Chapter 1 › Maxim 8: The eighth Maxim or Consideration., A cabinet of choice jewels, or, A box of precious ointment being a… by Thomas Brooks (1669) | AskReformation

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:177p. 48–49§15

O that you would often, every day think on this, viz. That the undoubted verity of Gods promises, proveth an inseparable connection between true faith and eternal glory, John 3.14, 15, 16. And as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; That whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have eternal life. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 5.24. Verily, verily (these serious asseverations or protestations amount almost to an oath) I say unto you, he that heareth my words, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death to life. John 3.36. He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life. (He hath it in the promise, he hath it in ⟨p. 49⟩the first Fruits, Rom. 8.23. he hath it in the earnest, Ephes. 1.13, 14. and he hath it in Christ his Head, Ephes. 2.6.) Mark 16.16. He that believeth and is Baptised, shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned. 1 Pet. 2.6. Behold I lay in Zion a chief Corner stone, Elect precious, and he that believeth on him, shall not be confounded. John 6.40. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Verse 47. Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, hath everlasting Life. John 2.25. Jesus said unto her, I am the Resurrection and the Life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Verse 26. And whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never dye. John 20.31. But these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that believing, ye might have life through his name. Look as certainly as the unbeliever shall be cast into outer darkness, so certainly shall the Believer be partaker of the glorious inheritance of the Saints in light; for certainly the Promises are as true as the threatenings, Acts 16.30, 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

O that you would often, every day think on this, viz. That the undoubted verity of Gods promises, proveth an inseparable connexion between true faith and eternal glory, John 3.14, 15, 16. And as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; That whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have eternal life. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 5.24. Verily, verily (these serious asseverations or protestations amount almost to an oath) I say unto you, he that heareth my words, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death to life. John 3.36. He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life. (He hath it in the promise, he hath it in ⟨p. 49⟩the first Fruits, Rom. 8.23. he hath it in the earnest, Ephes. 1.13, 14. and he hath it in Christ his Head, Ephes. 2.6.) Mark 16.16. He that believeth and is Baptised, shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned. 1 Pet. 2.6. Behold I lay in Sion a chief Corner stone, Elect precious, and he that believeth on him, shall not be confounded. John 6.40. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Verse 47. Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, hath everlasting Life. John 2.25. Jesus said unto her, I am the Resurrection and the Life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Verse 26. And whosoever liveth, and believe•h in me, shall never dye. John 20.31

:179p. 49–50§15

O labour as for life, daily to give a firm and fixed assent to the truth of those blessed Promises last cited, and hold it ⟨p. 50⟩as an indisputable and inviolable Principle, That whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ, or whosoever hath received Christ as his Lord and Saviour, shall be certainly saved.¹ This is the person that hath the Word, the Promise, the Covenant, the Oath of that God that cannot possibly lye, or dye for the pardon of his sin, and for the Salvation of his Soul. Now O my Soul, what security couldest thou ask more of a deceitful man, than that which the great Jehovah, •he faithful God of his own accord hath given to thee, viz. his word, and his. Oath. Now not to believe God upon his Promise and Oath, is to make him a Liar, yea the worst of Liars; yea, 'tis to do worse than the Devils ••r they believe and tremble. Though the word of the Lord deserves the greatest credit that any mortals can give unto it, (he being truth it self that hath said it) though it had no Oaths, nor no Asseverations to be its surety, yet God in his infinite condescending love to poor sinners, that he may sink the truth of what he saith deeper into the hearts and minds of his people, and leave the fairer and fuller print in our assents to the same, he sets on the word of Promise with the weight of Asseverations and Oaths; yea, and to all these he hath annexed his Broad Seal, the Lords Supper, and the Privy Seal of his Spirit: O unreasonable unbelief! shall not the Oath of God silence all Disputes? A man would never desire of any honest man, so much as God hath condescended to, for the confirmation of our Faith, witness his Promises, his Covenant, his Oath, and his Seals; and therefore let us give glory to him by believing, and quietly rest upon his faithfulness.

