is pure would study soundnesse in Judgement as well as tendernesse in Practice And yet how many are readily mistaken in this Who if they meet with some that can speak a few good Words and make pretences to a holy Walk though the Second Command be baffâ—ed and disgraced by them and the Name of God torn And though the Fourth Command be made of none effect or price by them it 's thought but little of all is covered with this that they are good Folks and of a tender walk But Oh! can they be good who abuse that wherein the Name and Image of God are most tenderly concerned and will God account that to be Holinesse aggreeable to His Law that slights depreclars and vilifies the best part of His Law Let me therefore beseech you to take in and to close Error with other sins and to look upon unsoundnesse in the Truths of God as a Fruit of the Flesh and withall to look upon sound knowledge in the Mind and the form of sound words in the Mouth as being a Duty that is called for from you as well as other Duties We the rather take occasion to speak to this because the Devil is seeking to turn Men meer Athiests Gallio's as to the Truths of God to care for none of these things and as to weir out the esteem of Truth so to make People to look upon Error as if there were no hurt by it it 's sad that there is not more scarring at and keeping distance from the company of such if they can but give a parcel of good Words and make shewes of respect to Piety in this lukewarm time there is need to guard against this Temper or rather Distemper and to look well that we half not nor divide the Pattern and Copie which God in his Word hath cast to us and set before us we would studie Purity and Tenderneâ—â—e in our Walk and Growth in sound Knowledge and would walk humbly under the impression of our hazard It 's sad when Folks are ill girded and yet scarcely discern it It seems to be a winnowing time and some are already taken off their feet who thought not some Moneths or Years since to have carried in reference to the Truth as they have done It hath been Gods mercy to this place that he hath hedged us about hitherto at which the Devll hath raged not a little Be humbled and have an eye to Him thâ—t can keep his People and can establish them in the Truth and make them unbleamable in holiness till the coming of the Lord. We come now to the 10. verse and from the first part of it yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief These three things arise clearly 1. That though our Lord Jesus was most innocent in His own Person yet was He put to exceeding sore Tryalls and sharp Sufferings For 1 He was bruised to wit like Corn betwixt the upper and neither Milstones or lâ—ke Grapes in the Wine presse which respects not so much his outward sufferings though great for a bone of him was not broken as His inward Soul-sufferings and the inward pressures of Wrath that were on His Humane Soul 2. He was put to grief was sore straitned and punished and these expressions import so much my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death my soul is sore troubled and what shal I say and my God my God why hast thou forsaken me The particulars of this grief were spoken to before and we shew in what respect He was so humbled and that He was most sinless and wâ—thout any the least carnal mude or passion under these expressions in which the sense of grief vented it self most in Him Only if it be here asked what is the reason why the Prophet doth so much insist in pointing out Christ's Sufferings and the extremity of them that scarce almost is there one Verse but he hath in it some one or other new aggravation of them we conceive the reason of it is 1. Because there is nothing wherein the greatness of the Love of God and the kindlinesse of the Mediators condescending doth appear in this for the more He Suffered the more the Love of God shined and His condescendency kythed the more this being the great instance and demonstrative proof of the Love of God God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son As it is John 3.16 O! manifold and vastly comprehensive So what is unfolded in it Eternity will but suffice fully to unfold and this being the great instance of the Mediators condescendencie and of His commending His Love to sinners That while we were yet enemies he died for us As it is Rom. 5. The Lord loves to have this the subject of our thoughts that we may be led thereby in to the Soul-ravishing and satisfying contemplation of the Love whence it came 2. Because there is not any one thing that lyes nearer or that is readily of greater concern to Believers then to be well acquainted with Christ's Sufferings wherein the Lord would have his People spiritually perqueir and it is of their concernment in a twofold respect 1. As it is the ground of their peace Therefore He is called our Peace and a Propitiation for by being acquâ—inâ—ed with Christ's Sufferings Believers have a solid ground for their Faith whereby they discover access to peace with God to Pardon of sin and Justification the Mediator having undergone these sufferings for this end 2. As it is the ground of their Consolation considering that they have a suffering Mediator that hath payed the Price that was due by them even such an One that knows 〈◊〉 what it was to be bruised with Wrath and is therefor very tender of and compassionat towards Souls that are under challenges and apprehensions of Wrath These are sweet words which we have to this purpose 1 John 2. 