and self-love of the heart together with the ignorance of a better righteousness Adam hid himself among the trees and covered his nakedness with leaves and truly the shift of the most part is no better How vain and empty things do men trust into and from them conclude an expectation of eternal life the most part think to be safe in the midst or thick of the trees of the Church if they be in the throng of a visible Church and adorned with Church-priviledges as Baptisme hearing the Word and such like they do perswade themselves all will be well Some have civility and a blameless conversation before men and with such acts of righteousness or rather wants of some grosse out-breakings do many cover their nakedness If there be yet a larger and finer garment of profession of Religion and some outward performances of service to God and duties to men O then men do inâ—orce upon their own hearts the perswasion of Heaven and think their nakedness cannot be seen through it these are the coverings these are the grounds of claim and title that men have to eternal life and in the mean time they are ignorant of that large glorious robe of righteousness which Christ by his obedience and sufferings did weave for naked sinners But as the impossibility of the Laws saving us by reason of the weaknesse of the flesh was the ground and occasion of Christs coming into the flesh for to supply that defect and take away that impossibility so the sense and sight of this impossibility in us to satisfie and fulfill the Law and of the Law to give life is the very ground and reason of a souls coming to Jesus Christ for the supplying of this want As the Son should not have come in the likeness of sinful flesh unless it had been otherwise impossible by mans doing or suffering that life should be obtained so will not a soul come to Christ the Son of God through the vail of his flesh untill it discern and feel that it is otherwise impossible to satisfie the Law or attain life That was the impulsive cause if we may say that there was any cause beside his love why Christ came even mans misery and remediless misery and this is the strong motive and impulsive that drives a poor sinner unto Jesus Christ the sense and impression of its desperat and lost estate without him As there was first sin and then a Saviour dying for sin because nothing else could suffice so there must be in the soul first the apprehension of sin and that remediless sin incurable sin by any created power or act and then the sight of a Saviour coming to destroy sin and the works of the devil and destroying it by dying for it There is no imployment for this Physician upon every slight apprehension of a wound or sickness till it be found incurable and help sought elsewhere be seen to be in vain indeed upon the least apprehension of sin and misery men ought to come to Christ we shall not set or prescribe any measure of conviction to exclude you if you can but come to him indeed upon the least measure of it you will not be cast out according to his own word but as certain it is that men will not come to this Physician till they find no other can save them These two things I wish were deeply and seriously thought upon that you cannot satisfie Gods justice for the least point of guilt and then that you cannot do any thing in obedience to please God There is a strange inconsideration yea I may say ignorance among us when you are challenged and convinced of sin as there is no conscience so benum'd but in some measure it accuseth every man of many wrongs what is the course you fall on to pacifie it or please God Indeed if you can get any shadow of repentance if it were but a bare acknowledgment of the fault you excuse your selves in your own consciences and answers the accusation by it either some other good works formerly done occurre to you or some resolution for amendment in time coming and this you think shall pacifie God and satisfie justice But alace you are far from the righteousness of God and you do erre even in the very foundation of Religion these are but sparks of your own kindling and for all these you shall lye down in darkness and sorrow these are but the vain expiations and excuses of natural Consciences which are led to some sense of a Deity by the Law written in their heart But consider this once you must fiâ—st satisfie the curse of the Law which you are under before you can be in any capacity to please him by new obedience Now if you should undertâ—ke to pay for your former breaches of the Law that will eternally ruine you and therefore you see the punishment is lengthned throughout eternity to them who have this to undergo alone Go then and first suffer the eternal wrath of an infinit God and then come and offer obedience if thou can But now thou art in a double error both of which are damnable One is thou thinks thou art able by consideration and resolution to perform some acceptable obedience to God another that performance of obedience and amending in time coming will expiat former transgressions if either of these were true Christ needed not to have come in the likeness of sinful flesh because it had been possible for the Law to save thee But now the truth is such is the utter disability and impotency â—f man through sin that he can neither will nor do the least good truly good and pleasant to God his nature and person being defiled all he doth is unclean And then suppose that were possible that man could do any thing in obedience to his Commands yet it being unquestionable that all have sinned satisfaction must fiâ—st be made to Gods threatning Thou shalt die before obedience be acceptable and that is impossible too This then I leave upon your consciences beseeching you to lay to heart the impossibility you are encompassed with on both hands Justice requiring a ransome and you have none and justice requiring new obedience again and you can give none old debts urging you and new duty pressing you and ye alike disabled for both that so finding your selves thus invironed with indigency and impossibility within you may be constrained to flee out of your selves unto him that is both able and willing This is not a superficial business as you make it it is not a matter of fancy or memory or expression as most make it believe me it is a serious business a soul-work such an exercise of spirit as useth to be when the soul is between despair and hope Impossibility within driving a soul out of it self and possibility yea certainty of help without even in Christ drawing a soul in to him thus is the closure made which is the foundation of our happinesse
