Thirdly, By this practical experience, a Christian shall attain to the end of all⁴ knowledge, which is to do. If ye know these things, blessed are you if ye do them. It was said of some people that they had money only to tell it, they made no other use of it; it is as vain when we have knowledge in matters of religion only to know, Tit. 1. it is called, The acknowledging of the truth after godlinesse; insomuch that in the Scripture phrase, They who have not the practical power of knowledge, are denied to have any knowledge at all. Hence are wicked men so often called fools, and said not to know God. By this means a private Christian may be said to know more of God, then a learned Doctor that hath nothing but orthodoxy; for you may have an orthodox learned man write and preach admirably about justifying faith, conversion, &c. yet in regard of the practical knowledge of these things no wayes comparable to some private man or woman, who feel the power of these things upon their own hearts: It is disputed, Whether Divinity be speculative or practical, and it is resolved by many upon good grounds, that it is practical, there being nothing in all Religion but what is to be improved for for practice one way or other, […]. It is well done that orthodoxy and true Doctrine be defended by books, disputations and Sermons; but above all things we are to indeavour that our life answer our Christian profession. When Christ looked upon the fig-tree that had only leaves on it, he cursed it. To him that knoweth how to do good, and doth it not, there is the greater sinne; as if he should have said, saith Bernard, Sumenti cibum, & non digerenti, perniciosum est ei; to him that takes meat, and doth not digest it, it is very dangerous. There must be true Doctrine, and a godly life joyned together. Cyril considering Abrahams servant, who gave to Rebecca ear-rings and bracelets, applieth it to Christ and his Church, who vouchsafeth to her both true faith that cometh by hearing, and a godly life the practice or work of our hands.

Fourthly, By this experimental knowledge a man will be setled in the truth, and endure all persecution rather then forsake it. He will believe no fallacies or sophisms,⁵ he will not be frighted out of it by any dangers. Its called tasting of God and his Word, and the rule is, Non est disputandum de gustu, there is no disputing against taste. The sense of taste and feeling do herein differ from the other senses, that they are joyned really to the objects themselves, whereas seeing and hearing do receive only the intentional species, and therefore cannot make such a real and powerfull impression, as is in tasting or feeling. Pauls experimental knowing whom he did believe, made him boldly to speak: what makes men have a monethly or yearly faith, change their opinions as often as their garments, but because they have not felt the power of truth upon their own soul? The Schoolmen speak of a gift of the holy Ghost, which they call Sapience,⁶ which they define to be Quoddam lumen divinorum, sub quo videntur & gustantur divina per experimentum, A certain light of divine things, whereby they are seen and tasted by experience: or others describe it, A contemplation of God out of love, with a certain experimental sweetness in the affections. But whatsoever their conceit is about this, it is certain the Apostle Heb. 5. 14 would have us by use to have our senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Where the Apostle attributeth to the minde […], which are properly the Organs of sense in the body, but he applieth it to the soul, because of the intuitive and experimental knowledge the soul ought to have in good things; and therefore he speaks of use and custom which the people of God have in this spiritual discerning: No wonder then that faith is called Heb. 11. […], The real subsistance of things believed in the soul. (Aristotle cals the thick cloud that by the repercussion of the Sunne beams makes the Rainbow […], and the Rainbow […],) and […] an undeniable conviction of the minde of man, because where this grace is operatively upon the soul, it makes a real impression. Hence also the whole work and way of grace is compared to life, Gal. 2. ult. because it is most real, it is not in imagination and fancy. That is notable Heb. 13. 9. Be not carried about with divers doctrines, for it is good to have the heart established with grace; Where the Apostle makes grace and godliness to stablish and settle the heart; and therefore men that are led aside into errors, are said to be carried about with them, a Metaphor from chaff and straw, which because of its emptiness and lightness is blown this way and that way. Thus a man that is empty of grace, and not consolidated by the power of it upon his heart, he runneth from one opinion to another, without any stay at all. Therefore a savoury inward knowledge of divine truths, would be an excellent ballast in the soul. And as it would thus keep the heart firm to the truth, so it would unite the heart to holy things as the best and sweetest, without hypocrisie, double-mindedness and inconstancy, and this is much to be considered, thy heart is one while for good things, another while as vehemently for the world, thy heart is divided between the Creator and the creature, how cometh this about? for want of real and experimental knowledge of the goodness of God, He that drinketh of this water (saith Christ) shall never thirst more, that is, Siti totalis indigentiae, with a thirst of total want. Now how great a mercy it is to be kept from that double-mindedness the Apostle speaks of, To be like a wave that is sometimes tossed up high to the heavens, and then presently sinks down low in the sea; or like the Grashoppers that leap up towards heaven, but immediatly fall down to the ground: When temptations of profit and pleasure come, how easily can they be repulsed by an heart who feels better things? So that till you have an inward feeling and joy about the things of God, you are not able to withstand other temptations, but you will alwayes be striving to make possible that which our Saviour hath pronounced so impossible, To serve God and Mammon.