O labour as for life, daily to give a firm and fixed assent to the truth of those blessed Promises last cited, and hold it ⟨p. 50⟩as an indisputable and inviolable Principle, That whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ, or whosoever hath received Christ as his Lord and Saviour, shall be certainly saved.¹ This is the person that hath the Word, the Promise, the Covenant, the Oath of that God that cannot possibly lye, or dye for the pardon of his sin, and for the Salvation of his Soul. Now O my Soul, what security couldest thou ask more of a deceitful man, than that which the great Iehovah, •he faithful God of his own accord hath given to thee, viz. his word, and his. Oath. Now not to believe God upon his Promise and Oath, is to make him a Lyar, yea the worst of Lyars; yea, 'tis to do worse than the D•vils ••r they believe and tremble. Though the word of the Lord des•rves the greatest credit that any mortals can give unto it, (he being truth it self that hath said it) though it had no Oaths, nor no Asseverations to be its surety, yet God in his infinite condescending love to poor sinners, that he may sink the truth of what he saith deeper into the hearts and minds of his people, and leave the fairer and fuller print in our assents to the same, he sets on the word of Promise with the weight of Asseverations and Oaths; yea, and to all these he hath annexed his Broad Seal, the Lords Supper, and the Privy Seal of his Spirit: O unreasonable unbelief! shall not the Oath of God silence all Disputes? A man would never desire of any honest man, so much as God hath condescended to, for the confirmation of our Faith, witness his Promises, his Covenant, his Oath, and his Seals; and therefore let us give glory to him by believing, and quietly rest upon his faithfulness.

11 Tim. 1.15. 1 John 1.9. Heb. 6.17, 18. ezek. 32.11. and chap. 18.32. 1 John 5.10.14. Jam. 2 19.1 Tim. 1.15. 1 John 1.9. Heb. 6.17, 18. •zek. 32.11. and chap. 18.32. 1 John 5.10.14. Jam. 2 19.

:180p. 50–51§15

O Sirs, that soul that dares not take his sanctification as an evidence (yea, as a choice and sure evidence) of his interest in Christ, and of the Lords precious love to him, according to the Promises of his favour and Grace (several of which hath been but now under consideration) that Soul ought to acknowledge it as his sin, yea as his great sin, for which he deserves to be smartly rebuked, as making God a loud Liar. O my friends, it is a spiritual peevishness, and ⟨p. 51⟩sinful crossness that keeps many good men and women long in a sad, dark, doubting, perplexed, and disconsolate condition; and certainly 'tis no small sin to set light by any work of the blessed Spirit, and the joy, comfort, and peace that we might have by it; ah how many are there that fear the Lord, who quench, grieve, vex, and provoke the holy Spirit, by denying his work, and by quarrelling against themselves, and the blessed work of the Spirit in them? Certainly 'tis the duty of every Christian to hear as well what can be said for him, as what can be said against him: Many poor,¹ weak (and yet sincere) Chr stians are often apt to be too sour, rigid and bitter against their own souls, they love to practise a merciless severity against themselves; they do not indifferently, impartially consider how the case stands between God and their own souls. It is in this case, as Solomon speaks in another. There is that maketh himself rich,² and yet hath nothing. And there is that maketh himself poor, and yet hath great Riches. That is, there be those in the world that pretend they are rich, and make a show before men as if they were men of great estates, whereas indeed they are exceeding poor and needy.

O Sirs, that soul that dares not take his sanctification as an evidence (yea, as a choice and sure evidence) of his interest in Christ, and of the Lords precious love to him, according to the Promises of his favour and Grace (several of which hath been but now under consideration) that Soul ought to acknowledg it as his sin, yea as his great sin, for which he deserves to be smartly rebuked, as making God a loud Lyar. O my friends, it is a spiritual peevishness, and ⟨p. 51⟩sinful crossness that keeps many good men and women long in a sad, dark, doubting, perplexed, and disconsolate condition; and certainly 'tis no small sin to set light by any work of the blessed Spirit, and the joy, comfort, and peace that we might have by it; ah how many are there that fear the Lord, who quench, grieve, vex, and provoke the holy Spirit, by denying his work, and by quarrelling against themselves, and the blessed work of the Spirit in them? Certainly 'tis the duty of every Christian to hear as well what can be said for him, as what can be said against him: Many poor,¹ weak (and yet sincere) Chr stians are often apt to be too sowre, rigid and bitter against their own souls, they love to practise a merciless severity against themselves; they do not indifferently, impartially consider how the case stands between God and their own souls. It is in this case, as Solomon speaks in another. There is that maketh himself rich,² and yet hath nothing. And there is that maketh himself poor, and yet hath great Riches. That is, there be those in the world that pretend they are rich, and make a shew before men as if they were men of great estates, whereas indeed they are exceeding poor and needy.

