knowledge of Christ in comparison of which all other things were loss and dross and dung That he might know Christ and the power of his Resurrection and the fellowship of his Sufferings being made conformable to his Death Phil. 3.8 10. And this is one way of clearing the difficulty and reconciling the seeming contradiction 2. Others have recourse to a Hyperbaton and would clear the Thing by transposing the words And they order the words thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To know the surpassing Love of the knowledge of Christ and then the sense will be this I pray that you may know that surpassing that incomparable Love of God which appeared in giving you the knowledge of Christ And it must be for ever acknowledged that this was a marvellous instance of the Love of God that he was pleased to Communicate to the World the knowledge of a Redeemer but yet it seems rather to impoverish the sense than to give us the full import of the expression 3. There is no need to fly to Critical Niceties nor to call in Rhethorick and its figures to our Relief The words will be consistent and freed from all appearance of self-contradiction if we attend to these following Positions 1. That which cannot be known by a meer humane understanding may yet be understood by the Spirit of Christ which searcheth all things even the deep things of God 1 Cor. 2.10 And the Spirit of God is given for this end to shed abroad the Love of God and so the Love of Christ in our Hearts Rom. 5.5 2. That which cannot be fully known of the Love of Christ in this present state where our understandings are very much clouded and our faith weak thro' the remainders of inward Corruption yet shall be more gloriously known when we come to see God in Christ face to face 1 Cor. 13.12 Now we know but in part but then we shall know as we are also known 3. Although there be much of the Love of Christ which passes all our present knowledge yet there 's enough of that Love that may be known enough to feed our knowledge that it starve not in this life and yet to whet the edge of the Souls appetite to know more in the life to come enough to guide us and conduct us thro' our pilgrimage and abundance more reserv'd for our portion The Love of Christ has Depths in it wherein the daring Soul may drown and yet those shallows wherein the humble Soul may safely wade and comfortably bathe it self without danger of being swallowed up And we have some parallel expressions in Scripture which may well illustrate this of the Text Phil. 4.7 The peace of God passes all understanding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it exceeds all conception and yet there is that in the Peace of God which may be conceived and expressed too even something of that inward satisfaction which arises from a well grounded hope that our peace is made with God and that peace copied out upon and exemplified in a pure and quiet Conscience so in the verse following my Text we read that God is able to do exceeding abundantly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 above that we can ask and think and yet we may conceive something of what God will do for us and cloath those conceptions with suitable expressions and make our humble Addresses to him for what he has promised to give to us and do for us in such a way as shall be acceptable to God thro' the Interest of our Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ In a word As Moses could not see Gods face and live Exod. 33.20 And yet Moses could not live except he saw Gods face so is there a measure a degree of the knowledge of the Love of Christ which we cannot reach if we would die for 't and yet there is such a measure such a Degree of the knowledge of that Love of Christ which we must reach or we die for 't And hence I will briefly touch upon two Propositions I. Prop. There is something in the Love of Christ which in this present state surpasses all perfect knowledge of it Something of which we may say as one said of a Learned Book If that which I understand be so admirable what is that which I do not understand Take any one mystery of the Gospel and when we have pursued it as far as our faculties are able to trace it we must be forced to make a stand and as Paul upon the shore of the Ocean of Gods unsearchable untraceable Counsels Rom. 11.33 to cry out O the Depth or as Job chap. 26.14 Lo these are parts of his ways and how little a portion is heard of him There are two things that are unmeasurable The evil of sin and the Love of a Saviour And the Love of a Saviour must be therefore unmeasurable to the sinner because the evil of sin is unmeasurable He that knows not the exceeding greatness of his debt can never fully know the exceeding greatness of his Love that became a surety for it He that cannot measure the greatness of the Curse he lay under can never measure the Love of his Deliverer And he that never could fully estimate the misery of his bondage can never fully value or conceive aright of the Love of his Redeemer 1. The evil of his is unmeasurable It is so whether we consider the Object against whom sin is committed or the Punishment which sin hath deserved or the Agonies which the Redeemer suffer'd to Atone it 1. If we consider sin as committed against