darkness what an eternal prison must I be sent amongst devils and damned spirits But a sincere Christian can cheerfully welcom it under this consideration also He knoweth it is but a messenger sent from his heavenly Father to conduct him home to his mansion place and to bring him into neerer fellowship with his Redeemer It puts an end to all sin and temptations and troubles of every sort and opens a door of entrance into unspeakable joyes that shall never end O Sirs what a priviledge is this to be able to triumph over death It is that unto which we are subject every moment * Quotidie morimur quotidie enim demitur aliqua pars vitae Et tunc quoque cum crescimus vita decrescit hunc ipsum quem agimus diem cum morte dividimus Sen. Epist 24. and what is that which will sweeten the passage and remove the fears which are usually attendant upon the contemplation of it Why It is our interest in Christ and union with him He drank that bitter cup yea the very dregs of it that he might sweeten it unto such as are in him 1 Cor. 15.53 54 55. O death where iâ— thy sting O grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sin and the strength â—f sin is the Law But thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ Christ tasted an accursed death that it might be made a blessing to his members Rev. 14.13 And I heard a voâ—ce from heaven saying unto me write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. It is not a being called Christians which will render the day of death a blessed day nor an outward attendance upon Christ but getting into him Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. 9. A believers union with Jesus Christ is a sure inlet unto a glorious resurrection out of the dust of the earth when this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal shall put on immortality And therefore observe it Sirs Although the wicked shall be raised at the last day as well as the godly yet not by the same means through which the godly are raised The wicked shall be raised by the power of Christ as a Judge but Believers shall rise again by vertue of their oneness with Christ and neer relation unto him 1 Cor. 15.22 23. For as in Adam all die so in Christ shall all be made alive But every man in his own order Christ the first fruits afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming Such as sleep in Jesus shall awake by vertue of their being in him and thereupon their vile bodies shall be changed and fashioned like to his glorious body * Rom. 8.11 He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by or because his Spirit that dwelleth in you Vivificari in hac sententia significat resurrectionem gloriosam quae similis est Christi resurrectioni propria bonis in quibus inhabitat spiritus Illud autem Propter inhabitantem spiritum ejus ad Christum refertur non ad Deum Et in hoc est argumenti efficacia quia enim spiritus hic Dei qui in nobis habitat etiam Christi est Sicus Christum ut homo à Patre suscitatus est ita nos suscitabimur qui eundem cum Christo spiritum habemus Tolet. in loc To which that passage of the Prophet Isaiah may be fitly referred which though it primarily be intended of outward deliverance and the wonderful restauration of the Church out of such a forlorn desperate estate as that they were as dead yet it may extend also to the last resurrection of which that eminent deliverance was but a shadow and resemblance Isa 26.19 Thy dead men shall live together with my dead body shall they arise awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust for thy dew is as the dew of herbs and the earth shall give up her dead This is another blessing which floweth from this fountain 10. Our union with Christ Jesus will minisâ—er boldness at the bar of Judgment and cause us to lift up our faces without spot or confusion at that great and notable day of the Lord. How will the wicked be ashamed to look Christ in the face at that day seeing that now they despise him and trample his blood under their feet seeing that now they slight his word and contemn his Ordinances and his people Then the Kings and the chief Captains and the great men and the mighty men and every bondman and freeman I mean all impenitent sinners of what rank or quality soever Will be ready to call upon the rocks to fall upon them and the mountains to cover them from the presence of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Then what would not a man give to be able to assure his heart before Christ at his appearance and to be of the number of Christ's followers that shall stand at his right hand when the ungodly are trembling at the left Why It is not all the substance of a mans house can purchâ—se this priviledge It is not all your prayers and tears at that day that can do it though you should cry out your heart blood if you are unconverted sinners But it depends wholly upon your union with Christ 1 Joh 2.28 And noor little children abide in him that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming 1 Thess 4.14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him Mark it He will summon the wicked before him but such as are members of his body he will bring with him i. e. in his train and company under his own shelter and protection Christ himself will undertake the patronage of their cause and to silence all the accusations of Satan which are brought in against them Well may they exult and be glad for it will be the day of the consummation of their marriage with their Redeemer If now they are espoused and contracted then they shall be married with the greatest solemnity in the presence of God and of his holy Angels Then will that vision be most notably fulfilled Rev. 21.2 3 4. I John saw the holy City new Jerusalem coming downfrom God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband This is the tenth mercy which depends upon our union with Christ 11. Lastly It is our having the Son or being united unto the Son which will give us actual admission into the kingdom of glory and possession of the inheritance prepared for the Saints When the wicked are sent into everlasting punishment then shall the righteous inherit eternal life When the ungodly are thrust together into hell then shall believers dwell in the presence of God for ever and drink of the rivers of pleasures which are at his right
