if we have a true sight of our own basenesse that we are but as clay in the hand of the Potter or as an earthen pitcher which is easily broken in pieces we cannot but be afraid to draw near so great and glorious a Majesty to contemplate his greatnesse and power the breath of whose Nostrils is able to consume us But if we consider that our sins have laid us open to the rigour of his justice and have justly moved him to pour down upon us the full vialls of his wrath and indignation to our eternall destruction it must needs then strike terrour into our hearts when we come before him in our heavenly Meditations for he is a sin-revenging God l Heb. 12. 29. and a consuming fire he will suffer no sin to go unpunished This doth make our sins the more hainous and the punishment of them the more grievous because they are committed against an Omnipotent and most glorious God from whom we had our first being and from whose goodnesse we do dayly receive all blessings both spirituall and temporall that are needfull for us Wherefore we cannot Meditate with comfort upon God when the guilt of our sins cleaveth to our souls We cannot chearfully lift up our hearts unto him when our consciences do accuse us of sin that we have offended God our Creator and that we lye under the curse of his Law and are in continuall expectation to have the penalty of it inflicted upon us which we know we have justly deserved Thus it is with us until we can apprehend God to be reconciled unto us by the merit of the death of Christ which we must apply to our own hearts by faith When God doth visite us with afflictions and troubles as he hath done to many of his dear servants that we feel the smart of his rod and his hand heavy upon us it will take away the comfort of our Meditations and make us afraid of his judgements as it was with holy Job David and others because sometimes they are very terrible to us Thus saith Job unto God in his afflictions m Iob. 13. 21. Withdraw thine hand far from me and let not thy dread make me afraid Again he saith thus n Iob 6. 4. The terrours of God do set themselves in array against me If God be so dreadfull to his own servants how then can the wicked and sinners appear before him how can they withstand his judgements or bear the fiercenesse of his wrath and fury he cast the disobedient Angels out of heaven without any hope of redemption he cast Adam out of Paradise and laid a severe curse upon the earth for his sake and upon all his posterity for his sin he drowned the whole world and consumed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire he gave his own people into the hands of their enemies for their transgressions and brought grievous judgements upon many particular offenders Wherefore we cannot deny but that the Meditation of these and the like works of Gods justice must needs be dreadful and uncomfortable to us if we look onely upon the justice of God and not also upon his mercy But above all it is most dreadfull to Meditate upon the day of judgement when we must appear before this great and terrible God to give a strict account unto him of whatsoever we have done here in the flesh whether it be good or evill o Ioel. 2. 11. That day is great and terrible who can abide it Then shall all our secret sins be brought to light and laid open to the view of heaven and earth then it wil appear how we have served God what good we have done and what evill we have shunned and then we must answer for every idle word that we have spoken Then shall be great confusion both in heaven and in earth to the astonishment of all Nations for p Luk. 21. 27. they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and glory and with great authority and majesty q 2 Cor. 5. 10. All must then be presented before the judgement seat of Christ r 1 Cor. 4. 5. who will bring to light those things that were hidden in darknesse and will manifest all the thoughts of every mans heart Å¿ Luk. 23. 30. Rev. 6. 16 Then the wicked shall say to the hills fall upon us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb because the great day of wrath is come This terrour will be so unspeakable that it will make every mans heart to tremble for the just men and the Angels themselves are said to fear surely then it must needs be dreadfull to think upon it What a fearfull day will it be to carelesse and loose livers who carry the guilt of sin upon their souls with them unto judgement how will it terrifie them when they see such dreadfull feares and miseries to rush in upon them t Math. 24. 29. Then they shall see the Sun to be darkened and the moon not to give her light then the Stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken Thus saith the Prophet u Isa 13. 13 14. The earth shall remove out of her place in the wrath of the LORD of hosts and in the day of his fierce anger and it shall be as the chased Roe and as the sheep that no man taketh up Then shall they see all sepulchers open and to yield forth their dead bodies of all men high and low rich and poor to stand there naked before the Judge and before his Angels and in the face of all creatures their sins shall be revealed their secret offences shall be laid open and they shall be constrained to give an account of those things whereof they would disdain to have been told in this life Consider now who can Meditate upon the eternall God this great and terrible Judge without much fear and dread if he cannot appear before him with a good conscience and who can think upon that fearfull day of account without much terrour and trouble of spirit if he hath not some good assurance of the pardon of his sins by his true repentance and that he is reconciled to God by faith in Christ Wealth and honours cannot help the Judge will not be partiall neither will he be corrupted an evill conscience will not be silent no intercession of worldly friends can prevail at that day all things wil cry for vengeance upon the wicked and reprobate to yield them cause of fear and terrour but nothing will yield them any hope of comfort Above them shall be their dreadfull Judge who is offended with them for their wickednesse beneath them they shall see hell open and the cruell furnace ready boyling to receive then on their right hand their sins accusing them on the left hand the divels are ready to execute Gods eternall
true believer hath by Christ in this life above all other men that have no interest in him by faith and examine thy self hereby what thou hast gained by him If thou hast used the blessings of God and his good creatures soberly and temperately to his glory and not to pamper or cherish any sin to dishonour him thereby and doest return thanks unto God for them with a sincere heart because he is the sole giver of all things that thou injoyest then Christ hath taken away the curse that was upon them and hath made them blessings to thee which thou maist freely use to thy comfort otherwise thou canst finde little comfort in them Also if thou dost truly believe that thy sins were imputed unto Christ and hast an holy assurance hereof by the dayly renuing of thy repentance for thy dayly sins then thou maist be fully perswaded that the guilt of sin which was a burden to thy conscience and did cleave close to thy soul is taken away and that Christ hath nailed it to his crosse whereby thou art freed from the curse of the Law and from the condemnation of sin This consideration will much comfort thee when thou art under the crosse for the evill of punishment that was in thine afflictions is taken away it being part of the curse and thou art but chastised for thy good and not punished for thy hurt Examine thy self yet further what thou hast gained by Christ for if thou canst over-power thy corruptions by the strength of grace and canst leave thy sins before they leave thee and that the remembrance of them is bitter to thy soul and doest dayly strive with a true purpose of heart to newnesse of life then thou hast an evident sign that Christ hath taken away the dominion of sin in thee z Ezek. 36. 25. and hath poured clean water upon thy soul to purifie cleanse thee from all thy filthines Also if thou dost find the fruits of the Spirit of sanctification that thou hast an holy desire to the means of grace and a faithful endeavour to grow stronger in grace that thy heart may be stablished in the truth and thy Faith firm to uphold thee in thy sufferings and tryalls then thou hast gotten great gain and much Advantage by Christ But if thou art perswaded of thine Adoption by Faith in him thou canst not conceive how great thy gain will be for whatsoever a childe can desire of a loving Father thou mayest expect much more from God nothing shall be too dear for thee nothing shall be hurtfull to thee and nothing shall be concealed from thee that may be profitable and advantageous to the salvation of thy soul Let us consider now that our hearts may ruminate well upon it for our great comfort what honour we have by being made the sons of God a 1 Sam. 18. 23. When Sauls servants came to perswade David to be the Kings son in law he gave them this answer Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a Kings son in law seeing that I am a poor man and lightly esteemed How great then is the honour and how highly to be esteemed for a poor wretched captive to be made the Son of the eternall and everliving God to have such a Father to come to in all our necessities such a Refuge in all our distresses such a Protectour against all our enemies and to be heir to such an Inheritance as is incorruptible and eternal which Christ hath reserved for us in heaven Wherefore we should be holy and undefiled in our conversations as becometh the sons of such a Father we should not walk stubbornly before him but in filial fear and reverence obeying his holy will and commands with filial love and submitting to his rod and corrections as a childe ought to submit to his Father If our services are thus performed to God he will then be a tender and a gracious Father to us If we have this Gain by Christ in this life what is the gain of the whole world to it What is all earthly honour to the honour of a true Christian and yet most men covet and desire that gain and that honour and they neglect the true Gain and the true honour of a Christian which is chiefly to be desired b Mat. 16. 26 What is a man profited saith Christ if be shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul If we injoy Christ we have a rich Patrimony we can want no comfort whatsoever shall betide us in soul or in body in goods or good name he will repair all our losses in Adam with his abundant righteousnesse he will also repair all our losses in children servants or estate either in this life c Job 42 10 as he did unto Job or else in the life to come in a more plentifull manner Christ will likewise furnish us with all spiritual abilities to encounter with the enemies of our salvation to stand firmly for the truth and for a good conscience and to endure the tryall of our faith love hope and patience and he will make perfect whatsoever is wanting or imperfect in us d 2 Cor. 12. 9 for his grace is sufficient for us and his strength is made perfect in weaknesse his love and his care of us doth most shine forth when we do most a base and humble our selves and when we do acknowledge our unworthinesse of it In the last place we should Meditate with all thankfulnesse upon the great benefit that we have by the Covenant of grace which Christ hath sealed for us with his blood for we may faithfully believe and comfortably expect that God will perform his condition expressed therein to us though we cannot perfectly perform our conditions to him also that he will purifie and cleanse us from all our filthinesse e Jer. 32. 40. and will put his fear in our hearts that we shall not depart from him Wherefore let not the failings and frailties of the flesh discomfort us nor weaken our faith and confidence in the goodnesse of God to us in Christ for the flesh will rebell against the spirit and the corruptions of the unregenerate part will sometimes breake out upon us to dash and hinder our comfort in this gracious Covenant Therefore Christ hath ordained the two Sacraments to seal this Covenant to our souls for the better confirmation of our Faith f Gal. 3. 26 27. For if we are baptized into Christ by Faith we have put on Christ we are members of his Church and this Covenant is sealed to us g 1 John 1. 7 and the blood of Christ hath cleansed us from all sin If age or sicknesse or any thing else beside sanctifying grace doth keep us from sinning against God this is not the true purging away of sin nor the regeneration and renewing of the holy Ghost because the evill concupisence of the flesh and the sinful desires of the minde will remain strong and
we have conflicts with pleasure and plenty sometimes with afflictions and penury with sin and temptations with pain and sicknesse and with the terrours of death all which for a time may hinder the freedome of our spirits that we cannot compose our thoughts nor settle our hearts for holy Meditations but we shall recover our selves again by the power of Christ whose Grace is sufficient to hold us up against all opposition whatsoever and to set our hearts in such a frame as is fitting for the performance of this holy Duty Wherefore d Eph. 6. 11 12. seeing we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darknesse of this world and against spirituall wickednesse in high places we must put on the whole armour of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devill e 2 Cor. 10. 3 4. Though we walk in the flesh we do not war after the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not carnall but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ The same power that pulleth down the strong holds of sin in us and the sinfull imaginations of our mindes will also raise up the affections of our hearts to devout and pious Meditations of the heavenly and spirituall things The more free we keep our hearts from worldly cares and our mindes from sinfull thoughts the fitter we shall be for this holy Duty the better we shall perform it and we shall reap the more comfort by it But unregenerate men are not acquainted with this spirituall armour they have no power against their spirituall enemies they have no weapons fit for this warfare for untill they are brought out of their naturall condition into the State of grace have interest in Christ by faith they are so clogged with their worldly affairs so wedded to earthly vanities and so intangled with the corruptions of their nature that there is no room in their hearts for any holy contemplations and they have no grace that can give them strength to fight against the allurements of the world the intisements of the flesh and the cunning stratagems of the devill How dreadfull it is to Meditate on God NOw prepare thy heart and all the faculties of thy soul by those former Directions and by prayer to meditate on a Neh. 1. 5. Psal 47. 2. Dan. 9. 4. the great and terrible God who in himself is infinite in Majesty and eternall in glory and the great Creator of heaven and of earth whose Essence and Being is incomprehensible for thou canst not but stand confounded at the consideration of his greatnesse which the blessed Angels are not able to comprehend Wherefore empty thy heart of all sinfull cogitations and lay aside all thy worldly cares that thou maist freely set thy minde upon God to contemplate with all fear due reverence something of his excellencies and greatnesse so far as God hath revealed himself and according to the measure of that heavenly knowledge which he hath given thee let thy Meditations of these things be guided with good understanding and let them be bounded with Christian sobriety lest thou be swallowed up in the depth of this infinite and incomprehensible Ocean Let thy faith regulate thee in thy Meditations for what thou canst not comprehend thou art bound to believe because thou dost deal with the hidden things of God b Joh. 5. 6. who is Truth it self Thus meditate with dreadfull reverence on the high and mighty God for as he is infinite in his Essence so he is also infinite in all his Divine Attributes Wherefore content thy self with what he hath revealed in his Word and by his Works and do not curiously search into those things which are not yet to be known but are sealed up in his own secret counsell untill he shall be pleased hereafter to reveal them c 1 Sam. 6. 19. The Lord smote the men of Bethshemesh with a very great slaughter because they looked into the Ark of the Lord which was not lawfull to any save onely to Aaron and his sons Beware then that he smite not thee if thou presumest to look further into his secret counsells than Christ hath revealed If we duly consider the transcendent majesty and glory of God it will cast great dreadfullnesse into our Meditations for it will dazel the eye of our understanding far more than the brightnesse of the Sun beames can dazel the eyes of our bodies which may strongly move us to a dreadfull fear and reverence of him d Job 37. 22 for as Elihu said to Job with God is terrible majesty Also Job speaketh thus of God to his three friends e Job 13. 11. Shall not his his excellency make you afraid and his dreadfall upon you f Gen. 28. 17. How dreadfull saith Jacob is this place and it was because God was there Thus saith the Lord of hosts by his Prophet g Mal. 1. 14. I am a great King and my Name is dreadfull among the Heathen h Heb. 12. 21. When God gave the Law at Mount Sinai the sight was so terrible that Moses himself said I exceedingly fear and quake i Exod. 34. Moses did earnestly desire to see the face of God to whom he gave this answer that no man could see him and live but yet to satisfie his request and to shew him in part what a terrible and glorious God he was he told Moses that he should see some piece of his glory but he added that it was needfull he should hide himself in the hole of a rock and be covered with Gods own hand for his defence while God in some measure of his Majesty did passe by in his glory And when he was past God took away his hand and suffered him to see his hinder parts onely which was notwithstanding most terrible to behold k Dan. 7. Daniel also did see in a vision the Majesty of this great and terrible God which is recorded in the sacred Scriptures to teach us thereby what a Prince of Majesty is and how dreadfull in his judgements when he is offended Now consider what maketh it so dreadful to Meditate on God it is not onely the consideration of his incomprehensible and Divine Essence or the transcendent glory of his sacred Majesty or his infinite Power whereby all creatures all principalities and powers are under his subjection but also the consideration of the frailty and weaknesse of our nature and the vilenesse of our condition by reason of our many sins wherewith we have offended him and justly incurred his high displeasure and have deserved his wrath and fury to be poured out upon us whereby we stand in continuall fear of his judgements and of the severity of his justice For
