give him to believe actually But to say that this believing should give the first being of that life that should be in persons is to say there is not the life of the elect persons in Christ before they do believe In a word beloved I shall seriously desire you that with candidness and ingenuity of spirit you would take into your consideration those dangerous consequences that must of necessity follow if you will receive this for a Principle that there is no justification and union at all belonging unto elect persons till they do actually believe in Christ I say If this be maintained dangerous consequences must needs follow upon it if persons are not united unto Christ and doe not partake of justification before they doe believe but that believing is the instrument by which they are first united then mark what will follow upon it First this that in some respect there will be a bringing to life again the covenant of works How will that be will you say I beseech you consider it well The Apostle will tell you so as well as I The Lord told Adam at first Doe this and live If thou wilt enter into life keep the Commandements saith Christ to the rich man And the Apostle in the 10. Chap. to the Romans about the 4. and 5. verses tells us of the covenant of Works cleerly Moses saith he describing the righteousnesse of the Law saith thus He that doth these things shall even live in them mark here the covenant of Works out of these expressions is this namely for persons to do that they may live The covenant of Grace runs upon contrary terms men must first live that they may doe God in his covenant of Grace gives life first and from life comes doing In the covenant of Works there must be first doing for life Object But you will say how doth this follow out of this conceit that men must believe before they shall live in Christ Answ I answer thus you must of necessity presse upon your selves these terms or such like I must do that I may have life in Christ I must believe there is no life till I do believe now if there must be living first then there is doing before living Object But it may be you will say Faith is opposed to Works and doing Ans I answer when it is opposed to Works it be understood objectively that is it is understood of Christ believed on and not of the act it self of believing for it is certain beloved our act of believing is as much our doing as our acts of love or our acts of charity even as much our doing as any of these So that here must first be doing before life be obtained if persons must first believe before they have union with Christ Secondly if there must be our act of believing before there be participating in Christ then mark what will follow those sins which were once laid upon Christ and taken away from the elect for they could not be laid upon him unlesse they were taken from them they are it seems returned back again upon this Believer whereas they were charged upon Christ whereas Christ once paid the full price whereas upon the paiment of this price there was acknowledged full satisfaction so that those sins were once blotted out I say if there must be believing before there be union with or interest in Christ it must necessarily follow that till such believing the person of that elect doth beare his own transgression and is chargeable for his owne transgressions and his transgressions are imputed unto him But how can it stand with the glory of the Redemption of Christ that Christ should have all iniquity laid upon himself carring all iniquity like the Scape Goat into the Land of forgetfulnesse and yet till the time of that elect persons believing these sins are returned from the Land of forgetfulness whither they were once carryed and they are afresh charged upon this person agine Did Christ bear them away and did Christ return them back again Where did you ever finde that sin once taken away and carryed away by Christ from the person offending did returne back again upon the person from whom Christ took it way Thirdly suppose this that men have no interest in Christ till actually they do believe in him then it must follow that these persons till they are actually believers are under the hatred of God For if they bear their own transgressions themselves then God being a jealous God his holy and pure nature everlastingly hating iniquity and also the person upon whom iniquity is charged there must be a hatred of God upon these persons till they do believe and to conceive that God doth hate these persons is to conceive that God may love and hate the same person whereas he saith in the 19. Chap. to the Romans concerning Jacob that being yet unborn Jacob have I loved here you see love is communicated to Jacob being yet unborn Now mark Jacob when he was not yet born was not an actuall believer till after times Jacob was not come to believe Well had Jacob no interest in Christ and the love of God till such time as he did believe Yea bee had so saith the Text. I but yet Iacob must be hated till he doth believe because Jacob till he doth believe must bear his own transgressions so that here must be at the â—ame time upon the same person both the love and hatred of God and how can these contraries stand together Yet again Suppose persons have no interest in Christ untill they dâ—e actually believe it must follow from thence necessarily that there is a believing in such persons before they have union with Christ and then you must make some other root from whence this believing of persons must spring as for Christ it hath nothing to do with him for he hath nothing in regard of communicating his Grace Spirit to do with them but they are Beuevers and their believing is that which knits the knot between Christ and them Whence comes this believing where is the root of it Is Christ the root then have they first union with Christ that they may receive it from him then must they first be united unto Christ and made one with him and live in him and by vertue of union with him receive this faith as a fruit of that union If it proceed from some other root I beseech you consider how it can be and how can this be avoided but that this conceit must needs be exceeding derogatory to Christ to make another foundation besides Christ whereas in Heb. 12. it is expresly said there Christ is the author as well as the finisher of faith Beloved upon these confiderations for my own part I have receiv'd this principle that I have delivered unto you and meerly the vindication of the glorious priviledges which are proper peculiar unto Christ alone is the occasion that I do refer the being
