Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

fo far is it from inclining men to loofeness o.

IV. True believers may have the affurance of their falvation divers ways fhaken, diminished and intermitted; as, by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into fome fpecial fin, which woundeth the confcience, and grieveth the Spirit; by fome fudden or vehement temptation; by God's withdrawing the light of his countenance, and fuffering even fuch as fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light p: yet are they never utterly destitute of that feed of God, and life of faith, that love, of Chrift and the brethren, that fincerity of heart and confcience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this

time that their corn and their wine increased. Pfal. cxix. 32. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

1 John ii. 1. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye fin not. And if any man fin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righteous. v. 2. And he is the propitiation for our fins and not for ours only, but alfo for the fins of the whole world. Rom, vi. 1. What shall we fay then? fhall we continue in fin, that grace may abound? v. 2. God forbid: how fhall we that are dead to fin, live any longer therein? Tit. ii. 11. For the grace of God that bringeth falvation, hath appeared to all men, v. 12. Teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lufts, we fhould live foberly, righteoufly, and godly in this prefent world. v. 14. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 2 Cor. vii. 1. Having therefore these promifes (dearly beloved) let us cleanse ourselves from all filthinefs of the flesh and fpirit, perfecting holinefs in the fear of God. Rom. viii. 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in

Chrift Jefus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. V. 12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 1 John iii. 2. Beloved, now are we the fons of God, and it doth not yet, appear what we fhall be: but we know that when he fhall appear, we shall be like him: for we hall, fee him as he is. v. 3. And every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Pfal. cxxx. 4. But there is forgivenefs with thee; that thou mayeft, be feared. 1 John i. 6. If we fay that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. v. 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jefus Chrift his Son cleanfeth us from all fin.

IV. p Cant. v. 2. I fleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, faying, Open to me, my fifter, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my. head is filled with dew, and my; locks with the drops of the night.. v. 3. I have put off my coat, how. fhall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how fhali I defile them? v. 6. I opened to my beloved, but my beloved

G2

Chap. XVIII, this affurance may in due time be received q, and by the which, in the mean time, they are fupported from utter defpair r. CHAP.

beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my foul failed when he fpake; I fought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no anfwer. Pfal. li. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou haft broken, may rejoice. v. 12. Reftore unto me the joy of thy falvati on; and uphold me with thy free Spirit. v. 14. Deliver me from bloodguiltinefs, O God, thou God of my falvation and my tongue fhall fing aloud of thy righteoufnefs. Eph. iv. 30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are fealed unto the day of redemption. v. 31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-fpeaking he put away from you, with all malice. Pfal. Ixxvii. I. I cried unto God with my voice: even unto God with my voice, and he gave car unto me. v. 2. In the day of my trouble I fought the Lord: my fore ran in the night and ceased not: my foul refused to be comforted, v. 3. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my Spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. v. 4. Thou holdeft mine eyes waking: I'am fo troubled, that I cannot fpeak. v, 5. I have confidered the days of old, the years of ancient times. v. 6. I call to remembrance my fong in the night: I commune with mine own heart, and my fpirit made diligent fearch, v. 7. Will the Lord caft off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? v. 8. Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promife fail for evermore? v. 9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger fhut up his tender

mercies? Selah. v. 10. And I faid, This is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most high. Mat. xxvi. 69. Now Peter fat without in the palace; and a damfel came unto him, faying, Thou alfo waft with Jefus of Galilee. v. 70. But he denied before them all, faying, I know not what thou fayeft. v. 71. And when he was gone cut into the porch, another maid faw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was alfo with Jefus of Nazareth. v. 72. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. Pfal. xxxi. 22. For I said in my hafte, Į am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardft the voice of my fupplications, when I cried unto thee. (Pfal. lxxxviii. throughout.) Ifa. 1. 10. Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his fervant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him truft in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.

91 John iii. 9. Whofoever is born of God, doth not commit fin; for his feed remainetli in him, and he cannot fin because he is born of God, Luke xxii. 32. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, ftrengthen thy brethren. Job. xiii, 15. Though he flay me, yet will I trust in him • but I will maintain mine own ways before him. Pfal. lxxiii. 15. If I fay, I will fpeak thus: Behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. Pfal, li: 8, 12. (See letter A immediately before.) Ifa. l. 10. (See letter p immediately foregoing.)

Mic. vii. 7. Therefore I will look

unte

YOD

Go

CHAP. XIX. Of the Law of God.

gave to Adam a law as a covenant of works, by which he bound him and all his pofterity to perfonal, entire, exact and perpetual obedience, promifed life upon the fulfil ling, and threatned death upon the breach of it; and endued him with power and ability to keep it a.

unto the Lord: I will wait for the God of my falvation: my God will hear me. v. 8. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I fhall arife: when I fit in darkness, the Lord fhall be a light unto me. v. 9. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have finned against lum, until he plead my caufe, and execute jndgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I fhall behold his righteoufnefs. Jer. xxxii, 40. And I will make an everJafting covenant with them, That I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they fhall not depart from me. Ifa. liv. 7. For a fmall moment have I forfaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. v. 8. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee, for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, faith the Lord thy Redeemer. v. 9. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have fworn that the waters of Noah fhould no more go over the earth; fo have I fworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. v. 10. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither fhall the covenant of my peace be removed, faith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee. Pfal. xxii. 1. My God, my God, why

II. This

haft thou forfaken me? why are thou fo far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Pfal. lxxxviii. throughout.)

