Chapter 5

CHAP. V.

Some properties of influences of grace. 1. That they are invincible and irresistible. 2. Of free grace. 3. Done by the Lord with a principality of causality. 4. Immediately, both by the immediation of virtue, and of the Lord's own presence. Influences are considered. 1. In the first moment of conversion. 2. In perseverance. 2. God seeks not our consent to our first conversion. 3. We are married to Christ before we consent to the marriage. 4. How the Lord determines free-will without offering violence to free-will. 5. God's dominion is equally over free-will and all natural causes. 6. God acts in all, both by the immediate influence of his power, and also of his person. 7. The Lord most particularly leads his own. 8. What is the right missing of influences. 9. We are more our own by the Law, and less our own by the Gospel. 10. Christ's care, and the members care.

It is easier here to know what is not to be said, as touching the irresistibility and strength of gracious influences above our free-will, then what to say.

But influences are considered two ways. 1. Morally, 2. Physically.

1. As they are common to all who hear the word in the visible Church.

2. As influences are peculiar to the elect in the business of conversion.

Assert. 1. Common moral influences that goes along with the word preached may be resisted; for the Jews always resisted the Holy Ghost, speaking in the Prophets (Acts 7:51, 52). Zechariah 7:11. But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped the ear, that they should not hear. 12. Yes, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the Law, and the words which the Lord of hosts has sent in his Spirit to the former Prophets. Then the reprobate may and do resist the immediately inspiring spirit in the men of God writing and speaking that word (1 Peter 1:20, 21), and the assisting spirit also in the Pastors. It's dreadful in the lower actings of God in the word to despise the Spirit, and to give him battle in his first approaches. I called, and you refused (Proverbs 1:24; Isaiah 65:1, 2, 3). A contradicting of, and a warring against the Spirit at the first face is much to be feared. O tremble to speak against, or to counter-work the Spirit at all.

2. Influences proper to the elect, are so also to be looked on.

1. In the first moment of conversion. 2. In the work of perseverance.

In the first moment of conversion the sinner prevents not Christ: none dead in sins and trespasses ever sent, or could send to heaven for the Spirit, and the influences of grace. The Lord comes unsent for, and here is found of them who never sought him (Isaiah 65:1).

For as touching the Lord's first love-visit, when he comes upon the sinner dying in his blood, in the infusion of the life of Christ, there is no treaty, no communing between the foundling dying in the open field and Christ. For

1. Our consent is not sought to the first Creation, nor yet to the second, the Lord does not (as it were) parley, nor ask the question at the thirsty wilderness, Shall I pour water on you, and floods of rain? House of David, will you yield your consent and good will, that I pour upon you the spirit of grace and of supplication? For the formal infusion of a new heart is not done by moral acting in that point of dispensation.

2. Our divines on strong grounds, teach that the sinner is a mere patient, habet se passivè in the formal moment of the Lord's infusing of a new heart, as the wilderness is a patient in receiving rain (Isaiah 44:4, 5), the dead man a patient in receiving influences of life (Ephesians 2:1). And you has be quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins (John 5:25). The man is a passive subject under a creating power (2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 2:10; Ezekiel 36:26; Ezekiel 11:19; Zechariah 12:10). Yes, if adversaries of grace yield an infusion of a new grace, and natural and supernatural power to believe (be that a remote or farther-off power) in all and every man, member of the Visible Church, or Indian, or Brasilian. 1. They must prove it by Scripture. 2. They must show some covenant and promise like to that (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 11:19, 20) between Christ and the Americans, and show whether the offer be moral or not, as well as we. Or 3. they must say with Pelagians, the power of believing was neither broken, nor hurt, nor taken away by the fall. But we may see and read free grace here: Christ leaves no room to our fencing and digladiation. He said not to the foundling, Will you live? Or will you not live? But I said positively to you, when you were in your blood, live. And to make it sure, Yes, I said to you when you were in your blood, live (Ezekiel 16:6). Nor said he to the dry bone, Shall I open your graves, and bring you out loving and believing (John 5:25)? Send me your hand-writ and consent out of the graves, else I'll not enlive you. No, he did the work first, and first gave us life, and then sought and obtained our after-consent. As a Prince, who by strong hand conquers a people, never treats with them whether he shall be their King or not, till he first subdue them, take their forts and castles, disarm the inhabitants, and then he offers them good conditions, and gains their after-good will that he rule over them. And we are translated and in Christ's bounds, and have laid down arms, before ever we yield a spiritual, vital, lively, and sincere amen and closing with Christ, that he, and none but he only shall reign over us. And it's admirable what branches of freedom are here. As

1. No husbandman can help the clouds; no art of navigators can create fair winds, nor can our seeking create influences of sensible and feeling finding of him whom the soul loves (Canticles 1).