1. If any man sin we have an advocat with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous who is the propitiation for our sins who was content to Suffer and Satisfie for them O! consider then what ye are doing when ye read of His sufferings for the very Marrow of the Gospel and the Life of the Consolation of the People of God lyes here 2. From these words Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief Observe That the Lord Jehovah had the main and principal hand in all the Sufferings of this Innocent Mediator It was not the Jews nor the Scribes and Pharisees nor Pilat but it pleased the Lord to bruise him and to put him to grief As is clear Act. 4.27 28. Herod and Pontius Pilat the Gentiles and People of Israel were gathered together to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsell determined before to be done In all that they did they were but doing that which was carved out before in the Eâ—ernal Counsel of God and therefore Peter sayes Act. 2.23 Him being delivered by the determinat
truth and that Paul lived in the faith and feeling of it then judge if there be not just ground to expostulate with most part of you as being yet without the faith and feeling of this moâ— concerning thing The 3â— Use of it serves wonderfully to set forth the glory of the free and rich Grace of God that all this business is made and this transaction entered into that Christ comes to satisfie and doth actually satisfie Justice for a number of such wretches that had gone astray like lost sheep This comes in as he scope we have strayed done the wrong but he hath payed the debt satisfied for the wrong done and from comparing this v. with the foregoing we may take these five Considerations that serve to heighten the glory of Gods Grace and Free-love and to shame Believers that are so little in wondring at it 1. Who is smitten his own Son we sinned and he was smitten even he who was and is the Fathers fellow the Sword awakes against him and we go free 2. What did our Lord suffer He was wounded and bruised the chastisement of our peace was on him he laid on him the iniquity of us all It was not a complemental or fashional suffering but he was arraigned before the Tribunal of Justice and did really pay our Debt and satisfie Justice for our Sins 3. Who exâ—ctâ—d this Satisfaction who did smite him It 's the Lord Jehovah it 's the Father which makes the glory of Grace shine the more It 's God the Father whose Heart was tender to the Son of his love that exâ—cts the full price of him so that as he said of Abraham By this I know that thou lovest me because thou hast not withheld thy Son thine only son Isaac from me we may say by this we know God's love to the Elect when he hath not withheld nor spared his own Son from them but hath laid on him the iniquities of them all 4. For whom did he smite him for Sinners for straying Sheep for Covenant-breakers for such as had gone a whoring from God and were bent to sin against him I mean the Elect. 5. When was it that he suffered for them even when they were straying rejecting despising nodding the head at him spitting in his face and saying away with him even then he is praying and dying for them Now put all these together that such a price shall be exacted of such a Cautioner and for such Sinners and at such a time behold see therein how God commends his love to us as the Apostle speaks Rom. 5.8 In that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us when we were in our sin not praying to him nor in capacity to pray or give him thanks for any thing that he did or suffered he then died for us Is there any thing here but freedom of Grace and does not this exceeding highly commend the love of God that he exacts the Debt due by us of his Son and the wonderful love of the Mediator and Cautioner that at such a time and for such transgressions he should pay such a price Use 4. Seing this was our state that we were Sinners and that yet herein was the love of God commended that he laid oâ— his Son the iniquity of us all then is there not good ground to take with Sin and to make use of the Remedy to take with Sin and to close with Christ We might take occasion here to exhort 1. To Watchfulness and to walking soberly and humbly from this ground that we have such a Nature 2. To exhort every one to Repentance because by Nature ye are all in such a sinful state and condition â—t may be ground of exercising Repentance even long after your justification and peace made with God who are justified with whom it should be as we see it was with David But 3ly Seing by Nature ye are under God's Wrath and Curse and in a state of enmity with him it mainly serves to exhort you to flee unto Jesus Christ and not to rest till ye gâ—t the quarrel taken away It might be in reason thought that Folks would be soon and easily induced to this even to run unto Jesus Christ and to welcome the Gospel with good will for preventing the Curse and Wrath due to them for sin and for subduing of this sinful nature and inclination to stray from God and his Way Therefore seing there is a fountain opened to the house of David for sin and for uncleanness since there is a satisfaction given to Justice for removing the guilt of sin since the Spirit is purchased for mortifying of sin making holy let as many as think that they have gone astray and have turned to their own way as they would not be found still at this distance with God make use of Christ for making their friendship with God it 's the word that Peter useth 1 Pet. 2. ult All we like sheep have gone astray but we are now turned unto the shepherd and bishop of our souls hold O hold you near this Shepherd and make use of his Righteousness for making your Peace If we could rightly understand the words we would see in them 1. A Motive