Souls these are special seasons for putting Him to exerce His Office in Justifying of them and this day this Scripture is fulfilled in your ears and ye should let it sink in your hearts that Our Lord Jesus is pursuing His Commission and performing His Service keeping up the Treaty and inviting and perswading Sinners to come to Him that the pleasure of the Lord may prosper in His hand And therefore know assuredly that this is it that Christ is imployed in and taken up with even to get sinners fred from the Guilt of Sin and from Wrath by His Righteousnesse It is not only nor mainly to get them brought to the Church and to His Supper or to get them made Formal and to abstain from Cursing Swearing and Profanity though these will follow of will but it is to get them brought in to Himself and Justified And we have these two Words to say to you further in this matter 1. There is here good ground of encouragement to a poor Soul that would fain make Use of Christ for Pardon of Sin This is even it that Christ is intrusted with It is for this end that He is Legated and Commissioned of the Father And will He not thinks thou do that which He is intrusted with and for which He is mainly sent This is saith He John 6.39 the will of him that sent me that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on him should have everlasting life and that I should raise him up at the last day Which is in Sum That by his knowledge many should be justified And it 's added For he shall bear their iniquities To anticipat and answer an objection For a sensible Sinner might say how can I be justified that have so many Sins Here is a Solution of that doubt He shall satisfie for them All these Words are as it were big with Child of Consolation being the very Heart and Life of the Gospel as any thing that comes so near to Christs Commission and unfolds so much of it is A 2d Word is this That ye mistake Christs Errand Work and Service very far who think to content Him and put Him off with this who would give Him the Name of a Saviour and yet would be at the saving of your selves without Him who would complement Him as it were with fair Generalls but will have none of His Phisick or of His Cures nor will renunce your own Righteousness and make use of His for your Justification This says one of these Four Either that He is not Commissionated and Trusted for this end or that He is not meet for that Trust or that He is not Faithfull in it Or else that ye can do your own turn without Him and that there is no need of His Office And which of all these can abyde the Tryal before God And yet it shall be upon one of these that ye shall be found to have cast at Christ and to have refused to permit Him so far as ye could hinder and abstruct to do His Fathers business and if ye Just not accompts with Him there will be a most dreadfull Reckoning betwixt God and you 2dly Observe That this particular Trust anent the Justifying of Sinners Our Lord Jesus doth most Righteously Diligently Dextrously Tenderly and Faithfully Discharge It was His Fathers will that He should be Baptized and fulfill all Righteousness and more especially that He should Justifie many in this He is very Skilfull and Faithfull and it is on this account He is called The good shepherd and that He is said to lay down his life for his sheep That He is called a faithfull high Priest and is said to be one that is able to save to the uttermost these that come unto God through him and that He is Holy harmless and separat from sinners fit to make Peace betwixt God and Sinners another sort of Priest than Aaron was or any that were before Him He is in a word such a high Priest as became us and as we stood in need of who needed not to Offer Sacrifice for His own Sins He had no more to do but to Satisfie for us The Prophet Isaias Chap. 40.11 Tells how tender he is in bringing Souls to Heaven He gathers the lambs with his arme he carries them in his bosome and gently leads those that are with young And Chap. 42.3 That a bruised reed he will not break and the smoaking flax he will not quench And it is said 1 John 2. If any man sin we have an advocat with the Father and who is he Jesus Christ the righteous Righteous in the Faithfull managing of His Trust by making Sinners Peace with God Would ye know then in what respects or on what account it is that Christ is called Servant We answer in these Respects 1. Though we have failled and broken the Law yet He hath not and God will not look down on Him 2. In this Respect That He pleads for no Sinners Pardon but He can fully pay their Debt and hath done it if He seek one thing from God He yeelds in another and according to the Covenant of Redemption exactly proceeds For He is a propitiation He seeks nothing but he payes for it and wrongs not him in the least who hath Trusted him the Lord Jehovah is not a lâ—ser but hath His Honour restored by Him 3. In respect of His keeping Faith to the Persons that have need of Him for whom He hath undertaken He is not only faithfull to the Master but to the Children and Servants He owns and acknowledges them when they come to Him under their necessities and is forthcoming to them every way suitable and answerable to