Because thou hast seen thou believest blessed are thâ—y that have not seen and yâ— have believed Now Thomas having such a checke what had he to rest upon but this My Lords and my God When Christ seemed to be angry he closed with this O God thou aâ—â— my God thou canst not forsake me thou canst not be wanting to me thou art my own It will be worth the while to consider what the Lords being a mans owne God is I am tâ—â— God The best way to set this out unto you is to speake as plainly as may be even in the familiarest way by which you may reach some of the depth of this mystery I am thy God is aâ— much as to say thou hast a propriety in me or I am thine owne even as much thine owne as any goods or any thing else in the world is thine looke therefore what difference you may observe between these two things Much treasure great revenews in generall and thus much treasure is mine and this great revenew is mine and this land is mine I say what difference you observe between these two particulars things simply considered and things considered as yours the same difference there is between God simply considered and God considered as thine You know what difference there is in the spirits of men looking upon things in these two considerations There is this difference in outward things a poor man looks upon the riches and honours of great men with a wan heart and unâ—omfortable spirit Now the ground of it is this he looks upon them as none of his own Two malefactors are condemned to die one hath a pardon sent him the other hath none now look how these two persons do differ looking upon this one pardon so are you to conceive of the difference between God simply being God and God being their God Hee whose the pardon is can say It is my pardon Oh his heart leaps within him conceiting he hath found a ransome he hath received his life again his heart is taken up infinitly in the consideration of his pardon But look upon the other man he seeth the same pardon and looks upon it with a trembling heart and sad spirit Now all the difference of the case of these two persons depends upon the propriety in the one and want of propriety in the other A wicked man may think of God simply as God but he can never say til God reveal unto him that he is an elect person that God is his God and think upon him as his own God see then how much thy case is better for thee to consider God as thire then to consider him in himself and how great thy priviledge in of having God to be thy God But what kinde of propriety is it I answer thus much it imports as much as when thou sayest that such money is thy money or such land is thy land If you will have the nature of propriety in the 5 of the Acts and 4. verse the Apoâ—le will tell you in generall what propriety is The land speaking of that which was sold by Ananias was it not thine own When it was sold was not the money in thine owne fower So then for a man to have a thing as his owne is to have it in his own power to do with it as it is bâ—st and most prositable for his own advantage to the utmost extent of the worth of the thing As for example suppose a man hath money in his purse he wants bread he hath this mony in his owne power to dispose of it for the supply of this want and so in generall he may make use of all his money for the supplying of all his wants So Gods being a mans own God imports that so far as God will go as I may so say for a mans use and for the supply of all his necessities so far he hath power with him God himself is ingaged to give forth himself to the utmost for such a mans good Now Gods All-sufficiency reaches beyond all wants so that he that hath God for his God he hath him for all the uses that can be for his good If a man be many hundred pounds in debt and hath land that is his owne he may make use of it for the best to make him a free man again ingaged to none He may sell it and dispose of it as far as it will reach to pay his debts and to procure his discharge But if it be another mans land and not his own then he cannot make use of it to pay his own debts but must remain as he was before So the Lord is able to make up every thing that is defective or wanting to all that have propriety in him I do not say that a man can sell the Lord but I say so far as God can reach with his All-sufficiency so far may I draw up from him as from a well of salvation whatsoever I stand in need of The believer hath as free and uncontrollable right in God being his owne as hee hath in the money in his purse and the land that is his owne The one is not more in his power then the other It is true indeed a man may abuse his land or moneys and so he may abuse God too but using things as men use things that are their own that is for their best advantage they have as much use and interest in God for the uses they have occasion to use him in they have as much power with him as any thing in the world they conceive to be in their own power When God gives gold and silver to men he gives but some thick clay from himself but when God communicates himselfe he gives all that he is and he that hath God for his God hath every thing that God is or can doe God can doe nothing in the world by his Omnipotent power hee can devise nothing in the world by his infinite wisdome but all this is as much in propriety his who hath God for his God as it is Gods own Gods propriety in himself is but that he is his own Gods peoples propriety in him is that he is theirs All the difference will be this God in respect of himselfe hath the disposing of himself by himself and no other disposeth of him but himself As for the people of God because they know not how to dispose of him as I may say to their best advantage therefore hee is pleased to give out himself according to their severall occasions as he in his wisdome seeth most conducing to their good and so doth it for them As for example a father hath an Inheritance of his own the childe of this father hath land by inheritance too now during minority the childe is not capable to manage it now the one hath as much propriety in his land as the other all the difference is this the father disposeth of his land for his own use himselfe the
Beleevers were to fear them or as if Believers should come under them but wrath and vengeance is to be revealed as Believers are secured and freed from them that so they should fear to commit and fall into sin not for feare of coming under wrath but out of love because God hath beene so gracious to them as to deliver them from the weight of so heavie wrath and displeasure that otherwise must of necessity have fallen upon them and so their walking with God in a holy conversation is a fruit of the mercy already shewne and doth not goe before as a thing by which the mercy should be obtained and procured They serve God because they are delivered from wrath and not because they might receive deliverance from under wrath It proceeded from joy in consideration of wrath already past and not from feare of wrath to come so that the wrath of God is preached unto them not that they are to come under it or that they are in that way to fear it but that they may see what they are delivered from that they may see what they did and should and others must lie under that they may see Gods love unto them therein that this may draw them to obedience and that this might restraine them from sin And now they say because I have been delivered from so great a wrath therefore will I sing and rejoyce and I will walke before the Lord in the Land of the living and I will triumph in the Lord my deliverer leading a life answerable to the love of God bestowing such a deliverance upon me and so by this preaching of the wrath of God as being freed from it the more one seeth what he is freed from the more he seeth what Christ hath done in bearing that wrath for him and consequently the more hee is stirred up to walke before God in more cheerfull and comâ—ortable obedience and