loved us He that * 2 Cor. 5.21 knew no sin was willing to be made sin †1 Pet. 2.24 to bear our sins in his own body vpon the tree to put himself in our stead yea to die in our stead for our sakes to be ‖ Phil. 2.8 obedient to death even the death of the Cross to let out his precious blood for the expiation of sin when nothing else would do it and when all Mosaical Sacrifices were weak he by a far higher Sacrifice undertook the work * Heb. 10.7 Lo I come to do thy will O God was not here love even love †Eph. 3.19 passing knowledge such high affection on his part should draw out high admiration on our part Let me here add we should so admire God and Christ as to love them and to be thankful Have they ‖ Joh. 3.16 so loved us and shall not we return love for love what monsters and prodigies shall we be if after such a manifestation of their love to us there be not reciprocation of our love to them God design'd and prepar'd the Sacrifice therefore he must have our love Christ was the Sacrifice therefore he must have our love too both deserve it both must have it Joh. 10.17 Therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down my life now doth the Father love him for this and shall not we much more did we but think of this Sacrifice and hold our hearts close to it in holy meditation surely it would cause them to love Christ Then I say be thankful yea let your whole Soul upon this go out in thankfulness be ever praising magnifying God for his unspeakable mercy in Christ your Sacrifice your Redeemer your Saviour often call upon your sluggish hearts and say Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy name Did God * Rom. 3.25 set forth Christ to be a propitiation did he †Isa 53.5 6. lay upon him the iniquities of you all was the chastisement of your peace upon him and by his stripes are you healed that guilt and wrath which would have ruin'd you for ever are they now both done away so as that they shall never hurt you did Christ die * Mediator noster puniri pro seipso non debuit quia nullum culpae contagium perpetravit Sed si ipse indebitam mortem non susciperet nunquam nos à debitâ morte liberaret Gregor l. 3. moral c. 13. that you might not die but live for ever did you sin and he suffer was the †innocent person punished that the guilty might be acquitted was sin condemned for you who deserv'd to be condemn'd for it what praise and admiration can be high enough for such things as these The JEWS in the day of atonement were to make the trumpet sound throughout their land Lev. 25.9 So we having received the atonement by Christ's Sacrifice should evermore be sounding forth the praises of the most high You reade of the Elders Rev. 5.8 c. they fell down before the Lamb having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of Saints And they sang a new son saying Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood c. * Peccat iniquus punitur justus delinquit reus vapulat innocens offendit impius damnatur pius quod meretur malus patitur bonus c. Quò Nate Dei quò tua descendit humilitas quo tua flagravit charitas c. Ego iniquè egi tu poenâ mulctaris ego facinus admisi tu ultione plecteris c. Me ad illicitam concupiscentiam rapuit arbor te perfecta charitas duxit ad crucem ego praesumsi vetitum tu subiisti aculeum c. August in Quest in V. N. Testam Qu. 55. Christians why are not your harps alwayes in your hands why are not your Souls alwayes full of holy affections as the golden Vials full of odours in the remembrance of him who was slain and sacrific'd for you Christ having offered his Sacrifice we are to offer ours 8. Lastly Do you offer to God the Sacrifices proper to you as Christ offered to God the Sacrifice proper to him For expiatory Sacrifices as you need them not Christ's one Sacrifice being every way sufficient for that end so you are not able to come up to them for you can present nothing to God properly and formally expiatory yet there are other Sacrifices which you may offer up to him And though the external and fleshly Sacrifices of the Law are out of date yet there are the internal and spiritual Sacrifices of the Gospel which you now are as much oblig'd to observe and offer as ever the JEWS were the former What are they why you are to present your selves your bodies Souls the whole man a living Sacrifice holy and acceptable to God Rom. 12.1 you are to dedicate your persons to Christ so as to live to him who dy'd for you 2 Cor. 5.15 yea so as to be ready to be offered in sacrifice by dying for him to allude to that Phil. 2.17 You are as an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 2.5 which spiritual Sacrifices are spiritual Dutys and Evangelical Worship prophesy'd of Mal. 1.11 in every place incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure offering Here come in * Oratio purè directa de corde fideli tanquam de arâ Sanctâ surgit incensum August in Psal 141. Prayer and Praise those two eminent Sacrifices under the Gospel Psal 141.2 Let my Prayer be set forth before thee as Incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening Sacrifice Psal 116.17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the Lord so Psal 107.22 Psal 54.6 Heb. 13.15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name this is set forth as here by the fruit of the lips so elsewhere by the free-will-offerings of the mouth Psal 119.108 by rendring the calves of our lips Hos 14.2 And for the pleasingness of this to God above all the Levitical Sacrifices see Psal 50.13 14. Psal 69.30 31. O this is a Sacrifice which we should often be offering up to God through Christ Jesus Another Evangelical Sacrifice is a broken Spirit than which next to a broken Christ nothing more acceptable to God Psal 51.16 17. For thou desirest not sacrifice else would I give it thou delightest not in burnt-offering The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise So also bounty to the poor distressed Saints this is an odour of sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable well
