a child loose among a company of poisons ; an empty
pitcher soon cracks by the fire.
[3.] There must be no fixed habitation ; if you thus leave the
ordinances and societies of saints for trade, religion is made to stoop to
gain.
SERMON XLII.
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him
of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath founda
tions, whose builder and maker is God. HEB. xi. 9, 10.
THE apostle is commending faith from the examples of the patri
archs; after the flood he beginneth with Abraham,. the father of the
faithful. In the former verse he speaks of the place whence he was
called, in this of the place to which he was called ; there he had com
mended him for his self-denial in obeying God's call, and here for his
patience and constancy in waiting for the promise. From God's
training up Abraham in a course of difficulties, we see it is no easy
matter to go to heaven ; there is a great deal of ado to unsettle a
believer from the world, and there is a great deal of ado to fix the
heart in the expectation of heaven. First there must be self-denial in
coming out of the world, and divorcing ourselves from our bosom sins
and dearest interests; and then there must be patience shown in
waiting for God's mercy to eternal life, waiting his leisure as well as
performing his will. Here is the time of our exercise, and we must
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 249
expect it, since the father of the faithful was thus trained up ere he
could inherit the promises.
In these two verses we have a second effect of Abraham's faith and
the reason of it.
In the ninth verse we have the second effect of Abraham's faith
' By faith he sojourned in the land of promise,' &c. There you may
take notice of.
1. The act of obedience By faith he sojourned in the land of
promise, as in a strange country.
2. The symbol and rite by which this obedience was signified and
expressed Dwelling in tabernacles.
3. His fellows and followers in the same obedience With Isaac
and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. Of these in their
order.
First, I begin with the act of obedience ' By faith he sojourned
in the land of promise, as in a strange country.' The words may be
taken in a double sense, as they imply his condition of life and his
disposition of heart. Abraham was both a literal and a spiritual
stranger in the land of promise.
] . Let us look upon the expression as implying his condition of life.
Abraham was not in the condition of an inheritor, but of a sojourner
in the land of Canaan ; therefore it is called the land of his sojournings,
or in which he was a stranger : Gen. xvii. 8, ' I will give unto thee,
and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger;'
and so he confesseth to the children of Heth, Gen. xxiii. 4, ' I am a
stranger and a sojourner with you.' This sojourning was an act of
faith, because he was borne up by faith in the promise against all the
troubles which he suffered. He had large lands and possessions in
Ur of the Chaldees ; but these he left, and when he came to Canaan,
the land of promise, he might expect the fruit of his faith and labours ;
or else, having seen the land, to return with God's leave to the place
from whence he came. But God had not yet done with the trial of
his faith ; from his father's house he was a voluntary and obedient
exile ; and in Canaan, where God brought him, he is still in the con
dition of a sojourner ; the same faith that moved him to go he knew
not whither, bindeth him there to wait God's leisure till he should enjoy
the benefit of the promise, being contented in the meanwhile with
what estate divine providence should allot.
I shall discuss but one question, and then come to the observa
tions.
Quest. Why God would have AbraJiam tarry in Canaan? He
might have shown him in the land, and then returned him to Ur of
the Chaldees among his friends again. What are the reasons ?
Ans. God's will is reason enough ; but yet it seemed to be for these
causes :
1. Partly to avoid idolatry: Joshua xxiv. 2, 3, 'Your fathers dwelt
on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah the father of
Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they worshipped other gods.
And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and
led him throughout all the land of Canaan.' This was more dangerous
among them of his own kindred, than among the Canaanites, and
250 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [$ER. XLII.
more plausible, there being a greater acknowledgment of the true God,
and so aptest to take.
2. For his trial and exercise, the father of the faithful was to be an
example of self-denial, faith and patience.
3. To take livery and seizin of the land in behalf of his posterity,
his faith was more stirred up by seeing it, and being constantly in it ;
by faith he could say, This is mine.
4. That he might be a means to bear forth the name of God among
that people. The sins of the Amorites were not yet full. God sent
them Abraham, as he sent Lot to Sodom.
5. To be a pattern of divine blessing and providence ; for there he
increased in riches wonderfully : Gen. xiii. 2, ' And Abraham was very
rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold ; ' and so was an instance of the
reward of obedience to the people of that land. He had not all in hope,
but something in hand.
I come now to the notes ; they may be taken from his condition, and
from his submitting to that condition ; for it was an act of his faith to
sojourn in the land of promise, as in a strange land.
[1.] From his condition appointed by God upon special reasons.
(1.) Observe From what inconsiderable beginnings the promise of
God taketh place. Abraham cometh into Canaan as a poor sojourner ;
but yet to take seizin of the land, and there he is forced to borrow an
habitation, and buyaburying-plaee. Heborroweth an habitation, or place
wherein to set his tent : Gen. xiv. 13, ' He dwelt in the plain of Mam re
the Amorite.' He was as it were tenant and farmer to Mamre ; the
whole laud was his by right and by the grant of God, but others had
the possession. And he buyeth a place of burial : Gen. xxiii. 8, 9,
' Entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the
cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field :
for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me, for a possession
of a burying-place among you.' Otherwise he had not land enough
whereon to set his foot : Acts vii. 5, ' And he gave him none inheritance
in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on/ A strange beginning for
so great promises ! The first thing he takes possession of was a place
of burial for the dead ; that was all the purchase he made ; so that
his infeoffment and entrance was rather a resignation and farewell, and
he seemed to provide more for a departure than an abode. Thus won
derfully is God wont to work, and by unlikely means to bring about the
greatest effects : dead bones keep possession for four hundred yearis.
Hereby his power is known : Ps. cv. 11-13, ' Unto thee will I give the
land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance ; when they were but a few
men in number ; yea, very few, and strangers in it. When they went
from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people.'
(2.) Observe, that God's promise is not always made good in kind.
Abraham is called to a land which he should after receive for an inher-
tance ; and instead of Canaan he hath heaven a city founded not by
the Amorites, but God. In performing temporal promises, God doth
not always observe the letter, and give the particular blessing; but he
giveth what is equivalent, or that which is better. This is the land
that I will give thee ; but yet ' he looked for a city that had foundations,
whose builder and maker is God.' God's people have never cause to
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 251
complain of his breach, of promise ; if he change their wages it is for
the better ; a secret sense of his favour and possession of heaven is
much better than to be king of all the world. Jacob complains of
Laban, Gen. xxxi 7, ' Your father hath deceived me, and changed my
wages ten times,' but none have cause to complain so of God. Temporal
promises are not always fulfilled in the letter, because God is not
absolutely bound; but usually they have that which far exceedeth.
If a man should promise another two hundred pounds, and give him
an inheritance of so many hundreds or thousands by the year, here
is no deceit. God is often better than his word ; but never cometh
short.
(3.) Observe, that temporal blessings are usually made good to the
posterity of the faithful. Abraham was a stranger in the- land of pro
mise, and had not a foot of land there ; but his posterity possessed it,
and drove out the Oanaanites. Believers have enough in God ; and
however he dealeth with them, they can wait upon him ; but usually
their posterity, if they have nothing else, enjoy many temporal blessings
with respect to their father's faith. A land of promise contents
Abraham ; he leaveth the possession to his posterity. Thus it often
falleth out the father is rich in faith, and the children, though carnal,
are rich in this world ; they have the blessing of Ishmael, if not the
blessing of Isaac.
(4.) Observe, that though God giveth a title, yet we must wait till
providence giveth us fair possession. Abraham had a title given him
by God, but the Amorites had the possession, therefore ' he sojourned
in the land of promise as in a strange land/ Whatever our hopes are,
faith maketh not haste. If we may have right as an heir to his land,
or a lord to an estate that is leased out, or an unjustly exiled man to
his possessions, yet we must use no irregular means, not secretly with
the death of those that enjoy it that is murder, but we must be con
tented for awhile to be as mere strangers, as Abraham was in the laud
of promise.
(5.) Observe, that God doth not cast a people out of their posses
sions till their iniquities be full. He had given the land of Canaan to
Abraham, but he giveth him not the possession ; and the reason is
rendered, Gen. xv. 16, ' For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.'
His posterity was not to possess it till four hundred years after the first
grant. Thus God gave the kingdom to David, but Saul possessed it a
good while afterwards. Great is the patience of God to sinners, and
the sentence is not executed as soon as past.
(6.) Observe, that the accomplishment of promises is delayed till a
fit time. It was a land under promise ; but yet to Abraham and his
seed for awhile it was as a strange land. When Abraham wandered
up and down like a stranger, where was the heritage that was promised
to him ? He might say, Is this my land which others possess ? but
he lets God alone with his promise. God is not slack, but we are hasty :
Gal. iv. 4, ' When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman, made under the law.' Our times are always present,
but God's time is not come. The Lord tarried so long, till it was high
time to take vengeance of the Amorites for their sins ; and till it was
high time for the Israelites to shift dwellings, and the people were
252 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XLII.
grown to such a number, that they might not come by way of miracle
to take possession, but by conquest. When the oven is hot, then is
the loaf set in ; so when all circumstances concur, then shall the pro
mise be accomplished.
(7.) Observe, a man that is called to converse with idolaters must
converse with them as sparingly as may be. While. Canaan Avas'full
of idolaters, Abraham must be but a sojourner, and must dwell in tents
to profess his religion. Thus we have considered Abraham's sojourn
ing as appointed by God.
[2.] Let us consider it as an act of faith and obedience. c By faith
Abraham sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country/
In his faith there are three things notable his patience, his contenta-
tion, and his constancy.
(1.) His patience, not only in digesting the troubles of his present
estate, but in waiting God's leisure. Observe, we must not be offended
with delay, but must patiently wait for the accomplishment of God's
promises. Abraham borrowed a place wherein to fix his tent ; Isaac
is fain to struggle for a well ; and Jacob lived in a wandering and
movable condition ; and yet they waited till God should make way
for the possession of Canaan. What can we do in such a case ? can
we live upon the reversion of a promise, especially of promises that are
to be made good to posterity ? God is much glorified in our patient
expectation, when we can think ourselves as well for that which shall
come as if we were in actual and present possession. This is the pro
perty of faith : Heb. xi. 1, ' Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
and the evidence of things not seen/ The word of God is enough to
a believer, but carnal men are all for present possession ; they will trust
God no further than they can see him.
(2.) His contentation. Observe, contentment with a small portion
of earthly things is a great fruit of faith. By faith Abraham sojourned,
though he had neither house nor home in the land of promise, but only
a sepulchre ; this was enough. Faith doth not only beget a confidence,
but also a composure of spirit, and submission to the Lord's will. A
little thing will serve on earth, because we expect so much in heaven.
Well then, do not always look to confidence, but to this contentation.
Are carnal affections mortified ? can you submit to hardships ? Though
in regard of temporals you find loss by trusting in God, yet is it
enough that you have a promise of better things ? Then do you believe.
Abraham was not covetous ; he looketh upon the spiritual rather than
the earthly part of the promise ; he was not for fields and lands ; he
saw that his Canaan must be heaven, and was content.
[3.] His constancy. You may observe in Abraham an unwearied con
stancy in obeying God and believing his promises, though all things
seemed contrary. He sojourned where God would have him, and waited
for what God would give him. Observe, that true faith adhereth to God,
though it find not what it believeth, but is often disappointed, and seeth
no probability of the thing promised. Abraham leaveth Ur of the
Chaldees ; had not a foot of land in Canaan ; sojourneth among the
Canaanites ; thence by a famine is driven into Egypt ; is often burdened
with envy ; at length is told that the land bolongeth to his seed ; yet he
remaineth without issue for a long time, till he was a hundred years old ;
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 253
his seed threatened to suffer a long captivity, yet he hopeth against hope.
Faith doth not look on the things promised, but on God ; if it alto
gether looked on the things promised, it would soon fail and wax
faint. Abraham's case was j ust like David's ; the Canaanites were strong
and mighty, and dwelt in cities, as wicked men, in David's time, when
he was afflicted, : prosper in the world, and increase in riches/ Ps.
Ixxiii. 12 ; but yet read verses 23-26, ' Nevertheless I am continually
with thee ; thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide
me by thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. Whom have
I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire
besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth : but God is the strength
my heart and my portion for ever.' They have God, and they have
heaven, and thence ariseth this constancy of faith. Thus through all
temptations must we be constant to the end. When difficulties arise,
we think of returning into Egypt, still bear up.
Obj. But this is the property of strong faith.
Ans. No, but of all faith ; strong faith overcometh temptations with
less difficulty ; but yet weak faith, if true, persevereth to the end through
a thousand temptations. The disciples were oXiyoTrtaroi, of little faith ;
yet saith Christ to them, Luke xxii. 28, 29, ' Ye are they which have
continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a
kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me/ Now though we
have not such clear grounds to hope as Abraham, yet we have God's
promises, and his word is as sure as an oracle. We trust in the same
God, and look for the same heaven ; therefore do not draw back, but
continue with God, and own his cause in all trials.
Secondly, Let us look upon this expression of Abraham's sojourning
in the land of promise as in a strange land ; as it implieth the disposi
tion of Abraham's heart, and not only the condition of his life. Canaan
was assigned to Abraham, not only as a place of trial, but as a figure
and pledge of heaven ; therefore, because he expected a better country,
and cities not built by the Amorites, but a city that hath foundations,
built by God himself, therefore he is said to dwell there as in a strange
country ; he looked for another home, and therefore in Canaan he
lived as a stranger. Thus the expression is taken elsewhere. When
Abraham's seed was in a settled condition, and had taken possession of
that land of which Abraham had only the promise, God tells them they
were but strangers and sojourners : Lev. xxv. 23, ' The land shall not
be sold for ever : for the land is mine ; for ye are strangers and sojourners
with me ; ' not only the wandering patriarchs, who flitted from place to
place, but their posterity, even in the time of their greatest happiness
and settled abode. David was a king ; yet he saith, Ps. xxxix. 12, ' I
am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner as all my fathers were.' Now,
lest this should seem an expression suited to David's case, when he was
chased like a flea, or hunted like a partridge upon the mountains, you
shall see ; when he was settled in his kingdom towards the end and
close of his life ; when he had gotten so many victories, and his people
lived quietly in their own possessions ; and they offered so many cart
loads of gold and silver, yet then he confesseth, 1 Chron. xxix. 15, ' We
are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers : our
days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.' The
land never enjoyed greater peace, never flowed in greater wealth ; the
254 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XLII.
people never seemed to be more at home, everyone sitting and singing
under his own vine and fig-tree, yet saith he, ' We are strangers before
thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were.' So we are taught in the
gospel, 1 Peter, ii. 11, ' Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and
pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.' They
to whom Peter wrote were strangers in a literal sense : 1 Peter, i. ] ,
' To the strangers scattered thoughout Pontus,' &c. But it is there
taken in a spiritual sense, as appears by the exhortation. Out of all
Observe, that the children of God there, where they have best right
and most possessions, are but strangers and pilgrims. How settled
soever their condition be, yet this is the temper of the saints upon
earth, to count themselves but strangers. All men indeed are strangers
and sojourners; but the saints do best discern it, and most freely
acknowledge it. Wicked men have no firm dwelling upon earth, but
that is against their intention ; their inward thoughts and desire is,
that they may abide for ever ; they are strangers against their wills,
their abode is uncertain in the world, and they cannot help it. And
pray mark, there are two distinct words used in this case in Peter,
' as strangers and pilgrims ' co? Trapoi/cou? /cat irapeir iS^/iov? ; and in
the old testament ' strangers and sojourners/ A stranger is one that
hath his abode in a foreign country ; that is not a native and denizen
of the place, though he liveth there ; and in opposition to the natives
he is called a stranger ; as if a Frenchman should live in England, he
is a stranger. But a pilgrim and a sojourner is one that intendeth not
to settle, but only passeth through a place, and is in motion travelling
homeward. So the children of God, in relation to a country of their
own in another place namely, heaven, they are denizens there, but
strangers in the world ; and they are sojourners and pilgrims in regard
of their motion and journey towards their own country. Now, wicked
men are only strangers in regard of their unsettled abode in the world
but they are not pilgrims ; they have no inheritance to expect in
heaven ; here is the place where they would abide for ever. Let God
keep heaven to himself, so they might have the world ; they are sure
to go out of the world, but they are not sure to go to heaven ; and so
they are strangers, but not pilgrims. But briefly I shall show you
(1.) How Christians are strangers and pilgrims ; (2.) The inferences of
duty from hence ; (3.) How we may get our hearts into such a frame ;
1. The resemblance between the temper of the saints and the con
dition of a stranger and pilgrim. The allusion may be taken from an
ordinary strangership and pilgrimage, or from the pilgrimage of Israel
through the desert into Canaan.
[1.] From an ordinary pilgrimage.
(1.) A stranger is one that is absent from his country, and from
his father's house. So are we ; heaven is our country ; God is there, and
Christ is there. The apostle saith, 2 Cor. v. 6, ' Whilst we are at home
in the body, we are absent from the Lord.' We are strangers there,
where we are absent from God and Christ Ubi pater, ibi pairia ;
our birth is from heaven, and thither we tend. Rivers run away from
their springs, and never return more ; but it is not so with us ; our
springs are in Christ, and our streams are to him ; the tendency is
according to the principle. Our birth is from heaven^ and thither are
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 255
the motions and tendencies of renewed souls ; thence they came, and
thither they tend.
