THe Apostle having shewed the poor and mean condition the Law rendered us in, holds out the glory of our condition under the Gospel, in the considerati­on of our Son-ship, wee being by our Lords comming, freed from that pu­pillage and bondage wee were before held under, that wee might receive the adoption of Sonnes, and being redeemed thereunto, receive the spirit, and all good things as a consequent of such a state.

These words do acquaint us in the general scope of them with this great truth, that it is not any Grace in us, or works done by us: That first brings us into that state of the Gospel, wherein wee have favour and acceptance with God, but God first appoints us unto such a state, and thereupon gives us Grace sutable un­to it Because yee are Sonnes, Because God hath in Christ appointed you to such a glorious estate, therefore is [Page 4]the spirit of his Sonne, and all good things given un­to you, although I might speak much of this, yet I intend to confine my self to the observing only this one truth.

Doct, That the state of a Christian under the Gospel, is a state of Son-ship.

Wee finde in our natural state wee are absolute ene­mies unto God, under the Law wee come but to be servants, but under the Gospel we become sons.

Wee bear herein a proportion with the Lord Christ our head, who is not as Moses was, a servant in Gods house, but hee is a Son, he is the Son in his own house, and therefore his brethren are Sons, that Son-ship that hee hath from the Father, it carries their Son-ship in it: As hee in his humanity became like them in all things, sin only excepted, so are they in their conformity, made like him in all things, save where­in hee is their Saviour and their head, and as they have one common image to both, so have they one princi­ple and root, for the Apostle tells us, that our life is hid with Christ in God, that is the Saints life, and is hid together with Christs life in God, hee is the foun­tain of both their lives: This comprehends in a word, the excellent Grace and glory of the Gospel, that such poor remote wretches from God, such strangers and enemies as wee are, should become Sons, should hee born of God in Christ, and inherit freely all his grace and glory; the Apostle seems to make a stop, and admire at this, Behold saith hee, what manner of love the father hath shewed unto us, that we should be called the Sonnes of God! Tis not only a thing of admirable ad­vantage, but of astonishing honour; could David think it a great matter to bee a Kings Sonne in Law, and shall not wee, value this high calling of God in Christ Jesus?

To bee his sons, the Apostle speaks of this; as the highest thing wee can attain to in this life, now saith hee wee are the sons of God: we finde in Scripture, the [Page 5]Lord pleasing to afford this title three ways, first, and principally to Christ, hee is always called the Son, and somewhat more, the only begotten Son of the father, none ever begotten as hee was, first, in respect of his eternal essence, wherein hee is the eternal Son, and se­condly, in respect of his humanity, and manhood, and his headship therein to both creations, hee being so begotten, the spring of all natural life and being, and the head of his body the Church: wee finde also the Angells called the Sons of God, and in Job 38.7. when the morning Stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy; speaking of the Angels, and in Luke 3.38. Adam is called the son of God.

This is in reference unto their first creation, and lastly, in this Gospel sense, this honour have all the Saints, to be called Sons, and this their son ship through and in Christ, the only son, is farre more excellent, than that of the Angels; or of Adams, the root of Adams state and glory lay in himself, and so being mutable, hee of a Son created, became a fallen depraved bitter enemy, this is unchangeably fixed; and growing dai­ly to perfection, tis more excellent than that of the An­gels, in as much as it is wrought and ariseth (to the ex­ceeding glory of free grace) out of enmity, darknesse, and a fallen state; which they were never in, and se­condly, as tis in Christ the head of this Son-ship, exal­ted above the Angels in the excellency and glory of it.

There be two questions, may be fitly resolved in this place.

• 1 How come we to this estate, and then wherein doth it consist?
• 2 How stood the Saints under the Law in the old Te­stament in reference to it.