heart such as thus * Math. 5.4 mourn shall be comforted these * Joh. 2.9 waters Christ will turn into wine As joy in sin will end in sorrow so sorrow for sin will end in joy But to return to our Apostle He had as to his outward state his abasements and his advancements too and he knew how to carry himself under both * Philip. 4.12 I know how to be abased and I know how to abound So as to his inward state he also had his abasements and his advancements Sometimes t is O wretched man that I am c. there 't was abasement then presently 't is There is no Condemnation c. there 't was advancement And let me add that Pauls comfort in this Chapter had never been so high so full as to himself so encouraging as to others if he had not in the former Chapter first smarted under the cutting and piercing Conviction of Sin O to have one who but even now was almost pressed down under Soul-burdens now saying yet there is no Condemnation to them c. how may this animate and strengthen the Faith of a poor Christian when ever troubles of Conscience by reason of sin shall be upon him The Prop. considered in its parts This being the Proposition I will consider it in its Parts And so you have in it First The Praedicate or the Priviledge asserted viz. exemption from Condemnation There is therefore now no Condemnation c. Secondly The Subject or the Persons described to whom and to whom onely the Priviledge belongs And to take the most easie division of the words at present they are described 1. By their Vnion with Christ in reference to their State they are such who are in Christ Jesus 2. By their Qualification or Property in reference to their Course they walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit I conceive this Clause doth more immediately refer to the persons who are in Christ and is properly descriptive of them yet mediately they may refer to and be descriptive of the persons to whom there is no Condemnation as I shall hereafter show Of the different readings of the words If you take the words in the body of them there is some yet no very great difference in the reading of them The latter branch but after the Spirit is wholly left out by the Vulgar Translation and by those Expositors who follow it I know not why unless it be because the Syriac Version did the same which * Proinde nulla est Condemnatio iis qui non ambulant secundum carnem in Jesu Christo Vers Syr. Version in the reading of the Words is not only defective as to this but very harsh in the misplacing of them There is therefore no Condemnation to those who walk not after the flesh in Christ Jesus Some other such Variations might be taken notice of but I 'le pass them by The General Proposition being taken in pieces will afford us these two Observations 1. That there is no Condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus The Obs raised 2. That such who are in Christ Jesus and so secured from Condemnation this is their Property or Course they walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit The discussing of these two Points will take me up some time Of the first Observation I begin with the First in the handling of which I will 1. chiefly speak to the Priviledge and only in a general way joyn the description of the Subject with it 2. I will then more particularly speak to that and show what it is to be in Christ Jesus or how persons may be said to be in Christ Jesus Of the First at this time For the better opening of which I must premise these seven things Seven things premised for explications 1. First the Apostle doth not say There is now no Affliction or no Correction to them who are in Christ but there is no Condemnation to them who are in Christ 'T is one thing to be afflicted another thing to be condemned God may and will afflict his Children but he 'le never condemn them it may be much affliction yet 't is no Condemnation Indeed God afflicts here that he may not condemn hereafter 1 Cor. 31.32 When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the World God is so gracious that he will not condemn yet withall so wise so just so holy that he will afflict Grace in the Heart secures from eternal not from temporal Evils God cannot condemn and yet love but he can chasten and yet love nay therefore he chastens because he loves As many as I love I rebuke and chasten whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth And it may be even to them who are in Christ not only bare Affliction but there may be something of the nature of * Quamvis Deus absoâ—vit verè poenitentes ab omni poenâ satisfactoriâ propter Christi mortem non tamen illos liberat abomni poenâ medicinali castigatoriâ Davenant in Col 1.24 See of this Burg. of Justif Lect. 4.5.10 Eaxt. Aphor. p. 68. c. Boltons Bounds c. p. 163. c. Rutherfâ— Survay paâ—â—â— ch 31. Punnishment in that affliction though not in a vindictive way or upon the account of satisfaction The nearer a person is to Christ and the dearer he is to God the surer he is to be punished if he sin Tou only have I know of all the Families of the Earth therefore I will punish you for your iniquities Amos 3.2 God may pardon and yet punish temporal punishment is very consistent with pardoning Mercy Psal 99.8 Thou answeredst them O Lord our God thou wast a God that forgavest them though thoù tookest vengeance of them for their iniquities God had put away Davids sin yet he shall smart for it his own Soul shall live but his Child shall dye as a punishment for his sin See 2 Sam. 12.13 14. The Malefactor may not be condemn'd to dye as to his Life he may be acquitted yet he may be judged to be whipp'd or burnt in the hand for his offence so 't is here You must distinguish therefore betwixt no Condemnation and no Affliction or no Correction Saints are exempted from the former but not from the latter 2. Secondly The Apostle doth not say there is no Matter of Condemnation in them who are in Christ only as to Fact he saith there is no actual Condemnation to such There is a vast difference betwixt what is deserved and what is actually inflicted betwixt what is de Jure and ex Merito and what is de Facto Take the very best of Saints there is enough and enough in them which deserves eternal Condemnation and if God should proceed according to their merit it would be Condemnation over and over again for even they have sin and commit sin and wherever
The particular prevailing Sin to be most watch'd against and resisted And here especially you must be careful and vigilant about that particular sin to which you are most strongly enclin'd or which hath the greatest strength in you about the Diotrephes-sin the Herodias or darling-Sin that which is as the right eye or the right-hand I say your eye must be chiefly upon this that it do not prevail and domineer over you Every man in the world hath some one Sin which is uppermost in him which carries it before all the rest to which all do vail and stoop 't is pride in one fleshly lust in another greediness after the world in a third and so on Nay a Child of God too usually hath some particular sin which is predominant in him which though it doth not absolutely reign in him for then he would be under the Law of Sin yet comparatively it doth i. e. it hath a greater power over him than any other sin hath David calls it his iniquity Psal 18.23 Look as the Saints though they have every Grace in them all being planted together in the new Nature yet there is some particular grace which shows it self more eminently in one than in another as faith in Abraham meekness in Moses patience in Job zeal in Hezekiah c. So e contrà though they and others have every sin in them radically and seminally in the corrupt Nature yet there is some particular sin which ordinarily vents it self with more strength than the rest which having the advantage of the Constitution Education Calling Condition c. is stronger than others how that may be known * See Burg. Resin Part 2. p. 232. With many Others Divines show in several things but I must not stay upon it