blessed and happy estate John 5.24 Psal. 2. ult IF the Question be What is that happy condition they are made partakers of I answer this appeares in these six priviledges or benefits principally 1. Iustification all their sinnes are pardoned 2. Reconciliation peace with God 3. Adoption they are made the Sonnes of God 4. Sanctification they are restored to the Image of God 5. Audience of all their prayers to God 6. Glorification in the Kingdome of heaven in eternall Communion with God SECT I. First Iustification THis is the first benefit which immediately followes our union unto Christ by Faith that look as we are no sooner children of Adam branches of that root by naturall generation but we immediately contract the guilt of his sin and so originall pollution so we are no sooner made branches of the second Adam by vocation and so united unto Christ by Faith but immediately wee have the imputation of his righteousnesse to our justification after which we receive in order of nature not time our sanctification There is no truth more necessary to bee knowne then this it being the principall thing contained in the Gospell Rom. 1.17 the Law shewing how a man may bee just and live but it hath not the least word how a sinfull man may be just and not dye this is proper to the revelation of the Gospell let me therefore give you a tast of the nature of it Our Justification is wrought by a double act 1. on God the Fathers part he by a gracious sentence absolves and acquits a sinner accepts of him as righteous 2. on God the Sons part procuring the passing of this sentence by his satisfaction imputed and applyed the Father being the person principally wronged hath chiefe power to forgive yet in justice he cannot acquit nor in truth account a man unrighteous as righteous unlesse the Son step in and satisfie for whose sake he forgives as the Apostle expressely saith Eph. 4. ult so that our Justification is wholly out of our selves and we are meerly passive in it Justification is not to make us inwardly just as the Papists dreame but it is a Law-tearme and is opposed against condemnation Rom. 8.33 now look as condemnation is the sentence of the Judge condemning a man to dye for his offence or sin so Iustification is the sentence of God the Father absolving a man from the guilt and punishment of sin for the sake of the righteousnesse of Christ That you may more particularly understand me take this description of it Iustification is the gracious Sentence of God the Father whereby for the satisfaction of Christ apprehended by faith and imputed to the faithfull he absolves them from the guilt and condemnation of all sin and accepts them as perfectly righteous to eternall life Let me open the particulars herein briefly in severall queries What it is in generall to justifie T is to passe sentence of absolution to pronounce a sinner righteous t is Gods pardon remission of sinnes this appeares from the opposition mentioned it stands in unto condemnation as a Iudge pardons a man when he saith he shall live or as a man manifestly forgives another when he gives him a promise or a bill of discharge so that note this by the way that our Iustification is not Gods eternall purpose to forgive but it is Gods sentence published a sinner is justified intentionally in election but not actually till this sentence be past and published The difficulty only here is where this sentence is pronounced for answer where of note that there is but a double Court wherein t is passed 1. Publikely in the Court of Heaven or in the Court-rolls of the Word for there is no other Court of Heaven where God speaks but this 2. Privately in the Court of Conscience By the first we are justified indeed from personall guilt by the second we feele our selves justified by the removall of conscience guilt The first is expresly mentioned Act. 10.43 and Rom. 1.17 the second is expresly set downe also Psal. 32.4 The first is the cause and foundation of this second the second ariseth from the first otherwise peace of conscience is a meere delusion the first is sometimes long before the second Psal. 88.15 as the sentence of condemnation in the Word is sometimes long before a man feeles that sentence in his own conscience the second comes in a long time after in some Christians The first is constant and unchangeable the second very changeable he that hath peace in his conscience to day may lost it by to morrow So that you are not in seeking the testimony of your justification to look for a sentence from heaven immediately pronounced of God but look for it in the Court of his Word the Court of Heaven which though we heare not sometime yet it rings and fills heaven and earth with the sound of it viz. There is no condemnation to them that beleeve for hereby the Lord mercifully provideth for the peace of his people more abundantly As when a poore Creditor