the more thankfull hee will bee And the more hee seeth what God hath done for him the more obedience hee seeth hee oweth unto God And now if any persons here present have an evill opinion of the Grace of God as a thing of dangerous consequence as a licentious doctrine and that it is a meanes to make men take liberty to sin let them learn from that which hath been said to mende their mindes and to correct their judgements knowing that the Holy Ghost is of another mindeâ— that the revealing of the Grace of God is the best way in the world to take men off from sinne so farre is it from letting loose the reines for persons to break out into all manner of sinfulnesse SERMON IV. 1 John 2. vers 1 2. My little children these things I write unto you that you sinne not And if any man sinne we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sinnes and not for our sinnes only but for the sinnes of the whole world I Have elsewhere made an entrance in respect of some generalls these words afford time being precious we shall be as thriving of it as possible may be only a few words so far as may serve to bring us where we were and then we shall bring you on through Gods assistance through the particulars this Text holds forth unto us The main scope of the Apossle in this place is to endeavour to take the people of God off from running into sin But first he useth an argument to prevail with them which seems absurd unto the world and doubtlesse goes for little lesse then foolishnesse among men if not worse then foolishnesse I write to you that you fin not Well but how will he prevail with them If any man sinne we have an Advocate with the Father and he is the propitiation for our sinnes As much as to say this is the best way to prevail with you that you sinne not to know before hand that if you do sinne you have an Advocate with the Father that will take away your faults and save you harmlesse Indeed it is accounted absurd but this is the common strain of the Gospell to make this the best argument that can be imagined to prevaile over people from the committing of sin to let them know how gracious God is unto them even to the forgiving of their sins they shall commit and that which wee noted as the main body of the Discourse was this For such persons who have fellowship with the Father and the Son to know before hand that they have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous who is the propitiation for their sins I say to know this before hand before they do commit sin is so far from being the opening of the flood-gates to sinne that it is a shutting down thereof to stop the course of sinfulnesse The Holy Ghost is very plentifull in this very way of arguing to prevail with people not to sinne shewing clearly thereby that the proclaiming of the free grace of God to men in the pardon of their sins and letting them know it before they doe sin doth not destroy obedience to the Law of God but doth establish it better than any other arguments can doe You may see it clearly in the 3. to the Romens 23. 24. verses compared with vers 31. For all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God being justified freely by his Grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth to hee the propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousnesse for the remission of their sinnes theâ— are past through the forbearance of God In these verses the Apostle preacheth free Grace in the absolute freenesse of it even to persons that are utterly undon and know not what to doe and in the last verse of that Chapter the Apostle brings in an objection Doe wee make void the Law through faith God forbid we rather establish the Law The Apostle making his conclusion we are justified by faith without the deeds of the Law this saith he doth establish the Law and doth not make it void to know that from all the sins we doe commit we are freely justified by his Grace this doth establish obedience and doth not make void the Law So in the 6th Chapter of the same Epistle to the Romans the 1. and 2. verses the Apostle having gone on to declare the exceeding riches of the Grace of God in the 4. 5. Chapters he makes the same objection in substance that he did before Shall wee continue in sinne that Grace may abound God forbid how shall wee that are deaunto sinne live any longer therein Wherein hee shews plainly that though some may collect that this is a way to make men continue in sin to preach the exceeding riches of the Grace of God yet he saith there can be no such conclusion drawne there-from by just inference How shall we that are dead unto sinne live any longer
with persons in the death of all controversie between God and a person for that is reconciliation when persons that were at variaÌ„ce are now made friends all things that were objected between them areanfwered and no more for one to say against another I say if you speak of this reconciliation to God it is appropriated to the blood of Christ God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them But how will you say and by what means comes in this reconciliation In the 5. Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans and the 6. verse you shall see how they come to that reconciliation If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son now much more being reconciled shall we be saved by his life So that reconciliation you see is attributed unto the death of Christ that was the last act of the â—on of God for man So againe You who were afarre off are made nigh by the blood of Christ Here you see the same thing in substance given unto the blood of Christ though in other words Men that were afarre off men that God was at controversie with men who were at great distance from God by the blood of Christ are made nigh againe So likewise the satisfaction that God takes for the discharge of sin which God hath acknowledged is said to be the travell of the soul of Christ He shall see of the travell of his soule and he shall be satisfied with it The Apostle speaks in the generall in his Epistle to the Hebrews without blood there is no remission of sins Christ entred with his blood once into the holy of holies and thereby hee hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Infinite it were to quote Scripture for the illustration of this that to the sufferings of Christ which are indeed all summed up in his blood in the sheeding of blood because that was the last of all and the chiese of all all blessings are attenbuâ—ed â—s reconciliation adoption c. Thirdly beloved although it be most true that the active and passive obedience of Christs humane nature must concuâ— to make up a righteousnesse yet both these together are not enough â—here must be something more then all this That is strange will some say what can there be more required then the active and passive obedience of Christ to make up the righteousnesse of a person Is not that sufficient Let me tell you beloved what the Holy Ghost speaks of the righteousnesse whereby we come to be righteous and discharged from sin he speaks in a higher strain then to appâ—opriate it to the active and passive obedience of Christs humane nature only In the 10. to the Romans and verse 3. when the Apostle taxeth the Jews for going about to