2. No excellency of means, were it an Angel, and the man Christ preaching, so as all bear him witness, and are astonished at the gracious words that proceed out of his mouth (Luke 4:22), can create saving influences; but by the contrary, influences of hell fill them with wrath, that they would cast Christ over the hill, and break his bones (Luke 4:28, 29).

Fectless objects fetch influences from hell: as King Herod and all Jerusalem with him are quaking for fear, at the birth of a weeping babe in cradle. Can an infant rise out of his swaddling clothes and cut the King's throat (Matthew 2:9), and with fire and sword destroy all Jerusalem? Or can a dead corpse in the grave rise and slay the soldiers? (Matthew 28.)

For the external calling, many are called, and hear 40, 50, 60, 70 years, and yet no influences of grace fall on them, as if men (ah if it were not so) were the cursed ground and blasted fig-tree. Yes, contrary to influences, he blasts the roses by withdrawing sap from them, burns the earth, and turns hearts into iron, by forbidding the clouds to rain on them.

In a moment he sends flowing showers upon the thief crucified with Christ, and he preaches Christ a King on the cross.

Who knows not the celerity and swiftness of the love-visits of Christ, coming leaping over the mountains, and skipping over the hills? When the man is going down to the pit, the influence that a found ransom is accepted for him, makes him revive so that his flesh shall be fresher than a child's (Job 33:23, 24, 25), and v. 26. He shall pray to God, and he will be favourable to him, says Elihu.

There is a great difference here between Sun-influences and the influences of grace. The apple on the same tree which are nearest to the Sun's shining, are most cordial and delicious; they are rawer and sourer, though upon the same stock, that are long in the morning ere the Sun-influences fall on them, and are soon under the afternoon-shadow. But the disciples, shined upon by the influences of the glory of the transfiguration near Christ, and Moses, and Elias, spoke they knew not what, and that carnally (Mark 9:5, 6). And who can think there is heterodox divinity so near heaven as now the Apostles were? So does John fall dead at the feet of Christ when he is in the Spirit (Revelation 1:10, 13, 17). The well is damned at the head of the fountain.

Hence the second property is clear of itself; it's of free grace we are married here before we spiritually yield that Christ be our husband. We are created anew to be his holy frame and workmanship, and then hardly can we but consent; nor bought we his love-influences. Yes, nor is the Lord obliged to give the Sun-influences for shining and moving, nor the fire for casting out heat: he has interposed his sovereignty in the contrary when he pleased (Joshua 10:13; Isaiah 38:8; Daniel 3:27), to teach that heaven and earth have their charters and their writs of both being and working, from the free goodness and sovereignty of God.

For the third consideration, the Lord is the cause of his own influences. Of our actings. 2. The efficacious, domineering, insuperable cause. 3. How the effects are ascribed to him principally. To prove the first I need not go back to prove the necessity of divine influences, and that he works all our works in us. The second is more dubious, but it's spoken to before, Christ is such a cause.

His strong decree of predestination must carry him to it.

The same power of God that raised Christ from the dead acts here. Elsewhere this is proved by famous Doctor Tuisse, by learned Amesius, and many of our worthy divines.

He who gives an insuperable influence to a free and contingent effect, must render that effect necessary, and not free. 2. He who with man's free-will does insuperably produce the effect, must do violence to man's free-will.

He who with man's free-will does insuperably produce the effect by his alone and only physical and real motion, and no other way, as the Lord causes the Sun to rise and go down, and the fire to give heat, he does or must do violence to man's free-will. True. But now the assumption is false; for the Lord does not so and by such an only physical motion insuperably produce the effect.

He who with man's free-will does insuperably produce the effect, with both an insuperable, physical, and real motion, and also with a moral, persuasive, and legal motion, flowing from a command, he must do violence to man's free-will.

This is most untrue; for the physical and moral influences of God, though both be insuperable, yet neither the one exceeds the other in degrees of necessity, nor do they both jointly exceed the necessity which free-will will impose on itself.