to put us on to believing in Christ and can there be a greater motive then necessity We have sinned and gone astray he is the only Saviour there is no other name given under Heaven whereby Sinners can be saved 2. There is also in them an Encouragement to Believing It was for Sinners such as we are that Jesus Christ suffered all that he suffered which may be ground of hope and encouragement to step forward and if neither our need nor Christ's being a Saviour willing to make Sinners welcome will prevail we know not what will do it It will turn to this and ye will be put to it Whether are ye Sinners and if Sinners whether is it not a desperate thing to ly under Sin and Wrath If ye be not Sinners we have no warrand to propose this Doctrine to you to invite or make you welcome to a Saviour but if ye grant that ye are Sinners will ye contentedly ly under Sin will ye be able to bear it out against God or think ye that ye will be well enough for all that and if ye dare not resolve to ly under Sin I would ask what way will ye win from it think ye it easie to win from under it must not the Justice of God be satisfied some of you think that ye can pray your selves out of Sin but what need was there of Christs sufferings if a satisfaction might have been made to Justice another way and if none but Christ can satisfie it turns to this that by all means ye would make use of him else ye will most certainly drown and die in your sins And this is the thing that we would commend to you that under the sense of sin and in the faith of Gods condescending
though infinitely above what we can conceive with His own under their Temptations and sad Soul-exercises And seing the Scripture holds out such a thing as this That our High Priest is a Man that hath bowels of Sympathy it may sufficiently warrand a Believer to expect much good this and other wayes from Christ He having Grace infinit in Him as God and a tender heart as Man to befriend them and to communicat and let out of that Grace unto them And this is great ground of Consolation to Believers under any Cross and piece of hard exercise to know that we have a Mediator who knows in experience though not the sinfulnesse that accompanies these hard exercises in us yet what these fears are of being shut out from God and how dreadfull a thing it is to be at controversie with Him and is like to these who having come thorow a sad Tryall and Piece of Exercise themselves are thereby the more ready to Sympathize with others under it 5. and lastly The consideration of this may comfort Believers even in their outward afflictions it had been another sort of Crosses that they would have been made to meet with if He had not taken this Cup of Wrath and dunken it for them and therefore they would be comforted and bless God who hath taken this Soul-travel from off them and made way for a Retreat and Shelter for them in Him and it should even shame Believers who are ready to think so much of any little Bit of inward Exercise or of outward Affliction seing our blessed Lord Jesus endured so much not only outwardly and Bodily Affliction but also so much inward Trouble and Soul-travel that thereby their Burden might be made light and their yoke easie Use 3. For Exhortation seing our Lord Jesus was put to such sore Soul-travel sure it layes a great obligation on them for whom he Suffered to endeavour to make some Suitable and Gratefull Return seing therefore we are so much in His Common and Debt we should give Him a friendly meeting in these Four which this calls for 1. It calleth for Love to Him that vented such Love to us 2. It calleth for Faith That seing He gave such a Price for us we should trust our Souls to Him 3. It calleth for Holiness and Obedience even living to Him and to the Glorifying of Him that hath bought us This Argument will sure weigh with you who on solid grounds lay claim to His Purchase 4. It calleth for Thankfulness and Praise in magnifying His Grace and Love that hath so Loved us And are not all these very suitable and becoming that Sinners should Love Him and that these who Love Him not should be Anathema Marenatha accursed to the coming of the Lord that Sinners should believe on Him and be obedient to Him and thankfull 1. If ye believe this Truth this Comfortable and Soul-ravishing Truth let me exhort you and be exhorted and prevailed with tâ— love Our Lord Jesus Christ and to give Him that answerable respect meeting and welcome that becomes If we may plead for any thing from you sure we may plead for this If it be true that He ingadged in such a Bargain in which if He had not ingadged Himself we had inevitably gone to the pit and if He hath actually payed the Pâ—â—e which He undertook to pay let your Consciences speak if it should not melt the hearts of such to whom the benefit of this is offered with Love to Him And if ye have the Faith of the Doctrine can ye deny but this obligation lyeth upon you Look in on your Consciences and Hearts and see if ye be able to shift it and if ye had suitable Palaces for intertaining Him in if ye be not bound to open to Him and give Him patent entry to them and if your Eyes were Fountains Tears if it would not become you to wash His Feet with them and to wipe them with the Hair of your Heads Would to God that you were under the suitable impression of this and that ye were by the Gospel and the Priviledges ye have by it constrained to love the Lord Jesus Christ It may be some of you think if this be all that is called for He shall not want it We assure you it is called for My Son sayeth He give me thine heart But we are afraid that though ye will confess that this is your