is acquited or a malefactor pardoned I beseech you saith he let me have an acquitance a discharge a pardon under your owne hand and this quiets him against all accusers so t is here the Lord gives us an Acquitance in his VVord under his owne hand and seale and so gives us peace Heb. 6.18 VVho is it that justifieth T is God the Father Rom. 8.34 Father forgive them saith Christ. And hence Christ is an Advocate with the Father 1 Iohn 2.2 All the three Persons were wronged by sin yet the wrong was chiefly against the Father because his manner of working appeared chiefly in creation from the righteousnes of which man fell by sinne The Father forgives primarily by Soveraign authority the Sonne of Man Christ Jesus forgives by immediate dispensation and commission from the Father Iohn 5.22 Mat. 9.6 the Apostles and their successors forgive ministerially Iohn 21.23 The Father forgives by granting pardon the Sonne by procuring the Ministers where the Spirit also is by publishing or applying pardon so that this is great consolation that God the Father the party chiefly incensed t is he that justifieth t is he that passeth this gracious sentence and then who can condemne Why doth the Father thus justifie T is meerly his grace and out of grace And hence I call it his gracious sentence Rom. 3.24 justified freely by his grace What is his grace The Prophet Esay expounds it to be not our grace or works of grace although wrought by grace but his owne name sake In some respect indeed it is just for God to forgive viz. in regard of Christs satisfaction 1 Ioh. 1.7 Rom. 3.20 The Mercy-seat and the Tables of the Law in the Ark may well stand together but that Christ was sent to satisfie justice and that thy sinnes were satisfied for and not anothers thus it s wholly of grace If therefore you
will say May not the sweetnesse of Christ in the Gospell and sense of mercy separate from sinne without any compunction I answer 1. Sense of mercy and Christs sweetnesse I conceive serve principally to draw the soule unto Christ. Ier. 31.3 With loving kindnesse have I drawn thee But compunction or sense of â—inne principally serves in the hand of Christ to turn the soule from sin Aversion from sin is distinct from and in order goes before our conversion unto God 2. Sense of the sweetnesse of Gods grace in Christ keeps out sin but it doth not thrust out sin at first 3. Christ cannot be effectually sweet unlesse sinne be first made bitter there may be some generall notice of Christs excellency and some thirty pieces given for him some esteeme of his grace and hope of his mercy which may occasion sorrow but I dare not say that this is any sound or thorow work till after sorrow Esay 50.4 Christ hath the tongue of the learned given him to speak a word in season Unto whom It is added unto the weary They are the men that will prize mercy and they onely to purpose they that have felt the bitternesse of sinne and wrath find it exceeding hard to prize Christ and to taste his sweetnesse how shall they doe it indeed that find none at all Sweetnesse before sense of sinne is like Cordials before purging of a foule stomach which usually strengthen the humour but recover not the man Because without this no man will either care for Christ or feele a need of Christ a man may see a want of Christ by the power of conviction but he will never feele a need of Christ but by the spirit of compunction The whole need not the Physitian but they that are sick A whole man may see his want of a Physitian but a sick man onely feels his need of him will prize him send for him By the whole you are not to understand such as have no need indeed of Christ for what sinner but hath need of him but such as feel no need of him as by sick cannot be meant such as are sinfull and miserable for then Christ should come actually to save all men but those that did feele themselves so as a sick man that feeles his sicknesse these onely are the men that feele a need and necessity of Christ these onely will come to Christ and be glad of Christ and be truly thankfull for their recovery of Christ. And hence ariseth the great sin of the world in despising the Gospel not at all affected with the glad tidings of it because they are not affected with their sinne and misery or if they be affected but in part with the Gospel it is because they are not throughly affected with their misery before And hence it is that when the Lord called his people to him yet they would not come to him because they were Lords and well enough without him Why did not they come to the Supper being invited it was because they had farms and oxen and wives to attend unto they felt no need of comming as the poore lame blind and halt did The Prodigall cares not for father nor fathers house untill hee come to see Here I dye It is true the grace of the Gospel drawes men unto Christ but it is very