broken and the cords of it snapt asunder If a dead branch stick to the Vine for a season yet at length the Gardiner cometh with his pruning-knife and catteth it away This is the very Metaphor whereby the dissolving of this Union is set forth John 15.2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away i.e. he cuts off with his pruning-hook and casteth them into the fire If they do not live through the vine they shall have no further being in the vine And there are three principal ways how this separation is made or this sort of union is dissolved 1. By their Apostacy and drawing back from the profession of the Faith in days of tribulation and trial for they are the usual seasons wherein carnal Professors discover themselves When God doth exercise his Church under discriminating providences as sore afflictions and persecutions for the truths sake then it appeareth who are his indeed and friends unfeigned to the truth Cum exurimur persecutiâ—â—â—ardare tunc probamur de fidei tonore Tertul. Then the living branches stick fast and such as are dead fall off and perish For this Sirs is one end which God aimeth at by bringing his Church into distress not as if he took pleasure in their smart and grief but to pare off their exuberancies and that such as are approved may be made manifest Then hypocrites mostly unstrip themselves of their covering and are discovered to be what they are Mat. 13.21 When tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word by and by they are offended Mark it They were only united to Christ by external adhaesion when the winter cometh and the frost nippeth them they wither and fall away In this sense we hold falling away from grace and apostarizing from the faith Amici ob utilitatem una cum utilitate dissolvuntur namnon sui mutuo erant amici sed utilitatis that is from common grace and the profession oâ— of the Faith This may serve to direct you how to judge of Apostates and backsliders either they fall but partially and God in due time will restore and bring them back by weeping cross or if they depart totally and finally from Christ The reason is because they were but dead branches in Christ and so they drop off 2. This common union is dissolved by the execution of the spiritual judgments of God upon their souls by giving them up to themselves and delivering them over to the will of Satan When persons continue long unprofitable in the Church under the Ordinances and are not spiritualized nor bettered by them God is provoked thereby to withdraw the very strivings of his Spirit from such and to let loose the reins of their corruptions which formerly were kept under to give them up to vile affections and a reprobate mind that they may make it appear to whom they really belong even to the God of this world the spirit that ruleth in the children of disobedience You read that thus he dealt with the Heathen for not living up to the dictates of the light of nature Rom. 1.24 26 28 29. Much more may it be feared when persons abuse the light of the Gospel and receive the grace of God therein manifested in vain or turn it into wantonness For as it is Heb. 6.7 8. The earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God But that which beareth thorns and bryars is rejected and is nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned By the earth understand the souls of men and women likened to the earth for their natural stupidity O earth earth earth hear the word of the Lord 2. Because of their tendency downwards unto earthly things But in this place especially because of the souls activity and fructifying vertue it will bring forth something either good or evil By the rain that cometh oft upon this earth is meant the doctrines of the word which fall as the rain and distil as the dew upon the face of the ground for the watering thereof Now that earth which drinks in this rain and beareth thorns and bryars i. e. if they live still in their sins defiled with their abominations and are not such as walk answerably in some measure to the means they are under is nigh unto cursing unto this spiritual curse of being given up to themselves to commit iniquity with greediness whereby they are sealed up to destruction to the curse of barrenness Never fruit grow upon these souls any more See also Hos 4.17 and Psal 81.8 11 12. This should have a mighty influence upon us to make us watchful over our hearts that we be not barren or unfruitful in the vineyard of Christ 3. This Union will be certainly and solemnly dissolved by pronouncing the sentence of eternal judgment If the hypocrisie of such be not discovered until the last then it will be made known in the face of all the world Christ will then rend them from him however they may hope to shelter themselves under his wings Then the Lord will judge between cattle and cattle between one branch and another Mat. 13.49 50. At the end of the world the Angels shall come and sever the wicked from among the just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire Mark it They shall be then severed from amongst the just intimating that now they are together as tares and wheat in the same field as good fish and bad in the same net as living branches and dead in the same vine but then the wicked shall be removed from their station and cast into hell That 's the third Position That this Union with Christ will sooner or later be dissolved 4. Pos 4. The state and condition of such persons as are thus united to Christ by way of external adhaerence only and do not aspire nor press after a further intimacy with him and a neerer conjunction that do not improve this priviledge that they may be indeed what they profess to be is a very wretched estate and a miserable condition It is worse than the condition of open enemies to Christ such as are grosly ignorant of the truths of the Gospel and that never professed to be his servants The Scripture calleth it a wretched and miserable condition that is very wretched exceeding miserable God doth hate them with a perfect hatred and loath them with a full abhorrence and detestation Rev. 3.16.17 So then because thou art luke-warm and neither hot no cold neither a sincere Professor of Religion nor a professed enemy to Religion neither faithful to Christ nor an open adversary against Christ I will spue thee out of my mouth Because thou sayest I am rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked Better for such carnal Professors that continue in that estate and
