look into the first Chapter and you shall see that those several Titles wherewith he cloaths Himself when he speaks unto the Churches severally are all summed up together at the 16. verse And he had in his right hand seven stars There 's his Title unto the Church of Ephesus And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword There 's his Title unto the Church of Pergamus And at the 18. verse I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for ever more There 's another Title that he useth when he speaketh unto the Church of Smyrna But in the 13. vers is opened the fountain of all these streams In the midst of the seven candlesticks I saw me like unto the Son of man cloathed with a garment down to the foot and girt about the paps with a golden girdle This was then the robe and attyre of the High Priest Whose garment came down unto his feet and he was girt about with a golden girdle So that all these other Attributes and Titles of Christ they have their rise here here is the spring-head of all those consolations even the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ Usually Those Excellencies and Attributes of Christ are most beneficial unto the Saints that are most opposed by the world What Title Attribute or Excellency of Christ is there that is more invaded by the world than the Priestly office of Jesus Christ What is the whole body of Anti-christianisme but an invasion upon this Priestly Office of Christ What is the Popish Masse that unbloody sacrifice but a derogation from the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ once upon the Crosse and so a derogation from his Priestly Office What are all those Popish Penances and satisfactions injoyn'd but a derogation unto the satisfaction of Jesus Christ and so unto the Priestly Office of Christ What is all their praying to Saints and Angels but a derogation unto the Intercession of Jesus Christ and so unto the Priestly Office of Christ What does the Pope call himself He cals himself the High Priest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the very Title that our Lord and Saviour takes unto himself So that the whole body of Anti-christianisme is a great invasion upon the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ Now that which is usually opposed most by the men of the world that Excellency and that Attribute of Christ is of all other the most comfortable and beneficial unto Gods people The truth is This Priestly Office of Jesus Christ is an Office of meer love and tender compassion erected and set up on purpose for the reliefe of poor distressed sinners and there is no mixture of terrour with it there is a mixture of terrour with the other Offices of Christ The Lord Christ he is King and he hath a Kingly Office and by his Kingly Office he rules over the Churches and rules over all the world But all do not obtain mercy that he rules over As for those mine Enemies that will not submit will not have mee to Reign over them bring them and slay them before mee The Prophetical office of Jesus-Christ it extendeth unto many that shall never be saved Light shines in darkness and darknesse comprehendeth it not He came unto his own and his own received him not But now where over the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ is let forth upon an soul that soul shall certainly be saved for ever What was the great relief amongst the Jewes against their sins The Jewes you shall observe they had many reliefs when they were in the wilderness and were stung with the fiery serpents then they had a brasen-serpent for to look upon as a reliefe against that distresse When they wanted water they had the water out of the Rock as a reliefe against that distresse When they wanted Bread they had Manna from Heaven as a reliefe against that distress But when they sinned whither did they go Then they took a sacrifice and went unto the Priest and he was to offer for them So that the Priestly Office then was the only relief they had against sin And so now the Priestly Office of the Lord Jesus Christ it is that great succour and relief which Christians have against all Temptations under Heaven You will say unto me Quest But generall things affect not let us see it in some Particulars wherein this Priestly Office of Christ is the great Magazin and Storehouse of all our grace and comfort For Answer Ans hereunto I will begin this exercise with one Particular of the Priestly Office of Christ in shewing what a relief and succour it is unto a Christian against all Temptations and what a bottome of comfort and special means of Grace and Holiness The text saies That the work of the High Priest is To make reconciliation for the sins of the people In the times of the old Testament the High Priest made an Atonement for the people in case any man had finned he brought a sacrifice and his sins were laid upon the head of the sacrifice Once every yeer the High Priest did enter into the holy of holiest and with the blood of the Sacrifice did sprinkle the Mercy-Seat and laid the sins of the people upon the head of the scape-goat and so made an atonement for the people All which will cleerly appear in that 16. of Liviticus at the 14. verse He shall take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger upon the Mercy-Seat east-ward and before the Mercy-Seat shall be sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times And at the 21. verse And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confesse over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins putting them upon the head of the goat and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness and so he shall make an atonement as in that Chapter This was the work of the High Priest in case any had finned to make an atonement and satisfaction by way of Type for the sins of the people Now for the better proof of this great Gospel-Truth that I have propounded I shall insist on these Five things First That when the Lord Jesus Christ died upon the Crosse he did offer up Himself a sacrifice unto God the Father Secondly That when this sacrifice was upon the Altar then the sins of all beleevers past present and to come were all laid upon Jesus Christ Thirdly That when these sins were thus laid upon Christ he did thereby give full satisfaction unto God the Father unto Divine Justice Fourthly That all this he did as our great High-Priest and in a more Transcendent and Eminent manner then ever any High Priest did before him Fifthly How all this doth conduce to our Comfort and to our Holiness First When our Lord Jesus Christ died upon the Cross He did offer up himself a sacrifice unto God
the Father He did not as the Socinians say die only as an example for to teach us how to die but he offered up himself a sacrifice unto God the Father then Yea as if all sacrifices were met in him all those titles that are given unto other Sacrifices they are given unto him There were Three sorts of Sacrifices some were living others were not living and those were either solid as bread and the like or else they were liquid as wine and oyle There was a alwaies Destructio rei oblatiae A destroying of the thing offered If it were a living thing that was sacrificed then it was said to be slain In answer to that Jesus Christ is said to be a Lamb slain from the beginning of the world If it were a dead thing that was offered up as bread or corn a solid thing then the sacrifice or offering was said to be bruised In answer to that our Lord and Saviour Christ is said to be bruised for our iniquities If it were a liquid thing that was offered up to God as wine or oyle then it was said to be powred out In answer to this it is said of our Lord and Saviour That his soul was powred out unto death Thus all Sacrifices meeting in him Behold the Lamb of God saies John the Baptist when he saw Christ He does not say Behold the Bull of God or the Goat of God and yet Buls and Goats were sacrificed Why does he rather say behold the Lamb of God than the Bullock or the Goat For when the High Priest went into the Holy of Holiest and sprinkled the Mercy-Seat he did not sprinkle the Mercy-Seat with the blood of the Lamb but with the blood of a Goat and yet notwithstanding it is not said Behold the Goat of God but Behold the Lamb of God Why so Not only because that Christ was of a lamb-like and meek disposition as some would have it Nor only because that the great Type of Christ was the Pascal-Lamb though these be reasons But there was a dayly sacrifice in the Temple whether men brought any offering or no there was a standing sacrifice in the Temple morning and evening and that sacrifice was a Lamb. Now therefore to shew that Jesus Christ is the dayly sacrifice therefore he cries out and saies Behold the Lamb of God and not the Goat of God for the Goat was not sacrificed every day as the Lamb was For proof of this take the Apostles Exhortation Ephe. 5.2 Walk in love as Christ hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God Here are Three things considerable First He does not say Who hath redeemed us but to show his great love unto us Who hath given himself for us He doth not say Who hath given himself for our sins Yet he saies so in Gal. 1.4 Who gave himself for our sins But Who gave himself for us Why To shew who they were that he gave himself for He gave himself for us as sinners Again He saies here He gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice not only an offering but a sacrifice too So that this first Proposition is cleerly proved That our Lord Jesus when he died upon the Crosse he did offer up himself as a sacrifice unto God the Father Secondly As he did offer up himself a sacrifice unto God the Father So when he was upon this Altar this sacrifice the sins of all beleevers were then laid upon Jesus Christ those that do now beleeve or shall hereafter beleeve they were all then laid upon Jesus Christ Look into the 53. of Isaiah ver 6. All we like sheep have gone astray and have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all That which God laies on shall never be taken off no man shall take it off The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all Yea Our iniquities are not only said to be laid on him but to use the same word that is used for the sacrifice it is said he bare our sins upon the Crosse as the Goat bare the sins of the people So saies the Apostle He himself bare our sins upon the Cross Moreover He did not only bare our sins upon the Cross but saies the Apostle he was made sin for us 'T is not said He was made a sinner or accounted a sinner only for us but he was made sin for us All our iniquities were laid on him he bare our sins and he was made sin for us upon the Crosse Thus briefly the Second Proposition is cleared That when he did thus offer up himself upon the Crosse as a sacrifice the sins of all beleevers were then laid on him Thirdly When the sins of beleevers were laid on him then he did make full satisfaction unto God the Father and Divine Justice for all our sins This is a bottom of much comfort For if the Lord Jesus Christ our surety had not satisfied to the utmost farthing our great Creditor God the Father for all our debts God the Father might come upon us the Debters But our Surety the Lord Christ hath given full satisfaction unto God the Father that no more demands can be made upon us And indeed else how could our Surety ever have come out of prison He was under arrest he was in the Jayle in the grave The Father the great Creditor lets him out and did not only let him out but the Lord Jesus Christ he goes inbto Heaven and sits down there at the right hand of the Father Surely if the Creditor had not been satisfied the Surety should never have bin released out of prison He was so fully satisfied That he looked for iniquity and he found none saies the text He look't over all his books to see if he could find any thing upon the score but he found none all our debts were paid Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world He does not say That takes away the sin of the Jewes only but takes away the sin of the whole world He does not say That takes away the sins in the plural Number but takes away the sin in the singular Number Sins go so together as if they were but one but let the sin be never so twisted together as if it were but one sin this lamb of God he takes away the sin of the world And he does not say That hath pardoned the sin of the World for then a poor soul might say I but though he hath pardon'd my sin yet my sin is not mortified Neither does he say Behold the lamb of God that Mortifies or Destroyes the sin of the world But he gives you a word that takes in both pardon and Mortification too Behold the lamb of God that takes them away both in regard of Pardon and in regard of Mortification Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world There is
brought against us But he does also call for Absolution and for Pardon of poor sinners at the hand of God the Father in a way of justice and equity And therefore he is called 1 John 2.1 our Advocate If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous The work of an Advocate differs from the work of a Petitioner an Advocate does not Petition the Judge but an Advocate he tels the Judge what is Law what is right what ought to be done So the Lord Jesus Christ being in Heaven and making Intercession is there as our Advocate Lord saies he this man he hath sinned indeed but I have satisfyed for his sins I have paid for them to the full I have satisfied thy wrath to the ful now therefore in a way of Equity and in a way of Justice I do here call for this mans pardon Thus Christ intercedes And thus we see briefly wherein the Intercession of Christ consisteth and what he does when we say That he Intercedes for us in Heaven Well But suppose he does Intercede Quest Can he prevaile in his Intercession hath he any potency power or prevalency with God the Father in his Intercession Yes very much Answ and therefore we find in that same 3. of Zach. That Joshua goes away with a faire Myter upon his head ver 5. And I said let them set a faire Myter or a Crown upon his head so they set a faire Myter or a Crown upon his head and clothed him with garments and the Angel of the Lord stood by Satan at the beginning stood at his right hand to accuse him but this Accuser of the brethren goes away with a double rebuke and Joshua goes away with a Crown through the Intercession of Jesus Christ he goes away with a Crown upon his head All which will appear to you if we consider Three things First What great interest our Lord and Saviour Christ hath in the bosome of God the Father Paul prevailed with Philemon for Onesimus through the great interest that Paul had in the bosome of Philemon Our Lord and Saviour Christ he hath lien in the bosome of God the Father from all eternity he is his Son his natural Son his beloved Son his Son that did never offend him and therefore surely when he comes and intercedes for a man he is most like to speed to prevaile We know that David going out against Nabal and his house Abigail comes forth meets with David and intercedes for Nabal and Abigail did so powerfully intercede even for Nabal that she turned Davids heart quite round about David swore he would not leave one of the house and after Abigail had interceded a little for Nabal in the 1 of Sam. 25.32 verse David said unto Abigail Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me and blessed be thy advice and blessed be thou which hast kept we this day from coming to shod blood Pray what did Abigail say that shee turned David thus about that her intercession was thus powerful Saies Abigail as for Nabal he is according to his name And it shall come to pass at the 30. verse when the Lord shall have done to my Lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel that this shall be no griefe unto thee nor offence of heart to my Lord either that thou hast shed blood causelesse or that my Lord hath avenged himselfe This shal be no griefe at all unto thine heart saies she and other words that she used by which she prevailed here with David But Abigail was a stranger to David and Abigail she prayes and intercedes for Nabal a wicked vile foolish man Shall Abigail a woman a stranger prevail thus with David for a Nabal and shall not the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the Father not a stranger nor a stranger to his bosome but beloved from everlasting shall not be prevaile much more when he comes and pleads the cause of the Elect and of the Children of God in the presence of God the Father whom the Father loves also Great is the Rhetorick of a Child if a Child do but cry Father especially if the child be a wise child he may prevail much with a tender hearted father The Lord Jesus Christ he is the Son of the Father and he is the Wisdom of the Father too and God the Father is a tender hearted father Oh! surely therefore Powerful are the Intercessions of Jesus Christ with God the Father Secondly The prevalency of Christs Intercessions with the Father will appear if we consider The inclination and disposition that God the Father hath unto the same things that Christ prayeth and intercedeth for If a child should come and intreat his father in a matter that the father hath no mind to or that the father is set against possibly he might not prevail But if a beloved child shall come and pray the father in a business that the father likes as well as the child surely then the child is very like to speed Thus it is The Lord Jesus Christ comes and he intercedes for us and the Father hath as great an inclination and disposition unto the work that Christ intercedes for as Christ himself hath And therefore saies Christ Loe I come to do thy will I come not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me That which Christ did that he had a mind to it was rather the will of the Father than Christs will the Father is as strongly inclined and disposed to what Christ did and wils as Christ himself Those that thou hast given me saies he I have lost none they are thine own Lord and therefore I pray for them We have a notable expression to this end in the 10. Chapter of John and the 17. verse Therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I may take it again I lay down my life Here 's his suffering and his satisfaction That I may take it again Go up to Heaven and take it again and intercede Therefore doth my father love me Oh! what a round of love is here God the father out of love sends Christ into the world to die for man God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son Wel Jesus Christ out of love to us he dies for us Who hath loved us and given himself for us The Father loves the world in giving Christ The Son loves the world in dying for us and the Father he loves Christ again for loving us Christ loves us and the Father loves Christ again for loving of us a mighty high expression That the Father should love Christ for loving us So then look wherein the love of Christ is seen unto poor sinners the Fathers inclination and disposition is untot hat as much as Christs So that when he comes unto God the Father