Now you that are regenerate look to your selves here act your greatest vigilancy and make your strongest opposition with respect to your particular sin here 's your weakest part and therefore here you must set your strongest guard as Keepers of Garrisons use to do as he said * 1 Kings 22.31 Fight neither with small nor great save only with the King of Israel so I would say to you fight against neither small nor great but only against the King sin or Master sin in you This is to kill Goliah himself which being done all the Philistins fly to stab Sin at the very heart upon which wound it must needs dye and here 's the great evidence of sincerity I was also upright before him and I kept my self from my iniquity Psal 18.23 and herein deliverance from the Law of Sin mainly shows it self Regenerate persons to be very thankeful for their being made free from the Law of Sin 3. Thirdly you that are upon regeneration thus freed from Sins power I am to bespeak your thankfulness your highest and most hearty thankfulness for so great a mercy In the doing of this what hath God done for you ô whilst you pity Others who are under Sins bondage bless God for your selves who are delivered out of it The remainders of Sin call for your deepest humiliation but withall the not reigning of Sin calls for your highest thankefulness Are you made partakers of such liberty and will you not be thankful is there any deliverance from any servitude whatsoever like to this Sin is the worst of Evils the power of Sin the worst of Sin are you delivered from that ô admirable mercy Israels deliverance out of Egypt and Babylon the rescuing of Subjects from the dominion of Tyrants the fetching poor Captives out of chains and bonds are good things yet all but very nothings in comparison of the freeing a Soul from the power and vassalage of Sin and this is done for you shall not the Lord be greatly blessed for it Here 's a great part of that benefit which you have by Christ as a Redeemer for what doth Redemption point to but to the Sinners release from his spiritual captivity and bondage by Sin what did Christ come for but to * Isa 61.1 proclaim liberty to the captives c. Now as you were Captives in Gods hands by reason of guilt so Christ redeem'd you by paying down a price or ransom for you as you are Captives in Sins and Sathans hands so he redeems you by power for they are no other way to be dealt withall by rescuing you out of their dominion and slavery in spite of all the resistance they can make and Christ redeeming both these ways so he becomes a full and compleat Redeemer So that your being made free from the Law of Sin is a a part of Christs redeeming love and what the Spirit of Life doth therein it is but in conjunction with Christ in the carrying on of that love and if so have not you great reason to be very thankful 'Pray look into that precious promise the matter of which is that God will not onely pardon your iniquities but also subdue them he being every way as gracious in the latter as in the former Micah 7.18 19. Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage c. He will turn again he will have compassion upon us he will subdue our iniquities 't is as great a mercy to have Sin subdued in its power as pardoned in its guilt you magnifie God for the one ô do the same for the other also If God himself had not brought about this freedom you had been without it forever Alas you your selves in the time of the natural thraldom never thought of or desired it you were altogether unable to accomplish it nay you were set against it and oppos'd it to your utmost the Law of Sin was in the heart and had the heart you lik'd and lov'd its government above any other all your strength was engag'd for it insomuch that God was fain to conquer not only Satan and it but your own selves too and by a mighty power to make you willing to accept of deliverance out of its servitude what ground of thankfulness is here Once more why should you be made free when others are let alone what was there in you to move God to vouchsafe this distinguishing mercy you had indeed been eternally undone without it but was he under any necessity or motive but what was from his own grace to do it for you ô you that are renewed shall not the Lord be admired by you 'pray be much in blessing of him for all Mercies but amongst the rest be sure you never forget to bless him for Sin-subduing Sin-dethroning mercy See how Paul upon this account blesses God for others Rom. 6.17 But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart the form of doctrine which was delivered you He that was so thankful for others surely would be so much more for himself and so he was Rom. 7.24 25. O wretched man that I am
safe Take the Saints apart from Christ the strongest could not stand take them as joyned and united to him the weakest shall not fall When the first Adam was our head our condition was mutable in him we stood upon very slippery ground but now when Christ is our head we-stand fast and firm * Psal 125.1 even as mount Zion never to be removed 'T is but the same Grace now which we should have had upon our first creation I speak of the kind not of the degree yet 't is not amissible as that was because of our union with another head God will hear their Prayers 9. Are you in Christ this assures you of the audience of your Prayers If ye abide in me saith Christ ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you◠What an incouraging word is this God will grant your requests for the love he bears you upon other accounts but to be sure he will do this for you you being under such a near conjunction to the Son of his Love Vnion and Communion go together 10. Are you in Christ know then that Vnion and Communion go together and is not this full of comfort As all communion is founded upon union so all union terminates in communion and the closer is the union the fuller is the communion Union with Christ is a very enriching thing it interests a person in all that Christ is or hath this is that fellowship of the Son to which the Saints are called 1 Cor. 1.9 You being in Christ his Person is yours you are his and he is yours My beloved is mine and I am his Cant. 2.16 Upon the Covenant relation God is yours upon the Mystical Vnion Christ is yours You being in Christ all his Attributes are yours his wisdome yours to guide you his power yours to protect you his mercy yours to pity you his All sufficiency yours to supply you and so in the rest As the Father in the Gospel once said to his Son * Luk. 15.31 Son thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine so saith Christ to the believing Soul thou art ever in me all that I am or have is thine Being in Christ you share with him in all his Offices hence you are Kings and (a) Omnes Christiani sant Sacerdotes quia membra unius Sacerdotis August de Civ De◠lib. 20. cap 10. Priests as he is in a spiritual and mystical notion Rev. 1.6 And hath made us Kings and Priests unto God c. 1 Pet. 2.5 Saints are stiled an holy Priesthood and v. 9. a royal Priesthood Being in Christ you bear his name as hath been shown and you partake with him in his high Relations and Dignities he 's a Son of God so are you Joh. 20.17 I ascend to my Father and your Father he 's heir of all things Heb. 1.2 you joynt heirs with him Rom. 8.17 Being in Christ all his Merit is yours his sufferings (b) Caput membra sunt quasi una persona mystica ideo satisfactio Christi ad omnes fideles pertinet sicut ad su◠membra Aquin. 