sentence of condemnation upon them within them is conscience gnawâ—ng like the worm that dieth not because it is full of the guilt of sin without them all damned souls are howling and yelling and on every side the whole world is burning What shall a wretched sinner now do that carrieth the guilt of his sins with him to this great day of judgement how can his heart bear these fearfull perplexities What way will he take to escape this dreadfull judgement to go back it is impossible to go forward is intollerable death will slee from him the grave cannot hold him the hills cannot cover him but there he must stand as a miserable forlorn and desperate wretch untill he receive this dolefull and irrecoverable sentence Go ye cursed into everlastingfire the thought of these things cannot be but most terrible Now it concerneth every one to set his heart in an holy frame of fear and reverence and to humble his soul greatly before God when he intendeth to ruminate upon the glorious Majesty of this great Judge or upon this great and terrible day when a most severe account shall be required of every one of whatsoever they have done in this life whether it be good or evill also when they meditate on the fearfull sentence which shall then be pronounced against all offenders and executed upon them to all eternity without any hope of ease or remedy This is not to deter or afright us from an holy pious Meditation of these things though they be every sad and dolefull to naturall men neither is it to drive us into despair as if there were no hope to stand before this Judge with comfort at that day or to avoid that dreadfull sentence of condemnation but it is to stir us up to use all care and diligence to make our peace with God in time and to get a modest and a sober assurance of the pardon of our sins by repentance and that by a true and lively faith we may be united unto Christ our blessed Saviour and Redeemer who shall be then our Judge This consideration must needs comfort us much if we have any clear evidence that we belong unto Christ To this end u Mark 13. Christ foretold his disciples the fearfull manner of his coming to judgement that they should watch and pray that so it might not come suddenly upon them to finde them sleeping in security or unprepared for it and what he said unto them he saith unto all that we should also watch and pray to escape the great danger of that terrible day and to stand with confidence before the throne of the Son of Man at that time When x 2 Pet. 3. 10 11 12. Peter had described with what terrour the Lord would come to judgement he exhorteth us to an holy conversation and to godlinesse looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God and therfore to be diligent that we may be found of him in peace without spot and blamelesse Thus we may meet the day of judgement with comfort if we can earnestly long after it and can heartily desire to meet our Lord Christ when he cometh in the clouds unto judgement which we cannot do untill we find by due examination that we are in the state of grace and that by faith we are invested into the new Covenant and have lived unto God and not unto our selves Wherefore thus saith the son of Sirach y Eccl. 18. 20. Before judgement examine thy self and in the day of visitation thou shalt find mercy And as Paul saith z 1 Cor. 11. 31. If we would judge our selves we should not be judged This trying and judging of our selves must be done in this life for after death there is no faith no repentance and no reformation of life if we die in our sins they will follow us unto judgement and accuse us before the great Judge of heaven and earth and they will cry in the ears of God for the sentence of condemnation to be passed against us which also will presently be put in execution to the utter destruction of our souls and bodies in everlasting burnings How to Meditate comfortably on God IF we desire to make our Meditations on God to be comfortable to our souls we must not look onely upon his greatnesse but also upon his goodnesse for our shallow Meditations cannot reach so far as to draw any true comfort to our selves from the consideration of of his greatnesse and power unlesse we do also look upon his goodnesse to us in Christ which doth open a fountain of true consolation to us not onely in our Meditations of him but also in our sufferings for him So likewise if we look onely upon the justice of God without any relation to his mercies in Christ we shall find little comfort in our Meditations of him for we cannot but quake and tremble at the severity of his justice because we have broken all his commandements and have transgressed his Law and therefore we lye under the curse and penalty of it Also if we look vpon our selves altogether as we are by nature polluted and stained with the guilt of sin both originall and actuall without any relation to the blood of Christ by faith it will make us ashamed to come into the presence of God and afraid to think upon him because he is a sin-revenging God and will not suffer sin to go unpunished But thus we shall have comfort in our Meditation of God if we look upon him in Christ by faith for then we shall see that Christ hath wrought our reconciliation with him by his death that he hath made an atonement for us that he hath satisfâ—ed his justice and the penalty of the Law by the merit of his blood and that he hath taken the guilt of our sins upon himself and hath nailed it to his own crosse a Rom. 3. 24 25 26. and therefore we are justified frâ—ly by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousnesse that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus Wherefore as John saith b 1 John 2. 1 2. If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the prepitiation for our sins and not for ours onely but also for the sins of the whole world The same John doth expresse the wonderfull love of God to us in these words c 1 Joh. 4. 10. Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins Now we may receive plenty of spiritual comfort when we meditate on God either in his greatnesse or in his goodnesse in his justice or in his mercy for by this atonement which Christ hath made for us God doth not now look upon us as his enemies or
as rebels to him but he takes us for his own people and as his servants d Ier. 31. 33. according to his promise in the new Covenant and also as his children by adoption in Christ which makes the Meditations of our hearts sweet and comfortable to our souls It is a great honour to be servants to an earthly Prince but it is a far higher title of honour to be servants to the King of heaven The holy Patriarchs and Prophets all the Apostles and Saints of God did account it their highest honour to be the servants of God and they did much glory in this honourable title Thus saith that Kingly Prophet David e Psal 116. 16. O Lord truely I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid thou hast loosed my bonds David useth this as a strong motive to God to hear his prayers and to grant his requests f Psal 86. 2 4 16. O thou my God save thy servant that trusteth in thee Rejoyce the soul of thy servant fâ—r unto thee O Lord do I lift up my soul O turn unto me and have mercy upon me give thy strength unto thy servant and save the son of thine handmaid God gave this title of honour to his choisest servants as to Abraham to Jacob to Moses to David Job Zorâ—babâ—l and to CHRIST himself as he was man For thus he saith by his Prophet g Zech. 3. 8. Behold I will bring forth my servant the Branch This honour have all they that truly believe in Christ because he hath reconciled them to God his Father and hath made them his servants by grace Wherefore now if we have any clear evidence to our consciences that we are the servants of God by vertue of this atonement if we do serve and obey him with faithfull hearts in sincerity and in truth we may then cheerfully fix our Meditations upon God which will be acceptable in his sight and comfortable to our own souls For by this sweet relation that we have unto God through faith in Christ our duties and services to him will be accepted though they be imperfectly performed by us if we shew our best care to please him from an upright heart as his faithfull servants ought to do Also we may apply our selves by holy supplications to our heavenly Lord as being his servants to protect us from our enemies to provide for us in our necessities to succour us in our tribulations and to countenance us as his servants in all our temptations that our faith may not fail us and that our spirits may not sink under the burden of them Whatsoever we want we may have it of God and whatsoever we fear may come upon us he will prevent it or fit us for it or else he will sanctifie it for our good that we may find comfort in it Wherefore we need not be afraid to contemplate his greatnesse for his goodnesse will sweeten that fear we need not fear death in a servile way for it hath no sting to hurt us and we need not be terrified at the Majesty of the great Judge of quick and dead nor at the rigour and severity of his justice at the day of judgement for Christ Jesus shall be then our Judge who is now our Saviour and Redeemer We cannot then but shew our duty to God and our love to Christ by our willing and ready obedience to the commands of God and by our thankfull remembrance of our Redemption wrought by Christ by ruminating on his Word and by contemplating his wonderfull works our thoughts will be continually upon him our delight will be to Meditate on him and the affections of our hearts will be alwayes towards him Consider further what Christ hath done for us that we may the more comfortably Meditate on God he hath not onely redeemed us out of the servitude of sin and Satan and made us the servants of God by grace but also h Iohn 1. 12 he hath given power to as many as believe on his Name to become the sons of God which priviledge and honour we have onely by faith i Gal. 4. 5 6. who hath redeemed us that were under the Law that we might receive the adoption of sons And because we are sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his son into our hearts crying Abba Ftther How comfortable then will our Meditations be to our souls when we ruminate upon God as he is our Father what can deject our spirits or make us afraid if we have a sure confidence that God is our Father Can we be brought to a lower degree of misery than k Luk. 15. 18 19. the poor prodigall in the Gospel was and yet when he remembred his Father he was comforted and refreshed Can any poor soul be deeper plunged in sin or lead a more vicious life than this prodigall did and yet his Father did not cast him off but upon his true submission he received him again as his son Why then should we despair of mercy though our sins are many and very great Why should we fear the terrours of death if we be well perswaded of our adoption for l Gal. 4. 7. we are heirs of God through Christ and we go to possesse that inheritance which belongeth to us as sons and why should the thought of the day of judgement be terrible to us seeing Christ our Redeemer will make up our accounts for us and will perfect with his own righteousnesse whatsoever is wanting on our parts Do we think that Christ will redeem us out of the bondage of Satan and will free us from the strictnesse of the Law the dominion of sin from the sting of death and at last will leave us to our selves to answer the rigour of Gods justice for whatsoever we have done here in the flesh Surely no for then the Work of our Redemption had not been perfectly finished but Christ will be then our hiding place he will cover all our sins under the Robe of his own Righteousnesse and will shelter us from the fierceness of Gods wrath and from the severity of Gods justice We have now much matter for Divine and Heavenly Meditations to comfort and refresh our languishing souls when they are any way perplexed with sorrowes feares or doubtings if we ruminate upon our happy condition by being in grace and favour with God for we have the honour and dignity to be the servants of the great King of heaven and earth by the right of purchase and so are none but such onely whom Christ hath bought with his own blood Also if we Meditate upon our Adoption it wil be very comfortable to us and exceeding sweet to our spirituall taste for Christ hath given us hereby all the priviledges of sons both in what we are freed from and in what we have right unto for we are freed from all evill of sin and from all evill of punishment sin hath no power to condemn us though it
affections with holy desires to imbrace him z Psal 24. 7 and to set open the gates and doores of our souls that this King of glory may come in and dwell with us for ever If we do sincerely from the heart desire such a glorious King and such a bountifull Inhabitant to make his perpetuall abode with us then we must presse hard upon him and importune him earnestly with our frequent and fervent Prayers to abide and dwell with us a Gen. 19 2 3. The two Angels that came to Sodome refused to tarry all night with Lot upon his first intreaty but when he pressed greatly upon them they turned in unto him and entered into his house and he made them a feast and they did eat and then they preserved him from the burning But behold b Revel 3. 20 Christ standeth at the door of our hearts and knocks if we hear his voice and open the door he will come in to us and will sup with us we shall sup with him O the happinesse of that soul that doth hear the voice of Christ when he calls and doth open his heart unto him when he knocks either by the Ministery of his Word by the motions of his Spirit by afflictions troubles crosses or by any other meanes whatsoever But if we will intertain Christ we must have no corrivall with him for God and Mammon Christ and Belial cannot dwell together Thus saith Christ c Luk. 26 13 Ye cannot serve God and Mammon for no man can serve two masters Also thus saith Paul d 2 Cor. 6. 14 15 What communion hath light with darknesse and what concord hath Christ with Belial e Mat. 10 37. If we love father or mother son or daughtor more then Christ we are not worthy of him If the affections of our hearts are carried after the riches preferments and pleasures of this world or after any darling sin then Christ will not dwell there and we lose the comfortable and blessed Presence of the eternall Son of God and the fulnesse of all his excellencies and rich endowments for that which is nothing else but vanity and vexation of spirit Wherefore now we may Meditate comfortably on God through Jesus Christ our Saviour for the terriblenesse of his Majesty is clouded with the vail of his goodnesse the severity of his justice is sweetened with his mercy and tender compassion Christ hath taken our souls out of the hand of Gods justice and hath put them into the hand of his mercy where they shall be kept for true blessednesse to all eternity If his greatnesse doth affright us his goodnesse will allure us if his justice doth drive us from him his mercy and love will draw us to him for by Christ we have a neer relation to God himself either as his servants by grace or as his children by adoption in both which respects our Meditations of him will be exceedingly delightfull to us So likewise if we fix our thoughts upon Christ though his excellencies and dignities are far above the reach of our humane capacity yet by faith we do apprehend him to be our Redeemer and our Advocate now at the right hand of God his Father in the highest heavens and therefore our Meditations of him cannot but ravish our souls with heavenly joy and spirituall consolation in the assurance of our Redemption and of our Atonement with God and also in the hope of our eternall salvation and to be heirs of the kingdome of heaven which he hath purchased for us with his own blood How to Meditate on the Holy Ghost THe Holy Geost is the same spirituall Essence and Being with the Father and with the Son coequall and coeternall with them both but as the Deity is distinguished into three Persons the holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father and from the Son and he is the third Person in the sacred Trinity Christ doth prove that the holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father in these words a Iohn 15 26 But when the comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father he shall testifie of me That he proceedeth from the Son is manifest by this of Paul b Gal. 4. 6 And because ye are sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father John also the beloved Disciple of Christ maketh it plain that the holy Ghost is the third Person in the holy Trinity by these words c 2 Joh 5. 7 There are three that bear record in heaven The Father the Word and the holy Ghost and these three aâ—e One. The Prophet calls him d Isa 11. 2 The spirit of Wisdome and understanding the spirit of counsel and strength the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD e Heb. 9. 14 He is the eternall spirit of God from whom nothing can be hidden according to this of David f Psal 139 7 Whither shall I go from thy Sptrit or whither shall I flee from thy presence Christ calleth him the Spirit of truth g Ioh 14. 16 7. And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive John calls him h Rev. 11. 11 the Spirit of life because by the power of his grace de doth quicken our hearts and revive us when we are dead in our trespasses and sins Paul doth also call him i Rom. 8. 15 16 the Spirit of adoption to witnesse to our spirits that we are the children of God If we fix our Meditations on the holy Ghost as he is in his Divine Essence and Being or as he is one of the three Persons in the sacred Trinity we shall be confounded in these deep mysteries of the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity but if we Meditate upon him according to his proper Office as he is a Comforter or according to his severall operations in our hearts we shall then find much comfortable matter for our hearts to Meditate upon which will minister heavenly and spirituall consolation to our poor souls First therefore we must consider that the proper Office of the holy Ghost is to be a comforter to us in all our afflictions and sufferings for we are dayly exposed to many tribulations and calamities either for the profession of the Name of Christ for the triall of our graces or for our correction when we lye in sin without repentance which would easily swallow us up if we had not some true comforter to support and comfort us in them k 1 Pet. 2. 1â— 1 There is also an host of sinfull lusts in us that war against our souls which do dayly assault us with strong temptations and we are round beset with perills dangers and spirituall enemies which continually threaten our downfall and ruine and do seek to hinder our salvation But above all we are sometimes wounded in our
