PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Whole Works of John Flavel — Volume 2
Flavel, John, 1630?-1691 · 304,299 words · 252 reading sections
Section 61
Believers themselves have not an equal share one with another, in all the benefits and privileges of their union with Christ, but in some there is an equality, and in others an inequality ; according to the measure and gift of Christ, to every one. In justification they are all equal : the weak and the strong bc- * T…
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Fourthly, The way and manner in which we are brought into this fellowship with Christ ; which is yet more admirable. The apostle gives us a strange account of it m 2 Cor. viii. 9- " For you " know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was " rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his " pov…
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things might shame and humble your souls Inf. 4. Then certainly no man is, or can be supposed to be a loser by conversion, seeing from that day, whatever Christ is or hath be- comes his. O what an inheritance are men possessed of by their new birth ! Some men cry out, Religion will undo you ; but with what eyes do th…
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Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ. Containing the first general Use of Exhortation, inviting all Men to apply Jesus Christ. Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy luden, and I will X HE impetration of our redemption by Jesus Christ, being finished in the first part, and the way and means by which Christ is …
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f The objects of the invitation are sinners, as such, to cficourage and warrant them to believe. Editor, SERM. IX. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 159 Doct. 1. Some souls are heavy laden with the burthensome sense of sin. I do not say all are so, for " fools make a mock at sin," Prov. xiv. 9. It is so far from being burthensom…
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Fifthly, The fearful expectation of wrath to come, which it be- gets in the soul of a guilty sinner : Of this you read, Heb. x. 27. " A fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation.'1 And this makes the stoutest sinner faint and sink under the burthen of sin. For the tongue of man cannot declare what it is to…
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Thirdly, The experiences of others, who have been in the same deeps of trouble, are also of great use to keep up the soul above water. The experience of another is of great use to prop up a desponding mind, whilst as yet it hath none of its own ; and, in- deed, for the support of souls in such cases, they were recorded…
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this furnishes them with the tongue of the learned, to speak a word in season to the weary soul ; by this means they are able to " com- " fort others with the same comforts wherewith they themselves " have been comforted of God," 2 Cor. i. 4. Thus you have had a brief account, what the burden of sin is, how souls are …
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Thirdly, No burden of sin lies upon any of God's elect so long as on the damned, who do, and must bear it : our troubles about sin are but short, though they should run parallel with the line of life ; but the troubles of the damned are parallel with the endless line of eternity. Fourthly, Under these troubles, the so…
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Fourthly, The burdens of sin will make a man set light by all other burdens of affliction, Lam. iii. 22. Micah vii. 9. The more you feel sin, the less you feel affliction. Fifthly, A soul truly burdened for sin will take no hearty joy or SERM. IX. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 1T1 comfort in any outward enjoyment of this wor…
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Fifthly, It implies this in it, That no duties, or ordinances, (which are but the ways and means by which we come to Christ), are, or ought to be central and terminative to the soul : i. e. the soul of a believer is not to sit down, and rest in them, but to come by them or through them to Jesus Christ, and take up his …
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Fourthly, There are dreadful threatenings denounced by the Spi- rit in the word, against all that refuse or neglect to come to Christ, which are of great use to engage and quicken souls in their way to Christ. Mark xvi. 16. "He that believes not shall be damned: " Die in his sins," John viii. 14. " The wrath of God sha…
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Objec. 1. But I doubt my case is excepted by Christ himself, in Mat. xii. 31. where blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is exempted from pardon, and I have had many horrid blasphemous thoughts injected into my soul. Sol Art thou a burdened and heavy laden soul ? If so, thy case is not in that, or any other scripture exem…
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Soul-troubles are spending, wasting troubles ; the pains of a dis- tressed conscience are the most acute pains. A poor soul would fain be at rest, but knows not where; he tries this duty and that, but finds none. At last, in a way of believing, he casts himself, with his burden of guilt and fear, upon Christ, and there…
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You arc not to conceive, that all tlie souVsJears, troubles and sor- rows are presently over and at an end, as soon as it is come to Christ by faith, -j- They will have many troubles in the world after that, it may be, more than ever they had in their lives : " Our flesh <; (saith Paul) had no rest," 2 Cor. vii. 5. The…