(2.) A stranger in a foreign country is not known, nor valued accord
ing to his birth and breeding ; so the saints walk up and down in the
world like princes in disguise ' The king's daughter is all glorious
within,' Ps. xlv. 13. The world knoweth not our birth, nor our breed
ing, nor our hopes, nor our expectations. ' Our life is hid with Christ
in God,' Col. iii, 3 ; and therefore we are often judged according
to the flesh and outward appearance, but live unto God in the
Spirit.
(3.) Strangers are liable to inconveniences ; so are godly men in
the world Religio scit se peregrinam esse in terris, saith Tertullian,
it is like a strange plant brought from a foreign country, and doth not
agree with the nature of the soil, it thriveth not in the world. Wicked
men prosper here ; they are like thistles and nettles, that grow of their
own accord ; the world is their native soil.
(4.) A stranger is patient, standeth not for ill-usage, and is con
tented with pilgrim's fare and lodging. We are now abroad, and must
expect hardship ' In the world you shall have tribulation/ John xvi.
33. God permitteth inconveniences to arise to wean us from the
world, and make us long for home.
(5.) A stranger is wary that he may not give offence and incur the
hatred and displeasure of the natives. We had need to ' walk wisely
towards them that are without,' Col. iv 5 ; we are in the land of our
observers.
(6.) A stranger is thankful for the least favour ; so must we be
thankfully contented with the things God hath bestowed on us. Any
thing in a strange country is much : 1 Chron. xxix. 13-15, ' We thank
thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is
my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this
sort ? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given
thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners as were all our
fathers.'
(7.) A stranger that hath a journey to go would pass over it as soon
as he can ; and so we, who have a journey to heaven desire to be dis
solved : Phil. i. 23, ' Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ,
which is far better.' It is the joy of their souls to think to be at home
with Christ.
(8.) A stranger buyeth not such things as he cannot carry with him ;
he doth not buy trees, house, household stuff, but jewels and pearls,
and such things as are portable. So such things as we can
carry with us to heaven should take up our time and care. Piety and
godliness outlives the grave ; our wealth doth not follow us but our
works follow us ; and therefore our great care should be to get the
jewels of the covenant, the graces of God's Spirit, those things that
will abide with us.
(9.) A stranger's heart is in his country ; so is a saint's : Phil. iii.
20, TO irokirevfj.arjp.wv 'Our conversation is in heaven;' these are his
thoughts, thither he is drawing home his trade; so is a Christian
drawing his heart heavenward : heaven is his home, this life is but the
way. But now when, men lavish out their respects by wholesale upon
256 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [&ER. XLII.
the world, and can scarce retail a thought on heaven, they are not
passengers but inhabitants ; here they are at home.
(10.) A stranger is inquisitive after the way, fearing lest he should
go amiss ; so is a Christian : Ps. cxix. 19, ' I am a stranger in the earth,
hide not thy commandments from me.' We need direction in a strange
place ; there are so many byways in the world that we may soon mis
carry, and be led by our own lusts, or the suggestions of others, into
such ways and practices as God doth not allow.
(11.) A stranger provides for his return, as a merchant that he may
return richly laden. When you send a child for breeding beyond the
seas, he taketh care that when he returns he may return as a man
accomplished, so as to please his father. So we must appear before
God in Sion ; what manner of persons ought we to be ? Let us return
from our travel well provided.
[2.] It carryeth some resemblance with Israel's travelling in the
wilderness, when they came out of Egypt to go into the land of Canaan.
They were brought out of Egypt, and we are taken out of the power of
darkness : Col. i. 13, ' Who hath delivered us from the power of dark
ness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.' They
had the law given them in the wilderness, and God's word is our light
during our pilgrimage : Ps. cxix. 105, ' Thy word is a lamp unto my
feet and a light unto my path.' They were fed with manna from
heaven, and we have Christ, who is hidden manna, the bread that came
down from heaven : John vi. 31, 32, 'Our fathers did eat manna, in
the wilderness, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to
eat. Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father
giveth you the true bread from heaven.' They were guided by the
pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, which never forsook them till they
came to Canaan, and we are under God's providence and fatherly care :
Ps. Ixxiii. 24, ' Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards
receive me to glory.' In the wilderness they were troubled with fiery
serpents as we are with fleshly lusts : 1 Peter ii. 11, ' Dearly beloved,
I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, that
war against your souls/ Then Amalek rose up against them, and
smote their rear, and we have our persecutors and oppressors in the
world : 2 Tim. iii. 12, ' Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.' The clusters of grapes and excellent fruits
of Canaan were brought to them in the wilderness, and we have the
first-fruits of the Spirit : Kom. viii. 23, ' And not only they, but our
selves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption
of our body.' We have the beginnings of heaven during our pilgrim
age, grace, peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost ; these fruits
are brought as a taste of the goodness of the land, and as a pledge of
their interest in it. By the cluster of grapes God gave them livery
and seizin of Canaan ; so by the first-fruits of the Spirit we have a
taste and earnest of the heavenly state. Moses brought them to the
borders of Canaan, but Joshua led them into the land, as Jesus leadeth
us into heaven. Good works are the way, but not the cause of
entrance.
2. What are the inferences of duty that may be drawn hence.
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 257
[1.] We learn to mortify fleshly lusts, because these weaken our
desires of heaven, and hinder us in our journey. This is the apostle's
inference : 1 Peter ii. 11, ' Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers
and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.'
If we were not pilgrims bound for another world, it were more tolerable
to gratify the senses, and to give contentment to every carnal desire ;
but we are in a journey, and therefore should mortify fleshly lusts.
Brutish affections are all for the present, and weaken our desires of
things to come ; like the flesh-pots of Egypt, they make us forget
heaven, and forget home. They distract the mind, and draw it another
way, that it is cumbered with much serving ; as it was said of Martha,
Luke x. 40, ' Martha was cumbered about much serving/ The soul
must have some oblectation and delight ; love cannot remain idle.
When the pipes leak, the course of the stream is diverted. And as
they distract, so they load and clog the soul ; we feel no more weight
than a bird under her feathers, but indeed they are the soul's load :
Heb. xii. 1, ' Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before
us.' Immoderate and carnal affections, like a weight, press the soul
downward : 2 Tim. iii. 6, ' They lead captive silly women laden with
sins, led away with divers lusts/ Fishes feel no weight, though they
swim ever so low in the waters ; heavy bodies are never heavy in their
proper places. A man that hath set up his rest here doth not feel lust
to be a weight and load to him ; but to one that looketh towards
heaven they are burdensome, as a clog to his soul, that depresseth him
in all his heavenly flights and motions. And they do not only distract
and clog, but they distemper the soul. The racers were dieted for the
Isthmic games : 1 Cor. ix. 25, ' Every man that striveth for the
mastery is temperate in all things/ So saith the apostle, ' I keep
under my body, and bring it into subjection/ ver. 27. Lusts put us
quite out of temper for a heavenly journey. Therefore as strangers
and pilgrims you must mortify fleshly lusts by prayer, watchfulness,
beating down the body, cutting off the provisions of the flesh, and the
like means.
[2.] Do not embroil yourselves in the cares of this world. God is called
a stranger and a wayfaring man when he seems not to administer to
the wants and necessities of his people : Jer. xiv. 8, ' Why shouldst
thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth
aside to tarry for a night ? ' Do not entangle yourselves in worldly pur
suits and practices ; your abode is here but for a time, and you know
not how soon you may be called hence : 1 Cor. vii. 29-31, ' The time
is short : it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though
they had none, and they that weep as though they wept not, and they
that rejoice as though they rejoiced not, and they that buy as though
they possessed not, and they that use this world as not abusing it ; for
the fashion of this world passeth away.' Use the world as if you used
it not. You do not stay but lodge here, therefore use the things of
the world as passengers do things in an inn ; they use them as being
willing and ready to leave them the next morning. Who would
trouble himself to hang his room in an inn for a night ? We are
strangers, and our days are but as a shadow, and to-morrow we must
VOL. xiv. R
258 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XLII.
be gone ; and therefore, though we may follow our callings with cheer
fulness and diligence, yet we should not make worldly gain our business.
You make the world your home when the heart is filled with sins and
the head with cares, and all to grow great, and shine in pomp and
pleasure. A pilgrim doth not make purchases in a foreign country,
but he is contented with a viaticum, so much as will serve him in his
journey ; but when men join field to field as if they would shine alone,
it is a sign they make this their home. Follow your callings, and be
content with God's allowance, it is enough to make your journey
comfortable, and let not these things take up your heart as if here
were your rest ; use them as an instrument of piety and charity, as a
help to a better life ; delight in them only as a help to the journey,
then they will not prove a hindrance. We cannot get out of the world
when we please, we are tenants at will to God, bu;b let us get the world
out of us ; and so shall we do if we use it as if we used it not, when
we do not make the world our end, our rest, our main work, but only
mind it in a subordination to a better life. When we make it our end
by an irregular aim, our work by an intemperate use, our rest by an
immoderate delight, we are at home ; God may keep heaven to himself
for us. God in mercy appoints us callings to busy our minds as a fit
diversion after worship ; sins settle in us by idleness, as wheat grows
musty in the garner if it be riot turned and stirred ; and as a means
of our support and usefulness : Eph. iv. 28, ' Let him that stole steal
no more, but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing
which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.' But if
Ave labour in them with other ends, we seek not another country, even
heaven, and are contented with our pilgrimage.
[3.] Mind home more. We should always be winding up our
affections, as those that keep clocks ; the weights run down of their
own accord, but we wind them up morning and evening : Ps. xxv. 1,
' Unto thee, Lord, do I lift up my soul.' Some there are who may
despise the profits of this world, but they are not heavenly ; they lose
something, but they find nothing in the room of it. If we are pilgrims,
we should seek a city that is to come : Heb. xiii. 14, ' For here have
we no continuing city, but we seek one to come ; ' that is, in our 'desires,
thoughts, endeavours, and groans after it : Ps. cxx. 5, ' Wo is me that
I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar.' Daily desires
and groans are the saint's harbingers, which are sent into heaven before
us ; and by this means we tell God that we would be at home.
Therefore you should be ever setting of your minds this way ; some
time should be redeemed for this purpose every day, that we may stir
up our affections and serious thoughts to converse with God. We
have no help else against the snares of the world ; it is an infectious
air, and we had need take cordials and antidotes : 2 Peter i. 4, ' Where
by are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by
these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust/ This refresheth the
divine nature in us, and keepeth our hopes alive. There are a great
many temptations in the world through lust, and it is needful, as well
as sweet and pleasant, to have our thoughts upon heaven.
[4.J Do not conform yourselves according to the fashions of the
VERS. 9, 10.J SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 259
world : Kom. xii. 2, ' And be not conformed to this world, but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind.' You are strangers here ;
live not according to the customs and fashions of the world. If an
Englishman were in America, where he saw none but rude savages
that had not shame enough to cover their nakedness, would he conform
himself to their fashions and guises ? We are in danger to miscarry
by example, as well as by lust. It is the fashion of the world to be
profane and unmortified, to be careless of God and heavenly things, to
break the sabbath, to neglect private duties, and the exercise of religion
in their families, to spend their whole time in eating and drinking,
buying, selling, trading. You are of another country, Jerusalem that
is above is the mother of us all ; therefore you are to live by other
laws, and in another fashion. Besides, in every age there is some
wicked custom afoot, which, by being common, becomes less odious, and
your course must be contrary to it. Dead fishes swim with the stream,
and wicked men walk /car alwva, ' according to the course of this
world,' Eph. ii. 2. Sin, when common, is less odious. But a stranger
should by his habit and appearance declare his country, and that he is
not ashamed to own it ; so do you declare that you are acted by higher
principles and more glorious hopes than the men of the world are
acted by. God hath chosen us out of the world, and we should dis
cover the excellency of our principles and hopes by not conforming
ourselves to the present world.
[5.] It teacheth us patience, to endure the inconveniences of this life
without murmuring. Many that travel abroad are ill entreated, not
respected according to their birth. But consider, we have but a little
while to stay, and in the midst of all troubles remember home : Ps.
xxvii. 13, 'I'had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of
the Lord in the land of the living.' Heaven is the true land of the
living. There are commotions in the world, but heaven is a quiet
place. If we are assaulted with troubles, it is to make us long for
home, to better our hearts or hasten our glory. If the world did not
vex the godly, it might possibly ensnare them, and entice their affec
tions to love it and desire to abide in it. The world's hostility is the
security of the saints : Gal. vi. 14, ' God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world.' The world never cared
much for me, nor I much for the world. Their injuries turn to our
gain, and mortification to make us look homeward.
[6.] It teacheth us submission to the hand of God for our godly
departed friends. Let us not grieve for the departed in the Lord, they
are but gone home. The apostle speaketh of some ' that were in Christ
before him,' Kom. xvi. 7. They are jin heaven before us, and we must
wait our time ; after a wearisome journey they rest from their labours,
and solace themselves in the bosom of Jesus Christ
260 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XLIII.
SEKMON XLIII.
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles ivith Isaac and Jacob, the heirs ivith him
of the same promise ; for lie looked for a city which hath founda
tions, whose builder and maker is God. HEB. xi. 9, 10.
3. I NOW come to the means how to get our hearts into such a frame
as I have before discoursed on.
[1.] Let us enjoy as much of heaven as we can in our pilgrimage,
in the beginnings of grace, the first-fruits of the Spirit, and in the
ordinances.
(1.) In the first-fruits of the Spirit: grace is young glory, and joy
in the Holy Ghost is the suburbs of heaven. You enter upon your
country and inheritance by degrees ; fulness of joy is for the life to
come, and joy in the Holy Ghost is the beginning of it. As the winds
carry the odours and sweet smells of Arabia into the neighbouring
provinces ; so the joys of heaven, those sweet smells and odours of the
upper paradise, are by the breathings and gales of the Spirit conveyed
into the hearts of believers. This is our advance-money, our taste in
the wilderness, our morning-glances of the daylight of glory. Union
with Christ is the beginning of heaven, it is heaven in the moulding
and framing.
(2.) In the ordinances. The time of our pilgrimage is a sad time.
How should we solace ourselves ? Ps. cxix. 54, ' Thy statutes have
been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage/ our cordials to cheer
and strengthen us. The ordinances are types of heaven. Prayer
bringeth us to the throne of grace, and giveth us an entrance into God's
presence. In the word ' preached ' is the presence of the blessed Trinity,
bringing down heaven itself to us, and the angels are attending on our
congregations : 1 Cor. xi. 10, ' For this cause ought the woman to have
power on her head, because of the angels.' The Lord's supper is a
pledge of that new wine we shall drink in our Father's kingdom. By
reading we talk with the saints departed, prophets and apostles, that
wrote what we read. Meditation bringeth us into the company of God,
and where we walk God walketh with us, and at home or abroad we
are still with God. The sabbath is a type of heaven: Heb. iv. 9,
' There remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God.' Here is a
ceasing from work, and there is a ceasing from sin and misery, and an
eternal rest and repose in the bosom of Christ. Psalms do fitly re
semble hallelujahs, the word lectures of praise that shall be read over
the free grace of God and redemption by Christ to all eternity. The
congregation signifies the general assembly and congregation of saints
and angels above, Heb. xii. 23. So that a Christian is even seated .in
heaven when in and about the ordinances.
[2.] The enjoyment of any temporal blessing should stir us up to
the more serious consideration of heavenly blessings ; there are better
things laid up in heaven. As the prodigal's husks put him in mind of
the bread that was in his father's house, and the cities of the Amorites
put Abraham in mind of the city that had foundations, whose builder
VEKS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL
and maker is God ; so should we be put in mind of heaven by those
things we enjoy here. If a strange place affords us content and re
freshment, will not our country much more ? If the creature be sweet,
heaven is better. Look through the glass to the sun, it is our medium,
not our object. A spiritual use of the creature doth much raise our
hearts. We help our souls by our bodies, and make the senses which
were wont to be the inlets of sin to be instruments of heavenly-
mindedness. Grace can work matter out of anything it seeth ; a good
man can distil precious liquor out of common matters; he can see
another world in this world, and doth not only make a temporal use of
the creatures, but a spiritual.
[3.] Go to God to circumcise the foreskin of the heart. There is a
fleshliness that cleaves to us which maketh us altogether for a present
good, the world is at hand. God can only cure this by infusing a
divine nature : 2 Peter i. 4, ' That by these ye may be made partakers
of a divine nature, having escaped the corruptions that are in the world
through lust.' There must be a heavenly birth, or else a man taketh
himself for this world's child, and will go- no further.
[4.] Get a clearer and more sensible interest in Christ. He that is
in Christ is in heaven already : Eph. ii. 6, ' And hath raised us up to
gether, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.'
He is there in his head ; a Christian holdeth all in capite. When
Christ was glorified, he seized on heaven in our right. We use to say
of an old man, He hath one foot in the grave ; so a believer that is in
Christ hath more than a foot in heaven, his head is there, he is ascended
with Christ. Nothing but faith can unriddle this mystery, how a be
liever should be on earth and yet in heaven ; his head is there, and
this draweth the heart after it ; head and heart must be together. And
therefore acquaint yourselves with Christ, clear up your interest in him,
this will wean you from the world. The woman left her pitcher when
she knew Christ, John iv. 28. There is your treasure, and your affec
tions will carry you where Christ is : Col. iii. 1, ' If ye then be risen
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at
the right hand of God ; ' Phil. iii. 20, ' For our conversation is in
heaven, whence we look for a saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.'
