17. 4. I have finished the work he means this Work of our Redemption And in Joh. 19. 30. you read that these words It is finished were the last words that Christ spake before he died as if he should have said Though I am a dying yet the work of my Life is done I do not go off the World like a Bungler that went about what he was not able to effect All that believe in me will find that I have not been a half but a whole Saviour to them the business hath not miscarried in my hands that they should wish I had never medled with it You know the Apostle tells the Colossians chap. 2. 10. that they were compleat in him and in Heb. 9. 12. 't is said that Christ hath obtained eternal Redemption for us he did not only endeavour to obtain it but he hath obtained it The Greek word is he hath found it he did not do as a man doth sometimes when a thing is lost he seeks it but then he comes back again and saith he cannot find it Isa 53. 10. The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand that is he shall be sure to carry it through 'T is true he met with many difficulties in his way as it was the highest Work that ever was gone about so 't was the hardest Work if it had not been Christ that had been about it it would never have been brought to pass but because 't was he that had it in his hand therefore he brought it to a blessed period And in this Christ is an Example to us not only to begin good things but to hold out to the finishing of them whatever hardship we must undergo Beloved difficulty doth attend all Duty and great difficulties do attend some Duties but for all that we must see the end of them God loves such a frame of spirit as to have Christians to be crowding and pressing to Heaven through many things that stand in their way 'T is no great matter you know to get to a place when one hath Elbow room enough but when the way is thronged up and there is this to hinder him and that to hinder him and yet the man will not give over till he comes where he should it speaks that he was resolved to get thither And remember this Note That the going on in our Duty notwithstanding difficulty is an evident sign of our Sincerity There was a great deal of difficulty in Abraham's way when he was to offer up his only Son at the Command of God but because he would not stick at that see what is said to him Gen. 22. 12. Now I know that thou fearest God seeing thou hast not with-held thy son thine only son from me As if he should have said Now thou hast given a proof it to purpose You may judge of the Sincerity or Hypocrisie of your Hearts in this case You begin many things that are good it may be ay but do you carry them on to perfection Don't you fly back again when you find 't is hard It may be thou beginnest to deny thy self in this and that Sin or Lust yea but as thou art a doing of it thou findest that Self-denial is a very hard thing and so thou returnest with the dog to his vomit and with the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire Oh! this is a bad sign that thy heart is not right in the sight of God One that is sincere will desire to stir himself up the more now because he finds 't is hard and he will be thinking What shall I be worsted and let alone because my way is not smooth and easie for the Flesh to walk in And tho he finds it difficult yet he doth not think it impossible he believes through Grace such a strong Corruption may be subdued and such a Temptation may be overcome and such a great Affliction may be born with a patient spirit and therefore he will go to God for power tho he hath none of his own and go to God to make things easie tho they are so hard to him and then he finds he can go on Col. 4. 13. To the Third How doth it appear that this Freedom comes by Christ Ans For this I shall give you two sorts of Arguments 1. Some that prove it more directly 2. Others that prove it more remotely being drawn from such considerations as are not immediately about Christ himself Those Arguments that prove it more directly which do more nearly relate to Christ himself are these 1. This Freedom was to come by one that was the only begotten Son of God who could call God Father and whom God could call his Son after such a manner as none else could they must have such a Relation one to another as could not upon some accounts be communicated to any other For tho 't is true God doth in his rich mercy enter into the Relation of a Father with Believers and gives them power to become the Sons of God Joh. 1. 12. Yet as I have formerly hinted to them God is a Father by Grace Covenant and Promise and they are children to him by Faith see 2 Cor. 6. ult Gal. 3. 26. But this was not enough for him that was to bring in this Freedom he must not be one that was made the Son of God so as to be none before but he was to have this Relation to him from all eternity We cannot express the manner of it it is such a glorious Mystery Well now who can this be but Christ The Saints they do not claim their Sonship this way tho they are called Sons and wonder at it that they should 1 Joh. 3. 1. Yet they acknowledge that they were not the Sons of God by nature no but children of wrath Eph. 2. 3. They 'll quickly tell you 't was not their natural due to be the Children of God but to be fire-brands in Hell for so this Scripture last quoted doth intimate And the glorious Angels in Heaven they don't claim their Sonship this way neither they acknowledge that they are Sons by Creation and they all of them praise and bless the Lord for this and shout as it were for joy in singing together to his Name Job 38. 7. But Christ he hath this Sonship by eternal Generation this is the only begotten of the Father as he is often called and therefore Freedom must come by him And in my Text you may observe that when Christ speaks of this Freedom he puts in this Relation of his to God he useth the word Son If the Son c. To teach them that it must needs come by him since he was the eternal Son of God for such a one he must be who was to give this Freedom There is one Objection before I can go on that I would take notice of Obj. But it is said in Scripture that this Freedom and the Works about it were to be by a Servant
presently they are proud of it and if no body will commend them they 'l commend themselves I beseech you watch much against this sin Jesus Christ hath made it the great mark of an Hypocrite Matth. 6. 5. A true Christian sees so many defects in his best works that he desires rather to be ashamed of them than to glory in them 7. We may consider the Excellency of his Person in Relation to this Freedom in his doing of what he did in it with so much desire Beloved this work did not at all look desirably in it self never was there such a black and dreadful face upon any work that ever was undertaken and yet upon some accounts Christ desired it and desired it so much that I doubt not to say he did rejoyce in his Spirit to think that he was the Person that was to do it You know that when there is a motion made for the carrying on of some great design that will be of publick and unspeakable benefit tho indeed it will cost a deal to bring it to pass and the Person that is engaged in it whoever he be must be at a vast charge before he can finish it why the very motioning of such a thing raises our desire and we are full of good wishes towards it and all people generally will long Oh that it might be carryed on and they 'l say 't is a World of pitties that such a noble design should not be put forward but suppose that the carrying on of it should be cast by Authority upon any of our particular persons that the King should single out such a man whom he sees to be much taken with the motion and should say Well I pitch upon you to be engaged in this business truly then our desire towards the thing would be much damped if it be our selves that must do it and now we it may be can rather desire that the business should be quite laid aside than that it should be carried on by us that 't is we that must bear the burthen of it and we that must be at the charge how chill and cold will our affections grow to a work then tho it be never so useful but Jesus Christ desired that this great and costly work of our Redemption should go on tho the lot fell upon himself to do it You have divers expressions in Scripture that signifie thus much I will quote Four amongst many One is in Isa 53. 11. where what he did in this work is called the Travel of his Soul which as I think I have formerly hinted I look upon as not only setting out the greatness of his Sufferings in it but also the great desire that he had to go through with it A second is Luk. 12. 50. But I have a baptism to be baptized with and how am I straitned till it be accomplished A third is Joh. 18. 11. speaking of the bitter Cup of his Sufferings shall I not drink it A fourth is that in Heb. 10. 9. Lo I come to do thy will O God The very words sound as if Christs desire were upon the work and if you compare it with Psal 40. 7 8. from whence this is quoted you shall see that there is no less a word put in there than delight which must needs carry desire along with it I delight to do thy will O my God Now what an excellent person must this needs be that could come to such a hard painful costly work under the weight of which all the Angels in Heaven would have sunk into nothing with so much desire 8. Which will yet further appear if we consider that he should do it with so much exactness as he did there are some things that when they are done we use to say they are done after a fashion meaning that they are sorrily done if another had had it in hand it would have been another kind of thing But beloved this same Freedom of ours that Christ hath been a performing oh 't is excellently done most admirably done 't is the exactest curiousest piece that ever was wrought 't is done to the life Christ hath shewn himself in it a workman that needeth not to be ashamed I remember 't is said in Exod. 39. 43. That when they into whose hearts God had put wisdom to devise curious works for the Tabernacle brought all to Moses when they had finished it Moses looked upon all their work and beheld that they had done it as the Lord commanded Even so had they done it i. e. with that exactness and Moses blessed them so we have great cause to bless Christ when we look upon this exact work of his and to say he hath done all things well very well there is not the least thing missing in it every way perfect his work is like himself Christ is a none-such and so is his work View it from the beginning to the end 't is all over compleat let the Saints look upon it they 'l say the like was never seen let Angels look upon it and they 'l say so too let God himself look upon it and he will say so too and therefore his work is called the pleasure of the Lord Isa 53. 