3. p. Q◠49. Art 1. satisfaction are as much to your advantage as if you had suffered and satisfied in your own persons You being in Christ all the (c) Unio haec est spiritualis illa relatio hominum ad Personam Christi quâ jus acquirunt ad omnes illas benedictiones quae ad ipso praeparantur Ames medul lib 1. cap. 26. fect 2. Fides purè docenda est quod per eum sic conglutineris ut ex te Christo fiat quasi una Persona quae non possit segregari ut cum fiduciâ dicere possis ego sum Christus h. e. Christi justitia victoria vita est mea vicissim Christus dicat Ego sum ille peccator h. e. ejus peccata mors mea sunt quia adhaeret mihi ego illi conjuncti enim sumus per fidem in unam carnem os Luther Homo cum fiduciâ possit gloriari in Christo dicere meum est quod Christus vixit egit dixit passus est mortuns est non secus quam si ego illa vixissem egissem dixissem passus essem mortuus essem sicut sponsus habet omnia quae sunt sponsae sponsa habet omnia quae sunt sponsi c. Idem blessings priviledges which he hath purchased are yours as justification atonement adoption access to God c. You being in Christ that very glory which he hath is yours see Rev. 3 2◠Joh. 17.24 Luk. 22.29 You being in Christ all the promises in him are Yea and Amen to you 2 Cor. 1.20 Gal. 3.29 You being in Christ all his victories and triumphs over enemies are yours Rev 2.26 27. Upon Union with Christ you have Vnion too with the * See Sedgw. on the Covenant p. 208. Father and the Holy Ghost In a word you being Christ's all is yours 1 Cor. 3.21 and what can be said further Is not all this enough for your comfort Here 's blessed communion flowing from a blessed union here 's partaking indeed of the fatness of the Olive upon your being ingrafted into it as 't is Rom. 11.17 Vnion secures from Condemnation 11. Are you in Christ then 't is no condemnation so the Text expresly tells you O what a ground of rejoycing is exemption from condemnation what can be sweet to him who is obnoxious to it what can be bitter to him who is secur'd against it this is the happiness of all in Christ Poor Christless Souls are condemned over and over Law and Gospel and Conscience and which is worst of all the great God condemns them but 't is not so with you who are in Christ to you 't is no condemnation You are justified here and shall be solemnly publickly declared to be so at the great day You are in Christ◠not only as the members in the head which is your Mystical Vnion but as the Debtor in the Surety which is your Legal Vnion Christ's payment and satisfaction is yours and God will not fall upon him and you too for payment The Wife under covert is not liable to an arrest or action at Law but all must fall upon her Husband You being married to Christ this supersedes the process of the Law against you if it be not fully satisfied it must seek its reparation at the hands of your spiritual Husband Christ himself as to any condemnatory charge it cannot fall upon you Amongst all the damned in Hell there 's not one in Christ to be found that 's no place for such as are limbs of him And to shut up all upon this Vnion 't is not onely No condemnation but 't is also certain salvation 1 Joh. 5.12 He that hath the Son hath life Joh. 14.19 Because I live ye shall live also Christ the Head is in Heaven and where he is there he will have
who shall deliver me from the body of this death I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord Titus 3.3 4 5. For we our selves also were sometimes foolish c. but after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost he lays it upon the kindness and love of God which indeed are admirable in the freeing of a Soul from the Law of Sin by the regenerating Spirit this kindness of God should draw out the thankefulness of every gracious heart So much for this Vse of Counsel VSE 4. Comfort to regenerate persons upon their being made free from the Law of Sin A word in the fourth place for Comfort I would have every truly gracious person upon this Truth to be even filled with joy what glad tidings doth it bring to thee whoever thou art upon whom regenerating Grace hath taken hold it tells thee thou art made free from the Law of Sin Sin may and doth trouble thee but it doth not rule thee it lorded it over thee too long but now its dominion is gone from the very first moment of thy Conversion thou hast been made free believe it and take the comfort of it What think you had not Paul great joy in himself when he uttered these words the Law of the Spirit c. thou maist say the same concerning thy self the new birth having pass'd upon thee why therefore shouldst not thou be brimful of joy also This is so great a thing that the sense and comfort of it should revive and cheer thy Spirit under all outward evils the Laws of Men possibly may be somewhat heavy upon thee thou maist groan under such and such external pressures there may be much of bondage in thy outward condition but the Law of Sin is abolish'd thy Soul is made free the spiritual bondage is taken off is not this well very well Under the Law how were the poor Servants overjoy'd when the year of Jubilee came which gave them a release from all their servitude ô Christian thou hast liv'd to see a glorious Jubilee wilt not thou rejoyce So also when oppressed Subjects are freed from cruel Vsurpers 't is a time of great rejoycing mens joy then runs over and will be kept in no bounds or limits what a full tide of joy should be in their Souls whom God hath graciously delivered from Sins tyranny and usurpation ' True Sin never had any right to rule yet de facto rule it did therefore triumph over it as though its authority had been just as the * Hoc illi in malis suis indulgente fortunâ ut de eo populus Romanus quasi de vero Rege triumpharet Florus lib. 2. cap. 14. people of Rome once did with a mean person That Sin which once had you under is now brought under it self and 't is subdued therefore cannot much hurt you Adonibezek himself when in chains Bajazet when in an Iron Cage the fiercest Enemies when broken in their power cannot do much mischief God be blessed so 't is with Sin and therefore as to the main state fear it not I know you lie under many discouragements you feel such cursed inclinations to evil Sin doth so often prevail over you repeated back-slidings afflict you greatly your corruptions daily pursue you c. Well! I would have you to be very sensible of these things and mourn over them but yet know the reigning commanding power of Sin is gone notwithstanding all these yet 't is not the