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Fourtlily, A convinced sinner, out of Christ, sees every thing against him ; nothing yields any comfort, yea, every thing increases and aggravates his burden, when he looks to things past, present, or to come. If he reflect upon things past, his soul is filled with anguish, to remember the sins committed and the season…
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If you will not believe, you cannot be established ; till you come to Christ, peace cannot come to you : Christ and peace are undi- vided. Good souls, consider this ; you have tried all other ways, you have tried duties, and no rest comes ; you have tried reforma- tion, restitution, and a stricter course of life ; yet …
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He gives it, saith one, as a reason why he conversed so much with Publicans and sinners, and so little among the Pharisees, because there was more work for him ; Christ came to be a physician to sick souls ; Pharisees were so well in their own conceit, that Christ saw that they would have little to do with him, and so …
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Secondly, As the dominion of sin depraved and defiled the con- science, Tit. i. 15. wounded it to that degree, as to disable it to the performance of all its offices and functions ; so that it was nei- ther able to apply, convince, or tremble at the word : So, when the Spirit of holiness is shed forth, O what a tender …
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Secondly, Christ cures outward troubles by inward consolations, which are made to rise in the inner man as high as the waters of affliction do upon the outward man, 2 Cor. i. 5. One drop of spiritual comfort is sufficient to sweeten a whole ocean of outward trouble. It was an high expression of an afflicted father, who…
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0 blessed be God that there is a balm in Gilead, and a Physician there ! that their case is not desperate, forlorn and remediless, as that the devils and damned is. There is but one case exempted from cure, and that, such as is not incident to any sensible, afflicted soul, Matth. xii. 31. and this only excepted, all ma…
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Inf. 5. What cause have they to be glad, that are under the hand and care of Christ, in order to a cure, and who do find, or may, upon due examination, find their souls are in a very hopeful way of recovery ! Can we rejoice when the strength of a natural disease is broken, and nature begins to recover ease and vigour a…
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Fourthly, Be more thankful to shun sin, than to get yourselves clear of trouble : it is sad to walk in darkness, but worse to lie under guilt. Say, Lord, I would rather be grieved myself, than be a grief to thy Spirit. O keep me from sin, how long soever thou keep me under sorrow. Wait on God in the way of faith, and i…
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Thirdly, All other mercies derive their sweetness from Christ, and are but insipid things without him. There is a twofold sweetness in things; one natural, another spiritual: Those that are out of Christ can relish the first, believers only relish both. They have the natural sweetness that is in mercy itself, and a swe…
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Tenthly, Jesus Christ is an incomparable and matchless mercy ; " as the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved " among the sons," (saith the enamoured spouse) Cant. ii. 3. Draw the comparison how you will betwixt Christ and all other enjoyments, you will find none in heaven nor on earth to equal him :…
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Fourthly, His death for us was foretold by the prophets, Dan. ix. 26. " The Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself:'1 Isa. liii. 5. " He was wounded for our transgressions." And so he was, John xi. 50. The very kind and manner of his death was pre- figured in the brazen serpent,, his type ; and answered in his d…
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Inf. 3. Is Christ, the mercy of mercies, infinitely better than all other mercies f then let all that be in Christ be content, and well satisfied, whatever other inferior mercies the wisdom of God sees ft to deny them. You have a Benjamin's portion, a plentiful inheritance in Christ ; will you yet complain ? Others hav…
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AjT the ninth verse of this chapter, you have a query propounded to the spouse, by the daughters of Jerusalem, " What is thy be- loved more than another beloved ?" To this question the spouse re- turns her answers in the following verses, wherein she asserts his excellency in general. Ver. 10. " He is the chiefest amon…
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«,ERM. XII. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 217 world and all the desirables in it, receive what excellency they have from him ; they are streams from the fountain. But as the waters in the fountain itself are more abundant, so more pure and pleasant * than in the streams. And the farther any thing departs, and is removed from i…
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First, He is a lovely Redeemer, Isa. lxi. 1. He came to open the irison-doors to them that are bound. Needs must this Redeemer e a lovely one, if we consider the depth of misery from which he redeemed us, even " from the wrath to come," 1 Thess. i. 10. How lovely was Titus, in the eyes of the poor enthralled Greeks, wh…
