the mystery of godlinesse and what 's that 2 Cor. 5.19 God manifested in the flesh Joh. 1.4 God in Christ reconciling the world unto himselfe 2 Cor. 5. The Word made flesh Joh. 1. A mystery indeed which the Angels themselves desire to looke into 1 Pet. 1.12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Originall to pry into to the very bottome implying that the farther they pry into it the farther they may and the more still they discover of the mysterie affording matter of admiration even to those Angelicall spirits And although wee are not able to looke so farre into this great mystery as those Angelicall spirits are nor to discover so much of it as they doe yet let it be seriously lookt into and the discerning spirit will easily perceive how in this high mystery all the most glorious Attributes of Almighty God doe meet together and worke together and in most eminent manner display themselves how his wisedome his power his justice and his grace are all set aworke in this great designe and the result of them all is just the burthen of the Angels song Glory to God on high peace on earth beneath Luk. 2.14 and towards men good will 1 First his wisedome in laying the plot in contriving the way how mankind lost should be restored and saved and yet he not suffer in the honour of his truth and justice which had past against them the sentence of death In quo die commederis morte morieris Gen. 2.17 In the day that thou eatest thou shalt die the death 2 Secondly his power in bringing this about being contrived against so great oppositions so many difficulties standing in the way and effecting it with such happy successe as he hath done though it cost him deare 3 Thirdly his justice in punishing sin so severely and that in his owne Sonne being but an undertaker for it and that meerly out of his love and compassion to poore soules lost and undone that they might not perish 4 Fourthly his grace in being at such cost to save and to restore sinfull men his enemies that had so highly offended him and undone themselves All these may he that runneth read in this mystery There s in the 85. Psalme and 10. verse a sweet passage of the Prophet David Mercy and truth are met together righteousnesse and peace have kissed each other Behold in this mystery they are met together and in this glorious designe they kisse each other His mercy such that rather then mankind shall perish his owne and onely sonne shall become a Child take their nature upon him and in that nature suffer all that mankind should have suffered and doe all that hee should have done that so all this being imputed unto him he might have the benefit of it that he might be excused from suffering and accepted in the sight of God as holy as innocent and as just as if he had never offended And yet his justice such that rather then sinne shall goe unpunished hee would punish it in his owne sonne yea and that with great severity too he would not spare him although in the extremity of the conflict he begg'd of him that he would he desired that that cup might passe from him Matth. 26.39 yet he would not heare him nor excuse him but laid on load of wrath and justice upon him gave him up to the bitternesse of death and lockt him up in the prison of the grave till hee had paid the uttermost farthing of our debt See here how in this mystery mercy and truth are met together righteousnesse and peace in this Child and in this Sonne kisse each other Behold how the wisedome and the power the justice and the grace of Almighty God all worke together and proclaime with loud voyce Glory to God on high And these make up the first part of the Angels song The second part of their song proclaimes good will unto men and declares the unspeakable good which by this mystery they receive and there are five great blessings and benefits which they receive by it 1 First the ennobling of their natures what an honour is this to our flesh to be taken into union with the divine nature in the person of the Sonne of God What an exaltation is this of our nature that the Prince of Glory should vouchsafe to cloth him selfe with it and in it to appeare and converse among the sonnes of men but how much more that in it hee hath victoriously triumphed over sinne death hell and the grave that in it he is ascended into heaven and there sitteth on the right hand of the Father in that part of our flesh which hee tooke hath taken possession of heaven for us and in our names of the heavenly mansions which hee hath purchased and provided for us Quid est homo Lord what is man that thou shouldest thus consider him Psal 8 4. or the sonne of man that thou shouldest thus regard him thou hast made him little lower then the Angels Nay in this respect higher then the Angels for he tooke not upon him the nature of Angels Hebâ— but hee tooke upon him the nature of Adam the seed of Abraham hence arises a nearer affinity consanguinity rather betweene Christ and us then is between Christ and the Angels he becoming flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone by this are wee made sonnes of God brethren of Christ and coheirs with him of an Inheritance in glory Gen. 2 23. Ephes 5.30 This is an high priviledge and a great benefit which wee receive by this mystery The enobling of our natures And 2 The second is like unto this The enabling of our natures to gratious and spirituall performances of holy and heavenly duties for by vertue of this union of our natures with his and his with ours thâ—re flowes from him into us an influence of grace by which he through his spirit lives in us and workes in us by which he informes actuates and animates us as the soule doth the body of which it is the forme hence followes the enabling of our natures to holy and spirituall performances by vertue of this influence of grace of Christ by his spirit living in us and working in us we are enabled to live that life which is according to godlinesse to mortifie our corruptions to deny our selves with all our corrupt lusts and passions to crucifie the flesh to despise the world with all the corruptions that are in it through lust to doe and to suffer for his name above the power of nature by a higher power and principle of grace received from above This is a second benefit derived unto us from this mystery 3. The third is an interest in the Lord Jesus and with him in all that is his in all his righteousnesse merits holinesse obedience in all that he hath done and suffered for us it is all ours wee have a right in it for from this