Devil looks upon him And Jesus Christ looks upon him The work of the Law is to Condemn The work of the Devil to Accuse And the work of Jesus Christ is to Intercede it is the work of his office Now therefore assoon as the Devil sees such a soul Oh saies he here 's a fine instrument for me here 's a fit subject for me to injoy Assoon as Moses sees this man Here 's a fine subject for me to condemne unto all Eternity But when Jesus Christ looks upon such a soul saies he Here 's a fine soul for me to save unto all Eternity to intercede for why because it is his Office and what a man does by office he interprets accordingly Therefore what the Lord Jesus Christ does he does by office and he does it readily and willingly And I will give you one demonstration of it It was the end why Jesus Christ was taken into Heaven into the Holy of Holiest that he might Intercede According to the Scriptures mentioned before in Heb. 9.24 For Christ is not entered into holy places made with hands but into Heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us He does not say thus Christ is now gone to Heaven to be glorified there Christ is now gone to Heaven to injoy the bosome of his Father for his own happiness No but he is gone into Heaven to appear in the presence of God for us This is the end of his ascention And so again in the 7. of the Hebrews Wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us What is he in Heaven to be glorified there No but the end why Christ is in Heaven Is to make intercession for poor sinners And therefore he must needs be infinitly willing to do this because it is the end of his going thither into the Holy of Holiest Oh therefore be of good comfort all you that do come unto God by him for he is willing to intercede for you And let not any thing discourage you It may be you will complain and say Oh! but I am much opposed here in this world What matter so long as Jesus Christ does intercede for me in Heaven and speaks good words unto God the Father for me in heaven what though I be opposed by men It may be you will complain and say Oh! but I am much tempted and cannot pray Be humbled for it but yet know this That when you cannot pray Christ prayes for you and he prayes that you may pray It may be you complain and say Oh! but I labour under such and such corruptions and the Devil he is busie with me exceeding busie and I cannot overcome them and the Devil stands at my right hand for to tempt me and to lead me into such and such sins Wel be it so yet notwithstanding the Lord Jesus Christ he is at the right hand of our Father and he is set down at the right hand of God the Father till all enemies be made his footstool and your sins are his enemies And therefore be of good comfort O all ye people of the Lord. Is there ever a poor myrtle-tree a soul that growes in a bottom in a poor dark condition be of good comfort the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest he is entered into Heaven into the Holy of Holiest there to intercede with God the Father for thee I but Quest you will say unto me Does not this conduce to our Grace and Holiness too and how does it do it This Intercession of Jesus Christ Ans this work of the Priestly Office of Christ and the consideration thereof it does conduce exceedingly unto our Grace and Holinesse For. First What a mighty incouragement is here unto all poor sinners for to come unto Jesus Christ He ever liveth to make Intercession for those that come unto God by him Oh! then who would not come unto God by Christ who would not come unto Jesus Christ Me thinks a poor sinner should say Indeed my sins were so great that I was afraid for to come unto God But now I hear that the Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven to make intercession for all those that come unto God by him Though I have been a Drunkerd now I wil go unto God by Christ And though I have been a Swearer and though I have been an unclean wanton yet I will go unto God by Christ Indeed I thought that my time was past for I have been an Old Swearer and I have been an Old Drunkard and I have been an Old Sabbath-breaker and I have been a sinner so long that I was even afraid of going to God at all and thought there was no mercy nor no pardon for me But seeing now that this is true That the Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven to make intercession for all those that come unto God by him Well through the Lords grace now I will go unto the Lord Christ I will go unto Jesus Christ I indeed am a young man and I thought it was to no purpose to go unto God God would not regard poor ignorant ones and I am a poor ignorant creature and thought it was to no purpose for me to go unto God But now I understand this That the Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven to make intercession for all those that come unto God by him Well then Though I am ignorant yet will I go unto God by Christ and though I am but a poor young thing and scarce understand the termes of Religion yet will I go unto God by Christ Oh! come unto Christ come unto Christ Behold here in the Name of the Lord I stand and make invitation to poor sinners Come poor Drunkard Swearer Sabbath-breaker Unclean heart the Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven to make intercession for all that come unto God by him and will not you come Oh! how will you answer it at the great day when it shall be said The Lord Jesus Christ made a tender and offer of mercy to you and you would not accept of it you would not come unto him Here is matter of great Incouragment unto all poor sinners to come unto Jesus Christ Again Secondly The more I apprehend or see with a spiritual eye That the Lord Jesus Christ does appear in Heaven for me the more am Fingaged to appear upon earth for him Mark I pray that you may see how this does conduce unto Grace and Holiness Ah! shall the Lord Jesus Christ appear in Heaven before Saints and Angels and God the Father for my soul and shal I be afraid to appear before poor worms for him Shall the Lord Jesus Christ own me in Heaven and shall not I own him upon earth Shall the Lord Jesus Christ as the great High-Priest take my name and carry it upon his breast into the presence of God the Father and shall not I take the Name of Christ and hold it forth to the world Oh! I beseech
that Jesus Christ is my High-Priest so as to have satisfied for me Ah if I did but know that the Lord jesus Christ were my High-Priest in this particular so as to have satisfied for me then should I have comfort indeed how shall I discover that I am afraid he hath not satisfied for me And why not for thee man or woman why not for thee Ans 1 I shall tell you what I have heard concerning a young man that lay upon his death bed and went to Heaven While he was lying upon his death bed he comforted himself in this That the Lord Christ died for sinners Oh! blessed be the Lord saies he Jesus Christ hath died for me Satan came in with this temptation to him I but young man why for thee Christ died for sinners but why for thee how canst thou make that appear that Christ died for thee Nay Satan saies he and why not for me Ah the Lord Jesus he died for sinners and therefore Satan why not for me So he held his comfort and went up to Heaven triumphing So say I to thee poor drooping soul that labours under Temptation Why not for thee why not for thee and say so unto Satan Why not for me Again Christs satisfaction it lies open for all sorts of sinners to come unto it As the promise Ans 2 it runs indefinitely and if a man come to the promise and apply it his very applying the promise does make it His. You say Oh! that I did but know that the promise belongs to me I say thy very resting upon the promise makes it to belong to thee So the satisfaction of Jesus Christ this piece of Christs Priestly Office it lies open for all sorts of sinners for to come unto it and your very resting upon it and applying it to your own souls it makes it to belong unto you Furthermore If Jesus Christ be willing that you should think that he hath satisfied for you Ans 3 then it is no presumption for you to think so Now saies he at the Lords Supper Take my blood that is shed for thee I apply it to thee Behold thy King cometh unto thee When he rode upon an Asses colt it was not said Behold thy Lord cometh but behold thy King cometh to thee he would have every one so to think More especially Ans 4 If that a poor Christian now might not to unto Jesus Christ as unto his High-Priest and say that he is an High-Priest to me then are we Christians in a great deal worser condition than the Jews were for when a Jew had sinned he might carry his sacrifice to the Priest and he might say That this Priest here belongs to me And there was never a Jew amongst all the people of the Jewes but when the High-Priest sprinkled the Mercy-Seat but he might say This he hath done for me Now we are not in a worse condition than the Jews were this High-Priest is beyond all the High-Priests that ever was before him and therefore there is never a poor Christian but he may go to the Lord Christ and say Oh! my High-Priest and this my High-Priest hath satisfied for me Oh! what comfort is here to poor drooping souls Lift up your heads O all ye Saints and Children of God me thinks here is that indeed that might bring you off your own sands When there is no water in the river but his own the tyde comes not in no sea-water only the water of the river the native water as I may so speak then your bottoms your ships they stand upon the sands but when the tyde comes in then they are raised and come off the sands then And so long as thou hast nothing in thy own channel but thine own righteousness thou stickest upon the sands in the deep mire But now when the tyde of the Lords satisfaction comes in there is a full-sea of mercy and satisfaction able to swim the heaviest vessel made by Jesus Christ Ah me thinks this should lift up a poor soul and fetch him off from his sands Be of good Comfort them Thus it 's evident how this truth does much conduce to our Comfort But you will say Quest Does it not much conduce to our Grace or Holiness too Or if it do I pray how Yes Answ 1 This truth does conduce much to our Holiness too You shall observe that the new Covenant of grace it is laid and founded upo the satisfaction of jesus Christ upopn the Crosse upon that oblation Three times the Apostle Paul makes mention of the new Covenant of grace in the book of the Hebrews the 8 9 and 10. Chapters and in all these places he laies the Covenant of grace and founds it upon the satisfaction of Jesus Christ But especially in the 9. Chapter the 13 14 and 15. verses The 14. How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God Then at the 15. And for this cause he is the Mediator of the new Testament For this cause plainly laying the new Covenant of grace upon the satisfaction of Jesus Christ upon this part of his Priestly Office So then thou maiest now go unto God the Father and say Lord thou hast made a Covenant of grace with poor man and this Covenant of grace is founded upon the Priestly Office and satisfaction of Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus Christ he hath satisfied for me and the new Covenant promises that we shall be all taught of God Lord I amignorant Oh! therefore now by the satisfaction of Christ let me be taught of thee that I may be made wise unto salvation And so again Lord thou hast made a Covenant of grace with poor man this is laid upon the satisfaction of Jesus Christ The Covenant of grace saies I will write my Law in your inward parts Now O Lord seeing Jesus Christ hath founded this Covenant in his blood and I am one of those that he hath made satisfaction for Oh! write thy Law in my inward parts that I may do all thy wills But again Answ 2 in the Second place that we may see how this do conduce to our Holiness Strengthen faith and we strengthen all if faith be weakened all grace is weakened Strengthen your faith and you strengthen all your Holiness and all your Graces The way to strengthen a bough or a branch of the tree is not to carry dung up into the tree but to lay it to the root Strengthen the root and ye strengthen all the branches Faith is the Root-grace now the knowledge and the thorow degesting of this truth That the Lord Jesus Christ is our great High-Priest in this point of satisfaction it does wonderfull strengthen our faith For the more I know that God is willing and and Christ willing to shew mercy unto me the more my faith is strengthened I know this That every man is willing
and does intercede he must needs prevail because the Father loves him for his interceding the Father likes the matter as well as he loves you the better for it Thirdly This will appear also if we consider upon what termes our Lord and Saviour Christ our great High-Priest was taken and admitted into Heaven the Holy of Holiest so it is called He was Honourably received into Heaven and he ws received thither for to do the work of the High-Priest He was Honourably received when he came to Heaven Sit thou down at my right hand saies God the Father to him a note of Honour When Solomon would expresse his Honour to his mother he set her down at his right hand Thus God the Father would expresse the Honourable welcome that Christ had when he came to Heaven Sit thou down on my right hand saies he Now ye shall observe that when soever this is made mention of The sitting down at the right hand of God the Father it is made mention of not with the Kingly Office of Christ but with the Priestly Office of Christ as if that he were set down there to do the work of the Priestly Office One would think I say that this should be exprest with the Kingly Office of Christ but you shall find it running along in the Scripture still with the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ Look into the 8. Chapter of the Hebrews the 1. verse Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum We have such an High-Priest who is set on the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens It 's named with the Priestly Office And so again in the 10. Chapter of the Hebrews at the 11. and 12. verses Every High-Priest standeth dayly ministring and offering often times the same sacrifices which can never take away sin But this man speaking of Christ after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever sate down on the right hand of God It is carried a long with the mention of the Priestly Office of Christ as if he were sate down on the right hand of God the Father in Heaven on purpose to do the work of the Priestly Office When Jesus Christ came into Heaven into the Holy of Holiest he came thither as our great High-Priest and he said unto God the Father Lord I am not now come in mine own name for my own sake only but I come as the great High-Priest having on this Brest-plate the name of all the Elect and I come to intercede for poor sinners I come as High-Priest Saies God the Father to him Welcome upon those termes welcome upon those termes not wich standing thou doest come in their names come and sit down at my right hand saies God the Father to him Thus Father is ingaged for he received him upon those termes into Heaven as our great High-Priest the Father therefore is engaged to hear his Intercession and so the intercession of Jesus-Christ must have a great deal of power and prevalency with God the Father in Heaven This is the Second thing But Thirdly Does the Lord Jesus Christ intercede for us in Heaven as our great High-Priest Yes and he does do this in a more transcendent and eminent way and manner than ever any High-Priest did before Him For First He hath gone through more Temptations than ever any High-Priest did He was tempted saies the text that he might succour those that are temped as an High-Priest If he was Tempted that he might succour those that are Tempted succour them as an High-Priest then the more he was Tempted the more experimentally able he is for to succour those that are Tempted Never any High-Priest that was Tempted like unto Christ He was saies the Apostle in all things tempted like unto us sin only excepted Poor soul name any temptation that thy heart is scared at the thoughts of and you will find that the Lord Jesus Christ he was tempted with that temptation You will say I am often times tempted to doubt Whether I be the Child of God or no and that very often So was Christ too you know the place in the 4. of Matthew If thou be the Son of God and if thou be the Son of God twice that the Devil would set an If upon Christs Son-ship Oh! but I am tempted often times to use indirect means to get out of trouble So was Christ too Command that these stones be made bread saies the Devil to him Oh! but sometimes I have been tempted even to lay violent hands upon my self So did the Devil tempt Christ too Cast thy self down off the pinacle of the Temple that was a temptation Oh! but I am tempted unto such evil things that truely I am afraid to speak of such Blasphemies such horrid and wretched Blasphemies as I think never came upon the heart of any child of God so that I am afraid to think of them and ashamed to mention them And was not Christ so was not he tempted so Saies the Devil to him All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me Oh! horrid Blasphemy Blush blush O Sun that the Lord Jesus the God of glory should fall down to the Devil and worship the Devil what wretched blasphemy was here that he should speak this and yet the Lord Jesus Christ he was tempted to it What shall I say He was in all things tempted like unto us sin only excepted Now there was never any High-Priest that was so tempted and he was therefore tempted that he might succour those that are tempted He is more able as our High-Priest to intercede to put in for you and to succour you than ever any High-Priest was before him Again As he hath gone through more Temptations than ever any High-Priest did So also he is filled with more Compassions It behoved the High-Priest to be Merciful it is an office of love and Mercy Now our Lord and Saviour Christ saies the Apostle is such an High-Priest as cannot but be touched with your infirmities the High-Priest that did go before him sometimes was not touched with their infirmities Hannah came and prayed and Eli's heart was not touched with her infirmity at the first But our High-Priest cannot but be touched he does sympathize with us under all our infirmities He is afflicted in all our afflictions It was the work of the High-Priest to sympathize with the people and yet notwithstanding there was a law that the High-Priest might not mourn for his kindred in that he might not as others sympathize or mourn But now our Lord Jesus he does fully sympathize with us and therefore goes beyond all the High-Priests that ever was before him Further He is more faithful in his office and place than ever any High-Priest was Aaron was an High-Priest butunfaithful in the matter of the golden calfe But our Lord and Saviour Christ he is more faithful than Moses was In this 3. Heb. 1.2 verses and so on Wherefore
must needs be Christ for no Angel intercedes but Christ alone What is the fruit of this Intercession at the 13. verse The Lord answered the Angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words I indeed good words and comfortable are the fruit of the Intercession of Jesus Christ It is a matter of great comfort this That the Lord Christ our great High-Priest is in Heaven to intercede for us Is it not a comfort to a poor man to have a friend above neer the King or in the Court that may be able to do him kindness A man sometimes saies I had a friend indeed in the Court but now he is dead I but here is a friend that never dies He ever lives to make Intercession Friends may alter and turn enemies but he changeth not Our Lord and Saviour Christ said unto his Disciples Rejoyce not in this that the Devils fall down like lightning before you but rejoyce in this That your names are written in Heaven it is a matter of great joy to have ones name written in Heaven Oh! but what is it then to have ones name written in the chiefe part of Heaven to have ones name written there upon the breast-plate of Jesus Christ our great High-Priest that is gone into the Holy of Holiest Thus it is The Lord Christ is now gone to Heaven entred into the Holy of Holiest and carries our names into the presence of God the Father and there pleades and intercedes for us Oh! what matter of comfot is here But you will say unto me Object This is indeed exceeding good and very comfortable in it self but what is this to me for I am afraid that the Lord Christ does not intercede for me if indeed I could perswade my self that the Lord Jesus were in Heaven as my High-Priest to intercede for me I think verily I should have comfort though I were in the lowest bottom though I were in Hell it self but Oh! I am afraid to bear my self upon the Intercession of Jesus Christ lest I should presume This is the great Objection and stands up continually Ans to resist the comforts of Gods people Give me leave therefore to deal with this Objection all along and to take it off that so the comfort may fall the more fully upon you First I will shew It is no presumption for us to bear our selves upon the Intercession of Jesus Christ Secondly Who those are that the Lord Christ does Intercede for in Heaven And Thirdly How willing how infinitely willing he is to Intercede for us that so I may bring the comfort neerer to our own bosomes First I say it is no Presumption for us to bear our selves upon the Intercession of Jesus Christ no Presumption to beleeve We know the story of the woman in the Gospel that came unto our Lord and Saviour touching the hem of his garment for her cure and she was cured thereby But our Saviour perceiving vertue to be gone from him he cals out the person Who hath touched me come forth and the woman came forth trembling Our Lord and Saviour Christ does not say to this poor woman How dare you thus touch me how durst you thus presume to do it Consider The woman had no Command to do it no Precept to back her The woman had no promise to engage her that if shee did touch the hem of his garment she should be cured The woman had no Example never any before that touched the hem of his garment and was cured No Commandement No Promise No Example Surely now if any woman or man should Presume it should be this woman that had no Commandement nor no Promise nor no Example and yet the Lord Jesus Christ does not chide her away does not tell her she had presumed but O woman thy faith hath saved thee thy faith hath made the whole Let me speake this home we have a Command now to beleeve in Christ and a Promise Those that come unto him he ever liveth to make Intercession for them And we have Examples of many that have come unto Jesus Christ born themselves upon his Intercession and have gone away cured what was it no Presumption for the woman to come and touch Christ without a Commandement and a Promise and an Example and have you Examples and have you Promises and have you Commandements to beleeve and will you say this is Presumption Be not deceived it is no Presumption for thee poor soul to bear thy self at length upon Jesus Christ Secondly To make this out a little more fully I shall discover who those are that the Intercession of Jesus Christ does belong unto 1 Joh. 2.1 If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous You will say This is to be carried upon those that were spoke of before and those were such as had fellowship with the Father Truely our fellowship is with the Father and with his Sonne Jesus Christ Chap. 1. verse 3. Now if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous If any man that hath fellowship with the Father or Christ sin they have an Advocate with God the Father First therefore stand you by I pray that we will take for granted all you that ever had any fellowship with God the Father or with Jesus Christ this Doctrine of the Intercession of Jesus Christ and the comfort hereof does belong to you Moreover In the 17. Chapter of John there we find that our Saviour saies He prayes for those that do beleeve and should beleeve Those that he prayes for here he intercedes for in Heaven Neither pray I for these alone at the 20. verse but for them also which shall beleeve on me through thy word I do not pray only for those that do beleeve now but for them also which shall beleeve Well then here is a second sort Those that do beleeve and those that wait upon the Lord in the Ordinance that they may beleeve or shall beleeve Stand you by also you are another sort of people that the Intercession of Jesus Christ and the comfort thereof does belong unto But now yet further If we look into the 7. Chapter of this Epistle unto the Hebrews at the 25. verse we shall find these words Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for them Who are those Those that come unto God by him Lay this and 53. Chapter of I saiah the 12. verse together He was numbred with the transgressors speaking of Christ cleerly and he bare the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors It may be thou canst not say I have fellowship with God the Father it may be thou canst not say I do beleeve I am perswaded that I do beleeve thou canst not say so Well but can you say thus Through the Lords grace I do come unto God by Christ I