observable that the Gospel reveales no grace but with respect and in reference unto sinners and men in extreame misery the Gospel saith not that Christ is come to save but to save sinners and to save his people from their sins It reveales not this that God justifies men but he justifies the ungodly it reveales not this that Christ dyed for us but that he dyed for them that were weak for sinners for enemies And if so can any man imagine that this newes will be sweet unlesse men see and feele the infinite misery of sin and the fruits of it will not men say or think What great matter is there in that Suppose we be sinners and enemies yet we are well enough before Christ come a mans life lies in his sinne Now suppose any should proclaime to a company of men the great favour of their Prince toward them that he is such a gracious Prince as will take away all their lives will this be glad tidings Gospel Grace cannot be set out much lesse felt but in reference to sin and misery which must be first felt before it can be sweet Because Christ will never come but onely unto such as feele their misery for you will say A man may come to Christ without it I say againe if he doth as hee hath many followers yet Christ will not come to him nor commit himselfe to him I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance in which place note that as by the righteous is not meant such as are sincerely so but such as think and find themselves so so by sinners is not meant all manner of impenitent and hard hearted sinners but such as think and feele themselves such and lament under it now God the Father sent him only unto such he is sent not to heale the hard hearted but the broken hearted indeed he is sent to make men broken hearted who have hard hearts but he is not sent to heale them untill then the Lord leaves the ninety nine that need no repentance to wilder for ever the one lost sheep who feeles it selfe so and â—eeles a need of a Saviour to come and find it out who cannot come and find out him the Lord Jesus will come unto and unto him only leaving all the ninety nine This may lastly appeare by considering the end of mans fall into sin and the publishing of the Law to reveale sin and of the Gospell also in reference unto sin and misery why did the Lord suffer the fall of man what was his great plot in it it is apparent this that thereby way might be made for the greater manifestation of Gods grace in Christ. The Serpent poysons all mankind that the seed of the woman might have the glory of recovering some This was Gods last end The perdition of some of themselves being but subordinate unto this Rom. 9.22 23. Surely Adam might have glorified grace if he had stood and God had revealed his grace in preserving him made mutable from falling But the Lord saw grace should not be sufficiently advanced to its highest dignity by this and therefore suffers him actually to fall and that into an extreame depth of misery Now consider mans fall in it selfe cannot be a meane of glorifying grace but rather obscures all the glory of God how shall the Lord attaine his end then hereby truly if the Lord let men see and feele their fall and misery by it now grace offered will â—e accepted and glorified And therefore the Lord sends the law to reveale sin and make it exceeding sinfull
of it And is not this matter of great consolation to all those who feele themselves utterly unable to beleeve you think the Lord would give peace and pardon life and mercy if I could beleeve oh consider the Lord hath undertaken in the Covenant of Grace to worke in all his the condition of the Covenant as well as to convey the good of it Ier. 31.31 32 33 34. He hath done this for others by an irresistible power Heb. 12.1 2. Look up to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith he came out of his Fathers bosome not onely to give life by his death but to enable his to eat and close with him by Faith that they might never dye Iohn 6.50 so that the Lord may work it in thee it is true also he may not yet it is unspeakable comfort to consider that if the Lord had put it over unto thee to beleeve it is certaine thou shouldst never have beleeved but now the work is put into the hand of Christ that which is impossible to thee is possible nay easie with him hee can comprehend thee when thou canst not apprehend him this is exceeding sweet when thy body is sick and soule is deserted incredible things to be beleeved are propounded an impossible work to thy weaknesse urged upon paine of Gods sorest and most unappeasable wrath to consider it is not in me but in the Lords owne hand and it is his office his glory to work faith and as the Apostle speakes to shew mercy unto them that are shut up not onely under sinne but also unbeleefe Rom. 11.32 But why hath the Lord made thee feele thy inability to beleeve truly the end of our wants is not to