his supreme Dominion which extends it self to all things in Heaven and Earth Now in the Participation of these the Image of God did principally consist The Holiness of Man was the copy of the Divine purity his Happiness a representation of the Divine Felicity and his Dominion over the lower World the resemblance of Gods Soveraignty I will take a particular survey of them 1. Man was conformed to God in Holiness This appears by the expressions of the Apostle concerning the Sanctification of corrupt man which he sets forth by the renewing of him in knowledg righteousness and holiness after the image of the Creator The Renovation of things is the restoring of them to their Primitive state and is more or less perfect by its proportion to or distance from the Original Holiness Righteousnesse are the comprehensive Sum of the Moral Law which not only represents the Will but the Nature of God in his Supream Excellency and in conformity to it the Divine likeness eminently appear'd Adam was created with the perfection of Grace the progress of the most excellent Saints is incomparably short of his beginning By this we may in part conjecture at the Beauty of Holinesse in him of which one faint ray appearing in renewed persons is so amiable This primitive Beauty is exprest in Scripture by rectitude God made Man upright There was an universal entire rectitude in his Faculties disposing them for their proper Operations This will more fully appear by considering the distinct powers of the Soul in their regular Constitutions 1. The understanding was inrich'd with knowledg Nature was unveiled to Adam he enter'd into its Sanctuary and discover'd its mysterious Operations When the Creatures came to pay their Homage to him whatsoever he called them that was the name thereof And their Names exprest their Natures His knowledg reach'd through the whole compass of the Creation from the Sun the glorious vessel of Light to the Gloworm that shines in the hedg And this knowledg was not acquir'd by Study 't was not the fruit of anxious inquiry but as the illumination of the Air is in an instant by the light of the Morning so his Understanding was enlightned by a pure beam from the Father of Lights Besides He had such a knowledg of the Deity as was sufficient for his Duty and Felicity His mind did not stick in the material part of things but ascended by the several ranks of Beings to the Universal Cause He discover'd the Glory of the Divine Essence and Attributes by their wonderful effects 1. Almighty Power When he first open'd his eyes the stupendious Fabrick of Heaven and Earth presented itself to his view and in it the most express and clear characters of that Glorious Power which produced it For what could overcome the Infinite distance between not being and being but Infinite Power As there is no proportion between not being and being so the cause which unites those terms must be without limits Now the Divine Word alone which calls the things that are not as if they were caused the World to rise from the Abyss of empty nothing At Gods Command the Heavens and all their Host were created And this led him to consider the Immensity of the Divine Essence For Infinite Power is incompatible with a finite Essence and by the consideration of the Immensity he might ascend to the Eternity of God To be Eternal without beginning and Infinite without bounds infer one another and necessarily exist in the same subject For 't is impossible that any thing which is form'd by another and hath a beginning should not be limited in its Nature by the cause that produced it Therefore the Apostle declares that the Eternal Power of God is set forth in the Creation of the World joyning with the discovery of his Power that of his Eternity 2. Admirable Wisdom appear'd to Man in the Creation For by considering the Variety and Union the Order and Efficacy the Beauty and Stability of the World he clearly discerned that Wisdom which so regularly disposed all 'T is thus that Wisdom speaks in the Book of Proverbs When he prepared the Heavens I was there when he set a compass upon the face of the depth When he established the Clouds above When he strengthened thâ— Fountains of the Deep when he gave the Sea his Decree that the Waters should not pass his Commandments when he appointed the Foundations of the Earth I was with him contriving all in the best manner for Ornament and Use. The knowledg of this fill'd his Soul with wonder and delight The Psamist breaks forth with astonishment as one in the midst of innumerable Miracles O Lord how manifold are thy works in Wisdom hast made them all And if he discovered such wonderful and Divine Wisdom in the Works of God when the vigour of the humane Understanding was so much impair'd by the Fall how much more did Adam who perfectly understood Universal Nature the offices of its parts the harmony of the whole and all the just Laws of Union by which God hath joined together such a multitude of beings so distant and disagreeing and how the Publick Peace is preserved by their Private Enmity This discovery caused him to acknowledge that Great is the Lord and of great Power his Understanding is infinite 3. Infinite Goodness shin'd forth in the Creation This is the leading Attribute that call'd forth the rest to work As there was no matter so no motive to induce God to make the World but what arose from his Goodness For he is an All-sufficient Being perfectly blessed in himself His Majesty is not encreased by the Adoration of Angels nor his Greatnesse by the Obedience of Nature neither was he less happy or content in that Eternal Duration before the existence of any Creature than he is since His Original Felicity is equally incapable of accession as of diminution 'T is evident therefore that only free and unexcited Goodness moved him to create all things that he might impart being and happiness to the Creature not inrich his own And as by contemplating the other works of God so especially by reflecting upon himself Adam had a clear sight of the Divine Attributes which concurr'd in his Creation Whether he consider'd his lowest part the Body 't was form'd of the Earth the most artificial and beautiful piece of the visible World The contrivance of its parts was with that proportion and exactness as most conduc'd to Comliness and Service It s stature was erect and raised becoming the Lord of the Creatures and an observer of the Heavens A Divine Beauty and Majesty was shed upon it And this was no vanishing ray soon eclips'd by a Disease and extinguisht by Death but shin'd in the countenance without any declination The Tongue was Man's peculiar glory being the interpreter of the mind and capable to signifie all the Affections of the Soul In short the Body
Heritage to receive the Promise of the Messiah and left the rest in thick and disconsolate darkness there was no apparent cause of this inequality for they all sprang from the same corrupt root and equally deserv'd a final rejection There was no singular good in them nor transcendent evil in others The unaccountable Pleasure of God was the sole motive of the different Dispensation Our Saviour breaks forth in an extasie of Joy I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that thou hast hid these things from the wise prudent and revealed them unto babes even so Father for so it seemed good in thy sight 'T is the Prerogative of God to reveal the secrets of the Kingdom to whom he pleases 'T is an act of pure Grace putting a difference between one Nation and another with the same liberty as in the Creation of the same indigested matter He form'd the Earth the dregs of the Universe and the Sun and Stars the ornaments of the Heavens and the glory of the visible World How can we reflect on our Spiritual Obligations to Divine Grace without a rapture of Soul The corruption of Nature was universal our Ignorance as perverse and our Manners as profane as of other Nations and we had been condemn'd to an eternal Night if the Light of Life had not graciously shin'd upon us This should warm our hearts in affectionate acknowledgments to God Who hath made known to us the riches of the glory of this mystery amongst the Gentiles and with that revelation the concomitant power of the Spirit to translate us from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of his dear