have been and I am a great transgressor but I come unto God by Christ I am one of the coming-transgressors I have been a transgressor but I am a coming-transgressor I come unto God by Christ Stand you by also this Intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ it belongs unto you And let me tell thee for thy comfort poor soul whatsoever thou hast been that comest unto the Lord by Christ the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest he is gone to Heaven to intercede for thy soul But you will say Obj. There is one thing that makes me afraid he will not intercede for me I have been so great a transgressor for I have been a transgressor against Jesus Christ this High-Priest Oh! I have sinned against this great High-Priest Jesus Christ and therefore I am afraid he will not intercede for me For answer to this I shall only desire you to turn to the 16. Chapter of Numbers the 41. verse and consider it duely Answ we reade there that all the Congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron Aaron was the High-Priest And saies the text all the Congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron saying Ye have killed the people of the Lord. They had murmured against Moses and Aaron Then at the 46. verse Moses said unto Aaron Take a Censer put fire therein from off the Altar put on incense go quickly unto the Congregation and make an atonement for them for there is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun And see what Aaron did And Aaron took as Moses commanded and ran into the midst of the Congregation and behold the plague was begun among the people and he put on incense and made an atonement for the people And he stood between the dead and the living and the plague was stayed They had sinned against Aaron the High-Priest and yet Aaron but the Typical High-Priest he was but a Type of Christ he ran in although they had sinned against him and he stood betwen the dead and the living and made an atonement for them Oh! if there was so much bowels and compassions in the Type in Aaron when they had sinned against him as to go and intercede for them How much more is there in our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Typified High-Priest to poor souls to intercede for them But now this may be more fully made out to us if we do but take in the Third thing and that is The Lord Jesus Christ he is infinitely willing to intercede for us We have seen who those are unto whom the Intercession of Christ belongs namely Such as have had any fellowship with God the Father or with Christ Such as do beleeve or shall hereafter beleeve And all those poor transgressors that come unto God the Father by Christ Now observe how infinitely willing the Lord Jesus Christ is to intercede for us that are thus That will appear thus First He must needs be willing to do that which he hath received his anointing for It is said of Aaron that he was anointed and that ointment ran down upon his beard and unto the skirts of all his garment not a piece of Aarons garment but was perfumed with the ointment that Aaron was anointed with Surely there is not a skirt of the garment of Jesus Christ but the anointment wherewithal He our High-Priest was anointed does run down upon him He is the Messiah the anointment So he is called in the 10. of Isaiah The anointment He was anointed with the oyle of gladness above all his fellows above all the High-Priests that ever were before him And he was anointed for this very end That he might do the work of the High-Priest which is to Intercede for the sins of the people And therefore in that place in John 1 John 2.1 If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ Christ signifies Anointed If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father But who is that He is Jesus that signifies your Saviour and so he is willing to intercede I but it may be he is not able to do it it may be he hath not received the anointing to do it Yes He is called Christ If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ or if you will Saviour Anointing So that he is anointed for this end and purpose to be your Advocate Now if a man do receive money for to lay out for the benefit of others poor Orphans or the like if a man be faithful certainly he will lay out the money for them according to the intention of him that did trust him with the money The Lord Jesus Christ he hath received the Anointing he is anointed as our great High-Priest to do the work of the Priestly Office and this is one work to Intercede and therefore he must needs be very willing to do it Again The more any thing is the work of a mans Relation wherewithal he is clothed the more if he be faithful is he willing to do the work And I pray mind it a little When men are exalted and come to Greatnesse or Honor then they give down the comforts of their Relation unto those that depend upon them If a father come to any great preferment the comfort of the Relation of a father then fals down upon the children runs down then upon the fruit of his loynes And so if one friend do come unto preferment the comfort of the Relation or friendship fals down Now the Lord Jesus Christ he is our High-Priest and he is now exalted he is gone to Heaven and therefore all the comforts of all the Relations that he stands in towards us do now fall upon us And therefore he is willing he is very willing because this is the work of his Relation And further It is the work of his Office What a man does by office that he does willingly what a man does by office he does industriously he does not do it by the bye what a man does by office he does it readily according unto a mans place or office so will his interpretation be Suppose now a Child that hath very good parts come before three men of three several professions A Lawyer a Minister and a Merchant The Child having very good parts the Merchant saies He will make a very good Merchant the Lawyer saies He will make a very good Lawyer and the Minister saies He wil make a very good Scholar according to their three Relations or Places or Office or work their interpretation is So now if three men of three several Trades whose work lies about wood come and behold a fine green-tree One man saies It is good for this And another saies It is good for that and the third saies It is good for another use according to his Place and Calling will his interpretation be So now when a poor soul comes before God Moses the Law looks upon him And the
you consider what a mighty ingagement is here to stand to and appear for the Lord Christ and to own his Cause in these backsliding times because he is now in Heaven appearing for you and making intercession for you Thirdly The more I confider or apprehend That the Lord Jesus Christ does lay out himself for me the more am I ingaged to lay out my selfe for him The Scripture saies He ever liveth to make intercession for you He laies out his whole Eternity for you Me thinks we have here before us the greatest argument in the world for to make us to walke closely with God in Christ For shall the Lord Jesus Christ spend of his Eternity for me and shall not I spend of my whole time for him He Ever liveth he Ever liveth to make intercession Before the world was made his delight was in the habitable parts of the earth among the children of men He laid out himself in delighting upon you before the world was made Well in due time he comes down into the world and here while he was upon the earth he laid out himself fully for you Then he Dies and goes up to Heaven and saies he I go to prepare a place for you He was at work for you before the world began Then he comes down upon the earth and here he spends all his time for you And now that he is gone to Heaven the text saith He ever liveth to make intercession for you he spends off all his eternity for you Oh! does not the Lord Jesus grutch me Eternity to spend off his Eternity for my soul and shall I grutch the Lord Jesus Christ a little time to spend a little time for him Surely people don't think what Christ is doing in Heaven for them you that are Saints especially if you did you could not be padling in the world so much Shall the Lord Jesus Christ be appearing in Heaven for me and shall I be digging in the world Shall he be making mention of my name unto God the Father and interceding for me and shall I be sinning against him shall I be contending with his children shall I now be joyning with his Enemies shall I be opposing his waies Oh! if people would but think what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing in heaven for them they could not rebel so in the world against him as they do Wherefore that you may be kept from your sins kept frō the world think of these things The Apostle saies These things have I written unto ye that ye sin not and if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous And so say I to you I have been here delivering to you this Doctrine concerning the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ and these things have I preach't unto you that you sin not And therefore that you may be kept from sin and your hearts made more Holy think of the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ he is gone into Heaven to make intercession for you And thus have I discovered the Second Particular of the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ A Third follows SERMON III. HEBREWES 2.17 18. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren that be might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest Preached at Stepney May. 9. 1647. in things pertaining to godliness to make reconciliation for the sins of the people For in that He himselfe hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted WE have found already That the work of the High-Priest was and is To Satisfie and to Intercede for the sins of the people Now if we inquire further we shall find also That the work of the High-Priest was and now is To offer up the gifts of the people unto God To present our Prayers Praises Duties Services and all spiritual Performances unto God the Father and to procure acceptance of him This was done thus In the times of Moses in the Tabernacle there were two Parts or Courts as we reade in the 9. Chapter of the Hebrews In the one which was called The Holy of Holiest there was the Arke the Mercy-Seat the Cherubims of glory and the golden Censer In the other there was the Brasen-Altar upon which they offered sacrifices there was the table of Shewbread the golden Candlestick and the golden Altar upon which incense was This is expresly laid down in the 2 3 and 4. verses of that 9. of Hebrews For there was a tabernacle made the first wherein was the candlestick and the table and the shew-bread which is called the sanctuary And after the Second vail the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold wherein was the golden pot that had manna and Aarons rod that budded and the tables of the covenant And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the Mercy-Seat And as every day morning and evening there was a lamb offered a sacrifice for the sins of the people upon the Brasen-Alter So every day morning and evening there was incense also upon the golden-Altar which was performed while the people were without at prayer mingling that incense with their prayers As it is in the 1. Chap. of Luke the 8 9 and 10. verses It came to passe that while he that is Zacharias executed the Priests Office before God in the order of his course according to the cusiome of the Priests office his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord and the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense So that the incense was at a time when they were sweetly mingling their prayers and the incense together But now although that there was a sacrifice every day yet once in the yeer th◠High-Priest came and he took the blood of the Sacrifice and carried it into the Holy of Holiest and sprinkled the Mercy-Seat therewith And although there was incense too from the Golden Altar every day yet once in the yeer the High-Priest came and he took the golden Censer and putting incense into it from off the golden Altar went into the Holy of Holiest and caused a cloud of perfume to arise upon the Mercy-Seat All which was a great Type of Jesus Christ our High-Priest who though he offered up himself a sacrifice once for sin without yet when he died and ascended he carried the vertue of that his blood into the Holy of Holiest into Heaven and sprinkled the Mercy-Seat therewith Although he began to make Intercession while he lived as we reade in the 17. of John yet when he ascended up into Heaven the Holy of Holiest then he did take his golden Censer and carried his Intercession into Heaven causing a cloud of sweet perfumes to arise upon the Mercy-Seat which stil he does whilst we are praying here without he mingling all our Duties with his Intercessions and
all this for us as our great High-Priest that is the meaning of it So that this is plain what he doth when as our great High-Priest he offers up our Gifts unto God the Father But in the Second place Suppose he doth so What Favour Quest 2 or Acceptance hath this our great High-Priest in Heaven He hath very much Answ Father saies he I thank thee that thou hearest me alwaies He never spake a word unto God the Father but the father heard him alwaies We reade as I remember but of Two places in the new Testament where the Lord by an audible voice gives testimony of Jesus Christ his Son And in both those places we have the same words uttered This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And again This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased We may know what favour a man hath with another by the Trust that he doth commit to and repose upon him Joseph had great favour in the eyes of Pharaoh and how did it appear It appear'd by this Because Pharaoh trusted him with so much Now God the Father hath trusted Jesus Christ this our great High-Priest very much This I shall evidence in Four Particulars viz. What a great Trust God the Father hath put upon him First It was an agreement between God the Father and Christ the Second Person before the world was That in due time he should come into the world take flesh upon him and die for sinners and he did so But before Christ came into the world there were thousands of souls saved How came they to be saved They came to be saved by the blood of Christ and before Christ had died So then God the Father saved them upon Christs bare word That he would come into the world and die for them What a mighty Trust was here That so many hundred thousand souls should be saved upon a bare word of Christ That he would come into the world and die for them afterward Again The Trust appears in this That he was made when he did come into the world the great Lord-Treasurer of all the Grace and Comfort that should be given out unto the children of men When Pharaoh trusted Joseph all the whole kingdom was put into his hand with the Corn thereof and not a grain was to be given out to any but as Joseph gave it out which argued a mighty Trust So now That not any Grace or Comfort given out to the children of men but only by the hand of Christ it argues a mighty Trust that the Father put upon him But yet further When our Lord and Saviour Christ died and ascended unto God the Father to Heaven as soon as ever he came into Heaven saith the Father to him Thou hast now suffered Aske of me and I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession all the world at one word Aske of me saith he and at the first word I will give thee the whole world It was a mighty and a great Trust that the Father did put upon him Yea as if all this were not enough The Father did put the keyes of Heaven and of Hell into his hand the keyes of Heaven and Hell into the hand of Christ So we reade in the 1. of Revel 18. ver I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen and have the keyes of Hell and of death There 's no man that goes to Hell but he is lok't in by Jesus Christ And there 's no man goes to Heaven but Christ hath the keyes of Heaven and he locks him in there unto all Eternity The Lord Jesus Christ he hath the keyes of Hell and of Heaven he hath the keyes of all mens Eternities hanging at his girdle Oh! what an infinite Trust is here that God the Father hath put upon him Then let us conclude if that Trust do argue favour and the Lord Jesus Christ our High-Priest hath such a great trust as this put into his hands by the Father what infinite Acceptance must he needs have with God the Father In the Third place Suppose that he have all this favour Quest 3 and Acceptance in Heaven Doth he Improve this his Favour and Acceptance for our Acceptance and for our Favour Yes He Improves all this his favour and acceptance Answ for our acceptance and does plant all our Prayers and Duties upon his own acceptance Lord saith he unto his Father concerning beleevers I will that where I am they may be also I will O Lord that they may be One even as thou Father and I am one He doth not count himself full and happy but in the happiness and fulness of the Church And therefore as Christ is called The fulness of God the Father So the Church is called The fulness of Jesus Christ in the 1. of the Ephesians and the last verse Which is his body the fulness of him that filleth all in all When our Lord and Saviour Christ came to die and the heart and love of God the Father was let out unto him Ye shall find if ye look upon that 17. of John and reade it all over That he spends his time not so much in praying for himself The time was but short and his prayer short Father if it be possible let this cup passe if not yet not my will but thine be done But he spends most of the time in praying and interceding for those that did beleeve or should afterward beleeve The favour and acceptance which the High-Priest had in the times of Moses was not for himself he had a Mitre upon his head and a golden girdle upon his loynes Priestly garments and he had great acceptance when he went into the Holy of Holiest but it was not for himself he did improve it all for the people he was to lay it out all for the people and not for himself Our High-Priest goes beyond all other High-Priests in this particular also for now as for other High-Priests though they went in with their incense and covered the Mercy-seat with a cloud yet it was but once in the yeer But our High-Priest is alwaies in the Holy of Holiest and never goes out of it ever covering the Mercy-Seat with his Intercessions Take their High-Priest and though he were very Holy as Aaron was yet sometimes he made the people naked unacceptable But our great High-Priest never makes his people naked but alwaies clothes them with his own righteousness Take their High-Priest and though he did go into the Holy of Holiest for the people yet he never led the people into the Holy of Holiest they stood without But our great High-priest is not only gone into the Holy of Holiest himself but doth also lead every poor beleever into the Holy of Holiest as we reade in the 10. of the Hebrews and the 19. verse Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the Holiest