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Thirdly, He pleads the cause of believers by his blood ; it satis- fies him not, as other advocates, to be at the expence of words and oratory, which is a cheaper way of pleading ; but he pleads for us by the voice of his own blood, Heb. xii. 24. where we are said to be come " to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh …
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riage towards him. Is he altogether lovely ; let all the world see and know that he is so, by your delights in him and communion with him ; zeal for him, and readiness to part with any other lovely thing upon his account ; proclaim his excellencies to the world, as the spouse here did ; convince them how much your belo…
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First, That God the Father hath appointed him as a common remedy for the sins and miseries of his people, in all parts and quarters of the world. So in the covenant of redemption, betwixt the Father and the Son, the Lord expresseth himself, Isa. xlix. 6. and he said, " It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my serv…
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In the next place, Secondly, we are to enquire upon what account Christ becomes the desire of all nations, i. e. of all those in all the nations of the world, that belong to the election of grace. And the true ground and reason thereof is, because Christ only hath that in himself which relieves their wants, and answers…
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Sixthly, Do your desires after Christ spring from a deep sense of your need and want of Christ ? Hath conviction opened your eyes to see your misery, to feel your burthens, and to make you sensible that your remedy lies only in the Lord Jesus ? then are your desires right desires. Bread and water are made necessary and…
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Tenthty, Suppose you were at the judgment-seat of God, where you must shortly stand, and saw the terrors of the Lord in that day ; the sheep divided from the goats ; the sentences of absolu- tion and condemnation passed, by the great and awful Judge, upon the righteous and wicked : would not Christ be then desirable in…
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Great and excellent is the glory of Jesus Christ, the scriptures every where proclaim his glory : yea, we may observe a notable climax, or gradation, in those scriptures that speak of his glory. The prophet Isaiah, speaking of him, calls him glorious ; Isa. iv. 2. " In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful…
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Inf. 2. How transcendently glorious is the advancement of be- lievers, by their union with the Lord of glory f This also is an ad- mirable and astonishing mystery ; it is the highest dignity of which our nature is capable, to be hypostatically united ; and the greatest glory of which our persons are capable is to be my…
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Inf. 6. If Christ be the Lord of glory, how careful should all be who profess him, that they do not dishonour Jesus Christ, whose name is called upon by them ? Christ is a glory to you, be not you a shame and dishonour to him. How careful had Christians need to be, to draw every line and action of their lives exactly :…
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confirmed by a particular revelation, ver. 26. That he should see Christ before he saw death, which could not but greatly encourage and raise his expectation to look out for him, whose coming would be the greatest consolation to the whole Israel of God. The conso- lation vrugaxAvjffic. The Spirit is frequently called i…
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Are the hopes and expectations of heaven and glory comfortable ! Yes sure, nothing is comfortable if this be not, Rom. v. 2. " We " rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Now, Christ brings to the souls of men all the solid grounds and foundations upon which they build their expectations of glory, Col. i. 27. " Which is…
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First, This need not be wondered at, if we consider that the con- solations of Christ are of two sorts ; seminal and in preparation, or actual in present possession. Every believer in the world hath the root and seed of comfort planted and sown for him, Psal. xcvii. 11. to Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness …
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hif. 3. If Christ be the consolation of believers, what a comfort- able life should all believers live in the world f Certainly, if the fault be not your own, you might live the happiest and comfortablest jives of all men in the world. If you would not be a discomfort to Christ, he would be a comfort to you every day, …
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And this gracious act of God discharges the pardoned soul both from guilt and punishment. Guilt is nothing else but the force and power that is in sin, to oblige the sinner to undergo the pen- alty due to sin ; therefore sinners are said to be guilty of helUfire. Matth. v. 22. Guilty of eternal judgment, Mark iii. 29- …
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Inference 1. If this be so, that all believers, and none but believers, receive the remission of their sins through the riches of grace, by the blood of Christ ; What a happy condition then are believers in I Those that never felt the load of sin may make light of a pardon ; but so cannot you, that have been in the dee…
