monuments of his written word, confirming it; here is the feal added to it; here is the Livery and Se zu given, in the earnest of his Spirit, and here is fufficient witneffe to all; even Gods Spirit witneffing with our Spirits that we are the fons of God; Let us finde this in our bofome and we are happys neither let our hearts be quiet till we can say with the chofen Veffel, I am perfwaded that neither life, nor death, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor powers, nor things prefent, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any creature can be able to Separate us from the love of God, which is in Chrift Jefus our Lord, Rom. 3. the laft verfe. Lo, this is not a gueffe, but an affuránce (THOU neither doth the Apostle fpeak of his own fpeciall revelation (as the Popish Doctors would pretend ) but he takes all beleevers into the partnership of this comfortable unfailableneffe (nothing fhall feparate us) thus happy are we if we be fealed unto the day of Redemption.

Having now handled the parts feverally, let us(if you please ) put them together, and fee the power of this inference or argument: ye are by the Spirit of God fealed to the day of redemption, Oh therefore grieve not that Spirit of God by whom ye are thus fealed. The Spirit of God hath infinitely merited of you; hath done fo much for you,as ye are not capable to conceive,much leffe to answer in fo Heavenly an obfignation; Oh then be you tender of giving any offence to that good Spirit; Do not you dare to do ought that might difplease that loving aud beneficent Spirit. Be not you fo much your own enemies, as to give juft diftaft to your good God. So as the force of the argument, as we intimated at the firft, lies upon an action of unkindneffe; affording us this inftruction, that the ground of Gods Childrens fear to offend must be out of love and thankfulness; great is thy mercy that thou maist be feared, faith the Pfalmift; he doth not fay; great is thy mercy that thou maift be loved; nor, great is thy Majefty that thou mailt be feared; but great is thy mercy that thou maift be feared: bafe fervile natures are kept in with feare of itripes, but the ingenuous difpofition of Gods dear ones is wrought upon by the tender refpect to the goodness and mercy of that God who hath fo infinitely bleffed it. It is an emphaticall expreffion that of St. Paul For the love of Chrift conftraineth us: 2. Cor. 5. 14. La, here is a kind of force and violence offered to the foul; but it is the force of love, then which nothing can be more pleafing, neither will God offer any other; it can be no will that is forced; God will not

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break in upon the foul; but wins it with those sweet folicitations that are more powerfull then thofe of fear: Men commonly run in a full carere towards Hell, it were happy that any thing in the world could ftay them; but are there any of us that find a reftraint upon our felves, in the midft of our evill wayes, fo as we make a stop in this pernicious courfe of our fining? whence is it? Is it out of a meer fear of the pains of Hell, of thofe eternall torments that abide for finners? This is little thank to them: Nature even in brute Creatures will teach them to affect their own prefervation ; and to avoid thofe things which will neceffarily draw on their deftruction; Balaams affe fecing the Angels fword, will ftrive to decline it; every flave will tugg hard to escape the lath: but is it in a sweet sense of the mercies of God, who hath done fo much for thy foul is it out of a confcience not to offend fo holy and munificent a God, who hath purchased thee fo dear,and fealed thee up to the day of Redemptionsnow, thou haft in thee a true generofity of fpirit; this argues thee to have the proper affections of a true child of God;for every child of God is fpiritually good natur'd;It is not fo with our natural children; A ftomackfull Efau knowes that his good Father cannot but be difpleased with his Pagan matches; yet he takes him wives of the Daughters of Heth: Gen. 26. 35. And an ambitious Alfalom dares rise up in rebellion against his tenderly-loving Fathers but grace hath other effects; the fpirituall generation of Gods faithfull ones, are dearly affectionate to their Father in Heaven, and apply themfelves to all obedience out of meer love and duty. The Son, and the flave are both injoyned one work (God be thanked we can have no inftance in this kind, that vaffalage is happily and justly extinguished as unfit to be of use amongft Chriftians) but where it obtaineth ftill, the Son and the flave do one work, but out of different grounds; the Son to please his Father; the flave that he may avoid the ftripes of an imperious Mafter, therefore the one doth it cheerfully and willingly; the other grudgingly and repiningly; the one of Love, and Gratitude, the other out of fear. This is a point worthy of our ferious confideration, as that which mainly imports our fouls, what are the grounds of our either actions, or forbearances; we indevour fome good duties, we refrain from fome fins; out of what principles? Some there are that can bragg of their immunity from grofs fins, with the proud Pharifce, I am no fornicator, no drunkard, no