by the blood of Jesus Christ The people might not enter into the Holiest in the time of the Jewes But our great High-Priest hath improved his favour for us thus far that every man may come into the Holy of Holiest Now If our great High-Priest in this respect go beyond all the High-Priests that ever were before him and they did improve their interest and their favour and their acceptance for the people much more doth the Lord Jesus Christ our High-Priest improve the favour interest and acceptance that he hath in heaven for our acceptance and and the acceptance of all our Duties And that is a Third Particular But Quest 4 If that it be so then surely we have great acceptance in all our Duties but have we so Yes Answ very great in and through the Lord Jesus Christ our High-Priest And therefore if we look into the 14. of John our Lord and Saviour saith Whatsoever ye aske in my Name at the 13. verse that will I do I but may we be sure of this He repeats it again in the 14. verse If ye shall ask any thing in my name I will do it Yea that ye may see what great acceptance we have now through him in all those Duties that we offer up to God the Father saith he in the 16. Chap. and the 26. vers At that day ye shall aske in my name and I say not unto ye that I will pray the father for you for the father himself loves you It is a mighty high speech I don't say That I will pray for you Ye shall have so much favour and love in Heaven from the Father imediately that he will hear you presently I but is not all upon Christs account Yes and therefore saith he at the 13. verse of the 14. chapter Whatsoever ye shall aske in my name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son So that all is upon Christs account Great was the testimony of Christs acceptance which he had from Heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Now if we look into the Scripture we shall find that the same words are given unto the Saints Is the Lord Jesus Christ called the Son of God My beloved Son So are Beleevers too As many as receive him have power to be called the Sons of God Is he called The Beloved Son of God This is my beloved Son So are the Saints also In the 31. chapter of Jeremy at the 20. verse Ephraim my deer Son a pleasant child Ephraim that is Israel my deer Son a pleasant child Well Is it said In whom I am well pleased my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased The same word also is given to men When our Lord and Saviour Christ was born into the world the Angels they came and sung at his birth and they sung Good will towards men So we reade it but it is the same word that is used concerning Christ himself My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased So that whatsoever word there is in all this speech This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased whatsoever word there is in that sentence concerning Christ 't is given also unto the Saints unto Beleevers so greatly does he improve his own favour acceptance for our acceptance and so great acceptance have we through Christ Yea As the Lord Jesus Christ is said to be made sin for us in the Abstract So are we said to be made Righteousnesses by him in the Abstract too As we have it in the 1. of the Canticles the 3. vers Therefore do the Virgins love thee so we reade it in our english translation But in the Hebrew it is Therefore do the Righteousnesses love thee The Saints and Beleevers through Christ are called Righteousnesses in the Abstract So that here is the great acceptance that the Saints and Beleevers do find through this acceptation of Jesus Christ our High-Priest But Quest Suppose a man be very poor and lives in some mean cottage which hath but one room to lie dine and sup in and that a smoky dark room too and this poor creature comes and prayes unto God Will the Great and Glorious God of Heaven and Earth take notice of such a prayer from such a worme as this and shall he find acceptance with God the Father For answer to that Answ look into the 2. of the Canticles and the 14. verse O my dove that art in the clefts of the rock in the secret places of the stairs let me see thy countenance they are the words of Christ let me hear thy voice Why for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely But I pray where now is the Church In the clefts of the rock and in the secret places of the staires in a hole under the staires as it were in a poor distressed place an hidden place now saies he here thy voice is sweet and thy tountenance comely Well Quest But suppose that a Duty or service be performed by one that is weak weak in Grace or weak in parts and Gifts for this is my case will some say I am one of very weak parts and Gifts and I have little Memory or Ability of speech there are some men indeed that are of great Parts and Graces and when they pray I make no question but their prayers do find acceptance but as for me I am one of very mean Abilities Oh! can there be any acceptance of such prayers as mine are through Jesus Christ Will God answer such stammerings lispings halfe-words broken imperfect petitions Yes Answ We know that the paire of Turtles were accepted in the time of the Law by those that could offer no more Surely much more now will a poor Turtle be accepted in the time of the Gospel those that could but bring Goats-haire towards the making of the Tabernacle they were welcome and shall it not be so now much more in the times of the Gospel That which is little in regard of Quantity it may be great in regard of Proportion as the widdows mite was The Sun fals we know with a common influence upon all the Herbs and Plants but there is a several sweetness and flowers that are of a several and different growth There is the Rose and there is the Violet The Violet is not so Tall as the Rose the Violet lies on the ground but though the Violet be not so tall as the Rose the Violet hath its sweetnesse and it may say to the Rose Though I be not so tall yet I have my sweetness as well as thou hast So now there is a common influence from Jesus Christ upon all the Saints and they have their several sweetness one as the Rose and the other as the Violet It may be here lies a poor Christian upon the ground like the Violet and is not so tall in Gifts and Parts as the other is but yet notwithstanding he hath his sweetness Christ
but he may go in to the Mercy-Seat of the Lord Jesus Christ that hath all the favour and acceptance in Heaven he carries him into the Mercy-Seat and God the Father will never put him by what Comfort is here Besides Is it not a great Comfort to a man for to know how it shall go with him at the great day of Judgment When there shall be hundred thousands at the right hand of Christ hundred-thousands at the left hand of Christ when all faces shall gather palenesse Oh! saies one that I did but know how it shall go with me at that day This Doctrine tels us The Lord Jesus Christ shall be our Judge at that day and he that shall judge us then he takes our Prayers and all our Duties now and carries them in unto the presence of God the Father by him we have acceptance and according to these we shall be judged Surely then if he takes our Duties and carries them in for acceptance unto God the Father he will never judge you for them and condemn you for them at that day Here is Comfort Once more Is it not a Comfort for a poor begger to be relieved at a rich-mans door We are al beggers in regard of Heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ he does not only come forth and serve us but he takes us poor beggers by the hand and leads us in to his Father Oh! what Comfort is here what Comfort is here Indeed if I were able to say That the Lord did accept my Duty Cbj. this were Comfort indeed if I were able to conclude That the Lord Jesus Christ did take my Prayers and my Duties and carry them in unto God the Father this were sweet consolation but how shall I know that If the Lord Jesus Christ be our High-Priest Ans then we may say also that he takes our duties and carries them in for acceptance unto God the Father if we may say that Jesus Christ hath satisfied for us and doth intercede for us then we may say also that he takes our duties and carries them for acceptance unto God the Father But yet a little further to bring this Comfort nearer to your hearts give me leave to appeal to you First Whosoever thou art that makes this Objection Didst thou never find a spiritual fire come down from Heaven as it were upon thy heart in Duty or after Duty In the times of the old-Testament if they offered up a sacrifice and a material fire came down from Heaven and burnt up the sacrifice to ashes it was a certain testimony that the sacrifice was accepted Now in the times of the Gospel we must not expect material fire to come down upon our Duties But hath the Lord at any time caused an inward and spiritual fire to fall down upon thy heart warming thy spirit in Dutie there the Lord speaks thus much to thee Thy sacrifice is turn'd into ashes and it is accepted by Jesus Christ Again Did you never find in your heart you that make this Objection to Pray and Cry and Intercede for others for the godly especially Look what disposition there is in your heart towards the members of Christ there is the same disposition in Christ's heart towards you Ah! do you think that there is love in your bosome towards the Saints and that there is none in Christ's heart towards you Do you think that your bowels are more large than Christ's Canst thou find in thine heart to go unto God when thou seest a Saint in misery to go to God and pray and cry and intercede for him and don 't you think that the Lord Jesus hath as much bowels towards you to go and intercede for you and present your prayers unto God the Father Further Don't you look upon your own Duties as coming from your selves most unworthy Beloved 't is in regard of Duties as it is in regard of Persons When a man does judge himself to be most unworthy then Christ counts him worthy God counts him worthy in Christ As you reade in the 1. of the Canticles saies the Spouse there ver 5. I am black O ye daughters of Jerusalem as the tents of Kedar Look not upon me because I am black ver 6. Now would you see Christs opinion of her that counts her self black saith she Black and Black again but Christ saith concerning her verse 8. O thou fairest among women She calls her self Black and Christ cals her Fair and the Fairest among women Now when a man doth count himself most unworthy God counts him most worthy and when a man looks upon his own Duties and Sacrifices as most unworthy they are look't upon by Jesus Christ as most worthy poor prayers in our eyes are precious in Gods eye A word more Don't ye think that grace is larger now in the times of the Gospel than it was in the times of the Law If ye doubt it as unto this particular Look upon the 30. Chapter of Exodus compared with the 41. of Ezekiel In the 30. Chapter of Exodus The Lord commands an Altar to be made to burn incense upon Of Shittim wood shalt thou make it verse the 1. A cubit shall be the length thereof verse the 2. The Altar is for Incense 't is the matter that now we are upon A cubit shall be the length thereof and a cubit the breadth thereof and two cubits shall be the highth therof Now in the 41. Chapter of Ezekiel he speaks of the Altar in the times of the Gospel and saith he at the 22. verse 't is the Altar of incense that there is prescribed to be made the Altar of wood of Shettem wood The Altar of wood was three cubits high and the length thereof two cubits And yet again this altar of incense in the times of the Gospel is to be as large again as that in the times of the Law as high and as long and as large again In the times of the Law times of the old-Testament a poor soul might go unto the High-Priest and might challenge a right in him and might say That his Service and his Duty and his Sacrifice was accepted by the High-Priest If in the times of the Old-Testament a man might say so much more may a poor soul now go unto Jesus Christ our great High-Priest and say That his Service and his Duty and Sacrifice is accepted through him Here is abundance of Comfort unto the Saints be of good comfort all you that do beleeve But How doth this make unto our Holiness Quest unto Holiness of life We confess indeed that there is abundance of Comfort in this That the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest takes all our Gifts and al our Prayers and presents them to God the Father and that in his acceptance we have acceptance but I pray how doth all this conduce to our Holiness of life Much every way Answ First In case I be Ungodly a Wicked man Here is that that may
sold his Birth-right for a mess of pottage the Lord look't upon him as a Prophane man and he stands upon record in Scripture for a Prophane man unto this day because he sold his Birth-right And saies the text Though he sought the Blessing it was a blessing with tears he never recovered it The Lord Jesus Christ he is now among us and offering to bless us and if I will rather keep my sins than come unto Jesus Christ the Lord will look upon me as a Prophane man and I may go and seek the blessing with tears and never recover it again Oh! here 's that me thinks that should make every wicked man if there be ever a Drunkard Swearer or Unclean wanton that reades this book mind what is said for your Everlasting peace I say here 's that me thinks that should make every wicked man to look upon the Godly as David did upon the sparrows and upon the swallows Saies David These birds full nigh thine Altar may have place to sit and sing as ye have it in your singing Psalms These birds can come and make their nests but as for me I am kept at a distance He was provoked by the sparrows and swallows making their nests neer the Altar So may a wicked man say There 's a godly man indeed he may go to Jesus Christ he may go to Prayer and he may offer up his Gift to God the Father by the hands of Christ he can come neer to God by Christ But as for me I am yet without Christ I am not yet gone to Jesus Christ I am such a cursed Swearer I am such a prophane Drunkard I am such a vile wretched Wanton such a Notorious Scandelous sinner Oh! these people are blessed but I am Cursed but now through the Lords grace I will go unto the Lord Christ that I may be blessed Yea My beloved here is me thinks a strong Invitation unto all those that are young people for to come unto Jesus Christ even those that are very young Hear the word of the Lord ye Children The Lord Jesus Christ received Children into his armes and he blest them You that are nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen or fifteen years old you can be solicitous for your fathers blessing and have gone down upon your knees often unto your father and you have said Pray father pray to God to bless me Oh! will ye go to your outward father for his blessing and will ye not go unto Jesus Christ He is an Everlasting Father this your earthly father will be dead erelong He is an Everlasting father children and he is able to bless ye and willing to bless ye Have ye gone down upon your knees to your outward father Oh! children down down upon your knees before the Lord Jesus Chrit and go to him for his blssing Some of you it may be never went yet to Christ for his blessing ye have lived so many yeers ten eleven or twelve yeers and never went to Christ as a High-Priest for his blessing all this while Oh! what a mighty incouragement is here unto all men to come to Christ that they may be blessed by him But yet further As there is an incouragement for to come unto Christ So this argument does also incourage us to go on in the good waies of Christ notwithstanding all opposition that we meet withall I say it does speak incouragement to go on in the face of all opposition For when Abraham had been at battel then came Melchisedec the High-Priest to bless him And when a poor soul goes out to battel for Christ then comes our great Melchisedec our High-Priest and blesses that soul The time of opposition it is the time of Christs blessing Therefore why should I be dilcouraged or beaten out of the way of Christ by reason of any opposition though it be never so great Times of opposition are Christs blessing-time Again This argument does not only speak incouragement against all oppsition But it does also incourage us to go on in the good waies of God when we are called unto it though we have but little strength and weak parts Though there be but little oyle in the Cruse though there be but little meal in the barrel if Christ call to the work he will bless a man in it and when Christ blesses he does multiply and increase a mans parts in the using of them As when he commanded them to sit down and eat he did multiply and increase the bread in their eating So now does Christ call me to any work or service well then though I am weak though I have not oyle enough though I have not meal enough though I have not strenght enough yet the Lord Christ will bless and when he blesses he does increase and multiply and therefore why should I not go on upon his work if he do call mee thereunto though I have never so little strength And yet further If all this be true Why should not a man be contented with his condition though it be never so mean Beloved in the Lord is there not enough in Christs blessing Truly He is too covetous whom the blessing of Christ will not satisfie Well what ever my condition be yet I may be blessed by Jesus Christ and hath the Lord blest me then will I be contented with my Condition though it be never so mean I have All as Jacob oncesaid I have All. Yea in the Fift and last place Here is that which if wel studied and considered will provoke us all for to bless the Lord and continually to blesse the Lord What is the life of a Christian here but a continuall blessing of God 't is Heaven begun and in Heaven they do nothing else but blesse and praise the Lord and I say our life here is Heaven begun and therefore a Christian should be alwaies blessing and praising the Lord. Well But what will make a man to be alwaies Blessing Quest and Praising of God in Christ The knowledge that a man is blessed by Christ Answ wil make a man blesse God for Christ And therefore consider how the Apostle reasons in the 1. of the Ephesians the 3. vers Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Why Who hath blessed VS When once a man can come to this for to say That the Lord Christ hath blest him then he will break forth into blessing and praising of the Lord Oh! Blessed be the Lord Blesse the Lord O my soul blesse the Lord all that is within me For the Lord hath blessed me with spiritual blessings Do you therefore desire to be alwaies in this work of blessing the Lord think much of this To conclude al give me leave to cal upon you to remember what ye have read Ye have read That it is the work of our great High-Priest To Satisfie for the sins of the people To answer unto all Accusations that are brought against them To offer up all
Massab and Meribah the waters of strife and of temptation there the Lord gave Israel his statutes How many experiences do Gods people get in and by their temptations tempting times are teaching and Christ teaches his people by their temptations Satans Buffetings are the Saints schoolings Yea Thirdly He does not only teach his people But he does also bear up and uphold their hearts with new supplies of his grace and Spirit in the times of their temptations Christ does not suffer his people to go into new temptations with old strength but as a new temptation does come from Satan so new supply of grace and strength does come from Christ Saies David in the 94. Psalm and the 18. verse When I said my foot slippeth thy mercy O Lord held me up He does not say thus when my foot slippeth thy mercy O Lord held me up but when I said my foot slippeth when I thought I was quite rejected cast off and forsaken when I said my foot slippeth then thy mercy O Lord held me up As new temptations do come in so new strength comes in Yea and supplies of greace in Proportion to our temptations My grace is sufficient for thee saies the Lord to Paul my grace is Fit for thee Yea he does not only give out Proportionable strength but an Cverplus of sirength As the woman that had oyle given her not enough barely to pay her debt but an Overplus to live on the rest So Gods people in the time of their temptations have not only strength given them to stand out against their temptations but an Cverplus to live on the rest Yea and they have not only in-comes of Assisting grace but of Accepting grace too more Accepting grace God doth and will then Accept lesser than at another time Though the prayer be weak and the faith low yet saies the Lord it is the time of temptation with this my poor servant and therefore I will take the Duty though it be never so little because it is the time of temptation it 's a time of darkness and a time of sadness Ye know what our saviour said unto Thomas Reach hither thine hand and put it into my side Come Thomas if thou wilt not beleeve without it I 'le take thy faith even upon these termes for I know it is a time of temptation with thee What grace what love and mercy is here Yea Fourthly The Lord Jesus Christ does not only come in thus with supplies of grace strength in the times of temptation But he does give his people an Ease and a Remedy a breathing time under their temptations though they be never so sad and never so great Indeed Job said That God was his enemy and would not suffer him to swallow his spittle he followed him so close but the good man was mistaken much for at the same time the time of his temptation he could say I know that my Redeemer liveth and he could blesse the Lord he had his breathing time in the midst of all When David was persecuted by Saul he was under temptation for as the Devil casts some men into prison so the Devil persecutes in wicked men yet David had his breathing time now and then Saul given into his hands as a pledge of that ful deliverance that David should have afterwards And this is no other than that which the Apostle speaks of in that same 1 of the Corinthians the 10. Chap. at the 13. verse Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape Make an Out-let so the word is He will make an Out-let Though the smoke be very offensive yet there shall alwaies be some window open for to let it out or some door open for a poor tempted soul to go out at stil an out-let some breathing time in the midst of these temptations Fiftly and lastly As the Lord Jesus Christ liveth for ever to make intercession for us So he doth it especially when his people are under temptation then he prayes for them and then especially I will not determine whether Christ now in Heaven does intercede Vocally or Really but when Satan lies hard upon a poor tempted soul and fetches blood from it then does the Lord Jesus step in unto his Father and present his wounds and his blood and saies unto his Father O Father I have prayed unto thee that this poor man or woman may not fail in the time of temptation Thus it was with Peter here I have prayed for thee and yet this was not the time of his full intercession when he was here on earth There are two parts of Christs Priestly Office Satisfaction and Intercession The proper place for him to make satisfaction for sin was here on earth and in Heaven the holy of holiest he does make intercession there he does do it fully but he could not for bear while he was here on earth but he saies unto Peter I have prayed for thee Though my great work in Heaven be to intercede and my special work here on earth be to satisfie yet notwithstanding I have prayed for thee already Peter And the Lord Jesus Christ was heard in all that he prayed for Now then if the Lord Christ doth intercede here on earth for his poor tempted servants and was heard here how much more when his Disciples are tempted does he intercede and pray for them in Heaven and is heard there Satan may come running in upon you with his temptation but when Satan runs in upon you with his temptation Christ runs into the presence of God the Father and spreads his blood and his satisfaction for you and there he saies unto the Father Father I have prayed that this man or womans faith may not fail Oh! what grace and mercy and love is here Thus in all these respects and many others that I might mention is the love of Christ and his mercy drawn out unto his people in the time of their temptation Well Quest 2 But how may it appear that Christs mercy is most at work when his people are most assaulted by Satan Christ deals by His Answ as God the Father did deal by Him Now ye shall find that Gods love was never more towards Christ than when Christ was under temptation When Christ came to die Satan was very busie it 's called The hour of darkness so busie was Satan with all his malice against him yet then was the Fathers love towards Christ then especially for saies Christ Therefore does the Father love me because I lay down my life If the Father did therefore love him because he laid down his life then his love was most at work towards Christ when this hour of darkness was And so I say when you hour of darknese is the hour of temptation Christs love is then most at work because he deals by His as the Father did deal by Him The truth is Christs dealing with his Disciples