to Meditate upon his Almighty power his Divine Wisedome his glorious Majesty and his admirable goodnesse to the sons of men a Rom. 1. 20 For the invisible things of God that is his eternall power and Godhead are seen by the Creation of the world being understood by the things that are made to the intent that every man should be without excuse Thus saith the Prophet b Jer. 10. 12 He hath made the earth by his power he hath established the world by his wisdome and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion And thus saith the Psalmist c Psal 111. 6 7. He hath shewed his people the power of his Works that he may give them the heritage of the heathen The works of his hands are verity and judgement d Psal 104. 24 25. O Lord how manifold are thy Works in wisdome hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches so is this great and wide sea wherein are things creeping innumerable both small and great beasts Also David saith thus e Psal 19. 1. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy work But if we consider the goodnesse of the Lord in all his Works we shall finde no end thereof f Exod 34. 6 He is abundant in goodnesse and truth g Psal 33 5 The earth is full of the goodnesse of the Lord. h Psal 52. 2 The goodnesse of God endureth continually There is no creature though it be never so contemptible but it findeth the goodnesse of God and there is no moment of time but we have experience of his goodnesse and mercy to us Behold and see the beauty and splendor of the Sun of the Moon and of all the Sarres admire their gloririous bodies and what lustre they cast down upon the earth how they rejoice to run their course in their severall orbs wherein God hath placed them and yet they do not crosse or hinder each other in their motions also how God doth by them measure out time how he governeth the day by the Sun and how he ruleth the night by the Moon and Starres Consider also how usefull and comfortable these glorious creatures are to us and how God divided the year by them into Winter and Summer Spring-time and Harvest and hath continued these severall seasons even to this day as he said to Noah presently after the flood i Gen. 8. 22 While the earth remaineth seed time and Harvest cold and heat summer and winter and day and night shall not ceâ—se All these do clearly set forth the glory of God the Wisdome the Power and the goodnesse of the great Creatour What shall we say now to our selves Shall these irrationall Creatures keep their appointed stations and shall we go astray from God Shall they obey the will of God and shall we rebell against him Shall they run their course with joy and delight according to the will of God and shall we be backward in a Religious and pious course of life contrary to his will Shall we have no heavenly thoughts no holy desires to do the will of God and no sincere devotion in the worship and service of our God Oh let the comfortable presence of the Sun and the beauty of the Moon and the brightnesse of every Starre move us day and night to raise up our thoughts and to set our Meditations upon God their Maker whose Glory doth infinitely surpasse the brightnesse of them all and let us study to praise and magnifie him for his goodnesse and for his wonderfull works that he hath wrought for the sons of men If we look upon the birds and â—ouls of the aire or upon the beasts of the field and consider how God provided food and rayment and weapons of defence for them all how he preserveth them in their kindes and what great increase they bring forth through his blessing we may see a glympse of the glory of God even in them his care in providing for them and his great Wisdome in the variety of their kindes k Job 39. What goodly wings and feathers hath God given to the Peacock and to the Ostrich what strength to the horse what swiâ—tnesse to the Eagle how terrible is the Leviathan none is so â— Job 41. 19 fierce that dare stir him up who then is able to stand before God m Luk 12. 27 How hath God cloathed the Lillies Solomon in all his glory was not arraied like one of them There is no creature so base and contemptible in our eyes but that we may see the print of Gods finger upon it and there is no plant that groweth in the earth but is full of the goodnesse of God and usefull to man The Psalmist telleth us n Psal 148. that both the senselesse and sensible creatures have a voice to praise the goodnesse of the Lord how can we then be silent Consider the Lark to imitate her for the higher she mounteth the more cheerfully she singeth so likewise the higher we raise up our affections toward heaven in singing praises unto God the sweeter will our melody be in his ears If our spirits mount up to heaven in our contemplations upon the Works of God we cannot but acknowledge to his honour and glory what excellent Workmanship and Wisdome he hath shewed even in the least of them and how wonderfull good and gracious he hath been to us because he hath made them all for our good that we should glorifie God in the right use of them But if we look upon the Creatures with a superficiall eye and if we have the dayly use and service of them and can finde no matter to ruminate upon for the glory of God o Deu. 29. 4 then the Lord hath not given us an heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear what great things God hath done for us and what blessings he hath bestowed upon us to this day Consider further how plentifully God hath provided for man he hath given him some creatures for nutriment some for cloathing others for ornament some are for his delight and lawful pleasure and others are for his necessary occasions so likewise p Luk. 12. 22 God doth feed the fowles of the aire and every living creature and he doth cloath the very grasse of the field Thus saith the Lord unto Job q Job 38. 41 Who provideth for the raven his food when his young ones cry unto God they wander for lack of â—eat This was to strengthen Jâ—bs confidence in God for though he were now brought down from greatest plenty to the greatest want and penury from the highest honour to the lowest degree of ignominy and reproach yet God had still a care of him and was all sufficient to raise him up again to honour and to provide what was needfull for him Also though he were now in the furnace of affliction and upon the test for the tryall of his
Adam and how rebelliously we have sinned against God in the whole course of our lives If this be our condition which is most true as we are in the Staâ—â— of nature what comfort can we then take in all worldly pomp and dignities what contentment is there in all earthly pleasures and delight they are all nothing else but vanity and vexation of spirit We may injoy more of this world than our hearts can desire and yet our soules may starve for want of spiritual food and comfort d Gen. 4. 12 Cain was heir apparent to the whole world and yet he was driven out from the presence of God and became a vagabond upon earth So we may injoy whatsoever the world can afford us and yet God will not look upon us with a gracious aspect and then our condition will be no better than that of Cain We may injoy health wealth peace liberty and all manner of prosperity and yet our souls may be sick they may languish with sadnesse of heart they may be much perplexed and shut up as it were in a dungeon because they are so restrained by the corruptions of our nature that they have no freedome to mount upwards towards heaven It is nothing so uncomfortable to live in perpetuall darknesse and never to see the light of the Sun as it is to have our understandings spiritually darkened and to live without the light of the e Mal. 4. 2 Sun of righteousnesse to have no appearance from him to open the eyes of our understandings to be a guide to our reason to season our hearts with grace and to shew us the way that will bring us to heavenly happinesse This is our condition by nature we are out of the favour of God our life is void of all true comfort and consolation we walk in darknesse f Isa 53. 6 we go astray like silly sheep and follow our own inventions and we have no ability in our selves to return again into the right way Wherefore let our hearts be throughly affected with this our sad condition let our Meditations hereupon draw us to a godly sorrow for our sins which may bring us to true repentance and newnesse of life let this be our chief care and the desire of our soules to regain the grace and favour of God and to be reconciled unto him Let our souls bewail our sins with hearty contrition and true compunction let our teares manifest the grief of our hearts and the truth of our repentance for our transgressions and let us cast our selves down at Gods footstool and humbly acknowledge our offences to him suing earnestly to God by prayer for the pardon and forgivenesse of them through Faith in Christ Also we ought to be humble petitioners to God for a supply of such graces as we want to strengthen â—s against the corruptions of our nature and against all the enemies of our salvation This should be our constant practise every night before we sleep to make our peace with God for the sins of the day past wherein we have failed of our duty and wherein we have dishonoured God that our souls may rest in peace as well as our bodies do rest in quiet So likewise every morning we should acknowledge our thankfulnesse to God for the comforts of the night past and to crave his blessing upon our labours the day following If we continually practise this duty it will keep us from grosse sins and great offences and it will make us take all occasions to renew our Repentance with God for our sins Every fit of pain or of sicknesse that we feel and every crosse or affliction that we suffer calls loud for repentance because it is a fruit of our sins also every blessing and every good thing that God is pleased to bestow upon us cryeth loud for our thankfulnesse because it is bestowed of his own free bounty and goodnesse and not for any merit or desert of ours Though we are miserable vile and wretched in our selves yet God is gracious and mercifull and doth dayly give us occasions to glorifie him and he doth use all means to bring us home again unto himself for he doth not delight in the death of a sinner but rather that he should repent and turn unto him neither doth he deal with us according to our sins nor reward us according to our deservings but hath paid a great prize for our redemption out of this miserable condition Concerning the Redemption of Man VVHen God saw man in this sad condition a lamentable spectacle of wofull misery then he took pity upon him a Ezek. 16. 8 and this time of his wretched estate was the time of Gods love to him for soon after his fall God made a gracious promise of Redemption to him b Gen. 3. 15 that the seed of the woman should break the serpents head This promise God did afterwards renew to the Patriarks which was concerning Christ the Lord that should come in his appointed time whom God did plainly reveal to some of the Prophets c Gal. 4 4 5 VVhen the fulnesse of the time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the Law to redeem them that are under the Law that we might receive the adoption of sons d 1 John 4 9 10 In this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his onely begotten Son into the world that we might live through him Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the Propitiation for our sins e John â— 18 The onely begotten son of God who is in the bosome of his Father came down from heaven and assumed our nature and took upon himself the guilt of our sins to Redeem us from the curse of the Law from the dominion of sin and Satan and from the power of death f 1 Cor. 7. 23 Christ hath also paid an infinite price for our Redemption even his own most precious blood and the full vialls of Gods wrath were poured out upon him because he did undertake to satisfie the justice of God for our sins for thus saith the Prophet g Isa 53. 6. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all h Acts 12. 7 8 Now let us gird up our loines with Peter and binde on our sandals i Eph. 6. 15 and let our feet be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace to be fitted and prepared for our deliverance out of prison for the chains of our sins are taken off and the prison doores are opened to set us at liberty and to redeem our souls from destruction This Work of our Redemption is so great a mystery that the blessed Angels do adore it with much admiration but they cannot comprehend it it was decreed in heaven before the world was and all the three Persons in the holy Trinity had their severall operations
in the effecting of it k 1. John 4 14. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world And Christ himself doth testifie that the Father sent him for this end and purpose l John 5. 36 37 For the works saith he which the Father hath given me to finish the same works that I do bear witnesse of me that the Father hath sent me And the Father himself which hath sent me hath born witnesse of me For a voice came from heaven when he was baptized saying m Mat. 3. â— This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased The Son also assumed our nature both soul and body n Heb. 2. 17. For he was like unto us in all things o Heb 4. 15 sin onely excepted he was every way fully qualified to be our Mediator and Redeemer he became our surety and he paid the debt that we did â—ow to the justice of God for our sins by his death and by the price of his blood The holy Ghost also rested upon him at his baptisme p Heb. 1. 9. and anointed him with the oyl of gladnesse above his fellowes q Col. 1. 19 that in him should all fulnesse dwell r John 1. 16. and of his fulnesse have all we received and grace for grace God hath made him the head of his Church and the holy Ghost doth convey all saving graces from him to all the Members of that mysticall body VVherefore if we are elected unto salvation and do belong unto Christ by the Election of grace the holy Ghost will at some time or other work sanctifying grace in us and will unite us unto Christ by faith that so we may have a modest and sober assurance of our Redemption by him and of our reconcilement into the love and favour of God Why then do we not seek to be ingrafted into Christ for our Redemption Why do we continue still in a voluntary captivity and bondage whereas we may be set at liberty Why are we still exiles and banished from the presence of God whereas we may be brought again into his favour Why do we not seek hs face and the light of his countenance seing all true felicity and happinesse consisteth therein Å¿ Psa 16. 11 and seeing at his right hand are pleasures for evermore and why are we so backward in seeing the kingdom of heaven Alas we have not a true sense of our own miserable slavery we do not feel the burden of our sins we do not see how the devill doth tyrannize over us how he doth beguil us with a seeming pleasure and profit in sin for he will not let us see the greatnesse of the losse that we sustain by it nor the bitternesse of the torments that will follow after it beside those temporall sorrows that it bringeth upon us in this life Thus the devill bringeth us into security and into a dead sleep of sin and doth so stupifie all the faculties of our souls that we have no sense of our spirituall misery and by this means he leadeth us into a dangerous way that tendeth to no other end but to the perdition and destruction of our souls Also we are so delighted with the vanities of this world that we think of no other happinesse than what we do now injoy or if there be any other heaven than this upon earth we will be directed to it by the guidance of our own corrupted will and not by the Spirit of God for the devill would perswade us that nature can finde out a readier and an easier way to heavenly felicity than by Christ Thus we are hindred and kept back by the delusions of the devill by the alluring vanities of the world and by the deceitfulnesse of our own hearts that we cannot come unto Christ for our Redemption and to make our peace with God through faith in him and to have an holy assurance of it by our sound and true repentance Wherefore it doth now plainly appear that we have no power or ability in our selves to come unto Christ we must be taught of God or else we cannot find the way he must draw us or else we cannot come to Christ For thus saith Christ himself t John 6. 44 No man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him God doth sometimes draw us unto Christ u Hos 11. 4 as he drew Ephraim with cords of a man with bands of love he will give us a Spirituall light by his Spirit to finde the way he will kindle an holy zeal in our hearts and affections to walk in it and he will inflame our desires that by grace we may come to Christ our Redeemer Gal. 3. 24 Sometimes God doth bring us unto Christ by the Law as our Schoolmaster with a rod in his hand by terrifying us with the threatenings of the Law if that be not sufficient then he will make us feel the smart of his rod by afflictions crosses and tribulations God doth also send his Ministers x 2 Cor 5. 20 as his Ambassadors that by the Preaching of the Gospel they might win us unto Christ and to be reconciled unto God Christ doth also sweetly draw us unto himself as the head draweth the members of the body and as the bridegroom draweth his spouse Thus saith the Spouse to her beloved y Cant. 1. 3 Draw me we will run after thee Christ doth also lovingly invite us to come unto him and to make us the more willing to come he doth allure us by his gracious promises z Mat. 11. 28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are hâ—avy laden and I will give you rest Thus also he saith by his Prophet a Isa 55. 1 2 3 Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no mony come ye buy and eat yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price hearken diligently unto me and eat ye that which is good and let your soul delight it self in fatnesse Incline your ear and come unto me hear and your soul shall live How could Christ expresse his love more freely to a poor sinfull soul than now he doth what will move us to come unto him if this free tender of grace cannot But to the end we may be quite without excuse and that the love of God may abundantly appear unto us the holy Ghost doth likewise draw us unto Christ by giving us a true sight and sense of our sins by shewing us the means how we may be freed from the guilt and from the condemning power of sin by working faith in us to apply to our selves the merits of Christs blood and his righteousnesse for our justification and by working us into newnesse of life by the sanctification of the Spirit It doth now plainly and evidently appear that our sins have set us at a farre distance from God according to this of the