His Place and Trust in doing good to Sinners Use Had we sensible Sinners to speak to Sinners groaning under a Body of Death with pricked hearts crying out What shall we do for the wrongs that we have done to God Sinners under holy fear to spoil and mar the Bargain and to hazard their own Souls had we I say such Sinners to speak to There are good news here to them the Trust of saving Souls is committed to a Faithfull Shepherd it is not committed to your selves for so it had been a dolefull Trust but it is committed to Him that hath gotten the Sheep by Name given to Him to be kept by Him and He will not suffer them to miscarrie nor to go quite wrong And what more would ye have A salvation and a Price is much but it is more to have a Saviour to make the Application of His Purchase a Bishop of Souls to Justifie and carrie Sinners through to make it sure before God and to make it out the Sinner may sleep sound which in the sense of Sin hath betaken himself to Him to be Justified by His Righteousness and to be in His Debt and Common for obtaining of Pardon and for making the Application of what by His Sufferings He hath Purchased We can say but little to
and me in the Covenant of Redemption when as theirs is love from bottom even to brim whatever mixture may sometimes be of paternal and domestick Justice proper and peculiar to God's own Family and which as the Head and Father thereof he exerciseth therein not so much as one gut or scruple of vindictive wrath being left therein Ah! it 's both a sin and shame that there shoâ—â—d be with such even with such so much shyness and shrinking to drink after him in the cup of his Cross especially considering that there is such a high degree of honour put upon the suffering Believer for Christ above and beyond what is put on the simple Believer in him so that in the Scripture accompt the suffering Believer is not only but also according to what the Apostle saith Philip. 1.29 To you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake Eighthly Concerning what mighty obligation lyeth on Believers to mourn and weep to be sad and sorrowful for sin how can they look on him whom they have thus bruised wounded and pierced by their sins without the tear in their eye without mourning for him and being in bitterness as a man is for his first-born and for his only begotten son when they think as all of them on serious consideration will find reason to think that if their sins keeped the tryst and rendezvous when all the sins of all the Elect did meet and were laid on him then sure there came no greater company and more numerous troop of sins to that solemn rendezvous from any of all the redeemed then came from them and that he had not a heavier load and burden of the sins of any then he had of theirs whereby he was even pressed as a cart is pressed down under the sheaves and was made most grievously to groan even with the groanings of a deadly wounded man and that if he was wounded and pierced by their iniquities then surely he was more deeply wounded and pierced by the iniquities of none then by theirs O! what mourning should this cause to them even such mourning as was at Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddo on the occasion of the sad slaughter and death of that good and desirable king Josiah this is indeed one of the most genuine and kindly one of the most powerful and prevalent one of the sweetest and strongest springs of and motives to true Gospel-repentance sorrow and mourning for sin Ninthly Concerning the notable and non-such obligation that lyeth on Believers to study the crucifixion and mortification of sin Was it not their sins that crucified and killed precious Jesus Christ the prince of life was it not their sins that violently drove the Nails thorow his blessed hands and feet and thrust the Spear thorow his side to the bringing forth of water and blood shall they not in their burning zeal and love to him and in the height of holy indignation at themselves be avenged on that which brought such vengeance on him shall they not seriously seek to be the death of that which brought him to death and whereof the death and destruction was one of his great designs therein on which he was so intent that in the prosecution of it he did amidst his dying pangs and agonies breathe out his soul O! let it never be heard for shame that ever any of them shall find the least sweetness in that accursed thing that was so bitter to him that ever any of them shall be found to dally with or to hug that serpent and viper in their bosom that so cruelly stung him to death But this being the great subject of these following Sermons wherein the Preacher being in a good measure wise Eccles 12.10 11. hath sought to find out acceptable words and words I hope of uprightness and truth O that they may be to the Readers as goads and nails fastened by him who is the great master of assemblies I shall insist no further only I think I may humbly say that to my knowledge none have preached on this whole Chapter to better purpose every way many may have done vertuously but it 's probable he will be found to excell them all nay if I should say that for any thing I know this Book for