10. i. e. 't is so done as that he is well pleased with it From hence we should learn of Christ to be no bunglers in our work Two things there be that Christians should much aim at 1. To do what they should that God may not set us about such and such work and we be doing that is contrary when God bids you serve him take heed don't go and instead of that sin against him don't be about the Devils work when you should be about the Lords remember you owe him Service but you owe the Devil none 't is a good question to be often asking your selves Whose work am I a doing 2. To do it as they should here the Lord knows we come miserably short sometimes we can see through grace that what we are about is good for the matter but oh then for the manner of doing it how we fail in that Sirs where is your exactness in duty You pray but where is your exactness in prayer You sing but where is your exactness in singing You hear but where is your exactness in hearing How much better might every thing be done than we do it Eph. 5. 15. See then that you walk circumspectly It may be rendred thus out of the Greek Look how exactly you walk 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 how you come up to the height and fulness of duty A man may be about that which he should and yet may be doing of it by halves here may be a fault and there may be a fault tho you cannot work so fast as you should yet be careful to do what you do well If you cannot write a fast hand yet labour to write a fair hand 9. Christs excellency will appear further in this That he did it for so many
condition but if ever he were a liar he is a liar in this and God will judg him and his instruments for bringing up this evil report upon the good Land which he hath given his people Beloved be not discouraged by this slander from looking after this heavenly Canaan as the Children of Israel were from entring into the earthly Canaan when the Spies that went to search the land had spoken evil of it to them for as Caleb said to them the same I say to you The Land is an exceeding good Land I mean now the state into which Christ hath brought believers is even in this World a joyful state You shall see how it was prophecied of in the Old Testament that it should be so Psal 67. read vers 1 2. where he speaks of the coming of this Freedom God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us Selah That thy way may be known upon earth thy saving health among all nations and what follows why vers 3 4 5. Let the people praise thee O God let all the people praise thee O let the nations be glad and sing for joy there 's the joy that it brings with it So Isa 35. 10. this chapter is to he understood of Gospel Freedom and Salvation and mark what Joy here is now The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away Obj. But where can you shew us the people in the New Testament that live so comfortably and joyfully by this Freedom and that in this World Why turn to Rom. 5. 2. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoyce in hope of the glory of God and vers 10 11. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life And not only so but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have received the attenement Obj. But it may be they were a people that met with no great afflictions if they had it would have spoiled their joy tho they were in this Freedom Well for that I 'll give you a full Scripture see 1 Pet. 1. These were scattered abroad by persecution vers 1. They had manifold temptations vers 6. And in v. 7. the Apostle speaks of the tryal of their Faith by fire Yet in vers 8. how comfortable they were for all this In whom tho now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Sirs you that are out of this Freedom are hindred by it from abundance of joy you don't know what true joy and true comfort is without it 5. It is good to make us taste the sweetness that is in the ways of God 't was the Spouse of Christ the redeemed company that uttered that in Cant. 2. 3. I sat down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste Duties Ordinances are sapless things without this but they are refreshing yea ravishing things with it What made David say that a day in Gods Courts was better than a thousand otherwhere 't was because he was in this Freedom Why did the Lord call his Ordinances that should be under the Gospel A feast of fat things a feast of wine on the lees of fat things full of marrow of wine on the lees well fined Isa 25. 6. But because he knew they would be so to Souls that should be brought into this Freedom Oh this is that which will make a Prayer sweet and a good Sermon sweet and a Sacrament sweet and Grace and the Exercise of it sweet You that are in the Bondage of sins may come and hear precious truths but you cannot tell what is in them for savour and relish that Bondage hath put your mouths quite out of taste as I may say to you there 's nothing so sweet as that which is most bitter and that is sin if your palat were not vitiated by this Bondage you would call it as the Scripture calls it viz. The gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity Acts 8. 23. 