[5.] Meditation is of great use ; it bringeth a believer into the com
pany of the blessed, and puts his head above the clouds, in the midst
of the glory of the world to come. Meditation is but a more tempe
rate ecstasy. As Paul by his rapture was in the third heavens, so are we by
our thoughts ; we get upon the top of Nebo or Pisgah, and take a view
of the promised land. Great hopes are known by thoughts ; thoughts
are the spies of the soul. Where a thing is strongly expected, the
thoughts are wont to spend themselves in creating images and suppo
sitions of contentment we shall receive when we enjoy this thing. If
a poor man be adopted into the succession of a crown, he would be
feasting and entertaining himself with the happiness and pleasure of
that estate. When a man minds only earthly things, earthly thoughts
salute him first in the morning, busy him all day, lay him clown in his
bed, play in his fancy all night ; the thoughts of God and his kingdom
find no access. Glances only on heaven are an evidence of a carnal
heart that is at home. The more heavenly a Christian is, the more he
262 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XLIII.
is himself ; as the more rational and considerate a man is, the more he
is a man.
[6.] Prize the communion of saints, this is heaven begun. A godly
man, when he was to die, said, I shall change my place, but not my
company. They that expect to be there where God, and Christ, and
the saints are, should delight more in converse with them here. In a
foreign land a man is glad to meet with his own countrymen ; we should
be glad to meet with those that go with us to heaven. A ehristian
will converse with such as he shall be with hereafter ; it is of great
use and quickening to him. Good discourse conveyeth warmth : Luke
xxiv. 32, ' Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us
by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures ? ' Saul in the
company of the prophets became a prophet. Earthly men will gain
benefit hereby ; as a dead man will have some heat, being plied with
warm clothes.
Use 1. Put in your name among them that profess themselves to be
strangers and pilgrims : Heb. xi. 13, ' They confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth ; ' and that in your best estate, if it
be in the land of promise, where you have most right, in the midst of
peace, tranquillity, and worldly enjoyments, where you have most pos
sessions. Consider what reason you have to count yourselves strangers
and pilgrims, and what profit you will have by it.
1. What reason you have so to count yourselves. Consider how
frail we are, how uncertain our comforts ; how frail we are, this is not
our rest. In our best estate we are but frail : Ps. xxxix. 5, ' Verily
every man at his best estate is altogether vanity.' Every word is em-
phatical ; there is an asseveration, ' verily ; ' a universal particle, ' every
man,' and that ' at his best estate.' The sun in the zenith beginneth
to decline. Paul's rapture was seconded with a messenger of Satan ;
after a sight of heaven he had a taste of hell. When worldly happi
ness is at the full, it beginneth to decline. And he is not only vain
and weak, but vanity itself, and altogether vanity. 'No man hath a
constant fixed abode in the world. And then the uncertainty of
worldly things ; we are mortal, and all our enjoyments have their
mortality. The world is full of changes. Who would build a house
where there were continual earthquakes ? or set up his abode and
dwelling-place upon the sea ? or lay a foundation upon the ice, that is
gone with the next heat and warmth ? Especially God's children, who
have least of the world. And then it is not our rest ; if you had the
world at will, you have higher things to look after ; this is not your
happiness. As that pilgrim said that was travelling to Jerusalem, But
this is not the holy city : Micah ii. 10, ' Arise you, and depart, for this
is not your rest.' It is the greatest judgment God can inflict upon thee,
for thee to take up thy rest here, to be condemned to successes and
worldly felicity ; better never have a day of rest and ease in the world :
Luke xvi. 25, ' Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy
good things ; ' Ps. xvii. 14, ' From men of the world, which have their
portion in this life ;' Jer. xvii. 13, ' They that depart from me shall be
written in the earth/ it is a punishment laid on them that depart
from God.
2. What profit you will have by it ; it will keep you from lusts and
VEHS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 263
snares. Birds when they soar aloft, need fear no snares ; he that
counts heaven his home, and the world a strange country, hath a great
advantage of others, for he is delivered from the snares of the world.
This disposition doth hurt to nothing but to carnal mirth ; but it
makes way for heavenly refreshings and sweet comforts. Nay it is the
best piece of good husbandry, for it is the best way to provide for
the world: Mat. vi. 33, 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you ; ' you drive
on two cares at once. None hold the world by a better tenure than
those that are strangers. Abraham dwelt in tents, and Lot dwelt in a
city ; and Lot in the pleasant valley found less rest than Abraham
in his tent: his lingering in Sodom had cost him dear if God had not
pulled him out. It will make us end our days with comfort. Death is
an advantage to a spiritual stranger and pilgrim here ; it is a going
home after a tedious journey. A man readily leaveth the place he
abhorreth, and goeth to the place he loveth ; so if once we could get
our affections from the world, death would not be so dreadful. Carnal
affections make us unwilling to die ; we are wedded to present things
and that makes us loth to depart hence.
Use 2. Reproof to those that fix their rest here. ' It is good to
be here,' saith Peter, but as applied to the world is a brutish speech ;
it is contrary to sense, experience, and reason.
1. Contrary to sense. Let me confute you by your eyes. Look to
the frame of man's body, not only the constitution of his soul, but the
frame of his body ; we do not go grovelling on the earth as beasts, nor
are we stuck into the ground as trees ; man is of an upright stature, his
head is to heaven and his feet to the earth, the seat of the .senses is
nearest heaven : Ps. viii. 6, ' Thou hast put all things under his feet.'
But now when men spurn at heaven, when their heads and hearts are
fixed on the earth, this is like a man standing upon his head. Worldly
men are like worms that come out of the earth, live on it, creep on it,
and at length creep into it, and that is all. Let me again confute thee
by thine eyes. Consider the frame of heaven ; those aspectable heavens
are the most glorious part of the creation, far more glorious than the
lower world, and yet it is but the under part of the pavement of
heaven. What then is the heaven of heavens, if the lowest part
of heaven be so beautiful.
2. Contrary to our experience, as men or as Christians.
[1.] To our experience as men. Why do you fix here ? The world
thrusteth us from itself by miseries, and at last by death ; then there
is a violent ejection, here it entertaineth us as a stepmother ; but we
linger in it as Lot lingered, he was loth to go out of pleasant Sodorn
till the angels pulled him out : Gen. sax. 16, 'And while he lingered,
the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and
upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him,
and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.' We are
often frustrated by a just and merciful providence, and we should make
use of our disappointments. Providence doth often buffet us when it
finds us busy where we should not ; where we are more strangers, there
we are most employed. When we stick to the earth. God cometh to
pull us off.
26'i SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XLIII.
[2.] To our experience as Christians. Afflictions serve to make a
divorce between us and the world, but much more sins. Crosses are
grievous to all, but sins to the godly ; sin hindereth us of the
free enjoyment of heaven, as crosses do of the comforts of the
world. Sin is evil in itself, though we feel it not. Affliction is
only evil to our feeling because it smarts ; affliction is as wormwood,
bitter ; but sin is as poison, deadly ; it separates us from God, which
affliction does not. Sin is contrary to the new man, eclipseth the light
of God's countenance, hindereth the enjoyment of God in Christ, which
is a heaven upon earth, as desertion is the soul's hell. Many com
plain of crosses that complain not of sins ; they look upon heaven as a
reserve and place of retreat when beaten out of the world, which is
neither a mark nor a work of grace. A beast will leave a place where
it findeth neither meat nor rest. But this makes the children of God
weary. Here is a condition of sinning and offending God which is
most grievous to the godly. Paul groans on this account : Rom. vii.
24, ' wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body
of this death ? ' If any had cause to complain of misery Paul had,
being in perils and sufferings often ; but that which he complains of is
sin. What a grief is it to a Christian to meet with a temptation at
every turn, to find every sense a snare and every creature a bait ; we
can scarce open our eyes but we are in danger.
3. It is contrary to reason. We were not made for the world but
the world for us. Whenever we enjoy the world, we see the error of
our esteem ; it cannot satisfy our desires, nor recompense our pains.
Those that enjoy it least are safest ; the world cannot make us better,
it may make us worse ; all the riches and honours of the world cannot
endue thy person with any true good. That is good that makes us
good, reason will judge so ; now the whole world cannot make us
better, but grace will. Beware then of fixing your rest here below,
which is bewrayed by the complacency of your souls in worldly things,
by your lothness to die, by seldom thoughts of heaven. Oh, this
wretched disposition is contrary to sense, experience, and reason !
Secondly, We are now come to the ceremony and rite by which
this obedience of Abraham was signified and expressed ' Dwelling in
tents.' A tent is opposed to a house, or settled dwelling : 1 Chron.
xvii. 5, ' For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought
up Israel unto this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one
tabernacle to another.' The tabernacle was a figure of the church,
and the temple of heaven. Houses were then in fashion ; Lot .had his
house in Sodom, Gen. xix. 2-4, and Abraham was rich and able to
build ; it was not out of necessity but choice that he dwelt in tents.
You may look upon it, partly, as an act of policy ; partly, as an act of
religion.
1. As an act of policy, that they might live in a strange country
peaceably, free from the envy and grudge of the natives, who are not
wont to brook the increase and greatness of strangers, but thencefor
ward seek to root them out. Thus the Rechabites, who were strangers
in Israel, dwelt in tents : Jer. xxxv. 7, ' Neither shall ye build houses,
nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any ; but all your days ye
shall dwell in tents, that ye may live many days in the land where ye
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 265
be strangers ; ' it was the advice of Jonadab their father to them.
Such a thing befell Isaac, the grudge of the natives at the prosperity
of his flocks : Gen. xxvi. 1214, ' Then Isaac sowed in that land, arid
received in the same year an hundred-fold, and the Lord blessed him.
And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he
became very great. For he had possession of flocks and possession of
herds, and great store of servants. And the Philistines envied him.'
2. As an act of religion, to express their heavenly hopes, or to
acknowledge the hopes and desires of a world to come in the midst of
a profane age. Here they had no settled abode, as the tent was an
ambulatory kind of dwelling, removed.from place to place. As after
wards at the feast of tabernacles, for seven days the people remained in
booths to put them in mind of heaven and their forefathers dwelling
in tents : Lev. xxiii. 42, 43, ' Ye shall dwell in booths seven days ; all
that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths, that your generations
may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when
I brought them out of the land of Egypt.' Now what shall we learn
out of this ? I answer, Several lessons.
[1.] It teacheth us patience and contentation, if we have but a mean
house and dwelling, or if we are forced to wander, or if we are bur
dened with the envy of a strange country.
(1.) If we have a mean house and dwelling. Abraham had none at
all, but only a tent; yet there God appeared to him, and there he
entertained angels, Gen. xviii. 1, 2. No place can be so mean as to
exclude God ; you may have as much communion with him in a
thatched cottage as in a lofty palace, yea, many times more. The sun
shineth as merrily on a hovel as on a magnificent structure ; so doth
God visit the poor, and shine upon them in Christ as well as the great
and rich. Some of them, ' of whom the world was not worthy, wan
dered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth,'
Heb. xi. 38, places of mean retirement. John had his revelation in
Patmos in an obscure cave ; he had more visions of God in a cave
than others could have in a palace.
(2.) If you are driven up and down, and have no certain dwelling-
place, remember the patriarchs lived in tents, movable habitations, that
were often shifted and changed. David had sweet experiences of God
in the wilderness, when he was hunted up and down like a flea : Ps.
Ixiii. 3, ' Thy loving-kindness is better than life.' There, where others
did converse with beasts, there did David converse with God ; he was
banished from his friends, from the temple, but still he had fellowship
with God. So Ps. xc. 1, 'Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in
all generations;' compare it with the title, and you shall see that
psalm was penned by Moses when they were wandering in the wilder
ness. God's people, though they have no certain residence, yet they
want not a dwelling-place ; they find rest, and food, and protection, and
room enough in God's own heart. A Christian is everywhere at home
but there where he is a stranger to God.
(3.) In case we are burdened with the envy of a strange country ;
so was Abraham, and so was Isaac. The patriarchs lived a wandering
life, but still God was with them ; and though they did what they
could to avoid envy, yet still they met with it. This may be the case
266 SEEMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XLIII.
of persons exiled for religion and a good conscience ; they may be
driven abroad, and thrive abroad, and there meet with envy and
opposition ; as the Albigenses, wherever they had land they made it
fruitful, which drew troubles upon them, and enforced their frequent
removes. In such a case remember, if we have God's favour, no matter
for man's envy.
[2.] It is caution to you that have stately houses, you have need
look to yourselves that you do not forget heaven. God would have the
patriarchs dwell in tents, ' that they might look for a city which hath
foundations.' Let not your hearts be taken with earthly things. You
have city houses and country, houses, houses of profit, pomp, and
pleasure ; when you walk up and down in them, remember God, to do
something for him that hath given you these comforts. And remember
those that want such dwellings; Christ himself had not where to lay
his head ; many of his members, of whom the world is not worthy, have
not any settled habitation, and make a hard shift for a short abode,
they have no house but the wide world, no bed but the hard ground,
and no other canopy than the heavens. And remember heaven ' We
look for a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens/ 2 Cor. v.
1 ; not of masons' and carvers' work, but of God's own handiwork.
There are field meditations and house meditations. When you walk
up and down in your stately houses, you should have these thoughts :
Here I am for a while ; I know not how soon God may destroy this
cedar work by fire, by rough winds, or by the fury of men : Zeph. ii.
14, ' He shall uncover the cedar work.'
[3.] Here is instruction to us not to make a vain ostentation of riches
and greatness, that draweth envy. This was one reason why God
would have the patriarchs dwell in tents. When men hang out the
ensigns of pride and vanity to public view in their costly apparel,
pompous buildings, they do but court the envy arid robbery of others.
God will send the emptiers to empty them, Amos vi. 7. This note
principally concerneth strangers that thrive in a , foreign land ; pomp
and ostentation of riches have been fatal to them. I might bring
several stories in England and France. The natives think the sap proper
to them ; when a foreign plant spreadeth in branches, it draweth envy
and rage : Gen. xix. 9, ' This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will
needs be a judge/ And it concerneth persons of a mean original,
advanced to offices, and places of trust and power. And it concerneth
ministers, whose maintenance is dependant ; they had need be sober
in apparel, in household stuff, &c. People are apt to begrudge their
portion, and therefore they should less put forth in the eye of the world
than others ; their thriving has always been an eyesore.
[4.] It exhorteth us to a profession of our hopes and expectations of
another world, as the patriarchs did in the midst of the Canaan ites ; by
dwelling in tents ' they declared plainly that they sought a country/
Heb. xi. 14. The rite bindeth not, but we should have a tent-disposi
tion, and set the face of our conversations heavenward, renounce worldly
conveniences, live as those that are not ashamed of their country, that
we may draw others to be fellow-citizens with us : Phil. ii. 15, 16, 'That
ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in
the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as
VERB. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 267
lights in the world, holding forth the word of life.' A man should
discover his hopes in his language, let it be the language of Canaan ;
in a mortified course of life, that all the world may see you are of
another country. The world is in the dark ; as the stars are the shining
part of heaven, so the saints, if they live answerably to their condition,
they are as stars, the glory of the world ; as the stars guided the wise
men to Christ, so that is their office to guide to Christ by their conver
sations. There are greater lights and lesser lights : ministers are as
the greater lights to hold forth the word of God in doctrine, Christians
as the lesser lights to hold forth the word of life in practice. It is a
prodigy to see the lights of heaven eclipsed ; so to see blackness,
darkness, and worldliness in your conversations would be as a prodigy.
When your cares, griefs, desires, endeavours are carnal, you suffer an
eclipse ; you do not shine so brightly to the world, and make such an
open profession as those should do that do spiritually live in tents.
[5.] The next duty we learn is moderation in houses and furniture.
Abraham and the patriarchs dwelt in tents ; we cannot be contented
unless we have so many walks, galleries, turrets, pyramids ; such setting
up and pulling down, transposing and transplacing to make gay houses,
and so much yearly spent in costly furniture, that we are much departed
from the primitive simplicity. I know God hath given us a liberal
allowance to make our pilgrimage comfortable, and that this allowance
is straitened and enlarged according to our quality and degree in the
world, and that in strength of buildings the safety and glory of a
nation is much concerned, and that as nations are civilised, so their
buildings are more fair and commodious ; but yet there must be a
restraint in pomp and excess. The scriptures often take notice of the
vanity of sumptuous buildings and household stuff: Amos iii. 15, ' I
will smite the winter house and summer house ; the houses of ivory
shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end.' It is made one
of the causes of Israel's judgments : so Amos vi. 8, ' I abhor the
excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces,' and in many other places.
Now the limits are, when they exceed our estate, and if not our estate,
yet our degree and rank ; when they divert our charity ; house-builders
are not house-keepers ; the walls are double clothed when the poor go
naked, and that is spent upon polishing of stones which is due to the
members of Christ ; and when men feed their luxury with oppression :
Hab. ii. 11, 12, ' For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam
out of the timber shall answer it. Wo to him that buildeth a town
with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity ! ' The stone shall cry,
Lord, avenge us against the builder, we were laid in blood ; and the
beam shall answer, And we were purchased with rapine and public
spoil.
[6.] The next thing we learn is self-denial, and enduring hardness
for God's sake. Abraham dwelt in tents when God called him there
unto. God hath work for the patriarchs to do up and down the world,
and therefore would not have their dwellings settled. So should we
learn upon a call to give up all conveniences to God, and to be content
with a mean condition ; as for instance, when we can no longer keep
them with a good conscience, when by particular impulse we are urged
to such works as will forfeit our worldly conveniences, and the like.
268 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XLIII.
[7.] It is a check to covetousness, when men seek to root here, and
' to join house to house, and field to field, till there be no place they
may be placed alone in the midst of the earth,' Isa. v. 8. This is quite
contrary to Abraham, who left all and dwelt in tents ; they are still
purchasing, till they have engrossed all to themselves, and there be no
room for any to dwell by them.