fulfill all righteousness that is accounted ours because we were represented in him and judicially one with him And therefore we were condemned when he was condemned we were dead when he died and so the righteousness of the Law in exâ—cting a due punishment for sin was fulfilled for us in him and it is all one as if it had been personally in us And this is laid down as the foundation of that blessed embassie or message of reconciliation to sinners as that upon which God is in Christ reconciling and beseeching us to be reconciled 2 Cor. 5.19 20 21. Him who knew no sin hath he made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him You see the blessed exchange that he hath made with us he hath laid our sins on sinless Christ and laid Christs righteousness on sinful us Christ took our sins on him that he might give us his righteousness and by vertue of this transaction and communication as it was righteous with God to condemn sin in Christs flesh because our sin was upon him so it is as just with him to impute righteousness to us because we were in him And as the Law made him a curse and exacted the punishment off him it is as righteous with the Lord to give us life and salvation and to forgive sin as Iohn speaks 1 Epist. 1.19 If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins Now consider this my Beloved for it is propounded unto you as the greatest perswasive to move you to come to Jesus Christ there is such a clear and plain way in him to Salvation If this do not move your hearts I know not what will I do not expect that your troubles in this world the frequent lashes of judgement the impoverishing and exhausting of you the plucking away of these things ye loved the disquieting your peace so often that any of those things that have the image of wrath upon them can drive you to him and make you forsake your way when such a motive as this doth not prevail with you O what heart could stand against the power of this perswasion if it were but righty apprehended who would not willingly flee in to this City of refuge if they did but know aright the avenger of blood that pursues them and what safety is within You are alwayes imagining vain satisfactions to the Law of God how great weight doth your fancy impose upon your tears your confessions your reformations If you can attain any thing of this kind that is it which you give to satisfie justice it is that wherewith you pretend to fulfill the Law But if it could be so wherefore should God have sent his Son to condemn sin and purchase righteousness by him I beseech you once know and consider your estate that you may open your hearts to this Redeemer that you may be willing to be stript naked of all your imaginary righteousness to put on this which will satisfie the Law fully Will you die in your sins because you will not come to him to have life Will you rather be condemned with sin then saved with Christs righteousness And truly there is no other Altar that will preserve you but this Now if any apprehending their own misery be hardly pursued in their consciences by the Law of God I beseech you come hither and behold it satisfied and fulâ—â—lled I beseech you in Christs stead to be reconciled unto God to lay down all hostile affections and come to him because God is in Christ reconciling the world and not imputing their sins because he hath imputed them already to Christ him who knew no sin c. and he is in Christ imputing his righteousness to sinners SERMON XV. Rom. 8.4 That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us c. THink not saith our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that I am come to destroy the Law I am come to fulfill it Mat. 5.17 It was a needful Caveat and a very timous Adâ—ertisment because of the natural mis-apprehensions in mens mindâ— of the Gospel When free forgiveness of sins and life â—verlasting iâ— preached in Jesus Christ without our works when the mercy of God is proclaimed in its freedom and fulness the heart of man is subject to a wofull mis-conceit of Christ as if by these a latitude were given and a liberty proclaimed to men to live in sin That which is propounded as the incouragement of poor sinners to come to God and forsake their own wicked way it is miserably wrested upon a mistake to be an incouragement to revolt more and more Righteousness and life by faith in a Saviour without the works of the Law is holden out as the grand perswasion of the Gospel to study obedience to the Law and yet such is the perversness of many hearts that either in opinion or practice they so carry themselves as if there were an inconsistence between Christ and the Law between free Justification and Sanctification as if Christ had come to redeem us not from sin but to sin Now to prevent this think not saith he that I am come to destroy the Law do not fancie to your selves a liberty to live in sin and an immunity from the obligation of a commandment because I have purchased an immunity â—nd freedom from the curse no I am come to fulfill it rather not only in mine own person but in yours also And to this purpose Paul Rom. 3.31 Do we then make void the Law by faith It is so natural to our rebellious hearts to desire to be free from the yoke of obedience and theâ—efore we fancy such a notion of faith as may not give it self to working in love as is active in nothing but imagination The Apostle abominats this God forbid he detests it as impious and sacrilegious yea we establish it So then all returns to this one of the great ends of Christs coming in the flesh and one main intendment of the Gospel published in his Name is not meerly to deliver us from wrath and redeem us from the curse Gal. 3.13 1 Thâ—ss 1.10 But also and that especially to redeem us from all iniquity that we might be a people zealous of â—ood works Tiâ— 2.14 And to take away sin and destroy the works of the devil 2 Joh. 3.5 8. We spoke something before noon how Chrâ—â—t hath fâ—lâ—â—lled the Law and established it in his own person by obedience and suffering neither of which wayes it could be so well contented by any other but there is yet a third way that he fulfills and establisheth it and that is in our persons That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not aftâ—r the â—â—esh but after the Spirit He hath oblidged himself to fulfill it not only for believers but in believers therefore the promises run thus I will write my Law in their hearts and cause them to walk in my Satutes Ezâ—k 36.27 Jer.