But in the Redemption of man Christ Jesus the second Person in the sacred Trinity laid aside all his celestiall and heavenly glory which was his due from his first incarnation and from eternity and came down from his Throne of Majesty in heaven and humbled himself to the meanest condition of life here on earth and to the basest and most accursed death even to the death of the crosse that he might Redeâ—m us from the lowest degree of misery and advance us to the highest degree of happinesse even above the blessed Angels in heaven This will be exceeding great joy and comfort to us if we have an holy perswasion of our Redemption by faith in Christ for hereby we have a near relation unto God being made his sons by adoption in Christ and then our souls will so delight in him that nothing will will be hard to us that we shall suffer for his sake and nothing will be too dear for him that he shall require and it will be the desire of our hearts to do his will and the joy of our souls to be joyned nearer and closer unto him also we shall willingly part with our dearest sins rather than our sins shall part us from our God This holy perswasion if it be well grounded will make us fear no adversary power and our spirituall enemies shall not daunt us for we will flee unto Christ as our best refuge in all our troubles and sorrowes we will crave his protection in all our perills and dangers for he is our Redeemer and our Saviour he is the Rock of our salvation in whom we must trust he will give us strength of grace to endure our tryalls to fight his battels and to stand for the truth against all opposition We may safely rest upon Christ and put our confidence in him for comfort and succour when any calamity doth oppresse us for help and deliverance when any spirituall enemy doth assault us for he will be our hiding place in times of danger and our comfort in all our sorrowes and afflictions k Eph. 1. 20 21 22. For God hath set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places farre above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named noâ— onely in this world but also in that which is to come and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church Wherefore let the consideration of all these benefits which we have by our Redemption stir us up with all care and diligence to perform that duty and obedience which we owe unto Christ and to expresse all filiall fear and reverence all love praise and thankfulnesse to him for our Redemption which Work neither God nor man could effect for us but onely Christ who was both God and Man The time of grace GOd is the sole Disposer of Time and he keeps that precious Jewell in his own Cabinet to give to the sons of men what time he pleaseth and he appointeth every one to improve their time for the gaining of the grace and favour of God and of those things that do conduce to the kingdom of heaven and not to spend it vainly sinfully and licenciously To some he giveth more time and to some lesse and all must imploy it to the glory of God and to the good of his neighbour God doth measure out our life by time and some have a longer measure than others and this measure is dispensed to us by moments for we cannot recall the time that is past and we do not injoy the time that is to come so that we have onely the time that is now present which is but a moment and when one moment of time is gone God doth give us another until the measure of time that God hath allotted us be fulfilled If we look upon an hour-glasse we shall see how swiftly one grain of sand runneth after another and so continueth untill all be run out Thus it is with the moments of our life one moment followeth swiftly after another which God would have us duly to consider that we may not waste our time in vain things but imploy it to that end for which God gave it and that is to the working out of our own salvation that God may be honoured and glorified thereby and therefore about whatsoever we spend our time if it doth not conduce to that end it is but lost and vainly spent God hath given us a time for all our necessary occasions here upon earth that all things may be done in their season For as the Preacher saith To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven â— Eccles 3. 1 2. A time to be born and a time to dye a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted and we do observe the times and seasons of the year when to till the ground and when to sow our seed when to reap our harvest and when to gather in the fruits of the earth The Coelestiall Bodies know their times as the Psalmâ—st saitâ— b Psal 164 19. He appointeth the Moon for seasons the Sun knoweth his going down Also the fowles of heaven and the birds in the air have their times appointed for thus God upbraideth his own people by his Prophet c Jer. 8. 7. The Stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the times of their coming but my people knoweth not the judgement of the Lord. We are wise enough to know our times for earthly things but we have no care to observe the times of grace how and when we may gain the grace and favour of God that he may accept of our persons and of our holy oblations that we offer unto him and also when we may obtain from him the saving and sanctifying graces of his most blessed Spirit The time of our life is the generall and longest time of grace that God hath given us wherein we should seek his gracious acceptance of us in Christ and wherein he doth work grace in the hearts of all his Elect by his Spirit Now if we measure this time of grace by the length of our dayes accoâ—ding to the course of nature or according to the health and strength of our bodies or by our own foolish fancy that measure is very uncertain for who knoweth whether his dayes shall be many or few Are we not dayly subject to casualities and to sudden death if we be strong and have our health to day we may be weak and sick to morrow though we dream of long life yet it is but a dream for we have no assurance of it If we thus measure the time of grace we shall put it off with delayes untill God doth suddenly bereave us of all time But we must measure out our dayes by the Rule of Gods Word and then we
our lives will be much the harder Time is not gained but lost which we spend without some fruits of grace and godliness which indeed is the true gain of time and therefore we should seek unto God while he may be found c Isa 55. 6. we should call upon him while he is neer otherwise though we seek him he will not be found and though we call upon him he will not answer nor be intreated Thus saith the Apostle d 2 Cor. 6. 2 now is the time acceptable now is the day of salvation But we have just cause to bewail our condition for the corruption of our nature doth so weaken us and the power of our spiritual enemies doth so prevail against us that we cannot break through such strong opposition as they make to hinder this holy work of grace in us I he devil doth cunningly disswade us from it the world doth strongly allure us to follow still the vanities of it and our own flesh doth dayly intice us to carnal pleasures and delights so that we can finde no time to make our peace with God or to improve the means of grace to his glory and to our own comfort Though we do sometimes strive against our sins yet we cannot overcome them or if one sinne be subdued another is ready to rise up against us also though we cannot actually commit a sin yet we may commit it in our sinful desires to it in a sinful remembrance of it in consenting to it or in suffering it to be done when by our place and authority we might hinder it We have also just cause to bemoan our selves for though we do labour for grace and do use all means for it to the best of our power and yet we cannot attain unto it Though it be thus with us yet we must still continue our best endeavours to oppose all the enemies of our salvation and we must still use the means of grace and wait upon God until he shall please to work grace in us by his Spirit also we must pray unto him with a faithful heart that by the omnipotent power of his grace e and by the rod of his strength which is the Word and Sprit he would make us able to overcome our corruptions by seasoning our hearts with grace to subdue the power of our sins by repentance to improve our time to the glory of God and also to break through the snares of the devil the world and the flesh Then God will so bless us in our pious indeavours that we shall prevail against all opposition and adversary power not by our own strength but by the might and power of Jesus Christ our gracious Redeemer f 2 Cor. 12. 9. whose grace and favour is sufficient for us and whose strength is made perfect in our weaknesse under whose banner we fight these spiritual battels for the honour of his great name Of Christ our Redeemer IF it be so that Christ is our Redeemer and hath wrought our redemption with his own blood and hath purchased for us a new Covenant and an everlasting inheritance in heaven as formerly in part hath been shewed also if we have all our strength and power from him against our spiritual enemies without whom we cannot stand against them nor break through the bands of death to injoy that heavenly inheritance which he hath prepared for us we must then know who Christ is what is the nature of his Person what is his power and strength and how he was qualified for this great work that we may have a sure ground to confide in him and to rest upon him as our Redeemer and onely Saviour Also we must know how he hath satisfied the justice of God for our sinnes how he hath conquered death hell and the devil and what price he hath paid for our ransom for without this heavenly knowledge and faith to apply it to our selves vve can dravv no comfort to our souls from Christ neither can vve have any good assurance that vve are freed from the curse of the Lavv that the justice of God is satisfied for our sins that sin hath no condemning power over us that the sting of death is taken away and that we are reconciled again unto the favour of God God hath revealed these deep mysteries to us in his holy Word that the meditations of our hearts may be enlarged upon them for our instruction and edification and for the comfort of our souls as God shall give light to our understandings by his blessed Spirit But as the Prophet saith a Is 53. 8. Who can declare his generation which was from eternity for Christ our Redeemer is the onely begotten Son of God b Joh. 1. 18. who is in the bosom of the Father and was promised and expected since the beginning of the world And when the fulnesse of time was come that God had appointed for his incarnation c John 1. 14 the Word was made flesh for d Heb. 2. 16 he took on him the seed of Abraham and personally united to his Divine nature a true humane body e Luc. 1. 31 32. of the seed of the Virgin Mary f Mat. 26. 38 which was indued with a reasonable soul and the holy Ghost did so sanctifie her wombe that he was born without sin either original or actual And though the humane nature of Christ was taken into his Deity whereby this union was never to be dissolved yet either nature had their whole properties and operations remaining still unconfounded and therefore he was true God and true man g Heb. 2. 17 like unto us in all things h Heb. 4. 15. sin onely excepted and those two natures made but one person in Christ i Mat. 28. 18 to whom God the Father hath given all power in heaven and in earth so that he commandeth and over-ruleth al created power whatsoever God did also give him three honourable offices that he might be every way fit to be our eternal Mediatour between God and us for God ordained him to be a Prophet to teach and instruct us to be a Priest to make intercession for us and to offer such a sacrifice to God for our sins as he would accept and to be a King to rule and govern his Church and also to rule in our hearts by his Spirit Christ being thus qualified hath fulfilled for us and in our nature whatsoever the Law did require of us and his righteousness is imputed to us by faith for our justification that no guilt of sinne might cleave to us in the sight of God When Christ did execute that part of his priestly office which was the offering up of his body a sacrifice for us no heart can conceive and no tongue can express the bitter torments which he suffered both in his soul and in his body to satisfie the justice of God for our sinnes and to purchase our freedome and redemptition out of the captivity
of sinne and Satan k Isa 53. He was a man of sorrowes he was despised he hath born our griefs he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastizement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed All we like sheep are gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all Hereby it appeareth that the justice of God cannot dispense with any sinne for he did severely punish it in his own dear Son because he found the guilt of sinne upon him though it were none of his own for he was in his own nature free from any spot or stain of sinne whatsoever Now learn this instruction that when thy heart doth meditate on Christ thy gracious and blessed Redeemer thy thoughts must not rest upon his humane nature but with the piercing eye and power of faith thou must raise them up to contemplate with all due reverence his Deity admire with great admiration that the eternal Son of God was pleased for thy sake thou poor silly worm to leave his glorious mansions in heaven and to lay down that heavenly glory which was ever his due and to condescend so low as to be clothed with thy nature which thou hast stained with the guilt of all manner of sinne that he might cloth thee with his own righteousness and restore thee again to the first purity and integrity in Gods account wherein thou wert created Now then canst thou ever put an end to thy meditations on his abundant love to thee canst thou be unthankful to him that he hath been so rich in goodness to thee so free in his mercies and so liberal in his benefits to such a worthless creature as thou art let him therefore be the chief joy of thy heart and put thy whole confidence in him by faith for thy salvation do not forget so great love but close with him imbrace him with the armes of thy faith be guided and directed by him in all thy wayes and yield all submission to Christ thy King and Governour to obey his Laws and to observe his commands Feed thy heart then and refresh thy soul by ruminating upon the excellencies and al-sufficiency of Christ thy Saviour with thoughts beseeming the honour and dignity of his sacred Person For if thou thinkest upon him onely as he is man thou doest too much undervalue his Highness and if thou conceivest of him as only God thou canst not draw then neer unto him without dread and terror by reason of his glory and majesty and also by reason of thy pollutions and defilements If Christ were onely man he could not have satisfied the justice of an infinite God neither had his blood been a sufficient price for mans redemption and if onely God he could not have suffered the penalty of the Law by his death But if thou doest meditate on him and apply thy self to him by a true and a lively faith as he is thy onely Saviour both God and man l Heb. 4. 16. then thou maist come boldly to the throne of grace where thou shalt receive and find grace to help in time of need and thy meditations of him will be exceeding comfortable to thy soul Thou maist safely fix thy faith upon him and ground thy hope in him for thy salvation m Act. 4. 