For the first question, we come to this state by Christs purchase alone, wee receive it from God through him, and it hath its root in him, hee dispenseth it to us, him hath God the father sealed for this purpose, this [Page 6]wee see in Joh. 1.12. But to as many as received him; to them hee gave power, or dignity, to become the Sons of God. It consists in this, that our Lord Christ by what hee hath in his own person done, hath taken from us the yoak of the first covenant, and of the Law, un­der which wee were as strangers, and so dealt withall, and hath obtained a right for us to this state of Son-ship, and neerness to God, wherein wee freely inherit life and salvation, hee hath broken down the partition wall of sin and gilt, that was between God and man, by reason of his inability to fulfil the righteousnesse of the Law, and having satisfied that, and nailed the con­demning power thereof upon his crosse, hee brings man that was so farre off, thus neer unto God, and makes him look upon God, no more as an infinite being, who is a law giver only and a judge, but now in him become a most affectionate tender father, and brings God who was thus in Christ reconciling himself to the world, to bee no more as at a distance, but neer and one with the Creature as a Father, and in the deerest and neerest re­lations, God is become in Christ a Father, and wee his children, our maker, our husband, and we his Spouse, and so wee are brought into this blessed state, wherein God deals with us as Sonnes, with all love, sweetness, and familiarity.

And lastly, That which makes this right of Son-ship, which Christ hath so purchased and obtained, effectuall, and gives us the possession of it, is God gives us the spi­rit of his Son, Christs Son-ship is as it were communi­cated unto us, and so wee have not only a right of Son-ship in Christ, but through him the spirit of sons to ap­ply to God as a Father, and wee are not only under an outward administration of Son-ship, wherein we should bee sure still to retain the mind and spirit of servants, and enemies, but have the hearts and spirits of Sons giv­en unto us, and are by this effectual provsion of the Lord, no more in a spirit of bondage unto fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.

[Page 7] And thus our Lord hath redeemed us into the same state with himself, hee being a Sonne, wee are so too.

To the second question, what enjoyment the Saints under the Law had of this priviledge, my Answer is, they then had this state of Son-ship in faith, but not in possession until the fulnesse of time came, they had a right to it, as wee use to say, but not in it, the ad­ministration of the Law bowed down their backs, they were at School under tutors and governours, they did not receive this Adoption of Sons: As heaven is now to us, so was this state to them, wee have a right to it, and have it by faith, yet stand obliged to the duties of our present administration in this life, so they had a right to this Adoption of Sons by the son, and saw it and hoped for it a farre off, but lay obliged under the elements of the world, and were shut up un­der the Law, till the time appointed by their and our Father, this better thing being kept for the Saints in these days, that they without us might not bee per­fect.

This Doctrin of the Saints son-ship, being every where in the Scriptures witnessed unto, I shall improve it these two wayes.

First, By way of Use, and then by way of Triall, whether we be in possession of this state or not?

First, And first if the Saints be now sons, tis a shame to those, who by a Legal carnal Ministery, seek to make servants and slaves of them, this they do who set up works, and impose that yoak which our fathers were not able to bear, who so urge the commands of the gos­pel, as that they turn it into a meer Covenant of works, and revive again the dead body of Moses, which God himself hath buried, and so erect a worldly Sanctuary, as if Christ were not ascended and become a minister of the sanctuary, and true tabernacle; who brings the Conscience into bondage, in those things wherein Christ hath made his people free, who set the Saints to ob­tain [Page 8]that by works, and conditions, which they have by their sonship, by inheritance, this is the Devils con­stant design to scar men from the Gospel, by obscuring that glorious life and spirit that is brought therein to light, and if hee cannot overthrow the state of those that have received it, to raise up Doctrins to make their course as wearisome, and as full of bondage as hee can, and therefore wee need often to read that ad­vise of the Apostle, in Gal. 5.1. stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free. &c.