an infinite God so sin is infinite objectively and therefore unmeasurable the malignity of sin is unconceivable it strikes at the Authority the Glory the very Being of the chiefest Good Every sin would in its tendency dethrone the most High 2. If we consider the demerit of sin it is that which passes all understanding Psal 90.11 Who knows the power of thine anger We cannot take the just and Adequate measure of that wrath which is due to sin by all the Plagues and Judgments by which God ever bore witness against the evil of sin The fire of Sodom and Gomorra was dreadful fire but yet it was quencht a little time extinguisht it but that fire of wrath which burns upon but never burns up sinners is inextinguishable fire Mark 9.44 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The fire is inextinguishable It is everlasting punishment Matth. 25.46 The Deluge that drowned the old World argued great Displeasure against sinners yet neither was that a just measure of Gods wrath that is due to sin for the waters of the Deluge were soon dryed up but so will not the Floods of Divine Vengeance poured out upon sinners to the uttermost for the breath that is the anger of the Lord as a stream of fire and brimstone kindles and feeds the matter of those flames The Plagues of Egypt were exceeding great demonstrations of Divine anger against sin yet they were determinate for number
give quite another sense of the words which I will not so much as mention but presently propose what I take to be the summ of the Text. Doctrine We should strictly and frequently call our selves to an account that we may the better give an answer to Christs question what end we propose to our selves in attending upon the Ministry of the Word 'T was but a little while since there was a general flocking after John Baptist as if they would turn the City into a Wilderness and make the Wilderness the City (b) Joh. 5.35 He was a burning and a shining light and ye were willing for a season to rejoyce in his light but that flash is over and now they are flocking after Christ with like affection Christ doth as it were say to them 'T is a foolish and ridiculous lightness to run after the best Preachers in the World without proposing some end unto our selves beyond the vanity and pomp of the World some fruit that may remain The blessed Apostle would have those that had been his Hearers to call themselves to an account examine themselves (c) 2 Cor. 13.5 put such searching questions to their own Consciences whether they be in the Faith whether the Doctrine of Faith hold them that they do not fwerve from it and whether the Grace of Faith be in them that they live by it If not they can't expect that Christ should approve of them I shall endeavour to make my way to the stating of the Case thorow the explaining of the Doctrine by these Propositions Proposition 1. John Baptists Ministry was the best in the world when he began to Preach and all people that had any care of their Souls went out after him His Ministry differed from the ordinary Ministry of the Times He cryed not up Humane Inventions before Divine Institutions but with holy vehemency press'd the necessary Doctrine of Repentance a Repentance upon which they might expect pardon of sin (d) Luke 3.3 and 't was convincing where 't was not converting those that loved their sins better than to yield 'T was of Divine Authority yet they loved their credit better than to affirm 't was but of Humane Authority (e) Mar. 11.14 32. In short his main design was to bring or send persons to Christ I Baptize you with water (f) Mat. 3.11 12. to repentance but he that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shoâ—s I am not worthy to bear he shall Baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fâ—re Whose â—an is in his hand and he will throughly purge his â—â—â—or and gâ—thâ—r his wâ—â—at into his gaâ—ner but will burn up the chasf with unqu nchable fire q. d. Christ will Baptize with the pouring out of his Spirit on Believers and with that fiery tryal which shall refine the Gold from the Dross and winnow the Wheat from the Chaff he will gather the Faithful into his Heavenly Kingdom and burn up Unbelievers with unquenchable fire Prop. 2. Persons of all ranks with some kind of pains and self-denyal followed John Baptist for his convincing Instruction (g) Mat. 3.5 Some were savingly converted and got that good by his Ministry which they made good use of many a year after 'T is said of Apollos (h) Acts 18.25 26. that he knew only the baptism of John He taught diligently the things of the Lord and with the help of what he got by Christian Conference he mightily convinced the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah but besides few such 1. The Pharisees they followed him who were themselves the most applauded Preachers among the Jews they whose Dictates were taken for Oracles they left the chair of Moses to hear this Elias 2. The Sadducees who denyed the Resurrection and the Immortality of the Soul John asks them (i) Mat. 3.7.8 Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come q. d. You Pharisees are so conceited of your own Righteousness that you think you are in no danger of Hell and you Sadducees think there is none John presses both to