same with those holy men and women of primitive times. The world grows old, and men's affections with it chil} and cold; we have not our taste so lively, nor our spirits so chaste and pure, to relish the heavenly viands dished forth in the Gospel. The cheer is as good as ever, but the guests are worse; we are grown debauched in our judgments, and corrupt in our principles; no wonder then if carnal in our joys. Error is a whore; it takes away the heart from Christ and his spiritual joys. The head once distempered soon affects the heart, and by dropping the malignity of its principles upon it poisons it with carnal affections; and carnal affections cannot fare with any other than gross and carnal joys. Here, here is the root of the misery of our times. Hath not, think you, the devil played his game cunningly among us? who by his instruments, transforming themselves into the likeness of angels of light, first could raise so many cre dulous souls into a fond expectation of higher attainments in grace and comfort, from their new pretended light, than ever yet the saints were acquainted with, and at last to make them fall so low, be so reasonable, or rather unreasonable, as to accept such sensual pleasures and joys as this world can afford in full payment for all the glorious things he promised them? Well, sirs, this I hope will make some love the Gospel the more, and stick closer to it as long as they live. O Christians, bless God for the glad tidings of the Gospel; and never lend an ear to him that would be telling you other news, except you mean to part with truth to purchase a lie; yea let it make you careful to draw all your comfort and joy from the Gospel's breast. When a carnal heart would be merry, he doth not take the Bible down to read in that; he doth not go into the company of the promises, and walk in the meditation of them; it brings no joy to him to think of Christ or Heaven; no: he takes down a playbook may be, seeks some jovial company, goes to the Exchange or market, to hear what news he can meet with; every one as his haunt lies: but still it is from the world he expects his joy. And now where lies thy road, Christian? whither doth thy soul lead thee for thy joy? Dost not thou go to the Word, and read there what Christ has done for thee on earth, and is doing for thee in Hea

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ven? Is not the throne of grace the Exchange to which thou resortest for good news from that far country, Heaven, where all thy estate lies, and thy best friends live? Art thou not listening what promise he will speak peace from to thy soul? If so, thou hast not thy name for nought thou art a Christian indeed. Qui litteris addicti sumus, (saith Erasmus) animi lassitudinem à studiis gravioribus contractam, ab iisdem studiis, sed amænioribus recreamus. True students that love their book indeed, when they have wearied their spirits with study, can recreate them again with study, by making a diversion from that which is severe and knotty to some more facile and pleasant subject. Thus the true Christian, when his spirits are worn and wasted in the severer exercises of Christianity, such as fasting and prayer, wherein he afflicts both body and soul for his sins, then can he recover them at the feast of God's love in Christ, where he sees his water turned into wine, and the tears that even now his sins covered his face with, all washed off with the blood of Christ; when his soul is struck into a fear and trembling with the consideration of the justice of God, and the terror of his threatenings and judgments for sin, then the meditation of the sweet promises of the Gospel recreate and revive him; so that in the same Word where he meets with his wound, he finds his healing; where he hath his sorrow, there also he receives his joy.

CHAP. III.

A FOURFOLD PEACE ATTRIBUTED TO THE GOSPEL, AND IN PARTICULAR PEACE OF RECONCILIATION, WHERE IT IS PROVED THERE IS A QUARREL BETWIXT GOD AND MAN, AS ALSO THAT THE GOSPEL CAN ONLY TAKE IT UP; AND WHY GOD THUS LAID THE METHOD of MAN'S RECOVERY.

THE second enquiry follows: What peace is here meant that is attributed to the Gospel? Peace is a comprehen

sive word. "We looked for peace (saith the prophet) but no good came." Jer. viii. 15. Peace brings and carries away again with it all good, as the sun doth light to and from the world; when Christ would to the utmost express how well he wished his disciples, he wraps up all the happiness which his large heart could wish them in this blessing of peace: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you," John xiv. 27. Now take peace in its greatest latitude (if not spurious), and it will be found to grow upon this Gospel-root. So that we shall lay the conclusion in general terms.

Doct. True peace is the blessing of the Gospel, and only of the Gospel. This will appear in the several kinds of peace; which may be sorted into these four.

First, Peace with God, which we may call peace of reconciliation.

Secondly, Peace with ourselves, or peace of conscience.

Thirdly, Peace with one another, or peace of love and unity.