If any object, he who insuperably moves free-will to act, he does infer violence to free-will: but God does insuperably move free-will. Therefore

The proposition is false. The Lord by casting an ague of love-sickness in the soul, moves the free-will of the Spouse, and of the Martyrs to die for Christ, rather than deny him, because love of itself considered as separated from the Lord's physical motions on the soul, works upon the will more strongly and insuperably, than many floods upon a fire, and is hard [illegible] as hell, or the place of the dead, and marriage-love is cruel as the grave (Canticles 8:6), yet love infers no violence to the will.

He commands the Sun and it rises not (Job 9:7), and commands the Sun and it rises (Psalm 104:19, 22). And the Sun cannot but obey him; for all creatures are his servants (Psalm 119:91), and he moves all natural causes to act, and so to act insuperably, and yet he does no violence to the natures of Sun, fire, and second causes, in moving them.

He who contributes an insuperable influence with free-will, if that influence be tempered and sweetly accommodated to the nature, and elective, and rational way of working of free-will acting out of judgment, as our free-will acts here.

He is not a cause inferring violence to free-will. Should he indeed over-drive and over-act the free inclination, contrary to the reason, light, and judgment of the mind, and to the moral and free elective inclination of the will, he should constrain and force free-will: But this he does not, but inclines the heart of David to the Lords testimonies sweetly, strongly, insuperably; and this David prays for (Psalm 119; Psalm 5; Psalm 19) and the Saints in many places; and neither David nor the Saints in such prayers suit of God to destroy free-will: also the Lords command, and not the Lords influence, is our rule of obedience. But since we know not the Lords actual denying of his influence, because we are willing he should deny it, our sinful non-acting is no less our guiltiness, then if we had the dominion and commandment of the Lords influences in our power. A Master commands his servant to come to such a place where his Master useth to be, yet neither is the Master obliged to be in the place hic & nunc, neither passes he any promise to be there: if the servant come not to that place, and willingly absent himself, and willingly consent that the Master be not in the place, the servants not coming is a manifest contravening of his Masters command. So the Lord commanding me to pray, though he concur not by his Spirit interceding to help me as he useth to doe, my not praying is a contravening of his command, who calls to me, pray hic & nunc under this trouble: For,

1. The Spirits helping, or not helping me to pray is not my rule, but the commandement is my rule.

2. The Spirit is not obliged hic & nunc.

3. I pray not.

4. My willing not praying is a sinful virtual consent to want the help of the Spirit.

Obj. Then should the Suns not moving, but standing still in the firmament, be a contravening of the command of God given in the Creation, when he gave to the Sun a power to move.

Answ. No ropes of Logick can draw the conclusion and antecedent together: The Lords command to the Sun is not moral, but natural.

2. It's not absolute. The power of moving in the Sun is not to be acted, but according to the sovereignty of God, concurring or not concurring with the Sun, so as the Sun is under onely (to speak so) a physical mandate of omnipotency, not under an Ethical, Moral, Legal, or obediential commandement, to move, or to shine, under peril of sin and punishment, as man is, by the holy moral mandate and commandement of God.

Obj. A free cause has more liberty not to act, or to act, then the Sunne has to give light, and the fire to give heat: Therefore the Lord must have given to free-will a power of nilling and willing, and must tie his influences to await and be ready, concur or not concur, as free-will shall think fit.

Answ. The free will of Angels or men has no more freedom and exemption from the dominion of providence, then the Sun or the fire has, but all causes natural or free, are equally under the Lords dominion.

2. Free will has no more a dominion over the Lords dominion and his influences, that are given out, or withdrawn according to this sovereign dominion, then the Sun or the pismire. Yes, free-will is under his dominion, and also (Proverbs 21:1) all the free actings of the creature, as well as the necessary actings of Sun and fire, as is proved. Free-will has indeed a more dominion over its own acts, being a rational and free agent, then the Sun over its acts.

3. This is considerably comfortable, that the Lord is chief Master of work: Not you, but your Fathers Spirit speaks in you (Matthew 10:19), not I, but the grace of God in me (1 Corinthians 15:10), I live not, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20). And yet Paul lives, Paul labours, but let God reign in us.

4. The actings of God in all created effects, especially his influences of grace are letten out immediately, both immediatione virtutis, & immediatione suppositi, by immeate concurring of his power and vertue, and by the personal (as it were) concurrence of himself, so the Lord works not in us to will and to doe by a Deputy or Lieutenant, as a King rules and governs another Kingdom, not by himself in person, but by a Deputy, who represents his person; and Princes being far distant, the sea intervening, transact matters of peace and war with other Princes and States, by their Ambassadors and Legates whom they send.