The love of Christ would be an inward principle of motion and would make our spiritual actings as easie and pleasant as natural motions are Fear is but a violent principle that is like the impulse of a stone thrown upward as long as that external impression remains it moves but still slower and slower and at length evanisheth But if ye believed in him and your hearts were engaged to love him O! how would it be a pleasant and native thing to walk in his way as a stone goeth downward Consider your principles that acts you to matters and duties of Religion Many men there be in whom appears no difference of their work to beholders but O! how wide a difference doth God discern in them Ingines and artifice may make dead and lifeless things move and walk as orderly as things that have life But the principle of this motion makes a huge difference the one is moved from without the other from it self The most part of us act as irrational and bruit beasts in Religion nay we walk as inanimat and senseless creatures It s some one or other consideration without us moves us Custome censure education and such like Ah! these are the principles of our Religion How many would have no Religion no form of it if they were not among such company and therefore we see many change it according to companies as the fish doth its skin according to the colour of that which is nearest it How many would do many things they dare not for punishment and censure and for that same daâ— not leaveâ— other things undone In a word the most part of us are such as would walk in no path of godliness if it were not the custome of the time and â—ear of men that constrained us But my brethren let it not be so among you you who are in Christ Iesus let this be the predominant in your hearts to constrain you not to live to your selves but unto God even this that ye believe Christ hath died for sinners that they might live from sin and from this let your hearts be inflamed with his love that it may carry you on in a sweet and blessed necessity to walk in all well pleasing Let the consideration of his love lay on a constraint but a constraint of willingness to live to him who hath thus loved you But as the principle is spiritual so must the end be and I think these two compleat the mystery of the practice of Christianity to act from another principle unto another end even as these two make up the mystery oâ— iniquity in our hearts to act from our selves unto our selves every man naturally makes a god of himself is his own Alpha and Omega the beginning of his actionâ— and the end of them which is proper to God As the fall hath cut off the subordination of the soul to God in its actions that it cannot now derive all from that blessed fountain of all-being and well-being so is this channel of reference of all our actions to God stopped that they do not tend unto him as they are not derived from him and thus they return unto a mans self again There is one point of self and making it our aim and design which possibly many doth not take heed unto It is ordinary for us to act and walk in Christian duties for our salvation for obtaining of life eternal as our chief and only end which is but an inferiour end because we ought not to walk mainly for life but to life we should not walk after the command only for Heaven but in the way of it unto Heaven Our spiritual walking can never purchase us right unto the leaâ—t of his mercies when we have done all this should be our souls language we are unprofitable servants our righteousness extends not to thee What gain is it to the Almighty that thou art righteous Yet for the most part we make our walking as a hire for the reward The Covenant of Works doing for life is some way naturally imprinted in our hearts and we cannot do but we would live in doing we cannot walk unto all well-pleasing but we would also walk unto pacifying of God Self-righteousness is mens great idol which when all other baser and grosser idols are down they do still seek to establish But Christians observe this evil in your selves and suffer this mystery of godliness to be wrought in you the abasing of your selves the denyal of your selves I would have you in respect of diligence and earnestness doing walking and running as if ye were to be saved by it only But again you must deny all that and no more consider it or lean weight upon it then if ye ought to do nothing or did nothing But your ends should be more divine and high as your nature is to glorifie God in your mortal bodies since ye are hiâ— and bought with a price O how ought ye not to be your own The great purpose of your obedience should be a declaration of your sense of his love and of your obligation to him Ye ought to walk in his way because ye are escaped condemnation and saved by him and not that ye may be saved only It is the glory of our Heavenly Father and the honour of the Redeemer for Christians to walk even as he walked and follow his footsteps it commends the grace of Jesus Christ exceedingly Therefore this cannot but be the choise and delight of a believing soul to walk unto all well-pleasing to have the glory of him as their great design to aim at who for our salvation laid aside his glory and embraced shame and reproach We use to walk in obedience to God that we may pacifie God for our disobedience but let a Christian abhor such a thought Christs blood must pacifie but the walking of his child pleaseth him in his welbeloved Son When he is once pacified for sin when he once accepts your persons your performances are his delight Now this should be the great scope of a soul that all its powers should be fixed on to please him and live to him Now these three being established we must conceive that the chief agent and party in this walking must be spiritual therefore mens bodies are not capable of this walk after the Spirit principally Outward Ordinances are but the shell wherein the kirnel must be inclosed all our walkings that is visible to men is but like a painted or engraven Image and Statue that hath no breath or life in it unless the Spirit actuat and quicken the same I say not only the Spirit of God but the spirit and soul in man for the Spirits immediat and divine operations are upon such a suitable subject as the immortal soul. Verily there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding We must not abolish the outward â—oâ—m because it hath some divinity in it even the stamp of Gods authority and therefore these who
that is quickned by this new Law of the Spirit of Life for its the entry of this that expells its contrary the Law oâ— sin And indeed the Law must enter the command and the pâ—omise must enter into the soul and the affections of the soul be enlivened thereby or rather the soul changed into the similitude of that mould or else the having of it in a book or in ones memory and understanding will never make him the richer or freer A Châ—istian looks to the patern of the Law and the word of the Goâ—pel without but he must be changed into the image of it by beholding it and so he becomes a living Law to himself The Spirit writes these precepts and practices oâ— Christs in which he commands imitation upon the fleshly tables of the heart And now the Law is not a rod above his head as above a slave but it s turned into a Law oâ— love within his heart and hath something like a natural instinct in it all that men can do either to themselves or others will not purchase the least measure of â—â—eedom from predominant corruptions cannot deliver you from your sins till this free Spirit that blows where he pleases come It s our part to hoise