had leave And he could not winnow Job till he had leave he hath not power to tempt you further than your own Father gives him leave Again Is it not matter of Praise and Thanksgiving That nothing hath befallen you but what hath befallen the best of Gods Children the greatest Saints Men say somtimes Oh! never any ones condition like to mine never any affliction like to mine The most godly men have been most sorely tempted In the old Testament David a man after Gods own heart 't is said of him 1 Chron. 21.1 The Devil stood up and moved him to number the people What a report did God give of Job and you know his winnowing and his continuance In the new Testament Two famous Apostles Paul and Peter Peter Satan hath desired to winnow thee Paul a messenger Satan sent to buffet him And our Lord Jesus Christ himself In all things tempted Heb. 2.18 that he might succour those that are tempted Oh! beloved how gracious will Jesus Christ be to tempted ones that came from heaven on purpose to be gracious to them Further Is it not matter of Praise and Thanksgiving That you have alwaies one for to run unto to succour you to relieve you in your temptations a brasen serpent up against you be stung Paul therefore in that 7. of the Romans Having said O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death in the next words saies I thank God through Jesus Christ When Satan is tempting Christ is praying interceding Luke 22.31 Satan hath desired to winnow thee saies he but I have prayed You cannot pray Truely sometimes we pray most when we pray least for Christ prayes for us Again Is it not matter of Praise and Thanksgiving That ye have such an Estate that these theeves can never rob you of A Christian is a Traveller the Thief meets him and takes his money that he hath about him But he hath an Inheritance of Land at home the Theif cannot take away from him And Satan by his Temptations possibly may rob you of these Comforts that are about you But you have an Inheritance and Estate Christian in heaven that shall never be taken away that you shall never be robbed of I 'le conclude this Is it not matter of Praise and Thanksgiving That by this mud you shal be more cleansed Beloved this is Christs way he suffers men to be tempted that they may be freed from more temptations and he suffers this dirt to be cast upon them that they may be the more cleansed Simon Simon saies our Saviour Satan hath desired to winnow thee as wheat How so Satan goes up and down like a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour True that is his intent in his Temptations Satans intent in the temptation is not to winnow that is Christs intent Satans intent in the temptation is to devour but Jesus Christs intent in al those temptations are to winnow And who more konwing who more gracious who more humble who more thankful than those that have been most assaulted with a temptation Pray observe what is said in the 2 of the Corinths 12. Chapter 7. verse Saies Paul Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations there was given me a thorne in the flesh the messenger Satan so it may be read without of The messenger Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure again See how that goes before and follows it begins the verse and ends the verse Lest I should be exalted above measure at the beginning of the verse Lest I should be exalted above measure at the latter end of the verse As if now that these temptations were special preservations against spiritual pride 't is set down twice Least I should be exalted above measure again and again Spiritual pride indeed is very dangerous It was Mr Fox his speech As I get good by my sins so I get hurt by my graces in regard of that spiritual pride he was guilty of upon the receipt of them By Temptation God uses to keep men humble The Hebrew word for Lees the Lees of wine comes from the root that signifies to Keep because the wines are kept by the Lees. And so God is pleased to keep men humble by these Temptations in these Lees and in these dregs God keeps mens graces Temptations do you no hurt til ye yeeld to them The greater the Temptation and the more your flesh does tremble at it the greater the Affliction but the lesser the Sin Temptation is the souls Rape it may deflowre your soul offer violence to your soul it cannot take away your innocency Now it it not a great mercy to be kept innocent and chast unto Jesus Christ Austin hath a notable speech If ye praise God under good things ye are paid your debt if ye praise God under evil ye have made God your debter The truth is we can never pay our debt to God neither are we able to make God our debtor but God is pleased to call himself so when men praise him under Temptations and under Persecutions and under Desertions God is pleased to call himself our Debtor Surely therefore it is good for a Christian to blesse God and to praise God in every thing in all things to be thankful in Affliction in Persecution in Desertion under Temptation This is the will of God our Father that we should be thankful to him in every thing in every condition And if so Applic. then what great cause have we to be very Thankful to God in these times Had the Lord let in the Enemy upon you ye should have been Thankful Had ye been plundered of all your Estates ye must have been Thankful Had ye lien at the mercy of the mercilesse Enemy crying for quarter yet you must have been Thankful how much more now Had ye been emptied of all ye must have been Thankful Oh! shall we not be Thankful then unto God now that hath given us such Deliverance and such Victories as these You will say unto me Quest What special thing is there that we should be Thankful unto God for in these times Hath the Lord done such great things for England and art thou only a stranger in Israel Answ Did ever England hear of such a year as this last year hath been Can any Records tell us of such a year May I not say Stand out O all ye Ancient Records from your dust and tell us from the first day of Englands birth Did ever England see such a year as this hath been wherein the Power and Mercy and Free-grace of God hath rode in Triumph throughout the Kingdome Yet that I may not be wanting to you to your Question look I pray into the 107. Psalm the 1 and the 2. verses ye shall find it written O Give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for his mercy indures for ever Let the redeemed of the Lord say so
matter of Praise The more Errour does prevail the more mercy it is that you are kept And truely the only way or a special way to be kept from Errour is to be thankful for Truth As a way to be kept from sin is to be thankful for grace So a special way to be kept from Errour is to be thankful for Truth So then Notwithstanding all this yet you are to be thankful Thankful even in this condition though many Errours yet ye are to be thankful to be in all things thankful in every thing thankful Thankful when ye are straitened as well as when ye are most enlarged Thankful when ye are Deserted as well as when God shines upon you Thankful when ye are Afflicted as well as when ye are Delivered Thankful when ye have no Victories as well as when ye have Victories Some it may be now will Praise the Lord and be Thankful hearing of so many Victories and because there may be some hopes of Peace But beloved 't is our duty to be in every thing Thankful 'T is the will of God our Father that we should be Thankful in every thing Thankful in every condition Give me leave to propound some few Incouragments hereunto for it seems a hard thing to be Thankful in every thing in every condition If you can be thankful in every thing even when ye are low you will engage God for to raise you up If when you are weak you engage God for to make you strong If when you are Deserted you engage God to enlarge you to shine upon you It pleases God much you cannot please him more than to be Thankful in every thing even when ye are low For Example Suppose a man be convinc'd of sin troubled in Conscience hath no assurance of Gods love in Christ If he should die he does not know whether he should go to heaven or hell Yet notwithstanding saies he what ever become of me I bless the Lord that I am come hither I was going on in the most sad condition the Lord hath opened my eyes I see indeed nothing but the wrath of God due for my sins but yet blessed be the Lord that hath opened my eyes to see this I saies the Lord doest thou blesse me because I have opened thy eyes for to see thy sins I 'le open thine eyes for to see thy Saviour Doest thou blesse me because I have opened thy eyes to see thy own heart and the naughtiness thereof I 'le open thy eyes to see all my grace and I 'le cause all my grace to passe before thee This engages God when ye can be thankful for every thing and when ye are low it engages God much unto you Again Hereby your Afflictions shall be made blessings unto you You say How shal I know whether an Affliction be a blessing or no Take this note when thou canst blesse God under an Affliction then thy Affliction is made a blessing thy very blessing of God under an Affliction makes thy Affliction a blessing to thee Job greatly afflicted and he blest God and his Affliction was a blessing to him so shall it be with you Touch but thy Affliction with a Thankful heart it will turn it into gold Moreover The more you can be Thankful for any thing when ye are low the more peace shall your heart and your soul be fild with Some of you it may be want peace of Conscience and ye say Oh! that I had peace within whatever become of me Outwardly whatsoever the world do with me Oh! that I had peace within To this purpose consider the 4. to the Philippians saies the Apostle Be ye in nothing careful at the 6. verse but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus This is the way to get a great and a full peace Be in nothing careful be in all things Thankful then the peace of God shall guard you Besides Hereby ye shall shame the Devil your great adversary shall retreate from tempting of you as one ashamed and confounded Some there are that shame the Saints and are a shame to the waies of God the Gospel Some there are that shame the Devil The Devil said unto God concerning Job Do but touch him Job 1.11 12 21 and he will curse thee to thy face saies the Lord He is in thy hand only save his life and Satan touch't him what then The Lord giveth the Lord taketh away blessed be his Name The Devil said he would Curse God and he blesses God See how the Devil is sham'd and confounded here Some there are that make the Devils words good Touch him and he will curse thee to thy face and so do some do and thereby they are a shame indeed unto the people of God and the waies of God But when people can blesse God under Affliction if ye in every this be Thankful the Devil is confounded God is much honoured Wherefore beloved as ye desire that God may be much honoured by you the Devil confounded your own peace setled all your afflictions turned into blessings and the Lord engag'd to you to raise you up when ye are low learn out this lesson not only to be Thankful when ye are full but to be Thankful when ye are empty to be in every thing Thankful this is the will of God your Father How shall we do this Quest you will say how must that be done Some few things in answer to that and so I will wind up all First Answ 1 Observe your own temper and accommodate your selves put thy self upon that duty and that grace which thine own disposition lies next unto God hath given us this indulgence Jam. 5.13 Is any afflicted let him pray is any merry let him sing Psalms According to your disposition saies he that is the meaning So let your work be so let your grace be It may be thou canst not Pray by that time thou hast been at another duty that thy disposition lies more unto next unto thou wilt be fit to pray It may be thou canst not Sing by that time thou hast been at Prayer which thy disposition lies next unto thou wilt be fit to Sing Let us not be more cruel to our souls than God is he hath give us this indulgence observe your selves accommodate your selves and by this means you shall be able upon all occasions to blesse and praise the Lord. Again Be sure of this that you maintain your Assurance fresh and green It 's a hard thing for a man to be thankful in every thing that wants Assurance Come to him for to praise God for a great work but it may be saies he it came in Judgment to me I have no Assurance Strengthen your Assurance in these Three things and it will cause continual Thankfulnesse Thankfulnesse in every thing Assurance
1 3 225 12 10 11 12. 246 Matthew 5 3 4. 4 12 47.50 5 28 19 76 3 11 105 5 16 109 27 6 126 4 4 178 11 20 197 9 9 199 9 10 11 12 13. 226 13 32 31. 238 Luke 23 24 4 24 36 5 22 32 28 1 20 175 17 13 179 7 38 182 17 6 196 17 3 197 19 5 199 14 16 17 18. 219 19 9 222 19 10 224 7 41 225 15 18 19. 228 7 37 230 John 1 17 9 16 7.10 10 1 12 20 17 19 24 4 34 26 17 3 80 14 6 94 10 3 96 10 3 96 14 20 115 5 26 117 12 23 158 20 29 180 21 5 185 2 4 5. 206 Acts 9 6 184 Romans 8 15 47 1 7 96 7 4 96 4 5 228 11 30 242 1 Corinthians 15 45 21 2 3.5 59 15 10 59 1 9 129 3 22 203 Galatians 4 begin 77 5 22 102 Ephesians 1 23 8 2 1.5 53 4 10 116 Philippians 2 12 58 2 7.9.98 158 Colossians 1 19 9 1 22 81 3 11 96 2 9 128 Timothy 5 5 157 1 13 222 Titus 2 14 28 Hebrews 7 25 9 2 18 22 3 2 25 1 1 78 10 19 121 11 1 203 James 1 17 93 4 8 225 1 Peter 3 4 36 5 10 51 4 19 177 1 John 1 3 115 Revelations 1 18 94 3 21 120 11 11 155 3 20 253 FINIS The great GOSPEL-Mystery Of the SAINTS comfort and holinesse HEBREWES 2.17 18. Wherefore in all things it behoved him Preached at Stepney April 25 1647. to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and a faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation or atonement for the sins of the people For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted THE Apostle Paul whom I take to be the Pen-man of this Epistle having in the former part of this Chapter shewed the Reasons why it behoved Christ for to suffer death He comes now in the latter end thereof to give you an account by laying down some Reasons Why it behoved Christ to be in all things made like unto us whom the Apostle here cals the Brethren of Jesus Christ In other Scriptures we find that our Lord and Saviour Christ is called our Father The everlasting Father the Prince of peace Here he is called our Brother we his Brethren Now the same Person to be both a Father and a Brother unto the same man in nature it cannot be But because all these Relations are to scant and narrow Vessels to hold forth the love of Jesus Christ towards us Therefore Inconsistent Relations are given unto him A Father Provides for his child which the brother doth not A Brother can stoop and condesend unto his brother which the superiority of the Father will not bear So that here is held forth unto us the stooping Condesending love of Jesus Christ and therfore he is called our Brother and we his Brethren But why Quest and what Reason is there That the Lord Jesus Christ should in all things be made like unto us his Brethren The Apostle in these words gives the Reason Answ That he might be a merciful and a faithful high Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people c. The Lord God our Father swear unto Jesus Christ Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek He was to be the great high Priest Among the Jews in the times of the old Testament they had an high Priest that was in all things to stand between God and them and in case any sinned to make an atonement for them As the Jewes had their High Priest So the Lord Jesus Christ he was to be and he is The Apostle and the High Priest of our Christian profession as Aaron was of the Jewes profession And therefore saies the Apostle It behoved him in all things to be made like unto us But could not Jesus Christ be merciful unto poor tempted souls Quest unless he were in all things made like to them like in their Natures like in their Affections like in matter of Temptations Christ as God could have been merciful unto us Ans although he had not been made like unto us but not as our High Priest There is an ability of Sufficiency and of Power and so Christ as God was able to succour those that are tempted although himself had never been tempted But there is an ability of Idoneity or Fitness or Aptness and Disposition and so the Apostle saies here For in that Himself hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted It 's plain then what that is that is the great support of a Christian against all Temptations wherein lies our succour against all Temptation namely in the Priestly-Office of Jesus Christ The Priestly-Office of Christ Is it the great Magazine and Stonehouse of all that Grace and Comfort which we have on this side Heaven It is that whereby we are reconciled to God the Father and relieved against all temptation This is the great thing that these words hold forth And therefore upon this account the Apostle Paul finding the Hebrewes labouring under great Temptations Doubtings Fears and much Unbeleef he does not only here but all along in this book of the Hebrews open the Priestly Office of Christ unto them And indeed what comfort can we have in God Himself but through Christ and what comfort can we have in Christ Himself but as he is cloathed with his Prestly-Garment with his Office of the High Priest Whatsoever comfort we have in the other Offices of Christ namely his Kingly and his Prophetical Office it is all Originated and Principiated in this The Priestly Office of Jesus Christ it does give a Life and Being and Efficacy to both the other Offices And therefore the High Priest in the times of the old Testament who was a Type of Christ he wore a Crown upon his head and the breast-plate of Vrim and Thummim upon his breast showing that both the other Offices the Kingly and the Prophetical Office were planted upon the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ Yea If you look into the First Second and Third Chapters of the Revelation you will find that whatsoever streames of comfort did run down upon the Churches through the other Titles and Attributes of God they are all fountain'd here In the Second Chapter and the first verse The Lord Christ hath this Title That he holdeth the seven stars in his right hand These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand In the Eight verse writing unto the Church of Smyrna he takes up another Title or Attribute These things saith the first and the last which was dead and is alive At the Twelf verse writing unto the Church of Pergamus he takes up another Title These things saith he who hath the sharp sword with two edges Now