1Psal. 77.2. Psal. 88. Job 15.11. chap. 16.8, 9.
2Prov. 13.7. Ever since man ceased to be what he should be, he striveth to seem to be what he is not. It is not the outward show, that shows what things are.Prov. 13.7. Ever since man ceased to be what he should be, he striveth to seem to be what he is not. It is not the outward shew, that shews what things are.

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There are not a few that stretch their wing beyond their nest, that bear a port beyond their Estates, that trick up themselves with other mens plumes, laying it on above measure in clothes, in high entertainments, in stately Buildings, in great Attendance, &c. when not worth one groat in all the World, but either they dye in Prison, or lay the key under the door, or compound for twelve pence in the pound, &c. And there are others again that are exceeding rich and wealthy, and yet feign themselves, and look upon themselves to be very poor and needy. To apply this spiritually. 'Tis the damning sin of the self-flattering Hypocrite,¹ to make himself rich, to make himself significant, to make his condition better than 'tis: And it is the vanity, the folly, of some sincere Christians, to make their condition worse than indeed it is, to make themselves more miserable and unhappy than indeed they are. Ah Christians, 'tis sad with you, t•s night with you, when you read over the evidences of ⟨p. 52⟩Gods love to your souls, as a man does a Book which he intends to confute. Is it not sad when Christians shall study hard to find evasions to wheel off all those comforts, refreshings, cheerings, and supports, that are tendered to them that are due to them, and that they may upon Gospel-grounds justly claim as their portion, as their inheritance. And O that all such Christians would seriously and frequently lay to heart these eight things.

There are not a few that stretch their wing beyond their nest, that bear a port beyond their Estates, that trick up themselves with other mens plumes, laying it on above measure in cloaths, in high entertainments, in stately Buildings, in great Attendance, &c. when not worth one groat in all the World, but either they dye in Prison, or lay the key under the door, or compound for twelve pence in the pound, &c. And there are others again that are exceeding rich and wealthy, and yet feign themselves, and look upon themselves to be very poor and needy. To apply this spiritually. 'Tis the damning sin of the self-flattering Hypocrite,¹ to make himself rich, to make himself significant, to make his condition better than 'tis: And it is the vanity, the folly, of some sincere Christians, to make their condition worse than indeed it is, to make themselves more miserable and unhappy than indeed they are. Ah Christians, 'tis sad with you, t•s night with you, when you read over the evidences of ⟨p. 52⟩Gods love to your souls, as a man does a Book which he intends to confute. Is it not sad when Christians shall study hard to find evasions to wheel off all those comforts, refreshings, cheerings, and supports, that are tendered to them that are due to them, and that they may upon Gospel-grounds justly claim as their portion, as their inheritance. And O that all such Christians would seriously and frequently lay to heart these eight things.

1Rev. 3.17.

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Thirdly, They are Thieves, for by this means they rob their own precious souls of that joy, peace, comfort, rest, content, assurance, and satisfaction, which otherwise they might enjoy. Now there is no theft to spiritual theft, and of all spiritual theft, there is none to that which reaches the precious and immortal soul. Mark all prevalent Disputes about our personal integrity, they do hold off the Application and tastes of comfort, though they do not disannul the title and right. Even the good man will walk uncomfortably so long as he concludes, and strongly fears that his Estate is sinful; for sensible comfort riseth or falleth, cometh on, or goeth off, according to the strength of our judgment and present apprehensions; observe, it is not what indeed our estate is, but what we judg of it, which breeds in us sensible comfort, or discomfort, a false heart may (even) break with a tympany of foolish joy upon an erring persuasion o• his estate, and so may a sound sincere heart be very heavy and disconsolate upon an unsound misconstruction and judging of its true condition. But,