12 for there is no other name under heaven whereby thou must be saved but by the name of Iesus and according to the esteem thou hast in thy heart of that Name such is thy faith and such is thy hope and confidence in him For if thy thoughts concerning him are low it is a manifest sign that thy faith in him is weak but if they are truly raised up to contemplate and acknowledge his Deity through his humanity it s a good evidence that thy faith is strong in him Wherefore renounce all that is in nature or in humane learning and trust not to thine own abilities or to common grace for thy redemption for they profit thee nothing for thy justification though they may conduce much toward a well ordered and civil life but strive to get faith and all sanctifying grace that the righteousness of Christ may be imputed to thee and that thy life may be truly sanctified and reformed to the will of God We must consider further for our better understanding of Christ our blessed Redeemer that he is set forth in the holy Scriptures by some resemblances which are very comfortable for us to meditate upon because they shew our union with him his special care of us and the great benefits that we shall have by him if we can make an holy application of him to our selves by faith First he is resembled to a vine and then we are the branches n Joh. 15. 5. I am the vine saith Christ ye are the branches He that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing If we are ingrafted by faith into this true vine we are then so firmly knit and united unto Christ that no power nor policy can separate us from him for o 1 Pet. 1. 5. we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation we shall be purged and pruned from the guilt and from the pollutions of all our sins and we shall be dressed and adorned with grace and vertue that we may bring forth much fruit in a pious life and holy conversation Secondly Christ is resembled to an head p Col. 1. 18. for he is the head of the Church and we are the members of that body to be guided and directed by him to be taught and instructed of him and as the head preserveth the natural body q Eph. 5. 23 so is Christ the Saviour of every member of his mystical body and as all the members of the natural body draw their sense and motion from the head and are serviceable and obedient to the command of the head as the hands to work the feet to run the back to bear any heavy burden and the like so do we draw all our sense and motion in heavenly things from Christ by reason of the operation of the holy Ghost and we ought to yield all duty and obedience to him to do what he commandeth with all cheerfulness of spirit and willingly to bear his Cross though the burden be very heavy to our weak nature This will give us great assurance that we have a neer relation unto Christ if we find this readiness of will in our selves to submit to his most blessed and holy will Thirdly Christ is called r Heb. 13. 20 that great shepheard of the sheep and thus he saith of himself Å¿ Ioh. 10. 11 14. I am the good shepheard and I know my sheep and am known of mine the good shepheard giveth his life for the sheep The Prophet telleth us
outward ministration of it to make it profitable and comfortable to our souls Examine now thy self what impression the doctrine of Christ hath made in thy heart which thou hast often heard sincerely preached and how thou hast been profited by it what knowledge thou hast gained in heavenly things how thou art confirmed in the truth of Gods Word how thy faith in Christ is established what hope thou hast of eternal salvation and how firmly thy faith is grounded upon the promises of God Also how thou art humbled for thy sins and what reformation of life it hath wrought in thee what patience and meekness of Spirit thou hast in thy sufferings what zeal for the glory of God what constancy in thy tryals and what love thou bearest to thy neighbour these and the like benefits thou maist have by the Word of God if thou art a profitable hearer of it If upon due examination of thy self thou doest find any of these operations of the Spirit of God in thee it is a sure evidence that he hath made thee a profitable hearer of his Word Many did hear Christs doctrine from his own mouth and yet they received no good by it so thou maist hear his holy Word and be no whit the better for it if it be not preached as wel to thy heart by the Holy Ghost as it is to thine ear by his Ministers Oh consider how many worthy sermons thou hast heard without profit what thou hast been taught and yet not edified nor reformed because thou didst hear them with uncircumcised ears and with a poluted and unbelieving heart for thy heart is naturally unfit to receive the heavenly doctrine of Christ until rhe holy Ghost doth prepare it and season it with grace that it may bring forth fruit unto newness of life o Hos 10. 12 There is so much fallow ground in us which is barren and unfruitful that the good seed of the Word of God cannot be sown to us in righteousness to reap the fruits of it in mercy untâ—l the holy Ghost breaks up this fallow ground with the power of his sanctifying grace neither can we seek the Lord that he may come and rain righteousness upon us Wherfore p Ier. 4. 4. we must be circumcised to the Lord and the foreskins of our hearts must be taken away and the vail that is upon our understandings must be removed and we must be purified by faith before we can be made fruitful in an holy and vertuous conversation by the Ministry of the word Wherefore imbrace the holy doctrine of Christ with pure affections lay it up in a clean heart and ruminate upon it in thy serious meditations that it may abide with thee to make thee grow dayly in grace vertue and godliness until thou comest to a full stature in Christ Consider therefore and observe how thou art inwardly affected when thou hearest it what delight thou hast in it and what impression of grace it makes in thy heart for if thou delightest in the Lords Sabbath and rejoicest when his Word soundeth in thine ears q Luc. 5. 41 as the babe did leap for joy in Elizabeths wombe when she heard the salutation of the Virgin Mary because Christ was then in the Virgins wombe thou art then in a blessed and comfortable condition r Isa 58. 13 14. and thy soul shall delight in the Lord who shall feed thee with the heritage of Jacob. Christ doth also teach us what we ought to do by his works that we dayly see both of justice and of mercy which are his silent Preachers and therefore they ought to be carefully regarded for there is no act of his but is intended for our instruction Noah was many years in building the Ark which was a long sermon to teach the world of the ungodly what God intended to do God Å¿ 1 Pet. 3. 20 waited then for their repentance and conversion an hundred and twenty years while the Ark was a preparing t 2 Pet. 2. 5 Noah also was a Preacher of righteousness to them all that time and did warn them of the wrath of God which did hang over their heads for their sins Thus doth God also deal with us for he doth visit us with sickness he doth teach us thereby to prepare our selves for the hour of dissolution and to perfect our account which we must make to the great Judge of heaven and earth at the last day that so we may willingly resign up our selves unto God when death shall part them from our bodies When God suffereth us to fall into temptations then he calls us to pray for his assisting grace for strength of faith and for constancy to stand out against the devil to the end that he may give us the crown of victory If he doth visit us with losses troubles or afflictions it is to teach us patience and meekness and to humble our selves under the hand of God until he doth deliver us If he doth chastise us for our sins it is to bring us to repentance When God bestoweth his blessing upon us or removeth the cross from us u Ps 50. 15 then he calls for a thankful remembrance of his mercy and goodness to us howsoever God dealeth with us either in judgement or in mercy it should teach us to glorifie him as well in our sufferings as for his blessings Thus God doth teach and instruct us what we should do and how to obey his will both by his Word and by his Works and as our ear must be open to his Word that it may be conveyed to our hearts by the holy Ghost so we should dayly observe the Works of God and how he dealeth with us that our hearts may receive instruction and our tongues may blesse his great and glorious name Wherefore we ought to listen to Gods voice in them that our hearts may return an answer of obedience agreeable to his will Of Christs Priestly Office GOd did also ordain Christ to be a Priest accord-to this of David a Ps 110. 4. The Lord sware â—nd will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck He was anointed to his office not with the material oyl of the sanctuary but with the spiritual unction of the holy Ghost when he was baptized and he did execute it partly by his prayers which he did frequently offer up to God his father for all his elect in the dayes of his flesh and partly by that sacrifice which he offered up upon the cross at his death b Heb 7. 24 25. Christs priesthood is unchangeable and eternal for he is still our High-priest and ever liveth to make intercession for us and therefore he is able also to save us to the uttermost that come unto God by him c Heb. 8. We have such a High-priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heaven d Heb. 7. 26 27. For
such an High-priest became us who is holy harmless undefiled separate from sins and made higher than the heavens When Christ did offer up himself a sacrifice to God his whole humane nature was bound to the altar of his Divinity with the cordes of unseparable union and love e Isa 53. 10 and his soul was made an offering for sinne as well as his body which was crucified and his precious blood which was poured out upon the Cross f Heb. 7. 27. This sacrifice though it were but once offered was sufficient to satisfie the justice of God to appease his wrath to blot all our sins out of his book of remembrance and to perfect for ever them that are sanctified This is also piously to be considered g Rev. 1. 6. that Christ by his eternal Priesthood hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father h 1 Pet. 2. 5 and an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ These sacrifices are our prayers our praises thanksgivings and a broken and a contrite heart for our sins i Phil. 4. 1â— also our deeds of charity to the poor members of Christ are and odour of a sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable an well pleasing to God Paul did beseech the Romans k Rom. 12. 1 to present their bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is their reasonable service so that whatsoever we offer unto God it must be offered with a sanctified heart which is washed and purified in the blood of Christ by faith and indued with sanctifying grace from above and then our sacrifice will be clean and accepted of God Though our prayers and praises be imperfect and come farre short of that which they ought to be yet if they proceed from a sincere heart and are offered up by Iesus Christ our High-Priest then he will perfect them with his own righteousness and present them to God his Father for us and we may rest assured that God will be pleased to accept them graciously Wherefore seeing Christ hath made us Priests unto God because we belong unto him we must offer up our prayers and oblations to God and not to Saints or Angels for he is the author and the giver of every blessing and mercy that we receive he provideth for us food and raiment and whatsoever is needful both for this present life and for that which is to come he doth protect us from dangers he doth support us in our tribulations and delivereth us out of our distresses when we cry unto him with a faithful heart We have therefore great cause to ascribe all honour and glory unto him and thankfully to acknowledge that God is the sole author of all our good to whom we must return all praise and thanks for it Also if our prayers and oblations have no relation unto Christ by faith they cannot be accepted neither can we confidently hope to receive a gracious return of them with a blessing except we believe that Christ our Advocate will present them to God his Father If we did duly consider how much we stand in need of Gods helping hand and of his assisting grace to carry us on through all the troubles and dangers that we shall meet with in this life also how God doth continually follow us with his tender mercies and loving kindness we would not be so slack in our prayers and praises unto him and if we did consider that our prayers must mount up even to the throne of Gods Majesty they would not be so cold so dull and so much clog'd with worldly cares and sinful thoughts as commonly they are which doth hinder their swift ascent up to heaven but we would labour to be more heavenly minded and to put more holy zeal and fervency into them and to send our faith along with them which will soon bring them unto Christ and then he will present them unto God for us So likewise if we consider how careless we are in the worship and service of God how ready we are to fall from him how imperfectly our best duties are performed what sins we dayly commit and what wrath and fury we do justly deserve for them we should then be more humble more affected with godly sorrow and more carefull to renew our repentance every day our sighs and groans for our sinnes would proceed from our hearty contrition and from true compunction of spirit and then our faith in Christ will give us a firm assurance of the pardon and forgivness of them all for thus saith the Lord l Isa 66. 2. To this man will I look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word Also m Isa 57. 15 Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones Wherefore now if we think to have our wants and necessities supplied by our industry in our callings without prayer if we think to be supported in our troubles or to be delivered out of our miseries with prayer to be nourished at our tables or refreshed in our beds without prayer and to be eased of our paines or recovered of our diseases without prayer we shall either miss our desires or else we shall have them without a blessing We cannot conceive how prevailing faithful prayer is with God if it be presented to him by Christ Thus saith James n Jam. 5. 15 16 17 18 The prayer of faith shall save the sick and if he commit sins they shall be forgiven him And again The effectual servent prayer of a righteous man availeth much Elias prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six moneths and he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit o Gen. 20. 17 At the prayer of Abraham God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maid servants and they bare children p 1 Sam. 1. By prayer Hannah obtained a sonne q Exod. 32. 11. Moses by prayer did stop the flud gates of Gods fury that were ready to be poured out upon his own people for their idolatry in worshipping the golden calf By prayer we may obtain any blessings from God and escape any judgement that he hath threatned Likewise our interest that we have in Christ by faith will make our praises and thanksgivings to God for blessings received to be accepted and will also make them not to return empty again into our bosomes If our repentance for our sinnes be without faith in Christ it will give us no good assurance of pardon though we do express all the outward signes of true humiliation and though we break our hearts with grief yet we can