and salvation is annexed He that thus hath the Son hath life And peace be to all them that are thus in Christ Jesus 1 Pet. 5.14 This is it which we are enquiring into wherein the nature of it consisteth which I shall now enter upon the unfolding of in the second answer to the question propounded By way of description CHAP. IV. Union with Christ described and the parts of the Description opened 2. HAving thus cleared our passage by the aforementioned distinction come we now to lay down a brief description of this great priviledge or grace of Union with the Son or having the Son which I shall endeavour to explicate in the several branches of it Take the description thus Union with Christ is that special relation which believers have to the Lord Jesus as Mediator of the Covenant of Grace arising from their closs and intimate conjunction with him whereupon they are accounted as one with Christ their spiritual state is fundamentally changed and the benefits of redemption are effectually applyed unto their souls In which Description that we may handle it methodically and so the more understandingly you have these five branches into which it may be divided that need each of them a little explanation 1. The general nature of this grace or priviledge It is a persons relation to the Lord Jesus 2. A note of difference whereby it is distinguished from other relations It is that special relation which they have to Christ as Mediator 3. The subjects of this Union unto whom it doth appertain and they are believers It is the special relation of Believers to the Lord Jesus 4. The foundation of this Union whereupon it is bottomed and whence it doth arise Why it ariseth from their intimate conjunction with Christ 5. The blessed consequents that flow from it or the great effects which are produced by it And they are three 1. Hereupon they are reckoned as one with Christ 2. Their spiritual state is fundamentally changed 3. The benefits of redemption are effectually applyed 1. The general nature of this grace or priviledge of Union with Christ It is a persons relation to the Lord Jesus So as I conceive it may be most properly stiled that mutual habitude or reference which is between them or which Christ and his people have one to the other Vnio hat est spiritualis illa relatio hominum ad Christum quâ jus acquirunt ad omnâ—s illas benedictiones qua in ipso praparantur Ames med It is called in the Text an having the Son and it is frequently set forth by a being espoused or married to the Son 2 Cor. 11.2 For I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chast virgin to Christ. Rom. 7.4 That ye should be married to another even to him who is raised from the dead Elsewhere it is called A belonging to Christ Mar. 9.41 And a being his Gal. 5.24 You know though there is a very neer conjunction and oneness thereupon between the Husband and Wife that are married together yet it is but a relative oneness their individual properties remain distinct notwithstanding Such is this Union of a sincere Christian with the Lord Jesus they are contracted and married together and so become united For by such umbrages taken from external things God is pleased to set forth this high mystery that it may be better apprehended by us that it may be easier let into our understandings Under this Head I shall intreat you heedfully to mind and observe three things 1. That this Union of the Saints with Christ is not a transformation of either into the essence or substance of the other Nostra ipsius Christi conjunctio nec miscet personas nee confundit substantias Sed affectus consociat confoederat voluntates either of Christ into theirs or of Believers into his essence They are not so made one as as if there were a substantial alteration or commixtion therein as if their persons or natures were so contempered together as to be made up into one A sincere convert is one with the person of the Mediator but they are not thereby made one person as some have vented their blasphemies that they are Christed with Christ and Godded with God and such like expressions that would make the heart of a sober Christian to tremble and his ears to tingle at the mention of them This oneness is not to be understood grosly and carnally as the Capernaites mistook it but in a spiritual sense as Christ himself doth interpret it Joh. 6.56 63. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him How is this to be understood Mark v. 63. Loquituâ— non de externo ac â—ranseunte verborum istorum sonitu sed de sensu illorum Ac significat se non carnaliter de carnall carnis suae esu in quo vita non est sed spiritualiter de spiritus vivificatoris virtute in qua vita est loquutum esse Muscul in loc It is the spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak they are spirit and life As if he had said these things are to be taken in a spiritual sense and not after a carnal manner Indeed it is so undeniably evident that it is not to be meant of a corporal union that I shall not need to insist upon arguments for the confutation of such uncouth notions Christ and a believer are not so made one but that they retain their natures distinct and their personal properties distinct notwithstanding that union they have different places properties and employments Christ is corporally in heaven the heavens must contain him till the time of the restitutions of all things and many of the members of his mystical body are still militant upon the face of the earth He is the Redeemer and they are the redeemed Act. 3.21 To the Lord Christ doth justly and deservedly appertain all worship and homage All ye Angels of God worship him Heb. 1.6 But it were monstrous and hateful idolatry to give it unto the Saints who are our fellow-creatures Rev. 22.9 Acts 14 13 14 15. The Lord Jesus is ordained and constituted to be the Judge and Believers are a part of the persons to be judged It is true they shall fit as Assessors with Christ in passing sentence upon the wicked but first they must stand themselves before the Judgment-seat and receive their acquittal Act. 17.31 Rom. 14.10 I might multiply passages of this sort if it were needful So that this Union is not a perfonal or corporal oneness with Christ but it consisteth in the neer relation which they have unto him 2. Hence it followeth plainly by way of consectary that it is a gross mistake of such persons who would gather from a Believers oneness with Christ that they are perfectly freed from all remainders of sin Sirs Christ is holy and pure a Lamb without spot and blemish he never