my house but I went unto the tree and gathered it off the tree and I sate down under the shadow of the tree and Oh! how sweet was the fruit unto me So saies the soul so saies the Spouse of Jesus Christ I sate down under the shadow of Jesus Christ and then his fruit was sweet unto my tast It may be we have had other shadows we have sate down under the shadow of our Estate our outward Estate hath been sweet unto our tast We have sate down it may be under the shadow of friendship and the fruit of friendship hath been sweet unto our tast But behold here a tree the tree of life whose shadow reaches to the end of the earth Ah Come Come and sit down under the shadow of Jesus Christ If there be ever a poor soul that never yet knew what Comfort meant Ah Come Come under the shadow of the Lord Jesus The Priestly Office of Jesus Christ it hath a very sweet shadow Come therefore you that say you cannot profit under the means and you that complain of such and such temptations and such and such sins and that you were never yet comforted your consciences never pacified Come now and sit down under the shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ I tell thee from the Lord thus fruit of His it shall be sweet unto thy tast thou shalt go to Prayer and Prayer shall be sweet unto thy soul though heretofore thou couldst find no sweetness in it so the Word and other Ordinances shall be sweeter unto thee than the hony or the hony combe Thus it 's evident how comfortable the Priestly Office of Jesus Christs and how much conducing unto our Comfort and Holiness Oh! therefore let us study now study the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ and come and sit down under his shadow and the Lord make his fruit sweet unto all our souls And thus I have opened and applyed the first particular of Christs Priestly Office The Second follows c. SERMON II. HEBREWES 2.17 18. Wherefore in all things it behoved him Preached at Stepney Maii. 2. 1647. to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest in things pertaining to godliness to make reconciliation for the sins of the people For in that He himselfe hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted I Have begun to discover from these words That the Friestly Office of Jesus Christ is the great Magazine and Storehouse of all that grace and comfort which we have in this world that whereby we are succoured and relieved against all Temptations This hath been made good in the Generall and in one Particular work of the High Priest If we now inquire further what the work of the High-Priest was and is that accordingly we may address our selves unto Jesus Christ for succour We shall find that it is also to Pray and Intercede for the people To make reconciliation for the sins of the people saies the text To make Atonement for the sins of the people saies the old Testament Which Reconciliation or Atonement was made in the times of the old Testament not only by offering of a sacrifice but by taking the blood thereof and presenting that with Praers and intercessions unto God to accept of it for the sins of the people As we shall find in that same 16. of Livitieus After the sacrifice was kild the Priest was to take the blood of it and sprinkle it with his finger upon the Mercy-Seat as we reade in the 14. verse And at the 12. and 13. He shall take a Censer full of burning coals of fire from off the Alter before the Lord and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small and bring it within the vaile And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord that the cloud of the incense may cover the Mercy-Seat He was to cause a cloud of incense to arise upon the Mercy-Seat All which was a great Type of the Prayers and Intercessions of Jesus Christ who having once offered up himself a sacrifice for our sins hath carried the blood and the vertue of it into Heaven there sprinkled the Mercy-Seat and there still by his Intercessions does appear for us As it is proved at large in the 9. Chapter of this Epistle to the Hebrews 11. and 12 verses But Christ being come an High-Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect Tabernacle not made with hands that is to say not of this building Neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood be entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternall redemption for us And at the 24. verse For Christ is not entered into the Holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true but into Heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us And if you duely consider this book of the Hebrews you will find that this work of Christs Intercession is The Essential work of his Priestly-Office it seems rather to go beyond the former than to fall short of it Hebrews the 8. Chapter and the 4. verse For if he were on earth he should not be a Priest That is look as it was in the times of the old Testament if the Priest had only offered a sacrifice and had not gone into the holy of holiest with the blood thereof sprinkling the Mercy-Seat praying and interceding that it might be accepted for the sins of the people the Priest had not done the work of the Priest and so he had not been a compleat Priest So now saies the Apostle if Jesus Christ had only offred up himself here a sacrifice and had not gone into Heaven the holy of holiest and carried the power and the vertue of his death thither to pray and intercede for us he had not done the work of the great High-Priest Every Priest might sacrifice but every Priest might not go into the Holy of Holiest that belonged only to the High-Priest to do Now therefore Jesus Christ going into Heaven the Holy of Holiest there to make Intercession for us is the great and the special work of this High-Priest That I may cleer up this mysterious Truth I shall deliver my self these Four waies by opening First Wherein the Intercession of Christ consisteth and what he doth when we say he intercedes in Heaven for us Secondly How powerfull and prevailing his Intercessions are with God the Father Thirdly That he doth now intercede as our great High-Priest and in a more transcendent and eminent way and manner than ever any High-Priest did before Fourthly This does conduce to our Comfort and to our Holiness First If it be demanded Quest Wherein consisteth this Intercession of Jesus Christ I Answer Answ 1 First it consists in this His appearing for us in Heaven his owning of our Cause and of our souls to God the Father It is the word that is used in that 9.
so taking all together as one presents it unto God the Father for our acceptance And this he does now as our High-Priest for if we look into this book of the Hebrews we shall find That the Apostle speaking of the High Priest relating unto Jesus Christ saies in the 5. Chapter and the 1. verse That it was his work to offer Gifts That he may offer both Gifts and sacrifices And so in the 8. Chapter and the 3. vers Every High-Prist is ordained to offer Gifts and Sacrifices Thus we have another great work of our great High-Priest which is To offer up all our Prayers our Duties our Gifts unto God the Father which if ye will we may call another part of Christs Intercession but I handle it distinct Now that I may open cleer this great Gospel-Mystery I shall endeavour to discover First What Jesus Christ our High-Prist doth when be does offer up our Gifts unto God the Father Secondly What abundance of favour and acceptance this our great High-Priest himself hath in Heaven Thirdly That he doth improve all that his own acceptance for our acceptance planting all our Duties upon his own acceptance upon that acceptance that he hath with the Father Fourthly What abundance of acceptance therefore we have in all our Duties by him Fiftly How this doth conduce to our Grace and to our Comfort First Quest 1 What doth our Lord and Saviour Christ our great High-Priest when he offers up our Gifts unto God the Father First Answ 1 He doth take our persons and carries them in unto God the Father in a most unperceivable way to us He knows that if our Person be not first accepted our Duty cannot be accepted Love me and love my Duty love me love my Service hate me and hate my Service In the Covenant of Works God did first accept of the work and then of the Person the Person for the work But in the Covenant of Grace God doth first accept of the Person and then the Work Now therefore that our Work and our Duty may be accepted with God the Father The Lord Christ our High-Priest doth first take our Person and our Name and carries them into the presence of God the Father This was plainly shadowed out unto us by that of the High-Prest Who went into the Holy of Holiest with the Names of all the Tribes upon his breast Which the Apostle speaks out plainly Eph. 3.12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In whom we have accesse with boldness The word Accesse as some observe is Manuduction Hand-leading In whom we have an Hand-leading or by whom we are led by the Hand unto God the Father As a child having run away from his Father is taken by the hand of a friend or of his Elder brother and brought again into the presence of his father So all we having run away from God are taken and led again into the presence of the Father by the hand of Jesus Christ He is that ladder that Jacob saw upon whom we do ascend into the bosome of God and go into Heaven Our High-Priest Jesus Christ doth first take our Persons and lead us into the presence of God the Father That is the first Secondly As he doth take our Persons and lead and carry us into the presence of God the Father So when we do perform any Duty he doth observe what evil or failing there is in that Duty and draws it out takes it away before he presents the Duty-unto God the Father A Child that would present his father with a Nose-gay or Posie goes into the garden and he gathers flowers and weeds together but coming to his mother she takes them and picks out the weeds and binds up the flowers by themselves and so it is presented to the father Thus it is with us We go to Duty and we gather weeds flowers together But the Lord Jesus Christ he comes and picks out the weeds and then he presents nothing but flowers unto God the Father And this we have plainly set forth unto us by that of the High-Priest taking away the iniquities of the Holy things of Gods people in the 28. Chapter of Exodus Thou shalt make a plat-form of pure gold at the 36. verse and grave upon it like the ingravings of a signet HOLINES UNTO THE LORD And thou shalt put it on a blue lace that it may be upon the Mytre upon the forefront of the Mytre it shall be Then at the 38. verse And it shall be on Aarons forehead that is the High-Priest that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the Children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy guifts and it shall be alwaies upon his forehead that they may be accepted before the Lord. Thus taking away the iniquity of their holy things So it is said concerning our Saviour Christ in the 3. Chapter of Malachy the 2 3 4. verses Who may abide the day of his coming plainly understood of Christ as appears by the first vers Then at the 3. He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and he shall purifie the Sons of Levi and purge them as gold and selver that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness Then shall the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as in the dayes of old Then shall their offerings be pleasant When when he hath purg'd their sacrifices and their offerings This in the daies of his flesh and now much more This is the Second thing that the Lord Christ our great High-Priest doth in offering up our Gifts unto God the Father He takes out the weeds Thirdly As he takes away the iniquity of our holy things So he observes what good there is in any of our Duties or Performances and with that he mingles his own Prayers and Intercessions his own Intense and presents all as one work mingled together unto God the Father This we have so fully in the 8. Chapter of the Revelation that I need name no other place Another Angel at the 3. verse stood at the Altar having a golden Censer and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden Altar which was before the Throne And the smoke at the 4. verse of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand This must needs be understood of Christ for no Angel does intercede but Christ who is called The Angel of the Covenant 'T is said here He stood at the Altar having a golden Censer Which none of the High-Priests had and there was given unto him much incense and this he offered with the prayers of all the Saints and the smoake of the incense came with the prayers of the Saints and ascended up before the Lord. He alludes unto the way and custome of the Jewes and the High-Priest shewing that the Lord Jesus Christ doth
for ever keep me from opposition to the good wayes of God I have said sometimes may a wicked man say concerning godly mens duties That it was their Hypocrisie And I have said concerning such and such Professors This is your Pride and this is your Singularity and I have opposed with all bitterness and earnestness the prayings and wrestlings of some of Gods people But is this true That the Lord Jesus Christ takes every Prayer of the meanest of Gods Children and carries it into the bosom of God the Father and shall I spit upon that that Christ owns shall I dare to oppose that that the Lord Jesus Christ presents unto his Father The Lord in mercy pardon me I have sinned and done foolishly and for ought I know I may have spoken evill of that Duty that Christ hath carried into the presence of God the Father Oh! through the Lords grace then for ever will I leave to make any opposition against any of the good waies of God again and I will never speake one word against the persons meetings or supplications of the godly again Again In case a man be Ungodly a wicked man Here is mighty incouragement for to come unto Jesus Christ I and to come presently For is Jesus Christ the ladder that Jacob saw by whom we go up to Heaven doth he take all our Duties and Prayers and present them to God the Father for acceptance Then till I do come to Christ all is nothing all is lost if I be a Drunkard and will not come to Christ Prayer is all lost if I be a Swearer and will not come to Christ an Unclean wretch and will not come to Christ all my Prayers and all my Duties are lost Oh! the Lord pity me may many a poor soul say I have lost too many Prayers already through the Lords grace now I will lose no more Oh! I come to Christ Lord I come I come This is a mighty incouragement to make every man now for to come unto Jesus Christ because the Lord Jesus our High-Priest takes every Duty and carries it into the bosom of God the Father for acceptance Thus for Ungodly Secondly In case a man be Godly this truth doth conduce to our further Holiness and growth in grace If I be Codly Then here I see infinite reason why I should be much in Duty not only pray but be much in prayer Why for the Lord Christ taketh all and carries all into the bosom of the Father mingles his own odours intercessions with it although it be but a sigh and a groane The Apostle upon this account makes this use of it having spoken of Christ our High-Priest Therefore saith he let us come with boldness vnto the Throne of grace Heb. 4.16 The word signifies to speak all ones mind let us come speaking all Having such an High-Priest indeed as will carry all into the presence of God the Father for acceptance every sigh and every groan then who would not be much in prayer speak all to Christ be free with Christ come with boldness There 's many a poor soul that is much discouraged and he dares not go to prayer many times afraid to go to the Throne of grace The reason is because he looks upon his Prayer or Duty as it lies upon his own heart or as it comes from himself Whereas my beloved 't is with your Prayers and Duties as it is with fire Your kitchin fire is troubled with abundance of smoake and there is filth about it fire upon the hearth hath much smoake but fire above in the Element of fire there 's no smoke So your Prayer when it lies upon your own hearth as I may say there 's a great deal of smoke but when it gets once into the hands of Jesus Christ there 's it's Element and it is freed from all it's smoke Or as it is with a mans Body so long as he lives here upon the earth he is feeble and weak and many times sickly assoon as he is come into Heaven all his weakness is taken away and his body being in Heaven 't is presently glorified and strength put upon it and all his diseases are gone So 't is with our Prayers So long as they are here below in our own bosoms they are full of weakness but assoon as our Prayer is out of our mouth 't is in the hand of Christ 't is in Heaven 't is glorified the weakness is now done away Oh! 't is a glorified Prayer when once 't is gone from you 't is in the hand of Christ And therefore this is a mighty incouragement unto all those that are godly to be not only in Prayer but to be much in Prayer come with boldness unto the Throne of grace Again If ye be Godly yea if ye be Ungodly Here I see infinite reason why I should receive every Truth that comes from Christ though accompanied with many failings in him that speaks it The Lord Jesus Christ he accepts of every prayer and duty that comes from me though it have many weaknesses yea he takes my Prayer and carries it into the presence of God the Father for acceptance my poor Prayer labouring with many weaknesses Then when a Truth comes from Christ shall not I accept of it what though the Minister or Preacher that speaks it labour with this or that weakness There is Pride or there is some miscarriage in the delivery or the like Shall the Lord Christ take my Prayer labouring under infirmity and accept thereof and carry it into the presence of God the Father for acceptance notwithstanding all the failings of my Duty and shall not I accept of Truth that comes from Christ notwithstanding all the failings of the poor messenger that brings it Further The more Evangelical you are in your Obedience the more Holy ye are in your lives This truth that is now before ye well studied and considered will make you more Obedient in an Evangelical way And ye shall find therefore that the Lord himself from Heaven does make this use of it pray consult with the 17. of Matthew and the 5. verse This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him Those words follow Hear him Hearing notes Faith and Obedience not a bare Hearing with the ear Compare this and the same speech together which ye have in the 3. of Matthew and the 17. verse Loe a voyce from Heaven saying This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Heare ye him is not there in the 3. of Matthew but here in the 17. of Matthew these words are added Heare ye him What should the reason be that Hear ye him should be added here in the 17. of Matthew and not in the 3. of Mat. thew Give me leave to give you some reason for it so far as may make to our present purpose Not to say any thing of that which Moses said In his daies a Prophet will the Lord your God raise up