Thirdly, The next circumstance is his fellows and followers in this
practice and profession, with Isaac and Jacob, ' the heirs with him of
the same promise.' The words will undergo a double sense, they imply
imitation or cohabitation.
1. Imitation: they dwelt with them ; it implieth likeness of practice;
they did it after Abraham's death.
2. Cohabitation : for Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac
was born, and Isaac at sixty years old begat Jacob, and Esau ; so that
Abraham lived with Isaac seventy-five years, and with Jacob fifteen
years. Compare Gen. xxi. 5, and xxv. 8, 26. But Abraham and Isaac
lived in distinct families when Jacob was born, therefore it is to be
understood successively that Isaac dwelt in tents as well as Abraham :
Gen. xxvi. 17; 'Isaac pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar ;' Gen. xxiv.
67, ' Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent.' And of Jacob
it is said: Gen. xxv. 27, ' He was a plain man, dwelling in tents,' in
opposition to Esau, who built cities. Therefore Jacob's tents are used
proverbially in scripture ; see Num. xxiv. 5, Jer. xxx. 18.
[1.] Observe, that saints are of the same spiritual dispositions.
(1.) Because acted by the same spirit : Acts iv. 32, ' And the multi
tude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.' If it
were possible that two bodies were acted by the same soul, they would
weep together and rejoice together, and have the same gestures and
motions. These old believers were not only united to the same head,
but acted by the same spirit ; Christ is the head of the church, and the
Spirit is as it were the soul of the church.
(2.) They are governed by the same laws: Jer. xxxii. 39, 'I will
give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever.'
There are many ways to hell, and but one way to heaven. They are all
alike in regard of newness of heart, and there is but one rule of life
and worship. Men that will find out new- ways to heaven put them
selves into the highway to hell ; all the saints have trodden this path :
Heb. vi. 12, ' Be followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises.' They that seek to make the way to heaven
more easy will find themselves at last mistaken.
(3.) They have all but one scope, to please God, and to glorify him
upon earth. Wicked men differ in their particular scope, though they
agree in their hatred of the power of godliness ; like Samson's foxes
that were tied by their tails, though their heads looked several ways ;
it is but a faction and conspiracy. But all the saints make this their
scope. Many times they differ in judgment, but agree in scope ; as two
physicians that consult for the cure of a man that is dangerously sick
may propose different courses, but both design the recovery of the sick
man.
(4.) They are called to the same privileges, they are heirs of the
same promise : 2 Peter i. 1, ' To them that have obtained like precious
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 269
faith with us ; ' as a jewel held by a child and by a man is of the same
worth . Jude 3, ' Beloved, when I gave diligence to write unto you of
the common salvation.'
Use 1. It informeth us of the reason of differences in the children
of God, partly, because they do not regard the spirit of communion, or
mingle with those that have no share in it ; partly, because of some
partial error about the law and way they ought to walk in ; partly, be
cause through corruption they seek their own things, and forget they
are called to the same privileges. In practicals, and in the power of
godliness, they all agree, and in things necessary to salvation.
Use 2. It presseth us to search whether or no we have the same
spirit by which all God's saints are acted, the same spirit of faith and
of holiness, and of self-denial, and of heavenly-mindedness. Do we
behave ourselves as heirs of the same promises ? Ps. xxxix. 12, ' I am
a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.'
[2.] Observe the fruit of godly education. Abraham dwelt in tents,
and trained up Isaac in the same profession, and Isaac trained up
Jacob. This is the way to continue religion in families, to bring up
children 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord/ Eph. vi. 4.
God reckoneth upon it from those that are faithful ; as he saith con
cerning Abraham, Gen. xviii. 19, 'For I know him, that he will com
mand his children and his household after him, and they shall keep
the way of the Lord.' Alas ! many parents are negligent in this kind,
whom in charity we may judge godly. We are careful to leave our
children great estates, that they may be rich ; but who is careful to
leave them thus mortified, to train them up in the contempt of the
world ; nay, we rather strive to make them worldly. We do not teach
them to dwell in tents ; all that we care for is that they may not be
given to prodigality and excess, that they may not waste what we have
scraped up for them ; but let them be as worldly as they will, we like
that. Plutarch, taxing the abuse of parents that strive to leave their
children rich and not virtuous, he saith, They do like those that are
solicitous about the shoe, but care not for the foot. Oh, begin with
them betimes ! Jerome compareth youth to water spilt upon the table ;
it runneth after you. that way which you draw your finger. Train
them up to self-denial before their affections are stiffened by long use
in the world. The best riches you can leave them is to teach them
the art to despise riches, saith Chrysostom in one of his homilies on
Timothy.
[3.] Observe the force of example, especially of parents. Abraham
lived in tents, and so did Isaac and Jacob. You must not only educate
your children, but give them an example ; this works more than pre
cepts. Nature is very catching at ill examples, therefore beware of
them.
Ver. 10, For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God.
Here is the reason rendered of this effect of his faith, his thoughts
did not run upon Canaan so much as heaven.
1. Observe, that serious thoughts and hopes of heaven make us to
carry ourselves with a loose heart towards worldly comforts. This was
the reason why Abraham was contented to be a stranger in Canaan.
270 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XLIII.
1. I shall show you what is this looking.
2. The influence of it on our Christian practice.
1. What is this looking for heaven. It is not a blind hope, such as
is not advised, and is found in men that are ignorant and presumptu
ous, that regard not what they do; the presumption of ignorant
persons is a child of darkness. Not some glances upon heaven, such
as are found in worldly and sensual persons ; such are not operative,
they come but now and then, and leave no warmth upon the soul ; as
fruit is not ripened that hath but a glance of the sun. But it is a
serious hope, well built, such as ariseth from grace longing after its
own perfection ; therefore we are said, ' to be begotten again to a lively
hope/ 1 Peter i. 3. Seed desireth growth, everything aimeth at per
fection ; as soon as grace is infused, there is a motion this way. And
it is an earnest hope, such as is accompanied with longings and fre
quent thoughts : Rom. viii. 23, ' We ourselves groan within ourselves
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.' It is a
lively hope, such as stirreth up rejoicing, as if the thing hoped for were
already enjoyed : Kom. v. 2, ' We rejoice in hope of the glory of God;'
as 'Abraham rejoiced to see Christ's day, and he saw it, and was glad,'
John viii. 56. And yet it is a patient, contented hope : Rom. viii. 25,
' If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.'
2. The influence of it- It maketh us strangers in the world ; partly,
by purging the heart from vile and worldly affections : 1 John iii. 3,
' He that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself even as he is pure ; '
partly, by carrying us within the veil, by which the glory of the world
is obscured : 2 Cor. iv. 18, ' We look not to the things that are seen,
but to the things which are not seen ; for the things which are seen are
temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal ; ' partly, by
counterbalancing our afflictions with the future glory ; it sets the joy
before us in our sufferings, Heb. xii. 2, and so works a sweet and com
fortable carriage in all states and conditions.
Use 1. It showeth us that they do not truly despise the world who
despise it merely out of a slightness of disposition, and not out of the
sense of glorious hopes ; they do not despise the whole world ; they are
taken not with worldly pleasures, but they mind worldly profits ; their
corruptions run out another way : this is not to leave the world, but to
make choice of it.
Use 2. It inform eth us of the reason why the world hath such a power
upon us ; we do not awaken our hopes, and look for the city to come.
We have a blind hope, that is ill built ; we have a loose slight hope,
that doth not stir up serious thoughts, earnest sighs, hearty groans, and
lively tastes - of heaven.
2. Observe, heaven is a city. It is so called in opposition to those
solitary tents which Abraham and his family pitched in Canaan, and
in allusion to those cities which the Canaanites then lived in. There
are diverse resemblances betwixt heaven and a city. A city is a civil
society that is under government ; so is heaven a society of saints, there
all believers meet : Heb. xii. 22, 23, ' Ye are come unto Mount Sion,
and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church
of the first-born which are written in heaven.' Sometimes it is com-
VERS. 9, 10.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XT. 271
pared to a house where there are many mansions : John xiv. 2, 'In my
Father's house are many mansions ; ' but lest that comparison should
straiten our thoughts, it is compared to a city where there is a great
deal of company, and Christ is the governor. In cities they live in
concord and amity ; there is a sweet communion of saints in heaven,
other manner of saints than we have here, without weakness and imper
fection. A city is a storehouse of good things, as of food and treasure ;
there is enough in heaven for our complete comfort. A city hath
liberties; there we are freed from Satan's tyranny, from the law's
curse and condemning power, from all weakness, from all ill company,
nothing that defiles shall enter there, from all temptations to sin
' Glorious things are spoken of thee, city of God,' Ps. Ixxxvii. 3.
All that are there speak one language, praising and glorifying God,
though in the church here our language is divided. The church is
the suburbs of heaven, and we must first live in the suburbs before
we come to live in the city : Eph. ii. 19, ' Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of
the household of God.' The church is the seminary of heaven, where
we first live and trade into heaven. you that are citizens! labour
to be citizens of heaven : Heb. xiii. 14, ' For we have here no continu
ing city, but we seek one to come.' And you that are countrymen !
seek to get a right to the freedoms 'of this city ; there is an excellent
governor, Jesus Christ ; excellent company, all the saints that" ever have
been from the beginning of the world to the end ; there is a constant
communion with God : Ps. xxvii. 4, ' One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord,'
&c. This is the chiefest thing that above all other things we are to
cave for.
3. Observe, heaven is a city that hath foundations. Tents are
moving and ambulatory dwellings, they had no foundations ; but this
hath foundations, that is, it is a fixed and certain habitation, therefore
called ' an abiding city,' Heb. xiii. 14. We cannot have an abiding
city in a perishing world. Man must be suited to his happiness, and
have a fit place wherein to enjoy it.
1. We are not suited and fitted to happiness while we are here ; old
bottles will not hold the new wine of glory. Here we are not capable
of the glorious presence of God ; a mortal creature cannot endure the
splendour of it. We would have it here as Peter : Mat. xvii. 4, ' Lord,
it is good for us to be here.'
2. The place wherein we live is not a fit place to enjoy it. The
world is not a fit place, because it is full of changes, night and day,
calm and tempest, summer and winter. The earth is cursed for our
sakes ; we cannot have our blessings here ; it is a fit place for our pun
ishment and exercise, to be as a stage on which we act a part, or a
scaffold on which we are executed, but it is not our city. There is no
country of so gentle a temperature as to preserve the inhabitants from
all misery, sin, grief, sickness, and death. Heaven then is the only
place, it hath foundations, it is the fixed place of our rest and eternal
abode. There is hope of quiet, it is a sure blessed place of rest. Here
all things are fading ' Time and chance happeneth to all/ Eccles. ix.
11 ; but the safe commodious dwelling-place is there where we shall
272 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SfiR. XLIV.
be never molested more. The whole employment of our lives is to seek
how to get thither ; get a right and interest, and you are sure to enter
at death. Christ hath purchased it by his merit, and hath taken pos
session of it for us.
4. Observe, God is the builder and maker of heaven. It is put in
opposition to cities built by men. God made the. earth as well as
heaven , but the making of heaven is peculiarly ascribed to him be
cause it is a rare piece of work. God hath spent most of his art on it ;
there he hath fixed his throne : Ps. ciii. 19, ' The Lord hath prepared
his throne in the heavens/ There is most of his majesty seen, there he
is fully enjoyed, and there is an everlasting manifestation of his glory.
And he that is the maker of it is the disposer of it, please God, and
he will give it thee.
5. Observe, that the fathers looked for an entry into this eternal rest
after the ending of their pilgrimage. Here is a clear proof of it ' He
looked for a city which had foundations, whose builder and maker is
God/
SERMON XLIV.
Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and
ivas delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged
him faithful who had promised. HEB. xi. 11.
THE apostle had spoken of the faith of Abraham, and thereupon taketh
occasion to mention Sarah's faith. Therefore he saith, KOI UVTIJ Sdppa,
' Through faith also Sara herself,' &c.
Observe, what a blessing it is when a husband and wife are both
partners of faith, when both in the same yoke draw one way. Abraham
is the father of the faithful, and Sara is recommended among believers
as having a fellowship in the same promises, and in the same troubles
and trials. So it is said of Zachary and Elizabeth : Luke i. 4, ' And
they were both righteous before God, walking in all the command
ments and ordinances of the Lord blameless/ It is a mighty encourage
ment when the constant companion of our lives is also a fellow in the
same faith. The hint directeth us in matter of choice, she cannot be
a meet help that goeth a contrary way in religion ; when the sons of
God went in to the daughters of men because they were fair, it brought
a flood, Gen. vi. 2, 3. Such mixtures get a mongrel race. Eeligion
decayeth in families by nothing so much as by want of care in matches.
But to come to the words, here is (1.) The person believing ; (2.)
The commendation of her faith ; (3.) The ground of it.
First, The person believing teal avrrj Sdppa. Yea also Sarah her
self, a woman, and as to the point wherein her faith was exercised, a
woman barren and stricken in age, she through faith received strength
to conceive seed.
Obs. A woman weak in sex may be strong in faith. This is a praise
VEK. 11.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 273
common both to men and women, they are 1 heirs together of the same
grace of life,' 1 Peter iii. 7. This should excite women to excel in
grace and piety. Sarah hath her praise in the word as well as
Abraham. The life of women is for the most part carried on in
silence and privacy, yet there is an eminency proper to them. In
public services men are most employed, yet women may glorify God in
their hearts by faith ; there are duties and promises that belong to
their private station. As men can speak of Abraham, so women of
Sarah. There is a stain upon their sex, that by them sin came first
into the world , but then there is this honour put upon them, that by
one woman's child salvation was brought into the world. Therefore
let women strive, not to continue the stain, but the glory of their sex ;
not to be first in transgression, the most forward in a family to sin, but
to get an interest in him who was made of a woman, and to approve
themselves, not only to their husbands, but God ; not merely to strive
to get a jointure upon earth, but to be heirs with men of the same
grace of life, to have an inheritance in heaven, especially if they have
religious husbands.
But doth not the apostle contradict scripture in ascribing faith to
Sarah ? You shall see. In the original story, to which this place
alludeth, Sarah is taxed for laughing, and when she was charged with
it, denied it, Gen. xviii. 12-15. That laughing certainly was a sign of
unbelief. It is true, Abraham laughed : Gen. xvii. 17, 18, ' Then
Abraham fell upon his face and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall
n child be born unto him that is a hundred years old ? and shall Sarah
that is ninety years old bear ? And Abraham said unto God, that
Ishrnael might live before thee ! ' Yet there was a difference between
Abraham's laughing and Sarah's. Abraham laughed out of faith and
holy joy, probably respecting the Messiah that should in process of time
come out of his loins: John viii. 56, ' Your father Abraham rejoiced to
see my day and he saw it, and was glad.' Yet there is a suspicion upon
Abraham's laughter because of his reply ' Shall a child be born unto
him that is a hundred years old ? and shall Sarah that is ninety years
old bear ? ' and because of his prayer for Ishmael, ' that Ishmael
might live before thee ! ' But the apostle acquits him : Eom, iv. 19,
20, ' Being, not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead
when he was about an hundred years old, neither the deadness of Sarah's
womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but
was strong in faith, giving glory to God.' Abraham admireth, but
staggereth not, and out of a natural affection he prayeth for Ishmael ;
God reproveth him not as he did Sarah. But now Sarah laughed out
of unbelief, anddenieth it when charged, because it is said, she laughed
within herself, not openly and outwardly. Both laughed to justify the
name of Isaac, but Sarah laughs out of distrust, out of the impossibility
of the thing ; this weakness is manifested to show the honour is not put
upon her by her merits. But after the Lord had chidden her, and
she began to see the promise came from God, she believed ; and because
the laughing came from mere weakness, not from scorn, God layeth no
judgment on her, as he struck Zacharias dumb for his unbelief in the
like case, Luke i. 20, and still an honourable mention is made of
Sarah's carriage in this business, not only here, but also 1 Peter iii. 9,
' Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.' Observe hence
VOL, XIY. S
274 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SlCR. XLIV.
1. Many times the word doth not work presently : Sarah laugheth at
first, but afterwards believeth. Some that belong to the purposes of
grace may stand out for a while against the ways of God till they are
fully convinced ; as Sarah laughed till she knew it to be a word not
spoken in jest, but a promise made in earnest. Little did Paul think
that those whom he persecuted were so dear to Christ that he counted
them himself ' Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? ' Acts ix. 4.
Therefore he says, 1 Tim. i. 13, ' I was before a blasphemer, a per
secutor, and injurious ; but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignoraritly,
in unbelief.' Many serious men, that walk according to the present
light of conscience, may slight those ways which afterwards they find
to be of God; and therefore we should be gentle to one another and
wait till God reveal the same thing.
2. Usually before the settling of faith there is a conflict 'Shall I
have a child who am old : my lord being old also'.' Keason oppose th
against the promise. So it is usual, when we come to settle the heart
in the belief of any promise. Look, as when the fire beginneth to be
kindled we see smoke first before flame, so it is here before our
comforts be established, we are full of doubts ; so that doublings are
an hopeful prognostic, it is a sign men mind their condition.
