SERMON XIII.*

BESIDES the principles, which the Spirit of God, when copiously and generally poured forth, will work in each individual person, tending to create a happy state of things in the church; we proposed to speak of two general effects, that must have the Christian community as such, for the subject of them, and not individual persons only, namely, union and order.

Much hath been said upon the former, the desirable effect of union. It hath been shewn, that the happiness of the church doth much depend upon this, and that it is the proper work of the Spirit of God to effect it: and then the last time we came to speak to a twofold inquiry:-to what kind of union this is to be. This we have gone through, and now proceed,

To consider, secondly, in what way the Spirit of God poured forth may be expected to effect this union.

And there is no doubt but it will effect it by the same means, by which it shall revive and recover religion; of which we have so largely spoken. + At the same time when it makes the Christian church a living church, it will make it one, that is, in that higher and more eminent degree, whereof we have

* Preached October 2, 1678. + See page. 256, &c.

been speaking. It is but one and the same thing, or is done eadem opera, the making the church more holy and the making it one what brings christians nearer to God and Christ, will certainly and infallibly at once bring them nearer to one another. For it is manifest, that the greatest differences, that are to be found in the Christian world, lie between the godly and the ungodly, the converted and the unconverted, the sincere and the insincere: whatever differences there are amongst the people of God themselves, those are still the greatest differences which lie between them and those who are not of them; for there the disagreement is about having the Lord for our God. Every ungodly man is his own idol; he hath yet this first step to take in religion, the choosing of God alone to be his God: now the difference must needs be vast, between those that take the Lord for their God, and those that take him not, but serve a base and despicable idol, self, and make all to their very uttermost subservient unto that. The sincere and insincere differ about their last end; which is the greatest difference that can be imagined. All men's courses are shaped and directed by the ends, which they propose to themselves : and to have the Lord for our God, and to have him for our supreme and ultimate end, is all one. Now how vastly must those ways needs differ, that lead to two directly contrary ends? therefore still the greatest difference cannot but be between the godly and the earthly carnal-minded man, who hath himself for his God, and all the world, if he could compass it, for a sacrifice to his own idol, himself. Men of that temper and complexion of soul are the men that stand most off from union, and that are the greatest schismaties in all the world; it cannot but be so. Therefore, whensoever the Spirit of God poured forth shall make men agree in having the Lord for their God, this God shall be our God; when men shall become more generally sincere and thorough christians; then it cannot but be, that they shall be united with one another, and agree in far greater things than it is possible they can differ from one another in. And therefore in the forementioned, Jer. 32. 38, 39. at the same time when it is said, they shall be my people, and I will be their God; it is immediately added, And I will give them one heart and one way. This union cannot but be the result of more lively, serious religion, and of deeper impressions of godliness and of the divine image upon the souls of men. Not only as that union between the blessed persons in the Godhead is the pattern of union amongst the people of God; that they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, John 17. 21. But also as such a union is the certain and necessary result of other excellencies, wherein the

divine image doth consist, and wherein holy ones do and cannot but resemble God. One apostle giving an account of God, how we are to conceive of him, gives it us under these two notions, that he is light, and that he is love, 1 John 1.5. chap. 4. 8, 16. The image of God in these two things, more generally and vividly impressed upon men, doth this whole business, makes them all one. How blessed a union would there be, when christians shall generally appear the representations of the blessed God himself in these two things, a composition, as it were, of light and love.

Therefore, to give you more distinctly the account, how or in what way the Spirit poured forth should bring about this union; it will be,-By increasing of light and knowledge amongst them that bear the Christian name every where in the world and-By giving greater measures of grace. By the former, men shall generally come to be more knowing in things necessary to the union; and by the latter, they shall be more patient of dissent from one another in things less necessary to

be known.

This will be, first, by an increase of light and knowledge in things more necessary to be known. I do not mean here merely notional knowledge; as the apostle doth not mean that of God, when he saith, that God is light; but I mean that knowledge received in the minds of christians, that lies in the next immediate tendency to holiness; the knowledge of the truth that is after godliness, as such, in that designed and direct tendency, as it doth attemper and dispose the minds of men unto the reception of truth as sanctifying. Sanctify them by thy truth; thy word is truth, John 17. 17. We are bound to give thanks always to God for you,-that he hath chosen you unto salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, 2 Thes. 2. 13. The truth, as it lies in an immediate tendency to godliness, and is transformative of the soul into a holy and godly frame; so we must conceive it to be impressed in order to this blessed work: otherwise there wants the cement, and that which should hold hearts together, as intent and directed all towards one common design and end. And unto this purpose, we must suppose the Spirit poured forth shall heal the disaffection of men's minds unto such truth, or unto truth considered under that notion and upon that account. It hath a great work to do for this end upon the minds of men; the union that is to be brought about (as was observed upon the former head,) being necessarily intellectual first, and then cordial. It is in the mind that the first concoction of truth must be wrought, in order to a further and more perfect concoction in the heart afterwards. And whereas there is a YOE, V.