Son If the Publication of the Law by the Ministry of Angels to the Israelites were such a Priviledg that 't is reckon'd their peculiar Treasure He hath shewed his Statutes unto Israel He hath not dealt so with any Nation What is the revelation of the Gospel by the Son of God Himself For although the Law is obscured and defaced since the Fall yet there are some ingrafted Notions of it in the humane Nature but there is not the least suspition of the Gospel The Law discovers our Misery but the Gospel alone shews the way to be delivered from it If an Advantage so great and so precious doth not touch our hearts and in possessing it with joy we are not sensible of the engagements the Father of Mercies hath laid upon us we shall be the ungratefullest wretches in the world 2. This incomprehensible Mystery is worthy of our most serious thoughts and study that we may arrive to a fuller knowledge of it And to incite us it will be fit to consider those excellencies which will render it most desirable Knowledge is a quality so eminent that it truly enobles one Spirit above another As Reason is the singular Ornament of the humane Nature whereby it excels the Bruits so in proportion Knowledge which is the perfection of the Understanding raises those who are possessors of it above others that want it The Testimony of Solomon confirms this Then I saw that Wisdom excells Folly as far as Light excelleth Darkness And according to the nature and quality of the Knowledge such is the advantage it brings to us Now the Doctrine of the Gospel excels the most noble Sciences as well contemplative as practick it excels the contemplative in the sublimity of the object and in the certainty of its Principle 1. In the sublimity and greatness of the Object and it is no less then the highest design of the eternal Wisdom the most glorious work of the great God In the Creation his foot-steps appear in our Redemption his Image In the Law his Justice and Holiness but in the Gospel all his Perfections shine forth in their brightest luster The bare theory of this inriches the mind and the contemplation of it affects the Soul that is conversant about it with the highest admiration and the most sincere and lasting delight 1. It affects the Soul with the highest admiration The strongest Spirits cannot comprehend its just greatness the understanding sinks under the weight of Glory The Apostle who had seen the light of Heaven and had such knowledg as never any man before yet upon considering one part of the Divine Wisdom breaks forth in astonishment Oh the depth of the riches of the Wisdom and Knowledg of God! how unsearchable are his Decrees and his waies past finding out 'T is fit when we have spent the strength of our minds in the consideration of this excelling object and are at the end of our subtilty to supply the defects of our Understandings with Admiration As the Psalmist expresses himself Lord how wonderful are thy thoughts to us-ward The Angels adore this glorious Mystery with an humble Reverence The admiration that is caused by it is a principal delight of the Mind 'T is true the wonder that proceeds from Ignorance when the cause of some visible effect is not known is the imperfection and torment of the spirit but that which ariseth from the knowledg of those things which are most above our conception and our hope is the highest advancement of our Minds and brings the greatest satisfaction to the Soul Now the contrivance of our Redemption was infinitely above the â—light of Reason and our expectation When the Lord turned the captivity of Sion they were as in a dream The way of accomplishing it was so incredible that it seem'd rather the picture of Fancy than a real Deliverance And there is far greater reason that the rescuing of us from the Powers of Hell and the restoring us to Liberty and Glory by Christ should raise our wonder The Gospel is called a marvellous Light upon the account of the objects it discovers But such a perverse judgment is in men that they neglect those things which deserve the highest admiration and spend their wonder on meaner things Art is more admir'd than Nature a counterfeit Eye of Christal which hath neither sight nor motion than the living Eye the Sun of the little world that directs the whole Man And the effects of Nature are more admir'd than the sublime and supernatural works of Grace Yet these infinitely exceed the other The World is the work of Gods hand but the Gospel is his plot and the chiefest of all his waies What a combination of Wonders is there in the great Mystery of Godliness That He who fills Heaven and Earth should be confin'd to the Virgins Womb that Life should die and being dead revive that Mercy should triumph without any disparagement to Justice these are Miracles that transcend all that is done in Nature And this appears by the judgment of God himself who best knows the excellency of his own works For whereas upon the finishing the first Creation he ordain'd the Seventh Day that reasonable Creatures might more solemnly ascribe to him the Glory of his Attributes which are visible in the things
His enjoyment was rais'd above what the most glorious Spirits are capable of All his Faculties were pure and vigorous never blunted with Sin and intimately united to the Deity How cutting then was it to his Soul to be suspended from the perfect vision of God To be divorc'd as it were from himself and to lose that Paradise He alwaies had within Him If all the Angels of Light were at once depriv'd of their glory the loss were not equal to this dreadful eclipse of the Sun of Righteousness As if all the Stars were extinguisht the darkness would not be so terrible as if the Sun the fountain of light were put out Whatever his Sufferings were in kind yet in degree they were answerable to the full and just desert of Sin and surpast the power of the Humane or Angelical Nature to endure In short His Sorrows were only equall'd by that Love which procured them And as the Sufferings infflicted by the hand of God so the Evils He endured from men declare the infiniteness of our Redeemers Love to us For the further discovery of it 't is necessary to reflect upon his Death which is set down by the Apostle as the lowest degree of his Humiliation in which the succession of all his Bodily Sufferings is included it being the complement of all And if we consider the quality of it the Goodness of our Redeemer will be more visible in his voluntary submission to it Two Circumstances make the kind of death which is to be suffered very terrible to us Ignominy and Torment and they eminently concur in the Death of the Cross. 1. The greatest Ignominy attended it and that in the account of God and Men. As honour is in honorante it depends upon the esteem of others so infamy consists in judgment of others Now in the acount of the World every Death inflicted for a Crime is attended with disgrace But that receives its degrees from the manner of it To be executed privately is a favour but to be made a spectacle to the multitude encreases the dishonour of one that suffers When Death is speedily inflicted the sence of shame is presently past but to be exposed to publick view for many Hours as a Malefactor whilst the Beholders detest the Crime and abhor the Punishment is an heavy aggravation of it Beheading which is suddenly dispatcht by a Sword a military Instrument and therefore more honourable was a Priviledg But to hang on the Cross was the most conspicuous mark of the publick Justice and Displeasure a special Infamy was concomitant with it Among the Jews hanging on a Tree was branded with the Curse Therefore God commanded that the bodies of those that were hanged on a tree should be taken down in the Evening that the Land might not be defiled with a Curse And the judgment of other Nations was answerable for it was only inflicted on the most infamous Offenders as Fugitives Slaves Thieves and Traitors such whom the lowness of their Quality or the height of their Crimes rendred unworthy of any respect Hence 't is that Cicero to aggravate the Cruelty of Verres in crucifying a Roman Citizen calls it an unnamed wickedness No Eloquence could equal the evil of it 2. The pain of that Death was extreme The Hands and Feet those parts wherein the complexion of the Nerves meet and are of exquisite Sence were nailed