up sails and wait for the wind to â—â—e means and wait on him in his way and oâ—der but all will be in vain till this stronger one come and cast out the strong man till this arbitrary and free wind blow from heaven and fill the sails SERMON X. Rom. 8.3 For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own Son c. THE greatest design that ever God had in the world is certainly the sending of his own Son into the world and it must needs be some great busines that drew so excellent and glorious a person out of Heaven the plot and contrivance of the world was a profound piâ—ce of wisdom and goodness the making of men after Gods image waâ— done by a high and glorious counsel Let us make man after our image there was some thing special in this expression importing â—ome peculiar excellency in the work it self or some special depth of design about it But what think you of this consultation let one of us be made man after mans image and likeness that must be a strange piece of wisdom and grace Great is the mystery of godliness God manifested in the flesh No wonder though Paul cryed out as one swallowed up with this mystery for indeed it must be some odd matter beyond all that is in the creation wherein thâ—â—e are many mysteries able to swallow up any understanding but that in which they were first formed This must be the chief of the works of God the rarest piece of them all God to become man the Creator of all to come in the likeness of a creature he by whom all things were created and do yet consist to come in the likeness of the most wretched of all Strange that we do not dwell more in our thoughts and affections on this subject either we do not believe it or if we did we could not but be ravished with admiration at it Iohn the beloved Disciple who was often nearest unto Christ dwelt most upon this and made it the subject of his preaching that which was from the beginning which we have heard and seen and handled c. Ioh. 1.1 He speaks of that mystery as if he were imbracing Jesus Christ in his arms and holding him out to others saying Come and see This divine mystery is the subject of these words read but the mystery is somewhat unfolded and opened up to you in them yet so as it will not diminish but increase the wonder of a believing soul. It is ignorance that magnifies other mysteries which viâ—ifie through knowledge but it is the true knowledge of this mystery that makes it the more wonderful whereas ignorance only makes it common and despicable There are three things then of special consideration in the words which may declare and open unto you something of this mystery Fiâ—st what was the ground and reason or occasion of the Sons sending into the world next what the Son being sent did in the world And the third for what end and use it was What fruit we have by it The ground and reason of Gods sending his Son is because there was an impossibility upon the Law to save man which impossibility was not the Laws fault but mans defect by reason of the weakness and impotency of our flesh to fulfill the Law Now God having chosen come to life and man having put this obstruction and impediment in his own way which made it impossible for the Law to give him life though it was first given out as the way of life therefore that God should not fail in this glorious design of saving his chosen he choosed to send his own Son in the likeness of flesh as the only remedy of the Laws impossibility That which Christ being sent into the likeness of flesh did is the condemning of sin in the flesh by a sacrifice offered for sin even the sacrifice of his own body upon the crosse He came in the likeness not of flesh simply for he was really a man but in the likeness of sinful flesh though without sin yet like a sinner as to the outward appearance a sinner because subject to all these infirmities and miseries which sin did first open a door for Sin was the in-let of afflictions of bodily infirmities and necessities of death it self and when the floods of these did overflow Christs Humane Nature it was a great presumption to the world who look and judge according to the outward appeaâ—ance tâ—at â—in was the â—lâ—ce opened to let in such an inundation of calamity Now he being thus in the likeness of a sinner though not a sinner he for sin that is because of sin that had entered upon man and made life impossible to him by the Law by occasion of that great enemy of God which had conquered mankind he condemned sin in his flesh he overthrew it in its plea and power against us he condemned that which condemned us overcame it in judgment and made us free by sustaining the curse of it in his flesh he cut off all its plea against us This is the great work and business which was worthy of so noble a Messenger his own Son sent to conquer his greatest enemy that he hates most And then in the third place you see what benefite or fruit redounds to us by it What was the end and purpose of it vers 4. That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us that seing it was impossible for us to fulfill the righteousness of the Law and so became impossible to the Law to fulfill our reward of life it might be fulfilled by him in our name and so the righteousness of the Law being fulfilled in us by
Christ the reward also of eternal life might be fulfilled by the Law to us he having removed the impediment of our weakness it might be not only possible but certain to us Yâ—u would consider then the reason of Christs coming God made at fiâ—st a Covenant with man promising him life upon perfect obedience to his law and threatning death and damnation upon the transgression thereof You see then what was the way of life to Adam in the state of innocency he was made able to satiâ—fie the Law with obedience and the Law was abundantly able to satisfie him by giving life unto him Gods image upon mans soul instructed him sufficiently for the one and the Lords promise made to him was as sufficient to accomplish the other so that there was no impossibility thâ—n upon the Law by reason of the strength which God gave man But it continued not long so sin entering upon man utterly disabled him and because the strength of that Covenant consisted in that mutual and joynt concurrence of Gods promise and mans obedience this being broken the one party falling off that life and salvation becomes impossible to the promise alone to perform It is sin that is the weakness and impotency of man this is the disease hath consumed his strength and concluded man under a two-fold impossibility an impossibility to satisfie the curse and an impossibility to obey the command There are three things in the Covenant of Works A command of obedience and a threatning of wrath and condemnation upon disobedience and a promise of life upon obedience sin hath disabled us every way in relation to the curse and threatning man cannot satisfie it no price no ransome â—ound sufficient for the soul for the redemption of it is precious and ceaseth for ever that curse hath infinit wrath in it which must needs swallow up â—â—â—it man And then in relation to the command there is such a diminutiâ—n of all the powers of the soul such a corruption and defilement by reason of the first sin that wherein mans strength lay which was Gods image is cut off and spoiled so that henceâ—orth it is become impossible to yield any acceptable obedience to the Commandment And hence it is from our impossibility to obey in time to come that there is a holy and faultlesse impossibility upon the promise to give life unto mankind so you see that the law cannot do it because of our weaknesse If either