Thirdly, They are Thieves, for by this means they rob their own precious souls of that joy, peace, comfort, rest, content, assurance, and satisfaction, which otherwise they might enjoy. Now there is no theft to spiritual theft, and of all spiritual theft, there is none to that which reaches the precious and immortal soul. Mark all prevalent Disputes about our personal integrity, they do hold off the Application and tasts of comfort, though they do not disanul the title and right. Even the good man will walk uncomfortably so long as he concludes, and strongely fears that his Estate is sinful; for sensible comfort riseth or falleth, cometh on, or goeth off, according to the strength of our judgment and present apprehensions; observe, it is not what indeed our estate is, but what we judg of it, which breeds in us sensible comfort, or discomfort, a false heart may (even) break with a timpany of foolish joy upon an erring perswasion o• his estate, and so may a sound sincere heart be very heavy and disconsolate upon an unsound misconstruction and judging of its true condition. But,

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Sixthly, They rob the Spirit of all the honour and glory that is due unto him for that blessed work of grace and holiness that he has formed up in their hearts; O what a grief and dishonour must it be to the holy Spirit, that when he hath put forth a power in mens hearts,¹ equivalent to that by which the world was created, and by which Christ was raised from the dead, to find it overlooked, and not at all acknowledged. Spiritus sanctus est res delicata, the Holy Spirit is a very tender thing, but do these poor doubting Souls carry it tenderly to him, surely no. Dear Christians, the standing Law of Heaven is, Quench not the Spirit, 1 Thes. 5.19. Now if the word Spirit is not here taken essentially, for the three persons in Trinity, nor yet metonymically, for the fruits of the spirit, but Hypostatically, for the Third person in Trinity, (as some conceive) then you must remember that you may grieve and quench the Spirit, 1. Not only by your enormities, Isa. 63.10. 2. Nor only by refusing the Cordials and comforts that he brings to your doors; yea that he puts to your mouths, Psal. 77.2. 3. Nor only by slighting and despising his gracious actings in others, Acts 2.13. 4. Nor only by Fathering those sins and vanities upon him,² that are only the B•ats and fruits of Satan and your own hearts. But also in the fifth place, by misjudging and miscalling the precious Grace that he has wrought in your Souls, as by judging and calling your Faith fancy, your sincerity hypocrisy, your W sdom folly, your light darkness, your zeal wild-fire, &c. Now O S•rs, will you make Conscience, yea much Conscience of Quenching the Spirit in the four first respects, and will you make no Conscience of Quenching the Spirit in this fifth and last respect? O how can this be! O why should this be? But,

Sixthly, They rob the Spirit of all the honour and glory that is due unto him for that blessed work of grace and holyness that he has formed up in their hearts; O what a grief and dishonour must it be to the holy Spirit, that when he hath put forth a power in mens hearts,¹ equivalent to that by which the world was created, and by which Christ was raised from the dead, to find it overlookt, and not at all acknowledged. Spiritus sanctus est res delicata, the Holy Spirit is a very tender thing, but do these poor doubting Souls carry it •enderly to him, surely no. Dear Christians, the standing Law of Heaven is, Quench not the Spirit, 1 Thes. 5.19. Now if the word Spirit is not here taken essentially, for the three persons in Trinity, nor yet metonymically, for the fruits of the spirit, but Hypostatically, for the Third person in Trinity, (as some conceive) then you must remember that you may grieve and quench the Spirit, 1. Not only by your enormities, Isa. 63.10. 2. Nor only by refusing the Cordials and comforts that he brings to your doors; yea that he puts to your mouths, Psal. 77.2. 3. Nor only by slighting and despising his gracious actings in others, Acts 2.13. 4. Nor only by Fathering those sins and vanities upon him,² that are only the B•ats and fruits of Satan and your own hearts. But also in the fifth place, by misjudging and miscalling the precious Grace that he has wrought in your Souls, as by judging and calling your Faith fancy, your sincerity hypocrisie, your W sdom folly, your light darkness, your zeal wild-fire, &c. Now O S•rs, will you make Conscience, yea much Conscience of Quenching the Spirit in the four first respects, and will you make no Conscience of Quenching the Spirit in this fifth and last respect? O how can this be! O why should this be? But,

1Rom. 8.11.
2Mark, you cannot despise the gifts or graces of any that are sincere, but by interpretation, you judg the Spirit, and despise the Spirit, as it is said of the poor in Prov. 17.5.