6. This Freedom is good to make us spiritually useful Indeed one that hath it not may be useful and very useful for earthly respects and if he should be taken away by death there might be a great miss of him the family might want him or the Parish may want him But spiritually useful such a one is not nor can be any otherwise then as a wooden leg can be useful to the body which tho it helps it a little yet 't is but outwardly it hath none of that life or motion that the true members have But now they whom Christ hath made free oh what a deal they are good for upon a spiritual account they are useful persons to bring up a Family for God they are good for the Souls of their Relations You that are out of Christ you may be good for the bodies of your Children you may be good to provide them Meat and Drink and Cloaths and to take care of them when any of them fall sink that they may not want attendance or the like or you may be good to train them up in a civil way and to lay up for them what you can for a Portion in this World or to put them to a good Trade or help them to as rich a match as you can and in these kind of things your usefulness to them is at its journeys end As for the poor Souls of your Children you forget them because you never rememberd your own it may be you 'l say to your Children sometimes you must be a good boy or a good girl and there 's all the good counsel that they shall have of you but alas you take no care to tell them which way they must be good indeed and truly if God should take you away from them and leave them Fatherless and Motherless their outward man would miss you sadly it may be but their Souls would not you were never good for them but they who are in this Freedom are good for the Souls of their Family And beloved they are very useful persons to promote a good work when they see it would tend much to the Glory of God to have it carried on and to take occasions and opportunities of speaking to others about everlasting concernments and to mourn for the sins of the times and places in which they live and to stand in the gap when the Wrath of God is breaking in upon a Nation and when God takes away one of these oh what a miss there is of them and what a loss 't is upon the best account If God had pleased a hundred wicked men might have been better spared than one of these The least of these
for tho all the Saints are Sons yet none of them is such a Son as Christ is He hath in all things the pre-eminence I cannot now stand upon this how far this Son goes beyond all the other Sons of God 1. In respect of the manner of his being the Son of God by an unconceivable eternal Generation The Saints are the Sons of God by Faith and by Grace and by Adoption but Christ by Nature 'T is the natural Priviledg of Christ to be the Son of God whereas we by nature were the Children of Wrath. 2. In respect of his whole carriage towards his Father He never grieved or displeased or disobeyed his Father v. 29th of this 8th of John I do always those things that please him But there are many wry treadings that the other Sons have cause to mourn for in their best walkings In many things we offend all There 's no child of God upon earth so good a traveller to Heaven but that he sometimes stumbles and falls tho through Grace he rises again by Repentance You have that description of a true child of God whereby he is differenced from the wicked tho he hath his sins and failings too Jer. 8. 4. 3. In respect of his equality with his Father according to his divine nature He is so the Son of God as that he is God equal to him Phil. 2. 6. The Saints are the children of God and partakers by Faith of the Divine Nature but yet there is an infinite distance between God and them they are Creatures still tho they be renewed Tho they are united to God yet they are not changed into God But this Son is as holy as glorious as great as his Father 2. You have here what this Son can do for poor sinful men And that is he can make them free set them at perfect liberty knock off all their chains and bolts wherewith they are bound and fettered If the Son shall make you free i. e. I can do it if you will but be willing 3. The nature of this Freedom that he can give to poor sinners i. e. Freedom indeed ye shall be free indeed or as the Greek word is you shall have a Freedom that is real that is a substantial Freedom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it shall not be an imaginary thing as that which you now think you have but it shall be a Freedom that hath Truth and Being in it to go as near as I can to the Original Language Well now the point is this That Doct. The Lord Jesus Christ doth offer a most excellent Freedom to sinners that are in Bondage and that 't is every ones duty to look after his particular share in it The Branches of this Point are Five in number all of them clearly arising from this Text as you may easily see The 1. Branch for order sake as to my handling of it is That sinners are in Bondage For to be made free doth suppose that sinners are not free Christ speaks to them as persons that were not yet free If the Son therefore shall make you free i. e. yet you are not made free for you commit sin and whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin 2. Branch That Jesus Christ doth offer Freedom to poor sinners that are in the house of Bondage If the Son shall make you free You see he speaks as one that offers it 3. That it is every ones duty to look after this Freedom that they be in the number of those that are brought into liberty And that is in these words you free You and you should labour to obtain it 4. That this Freedom comes by Christ 'T is Christ that gives it Whoever is made free is made free by Christ If the Son shall make c. 5. That the Freedom which Christ offers to sinners and gives to believers is a most excellent Freedom If the Son therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed As no Bondage is like that Bondage so no Freedom is like this Freedom Of these Five Branches of the Doctrine I intend God willing to speak in their order The first Branch of the Doctrine is this Tbat sinners are in Bondage I shall labour to open this Bondage to you in some Particulars 1. 