man while he was made upright had continued in obedience or man now fallen from uprightness could satisfie for the fault done and walk without any blemish in time coming then it wâ—re feasable for the Law to give life to us but the one was not done and the other now cannot be done and so the impossibility of life by works is refounded upon our selves who would not when we could and now neither will nor can obey Thus we may see clearly that all mankind must needs perish for any thing that man can do and according to that first transaction of God with man unlesse some other way and device be found out which indeed was far from the eyes of all living without the reach of their invention or imagination I believe if all the creatures higher or lower that have any reason had conveened to consult oâ— this business how to repair that Breach made in the Creation by mans sin they might have vexed their brains and racked their inventions unto all eternity and yet never have fallen upon any probable way of making up this breach they might have taken up a lamentation not as the bemoaners of Babylon's ruine we would have healed thee and thou wouldest not but rather thus we would heal thee but we could not and thou wouldest not This design which is here mentioned of repairing the breach by destroying that which made it sin it lay hid in the depth of Gods wisdom till it pleased himself to vent and publish it unto poor forlorn and desperat man who out of despair of recovery had run away to hide himself a poor shift indeed for him to think that he could hide himself from him to whom darkness is as light and to flee from him whose Kingdom is over all and who is present in all the corners of his universal Kingdom in hell in Heaven in the utmost corners of the earth But this silly invention shews how hopeless the case was Though this be the case and condition of man by nature yet strange it is to see every man by nature attempting his own delivery and fancying a probability yeâ— a certainty of that which is so impossible that is an attaining of life by our selves according to the Law and first Covenant of Works Though our strength be gone yet like Sampson men rise up and think to walk and rouse up themselves as in former times as if their strength were yet in them and many never perceives that it is gone till they be laid hold on by Satan according to the Laws injunction and bound into chains of everlasting darkness but then alace its too late for they cannot save themselves and the season of a Saviour is gone and this no doubt will be the accession of the bitterness and torment that damned souls shall be into that they dreamed of attaining life by a Law that now is nothing but a ministration of death that they lost life by seeking their own righteousness and made the Law more able to condemn them by their apprehending in themselves an ability to satisfie it and by resting in a form of obedience to it There is something natural in it Adam and all his posterity was once to be saved this way so the terms run at fiâ—st do this and live no wonder that something of that impression be retained but that which was a vertue in Adam while he retained integrity and fulfilled his duty is a mightâ— fault and presumptuous madness in us who have fallen from that blessed estate If man doing his duty expected a reward according to the promise it was commendable but for man now rebellious and stubborn and come short of the glory of God to look for a reward from God against whom he warreth continually and that for rebellion and enmity it is damnable But besides this I think this principle of self-self-righteousness is much corrupted in man now by what it was in Adam I conceive though Adam looked for life upon obedience according to the promise yet he rested not on and trusted not in his obedience I believe a holy and righteous man would be a humble man too and would rather glory in Gods grace then in his own works the sense of a free and undeserved promise would not suffer him to reflect so much upon his own obedience or put such a price upon it But now it s conjoyned with unmeasureable pride and arises only from self-love There is no ground of mens looking to be saved by their own doings but the in-bred pride
sin and so die for it yet by this means he hath condemned sin by being condemned for sin by this means he hath overcome death and the grave by coming under the power of death and so is now alive for ever to improve his victory for our salvation and by taking on our sinâ— he hath fully abolished the power and plea of them as the goat that was sent to the wilderness out of all mens sight was not to be seen again Truly this is the way how our sins are buried in the grave â—f oblivion and removed as a cloud and cast into the depths of the Sea and sent away as far as the East is from the West that they may never come in judgment against us to condemn us because Christ by appeasing wrath and satisfying Justice by the sacrifice of himself hath overthrown them in judgment and buried them in the grave with his own body You see then my beloved a solid ground of consolation against all our fears and sorrows an answer to all the accusations of our sins here is one for all one above all You would have particular answers to satisfie your particular doubts you are alwayes seeking some satisfaction to your consciences besides this but believe it all that can be said besides this atonement and propitiation is of no more vertue to purge your consciences or satisfie your perplexed souls then these repeated sacrifices of old were Whatsoever you can pitch upon besides this it is insufficient and therefore you find a necessity of seeking some other grace or qualification to appease your consciences even as they had need to multiply sacrifices but now since this perfect and full propitiation is offered up for our sins should not all these vain expiations of your own works cease Truly there is nothing can pacifie Heaven but this and nothing can appease thy Conscience on earth but this too If you find any accusation against you consider Christ hath by a sacrifice for sin condemned sin in his own flesh the marks of the spear of the nails of the buffettings of his flesh these are the tokens and pledges that he encountered with the wrath due to your sins and so hath cut off all the right that sin hath over you If thou can unseignedly in the Lords sight say that it is thy souls desire to be delivered from sin as well as wrath thou would gladly flee from condemnation thâ—n come to him who hath condemned sin by suffering the condemnation of sin that he might save these who desire to flee from it to him SERMON XIV Rom. 8.4 That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us c. GOD having a great design to declare unto the world both his justice and mercy towards men he found out this mean most suitable and proportioned unto it which is here spoken of in the 3. vers to send his own Son to bear the punishment of sin that the righteousness of the Law might be freely and graciously fulfilled in sinners And indeed it was not imaginable by us how he could declare both in the salvation of sinners we could not have found out a way to declare his righteousnesse and holinesse which would not have obscured his mercy and grace nor a way to manifest his grace and mercy which would not have reflected upon his Holiness and Justice according to the letter of the Law that was given out as the rule of life he that doth them shall live in them and cursed is every one that doth them not c. Wâ—at could we expect if this be fulfilled as it would appear Gods