duty and that ye should have Love to Him yet the most part of you want it For when we speak of Love to Châ—ist it is not a Pretext or Apprehension of Love that will be taken for Love but such Love as hath these Qualifications 1. If Christ be Loved He will be esteemed of as the most excellent Thing or Person the most excellent Bargain the most Kind Friend the most Loving Husband and as the most Full Compleat and absolute Sufficiency or Sufficient One As He is spoken of and esteemed of by the Spouse Can. 5. His countenance is like Lebanon excellent as the Cedars his mouth is most sweet he is altogether lovely The heart is brought to esteem of Him and to prefer Him beyond all that it can set the eye upon It were indeed somewhat if ye were brought under Conviction and through Perswasion of this that Jesus Christ is the incomparable best thing that a Sinner can have a Title to But alace He is dispised and rejected of Men though He be the chiefest of ten thousands And Men play the fool egregiously in preferring other things to Him who is infinitely worthy of the Preference uâ—â—â— and of the Preheminency above them all A 2d Evidence of Love is the hearts longing and panting after the injoyment of Him and after the injoyment of Him as the most excellent Object quite surpassing all other Objects And when the thirst and longing of the Soul is so carried out after Him as it cannot be satisfied without Him which is to be Sick of love for Him as it is Can. 2 5. and 5. v. 8. To be in a manner swooning and fâ—inting because of His absence and even greening to speak so for His presence to have the bent of the Souls Designes and Desires towards making â—f that Glorious Conquest whereof the Apostle speaks Philip. 3. Even to count all things to be but loss and dung and to cast all things as it were over Board to win to him and to be found in him To count of Him as the pearl of price and as the treasure hid in the field For the sake of which ye would strip your selves to the Skin and sell all that ye have to buy it 3. This Love to Christ Jesus hath in it a Satisfying Delight in Him and the Souls blessing of it self in Him it 's contenting it self with Him and it 's rejoycing in that Sweetness which it findeth to be in Him as being the only Attractive Object that hath such a Loveliness in it as breeds Satisfaction Which Satisfaction begets a
this cursed thing Sin For which though he graciously for the sake of these sufferings of Christ pardon the guilt of it to his people and hear their Prayers yet will needs take vengeance on their inventions Psal 99.8 be they never so seriously holy and eminently serviceable to him and to their generation according to his will whereof Moses the Man of God is a most memorable instance That Ancient conceived rightly of the nature of sin who said That if he behoved necessarily either to commit the least sin or go to Hell to be tormented there eternally he would rather wish to desire to go to Hell if he could be there without sin Secondly Concerning the severity of Divine Justice in punishing sin whereof its punishment in the Person of the Son of God at such a rate is one of the greatest clearest and most convincing evidences imaginable to whom he would not abate one farthing of the Elects debt but did with holy and spotless severity exact the whole of it And though he was the Fathers Fellow yet he would needs have him smitten with the awakened Sword of sin-revenging Justice and Wrath Zech. 13.7 As if all the executions that had heed done in the earth on men for sin as on the old World of the ungodly drowned by the Deludge On the miscreant Inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah and of these other Cities upon whom he showered down liquid flames of fire and brimstone even somewhat of Hell in a manner out of Heaven Coelum pluebat Gehennam burning them quick and frying them to death in their own skins On Core Dathan and Abiram and their associats upon whom the earth opened and swallowed them up in a most stupendious manner alive the rest being consumed by fire sent down from Heaven On the one hundred eighty five thousand men of Senacheribs Army all slain in one night by an Angel And on the Israelites who by many and various plagues were wasted and worn out to the number of six hundred thousand fighting men in the short space of fourty years Reflections on which made Moses a witness of all with astonishment to cry out Psal 90.11 Who knows the power of thy anger As if I say all these terrible executions of Justice had been done by a Sword asleep or in the Scabbard in comparison of the execution it did on Jesus Christ the Elects Cautioner against whom it awakened was unsheathed forbished and made to glitter So that we may say had all the Sons and Daughters of Adam without the exception of so much as one been eternally destroyed it would not have been a greater demonstration of the severity of the Justice of God in punishing sin Thirdly Concerning the greatness incomprehensible vastness and unparalellableness of the love of God to the Elect World which he so loved O wonderful so Eternity will but be sufficient to unfold all that is infolded in that mysterious so an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that hath not an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an ita that hath not a sicut a so that hath not an as That he gave his only begotten Son to suffer all these things Joh. 3.16 and to be thus dealt with for them And of the Mediator who was content Phil. 2.6 7 8. Isa 53.3 5 though thinking it no robbery to be equal with God to empty himself and be of no reputation to take on him the