as a great Type of and in relation to Jesus Christ our great High-Priest in the 7. Chapter of this book of the Hebrews and the 6. verse saith That he blessed Abrabam But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham and Blessed him that had the Promises So then this Blessing of the people being the work of both the High-Priests and both Aaron and Melchisedec being great types of Jesus Christ our High-Priest Surely it must needs be one of the great works of our High-Priest for to blesse the people For the opening and cleering up of this Truth I shall endeavour to discover First What the Blessing of Christ our High-Priest is wherein consists and what Christ doth when he doth Bless the people Secondly That it belongs unto Jesus Christ especially for to Bless the people Thirdly That our Lord and Saviour Christ our great High-Priest is exceeding willing for to Bless poor sinners and that this Blessing of the people is a work whereunto he is much inclined and wherein he is much delighted Fourthly That he doth this and doth it fully Fifthly according to our method How all this doth conduce unto our Comfort and unto our Holiness First If ye aske me What the Blessing of Christ Quest 1 and of the Gospel is and wherein it consists I answer First in the General That the Blessing of the Gospel Answ and of Christ consisteth in Spiritual things especially and not in Temporal And therefore saith the Apostle in that 1. of the Ephesians and the 3. verse Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all Spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ The Curse and Judgments of God that do befal men now under the Gospel are not in outward afflictions and bodily troubles so much as in Spiritual miseries Blindness of mind and Hardness of heart And so also on the contrary the blessing of the Gospel doth not consist much in Outward things as in Spiritual Who hath blessed us with Spiritual blessings Indeed if we look into the old Testament we shall find That when Moses did bless the people he blest them much in Temporal blessings in the 28. of Deuteronomy and the 2. verse All these things shall come upon thee and overtake thee if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God What blessings are those Blessed shalt thou be in the city and blessed shalt thou be in the field blessed shall be the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy ground and the fruit of thy cattel the increase of thy kine and the flocks of thy sheep blessed shall be thy basket and thy store Thus he goes on in outward blessings But now if we look into the Gospel and consider the blessings of Jesus Christ and lay them together with Moses we shall find them to be Spiritual blessings In the 5. of Matthew and the 3. verse c. Blessed are the poor in spirit for their's is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are those that mourn for they sall be comforted Indeed the promise of the earth comes is at the 5. vers but he returns again to Spiritual blessings Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after rightousness for they shall be filled Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Here are Spiritual blessings this is the stream of the Gospel it runs this way When the Lord blesseth a man he gives him that which is sutable to him In the times of the Gospel men are more Spiritual than they were in the times of the Law therefore Gospel-blessings they are Spiritual blessings Every thing gives and communicates to another according to what it hath it self The Sun communicates light unto the world because it hath light it self And man communicates the nature of man unto his child because he hath the nature of man himself So our Lord Christ when he Blesses he communicates according unto what he hath himself and his blessings especially consisting in spiritual things so he doth blesse Indeed as in the times of the Old Testament there were Spiritual blessings that were mixt with Temporal by vertue of the Covenant that was made with Abraham So now Outward blessings are thrown in as an overplus but yet notwithstanding though they be not spiritual in their nature they are spiritual in their end and so it is true to say That the blessing of the Gospel and of Christ is a spiritual blessing But more particularly if yet ask me wherein this consisteth I shall name but Two things First This Blessing of the Gospel or of Christ it consists in a supernatural and spiritual injoyment of God in Christ the love and favour of God in Christ When the Priests blest in the time of the old Testament in that 6. of Numbers they said The Lord cause his face for to shine upon you The Lord make his face for to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee the Lord blesse thee and keepe thee Verse 24 25 26. Which the Spostle Paul expounding in the 2 Cor. the 13. Chapter and the 14. verse renders it thus The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the holy Ghost be with you all Amen The Lord blesse thee the Lord cause his face to shine upon you the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you Three times the Lord the Lord the Lord noting the Trinity which the Apostle here explains by the Father the Son and the holy Spirit Blessed are the pure in heart Mat. 5.8 for they shall see God Seeing of God is a blessing out of the mouth of Christ a Gospel-blessign And what is it for a man to see God In the phrase of the old Testament the Hebrew to See it is ordinarily used for to Injoy In the 4. Psalme Who will shew us any good The word in the Hebrew is Who will make us to See any good that is t Injoy good So then to see God it is to injoy him When Jacob injoyed God he saw him and the place it was called Peniel for he had seen the Lord and there the Lord blest him There 's no seeing of God but in Christ And therefore I say that herein confists the blessing of the Gospel in a supernatural and spiritual in joyment of God in Christ the favour and love of God in Christ Again It consists also in the Inhabitation of the holy Ghost in our hearts the giving out of the holy Ghost unto the hearts of men And therefore it is added in that place of the Corinthians And the Communion of the holy Ghost be with you all Amen That must needs be the great blessing of the Gospel and so of Christ that is the thing promised in the Gospel What is that If we look into the 1. Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles and the 4. verse It is said
the Son of God putting another If upon his Son-ship So when he was upon the Cross the Devils Instruments speak his own Language they had not forgotten it If he be the Son of God let him come down putting an If upon his Son-ship again The Devil follows this close Oh! but I am tempted many times to use indirect means to get out of trouble out of mine affliction And was not Christ so when he was an hungry saies the Devil to him Command that these stones be made bread Oh! but I am tempted I am loth to say what it is sometimes even to lay violent hands upon my self And what said the Devil to Christ Throw thy self down off the pinacle of the Temple Oh! but I am tempted to horrid and blasphemous things that I am afraid to name and my heart trembles to think of And was not Christ thus tempted saies Satan to him All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me What worship the Devil Oh! horrid blasphemy Blush O Heavens and be astonished All this will I give thee If thou wilt fall down and worship me Oh! but I am tempted to depair sometimes I confesse I am able to reade Gods love and to say that God is with me and I think I can say I know that God is with me but at another time Oh! how unlike am I unto my self and I say Mercy is gone and Christ is gone and hath left me as an orphan And I pray consider how it was with Christ in this respect he went as neer to it as could be without sin It is Musculus his Observation In the 16. of John Behold saies Christ at the 32. verse the hour cometh speaking of his suffering hour Yea it is now come when ye shall be scattered every man from his own and shall leave me alone and yet I am not alone because the Father is with me Speaking of his suffering hour And yet when he was upon the Cros he saies Father My God my God why hast thou forsaken me How diverse does he seem to be from himself Saies he I am not alone because the Father is with me And yet when he comes into the hour My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Oh! but I have suffered as much as ever any did I have suffered by the hand of my temptations they have been a continual torment to me and I have suffered much from them Well but have ye suffered more than Christ suffered It is said in the text For in that he suffered being tempted What a mighty suffering was it for the glorious God of Heaven and Earth to have such temptations thrown in upon him any one temptation to be lodged in his mind what a mighty suffering was this Thus you see how Christ suffered And beloved He suffered and was tempted that he might succour you that are tempted Will you question his love then because of your temptation or your own condition do ye know what you do Suppose that your Father should leave you a great Estate and give you good Evidences and a cunning Lawyer comes and writes upon the back-side of your Evidence Naught naught will ye because of that joyn with him and say that your Father hath given you nothing Christ hath given you in a great Estate of Mercy and hath given you good Evidences for it and Satan now comes writes upon the back-side of your Evidence and saies This is naught Will you joyn with him against God and Christ what wrong is this to his love think of it I pray you that are the Saints and people of God Be humbled under every temptation though it be never so small but never question your condition though your temptation be never so great There is indeed something of a suffering a malignant quality an affliction in every temptation when it takes least and therfore look how you would walk under an affliction so walk under your temptation In your affliction you will walk Humbly so under your temptation do In your affliction you will examine the Cause especially if your affliction lie long upon you So in your temptation do In your affliction you will seek God Early So in the morning of your temptation do In the day of your affliction you will Engage to God the day of affliction is the day of engaging and you say Oh! if the Lord will deliver me through his grace I will do so and so So in your temptation do In your affliction you will take heed of those sins that you are most apt unto in the time of affliction so do in the time of your temptation For example thus in affliction a man is very apt to be discouraged to have his heart sink and to die within him So in temptation take heed of that In affliction a man is apt so to mind his present burden as to forgit all his former mercy so in the time of temptation take heed of that In the time of affliction a man is very apt to be froward and impatient to break out into frowardness and impatiency though he did not so before As the wood that is laid upon the fire sends forth filth which you did not see in the wood before it came upon the fire So men are apt to send forth filth and much frowardness and impatiency in the time of affliction when you took them for good natured people before and thought there was no such frowardness in them and no such impatiency So in the time of temptation also take heed of that In the time of affliction men are apt to make an evil construction and interpretation of things Affliction raises Passion and Passion puts other colors upon things than formerly and so in time of temptation we are apt to make strange constructions of Gods dealings and Christ's dealings with us take heed of that In time of affliction men are apt to change their behaviour David did so he let fall his spittle upon his beard and faigned himself mad he changed his behaviour and so are men apt to change their behaviour in times of temptation take heed of that In time of affliction men are apt to stint and limit God and say Can God provide a table now and can God deliver now and so also in the time of temptation men are apt to say Can God provide now can God deliver now and so stint and limit the Holy One of Israel take heed of that In the day of affliction a gracious heart does rather rejoyce that he hath any opportunity to exercise his grace than mourn for his present burden so do you now In the day of affliction a gracious heart doth more desire to be cleansed than to be delivered wishes rather that his heart may be sanctified by his affliction thā that his affliction may be removed There is somthing of a suffering ye have heard in every temptation now then does a temptation arise and presse in upon
was but thought him a Prophet yet he would do it So willing as that though they did not desire it themselves but were brought by others yet he would do it So willing as that though they were unmannerly in their coming to him withness the pulling the tyles off the house yet he would do it And that so willing though much unbeleef express by those that were brought unto him yet he would do it I beseech you consider it this was a work that Christ came into the world to do this is The work the work that Christ came to do it was to bind up broken hearts The work that Christ came to do was to open the prison doors to poor captives The Spirit of the Lord is upon me you know the place To administer a word in due season to those that are weak He hath given me the tongue of the learned to administer a word in due season to those that are weak Now then if Jesus Christ was so willing to do the other work which was but his work by the bye which was not The-work that he did come about how infinitely willing must he needs be to do The-work that he did come about but I say to succour poor tempted ones this was The-work that he came upon Heaven hath not alter'd him he hath lost none of his love by going thither Surely therefore the Lord Jesus Christ is infinitely willing to succour poor tempted souls Well But though he be able and willing yet it may be he is not faithfull Yes saith the former verse Faithful merciful and faithful High-Priest Faithful in all his house as Moses was What honest man will break his word go contrary to his oath He is sworne into this office of the High-Priest Yea we have not only his Promise and his Oath but the fathers Bond for the Sons performance The seed of the woman shall break the serpents head it shall bruise his heel she shall break his head The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand This is the work that is in his hand to succour tempted ones it shall prosper in his hand In the 8. Chapter of Matthew We reade there at the 16. verse That he cast out spirits with his Word and healed all that were sick That is might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the Prophet saying Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses Because he took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses he took himself to be engaged for to heal the sicknesses and diseases among the people Beloved he hath taken our infirmities He hath borne our sins and therefore he takes himself engaged also for to heal our soul-diseases to heal those temptations He is very faithfull Well But suppose he is faithful How doth he succour those that are tempted in the day and time of their temptation that is the Fourth thing He succours Before temptation He succours In temptation He succours After temptation Christ succours tempted souls Before the temptation comes sometimes By a special manifestation of himself ihs love and fulness to them When Christ himself was to be tempted immediately before the Father said from Heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And so when Christ sees that a soul is to go into temptation he speaks out from Heaven and saies This is my beloved servant in whom I am well pleased Sometimes he succours Before temptation By laying in of Gospel-principles and Gospel-dispositions in the heart The Law is weak saies the Apostle As it is weak unto the point of Justification the matter of Justification so a legal disposition is weak as to the matter of resisting temptation a Gospel-disposition is able to bear it off Christ fore-seeing a temptation laies in such a disposition then when it comes Oh! saies the soul How shall I be able to close with all this love of the world having received so many love-tokens from my dear Saviour Again He succours Before the temptation By filling the heart with the holy Ghost When the vessel is fild with one liquor it keeps out another I will return to my house saith Satan and I came and found it empty and so he entered The Lord therfore fils the house the soul with the holy Ghost and so keeps Satan from entering He succours also Vnder temptation By opening the eyes of him that is tempted to see that 't is but a temptation A temptation is half cured when a man knows that 't is but a temptation when a mans eyes is open to see the tempter and the temptation Therefore men are so hardly cured because they are hardly perswaded that 't is a temptation when they see that then they say Get thee behinde me Satan Christ opens their eyes Again He succours Vnder temptation By letting fal some glimpse of his love some love-look upon a tempted soul And so when Peter was in the High-Priests hall Christ looks upon him and he went out and wept bitterly It was the sweet look of Christ that made Peter weep bitterly Peters tears came from Christs eyes first and though he were much engag'd yet having a love-look from Christ I 'le stay no longer and away he goes And so when a soul sees but the gracious eye of Christ looking on him he breaks off from his temptation thus he succours Again He succours Vnder temptation by temptation even from temptation Beloved the Devil seldom tempts with one single temptation As we seldom commit single sins or receive single mercies so the Devil seldom tempts with a single temptation One may be laid in our Natures and the other laid in our Callings Christ sees now that one is given to Uncleannesse or to Pride and so he lets out Satan upon him to trouble him with blasphemous thoughts and by the afflictions of those blasphemous thoughts they are kept from Pride and from Wantonnesse and delighting in other sins He does succour From temptation I say from temptation by temptation sometimes by causing a word in the temptation to standout so as thereby to give the tempted man an hint to Jesus Christ So when Christ tempted and tryed the woman of Canaan 'T is not lawful to cast childrens bread before dogs There stood out a word that word Dog she laies hold on it True Lord yet the dogs eate of the crums Christ does so order the very temptations of Satan that some word or other in the very temptation does so stand forth as to hint the soule again unto Jesus Christ Sometimes he succours Vnder temptation By throwing in a Promise lotting the soul upon some Promise which as a Cable keeps the heart fast in the time of a storm And sometimes he succours Vnder temptation again By weakending the temptation and by keeping the heart and the temptation asunder may be by raising up some Affliction Woe to that soul when the heart and temptation meet corruption and temptation meet The Lord Christ therefore sometimes is pleased to raise
are in the deep and his footsteps are not known but as the Heavens are greater than the earth so are Gods waies of mercy beyond our waies Now therefore if a drak temptation do come upon ye and ye see no way to get out say O but my soul remember Gods waies are infinite and his waies are beyond our waies and though I see no way God hath infinite waies he walks over mulbery-trees and his waies have been in the deep and so it hath been all along with my soul and therefore now O my soul wait on God Sixthly Answ 6 If temptation come if Satan come Do you run to Christ and look how Satan appears to you so do you apply the Attributes of Christ to you sutable to his temptation Does Satan set a temptation unto your breast observe what temptation it is and take an Attribute of Christ sutable to that temptation and set it to the breast of that temptation For Example Does Satan come and tempt as a Serpent Then remember that Jesus Christ is the brasen serpent Does Satan come and present himself as a roaring Lyon Now remember that Jesus Christ is the Lyon of the tribe of Judah Does Satan come and present himself as an Accuser Now remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is an advocate Beloved in the time of temptation ye are to run to Christ that is true but that is not all but you are to observe how your temptation lies and apply that Attribute of Christ to your soul which is sutable to your temptation do this and your faith shall not faile in time of temptation Seventhly Answ 7 and lastly Above all things take the Shield of faith Take the Shield of faith that your faith may not fail for the way to beleeve is to beleeve the way to pray is to pray the way to hear is to hear the way to receive is to receive the way to perform duty is to perform duty the way to exercise grace is to exercise grace When temptation therefore does come upon thee that thy faith may not fail now stir up thy self to this work of faith and to beleeve and if ye beleeve that ye shall overcome ye shall overcome and if ye beleeve that ye shall prevaile against your temptations ye shall prevaile against your temptations And poor soul if thou canst relie upon Christ and beleeve that thou shalt be justified thou shalt be justified and if thou canst by faith relie upon the Promise the Promise shall belong to thee Wherefore stir up your selves now to beleeve when temptation comes When ye have to deal with an Enemy here among men I don't say beleeve ye shall overcome your enemy and ye shall overcome a man may beleeve he shal overcome his outward enemy here in the field and yet fall before him and not overcome but having to deal with this enemy Gods enemy your fathers enemy and your enemy beleeve ye shall overcome him and ye shall overcome him Quest But shall we overcome him Only if we beleeve Answ Who ever thou art that speakest or thinkest thus Doest thou make on Only of beleeving I tell thee from the Lord It is an harder thing to beleeve than to keep all the Commandements for there is something in Nature towards the keeping of the ten Commandements but nothing in Nature towards beleeving in Christ And poor soul doest thou make an Only of beleeving thou doest not know what beleeving means but I say unto thee from the Lord Beleeve that thou shalt overcome and thou shalt overcome beleeve that thou shalt prevaile against Satan and thou shalt prevail against him beleeve that thy sins shal be pardoned through Christ and relie upon him and thy sins shal be pardoned Whensoever therefore any temptation comes Oh! run to Christ cry unto Christ and rest upon Christ and say Lord I do beleeve help thou my unbelief Beloved in the Lord ye have heard That in all Satans temptations his great design is upon your faith to weaken your faith therefore let it be all your design in all your temptations to strengthen your faith and to look to your faith Which that ye may do think on all these things and the Lord bless them to you SERMON V. Of TEMPTATION LUKE 22.31 32. And the Lord said Simon Simon behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat Preached at Stepney Oct. 24 1647. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not THese words as ye have heard acquaints us with a great temptation that was to come down upon Christs Disciples Concerning which ye have here The Danger of the temptation And the Remedy against it For the Danger of the temptation I have spoken already and now come unto this 32. verse But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not Here is something Implyed and somthing Exprest Satans design implyed which is and was to weaken the faith of Christs Disciples to make their faith to fail And of that ye have heard already Now that which is exprest is Christs tender care of and love unto his Disciples in regard of their temptations And this love and care of his towards his Disciples under temptation is Exprest in many things First in the forewarning of them of a temptation coming upon them there is his love and care in that he told them of the temptation before it came And then also He prayed for them Yea He prayed for them before they were tempted Yea And he tels them that he did pray for them that they might have assurance of his help in the time of their temptation Great was his love and care to and for his Disciples unders their temptation And so the Observation is this Christs love and mercy Doct. is never more at work for his Disciples and people then when they are most assaulted by Satan When Satan is most busie to tempt and assault their faith then is Christs love and mercy most at work to keep and defend both them and their faith We don't reade of such a prayer for Peter before We reade indeed that our saviour said unto Peter Vnto thee do I give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven Thou art Peter and upon this rock will I build my Church but we don't reade there that he prayed for Peter But here he prayes and for Peter in particular I have prayed for Thee Why because now his temptations were to be more than Ordinary and therefore Christs love and care was drawn out and exprest in a more than ordinary way For the clearing of this Truth unto ye I shall labour to discover First Wherein the love care and mercy of Christ is expressed unto his people under their temptations Secondly That this love and care of his is most expressed when they are most tempted Thirdly What there is in the heart of Christ that does thus incline him to this indulgence or mercy And so to the Application First Quest 1 If