Secondly, The second use may bee this; if wee are sons, do wee walk like sons of the most high? are we filial towards God in our conversation, are we as obe­dient Children, not fashioned to this world, if hee say come, do wee come, and if hee say go, do wee go, are wee at a beck, waiting to bee disposed and directed by him, and do we follow his commands as dear chil­dren, without murmuring and without disputing? if wee do not, if wee professe God to bee our father, may not hee say to us, if I am your Father where is my honour, the soveraignty of God may re­quire our obedience from us, but how much more should the consideration of him as a father beget it in us, what the greatness of God will not do, surely his good­nesse should not fail of; Can there bee opposition unto kindness, the infinite God takes that way to over­come us poor worms, if God will own himself our fa­ther, tis equal sure wee should behave our selves like his children, and if hee bee our father, should wee not shew forth his image, if wee rightly consider it, what greater priviledge imaginable, what greater blessedness then to bear the glorious image of our Creator, thus manifested in Christ; who should do it, if his sons, his children should not? wee are kept in the world for this purpose, to bear forth his vertues, and his praises be­fore the blind world, were it not for this work that is to be done, he would soon take us to himself in the heavens.

What a great shame and dishonour is it unto the Lord, [Page 9]to professe our selves his sons, and yet walk in an earthy, sensual, devilish spirit; lets shew some tokens of our country, and of our fathers house; lets carry some badge of a heavenly extraction, wee have born the I­mage of the earthy plain enough. O lets bear the I­mage of the heavenly, we are plainly Adams sons in na­ture, lets appear sons of God in grace; How glorious, how convincing would bee the life of a Christian, if hee did shew forth the Image of his father, whose tender mercies are over all his works, who causeth his Sun to shine on the just, and the unjust, who when he bids us forgive till seventy times seven, tis but that wee might bee like him our heavenly father, who in that patience and goodness, and forbearance, and easinesse to be en­treated, which hee shews to us, is a pattern what wee should do one towards another, when ever a christian miscarries, tis stepping aside from his Fathers Image, this is that end concerning man, God hath proposed to himself and been about, by the Law, by the Prophets, by the Gospel, by all, as the way to make him happy, and a fit object for his converse; to stamp his own image upon him.

Thirdly, Every Christian know your state, thou art a son, though but a babe in the Gospel, wee are sons aad heirs, and joynt heirs with Christ, most Christians loose much of their comfort and strength by this, they consider not the relation which in Christ God and man stand in together, they live only in the comfort of their graces, and not of their state; A man may think ea­sily too much of himself, that is the error very many are in, and hee may also think too low of himself, the de­vil is not without his devises that way too.

A man can never bee debased enough as in him­self, and yet hee may exalt himself in that estate which God hath in Christ appointed him unto, we may thus glory in the Lord; Let not the Devil nor our unbeleev­ing hearts ever remove us from this, wee are sonnes, though Prodigals, let this consideration help to reco­ver [Page 10]us out of temptation, when wee sit darkness, and see no light: Lets think our selves too good to be feed­ing amongst the dogs, and the swine of this world: Lets think our selves of too noble a quality and birth, to be made slaves by Satan, and captived at his will, or to be servants unto men, and to be in bondage unto them, or to become drudges to dirty unsatiable lusts. We are bought with a price, the blood of out dearest Lord, unto Sonship, and unto spiritual freedome; lets not bee like prophane Esau; lets not part with it upon any terms, there is nothing under the Sun can bee a price for it.

Fourthly, If wee are sons, Lets go to God always as to our Father, lets treat with him more intimately and freely, than a man would do with his friend: And ac­quaint him with all our wants and griefes, as know­ing him properly concerned therein, and bury all our cares in his bosome.

How sweet will our communion bee with him, if whensoever wee come to call upon him, wee bring this setled apprehension with us, that hee is our father, the reason why wee often miscarry in the comfort of our prayers, it is, because wee think but randomly of him, according to what our present temper is, wee frame out imaginations of God, of what wee finde in our selves, the prodigal hee recovered himself with this, saith hee, Ile go to my Father, if hee bee my Father, there is my hope, though I have never so much misbehaved my self: tis hard to find a case that a Fathers heart on earth will not bee stirred towards his son, but if that should bee, twill never bee so with our Father which is in hea­ven, wee can no sooner make towards him, but hee'le meet us; whilst wee are a farre off, and embrace us, and take us home; let our Lord herein bee a pat­tern to us, who whilst hee conversed in this lower world, would ever keep up this claim to God to bee his Father: the meannesse of his condition, nor the Jews threats to stone him for it, never made him let go the owning of [Page 11]this relation: O take heed of nourishing up hard thoughts of God! tis the ground of all Apostasy: if you pray not to God as your Father, you will not pray to him long at all, you will take the first opportunity to quit his service, you will do nothing but to stop the mouth of a hungry gnawing conscience: the more you think of him, the more you will bee troubled: All approa­ches to God under any other apprehension but this, will but awaken terrour, and multiply guilt before your face: O remember therefore our Lord hath taught us to begin all our approaches unto God, with calling him Our Father.