Reasons why it was necessary Christ should not onely be made man but borne a Child nay there was a necessity of it it must needs be so and I will give you in three Reason for it 1 The first concernes the posterity of Adam in generall 2 The second concernes the daughters of Eve more specially 3 And the the third concernes the infants that are borne of them and issue from them both 1 First in respect of the posterity of Adam in generall it was necessary that our Mediatour should become a Child be conceived in the wombe and borne Psal 51. That he might begin the cure of our disease where our disease it selfe begins and that is in the very wombe Behold saies the Prophet David I was conceived in sinne and borne in iniquity Psal 51. Our blessed Lord becomming our Mediatour and undertaking to satisfie the justice of God for this sinne and to cure us of so grievous a disease that layes hold on us in the very wombe is faine to descend into the wombe of a daughter of Eve there to take our nature upon him and there to be conceived though without sinne and of her to be borne but without iniquity a pure birth that so by the purity of his humane nature imputed unto us the impurity of ours may be cured and cleansed and that by his Originall righteousnesse our originall sin may be done away There is beloved if you marke it A method observed by the second Adam in curing the evils we receive from the first and I pray do for it is well worth your marking and much comfort shall you reap by it when you apprehend it aright There is I say A method observed by the second Adam in curing the evills which we have received from the first it is a methodicall cure wherein the second Adam hath trac't the first step by step and where ever he saw that he had wounded us he prouided to heale us and prepared for us a remedy proportionable to our malady a salve suitable to the sore and proper for the cure of it To shew you this a little more plainly There are three things wherein the first Adam hath deadly and desperately wounded his posterity First by depraving their natures this is that which is called Originall sinne the corruption and depravation of our natures from that which we were by creation by this hee struck us dead in the very wombe by this we are wicked as soone as we are even before we have done good or evill wicked in the very roote because wee have in us a principle of all wickednesse and so become children of wrath by nature miserable from the very cradle from the very wombe even in our conception The second thing wherein hee undid us was by breaking Covenant with God in failing in the performance of the condition of it which said thus fac hoc vives doe this and thou shalt live and so breaking the Commandement in the mandatory part of it be forfeited to himselfe and his all that life and happinesse which upon the condition of obedience was made over to him and them And the third was by his actuall rebellion against God and positive disobedience by which he desperately brake the Commandement in the minatory part of it which said In quo die comederis morte morieris in the day that thou eatest thou shalt die the death and so made us liable to all the miseries of this life and of that which is to come By his privative disobedience breaking the holy Comandement in the mandatory part of it he forfeited to himselfe and us the inheritance of Paradise our right and title to the Kingdome of Heaven but by his positive disobedience transgressing the holy Law and Commandement in the minatory part of it he hath plung'd us all into the lowest hell Now for the relieving of us in all these desperate evils was our Lord faine to provide for us suitable remedies and to apply each of them to that malady for the cure whereof it was most proper and so he did though they cost him deare For 1 First for the cure of our Originall sinne he applies his Originall righteousnesse that he may punctually satisfie the justice of God for the depravation of our natures the sinne wherein wee are conceived and borne himselfe is conceived by the holy Ghost and borne of the Virgin Mary that he may begin the cure of our disease where our disease begins in the very wombe even thither is hee content to descend and there to take our nature upon him that in his person our natures might be sanctified and our birth-sinne cured and done away 2 Secondly for relieving of us in the second of these evills our failing in performance of the condition of the Covenant of workes he applyes unto us his active obedience by which he fulfilled the Law for us in every part and particle of it in the dayes of his flesh that so by this his obedience imputed unto us he might punctually satisfie the Justice of God for all our failings and sins of omission and so restore us againe to our right and title to the Kingdom of heaven our forfeited inheritance 3 And for the relieving of us in the third the transgression of the Law and holy Commandement in the minatory part by actuall sinnes and positive disobedience hee applyes unto us his passive obedience himselfe bearing our sinnes in his body upon the tree and by his death taking off from us that sentence of death that was gone out against us By this his passive obedience he hath satisfied the law in the minatory part of it and by his active in the mandatory by his passive obedience he hath satisfied the justice of God for all our sins of Commission and by his active for all our failings and our sins of omission by his passive obedience he hath freed us A poena sensus from the punishment of paine and by his active A poena damni from the punishment of losse by his passive obedience he hath rescued us out of the jawes of hell and by his active he hath opened unto us the gate of heaven his passive obedience was satisfactory and his active meritorious And thus by these three parts of his obedience the obedience of his birth the obedience of his life and the obedience of his death by the obedience of his birth in his incarnation of his life in his holy conversation and of his death in his passion hee hath fulfilled for us all righteousnesse he is become unto us A perfect Saviomr and hath wrought out for us plentifull redemption Had the sonne of God come downe from Heaven to earth and here beene made man for us taken our nature upon him in a body created as Adams was and in that body liv'd amongst us as long as he did and during all that time by his most holy conversation perfectly fulfilled the Law for us and performed the