3. With great indulgence God hideth the defects of his children and
taketh notice of their graces. There is nothing spoken of Rahab's lie,
ver. 31, of Job's impatience, James v. 11, and here Sarah's laughing is
not remembered. Weak faith is accepted ; a spark shall not be lost,
but blown up into a flame and greater increase. We give a beggar an
alms though he receive it with a trembling palsy-hand ; and if he lets
it fall, we let him stoop for it. Man overlooketh the good of others,
and taketh notice of their ill, as flies pitch upon the sore place ; but
God pardoneth the evil and remembereth the good. We upbraid men
with the sins of childhood and of youth, committed before conversion ;
as the papists did Beza with his lascivious poems that he wrote ere he
had a taste of grace ; therefore he saith, Hi homines invident mihi
gratiam divinam ; these men envy me the grace of God. The elder
brother upbraided the younger brother with riotous living, when his
father had received him to mercy : Luke xv. 30. ' As soon as this thy
son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast
killed for him the fatted calf.' Buthow contrary is this to God ! If faith
breaketh out at length, he accepteth it, and commendeth it in his word.
Who would not serve such a gracious master, that winketh at our fail
ings and taketh in good part our weak services and our weak graces ?
This for the person believing.
Secondly, The next circumstance in the text is the commendation
of her faith from the matter, which was difficult She received strength
to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child, when she was past age ;
where you may take notice of the fruit of her faith, and the
amplification of it The fruit of her fafth where we have the in
fluence of it, ' She received strength to conceive seed ; ' and the effect
of it, ' and was delivered of a child ; ' The amplification of her faith,
4 when she was past age.' I shall not stand opening the letter ; see
what Beza, Gomarus, and Grotius say concerning the opening of that
jihrase, et? Kara^o\ijv a-jre pharos. Let us observe somewhat
VER. 11.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 275
1. From the influence of her faith ' She received strength to con
ceive seed.' Learn hence
[1.] That thougli bringing forth of children be according to the-
course of nature, yet God hath a great hand in it. They that have-
children acknowledge them to be God's blessing, and that they are his
gift : Ps. cxxvii. 3,' Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord, and the
fruit of the womb is his reward/ He can make the barren to bear :
Ps. cxiii. 9, ' He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a
joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.' It is notable that by
God's special dispensation many precious women were a long time
barren, as Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth, the mother of Samson.
Partly to show that nature can do nothing without his power and bless
ing. Partly by these instances to facilitate the belief of the incarnation,
as the lesser miracle maketh way for the belief of the greater ; certainly
that was the intent of Elizabeth bearing John just before Christ was
born. If a dead womb can be fruitful, why may not a virgin conceive ?
It was not fit that another virgin should have this honour, therefore
this was the nearest miracle in the same kind. Partly to exercise their
faith and patience, and to make way for the greater increase of holi
ness. Partly that the birth might be more eminent, as Isaac, Samuel,
Samson, John, &c. Well then, let them that go barren wait upon God
by faith, and prayer, and patience ; either God will give children, or
one way or another this comfort will be made up to you. It is not
always a punishment of sin ; many times it is, as God punished
Abimelech, till he rendered Sarah, by this, that every womb should be
shut up : Gen. xx. 18, ' For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs-
of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.' Michal's
scoffing at David was punished with barrenness : 2 Sam. vi. 23 r
' Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child until the day of
her death.' In Israel it was a great judgment: Hosea ix. 14, ' Give
them, Lord, what wilt thou give ? give them a miscarrying womb,
and dry breasts.' Little of eternity was known, therefore they strove
to continue their memory on earth ; that is the reason why men love
their youngest children, and their grandchildren because they longest
preserve their memory in the world. It was a blessing of the law-
dispensation ; it was a means to continue their faith ; every one hoped
to be the mother of the Messiah. Well, but now eternity is mani
fested, be contented, be fruitful in holiness, and your memory shall be
provided for.
[2.] Let us improve it spiritually, God can make the church fruit
ful after a long barrenness : Isa. liv. 1, ' Sing, barren, thou that didst
not bear : break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not
travail with child, for more are the children of the desolate, than the
children of the married wife, saith the Lord.' And Sarah is a type of the
church. Let us be fruitful in our old age, let us receive strength to
conceive that immortal seed which will bring forth a better issue, whose
fruit is joy, peace, and everlasting life.
[3.] Faith hath a great stroke in making way for blessings ' By
faith she received strength to conceive seed.' Means can do nothing
' without God, and God will do nothing without faith : Mat. xiii. 58,
He did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.' It
holdeth in all cases. The word of all instruments is most powerful,
276 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SElt. XLIV.
and yet is said, Heb. iv. 2, ' The word preached did not profit them,
not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.' As a medicinal
drink must have all the ingredients mixed with it, or else it worketh
not, so if the word be not received in faith, a main ingredient is want
ing , this giveth strength to the means to work. By closing with the
promise she received strength.
2. From the effect of this influence ' And was delivered of a child.'
I observe hence
[1.] Every promise received by faith will surely be seconded with
performance. God's power is exercised when it is glorified, and they
ar sure to find him faithful that count him faithful : Luke i. 45, And
blessed is she that believed, for there /shall be a performance of those
things which were told her from the Lord.' Therefore wait ; they that
conceive by the promise at the appointed time shall see the birth, and
it is a good forerunner of deliverance when we strongly exercise faith
upon the promise that revealeth it.
[2.] Faith is the best midwife. By faith Sarah was delivered of a
child. Women great with child are very solicitous about getting a
good midwife; the apostle commendeth one in this place, one that
never miscarried in her work, and yet the saints have employed her for
thousands of years. She expecteth not wages nor gifts ; faith doth
most for them that are poor in spirit, and have nothing to give, that
know not what to do without her. Other midwives come not willingly,
but where there is some likelihood that they may go through with
their business ; but faith doth best at a dead lift.
But to leave the metaphor, and to speak something by way of direc
tion in this case, which certainly is of weighty concernment. The
apostle saith, Gal. ii. 20, ' The life which I now live in the flesh I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me/ Faith is to be exercised, not only in acts of worship, but in acts
of your callings, and the ordinary offices of life. We are to trade in
faith, to eat in faith, to drink in faith, to sleep in faith, to study in
faith, to preach in faith. Now usually in all other cases men are taught
how to live by faith, but seldom is anything spoken in this weighty
case. How to be delivered of a child by faith, as Sarah was, certainly
the danger is great, and if in any extremity there is need of faith, much
more where the life of the creature is so much concerned. Let me
speak a few words to this matter.
(1.) We must be sensible what need we have to exercise faith in
this case, that we may not run upon danger blindfold ; and if we escape
then to think our deliverance a mere chance. Rachel died in this
case, so did Phineas's wife, 1 Sam. iv. 19, 20, and it is a great hazard
that you run ; therefore you must be sensible of it. God may take
this advantage against you to cut you off ; you are in the very valley
of the shadow of death ; deliverance, but that it is so ordinary, would
be accounted miraculous. When you look upon it as a matter of
course (and you need not trouble yourself about it but only to get the
accustomed means), there is no room for faith to work ; when difficulty
and danger is apprehended in the case, then faith comevs: 2 Chron. xx.
12, ' our God, wilt thou not judge them ? for we have no might
against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we
to do, but our eyes are unto thee ; ' 2 Cor. i. 9, ' We had the sen-
VER. 11.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 277
tence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but
in God which raiseth the dead/
(2.) Because the sorrows of travail are a monument of God's dis
pleasure against sin, therefore this must put you the more earnestly to
seek an interest in Christ, that you may have remedy against sin : Gen.
iii. 16, ' Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow
and thy conception ; in sorrow, thou shalt bring forth children.' Wo
men's pains are more grievous than the females of any kind ; sin is
the reason of it. Death waylays the child as soon as it is born ; the
sentence is in force, and there is no remedy but in Jesus Christ the
redeemer. Who durst venture upon the pains of travail without a
sealed pardon ? The sweetness of the second Adam will be your com
fort when you feel the bitterness of the first.
(3.) Muse upon God's promise ; 1 Tim. ii. 15, ' Notwithstanding,
she shall be saved in child-bearing if she continue in faith, and charity,
and holiness, with sobriety.' The apostle speaketh there of the woman's
being first in the transgression. There is the promise, and the evi
dences of interest in the promise : ' She shall be saved in child-bearing '
that is the promise, which is made good temporally or eternally, as God
seeth cause. Some render Bta T?}<? TeKvoyovia?, by child-bearing, as if this
was a way by which women go to heaven. But take it as we render
it, ' in child-bearing,' it is a promise that serveth to awaken faith, that
you may not be amazed with the danger, and if deliverance be obtained,
you may look upon it as a blessing of the promise ; but generally it is
to be understood as all temporal promises, with the exception of God's-
good pleasure.
(4) The faith you exercise must be glorifying his power, and casting
yourselves upon his will. That expresseth that kind of faith which is
proper to all temporal mercies, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst save me ;
which indeed is enough to ease the heart of a great deal of trouble and
perplexing fear.
1st. To glorify his power. Consider to this end the experiences of the
saints : Ps. Ixxvii. 10, ' I said, This is my infirmity ; but I will remem
ber the years of the right hand of the Most High ; ' 2 Cor. i. 10, ' Who-
delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver ; in whom we trust
that he will yet deliver us.' For all that danger can do, he is able to-
deliver us. If you have not your own experiences, yet reflect upon the
experiences of others ; how God hath assisted them in such-like cases.
In every age there are monuments to which we may have recourse, as
they said, Ps, Ixxviii. 3, ' Which we have heard and known, and our
fathers have told us.' So say, Lord, others have told us what thou hast
done for them in such cases, supporting weak vessels in great dangers
and extremities, why cannot God do the like ? yea, Lord, thou canst.
Say it still ; do not consider your own frailty and fears, but God's
power. In innocency there would be no pain at all, though it be caused
by natural causes, yet God could have slacked it ; and now certainly
after the fall, he can mitigate the sentence, especially to those that have
an interest in Christ.
2c%. That you may cast yourselves without trouble and disquiet upon
his love. Consider his providence extendeth to the beasts : Ps. xxix.
9, ' The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve.' Doth God take
278 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XLIV.
care for oxen, for hinds, for beasts, and will he not for the members
of Christ ? Kemember how soon the extremities of his people do
awaken him ; he is a very present help in a time of trouble, he hath
put pity in a man towards a beast, and hath not the Lord bowels ? If
a beast hath hard travail, how do we pity it ! And will not God ?
The work you are about is replenishing the world, multiplying the
church, things in which God delighteth; and therefore why should
you doubt of his assistance ?
(5.) Urge all things with God in prayer ; it is the work of faith to
plead, not only with ourselves, but with God. By this means we do
not work upon God, but draw forth principles of trust in the view of
conscience ; we awaken ourselves ; God need not to be informed, but
we need it. Therefore say, Lord, thou canst help me ; Lord, thou art
gracious to the beasts, and thou hast made a promise to me. Especially
if you feel hope growing, urge it to God.
3. From the application of her faith ' When she was past age.'
There were two difficulties : she was naturally barren, Gen. xi. 30, and
she was now ninety years of age, and it ceased to be with her ' after the
manner of woman ; ' and therefore here lay the excellency of her
faith, that she could believe that she should be the mother of a mighty
nation. Barren I say she was by natural constitution, and now no bet
ter than dead, having so long outlived the natural time of bearing
children. Learn hence
Obs. That no difficulty or hindrance should cause a disbelief of the
promise. The reasons are two : partly from God, that maketh the
promise ; partly from faith, that receiveth the promise.
[1.] From God's nature. God is not tied to the order of second
causes, much less to the road of common probabilities ; he will turn
nature upside down rather than not be as good as his word. He standeth
not upon his works so much as he doth upon his word, his word is over
all his works ; therefore if God hath said it, it shall come to pass, though
heaven and earth be blended together in confusion. If God's hands
were tied, we might startle at a difficulty ; but because nothing is hard
to providence, nothing is out of order to faith, therefore no difficulty
can stand in the way of faith and providence. We judge by our senses,
and that is the cause of the weakness of our faith : Zech. viii. 6, ' If it
be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,
should it also be marvellous in mine eyes, saith the Lord of hosts ? '
[2.] From the nature of faith, which is to guide the soul when reason
and sense faileth. Here in the world we are guided by three lights
sense, reason, and faith, and all must keep their place : reason corrects
sense, and faith reason. A star to sense seems no bigger than a spangle,
yet reason telleth me that because it is seen at so vast a distance it must
needs be very big. So faith must believe against carnal reason and
present feeling ; as Abraham : Eom. iv. 18, ' Who against hope believed
in hope ; ' that is contrary to all likelihood and probability.
Use. To press us to wait upon God in the greatest difficulties and
extremities. When faith hath a promise, impediments of accomplish
ment should increase it. Periculum par animo Alexandri. Here is
a fit occasion for my faith. What cannot God do ? A woman past
age conceiveth ! a thing quite contrary to natural course ; so often God's
VER. 11.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 279
promises seem absurd and ridiculous to human reason. Therefore wait
arid hope in the most desperate cases.
But men plead when urged to faith, We have not such a clear promise
and oracle as Sarah had, when urged to self-denial, We have not such
a clear precept as Abraham had. I answer
1. General precepts and general promises are enough to try us. God
doth not say, Get thee out of thy country ; yet he says, Remove thy
lusts, and there we stick. God doth not say, You shall have a numer
ous issue, or such a land for your inheritance ; yet he hath promised
heaven, and that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his church.
Let us try our faith in these promises in a time of difficulty.
2. In all promises, though we have not and cannot have absolute
confidence of success, yet difficulty and danger should be no cause of
despair. You have still cause to bear up your spirits upon the power
and care of God. There may be other means to weaken our depend
ence, but the greatness of the danger and the unlikelihood of the bless
ing should never weaken it. This is no matter of discouragement, for
we see that God can act contrary to the course of nature. Now danger
of miscarrying and unlikelihood of success is the sole cause of distrust.
Men never fear but in case of danger : when things go happily on, they
are secure. The questions of unbelief still run upon this, Can such or
such a thing be ? Ps. Ixxviii. 19, 20, 'Can the Lord prepare a table in
the wilderness ? Behold he smote the rock that the waters gushed out,
and the streams overflowed. Can he give bread also ? Can he provide
flesh for his people ? '
3. There is a particular promise that answereth to the dead womb.
We are tried in that promise : John xi. 25, 26, ' I am the resurrection
and the life ; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Be-
lievest thou this ? ' Sarah's dead womb was revived as soon as she be
lieved ; so sure shall we revive again ; he that judgeth Christ faithful shall
see life spring from death. But you will say, We know all this, and
believe this well enough, as she, John xi. 24, ' I know that he shall rise
again in the resurrection at the last day/ But yet that is little pro
bable, because present difficulties do so easily amaze us. But to try you
a little in your faith and dependence upon this promise, if you hope
against hope, and can believe a resurrection out of the grave, this faith
will bewray itself in life and death. That hope is worth nothing that
is good for nothing.
[1.] lu life : we please ourselves in thinking that we believe the
resurrection of the dead, when there is no such matter. He that
judgeth Christ faithful in the promise of eternal life, notwithstanding
death, esteemeth the faithful execution of his will dearer to him than
all the pleasures of this life. Our thoughts are discovered in our actions,
and our hopes in the course of our lives : 2 Peter iii. 11, c Seeing then
that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought
ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness ? ' Implying that they
that are not such manner of persons do not look for such things. A
man that prostituteth his body to the service of lust, how can it be said
that he looketh for a glorious resurrection to eternal life.
[2.] In death : can we desire death, and check the terrors of it with
280 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XLV.
the promise of eternal life ? Death is your last enemy : can yon
triumph upon your sick-beds in these hopes, that these your enemies
you shall see them no more for ever ?
Thirdly, The next circumstance in the text is the ground of her
faith Because she judged him faithful that had promised. Hence
observe :
1. Wherever we put forth faith we must have a promise, otherwise
it is but fancy, not faith. It is not a ground of expectation barely
what God is able to do, but what God will do. As the two pillars of
Solomon's house were called Jachin and Boaz, 1 Kings vii. 21 , the
one signifies ' Strength/ and the other, ' He will establish it.'
2. In closing with the promise, we should chiefly give God the hon
our of his faithfulness.
1. Because God valueth this most, he standeth much of his truth
4 Heaven and earth shall pass away before one jot or tittle of his word
shall pass,' Mat. v. 18. The monuments of his power shall be defaced
to make good his truth: Ps. cxxxviii. 2, 'Thou hast magnified thy
word above all thy name.' All other attributes give way to this.
2. Because this giveth support and relief to the soul in waiting :
Heb. x. 23, ' Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering, for he is faithful that promised.' God hath promised no
more than he is able to perform ; his word never exceeded his power.
Use. Well then, meditate of this ; silence discouragements when
you have a clear promise. The course of nature saith, It cannot be ;
her own age saith, It cannot be ; but still faith replies, God is faithful.
In all your debates let this be the judgment and casting voice.
SEEMON XLV.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having'
seen them afar off, and ivere persuaded of them, and embraced
them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the
earth. HEB. xi. 13.
HAVING laid down the particular instances of the patriarchs, he
speaketh of what they had in common, they went to the grave in hope,
albeit the promises were not performed in their time.
Here you have the trial of their faith and the victory of their faith,
1. The trial of their faith They died, not having received the
promises ; that is, they went to the grave ere the blessings God had
promised were accomplished.
2 The victory of their faith, which is set forth
[1.] By the several acts of the soul in and upon the promises, both
elicite and imperate. There is an act of apprehension They saiv them
afar off ; an act of judgment or firm assent And were persuaded of
them ; an act of affection da-7ra<rdfj,evoi, And embraced them they
hugged the promise ; this will yield a Messiah,
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 281
[2.] By the effect and fruit of it in their lives and conversations
And confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth.