This term will make all our guilt to vanish, and bury it out of our sight, and drive away our sins as a thick cloud, and make all those considerations of his greatness, and his majesty sweet unto us.

Fifthly, if God be our Father, why doubt we of be­ing provided for, can those that have such a father want? why take wee so much care, why do wee seek an in­heritance in the world? doth not our Father know what wee want of these things: Lets not choose for our selves, but let him provide for us, hee takes care of the Lilies, and hee feeds the Ravens, and shall his chil­dren want? Shall Christs seed bee unprovided for? Paul tells us, tis the Fathers work to provide for the chil­dren: How unbecomming a thing is it, for a man that cals God his Father, to seek help any where else; remem­ber that good man, who was ashamed to ask a troop of horse of the King, because hee had named the name of the Lord: Never apply but to the Lord, if you ask him bread, he will not give you a stone, and if you ask him a fish, hee will not give you a Scorpion, in our Fathers house there is bread enough: And lets be con­tent with the portion our Father gives us, hee loves us much more then wee love our selves, and hee infinite­ly knows, what will best fit us: Hee lets us know as much of his love as wee are able to bear, and fit to bee Masters off in this present state; Hee that hath of has [Page 12]meer Grace appointed us to glory, should wee not trust him, as knowing best how to carry us through this world unto it; And hee lets us want nothing of this world that would not hurt us, when hee denyes us here­in, but to keeps us out of deadly snares, and fence us from being peirced through with many sorrows; what­ever our condition bee in this world, let this considerati­on sanctify the best, and sweeten the worst, to us, tis our Fathers portion.

Sixthly, If wee are sons, lets love our brethren, lets not bee unnatural to the Saints, enquire for them as David did after the house of Saul, that hee might shew kindnesse to them, and use them as he did Mephibosheth, though hee were lame of his feet, take them into your bosome, though they are deformed before the world, perhaps they want their right hands, and their right eyes, nay though they have many infirmities, and are some of them poor, peevish, froward children, yet love them for their fathers sake, our Lord expects this at our hands, that we should love the Brethren; and hath left a solemn charge with us in his absence to do it, we have these always with us, to shew our love to, but we have not him always: Where should love be perfected, if not amongst those who have him that is love it self for their Father, wee shall have nothing but hatred from the world, should not that make us love the more? Lets not therefore bee unkind to the poor Saints, say of them wheresoever, and in what soever condition you find them, as Adam said of Eve, when shee was brought to him, this is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; wee came all out of that pierced side of our Lord: and bee not unkind to your own flesh, but love it, and cherish it: hereby shall wee appear to bee sons in loving the Saints as brethren.

Seventhly, and Lastly, If God bee our father, be not afraid, nor troubled to go to him, remember how our Lord comforted himself, and his Disciples, at his depar­ture, I go saith hee, to my father, and your father: O [Page 13]bee not troubled to dye, you shall bee with your father, that loves you, bee not discouraged to come before him, because of your unkind, untoward dealings with him, hee is your father that hath freely passed by all; you shall read in Gen. 50.16, 17. when Josephs brethren after their Fathers death, spake to him of their former unkindnesse to him, and discovered their fears that he would punish it upon them: Joseph wept, the Text saith when they spake unto him, they much mistook his heart, they took a wrong measure of his spirit by the narrownesse of their own: tis so with us in this case: wee shall when wee dye bee at home; wee are here in a strange Countrey, ill used, not known; there wee shall be in honour, wee shall see our father, whom wee have so much longed to know, and who hath kept us all our life long, and we shall be used like sons, and sit down at his right hand with the son our head: Let this con­sideration that the great God is our Father, make us willing to shut our eyes to the world, and bee no more seen here, that wee may bee with him, lets say with Paul, to bee dissolved and to bee with Christ, and with him, is best of all: Let not the fear of death, keep us as it did them of old, all our life time in bondage, but lets now rejoycingly wait all the days of our appointed time till our change shall come.