truth and holinesse requires then we are gone no place for mercy if this be not fulfilled that mercy may be shewed in pardoning sin then the truth and faithfulnesse of God seems to be impaired This is the strait that all sinners would have been into if God had not found such an enlargement as this how to shew mercy without wronging Justice and how to save sinners without impairing his faithfulnesse Truly we may wonder what was it that could straiten his Majesty so that he must send his own Son so beloved of him and bruise him and hide his face from him yea and torment him and not let the cup pass from him for any intreaties might he not more easily have never added such a commination to the Law Thou shalt die or more easily relaxed and repealed that sentence and past by â—he sinner without any more then exacted so heavy a punishment from one that was innoncent Was it the satisfaction of his Justice that straitned him and put a necessity of this upon him But truly it seems it had been no more contrary to righteousnesse to have past over the sinner without satisfaction then to require and take it off one who was not really guilty The truth is it waâ— not simply the indispensible necessity of satisfying Justice that put him upon such an hard and unpleasant work as the bruising of his own Son for no doubt he might have as well dispensed with all satisfaction as with the personal satisfaction of the sinner but here the strait lay and here was the urgency of the case he had a purpose to declare his justice and therefore a satisfaction must be had not simply to satisfie righteousnesse but rather to declare his righteousnesse Rom. 3.25 Now indeed to make these two shine together in one work of the salvation of sinners all the world could not have found out the like of this to dispense with personal satisfaction in the sinner which the rigour of the Law required and so to admit a sweet moderation and relaxation that the riches of his grace and mercy might be manifested and yet withall to exact that same punishment of another willingly coming in the sinners place to the end that all sinners may behold his righteousnesse and justice and so this work of the redemption of sinners hath these Names of God published by himself Exod. 34.6 7. to Moses engraven deeply upon it mercy and goodnesse spelled out at length in it for love was the rise of all and love did run alongs in all yet so as there is room to speak out his holiness and righteousness and justice not so much to afright sinners as to make his mercy the more amiable and wonderfull I know not a more pressing ground of strong consolation nor a firmer bulwark of our confidence and salvation then this conjunction of Mercy and Justice in the business there might have been alwayes a secret hink of jealousie and suspition in our minds when God publisheth mercy and foregiveness to us freely O! how shall the Law be satisfied and the importunity of justice and faithfulness that hath pronounced a sentence of death upon us answered Shall not the righteous Law be a loser this way if I be saved and it not satisfied by obedience or suffering how hard would it be to perswade a soul of free pardon that sees such
character of all our evidences and rights for Heaven disowns many as bastards and dead members withered branches and certainly according to this word He will judge you the word that I have spoken shall judge you in the last day O that is a heavy word you have the very rule and method of proceeding laid down before you now which shall be punctually kept at that great day Now why do you not read your ditty and condemnatory sentence here registred If you do not read it now in your consciences he will one day read it before men and Angels and pronounce this I know you not for mine you are none of mine But if you would now take it to your hearts there might be hope that it should go no further and come to no more publick hearing there were hope that it should be repealed before that day because the fiâ—st entry of the Spirit of Christ is to convince men of sin that they are unbelievers and without God in the world and if this were done then it were more easie to convince you of Christs righteousnesse and perswade you to embrace it and this would lead in another link of the chain the conviction of judgement to perswade you to resign your selves to the Spirits rule and renounce the kingdom of Satan this were another trinity a trinity upon earth three bearing witnesse on the earth that you have the Spirit of God Vers. 10. All the preceeding verses seem to be purposly set down by the Apostle for the comfort oâ— Christians against the remnants of sin and corruption within them â—or in the preceeding Chapter he personâ—â—â— the whole body of Christ militant shewing in his own exâ—mple how much sin râ—mains in â—he â—â—lieâ—t in this life and this he rather instances in his own person then another that all may know that matter of continual sorrow and lamentation is furnished to the chiefest of Saints and yet in this chapter he propounds the consolation of Christâ—â—ns more generally that all may know That these priviledges and immunities belong even to the meanest and weakest of Christians that as the best have reason to mourn in themselves so the worst want not reason to rejoice in Jesus Christ. And this would alwayes be minded that the â—mplest grounds of strongest consolation are general to all that come indeed to Jesus Christ and are not restricted unto Saints of such and such a grouth and stature the common principles of the Gospel are more full of this milk of consolation if you would suck it out of them then many particular grounds which you are laying down for your selves God hath so disposed and contrived the work of our sâ—lvation that in this life he that hath gathâ—red much in some respect hath nothing over that is to say hath no more reason to boast then another but will be constrained to sit down and mourn over his own evil heart and the emptiness of it and he that hath gathered lesse hath in some sense no want I mean he is not excluded and shut out from the right to these glorious priviledges which may expresse gloriation and rejoycing from the heart that there might be an equality in the body he maketh the stronger Christian to partake with the weaker in his bitter things and the weaker with the stronger in his sweet things that none of them may conceive themselves either dispised or alone regarded that the Eunuoh may not have reason to say I am a dry tree Isa. 56.3 For behold the Lord will give even to such a place in his house and a name better then of sons and daughters The soul that is in sincerity aming at this walk and whose inward deâ—ires â—â—irrs after more of this holy Spirit he will not refuse to such that name and esteem that they dare not take to themselves because of their seen and selâ— unworthinesse Now in thiâ— vers he proceeds further to the fruits and effects of sin dwelling in us to enlarge the consolation against that too Now if Christ be in you the body c. Seeing the word of God hath made such a connexion between â—in and deâ—th and death is the wages of sin and that which is â—he 〈◊〉 compence of enmity and rebellion â—gainst God the poor tâ—oubled soul might be ready to conceive That is the body be adjudged to death for sin that â—he rest of the wages shall be payed and sin haviâ—g so much dominion as to kill the body that it should exerce its full power to destroy all seing we have a visible character of the curse of God engraven on us in the mortality of our bodies it may look with such a visage on a soul troubled for