Who are here spoken of ? Some refer it to the numerous posterity
of Abraham mentioned in the former verse, who did not till the time-
of Joshua enjoy the promised land of Canaan. But that cannot be,,
because many of these were buried in the wilderness, and died mur
muring, and in the displeasure of God. Therefore it is meant chiefly
of the patriarchs last recited Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah ;
and you may take in the faithful that came of their race Joseph, and
others that lived till the time of their going out of Egypt.
By promises are meant things promised. They must receive the-
promise, or else there were no room for faith. Some take tTrayyeXia?
for the spiritual promises ; these they saw but in figure, or afar off.
Temporal promises they had of a numerous posterity, the calling of
the gentiles ; an heir, Christ ; an inheritance, Canaan ; but this would
cross the apostle's scope. Understand it therefore of things promised.
But what were the things promised which they received not? Ans~
The possession of the land of Canaan, a kingdom, a city, a temple,,
which was made good to their posterity, the coming of the Messias out,
of their loins ; these ' they saw afar off,' that is, by the eye of faith ;
and were certainly ' persuaded ' of the accomplishment of them, though
not in their time, and therefore ' embraced them/ shouted for joy, as
mariners when they see land at a distance. Italiam Iceto socii clamore
salutant ; ' professed themselves strangers and pilgrims,' fVt TT}? 777?
' in the earth/ sojourners in the land, as expecting a greater happiness
by the Messiah than they did yet enjoy. Yea, ' they died in faith'
/faraiTLcrTiv 'according to faith/for evTriarei', as Rom. v\'}\.,KaTaadptca
for ei> a-apKt,. All these died by or according to faith. The meaning is,
they remained stable and firm to the end of their lives in this assurance,
notwithstanding the variety of conditions which they passed through.
From the first words, ' These all died in faith/ the points are two
(1.) It is not enough that we must live by faith, but we must also
die by faith. (2.) They that would die in faith must live in faith.
Doct. It is not enough that we must live by faith, but we must also
die by faith. So it is said of these patriarchs, ' All these died in faith.'
Faith is always of use on this side the grave ; at death it doth us the
last office. In the other world there is no need o it ; when we come
to enjoyment faith ceaseth.
The reasons of the doctrine are these
1. Because faith is not sound unless we persevere therein to the end.
The patriarchs had many afflictions, they were tossed up and down,,
yet they died in faith; that was their commendation: so unless we
hold out to the end, all is lost. The Nazarite under the law, if he did
defile himself before the days of his purification were accomplished,,
was to begin all anew again : Num. vi. 12, ' The days which were
before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled/ So we lose
what we have wrought, if we do not remain stable till we come to
' receive the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls/ 1 Peter i. 9 ;..
Ezek. xviii. 24, ' When the righteous turneth away from his righteous
ness and committeth iniquity, and doth according to all the abomina
tions that the wicked man doth, shall he live ? All his righteousness-
282 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SER. XLV.
that he hath done shall not be remembered.' All that is past is
nothing unless we persevere to the end. Faith is not for a fit, we must
hold on in it : Heb. iii. 6, 'Whose house are we, if we hold fast the
confidence, and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end ; ' so ver.
14. ' We are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our
confidence stedfast unto the end.' This was the commendation of
the.se holy men, still their hearts were kept close to God, they died in
faith : Prov. xvi. 31, ' The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be
found in the way of righteousness.' A Mnason, an old disciple, is a
great honour. As Jacob wrestled with the angel till daylight : Gen.
xxxii. 26, ' And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh ; ' so we
must constantly keep up the exercise of faith till the day break, and
the shadows flee away. Elisha would not leave his master till he was
taken from him into heaven ; so faith will not leave ,us till we are taken
to heaven. To be constant to the last is the crown and glory of faith ;
let the world know you have no cause to leave Christ. We read. Mat.
xx., some were called into the vineyard sooner, some later; some were
called early in the morning, some at the third, some at the sixth, some
at the ninth, and some at the eleventh hour ; but all tarried to the end
of the day. So must we carry faith and religion with us to the grave ;
patient abiding is a sign of true faith. Many have outlived their
religion and former profession.
2. Because the hour of death is a special season wherein faith
cometh to be exercised, and the strength of it is tried. There is no
notion doth so much express the nature of faith as this, the committing
of the soul to God's keeping: 2 Tim. i. 12, 'I know whom I h;ive
believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day ; ' and 1 Peter iv. 18, 'Commit
the keeping of your souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful
creator.' The great work of faith is to put the soul into safe hands :
it is our jewel, and it should be in safe hands ; it is sensible of danger,
and it is never safe till it is put into the hands of God through Christ,
and therefore we must commit it to him. Now this never conies so
much to the trial as at the hour of death; then to trust God with
our souls, upon a confidence that he will keep them for us, that we may
enjoy them in another world, this is a sensible discovery of faith, as
appears by Christ's surrender when he was to die : Luke xxiii. 46,
' Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit ;' and Stephen : Acts vii.
59, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' While we live we must put the
soul into God's care ; it is fit our jewel, our darling, should be in safe
hands. But can you trust God with your souls when you are ready to
die ? And then is the time to put the promises in suit, and to express
our confidence in them : Ps. xvi. 9, ' Therefore my heart is <rlad, and
my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope,' &c. The heart
is filled with joy, and the tongue runneth over, when we can send our
souls to God and our bodies to the grave in hope of a blessed resur
rection. During life faith is most exercised in waiting for present
supplies, but in death it is put to trial about future recompenses.
While we have health and strength we do not mind the danger and
hazard of the everlasting state; and that is the reason why we find it
harder to trust God for present mercies, temporal supplies, strength
YER. 13.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 283
for duties and afflictions ; but we are careless of things to come. But
when we come to die faith is exercised about things to come ; then it
is put to the push to meet and grapple with the great and last enemy,
death. Then we come to receive the great promise of our filial estate ;
therefore to dismiss the body to the grave in hope, and recommend
the soul to God, is a great trial of our faith.
3. There are great promises to be performed after our decease, and
it is a great honour to God when we are ready to die, to go to the grave
with assurance, and profess our confidence that God will make them
good. There are two parts of this reason.
[1.] There are many promises to be accomplished when we are dead
and gone, and they are either public or private.
(1.) Concerning the church there are many promises which we see.
not performed in our lifetime. This was the case of these patriarchs,
they had a promise of Canaan that was now possessed by giants, of a
numerous offspring, of a city, of a temple wherein God would be
present, all unaccomplished. In every age of the church there is some
thing to be waited for; and there are many public promises not
accomplished in our days, as the prosperity of the church, the calling
of the Jews, the second coming of Christ, the confusion of antickrist.
Though we go to the grave, and see not these things, yet we should
not doubt of them, for God hath been faithful hitherto : Rev. xiv. 8,
'Babylon is fallen, is fallen.' We should count it as done already,
though we see it not performed in our days. God counts our purposes
obedience ; Abraham is said to offer Isaac because it was his vow and
purpose to do it ; and therefore we should count God's promises to be
as good as performances. Go to the grave with this hope, we leave a
God behind us. who is able to perform his promises whether we be or
no. We hereby teach others to believe.
(2 ) Concerning our families and relations that survive us, there are
private promises. God cannot content himself with doing good to
the person of a believer, but he hath promised also to do good to his
posterity : 2 Sam. vii. 19, ' And this was yet a small matter in thy
sight, Lord God, for thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a
great while to come/ God will act according to the highest laws of
friendship ; as David : 2 Sam. ix. 1, 'Is there any that is left of the
house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake.'
God hath not only spoken comfortably for our persons, but for our house,
our families, our relations for a great while to come. Now when we
can provide for them no longer, pray for them no longer, this is the
last act that we can do, believe for them, go to the grave with confi
dence that God will be as good as his word, who hath promised to be
a father to the fatherless and a husband to the widow. When you can
leave them no inheritance, leave them a God in covenant, that is a
good portion. God hath taken you off from being instrumental for
their good, you can do no more for them ; now believe that God will
take the care upon himself : Gen. xvii. 7, ' I will establish my covenant
between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for
an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after
thee.' Our trust is not so pure in life, whilst we have opportunity to
act for them, as in death, when we can leave them in the hands of
284 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XLY.
God ; and leave them the promises for their portion, though you can
leave them nothing else.
[2.] This is an honour to God, to profess our confidence in him
when we are going to the grave. All faith bringeth glory to God :
John iii. 33, ' He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal
that God is true ;' but especially dying faith, because then we can do
no more, and we leave all to the Lord, and because the speeches of
dying men are wont to be observed as they are entering upon the con
fines of eternity, they are wiser and more serious than at other times,
it is no time to dally or dissemble now, at the last gasp. Now speeches
of living men are suspected of partiality to present interests, or are
neglected as not having much weight in them : Gen. 1. 16, ' Thy father
did command before he died, saying, Tlius shall you say unto Joseph,'
&c. ; Josh, xxiii. 14, ' Behold this day I am going, the way of all the
earth.' When men return, as one expresseth it, 7rl TO jrpo'ywvov Oelov
to the divine original, they seem to be more possessed with the
divine spirit than at other times ; when they are dying, their speeches
are more serious, grave, weighty, entertained with more consideration
and readiness ; therefore when we die, to profess our confidence in the
faithfulness and truth of God, and go to the grave with this acknow
ledgment, this is a mighty honour to God.
4. There are most conflicts at death ; sin is revived, and fears are-
revived. A man is never so serious as then ; now we come to feel
what we never felt before. Christ bids us come to him, as he did
Peter on the waters, then if ever we have need of faith. And Satan is
most busy now, as dying beasts bite shrewdly ; Satan hath great wrath
when he hath but a short time. This is the last enemy, and within a
little time those Egyptians which ye shall now see, ye shall see them
no more ; therefore now is a time to exercise faith. Besides, all carnal
pleasures are then at an end, and have spent their force. Whilst we
have plentiful accommodations wherewith to entertain the flesh, a little
faith serveth the turn ; but death plucketh us from all these, and then
we must bid good night to them, and unless we have other supports we
are wholly shiftless and comfortless. Satan, that formerly tempted us,
now troubleth us ; and then we must immediately appear before God.
Things near at hand do more affect us when we are entering upon the
confines of eternity, and are to grapple with our last enemy. What
shall we do ? Now faith is of use. Graces that are not of use in another
world discover their highest and most consummate act in this world.
Use 1. Let us provide for this hour, that we may die in faith. We
know not how near we may be unto death, or whose turn may be next ;
there is a providence goeth along with sermons, it may be some of us
have more need of this discourse than we are aware ; however, it is
good to hear for the time to come. You come to sermons not only ix>
learn to live, but to learn to die. You are often taught how to live
in faith ; let me instruct you, and show you what it is to die in faith.
1. Profess your hearty and cheerful assent to the general articles of
the Christian faith, those articles which concern the end and the means.
Those that concern the end, as the doctrines of the world to come, the
immortality of the soul, and resurrection of the body, and life eternal.
And those that concern the means, of making the promise sure on
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xr. 285
God's part or our application. The means that concern the impetra-
tion, as the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Christ's death
is the ground of our triumph and victory: Heb. ii. 14, 'Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy
him that had the power of death, that is the devil.' His resurrection
is an act of conquest, he conquered death in its own territories. His
ascension, he is gone to heaven to seize upon it in our name, from
whence he sends his Spirit to fit us for it : Rom. v. 10, ' If when we
were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more being reconciled shall we be saved by his life.' The means that
concern application are his justifying, sanctifying, assisting us in all
conditions, especially in sickness : Ps. xli. 3, ' Thou wilt strengthen
him upon the bed of languishing, thou wilt make all his bed in his
sickness.' You must assent to this, these are ev Trpcorois, the first
truths of Christianity, and the foundation of our comfort and hope.
The general belief of these things giveth life to the applicative acts of
faith. Christ trieth our assent: John xi. 26, 'Whosoever liveth, and
believeth in me shall never die; believest thou this?' 1 Tim. i. 15,
' This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief/
2. Reduce these to practice.
[1.] Make application of reconciliation with God, and pardon of sins
by Christ. Christ's blood shed made the atonement, and by his blood
sprinkled we receive the atonement : Rom. v. 11, ' And not only so,
but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we
have now received the atonement.' This is fit for a dying man : 1
Cor. xv. 5557, ' death ! where is thy sting ? grave ! where is
thy victory ? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the
law ; but thanks be to God, who giveth ns the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ ; ' so the psalmist, Ps. xxxi. 5, ' Into thy hand I
commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, Lord God of truth.'
Every one cannot thrust his soul upon Christ, but only those who are
redeemed and reconciled by his blood. Redemption applied frees us
i'rom the power of the devil, and the tyranny of sin.
[2.] Resign up the soul to God with comfort ; he calls for it, there
fore resign it to him. The death of the godly is not a mere passion,
but a lively and vehement action, by which they deliver up their souls
to God ; so Christ, Luke xxiii. 46, ' Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit ; ' so Stephen, Acts vii. 59, ' Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'
It is not lawful for us to procure our own death, or out of an impati-
ency of pain to hasten our end, nor cry out with Elijah in a pet : 1
Kings xix. 4, ' It is enough now, Lord ; take away my life, for I am
not better than my fathers.' Yet on the other side we must not be
merely passive, or die by force. Beasts when they die, are merely
passive, and properly do suffer death. Wicked men struggle, and are-
loath to depart ; their soul is not given up by them, but taken away
from them : their death, though it be never so natural, yet it is a
violent death; their souls are as it were snatched and torn away from
them : Job xxvii. 9, ' What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he
hath gained, when God taketh away his soul ? ' Luke xii. 20, ' Thou
286 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XLY.
fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee ! ' They do not com
mend their souls into the hands of God, but God requireth it of them.
A wicked roan would fain hold out a little longer, but God will not
suffer him ; the Lord puts his bond in suit, he requireth their souls of
them. The godly, though they cannot wholly lay aside their aversa-
tion from death, which is natural to every living thi.ng, yet when they
see the will of God, they hold out no longer, but overcome themselves
and yield. Death is a sweet dismission of their soul, and a resigna
tion of it into the hands of God. Besign up then the soul unto God
upon these terms, you are going to a farther, you are sent for home,
death is not penal, as it is to the wicked ; to them it is the wages of
sin, they are hailed before the judge, the body sent to the grave, and
the soul to hell. There is a great deal of difference between death and
death. Death hath many considerations ; as Christ endured it, so it
was a ransom; as wicked men suffer it, so it is wages; as godly
men suffer it, so it is the gate of life, the messenger to bring
them home to God, the Lord will be no longer without your
company, and therefore he sends for you. In what soft terms
doth the scripture express the death of the saints; it is a dis
solution, not a violent rending and tearing to pieces: -Phil. i. 23,
'Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; ' it is a departure,
a setting sail for another world ; it is a sleep, the grave is a chamber
and bed of rest : Isa. Ivii. 2, ' He shall enter into peace, they shall rest
in their beds ; ' it is a hastening to the great assembly that is above.
Such soft terms the scripture useth concerning the death of the saints ;
for death, though it is an enemy to nature, yet it is a friend to grace.
And consider, you do not only give up your souls to God that gave
them, but to Christ that redeemed them: Ps. xxxi. 5, 'Into thine
hand I commit my spirit ; thou hast redeemed me, Lord God of
truth ; ' and you may be confident Christ will receive the soul which
he hath purchased with his blood. Christ comes in a nearer way of
enjoyment, that thou mayest receive the fruits of his own purchase.
If thou belongest to God, thy heart was there long since, thou hast
sent spies, thoughts, and affections to take a view of that land, to see
what it is, and they have brought a report of the goodness of the
country in the promises, and now thou art going thither in person ;
therefore resign up thy soul to God, and say, I am going the way of
all flesh, to yield up my soul to God, and death is ready to close mine
eyes, Lord, I commit my soul to thee, I commend my spirit to thee :
I have trusted in thee and I do trust in thee ; thou hast made it,
Christ redeemed it, and I hope the mark of thy Spirit will be found
upon it. I do resign up my soul to thee.
[3.] Dismiss the body to the grave in hope of a joyful resurrection,
sow it as good seed, that will spring up again. Say then, Go, flesh,
rest in hope, take the covenant along with you to the grave: Ps. xvi.
9, 10, ' My flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption.' Job
could see life in death : Job xix. 25, 26, ' I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day on the earth. And
though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall
see God.' This body must be turned into dust, but this dust shall be
VER. 13] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 287
gathered together again ; this body must be eaten by worms, but the
morsels of worms shall be parcels of the resurrection. Death is con
quered by Christ ; it may kill, but it cannot hurt ; but the body shall
be raised a glorious structure, conformed to Christ's glorious body.
You are going to make experiment of that promise : John xi. 25, 26,
' He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and
whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.' Overlook all
things that are between you and glory. It is a sweet close when the
body and soul do part from one another in this manner ; when you can
commend your spirits to God, and send the body to the grave to rest
in hope ; when the body and sou) are parting, that God and the soul
may meet ; when conscience is a compurgator, and can say, I bear them
witness that body and soul have spent their time together in the world
well, in loving thee, and obeying thee. When body and soul thus take
their leave one of another, it is a blessed parting ; as on the contrary
it is a very sad parting, when conscience falleth a-ravirig, and the
body and soul curse each other ; when the body complains of the soul
us an ill guide, and the soul of the body as an unready instrument, and
you curse the day of their first union. Oh, that I had been stifled in
the womb, and never seen the light !
[4.] Meditate on the happiness into which you are entering. Stephen's
eyes were opened ' And he looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw
the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God/ Acts
vii. 55. Whether in vision, or by ecstasy and the elevation of faith, I
dispute not ; I only urge it for this, it is a good meditation, when at
the point of death to think of God, and of the glory of his presence,
and of Jesus Christ in heaven at his right hand ready to receive you.