shape of a servant to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with griâ—f to be chastized smitten wounded and bruised for their iniquities To step off the throne of his declarative Glory oâ— of his Glory manifested to the Creatures and in a manner to creep on the Foot-stool thereof in the capacity of a Worm and to become obedient even unto the death the shameful and cursed death of the Cross This is indeed matchless and marvellous love Joh. 15.13 Greater then which no man hâ—th to lay down his life for his friends But he being God-man laid down his life for his enemies that he might make them friends Rom. 5.10 Eph. 39 10 O! the hight and depth the breadâ—h and length of the love of Christ whereof when all that can be said is said this must needs be said that it 's a love that passeth not only expression but knowledge its dimensions being altogether unmeasurable So that we may say if it had seemed good to the Lord and been compatible with his spotless Justice and with his infinite Wisdome as Supream Rector and Governour of the World giving a Law to his Creatures to have pardoned the sins of the Elect in the absoluteneâ—s of his dominion that knows no boundary but what the other Divine attributes set to it without any intervenient satisfaction to his Justice at all which needs not to be debated here especially since God hath determined and in the Scriptures of truth made publication of his determination that he will not pardon sin without a satisfaction and particularly without this satisfaction made by Jesus Christ It would not have been a greater and more glorious demonstration of the freeness and riches of his love then he hath given in pardoning them through the intervention of so difficult and toilsome of so chargeable and costly a satisfaction as is the sad sufferings and the sore soul-travel of his own dear Son Who yet is pleased to account sinners coming to him and getting good of him satisfaction for all that soul-travel And indeed which of these is the greatest wonder and demonstration of his love whether that he should have undergone such soul-travel for sinners or that he should account their getting good of it satisfaction to him for the same is not easie to determine but sure both in conjunction together make a wonder passing great even a most wonderful demonstration of love Fourthly Concerning what dreadful measure all they may look for who have heard of these sufferings of Christ and make not conscience in his own way to improve them for their being reconciled to God thereby and whose bond to Justice will be found still standing over their heads uncancelled in their own name as proper debters without a Cautioner When the innocent Son of God who had never done wrong Isa 53.9 and in whose mouth no guile was ever found having but become Surety for the Elects debt was thus hotly pursued and hardly handled and put through sad soul-trouble to cry What shâ—ll I say Joh. 12.27 And falling a-groof on the ground with the tear in his eye in much sorrow and heaviness even to death and in a great agony causing a sweat of blood though in a cold night and lying on the earth conditionally to pray for the passing of that Cup from him and for his being saved from that hour So formidable was it to his holy Humane Nature which had a sinless aversation from and an innocent horrour at what threatned ruine and destruction to it self simply considered And which
the other necessarily along with it never love that Faith that leaves the Heart as a Swines-sty to Lusts that leaves it swarming with unclean and vain Thoughts or that leaves the Heart just as it was before or that Faith that only cleanseth the outside and does no more such a Faith however esteemed by the Man will never be accounted for true Saving Faith before God I do not I dare not say that Believers will always discern this heart-purity or cleanness but this I say that true Faith will set the Man a work to purify the Heart and will be making use of Christ for that end not only to have the arm of the dominion of Sin broken but to have the Soul more and more delivered from the indwelling power of it and this will the design that he will sincerely drive to get the Heart purified within as well as the outward Man inward Heart-abominations will be grievous and burdensome to him as well as scandalous out-breakings A second place is Gal. 2.20 21. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life c If ye would know a Companion of true Faith here is one it hath a life of Faith with it There is one life killed and another life is quickened the life that is killed is that whereby the Man sometime lived to the Law I am dead to the Law says the Apostle a Man's good conceit of himself that once he had is killed and taken away he wonders how it came that he thought himself Holy or a Believer or how he could promise to himself Heaven in the condition he was in There is another life comes in the place of that and it 's a life that is quickened and maintained by and from nothing in the Man himself but it 's wholly from and by Christ The Believer hath his holiness and strength for doing all called for Duties and his comfort also from Christ and he holds withall his very Natural Life his present Being in the World from Christ his all is in Christ his stock of life strength and furniture is not in himself but he lives by a continual Traffick as it were on Bills of Exchange betwixt Christ and him when he wants he sends a Bill to Christ and it 's answered in every thing that he stands in need of and that is good for him He is a dead Man and he is a living Man and where-ever true Faith is