Repentance that might evidence it self by its fruit to be sincere 3. Persons that pretend nothing to Religion but were so infamous for gross wickedness that every one who valued his Reputation shun'd being seen in their company (k) Mat. 21.31 32. The Publicans and the Harlots got Heaven by believing 4. Souldiers that the Romans kept to maintain their Conquest of Judea such do not use to trouble themselves with Cases of Conscience (l) Luke 3.14 The Souldiers also demanded of him saying And what shall we do He doth not blame the employment but regulates their behaviour 5. Courtiers who could not bear plain dealing yet could expect no other from him They could not but fear him though they did not love him 'T is said that Herod himself (m) Mar. 6.20 feared John knowing that he was a just man and an holy and observed him and when he heard him he did many things and heard him gladly As if he would bribe his Conscience by parting with some sins more quietly to give him leave to keep others that he could not part with And thus you see what a Congregation John preached to Prop. 3. Those that attend upon the Ministry of the Word they do or should propose unto themselves some End why they do it Those who through Grace propose a good end to themselves they always obtain their end they (n) 2 The. 2.10 who receive the truth in the love of it shall be saved But for the most 1. Some propose to themselves no End at all neither can they so much as speak sense to any one that shall ask them why they come there I cannot better express it than in the words of the Divine Historian in describing of that rout truly so called though he names it a Church (o) Acts 19.32 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the assembly was confused and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together I am loth to say this description fits too many Congregations 2. Some propose to themselves Ends down-right sinful viz. Some to catch at expressions for the exercise of their frothy Wits over a glass of Wine (p) Isa 28.22 Be not mockers lest your bands be made too strong for you to break Some to ensnare the Minister we need not think it strange for they dealt so with our Master (q) Mark 12.13 14. They send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to catch him in his words and they pretend a scrupulous Conscience they say unto him Master we know that thou art true and carest for no man for thou regardest not the person of men but teachest the way of God in truth Is it lawful to give that as Tribute to Caesaer which Moses appointed for the use of the Sanctuary Christ doth as it were answer them If 't were really a Case of Conscience they would not stick at paying both
Christ is most gratefull and most forcible 1. It must be most Acceptable unto God being it speaks the Soul truly affected with and sensible of God's Free Grace and Mercy It does not come to God with any Purpose to deserve at God's hands Psal 103.1 2. but with a What shall I render With many blessings of God for his pardoning of his Iniquity and healing his diseases 2. Thankfulness as low as sin hath sunk Man is yet left as visibly engraven on the Nature of Man Hence the Heathen could account Unthankfulness as the summ of all vices Isa 1.3 and Scripture makes the unkthankfull Man worse than a Beast Now if Thankfulness remain and be cogent what can oblige more than the Mercies of God in Christ If we serve them that give us Food and Rayment what Service is too much for Him that gives us all things Nay that gives us Christ and with him all things Oh! there is a vast difference in having Christ the Peace and Love of God through Him in having Christ his Spirit to enable us to improve what we have from God and not having Christ with our present Enjoyments Methinks when we see our Children or Servants run or go where we would have them do any thing to please or gratifie us we cannot but blush to think how little we do and how awkward it is what we do for God Who is it that considers the Love of God in Jesus Christ and can forbear crying out with the Psalmist Truly Lord I am thy servant I am thy servant Psal 116.16 Away with all formal Pops It is ingeminated because of our Obligation to God's service from our Redemption as well as from our Creation And if thou dost say so as thou doest in effect in every Prayer let not God find thee with a Lye in thy mouth God's and Christ's Love constrains us 3. Love unto God for all his glorious Excellencies especially for his Mercy in Christ Jesus is the best Principle of Holiness and our departing from Iniquity Prov. 23.26 God requires his Children to give him their Heart And indeed in all the Acts of Religion and Devotion what the Heart does not doe is look'd upon by God as not done at all Nay it were well for the Hypocrite that all his outside Services and formal Professions had never been 2 Thes 3.5 This made St. Paul to pray for the Thessalonians That the Lord would direct their Hearts into the Love of God Cant. 8.7 Now Love is as a Fire which many waters cannot quench Difficulties will be overcome and Obedience will be permanent where true Love to God is And this Love in the Soul to God is begun by and flowes from God's Love first unto the Soul 1 John 4.19 as Fire kindles Fire