Your thoughts should be now taken up about the glorious things of
another world ; think no more of heaven as at a distance, but as one
going to take possession of it ; the angels are ready to conduct you to
Christ, and Christ to present you to God, as a proof of the virtue of
his death : Jude 24, ' Now unto him that is able to keep you from
falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory
with exceeding great joy.' Death is ready to untie the soul from its
chains, and to let it forth into liberty and glory ; look upon yourselves
as ready to pass into the throng of spirits, to see Christ and all his
blessed angels, and your everlasting companions. You are going to
better company, to better employment, to a better place, where is your
God, your head, the Lord Christ ready to receive you when you come
thither. This is the time we longed for, looked for, prayed for ; now
we are going to our preferment, and enter upon those glorious things
that are represented to us in the gospel ; these things should take up
your thoughts. It is not so with the wicked ; how horrid are the
thoughts of death to him : he is going to suffer and feel that which he
would never believe before ; death cometh to him as God's executioner,
to rend the unwilling soul from the embraces of the body ; he sees an
handwriting against him, great bills of uncancelled sins awakening
and amazing the conscience, and breaking all his hope in pieces. How
is the man perplexed ; what between the memory of past sins and the
fear of future pains, the sense of an angry God and the presence of
devils ready to carry him to accursed and damned spirits, and he has
no comforter, no advocate to plead for him.
288 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XLV.
[5.] Commend your faith to others, this is to die in faith. This is
the last time that you can do anything for God in the world, and
therefore this you should do, commend the faithfulness and goodness
of God, what a good master you have found him to be : John iii. 33,
' He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.'
Swans, some say, sing before their death ; so have God's servants com
mended their experiences of God's faithfulness to others ; as Moses :
Dent, xxxii. 4, ' He is a rock, his work is perfect ; for all his ways are
judgment : a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he ; '
so Joshua, chap, xxiii. 14, ' Behold this day I am going the way of all
the earth ; and ye know in all your hearts, and in all your souls, that
not one thing hath failed of all the good things, which the Lord your
<jod spake concerning you ; all are come to pass unto you, and not
one thing hath failed thereof.' He repeats it twice. The words of
dying men are of most efficacy and authority, as being spoken out of
all their former experience, and with most simplicity, and without
self-seeking and sinister ends. Therefore speak a good word of God,,
let the world know what you have found God to be, I know him for a
true God, he is not behind-hand in one word. So Jacob : Gen. xlviii.
15, 16, ' God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk,
the God which fed me all my life-long unto this day, the angel which
redeemed me from all evil.' Carnal men do not honour their principles;
they cannot speak of the worth of the world, and of the things they
have trusted to ; they fail them when they stand in most need of them,
and therefore they fall a-complaining of the world, how it hath abused
and deceived them. But godly men can speak honourably of the God
they have trusted. Stephen told them of his vision, though it increased
their rage against him : Acts vii. 56, ' He said, Behold I see the heavens
opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God/ He
would honour God that owned him, though it made them fall upon him
like madmen. Thus you see what the duty of Christians is when they
come to die, to die in faith and obedience, resigning their souls to God,
dismissing their bodies to the grave in hope, meditating on the great
things of eternity, honouring their principles, and speaking for God to
others.
Use 2. Can you thus die in faith ? It is another thing to do it in
i deed than what it is to do it in conceit. They that stand on the shore
Tnay easily speak to men in a storm, Sail thus and thus ; but when the
waves beat high, directions are not easily followed. Can you then die
in faith ? There is the great trial of faith. A Christian doth not only
make it his care to live in Christ, but to die in Christ : Kev. xiv. 13,
* Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.' It is a blessed thing
' to sleep in Jesus/ 1 Thes. iv. 14. How is it with you ? are you pro
vided for such an hour ? There are two expressions I shall take notice
of on this occasion ; one is, 2 Cor. v. 3, ' If so be that being clothed,
we shall not be found naked ; ' another is, 2 Peter iii. 14, ' Give diligence,
that you may be found of him in peace.' Christians ! it is a sad
thing to be found naked ; you can never die with comfort, and appear
before God with confidence, if you are not clothed with Christ's right
eousness. A wicked man hath no garment to cover him ; but for the
righteous God puts one grace upon another, upon the righteousness of
Christ God puts on the sa notification of the Spirit, and upon the sancti-
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 28
fication of the Spirit he puts on the robes of glory. And it is a sad
thing to die and not to be at peace with God, when death surpriseth 119
with our weapons of defiance in our hands. When a town is taken by
storm, if there be pity shown to children and aged persons, yet they
die without mercy that are taken with weapons in their hands ; so
when death comes and surprises us in our rebellion and war against
him, the end will be full of horror. The scripture speaks of the wicked
man, Jer. xvii. 11, 'At his end he shall be a fool.' A wicked man
was ever a fool, because he neglects the best things for vile and con
temptible pleasures ; but at his latter end he shall be a fool ; viz., in
the conviction of his own conscience. A wicked man never comes to
himself till he comes to die, and then his own heart will call him fool.
fool that thou wast, to neglect thy salvation, and run after trifles of-
no use and profit.
Obj. 1. But you will say many carnal men die quietly.
Ans. So much the worse, some die of a lethargy, as well as of a
burning fever ; as they live in carnal confidence, so they may die in
carnal confidence, and this is a sad judgment ; when their hearts like
Nabal's are like a stone, it is an argument of the greater hardness and
sottishness, they hare not that calm and quiet that ariseth from a
interest in Christ.
Obj. 2. Many good men may die with great conflicts, and to be
holders have little expression of comfort and feeling of God's love .
Ans. God's children may have their conflicts, they may fear death,
they are not as stones, their strength is not as brass, nor their sinews
iron. Grace itself as well as nature requireth that we should be
sensible of God's hand. Nature recoileth at what is destructive.
Adam in innocency would have been affected if his body had been
wronged ; nay, and bodies of the best temper and complexion are most
sensible, because they enjoy life at a higher and more valuable rate
than others do. This is better than to die stupid ; Christ himself had
his agonies. Nay, many times corruption may interpose, and the best
men, because of the remainders of sin in them, may have their agonies.
God will show himself a free Spirit, not to come in at our hours ; God
will crown some in the very field and middle of the combat. But
there is a great deal of difference between these conflicts that are in
the godly and the horrors of the wicked : there is a mixture of faith
pleading and disputing for God, and these conflicts arise, not out of a
legal fear only, but from the height of hatred and displeasure against
sin. Faith is usually discovered in the most glorious way at the last ,
if it be not glorified in triumphing, it is glorified in dependence, and
casting ourselves upon the grace and mercy of God in Christ, notwith
standing all arguments to the contrary. Therefore how do matters
stand between God and you ? Are you thus fit to die in faith, to resign.
up your souls to God, and to glorify him in believing ?
Use 3. To press you to get and keep faith to the end.
1. Get faith, it is an excellent grace, that standeth by us when all
things else leave us. At death all comfouta vanish ; your wealth that
you have gained will stand you in no stead : Job xxvii. 8, ' What is
the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh
away his soul ? ' When you look on your bodies, all is wasting : Ps.
VOL. xiv. T
290 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SilU. XLV.
Ixxiii. 26, ' My heart and my flesh faileth ;' this face, these arms, as
Oblevian said, must now be meat for worms ; when you look on your
houses and habitations, these dwellings will know me no more ; when
you look on your children and friends mourning by you, you shall see
them no more ; but then faith will stand us in stead, it makes us to live
with comfort, and to die with comfort. Faith is an excellent grace,
that excelleth reason as much as reason excels sense ; and what a dif
ference is there between a toad and a man !
2. Keep faith to the end: Heb. iv. 1, 'Let us fear lest a promise
being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come
short of it.' We have more cause to persevere than they, we have
clearer promises, a clearer sight of heaven, a clearer knowledge of
Christ, greater advantages of grace than ever they had ; and if they
died in faith, and held out to the end, what a shame is it if we should
give over !
Doct. 2. They that would die in faith must live in faith ; as Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and such as confessed themselves strangers and
pilgrims on the earth. Men would die well, however they live. Balaam
wished, Num. xxiii. 10, ' Let me die the death of the righteous, and
let my last end be like his.' There is a natural desire of happiness ;
men would die the death of the righteous though they are loth to live
the life of the righteous. The snake, that was full of windings and
circlings while it lived, yet when struck with a dagger it stretched it
self out right. At oportet sic vixisse. It is not enough when you come
to die to say, Oh that I were in such a man's case ! We must live in
faith if we would die in faith.
Reasons
1. We had need make trial of that faith we must die by. In bello
non licet bis peccare. Have you tried your faith ? A man had need
have experiences of the strength of his faith, and of the truth of God's
word, that the word of the Lord is a tried word. Hath it been thy
practice to make trial of promises all the days of thy life, that you may
be able to say, I have had experience of God, and he hath never failed
me ? We try how to swim in shallow brooks before we venture to
swim in the deep waters ; so before we trust Christ with our eternal
state we must try how we can trust him with temporals. There are
daily cases wherein we make proof and trial of God : Ps. xxxvii. 5,
' Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him, and he shall bring
it to pass.' See how it succeedeth with you in present things, what
establishment of heart you find by trusting in God during life : Prov.
xvi. 3, ' Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be*
established.' We seek worldly things in good earnest, therefore we arc
troubled about them, and find it a great difficulty to rest on God for
present supplies. There is some general inclination after ha-ppiness,
but that is soon satisfied. How can you trust him with your souls,
and with your everlasting concernments, if 3 7 ou cannot trust him for
daily bread, and in present dangers? 1 Peter iv. 19, 'Commit the
keeping of your souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful creator.'
It^will be hard work when you are put to it unless you are acquainted
with God beforehand.
2. Then is a time to use faith, not to get it. It is no time to buy
weapons when the battle is begun. The foolish virgins had their oil
VjiK. 13.] SKKMONS UPON HEBEEWS XI. 291
to buy when the bridegroom was come, Mat. xxv. 10. We must lay
up comforts against the hour of death ; that is the great day of expense,
wherein a man is to throw his last for everlasting life. Therefore did
God give us so long a life to prepare for this hour, Now we are to
make use of the articles of faith ; not to learn to believe them, but to
turn all into practice.
3. We need the strongest faith to grapple with our greatest and
last enemy. Now faith is a grace that is wrought by degrees to strength
and perfection : 1 Thes. iii. 10, ' That I may perfect that which is
lacking in your faith ; ' Luke xvii. 5. ' Lord, increase our faith.' Now
it is hard to encounter with the worst and last enemy at first. We had
need to get promises ready, evidences ready, and experiences ready.
Promises ready, upon which we dare venture our souls. Evidences
ready : 2 Cor. i. 12, ' Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our con
science, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom,
but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world ; '
2 Tim. iv. 7, 8, ' I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at
that day ; and not to me only, but also unto all them that love his
appearing ;' Isa. xxxviii. 3, ' Eemember now, Lord, I beseech thee,
how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and
have done that which is good in thy sight. 1 Experience is ready, that all
along you. have found him a good God : Ps. xviii. 30, ' As for God, his
way is perfect : the word of the Lord is tried : he is a buckler to all
those that trust in him/ You have found him good to you in pardon
ing your sins on a penitent confession : 1 John i. 9, ' If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.' In enabling you to duties of holiness : 1
Thes. v. 23, 24, ' And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly : and
I pray God, your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blame
less unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that
calleth you. who also will do it.' In bearing you through all your
sufferings: 2 Thes. iii. 3, ; And the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish
you, and keep you from evil.' You have found him a good God in all
your cares, troubles, and sorrows ; and will he fail you at last ? There
is nothing more easy than a slight inconsiderate trust ; but you must
make a business of believing ; it is not a slight ' God have mercy upon
us ; that will serve the turn. Do you think to please the flesh, and
hunt after the world as long as you can, and that Christ will take
care of your souls ? Do you think it is sufficient to say over a few
devout words at last, as if you could do the work of an age in a
breath ?
Use 1. Keproof.
1. It reproves those that live as if they should never die, and then
they die as if they should never live ; they fill up the measure of their
sins, and so do but provide matter for despair, and horror, and agonies
on their deathbeds ; for at their latter end they shall taste the fruit of
their own doings. There is not such a quick passage as the world
imagines a cceno ad ccelum, from Delilah's lap to Abraham's bosom ;
there must be a sitting and preparing time to get up the heart to
heaven.
292 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL [SfiR. XL VI.
2. It reproves such as please themselves with the hopes of a death
bed repentance. It is very hazardous whether we shall then have grace
to repent ; for it is just with God ut qui vivens oblitus est Dei, mor-
iens obliviscatur, he that hath forgotten God all his life, that he should
not be remembered by God when he conies to die. It is very unseason
able, for then we need cordials, not work. Is it a time to have our oil
to buy when we should use it ? And it is suspicious. The scripture
containeth an history of near about four thousand years, and there is
but one instance of it viz., of the good thief upon the cross , and there
are special reasons for that. It was the first-fruits of Christ's merits,
when the great oblation was actually made ; the taste and handsel of
his drawing power. John xii. 22 , as princes will do extraordinary acts
of grace on the day of their coronation. Never was such a season ;
Christ was now actually redeeming the world by his death, and he
owneth Christ in the day of his highest abasement, when all others
scorned him.
Use 2. Exhortation ; it presseth us to live by faith. If you would
have faith ready to die by, you must have faith ready to live by ;
otherwise, you will be either as a stone, or under horror, or at least
in the dark doubtful and anxious, and will not know what will
become of you.
1. Disarm death beforehand by plucking out its sting, seeking
reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. The great business
you have to do upon earth is to make and keep peace with God.
Seek reconciliation with God through the merits of Jesus Christ, and
keep up your friendship with him by following the guidance of the
Spirit, and then you will pluck out the sting of death ; otherwise sin
will stare you in the face, and then death will be 'terrible.
2. Get your title to eternal life evidenced by holiness. Your right
and title to eternal life is founded on the merits of Christ, who paid a
price, and therefore heaven is called ' the purchased possession,' Eph. i.
14 ; but your evidence that you have to show for your interest in it is
holiness that is the first-fruits ; and when we come to die, we come to-
have our fill. God qualifies all those whom he appoints to happiness,
and prepares them for it ; no unclean thing shall enter into heaven ;
swine, that wallow in the puddle and mire of the world, who would
have profit and pleasure rather than grace, are not fit for this happi
ness. Your end should be to be safe in another world, to enjoy ever
lasting communion with God ; and therefore the evidence of this is the
weaning of your heart from the world, and getting it up to heaven, and;
making holiness the great business of your lives. This is your evidence,,
though the title comes by Christ.
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 293
SERMON XLVI.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having
seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced
them and confessed that they ivere strangers, and pilgrims on the
earth. HEB. xi. 13.
THE next thing I shall observe in the text is the nature of faith, how
it works in and upon the promises. Here are several properties of it :
it eyes blessings promised, is firmly persuaded of them, and embraceth
and huggeth them ; and all this was observable in these patriarchs,
though they went to the grave without any experience of the fulfilling
of them. Here I shall observe something from the general view of the
text, and then from the several actings of faith.
First, From the whole, observe this doctrine
DocL Faith is contented with the promise, though it cannot have
actual possession. It is enough to faith to see things at a distance, as
these patriarchs did : it constantly adhereth to God, though it findeth
not what it believeth ; yea, though it see no probability and reason for
it. For this also was the case of these partriarchs. Canaan was pro
mised to them, which was now possessed by the Canaanites ; and God
hath told them of the calamity that should befal their posterity in Egypt,
and yet that they should be a glorious nation, and have a temple and
a city. These were very unlikely things, yet they went to the grave,
and saw these blessings afar off, and embraced them. Usually God
exerciseth his people in this kind ; so it was in the first believer the
Lord had made a promise of a blessed seed to Adam. Now for a great
while there was no likelihood of the accomplishment of it Abel was
slain, Cain was a wicked man, and Adam was an hundred and thirty
years old before Seth was born, Gen. v. 3, who was appointed instead
of Abel, in whom God would continue the blessed line and race. And
so it has been all along, there has been a time between the promise
and the accomplishment ; therefore the apostle saith, Heb. vi. 12,
' Be ye followers of them, who though faith and patience inherit the
promises.' Never any came to possess the things promised, but there
was something to exercise their faith and patience ; there was some
distance of time for the exercise of their faith, and the inconveniences
of the present life to exercise their patience. But yet faith constantly
adheres to God, notwithstanding all this. Now faith worketh thus
partly because of the advantages it hath in the promises, and partly
because of the work it putteth forth upon the heart of a believer.
1 Because of the advantage it hath in the promises ; for consider what
the promises are in three things.
[1.] They are the eruption and overflowings of God's love. God's
heart is so big with love to his people, that it cannot stay till the
accomplishment of things ; but his love breaks out and overflows in the
promise before the mercy be brought about : Isa. xlii. 9, 'Behold, the
former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare ; before
they spring forth I tell you of them.' God's purposes are a sealed foun
tain ; his promises are a fountain broken open. As when a river swells
SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiR. XLY1.
so high that the channel will not contain it, it breaks out and overflows ;
so the love of God is so great that the purposes of God, and the foun
tain of eternal grace towards a believer, swell and break out into actual
promises, that we may know what he hath provided for us before they
be accomplished. God might have done us good, and given us no pro
mise of it ; but love concealed would not be so much for our comfort.