reason even with admiration and astonishment to take notice of his singular philanthropie the freenes and the greatnesse of his grace shewed to the lost sonnes of Adam in that when he saw them and the Apostate Angels both equally lost and undone lying in a forlorne estate and condition under his wrath and judgement of eternall death he was pleased passing by the Angels and leaving them fast bound in chaines of darknesse reserved to the iudgement of the great day to cast upon the sons of Adam a pittifull and a gracious eye Judae and to finde out a meanes to recover and to restore them againe by this his sonne Say no more What is man that thou art thus mindfull of him or the son of man that thou thus visitest him Psal 8. Thou hast made him lower then the Angells for in this respect the Lord hath made him higher then the Angels For he took not upon him the nature of Angels but he took upon him the seed of Abraham And therefore secondly is he said to be given Nobis to us To us exclusively excluding the Angels falne which stood in as great need of his redemption as man did Againe Nobis to us inclusivè including all those that receive benefit by Christ and so this Nobis to us may be understood first Personally of Isay and all such faithfull servants of Gods as Isay was Secondly Nationallly To us that is to us Jews the seed of Abraham the people of the Covenant to whom belong the promises and in particular this of the Messiah descending of us Thirdly Vniversally to us that is to all nations of the world parum est saith the Lord Isa 49.6 It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the Tribes of Iacob to restore the preserved of Israel I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou maist be my salvation unto the ends of the earth So that the Jew cannot say to the Gentile he was given for us and not for you nor the Gentile to the Jew he was given for us and not for you nor the Greeke to the Barbarian he was given for us not for you nor the Barbarian to the Greek hee was given to us and not to you Nor these that were under the Law to those that were before the Law hee was given to us and not to you nor these that live under the Gospell to those that lived under the Law hee is given to us and not to you for he is given to them all to the Gentile as well as to the Jew the Greek as well as to the Barbarian to those that were under the Law aswell as to those that are under the Gospell to those that were before both aswell as to either of them both and therefore let all these take comfort in him let them all challenge their interest in him and every of them with hope confidence say as in the Text Unto us this son is given I am not willing here though it falls just in my way to engage in that great question which hath so much troubled the world touching the Latitude and extent of this gift we are speaking of to whom or to how many it may appertaine or was intended I know there are errours on both hands while some extend it not onely to all the sonnes of Adam Origen c. I had once a dispute with a Knight in Lincolne shiere one S. W. Hickman a zealous Origenist in this point but even to the Divells too and apostate Angells unto all which they say he was given and by whom in the end they shall all bee restored saved Others on the other hand limit it to a certaine definite number of men fore thought on long before the world was for that purpose and then by an unchangeable immoveable and irresistable decree set forth and designd to salvation by Jesus Christ in time to be given to them and they to him by the father and this number so inconsiderable in comparison of the rest that perish that by their computation and account scarsly the ten thousandth man of the sons of Adam shall be saved But who are we that we should thus limit the holy one of Israel and why should our eye be evill if his be good Indeed this doctrine if true to those few they speak of how few so ever they be must needs be pretious it magnifies beyond measure the riches of that graâ—e to them wards which hath made such a difference where it found none it binds them for ever to love much to whom so much is given and forgiven but what a sad yea what a desperate condition doth it cast the whole world of the rest of the sonnes of Adam into Nay what an imputation doth it lay upon the Lord God in the highest of his attributes the attribute of his grace and goodnesse unto his creature as if hee did make the world wel nigh for no other intent but that thereby he might have an occasion to win honour unto himselfe in one of his attributes the attribute of his justice in destroying it But surely when I consider the nature of our heavenly Father as he hath beene pleased to make himselfe out unto his creature both in his word and workes when I coÌ„sider the value the inestimable value of the price that was laid down for our redemptioÌ„ even the pretious blood of the sonne of God a price sufficient to have ransom'd a thousand worlds when I consider that by giving his sonne to dye for us the Lord had found out a way whereby he had made the salvation of all men possible without prejudice or impeachment of his truth or justice when I read the glorious prophesies of the Prophets of old and especially of the Evangelicall Prophet of the abuÌ„daÌ„ce of grace purchased unto the Church by the Messiah the glory of his kingdome when I read of the paralel between the 2 Adams how in every reddition of it the second hath the preeminence When I consider the vastnes of the Emperean heavens the habitation of the Saints the place appointed for the just to dwell in Revel A space that no man can measure for multitudes that no man can number I am easily persuaded to beleeve that the Lord by Jesus Christ hath opened a greater and a wider dore into the kingdome of heaven then these men are perswaded of that it doth neither stand with the nature of his grace and goodnesse and love to his creature nor with the honour of Christ his Mediatorship nor suit with the price of that blood that was paid for our ransome nor with the glory of the prophesies of old or the promises since of the abundance of grace and glory of Christs kingdome nor the latitude of the covenant made unto the Church that the remnant of Adams sons that returne should be so small or the berries upon the Olive