'T is a real Bondage 't is as sure as any thing in the World that sinners are in Bondage 'T is as true as the Word of God it self is true For the Word of God tells us so As the liberty that Believers have by Christ is a Freedom indeed so the Bondage that sinners are in is a Bondage indeed Mark how Peter speaks to Simon Magus who was one of these sinners Acts 8. 23. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity q. d. It may be thou dost not think that thou art there but there thou art Now that this Bondage is a real thing appears by Two things to name no more 1. By the description that the Scripture gives of the state of sinners Look into them and you shall see that they are said to be Captives 2 Tim. 2. 26. to be in Prison Isa 42. 7. to be under the power of darkness Col. 1. 13. to lie in wickedness 1 John 5. 19. to be all their life-time subject to bondage Heb. 2. 15. 2. By the wonderful awakened sense that those sinners have of their condition to whom it pleases God to shew mercy Oh how sensible they are and what a World of danger do they apprehend themselves to be in and what haste do they make to get out of it as a man that sees he stands upon a sinking ground that if he does not get off presently 't will swallow him up It sets them all on a trembling to see where they are Acts 16. 29 30. Now why have they such real deep apprehensions of their condition Why surely because they see 't is a real Bondage 2. This Bondage is a natural Bondage a slavery that we have by nature which is contracted by the Fall of our first Parents We were born in bondage The Fall of Adam was the beginning of this Bondage there he and we in him lost our Freedom viz. that holy image of God in which he made us Pray labour to lay this Fall to heart more for here was the inlet to all our misery Many are apt to think of the Fall of Adam and Eve as if there were little or nothing that concerned them in it Whereas alas in that very sin all our Freedom went away unless it were a freedom to sin that staid with us still And Beloved let me tell you you are not throughly humbled for sin if you be not humbled for this Original Sin this Bondage by nature Psal 51. 5. 3. 'T is an universal Bondage that includes all that are out of Christ over the whole World Not one unconverted sinner is a Freeman Now Beloved if any of you should go into a very large
pains and the everlasting prison and the everlasting undoing Well then you must look out for this Freedom by Christ for otherwise these things will certainly come upon you Joh. 3. 36. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him And therefore that man or woman that refuses Christ is not only no friend to Christ but such are no friends to themselves they have not the ttue self-love in them they don't love their own Souls 'T is said of the Prodigal when he began to repent he came to himself Luk. 15. 17. He was gone from himself the true self before but when he returned then indeed he came to look out after self-preservation Well now to proceed upon this Third Branch more throughly That it is every ones duty to look after a part in this Freedom I will 1. give you an observable thing about it 2. Shew you the reasons and grounds why every one is to do this 3. Make application To the 1. There is one thing that is very observable about this in the Scripture which I would commend unto you and that is That Christ in the offers of his Grace doth not only speak in a general way to all in common as if he should say Here 't is amongst you but in many places he comes to offer it in a particular kind of Language as if he had to deal with persons severally and apart one from another and were singling of them out one by one to teach us that every particular person must own it as his great duty to look after Christ and the Benefits that come by Christ for himself See Joh. 4. 10. Mark how particularly Christ speaks here Jesus answered and said unto her i. e. the woman of Samaria If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee Give me to drink thou wouldst have asked of him and he would have given thee living water So Rev. 3. 18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest see So vers 20. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me q. d. There must not be one of you but must each for himself be labouring for a share in these things Now for the reasons of this I desire that you would seriously mind these four following 1. Every one should labour to have a share in the Freedom because every one hath had share in the Bondage as the Apostle saith in Rom. 5. 12. Death passed upon all men in that all have sinned There 's none of us can say concerning this Freedom as Paul did concerning his being a partaker of the Roman Freedom Act. 22. 