he loved us first and had it not been a very great Flame it could never have thawed and warm'd our frozen Hearts We do but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Love when we are beloved but when we are made sensible of Christs Love the freeness efficacy and usefulness of it I know not what to say first or last concerning it 2 Cor. 5.14 it passeth Knowledge then we are constrained that is as effectually thô inwardly forced as any strong man can by his strength force us to do any outward act He that acts according to any of Gods Commandments out of hope to merit by them may act out of Love indeed but it must be then self-love to obtain as he vainly thinks by his Obedience Eternal Happiness Our Love of God should exceed Self-love as far as God himself exceeds us which is infinitely Our Love of God is a Vertue and the Foundation of all the rest Our Love of our selves thus taken is a sin and a Mother-sin the Cause of all the rest of our sins To hear a penitent and believing Sinner exulting in his Praises unto God professing his deep sense of his Mercies considering what Returns he shall make unto God Psal 51.12 for the Spirit of God is a free and ingenuous Spirit it were the pleasantest and desirablest Musick on this side of the heavenly Quire Thou mayst set about it thy self and make this Melody in thy own Heart Eph. 5.19 Ruminate on what God hath done for thee and what he daily does What thou owest for the Mercies of every Day and Night and Moment and what suitable sense thou oughtest to have of them and to thy poor power thy little all what Returns thou oughtest to make for them But when thou settest thy self as in the sight of God to consider what thou shouldest return to thy God for his Mercy in Christ Jesus thou wilt find that thy self thy Service thy All is too little but you must cry out with Mr. Herbert Alas my God I know not what APPLICATION I cannot wholly omit Application Applicat though I have in a great measure prevented my self Take what remains in these few Uses 1. This Justifies God For no Doctrine Instruct This justifies God no Dispensation of his did ever countenance Sin Nay nothing does shew so plainly Gods hatred of Sin as the Gospel does If we take a walk in the Garden where our Saviour sweat those drops of Blood Luke 22.44 Matth. 27.46 or be within hearing of that lamentable Cry My God my God why hast thou forsaken me If we ask Why does the Son of God thus cry out what makes him thus sweat The Gospel informs us that it was our Sin that press'd this Blood out of him and forced this bitter Cry from him Luke 23.31 And if this be done in the green tree what shall be done to the dry It discovers vain Pretensions 2. This discovers the groundless Pretensions and vain Confidence of most men who live in Sin and yet hope or would seem to hope to live with God Oh! Know ye not your own selves Read the whole Testament over either that is not the Gospel or you cannot receive comfort from it Not one good word is there in it to any in whom sin reigns unless those Threatnings of Hell and Destruction may be call'd good Oh that they might prove so to awaken you to a due sense of your Condition and be as a Schoolmaster to lead or drive you to Christ to take him for your Lord as well as for your Saviour if he be not both 2 Pet. 1.11 Ch. 2.20 he is neither unto you You cannot be saved by your Book could you read it and understand it never so well unless you practise it also Christ must be in you Coloss 1.27 2 Thess 2.16 his Spirit entertained in your Heart or there is no Hope of Glory for you All good Hope is through Grace Thou flatterest thy self that God is thy Father and so thou callest him in thy Prayers but if thou beest not like him 2 Pet. 2.4 if thou partakest not of His divine Nature thou takest his Name
like but worse than the Beasts for the fiercest Beasts of Africa or Hyrcania have a respect for their own likeness tho' they devour others yet they spare those of their own kind but Men are so degenerate as to be most cruel against their Brethren These are some of the Evils that proceed from sin as their natural Cause And from hence 't is evident that sin makes Men miserable were there no Hell of torment to receive them in the next State 2. I will consider the Evils consequent to sin as the penal effects of the sentence against sin of Divine Justice that decrees it and Divine Power that inflicts it and in these the sinner is often an active instrument of his own misery 1. The fall of the Angels is the first and most terrible punishment of sin God spared not the Angels that sinned but cast them down to Hell reserved in chains of darkness to judgment How are they fall'n From what height of glory and felicity into bottomless perdition How are they continually rackt and tormented with the remembrance of their lost happiness If a thousand of the prime Nobility of a Nation were executed in a day by the sentence of a righteous King we should conclude their crimes to be atrocious innumerable Angels dignified with the titles of Dominions and Principalities were expell'd from Heaven their native seat and the sanctuary of life and are dead to all the joyful operations of the intellectual nature and only alive to everlasting pain One sin of pride or envy