so much is amongst the best Books of this nature the World hath seen I suppose hardly will any judicious Christian thorowly exercised to Godliness after he hath read it all over and pondered it think that I have greatly if at all hyperbolized There are in these choice Sermons deepths as it were for Elephants to swim in whereof his surprâ—â—sing sublimely spiritual and very deep diving discourses concerning the Nature of Christs Intercession and the right improvement of it in the last six Sermons is a notable instance and shallows for Lambs to wade in Heb. 5.13 14. There is in them milk for babes in Christ and stronger meat for such as are of full age who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil Nay I may in a good measure say of these Sermons as it 's said of the learned Discourses of a late great man That in the doctrinal part of several of them ye will find the deepth of Poleâ—ical Divinity and in his inferences from thence the sweetness of Practical somethings that may exercise the profoundest Schollar and others that may edifie the weakest Christian nothing readily is more nervous and strong then his Reasonings and nothing more sweetly and powerfully affecting then his Applications There is in them much for information of the Judgment for warming of the Affections and for direction toward a Gospel-becoming Conversation there is much for clearing and expeding the doubts and difficulties of more weak and more darkned Christians and much for edifying confirming and establishing of more growen ones there is much for conviction reproof warning humbling for stirring up and provoking to the serious exercise of Godliness and much for the comforting and refreshing of such as stand in need and are capable of Consolation there is much for discovering rouzing awakening and all â—raming of carnal secure unsound hollow-hearted and hypocritical professours of Religion and much for beating and hammering down of the pride of conceity self-justifying Professors much for training on of young beginners and much for advancing and carrying on in their Christian course such as are entered into it and have made any tollerable progress therein In a woed 2 Tim. 2.15 he doth in a great measure approve himself to God as a work-man that needs not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth and as a skilful and faithful Steward giving to every one his portion in due kind measure and season It may be some Readers will think that there are in these Sermons several co-incidencies of purposes and repetitions To which I shall but presume to say that beside that there is a great
I am not like other men nor like this Publican They are no Drunkards no Oppressors they neither Curse nor Swear and when they see any prophane Persons they are puft up with a good Opinion of themselves because they are not as prophane as they Or 2. They will come a furder Length and positively do many Duties upon which they rest and whereof they are ready to boast with that same Pharisee who vaunted I fast twice a week I give tithes of all I possesse If any Dutie be performed or any good be done by them their Fingers are ready to say so to stick to it But 3. and especially if there be any inward Work as if there be any Liberty or Motion of the affections in Prayer if there be at hearing the Word some Convictions sharper at one time then at another if there be any sort of Repentance Ruing and Sadnesse for Sin c. These they think will do their turn It is most certain and might be cleared both from the Word of God and from Experience that many hundreds of Professors Dash and Perish on this Stumbling Block Isaiah 48.1.2 Where the Lord is speaking of a People that made mention of his name and sware by him but not in truth nor in righteousness of whom He sayes that they call and count themselves of the holy citie and stay themselves upon the God of Israel and the Ground of it is their resting on external Duties of Fasting and Prayer and the like expectations of Happiness grounded on some feckless performances cut the Throats of many Civil and Discreet Men that are not grosly prophane A 3d. Sort do not altogether slight and neglect Christ Himself but they slight and neglect His Offering as if they would in a manner make use of Himself but not of His Sacrifice as Matth. 19. and Mark 10. There is a Man spoken of that comes to Christ would fain be at Heaven and askes good master what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life and yet he was going on the Grounds of his own Righteousnesse this is exceeding subtile and deceitfull And therefore ye would take the better Notice of it and how it is fallen into A man may come to Christ as God for Pardon of Sin and some think though most Ignorantly and Erroniously that Christ the Son is more compassionat and ready to Pardon then the Father and may seek Pardon from Him but not for His sake or on His account for there is a difference betwixt making Christ the object of our Worship and making use of Him as Mediator There are many that have prayed to Christ as God and sought Pardon of Sin from Him who never prayed to obtain Pardon by vertue of His Offering Folk may also desire help from Christ to inable them to do Duties that they may thereby work out the work of their own Salvation and be helped this way to make their peace with God who do not ground the making of their Peace with God on His Offering alone These things are exceeding frequent in Peoples Practice who will pray to Christ for such and such things and yet not found their expectation of them upon His Offering or His Righteousness If we would make use Christ's Offering Singly and Rightly we would eschew these and all other wrong wayes 4. It may be asked then what are the Evidences that may give a Person some clearness that he is making use of Christ's Righteousness aright and that it is not his own Righteousnesse nor the making use of Christ only as He is God that sustains him I answer that this is indeed a Mistery and will require searching and watching to observe our own Condition And moe things concurre then one or two to make a full discovery of it In speaking to this as we desire to strengthen the presumption of none So we shall labour to shun the weakning of the Faith of any Sound Believer There are then these Six or Seven Differencing Evidences or Characters of a Person that is rightly making use of Christ's Offering which Difference Him from others And 1. one that truely makes use of Christ's Offering hath not only been brought to see his need of It but his Natural Propension and Readinesse to misken it and rest upon other things beside it for the making of his Peace Whereas another Man who does not rightly make use of it though he may see his Sin and so his need of it yet he sees not neither will take with the Tendencie Propensness and Inclination of his Heart to rest upon some other thing beside it See this difference in Paul before and after Conversion Phil. 3. Before he was Converted he studied as he thought all the Righteousnesse of the Law and no doubt offered Sacrifices which implyed the acknowledgement of Sin and he thought that all was well with him Therefore he sayes touching the righteousnesse of the Law he was blamelesse and verse 6. These things that were gain to me Or these things that I placed my Righteousnesse in I thought the moe Sacrifices that I offered I had the more to buy my Peace by He sees that in his studying of Holinesse he was seeking to make a Stock in himself But after his Conversion he casts all these as to leaning to them or making them any ground of his Peace with God or of his Justification before Him he betakes himself only to Christ's Righteousness and counts them to be but loss I would think it a good evidence for folks not only to see the loosnesse of thâ—ir Hearts in Dutie and that to be a Sin but to see when ought went well with them the inclination of their hearts ready to account that to be Gain and to rest upon it There is such an Humour and Natural Inclination in all and it is a good Token when it is discovered and becomes a Binder and the ground of a Challenge not only that they have sinned in this and that and the other Duty but that they have gone a whoring after their fecklesse performances to the prejudice of their esteem of Christ and of His Righteousness Before the law came saith Paul Rom. 7. I was alive I thought I had a Stock to do my own turn but when the commandment came sin revived and I died There are many that will be convinced of Sin in their performances that will not be convinced of this sinfull Inclination to put these in Christ's Room A 2d Difference or Evidence is this One that aims to make use of Christ's Offering and Righteousness not only their Sins will be an exercise to them how to win over them to Christ but it will be their exercise also how to win over their Graces and Duties to Him It will be an exercise to them not only to have such a Sin in their Dutie taken away but how to win over the Dutie it self that they stumble not on it to the prejudice of their trusting to Christ whereas another Man
the Believer and that the Believer may feed sweetly and delicately on them till the time come that the Vail of Similitudes betaken away and they be brought to see Him as He is even Face to Face and that thereby they may be helped to win to read their advantages and priviledges which they have in Him What can be the reason then that so few think and esteem suitably of the Excellent and Desirable Condition of Believers and that words of this kind relish not Here is the Reason He of whom they hold all these Priviledges and by whom they are put into this Notable and Non-such Condition is not suitably Esteemed of and accounted Precious Therefore Believers in Him are thought the less of Our hearts should melt in love to Him and in sorrow for offending Him at the Reading and Hearing of such expressions wherewith the Scriptures of God are stuffed full 2ly Are there any that would have a Good and Happy Condition summed up and compended Here it is even to have our Lord Jesus to be a Father and to be His Seed to come in as Sons and Daughters to Him I appeal to you all if any Condition can be put in the Ballance with this Is there any Honour and Dignity like it or comparable with it Who can claim to be come of such a Parent as is He who is King of kings and Lord of lords the