knâ—w the least iniquity so as to be tainted therewith in the smallest degree but his Disciples and followers whilst they are in their pilgrimage here even the best of them have much corruption * Habitat peccatum in regenitiâ— sed non regnat manet sed non dominatur Evulsum quodaâ—modo nec tamen expâ—lsum dejectum sed not proâ—siâ— ejâ—â—â—um Bern. still abiding in their natures and are under manifold imperfections For their union with him is not a confornding of their beings as if they were made one physical person with Christ but it lieth in their neer relation unto Christ There hath been much poyson of late years vomited by wretches of profligate principles who turn the grace of God into wantonness Let them commit never so many cursed abominations yet they will plead that they sin not because Christ is in them But though Christ be in the godly not in such whose heart walketh after their detestable things and the godly are united to him in a spiritual way yet they do not lose thereby their personal beings and operations This oneness with the Son of God doth necessarily suppose a mans freedom from the reign of sin and the allowed practise of it but it may stand together with the remainders of corruption it is not altogether inconsistent with many failings and infirmities in the conversation 1 Joh. 1.6 8. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness if any sin be our way and course wherein we travel and allow our selves we lie and do not the truth And on the other hand If we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us 3. Remember this in the third place that although we call this oneness of the godly with Christ their neer relation unto him yet there is a great deal of reality in it Christ and his people are united truly and verily though not corporally You must not look upon this grace of Union as if it were a bare notion and imagination that hath its existence and being only in the fancies of men but there is an oneness indeed between the Lord Christ and his servants Joh. 15.1 I am the true vine q. d. As truly as there is a natural union bed tween the vine and the branches so there is an Union spiritual betwixt me and my Disciples And again Joh. 6.55 My flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed This is not a meer speculation or the product of mens brains it is not an Ens râ—tionis only fabricated and invented by the wit of man but there is much truth and reality in the thing Nay it is a very closs and intimate Union What expressions could be used of a fuller significancy than those Eph. 5.30 For we are memberâ— of his body and of his flesh and of his bones But still understand it not grosly and carnally but in a spiritual way and manner Relationes sunt minimae entitatis maximae verò efficaciae So there is a real ground on which it is bottomed and many glorious effects produced by it it is the inlet into all other Covenant-blessings and hath much reality in it self That 's the first branch of the description As to the general nature of this grace It is a persons relation to the Lord Jesus 2. Here is a note of difference whereby it is distingued from other relations unto Christ therefore I call it That special relation which Christians have to him as Mediator of the Covenant of grace as he is the Redeemer of Gods elect and as they are persons knit unto him that they may partake of the redemption which he hath purchased Such a relation as is appropriated unto them that are sanctified and whereunto the rest of the world are utterly strangers As there are special qualifications put into the godly and special work and service performed by the godly so there are special priviledges conferred upon them and this Union is one of those distinguishing priviledges whereby they have relation to Christ as he is the Redeemer that cometh to Zion Isa 54.5 Fear not for thy Maker is thine Husband and thy Redeemer the holy one of Israel the God of the whole earth he shall be called For the right apprehending of my meaning herein you must observe that there is a threefold relation which the children of men may be said to have to the Lord Christ and upon each of them in a sense to be in him There is the relation of 1. Creatures to Christ as The eternal God 2. Men. to Christ as The Son of man 3. Saints or Christians to Christ as The Mediator of the Covenant of grace 1. There is the relation of creatures to Christ as the eternal God of the same essence and substance with the Father and equal unto the Father by whom they were made and preserved from whom they received their being and continuation in their being For Sirs as Christ was appointed to transact matters with the Father so he is coessential and coequal with him God blessed for ever Rom 9.5 As in respect to his incarnation he was born in the fulness of time so upon the account of his divine nature he is the Father of eternity Isa 9.6 The man that is Gods fellow Zech. 13.7 As he came to be the Saviour of the world so by him the world was made and all things therein and by him they are upheld Joh. 1.1 3. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God All things were made by him and without him was nothing made that was made Heb. 1.3 He upholdeth all things by the word of his power Now from hence doth arise a relation unto Christ as creatures are related unto the Creator as dependent beings unto that infinite Majesty upon whom they have dependance Causâ— Procreans Esse Causâ— quae dat Porrò Causâ— Conservans Esse And the holy Ghost stileth it a being in him as the effect is in the cause both of creation and conservation Act. 17.28 For in him * Or by him as it may be reâ—dred For I understand nothing further by this in-existence than Dependentiae ereatura à creatore tam in esse quam in operari we live and move and have our being For we are all his off-spring This relation is common to the vilest of people nay to the very devils There are some poor ignorant souls delude themselves from hence they hope God will save them because he made them Will Christ damn his creatures the workmanship of his hands it can never enter into their hearts to believe it But O vain man if thou continuest ignorant or unregenerate and walkest in a course of ungodliness God that made thee will shew no mercy towards thee Christ that formed thee will send thee to hell Isa 27.11 God may refuse to own thee for the creature that he made he made thee holy