establish their own righteousnesse that which hee taxeth them withall is that they did not submit themselves to the righteousnesse of God Now the righteousnesse of God is manifested saith the same Apostle and in the 5. Chapter of the 2. Epistle to the Corinthians and the last verse He was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousnesse of God in him I say therefore beloved that the righteousnesse by which we attain to our discharge from sin and the pleading out of that discharge is the righteousnesse of God The righteousnesse that doth give the full discharge to persons from sin must have something that is proper to God himself conferred or added to the humane righteousnesse of Christ as giving dignity to it I say something that is proper to God himself must concur with the active and passive obedience of Christ to make up a compleat righteousness for the discharge of a sinner It is a known rule nothing can give more to another then it hath it self the very active and passive humane obedience of Christ can give no more to man then that active and passive obedience hath in it self Now man considered as a sinner hath need of more then barely the humane active and passive obedience of Christ to make him righteous the sin that man doth commit hath its extent according to the dignity of the person against whom the sin is committed You know beloved that crimes against Magistrates have a deeper tincture in them then any ordinary crime The self-same offence committed against a Prince that is committed against an inferiour person hath its additions of extent and hainousnesse according to the person of the Prince offended Now sin is committed against an infinite Majesty against an Infinite God and so hath a more deepnesse of tincture and filthinesse in proportion to the injury done to such a Majesty in that respect sin indeed becomes an infinite crime For still according to the injury done in respect of the person injured so is the offence you know the difference in slanders slander a poore man and it may be the action will not heare above ten pounds for it but slander a rich merchant whose credit goes far there men lay an action of a thousand pounds for the slander of such a man in regard of his degree the richman being greater then others and his credit being of greater value the offence in taking away his credit is so much the more hainous and higher Now by how much God is greater then man by so much is the hainousness of transgâ—ession coÌ„mitted against God beyond all other transgressions whatsoever Now beloved that righteousnesse that must save a person harmlesse must have an extent in it that may reach as far as the transgression branches it self forth Take unto your consideration the transgression committed against a Divine Majesty take the active and passive obedience of Christ as it is acted by his human nature only it 〈◊〉 but a created thing it is but a fiâ—ite thing 〈◊〉 cannot extend to such a height as to anâ—â—â—â—â—n proportion with the offence of the divine Majesty Beloved let it not seem strange that the very Godhead it self must confer something of its own to the active and passive righteousnesse of Christ to make it a compleat righteousness The divine nature doth give value and vertue to the obedience and sufferings of the human nature The divine nature addeth so much as to raise up that created obedience to an infinite value and height of worth All that I contend for at this time is but this very thing namely that the divine nature must give worth and that simply the active and passive obedience of the humane nature of Christ is not sufficient of it selfe without something of Gods own be communicated unto it to discharge a Believer from an infinite fault or guilt But what it is that God doth communicate more then this that he gives value to the humane righteousnesse and how he doth communicate it is a secret we know not But this we are sure of we are made the righteousnesse of God in Christ and that righteousnesse of God is the
there may be union before such coming But now to come to the proofes to the texts of Scripture that are brought in for the confirmation of it You will not come to me that you might have life The strength of the Argument it seems lies in this there is no life till there be coming and coming is for life it self there fore there is no union till there be coming by way of believing For answer to this and so to cleer up the meaning of the Holy Ghost In this text of Scripture we are first to consider what our Saviour means by coming in this place You will not come to me And secondly we shall consider what this life is that Christ speaks of which they should have in coming to him And to begin with the first what that coming is our Saviour speaks of in in this place You will not come to me that you might have life I will not insist upon this that Christ did speak to the opposers men that did contest with him and so that he doth speak to persons with reference and relation unto others For I verily believe though our Saviour speaks this to the Pharisces who certainly never should come to 〈◊〉 Christ nor have life by Christ yet his intent was to speak to them to whom the life of Christ did belong and who should come to him Let us therefore I say consider what he means by coming in this place In Iohn 6. vers 44. there you shall have our saviour plainly expounding unto you what he doth mean by coming unto him No man saith he there cometh unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him Mark the expression well and therein you shall perceive what Christ means by first coming unto him For in that place You will not come to me that you might have life Christ speaks of first coming and not of after coming No wan cometh unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him In which words you may perceive the act of first coming to Christ is rather by and from the Father then by any activity in the person that comes For coming there is plainly attributed unto a drawing act of the Father So that the first coming to Christ is just like the coming of a froward childe to meet the mother the childe hath taken a stomach and is sullen and dogged the childe will not stir if the childe be carried it strives and strugles wherefore the Father of this childe is fain to take up this childe and by a kinde of force to carry it with an overmastering strength where meat is The childe comes to his meat but how not by any act of the childe as if he did come of himself but by the power and over-mastering of him that brings the childe A coach we say comes to town when it is but drawn to town and yet it is said to come The Coach is wholly passive the childe is passive in coming to meat and so every elect person at his first coming to Christ the coming of this elect person to Christ is a passive coming And the coming of this person is nothing else but the Fathers over-mastering and drawing of this person elected unto Christ In the 31. of Ieremiah the Lord speaking there of the conversion of Ephraim Thou hast chastised me saith Ephraim I was chastised as a bullock unacquainted to the yoak convert thou me and I shall be converted Ephraim here appropriates the act of his conversion not to any coming of his own but only to the