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manifold distemperature and malady even in the minds of men, that renders their uncapable of useful, practical gospel-knowledge; the great work of the Spirit of God must be to remove and heal those infirmities and maladies of the mind, and to do it generally amongst christians; that so they may be brought to increase in the knowledge of God, in divine knowledge; as the expression is, Col. 1. 10. I might make a copious enumeration here of many such maladies and distempers in the mind, by which it becomes disaffected to truth: and which appear now to be epidemical evils, and need therefore a universal effusion of the Spirit to cure them, and so to bring about the intellectual union, of which we speak. These maladies, though some of them be in the mind itself, yet most of them are originally in the heart, and thence come to affect and distemper the mind, and render it less susceptive of useful and savoury knowledge. As,

There is an unapprehensiveness too generally observable in the minds of men; a dulness towards the apprehension of truth. The Spirit of God, when it comes to be generally poured forth, (as it was said to be upon the Messiah himself, on whom it was poured forth without measure, and thence to be transfused, as from a common fountain, unto all that have vital union with him,) will make men of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; as it is expressed, Isa. 11. 3.

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There is a slothful oscitancy in the minds of most; a regardlessness and unconcernedness to know the great and deep things of God and that causes a great disagreement and disunion in the Christian world. There are many that stint themselves they think they know enough, and desire to know no more, and cannot endure to be out-gone by others, or that any should exceed their measure, As these latter times, with reference to which we speak, will certainly be times of very much knowledge; so they will be of very much inquiry: Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased, Dan. 12. 4. There will not be a slothful, oscitant sitting down with a present measure and attainment, but there will be a following on to know the Lord, as you have it, Hos. 6. 3. and then the promise of "his going forth shall be prepared as the morning;" as it immediately follows. There will be always new and fresh breakings forth of divine light, ready to reward the endeavour of them that seriously set themselves to inquire and seek after it.

There is very generally observable with many much credulity; aptness to take up reports. The simple, says Solomon, believeth every word. Prov. 14. 15. Aud hence it comes to pass, that every one, that can tell a plausible story, and a little set

off any fancy and novel invention of his own, makes it presently to obtain and pass for a revelation: and hence comes, as is obvious to common observation, much of that division that hath been observable in our days.

There is also, on the contrary hand, an excessive incredulity, or unaptness to believe things; because they are very great and glorious, and exceed the nieasures of our preconceptions or preconceived thoughts: the evil of which our Saviour upbraids his disciples with, that they were slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken, the things contained in the divine revelation that had been made before by the prophets' concerning him, Luke 24. 25.

There is inconsideration; an inability to consider and weigh things, to ponder and balance them as the case may require. Men are apt, rashly and without using their understandings, to take up things upon their very first appearance. It is spoken concerning these latter days, in Isaiah 32. 4. that even the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge; of those that were so, before they shall be cured of that malady. There is also an unaptness to consider, as well as an inability and indisposition to it; many times from a kind of superstitious fear, that men think they must not use their understandings to examine and search into things, that it is not yet permitted to them to do so as if God had given men faculties, which they were not to use: they might as well be afraid to look upon an object with their eyes, and to pry into it, and to labour that way to distinguish between one thing and another.

There is, opposite to that, a certain petulancy of mind; when men will make it their business to tear and unravel all principles, and they must have their reason satisfied in every thing, or they will be satisfied in nothing.

There is an injudiciousness; an inability to conclude; after considering never so much, never so long when the balance will never be cast. So many are ever learning, and never come to the knowledge of the truth, 2 Tim. 3. 7. never conelude, never determine; but are always as children tossed to and fro.

There is, again, a certain scepticism of mind with a great many; that when others have stated and settled, even by common agreement and consent in the Christian church, such conclusions, yet declaim against every thing as uncertain; not only from a peculiar inability to make a judgment; but from a prineiple that there is no judgment to be made, and that there is nothing certain at all, or ought to be looked upon as such : which hath starved the Christian church and made it languish for a long time, as to the matter of sound knowledge.