For God is said to be with Moses mouth, not onely giving him eloquence, and a tongue, but the Lord spoke in him to Pharaoh (Exodus 4:15), "I will be with your mouth, and with Aarons mouth, and teach you what to doe." "Fear not, Jacob, to go down to Egypt, I will go down with you into Egypt: And I will surely bring you up again" (Genesis 46:4); my power shall be with you to protect you, my wisdom to lead you (this had been much) but he meets with Jacobs fear, ah, I go down to Egypt, God is not in that Idolatrous Land. Fear not (says he) I the Lord in person shall go with you, to bless you, to act in you. "They shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. Why? For I am with you to deliver you" (Jeremiah 1:19). Immediatione suppositi. God was Jeremiah's immediate deliverer; for v. 18. he had promised before to be with Jeremiah by the immediation of his power and grace: For behold I have made you this day a defenced city, an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole Land, &c. The Lord is present by the gracious mettle of zeal, faith, invincible courage he put in his Prophet. So Christ (Luke 24:49), "Behold I send the promise of my Father to you." What, will he be away himself then? No: for he says (Matthew 28:29) to the same disciples, "Loe, [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉] I am with you alway, even to the end of the world."

2. The Spirit acts in his own (John 14:17), "He dwels with you, and shall be in you." V. 26. "He shall teach you all things." "He will guide you in all truth" (John 16:13).

3. "You will guide me with your counsel" (Psalm 73:24). He may doe that though absent, by infusing into the Prophet the habit of wisdom: nay he is nearer hand, v. 2. "Nevertheless I am continually with you, you have holden me by my right hand." That is more then power.

4. The action of leading that is ascribed to God, is his only action. Deut. 32:12. So the Lord alone led Jacob, and there was no strange God with him. Now the eyes, legs, wisdom and will of the guide and leader are the travellers: it's true, he led them by right hand of Moses, but who then shall lead Moses? For Moses needed a guide as they (Isaiah 63:12). Yes but he was leader in person himself. He led them through the deep as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not [illegible]. Now a horse is not led, by giving him power to guide himself, but the leader holds the bridle, and directs the way to the horse. So the Lord's Christ's gentle driving of the ewes with lamb, and Christ's carrying the lambs in his bosom (Isaiah 40:11), is an action immediate of Christ and his Spirit. The warmness of life that comes from Christ's own bosom, and from the Spirit spreading warm love abroad in the heart, speaks the personal acting of the Son and Spirit. So drawing (John 6:44; Cant. 1:4) speaks the nearness of the Father of Christ, and of Christ in his acting.

5. This is to be considered. There are two sorts of causes: one in fieri, another in facto esse. The Creator in a manner is but half a cause: the father begets a son: the carpenter builds a ship: the Mason raises up the frame of a goodly house: but the son lives when the father is dead; the ship sails thousands of miles; and the house stands hundreds of years, when the carpenter and the mason are far from them: for they are causes in fieri, only the making of houses and ships.

But there are some causes do more. The soul is a cause of the living man; and when the soul is removed, the man dies: the face looking on the glass is the cause of the image, both in its production and conservation: remove the face, and the image vanishes away: the sun is the cause of daylight, which is transfused through the air, from the East to the West. When the sun goes down to another horizon, daylight vanishes away, because the sun not by a deputy, and by virtue communicated to another, is the cause of the air's enlightening, but is the cause of daylight, both as touching the creating of it in fieri, and as touching the preserving of it, or in conservari & facto esse. So is God the cause of all creatures, both as touching being, and continuation of being; the Lord made all things, and when they are made, the house of heaven and earth should return to nothing, if the Lord should withdraw his causative influence. But in a special manner the Lord is every way the cause of grace, of our spiritual life, and of all our actings of grace. The new life should turn to nothing, if Christ withdraw his gracious influence, and it is that our poor little image and spiritual breaths are in his hand, both touching production and conservation by his grace's breathing. Hence if the Angel of his presence go with us, his hand in our right hand (Psalm 73:23), let us say, 1. As Moses after the Lord had promised (Exodus 33:15), If your presence go not with me, carry me not hence. Ah, who refuse a journey except God go with him, and be at his right hand, and fixes the mind on this, I will not go to the pulpit as a minister, nor to the bench as a judge, nor to the field as a soldier, except the Lord lead me, and hold me by his right hand? Do you miss influences of grace, and the leading of the Spirit in a spiritual way of eating, sleeping, waking, buying, journeying? It is good.