Lord himself acknowledging that the work of bringing unto Christ is the work of Gods own drawing nay he sheweth that he himself was so far from coming that he did confesse that when God took him first in hand to bring him to Christ he was as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoak It is true in a common speech the bullock is said to come unto the yoak even a bullock unaccustomed but how by meer force he is brought to it and not that he is brought willingly to it Beloved you must either establish the rotten Principle of Free-will that is a pervious principle of a mans own spirit to come to Christ or you must confesse that persons at their first coming unto Christ are meerly passive It is a known principle we are first acted or actuated before we do or can act there is not only a weaknesse simply before calling but there is a deadnesse and therefore there cannot be coming and if there be it is meerly passive and the whole businesse must be the Fathers own drawing In the 110. Psalme and about the 3. verse the Lord speaks to Christ thus Thy people shall be a willing people in the day of thy power There is no willingnesse till the over-ruling and overcoming power of Christ comes in to make and frame a willingnesse even contrary to the naturall will The summe then briefly is this and so to apply it to the Text objected You will not come to me that you might have life that is it hath not pleased the Father to draw you unto me that you might have life I cannot conceive how there can be any other sense given to the Text but that it is the Fathers sole and only power and the overcoming act of his to bring to Christ that there may be life Now what will be the sense of the words it will be only his there is no principle of life from Christ â—ill the Father by his over-ruling and overâ—nastering power do bring unruly and crosse spirits unto Christ Object But it may be some will say though this coming to Christ be the act of the Fathers drawing yet there is an act of believing when the Father doth draw Answ I answer it is not possible there â—hould be an act of our believing while the Father is first drawing mark what believing is in summe and substance it is but a yeelding to â—he minde of the Lord revealed I say the yeelding of mans spirits to the minde or God while persons are contradicting persons they are not believing persons in respect of those things that they do contradict To believe and to contradict the same thing is a contradiction For to believe is to sit down satisfied with the thing that is related and reported as long therefore as persons are contradicting persons as long as their spirits are crosse spirits as long as they do kick against that which God doth propose unto them so long do they not believe Now while the Father is drawing that very drawing is an argument of resisting and a kinde of kicking against that which the Father doth aim at For if there were yeelding if there were a submitting if there were a willing coming on to the truth reveald what need there any drawing men do not draw those things that do come of themselves And therefore I say during the Fathers first act of drawing the Father laying violent hold as it were upon
the person there is no act of believing The truth is this the Father gives his elect to Christ his Son Thiâ—e they were saith Christ in the 17. of Iohn and thou gavest them me and the Father that gave the elect unto Christ he gives unto Christ also power both in heaven and in earth so saith Christ in the 28. of Matthew and in the latter end All power saith he both in heaven earth is given me Go teach all nations as much as to say I give you Apostles and Ministers that follow you a commission from my self a commission to preach and in preaching to convert and how so All power in heaven and earth is mine So that beloved the Lord takes his elect as they are self-willed and as they are untamed he brings them as they are self-willed and untamed to his Son and by vertue of all power that is given to that Son when they are brought unto him he himself doth break tame and bring them to his own bent The Father saith Christ judgeth no man but hath committed all judgement to the Son Take notice of it that now as Christ is ordained the Mediator of the covenant the Father doth nothing towards or concerning his elect people but what he doth by his Son it is the Son doth all so that all that the Father doth is to deliver up elect persons such as they are in blood enemies and rebellious he delivers them up to his Son and the framing of their spirits to his own bent is the sole work of Christ himself Christ is become by the donation of the Father the life and the soule of every elect person Now the Philosophers do observe of the naturall soul that it is the framer of its own body and the maker of its own organs that so they may be fitted for it to act its own will so may I say is it with Christ Christ hath the framing and the disposing of the whole man to bring every thing in this man to his own bent The Father bringing the creature as he is a stubborn and stiff-necked creature so delivers him up to his Son so that I say there is not a pevious foregoing act wrought by the Father without Christ I say no previous act of believing wrought by the Father or by the Spirit without Christ by which a person comes and doth close with Christ but the Father doth give that person without any faith at all or any qualifications whatsoever to his Son and his Son Christ himself he frames and creates that very faith in persons to come to him and therefore in the 42. of Isai v. 6. you shall plainly see there is not an opening of blind eyes a giving of believing eyes to close with Christ before Christ himself be given and given as a covenant to persons So saith the Text I will give thee for a covenant Here you see Christ passed to persons not with a supposition that when persons do believe he shall be theirs and they his but I will give thee for a covenant to open the blind eyes Here is not the eyes opened before Christ comes but Christ comes when the eyâ— are blind and when he comes he opens the eyes that are blind But to go further Let us suppose that coming into this place is spoken of believing Ye will not come to me that ye might have life it cannot follow that although there be no life till believing therefore there can be no union till believing I say if it possibly might be imagined that there may not be life from Christ till believing yet it follows not that there must be believing before there is union Nay beloved there is nothing cleerer in all the world then this principle namely Suppose there cannot be life before there be believing yet there must be union before there can be life fetched from Christ I say there must be union before believing can fetch life from Christ For suppose that the fruit upon a branch should have such a faculty to draw life into the branch from the root though this would be a strange conceit that the fruit growing upon a tree should have a faculty to draw life from the root to the branch whereas the root communicates life to the branch and the branch by vertue of that life communicated brings forth fruit But yet suppose the fruit should draw life into the branch from the root that is