I shall in the next place shew you what impediments and destructive principles⁷ there are to hinder us in this experimental proof, which we are to make of our selves. For this duty here pressed of examining and proving of our selves is like the compound that the high-Priest was to make, consisting of choice materials; Now one dangerous principle is, when we go to prove and examine our selves, being prepossessed with self-love and carnal confidence, and where this foundation is laid, its impossible to make any good superstruction. Hence all the piercing and discovering Sermons which the Prophets and Christ made upon the Jews and Pharisees, could make no battery, give no shaking to their rotten foundation, and all because they had carnal confidence, and vain trust in themselves. Therefore when thou settest upon this duty, thou must say, Lord, I come not in any love of my self, I can as easily judge and condemn my self for an hypocrite (if such I shall be found) as approve my self for an upright one: O Lord, it shall not seem an hard thing to me, if I perceive that I have thus long, thus many years laboured in vain. O Lord, it shall be so farre from being matter of discontent, as that I shall rejoyce, if now at length, I may be put into a sound and right way of holiness. But how many go to search the grounds, principles and ends of their actions with as much negligence, as some officers do alehouses and unlawfull meetings? they are unwilling to see the hidden works of darknesse, Prov. 28. 26. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. It is desperate folly to believe thy heart will deal truly with thee. Hence the Prophet Jeremiah calleth it desperately wicked, or crafty, which will beguile and deceive thee without much caution, insomuch that this duty of examination is but ridiculous, and a meer mockery, unless we resolve to become impartial Judges. It is like disputing with the Church of Rome, who hold the true Church cannot erre, and then that she is the true Church, whereby she becomes incurable and without hope of healing, Prov. 16. 2. Every mans way is clean in his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the hearts. This is one way to blinde us, but⁸ then we may runne into another extream, by temptation of unbelief; and thus when a godly soul set against it self, and taking every thing for hypocrisie that he shall do, if in this case he goeth to examine himself, he will also draw false conclusions; As the carnal man fails the former way, so the tempted Christian doth the other way; The one believeth every thing to be done with a good heart, the other nothing; But as a man that would see his face in the water, must make no commotion or trouble at all; so he that would rightly judge his heart, must take heed of carnal confidence on one side, and unbelief on the other side.