Crucified persons suffered a slow Death but quick Torments They felt themselves die Therefore in pity the Soldiers broke their Legs to put a period to their Misery And to compleat their Punishment they were judg'd unworthy of Burial the last consolation of the dead they were deprived of Repose in the bosom of the Earth our common Mother and exposed as a prey to Birds and Beasts Now the Son of God endured no gentler or nobler Death than that of the Cross. His pure and gracious Hands which were never stretcht out but to do good were pierced and those Feet which bore the Redeemer of the World and for which the Waters had a reverence were nail'd His Body the precious workmanship of the Holy Ghost the Temple of the Deity was destroyed He that is the Glory of Heaven was made the scorn of the Earth The King of Kings was crucified between two Thieves in Jerusalem at their Sacred Feast in the face of the World His naked Body was exposed on the Cross for three Hours only covered with a Veil of Darkness This was such a stupendious submission of the Son of God that his Death astonisht the Universe in another manner than his Birth and Life his Resurrection and Ascension Universal Nature relented at his last Sufferings The Sun was struck with horrour and withdrew its light it did not appear crown'd with beams when the Creator was with thorns The Earth trembled and the Rocks rent the most insensible creatures sympathis'd with Him and 't is in this we have the most visible instance of Divine Love to us The Scripture distinctly represents the Love of God in giving his Son and the Love of Christ in giving Himself to die for Man and both require our deepest consideration The Father exprest such an excess of Love that our Saviour himself speaks of it with admiration God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting Life If Abraham's resolution to offer his son was in the judgment of God a convincing Evidence of his Affection how much more is the actual sacrificing of Christ the strongest proof of God's Love to us For God had a higher Title to Isaac than Abraham had The Father of Spirits hath a nearer claim than the Fathers of the Flesh. Abraham's readiness to offer up his son was Obedience to a Command not his own choice 't was rather an act of Justice than Love by which he render'd to God what was his own But God Spared not his own Son in whom he had an Eternal Right And He was not only free from Obligation but not sued to for our Salvation in that wonderful way For what Love of Men or of the most charitable Spirits in Heaven could have conceived such a thought that the Son of God should die for our Redemption It had been an impious Blasphemy to have desired it so that Christ is the most absolute gift of God to us Besides The love of Abraham is to be measured by the Reasons that might excite it For according to the amiableness of the object so much greater is the love that gives it Many endearing cirumstances made Isaac the joy of his father yet at the best he was an imprafect mortal creature so that but a moderate affection was regularly due to him Whereas our Redeemer was not a meer Man or an Angel but God's only begotten Son which Title signifies his unity with him in his state and perfections and according to the Excellency of his Nature such
favour Now the Angels are sent forth to minister for them who are Heirs of Salvation Besides in two other things the peculiar affection of the Prince would be most evident to that Nation 1. If he put on their habit and attire himself according to their fashion 2. If he fixt his residence among them Now the Son of God was cloathed with our flesh and found in fashion as a man and for ever appears in it in Heaven and will at the last day invest our bodies with glory like to his own He now dwells in us by his Spirit and when our warfare is accomplisht he shall in a special manner be present with us in the eternal Mansions As God incarnate he converst with Men on Earth and as such he will converse with them in heaven There he raigns as the first-born in the midst of many Brethren Now all these Prerogatives are the fruits of our Redemption And how great is that Mercy which hath raised Mankind more glorious out of its ruines The Apostle breaks out with a Heavenly astonishment Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God! that we who are Strangers and Enemies Children of Wrath by nature should be dignified with the honorable and amiable title of his Sons 'T was a rare and most merciful condescension in Pharaoh's Daughter to rescue an innocent and forsaken Infant from perishing by the waters and adopt him to be her Son but how much greater kindness was it for God to save guilty and wretched Man from Eternal Flames and to take him into his Family The Ambition of the Prodigal rose no higher than to be a Servant whaâ— an inestimable favour is it to make us Children When God would express the most dear and peculiar affection to Solomon he saith I will be his Father and he shall be my Son this was the highest honour he could promise and all believers are dignified with it 'T is the same relation that Christ hath when he was going to Heaven he comforted his Disciples with these words I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God There is indeed a diversity in the foundation of it Christ is a Son by Nature we are by meer Favour he is by Generation we are by Adoption Briefly Jesus Christ hath made us Kings Priests unto God his Father These are the highest Offices upon Earth and were attended with the most conspicuous Honour and the Holy Spirit chose those bright Images to convey a clearer notice of the glory to which our Redeemer hath raised us Not only all the Crowns and Scepters in this perishing World are infinitely beneath this dignity but the honour of our innocent state was not equal to it Secondly The Gospel is a better Covenant than that which was establisht with Man in his Creation and the excellency of it will appear by considering 1. 'T is more beneficial in that it admits of Repentance and Reconciliation after sin and accepts of Sincerity instead of perfection The Apostle magnifies the Office of Christ By how much he is a Mediator of a better Covenant which was established upon better promises The comparison there is between the Ministry of the Gospel and the Mosaical oeconomy And the excellency of the Gospel is specified in respect of those infinitely better promisses that are in it The ceremonial Law appointed Sacrifices for sins of ignorance and error and to obtain only legal impunity but the Gospel upon the account of Christ's all-sufficient Sacrifice offers full Pardon for all Sins that are repented of and forsaken Now with greater reason the Covenant of Grace is to be preferr'd before the Covenant of Works For the Law considered Man as holy and endued with perfection of Grace equal to whatsoever was commanded 'T was the measure of his Ability as well as Duty and requir'd exact Obedience or threatned extreme Misery The least breach of it is fatal A single Offence as certainly exposes to the curse as if the whole were violated And in our lapsed state we are utterly disabled to comply with its Purity and Perfection But the Gospel contains the Promises of Mercy and is in the hands of a Mediator The tenor of it is That Repentance and Remission of Sins be preached in the Name of Christ. And if we judge our selves we shall not be judged 'T is not if we are innocent for then none could be exempt from Condemnation But if the convinced Sinner erect a Tribunal in Conscience and strips Sin of its disguise to view it in its native deformity if he pronounce the Sentence of the Law against himself and glorifie the Justice of God which he cannot satisfie and forsake the Sins which are the causes of his sorrow he is qualified for pardoning Mercy Besides The Gospel doth not only apply Pardon to us for all forsaken Sins but provides a Remedy for those Infirmities to which the best are incident Whilst we are in this mortal state we are exposed to Temptations from without and have Corruptions within that often betray us Now to support our drooping Spirits our Redeemer sits in Heaven to plead for us and perpetually renews the Pardon that was once purchased to every contrite spirit for those unavoidable frailties which cleave to us here