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Inf. 5. To conclude : If this be so, as ever you expect pardon and mercy from God, come to Christ in the way of faith ; receive and embrace him noxv in the tenders of the gospel. To drive home this great exhortation, I beseech you, as in the bowels of Christ Jesus, and by all the regard and value you have for your sou…
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Firsts Accepting of persons is noted in scripture as the sinful act of a corrupt man ; a thing which God abhors, being the corrup- tion and abuse of that power and authority which men have in judgment; overlooking the merit of the cause through sinful re- spect to the quality of the person whose cause it is ; so that t…
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Thirdly, God's readiness to grant, as well as their liberty to ask, speaks them the special favourites of God, The heart of God is so propense, and ready to grant the desires of believers, that it is but ask and have, Matth. vii. 7. The door of grace is opened by the key of prayer. That is a favourite indeed, to whom t…
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Inf. 1. If all believers be in favour with God, how great a mercy is it to have the prayers of such engaged on our behalf? Would we have our business speed in heaven, let us get into the favour of God ourselves, and engage the prayers of his people, the favourites of heaven for us. Vis unitafortior, one believer can do…
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used with David, 2 Sam. xii. 7, 8. ' ' I anointed thee king over " Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul, and I gave " thee thy master s house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, " and gave thee the house of Israel and Judah, and if that had " been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee su…
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Believers are the children of the new covenant, the denizons of Jerusalem which is above, which is free, and the mother of them all, Gal. iv. 26. The glorious liberty, viz. that which is spiritual and eternal, is the liberty of the children of God, Rom. viii. 21. Christ, and none but Christ, delivers his people out of …
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Secondly, All believers are freed from the guilt of sin ; it may trouble, but it cannot condemn them, Rom. viii. 33. The hand- writing which was against us is cancelled by Christ, nailed to his cross, Col. ii. 14. When the seal and hand- writing are torn off from the bond, the debtor is made free thereby : Believers ar…
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Thirdly, The liberty of believers is a liberty dearly purchased by the blood of Christ. What that captain said, Acts xxii. 28. " With a great sum obtained I this freedom,1"1 may be much more said of the believers' freedom : It was not silver or gold, but the precious blood of Christ that purchased it, 1 Pet. i. 18. Fo…
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the preaching of the gospel: for by the gospel it is that souls are re- covered out of his power, Acts xxvi. 18. It is the express work of ministers "to turn men from darkness to light, and from the " power of Satan unto God." Satan (as one saith) is a great and jealous prince : he will never endure to have liberty pro…
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Secondly, It implies man's revolt and apostasy from God, Eph. ii. 12. " But now in Christ Jesus, ye who were some time afar off, " are made nigh by the blood of Christ.11 Those whom Christ bringeth unto God were before afar off from him, both in state and condition, and in temper and disposition : we were lost crea- tu…
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their conversion, which was the day of their espousals to Christ, Luke xv. 10. They have been tender and careful over them, and very serviceable to them in this world, Heb. i. 14. and there- fore cannot but rejoice exceedingly, to see them all brought home in safety to their father's house. 5. To conclude, Christ's br…
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Deduct. 4. How conifortahle and sweet sloould the converses and communication of Christians be one with another, in this world I Christ is bringing them all to God through this vale of tears : they are now in the way to him ; all bound for heaven ; going home to God, their everlasting rest in glory : every day, every h…
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* The author means that it shews us our need of Christ. Editor. 288 THE METHOD OF GRACE. SERM. XX. we are unrighteous ; it cannot heal, but it can open and discover the wounds that sin hath given us ; which lie proves in this place by an argument drawn from his own experience, confirmed also by the general experience…
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2. Secondly, Natural ignorance ; this keeps all in peace : they that see not, fear not. There are but two ways to quiet the hearts of men about their spiritual and eternal concernments, viz. the way of assurance and faith, or the way of ignorance and self-deceit; by the one we are put beyond danger, by the other beyond…
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Fourthly, This life of security and vain hope frustrates all the means of recovery and salvation, in the only season wherein they can be useful and beneficial to us : By reason of these things the word hath no power to convince men's consciences, nothing can bring them to a sight and sense of their condition: Therefore…
1,250 wordsSource & rights
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.