thankfulnesse for the unspeakeable good purchased unto the world by it to meditate upon the benefit of his conception and incarnation and to rejoyce before the Lord and in the Lord for the favour and good will which thereby hee hath shewed to the sonnes of men duties which though on no day unseasonable yet then surely most suitable when a day being set apart for those duties we set our selves apart for that day and suspending our thoughts from all worldly cares and taking our selves off from all other distractions wee bend our minds with most serious devotion and intended affections to the performance of the duty of the day in the day of the duty And this is the day that calls for that duty at our hands Come let us rejoyce and be glad in it harke how the Angels sing their Gloria in excelsis Mary exults in her Magnificat and why should not we amongst them beare a part in this heavenly Choyre for our part in this holy birth Let us also with joy and praise sing Glory to God on high for his Peace sent on earth below and for his good-will shewed to the sonnes of men let our soules magnifie the Lord and our spirits rejoyce in God our Saviour for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lanu Lanu unto us even unto us This Child is borne SO then you see by the help of the Starre we have found the child we spake off The second branch of the first generall part The Sonne But what say you to the Sonne whether is it the same with the Child here in the Text or some other and if the same why doth the Prophet so suddenly vary in his expression but even now a Child and presently in the next word a Sonne surely there 's something in it what may be the meaning of it Nothing at all saith the Rabbi but only this in the first word Rabbi Kimhi he told you there was a Child borne and in the next he tels you what manner of child it was it was a man-child a sonne and not a daughter 1 But by the Rabbies leave there 's more in it then so If indeed the former word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 jelad here rendred a Child were of the Common-gender as in our English it is and did signifie a woman-child as well as a man-child indifferently then there were some ground for this conjecture but if you examine the originall text you will find it otherwise you will find that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 jelad is of the masculine gender can signifie no other but a man-child And so for the Prophet to bring us newes that a man-child was borne and presently tell us it was a sonne were an unnecessary tautologie therefore there is more in it then so 2 There are which tell us that by these masculine expressions of a Manchild A Sonne is intimated to us the honour and prerogative that the man hath above the woman in this businesse and the interest he hath in Christ before her in that hee was borne a man-child not a woman-child a Sonne and not a daughter But to this we answer if this circumstance may be a ground of an argument whereby to prove the priviledge of either sexe and whether of them be nearer a kinnne to Christ certainly it will conclude for the woman rather then for the man for although our Lord tooke upon him the nature of a man in that sexe yet he tooke that nature of a woman not of a man yea without the help of man and so hee hath united that sexe unto himselfe in a kind of consanguinity which the man cannot chillenge But Saint Ambrose hath reconciled this difference by dividing Christ equally between them thus Virum assumendo de foemina nascendo utrumque sexum honoravit Christus Our Lord Christ by taking upon him the nature of man and yet taking that nature of a woman hath hereby equally honoured both sexes and shewed that they have both an equall interest in him in Jesus Christ in this respect there is neither male nor female 3 But yet wee have not sounded the bottome of this mystery there is more in it yet then all this let it be well lookt into and it will be found that in these two words is contained and taught the greatest mystery that is in all the Christian Religion and that is the two really distinguished natures united in the one and undivided person of our Mediatour the humanity and the Divinity of the Sonne of God Vnto us A Child is borne there 's his humanity and Vnto us A Sonne is given there 's his Divinity As he was a child so he was the sonne of Mary as a sonne so he was by eternall generation the naturall Sonne of God as a child so he had a Mother but was without a Father as a sonne so he had a Father but was without a Mother Heb. and so was the true Antitype of him in whom hee was long before typified Melchizedek without father without mother without generation in respect of his humanity without a father in respect of his Divinity without a mother and therefore his generation who shall declare Isay No wonder if a few words after my text the Prophet tels us his name shall be called Wonderfull And as here in my text so all along throughout the whole course of his life fom his birth to his baptisme from his baptisme to his death and passion you shall observe how this child and this sonne the Divinity and the Humanity of Christ like Hypocrates his twins goe hand in hand together His birth was meane his parents poore there was no roome for them in the Inne they are faine to take up a stable for their quarter they find more kindnesse among the beasts then among them that owed them there is he borne Luke 2.7 Behold the Child But do you not see at the same time a strange and new created starre appeare in heaven waiting upon his birth and the place where the child lay and doe you not heare the Angels singing Luke 2. Gloria in excelsis in honour of his Nativitie Behold the Sonne Luke 2. As his birth was meane so his accommodations are meaner being borne he hath not a place where to lay his head This shall be a signe unto you saith the Angell you shall find the babe wrapt in swadling clothes and laid in a manger Behold a Child But do you not see at the same time Kings by inspiration come from the East to doe him homage do you not read how they brought their presents to him Gold Frankincense and Myrrhe Gold representing the Kingly office Francumcense the Priestly and Myrrhe the Propheticall office which hee was borne to The Kings of Arabia and Saba shall bring gifts Ps 45. and which he was to beare and exercise in the Church Behold A Sonne When he was to be baptized he submits himselfe unto an ordinance and to