Fourthly, Peace with the other creatures, even the most hurtful, which may be called a peace of indemnity and service.

To begin, where all the other begin, with peace of reconciliation with God. For when man fell out with God, he fell out with himself and all the world besides; and he can never come to be at peace with these, till his peace be made with God, Tranquillus Deus, tranquillat omnia. The point then is,

Doct. 1. That peace of reconciliation with God is the blessing of the Gospel. Three things are here to be done in prosecution of the point. First, I shall shew you that there is a quarrel between God and man. Secondly, that the Gospel, and only the Gospel, takes this up, and makes peace betwixt God and man. Thirdly, why God conveys this peace of reconciliation into the world in this way and by this method.

First, There is a quarrel depending betwixt God and the sons of men. Open acts of hostility done by one nation against another proclaim there is a war commenced. Now such acts of hostility pass betwixt God and man:

Man lets fly

bullets fly thick to and fro on either hand. against God, though against his will he shoots short, whole vollies of sins and impieties. The best of saints acknowledge thus much of themselves, before converting grace took them off: "we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures." Titus iii. 3. Mark the last words, “serving lusts and pleasures." They were in pay to sin, willing to fight against God, and side with this his only enemy. Not a faculty of his soul or member of his body which is not in arms against him: "The carnal mind (saith the Apostle) is enmity against God." Rom. viii. 7. And if there be war in the mind, to be sure there can be no peace in the members (inferior faculties I mean of the soul) which are all commanded by it. Indeed we are by nature worst in our best part; the enmity against God is chiefly seated in the superior faculties of the soul. As in armies the common soldiery is wholly taken up with the booty and spoil they get by the war, without much minding one side or other; but the more principal officers, especially the prince or general, these go into the field full of enmity against them that oppose them: so the inferior faculties seek only satisfaction to their sensual appetite in the booty that sin affords, but the superior faculties of the mind, this comes forth more directly against God, and opposeth his sovereignty; yea if it could lay a plot effectual to take away the life of God himself there is enmity enough in the carnal mind to put it in execution. And as man is in arms against God, so is He against man: "He is angry with the wicked every day; he hath bent his bow and made it ready, he hath also prepared for him the instruments of death." Psal. vii. 11. God hath set up his royal standard in defiance of all the sons and daughters of apostate Adam, who from his own mouth are proclaimed rebels and traitors to his crown and dignity; and against such he hath taken the field, as with fire and sword to be avenged on them. Yea, he gives the world sufficient testimony of his incensed wrath, by that of it which is revealed from Heaven daily in the judgments executed upon sinners, and those many but of a span long, before they can shew what nature they

have by actual sin, yet crushed to death by God's righteous foot only for the viperous kind of which they come. At every door where sin sets its foot there the wrath of God meets us. Every faculty of soul and member of body are used as a weapon of unrighteousness against God; so every one hath its portion of wrath, even to the tip of the tongue. As man is sinful all over, so is he cursed all over. Inside and outside, soul and body, is wrote all with woes and curses so close and full, that there is not room for another to interline, or add to what God hath written.

In a word, so fiery is the Lord's wrath against sinful man, that all the creatures share with him in it: though God takes his aim at mau, and levels his arrows primarily at his very heart, yet as they go they slant upon the creature. God's curse blasts the whole creation for man's sake; and so he pays him some of his misery from the hand of those creatures which were primitively ordained to minister to him in his happy estate, yea contribute some drops to the filling of his cup. As an en

raged army makes spoil and havock of all their enemy's land, destroys their provision, stops or poisons their waters, burns up their houses, and lets out their fury on all their hands come at: truly thus God plagues man in every creature; not one escapes his hand. The very bread we eat, water we drink, and air we breath in, are poisoned with the curse of God; of which they who live longest, die at last. And all these are no more to Hell than the few files of men in a forlorn to the whole body of an army; God doth but skirmish with sinners here by some small parties of his judgments, sent out to let them know they have an enemy alive that observes their motions, takes the alarm their sins give him, and can be too hard for them when he please; but it is in Hell where he falls on with his whole power. There sinners "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power," 2 Thessi v. 9. And so much for the first, that there is a quarrel between God and man. The second follows.

Secondly, The Gospel takes this quarrel up, and only the Gospel; therefore called "Gospel of Gospel of peace." This