women Between whom shall this counsel be why between them both Jehovah the Lord of Hosts and the man whose name is the Branch Jesus Christ who is to build the Church and who is appointed to be the Ruler and Governour of it So I conceive it may be understood Or if you will have it rather to relate to the Kingly and Priestly Offices of Christ yet it will hold nevertheless that there was a consultation in heaven for reconciling of the world which Christ as King and Priest was to bâ—ing into execution As there was a counsel taken touching the creation of man between the persons in the blessed Trinity Let us make man after our image so there was a consultation held concerning the restauration of mankind out of their lapsed condition Upon this account as some observe Christ is called The Covenant Isa 49.8 9. I will give thee for a Covenant of the people to establish the earth to cause to inherit the desolate heritages That thou mayest say to the prisoners Go forth to them that are in darkness shew your selves Why for a Covenant Because God's Covenant with Believers is established in Christ and there was a Covenant of Redemption made with Christ upon the terms whereof he is constituted to be a Redeemer To say to the prisoners Go forth to bring deliverance to the captives and to proclaim the year of release or Jubilee the acceptable year of the Lord as it is Isa 61.1 2. See another Text to this purpose Psal 89.28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore and my Covenant shall stand fast with him With whom Why with the Lord Jesus Christ of whom David was an eminent type for so I apprehend it must be interpreted as of whom many passages in the Psalm are most clearly verified and to whom they may very pertinently and appositely be referred And some passages there are which caunot well be referred to any other See v. 19. I have laid help upon one that is mighty Agreeable to that of the Apostle He is able to save unto the uttermost Heb. 7.25 I have exalted one chosen out of the people Which is the very title that is given to the Son of God Behold my servant whom I uphold mine elect or chosen one in whom my soul delighteth Isa 42.1 Again v. 20. I have found David my servant Christ is oâ—en called by that name as being the most dearly beloved of God * A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dilectus fit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 qu. Amabilis proceeding from the loins of David according to the flesh and in a special manner typified by David both as King and Prophet of his Church Jer. 30.9 Hos 3.5 Ezek. 34.23 It followeth there With my holy oyl have I anointed him Answerable to that of Christ Luk. 4 18. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor Again v. 27. I will make him my first born higher than the Kings of the earth Compare it with Heb. 1.6 Col. 1.15 And that I may not make too long a stay upon this matter see v. 29. His seed will I make to endure for ever and his throne as the dayes of heaven * Quis non videt porrô illud quod dicitur in hoc versu viz. v. 29. non posse esse verum nisi ad spirituale Christi regnum referatur Corporalis enim successio in stirpe Davidis jamdudum cum regno desecit Simeon de Muis. in loc Compared with Dan. 7.13 14. Now saith God I have made a Covenant with him not only a Covenant of grace with the Saints in him but a Covenant of redemption as we call it for distinctions sake with him and it shall be an everlasting Covenant wch shal not be cancelled or disanulled it shall stand fast with him That 's the first thing to be observed 2. In this Covenant and compact between the Father and Christ for the redemption of sinners the Lord Jesus undertook to put himself under the Law and to bear the curse of the Law to give up himself unto death and so to carry on their salvation In the consultation between them it was found that nothing else could satisfie for the wrong done by sin and therefore there was no other way to deliver the sinners but by the death of Christ God the Father promised unto the Son That if by his death satisfaction were made then the sinners should be delivered they should be put into Christ's hands to be saved upon those terms And our Lord Jesus closed with this proposal he accepted the offer and undertook to make satisfaction by dying and suffering We have both the branches of that everlasting Covenant in the Scriptures 1. God's promise of salvation made to Christ in the behalf of his children Tit. 1.2 In hope of eternal life which God that cannot lye promised before the world began Mark it All the promises made to Believers are made in time but here is a promise of salvation from eternity And unto whom could that be made but unto Christ for such as should believe in him 2. Christ's undertaking to satisfie divine justice by humbling himself unto the death in that famous place Heb. 10.5 6 7. quoted out of Psal 40. Wherefore when he cometh into the world he saith sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not but a body thou hast prepared me In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure Then I said Lo I come in the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will O God This was the way wherein the Father would have salvation wrought out for lost sinners and Christ taketh it upon himself to accomplish the will of God in that behalf This is the second Observation 3. Observe in the next place That our Lord Jesus in dying and satisfying the justice of God for the sins of Believers according to what he had undertaken did not only die and suffer for their good and benefit but he died in their stead and suffered in their room that is he underwent that punishment which by the rigour of the Law they should have undergone and took upon himself that curse which in the strictness of justice would have fallen down upon their heads Therefore it is said The Lord laid their iniquities upon him Isa 53.6 All the sins of God's elect were made to meet together and laid upon his shoulders to bear Rom. 5.6 8. In due time Christ died for the ungodly And whilst we were sinners Christ died for us that is in our stead and room We deserved to die and God graciously spared us and put his own Son to death in our stead Gal. 2.20 He loved me and gave himself for me 4. To bring this home to our purpose observe That the end of Christ's undertaking thus to die and of his actual dying in the stead and behalf of lost sinners was that in due time they might be