was a pattern and plat-form of his dealing with all his people to the end of the world Now ye shall observe that Christs love was never more let out towards his Disciples than from this time after he had said these words Satan hath desired to sift you as wheat After this time they were all offended because of Christ and they all forsook him Peter denied him some doubted whether he were the Messiah or no and another would not beleeve his Resurrection as sheep they were all scattered and shattered great was their temptations yet from this time do but observe the love of Christ towards them after this speech then Christ preaches a most excellent and sweet Sermon to them in the 14 15 and 16. chapters of John Then he takes water and a towel and washes and wipes his Disciples feet Then he appoints the Lords Supper Then he spends a whol chapter the 17. of John in prayer for them makes a most excellent and sweet prayer for them Then he cals them his friends Ye are no longer my servants but my friends Yea his Children Yea his Little children Never was his love more drawn out or exprest towards them than after this time And I say this was a pattern and a plat-form of his dealing with all his people unto the end of the world And therefore though Christ do suffer his own people to be tempted yet his love and mercy is never more at work than when they are most assaulted by Satan Thirdly You will say Quest 3 What is there in the heart of Jesus Christ that does incline him to this indulgence toward his people that his love and mercy is then most at work when they are most assaulted by Satan My beloved Answ There is the quintescence of all the excellency of loving relations in Jesus Christ A Father a Mother a Brother a Friend He is the everlasting Father And his soul was in travel saies the Prophet He is not ashamed to all you his brethren And he is a Friend I call you my friends Now though parents be tender of their children at all times yet especially when they are sick then there 's a chair of love stands by the childs bed-side And so though Christ be alwaies tender of his people yet then especially when their souls are sick and labour under temptation There is the greatest pity in Christ that can be the most pitiful disposition in Christ which is alwaies laid out where he sees a fit object for it pray what is the object of pity The object of pity is One whom ye love in misery If ye see a man in misery yet if ye don't love him ye don't pity him if ye see a man whom ye love yet if ye don't see him in misery ye don't pity him ye love him but ye don't pity him but a person whom ye love in misery is the object of pity Now all the Saints and people of God are the beloved of Christ and when they are in temptation that is their greatest misery and therefore when they are most tempted then is the love and mercy of Christ drawn out unto them especially Besides The Lord Jesus Christ hath a great Interest and share in every beleever a share going in every beleever As the member hath an interest and a share in the head so the head hath also in every member Thine they were saies Christ and thou gavest them me Christ hath a special and great interest in all his people and he will not lose his interest The truth is when Satan does assault a beleever he does rather strike at Christ than at a beleever And therefore saies Gregory well The Devil in tempting Job did not so much strike at Job as at God for the Lord had said That Job was an upright man and now the Devil would go about to make Job an Hypocrite so that the Devill would fain have made God a lyar and he did not so much strike at Job as at Gods testimony of Job he did strike at God And so now in all the temptations of the Saints he strikes at Christ and they bear those temptations because of Christ Let a man go on in a wicked and ungodly way Satan won't vex him with temptations but let a man once become godly and be in Christ and then how many temptations will Satan vex him with Now saies Christ shall this poor soul endure all this for me and shall not I help shall not I assist shall not I deliver If a man break his Arme or his Leg before ye you will pity him but if he break his Arme or his leg in your work or service in a work that you set him about you count your self ingaged then to help him 'T is the work of Christ that the Saints are about and Christ sets them on work and when Satan comes to tempt 't is to disturbe them in the work that Christ sets them about Now therefore saies Christ shall they endure all this because of me and because of my work and shall not I assist and defend them and help them Surely I will Oh! my beloved if ye did but know what an Interest Jesus Christ hath in every beleever you would easily see the reason of this so great tenderness in him that his love and mercy is never more at work than when they are most assaulted by Satan For Application Applic. What abundance of Comfort is here unto all those that are the true Disciples of Jesus Christ you are not alone in your temptations Christ is with you and he is in Heaven too interceding and praying for you he hath sent his Spirit into your hearts to make intercession for you there and he himself is in Heaven making intercession and praying for you there when you are in temptation Christ is at prayer for you Yea he does not only pray for you but his love and his mercy is most of al at work then when you are most assaulted Oh! what Comfort is this But will some say I fear this comfort belongs not to me Object because I am none of these that are Christs true Diseiples Christ prayed for Peter because be was his Disciple and he prayed for therest because they were his Disciples but as for me though in profession I may be a Disciple yet really I fear I am no true Disciple of Jesus Christ and therefore I fear that he does not pray and intercede for me in the time of my temptation Two things for answer to this Answ First I pray consider that place in the 16. chapter of Matthew and the 24. verse Then said Jesus unto his Disciples If any man will come after me or if any man will be my Disciple so some books hath it let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me Mark Here are Three properties of a true Disciple To open the words a little unto ye that I may settle this comfort the more fully upon your
but some mercy withal Heaven is all Mercy and Hell is all Misery but this life is made up of both 't is a twi-light Some good in every condition and therefore in Every thing we are to give Thanks unto God 'T is the duty of a Christian to be like unto Jesus Christ Reas 3 he was thankful in Every thing When he had not whereon to lay his head Father I thank thee Matth. 11.25 When he was to go to his agony and sweat drops of blood they sung an Hymne saies the text a Psalm of Praise So when a Christian is to go to his agony what ever agony he meets withal there is rise enough yet for his Thankfulnesse In Every thing be thankful As the Apostle hath it in the 5. to the Ephesians and the 20. Giving thanks alwaies for all things unto God even the father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ You will say Suppose that a Christian meet with some long Quest heavy and sharp Affliction is he to be Thankful then to be Thankful in that condition Yes Look I pray into the 24. of Esay Answ and the 15. verse Wherefore saies he glorifie ye the Lord in the fires even the Name of the Lord God of Israel in the Isles of the Sea Glorifie ye the Lord in the fires so ye reade it Some rather translate it thus Glorifie ye the Lord in Doctrines Vrim the same word that we translate Vrim for the Urim and Thummim But I would rather translate it Valleyes so Calvin for Doctrines does not sute with that which follows Glorifie ye the Lord in the Valleyes even the Name of the Lord God of Israel in the Isles of the Sea A Valley is a low place and dark now saies he though ye be in a dark condition removed from light Glorifie the Lord in the Valleyes glorifie the Lord there And good reason why the Saints should do so as ye will see if you look into the 1. of Zachary and the 8. verse I saw by night and behold a man riding upon a red horse and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom and behind him were there red horses speckled and white This man upon a red horse plainly must be meant Christ who is here attended with red horses speckled and white to send forth and dispatch into the several parts of the world upon his design These other red horses they are behind him waiting upon him Now where is Christ He is among the myrtle-trees And where are the Myrtle-trees They are in the bottom The Saints and people of God for their fruitfulnesse they are called Myrtle-trees and sometimes their condition is as a Valley they are in the bottom but yet they are Myrtle-trees in the bottom and Jesus Christ is among these Myrtle-trees though they be in a bottom though they be in a Valley and therefore no wonder that we should praise and glorifie God in this condition Beloved what we may rejoyce in that we may praise God for Jam. 1.9 10. Rom. 5.3 Now saies the Apostle Let the brother of low-degree rejoyce in that he is exalted and let the brother of high degree rejoyce in that he is made low Rejoyce in Tribulation A man is to rejoyce more for the opportunity of exercising grace than in all prosperity there are some graces that cannot be exercised but in Tribulation cannot be exercised in Heaven Patience and the like Now then when Tribulation comes a Christian should thus look upon it I have hereby an opportunity of exercising that grace that I had not before and then he will blesse God and then he will be thankful in that condition when God takes away one mercy he gives another if he take away Moses he will give a Joshua if he take away Ely he will give a Samuel if he will take away Christs personal presence he wil send the holy Ghost And the truth is he does not so much take away as borrow a mercy and he payes it again with usery and advantage Onesimus goes away like a thief from Philemon but he returns again with profit to him and others As for these outward things they will prove but debts at the great day of Judgment riches now and gifts now but debts then and the lesse ye have of these outward things the lesse ye have to reckon for them In a bad day men they say Oh! that I had less my reckoning would be lesse the lesse ye have the lesse your reckoning will be The comfort of a mans life consists not in Muchness but fitness to his heart If a man have a great Farm and a small stock it is the only way to break him it 's better to have a Farm fit for ones stock than a great Farm The Lord he sees what our stock of grace is and accordingly he provides a Farm for every one of his Children and sometimes it is lessened but the reason is because the stock of grace is no bigger they have no more grace to stock it withal Our Gifts and our Parts and our Prosperity they are so strong sometimes that God is fain to mingle water therewithal that we may not be drunk I appeal to you are not the Saints gainers by all their losses are not they strengthened by all their weaknesse are not they bettered by all their crosses Surely then in all things they are to be thankful though their affliction be exceeding long sharp and grievous yet they are to be thankful in that condition But suppose now Quest that it be Persecution that a man is to be exercised with and that is bitter is a Christian to be Thankful then even in that condition Yes ye know what the Apostle saies To you it is given Answ Phil. 1.29 Phil. 1.22 John 18.37 not only to beleeve but to suffer Gods gift is worth our thanks And saies the Apostle All shall turn to the furtherance of the Gospel Is it not a great matter and worth our praise thankfulnesse that we should be trusted by God to bear witnesse to his Truth For this came I into the world saies Christ that I might bear witness to the Truth It was his design thereby ye are like to him and so honour him When were the Churches and people of God more pure than under Persecution and is it not a great mercy to be kept pure The more you suffer for any Truth the more that Truth shall be spread by you you die but the Truth lives your Estate dies and your Name dies and your Liberty dies but your dying Estate gives a living testimony unto the Truth When I am lift up saies Christ Joh. 12.23 meaning upon the Crosse I will draw all men after me And so shall you do when you are lift up upon the Crosse for any Truth ye shall draw all men after that Truth that ye are lift up for When have ye more communion with Jesus Christ than when ye suffer most for his
Truth Is it not a great mercy for a man to be glorified on this side heaven pray look upon that expression which ye have in the 13. of John the 30. and the 31. verses 'T is said concerning Christ himself that when Judas went out having received the sop Jesus saith Now is the Son of man glorified and God is glorified in him Verse the 30. Judas having received the sop went immediately out and it was night therefore when he was gone out Jesus saith Now is the son of man glorified Judas went out to betray him to bring him to the Crosse a false brother was gone out Now is the son of man glorified saies he Not only because the cross was the way to glory but the truth is he was glorified upon the Crosse there was a glory there You may observe it He did many miracles and when he had done those miracles he did not say then Now is the son of man glorified He was Transfigured and he did not say upon his Transfiguration Now is the son of man glorified But now he comes to suffer now he comes to the Crosse now saies he is the son of man glorified And indeed now is his love to poor sinners glorified Col. 2.15 The Apostle saies He triumphed over all principalities and powers upon the Crosse and his love triumphs over all our fins and our guilt and our unworthinesse Oh! then was free-grace and love when Christ was upon the Crosse Now is the son of man glorified And so it shall be with you When a false brother goes out to persecute you to betray you to bring you to the Crosse you may say so Now is the servant of the Lord glorified now is my love to Christ glorified never more glorified than now This makes the Apostle Peter speak in the 1. Peter 4.16 If any man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorifie God on this behalf 'T is matter of Praise and Thanksgiving here saies he at the 13. verse Rejoyce in as much as ye are partakers of Christs sufferings Verse the 14. If ye be reproach't for the name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth on you That is saies one upon that place As Noahs Dove hovered over the water and found no place for to rest her foot upon untill she returned to the Ark So does the Spirit of God as it were hover over the souls of men it wanteth rest and when it sees a soul that suffers for the Truth there it lights there it rests there the Spirit of God and of glory rests I appeal to you which will be most comfortable think ye at the day of Judgment that ye have been persecuted for the Truth or that ye have been a persecutor of the Truth I know your Answer When a Christian is under persecution he may lift up his voice and say I might have been ingag'd against the Truth Ah! I might have been a persecutor of the Truth but blessed be God it is not so The Apostles went away rejoycing that they were accounted worthy to suffer for the Name of Christ Surely therefore there is matter of praise and thanksgiving even in this condition also in this condition a Christian should be thankful 't is the will of God our Father we should be thankfull here But suppose that a mans inward and spiritual condition be overclouded Quest and God withdraw and hide his face from a Christian shall he can he be thankful in this condition is it his duty to be thankful now Yes For though God do withdraw Answ though he do hide his face and not shine upon a Christian yet it may be light with him Day may be day though the Sun do not shine forth in bright-beams And it may be day light it may be day upon a Christian soul though there be never a beam shines We are saved by faith and not by feeling Again Though Christ doth hide his face though he doth withdraw his Comforting presence he never withdraws his Supporting presence from a Christian sometimes more of that when least of the other Christ deals by a Christian as God dealt by Christ in his agony and on the Crosse though God withdrew his Comforting presence so as he cry'd out and said My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Matth. 27.46 Yet he had never more of Gods Supporting presence And so 't is with a Christian Though Christ may withdraw his Comforting presence yet he never withdraws his Supporting presence from them Besides Jesus Christ does so withdraw from a Christian as he does draw withall by his Spirit He seemed to withdraw from the Canaanitish woman but he did draw her to him by his Spirit When he withdraws in the 5. of the Canticles from his Spouse he leaues Myrrhe upon the ringles of the door And so when he withdraws from a Christian he leaues his Myrrhe upon the ringles of the heart the heart cannot be quiet cannot rest takes no contentment without him he does draw the soul to him while he seems to witndraw from the soul Lastly What a man would not lose for all the world that you will say is worthy of Praise and Thankfulness Now take a gracious soul a godly man when he is most deserted forsaken left as it were and he saies now Mercy is gone now Christ is gone Ask him but this Question If Christ be gone as you say why don't you renounce Christ and renounce all his waies He will tell you Oh! no I dare not renounce him for all the world But if he be quite gone Why don't you turn Drunkard why don't you turn Swearer and why don't you cast off all duties Oh! no that I dare not I have yet something left that I would not lose for all the world Is there not then matter of Praise and Thanksgiving in this condition Surely there is even in this condition also But you will say Quest Suppose that a man be oppressed with sad Temptations black and dark Temptations God does not only withdraw but Satan draws neer heavy and dreadful Temptations presse in upon him is it the will of God the Father that he should be Thankful in this condition also Yes Answ For is it not matter of Praise think ye and Thankfulnesse that your Enemy is overcome before you strike a stroke you shall be more than Conquerers write your Enemy overcome before you fight Job 16.33 Be of good comfort saies Christ I have overcome the world and so the god of the world Satan your Enemy is overcome before you do strike a stroke Besides Is it not matter of Praise and Thanksgiving That Satan can tempt you no more than your own Father gives him leave to do Simon Simon Luke 23.31 saies Christ Satan hath desired thee that he may winnow thee as wheat Mark the words He hath desired he was fain to aske leave first he could not winnow Peter till he