1. a Gen. i. 26. And God faid, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the fea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. v. 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him : male and female created he them. With Gen. ii. 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou fhalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shall furely die. Rom. ii. 14. For when the Gentiles who have not the law, do by nature the things, contained in the law, thefe having not the law, are a law unto themfelves: v.15. Who fhew the works of the law written in their hearts, their confcience also bearing witness; and their thoughts the mean while accufing, or elfe exculing one another. Rom. x. 5. For Mofes defcribeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man who doth those things, fhall live by them. Rom. v. 12. Wherefore, as by one man fin entred into the world, and death by fin; and fo death palled upon all men, for that all have finned. v. 19. For as by one man's dif

G

obedi

Chap. XIX II. This law, after his fall, continued to be a perfect rule of righteoufiefs; and, as fuch, was delivered by God upon mount Sinai in ten commandments, and written in two tables b; · the four first commandments containing our duty towards God, and the other fix our duty to man c.

III. Befide this law, commonly called Moral, God was pleafed to give to the people of Ifrael, as a church under age, ceremonial laws, containing feveral typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Chrift, his graces, actions, fufferings and bene-

obedience many were made finners : foby the obedience of one fhall many be made righteous, Gal. iii. 10. For as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curfe: for it is written, Curfed is every one that continueth not in all things, which are written in the book of the law, to do them. v. 12. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doth them, fhall live in them. Eccl. vii. 29. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright: but they have fought out many inventions Job xxviii. 28. And unto man he faid, Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil, is understanding.

11. b James i. 25. But whofo look eth into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this man fhall be bleffed in his deed, James ii. 8. If ye fulfil the royal law, according to the fcripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf, ye do well. V. 10. For whofoever fhall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. v. 11. For he that faid, Do not commit adul tery; faid alfo, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a tranfgreffor of the law. v. 12. So fpeak ye, and fo do, as they that shall be judged

by the law of liberty. Rom. xiii. 8. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another, hath fulfilled the law. v. 9. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear falfe witness, Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this faying, namely, Thou fhalt love thy neighbor as thyfelf. Deut. v. 32. Ye shall obferve to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you; you shall not turn afide to the right hand or to the left. Deut. x. 4. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments which the Lord fpake unto you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the affembly: and the Lord gave them unto me. Exod. xxxix. 1. And the Lord faid unto Mofes, Hew thee two tables of flone like unto the firit; and I will write upon thefe tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakeft.

c Mat. xxii. 37. Jefus faid unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind. v. 38. This is the first and great commandment. v. 39. And the fecond is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy

benefits d; and partly holding forth divers inftructions of mo- ral duties e. All which ceremonial laws are now abrogated under the New Teftament f.

IV. To them alfo, as a body politic, he gave fundry judicial laws, which expired together with the ftate of that people, not obliging any other now, further than the general equity thereof may require g.

neighbour as thyself. v. 40. On thefe two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

III. d (Heb. ix. chapter.) Heb. x. 1. For the law having a fhadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with thofe facrifices, which they of fered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. Gal. iv, 1. Now I fay that the heir as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a fervant, though he be lord of all: v. 2. But is under tutors and governors, until the time ap pointed of the Father. v. 3. Even fo we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world, Col. ii, 17. Which are a fhadow of things to come; but the body is of Chrift.

e 1 Cor. v. 7. Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened: for even Chrift our paffover is facrificed for us. 2 Cor. vi, 17. Where fore come out from among them, and be ye feparate, faith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. Jude 23. And others fave with fear, pulling them out of the fire- hating even the garments spotted by the flesh.

f Col. ii. 14. Blotting out the hand-writing of ordinances, that was against us, which was contrary to us,, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his crofs. v. 16. Let no man therefore judge you in meat or

V. The

in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the fabbath days. v. 17. Which are a fhadow of things to come, but the body is of Chrift. Dan, ix. 27. And he fhall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week, he fhall caufe the facrifice and the oblation to ceafe; and for the overfpreading of abominations, he fhall make it defolate, even until the confumation, and that determined fhall be poured upon the defolate. Eph. ii. 15. Having abolished in his fiefh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain, one new man, fo making peace; v. 16. And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having flain the enmity thereby.

IV, g (Exod. xxi. chapter. Exod. xxii.. to the 29. verfe: See both in the Bible.) Gen. xlix. 10. The fcep tre fhall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him fhall the gathering of the people be. With 1 Pet. ii. 13. Submit your felves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's fake, whether it be to the king, as fupreme; v. 14. Or unto governors, as unto them that are fent by him, for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praife of them that do well. Mat. v. 17. Think not that I am come to de

troy

« AnteriorContinuar »