state unto the end I answer It is built especially on a sixfold foundation 1. Upon the unchangeableness of the purpose of God concerning believers and the never failingness of his love towards them whereby he did elect and fore-ordain them to everlasting life and set them apart for the eternal enjoyment of himself This purpose of God cannot be frustrated or disappointed His counsel shall stand and he will perform all his pleasure and the love of God towards his chosen is not a transient fleeting but an everlasting love And therefore when he hath gathered a people unto Christ he will never suffer them to be divided from him again For that love which moved him to shew compassion upon them and to draw them unto his Son is unalterable as his own nature and essence * Dona dei sunt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 11.29 i. e. Dona illa quae proficiscuntur ex electione ut indicant verba proximè praecedentia Secundum electionem Charissimi Suar. de Praedest without any variableness or shadow of turning Jer. 31.3 I have loved thee with an everlasting love As for its original it is from everlasting so it reacheth unto everlasting whom he loveth indeed he loveth unto the end This is noted as the very ground of their perseverance 2 Tim. 2.18 19. Who concerning the truth have erred saying The resurrection is already past and overthrow the faith of some Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure having this seal The Lord knoweth who are his The foundation of God that is the eternal purpose and electing love of God upon which the salvation of the faithful is built as upon a sure ground-work This cannot be shaken that any of them should fall away to perdition whom God hath chosen to eternal life And the Lord knoweth who are his q. d. It is true the faith of some may be overthrown who were never sound in the faith but not a person who is the Lord 's indeed shall ever miscarry for their perseverance is built upon a sure foundation namely upon the electing love of God that will never fail 2. The indissolubleness of this union is built Vpon the nature of the Covenant made with believers and the truth and faithfulness of God in keeping Covenant with them It is such a lasting Covenant as is confirmed with an oath whereby the Lord hath manifested the unchangeableness of his counsel And wherein he hath made provision for the discharge and performance of the articles which are on their part to be discharged as well as for conveyance of the mercies which he is ingaged to convey thereupon This you have often spoken of as the ground of their establishment Isa 54.8 9 10. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment but with ever lasting kindness I will have mercy upon thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer For this is as the waters of Noah unto me for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth so have I sworn that I would not be wrath with thee nor rebuke thee For the mountains shall depart and the hills shall be removed but my kindness shall not depart from thee neither shall the Covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee As if he had said As sure as the day and night shall not fail according as I sware unto Noah after the flood so sure my mercy shall not fail towards you not shall ye at any hand fall short of it for I have made it over unto you by a covenant confirmed with an oath It is one remarkable difference between the word of God and his oath That sometimes a word of promise is made under certain exceptions and conditions implyed upon the failure whereof God may repent of the good which he promised to do Jer. 18.7 9 10. But when the Lord sweareth he will not repent That is a certain token of the immutability of his counsel Psal 110.4 Heb. 6.17 Now the perseverance of the Saints is a mercy which God hath sworn to give unto them Luke 1.73 74 75. The oath which he sware to our father Abraham that he would grant us That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the dayes of our lives Not only that we should be admitted into his service but likewise abide therein unto the death And for the freeness of the Covenant wherein God hath graciously obliged himself not only to perform the mercy promised but also to assist believers with his Spirit for performance of the duty required at their hands so as not to fall short of that mercy Take that noted place Jer. 32.39 40. And I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me for ever for the good of them and of their children after them And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me 3. The indissolveableness of the union between Believers and the Lord Jesus is built upon the charge that is given unto Christ concerning them and his faithfulness in accomplishing what he hath undertaken for them Thus Sirs when God the Father did put all his elect into Christ's hands and constituted and ordained him to be a Mediator for them it was with this express charge That he should conduct them to glory Not only that he should gather them unto himself and give them spiritual life but that he should guide them with safety to the kingdom of heaven And this charge he undertook John 17.2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him Heb. 2.10 In bringing many sons to glory Now in pursuance of this undertaking Christ doth kni◠them to himself inseparably that he may be a faithful steward of the grace of God It is the very reason which our Saviour giveth why no man shall pluck Believers out of his hands because he is to give them eternal life John 10.28 And the Apostle Peter put much stress upon it when he prayeth for the settlement of Believers in the faith 1 Pet. 5.10 But the God of all grace who hath called us into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect stablish strengthen settle you Here is a bundle of arguments to incourage our dependance upon God for our abiding in Christ There is scarcely a word but hath an emphasis upon it to that purpose 1. It is God that strengthens you he that is able to do it and is on your side so that greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world All your adversaries are but creatures who labour to draw you away but he that establisheth you