suppose that faith which is a fruit growing upon a member of Christ that is a Believer and a branch of that body suppose that faith this fruit should have such a faculty to draw life from Christ the root into the branch yet it is impossible that faith should draw life into the branch till the branch be united unto the stock For beloved that is Christs comparison I am the Vine ye are the branches Now take this comparison suppose a branch growing upon a wilde Olive is cut off from the wilde Olive and for the present it is not united to the good Olive tree Now can a wilde Olive or suppose it to be a good Olive upon this branch of the wilde tree can this fruit upon the branch draw life from the root of the good Olive tree while it is separated and laid aside and is not united to the good Olive from which root it must draw life It is known to all men that communion is the fruit of union there is no participation nor communion of any thing that is Christs but as it doth flow from union with Christ so that either you must say that faith which you speak of is not of Christ the root but hath some other root and fountain from whence it hath its being and essence or else you must confesse if Christ be the root then it must come from Christ by vertue of union of a Believer to Christ first Finally suppose it should be that coming is believing suppose that this life spoken of here is not in persons till they do believe What is meant by life here Beloved I beseech you consider the Apostle tells us our life is hid with Christ in God and Christ is the life of the world that is of the elect It seems then that the life of every elect person hath a being in Christ before he doth believe believing therefore doth not produce a new life that was not before only it manifests that life which was before and it makes that life which was before an active life or is an instrument by which that life that is hid in Christ doth now after believing become an active and appearing life in this person So that all that can be made of this is but this till believing there is no activenesse of the life of Christ in the person that is elected his life is in Christ and was in Christ and reserved in Christ till the time of believing for him and then doth he the elect person become active in life when Christ doth
of faith it self unto Christ and to nothing else in the world and that I may uphold these particular and glorious prerogatives that are proper to Christ that he may not be robbed of any of them To this end I deliver it to you that elect persons have a participation and share in Christ himself even before they do beleive let none conceive that this takes away or diminisheth from the prerogative of believing neither For there are glorious things done by faith unto believers God hath honoured it above all meer creaturs in the world he hath made it the conduit pipe for the conveyance of all that peace and comfort nay of al that strength which believers have all their lives no faith no comfort no faith no peace of conscience no faith no plesure to walk with God through faith Christ conveys himself in speaking peace to the foul in bidding the soul be of good cheer the soul lies in darknes while it lies in unbelief But still that which is proper peculiar to Christ alone is not to be ascribed unto believing I should now proceed having as well as I can taken away the rubs to that which I purpose to follow But the time is past SERMON IX 1 John 2. vers 1 2. If any man sin wee have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins c. WEe have considered already the Office of Christ here spoken of his Advocateship We have considered the cause he manages also the persons whose cause it is that he doth manage The cause he manageth is in behalfe of the sinnes of his people and the persons are not present Believers but all elected persons though yet unbelievers Wee further considered the indowments and qualifications of Christ unto this Office First he is Christ that is called of God unto it and furnished by God for it Secondly he is Jesus he takes no cause in hand but he saves his client Thirdly he is Christ Jesus the Righteous the efficacy of the plea of Christ lyeth in this righteousness of his that being the soule hinge upon which the doore turneth In the large opening of this righteousness unto you I spake first negatively The plea that prevails for the discharge of â—in is not our works no not our faith but it is the righteousness of Christ himself that onlyserves to make up the strength of this plea Secondly affirmatively There is First an active righteousness of Christ For by the obedience of one man many shall be made righteous Rom. 5.19 Secondly the passive righteousness of Christ The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin 1 Joh. 1.7 But it is the divine righteousness or dignity of the divine God-head that adds an efficacy and life and vertue making the active and passive righteousness of Christ a compleat righteousnesse that wee might be compleat in him and we gave a touch to you wherein the efficacy of the plea of this righteousness stands The efficacy of it stands in the satisfaction that righteousness hath made to the justice of God In judgment there are but two wayes to be acquitted either just proof that the person upon triall is not guilty or being guilty the Law is already satisfied The strength of the plea of the righteousnesse of Christ insists not upon the first way heâ— grants the persons whose cause he pleads had for matter of fact done the thing that is charged but the strength of his plea is that the Law on their behalf is satisfied already This latter plea being good hath the like force for acquittance and discharge as the former hath So that the sentence of judgement can no more passe upon the person for whom the Law is satisfied then it can upon persons that never transgressed the Law Now it remains to be considered by way of objection out of the premises how this can be that the justice of God should be satisfied seeing the satisfaction of justice is the bringing of a recompence to answer in proportion for the offence that is committed The ground of the objection is this all that Christ as man brings unto God comes short to make a full recompence I told you before that the divine righteousness is that that makes the righteousnesse compleat and that a meer humane righteousnesse is not able to effect till it be infinite or be made infinite by the divine righteousnesse Now when Christ brings a recompence to the Father for the transgressions of men that that he brings to him by way of recompence should not be that which was his own before Now what ever the divine righteousness is that iâ— Gods own the active and passive obedience of Christs human nature that is brought to him but the divine righteousness is not brought You will say this is just as one man oweth another an hundred pounds and he sueth this man for it now the debtor he cannot raise above ten pounds of this money but the creditor must make it up out of his own purse So then here is the ground of the objection and the truth is this matter contains in it the depth of the mysterie of the Gospel that justice should be satisfied by bringing a recompence for transgression and yet the