A second dangerous principle is, When we conclude that action to be done well,⁹ which is for the matter good, whatsoever the principles, ends, motives or manner be. This destroyeth many thousands, Jehu did that which was according to Gods will, and this made him bold to say he is zealous for God, Come see my zeal, saith he; but though his actions were very great, and of high concernment to the Church of God, yet God would be avenged on him for these, Hos. 1. 4. Who would think God would be avenged on Jehu for dispossessing Jeroboam, killing Baals Priests, making so great a Reformation as he did? But because he himself did not do these things with an upright heart, therefore he is threatned. The Pharisees had an external righteousness, but there was a great gulf between them and true godliness. Hence they are called Vipers, which though they have a glorious skin, yet are full of poison; and how holy soever they appeared, yet like the Serpent they eat of the dust of the earth, live upon earthly advantages. A man therefore had need be Eagle-eyed, or like Ezekiels living creatures full of eyes, that would see into the bottom of his wayes: Thy profession, thy family-duties, thy religious performances are plainly visible, every one that runneth may read them; but the ends and motives are secret and latent, the foundations and roots of things lie under ground; The first letters in the book are garnished with many gaies, and we can hardly tell what they are. This made Paul distinguish between a Jew outwardly, and a Jew inwardly, circumcision of the flesh and circumcision of the heart; Especially the end, and motive that doth specifie and distinguish moral actions; Two may be in a family, both pray, both mourn for sinne, yet because one is done upon a pure motive and principle from God and to God, therefore it is right; and the other, because its defective in one of these, is rejected: who then is sufficient and prepared for so great a duty as this is?

A third way of misguidance is, When we try our selves by false Rules, when we weigh with false weights; This duty of examining and proving supposeth there is¹⁰ some sure standard, which if we go by, we are sure not to be deceived, now that rule is the word of God; but as in matter of Doctrine men have left the Scriptures the sure rule, and taken up antiquity, universality, tradition, and the like for their guide, and by this means have fallen into the ditch; so in matter of godliness, when we should try our selves according to the characters and signs that the Scripture deciphers, we take up principles in the world, the applause of others, the conversation of most in the world; And thus it is with us, as men in an Hospital, because every one is either wounded or lame, or some way diseased, therefore none are offensive to each other.

The fourth and last dangerous way to miscarriage, is, When we mistake¹¹ about the object matter which is to be discovered, when we mistake what godlinesse is, and so think it to be in us, when it is not; And in this is the grand imposture; men take a good nature, morality, civility, the common graces of Gods Spirit for godliness, and when they see they have these, they conclude all is well. This is as if a man digging for gold should take lead or copper for it, and think himself rich, because he hath these. He therefore that would not be deceived in this great matter, must consider what the Scripture makes the nature and properties of godliness, and must conclude godliness is no lesse or inferiour a thing then the Scripture makes it. If a man shall not reach up to those Scripture directions, he is but a Glow-worm though he seem to be the Sun; but more of these things hereafter.

Use. Let the Use be, to set us with all diligence, fear and trembling about this work: How much better is it to eat and drink, to pray and hear with fear and trembling of heart, then to sit down secure when there is no cause? Believe not your hearts in times of danger, or fears of death, or any sudden fits; You see Pharaoh and Ahab can cry out of sinne under the judgements of God, but attend to pure motives only; In the civil law no credit is given to a testimony that is given by one upon the wrack, because it is supposed, the torture and pain will make him say any thing to be eased. And thus in times of trouble and fear even a false and unsound heart will say any thing, hoping for some relief. Howsoever in this life we may satisfie our selves and others with a profession and external diligence in holy duties, yet at the day of Judgement we shall be astonished and silent before God. In the Parable, the man that was at the feast without a wedding Garment, when expostulated with, was presently speechlesse, he pretended not poverty, or difficulty to get a wedding Garment, but was immediately speechlesse, even as if he had had a muzzle put on his mouth, as the word signifieth. At that day all the crooked and subtile windings, all the false pretexts of thy own heart, will be so discovered, that thou canst not but see it, and acknowledge it.

Footnotes

1. I. The knowing experienced Christian only enjoys the sweetness of the Ordinances. ↩

2. Austin. lib. 10. Confes. cap. 40. ↩

3. II. Is taken off from needless and vain disputations, to look more into his own heart. ↩

4. III. And to attain to the end of knowledge, viz. to do. ↩

5. IIII. And be setled in the truth to endure persecution. ↩

6. The cause of changes in Religion. ↩

7. Impediments of an experimental proof in our selves. 1. Self-love and carnal confidence. ↩

8. Temptations to unbelief. ↩

9. 2. An erroneous principle.
   ↩
10. 3. Trying our selves by false rules.
    ↩
11. 4. A mistaking about the object matter of our enquiry.
    ↩