Christ's mind is placed and act in the like manner as his acteth Their hearts must be moulded into the same frame with his heart and so I might instance throughout the whole man Christ must be formed in them Gal. 4.19 And Phil. 2.5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus They must be so clothed with his divine qualities that it may be said they have put on the Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 13.14 2. There must be conformity to the sufferings of his death in a spiritual sense As Christ died for sin so Believers must die unto sin As our Lord Jesus was put to a painful lingring and ignominious death in like sort must their corruptions be mortified and killed For Mark it Sirs The death and crucifixion of our Lord Jesus is not only the meritorious cause through which sin is mortified and a strong evangelical reason why it should be mortified but it is also the pattern and exemplar according to which it is done In the very same way and manner as Christ was put to death for us so are our lusts and corruptions to be crucified within us Hereby we are rendred conformable unto his death Phil. 3.9 and planted together into the â—â—keness of his death Rom. 6.5 3. There must be conformâ—y to the Lord Jesus in his resurrection and ascension into heaven As he rose again from the dead and went up into heaven never to return to corruption any more so must the hearts of believers be raised unto spiritual objects and their affections set upon things that are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God Col. 3.1 Their hearts must be withdrawn from sin and the world never to be ingaged upon them any more but they must live as persons that are revived and made partakers of a new life Rom. 6.4 As he was raised from the dead by the glory of the father even so must we also walk in newness of life 4. Believers must be made conformable unto Christ in the holiness of his conversation They must tread in his steps doing the same work as he did and acting upon the same principles and motives as he acted upon and carrying on the same designs as Christ carried on and serving the Lord in the like manner with cheerfulness delight and alacrity as he served him Eph. 5.2 Walk in love as Christ also loved us And Rom. 15.1 2 3. We ought not to please our selves but every one his neighbour for his good to edification for Christ also pleased not himself c. 5. They must expect to be made conformable to Christ in the troubles and persecutions that befel him upon the earth Therefore it is called a suffering with him that is the same things and in like manner as he suffered Rom. 8.17 If we will be faithful unto Christ we must look to meet with the like usage as he met with and to go through many tribulations into the Kingdom of God This is the second thing to be noted under this comparison 3. According to the purport and tenour of this similitude taken from the foundation and the building Our faith which is the uniting grace is a resting upon Christ and his righteousness The stones are joyned to the foundation by being laid upon it and there resting So when we lay the stress of our salvation upon Christ and cast our burden upon him and there stay our selves as upon a rock thereby we are united unto Jesus and made one with him By nature we are as rough unpolished stones in a quarry without any relation to Christ Now the work of conviction may be compared to the unsettling of these stones and humiliation and legal terrors upon the heart are the hewing of these stones By the first they are removed out of the Quarry and by the other their ruggedness is pared away The grace of conversion is as the fitting and polishing the stones for the building and faith is a putting them upon the foundation and their resting upon it As by the cement of love the stones are coupled one to another so by faith they are knit unto the foundation By the Spirit they are brought unto Christ and so stay upon him Isa 50.10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord and obeyeth the voice of his servant and walketh in darkness and hath no light Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God Rom. 9.33 Behold I lay in Sion stumbling stone and rock of offence and whosoever believeth on him shall not be confounded Mark it As Christ is a foundation to his people so he is a rock of offence to them that are disobedient they split themselves against this rock they stumble and fall and are broken in pieces If you would be saved by him you must by faith rest upon this foundation For whosoever believeth in him shall not be confounded 1 Pet. 2.4 5. To whom coming as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God and precious Ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house c. See likewise Eph. 2.21 22. This is all that I shall speak under the sixth general Head for the illustration of this Mystery of Union with Christ by those similitudes which the holy Ghost hath made choice of to this purpose That which remains further is the Application of the Point CHAP. X. Inferences drawn from the Doctrine of Union with Christ The excellency and dignity of Believers The peculiarity of the providence of God towards them The miserable estate of Christless sinners FOr Application or practical improvement of this Doctrine I will manage it under these three Heads By way of 1. Information 2. Examination 3. Exhortation 1. By way of Information What are the practical Inferences which may be deduced from this Point of a Believers union with the Son of God and the necessity thereof I will not aim at the ingrossing of all that might be taken in upon this fruitful and spiritual subject Only I shall select these three Inferences which naturally arise from what hath been delivered 1. If believers are united unto Christ and made one with him in order to their salvation then hence I gather That they are the most honourable and most excellent persons upon the face of the earth Why Because they are united unto the Son of God and accordingly they should have the greatest esteem of us and be most precious and lovely in our eyes It is the character of a man that shall see the Lord in Sion that he contemneth a vile person but he honoureth them that fear the Lord Psal 15.1 4. Now here is that which maketh them right honourable above all their fellow-creatures they are intimately joyned unto Christ So that the Saints which are in the earth are the excellent of the earht Psal 16.3 more excellent than their neighbours than all that dwell round about them Prov. 12.26 You know the excellency or worthlessness of any