And thus having had some glimmerings of this glori­ous state of the Saints, and of the obligations, or rather great priviledges that do attend it, let us try and prove our selves whether wee bee in this state or not, whether wee are Bastards, only in profession and appearance sons, or whether wee be sons indeed, and have that true spi­rit of the son dwelling in us, and that wee may do it; I shall lay down some concomitants amongst many, of that true state of Sonship; wherein as in a glass, wee may see out faces, and judge of our selves as to this mat­ter.

1 If wee are sons, wee have a spirit of prayer to go to God in all extremities, tis not so with an hypocrite, hee [Page 14]cannot pray always, God sends the spirit of his son into our hearts, and hee sends it crying Abba father, tis a spirit of prayer while wee are in this world, tis but crying and groaning in us.

A son hath not only the form of comming unto God, and the gift of praying, but the Grace of praying for him, the spirit it self makes intercession, with sighs and groans which cannot bee expressed: if this spirit be hid, tis hid to them that are lost.

2 A son doth all out of love, hee loves God as his father, all his service tis out of love, tis not forced and wrung from him, hee doth not as Saul did, force him­self to sacrifice: but he offers up himself freely. He fears, he repents, hee mourns, he mortifyes himself, and all out of love; he rejoyceth to dye daily, he hath love that is strong as death, many waters can not quench it, hee loves God, and therfore thinks nothing too much to do, is not measu­ring the minutes of that time hee spends in his service, but is through love, all his dayes, and in every thing, giving himself up wholly to the Lord.

3 A son can bear affliction, takes not things unkind­ly from God, submits to the father of spirits. A sonne trusts God though hee kill him, hee knows though hee do sorely afflict him, yet hee will at last return as hee did to Ephraim, in Jer. 31. saith God. is Ephraim my dear Sonne, is hee a pleasant child? since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; A son will hang upon God, though hee seem never so angry with him: Let mee go saith God to Jacob, I will not let thee go, saith hee, till thou blesse mee. This seems strange, but tis the son like spirit.

A worldly man and an hypocrite, grows presently out of love with God, a little thing will make him fly in Gods face, and cry out, what profit is it that I have fa­sted? A man without the spirit of a son, when hee is under an afflicting hand, hee tumbles like a wild bull in a net, hee is presently with Jobs wife, cursing of God, a carnal professor grows worse and worse by the rod; A [Page 15]Son learns obedience as Christ did by the thing that he suffers, he is more meek, more broken hearted, lies lower at Gods feet, and hee saies not a word more, but with old Eli, tis the Lord, let him do what seems him good: Tis my fathers hand is upon mee, though it seem hea­vy, hee corrects me for my profit, that I might partake of his holiness, and hee so corrects every son that hee re­ceives, and I shall reap the quiet and peaceable fruit of righteousnesse by all in the end.

4 Hee that hath the spirit of a son, useth all enjoy­ments both natural and spiritual in freedome, is sensible of his propriety in his Fathers right, tis not so with ano­ther: A Son is never hide-bound nor in bondage with what he possesseth, he lives in the spirit of the son, and that is a free spirit.

A Spirit of Adoption makes a man extream strickt, and true to God as a Father, and so extream free in whatso­ever hee does: He hath a large spirit, and is not at touch not, taste not, handle not, tis much otherways with a man that hath a legal conscience, as Solomon says in another case so tis with him, hee never eates his bread with comfort: Every thing proves a snare and a burden to him: If there­fore any bee awakened to look heaven ward, and desires to live the life of a Christian, let him wait for the spirit of a son, and so hee shall come to know that Kingdome of God, that is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.