there the Man is dead and there the Man is living Do not I pray mistake it by thinking that true Faith is but vented puts forth it self only in reference to this or that particular or at this or that particular time only for Fâ—ith must be exercised not only at starts as when when we are under Challenges for Sin or at Prayer but we must design and endeavour to exercise Faith thorow all our Life that is we must by Faith look for every thing that is useful and needful for us from Christ and be always endeavouring to drive on a common Trade of living this way we must be habituating our selves to seek after Peace Strength and Consolation and what else we need out of the fulness that is in Him This Life of Faith is to see the want of all things in our selves and yet to have all things by making use of Christ in all things contenting and comforting our selves that there is Strength in Him though we be weak in our selves and that He hath gotten the victory over all His and our Enemies and that we shall at last through Him be victorious in our own Persons contenting and satisfying our selves that He hath compleat Righteousness though we be Bankrupt and have none of our own and betaking our selves allenarly to that Righteousness for our Justification before God Thus making a Life to our selves in Him He living in us by His Spirit and we living in Him by Faith O sweet and desirable but mysteriouâ— Life The third place is Gal. 5.6 In Christ Jesus neither circumsion availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but faith that worketh by love He doth not simply say Faith but faith that works by love for Faith is an operative Grace and this is the main vent of it the thing by which it works it works by Love Faith is the hand of the new Creature whereby every thing is wrought it having Life from Christ and we may say that Love is in a manner the hand of Faith or rather like the fingers upon the hand of Faith whereby it handleth every thing tenderly even out of love to God in Christ and to others for His sake Faith works and it works by Love that 's a sound and good Faith that warms the Heart with love to Christ and the nearer that Faith brings the Believer to Him it warms the Heart with more love to others And therefore love to the People of God is given as an evidence of one that is born of God 1 Joh. 5.1 because wherever true Faith is there cannot but be love to the Children of God flowing from love to Him that begets them That Faith that 's not affected with God's dishonour out of love to Him and that can endure to look upon the Difficulties Sufferings and Afflictions of the Children of God without sympathizing and being kindly affected therewith is not to be taken for a sound Faith but to be suspected for a Counterfeit The fourth place is James 2 14. Shew me thy saith by thy works c. True Faith hath always sound Holiness with it in all manner of Conversation in the design and endeavour of the Believer which is withall through Grace in some measure attained What avails it for a Man to say that he loves another when being naked or destitute he bidâ— him depart in Peace be warmed be filled and yet in the mean time gives him nothing that he stands in need of would not such a poor Man think himself but mocked Even so will not God reckon you to be but Mock-believers or Mockers of Faith when ye profess your selves to be Believers in Christ while in the mean time ye have neither indeed Heart-purity nor Holiness in your outside Conversation that is but such a Faith as Devils may have that will never do you good Ye would believe this for a truth that there will never a Faith pass for Faith in God's account and so there should never a Faith pass for Faith in your account but that Faith that sets the Man a work to the study of Holiness that Faith that works by Love that Faith that purifies the Heart and that Faith that puts the Person in whom it is to study to have Christ living in him and himself living in Christ I promised to name a few Scriptures that speak out some more condescending Characters of Faith And 1. I would think it a good token of Faith to have Folk feared for missing and falling short of the Promises
to procure this of him but he freely and willingly and with delight payed your debt when ye were in the hight of malicious opposition to him doing all that might scarr him from it And had it been possible that man's malice despising and despite could have scarred him he had never died for one sinner but he triumphed openly in his grace over that and all that stood in his way 3. We have here a confirmation of that truth that holds out mans malice and desperat wickedness And can there be any thing that evidenceth man's wickedness and malice more Then 1. To have enmity against Christ 2. To have it at such an hight as to despise him and count him smitten and plagued of God And 3. To be at the hight of malice even then when he out of love was condescending so low as to suffer and satisfie Justice for him ye may possibly think that it was not ye that had such malice at Christ But saith not the Prophet We esteemed him smitten of God Taking in himself and all the elect which might give us this Observation That there is nothing more desperatly wicked and filled with more enmity against Christ in his condescending love and against God in the manifestation of his grace then when even elect souls for whom he hath suffered despise him and count him smitten of God and afflicted It 's indeed very sad yet very profitable to walk under the deep apprehension and soul-pressour of heart-enmity against God and Christ Are there any of you that think ye have