Law of Sin How much good may an unregenerate person do and yet Sin reign in him and how much evil may a regenerate person do and yet Sin not reign in him Under the Law every scab did not make one a Leper neither doth every prevalency of Sin make one a slave to it The Spirit of Life hath freed you from its dominion that being duely stated and that too in such a manner as that you shall never again be brought under it Sin shall not have dominion over you c. Rom. 6.14 Is all this nothing or but little in your thoughts is not here sufficient matter of great joy ô know what God hath done for you and make the best of it Being freed from the Law of Sin you are freed from Guilt Wrath Hell eternal condemnation for the Apostle having said there 's no condemnation c. he proves his assertion by this for the Law of the Spirit of Life c. And where 't is not the Law of Sin there 't is not the Law of Death these two Laws are link'd and fast'ned each to the other therefore he that is delivered from the one is delivered from the other also Believers there is but one thing remaining to be done for you which in due time shall most certainly be done too and that is to free you from the very being of Sin and from all those remainders of power which yet it hath in you do but wait and a little time will put an end to these also be of good comfort Sin is dying and weakening and wearing out every day shortly 't will dye indeed so as never to molest you more As you are justified its guilt is gone as you are sanctified its power is gone it will not be long before you will be glorified and then it s very being shall be gone too here in Grace Pharaoh's yoke is broken but above in Glory Sin shall be like Pharaoh drowned in the bottom of the Sea ô let every regenerate Soul greatly rejoice in these things So much for the Second Observation ROM 8.2 For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of sin and death CHAP. VII Of the power of the Holy Spirit in the making of persons free from the Law of Sin The Third Observation viz. that 't is the Law of the Spirit of Life which frees the Regenerate from the Law of Sin How this is brought about by the Spirit by the Spirit of Life by the Law of the Spirit c. what this imports Of the necessity sufficiency efficacy of the Spirits power for and in the production of this Effect The particular ways and methods of the Spirit in it opened Of its workings at the first Conversion Of its subsequent regency in the renewed Soul Vse 1. Of the greatness and glory of the Spirit his Godhead inferr'd from hence Vse 2. To show the true and proper Cause of freedome from the Law of Sin where men are exhorted 1. To apply themselves to the Spirit for this freedome 2. In case it be wrought in them to ascribe and attribute the glory of it only to the Spirit Saints exhorted 1. To love and honour the Spirit 2. To live continually under the Law of it 3. To set Law against Law The third Observation handled
We read Mark 11.9 They that went before and they that followed cryed saying Hosanna blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord Believers who liv'd before Christ's incarnation and they who follow since both are equally obliged to magnifie God for him both receiving the same benefit by him 2. It may be enquired Why Christ was incarnate just when he was why at this very Epocha or period of time rather than at any other was Christ incarnate why not either before or after but just then Answ why because it was that very time which God had set therefore called the fulness of time Gal. 4.4 He that is pleas'd to set the time for other things as for the Churches deliverances Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion for the time to favour her yea the set time is come Psal 102.13 and so in several Other cases surely he was pleas'd to set the time for so great a thing as the coming of his own Son in Flesh he in his eternal decree had determin'd the precise time for this which therefore when it was come then Christ came now I say all must be resolv'd into this True there were some more immediate Reasons why he came just when he did he was to come before the Scepter was wholly departed from Judah Gen. 49.10 whilst the Second Temple was standing Hag. 2.6 7 8 9. during the Fourth Monarchy Dan. 2.44 Daniel's 70 weeks were almost expired Dan. 9.24 there was a general expectation raised in the world of the coming of the Messias as might easily be made out Now with respect to these things the Lord Jesus came at that very period of time whereat he did but they all falling out but in compliance with and subordination to the Decree of God therefore the determination of the time of Christ's Coming and Incarnation must ultimately be resolv'd into that O he came just when he did neither sooner nor later because the Father had appointed that very time Prop. 'T was not the Divine Essence absolutely considered which assumed Flesh but that Essence considered as subsisting in the Second Person 4. 'T was not the Divine Nature or Essence simply and absolutely considered which assumed Flesh but it was that * Tota igitur Natura Divina fuit incarnata sed non quatenus absolutè in se consideratur ut omnibus Personis communis sed quatenus personalibus proprietatibus seu 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Personâ Filii determinata coâ—sideratur Davenant in Col. 2.9 p. 240. Solus Filius suscepit humanitatem in singularitatem Personae non in unitatem Naturae Divinae Concil Tolet. Neque enim Divina Natura si propriè accuratè loqui velimus sed Persona Divina assumsit Naturam Humanam Divina quidem Natura unitur Humanae sed eam nòn assumsit assumere enim non est Naturae sed Suppositi Bisterf contra Crell p. 565. Vide Alting Theol. Problem p. 562. 577. Nature considered as subsisting in the Second Person If this restriction and stating of the Point be not admitted we cannot avoid our holding the Incarnation was common to all the Persons contrary to what the Church hath ever held and to what was asserted but even now therefore when 't is said †1 Tim. 3.16 God manifested in the Flesh you are to understand God in the Personal not in the Essential notion Prop. The Nature assuming was the Divine Nature 5. The Nature assuming was the Divine Nature that being considered as was laid down in the forgoing Proposition The Manhood did not assume the Godhead but the Godhead it * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Damasc de Orthod Fide lib. 3. cap. 2. p. 167. Man did not become God but God became Man 't is not said that †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athan. de Inc. Christi t. 1. p. 612. the Flesh was made the Word but the Word was made Flesh this is a thing so unquestionable that the very naming of it is enough Prop. That the Humane Nature was so assum'd as to subsist in the Divine that both Natures make butâ— one Person 6. The Lord Jesus the eternal Son of God God blessed for ever did so assume the Humane Nature as in a most mysterious and unconceivable manner to unite it upon the first framing or forming of it to his Divine Nature and to give that a subsistence in this so as that both do make but one Person the Essence Properties Operations of both Natures yet remaining the same without either conversion or confusion Here the Hypostatical Vnion is both asserted and and also described for wherein doth the nature of that Vnion consist but in that which is here laid down Of the Hypostatical Vnion Of it you read Col. 2.9 In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily i. e. Personally and Hypostatically Rom. 9.5 Whose are the Fathers and of whom as concerning the Flesh Christ came who is over all God blessed for ever here 's both the Natures of Christ and both in him making but one Person upon the personal conjunction of which he 's call'd Emmanuel God with us Matth. 