and pearls and diamonds but the finest coloured earth yet these bags have a bottom and will be emptied But a Believer hath a mine a treasure without a bottom like the widows vessel of oyl that will not be emptied The best state of a worldling is but in lease for a tearm of years Let men boast what they will of having such or such an inheritance for ever the truth is the best Free-holder in the Land is but tenant for life death will as by a Lease of Ejectment thrust him out of his possessions Psal 49.16 17. But a Believers inheritance is for ever and ever Prov. 8.18 19. Riches and honour are with me saith Christ the eternal wisdom of the Father yea durable riches and righteousness My fruit is better than gold yea than sine gold and my revenue than choice silver And v. 21. That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance and I will fill their treasures All the riches in the earth are but a shadow and fancy like the apples of Sodom that crumble into ashes between the fingers They can never fill a mans heart A person may be glutted and surfeited with worldly profits and pleasures but never satisfied But spiritual blessings are substantial riches that give satisfaction to the soul Rev. 3.18 3. We put a value upon men according to their imployments and callings As a Physitian or Lawyer is esteemed above others that are in meaner places and imployed about more servile work and the like Now the imployment of a Christian is of the highest rank He is called to be an attendant of an infinite Majesty He spends his time in converse with the mighty God and is one of his intimate acquaintance He driveth a trade for heaven and in pursuit of a crown an incorruptible crown whereas others are bufied about the trash and dung of the earth Phil. 3.20 For our Citizenship so the word imports * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is in heaven i.e. We are members of that corporation and trade in heavenly merchandise and drive on our designs for the enjoyment of that everlasting Kingdom 4. Men are usually prized according to their endowments and inward accomplishments of the mind As now If a man have a quick understanding and a strong memory and abundance of learning if he be of great parts and have a deep reach into affairs such a one is honoured and admired and persons of a mean capacity are little set by in comparison Why mind it Sirs A truly godly man is the best learned man He hath the highest accomplishments and the greatest insight into matters And no marvel for he hath been trained up in the School of Christ and none teacheth like him He hath had his breeding in the Court of the great King he hath knowledge of those mysteries that puzzle the understandings of the greatest Doctors and which the wisest Philosophers could never attain unto The greatest Statesman and wisest Counseilor upon earth is but a fool a very dolt in comparison with the meanest of those that are upright in heart * Quanto magis foras es sapiens tanto magis stulius efficeris Si in omnibus es prudens circa te ipsum insipiens Bern. For if men reject the wâ—rd of the Lord what wisdom is in them as the questiâ—n is put Jer. 8.9 All their knowledge is but madness and that which they boast of as wisdom is but the shadow of it They are cunning to pursue a feather to hunt after a thing of nought and neglect the substance and is this to be wise It is the greatest wisdom in the world to please the Lord and the highest point of knowledge to see into matters that concern * Vide miser homo quia totum est vanitas totum stultitiâ— totum dementia quicquid facis in hoc mundo praeter hoc solum quod propter Deum facis Bern. our eternal peace Prov. 1.7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledg So that unregenerate persons are but Abecedarians they have not gotten the first elements of true knowledge Psal 119.99 100. I have more understanding than all my teachers for thy testimonies are my meditation I understand more than the ancients because I keep thy precepts Multitude of dayes should teach wisdom and such as instruct others should be well skilled Yea but saith David I have out-stript them all for I am a servant of God anâ— have respect to his word 5. The last ground of honour I shall mention 〈◊〉 mens high extraction and Parentage their great kindred and alliances Such a person we highly account of He is Son to an Earle or Marquess or Duke he is neerly allied to personages of worth or the like But now a Believer is a child of the Almighty Eternal and Incomprehensible God he is of neer alliance to the Lord Jesus the Mediator He is closly knit to him and made one with him which is the highest pitch of dignity which a creature is capable of to be united unto the Creator the Lord of glory This is it which a godly man may glory of and be thereby able to out-boast all his fellow creatures all other the children of men whosoever Psal 87.4 5 6. I will make mention of Rabab and Babylon to them that know me Behold Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia this man was born there And of Sion it shall be said this or that man was born in her and the highest himself shall establish her The Lord shall count when he writeth up the people that this man was born there As if the Psalmist had said Men are apt to brag of their high birth and parentage they will boast of their Country and kindred I am a Citizen of Babylon will one say a famous City I saith another was born in Tyre a renowned place and have such personages of my kindred I can reckon my descent from Rahab saith a third a place of eminent remark and am allied to this or the other Prince and Potentate Well but a Believer can out-boast them he can go a step higher May he say I have God for my Father I was regenerate and born in Sion where the great King dwelleth I am married to the Son of God and so have a place in his family * Discamus sanctam superbiam sciamus nos esse illis meliores Hier. These are the people which God maketh the greatest reckoning of When he taketh a view of the world and the inhabitants thereof he puts an asterisk at the names of such He writeth them down with a note of remark Here is a man of royal descent indeed Here is a person that is of neer alliance to the King of heaven that is united to Jesus Christ who is King of kings and Lord of lords And mark how in the midst of the genealogy the holy Ghost setteth a note upon Jabez 1 Chron. 4.10 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren And Jabez