Prince of the kings of the earth The Father of Glory His eldest and only begotten Son by an Eternal and unspeakable Generation who in all things hath the preheminency What is your Pedegrie who will say and boast that ye are of such a Laird's or Lord's House and of such an Ancient Family and Stock yea though ye were of Blood Royal what is it to this what will become of Mens Gentility or Nobility of Birth yea of Royalty of Birth in that Day when Christ shall set His Throne in the Clouds To have this Relation to Christ will be more Valuable and Honourable in that Day then to have been great Commanders Lairds Lords Marquesses Dukes Princes and King's who will all in that Day stand upon the same Level with the Poorest Peasants and when all Honours and Dignities which are now so much thought of and thirsted after will be laid in the Dust Therefore learn to think of this as the Noblest Birth and Descent which is through Faith in Christ Jesus And Covet and be holily Abitious to have the Qualifications of His Children Look to the Qualifications Parts Induements and Aâ—complishments that use to accompany or â—olâ—ow any Houses of the Braven of Natural Men Are there any of them comparabâ—e to the Qualifications of Bâ—lievers Is there a Stock or Race of People in all the World so truely Generous and Noble as Believers are who are come of Christ and are made valiant through the exercise of Faith in Him against all occurring difficulties Regardlesse of worldly things And taken up with aâ—d bussied about high and noble Projects and Designs even to have Heaven and Glory and God Himself who undervalue and holily disdain the things of the World which earth-worms so much seek after Their Qualifications kyth especially in this that their designs are Heavenly their minds elevated to and set on the best things and that they have a truly magnanimous and a valerous way of prosecuting them by studying the mortification of Sin and conformity to God when others cannot endure to cast out with and abandon a lust They holily scorn and account it below them to have their Peace standing or falling with the ebbing and flowing of Creature Comforts which the Men of the World place their happinesse n Their study is to be Pure as Christ is Pure O! is there any Porâ—ion like theirs many or you think but little of it now but ye will think more of it in that Day when the Earth and all things in it shall be burnt up with Fire What will the Earth-portion signifie then Ye that now have your variety of Fine and Delicat Meats with your Ale and Wine at every Meal who shall be found out of Christ shall not get a Drop of cold Water to cool your Tongue under â—our exquisit and Hel ish Torments when the Poor Body that believed and had a hard Life of it here shall be in Abrahams Bosome and with Christ at His Table yea and on His Throne with Him And it is upon the account of their having a Title to Christ that they come to all that Glorie and Happiness O! is there any Right and Title like the Believers which is founded on Christ's Right and Title which is or may be called the Original Right of the Believer who is keeped by the power of God through faith unto salvation If these be the true and faithfull sayings of God what is the reason that Men think so little of them Why is an Interest in Christ to undervalued Believe ye that such and so much good is to be gotten by being Christ's Seed and Children If ye say that ye believe it how comes it to pass that so few have it for their Design and that your Designes are so much for this and that in a present World and that this is so much slighted and that there is so much boasting and glorying in other things and so little holy Boasting and Glorying in this There are two or three Marks which we may gather from the Words that may help to shew when this Claim is warrantably made and which may evidence the groundlessness of the Claim of many And 1. Christ's Seed have another Original then that which they bring with them into the World There is in them a change oâ— the ground of their hope And that on a new account Folk comes into the World sinful Chi dren of sinfull Parents but when they come to be Believers they get a new Life which Men cannot give and this new Life hath new Actings and Fruits Ah! How many dream of a Right to Christ who know no other Birth or Being but that which is Natural 2. They who are Christ's Seed carry alâ—â—g with them the impression of an Obligation to and an acknowledgement of Him in whatever good they have gotten they think themselves much oblidged to Christ and they acknowledge Him for their Life As it is Malachi 1. If I be a father where is my honour and if a Master where is my fear a son honours his fathe c. A natively and Genuinly disposed Child acknowledgeth his Father As his Father and reverenceth and loveth his Father as his Father But there are many that pretend to a Being from Christ who think not themselves in His Debt and Common for it and who know not what is is to walk under the Conviction of their Obligation to Christ for their supposed spiritual Life and Being 3. They who are Christ's Seed have in them a likeness to Him as they did once bear the image of the earthly so