receive it at the hands of a man infinitely meaner then himselfe one that profeseth he was not worthy to unloose the latchet of his shooe yet without disputing he goes into the water Matth. 3. and is baptised of him Behold A Child But looke up and you shall see the heavens opened unto him and the Spirit of God in the likenesse of a dove descending upon him and you shall heare a voyce from heaven giving testimony of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is my beloved Sonne in whom I am well pleased Behold A Sonne When his parents as the manner was went up to Jerusalem to the feast of the Passeover they tooke him along with them he was numbred among other children and as an ordinary child hee went in the multitude with the rest when his parents missing him rebuked him for it hee submitted to their reprehension and as the text tels us Luk. 2. He came downe and was obedient to them Behold A Child But do you not read how at the same time being but twelve yeares old he went into the Temple presented himselfe among the Doctors disputed with them both hearing them and posing them asking them questions resolving their doubts and that with such gravity such satisfactory resolution as raised astonishment and admiration in all that heard him Behold A Sonne Lastly to conclude this paralele at the time of his passion you see him under the hands and power of his enemies scourged crowned crucified hanging on the Crosse bowing downe his head sorrowing complaining weeping bleeding dying Behold the Child But do you not see at the same time the heavens grow blacke and darkned above and the earth trembling beneath him do you not see the graves open the rockes cleave in sunder the vaile of the Temple rent and the whole universe seeme to be troubled at the sadnesse of the spectacle Behold the Sonne And thus you see not only in my text but all along the history of the Gospell and throughout the whole course of our blessed Redeemers life the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud the divinity of the Sonne of God breaking out through the cloud and veyle of his flesh and both of them clearly manifesting themselves in the person of our Mediatour And therefore as the Father hath observed when you see him crying in the cradle Ambrose or crucifyed on the crosse when you see him hungry and thirsty weary weeping sorrowing grieving bleeding dying Ecc◠homo Behold A man But when you see him casting out Devils raising the dead feeding of thousands with a few loaves and fewer fishes miraculously multiplyed when you see him reading the riddles of mens inmost thoughts forgiving sinnes commanding not onely winds and seas but uncleane spirits and devills unto obedience then Ecce Deus Behold A God Behold them both in my text in this child and in this sonne Infans vagiens in cunabulo filius tonans in Coelo Ambrose A child crying in the Cradle and hee at the same time A sonne thundering in heaven an Infant thrust out of doores to take up his harbour in a stable and he at the same time A Sonne disposing of Paradise and of the glorious mansions in heaven at the right hand of his Father And there was a reason for all this Reasons of this marvelous union of two natures in the one undivided person of our Mediatour yea there was a necessity of it on our parts or els he could never have reconciled us to God the Father nor have become for us a fit and perfect Mediatour Neither the child without the sonne nor the sonne without the child could have done it hee must be both A Child and A Sonne too both God and man that was to reconcile God and man heaven and earth together Had he beene only man he could never have laid downe a price which might have beene of sufficient value to ransome the sinnes of the whole world and had hee beene onely God he had not had what to lay downe to ransome them withall not a body to offer up in sacrifice for us nor blood to shed without which there is no redemption for the God head is impatible Had he beene onely man he could never have gone through the great worke of our redemption he could never have stood under the great weight of his Fathers wrath and the burden of the sinnes of the whole world which were to be laid upon him And had he beene onely God he could not have satisfied the justice of God for the sinne of man which required that satisfaction should be made in that nature that had offended and what satisfaction had it been for God to satisfie himselfe upon himselfe for the sinne and offence that was committed against him by another There was a necessity therefore that he should be both that the Child and the Sonne together the Humanity and the Divinity united in one might make up the person of a fit Mediatour 1 There was a necessity that hee should be man that so he might punctually satisfie the justice of God for the sinne of man answering for sinne in that nature that had committed it Therefore A Child And there was a necessity hee should be God too that by the dignity of his person hee might adde value to his sufferings and obedience to make them meritorious and of a sufficient price to ransome the sinne of thousands Therefore A Sonne 2 It was necessary he should be man that so hee might have what to offer up to God in sacrifice for us even a body capable of death and blood to be shed for remission of sinne for the taking off of the sentence of death that was gone out against us Therefore A Child And it was necessary hee should be God too that so by the power of his deity hee might support his humanity in that great conflict and under that great burden of his Fathers wrath and the sinne of the whole world that lay upon him and that in the end he might be able to rescue himselfe out of the hands and power of hell death and the grave and by his owne power to raise up his body from death to life and openly to triumph over it Therefore A Sonne Therefore both that hee might be a fit Mediatour betweene both neither as God so tendering the honour of the Deity offended as to forget the misery of the poore lost sonnes of Adam Nor yet as man so compassionating the misery of the lost sonnes of Adam as to neglect the honour of the Deity offended but as one that was partaker of both deare to both and both to him hee might lay an indifferent hand upon both and so become betweene both an aequall indifferent and impartiall Mediatour And here beloved you have the revelation of that great mystery the mystery of godlinesse the mystery of which Saint Paul writes to Tymothy 1 Tim 3.16 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without controversie great is