The promise of Grace is not made void by the sudden surprizes of Passions If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous The rigour of the Law is mollified by his Mediation with the Father A title of Love and Tenderness God deals not with the Severity of a Judg but He spares us as a man spares his own son that serves him And as He pardons us upon our Repentance so He accepts our hearty though mean services Now the Legal that is unsinning and compleat Obedience cannot be performed the Evangelical that is the sincere though imperfect is graciously received God doth not require the duties of a Man by the measures of an Angel Unfeigned Endeavours to please Him unreserved Respects to all his Commands single and holy aims at his Glory are rewarded Briefly Although the Law is continued as a Rule of living yet not as the Covenant of Life And what an admirable exaltation of Mercy is there in this new Treaty of God with Sinners 'T is true the first Covenant was holy just and good but it made no abatements of favour and 't is now weak through the flesh that is The carnal corrupt Nature is so strong and impetuous that the restraints of the Law are ineffectual to stop its desires and therefore cannot bring Man to that Life that is promised by the performance of the Condition required But the Gospel provides an Indulgence for relenting and returning Sinners This is the language of God in that Covenant I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their Iniquities
Covenant For it was easier for Man to understand the quality of the punishment that attended sin than to conceive of Celestial Happiness of which he was incapable in his animal state 'T is true God might have bestowed Heaven as an absolute gift upon Man after a course of obedience but 't was not due by the condition of the first Covenant A natural work can give no title to a supernatural reward Mans perseverance in his duty according to the Original Treaty had been attended with Immortal Happiness upon the Earth but the blessed Hope is only promised in the Gospel and unspeakably transcends the felicity of Nature in its consummat state This Reward is answerable to the unvaluable treasure which was laid down for it The Blood of the Son of God as 't is a Ransom to redeem us from misery so 't is a Price to purchase glory for Believers 'T is called the Blood of the New-Testament because it conveys a title to the Heavenly Inheritance Our impunity is the effect of his Satisfaction our positive happiness of his redundant merit God was so well pleased with his perfect Obedience which infinitely surpasses that of any meer creature that he promised to confer upon those who believe in him all the glorious qualities becoming the Sons of God and to make them associates with him in his Eternal Kingdom The compleat happiness of the Redeemed is the Redeemers recompence in which he is fully satisfied for all his sufferings Now the transcendent excellency of this above the first state of Man will more distinctly appear by considering I. The place where 't is enjoyed and that is the Heaven of Heavens Adam was put into the Terrestrial Paradise a place sutable to his natural being and abounding with all pleasing objects but they were such as creatures of a lower kind enjoyed with him But Heaven is the Element of Angels their native seat who are the most noble part of the Creation 'T is the true Palace of God intirely separated from the impurities and imperfections the alterations and changes of the lower World where he reigns in Eternal Peace 'T is the Temple of the Divine Majesty where his exellent Glory is revealed in the most conspicuous manner 'T is the habitation of his holiness the place where his honour dwells 'T is the sacred Mansion of Light and Joy and Glory Paradise with all its pleasures was but a shadow of it II. The Life of Adam was attended with innocent infirmities For the body being composed of the same principles with other sensitive creatures 't was liable to hunger and thirst and weariness and was to be repaired by food and sleep Adam was made a living Soul therefore subject to those inclinations and necessities which are purely animal And although whilst innocent no disease could seize on him yet he was capable of hurtful impressions though he should have been preserved from death yet he was perishable His life was in a perpetual flux 't was Immortal not meerly from the temperament of his Body but to be sustained by the power of God in the use of means From hence it follows that Adam in his natural state was not capable of the vision of God Heaven is too pure an Air for him to have lived in The Glory of it is inconsistent with such a temper'd Body Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven The faculties would be confounded with its overcoming brightness Till the sensitive powers are refin'd and exalted to that degree that they become spiritual they cannot converse with glorified objects Now the bodies of the Saints shall be invested with Celestial qualities The Natural shall be changed into a Spiritual body and be preserved as the Angels by the sole vertue of the quickning Spirit The life above shall flourish in its ful vigour without any other support than the Divine power that first created it And as the body shall be spiritual so truely immortal and free from all corruptive change as the Sun which for so many ages hath shined with an equal brightness to the World and hath a dureable fulness of light in it In this respect the Children of the Resurrection are equal to the Angels who being pure Spirits do not marry to perpetuate their kind for they never die And the glorified body shall be cloathed with a more Divine beauty in the Resurrection than Adam had in the Creation The glory of the second Temple shall excel that of the first In short the first Man was of the Earth earthy and could derive but an earthy condition to his descendents But the Lord Christ is from Heaven and is the principle of an Heavenly and Glorious life to all that are united to him III. The felicity of Heaven exceeds the first in the manner and degrees of the fruition and the continuance of it 1. The Vision of God in Heaven is immediate Adam was a spectator of God's Works and his understanding being full of Light he clearly discover'd the Divine Attributes in their effects The stroaks of the Creators Hand are engraven in all the parts of the Universe The Heavens and Earth and all things in them are evident testimonies of the excellency of their Author The invisible things of God from the Creation of the World are clearly seen And the knowledg that shined in his soul produced a transcendent esteem of the Deity in whom Wisdom and Power are united in their supreme degree and a superlative love and delight in him for his goodness Yet his sight of God was but through a Glass an eclipsing medium For inferior beings are so imperfect that they can give but a weak resemblance of his infinite perfections But the sight of God in Heaven is called the seeing of him as he is and signifies the most clear and compleat knowledge which the rational soul when purified and raised to its most perfect state can receive and out-shines all the discoveries of God in the lower World Adam had a visible copy of his invisible beauty but the Saints in Heaven see the glorious Original He saw God in the reflection of the Creature but the Saints are under the direct beams of Glory and see him face to face All the Attributes appear in their full and brightest lustre to them Wisdom Love Justice Holiness Power are manifested in their exaltation And the glorified Soul to qualify it for converse with God in this intimate manner hath a more excellent constitution then was given to it in the Creation A new edge is put upon the faculties whereby they are fitted for those objects which are peculiar to Heaven The intellectual eye is fortified for the immediate intuition of God Adam in Paradise was absent from the Lord in comparison of the Saints who encompass his Throne are in the presence of his Glory Besides 'T is the peculiar excellency of the Heavenly Life that the Saints every moment enjoy it without