recompence as it is brought is not so much as will answer the injury that is done of it self It is true there is enough in the divine Righteousnesse to make the satisfaction for the injury done But how is this divine Righteousnesse brought It is most certainly true therefore even where there is satisfaction of justice in this case there is also mercy too For although God be just to forgive sin yet observe the phrase well you shall finde that where the Apostle speaks of justice in this act of forgiveness of sinz he speaks of mercy too You know to forgive a thing is an act of grace and mercy yet even while there is forgivenes there is manifested the act of justice Justice it selfe takes its course even while there is forgivness But this you will say doth not resolve the question Where can there be a satisfaction of justice seeing there is not brought by way of recompence that which might be proportionable to the injury done Answ 1. First of all justice is satisfied in the strictest sense when there is such a plenary and equivalent recompence given that the person injured thereby is in as good estate every way as he was before the injury done When a man is trespassed against and doth sue the man for this trespasse and when the man doth make up and bring in as much recompence as the injury commeth to so that the party trespassed is worth as much as he was before here is a plenary satisfaction of justice Now comes in the objection and sayes that the justice of God cannot be said to be so satisfied because the active and passive obedience of Christ as humane bring not in so much
abundance of marrow and fatnesse in this very word and I doubt much of it is lost in respect of sense and comfort for lack of understanding the extent of the word That you may the better therefore dive into the mysterie of this Propitiation you must understand that the word in the originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is of the same originall and signification with the word the Septuagint translation doth use when they do interpret the Hebrew word that is rendred by Mercy-seat for Mercy-seat is here Propitiation he is our Propitiation that is he is our Mercy-seat And if you would know in Scripture what it is for Christ to be our Mercy-seat look into the 16. Chapter of Leviticus and the 14. and 15. verses you shall there finde the main end for which this was erected by the Lord For of all those Ordinances that the Lord did establish among the Jews this Mercy-seat was the uppermost Now if you mark in the 16. Chapter of Leviticus you shall finde three things especially appropriated unto the Mercy-seat The first is the sweet incense that none ought to make upon pain of death but Aaron alone that incense must burn upon the Golden Altar every morning before the Mercy-seat Secondly you shall finde that the most notable of all the Rites and Types of the Jews was to be prepared before the Mercy-seat the Type of the Scape Goat with the Live Geat as you may finde it registered there and handled at large in that Chapter The Live Goat must be brought before the Mercy-seat and Aaron must lay his hand upon the head of it and then the Scape Goat must be sent into the Wildernesle and carry the sins of the people into a land of forgetfulnesse Thirdly at this Mercy-seat as it is in Exod. 30. chap. vers 6. the Lord did appoint to meet with Moses and there to speak graciously unto him and there God will hear him speak and God will be heard to speak and will return his gracious answer at the Mercy-seat Well then to come to the businesse in hand that I may cleer it the better Christ is our Mercy-seat that is the incense or the sweet savour that smells with acceptance and delight in the nostrils of the Lord as I may so speak I say that which makes a sweet savour is the Mercy-seat Incense had it been burned any where else but here according to the appointment and commission of the Lord every morning the very place it self being changed would have taken away the savour of the Incense before the Lord therefore the Mercy-seat is that for which the incense becomes a sweet savour as much as to say all our prayers and all our duties and services notwithstanding our sins being believers become as a sweet savour to the Lord as they are presented up before the Mercy-seat by Christ he is the Propitiation then that is it is he by whom our persons and performances become a sweet savour to the Lord a sweet incense Again the Scape Goat and the Live Goat to be slain were to be prepared before the Mercy-seat as much as to say our sins â—re carryed away into a land of forgetfulnesse by vertue of Christ as the Scape Goat being presented before the Mercy-seat was made a type capable to carry away the sins of the people in 〈◊〉 a Land of forgetfulnesse So that as we are presented unto God in and through Christ 〈◊〉 our sins are carryed by Christ into a land of â—rgetfulnesse Lastly before this Mercy-seat the Lord appeared and at the Mercy-seat God will return his gracious answer as much as to say in Christ and through Christ the Lord returns â—ll the gracious answers that are returned to â—is people upon earth Not a voyce of grace â—ot a voyce of peace not a voyce of comfort is â—o be heard but at the Mercy-seat For mark â—t well you shall finde God hath made over all â—hat gracious language of heaven unto his Son Christ and only unto his Son Christ there â—ame this voyce from heaven when he was bapâ—ized This is my beloved Son in whom I am â—ell pleased But upon the Mount the voyce was 〈◊〉 little more plain for upon the Mount it â—ith This is my beloved Son in whom I am well â—leased hear him as much as to say all the grace I have to speak to men I have put it into the mouth of Christ my Son and not a voyce is to be expected of grace from me but as 〈◊〉 cometh out of the mouth of my Son there is not a word of comfort to be heard but as it is spoken from the Mercy-seat so that putting these three things together in respect of the sacrifice of the Scape Goat the Text in Leviticus telling us of an atonement that is made by the presenting of this sacrifice before the Mercy-seat In a word the sum of all is this 1. In and through Christ our Advocate we become a sweet favour to the Lord. 2. There is an atonement made with the Lord for us our sins being carryed into a land of forgetfulnesse 3. And in Christ the Lord doth speak all the gracious language of heaven to us Now whereas at this Mercy-seat the speciall thing intimated unto us is the atonement that is made It seems that propitiation hath reference in the signification of it to atonement as when a man desires one that is at variance with him that he would be propitious that is to say he would admit of a propitiation or atonement Now that you may know what atonement is and so propitiation likewise Look into the 5. of the Romans and the 9. and 10. verses there saith the Apostle If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God â—y the death of his Son much more being reconciâ—ed shall we be saved by his life Reconciliation What is that Mark what follows and not only so but we rejoyce in God through our Lord Iesus Christ by whom we have received atonement First you see he makes a Proposition hypothetically by way of supposition If when we were eâ—emies we were reconciled much more being reconciled shall we be saved by his life And in the next words the Apostle proves that there is reconciliation or rather shews the fruits of it being obtained We rejoyce saith he In what We rejoyce in him by whom we have received the atonement What is atonement Atonement in this place is but the reconciliation which Christ makes between God and persons So that thâ— upshot is Propitiation indeed comes at the last or runs at the last into this cistern namely reconciliation with God herein lyeth the efficacy of the plea of Christ for his people committing sin Christ is the Mercy-seat the Propitiation the Atonement or Reconciliation This is the issue of the plea of Christ when Christ doth plead for discharge this pleading produceth reconciliation between God and this person If we could but dive into the mysterie of reconciliation between God and us