hateful sin was in the sight of God also the devil knew that such was the rigour and strictnesse of the justice of God that he would not spare his own natural Son if he found him clothed with sinful and polluted garments But the devil was much deceived in Christ for though he had sinne up-him yet he had no sinne in him he had no sin of his own but our iniquities were laid upon him because he did stand between the justice of God and us to shelter us from the anger and wrath of God which was our due for all our transgressions and also to suffer whatsoever was due to us by the Law to free us from the curse of the Law but Christ was no longer under the severity of Gods displeasure than until his justice was satisfied our redemption perfectly finished and our atonement made with God Notwithstanding the devil out of meer malice to mankind doth labour to the uttermost of his power to hinder this great work of our salvation which Christ was now about to effect by seeking to destroy our blessed Saviour From hence we may learn to be afraid of sinne because the justice of God will spare none if the guilt of sinne be upon them and if they are not washed and made clean with the blood of Christ by faith but do sleep in their sinne without repentance Also we may observe the cunning and the malice of the devil against the children of God for he will then soonest assault them with his temptations when they are under Gods visitation or when he doth hide the light of his countenance from them because he thinks then to prevail and that they are then least able to resist him whereas God doth usually give his servants most grace when crosses or afflictins are upon them But this is our comfort that the devil can prevail no more against us than he did against our gracious Saviour for Christ will restrain his power in regard of our weakness and he will hide himself no longer from us than until we are truly humbled for our sinnes and that our hearts are clensed by faith and sound repentance Lastly though the devil did what he could against Christ to hinder us of our salvation yet he was not able to compass his wicked design for Christ did confound him and did fully finish his great work which he had undertaken although it were exceeding bitter to his humane nature thus will Christ confound all the enemies that seek the ruin of our souls Now did Christ feel the burden of our sins presse so hard upon him that his very soul was heavy even to the death now did God begin to pour out his wrath upon him and to let loose the principalities and powers of darkness to torment his innocent soul and now did God offer his beloved Son a cup of trembling and wrung out the very dregs which he did willingly drink because his Father gave it him for thus he said unto Peter a Joh. 81. 11. The cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it b Luk. 22. 44. His Agony in the garden was but a tast of this cup and yet it was so strong and so bitter to him that his sweat was like great drops of bloud trickling down to the ground so that an Angel was sent from heaven to strengthen him and to comfort him in the assurance of his Fathers love For the sorrow of his heart and the anguish of his soul was so great c Mat. 26. 39. that he prayed three several times to his heavenly Father if it were possible to let that cup passe from him which was that he might in himself expresse unto us a true Passion of humane weakness for our comfort and consolation when our weak flesh fainteth under the pressure of grief or calamity d Mat. 26. 41 for the spirit may be willing and ready to suffer though the flesh be weak There were many bitter ingredients in this cup of our Saviours passion which he was to drink for our sakes for every scorn and contumely that was put upon him every blasphemous word that was spoken against him every stripe of the whip every thorne that pierced his tender temples and every nail that fastned him to his Crosss were exceeding sharp and bitter to him because it was for sinne and they were all venomed with the malice of the devil and the wrath of God went along with him in all his Passion until he had suffered so much as the justice of God required but chiefly the fear of death did most perplex his humane nature by reason of the sting that was now in it wherby he did manifest the truth of his humanity which was not exempted from humane passions though it was alwayes free from the infection of sinne If Christ had not dyed for us we had reaped no benefit by his life for our justification the lothsome diseases of our souls had not been cured but e Eph. 2. 1. we had still remained dead in our trespasses and sinnes for nothing could kill the power of sinne in us but the death of the eternal Son of God and nothing could quicken us up in a spiritual life but his resurrection from the dead and nothing moved him to dye for us but his tender love and compassion to us When Christ was in the flesh he had a share in all our miseries even from his infancy and when he was to dye he suffered more than any heart is able to conceive whereby he hath sweetned the bitterness of our miseries and hath opened a ready way for us to find comfort in our sufferings if we can make our title good in him by a true faith God doth keep this cup in his own hand to give to whom he pleaseth f Ps 75. â— and if he giveth it to us that are his servants that we must drink of this bitter cup of affliction and sorrow though the wine be red and it be full of mixture yet we shall not wring out the dregs thereof and drink them for they are reserved for the wicked Christ our blessed Redeemer hath drunk the dregs of this cup for us and hath made it a cup of salvation and a cup of consolation healthful and profitable for us in the end though it be bitter and uncomfortable in the tast We need not then be dejected in our spirits when we are under the Cross if we consider that our sufferings come from the hand of the loving and tender Father g Ier. 10. 24 to correct us with judgement not in his anger to refine the dross and to purge away the corruption that is in us but not to consume and destroy us If we conceive through humane frailty or through the weaknesse of our faith that this cup is to strong for us and that we are not able to bear it we may pray and that earnestly and often to have it removed and to passe
and the wombes that never bare and the paps which never gave suck x Luk. 19. 4â— And Christ himself wept for the misery that was to come upon Jerusalem Secondly Christ willeth them to reserve their teares to lament and bewail their sins and the sins of their children because the great and terrible day of the general judgement was coming when every one both high and low great and small young and old must give a particular account to God of what they have done in the flesh either in thought word or deed whether it be good or evill y Isa 2. 19. Hos 10. Luk. 23. 30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains fall on us and to the hills cover us Thus doth Christ direct us how to glorifie God with our teares how to comfort our soul by our mourning and how to be prepared for any common calamity and also how to meet the day of judgewent with comfort and that is by mourning for our sins in time and by making our peace with God by faith in Christ with the teares of true repentance Now take a view of thy teares and see from whence they flow from an humane principle or from a principle of grace if thou canst mourn for the evill of punishment which thou sufferest and canst not mourn for the evill of the sin which thou committest thy teares are not then spent upon the right object or if thou dost weep grieve for thy sins and hast no relation to Christ by faith in thy mourning thou wilt have but little assurance of pardon and thou wilt find but small comfort in thy weeping Also if thou dost lament and sorrow for thy sins and not fully purpose and dost endeavour to reform thy sinfull life thy repentance is not sound and thy sorrow is not unto salvation So likewise if nature can finde teares for the losse of some dear friend or for any other worldly losses and grace can find none to bewail thy self because the light of Gods countenance is clouded from thee or because the Church of God is under afflictions and troubles thou dost then waste thy teares to a wrong end z Ezra 10. 6. Ezra mourned for the transgression of the people a Neh. 1. 4. and Nehemiah mourned for the desolation of Jerusalem b Psal 119. 230. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes saith David because they keep not thy Law These teares proceeded from a Principle of grace wherewith God was well pleased And Christ doth here command us to reserve our teares for general calamities because then God doth call for fasting lamentation and mourning from those especially that are like to partake in such calamities If we can thus regulate our mourning and thus imploy our teares it will make much for the glory of God and for the comfort of our own souls But the consideration of the dreadfull day of judgement should most of all affect our hearts and soules with a godly sorrow for our sins and with an holy and earnest desire to be reconciled unto God by faith in Christ and to have a true assurance of the forgivenesse of them by our repentance that we may then appear before God without any guilt of sin upon our souls and without the clamours and accusations of an evill conscience and then it will be a day of rejoicing to us and not a day of terrour But if our souls are to appear with the pollutions and stains of sin and if our consciences are ready to accuse us and to prefer a bill of indictment against us that day will be most terrible and fearfull to us for when we shall look upon the Judge we shall see nothing in his countenance but terrour and fury and we can expect nothing from him but that dreadfull sentence of go ye cursed into everlasting torments on the contrary if the grace of God hath taught us to deny ungodliness and c Tit. 2. 12. 13. worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world we may then confidently look for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Wherefore it concerneth us no less than the salvation of our souls to make up our account while we live here which we must then give unto God even to an idle word because we shall be judged according to our works for after this life is ended there is no more faith to lay hold on Christ no more hope of salvation and no repentance for sin If our account be made up according to our own righteousnesse it will come farre short of that which God requireth and he will not accept it but if we can make it up in the righteousnesse of Christ by faith then whatsoever is wanting in us will be made perfect by his righteousness in the sight of God How pittifull then and miserable will the condition of unregenerate men be at that day Who can make perfect their account seeing they have no interest in Christ And how can they stand before that great and dreadfull Judge seeing he will not then know them Wherefore we should not neglect to make up our account thus with God every day because we know not how soon we are bereaved of time and grace for it and the losse of one day may indanger our salvation Lose no time then and no opportunity for this great work of thy salvation d 2 Pet 1. 10. but redeem the time which thou hast lost by doubling thy future diligence to mak thy calling and election sure What Christ suffered upon the Crosse OUr gracious Redeemer after many a weary step is now brought to Mount Calvary which was without the gates of the City where he must finish the great work of mans Redemption by his death and resurrection for to this end he came down from heaven and assumed our nature and all our iniquities were imputed to him because he was our surety and did undertake to satisfie the justice of God for them all not onely for the Jew but also for the Gentile a Joh 20. â— at 27. Now behold and see how his innocent hands and feet are nailed to his Crosse and how he is mocked and derided in his misery how the barbarous people insult over him how grievously he is tortured and what execrable blasphemies they belch out against him he did now endure the bitternesse of pain and the extremity of cold being naked upon the crosse but above all the anguish of his soul was so great because the fierce wrath and hot displeasure of Almighty God was heavy upon him that he cryed out My God my God Why hast thou forsaken me for then he had little or no sense of his heavenly Fathers love and the bright beames of his Deity were clouded for a time from his humanity If it be so that the eternall Son of God our blessed Redeemer suffered all kinde of shame and ignominy
6â— Before I was afflicted saith he I went astray but now have I kept thy word Also he saith g Psal 23. 4 Thy rod and thy staffe they comfort me and then he concludes thus h Psal 94. 12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest O Lord. This exhortation the wise man giveth i Prov. 3. 11 12. My Son despise not the chastening of the Lord neither beweary of his correction for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth even as a Father the son in whom he delighteth k Heb. 12. 11. But no chastening for the present seemeth joyous but grievous neverthelesse afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousnesse unto them which are exercised thereby Wherefore we must not measure the love of God by the outward blessings which we injoy nor his displeasure by the crosses which we suffer Consider now that none could ever claim greater priviledge from afflictions and sorrowes than the Virgin Mary and none was ever more to be honoured upon earth than she for she did bear Christ the only Son of the eternal God in her blessed womb who had the command of all creatures in heaven and in earth and who was the fountain of all true consolation and she injoyed the comfort of his sacred society many years and yet she had her cares she had her sorrowes her whole life was full of afflictions wants and necessities she was put to great extremities when Christ was born soon after she fled into Egypt for the safety of her Sons life she lost him three dayes at Jerusalem and at that time she sought him with a sorrowfull heart But above all behold and see how her soul is now pierced thorough with grief for she must now lose his gracious company for ever she now beholds him upon the Crosse she seeth how his tender body is rent and torn with the thornes and with the whip how his hands and feet are nailed to the Crosse as if he had been a notorious malefactor and she hears the revilings and blasphemies that were uttered against him in a most shameful spiteful manner which was enough to break her sorrowfull heart but especially she did see his very heart blood gush out of his side which was pierced with a spear This was the wofull and lamentable condition of the blessed Virgin at this time but Christ gave her inward comfort and strength of faith answerable to the greatnesse of her sorrowes which did uphold her heart from fainting and her soul from sinking This may be the condition of any of Gods servants they may be oppressed and pressed down with temporall miseries they may drink deep in the bitternesse of them but yet they are freed from the curse that was upon them and there is nothing in them to hurt their souls for that is taken away by these sufferings of Christ which makes the burden of them more easie that they may bear it with a willing minde When our afflictions are thus sanctified we shall find the fruit and benefit that comes thereby to be very sweet and profitable so that we shall have good cause to rejoice under them for as our sorrowes and sufferings do abound so also grace shall superabound l 2 Cor. 1. 5. and as the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ Consider yet further that as the holy Virgin was continually exercised under the Crosse and had her share in common calamities so likewise she had her particular cares of want and scarcity for her condition of life was but mean and her livelihood was but small therefore she was now like to be left destitute of all comfort relief and succour But Christ her beloved Son takes care of her he provides as well for the maintainance of her body as for the comfort of her soul and commends her to John his beloved Disciple m John 19. 26 27. Woman saith he to his Mother behold thy Son and to John he said Behold thy Mother And from that hour John took her unto his own home and provided for her during her life Thus was the blessed Virgin trained up in the school of affliction and sorrow to keep her from spirituall pride though she were honoured and blessed above all other women and that her minde should not be drawen away after the pomp and vanitis of the world but still to bear Christ in her heart as sometimes she did bear him in her wombe It was also to free her from all earthly cares that the meditations of her heart might be alwayes heavenly and that the desire of her soul might be to be with Christ This care Christ will have to provide whatsoever is needfull for all those that belong unto him for he best knoweth what is good for us and he will not suffer us to want if we put our trust in him We need not carke and care for the transitory things of this life which are given to the wicked as well as to the godly We need not distrust the wise Providence of God but we may confidently rest upon Christ for he will support and comfort us in our tribulations and will provide for us in our wants and necessities troubles and sorrowes may come upon us losse of Parents Children or Friends will come and casualties may happen in our estate which we would neither foresee nor prevent these and the like will imbitter all the comfort and content that we can finde in this world but if we belong unto Christ we shall never lose him neither can any thing bereave us of the sweet consolation that we shall finde in him This we may believe to be true that our crosses and sufferings in this life may be better for us then to injoy all earthly pleasures and delights Moses refuseth to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter chosing rather to â— Heb. 11. 35 25 26. suffer affliction with the people of God than to injoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward o Heb. 12. 12 Then lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees Let not outward crosses or afflictions too much seaze upon thee but by faith have respect unto the recompence of the reward and raise up thy Meditations to Spirituall things set the affections of thy heart upon Christ and him crucified which will make thy life comfortable here and will bring thee to reign eternally with him hereafter Now we must learn how to draw true consolation to our souls from this eternal Fountain of comfort when outward calamities or anguish of spirit doth overpresse us Our worldly preferments our natural endowments humane learning or common grace cannot reach this Fountain the well is deep and nothing can reach it but true Faith which is the onely bucket to draw this water of comfort from Christ which will refresh