in the flaming Bush to Moses but 't is never said with respect to those Apparitions that the Word was made Flame or Man But when He came into the World to save us He assum'd the compleat Nature of Man into an Hypostatical Union with himself That admirable Person possesses the Titles Qualities and Natures of God and Man In that ineffable Union each of the Natures preserves its proper form with all the necessary consequents proceeding from it The Humane Nature is joyn'd to the Eternal Word but not chang'd into its Divinity 't is not infinite and impassible The Deity is united to Flesh but not transformed into its Nature 't is not finite and passible But although there is a distinction yet no separation Although there are two Natures yet but one sole Jesus In the same Subsistence the Creator and the Creature are miraculously allied Now this is a work fully responsible to Omnipotence and expresses whatever is signified by that Title The Apostle mentions it with an Attribute of excellency Without controversie great is the Mystery of Godliness God manifest in the Flesh. 'T is as sublime as holy In this the Divine Power appears in its Magnificence and in some respect more gloriously than in the Creation For there is incomparably a greater disparity between the Majesty Greatness and Infiniteness of God and the Meanness of Man than between the whole World and Nothing The degrees of disparity between the World and Nothing are not actually infinite but between the most excellent creature and the Glorious Creator they are absolutely infinite From hence it is that that which in other things resolves our doubts here increases the wonder and in appearance makes it more incredible Ye do erre saith Christ to the Sadduces who denied the Resurrection not knowing the Power of God But the more raised thoughts we have of his immense Power the more unlikely his conjunction with a nature so far beneath him will seem to be 2. The Divine Power was magnified in our Redeemers Supernatural Conception 'T was requisite his Body should be miraculously form'd of the substance of a Woman by the operation of the Holy Ghost not only in respect of its singular Dignity and that he might be the pattern of our Regeneration that is performed by the Efficacy of the Spirit not of the Flesh but in respect of his Office For he was the Heavenly Adam and therefore allied to us and absolutely pure from the stain of Sin Heaven and Earth concurr'd to form that Divine Man the King of both the Earth furnishing matter and Heaven the principle of his conception Accordingly the Angel told Mary who questioned how she could be a Mother not having known a Man The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee therefore also that Holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God This was foretold many Ages as an admirable Effect of God's Power When Judah was opprest by two potent Kings despair'd of an escape to raise their drooping Spirits the Prophet tells them the Lord himself would give them a sign of their future Deliverance Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call his Name Immanuel The Argument is from the greater to the less for 't is apparently more difficult that a Virgin without injury or blemish to her purity and integrity should conceive and bring forth Immanuel than the defeating humane forces how great soever If God will accomplish that Stupendious unheard of wonder much more would he rescue his People from the fury of their adversaries 3. The Divine Power was eminently declar'd in the Miracles our Saviour wrought during the time of his publick Ministry to verifie his Divine Mission that He was the great Prophet sent from God to instruct Men in the way of Life In discoursing of this I will briefly shew that Miracles were a convincing proof of his Celestial Calling and that the performance of them was necessary in order to the conviction of the World and consider particularly those He wrought 1. A Miracle is an extraordinary Operation of God in Nature either in stopping its course or in producing some effects that are above its Laws and Power So that when He is pleased to work any they are his Seal to authorise the Person and Doctrine to which they are annext By them Faith is made visible The Unbeliever is convinc'd by his Senses the only witnesses above reproach in his account From hence Nicodemus addresses himself to Christ Master we know that thou art a Teacher come from God for no man can do those Miracles that thou dost except God be with him That is No inferiour Agent can perform them without the special assistance of the Divine Power And 't is not to be supposed that God will lend his Omnipotency to the Devil to work a real Miracle to confirm a falsity and thereby necessarily induce Men into errour in a matter of infinite moment fâ—r such is the Doctrine of Salvation that Christ Preach'd 2. The working of Miracles was necessary to convince the World that Jesus Christ was sent from God whether we consider the Jews or the Gentiles To convince the Jews upon a double account 1. Because the performance of them was one of the characters of the promised Messiah For this reason when two of Johns Disciples came to inquire whether he were the expected Prophet he returns this answer to the question Go and shew John those things which ye do hear and see the Blind receive their Sight and the Lame walk the Lepers are cleansed and the Deaf hear the Dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preach'd to them Thus he described his Office and verified the Commission he had from God by representing his Miracles in the Words of the Prophecy 2. Our Saviour came to alter the Religion of the Jews that had been confirmed by many illustrious Miracles therefore to assure them that he was Authoris'd from Heaven he wrought such and so many that for their greatness clearness and number exceeded all that were done before his coming Our Saviour tells the Jews If I had not done among them the Works which none other man did they had not had sin that is in rejecting him For if he had exercised only a Power like unto that of Moses and the Prophets in his Miraculous Actions they had been obliged to have honoured him as one of their rank but not to have attributed an incomparable Dignity to him But he did those which neither Moses nor the Prophets had performed and in those that had been done Christ excell'd them in the manner of doing them This the Jews could not contradict and from hence their infidelity was made culpable Secondly Miracles were necessary to convince the Gentiles 1. For the Gospel forbids the various Religions among them and commands all to worship God alone in Jesus
person For Felicity is the pleasure which arises 〈◊〉 the harmonious agreement between the Object and the Appetite Now Man by his original and contracted corruption is altogether carnal he inherits the Serpents curse to creep on the earth he cleaves to defiling and debasing objects and is only qualified for sensual satisfactions The Soul is incarnated and it shapes a Happiness to it self in the enjoyment of those things which are delicious to the Senses The shadow of felicity is pursued with equal ardour as that which is real and substantial The supreme part of Man the Understanding is employ'd to serve the lower Faculties Reason is used to make him more ingenious and luxurious in Sensuality So much more brutish than the Brutes is he become when besides that part which is so by its natural conditions the most noble part is made so by unnatural choice and corruption From hence the Apostle gives an universal Character of Men in their corrupt state That they are foolish and disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures This pursuit of Sensual pleasure is the service of a Slave which hath no other Law of his Life but the Will of his Master The Servitude is divers but all are Slaves the chains are not the same some are more glittering but not less weighty and every one is deprived of true Liberty But the Bondage is so pleasing that corrupted Man prefers it before spiritual and real Freedom Sensual Lusts blind the Understanding and bind the Will so that he is unable because unwilling to rescue himself He is deluded with the false appearance of Liberty and imagines that to live according to Rule is a slavish Confinement As if the Horse were free because his Rider allowes him a full career in a pleasant Road when the bridle is in his mouth and he is under its imperious check at pleasure