28. But I saith he was free-born They that have this Freedom are said in Scripture to be made free they are not born free but made so Rom. 6. 18. So in the Text If the Son shall make you free Now suppose Beloved that there were a company of People in the World that had been all of them in great distress or that they had been all taken by the Turks and put to miserable slavery that never any poor Creatures had a harder condition than they and suppose that it had been one of you that were of this number that had a fellowship with them in their bitter Bondage And that some merciful Prince that knew of the lamentable case that these wretches were in should be willing by the paying of a great Ransom to redeem them and he layes down that which is demanded by him that held them in slavery and so sets this Company at liberty at which Oh how their hearts rejoice Only there is one amongst them that won't accept of this favour though his Captivity was as great as others and he was as fair for deliverance as the rest he that set the other free would have done it for him too if he would not have been willful but for his part he would not have his liberty he would lye and perish in his thraldom Why what a fool and mad-man would he be counted that would have his part in all the affliction which that Company hath indured but would have none of their Redeemers kindness Now Sirs you may go travel over all the World and not find such an instance as this for the Bondage of the Body but we need not go far to find many such instances for this Bondage of the Soul Oh how many be there that have been partakers of the Curse that don't look after the Blessing that have been Satans slaves but won't be the Lords free-men that had rather be strangers and foreigners still than to be fellow-citizens with the Saints and of the houshold of God Reas 2. Because no man must rest in the general offers of Grace without a particular application of all to himself The general offers of Grace are like the hearing of some excellent Medicine that is good for them that are under some dangerous Disease now 't is not the hearing of this that will cure but he that would have good by it must get it for himself and take it and make use of it You know tbo there be never so good a Plaister upon the Table for the healing of a Wound it may be the Salve of which 't is made is the best in the World for such a purpose yet that won't help at all if it be not applyed and laid on So now if you do not look after a particular share in this Freedom to bring it home to your own Souls you do but rest in the general notions of Grace This is but the Plaister upon the Table as it were 't is too far off to do you any good thou hast nothing for thy self all this while You know there 's a great deal of difference betwixt a mans saying This is a brave House and This House is mine So there is a precious Christ and precious Freedom and precious Promises yea but are they thine Art thou one of them that can say they are given to us 2 Pet. 1. 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises Mark he doth not say barely these exceeding great and precious Promises are given but given to us So that you don't come nigh enough to Christ and the Benefits by Christ if you don't get them for your selves 'T is the great sin of Men and Women that they sit down in things at large about Christ they know and say and read that Christ came into the World to save sinners and to seek and to save that which was lost Ay 't is most true yet what are you the better for all this unless this Salvation be yours And how can it be yours without your labouring to make
of God which is another Relation than that we are now speaking of yea and a far more inferior one than this of the Son of God If a Servant of God was to bring this Freedom how can it be by the Son of God You shall find the places in Isa 53. 11. Zech. 3. 8. and elsewhere Ans This is none other than the Son of God who is here spoken of only he is called by this name in reference to the great Work that he was to do and in reference to the mean and low condition in which he was to do it he took upon himself the form of a servant and in respect to his faithfulness in all that he undertook as the Scripture saith he was faithful to him that appointed him 2. This Freedom was to come by one that was to be God and Man together in one person He was to be such a wonderful One that the like was not to be found again either in Heaven or Earth In Heaven there was one that was God yea but he was not man and upon Earth there were many that were men yea but they were not God But here the two Natures the Divine and the Humane they must meet together in him that was to be the Redeemer and there was great reason for it the procuring of this Freedom did require both these to concur and each of them to lend their helping hand Now thus it was with Christ he was God for he saith I and my Father are one and he was man too for he saith The Father is greater than I. And therefore Christ was the wonderfullest Sight that ever was beheld upon Earth to see a person that was true God and true Man at once what a rare Sight was that Oh! What an astonishing thing is the Incarnation of Christ that God should take upon him humane Flesh and that humane Flesh should be united to the Godhead Yea this will make a considerable part of the Glory that shall be in Heaven to behold the Son of God in our Nature What an everlasting joy will it be to the Saints to see Christ in their Nature sitting down at the right hand of God! Well therefore surely Freedom comes by Christ since 't is he that is both God and man in one Person for ever 3. This Freedom was to come by one that was to be all his days upon Earth without sin he must lead as pure a spotless Life as the perfect Law did call for he must not do as we do the best of us perform Duties that have a great many flaws and fail in this and that and then repent no he must fulfill all righteousness to a tittle Why so did Christ and therefore Freedom comes by him 1 Pet. 2. 