obtained and purchased unto his Church in so doing Let not the Jewe stumble at the Crosse of Christ by telling us that we beleeve in a crucified God nor let the Atheist stumble at the Cradle of Christ by telling us we embrace a Child for our God Nestorius his Blasphemy Nor let Nestorius reproach us with our bimestris aut trimestris Deus a God of two or three months old as hee blaspemously calls him If the Child seeme little in your eyes behold the Sonne if the Cradle offend you behold the Starre if the Crosse offend you behold the Heavens without a Sunne and the Starres withold their shining at the spectacle And be not faithlesse but believe and you shall see greater things then these You shall see this Sonne of man comming in the clouds Matth 25. with power and great glory Now you see him in the Cradle then you shall see him in a fiery Chariot riding upon the wings of the wind now he came in Virgine then hee shall come in Libra with a ballance in one hand to weigh the actions of the sonnes of men and a two edged sword in the other to cut them off and to be avenged on his enemies now he came attended with a few fishermen and others of the meaner sort that followed him but then he shall come attended with thousands and thousands of thousands of Angels and Arch-Angels now he came in humility then he shall come in glory now he came to be judged but then he shall come to judge both quick and dead yea to judge even them that judged him the souldiers shall looke upon him whom they have pierced Zach 11. and the Jew shall looke upon him whom they have rejected and the Arrians Eunomians Ebionites Corinthians Photinians Socinians and Mohomitans shall looke upon him whom they have denyed and despised and shall be confounded when they shall see him now armed with power and authority to be avenged on them for their contempts and injuries done to him and his for his sake And those that have confessed him shall say unto them by way of reproach and insultation Behold yee despisers and wonder and perish Act. 13.41 Luk 19.27 And the King shall say unto them as sometimes to those Rebels in the Gospell Those that would not that I should raigne over them bring them hither and slay them before my face Psal 2.12 Oh then kisse the Sonne lest hee be angry and so ye perish embrace the Child in the arms of your faith and best affections Ambrose that so hereafter he may embrace you in the armes of his mercy Infans est noli timere filius noli spernere Behold he is a Child that you should not be afraid to draw neare unto him and a Sonne that you may not dispise him Let the meditation of the former raise in you hope and confidence and of the latter beget in you feare and reverence and both together that saving comfort sound joy and settled peace that flowes from your reconciliation with God and your adoption to the honour to become the Sonnes of God brethren to this Child and coheires with this Sonne of an inheritance in glory the very end of this his Child-hood and of this his Sonship the very end why he was borne to us and given for us Lord let him have his end in us that we may have our fruit in him even the end of our hopes the salvation of our soules in blisse and glory that never shall have end Amen The end of the first Sermon COMFORT FROM THE CRADLE AS WELL AS from the Crosse of CHRIST The second SERMON ESAIAH 9.6 Vnto us a Child is borne Vnto us a Sonne is given I Have given you an account of the first generall part of the Text inquiring of the person who and what hee is of whom the Prophet speaketh this as he is here represented to us under the names and notions of A Child A Sonne Transitio and there in I have discovered unto you the stupendious mystery which lyes coucht under these two words and is clearly made out from them and that is tâ—â—â—wâ— really distinguisht natures united in the onâ— individed person of our Mediatour the Deity the Humanity of the Son of God both made good not only out of the text but all along throughout the whole course of his life from his birth to his baptisme from his baptisme to his death as in the severall passages of them all I have observed In his birth you had A Cradle for the Child and a Starre for the Sonne In his Baptisme water for the Child and a voyce from Heaven for the Sonne In his passion A Crosse and A Crowne of thornes nailes and a speare scourgings and whippings and stripes for the Child and thundrings and darknesse and an earth-quake and rocks cleaving in sunder and graves opening and the veyle of the Temple rent for the Sonne and generally throughout the whole course of his life in the severall eminent passages of it you saw the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud infallible evidences of the Deity breaking out through the cloud and veile of his flesh I shewed you the reasons of all these wonders they were wonderfull things that he was to doe and therefore not to be transacted but by wonderfull means and by a wonderfull person even by him whose name is called VVonderfull And I shewed you the friuts issuing out of them all Glory to God on high peace on earth below and towards men good will I am now to examine the second generall proposed Luke 2. wherein we are to consider what it is which is here affirmed of this Child and of this Son and that is laid down in two words more Is borne Is given The Child is borne but the Sonne is given First The Child is borne That is was necessary that our Mediatour should be made man it is confest and we have shewed the reasons of it but why A Child why borne of a woman why to be conceived in the wombe this is much more and surely there is more of the mystery in it which yet we have not discovered when the first Adam was created he was made A man not A child created not begotten A man in full strength and perfection of life and so was excused all the impotencies and imperfections of Childhood and infancy And when the second Adam came to repaire and to restore what he had lost was it not reasonable and agreeable to his type that hee should be made a man too in perfect state stature and perfection of life as the first was and so have beene abated all those parts of his sufferings and degrees of his humiliation which in the wombe and from the wombe in his childhood and infancy hee past through must he needs become A Child be conceived in the wombe and borne what was the reason of this Yes surely there was reason for it