darkning of the Sun was also an evident sign to the Jews of their unbelief and to shew the blindnesse of their understanding the obstinacy of their will and that they were given up to a reprobate mind as a just judgement of God for their unbelief and for this their loud crying sin in which sad condition they continue even to this day d 2 Cor. 3. 13 14. for their mindes were blinded and in the reading of the Old Testament there was a vail upon their heart so that they could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished which vail is not yet taken away from them This was typified by that vail which Moses put over his face when he was come down from the Mount and from â— Exod. 34. 33. the Presence of God In the dayes of Samuel God did shew a manifest token of his high displeasure against his people for their great sin f 1 Sam. 12. 17. when he sent thunder and rain in the time of wheat harvest to let them know that their wickednesse was great in the sight of the Lord in asking them a King g 2 Sam. 8. 7. because they had rejected the Lord that he should not reign over them God will set his mark upon obstinate and rebellious sinners that will not be reclaimed and turn to the Lord as he did upon Cain and others to brand them with perpetuall infamy and shame for their impenitency God hath also severall judgements for wicked men as we may see by dayly experience in these sinfull times Some he marks for the sword some for famine others for the pestilence sudden death or the like upon whomsoever his mark is set there the judgement will fall God hath likewise his mark of preservation which he will set upon his own servants in times of mortality or of any other common calamity h Zech. 9. 4. for when he sendeth forth his destroying Angel in a general calamity to destroy thousands he will also in much mercy send forth another Angel to mark and seal those in their foreheads who are to be preserved that whatsoever the calamity be it may not hurt them Consider now how uncomfortable it is to want the light of the Sun and what little joy we can take in this life if we want the light of our eyes and then we shall see that it is much more uncomfortable to want the spirituall light of our understanding Thus saith Christ i Mat. 6. 22 23. The light of the body is the eye if therefore thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light But if thine eye be evill thy whole body shall be full of darknesse If therefore the light that is in thee be darknesse how great is that darknesse Wherefore if the Sun of righteousnesse doth not shine upon us to give light to our understanding if he doth not heal the perversenesse of our will and the sinfulnesse of our affections we shall walk in darknesse and in the shadow of death for we shall be without a guide to keep us from stumbling and falling dangerously into grosse sins wherein if we continue without repentance we may justly fear some judgement of God to fall on us or some manifest sign of his indignation to be shewed upon us for our sins We should therefore learn this heavenly wisdom to break off from our sins to day by true repentance turning to the Lord lest we be marked for destruction too morrow and we should make our peace with God by faith in Christ that we may be marked with the seal of redemption which Christ will stamp upon every true believers heart for their preservation from evill in this life and for their eternall felicity in the life to come Consider yet further how the Sun in the Firmament did mourn to see the King of glory thus abased to see the ignominy and disgrace that was cast upon him how cruelly he was used and how unjustly he was put to death This should teach us to mourn for the calamities of the Church of God for the loss of any pillar in that spirituall building We have many examples of the servants of God for this pious duty Jeremiah Ezrah Nehemiah and others mourned and lamented greatly for the first desolations of Jerusalem and of the Temple k Luk. 19. 41 42 43. Christ himself wept over Jerusalem when he beheld it because he knew the finall destruction that should shortly after come upon it When Elisha l 2 King 13. 14. the Prophet was fallen sick of the sicknesse whereof he dyed Joash the King of Israel came down unto him and wept over his face and said O my Father my Father the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof This was a full expression of the grief and sorrow of his heart for the losse of so great a Prophet who was a strong Pillar in the house of Israel Consider also that if there be no mourning and no tears for the sins of a nation or people God will make the heavens to mourn and the clouds to pour down rivers of tears to teach us what we should do when the land is over-grown with the weeds of sin If it be so that the servants of God do mourn for the miseries that his Church doth suffer and for the losse or pulling down of any polished stone in that heavenly building then whose servants are they and what master do they serve that dismember the mysticall body of Christ that pull down any Pillar of his Church or pull any polished stone out of his spirituall Temple whereby it may be in danger of ruine or to fall to decay Also they are in a sad condition that pollute deface or throw down his materiall temples to the dishonour of his Name to the suppressing of his true worship and service and to bring in sects and schismes profanenesse and superstition God will not suffer such instruments of wickednesse to go unpunished but in his due Time he will make them examples of his fury if they do not sincerely repent of their crying sins and cursed abominations By this strange darknesse of the Sun we may also learn how uncomfortable it is to a childe of God to have the light of his Countenance clouded from him m Psal 30. 7 David was much troubled when God did hide his Face from him How was Christ himself perplexed in his soul when the light of Gods countenance was withdrawen from him It made him cry out in the bitternesse of his Spirit My God my God why hast thou forsaken me As it is the greatest blessednesse to â—njoy the favour of God so it is most uncomfortable when we have no apprehension of it Thus saith David of himself n Psal 21. 6 Thou haste made him exceeding glad with thy countenance Also thus he prayeth o Psal 4. 6. Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us It doth likewise teach us
now broken down which was between the Jew and the Gentile and that Christ was as freely given to the one as the other and the merit of his blood was as effectuall for the salvation of the Gentile as it was for the Jew if he were truly received by faith The vail being now rent the Gentile hath free accesse to the Mercy-seat which did typifie the Throne of grace by Christ Long before this God did choose some to be the first fruits of the Gentiles as namely Eliezâ—r of Damascus in Abrahams family Rahab of Jericho Ruth the Moabitesse and Naaman the Syrian with many more Secondly God did hereby shew that now there was an end put to the sacrifices of the Ceremoniall Law because the true Paschall Lambe was slain of whom these sacrifices were but types and shadows and that the Ceremoniall Law was now abrogated c Joh. 4. 22 23. and the true worship and service of God was not confined to Jerusalem or to the Temple but now God might be worshipped in any other place so that it be in spirit and in truth Thirdly we may see the free mercy and goodnesse of God to the Jew and also to the Gentile d Acts 15. 10. for by the death of his Son he hath cased the Jew of the great burden of Ceremonies which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear by putting an end to the Ceremoniall Law and he hath brought the Gentile within the Covenant of grace and hath admitted him into the most holy place for the vail of the Temple which before kept him out is now rent asunder God hath also sanctified every place where he is truly worshipped and served with a pure and upright heart and hath given us as great Priviledges in Christ as he gave to his ancient people the Jews Fourthly by these miraculous signes and wonders God did convince his people of the hardnesse of their hearts and of their wilfull blindnesse who would not see the fulfilling of their ancient Prophesies in Christ nor believe that he was that Messiah which was promised though they could object nothing against it Wherefore their hearts did not relent for their great impiety but the earth and the stony rocks were more sensible than they If we are thus hardned in our sins and thus blinded in our understandings it is a fearfull sign that we are given up to a reprobate minde Fifthly we may hereby see how God made the senselesse creatures to honour his Son at his death though both Jew and Gentile did most spitefully dishonour him in his life Christ honoured his Father while he was living and his Father honoureth him now he is dead by these great wonders and by the Testimony of the Centurion and others who seeing what came to passe said e Mat. 27. 54. Truly this was the Son of God Thus will God honour those that honour him by a vertuous and godly life or by their sufferings in his cause for he will make their innocency to appear and will manifest the truth of their Profession to the honour of his own Name and he will give them immortall glory in the life to come Wherefore if thou art in place of authority honour God by executing judgement and justice without exception of persons if thou art rich honour him in the right use of them and with works of mercy to the poor and needy if thou art poor be content with thy condition If thou hast children honour God in their good education teach them the fear of the Lord and let thy verteous life and good conversation be an example of piety to them Also if thou hast a family command thy children and servants to keep the way of the Lord to walk in his Statutes and to do righteously that the Lord may bring a blessing upon thee and upon thy house If thou art under the crosse honour God with thy patience hope and confidence in him whatsoever thy condition be honour him with thy thankfulnesse Sixthly God doth give us to understand by the trembling of the earth and by the renting of the rocks how powerfully the holy Ghost doth sometimes work upon our hearts at our first conversion to bring us to repentance f Acts 9. as he did at the conversion of Paul g Acts 16. and at the conversion of the Jailor and of diverse others for though our hearts be naturally as stupid and dull to any thing that is spirituall and heavenly as a lump of earth yet when the holy Ghost works upon them with his Almighty power he will make them quake and tremble and he will put a new Principle of grace into them whereby they shall be changed into a gracious condition and their natural dull and stupid properties shall be made active and ready for every holy duty And though our hearts are by nature as hard as any stone and no way capable of any gracious and heavenly impression yet the Spitit of God will break them in pieces and will mollifie and soften every piece to make it tender and flexible to the will and pleasure of God Wherefore if thou dost find this dulnesse in thine understanding this earthly mindednesse and this stupidity in thine affections that thou hast no will to serve thy God also if there be such obduracy in thy heart that thou canst not lament and mourn for thy sins and thy heart cannot melt into sighing and tears for thy transgressions and if there be such unbelief in thee that thou canst not apply any promise of mercy to thy self and canst have no hope nor assurance of the pardon and forgivenesse of thy sins upon thy repentance and turning unto God then make thy condition known to thy Saviour Christ in all meeknesse of spirit and he will put an holy light into thy understanding by his Spirit he will sanctifie thine affections and season them with grace he will take away thy hard heart of unbelief and will make it more sensible of thy miserable condition and will fit and prepare it for a deeper impression of grace Lastly God doth shew by the opening of the graves that there shall be a generall resurrection of every mans body at the last day when they must appear before the judgement seat of God to give an account of whatsoever they have done in the flesh Though our bodies are lockt up in the grave for thousands of years and though their dust and ashes are scattered abroad with the winde to the utmost parts of the earth yet at the last every grave shall be opened and shall deliver up her dead and every grain of dust shall be gathered together that every man may have his own body to deliver up his account before the great and dreadfull Judge of heaven and earth to receive the just reward of their works the wicked to be thrust down with the devils into everlasting burnings for their evill deeds and for their unbelief but such as belong unto
which was determined by all the three Persons in the holy Trinity before the world was he laid aside his Glory and humbled himself for that great Work which was decreed in the secret Counsel of God and to be wrought at his appointed time The first degree of Christs Humiliation was that he gave away the manifestation of glory of his Deity which he had with the Father in heaven which was his due from his first incarnation the bright beams whereof were clouded with his humanity for he took upon himself our flesh and was cloathed with our weak and frail nature and was subject to such humane passions and infirmities as might be without sin This was a great degree of Humiliation for the eternall King of glory to leave his glorious mansions in heaven and to come down and be with us men here upon earth and to take up his habitation in an earthly tabernacle which was subject to hunger thirst and heat and cold to pain torment and death it self The second Degree of his Humiliation was that he took upon himself the guilt of our sins and did undertake to fulfill the whole righteousnesse of the Law for us and to satisfie the justice of God for all the sins of his Elect not that his humane nature was polluted or stained with any sin For the holy Ghost did so sanctifie the Virgins wombe that he was conceived and born without Originall sin and he lived without any actuall transgression but our sins were imputed to him and therefore as the Apostle saith a Gal. 3. 13 He was made a curse for us Also b Tit. 2. 14. Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works He gave his body and all the parts of it to the persecutors tormentors he gave his blood to be spilt and his life for the redemption of man he gave his soul to suffer anguish and sorrow c â—sa 53. 10. and to be aâ— of fering for sin also in some sort he gave his Deity by suffering most horrible blasphemies that were cast upon him d Acts 20. 28. and God purchased to himself a Church with his own blood This was a very low abasement of Christ when he left all his glory in heaven and came down to live here upon earth not in the nature of Angels but he cloathed himself with our flesh which was all stained and defiled with the guilt of our sins e Isa 53. 6. for God laid on him the iniquity of us all The third degreee of Christs Humiliation was that he was content with a mean condition of life here upon earth his birth and education was very mean he was exposed to wants and necessities to perils and dangers even from his infancy and after he began his Ministry he had no abiding place f Mat. 8. 20. he had not where to lay his head and he did the office of a servant to his own Disciple g John 13. 5 when he washed their feet for as the Apostle saith h Phâ—l 2. 7. He made himself of nâ— reputation and took upon him the form of a servant Christ continually travelled from place to place to teach the people to heal the sick to cleanse the lepers and to cast out Devils he was often wearied often hungry and often thirsty Thus was his whole life full of sorrowes and full of afflictions and thus low did the eternall Son of God humble and abase himself to advance us and to perfect the work of our redemption Lastly in his passion he was made a scorn to the most abject of all the people and a derision both to Jew and Gentile he suffered both in his soul and in his body as much anguish pain and torment as the power of the divell and the malice of wicked men was able to inflict upon him And as if all this was not sufficient to humble him enough God himself did fiercely assault him for he kept all comfort from him when he was in his greatest extremity and his wrath went along with all his other sufferings When Christ had suffered to the full so much as the justice of God required in satisfaction for all our sins and that the work of our Redemption was perfectly finished then he commended his soul unto God and dyed upon the Crosse according to this of the Apostle i Phil. 2 8. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the crosse this kinde of death was most painfull shamefull and accursed Here is a short view of the humiliation of Christ for our weak understandings cannot reach to the depth of that which Christ suffered for us much lesse can we reach to the honour and dignity of his Person in his Divine nature which doth make his sufferings and his Humiliation far the greater If we do seriously meditate upon it with pious affections it will teach us to adore his sacred Majesty with reverence and godly fear to love him with a perfect love to serve and obey him with a pure and upright heart and to suffer any thing for his sake with a cheerfull minde Also if we have gained any grace by the death and passion of Christ it will teach us meeknesse of spirit and humility of minde though we have places of preheminence and authority above other men If God shall bring us down from an high degree to a mean condition of life we shall bear it contentedly because God is the sole disposer of all things and he can raise us to an higher degree if he pleaseth If what we have be too little for us and that we can improve more to the best advantage of Gods glory he will then in his good time bestow more upon us If our life be full of troubles and sorrowes the Humiliation of Christ will teach us k 1 Pet. 5. 6 7 to humble our selves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt us in due time We may safely cast our care upon him for he careth for us l Psal 18. 35 His right hand will hold us up m Psal 17. 5 He will hold up our goings in his paths that our footsteps slip not n Cant. 2. 6. Christ also will put his left hand under our heads and with his right hand he will imbrace us Wherefore if we have this gracious humility of spirit it will produce these and many more blessed fruits to give us comfort in a troublesome and painfull life And when death comes it will be favourable to a meek and humble spirit and well-come to a good conscience if we be thus qualified it will bring us to our graves in peace and then we shall have a joyfull and a blessed resurrection Christ did willingly humble himself to the death for us why should we be unwilling to resign up our life unto him do we know no other happinesse or