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martherer, no lyer, no flanderer, no oppreflour; And I would to God every one of you that hear me this day could in fincerity of heart fay fo; But what is the ground of this their pretended inoffenfiveness? If it be only a fear of Hell, and of the wrathful indignation of that juft Judge, thou canst reap fmal comfort to thy Soul in this condition; for this is out of meer felfe-love, and defire to efcape pain and mifery, which is incident into the worst of creatures: Even the evil Spirits themselves are afraid of tormenting, and deprecate the fending them back to their chains: But if it be out of a gracious, and tender love to God; out of a filial fear of the difpleasure of a God that hath done fo much for thee, this argues the difpofition of a true child of God, and may juftly adminifter comfort to thy Soul, in the time of thy trial:Oh that we could every one of us lay before our eyes the fweet mercies of our God;efpecially his fpiritual favours; how freely he hath loved us, how dearly he hath redeemed us; even with the moft precious blood of the Son of his love; how gracioufly he hath fealed us up to the day of our redeemption? and that we could make this use of it to be a strong retractive from any, even of our deareft, and gainfulleft fins; Carry this home with you, dear brethren, I beseech you, and fail not to think of it upon all occafions when ever you fhall finde your felves tempted to any fin whatsoever of luft, of exceffe, of covetous defires, have this Antidote ready in your bofomes, which good Jofeph had; How shall I do this great evill and fin against God; As good Polycarpus that holy Martyr, when for the prefervation of his life he was urged to renounce Chrift, faid; Fourscore and fix years have I been his fervant, and he never did me hurt; and fhall I deny my Soverain King that hath fo gracioufly preferved me? If out of thefe grounds thou can't check thy fins; and canft fay; Lord I have been carefull not to grieve thy good fpirit, because thou in thine eternal love haft fealed me thereby to the day of my redemption, be confident, that thy redemption is fealed in Heaven, and fhall in due time be manifefted to thine inveftiture with the eternall glory and happiness which God hath prepared for all his; To the participation whereof, that God who hath ordained us, in his good time mercifully bring us, for the fake of the Son of his love, Jefus Chrift the juft, to whom with the Father, and the bleffed Spirit one infinite and incomprehenfible God be given all prayfe, honour, and glory, now and for evermore. Amen.

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SERMON

Preacht on

WHITSUNDAY

IN THE

PARISH-CHURCH

OF

HIGHAM,

In the Year 1652.

ROM. 8. 14.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God.

His only day is wont to be confecrated to the Celebration of the defcent of the holy Spirit, and therefore deferves to be (as it is named) the true Dominica in albis, whit funday: white is the colour of Innocence and joy in refpect of the first, this, together with the feaft of Eater was wont in the primitive times to be the folemn feafon of Baptifm, and facramentall Regeneration in relpect of the second, it was the feafon of the juft Triumph and exultation of the Church; which was as this day graced, confirmed, and refreshed, with the miraculous defcent of the promised comforter; in both regards every Chriftian challenges an interest in it; as thefe who claim to be the Sons of God by Baptifm, the Sacrament of Regeneration, and to be indued and furnished with the fanctifying gifts of that bleffed Spi-rit, whose wonderfull defcent we this day celebrate: which how can we do better then by inquiring into what right we have to this

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holy fpirit, and to that fon-fhip of God, which in our Baptism we profefs to partake of: we are all apt upon the leaft caufe to be proud of our parentage. There are Nations (they fay) in the world, whereof every man challenges gentility, and kindred to their King; fo are we wont to do fpiritually to the King of Heaven. Every onehath the Spirit of God; every one is the fon of God. It is the main errand we have to do on the Earth to fettle our hearts upon jult grounds, in the truth of this refolution; and this text undertakes to do it for us, infallibly deciding it, that thofe, and none but those, that are led by the Spirit of God, are the Sons of God..

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So as we need not now think of climbing up into Heaven, to turn the books of Gods eternall Counfell; nor linger after Enthufalmes and Revelations, as fome fanaticall fpirits ule to do ;nor wish for that holy Dove to wifper in our ear, with that great Arabian impoftour; but only look seriously into our own hearts and lives ;: and trie our felves thoroughly by this fure, and unfailing rule of our bleffed Apostle, So many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God, let my fpeech, and your attention then be bounded in thefe three limits: Here is Firft a priviledg, To be the Sons of God. Secondly a qualification of the priviledged, To be led by the Spirit. Thirdly an Univerfall predication of that priviledge upon the perfons qualified; So many as are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of God; I need not crave your attention, the importance of the matterchallenges it. To the first then; it is a wonderfull and inexplicable priviledge, this, To be the Sons of God; no marvell if every one be apt to claim; The glory of Children are their Fathers, Prou. 17. 6. How were the Femes puffed up with that vain gloriation that they were the Sons of Abraham, and yet they might have been fo; and have come from hated Efau, or ejected Ifmael: what is it then to be the Sons: of the God of Abraham? Ye know what David could fay upon the ten-der of matching into the blood royall; feemeth it a fall matter to you to be the Son in Law to a King? Oh what then is it to be the true born: fons to the great King of Heaven? The Alaffins pride themselves to be derived from that Son whom they fay the Queen of Sheba had begotten of her by Solomon when the went to vifit him ; it is enough that it was Princely though bale; how may we glory to be the true and legitimate iffue of the King of glory? the great Lord in the Gofpell is brought in by our Saviour in his parable to fay, They will ve-

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