Obj. I cannot stir without God and his influences, that I know.

Answ. The sparrow and the raven, the lion and the wolf, cannot stir without God's influences of nature. Ah, that is poor and hungry. Many have no more help of God to be led in eating and drinking for God, than the raven and the lion.

Obj. I cannot pray nor hear without the influences of God.

Answ. Ah, you miss influences of God, as concurring with a gift; but you miss not his gracious and saving influence to pray and hear in faith and feeling to concur with the Spirit of grace.

2. Judas the traitor cannot preach and cast out devils, without a common influence of a God with his gift; and that is all your missing. The renewed man misses that which, in a manner, is his due, as a renewed man; and that is the presence of the Spirit of grace in his acting. If a horse want a leg, he shall soon miss it when he comes to running; for four legs are due to him by nature, but the horse in running misses not the wings of an eagle; for wings are not due to him. Gracious influences are not due to a Judas, nor such a guide as the Spirit to any reprobate man; therefore they cannot miss such a gracious guide.

2. It teaches us to be willing to be led as to 1. Deny our will and wisdom; as the blind man should not contend with his leader and guide, as if he did see better than his guide. Slack your high-bended will, and deny it, and cavil not with the Spirit, this way I must go whether my guide will or not: let your will be as dead, and no will at all; and let the Spirit in his will and wisdom reign in you.

2. Spread out the sails and give them to the wind; resign the heart to the Spirit: obey that, My son, give me your heart. Give Christ your loves, as (Cant. 7:12). Keep none of your heart or love to yourself, but quit fully both to the leading Spirit of Jesus. Your love and your heart, according to the Gospel-dispensation, is not your own, or at your disposing, whatever property natural by law you have over yourself; for the law buys you not. We are less our own, and more Christ's by the Gospel, and more our own by the Law.

Many profess themselves sons, and so to be led by the Spirit, yet they have not given eyes, wisdom, will and love to the Spirit: they keep a great piece of their heart and their love to themselves, and have an inward reluctancy and wrestling against the ways of the Spirit, as yet remaining debtors to the flesh, to pay the debt of service to the flesh (Romans 8:12, 13, 14).

This is comfortable, that Christ makes it the travail of his soul (Isaiah 53:11), and his soul-satisfaction to see his seed, and to bring many children to glory (Hebrews 2:10). So his soul's work is upon keeping such as are given to him, and guiding on his flock (John 10:3, 4), in going before his own sheep, in calling them by name, and in leading them.

He keeps such as come, and raises them up at the last day (John 6:37, 40).

He guides them with prayers (John 14:16), intercedes for them, to reduce them when they go out of the way (Hebrews 5:1, 2), and all this with soul-satisfaction and delight, to get all his offspring and children which the Lord has given to him, fairly landed, and set in the other side of the sea, beyond temptations and hazards, beyond sin and death, as he has a fellow-feeling and compassion, his bowels being moved, even now, in heaven with our infirmities (Hebrews 4:14, 15), so far as is suitable to his glorified state, as our great High-Priest, which has passed into the heavens. So his other affections of desire, as our head, and natural and kindly care to have all his members guided safe in at the gates of heaven: and he must have much soul delight and satisfaction, that his own be led with his holy arm, and gathered in (Isaiah 40:10, 11).

We have a loose faith, the head shall care and watch for us, though we sleep; that is, Christ is graciously careful to give influences, whether we sleep or wake, pray or pray not: our care can add nothing to his care; if he will fail in his trust, and sleep, and let us perish, let him see to his own glory; two cares, one in the head, and another in the members, are needless. No, but his love and care, as head, sends down influences of godly fear and trembling to the members, that they may work with him (Jeremiah 32:40).

Our weakness of faith errs in the other extremity. Ah, can my deadness and hardness be ever subdued! If Christ once sighed for the hardness of sinners' hearts, and wept over the slain of Jerusalem, and counted it meat and drink to bring in the Samaritans to the Gospel (John 4:34), now when Christ is glorified, and the affections of love, compassion, care, are perfected in glory not destroyed, should our unbelief say he now cares not for the hard heart and obstinacy of his redeemed ones? If your unbelief must take all the care off Christ, and our unbelieving care must do all, let Christ sleep.

There is a proportion between head and members, the soul-travail of the head in heaven, and the soul-travail of the members on earth in the use of all means, hearing, praying, praising, go together. Awaking head and sleeping members are unsuitable. He watches, prays, and watch you with him, and pray.

FINIS.