such sinful and wicked natures that dispose you to think little of Christ to despise and reject him and his grace Gods Elect have this enmity in their natures And if such natures be in the Elect what must be in the Reprobat who live and die in this enmity If this were seriously considered and laid to heart O but folk would be humble nothing would affect the soul more and stound to the very heart then to think that Christ suffered for me through grace an Elect and a Believer and that yet notwithstanding I should have so despised and rejected him and accounted him smitten of God and afflicted Let me exhort all of you to look back on your former walk and to lay this enmity to heart for the day is coming when it will be found to be a biting and conscience gnawing sin to many 4. In that he aggravates their enmity from this Observe this truth which is also here confirmed that there is nothing that gives sin a deeper Dye then that it is against grace and condescending love that is against Christ when suffering for us and offered to us O! that makes sin to be exceeding sinful and wonderfully abominable and thus it is aggreged Heb. 2. As greater then the contempt of Moses his Law And Heb 6. It 's accounted to be a crucifying the Son of God a-fresh and a putting him to an open shame And Heb. 10. it 's called a trodâ—ng him under foot an accounting the blood of the Covenant to be an unholy thing and a dâ—ing despite to the Spirit of Grace These two last Scriptures look mainly to the sin against the Holy Ghost yet so as there is somewhat of that which is said in them to be found in all unbelievers their despising of Christ It 's a sin some way hateful even to the Publicans and Sinners to hate them that love us to do ill to them that do good to us How much more sinful and hateful is it to despise and hate him who loved us so as to give himself for us and when he was giving himself for us There are many sins against the Law that will draw deep but this will draw deeper then they all even sinning against Grace and the Mediator interposing for sinners and manifesting love to them And the reckoning will run thus Christ was manifested to you in this Gospel as the only remedy of sin and set forth as crucified before your eyes and made offer of to you in the Gospel and yet ye despised him and esteemed him not And let me say it to Believers that it 's the greatest aggravation of their sin It is true in some respect that the sins of Believers are not so great as the sins of others they not being committed with such deliberation and full bensil of will nor from the dominion of sin yet in this respect they are greater then the sins of others because committed against special Grace and Love actually communicated and therefore when the Believer considers that he hath requit Christ thus it will affect him most of any thing if there be any suitable tenderness of frame 5. From considering that it is the Prophet that expresseth this aggravation we may Observe that the Believer that is most tender and hath best right to Jesus Christ and his satisfaction and may upon best ground apply it will be most sensible of his enmity and of the abominable guilt that is in despising and wronging of Jesus Christ Therefore the Prophet brings in himself as one of those that by Christs stripes were healed taking with his guilt we despised and rejected him we esteemed him not we judged him smitten of God The reason is because interest in Jesus Christ makes the heart tender and any wrong that 's done to him to affect the sooner and the more deeply the scurf that sometime was on the heart being in a measure taken away and interest in Christ awakeneth and raiseth an esteem of him and produceth a holy sympathy with him in all the concerns of his glory even as the members of the body have a fellow-feeling with the head Make a supposition that a man in his madness should smite and wound his head or wrong his Wife his Father or his Brother when that fit of madness is over he is more affected with that wrong then if it had been done to any other member of his body or to other persons not at all or not so nearly related to him There is something of this pointed at Zech. 12.10 They shall look unto him whom they have pierced and mourn for him as a man doth for his only Son As if he had said the stroaks they have given the head shall then be very heavy and grievous to be born and will be made to their feeling to bleed a-fresh They thought not much of these woundings and piercings of him before but so soon as their interest in him is clear or they come cordially to believe in him they are kindly affected with the wrongs done to him The Use is That it 's a mark to try if there be indeed an interest in Christ and if it be clear The man whose interest is clearest 1. His wrongs done to Christ will prick him most if the wrongs be done by others they affect him if by himself they some way faint him Wholeness of heart under wronging of Christ is too great an evidence that there is