Now faith that hath such a testimony of God's love counts itself bound
to be contented ; for as God counts our purposes to be obedience, so
should we count God's promises to be performance. When there is a
purpose in the heart to do anything for God, God counts it as actually
done. Abraham purposed to sacrifice his son, and it is said, Abraham
offered Isaac, Heb. xi. 17. And God takes notice of David's purpose :
1 Kings viii. 18,' ' And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas
it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well
that it was in thine heart.' Now as our purposes are the first issues
of our love to God, so God's promises are the first issues of his love to us.
[2.] They are the rule and warrant of faith. The promises show
how far God is to be trusted, because they show how far he is engaged.
So far as the Lord hath promised, so far he hath made himself a
debtor, and so hath given the creature a holdfast upon him, something
for faith to lay hold upon. God's purposes are unchangeable, there
fore the apostle speaks of the ' immutability of his counsel,' Heb. vi.
17 : and his promises are his purposes declared, therefore here faith
hath something to work upon, it can boldly challenge God upon his
word. The word that is gone out of his mouth he will make good, as
he hath said : Ps. Ixxxix. 34, ' My covenant will I not break, nor alter
the thing that is gone out of my lips.' The promises are a means
whereby God tries our faith. God will try of what credit he is with
men, whether we will depend upon his word or no, and besides they
are a security put into our hands. We have now something to urge to
God, and may challenge him by his promise : Ps. cxix. 49, ' Kemember
thy word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.'
They are as so many bonds wherein God is bound to us, and God loves
to have his bonds put in suit. A usurer thinks himself rich, though
it may be he hath little money in the house, because he hath bonds
and good security ; he that hath a thousand pounds in bonds and
good security is in better case than he that hath only a hundred pounds
in ready money. A Christian though he hath little in his purse, yet
he hath much in bonds ; he is rich in promises, by which he hath a
holdfast upon God, and therefore he is contented to wait.
[3.] They are a pawn of the thing promised, and must be held till
performance come. God's truth and holiness lie at stake, and the Lord
will set them free and recover his pawn again. God, when he leaves
his promise in his people's hands, he leaves his glory, his truth, his
holiness, and his justice there, and they are to remain as pledges with
the creature till God sets them free again by performing his promise.
This is the meaning of that solemn expression so often used ' As I
live, saith the Lord/ He plights his essence ; count me not a living God
if I do not fulfil my word. So the saints plead with God. that he would
free his attributes left in pawn by fulfilling his promises : Ps. cxv. 1.
4 Not unto us, Lord., not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 295
for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake.' As if they should say, Lord,
we do not plead for ourselves, for our own profit, but for thy attributes ;
for thy mercy and truth. When mercies come according to the promise,
God doth not only deliver us, but he delivereth his mercy and truth
from calumny and reproach. Now upon all these advantages faith is
as good as fruition ; it is the ' substance of things hoped for, and the
evidence of things not seen/ Heb. xi. 1 ; it maketh absent things pre
sent ; it sets up a stage in the heart, and sees God acting over his
counsels, and looks upon things to come as already accomplished or
now a-doing. It doth not require the existence and presence of the
thing we believe, but only the promise of it. Thus the patriarchs had
Christ, and saw Christ, and embraced Christ viz., in the figure and
in the promise ; therefore it is said, Heb. xiii. 8, ' Jesus Christ, the
same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.' As our faith looketh backward,
so did their faith look forward ; and they are said to eat arid to drink
Christ: 1 Cor, x. 3, 4, 'And they did all eat the same spiritual meat:
and did all drink the same spiritual drink ; for they drank of that
spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ/ They
had the promise, and so a believer hath heaven in the promise -. John
viii. 36, 'He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; ' Titus
iii. 5, ' According to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regen
eration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.' As soon as we are regenerated
we are saved. They have the love of God in the promise, they have
an holdfast upon God by his promise, and they have the promise as a
pawn till the performance, and they keep it by them ; and this is as-
good as fruition to a believing soul.
2. Because of the work of faith upon the heart of a believer. There
is not only a work of faith upon the promise, but a work of faith upon
the heart of a believer.
[l.j It calms the affections and deadeneth the heart to present
enjoyments. Carnal affections must have things present and pleasing
to sense ' Demas hath forsaken us, having loved the present world/
2 Tim. iv. 10 ; but faith causeth the soul to look within the veil, and
acquaints us with better things than are to be seen in the world ; and
so the affections are altered : 2 Cor. iv. 18, ' While we look not to the
things that are seen but to the things that are not seen ; for the things
that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal.'
Faith carries the soul into heaven, above the clouds and mists that are
here below, and causeth it to see the glory of the world to come ; and
when it looks to things not seen, things that lie within the veil and
curtain of heaven, the soul is weaned from such things as are pleasing
to sense. As a man that hath been looking on the sun, his eyes are so
dazzled with the lustre of it, that he cannot for a while see anything
else. Faith is ever accompanied with weanedness from the world,
or else it could never do its office ; it gets the heart up to heaven, and
then all things are easy. Worldly cares and worldly fears arise from
the affection of carnal sense, that is all for the present ; but faith looketh
to things that are to come, and so purifieth the heart from worldly
affections ; it acquainteth us with better things in Christ, and so spoileth
the taste of other things.
[2.] It worketh patience and waiting the Lord's leisure. That IF
296 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SfiU. XLV1.
another effect upon the heart of a believer. Faith and patience are
inseparable, and therefore they are often coupled together : Hek vi. 12,
* Be followers of them, who through faith and patience inherit the
promises ; ' so Heb. x. 35, 36, ' Cast not away therefore your confidence,
which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience,
that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.'
Faith always worketh waiting, and quiet submission, balancing our
sufferings with our hopes. It tarrieth the Lord's leisure , the promise
is sure, therefore faith is satisfied with the promise, and quietly hopeth
for the performance of it ; and the promise is good, and will make
amends for all ; and therefore faith is contented to wait, notwithstand
ing present inconveniences. There is longing and looking, yet tarrying
and waiting ; the mercy is in sure hands, and when it comes it will
make amends for all your waiting ; and if the blessing be deferred,
there will be more glory to God and comfort to us when it cometh.
It is but fit we should tarry the Lord's leisure. They are wicked heirs
that desire the inheritance before it falleth, and wish the death of their
parents ; and so they are carnal, that must have all things for the
present and cannot wait, that would have blessings before they are ready
for them. God is not slack, but we are hasty, and therefore the work
of faith is to calm the affections and to subdue us to a quiet waiting
upon the Lord, till he accomplish all his pleasure. As Naomi said to
Ruth: Ruth iii. 18, ' Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the
matter will fall ; for the man will not be at rest until he have finished
the thing this day.' So faith says to a believing soul, Be still ; he
that hath begun will not rest till he hath brought this matter to pass.
Use 1. It presseth us to such a faith as will be contented, though it
do not come to enjoyment such a faith as can see that made up in
the promise that is wanting in sense and actual feeling. In outward
wants get such a faith ; it was the apostle's riddle : 2 Cor. vi. 10, ' As
having nothing, and yet possessing all things ; * all things are in the
promise, though nothing in actual possession, Now can you live upon
a promise, and fetch life and encouragement and protection and main
tenance from thence ? Ps. xc. I, ' Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-
place in all generations.' When was this said ? When they were
wandering in the wilderness without house or home ; for it was a
prayer of Moses, the man of God : they found a habitation in God,
when they had none in the wilderness. If we want house, food, raiment,
faith can see all this in the promise. The life of faith cometh nearest
to the life of heaven. In heaven, God is all in all without the inter
vention of means ; when we can see all in the promise, it is some kind
of anticipation of the life of heaven, because the promise shows us
what we shall find in God. Can you fetch thence house, food, raiment,
life, deliverance, a legacy and blessing for your children, when you die,
and are in deep poverty ?
Again, in spiritual distresses, though you feel no comfort aud quick
ening, yet you have his word. Men cast anchor in the dark, and a
child takes his father by the hand in the dark , can you stick to God
in the dark ? Though you see nothing, yet can you cleave close to
him, and wait and stay upon his name ? In the absence of the blessing
there is room for faith ; can you take your father by the hand when
VER. 13]. SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XL 297
you cannot see him ? And when there is nothing appears to sense,
can you stay upon the name of God ? Christ may be out of sight,
and yet you may not be out of mind. Sense makes lies of God : Ps.
xxxi. 22, ' I said in my heart I am, cut off from before thine eyes ;
nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplication when I cried
unto thee/ When to sense and feeling all is gone, God may be very
nigh, if we had but an eye of faith to see him. In the midst of the
miseries of the present world canst thou comfort thyself with thy right
in the promises of the world to come ? Though thou hast not posses
sion, thou hast the grant, and the deed is sealed ; a man may buy lands
that he never saw, if he be well informed about them. Thus heaven
and earth differ ; heaven is all performance, and here is very little per
formance ; here we have the first-fruits and the earnest, enough to bind
the bargain ; thou hast the conveyances to show, and it is not nudum
pactum, a naked bargain, there is earnest given in lieu of a greater
sum ; now can you wait ?
Use 2 It informs us how much the happiness of a believer excels
that of a worldling. A worldling hath much in hand, but he hath
nothing in hope ; he hath fair revenues and ample possessions, but he
hath no promises ; here they have their portion : Ps. xvii. 14, ' From
men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly
ihou fillest with thy hid treasure ; they are full of children, and leave
the rest of their substance to their babes ; ' and when they come to die,
there is an end of all ; Luke xvi. 25, ' Son, remember, that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good things.' But now look upon a believer:
Ps. cxix. Ill, ' Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever.'
His portion lies in God's promises, and God's promises concern the
present life, as well as that which is to come : 1 Tim. iv. 8, ' Godliness
is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is,
and of that which is to come/ For the present life all that he has
comes with a blessing out of the womb of the promise, and as a fruit
of the covenant ; and a share he shall have as long as the Lord will
use them and employ them ; he will give them maintenance and pro
tection as long as he expects service from them : and in the life to
come he enters upon his heritage. Oh, it is a sad thing to have our
portion here, and to look for no more ; to have all in hand and nothing
in hope. A Christian is not to be valued by his enjoyments, but by
his hopes. Do not look upon the children of God as miserable, because
they do not shine in outward pomp and splendour, for they have meat
and drink which the world knows not of estate, lands and honours
which lie in another world. It is better to be trained up in a way of
faith, than to have our whole portion here. A worldly man hath his
present payment, that is all he cares for ; but a Christian hath an
ample portion all the testimonies of God, and all his promises con
cerning this life and a better. And therefore he is a rich man, though
stripped of all ; his estate lieth in a country where there is no plunder
ing, no sequestration, no alienation of inheritances. So that if he be
stripped of all that the world can take hold of, he is a happier man
than the greatest monarch of the world, that hath nothing but present
things ; because he is rich in bills and bonds, such as lie out of the reach
of the world. Turn him where you will, yet still he is happy ; turn.
298 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XL VI.
him into prison, the promises bear him company, and revive and cheer
him there ; turn him into the grave, still God goes along with him, and
will revive and raise him up again ; his riches stand him in stead at
death ; then is the time to put his bonds in suit. When God comes
to demand his soul, he gives it up cheerfully ; for then hc^ comes to
enjoyment, and to possess that which he expected ; the best is behind.
So much for the general view of the text.
Secondly, More particularly, I shall speak to the several acts of
faith, and they are three
1. Apprehension They saw them afar off.
2. Firm assent They were persuaded of them.
3. Affection They embraced them.
First, The first act of faith is apprehension of the blessings ' They
saw them afar off.' Hence I observe
Doct. It is the property of faith to eye the blessings promised at a
distance.
So Abraham : John viii. 56, ' Your father Abraham rejoiced to see
my day, and he saw it, and was glad.' Faith hath an eagle eye ; it is
the perspective of the soul by which it can see things at a distance.
There were many ages between Abraham and Christ, and yet he saw
Christ's day. So Moses, Heb. xi. 26. ' He had respect/ eV//3Xe7re
he had an eye to the recompense of the reward/ As the devil showed
Christ the glory of the present world in a map or representation ; so
doth faith, which is the evidence of things not seen, represent to the
soul the glory of the world to come ; there is a view of heaven and
happiness. Let me show you what there is in this view of faith.
1. It apprehends the blessing as a real thing, which without faith
we can never do. The promises are but as a golden dream to a carnal
man ; they hear of these things as if they were in a dream, and do not
look upon them as real objects : 2 Peter i. 9, ' He that lacketh these
things is blind, and cannot see afar off' TU<XO<? teal fjLvwirdtpv, the
word signifies short-sighted. Fancy and reason cannot out-look time,
and see beyond death ; men have a guess and general traditional know
ledge ; but there is no serious apprehension of the reality of these great
blessings ; heaven doth not come in view to them, as it doth to a
believer. Carnal men may have a dream of such things as Elysian
fields, and happy mansions in another world, but they have not an eye
open to see God and Christ at his right hand ; as Stephen's eyes
were opened : Acts rii. 55. ' He being full of the Holy Ghost, looked
up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus stand
ing at the right hand of God.' There might be something of special
dispensation there, but it is temperately done by faith. The sight of
faith difiereth from that of fancy and reason, as the sight of the eye
doth from report. A man that hath seen a foreign country is more
affected at the mention of it than he that knows it only by a map, or
by the report of others. Carnal men's hearts are only possessed with
an empty notion of heaven ; but they do not see it as a real thing,
worthy of their choice and pursuit.
2. It pondereth the worth of the blessings. Faith is a considerate
act, it takes a view of heaven ; as Abraham was to travel through the
land of promise, and take a view of it, and Moses from Mount Pisgah
VER. 13.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS xi. 299
was to take a view of the land of Canaan. As the prophets of old not
only believed that Christ was to come in the flesh, but they diligently
inquired into the salvation that was to come : 1 Peter i. 11, ' Of which
salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you ; ' so doth faith em
ploy the thoughts, and sends them out as spies into the other world to
bring tidings of the state of the other country. Faith languisheth for
want of meditation ; for the promises are the food of faith, and medita
tion is, as it were, the chewing and the digesting of our food. View
them then often, let us be creating images and suppositions of our
future happiness. If a poor man were adopted into the succession of
a crown, he would be pleasing himself with the thoughts of it ; so
should we mind and ponder on the things that are above, thinking be
forehand what a welcome there will be between us and Christ, when
the angels shall bring us to Christ ; and in what a manner we shall
be brought by Christ, and presented to the Father, as the fruits of
his purchase ; what a pleasure it will be to see their fellow-saints
with crowns of righteousness upon their heads. Faith is a steady
view.
3. There is actual expectation. Faith, having a promise, looketh
out after the blessing. This the scripture expresseth by airoKapa^oKia,
a lifting up the head ; as a man looks after the messenger he hath
sent about some business, to see if he be coming back again : Eom.
viii. 19, 'ATTOKapa^offia -7-779 ATTtVetw?, &c., ; The earnest expectation
of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.'
So David, Ps v. 3, ' In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee
and will look up,' that is, to see if I can spy the blessing coming. Faith
not only looks up in prayer, but it looks out to see if anything be coming
from God in a way of answer ; as Elijah when he had prayed earnestly
for rain, sent his servant to look towards the sea, whether the rain was
a.-coming ; Hab. ii. 1, 'I will stand upon my watch, and set me on the
tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me.' He was
resolved to wait for an answer of grace, withdrawing the mind from
things visible, and elevating it to God, and looking above the rnists
and darkness of inferior accidents. So faith, as from a watch-tower,
looks and sees if it can spy the mercy afar off : 2 Peter iii. 12, ' Looking
for and hastening to the coming of the day of God ' Faith., or medita
tion on the certainty of the promise (for that is faith), doth thus erect
the soul, and sets it in a posture of expectation, to behold if there be
any tokens of God's coming, if they can hear the soundings of his feet,
any approach of the mercy they look for. As a man that hath bills or
bonds due at such a day, waits for the time when they will come
due ; so is faith watching when the time will expire, that he may come
to the fruition of that lie looks for. So much for the first act of faith,
apprehension.
Secondly. The second act of faith in and upon the promises in firm
assent, Treia-devres, They were persuaded of them.' From hence I
observe
Doct. Faith is persuaded of the certainty of the blessings which it
beholdeth in the promises.
That there is a firmness of assent and persuasion in faith, these
300 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SER. XLVI,
scriptures evidence : Phil. i. 6, ' Being confident/ or firmly per
suaded, ' of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in
you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ;' so Kom. viii. 38,
TreVetcr/iat, ' I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come ;
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creatures, shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord ; ' 2 Tim.
i. 12, ' I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day.'
Faith is not a moral conjecture, but a certain persuasion : and yet
there may be many doubtings: Mat xiv. 31, ' thou of little faith,
wherefore didst thou doubt ? ' which is an argument of the weakness,
not of the nullity, of faith ; but, however, doubts do not get the victory ;
but of this hereafter.
Now this persuasion of the certainty of the blessing promised stands
upon two feet, God's truth in keeping promises, and his power to bring
them to pass.
1. On God's truth. God is very tender of the honour of his truth :
Ps. cxxxviii. 2, ' Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.'
When we have the word of a man of credit we rest satisfied. Now we
have not only God's word, but his bond. The great work of faith is
to rest upon the promise. God would cease to be God if he were not
a true God, and the chiefest honour that we can give him is to rest
upon his faith : Heb. xi. 11, ' She judged him faithful who had
promised/ Faith is a sealing to God's truth : John iii. 33, { He that
believeth his testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true ; ' whereas
unbelief giveth God the lie, which is the worst reproach among men ;
1 John v, 10, ' He that believeth not God hath made him a liar,
because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.' Now
God's truth should be the 