sin as if it were but earnest of the full curse and weight of wrath and that sin were not fully satisfied for nor Justice fully contented by Christs ransome Now he opposes to this misconception the strongest ground of consolation If Christ be in you though your bodies must die for sin because sin dwelleth in them yet that spirit of life that is in you hath begun eternal life in your soulâ— your spiâ—its are not only immortal in being but that eternal happy being is begun in you the seeds of it are cast into your souls and shall certainly grow up to perfection of holiness and happiness and this through the righteousnesse of Christ which assureth that state unto you The comfort is it is neither total for it is only the death of your bodie nor is it perpetual for your bodies shall be raised again to life eternal vers 11. And not only is it only part and for a season but it is for a blessed end and purpose it is that sin may be wholly cleansed out that this tabernacle is taken down as the â—eprous houses were to be taken down under the Law and as now we use to cast down Pest-lodges the better to cleanse them of the infection It is not to prejudge him of life but to install him in a better life Thus you see that it is neither total nor perpetual but it is medicinal and profitable to the soul it is but the death of the body for a moment and the life of the soul for ever SERMON XXVII Rom. 8.10 And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin c. THis is the high excellency of Christian Religion that it contains the most absolute precepts for an holy life and the greatest comforts in death for from theâ—e two the truth and excellency of Religion is to be measured if it have the highest and perfectest rule of walking and the chiefest comfort withall Now the perfection of Christianity you saw in the rule how spiritual it is how reasonable how divine how free from all corrupt mixture how transcending all the most exquiâ—ite precepts and laws of men deriving a holy converâ—ation from the highest fountain the Spirit of Christ and conforming it to the highest pattern the will of God And
greatest fear is death not so much because of it self but chiefly because of that eternity of unchangeable misery that naturally it transmitts them unto Now it is only Christian Religion possessing the heart that aâ—mes a man compleatly against the fear either of death it self or the consequents of it it giveth the most powerful consolation that not only overcometh the bitternesse and taketh out the sting of death but changeth the nature of it so far as to make it the matter of triumph and gloriation There is something here supposed the worst that can befall a Christian it is the death of a part of him and that the worst and ignoblest part only the body is dead because of sin Then that wâ—ich is opposed by way oâ— comfort to counterballance it is the life of his better and more noble part And besides we have the fountaâ—ns both of that death and this life mans sin the cause of bodily death Christs righteousnesse the fountain of spiritual life Of death many have had sweet meditations even among these that the light of the Word hath not shined upon and indeed they mâ—y make us ashamed who prosesse Christianity and so the hope of the resurrection from the dead that they have accounted it only true wisdom and sound Philosophy To meditat often on death and made it the very principal point of living well To be alwayes learning to die and have applyed their whole studies that way neglecting present things that are in the by have given themselves to search out some comfort against death or from death Yea some have so profited in this that they have accounted death the greatest good that can befall man and perswaded others to think so Now what may we think of our selves who scarce apprehend mortality especially considering that we have the true fountain of it revealed to us and the true nature and consequents of it All men must needs know that death is the most universal King in the world that it reigns over all ages sexes conditions nations and times though few be willing to entertain thoughts of it yet sooner or later they must be constrained to give it lodging upon their eye lids and suffer it to storm the very strongest tower the heart and baâ—â—er it down and break the strings of it having no way either to flee from it or resist it Now the consideration of the general inundation of death over all mankind anâ— the certain approâ—ching of it to every particular mans door hath made many serious thoughts among the wise men of the world But being destitute of this heavenly light that â—hineth to us they could not attain to the original of it but have conceived that it was a common tribute of nature and an universal Law imposed upon all mankind by nature having the same reason that other mâ—tations and changes among the creatures here below have and â—o have thought it no more strange thing then to see other things dissolved in their elements Now indeed seeing they could apprehend no other bitter ingredient in it it was no wonder that the wisest of them could not fear it but rather wait and expect it as a rest from their labours as the end of all their miseries But the Lord hath revealed unto us in his Word the true cause of it and so the true nature of it The true cause of it is sin sin entred into the world and death past upon all for that all have sinned Rom. 5.12 Man was created for another purpose and upon other conditions and a Law of perpetual life and eternal happinesse was past in his â—avours he abiding in the favour and obeying the will of Him that gave him life and being Now sin inteâ—posing and separating between man and God loosing that blessed knot of union and communion it was this other law that succeeded as a suitable recompence Thou shall die It is resolved in the Council of Heaven That the union of man shall be dissolved his soul and body separated in just recompence of the breaking the bond of union with God This is it that hath opened the sluce to let in an inundation of misery on mankind this was the just occasion of that righteous but terrible appointment It is appointed that all men once should die and after death cometh to Iudgment Heb. 9.27 That since the body had inticed the soul and suggested unto it such unnatural and rebellious motions of withdrawing from the blessed fountain of life to satisfie its pleasure the body should be under a sentence of deprivement and â—orfeitour of that great benefite and priviledge of life it had by the souls indwelling and condemned to return to its first base original the dust and to be made a feast of worms to lodge in the grave and be a subject of the greatest corruption and rottennesse because it became the instrument yea the incitement of the soul to sin against that God that had from Heaven breathed a spirit into it and exalted it above all the dust or clay in the world Now my beloved do we not get many remembrances of our sin Is not every day presenting our primitive departure from God our fiâ—st separation from the fountain of life by sin to our view and in such sad and woeful effects pointing out the hainousnesse of sin Do you not see mens bodies every day dissolved the tabernacle of earth taken down and the soul constrained to remove out of it But what influence hath it upon â—s what do the multiplied funeralls work upon us It may bâ— sorrow for our friends but little or no apprehension of our own mortality and base impression of sin that separats our souls from God Who is made sadly to reflect upon his original or to mind seriously that statute and appointment of Heaven in that day thou shalt die It is strange that all of us fear death and few are afraid of sin that carrieth death in its bosome That we are so unwilling to reâ—p corruption in our bodies and yet we â—re so earnest and lâ—borious in sowing to the flesh Be not deceived for you are dayly reaping what you have sowen And O that it were all the harvest but death is only the putting in of the sickle of vengeaâ—ce the first cut of it But O to think on what follows would certainly restrain men and cool them in their fervent pursuits after sin SERMON XXVIII Rom. 8.10 The body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousnesse THE sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law saith our Apostle 1 Cor. 15.56 These two concur to make man mortal and these two are the bitter ingredients of death Sin procured it and the Law appointed it And God hath seen to the exâ—ct execution of that Law in all ages for what man liveth and shall not taste of death Two only eâ—caped the common lot Enoch and Elias for they pleased God and God took them