22. Who did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth There was not a Transgression in the whole Life of Christ he was without blemish and without spot tho he spake much yet be never spake amiss tho he thought on many things yet he never thought amiss tho he did many things yet he never did any thing amiss he had not only sincerity but he had perfection not only holiness but all the degrees of it The People of God tho they have Grace yet they have need of grains of Allowance they don't so their Duty but that they stand in need of mercy tho God be glorified by that they do yet they don't look to be justified by what they do But now Christ he lived so as that he was justified by works yea so as to justifie all that believe in him by his works Rom. 5. 19. He lived so exactly as that we need not fear to follow his Example we are commanded to follow the Example of the Saints yea but we must take heed that we don't follow them in every thing for fear we should follow them in sin tho the general course of a child of Gods walking is holy and good yet he hath his particular miscarriages and there we must leave him but Christ's walking 't was all obedience and all conformity to the Will of God therefore he is a fit and a full Pattern for us in what is our Duty 4. This Freedom was to come by one who could make full satisfaction to the Justice of God for sin for so God was resolved that he that would be the Purchaser of it should without any abatement bring in such a Ransom as was able to recompence all the wrong that he had received And therefore he had need to be some mighty Vndertaker that should appear in this Work since he was to offer up a Sacrifice of such Value as might make an All-sufficient Expiation and Atonement to the highest Demands that could be propounded in a way of Satisfaction Now if all the Beasts of the Forest and all the Cattle upon a thousand Hills should have been gathered together and given in Sacrifice to God yea if all the lives of Men and Angels should have gone for it this would not have quieted the Justice of God The guilt of sin is another manner of thing than that it can be bought off or purged away by such means as these no there must one be found who could bring a more excellent Sacrifice than all Creatures or any mere Man could amount to Now this full Satisfaction Jesus Christ did make and therefore Freedom comes by him And that he did so appears in three things which you find in that Epistle to the Hebrews 1. In that after Christ had offered up himself all other Sacrifices ceased it abolished all the ceremonial Worship of the Old Testament then there was no more blood of bulls and of goats required to be shed nor the ashes of an heifer to sprinkle the unclean See Heb. 10. 5 6 7 8 9. Those Ministrations and Services were pleasing to God before as they did type out his Son that was to come but when he was come and had offered up that great Offering of Himself then mark the expression God hath no pleasure in them thou wouldst not have them saith ver 5. He had no pleasure in them saith ver 6. He takes them away saith ver 9. q. d. Away with them what should I do with these now He looks upon his Son in the flesh the Body that he had prepared the second sacrifice as 't is here called that is of another kind and nature than the first Sacrifices under the Law were and that is it that he is for and that he will now establish Now if Christ had not made full Satisfaction then these former Sacrifices should not have ceased there must have been the Old Testament Worship still But there is no need of that now nay it would be an abomination to God now to bring him such kind of things as these it would be as you read in another case Isa 66. 3. He that killeth an ox would be as if he slew a man he that sacrificeth a lamb as if he cut off