divine nature gave up it self though only in the second Person God was in Christ as much as to say whole God the divine nature assumed a humane nature and so makes up a Christ And thus God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself You shall see in the Apostles expression elsewhere that the beginning of life in a member of Christ flows from Christ Your life is hid with Christ in God It is such another phrase as the two former It is hid with Christ in God that is it is hid in that God who by being man is become Christ For that is all the difference between God and Christ all the difference I say is between God simply and absolutely considered in himself and God considered as ineffably united to the humane nature God I say thus united becomes Christ and so in such a union is reconciling the world unto himself and takes the Church who is his body The Apostle tells us further Now I live but he presently checks himself yet not I but Christ lives in me Christ is the soul of the body and as the body without a soul is dead so a person without Christ is dead I will not dispute that needlesse dispute of the Philosophers whether the soul be seated in the head principally or in the heart but this I am sure of the life and soul of the Church is in the head of the Church I am the way the truth and the life he is the life of the soul of man as the body without the soul is dead even so if there could be such a thing as the body of the Church without Christ that body were but a dead thing It hath all animal vertue from him alone It hath all life in all respects from him Take life in the first fruits in its sence or motion all spirituall sence all spirituall motion all spirituall actions and activenesse for action receives being and beginning only from Christ Hee is given for a covenant to open the blind eyes All eyes are blind till Christ opens them there is no seeing till the body receive sight and seeing from the head The head causeth us also to sinell as wel as to see the sweet savour of the ointment of Christ that makes the Virgins love him Because of the sweet savour of thy oyntments therefore do the Virgins love thee Now this savour the smell thereof being as the smel of a field that the Lord hath blessed to smel this is the sole work of Christ himselfe So also the spiritual taste to tast how good God is to relish the fatnesse and marrow and sweetnesse of the spirituall wine well refined upon the lees is all by the power of Christ and hath its being from Christ So all our feeling to feel comfort joy unspeakable and glorious all is from Christ Christ opens our eyes he boars the eares he causeth us to smell You will say all this is the worke of the Spirit why doe you say it is the work of Christ Mark what John saith in the 16. chapter the words are these He that is the spirit shal glorifie me For he shall receive of mine and he shall shew it unto you The Spirit himselfe as he dealeth with the members of Christ is the agent of Christ proceeding from Christ communicating that that is Christs to those members So that the Spirit is as it were the conduit-pipe through whom the fulnesse of the fountaine conveyes it selfe and runs forth to every member The Spirit is as the veins and nerves in the naturall body The blood you know hath its fountain from the liver but the veins carry it into every part of the body And as the naturall eye cannot see except the nerves feed it with visive spirits so neither can any eye behold the secrets of the Lord the hidden things of Christ such as he thanks his Father hee reveales unto babes while he hides them from the wise of the world except the Lord Christ do feed the members with his own Spirit It is not the eye that doth discerne and see of it selfe but the spirits that do come from the head cause sight by the eye For there may be an eye and no sight where a want of these spirits are Looke over all the Book of God and you shall finde that there is no action that comes from the Spirit but Christ is the head and spring of it You shall finde the strength and hearts of people faile when hee withdrawes himselfe It is hee that is the strength of them for ever Feare not saith the Text be not dismayed I will uphold thee I will strengthen thee There must needs be miscarriage for want of power except Christ come with his strength and power to uphold Therefore when Paul exhorts those to whom he writes to worke the workes of the Lord hee gives them this counsel Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might and again saith hee Put on the whole armour of God Now it is a vain thing to think of taking up of arms except there be strength to manage them Saul thought David to be a puny when he was to sight with Goliah and had no regard to him although hee might have good armour on hee was too little a man What Saul thought of David is true of all the whole armour of God it is to no purpose except men be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might And therefore when Paul was in a strait hee begged and begged again to have strength given though hee had not an answer to his mind yet God told him My grace is sufficient for thee My strength is made perfect in weaknesse All persons are weak but as they have strength in Christ Yea there is no strength but what is his and is sent by him Let me tell you this and I beseech you consider they that have Christ for their head they have an infinite advantage above the closest hypocrite in the world although he goe never so farre All he doth is but from a weake principle Christ is not the principle of that hee doth but hee that hath Christ for his head hee hath a spring of fulnesse The Holy Ghost tells us He is full of Grace and Truth and in him dwells the fulnesse of the God-head bodily and It pleased the Father that in him all fulnesse should dwell So that you may plainely see that the preaching of Christ as head and setting up of all the glory of Christ is not the preaching of licentious liberty to men Hee that can win a person to be a true member of this head that is Christ hee brings that person into a fat soile hee transplants him from a barren soile from a rocky soil into a rich soile whereby he come to abound in all manner of fruitfulnesse And certainly beloved fruitfulnesse will be more abundant as the soule can apprehend it selfe by true faith to be a part of this head