1.23 But not to insist upon the Proof of this Vnion which all but INFIDELS and SOCINIANS do believe The mysteriousness thereof I will endeavour as well as I can rather to explain and open it an undertaking which I enter upon the Lord knows with great fear and dread because of the loftiness and mysteriousness of the thing to be opened O 't is a thing so sublime and mysterious as that it transcends the capacity of Angels and Men how then shall I be able to speak of it or to it Take whom you will single out a Person of the sharpest wit the profoundest judgment the most elevated reason let all the most raised abilities concur in him and then set the Hypostatical Vnion before this person alas poor man how will he be puzzl'd nonplus'd unable to fathom so great a depth as this is And well he may since 't is the mystery of mysteries one of the first magnitude than which by a narrow intellect none more hard to be conceiv'd of or understood 'T is indeed sure and certain to Faith which believes it because God reveals it which readily answers all Objections and * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justin Martyr solves all difficulties about it by resting on divine revelation but if Reason beyond its proper bounds will be prying into and judging of a thing so abstruse its blindness as well as its boldness will soon appear its bucket will not go to the bottom of a Well so deep its line is too short to measure such heights breadths lengths depths as are here to be found I do not in the least wonder that they who make Reason to be the supream Judge of matters of Faith do throw off the belief of this mystery for though it be not at all contrary to reason
of conformity and likeness to it so we may God may become very man but man cannot become very God he may be like to God by grace and holiness but that 's all thus we are to understand some passages of the * Factus est Deus Homo ut Homo fieret Deus Aug. de Nativ Divinitas Verbi aequalis Patri facta est particeps mortalitatis nostrae non de suo sed de nostro ut nos efficeremur participes Deitatis ejus non de nostro sed de ipsuis Aug. tom 3. p. 1051. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athan. de Incarn Verb. p. 108. l. 1. Antients which seem to be very high Now this is that which I would have you to labour after that as Christ hath taken of yours so you may receive of his as he was made like to you in what is proper to Man so you according to your capacity may be made like to him in what is proper to God Be thankful both for the thing it self and also for the revelation of it 7. Be thankful not in a common ordinary formal manner but in the most lively enlarged raised manner that is possible Where the mercy is high and great the thankfulness must bear some proportion to it Did Christ condescend to take your flesh for such gracious ends O where is your praising and magnifying of God should not the whole Soul be summon'd in to give its most united acknowledgement of so signal a mercy The Angels never reaped that advantage by his Incarnation which we do and yet as soon as ever that took place they were at praising-work Luk. 2.13 14. Suddenly there was with the Angels a multitude of the heavenly Host praising God and saying Glory to God in the highest c. Good old Zachary began his Prophesie with thanksgiving Luk. 1.68 69. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people c. and Simeon upon the sight of Christ in the Flesh was transported with joy Luk. 2.29 c. Then took he him up in his arms and blessed God and said Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace according to thy word For mine eyes have seen thy Salvation Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel To move you to this thankfulness I can say no more than what I have already said let but that be consider'd and you will daily heartily with the most raised affections bless God for a Christ incarnate And as you should do this for the thing it self so also for the revelation of it in the Gospel where the mystery which was kept secret since the world began is now made manifest as the Apostle speaks Rom. 16.25 26. This we had never known if God had not there revealed it and the deeper is the mystery the higher is his mercy in the disclosing of it * Matth. 13.11 To you 't is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven to others 't is not so how little doth the greatest part of the world know of a God in Flesh Nature may discover a God but 't is Scripture only which discovers God-man now why is that revealed to you which is hid to so many Even so Father for so it seemed good in thy sight Matth. 11.26 Nay further you have the clear revelation of this what was hid in darker Prophesies and Types to the Fathers under the Old-Testament is how under the New made as evident to you as the light of the noon-day you do with * 2 Cor. 3 18◠open face behold the truth and glory of Christ's Manhood you live under the dayes of the Son of Man that which others expected and waited for and saw but †Heb. 11.13 afar off is now accomplished and made good to you Under the Law believers looked for the Son of God in flesh you under the Gospel look on the Son of God in flesh their language was I shall see him but not now I shall behold him but not nigh as Balaam prophesied Numb 24.17 but under the Gospel the language is That which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life For the life was manifested and we have seen it c. 1 Joh. 1.1 2. I may say to you what Christ once did to his Disciples Luk. 10.23 24. Blessed are the eyes which see the things which ye see For I tell you that many Prophets and Kings have desir'd to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them O put the thing and the revelation thereof together how should God for both be magnified by us had we as many tongues as members was the whole body turn'd into this one member yet we should not be able for this high and glorious mercy sufficiently to speak out and celebrate the praises of the most high God as * Si certè omnia membra nostra verterentur in linguas ad rependendum tibi debitas laudes nequaquam sufficeret exiguitas nostra Aug. medit cap. 