brought forth death So the second Eve conceiving the Saviour brought forth life they are all repar'd and restor'd againe As shee by being first in the transgression cast all her daughters into a more desperate condition then Adam did his sonnes so God found out a more soveraigne remedy for her by which she receives more grace from Christ and challenges a neerer relation to and interest in the Saviour of the world then he can claime from her substance did he take that flesh which hee offered up in sacrifice to God for us from her body did he take that blood which he shed for the redemption of the world he could truly call a woman his mother but no man living his Father as Adam once said to Eve Thou art flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone so could the second Eve in whom all the daughters of the first are repair'd and restor'd say to to the Saviour of the world Thou art flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone unto all the which relations the man is a stranger and shares not with her in the honour of them See how the goodnesse of God for the comfort of that sexe against this their grievous fall hath provided a remedy suitable to their maladie a measure of consolation answerable to their dejection a ground of hope agreeable to their feares doubts a reparation proportionable to their losse if they were first in the transgression they are likewise first in being instrumentall in the meanes of our salvation if they were deepest in the guilt of the prevarication they were fairest for the meanes of their reparation Through Child-bearing she shall be saved For this cause was this child the seed the woman Gen. 3.15 Made of a Woman Gai. 4 4. Borne of a Woman Math. 1. and that sexe may say after a more peculiar manner then the man may Vnto us yea of us and for us this Child is borne That other condition which followes in this Text If they continue in faith and love with holinesse and sobriety is not to be referred to the children that are to be borne of the Woman but to the woman her selfe upon whom these duties are especially charged as cautions or preservatives to keepe her from ever falling into the like sinne againe as you shall heare anon but that they are not to bee understood here as charg'd upon her children is cleare by this that they are charged as conditions upō which she is to be saved now if to this intent the conditions here mentioned be charged upon thē then by this doctrine may Parents be saved by the holinesse and righteousnesse of their children which is cleane contrary to the exact justice of God revealed in Scripture which saith iustus sua fide vivet the iust shall live by his owne faith Besides we have knowne many gracious women which have done their best in this way to bring up their children in faith and love in holinesse and sobrietie which yet have not proved such and contrariwise we could instance in some carnall lewd and ungodly women whose children have proved gracious cōtinuing in faith with love c. And yet neither hath the graciousnesse of these profited nor the gracelesnesse of the other prejudic't to the saving or not saving of their mothers that bare them therefore this charge in this place referres not to the children that are borne but to the woman that beares them All the difficulty will be how we shall reconcile this seeming incongruity betweene the 2 pronouns shee and they shee shall bee saved if they continue how can these two in grammaticall construction be refer'd to the same as understood of the same person or persons For satisfying of this doubt consider these three things 1 First divers Greek copies have it in the singular number so Musculas and so Theophilact reads it so Danaeus and others si permanserit if shee continue not they and if that reading be currant there is no farther question at all in the matter 2 But be it so that the latter Pronoune Verbe be of the plurall number it is usuall with the Hebrews to joyne singulars and pluralls together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dii creavit in which is the mystery of the Trinity in the two very first words of the holy Bible you have such an expression 3 But that which is satisfactory beyond exception is this that the first pronoune she though it be of the singular number yet is of plurall signification nomen multitudinis a name of multitude such as Turba ruunt collectivum á collective pronounce comprehending in it not only Eve but all woman kinde all her whole sexe and race descended from her and so is aequivalent and of as large extent as they in the next word she that is Eve with all her daughters all her sexe all the whole race of womankind descēded frō her shall be saved If they continue in the faith and loue with holinesse and sobriety And that this charge concernes the woman more peculiarly it further appeares by the suitablenes of it to the sin by which she had transgrest the foure duties here enjoyned being directly opposite to the foure sinnes by which in her first and great transgression she had offended her first sinne was unbeliefe God had said in the day that she did eat of that fruit she should dye the Devill told her she should not dye at all and she believes him rather then God she was an unbelieving soule therefore the first duty charg'd upon her is Faith if they continue in faith the 2d fin was in violating the law of love which she ow'd both to God and to her husband she slighted them both and adher'd to the Serpent as her better friend and therefore the next duty charg'd upon her is Love if she continue in love Her third sinne was against the rules of holinesse she defiled her selfe by touching and tasting that which being forbidden her was to her polluted and so by her grievous sinne drew not only upon her selfe but upon all hers corruption of nature which like the leprosie of Gehazi cleaves to them their posterity for ever and therefore the third duty enjoynd charg'd upon her is holinesse Lastly her fourth sinne was intemperance in that all the variety of the fruits in the Paradise of God which he had so graciously and bountifully allowd her not only for necessity but for delight too yet would not serve her turne but whereas there were but two trees reserv'd her luxurious appetite must needs glut it selfe with them too and therefore the fourth duty charged upon her is temperance or sobrietie if they continue in faith and love with holinesse and sobrietee by all which duties directly opposite to the sins whereby she had transgrest the Apostle doth not onely put them in minde of those sinnes that in remembrance of them they may be humbled and caution'd against the like sinnes hereafter but also admonisheth