make us sin and shift for our selves but to aske and seek for supply and the end of the continuance of those wants is that we should continue to aske and seek And dost thou thinke thou shalt seek to the Lord by his owne hand to create faith and fetch thee in and will not the Lord take his time to work it He that beleeves saith the Apostle Rom. 10.11 shall not bee ashamed why so because the Lord saith he who is over all is rich unto all that call upon him verse 12. If thou hast not a heart shut up from asking of it the Lord who hath power hath not a heart shut up towards thee from working it But withall be thankfull exceedingly all you whose hearts the Lord hath drawne and overcome he came to his owne people the Jewes and would oft have gathered them but they would not and therefore he forsook them and left their habitations desolate oh how oft would the Lord have gathered you and you would not yet the Lord hath not forsaken you but called you in whether you would or no the Lord hath taken many a man at his first word and left him at the first repulse shaken off the dust of his feet against him presently Mat. 10.14 without any more intreaties to accept of him yet though thou hast not only refused but even crucified the Sonne of God yet hee hath not been driven from thee but his bowels have been oft kindled together when he hath been ready to give thee up when thou hast been under the hedges and in the high-wayes that lead to death didst never think of him nor didst desire him yet hee hath compelled thee to come in hee hath made thee feel suâ—h an extream need of him and made himselfe so exceeding sweet that thou hast not been able to resist his love but to cry out Lord thou hast overcome me with mercy I am not able to resist any more nay which is more wonderfull when thou hast been gathered and gone from him and lost thy selfe and him also againe and it may be hast bin offended at him yet he hath gone before thee into Galilee and gathered thee up when thou hast been as water spilt upon the ground what should be the cause of this but only this the work of faith lies upon him both to begin and finish he must gather in all his lost sheep and therefore hee hath put forth an irresistible power of his Spirit upon thy heart which must carry thee captive after him I am afraid my faith hath been rather presumption a work of my owne power then faith wrought by the Spirits power how may I discerne that If you are wrapt up in Gods Covenant if any promise be actually yours it is no presumption to take possession by faith of what is your owne dost thou seriously will Christ and resolve never to give the Lord rest untill he give thee rest in him then see Rev. 22.17 Whosoever will let him take of the water of life Dost thou thirst after Christ then read Esay 55.1 〈…〉 Iohn 7.37 If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink When Christ saw their faith Mat. 9.1 2. what said he Sonne be of good cheere thy sinnes be forgiven the word signifies be confident It is no presumption to beleeve pardon of sinnes now thou art come unto me not onely for the healing of thy body but especially for pardon of sinne It is the great sin of many Saints when they doe thirst and beleeve and come to Christ and so are under the promise of grace yet they think it presumption now to believe and take possession of all those treasures that be in Christ but look that the Lord should first make them feele and then they will beleeve whereas faith should now receive and drinke in abundantly of the fulnesse of Christ shall it be accounted presumption for any man to eat his owne bread and drink his owne drink and put on his owne cloathes the promise makes Christ and all his benefits your owne therefore it is no presumption to apply them Suppose you cannot find your selfe within any promise and you see no reason to beleeve onely you have the Lords call and command to beleeve doe you now in conscience and obedience to this command or to Gods invitation and intreaty in the Gospell beleeve because thou â—â—rest not dishonour God by refusing his 〈◊〉 thou dost therefore accept oâ— it this is no presumption unlesse obedience be presumption nay the most acceptable obedience which is the obedience of Faith Iohn 6.38 For what was the ground on which those 3000 beleeved Acts 2.38 39. c. Peter said Repent that you may receive remission of sinnes now what followes they that gladly received the word were baptized Oh that word repent i. e. as Beza expounds it return to God and come in was a most sweet word to them and therefore they received it this was no presumption either for Peter to exhort them to repent or for them to take the Lord as that godly man said at his first word I know there is a subjection to the Gospell arising only from slavish fear and carnall hopes Psal. 66.3 Psal. 18.44 this may bee in presumptuous reprobates but