Christ hath continued our mortality Else he would have abolished death it self if he had not meant to abolish sin by death and indeed it would appear this is the reason why the world must be consumed with fire at the last day and new Heavens and earth succeed in its room because as the little house the body so the great house the world was infected with this leprosie so subjected to vanity and corruption because of mans sin therefore that there might be no remnant of mans corruption and no memorial of sin to inteâ—upt his eternal joy the Lord will purify and change all all the members that were made instruments of unrighteousness all the creatures that were servants to mans lusts a new form and fashion shall be put on all that the body being restored may be a fit dwelling place for the purified soul and the world renewed may be a â—it house for righteous men Thus you see that Death to a Christian is not real death for it is not the death of a Christian but the death of sin his greatest enemy it is not a punishment but the enlargement of the soul. Now the next comfort is that which is is but partial it is but the dissolution of the lowest part in man his body so far from prejudging the immortal life of his spirit that it is rather the accomplishment of that Though the body must die yet eternal life is begun already within tâ—e soul for the Spirit of Christ hath brought in life the Righteousnesse of Christ hath purchased it and the Spirit hath performed it and applyed it to us not only there is an immortal being in a Christian that must survive the dust for that is common to all men but there is a new life begun in him an immortal well being in joy and happinesse which only deserveth the name of life that cometh never to its full perfection till the bodily and earthly house be taken down If you consider seriously what a new life a Câ—â—istâ—â—n is â—â—â—aâ—lated unto by the operation of the Holy Ghost and the ministration of the word it is then most active and lively when the soul is most retired from the body in meditation the new life of a Christian is most perfect in this life when it carrieth him the furthest distance from his bodily senses and is most abstracted from all sensible engagements as you heard for indeed it restores the spirit of a man to its native rule and dominion over the body so that it is then most perfect when it is most gâ—thered within it self and disingaged from all external intanglements Now certain it is since the perfection of the soul in this life consists in such a retirement from the body that when it is wholly separated from it then it is in the most absolute state of perfection and its life â—cts most purely and peâ—fectly when it hath no body to communicat with and to entangle it either with its lusts or necessities The Spirit is life it hath a life now which is then best when furthest from the body and therefore it cannot but be surpassing better when it is out of the body and all this is purchaâ—ed by Christs righteousnesse As mans disobedience made an end of his life Christs obedience hath made our life endlesse He suffered death to sting him and by this hath taken the sting from it and now there is a new statute and appointment of Heaven published in the Gospel whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life Now indeed this hath so intirely châ—nged the nature of death that iâ— hath noâ— the most lovely and desirable aspect on a Christian that it is no more an object of fear but of desire amicable not terrible unto him since there is no way to save the passenger but to let the vessel break he will be content to have the body splitted that himself that is his soul may escape for truly a mans soul is himself the body is but an earthly tabernacle that must be taken down to let the inhabitant win out to come near his Lord the body is the Prison-house that he groans to have opened that he may enjoy that liberty of the sons of God And now to a Christian death is not properly an object of patience but of desire rather I desire to be dissolved and be with Christ Phil. 1.23 He that hath but advanced little in Christianity will be content to die but because there is too much flesh he will desire to live but a Christian that is riper in knowledge and grace will rather desire to die and only be content to live he will exercise patience and submission about abiding here but groanings and pantings about removing hence because he knoweth that there is no choice between that bondage and this liberty SERMON XXIX Rom. 8.10 The body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life c. IT was the first curse and threatning wherein God thought fit to comprehend all misery Thou shalt die the death in that day thou eatest though the sentence was not presently executed according to the letter yet from that day â—orward man was made mortal and there seemeth to be much mercy and goodness of God interveening to plead a delay of death it self that so the promise of life in the second Adam might come to the first and his posterity and they might be delivered â—rom the second death though not from the first Alwayes we bear about the markes of sin in our bodies to this day and in so far the threatning taketh place that this life that we live in the body is become nothing else but a dying life the life that the ungodly shall live out oâ— the body is a living death and either of these is worse then simple death or destruction of beeing The serious contemplation of the miseries of this life made wise Solomon to praise the dead more then the living contrary to the custom of men who rejoyce at the birth of a man-child and mourn at their death yea it pressed him further to think them which have not at all been better then both because they have not seen the evil under the Sun this world is such a Chaos such a masse of miseries that if men understood it before they came into it they would be far more loath to enter into it then they are now afraid to go out of it And truly we want not remembrances and representations of our misery every day in that children come weeping into the world as it were bewailing â—heir own misfortune that they were brought forth to be sensible subjects of misery And what is all our life-time but a repetition of sighs and groanâ— anxiety and satiety loathing and longing dividing our spiâ—its and our time between them How many deaths must we suffer before death come for the absence or losse of any thing much desired is a sepâ—ration no lesse gâ—ievous to the hearts of men