in our affections Why are our prayers our praises and our thanksgivings so few and so seldome sent up to him Why are they so cold and so dull that they cannot mount up to him And why are our spirituall oblations so full of unbelief Do we think that Christ will intercede for us if we sin wittingly and willingly against God Will he procure our pardon if there be any accursed thing hidden in our hearts Will Christ present our Prayers to God if they proceed out of feigned lips And will he present our duties and services to God if they are performed with unbelieving and deceitfull hearts If we thus conceive of the intercession of Christ we delude our selves and indanger our souls to utter perdition If we did truly believe that Christ hath taken possession of that heavenly inheritance which is prepared for us our souls would be ravished with an holy desire to injoy it we would contemn the vanities of this world in comparison of that and our affections would not be carried after sinfull pleasures afflictions and crosses would not cast down and deject our spirits but we would live chearfully in the midst of all troubles and sorrowes because by faith in Christ we are made heirs of the kingdom of Heaven If that place be so perfectly pure that no unclean thing can enter there we should study to live piously and vertuously to the glory of God while we live in the flesh that we may have a sure hope to injoy it hereafter If a Kings Son that is heir apparent but to an earthly Crown should live like a base peasant and delight in the company of such as are of mean and low degree we wil be ready to say that he is unworthy of such an Inheritance Let us make this our own case and consider to what honour and dignity we are born by our adoption in Christ that we may not live in subjection to every base and sinfull lust as unworthy of that Inheritance which Christ hath prepared for us in the Kingdom of heaven Though our condition â—e mean in this world and our calling such as that we must converse with ungodly people as to the outward man yet the conversation of the inward man may be spirituall and holy c Joh. 17. 15 for Christ hath prayed his Father to keep us from the evill that is in the world that we may imitate here upon earth the blessed Angels and Saints in heaven by glorifying God and by our readinesse to fulfill his will and pleasure Thus saith the Apostle d Col. 3. 1 2 If we be risen with Christ we should seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God and there should our affections be set and not on things on the earth Thus we may have our conversation in heaven thus we may live a spirituall life upon earth and thus we may injoy the sweet communion of the blessed Trinity even in this life for God the Father will be gracious and loving to us in Christ as a Father is to his children God the Son will be righteousnesse sanctification and Redemption to us according to the nature of a Saviour to his elect people and God the holy Ghost will abide with us for ever in all difficulties and dangers according to the nature of a true Comforter A brief summe of the Exaltation of CHRIST IF we look now upon our beloved Saviour we may contemplate his great Exaltation with much joy and gladnesse of heart a Eph. 4. 8. for he is ascended up on high and hath led captivity captive b Rev. 19. 11 12 13 14 15 16. John doth describe him sitting upon a white horse because he doth judge in righteousnesse his eyes were as a flame of fire and on his head were many crownes he was cloathed with a vestare dipt in blood and his name is called the Word of God and the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses and out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King of kings and Lord of lords c 1 Tim. 6. 15 16. He is the blessed and onely Potentate who onely hath immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto whom no man hath seen or can see d Phil. 2. 9 10. God hath highly exalted him and given him a Name which is above every name that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth e Rom. 9. 5. for he is over all God blessed for ever f Psal 2. 6 8 God hath now made Christ a King and set him upon his holy hill of Sion he hath given him the heathen for his inheriritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession Also the Apostle saith g Col. 2. 9 10. In Christ dwelleth all the fulnesse of the Godhead bodily and we are compleat in him which is the head of all principality and power We may yet consider further how God hath exalted Christ h Eph. 5. 23. For he hath made him the head of his Church i Eph. 1. 22. and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the Church Also k Psal 118. 12. Christ is become the head stone of the corner in this spirituall building and he doth so firmly binde every stone of this building to himself that they shall never depart from him Thus God is pleased to reveal in some measure how highly he hath exalted our dear Saviour after his great sufferings in his bitter passion but as we are not able to conceive what he suffered so our weak capacity cannot reach to that transcendent glory and Majesty which he now hath in the same nature as he was our Redeemer God and Man If God hath so highly exalted our glorified Redeeemer then we must study and Meditate with an holy zeal and pious devotion how to exalt him in our hearts how to prize him in our affections according to his excellencies and dignities how to have a reverent esteem of his worth how to honour and reverence him for his greatnesse and l Hos 3. 5. how to fear and love him for his goodnesse Also we must have a diligent care to obey his rule and government as he reigns and rules in our hearts by his Spirit that we may withstand and resist the temptations of the devill that the alluring vanities of the world may not insnare us and that no evill concupiscence may overpower us to make us dishonour our God or disobey the will of our dear Saviour If Christ be truly advanced in our mindes and thoughts according to the glory
Cor. 1. 3. who is the God of all comfort for thus he saith by his Prophet h Isa 51. 11 12. The redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads they shall obtain gladnâ—sse and joy and mourning shall flee away I even I am he that comforteth you What comfort can we then want if God be our Comforter Secondly if we delight in pleasures heaven will afford us more than our hearts can desire i Psal 36. 8 9. There we shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatnesse of Gods house and he will make us drink of the river of his pleasures for with him is the fountain of life in his light shall we see light Also the Psalmist saith thus k Psal 16. 11 God will shew us the path of life in his presence is fulnesse of joy at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore For heaven is the place of all peace and comfort of all joy and happinesse and of all glory and immortality Thirdly heaven is the place of all security as Abraham said to Dives l Lu. 16. 26 Between us and you there is a great gulf sixed so that they which would passe from hence to you cannot neither can they â—asse to us that would come from thence Also thâ—â— saith Christ m Mat. 25. 10. When the Bridâ—groom cometh and they that are ready are gone in with him to the marriage the door will be shut and theâ— none can go in and none can come out n Mat. 6. 20 â—n heaven we may safely keep our spiritual â—reasure from the moth and rust and from that arch theif the devil If this precious jewel which is our â—ouâ— be laid up in heaven it will be safely kept there for nothing can corrupt it and no theif can steal it away Lastly that which makes up the fulnesse of our joy and happinesse in the Kingdom of heaven is the eternity of it for if we should injoy it but for a time it would greatly lessen the comfort of our felicity there shall be an end of time but there will be no end of our blessed condition in heaven For thus saith the Lord o Isa 65. 17 18. Behold I create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembered nor come into minde But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy And again he saith by the same Prophet p Isa 66 22 For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain bâ—fore me so shall your seed and your Name remain Thus saith John q Rev. 2 2. 5. The servants of the lambe shall be in this city of God and they shall reign for ever and ever Paul speaking of the resurrection saith thus r 1 Thes 4. 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Daniel also saith thus Å¿ Dan. 7. 18. And the Saints of the most high God shall take the Kingdome and possesse it for ever even for ever and ever Holy David saith t Psal 37. 18 that the inheritance of the upright shall be for ever Thus it is evident how great our gain shall be by Christ after death and that there shall be no end of our happinesse Consider now that whatsoever we suffer in this life is but for a short time and that the bitternesse of our sorrowes is sweetned with some comforts also that our joy and felicity in heaven is for eternity and that it is no way imbittered with any troubles or vexations that we may patiently and meekly bear whatsoever God shall lay upon us and earnestly desire to be uncloathed of this corruptible body that we may put on the glorious robes of immortality for ever Thus saith Paul u â— Cor. 4. 17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternall weight of glory So likewise if we consider and believe that we have this Gain and advantage onely by Christ it will make us study and labour by all meanes to injoy him and when we have gotten some interest in him to stick close to him by Faith to love him with intire affections and to be obedient to his will and commands Wherefore now if thou hast any holy desire to be freed from all temptations from all sin and from all sorrow vexation and calamity then set the Meditations of thy heart upon the fruition of the Kingdom of Heaven where thou shalt be freed from all these evils though here upon earth they will rush in upon thee Also if thou desirest to injoy all the happinesse that heaven can afford thee and to injoy God himself for ever then look up unto Christ thy Saviour with the eye of faith who hath purchased heaven for thee with his own blood and hath made thee the Son of God by adoption that he might bestow all this upon thee whereof he hath given thee some taste in this life but thou canst not be made perfect in it untill this life is ended u 2 Pet. 1. 10. Give all diligence therefore as Peter saith to make thy calling and election sure by a lively faith in Christ and get the seal of the new Covenant which is the blood of Christ to be stamped upon thy heart that thou mayest carry it to thy grave and then death will give thy soul free passage into the mansions of heaven where this perfect freedome is to be obtained and where this gain of eternall blessednesse is to be gotten Wherefore walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit live not as a citizen of this world but live here as a free denizen of the heavenly Jerusalem having thy minde and the affections of thy heart set upon the holinesse and righteousnesse thereof that thy life and conversation may be pure and holy here upon earth and then thy soul shall live and eternally possesse it after it is dissolved from thy body How CHRIST is our Spirituall life MAn in his first creation had a spirituall life which was free from any spot or stain of sin but he soon lost it by his transgression and defaced this lively image of God that was stamped upon his soul and then in himself he had no ability to recover his lost happinesse This leprosie of sin hath infected all his posterity that proceed from him by naturall propagation which hath brought upon them a spiritual death and layeth them open to eternall death hereafter Though this be our condition by nature yet a Eph. 2. 4 5 6 7. God who is rich in mercy for his great love where with he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickned us together in
a peculiar people zealous of good works This purification Christ worketh in us ministerially by the Preaching of his Word for thus saith Paul Eph. 5. 25 26. Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word Also he doth wash and cleanse us Sacramentally from our sins by Baptisme a Gal. 3. 27. For if we have been baptized into Christ we have put on Christ and then we are cloathed with his righteousness and with his holiness which are the garments of a spirituall life for we must be holy as well as just b Heb 12. 14 without which no man shall see the Lord. So likewise c Acts 15. 9 faith doth instrumentally purifie our hearts as it hath relation to Christ But Christ doth most effectually purifie our hearts from sin and from uncleannesse by the holy Ghost and by him doth convey this spiritual life of grace into us without whose gracious concurrence no other means can be effectuall to us unto salvation Thus doth Christ bring us to a spirituall life that our conversation may be holy and blamelesse in the sight of God d Isa 35. 8 9 The Prophet speaketh of a way of holinesse which is not for the lyon or for any ravenous beast but for the Redeemed of the Lord they onely shall walk there This is the priviledge onely of those e Heb 9. 14. whose consciences are purged in the blood of Christ from dead works to serve the living God If Christ doth not thus wash and purifie us we have no part in him f John 13. 8 9. as he said unto Peter when he refused to let him wash his feet When we are thus cleansed from our sins and have this spiritual life by grace in Christ wrought in us then we are a peculiar people to him separate from sinners and from the vanities of this world and wholely devoted to serve him then we shall with Peter desire more washing and cleansing Lord not my feet onely but my head and my hands and then we shall have an holy zeal to do such works as God hath commanded and we shall do them by faith in Christ and to the honour and glory of God that the truth of our sanctification may appear Thirdly Christ is the exemplary cause of our spiritual life for he hath recorded his own life in the Gospel g 1 Pet. 2. 21 to be a perfect pattern of holinesse to us and an example thereby to learn how to follow his steps If we desire to live according to the rule of Christs life we must be holy and righteous in all our wayes humble and lowly toward all men meek and patient in our sufferings sober and temperate in all things charitable to the poor doing good to all frequent and fervent in Prayer and alwayes seeking the glory of God This was Christs whole life and thus ought we to regulate our lives that the fruits of a spirituall life may shine forth in the integrity of our conversation Christ did shew the purity of his Ministery by the holinesse of his life and what he did Preach to others he did practise himself h Mat. 11. 29. Learn of me saith he for I am meek and lowly in heart Though we cannot attain to perfection of holinesse in this life i Phil. 3. 14. yet we must presse towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus But this is the work of grace and not of nature to follow Christ in his steps and the servants of God have their graces according to their measure for some have more some have lesse yet all have grace sufficient to fit them for the kingdom of heaven and according to their measure of grace so is the purity of their lives and conversations Abraham excelled all others in Faith and therefore k Rom. 4. 11 he is called the Father of all them that believe Moses excelled all men in meeknesse for the holy Ghost giveth this Testimony of him l Num. 12. 3 that he was very meek above all the men that were upon the face of the earth Job was renowned for his patience Thus saith James of him m Jam. 5. 15 Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord. Holy David Daniel and others excelled in Prayer and devout Meditations These and all other the servants of God had their severall graces from Christ and the streams of his fulnesse do still plentifully flow down to all that belong to the election of grace for the sanctification of their lives Lastly Christ is the finall cause of our spiritual life which is that God may be glorified thereby to this end we were born to this end should tend all our words and actions and Christ took upon him our nature that God might be glorified by our salvation Christ did alwayes seek the glory of God both in his Ministery and in his miracles both in his life and at his death Thus he saith of his Ministery n John 12. 49 50. I have not spoken of my self but the Father which sent me he gave me a commandement what I should say and what I should speak whatsoever therefore I speak evâ—n as the Father said unto me so I speak Thus also Christ glorified God by his Miracles o Joh. 5. 19 36. for he ascribeth the cure of the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda to his heavenly Father that he might have the glory of it because he sent him to finish all those works which he did God is very jealous of his glory p Isa 48. 11 12. he will not have his great Name to he polluted and he will not give his glory to another His hand hath laid the foundation of the earth and his right hand hath spanned the heavens when he calleth unto them they stand up together To what end did God make the great Fabrick of the Heavens and the earth but for his own glory Why doth God execute his justice upon the wicked but to get himself honour by their destruction q Exod. 14. 17. as he did upon Pharaoh and his host when he drowned them in the red sea Why doth God bestow his mercies and his blessings upon his servants but to be honoured for and by them And why doth Christ put into us a spiritual life but to honour and glorifie God thereby r Lu. 5. 25. If the man that Christ cured of the palsie glorified God for his cure then much more ought we so to do because Christ hath cured us of all our spirituall diseases Å¿ Lu. 18. If the man that received his sight followed Jesus glorifying God then ought we to follow Christ and to glorifie God for that spirituall light which he hath put into our understanding and for that spiritual life which he hath put into our souls