Or a Galley-slave were free because the Vessel wherein he rows with so much toil roams over the vast Ocean And whereas there are two Considerations which are proper to convince Man that the full and unconfin'd enjoyment of Worldly things cannot make him happy because they are wounding to the Conscience and unsatisfying to the Affections yet these are ineffectual to take him off from an eager pursuit of them I will particularly consider this to shew how unable Man in his lapsed condition is to disintangle himself from miserable vanities and consequently to recover his lost Holiness 1. Sensual Pleasures are wounding to the Conscience There is a secret acknowledgment in every Mans breast of a Superiour Power to whom he must give an account and though Conscience is much impair'd in its Integrity yet somtimes it recoils upon the Sinner by the foulness of his actions and its testimony brings such terrour as makes Sin very unpleasant The Poet tells us that of all the Torments of Hell the most cruel and that which exceeds the rest is Nocte dieque suum gestare in pectore testem And how can the Sinner delight freely in that which vexes and frets the most vital and tender part He cannot enjoy his charming Lusts without guilt nor embrace them without the reluctancy of a contradicting Principle within him As the fear of Poison will imbitter the sweetest Cup so the purest Pleasures are allayed with afflicting apprehensions of the future and the presage of Judgment to come Now Man in his Sensual state tries all waies to disarm Conscience that he may please the lower appetites without regret I will instance in the principal 1. He uses many pleas and pretexts to justifie or extenuate the evil and if possible to satisfie carnality and Conscience too Self-love which is the eloquent advocate of Sence puts a varnish upon Sin to take off from its horrid appearance and endeavors not only to colour the object but to corrupt the Eye by a disguising tincture that the sight of things may not be according to truth but the desire Thus the Heathens allowed Intemperance Uncleanness and other infamous Vices as innocent gratifications of Nature Now if the Principles in Man are poisoned so that evil is esteemed good he then lives in the quiet practice of Sin without reflection or remorse There is no sting remains to awaken him out of Security But if he cannot so far bribe Conscience as to make it silent or favourable to that which delights the Sence if he cannot escape its internal condemnation the next method is by a strong diversion to lessen the trouble 2. When the carnal Mind sees nothing within but what torments and finds an intollerable pain in conversing with it self it runs abroad and uses all the arts of oblivion to lose the remembrance of its true state As Cain to drown the voice of Conscience fell a building Cities and Saul to dispel his Melancholy call'd for Musick The business and pleasures of this life are dangerous amusements to divert the Soul by the representation of what is profitable or pleasant from considering the moral qualities of good and evil Thus Conscience like an intermitting Pulse ceases for a while Miserable consolation which doth not remove but conceal the evil till it be past remedy But if Conscience notwithstanding all these evasions still pursues a Sinner and at times something disturbs his reason and his rest yet he will not part with carnal Pleasures For being only acquainted with those things that affect the Senses having no relish of that Happiness which is sublime and supernatural if he parts with them he is deprived of all delight which is to him a state more intollerable than that wherein there is a mixture of delight and torment From hence it appears that the interposition of Conscience though with a flaming sword between Man carnal and his beloved objects is not effectual to restrain him 2. All worldly things are unsatisfying to the Affections There are three Considerations which depreciate and lessen the value of any good 1. The shortness of its duration 2. If it brings only a slight pleasure 3. If that pleasure be attended with torments All which are contrary to the essential properties of the supreme Good which is perpetual and sincere without the least mixture of evil and produces the highest delight to the Soul Now all these concur to vilifie worldly things 1. They are short in their duration Not only the voice of Heaven but of the Earth declares this That all flesh is grass and the glory of it as the flower of the grass Life the foundation of all Temporal enjoyments is but a Span The longest Liver can measure in a thought the space of time between his Infant-state and the present hour how long soever it seems as short to him as the twinkling of an eye And all the glory of the flesh as Titles Treasures Delights are as the flower of the grass which is the most tender amongst Vegetables and of so weak a subsistance that a little breath of Wind the hand of an Infant the
with corruptible things as Silver and Gold but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot And by his knowledg shall my righteous Servant justifie many 4. 'T was requisite the Mediator should be God and Man He must assume the nature of Man that he might be put in his stead in order to make satisfaction for him He was to be our representative therefore such a conjunction between us must be that God might esteem all his People to suffer in him By the Law of Israel the right of Redemption belonged to him that was next in blood Now Christ took the Seed of Abraham the original element of our nature that having a right of Propriety in us as God He might have a right of Propinquity as Man He was allied to all Men as Men that His sufferings might be universally beneficial And He must be God 't is not his Innocency onely or Deputation but the Dignity of His Person that qualifies Him to be an all-sufficient Sacrifice for Sin so that God may dispense pardon in a way that is honourable to Justice For Justice requires a proportion between the Punishment and the Crime and that receives its quality from the dignity of the person offended Now since the Majesty of God is infinite against whom sin is committed the guilt of it can never be expiated but by an infinite Satisfaction There is no name under Heaven nor in Heaven that could save us but the Son of God who being equal to Him in greatness became Man If there had been such compassion in the Angels as to have inclined them to interpose between Justice and us they had not been qualified for that Work not only upon the account of their different nature so that by substitution they could not satisfie for us nor that being immaterial substances they are exempted from the dominion of death which was the punishment denounc'd against the sinner and to which his Surety must be subjected but principally that being finite Creatures they are incapable to atone an incensed God Who among all their glorious Orders durst appear before so consuming a fire who could have been an Altar whereon to sanctifie a Sacrifice to Divine Justice no meer Creature how worthy so ever could propitiate the supreme Majesty when justly provoked Our Redeemer was to be the Lord of Angels The Apostle tells us that it pleased the Father that in him all fulness should dwell This respects not his original Nature but his Office and the reason of it is to reconcile by the blood of the Cross things in Heaven and in the Earth From the greatness of the Work we may infer the quality of the means and from the quality of the means the Nature of the Person that is to perform it Peace with God who was provoked by our Rebellion could only be made by an infinite Sacrifice Now in Christ the Deity it self not its influences and the fulness of it not any particular perfection only dwelt really and substantially God was present in the Ark in a shadow and representation He is present in nature by his sustaining Power and in his Saints by special favour and the eminent effects the Graces and Comforts that proceed from it but he is present in Christ in a singular and transcendent manner The Humanity is related to the Word not only as a Creature to the Author of its being for in this regard it hath an equal respect to all the persons but by a peculiar conjunction for 't is actuated by the same subsistence as the