brought this terrible vengeance from whence we may infer how provoking sin is to the holy God We read of King Vzziah that upon his presumption to offer incense he was struck with a Leprosie and the Priests thrust him out and himself hasted to go out of the Temple a representation of the punishment of the Angels by presumption they were struck with a Leprosie and justly expelled from the Celestial Temple and not being able to sustain the terrors of the Divine Majesty they fled from his presence 'T is said God cast them down and they left their own habitation 2. Consider the penal effects of sin with respect to Man They are comprehended in the sentence of death the first and second death threaten'd to deter Adam from transgressing the Law In the first Creation Man while innocent was immortal for altho his Bâ—â—y was compounded of jarring Elements that had a natural tendency to dissolution yet the Soul was endowed with such vertue as to imbalm the Body alive and to preserve it from the least degree of putrefaction But when Man by his voluntary sin was separated from the fountain of life the Soul lost its derivative life from God and the active life infused by its union into the Body It cannot preserve the natural life beyond its limited term A righteous retaliation Thus the Apostle tells us Sin came into the World and death by sin Even infants who never committed sin die having been conceived in sin And death brought in its retinue evils so numerous and various that their kinds are more than words to name and distinguish them Man that is born of a Woman is of few days and full of trouble at his birth he enters into a labyrinth of Thorns this miserable World and his life is a continual turning in it he cannot escape being sometimes prick'd and torn and at going out of it his Soul is rent from the embraces of the Body 'T is as possible to tell the number of the waves in a tempestuous Sea as to recount all the tormenting passions of the Soul all the Diseases of the Body which far exceed in number all the unhappy parts wherein they are seated What an afflicting object would it be to hear all the mournful lamentations all the piercing complaints all the deep groans from the miserable in this present state What a prospect of Terror to see Death in its various shapes by Famine by Fire by Sword and by wasting or painful Diseases triumphant over all mankind What a sight of woe to have all the Graves and Charnel-houses open'd and so many loathsom Carcasses or heaps of dry naked Bones the trophies of Death expos'd to view Such are the afflicting and destructive effects of sin For wickedness burns as a fire it devours the Briars and Thorns Besides other miseries in this life sometimes the terrors of an accusing Conscience seise upon Men which of all evils are most heavy and overwhelming Solomon who understood the frame of humane Nature tells us The Spirit of a Man can bear his infirmity that is the mind fortified by Principles of moral Counsel and Constancy can endure the assault of external Evils but a wounded Spirit who can bear This is most insupportable when the sting and remorse of the mind is from the sense of guilt for then God appears an enemy righteous and severe and who can encounter with offended Omnipotence Such is the sharpness of his Sword and the weight of his Hand that every stroke is deadly inward Satan the cruel enemy of Souls exasperates the wound He discovers and charges sin upon the Conscience with all its killing aggravations and conceals the Divine mercy the only lenitive and healing Balm to the wounded Spirit What visions of horror what spectacles of fear what scenes of sorrow are presented to the distracted mind by the Prince of darkness And which heigthens the misery Man is a worse enemy to himself than Satan he falls upon his own Sword and destroys himself Whatever he sees or hears afflicts him whatever he thinks torments him The guilty Conscience turns the Sun into darkness and the Moon into blood the precious promises of the Gospel that assure favour and pardon to returning and relenting sinners are turn'd into arguments of despair by reflecting upon the abuse and provocation of mercy and that the advocate in Gods bosom is become the accuser Doleful state Beyond the conception of all but those who are plung'd into it How often do they run to the grave for sanctuary and seek for death as a deliverance Yet all these anxieties and terrors are but the beginning of sorrows for the full and terrible recompenses of sin shall follow the Eternal Judgment pronounc'd against the wicked at the last day 'T is true the sentence of the Law is past against the sinner in this present state and temporal evils are the effects of it but that sentence is revocable at death the sentence is ratified by the Judge upon every impenitent sinner 't is decicive of his state and involves him under punishment for ever But the full execution of judgment shall not be till the publick general sentence pronounc'd by the everlasting Judge before the whole World It exceeds the compass of created thoughts to understand fully the direful effects of sin in the Eternal State For who knows the power of Gods wrath The Scripture represents the punishment in expressions that may instruct the mind