unfeined love to him that commanded it Now saith the Lord I know that thou lovest me Gen. 25. If that were evidence cleere enough of mans love to God how much stronger must it needs bee of Gods far greater love to man that did not only offer to offer up his sonne but offered him up indeed a sacrifice for their ransome No marvayle if St Iohn reporting this set it forth with a note of admiration Joh. 13.16 God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten sonne to the end that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have life everlasting Those foure circumstances in that Text tantus tantillos tâ—les and tanti That such a high Majestie as the Lord is should so value such wormes as we are as to give for us such a price as he did to redeem us out of misery and thraldome by the death of his owne sonne doe rayse this his love to such a heighth as is beyond the comprehension of men or Angells As therefore the Jews seeing Christ weeping over Lazarus his grave Joh. 11. tooke notice of it as a speciall evidence of this love that he bare him and whispered one to another as in that Text See how he loved him So when you see the Lord parting with his owne sonne out of his own bosome and freely giving him up to us to be borne and to dye for us say as these Jews and upon as infallible grounds and evidence See how he loved us And when you see the sonne taking leave of his father laying by all his robes of dignity and glory which hee did enjoy at the right hand of his father to come downe to the earth to be borne for us and to dye for us to take our nature upon him and in that nature to doe and to suffer such grievous things as he did and suffered When you see him reviled buffeted spit upon scourged crowned crucified when you see him upon the Crosse weeping bleeding dying for you say as those Jews did upon a lesse occasion 2. Sam. 1. See how he loved us surely his love to us was wonderfull passing the love of women 2. Secondly hence I conclude that henceforth the Lord will deny us nothing that is good for us what will the Lord deny us that hath not denied us his sonne to dye for us he that spared not his sonne but gave him up for us all how shall he not with him freely give us all things Rom. 8.32 The argument concludes strongly à majori from the greater to the lesse when Acsah the daughter of Caleb made suit to her father for a well of water Josh 15 thus she accoasts him Thou hast given me a South countrey give me also a well of water she was coÌ„fident that he that had given her the greater would not deny her this small re-request and she was not deceaved in it for the Text tells us he granted her request with advantage Hee gave her the upper springs and the neather springs so we may upon the same ground perswade our selves of our heavenly father he hath given us the greater he will not surely deny us the lesser mercies he hath given us Fields and Vineyards hee will not deny us a well of water but will give us the upper Springs and the neather Springs hee will not deny us supply in our wants comfort in our afflictions protection in dangers deliverance out of troubles the neather Springs nor will he deny us his spirit his grace remission of our sinnes life everlasting and an inheritance in glory the upper Springs Oh the happinesse of the Saints and people of God in this his favour hee hath nothing too deare for them thinks nothing too good for them with what boldnesse and confidence may they at all times draw neere the Throne of grace in assurance that they shall finde help in times of need And so I have done with the gift too the gift of the sonne The child was borne the sonn was given BUt there is no gift The third generall part nor giver but there is a receiver in this there are many wee must not overlook them it is very fit wee should reflect our eyes a little upon them too to let them knowe their engagement by so great a gift that so thanks may be given by many for the gift bestowed upon many And this pronoune tells us who they are to whom he was given Nohis To us and twise for failing Nobis To us Because indeed he is given to us in a twofold respect 1 First Nobis To us exclusivè exclusively 2 Secondly Nobis To us inclusive inclusively Nobis To us exclusivè excluding some And Nobis To us inclusivè including others Excluding first himselfe for hee was not borne for himselfe nor did he live to himselfe nor dye for himselfe but Nobis to Us and Nobis for Us for us men and for our salvation it was that he came down from heaven as the Nicaene Creed in our Church Liturgie puts us in minde He needed not have done nor suffered any of these things for himselfe nor did hee thereby merit for himselfe nor could there any addition be made to that glory and happinesse which from all eternitie he did enjoy at the right hand of his father unlesse it were this to see us happy with him which before were miserable that hee might doe so he is content to become miserable that wee might be happy exinanire se to emply himselfe saies one Text annihilare to annihilate saies another to emply himselfe that he might fill us to make nothing of himselfe that he might make something of us which were worse then nothing to become poore that we might be made rich naked that wee might be cloathed harbourlesse that we might have mansions in heaven a prisoner that we might be set free and at these great disadvantages to exchange conditions with us that we might be happy and therefore truely Nobis to us was he given and Nobis exclusivè exclusively to us not for himselfe 2. Secondly Nobis to us exclusively in respect of the Angels Heb. For he tooke not upon him the nature of Angells And therefore when an Angell preacheth this doctrine Luke 2.11 hee preacheth it not in the first person Nobis to us but in the second person Luk. 2.11 Vobus to you is borne this day in the Citty of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. He was not given for the Angells whether it were because their sin was of a more higher nature then the sin of Adam was or whether it came within the compasse of the sin ag t the holy Ghost or whether it was because they sinned with an higher hand against God or that they sinned against greater light against greater grace and greater strength to subsist then Adam had or whether it were because their sin was more voluntary in that they sinned without a tempter wee dispute not This we have