15. Austine pathetically expresses it So much for this Second Vse by way of Exhortation The third and last is for Comfort 3. Use The point in hand is every way as fruitful for Consolation as for Exhortation For Comfort◠to Believers Christ sent in flesh made flesh what abundance of matter is wrap'd up in this for the heightning of the true believers joy I have brought you to the very spring-head of divine Consolation O that you might feel it flowing forth and running into your Souls Abraham rejoyced to see Christ's day the day of his Incarnation he saw it and was glad Joh. 8.56 let me tell you you see that about it which he never saw will not you rejoyce and be glad Fear not said the Angel to the Shepherds for behold I bring you good tydings of great joy which shall be to all people what were these good tydings why Vnto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. Luk. 2.10 11. Christ born the Son of God incarnate good tydings indeed blessed be God that they were ever brought to our ears surely such tydings call for great joy If God would please to open your eyes to let you see what there is in a Christ sent in flesh to fix your thoughts upon it to help you to make the best improvement of it I cannot but assure my self that your hearts would be brimful of Comfort that your fears would vanish like the dark cloud before the bright-shining Sun that instead of your sad despondencies of Spirit you would triumph in Christ and lift up your heads with joy O how injurious are they to the Saints in their heavenly
it was with Christ in reference to his Father's sending of him the Will of the Son was as much for the Work as the Will of the Father himself You must not look upon Christ as meerly passive in the Sending for in some respects he sent himself and his coming upon that great errand of mans Redemption was his own act as well as the Fathers As the Father is said to * Joh. 10.36 Sanctifie him and yet he also is said to †Joh. 17.19 sanctifie himself and as the Father is said * Rom. 8.32 to give him and yet he also is said ‖ Gal. 2.20 to give himself So here the Father is said to send him yet he also as he was One in Nature and in Will with the Father may be said to send himself thus * Fortè aliquis rogat ut dicamus etiam à seipso missum esse Filium quia Mariae conceptus partus operatio Trinitatis est Sed inquit aliquis quomodo Pater eum misit si ipse se misit Cui respondeo quaerens ut dicat quomodo eum Pater Sanctificavit si ipse se Sanctificavit utrumque enim Dominus dicit c. Item quaeio quomodo Pater eum tradidit si ipse se tradidit utrumque enim legitur Credo respondebit si probè sapit quia una vâ—luntas est Patris Filii inseparabilis operatio Aug. de Trin. lib. 2. cap. 5. Austine opens it The expression in the Text God sent his Son doth not exclude the Son or the Spirit from the sending or wholly appropriate it to the Father it only notes the Order of the Persons in their working The Father being the first in working therefore the sending of Christ is ascribed to him but there being nothing more in it than so that will not prove any inequality in the Persons or any superiority that One hath over the Other The Schoolmen give some nice and curious distinctions about Christ's being sent by himself and by the Holy Ghost as well as by the first Person but 't is not convenient to perplex the Reader with them this is one Answer for the clearing up of the difficulty and the weakening of the Objection which we have to do with 2. The Learned further distinguish of a twofold inferiority One in respect of Nature and One in respect of Office Condition or Dispensation As to the First Christ neither was nor is in the least inferiour to the Father both having the same Nature and Essence in respect of which he * Phil. 2.6 thought it not robbery to be equal with God As to the Second Christ being considered as Mediator as having assumed flesh put himself into the Sinners stead and undertaken to make Satisfaction to God so without any derogation it may be said of him that he was inferiour to the Father In reference to which it follows in the * Vers 7 8. forementioned place He made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross And upon this he saith * Joh. 14.28 See this Text fully opened in Estwicke against Biddle p. 121. c. vid. etiam Epiph adver Haeres Lib. 2. Tom. 2. p. 775 c. Loquatur Filius Hominis Pater major me est loquatur Filius Dei Ego Pater unum sumus Aug. de Temp. Serm. 6. My Father is greater than I He was in Nature every way as great as the Father but he having submitted to be made Man to be a Surety having condescended to the Office and Work of a Redeemer in our Flesh so in respect of oeconomy and dispensation the Father was greater than he And by vertue of his superiority over Christ as considered in this his voluntary exinanition so he sent him and laid his commands upon him and dealt with him as you have heard but * Non ideò arbitrandum est minorem esse Filium quia missus est a Patre nec ideò minorem Spiritum Sanctum quia Pater eum misit Filius Sive enim propter visibilem Creaturam sive potius propter principii authoritatem vel commendationem non propter inequalitatem vel imparilitatem dissimilitudinem substantiae in Scripturis haec posita intelliguntur Non ergo ideò dicitur Pater misisse Filium vel Spiritum Sanctum quia ille esset major illi minores sed maximè propter authoritatem principii commendandam quia in visibili creaturâ non sicut ille apparuit Aug. de Trin. Lib. 4. Cap. 21. Missio importet minorationem in eo qui mittitur secundum quod importat processionem à principio mittente aut secundum imperium aut secundum consilium quia imperâns est major consilians est sapientior Sed in divinis non importat nisi processionem originis quae est secundum equalitatem Aquin. 1. p. Quaest 43. Art 1. resp ad Primum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Naz. Orat. 2. de Filio p. 582. yet his natural and essential greatness or equality with the Father was not at all by this impaired or lessened which was the great Truth to be secured against the Adversary Reasons why God sent Christ. The Third thing which I am to speak to is to enquire so far as the Word will warrant into the Grounds and Reasons of Christ's mission wherefore did God send him He who is so Wise that he doth nothing be it never so little or mean but he hath his Reasons for it surely in so great a thing as the sending of his own Son he had very high and weighty reasons upon which he acted And though 't is most certain that he neither had nor could have any Motives ab extra in a way of Merit to move him to this yet 't is as certain that he had great and urgent Grounds for it even such as might become a God in doing such a thing He that in Other things is a * Isa 30.18 God of judgment undoubtedly in this which was his Master-piece he would shew himself to be a God of judgment It will therefore be worthy of a modest enquiry to find out the Reasons which the wise and gracious God went upon in the sending of his Son In the General Some must be sent When I say must I do not mean any simple or absolute necessity as though it was simply and absolutely necessary that God should take some course or imploy some person from heaven for the redeeming and saving the world God forbid that I should assert a thing so utterly false and so highly derogatory from the freeness of the grace of God in what he did I only mean therefore that which we call hypothetical or conditional necessity and so the business stood thus God designed to glorifie and advance
