condemned men and women. That is a sad complaint of the pro- phet, Isa. liii. i. " Who hath believed our report, and to whom is " the arm of the Lord revealed ?" Many there be that talk of faith, and many that profess faith ; but they only talk of and profess it : There are but few in the world unto whom the arm of the Lord hath been revealed, in the work of faith with power. It is put among the great mysteries and wonders of the world, 1 Tim. iii. 16. That Christ is believed on in the world. O what a great and ter- rible day will the day of Christ's coming to judgment be, when so many millions of unbelievers shall be brought to his tribunal to be solemnly sentenced ! They are (as my text speaks) condemned al- ready ; but then that dreadful sentence will be solemnly pronoun- ced by Jesus Christ, whom they have despised and rejected : Then shall that scripture be fulfilled, Luke xix. 27. " These mine ene- " mies that would not that I should reign over them, bring them " hither, and slay them before me.*"
Inf. 2. Hence be informed how great a mercy the least measure of saving faith is : for the least measure of true faith unites the soul to Jesus Christ ; and then " there is no condemnation to them that " are in Christ Jesus," Rom. viii. 1. Not one sentence of God against them. So Acts xiii. 39- " By him all that believe are jus- " tified from all things." The weakest believer is as free from con- demnation as the strongest ; the righteousness of Christ comes upon all believers without any difference. Rom. iii. 22. "Even the " righteousness of God, which is by faith of Christ Jesus unto all, " and upon all them that believe ; for there is no difference." It is not imputed, as it is in inherent righteousness ; one man hath more holiness than another : The faith that receives the righteous- ness of Christ may be different in degrees of strength ; but the re- ceived righteousnes is equal upon all believers : A piece of gold is as much worth in the hand of a child, as it is in the hand of a man. O the exceeding preciousness of saving faith !
Inf. 3. How dreadful a sin is the sin of unbelief, which brings men under the condemnation of the great God. No sin startles less, or damns surer : It is a sin that doth not affright the con- science as some other sins do, but it kills the soul more certainly than any of those sins could do : For, indeed, other sins could not damn us, were it not for unbelief, which fixes the guilt of them all upon our persons. This is the condemnation. Unbelief is the sin of sins ; and when the Spirit comes to convince men of sin, he begins with this as the capital sin, John xvi. 9. But more particu- larly,
First, Estimate the evil of unbelief from its object. It is the slight- ing and refusing of the most excellent and wonderful person in hea- ven or earth : the vision of Christ by faith is the joy of saints upon
4$8 THE METHOD OF GRACE. SERM. XXS.11,
earth : the vision of Christ above is the happiness of saints in hea- ven. It is a despising of him who is altogether lovely in himself, who hath loved us and given himself for us.
It is a rejecting of the only Mediator betwixt God and man; after the rejecting of whom there remains no sacrifice for sin.
Secondly, Let the evil of unbelief be valued by the offer of Christ to our souls in the gospel : It is one part of the great mystery of godliness that Christ should be preached to the Gentiles, 1 Tim. iii. 16. That the word of this salvation should be sent to us, Acts xiii. 26. A mercy denied to the fallen angels, and the greatest part of mankind, which aggravates the evil of this sin beyond all imagination. So that in refusing or neglecting Jesus Christ are found vile ingratitude, highest contempt of the grace and wisdom of God ; and in the event, the loss of the only season and opportu- nity of salvation, which is never more to be recovered to all eter- nity.
Inf. 4. If this be the case of all unbelievers, it is not to be ad- mired, that souls under the first convictions of their miserable con- dition, are plunged into such deep distresses of spirit. It is said of them, Acts ii. 27. " That they were pricked at the heart, and " cried out, men and brethren, what shall we do?" And so the jailor, " He came in trembling and astonished, and said, Sirs, what " must I do to be saved ?" Certainly, if souls apprehend themselves under the condemnation and sentence of the great God in all tears and trembling, their weary days and restless nights are not without just cause and reason. Those that never saw their own miserable condition by the light of a clear and full conviction, may wonder to see others so deeply distressed in spirit. They may mis-judge the case, and call it melancholy or madness : but spiritual troubles do not exceed the cause and ground of them, let them be as deep and as great as they will : And, indeed, it is one of the great myste- ries of grace and providence; a thing much unknown to men, how such poor souls are supported from day to day under such fears and sorrows as are able, in a few hours, to break the stoutest spirit in the world. Luther was a man of great natural courage ; and yet, when God let in spiritual troubles upon his soul, it is noted of him, ut nee vox, nee color, nee sanguis superesset ; he had neither voice, nor heat, nor blood appearing in him.
Inf. 5. How groundless and irrational is the mirth and jollity of all carnal and unregenerate men ? They feast in their prison, and dance in their fetters. O the madness that is in the hearts of men ! If men did but see their mittimus made for hell, or believe they are condemned already, it were impossible for them to live at that rate of vanity they do : And is their condition less dangerous because it is not understood? Surely no; but much more dangerous for that.
serm. xxxir. ttte Method of grace. 439
O poor sinners, you have found out an effectual way to prevent your present troubles ; it were well if you could find out a way to prevent your eternal misery : But it is easier for a man to stifle con- viction, than prevent damnation. Your mirth hath a two-fold mischief in it ; it prevents repentance, and increases your future torment. O what a hell will your hell be, who drop into it, out of all the sensitive and sinful pleasures of this world ! If ever man may say of mirth, that it is mad ; and of laughter, what doth it ! He may say so in this case.