well come in here Psal 87. 3. Glorious things are spoken of thee O thou City of God Beloved I would fain engage your most serious attention to what shall be delivered upon this Subject and to prepare you for it I beseech you to know that I hope you shall hear some glorious things spoken to you of this City of God in the opening of the excellent Priviledges which this Freedom by Christ brings with it which when you have heard I am sure you will have cause to say of these redeemed ones as Moses once did of the Children of Israel Deut. 33. 29. Happy art thou O Israel who is like unto thee O people saved by the Lord. I shall not spend time in things that are but of a general consideration otherwise I might shew you that there must needs be very precious Priviledges attending this Freedom 1. From the great difficulty that there is to get into this Freedom As you know those places and conditions that have great Priviledges what a hard thing 't is to get into them there must be a great deal of seeking and waiting and much cost and pains laid out and such and such a great person must be made ones friend so 't is no easie matter to get into this Freedom to be made one of the Company If ever you be admitted into it you must strive to enter you must think no pains or labour too much and you must patiently wait upon the Lord till he have mercy on you and you must be sure to get God and Christ to be your friends for they have the power and the disposing of this Freedom they give it to whom they will Now what 's the Reason that there is so much ado amongst men to procure such a Place and to be one of such a Society as many times there is Why 't is because if they were once admitted into it there be such Priviledges to be enjoyed and such profits to be received as will abundantly recompence all their pains So here the difficulty of becoming one of these that are made free by Christ speaks that this Freedom is full of excellent Priviledges 2. From the high esteem that they have of this Freedom who are admitted into it through Grace Say what you will to them you can never bring them out of love with it again they 'l like their Christ and like their Condition tho all the world should set themselves to turn away their hearts from it They 'l part with if for no good They like it so well that they set an higher value upon the worst of Christ than they do upon the best of the World as Moses did Heb. 11. 25 26. Now certainly this is because their condition is full of Priviledges They know they are better here than they can be any where else in the World 3. From the consideration of the Saints being so often called upon in Scripture to praise the Lord. They who observe may frequently find how much they are stirred up to this duty How many Psalms doth David begin and end with this Praise ye the Lord And he says that the People of God should be a singing to him blessing of him rejoycing and giving thanks extolling of the Name of God declaring his wonderful Works towards them Now you shall see that one main thing that he drove at why they should do this was upon the account of the Freedom which God had brought them into Psal 107. 1 2. and 136. 1 2 3. compared with ver 10 11 12 23 24. And in Rev. 5. you read that the Saints were at this work of more than ordinary thanksgivings to God They sung a Song What is it for Oh! for the Freedom they had received Certainly then if God hath such great praises for it there are great Priviledges in it But I shall not go on thus but will bring in a List of the Priviledges so far as I can in particular And here as the Prophet said Isa 63. 7. I will mention the loving kindness of the Lord c. They are a priviledged people For Priviledg 1. Being made free by Christ they are translated out of the Kingdom of the Devil His Prison-doors are now opened that were shut so fast upon them as that none could open them but he that hath the key of David Now their bondage under that great Tyrant over Souls is at an end He shall no more have them captive at his will The yoke of their oppression is broken See Col. 1. 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son They are redeemed from the hand of the terrible Satan hath been forced to yield them up and now he can lay no more claim to them This Priviledg you read of further in Heb. 2. 14 15. That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil and deliver them who all their life-time were subject to bondage Mark he hath delivered them from the Devil by destroying of him not as to his Being for the Devil is not dead 't is not the Nature of a Spirit to die but as to his power over them So he is destroyed he is quite routed as to any slavery that he now keeps them in He may Lord it over his Vassals whose God he is but with these he hath nothing to do but in a way of molestation so indeed he will vex them all that he can and he won't be wanting to follow them with his Temptations and his siery Darts In this kind these redeemed ones must expect a War with him Eph. 6. 11 12 13 c. Christ will have them fight tho he hath made them free and tho the Devil doth cease to be their Owner yet he doth not cease to be their Enemy and he designs all the hurt and mischief to them that possibly he can for they went out of his Kingdom against his will and consent If he could have staid them they should never have gone And therefore his wrath is the more kindled against them and that to such a degree that he is not only compared to an Adversary but to a Lion and this Lion is in the siercest posture of all he is a roaring Lion But notwithstanding all his rage his Dominion is gone Now beloved this is an excellent Priviledg Oh to be loosed from the Chains of Darkness to be turned from the power of Satan to God! In this sense they that are made free by Christ are past the Devil's Quarters And therefore tho they should diligently watch against him yet they should not be slavishly afraid of him Do but keep Gods way and what hurt can he do you See John 5. 18. 'T is a very unbecoming thing for a child of God to be afraid of the Devil What have all the Devils in Hell to do with you for whom Christ shed his precious Blood He himself knows that you