his mercy to Sinners he had gracious purposes in himself towards Man and whereas all mankind lay before him in an undone and ruin'd condition he would not leave them to perish eternally in that condition Then supposing this which cannot be deny'd God must send something must be done or else these gracious purposes of God will be lost and all men must inevitably perish for ever For as to all Other Wayes the Sinners Case was desperate with respect to them there was no hope or help some new and strange course must be taken or else as things stand on the Creatures part there 's nothing to be look'd for but hell and damnation Now things being brought to this pass therefore God will send yea he will send his own Son for hee 'l be sure to pitch upon a Way which shall infallibly and effectually do the work Observe it in the Text when or because it was impossible for the Law to do then or therefore God sent his Son since neither the Law nor any thing else could operate to any purpose towards the advancing of God's Honour and the promoting of the Sinners good it was necessary in order to these great Ends that God himself should interpose in some extraordinary way which thereupon he accordingly did in the sending of Christ But more particularly let us take it for granted that there was a necessity of Sending yet why did God pitch upon his Son and send him might not some Other Person have been sent as well as he or might not some Other Way have been found out as good as this I answer No Christ the Son must be the very Person whom God will send And him he pitch'd upon so far as we poor shallow mortals are able to judge of his deep and unsearchable actings or to assign the reasons of them for these Reasons 1. First because he was the Person with whom the Father had covenanted about this very thing There was a Covenant commonly called the Covenant of Redemption which had passed betwixt these two Persons in which the Father engaged so and so to Christ and Christ reciprocally engaged so and so to the Father a considerable part of the terms and matter of which Covenant is set down Isa 53.10 When thou shalt make his Soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed c. The Father Covenants to do thus and thus for Fallen Man but first in order thereunto the Son must Covenant to take man's Nature therein to satisfie offended Justice to repair and vindicate his Father's Honour c well he submits assents to these demands indents and covenants to make all good and this was the Covenant of Redemption Now upon this Covenant God sends his Son that being done in pursuance of and agreeable to that admirable compact or stipulation that had passed betwixt them both So that this Sending was not founded meerly upon the Father's absolute Will or Sovereignty over Christ but upon the foederal agreement made betwixt them as to this very matter Of which I 'le say no more here having formerly had an opportunity to publish some thoughts about it 2. Secondly God sent Christ because he saw that was the very best way which could be taken and therefore in wisdom he pitch'd upon it O there was no Way like to that The Father had great desigus now to carry on as for example to let the world see what an evil thing Sin was what a dreadful breach it had made betwixt himself and the Creature how terrible and impartial his Justice was what an Ocean of Love he had in his heart to promote the Sinners happiness yet so as in the first place to secure and advance his own glory in the magnifying of all his Attributes to indear himself his Son and all his mercies to his people to lay a sure foundation for the Righteousness and Salvation of believers were not these great and glorious designs Now there was no Way for the accomplishing and effecting of these comparable to this of God's sending his Son What God might have done some other way by his absolute Power and Will abstracting from his decree I dare not enquire into much less determine any thing about it or wherther this was the Onely Way I leave to others to discuss but certainly this was the best the fittest Way and therefore the Wise God pitch'd upon it Eos itaque qui dicunt itane defuit Deo modus alius quo liberaret homines à miseriâ mortalitatis hujus ut unigenitum Filium c. parum est sic refellere ut istum modum quo nos per Mediatorem Dei Hominum hominem Jesum Christum Deus liberare dignatur asseramus bonum divinae congruum dignitati verum etiam ut oftendamus non alium modum possibilem Deo defuisse cujus potestati aequalitèr cuncta subjacent sed sanandae nostrae miseriae convenientiorem alium non fuisse Aug. de Trin. lib. 13. cap. 10. Austine went no higher than thus 3. Christ was sent because as this was the best and the fittest Way so he was the best and the fittest Person to be imploy'd in such an Embassy God always sends the fittest messengers upon his errands 't was a great errand for Christ to come from heaven to earth about man's Redemption but God saw that He was the fittest messenger to be imploy'd therein and therefore he sent him For as he imploys none in his work especially when 't is high and of great importance whom he doth not either find or make fit for it so the more fit any are for his work the rather he doth imploy them and therefore this was that which induced him to send Christ none being so fit for the managing and transacting the Work of Redemption as he was which I shall endeavour to make out in a few Particulars Christ's superlative fitness for it appears from and was grounded upon Christ's Fitness for the Work of Redemption set forth 1. His two Natures the Hypostatical union of Both in his Person He was God Joh. 1.1 Phil. 2.6 1 Joh. 5.20 Rom. 9.5 Isa 9.6 Tit. 2.13 He was also Man 1 Tim. 2.5 then too he â—as God-man in one Person Col. 2.19 Now who could be so fit to bring God and Man together as he who was himself both God and Man who so fit to negotiate with both as he who was a middle Person betwixt both who so fit to treat with an offended God as he who was God who so fit to suffer as he who was Man and to merit by suffering as he who was God-man Had he been only God he could not have suffered had he been only Man he could not have merited but being both he was eminently fit for both viz. for suffering and meriting for obeying and satisfying Thus his not to be parallell'd Fitness was grounded upon his Personal consideration 2. 'T was grounded upon his glorious Attributes his Power Wisdom Mercy Goodness Faithfulness