Kindly Warmness in the Heart to Him again even till the Soul be put in a Holy Low or Flame of Love to Him more of this Love would make Christ and the Gospel much more Sweet and would make every one of these words that expresseth His Love in His Sufferings to be like Marrow and Fatness and would also make the Promises to be like Breasts full of Consolation It would withall cause that there would not be such mistakes of Christ nor such gaddings and whorings from Him and such preferrings of Idols to Him as alace there are Where this Love is not there can be no other thing that will be acceptable We shall say no more for the time but only this That we do appeal to your Consciences if there be not here an excellent and non-such Object of Love and if there be not here much reason to be in Love with that Object A very Heathen will return Love for Love and should not we much more do so in this case God Himself kindle this Love in us and make us know more the great advantages of it SERMON XLV ISAIAH LIII XI Verse 11. He shall see of the travell of his soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities THe Work of Redemption is a business that was very gravely and very seriously contrived and prosecuted in respect of God and of the Mediator there was much earnestness in it as to them and yet notwithstanding which is a wonder Men whom it concerns so much whose Salvation depends on it and to whom the benefit of it redounds are but very little serious in their thoughts of it Our Lord Jesus was in Travel Soul-travel sore Soul-travel to bring about this Work and that the Gospel might be Preached to Sinners that they might have thereby a ground to their Faith to expect Life and Remission of Sins through Him Is it not then sad that we should speak and hear of it and be in a manner like the stone in the wall no more or little more affected with it than if it were a matter that did not at all concern us The Reading and Hearing of these Words will doubtless be a great Conviction to secure Sinners that our Lord Jesus was at such pains and put to such sore Soul-travel and Suffering and that yet such Sinners were never stirred nor made serious to have the Application of this Purchased Redemption made to them The Scope of these Words is to shew the great inward Soul-travels Conflicts and Straits that our blessed Lord Jesus had and was put to in throughing of the Work of Redemption and in paying the Price due to the Justice of God for the Sins of the Elect It 's a wonder that ever we should have it to speak of and that ye should hear of this Subject which is the very Text to say so and Sum of the Gospel And therefore before we leave it we shall speak a little more to the Use of it and truly if we make not use of this Doctrine we will make use of none though I confess it is a great practique how to draw it to Use and to conform ourselves in our practice to the Use of it We proposed somethings the last day which we could not then prosecute As 1. something for Exhortation 2. Something for Reproof and Expostulation which rising clearly from the Doctrine drawn from the Words we may now insist a little in them 1. For Exhortation Considering Christs Sufferings and the extremity of them and that they were undergone for Sinners we would exhort you to love Him as ye ought There is ground and warrand here to require it of you seing that Love in His bosome came to such an hight that He was content to lay down His Life yea seing He was in such a hot flame of Love that the Cup of Wrath did not quench it but His Love drank and dryed it up Greater love then this hath no man It is a most wonderfull Love considered with all the circumstances whereby it is hightened And there is ground here to excite and stir you up to give Him a kindly meeting and to welcome His Love with Love It will sure be a great shame if our Lords Love stood at nothing so that He might do the Fathers will and finish the Work committed to Him which was the perfyting of the Work of Sinners Redemption the Redeeming of His lost Sheep It every triffle or any triffle shall quench Love in our hearts to Him O! What a shame will it be in the Day of Judgement to many when this Man shall be brought forth loving this Idol and another Man loving that Idol more then Christ this Man loving his Lust that Man his Ease and another Man hâ—s Wealth or Honour and preferring them to Christ and when it shall be found that they would not quit nor part with their right Eye nor their right Hand which are not worth the name of Members being called so because they are Members of the Body of Death out of Love to Him Think Folks what they will that native impression of the obligation that lyes upon them to love Christ is wanting and that Divine and Soul-ravishing Influence that His Love should have on hearts It is true ye all think that ye love Him unless it be some of them who indeed love Him but if ye could reflect upon your selvâ—s ye would find that ye have little or no love at all to Him indeed And therefore for undeceiving of you beside what we said the last day take two or three Characters of kindly love to Christ 1. This Love is never satisfied with any degree or measure that it hath attained so as to sit down on it It hath these two things in it A desire to be further on in Love and a weightedness that it cannot win at growth in Him The loving Soul is disposed to think that it's Love to Christ is not worthy to be called Love and it breaths after it even to have it self warmed therewith to Him and to be brought to a further nearness to Him as we may see through the Song of Solomon And particularly Chap. 7. at the close There will I give thee my loves And Chap. 8. O that thou wert as my brother that sucked the breasts of my mother Kindly Love to Him puts the Soul to long for an opportunity to vent it's Love towards Him 2. Where this Love is the Soul will be as serious in praying for it that it may attain it as if it wanted it and it will be as much affected for the want of the lively exercise of it and will be as much challenged for coming short in it as it will be for any other Sin There is no benefit that it seeks more after then to have the heart circumcised to love Him and O! but it will be accounted a great benefit to get love to Christ And