Divine Essence is in the Son but with this difference the one is voluntary the other necessary the one is espoused by Love the other received by Nature Now from this intimate Union there is a communication of the special qualities of both natures to the Person of Christ Man is exalted to be the Son of God and the Word abased to be the Son of Man As by reason of the vital Union between the Soul and Body the essential parts of Man 't is truly said that he is rational in respect of his soul and mortal in respect of his body This Union derives an infinite merit to the obedience of Christ. For the humane nature having its complement from the Divine Person 't is not the nature simply considered but the person that is the fountain of actions To illustrate this by an instance the civil Law determines that a tree transplanted from one soile to another and taking root there it belongs to the owner of that ground in regard that receiving nourishment from a new earth it becomes as it were another tree though there be the same individual root the same body and the same soul of vegetation as before Thus the humane nature taken from the common mass of Mankind and transplanted by personal Union into the Divine is to be reckoned as intirely belonging to the Divine and the actions proceeding from it are not meerly humane but are raised above their natural worth and become meritorious One hour of Christs Life glorified God more than an everlasting duration spent by Angels and Men in the praises of him For the most perfect creatures are limited and finite and their services cannot fully correspond with the Majesty of God but when the Word was made Flesh and entered into a new state of subjection he glorified God in a Divine manner and most worthy of him He that comes from above is above all The all sufficiency of his Satisfaction arises from hence He that was in the form of God and thought it no robbery to be equal with God that is in the truth of the Divine Nature He was equal with the Father and without sacriledge or usurpation possest Divine Honour he became obedient to the Death of the Cross. The Lord of Glory was Crucified We are purchased by the Blood of God And the Blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all Sin The Divine Nature gives it an infinite and everlasting efficacy And 't is observable that the Socinians the declared enemies of his Eternity consentaneously to their first impious error deny his Satisfaction For if Jesus Christ were but a titular God his Sufferings how deep soever had been insufficient to expiate our offence in His Death He had been only a Martyr not a Mediator For no Satisfaction can be made to Divine Justice but by suffering that which is equivalent to the guilt of sin which as 't is infinite such must the Satisfaction be CHAP. XIII Divine Justice is declared and glorified in the Death of Christ. The threefold account the Scripture gives of it As a Punishment inflicted for Sin as a Price to redeem us from Hell as a Sacrifice to reconcile us to God Man was Capitally guilty Christ with the allowance of God interposes as his Surety His Death was inflicted on him by the Supreme Judg. The impulsive Cause of it was Sin
Compleatness of Christ's Satisfaction proved from the Causes and Effects of it The Causes are the Quality of his Person and Degrees of his Sufferings The Effects are His Resurrection Ascension Intercession at Gods right hand and his exercising the Supreme Power in Heaven and Earth The excellent Benefits which God reconciled bestows on Men are the Effects and Evidences of his compleat Satisfaction They are Pardon of Sin Grace and Glory That Repentance and Faith are required in order to the partaking of the Benefits purchased by Christ's Death doth not lessen the Merit of his Sufferings That Afflictions and Dâ—ath are inflicted on Believers doth not derogate from their All-sufficiency THe Third thing to be considered is the Compleatness of the Satisfaction that Christ hath made by which it will appear that Gods Justice as well as Mercy is fully glorified in his Sufferings For the proof of this I will first consider the Causes from whence the compleatness of his Satisfaction arises Secondly The Effects that proceed from it which are convincing Evidences that God is fully appeas'd The Causes of his compleat Satisfaction are two 1. The Quality of his Person derives an infinite value to his obedient Sufferings Our Surety was equally God and as truely Infinite in His Perfections as the Father who was provoked by our Sins therefore he was able to make Satisfaction for them He is the Son of God not meerly in respect of the honour of his Office or the special Favour of God for on these accounts that Title is communicated to others but his only Son by Nature The sole preheminence in Gifts and Dignity would give Him the title of the first-born but not deprive them of the quality of Brethren Now the wisdom and justice of all Nations agree that Punishments receive their estimate from the quality of the Persons that suffer The Poet observes that the Death of a vertuous Person is more precious than of Legions Of what inestimable value then is the death of Christ and how worthy a Ransom for lost mankind For although the Deity is impassible yet he that was a Divine Person he suffered A King suffers more than a private person although the strokes he endures in his body cannot immediatly reach his honour And 't is specially to be observed that the Efficacy of Christs Blood is ascribed to his Divine Nature This the Apostle declares In whom we have Redemption through his Blood even the forgiveness of Sins who is the image of the invisible God Not an artificial Image which imperfectly represents the Original As a Picture that sets forth the Colour and Figure of a Man but not his Life and Nature But the essential and exact Image of his Father that expresses all his glorious Perfections in their immensity and eternity This is testified expresly in Hebr. 1.3 The Son of God the brightness of his Glory and the express Image of his Person having purged by himself our sins is set down on the right hand of Majesty on High From hence arises the infinite difference between the Sacrifices of the Law and Christs in their value and vertue This with admirable Emphasis is set down in Hebr. 9.13 14. For if the blood of Bulls and of Goats and the ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh How much more shall the Blood of Christ who through the Eternal Spirit offer'd himself without spot to God purge your Consciences from dead works to serve the living God Wherein the Apostle makes a double Hypothesis 1. That the Legal Sacrifices were ineffectual to purifie from real guilt 2. That by their Typical Cleansing they signified the washing away of moral guilt by the Blood of Christ. 1. Their insufficiency to expiate Sin appears if we consider the subject Sin is to be expiated in the same nature wherein 't was committed now the Beasts are of an inferiour rank and have no communion with Man in his nature Or if we consider the object God was provoked by Sin and He is a Spirit and not to be appeased by gross material things His Wisdom requires that a rational Sacrifice should expiate the guilt of a rational Creature And Justice is not satisfied without a proportion between the Guilt and the Punishment This weakness and insufficiency of the Legal Sacrifices to expiate Sin is evident from their variety and repetition For if full Remission had been obtained The worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sin 'T is the sense of Guilt and the fear of Condemnation that required the renewing of the Sacrifice Now under the Law the Ministry of the Priests never came to a period or perfection The Millions of Sacrifices in all Ages from the erecting the Tabernacle to the coming of Christ had not vertue to expiate one Sin They were only shadows which could give no refreshment to the inflamed Conscience but as they depended on Christ the body and substance of them But the Son of God who offered himself up by the Eternal Spirit to the Father is a Sacrifice not only Intelligent and Reasonable but incomparably more precious than the most noble Creatures in Earth or in Heaven it self He was Priest and Sacrifice in respect of both His Natures His entire Person was the Offerer and Offering Therefore the Apostle from the excellency of his Sacrifice infers the unity of its Oblation and from thence concludes its Efficacy Christ did not by the Blood of Bulls and Goats but by his own Blood He entred in once to the Holy Place having obtained eternal Redemption for us and by one Offering He hath for ever perfected them who are sanctified Upon this account God promised in the New-Covenant That their Sins and Iniquities He would remember no more having received compleat satisfaction by the Sufferings of his Son 'T is now said that once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself And as it is appointed for all men once to die and after Death comes Judgment So Christ was once offered to bear the Sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin As there is no other natural death to suffer between Death and Judgment so there is no other propitiatory Sacrifice between his all-sufficient Death on the Cross and the last coming of our Redeemer There is one Consideration I shall adde to shew the great difference between Legal Sacrifices and the Death of Christ as to its saving vertue The Law absolutely forbids the eating of Blood and the peoples tasting of the Sin-offerings to signifie the imperfection of those Sacrifices For since they were consumed in their Consecration to Gods Justice and nothing was left for the nourishment of the Offerers 't was a sign they could not appease God The Offerers had communion with them when they brought them to the Altar and in a manner
Bless them that Curse you do good to them that hate you Pray for them which despitefully use you and Persecute you This is urged from the consideration of God's forgiving us who being infinitely provoked yet pardons innumerable faults to us moved only by his Mercy And how reasonable is it that we should at his command remit a few faults to our Brethren To extinguish the strong inclination that is in corrupt Nature to revenge our Saviour hath suspended the Promise of Pardon to us upon our pardoning others For if ye forgive men their trespasses your Heavenly Father will also forgive you But if ye forgive not their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses He that is cruel to another cannot expect Mercy but in every Prayer to God indites himself and virtually pronounces his own Condemnation 4. The Gospel enjoins Contentment in every state which is our great Duty and Felicity mainly influential upon our whole life to prevent both Sin and Misery Be content with such things as you have for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee It forbids all Murmurings against Providence which is the seed of Rebellion and all anxious thoughts concerning things future Take no thought for to morrow we should not anticipate evils by our apprehensions and fears they come fast enough Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof Our corrupt Desires are vast and restless as the Sea and when contradicted they betray us to Discontent and Disobedience The Gospel therefore retrenches all inordinate Affections and vehemently condemns Covetousness as a Vice not to be named among Saints but with abhorrency It discovers to us most clearly that temporal things are not the materials of our Happiness For the Son of God voluntarily denied himself the enjoyment of them And as the highest Stars are so much distant from an Eclipse as they are above the Shadow of the Earth so the Soul that in its esteem and desires is above the world its brightness and joy cannot be darkened or eclipsed by any accidents there The Gospel forbids all vain Sorrows as well as vain Pleasures and distinguishes real Godliness from an appearance by contentment as its inseparable Character Godliness with Content is great gain When we are in the saddest circumstances our Saviour commands us to possess our Souls in Patience to preserve a calm Constitution of Spirit which no storms from without can discompose For this end he assures us that nothing comes to pass without the Knowledge and Efficiency or at least Permission of God That the Hâ—irs of our Head are numbred and not one falls to the Earth without his License Now the serious belief of a Wise Just and Powerful Providence that governs all things hath a mighty efficacy to maintain a constant tranquillity and equal temper in the Soul amidst the confusions of the World God works all things according to the counsel of his own will and if we could discover the immediate reasons of every Providence we cannot have more satisfaction then from this General Principle that is applicable to all as light to every colour That what God doth is always best This resolves all the doubts of the most intangled minds and rectifies our false judgments From hence a Believer hath as true content in complying with God's Will as if God had complyed with his and is reconciled to every condition Besides the Gospel assures us that all things work together for the good of those that love God For their Spiritual good at present by weakening their corruptions for affliction is a kind of manage by which the sensual part is exercised and made pliable to the motions of the Spirit and by increasing their Graces the unvaluable Treasures of Heaven If the dearest Objects of our Affections the most worthy of our Love and Grief are taken away 't is for this reason that God may have our Love himself in its most full and inflamed degree And Afflictions are in order to their Everlasting good Now the certain expectation of a blessed issue out of all troubles is to the Heart of a Christian as the putting a Rudder to a Ship which without it is exposed to the fury of the winds and in continual dangers but by its guidance makes use of every Wind to convey it to its Port. Hope produces not only acquiescence but joy in the sharpest Tribulations For every true Christian being ordained to a Glorious and Supernatural Blessedness hereafter all things that befal them here below as means are regulated and transformed into the nature of the End to which they carry them Thus temporal evils are turned into good Our light Afflictions which are but for a moment work for us a far more exceeding weight of Glory To consider this Life as the passage to another that is as durable as Eternity and as blessed as the Enjoyment of God can make it that the present miseries have a final respect to future Happiness will change our opinion about them and render them not only tolerable but so far eligible as they are instrumental and preparatory for it If the Bloody as well as the Milky way leads to God's Throne a Christian willingly walks in it In short A lively Hope accompanies a Christian to his last expiring breath till it is consummated in Celestial fruition So that Death it self the universal terror of Mankind is made desirable as an entrance into Immortality and the first day of our Triumph Thus I have considered some particular Precepts of Christ which are of greatest use for the government of our Hearts and Lives and the reasons upon which they are grounded to make them effectual Now to discover more fully the compleatness of the Evangelical Rule I will consider it with respect to the Law of Moses and the Philosophy of the Heathens CHAP. XVII The Perfection of Christ's Laws appears by comparing them with the Precepts of Moses The Temple-Service was manag'd with Pomp suitable to the disposition of the Jews and the dispensation of the Law The Christian Service is Pure and Spiritual The Levitical Ceremonies and Ornaments are excluded from it not only as unnecessary but inconsist with its Spirituality The obligation to the Rituals of Moses is abolisht to introduce real Righteousness The Indulgence of Polygamy and Divorce is taken away by Christ and Marriage restored to its Primitive Purity He clear'd the Law from the darkening Glosses of the Pharisees And enforc'd it by new Obligations The Law of Christ exceeds the Rules which the highest Masters of Morality in the School of Nature ever prescribed Philosophy is defective as to Piety and in several things contrary to it Philosophers delivered unworthy Conceptions of God Philosophy doth not enjoin the Love of God which is the first and great Command of the Natural Law Philosophers lay down the servile Maxime To comply with the common Idolatry They arrogated to themselves the praise of